"What should we do? She's not even moving or doing anything…"
Nero's eyes were fully focused on Black Alice. The Goddess of Chaos was hovering far above the fight, clearly enjoying the sight of the forces of everyone attacking each other recklessly in a world-tearing fight.
"Maybe if I throw a strong enough attack, they should stop fighting each other and attack her…"
Tamamo shook her head negatively. "Not a chance, look at them."
They focused back on the other groups to see the fight itself. Tamamo No Mae and Uriela were engaged into a deadly dance of frenzied attacks, the latter's holy blades being misled by a constant stream of spells that kept her at bay. Lilith was flying around, dodging the barrage of attacks from Gnosis while trying to stimulate and damage the nervous system of the seraph with her own spells, while Zion was trying her best to keep Morrigan at bay with a judicious use of spells and attacks with her mechanical fist.
The small kitsune that had now accompanied Luka for so long frowned. "She enjoys it. She won't even step in, her goal is already halfway reached without effort. She enjoys seeing them kill each other and seeing us suffer in front of our own powerlessness to escape her barrier. She wants everybody to hold onto that small shard of hope that they will win before swooping in and claiming victory as everyone fall into despair. A child playing with her puppets is free to create her own story..."
Behind them, the chaosization that had spawned into Ilias Temple Ruins was progressing slowly, but visibly. The party members prepared themselves at the perspective of seeing apoptosis pop out at any minute, when they suddenly saw angels arrive from eastward. With their own war cries, they came to support their leaders against the trio of monsters that were assailing them. A few separated from the main group to go attack Luka and his party, and the moment his sword clashed with one of the valkyrie that made the vanguard of the group, Luka could see a naked Eden, barely managing to hold herself up with her spear and slowly walking forward. The angel had a look of pure determination in her eyes.
"I HAVE… NOT FAILED… THE GODDESS! I WILL… MAKE HER… PROUD!"
The trio of monsters started slowly being pushed back as a rain of holy spells and attacks. However, before the angels could push them further gain any advantage, a wave of darkness came from the north, and took the form of a relatively large swarm of succubi and vampires.
Both groups clashed against each other in a cacophony of steel, spells, pained cries and ecstatic moans. Angels and monsters were fighting in a chaotic melee once more, each with their three champions at the epicenter, warriors who were taking the lives of any of their opponent foolish enough to try to step in support of their own leader.
Luka and his party couldn't take a single moment to enjoy the show or gauge who would win, however. Several angels and monsters were trying to get their hands on the hero's party or to kill them, and they were all forced to defend themselves in a desperate fight for their lives and freedom.
Nuruko shot a small group of cupid with her usual proton cannon, forcing them to scatter. A valkyrie charged the small scylla-like monster only to get intercepted by Tamamo's tails and thrown back amidst her kin. Granberia and Neris were fighting back-to-back and holding away several of the more monstrous angels, cutting down apart any of their opponent that stepped closer in a salvo of perfectly synched attacks.
Alma Elma was also trying to keep angels from Ilias. While the goddess shivered each time the Succubus Queen lecherously took a look at her, she bear with it and appreciated not having to attack her past subordinates while focusing on the other vampires and succubi. Each time an angel got closer to her, the victim ended unconscious from a punch or a pleasure spell.
Nero threw a talisman that turned into a wave of darkness, carefully making sure that none of them got closer to the hero, while Luka firmly planted himself in the ground with the power of the earth and knocked away every opponent that tried to grab him. At first, he only had to push back angels, but after a few minutes of fighting, vampires and succubi tried to make a dash for him. All of them were either pushed back by the party or one of the angels that wanted to get the hero for themselves. Luka wondered what would be the point of grabbing him, as they were stuck with Black Alice anyway.
As more and more fighters fell to the champions, the Tartarus expanded in pulses, reacting to the anomaly caused by the fight from opponents from different worlds. At first, everybody ignored it, too focused on killing opponents while trying to stay alive… Until apoptosis started pouring in.
Distorted angels made of hair or of several other angels joined the fight, supported by several other apoptosis that Luka had already fought in the past. The hero could hear a few screams as opponents from both other sides tried to regroup to face this new threat, but each time some of them somehow managed to gather and regoup, they were forced on the defensive by an assault from their counterpart determined to break them once and for all. The already chaotic situation further degraded as more and more apoptosis poured in, the dogmatic creatures attacking angels, monsters, and everybody else indiscriminately.
Tamamo No Mae and Uriela struck them down without reacting, even as they kept attacking one another. For the two demigods fighting, they were only so many nuisances in their fight against their equal. However, while Uriela eliminated them systematically like so much vermin, the Ancestor used their distracting presence to create an illusion of herself. Amidst the moment of tranquility created, she readied one of her more powerful spell, but was interrupted by an angel that accidentally ran into her concealed form. In a fit of rage, she grabbed the offender with her tails and threw it with all her might at Uriela. The Archangel dodged the projectile as the screaming angel ended up ramming an apoptosis, killing them both in a gory explosion, while she resumed her assault toward the annoyed kitsune.
