Holy fuck this one took serious time to write. Ended up learning so much more about Japanese mythology and the Goetia that I might actually end up acing an exam on the topics.
Still, here's the chapter, writing so much killed me a bit inside, so I hope you find it enjoyable.
"I still do not understand."
Yasaka glanced at the tall, blonde devil standing next to her. What did he not understand? They had received an order from the gods, and they were supposed to carry it out. She would have understood if Lord Susanoo had sent an ultimate-class devil with her, or maybe even one of the Satans, but serving as a guide to this clueless devil was not what she'd expected to do today.
"It's a simple directive. We've sealed off the exit to Yomi behind us. The body was stolen yesterday. We have to apprehend the Thief and reclaim the body. You're a devil, you know how important it is that Helel's body stays in Yomi."
The blond scratched his head. "Yeah, about that… I had no clue that the body of Helel was in Yomi. Hell, how did this even happen? I thought Lucifer was killed by Michael back in the great war."
Yasaka growled. Of course! He wasn't just a devil, but probably also a stray. While the devils would respond to such a problem posthaste, the mere knowledge that the Shinto allowed something of this importance to be stolen would bring their competence under scrutiny. While the Japanese gods were strong, they couldn't withstand a takeover by other factions, especially considering they weren't a very widespread religion… even in their own country.
"Helel shed his first body when he and the Maou defeated the original Satan. He carved himself a new body from that of Satan's, and hence gained the name 'Lucifer'. He hid his old body away, covered it with his power too, making it borderline indestructible." Yasaka answered two questions at once, considering Naruto's next question was definitely something along the lines of 'why didn't they destroy it when they had the chance?'
The blonde nodded. "So, why the Shinto Underworld? Surely they wouldn't want to leave such an important… artefact… with someone else?"
Yasaka sighed. "Do you know nothing about Yomi? Why are you even here?" A blank look from Naruto told her that he was completely clueless about this arrangement. "Well, the reason why Yomi was used instead of the Underworld was twofold… or threefold, actually. For one, the Christian devils share our Underworld, due to their religion being practiced in Japan alongside ours. As such, the only souls that can survive inside Yomi are ours and yours."
Naruto nodded. "Okay, so what you're saying is… Helel's soul is still alive?" he asked. Yasaka was expecting the panic that generally followed said revelation, there was none to be found. Instead, she found his gaze to be piercing, calculating.
"Y-yes, the soul of a creature that old cannot be destroyed." Yasaka stammered, surprised by the sudden change in Naruto's demeanor. "If given the chance, it could re-assimilate itself in its own vessel. While Helel wasn't as powerful as Lucifer in his heyday, he was still a super-level angel, possibly the strongest of the heavenly pantheon."
"So, we can't destroy the body or the soul. Well, that explains why he was put here. What was the second reason?" Naruto asked. Again, Yasaka found herself compelled to answer, Naruto's abrasive tone notwithstanding. She felt like she was answering to a greater being than her.
"Well, the second reason was much more complex than the first. An empty body with that much power is something both the devils and the fallen would want. Transposing souls isn't an easy task, but both Azazel and Ajuka could possibly do it. Imagine a human with a sacred gear, but transposed into the body of the strongest angel out there…" Yasaka answered, leaving the consequences of such an act to Naruto's imagination.
"You mentioned a third reason, what was that?"
Yasaka sighed. "The Shinto Pantheon isn't the strongest one out there, as you surely know. The Buddhas and Christianity have a larger impact on Japan's culture than… well… us. There's a reason that we haven't been completely overtaken by the other religions, and that's because if we go, Yomi goes too…"
"And if Yomi goes, Helel's body has nowhere to be stashed." Naruto finished for her. "That's a valid problem, explains why Susanoo called me instead of Sirzechs. The political backlash of such an occurrence would sever any ties of trust between the devils and the Shinto."
Yasaka nodded. "You're smart, while I can't see why lord Susanoo trusted a no-name devil with such a monumental task, I respect his wishes. At least you won't be irritating to have around for such a journey."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Such a journey? Exactly how large is Yomi?"
Yasaka chuckled, "For the general human soul, the journey to lady Izanami's sanctum takes a full year. Between the two of us, it shouldn't take more than a week or two; provided you don't slow me down."
Naruto sighed. "Man, I didn't even leave a clone behind. I guess I'll have to pull a few strings with Sona and get myself some paid vacation. Between Raziel's exorbitant expenditure and getting the house ready for Asia to move in, I'm already running low on funds."
Yasaka levelled Naruto with a glare. The devil had been tasked with a quest by the very gods himself, yet he cared more about his job? "What do you even do, Naruto?" she asked, genuinely intrigued by Naruto's belligerence.
"Well, I'm a counsellor at Kuoh." He answered, confusing Yasaka further.
"You believe that the job of a counsellor is more important than earning a favour from a god?" She asked, genuinely curious. Naruto shook his head.
"Favors from Susanoo don't count for much. He already owes me enough. While getting a favor from Amaterasu does sound interesting, I don't think it'd be much use…yet." He concluded, his words serving to confuse Yasaka even further. Lord Susanoo already owed this devil favors? Just who was this devil?
"So, should we be on our way, my fair lady?" He asked coyly, snapping Yasaka out of her ruminations. Her questions could wait. Right now, she had a job to do. She was an ultimate-class entity and lady Amaterasu's vessel.
She couldn't let some unnamed devil show her up.
Metempsychosis
Chapter 7
"So, let me get this right. You want me to represent the devils in this 'peace conclave' of yours."
Aria and Serafall sat on one of the sofas in Naruto's living room. Raziel sat across them. They nodded in response to her statement, even though it wasn't a question.
"I'm a fallen angel. Why would I represent another faction during the conclave?" Raziel's logic was sound, but counter-arguments were the weapons of a politician, and both Aria and Serafall knew how to wield it well.
"You've been quite adamant in proclaiming Naruto to be your boyfriend, which already places you closer to our faction than the fallen; considering Azazel is deathly scared of you," Aria commented offhandedly.
"Speaking of which, why do you call him your boyfriend? Are you actually physically attracted to him?" Serafall chimed in. The derailment brought a frown to Aria's face, but she knew that while Sera had just closed a path of negotiation, she'd opened another one.
"I already explained to you. He's my boyfriend because he takes care of me." Raziel droned. The smile that appeared on Serafall's face was proof enough that she expected this exact response.
"Yeah, you basically just called him your caretaker. There's a low more of a difference between the two, you know?" Serafall spoke, confusing Raziel.
"There are differences? Enlighten me." Raziel stated. This time, it was Aria who answered.
"Well, a boyfriend is like an equal more than a mere slave, for one. Secondly, you generally want to get boned by your boyfriend. Thirdly, you're always loyal to your boyfriend and vice-versa." Aria answered.
