Chapter 67 - Götterdämmerung

The Northern Tower rose high above the ice sheets of the North Pole, stretching so high into the heavens that clouds parted and swirled around it. So large that it was visible from beyond the edge of the horizon, an awe-inspiring pillar of stone, every square inch intricately carved with runes that pulsed with magical energy. At the apex of the tower was its nerve center, enclosed structures of glass of metal, like a modern laboratory and viewing area had been built inside of an ancient structure. A mountain of engineering that might have been visible from off the northernmost coast of Hellgondo, were it not shrouded by clouds.

It was fitting that Alice and Will would be the ones dealing with it, seizing an enemy fortress that stood so close to her seat of power. The two were also the least affected by the harsh frigid temperatures than the others.

The howling of the fierce arctic wind was punctuated by the sound of periodic gunfire. Bullets ripping through the air in controlled bursts as the cybernetic guards of the Northern Tower attempted to bring down the intruders attacking them. The vat-grown soldiers have been made for war, mass produced and augmented from the moment of their conception. The targeting computers in their brains guided their limbs with mechanical precision, electrical impulses set off the built-in triggers in their weapons. It was an exercise in futility however, every round failing to hit its mark, unable to get a bead on their targets.

Will moved with grim efficiency, rushing the guards one by one and crushing the rifle grafted onto the ends of their robotic limbs. The thought of the massacre of spider warriors hung in the back of his mind, staying his hand from outright killing the guards. A stray burst sent a round slamming into his armoured torso with a metallic ping, recoil pushing the gun upwards as more shots impacted his neck and cheek with a loud thud, bullets deforming as they bounced off his chest-piece and scales. He didn't even flinch, a bulletproof man inside bulletproof armour. They stood no hope against him as he picked up his pace, dodging out of the path of their bullets before they could even fire, and disarmed them one by one, leaving a trail of crippled cyborgs in his wake.

Alice covered his back, fending off a squad of angel warriors armed with spears, swords, and whips. They looked like smaller, younger versions of Ilias with blonde hair and blue eyes, garbed in only blue robes as their armour. Their proud expressions turned into dismay when Alice laid into them, her fists and tail channeling unholy amounts of dark mana so that she could physically strike them.

The pair moved with the utmost urgency, racing through the stone and metal hallways towards the control center. It wasn't hard to find, every cable and rune directing electricity and mana in equal parts towards a central chamber at the top of the tower. It didn't take long until they reached it, confronted with a massive computer setup.

"How are we doing?" Will asked as he ran up to it and looked over the keyboard. He wasn't familiar with the layout and there were many buttons he'd never seen before. 'Promestein designed it from the ground up for maximum efficiency. It's not qwerty-based.' The screen itself displayed white text on a black background with dozens of lines of text and command prompts listed. 'And no graphical interface, great.'

"The others are making similar progress," Alice replied, slithering up beside him and examining the machine. "Such a curious thing. Are you ready to enter the code?"

"Give me a minute," Will responded with a click of his tongue. He tentatively pressed some keys, moving the selection bar up and down the listed command prompts. It took a few seconds of careful reading before he finally reached the correct section. He typed in the code but held off on hitting enter. "Yeah, alright, should be good to go. Push this button once everyone else is set up too," he instructed her, stepping away from the keyboard so Alice could take over. She was the one in telepathic communication with the others, so it only made sense to him for her to press the button, lest he act a second too late.

Alice moved up to the computer, gloved finger hovering over the button as she intently stared at the screen. She waited for several seconds until finally hitting 'enter.' At once the computer whirred as fans hummed within its massive chassis and the runes lining the interior of the building glowed brighter.

Will could feel the sheer tangible mass of mana surge through the building, racing through every cable and glyph, reaching the control room in an instance, and shooting up into the sky from the top of the tower. The pillar of light pierced through the clouds, reaching high up into the stratosphere before spreading out like a massive net. The changes were subtle yet noticeable, the holy mana in the air more weighed down than it had been before, turned tangible through arcane machinery. It was like gas getting trapped in moisture.

"It's done," Alice noted with a hint of satisfaction, proudly surveying the room, eyes tracing the cables upwards. "Like that, Ilias and her cronies are as mortal as the rest of us."