Her concern for her partners grew by the second. While Gnosis' natural build allowed her to better resist Lilith's assault than most angels would, Zion was looking to be in distress against Morrigan. The fighting seraph was barely holding the succubus at bay with her mechanical fist, blood streaming from several wounds on her body once more, and while the succubus could clear any interference without much difficulties, any monster that stepped in against Zion further pushed the seraph in her last entrenchments.
Uriela pushed herself harder to support her distraught subordinate, but Tamamo No Mae didn't budge an inch. The kitsune was holding her own well against Uriela, and the chaos around her was an opportunity to fight dirty, filling the small gap in their raw fighting power.
On his end, Luka's worries grew by the second. How long would the Goddess of Chaos play with them? Was she ever going to release him, or, would she try grabbing him for her dark purposes as soon as she tired of this game?
Focus, Luka, there are already too many problems at hand to take care of this one for now…
The hero kept slashing and fighting for as long as he could, eventually, he felt an all too familiar signature starting to form within the depths of Tartarus.
"Class three cross world-contact between several worlds in progress. Eliminate all ."
The next second, Luka could see Adramelech mechanically walking away from Tartarus. She was wielding a large sword and a shield, just like the last time he saw her in the ruins… Luka started blinking rapidly as jumbled memories of what happened the last time he was in the temple made their way back to its head. Adramelech had been summoned by Sonya last time. She came on her own this time. Was Sonya here? Was there something else going on?
He stumbled a bit as those questions were eating him. An opportunistic Vampire Queen noticed the dazed hero, and lunged with the intent to drag him away for her masters. As soon as she tackled him, however, a sharp strike from Nero's scythe cut her, and she dissolved into a swarm of bats.
"Are you alright?"
Luka shook his head and saw Nero defending him against yet another angel-like apoptosis made of blue hair. The man's scythe seemed to dance in his fingers as he cut down large chunks of hair from the angel who seemed more disappointed than anything else. She left without saying anything more, and Luka felt determination sweep through him once again as he summoned the power of the earth.
He started slashing at the apoptosis that were stepping in again and again in a savage melee of weapons and limbs. The fight had grown so chaotic he couldn't even see most of his companions any longer. The hero could only pray that they were all safe amidst the violence that kept unfolding around him.
An idea came to his mind. Maybe he could finally attract the attention of the apoptosis to the source of all of this disaster…
As Nero defended him, Luka focused on Black Alice. The hero wasn't used to fight at long range, but he only needed an attack strong enough to get her attention. A part of him was against this completely suicidal plan, but as long as the barrier remained active, there was no way he could escape anyway.
Luka summoned the power of the wind to cast a small storm on the hovering Goddess of Chaos even as Nero was now starting to fight with Adramelech. The spell in itself barely moved the goddess, and the hero instantly regretted his action as he felt her attention turn toward him.
"My, what kind of actor directly attacks its public?"
The area became eerily silent the moment she started talking, all the noise being absorbed by her chaos aura. Most people stopped attacking each other in shock, with only the seraph, Uriela, Tamamo and the Lilith Sisters continued to fight while Nero was still fighting Adramelech. Every other fighters was immobilized by her supernatural aura.
A blade appeared from nowhere and nearly slashed at the goddess' neck before being blocked by an otherworldly barrier. The next second, Neris was also imprisoned into a bubble made of chaos, soon joined by Nero. "That's rude to attack someone who's talking you know…"
Black Alice scoffed, and Adramelech disappeared into a puff of chaos while the still-fighting groups were separated in bubbles of chaos. "You should at least listen to the criticism a goddess gives you."
As the twins tried to break free from their bubbles. She checked around and smiled. "My, everybody is here! Those watchers from a light and a dark world, the children of the hero who killed me… Even the goddess who made me is here!"
The imprisoned group glared at Ilias. "Admit it! I owe everything to you! You saved me from your own hero, you helped me and you gave me all this power!" She looked up. "Granted, Promestein miiiight also have had a hand in it, but still, everything happened thanks to you!"
She sighed. "So much for the omniscient Goddess of Light. Oh, don't laugh behind my back, neither of your leader are better. One keeps repeating lies until she believes it, the other couldn't be bothered to rein in her children for her life. I'll dispose of both of them later I guess. "
"You don't stand a chance. You're so destructive you will end up alone. You really think you will face the goddess one on one? We will support her."
Black Alice flew to where Tamamo No Mae's projection was imprisoned, a serious expression on her face. They glared at each other for a second before the Goddess of Chaos exploded into laughter. It was a harsh, mocking laugh that reverberated through the whole of Snow Continent.
"Look around you… Nobody even dares move in my presence. I could kill you in a heartbeat if I wanted. I am omnipotent, I am omniscient, and, most of all-"
She was interrupted by a brutal strike from an insect-like claw that appeared from nowhere, actually knocking her away and making a trail of blood appear on her skin. Out of nowhere, Kagetsumugi appeared, surrounded by her dolls. The small puppeteer had her face hidden under her mask, but Luka could hear her rage in every one of her word. She started by bowing sarcastically.