"My loyalties definitely lie with Naruto. He's earned both my respect and adoration. While he does take care of me, this is his house. He's never lorded that over me, so I do believe that we're equals…" Raziel paused for a moment, adopting a thinking pose. "This 'Boning' on the other hand is not something I have heard of before. Would you care to explain what that is?"
Aria smirked. "Boning – my dear fallen – is the greatest pleasure known to man, woman, devils and gods. It's the reason so many angels fell, even those who persevered through god's death."
Raziel grimaced. "So this… boning. It is a sin, is it not?"
Aria shook her head. "It's an instinct, really. It's supposed to be beneath the angels, considering your lofty shows of grandeur and purity. Trust me, though you might think so too, once you're beneath someone else, hopefully, someone you love, you'll see why it is something so great."
Raziel was silent for a second, glossing over Aria's words. "I am fallen. No longer am I bound by the same rules as my old brethren. I shall charge Naruto with the task of boning me when he returns. I will not be denied the chance to research something this… intriguing."
Aria nodded happily. "There, now it is so much easier to call you Naruto's girlfriend. It's nice to finally meet one of my partners. Do know that I'm the first. You're the second. I'm going to be his priority, so don't ever try to usurp me."
Serafall puffed her cheeks. "She's second? What about me?"
Aria shook her head. "Well, you still haven't claimed him. He's been with me for the better part of a few centuries, and he's been living with Raziel for a few months. You're really far behind on schedule."
Serafall glared at Aria. "Well, if someone had fucking told me that Naruto was not only alive but also in contact with you, maybe I'd have moved sooner."
Aria glared right back. "Are we doing this again? I told you that he didn't want anyone to know!"
The bickering was stopped by Raziel, who finally emerged from her cocoon of thought. "Aria, you claim to be first, but Naruto lives here, with me. You have no claim to the title." She cooly explained, "Neither of you do."
There was silence as both the devils glared at the single fallen angel in the room. Raziel made a show of sipping her tea but returned their glares with one of equal intensity. After a few tense seconds, it was Aria who spoke up.
"We're not doing this again. My servants did set up the barrier around this house, but I really don't think they can take any more of our attacks and keep up."
Raziel looked around at the house, or what was left of it. Aria had arrived the moment Naruto left, and one thing led to another. Soon, all three of them were going at each other. The only part of Naruto's house that was – somehow – unscathed was the living room, and even that was missing its roof.
"Plus, Naruto really likes these sofas. I'd rather not have to reconstruct them." Aria continued. "Anyways, back to the point of the matter, you're Naruto's girlfriend, you're consorting and living with a devil, so why not represent us in the summit? Simple logic, isn't it?"
Raziel hummed. "You do make a fair point. I wonder if he'll be back in time for the summit, though. I haven't heard from him for a day."
"Do you think he could be in trouble?" Serafall voiced her concern, eliciting a shake of the head from Aria.
"It's Naruto we're talking about, Sera. My bet is that he's giving someone else a tough time right about now."
As Naruto cut through his hundredth Shikome, Yasaka was forced to change her opinion of him.
The way he moves was a testament to his strength, skill and endless stamina. She had hoped to cover the distance between the entrance to Yomi and lady Izanami's sanctum within a week. She had expected a week worth of error, thanks to the devil slowing her down. Now, those troubles were laid to rest, replaced by others.
Namely, her own ineptitude.
The devil had set a blistering pace on the first day. Yasaka half expected him to tire himself out before long. It had been three days since they started off, and they would have reached the sanctum by now, had she not needed to stop twice to rest.
It was her holding them back, not him.
That wasn't all, though. Living creatures walking through the lands of Yomi were beacons for the Shikome to home-in on. The impure maidens of the underworld, each Shikome held the strength of a high-class devil. Yet, Naruto ripped through them like they barely existed. He'd disappear mid-stride and reappear, leaving the corpses of his enemies behind. Yasaka could barely keep up with Naruto's movements.
It almost felt like he was in a completely different class, compared to her.
"There are no Shikome here, you can rest if you want, Yasaka."
She looked up to the dune that Naruto was currently surveying the area from. The vast desert of Yomi stretched as far as the eyes could see, yet, she was sure that Naruto could see their final destination. She was supposed to lead him through this treacherous land, yet he had shown no deviation from the most effective path to the Sanctum. The desert that was Yomi was no challenge for this devil, and that beggared the question – who exactly was this man?
"I'm fine. If we keep going, we can reach lady Izanami's sanctum by nightfall." Yasaka panted, not convincing Naruto one bit. The man surveyed her and found her lacking. Why wouldn't he? She was sweaty, panting, and definitely tired. While she was firm in the belief that she could reach her destination, she couldn't say with surety whether she'd be able to function once she did arrive.
"We're here to find someone who has both the power and means to not only break into Yomi, but also steal the body of Helel. I'd rather you be able to fight." Naruto answered, sitting down on the ground. There was no discomfort from the endless hours of journey or the wanton brutalization of the Shikome that crossed his path. Naruto was a monster. She knew of all the devil houses, and lady Amaterasu's vessel, how could she not? She was the face of the Yokai and had met the Satans on multiple occasions. She even had the bad luck of crossing paths with Zekram Bael once, but none gave her the sense of unease that this man did.
It wasn't his demeanour that made him terrifying, but his visual lack of presence.
She didn't even know which house he came from. The name 'Uzumaki' was definitely of Japanese origins, but it didn't belong to any notable clans. He was probably a reincarnated devil, but he held no divine powers, no sacred gears. She could feel sacred gears, as a vessel of a goddess. Hence, what surprised her about Naruto was the fact that despite his capabilities, he seemed so… mundane.
He even had a day-job as a high-school counsellor. What kind of devil did menial labour?
She sank down to the ground, finally taking a breath of relief. Her face remained defiant, though. A fact that Naruto picked up instantly.
"You know; I never could understand fanatics. Of all the kinds people I have met, I never understood what dives you guys." He spoke, further deepening the frown on Yasaka's face.
"What right do you have to call me a fanatic?" She barked between laboured breaths. Her body had yet to cool down. Naruto chuckled in response, lying back in the sand. He wasn't even looking at her at this point.
"You've been trying to prove your superiority to me this entire journey. I've been stubbing you just as long. I know you take pride in your role as an emissary of the gods, but why are you so hell-bent on showing your superiority to someone who hardly cares?" He asked. It was a simple question, but Yasaka had no straightforward answer to it. She did know well enough that it wasn't fanaticism that caused this competitiveness. It was more about him being an unknown guy – one better than her – that suddenly appeared out of thin air. The last time she'd met someone like that, he'd left her alone at the proverbial altar, with a child.