"That's the easy part out of the way," Will remarked with a hint of trepidation. He turned to an unconscious angel on the ground and gently nudged it with his kanabo, and found it didn't phase right through her. In the distance, far beyond the edge of the horizon, he heard the raging cracks of a thunderstorm. The raw anger and hatred contained within it was carried far by the whispering wind. "I guess she noticed."

"Let's not keep her waiting then." Alice's tail wrapped around his waist as she pulled him close, and a second later they teleported away.

-

The Navel of the World was the center of Sentora, the largest continent on Earth, and was the apex of the mountain ranges that ran across the lands. It was truly the highest point on the planet, and atop its peak was a vast sea of flowers and grass. A veritable garden of eden that expanded miles outwards, and at its center was an awe inspiring ivory tower with winding paths along its outside, built like a dozen ziggurats stacked atop each other to reach dizzying heights. The seemingly picturesque sight was marred by dark storm clouds swirling around it, lightning arcing through them like a rolling sea of power and anger.

'The Tower of Babel, high enough to reach heaven,' Will thought as he gazed down upon it. 'And she built it herself to hold her little pocket dimension. Ilias' ego holds no bounds. I'd give her points for style though.'

From high in the sky, a long road that cut through the fields was visible, leading to the tower, and along it were hundreds of statues of angelic women. Attached to many of them were the petrified remains of travelers unfortunate enough to stumble across the Navel of the World. Turned to stone by the traps left by Ilias to guard the entrance to Heaven.

The grassy fields and paths exploded a second later as Alice rained destructive hellfire upon the statues, orbs of power firing down from her outstretched palm that cratered the earth. Her bombardment lasted for several moments, tearing up the mountain side and spreading fire across the gardens around the tower. After coming to a stop Alice glanced at Will. "A small mercy for them," she explained with a grimace. "There's no curing petrification."

He nodded in understanding. "There's nothing more we can do. Now come on, we've got to stay on task." He raised his weapon and pointed down at the top of the tower.

A few others had already gotten there and were doing battle with a bestial angel, a torso sticking out of the back of an enormous black lion body, like the goat's head on the back of a chimera. It had been grafted onto the gate itself and held it within the jaws of her lion head. It served as an eternal watchmen, keeping angels in and humans out. Luka, Sara, and Yao tore into it with ease, every strike drawing blood and mana from its deformed body, and maneuvering around its allies. Reinforcements poured out of the gate, dozens of angel soldiers flying to battle every second, and for every one struck down or sealed three more took their place.

The rabble of lower angels, cupids and the like, that had been pressed into service had since scattered, dropping their weapons and fleeing

Without a word, Alice dived, and Will held onto her tightly as they barreled downwards. They reached the tower with a thunderous boom, smashing through a squad of valkyries that were raining javelins down onto the trio. The angels wings breaking, causing them to violently scatter and spiral out of control. The ivory bricks cracked as the pair landed, and Alice immediately began carving a path through the angels towards the gate's entrance with incredible speed, while Will leapt to aid Luka in wearing down the gatekeeper.

The Monster Lord reached the gate itself and rebounded off its shimmering surface, the impact sending out a small shockwave. She was momentarily stunned, and dodged out of the way as the gatekeeper's lion jaws snapped shut, missing her by a hair's width.

"We already tried that," Yao remarked, tails glowing with magical power as they gracefully swung through the air, pummeling valkyries around her into submission. "It controls who can pass through the gate."

Will shot a glance to Luka's sword, Angel Halo leaving luminous gashes across the gatekeeper's side, draining it of its power. The angel was focusing on him the most, moving with surprising speed for its size as it tried to stay out of his reach. If they sealed the angel, then all that would remain was the gate. Masonry exploded beneath Will as he flanked at the great beast, flames dancing along his kanabo, and drove his weapon into its hind legs with a sickening crunch and burning its black fur.

It stumbled, and Luka dashed forward, thrusting his blade outwards and catching the gatekeeper across its angelic torso, causing more mana to leak from its wounds. It let out a screech of pain, and took a wild swing at Luka, the hero ducking beneath it, and slashing her arm.