"Greeting, her majesty. As it happen, I was quite disappointed that you would make such a huge blunder as letting my workshop get destroyed and then forget about me… And how much I know about you." She was surrounded by several Monster Lord dolls, for everyone to see. "Now, I won't forgive those that destroyed my dolls either, but I shall make sure that you personally understand my pain… Nine and Seven with me. The others are to eliminate the hero and everyone around."
Luka still felt himself blocked by the aura of chaos from the goddess as several of the undead puppets started hovering toward him. As one of them raised an arm that looked like a statue to strike him down, he could feel life flowing in his limbs once again. He barely managed to parry the attack when the doll started attacking him again, but Alma Elma stepped in and deviated the attack in a punch, and she engaged the puppet in a dance of deadly blows.
The hero turned around and saw Nuruko transformed into her Spirit of Chaos form. She looked way more adult, her tall body towering him. He took a second to take a better look at her hair and hands made of tentacles, and her shapely forms. Of her face, only her red eyes were visible, the remainder of her expression being concealed by a grinning mask. She was silently watching the Goddess of Chaos from afar, judging her.
The fight between everyone restarted more violently than ever, and Luka could see the freed monsters, angels and twins back into the fight with renewed vigor. However, the party had ended up scattered by the Goddess of Chaos, and he had the misfortune of having Morrigan end near him.
"Weeeell, isn't that convenient… You had the Spirit of Chaos with you during that one precise moment to free everyone."
"Actually, we brought her with us exactly for THAT reason!" Luka prepared to defend himself against Morrigan, but the succubus was now dealing with an apoptosis while also trying to keep one of the dolls at bay. Luka himself pulled one of the last doll slaying talismans Chrome had created and wrapped it around his sword's hilt. The hero rushed toward Alma Elma to support her against the doll, the succubus queen being clearly in dire need of help.
The doll parried the first slash with an arm that looked like the statue of a bust, and counter attacked with a fire spell. Luka reflexively called upon the power of Salamander to defend himself, but still suffered a few burns.
"Death Sword Chaos Star!"
While the assault apparently didn't deal much damage, he could see the doll move more sluggishly, until she became unable to keep with the pace of the Succubus Queen and the hero. Eventually, she fell apart in front of the combined assault, her limbs scattering into pieces.
"Thanks… Luka-boy…" Alma Elma was breathing heavily. "For once… I'm the one left breathless…"
Luka enjoyed the spare second of tranquility to overlook the battlefield to the best of his abilities. He could see Nero and Neris working together to take down another doll, while Tamamo had unsealed herself to fight Morrigan while protecting Ilias. The youngest of the Lilith Sisters was targeting the Goddess, but the latter was taking potshots while hiding in Tamamo's tails.
He could see the other Tamamo No Mae back to fighting Uriela. Even from afar, he felt the difference of aura between both kitsunes, as if they displayed their personality. The aura of the one who supported him was powerful, but also reassuring, almost motherly, while the other reeked of viciousness and savagery. As he gauged both Uriela and Tamamo No Mae, he didn't see yet any would-be winner in this fight.
Gnosis was getting attacked by several apoptosis right in front of the ever crumbling temple. Adramelech wasn't back, but it didn't mean that the situation was getting any better. The hero could see chaosization increase faster and faster, and the temple itself was now fully covered in those strange purple vines and slabs inherent to corroded areas. The mechanical angel was holding mostly well, but she had to keep dodging apoptosis attacks while raining down fire with her makinas to hold them at bay.
Granberia and Nuruko were still holding up fine, even as succubi tried to take down the dragonkin. Fortunately, they had reinforced her equipment with a pleasure ring at the beginning of their plan. Granberia was cutting down indiscriminately those that had betrayed the throne, while Nuruko was slowly but surely making her way to Luka in the middle of this chaos, using tentacles and makinas to clear themselves a path.
Last, the hero could see the fight between the Chaos Goddess and a Kagetsumugi supported by her dolls. The former didn't look more offended than that by the attacks from her past partner, still smiling sadistically as she rained out explosions of chaos on Kagetsumugi's dolls. The mechanical monsters silently pushed forward, their attacks somehow effective on Black Alice when Neris had failed. In the meantime, a barrier created by Kagetsumugi protected herself and her dolls against the attacks from the Goddess of Chaos. Luka tried to understand why from afar, but their spells clashed so chaotically that his brain couldn't understand the spectacle of this fight.
Luka proceeded to look up at the barrier that was still surrounding the continent. There was no way to move until Black Alice removed the barrier surrounding the area, and apparently the Eighth Monster Lord had learned her lesson from Puppeteer's Tower.
All strategy is out of the window. They're all forgetting themselves in the violence. The world will end before this fight…
He steadied himself when a horrible cry of agonized ecstasy echoed through the battlefield.