While she hated Kunou's father for what he was, she could never hate him for what he gave her.
It didn't help that Naruto looked like him too. Sure, the differences were huge, but he was a powerful person who so much as register on her radar. Added to that were his physical features. Blonde, tall, well built. Sure, the faces were different, but even the laidback attitude was the same.
She promised herself that she would never let a man like that show her down again, yet here she lay, tired by a mere endurance run.
"You don't have to answer that question. Instead, can you tell me why my devil powers don't work in here?"
The question knocked Yasaka right out of her thought-induced stupor. She had completely forgotten to warn Naruto about that. "I'm sorry for forgetting to tell you. Yomi is designed to disable the powers of other pantheons. It is the reason why the Shinto gods retreated here during the great war." She answered, wondering exactly how Naruto was able to still be so effective, even after losing a large facet of his power.
Naruto grunted. "Shame, I could have used my power to get us there instantly, now that I can actually see the place."
Yasaka raised an eyebrow. "You have a power that facilitates teleportation? I don't know of any demon who can do such a thing without family sigils. While I'm not familiar with devil magic, isn't that form of conveyance limited to the human realm and the underworld?"
Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I don't have a family seal, never needed one. It's my family's magic, I've just taken it a step beyond."
Yasaka wanted to question him further, but the look of disinterest on his face told her that he really wasn't in the mood to answer. Hell, he was preparing to sleep.
"I'm taking a quick nap. While I might not be tired, I'd rather be in peak performance shape when we finally do end up at Izanami's crib." And with that, he was off to sleep. Yasaka spent some time studying him, trying to take in his nonchalance and to explain it through logic. He was going to meet the mother of the Shinto pantheon, and all he could think about was the mission. He didn't have the manners and courteousness expected of a high-class devil but was solely focused on the task given to him.
If she didn't know he was a devil, she'd place him as a human, no doubt.
She yawned. She could spend hours trying to unravel the mystery that was her current partner, but she was tired and so close to the end of her mission. She could research Uzumaki to her leisure when she got this task done. For now, it was in her best interest to get some sleep.
A minute later, she was doing exactly that.
"Do you really think it is wise to give me this?"
Issei looked up at the most grandiose man he had ever seen. Months ago, he would have been cowed by the man's imposing presence, but he was no longer the same Issei Hyoudou who simply lived his life chasing skirts that he couldn't even possibly hope to get.
…well, he still liked to chase skirts, but that was a much more limited venture now, considering the skirts chased him back.
"You were instrumental in the defeat of Kokabiel and helped Raziel fight Amenadiel. It is a fitting reward. Don't you think?" Michael responded, his benevolent smile giving Issei shivers. Months ago, Issei would have never questioned such a gift, thinking of it as a just recompense for his actions and taking it for granted. He wasn't that Issei anymore. He had learnt that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
"If you're rewarding me, why not reward Naruto-sensei too? And what about Raziel?" he asked.
Michael nodded. "Naruto's already been rewarded, Raziel will follow suit soon." He cupped his face. "Are you trying to derive a deeper reason as to why I'm giving you a gift?" Issei nodded. Michael sighed. "Issei, I'm an angel. Deceit isn't in my very nature. While I do admit that I have a secondary motive, it isn't anything harmful."
Issei raised an eyebrow. "Telling me that you have a second motive? I can respect your transparency."
Michael sighed. "It is a simple motive, honestly. One that I have no problems revealing." He glanced at Issei, making the teen feel self-conscious as a result. "You not only hold the great welsh within you but are also the aspect of a warrior-god. It is in my best interests not to antagonize you. I have scars from the dragon you hold, I do not wish to accrue any more of those."
Issei scratched the back of his head. "I don't think I'm that much of a problem. You sure you shouldn't be concentrating more on winning over Naruto-sensei?"
Michael nodded. "I have. His reward makes your own pale in comparison. I promised it to him before Amenadiel truly became a threat, and I will soon deliver on my promise. He's definitely not someone I want as an enemy."
Issei gulped. "Mister Michael… why do the factions fear Naruto so much?"
Michael sighed. "it isn't an unjust fear, Issei. Naruto is an outlier of the factions, that too by choice. He isn't controlled by any of the three factions but can exert his own control over them whenever he wants. In power, I can only name a handful of creatures that can equal him, and I can't even claim to know the true extents of his power… though I do have some guesses."
"Guesses?" Issei shot the question right back.
"I think I know what he truly is. I cannot be sure, though. When Lucifer took up leadership of hell, he threw the entire social structure of hell for a loop. The demon 'Abbadon' was something he created, even though he held not the power of creation." Michael stopped for a second. "If Abbadon was created using another demon, then I have my bets on very specific demon."
"Which demon was that?"
Michael sighed. "You don't need to know, Issei. Just pray that I'm incorrect." Issei nodded in response, and Michael's face slowly regained that benevolent smile he was so well-known for.
"Because if he is who I think he is, then he's going to be involved in matters that could re-define the very state of this world."
For a place inhabited by a goddess of the Shinto pantheon, the sanctum of Yomi was rather… mundane. Sure, it looked grandiose from the outside, but the inside was very much like the house of a white-collar worker. A living room, fully furnished like you'd expect one to be. There were even an electronic kettle and a flat-screen television in there.
Also, Yasaka was still quite tired. The comfy cushions weren't helping either. The only thing that prevented her from nodding off to sleep was the fact that Naruto could perceive it as a vulnerability.
The man in question didn't really care, though. He was too busy making tea using the electric kettle provided. The fact that Izanami kept a well-stocked pantry had appeased the devil to quite an extent.
"I haven't eaten in three and a half days now. I just hope Izanami doesn't show up anytime soon because I want to savour this." He stated as he took a seat across Yasaka. He had barely taken a single sip of his tea when the door to the main chamber opened, and in walked the very definition of a goddess of the dead.
Her skin was pale, too pale for any warm-blooded creature. One could almost call her skin tone ashen. Her hair was too dark a shade of black to belong to anything but divinity. Her eyes were the most remarkable silver, and her figure could put the greatest of models to shame. One could see why Izanagi went to all the trouble he did, trying to get her back from Yomi. One could also see why he chose not to marry again, even though he had an eternal life ahead of him.
And all her beauty, all her squalor, all her glory, it all failed to impress Naruto in the slightest.
"For fuck's sake, you could have taken some more time cleaning up. I would have enjoyed at least one cup of tea. I swear the world is out to get me." He commented, ignoring Izanami in favour of his tea.
"… nice to see you again too, Naruto dear," Izanami commented, giving him a slight bow. She then turned to face Yasaka, her smile dwindling a bit. "They sent someone of her status to escort you here? They would be better served by sending you alone."