The gatekeeper began wildly bucking on its remaining limbs, trying to throw Luka off. Sara's sword lashed out with inhuman speed, metal cleaving through flesh with ease as she separated two of its limbs in one clean sweep. It dropped, and Luka slashed across its throat with a spray of chromatic mercury-like liquid. It weakly reached for its neck, its physical body fraying at the edges Will had not seen in some time, before bursting into thousands of motes of light.

The gate that had been contained within its mouth now stood there atop the tower, unobstructed. Within it was a portal, its surface shimmering, and beyond it lay a picturesque landscape of rolling hills, woodlands, and vast ivory cities, all covered in a thin layer of mist and sparkling lights. It was Heaven. The pocket dimension of Ilias's creation, her pet project for the better part of tens of thousands of years.

Her untouchable stronghold had been breached, gate blown open for any and all to enter. The armies of angels rushed to shore up the choke point into their realm, stronger and more esoteric beings making their presences known, quickly amassing for their counter assault to retake the tower. The few valkyries that still remained fled to rejoin their fellow soldiers.

The five of them gathered up, and a second later the four knights appeared, every one covered with nicks and bruises. Even Erubetie's form was disrupted, missing large chunks of slime as her body was still reforming.

"Apologies for the delay," Tamamo tersely remarked, a frown set upon her face. "Ilias's fancy golems meant to counter us took a bit to dispatch."

"We managed," Alice matter-of-factly replied, only the slightest hint of pride leaking into her voice. "And so have you."

"We aren't done yet," Will interjected, eyeing up the armies forming up on the other side. The sheer amount of angels lined up, weapons at the ready was intimidating, as were the archangels, cherubim, virtues, thrones, and other members assembling. Yet the sight of it did not drive fear into his heart. No, instead he felt excited at the prospect, in spite of himself.

"He's right. We're all here and in one piece. It's now or never," Luka firmly stated. The wind gathered around him in preparation as he drew upon the power of the spirits within him.

"We're ready, My Lord," Granberia added, nodding in agreement.

The air around the nine was charged with power. Alice glanced over the gathered group with a faint smirk. "Then charge." she ordered before turning to the portal and taking off at it, passing through an instant later. The rest followed, thunderous booms echoing across the mountain top as they all rushed forward.

Those forming the frontline of the angels' defense were knocked aside with the sheer speed and strength of the nine's charge, easily plowing through the armies ranks. They stayed continuously moving to avoid getting bogged down, leaving a trail of annihilation in their wake. Flying would do no good, as the sky was crowded by yet more angels.

Immediately the amount of holy mana in the air on the other side hit Will, the land itself absolutely drenched in it. It saturated his finely tuned senses, forming a mass of magical noise that was difficult to sort through. He and his friends stood out amongst the sea of angels, but the rest were an indiscernible mass of auras. That made it difficult for him to discern exactly where Ilias herself was.

He didn't falter though, trusting that Alice could tell. She had sharper and better trained senses than he did. The group moved like a hot knife through butter, the nine of them covering each other's backs as they pressed onwards towards a location deeper within Heaven, moving so fast the human eye would be unable to follow them in motion. The shockwaves produced threw back hundreds of angels.

Their numbers turned against them, as they were unable to properly muster an effective response, though few, if any, in the world could have stopped them. The nine broke free from the armies, continuing their charge towards a distant city. Dark storm clouds began to amass above it, thunder announcing Ilias's displeasure at her home being invaded.

-

It was the perfect plan. It was flawless. Only a Goddess could have crafted such a genius plot and carefully guided it across centuries. All of her hard work was about to pay off. She'd no longer suffer the humiliations and insults hurled against her by heretical things. No longer would she be forced to suffer the presence of the scheming whore, Black Alice. The world was to be remade by her so that it would know and love only her.

And it was ruined.

Ilias stared out from her balcony overlooking the Fields of Elysium. Her once perfect landscape, hand crafted down to the single blades of grass, had been despoiled in seconds by the foul, ruinous touch of The First's descendent and her band of disgusting murderous monsters.

The marble banister cracked beneath her grasp.