Naruto sighed, further compounding Yasaka's confusion at how events were unfolding. "They probably sent her to keep an eye on me. Can't see any other reason why she was sent here with me unless Susanoo wanted to slow me down on purpose."
That brought a smile to Izanami's face. "My son might not be so fond of me, but even he understands the gravity of this situation. He wouldn't do something just to hamper your progress."
"Lady, I assure you, I'm more than capable of pulling my weight." Yasaka tried to appease Izanami. Sadly, it didn't quite work. All her comment did was draw her disdain.
"It isn't so much about you being inept, child. The fact of the matter is, you're not at his level." Inazami gestured towards Naruto. "I specifically requested him because I find myself unable to deal with this menace myself."
Yasaka's eyes widened. "Lady Izanami… with all due respect, what kind of being could give a goddess like you trouble?"
Izanami sighed, "My daughter's vessel has much to learn." She somberly stated, locking eyes with Yasaka. "Child, do you truly believe that we, the divine, are at the top of this world's food chain?" Yasaka nodded in response, forcing a frown on Izanami's beautiful face.
"Child, how can someone like me be the strongest being in Yomi when I'm not even the strongest being in this room?" she asked. The implication of her words wasn't lost on Yasaka. She levelled a gaze at Naruto, but this one was much unlike the glares she'd provided her all along the way. This was – instead – a look of curiosity like she was trying to understand what exactly Naruto Uzumaki was.
"You think too highly of me, Izanami," Naruto responded. The lack of any honorary titles was picked up my Yasaka, but at this point, she wasn't sure whether she should reprimand him. There wasn't any irritation, anger or dissatisfaction visible on Izanami's face either. It almost felt like she accepted Naruto as an equal.
… Or a superior.
"Come now. You never visit anymore!" Izanami's tone was cheery as if talking to an old friend. Naruto apparently didn't like that all too much. His sigh was a clear tell that the situation was already not to his liking.
"I've only been here once, Izanami. Even that was back when Susanoo thought the best way to get me to fight him was to steal one of my Hiraishin kunai." Naruto commented. Yasaka had no idea what a Hiraishin was, but she did know what a Kunai was. Naruto had invaded Yomi just because a god stole one of his weapons? Just what was this guy?
"Ah, Susanoo was always a hothead. I heard that he stopped challenging you after that day." Izanami commented, almost making Yasaka choke on thin air. Susanoo used to challenge Naruto? A warrior-god, challenging a devil? What could a god stand to gain from a battle like that?
"Well, I have to give it to him. He brought me to Yomi because his powers could manifest to their full capabilities here." Naruto commented, putting down his now-empty cup of tea. Yasaka was doubly intrigued now. Fighting a god was a fool's errand. Fighting a Shinto god in Yomi – on the other hand – was tantamount to committing suicide. Yomi was hallowed ground. While Takamagahara rendered gods immortal, Yomi served to reinforce them through the power of souls.
There was no way a devil could defeat a god in Yomi, so why was this happening?
"Well, you did beat him within an inch of his life. I wonder, what did he repay you with? Last I heard, all our treasures are still safely held by our faction." Izanami stated. There was a mild curiosity in her voice, but no ill-will. For someone who had beaten her son on Yomi terra firma, Izanami definitely didn't hold anything against Naruto, except for maybe a sense of wonder.
She didn't need to fear him. What could he do to her? She was already dead!
"Oh, nothing. I just claimed two of his swordsmen. He grumbled a bit, but he really didn't have any option." Naruto finished, putting away his cup and saucer. "Anyways, while it is always a pleasure talking to you, Izanami, can you tell me why the protections are so strong today? I've never felt Yomi limit my devil powers this much, you know?"
Izanami was silent for a moment. "I had to up the protections to keep my suspect detained. Yomi has no prisons, so I had to disable her ability to act. Thankfully, the protections here can disable ultimate-class beings that lie outside our jurisdiction." She finished, earning an audible gasp from Yasaka. Naruto had outdone her on the way here with a handicap like that? Her curiosity was suddenly replaced with fear. She's spent the last three and a half days antagonizing someone who could fight gods with ease. She had blatantly disrespected him over and over again.
Yet, there was no anger to be seen, no retribution, and no hatred.
"Makes sense. So, who was it that broke into Yomi?" Naruto asked. As a response, Izanami snapped her finger, and reality warped around the three of them. Within the span of a second, they found themselves in a different chamber. This one was much closer to the Japanese aesthetic one would expect to find in Izanami's shrine. It was quite a shrine, with a gigantic, unflattering statue of the goddess in question standing between four perpetually-burning Torii gates. The statue stood with its arms out, and between the arms lay the unconscious body of a devil.
A devil who was once a Yokai.
"I found this young cat in the shrine. Where she lies right now once lay the body of Helel, the one who became Lucifer." Izanami stated, waving a hand. The statue followed suit, putting down the devil gently. "I believe this child was put here after Helel's body was stolen. It fooled the security wards long enough to let the body leave Yomi, but the wards tightened right after it did. Whoever stole the body is still here, and I'm not sure I can face him."
Naruto nodded, walking up to the devil on the ground. If her cat-ears surprised him, he didn't show it. Instead, an expression of familiarity crossed his featured for a faint second before receding. "Kuroka, a wanted criminal in the underworld. I must say, Azazel's info is paying off. She's known to be a part of this group named 'Khaos Brigade'. If they're after this, things might get a lot more complicated."
Yasaka gasped. "The Khaos brigade has attacked a number of the Yokai that live outside Kyoto. They've recruited a number of the exiled Yokai as well."
Naruto nodded. "Azazel sent me a decent amount of info on them. What I don't understand is how they were able to pull off something this… grand." Confused looks greeted him, so he launched into explanation. "There's a decent amount of knowledge about the Khaos Brigade. Some of the members of it are pretty powerful… from the perspective of high-level devils. Almost all the leadership is made out of devils, and there is some speculation that they might be led by the old satans, or maybe just one or two of them. Point of the matter, they have no motive to do this, and no means to do this."
Yasaka crossed her hands over her chest. "I don't understand. If the old Satans are in-charge, what do they not have to gain? They get their once-leader back. As for ability, you're standing here, unaffected by the protections of Yomi. Won't any of the old Satans be able to do the same?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, and no. For one, the old Satans are despots. They're attracted to positions of power like a moth to a flame. There is no way in hell that any of them would just 'surrender' leadership to someone else, no matter who the person in question is." Naruto's hand glowed green as he slowly started to treat Kuroka's injuries. "As for their ability to break in here undetected, circumvent the security wards and get Helel's body out of Yomi, they aren't capable of accomplishing that feat, even together. Izanami might not be a goddess of war, but she's more than capable of wiping them off the face of the Earth, especially when they're weakened by Yomi's defences."