It had happened so fast. It had to be planned. It had to be. Her spies feeding her false information for months, turned traitor, and working with monsters in a plot to overthrow her. The thought sickened her. That her own creations would turn on their Goddess. The one who gave them everything they ever had. Their world, their life, their purpose, and she demanded little, only their undying love in return. The cupids responsible were punished swiftly, dissolved, broken apart and reduced to nothing more than pure energy released back into Heaven.

The walls were closing in. Her life's purpose unraveling before her very eyes.

The burning question on her mind was "who?" Who had given the monsters so much information? The list of suspects was low. Promestein's own plots were known to Ilias, and thwarted, the scientist having outlived her usefulness and once more imprisoned in her cave to be dealt with at a later date. Black Alice's own schemes were ambitious and far reaching, yet she had disappeared when word of the attacks reached Ilias. Now would have been the time to make her move.

And then she realized. Ilias knew who it was.

"Lucifina," the name uttered with such reverence. "Daughter. Have you… returned?"

She'd killed her. Seen the body buried. Sent for it to be retrieved. Saw the worms crawling through her once beautiful blue eyes. Her spirit seemingly scattered to the winds and lost to her forever.

Or so Ilias thought.

The death had to have been faked. Lucifina was out there, pulling the strings behind the shadows. The sword wielded by her son was proof of that. It had to be Lucifina. Her perfect daughter. The second one she ever created. It had to be. Her sister Micaela was a failure, too weak willed and pathetic to organize a resistance against her Goddess. And Eden was a useless lackey vying for affection that didn't exist.

It all made sense. The Great Daystar had returned.

The light of Ilias's life, perhaps the only other being in existence she ever truly loved, had returned to destroy everything she had ever created. It sickened her to her very core. It was not a coup, but a desolation, an act of spiteful vengeance. Another war launched by her rebellious daughter in the final battle in their long feud.

"I was too merciful. Too forgiving. Too loving," Ilias manically muttered to herself. The storm clouds above her palace grew ever thicker. "If this is what you want, then I will do unto you what you've done unto me, Lucifina. If you will burn everything I've ever touched, then I'll take away the only thing you care for in this world."

Luka.

Ilias could sense him the moment he entered her domain, surrounded by a miasma of unholy darkness. The stench of his companions who corrupted him, unbenounced to her, hung around him. The faithful zealotry she'd hope to inspire in him was gone, replaced by heretical thoughts.

Didn't he realize everything she had done for him? Didn't he realize how much he meant to her? He was the last connection left in the world Ilias had to her daughter. The most important person in the world to her, and Lucifina had used him in her quest for revenge. Ilias had held off on her righteous cleansing of the world for him. Let the monsters fester all so that Luka would get the idyllic life of a hero he wanted.

She was even going to spare him when she made the world anew. A mercy she wasn't even going to extend to her own daughter Eden.

And at his side was the mystery man who entered her world more than half a year ago. The man she had saved, whose every traitorous breath was owed to her. That was when her well-laid plans had begun to go awry. It all started with his influence over Luka.

He was an agent of Lucifina's, an unassuming pawn meant to whisper falsehoods into Luka's ear. That was when her schemes took root. The seeds planted were bearing their poisonous fruit before Ilias's very eyes.

The Goddess shook with anger.

The growing storm answered her call as lightning rained down upon them and the sky cracked with a thunderous uproar. Ilias would not die peacefully. She would kill every single one of her daughter's pawns, even Luka, and then draw Lucifina out for a final confrontation. Her hand had been forced.

"If you won't show yourself while you defy me, then you will show yourself when I slay your son!"

There was no response.

Her hair billowed in the raging wind. A spear of pure light manifested in her hands. She hadn't done battle in millenia yet in that moment she knew it was what she was always meant to do. If the world would not accept her love, then it would know her fury.

Ilias's wings spread wide.

And she took off.

-

In the approaching city Will saw a burning light race into the sky. It shined brighter than the sun itself, radiating holy mana as lightning arced from its form and struck the ground around them. The nine of them desperately dodging the barrage.

It took him a second to register the fact that the thing above them was Ilias. The goddess herself contained more power within her than her entire army combined. The storm increased in intensity as tens then hundreds of bolts struck the ground with every passing second.

The earth beneath his feet turned to ash and cinders beneath the attack, and in a careless moment he stumbled on the broken terrain. His mistake was mercilessly punished as bolts hammered into him with physical force, but he was not electrocuted. Almost in disbelief he saw the lightning arc down his armour and out into the ground barely a shock.

Enrikan Armour, built by fallen angels under the guidance of Micaela. He'd paid handsomely for the best they could produce, using the Church's own funds to purchase it, and they had delivered. It could withstand the attacks of a goddess.

Yao and Sara could no longer keep up, convulsing as they were struck, and Tamamo immediately pulled them close, shielding them and the injured Erubetie beneath her nine tails, weathering the assault that filled the air with the smell of burning flesh and fur. Luka was unable to help them as Sylph's power kept him going.

Granberia shot the princess a look of concern, but couldn't stop to express it, pushing herself to stay moving. Alma managed to evade the apocalyptic barrage, shifting to and fro faster than Will could perceive, straining herself to her absolute limits as she began to bend the storm to her will. The wind howled in defiance as the succubus channeled it through herself and threw back Ilias's own attacks at her.

Dozens of bolts flashed across the sky, and let out a great crack as several were deflected but more hit their mark, stunning the goddess and knocking her out of the sky. The excursion left Alma shaking, sweat dripping down her body.

The assault paused, and the goddess corrected her course mid-fall, streaming across the sky like a beam of light as she sped towards the nine of them. Alice raced forward to meet her, rapier of blood in hand, and the two clashed, weapons traveling along each other's lengths as they passed, cleaving off chunks of flesh.

Ilias's charge did not slow, racing by the Monster Lord and letting out a blood curdling cry as she lunged at Luka. The hero deftly blocked the thrust, the tip of the spear barely missing him, and sent sliding backwards as Ilias slammed into him. Her hand shot out to impale him, only managing to clip the side of his torso as he twisted to avoid it, and drove the hilt of his sword against her throat.

She let out a pained grunt, and backed off with a flap of her wings to dodge the gouts of flames that erupted from Will's kanabo with every swing. The fires licked at her dress and feathers, burning them black. Granberia joined the assault, her own blade burning white hot, as she seemingly teleported behind Ilias mid-swing.

The goddess turned to avoid the blow too slowly, the knight's attack took off the end of one of Ilias's wings. She desperately spun around and flashed Granberia with a blinding light. A bolt of lightning came from the sky, forcing the knight to retreat backwards, eyes closed but her weapon still held at the ready.

A surge of power erupted from nearby, and Will shot a look to see Tamamo unfurl her tails, revealing herself unsealed. Her petite, lithe body was replaced by an older, buxom form that radiated power on par with Alice. "Do you remember me, Ilias? We crossed blades enough that I hope you do," Tamamo no Mae asked with a vicious sneer.

"Your treachery runs deep, daughter, if you would enlist the nine-tailed whore!" Ilias exclaimed in response, seething with anger. She sized up everyone confronting her, numbers not in her favor. Without hesitation she threw her spear at Tamamo, who deflected it with a whirl of her fan, and another appeared in her hand. Ilias flared her remaining wings to lunge forward, when Alice's blade pierced her chest from behind, skewering her heart.

The goddess stared down at it in horror, her hand slowly reaching up to grasp it before Alice withdrew the blade. Ilias fell to her knees, blood pouring from the wound and staining her blackened dress red.

Slowly Luka approached her, looking at her with a mixture of contempt and sympathy, in spite of himself. The goddess turned to him, hateful piercing glare meeting his own, before softening somewhat as she stared into his face.

"You have my eyes. You have… her eyes, " Ilias quietly whispered in awe, something breaking within her mind as she seemed to gain a sense of clarity. Tears started streaming down her grimy, dirt and blood covered face. "Why did I try to destroy something… so beautiful, so precious." She reached out with a shaking hand to caress his face. Her fingers brushed the dirt off his cheek.

Luka didn't push her aside but he did not meet her gaze, standing there as his grandmother showed him genuine affection for the first, and last, time in her life.

Her wounds overcame her and the corpse of the mad goddess hit the ground with a dull thud, as mortal as those she lorded over. The war was won. It was over. It was finally over.

The world would live.