Obvious connotations to his overwhelming power comparative to the Satans aside, it was easy to see that Naruto's words made a disturbing amount of sense. It beggared the question, who stole the body and for what reason?
"Of course, we don't know enough about the Khaos Brigade to truly make that assumption. For all we know, they might even have the backing of a deity or two. What escapes me is the motive. Why go to such lengths, even as far as to leave a comrade behind?" Naruto questioned the air, for his companions had no answers. Izanami chose to answer nonetheless.
"I took the liberty of combing over Kuroka's memory myself. The entire period of time leading to her ending up here is simply missing." She spoke, a slight amount of melancholy seeping through her words. She didn't want to hurt the devil, even if she was a turncoat. Mothers were like that.
Back to the point, an idea came to Naruto's mind. It was a terrible idea, but in some ways, it made an awful lot of sense.
"Helel was a powerful angel, yes?" It was a statement more than a question, so his companions said nothing. The silence was confirmation enough for the blonde devil. "His powers were second to none in the heavenly pantheon, and unlike other angels, God never locked his powers away. Sure, he was stronger as Lucifer, but even in this body, he is nothing to be scoffed at."
"Where are you going with this?" Izanami spoke, a sense of foreboding rising within her heart. Naruto continued.
"He would be more than powerful enough to take on a few super-class beings singlehandedly. If given the chance, he'd try to re-take control of the underworld and re-start his march on heaven. If he felled the leaders of the two factions that reside in the underworld, he could easily storm heaven… overthrow Michael through sheer numbers. There would be nothing to stop him from becoming a god." Naruto finished, but the message was clear. Whoever stole Helel's body wanted to start another war…
… and he had the perfect opportunity to do it.
"Izanami, we need to get out of here. My Hiraishin doesn't work in this pocket dimension." Naruto stated, gritting his teeth. Whoever had orchestrated this sneak-attack knew of him. They had planned for him not being there.
"I… can't," Izanami spoke, her voice carried a tone of incredulity. She snapped her fingers over and over again, but nothing changed. That was when Naruto realized that whoever planned this knew of his other powers as well.
They were trying to remove him from the game.
"Someone's controlling this dimension. Whoever it is, he or she is stronger than me. Izanami commented, making Yasaka shiver. Being stronger than a goddess in her own shrine was something unheard of. One would have to be much greater than super-level to pull of something like this.
"Izanami. Can you lower Yomi's defences from in here?" Naruto asked. The goddess nodded. "Do it. I can muster up a black hole, get us out of here."
"I'm afraid I cannot let you do that, Abbadon."
The voice that came from behind the altar was a pleasant one. It was distinctively male, nd had a comforting timber. The body of its owner was much the same. From behind the statue of Izanami appeared a boy in his late teens, probably a college student. He had slicked-back blonde hair and stood a few inches shorter than Naruto himself. A diamond piercing hung from his left ear, and he wore nine rings.
The most stunning part of his visage was his golden eyes.
"You… you're the one who's sealed off this dimension." Izanami commented, backing up towards Naruto. Yasaka had a harder time seeing why she'd do that. The guy radiated no power. He was like Naruto in that regard. It was at that point that she realized why Izanami had moved back.
It was because he was like Naruto in that exact regard.
"Yeah. Trust me, you Japanese folks think your work with wards and leylines is super-impressive. From my perspective, it's a trap just waiting to be sprung. You just helped prove me right." He answered, an uncharacteristically kind smile gracing his face. Naruto himself couldn't sense an iota of killing intent in the person.
So why was he here?
"You know who I am. Does it really seem like a good idea to lock yourself in a closed dimension with me?" Naruto asked, almost materializing Samsara. There was something… unsettling about this kid. Looking at him was something physically strenuous. While the kid's physical appearance looked the same throughout, the feeling that came from it was kaleidoscopic. It was a harmony of light and dark. A marriage of two things that were separated from each other by their very design.
"Actually, one of the reasons I did this was so that I could talk to you, Framp's king." He spoke. While the name 'Framp' meant nothing to the other inhabitants of the room, it served to halt Naruto right in his steps.
"So, you're Kath's king," Naruto replied, his features tightening up. In response, the teenager grimaced.
"I would like it if you don't refer to me like that." He spoke, his grimace evaporating as soon as it had appeared. "It is my job to hold you here till Helel finishes his job."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "And what job would that be?"
The teenager chuckled. "Why, didn't you pinpoint it mere seconds ago? He's currently in Kuoh, waiting to destroy the leaders of the three factions."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What do you stand to gain from it. Hell, who are you?"
The boy smirked. "That's not something you need to know. What you should know is that there's no way you're getting out of here till I live." In response, Naruto withdrew Samsara from his soul, the spear appearing in his hands in its original form of a golden spear.
"Well, I can arrange for your death, if you'd like." Naruto spoke – no – whispered. The teen's grin widened to a point where it almost got grotesque. Just the mere idea of such a dirty feature on a face so beautiful was disturbing to Yasaka.
"To be honest, I'd rather not fight you as I am." The boy spoke, raising his hands till they were level with his shoulders. The nine rings started to glow. The hand with five rings was enveloped by five lights, each different shades of red. The hand with four fingers lit up in shades of gold.
"But I'd like to test myself, and you're the only one I can do that against." He concluded, and both him and Naruto released their power.
It was a total catastrophe.
The torii gates, the shrine, it was all vaporized by their very presence. Yasaka held on to Kuroka's prone body with one hand and dug the claws of her feet into the ground just to avoid being blown away. Even Izanami was brought to her feet by the sheer power the two radiated. The power they had shown was far beyond even the realms of the divine, but that wasn't even the most terrifying bit.
That honour belonged to the fact that neither of the fighters was even going full out.
"Yasaka, protect Izanami as she removed Yomi's defences," Naruto spoke, and then disappeared from his position. On the other side of the once-shrine, his opponent followed suit. They re-appeared where the statue stood mere moments ago, Samsara meeting the teen's power blow-for-blow.
"Come, Framp's king, show me a good time." The boy exhaled as he came in for another blow. Naruto easily blocked it with Samsara and countered. The boy dodged with just as much ease, stepping back and creating some space between himself and Naruto.
"Oh, I'll show you a good time," Naruto spoke as Samsara liquefied in his hands. Tendrils of golden metal twisted over his body, forming an ornate armour that looked too biological to be compared to something as angular and irregular as scale mail. "I just hope you can take it. Because I have a lot to give."
The boy's smile widened again, as impossible as the action seemed. "Yes! I expect nothing less from my destined opponent." He spoke, raising his red-ringed hand. A familiar power coalesced in his hand, red and primal. It was an unforgettable power…
… one that was used by two of his pupils.
"That's… the power of destruction… but how?" it was a simple question. The boy was unmistakably human, so how was he capable of using a devil family magic like it was nothing.
The boy smirked, and the orb grew to the size of his whole body. It was much more concentrated than even Sirzechs' own variant. It occurred to Naruto that maybe this was the original power of destruction… the one wielded by the demon Gremory, ages ago.
"You're not the only one who wields a power that could put gods to shame!" The boy yelled, and then, he fired. The ball of malice shot towards Naruto at breakneck speed. Still, he could have dodged, he could have deflected it, but the chance of it hitting Izanami and Yasaka was much too high for him to ignore.
So instead, he hunkered down and put his arms in front of his face. His wings came up to cover his body, and the golden sheen of Samsara got a lot brighter.
"… the things I do for others…" Naruto sighed as he dug his gold-plated legs into the hard ground with the ease of a knife passing through butter. He had to neutralize the blast. Thankfully, that wasn't as daunting a task as one would expect.
"Samsara – Kavach!"
The orb of destruction collided with Naruto at the speed of a bullet. The explosion it threw up made a nuclear explosion look like a festival cracker. Izanami threw up a defensive shield over herself, Yasaka and Kuroka. The shockwave from the explosion almost destroyed the barrier instantly. The only reason it survived was that Yasaka added her own barrier right behind it, giving Izanami's barrier a second layer.
The explosion subsided, and the smoke was blown away by a burst of wind. Between the teen and Izanami now stood a crater, and in the middle of the crater stood a completely uninjured Naruto.
"Is that really all you can do?" He asked, looking at the teenager with mild disinterest. The teen was dumbstruck for a second, but the crazy smile returned on his face full force once he realized that his opponent – for once – lived up to the hype.
"Yes! This is what I want." He spoke. This time, spears of light formed in his hands. He levitated off the ground, charging right at Naruto. Samsara's sword-form reappeared in Naruto's hand as he met his enemy head-on.
"Yes! Naruto! Give me the thrill I desire!" he yelled as his light spear crashed against Samsara.
Naruto simply grunted before disengaging. He needed to end this fast.
The lives of those in Kuoh depended on it.
"Is this it, Kataera? Even with Ophis' power, you cannot defeat me. What hope do you have against Sirzechs?"
Kataera Leviathan created space between herself and Azazel. She had thoroughly underestimated him and was paying the price. Sure, she'd taken his right arm, but that replica sacred gear of his was much too powerful for her to deal with.
The human magicians had failed. The wielder of the forbidden Balor view was safe and capable of using his balance breaker. She was up against six of the strongest beings spread over the three pantheons, and that was only if the dragon brat didn't get to her first.
She had to use it. There was no other option.
"You never change, Azazel. Always so assured of your victory." Kataera seethed through clenched teeth. A magical circle appeared beside her. The congregation of devils, angels and fallen backed away, not because the circle itself was dangerous, but because of the inherent wrongness of what came from it.
It was a body with no features save for twelve black wings. There was not a single hair on the androgynous body, be it on the scalp or anywhere else. There were no sexual organs either. It almost looked like a mannequin, yet almost every single creature present recognized it, save for Rias and Sona's peerages.
"I hate you, all of you. For what you have done to us, to our race." Kataera snarled, retrieving a shining vial from her bodice. "We killed your god in his moment of weakness, we alienated the fallen to the most barren wastes of the underworld, yet our own race rebelled against us. We would have been gods!" She shouted, hurling the vial. It crashed into the body, wisps of ethereal silver rose up, giving the body features as they passed over it. Clothes followed soon, and then came the hair.
Finally came the horns that marked god's own exiled son.
"You wished to be Lucifer so bad that you consigned your own people to death by decay. You gave our gifts, our eternal life, our power to others, making them devils. Consider this your repentance, knaves!" Kataera shouted. The laugh that followed was guttural, unbecoming of a creature as beautiful as herself. Thankfully, it was stopped pretty fast. Death via a pillar of light wasn't the most painful way to go.
Being killed by a perceived ally, on the other hand, was.
"Of all the people who could bring me back, it had to be a harlot." The now-complete fallen angel spoke. Long, silver hair had appeared on his head, and a toga was wrapped around his body. His features were such that would look beautiful on any gender, but his voice was distinctively male.
"Helel… it seems that the Shinto have failed their task." Michael solemnly commented, a faint tinge of hatred in his voice. To see such a vulgar emotion crawl into the tone of the Archest of angels scared both the high-class peerages in the area.
"Oh! Familiar faces in my welcoming party!" Helel clapped his hands together, a fake smile appearing on his face. "While I'd love to say that it's a pleasure to see you again, Michael, I'd be lying. How's Gabriel doing? Made a move on her while I was gone?"
Michael scowled. "Uncouth as ever, aren't you?" He was visibly tense, his power was barely reigned in, ready to let loose at the drop of a hat. He wasn't the only one either.
"She's still single, I take it. Well, more for me to ravage." Helel finished, catching the eye of the closest one of his opponents. "Ah! Azazel! Seems you usurped me once I became a devil. I wonder how the task of leadership is working out for someone as… inelegant… as you?"
"Well, we haven't seen war for the better part of a millennia. I'd say it's going pretty well." Azazel spoke, his tone devoid of its usual snark. The sarcasm of his words – sadly – fell flat when delivered by such an emotionless voice. It made Helel smile.
"Well done, Azazel. It seems you've developed something of a personality too! Never thought I'd see that happen, especially after what heaven did to you." Helel laughed. "And here you are, standing beside the very perpetrator of your grand betrayal." Helel pointed at Michael. "It must be a good feeling, forgiving someone who wronged you as much as he did."
"What's done is done, Helel. Unlike you, forgiveness is a value I do not lack." Azazel drew back. He'd simply be a deadweight in such a fight, especially without his right arm.
"Don't presume to lecture me about forgiveness, snake of heaven." Helel snarled, he quickly regained his jovial disposition as he saw Azazel stop back, and as his eyes landed on someone else, someone a lot more familiar.
"Raziel! My protégé! Ten years, I tried to make you fall, yet you held on to the light like a crying baby to its mother. I wonder what changed in the two millennia I've been gone, but it must have been monumental to make you fall." He commented, the smile growing in maliciousness.
"I have no words for you, arch-heretic," Raziel spoke, her bow appearing in her right hand. Visus Finalem started to glow as she aimed it at Helel. The original fallen angel didn't even move, simply cocking an eyebrow in surprise.
"You'd raise your weapon against your own teacher? Wow, it almost seems like heaven has lost its integrity." Helel raised one arm, and a faint whistling was heard. Michael's eyes widened, he knew what would follow. A pillar of light descended from the sun, large enough to cover the entire courtyard of Kuoh. The explosion that followed it lit up the world.
A pure sunstrike, the trademark of the light-bringer.
"Oh, that's a surprise," Helel commented, fascinated by the sheer power of the blast. "My powers are greater than I remember, almost as if god's interference is no longer present. I haven't felt such a connection to the light since our battles against the old gods, aeons ago." The light faded, and more surprises presented themselves to the morning star, namely the survival of all his enemies. They didn't even look much depleted by his attack, not that he had expected to kill them outright. He'd be disappointed if his once-brethren fell with such ease.
The fact that the others survived – on the other hand – confused him.
"Well, it seems the small-fries aren't quite as small as I expected." Helel commented, finally letting his eyes size them up. Two women and a red-haired man. They were too unremarkable to be demons, but their tainted powers were easy to see.
"Hmm, devils. Since when was your kind strong enough to face an archangel?" Helel asked, and Aria responded.
"Since we decided we didn't want your kind around." She answered, wings of black flame shooting out of her back. Helel smirked.
"A Phenex, huh? I can tell that the other one's a Sitri. You two are undeniably powerful, maybe I'll keep you around once I'm done enslaving your people yet again." His eyes passed over Sirzechs, and his smile lowered. "You, on the other hand, are disgusting. Mixing bloodlines? Bael and Gremory? That just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. What are you called, kid?"
Sirzechs answered by summoning a highly concentrated ball of his power in his right hand. His body followed suit, revealing the true form of the power of destruction. "The name is Sirzechs Lucifer. I'm your latest iteration."
Helel's smile dropped. "So, the devils dare use my name? Such poor taste, really. I didn't even choose my own name, you know." Another sunstrike hit the ground, this time concentrated on Sirzechs. The devil saw it coming -even though there were no obvious tells - and dodged. The place he was standing mere seconds ago was reduced to a crater of glassed earth.
"But I have become fond of it, it is a name that suits me and none other." He finished, raising both hands and letting loose a flurry of sun strikes.
In response, he was assaulted by a variety of elements. Light spears, huge balls of fire, an avalanche of icicles, and a ball of destructive energy the size of a large house. He simply weaved through the attacks with ease, coming face-to-face with the apocalyptic arrow fired from Raziel's bow.
Which he proceeded to catch and fling back with his bare hands, right at the school.
"Azazel!" Yelled Sirzechs, and it was all the instruction the leader of the Grigori needed. He put all his power into the barrier surrounding the school, mere milliseconds before the bolt crashed against it. The explosion cracked the barrier with ease, but couldn't make it through completely.
Azazel sighed, that took a lot out of him, especially after having used his imitation sacred gear.
"We can't go all-out against him here. We have to take him away from Kuoh." Michael yelled as he dodged another sun-strike. As he did so, Helel appeared in front of him, a sword of light in his outstretched hand. Michael parried his strike with one of his own, his sword of white light crashing against Helel's sword of golden light.
"My, trying to fight me without your precious sword, are we?" Helel commented, lashing out with a flurry of slashes. Michael blocked each with military precision, seemingly fighting Helel as an equal.
"I don't need to sully the blade of Deus Xiphos to fight you, heretic," Michael commented as he launched a counter-attack. Helel, apparently, thought differently. He lashed out with his sword much faster than he had to this point, breaking through Michael's makeshift blade.
"You don't need it, huh? Nice excuse." Helel lunged at Michael, nicking him on the cheek with his own Blade. Michael formed another blade, but Helel broke through it with equal ease. Another blade, broken again.
"I cannot feel his presence anymore, brother. I wonder if your guilt at letting him die is what prevents you from drawing that blade." Helel sneered, lunging again. This time, though, he would have landed a fatal blow.
Had it not been for Raziel's arrow barreling into him, knocking him flying into the ground.
"The arbiter's power, huh? Never figured you to use something expressly prohibited by dear father himself." Helel spoke, dissipating the arrow in his hands. "Too bad you're not the only one who can use it."
Tendrils of almighty energy shot out from Helel's hands, cutting furrows in the ground. His opponents dodged it with ease, not knowing that it was a trap. Helel took to the skies on his twelve jet-black wings, and over two dozen sun strikes rained down from the sky, illuminating the world.
Sadly for him, his opponents were a capable bunch.
Sirzechs appeared next to Helel and deposited a punch – magnified manifold by his power of destruction – into Helel's sternum. It burnt a very noticeable hole into the fallen. Before he could launch another blow, Helel made space between the two of them by forcing him back with a sudden sunstrike. There was no break for Helel, sadly, as four of Aria's arrows deposited themselves in his back, exploding as they did. He fell to the ground, from which a dragon made of ice rose to meet him. He managed to stop the dragon by firing a sunstrike into its maw, but from within rose Michael, on his twelve glorious wings of gold.
"This world ill needs you, Helel." He whispered as he sliced through Helel. The fallen was fast enough to block Michael's light sword with a hastily-constructed weapon of his own but was flung skyward by the sheer force behind Michael's strike.
"You heard the man, now burn!"
Helel turned mid-flight to look up. Descending from the sky was a figure cloaked in ominous black flame. In her hand, she held a supremely-concentrated ball of fire. It gave off the heat of a dying sun, and it was driven into his chest, right where Sirzechs' attack had wounded him.
"Supernova alter – expand!" She yelled, and the collapsed sun did as asked. The world was bathed in light and heat, not of Lucifer's own creation.
His charred body impacted the ground at supersonic speed, shattering the earth. The dust kicked up by the explosion, mixed with the mist created by the destruction of Serafall's ice-dragon, rendered visibility nil. Sadly, they didn't need visibility to tell them that their strongest attacks had failed.
"A valiant effort, though ultimately pointless," Helel spoke from within the confluence of dust and mist. He flew out from his crater, the wind force generated by his flight was enough to disperse the fog of war. When the combatants finally got a good look at him, they were all assailed by one singular emotion.
Pure, unadulterated despair.
There wasn't a single scratch left on Helel's body. Every bit of charred flesh had mended in the few seconds that had elapsed between their all-out attack and now. He alighted in front of them, the ever-present smirk on his face mocking them throughout.
"You kids lost the moment you picked a fight with me. Since god's dead now, I can use…this." He slowly raised a hand, and a feeling of foreboding washed over the present company. A red sigil appeared behind the combatants, who had just decided to jump at Helel altogether.
The first thing Grayfia noticed as she appeared on the battlefield after depositing Rias and Sona away was the fact that the world was suddenly inverted.
The second thing she noticed was the prone forms of her comrades, deposited in multiple craters that dotted this inverse world.
The final thing she saw was Helel, who was looking at her with disgust on his face.
"You stand in my antichton yet you are unaffected. Who are you?" As an answer, Grayfia called on her powers of Ice.
"I'm Grayfia Lucifuge, queen of lord Lucifer." She answered, shooting a hail of Icicled at Helel, which he deflected with a casual flick of his hand.
"Lucifuge, huh? I didn't know that the outer houses still lived. Explains how you're able to survive antichton." He put his hands on his face, a gleeful smile appearing underneath the cover. "Let's just hope you can entertain me suitably."
"After all, the lives of your comrades hangs in balance."
Yasaka found it hard to believe that creatures of such power could even exist.
The blonde boy was above god-class, far beyond – if truth be told. None of his movements were visible to the Yokai or the goddess. She's seen Lord Susanoo fight before, and this was even beyond that. He would simply disappear, and then appear next to Naruto. His variance was nothing to scoff at either. Not only could he use the powers of light as if they were second nature, but he could command the powers of the 72 houses.
What kind of Sacred Gear could give someone that power?
It was a sacred gear, there was no doubt about that. Izanami could feel the Christian god's influence, especially in the method of delivery. The blonde kid was very much a human, even though his power far exceeded most gods. He was fast, powerful and versatile.
He was also not making any progress against Naruto, but that was another matter.
Naruto wasn't even trying to equal the blonde teen's power. He was simply too skilled to need to. Even without revealing much of his own powers, the devil was battering the teen. Whenever the teen appeared, Naruto would already have an attack prepped to go. It almost felt like Naruto had fought countless opponents just as fast as the boy, and come out on top.
The armour form of Samsara was just a bonus. It was a perfect armour. Even if the teen managed to scrape it, liquid gold would fill up the dents and bruises, leaving no imperfection behind.
The teen dodged another one of Naruto slashes and moved back. There was an attempt at creating distance, but it failed hard. Naruto was beside the teen faster than he could react. The blade caught on the teen's cheek, leaving a cut a few inches long. The teen backpedalled again, expecting Naruto to show up beside him yet again.
Naruto appeared behind him.
Samsara's sword entered the teen through the back, poking a hole through his stomach. The teen let out a pained cry, but Naruto wasn't done yet. The sword slashed sideways, cutting a great gash in the teenager's back. He fell to the ground. One second, two seconds, three seconds, and Naruto finally relaxed.
…or at least acted like he did.
The teen shot up from the ground faster than he had moved the entire fight, his right hand covered in the power of destruction. To the casual observer, it looked like the end of the road for Naruto. There was no time to dodge, no space to block.
So instead, he simply caught the teen's hand.
The teen's emotions flickered, moving from shock to confusion, to murderous glee. Before he could charge up his other hand's power, Naruto's open palm appeared right in front of the teen's face. The teen looked up at Naruto's face through the gaps between his fingers and saw chilling purple eyes in place of Naruto's regular blues.
"Shinra Tensei"
The sheer amount of force that racked the teen's body couldn't possibly be created through human means. He shot through the shrine, ripping through the solid granite flooring as every bone in his body shattered. Right behind him, the flooring ripped itself off, thanks to the shockwave. Whatever little was left of Izanami's shrine was eviscerated by the shockwave. The teen himself was deposited a mile off, In the distance.
The fact that he got up from the attack almost instantly didn't even come as a surprise.
"You were holding back on me!" he yelled, his voice filled with mirth as he launched himself the distance between him and Naruto within a fraction of a second. Naruto simply sidestepped, raising his hand again.
"So were you. Shinra Tensei."
The attack connected with the blonde-haired teen again, Launching him through more rock and earth. Again, the blonde got up, his smile refusing to slip. "Must be fun, holding back as your friends die."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You really think they're weak enough to lose to the likes of Helel?" he spoke, going on the offensive. He dispelled Samsara's armor as he shot towards the teen. His speed shot up drastically, and the effect was clear. The teen was no longer able to block him, suffering multiple lacerations. Again, the teen tried to break away, but was caught by a blue, swirling orb to the chest. It ripped through his chest like a buzz saw through wood.
"You made two mistakes, one, you released Helel in Japan, the one nation that has a dedicated system of defence. And secondly, you thought I didn't come here expecting a trap."
The blonde's eyes widened almost comically as Naruto's newly-gauntleted fist mashed his face into pulp.
"At the risk of sounding clichéd, I'm not stuck in here with you. You're stuck in here with me."
"For the Queen of 'Lucifer', your power falls woefully short."
Grayfia's broken, bruised body lay embedded in the ground. Pillars of Ice stretching the length and breadth of the Kuoh Academy stood as a testament to the fight she put up.
The fact that there wasn't a single scratch on Helel was proof that it wasn't nearly enough.
"I thought I'd take you for myself, but your weakness and lineage truly disgusts me. You don't even deserve to be my tramp." Helel scoffed, summoning a blade of light in his outstretched hand. He raised it, preparing to deliver the finishing blow.
He was immediately stopped by a blast of wind strong enough to blow a hole in a brick house.
Helel steadied himself mid-fall, dragging his body to a stop with his sword. He had barely come to a stop when a blade gouged a finger-deep gash in his back. Helel turned around, aiming to deliver a slash with his sword. It passed through nothing but air, while two swords found purchase on either side of his midriff.
Being a fallen angel, Helel predictably responded with a hail of sun strikes, but they hit nothing.
"Who dares?!" he yelled.
"I do." Came an authoritative voice in response. Every single pair of eyes on the battlefield focused on the three new additions to the battle. They levitated in the air, the middle figure wore samurai attire in deep red, with the symbol of the sun on his helm. In his hand he carried the most remarkable katana any of them had ever seen. His companions were also anything but unremarkable. They both wore traditional Japanese attire and had similarly black, long hair, the major difference was that while one had long hair that openly flowed to his knees, the other kept his in an equally long ponytail.
Their faces were intricately lined with warpaint, and they exuded an almost untouchable aura. Anyone who had spent more than a year in the Japanese occult world knew exactly who these three were.
Susanoo, the god of storms.
Yamato Takeru, the National Defense Divinity of the North.
Taira no Masakado, the National Defense Divinity of Tokyo.
The three strongest warriors of Japan save for Izanagi, assembled in one place. Two demigods led by a bonafide warrior god. Three enemies that Antichton couldn't possibly affect.
"Storm-god, it's been over two millennia since we last met in combat." Helel strained to maintain his smile. Fighting a god alone was rarely a good idea. Fighting one with his demigods was paramount to suicide, even for creatures above him on the food chain.
Like Yamata-no-Orochi.
But that was a different time. The Shinto had much more influence back when, and his father had much less influence than he did nowadays.
"You dare intrude on my lands again, fiend?" Susanoo asked, slowly sheathing his blade and widening his stance, by-the-book Iaido preparation. The two other swordsmen did nothing of the sort, choosing instead to watch. There was no pressure on them, and why would there be? These were distinguished demigods who defended Japan for centuries. They had defended it from dragons, other gods and eldritch creations of immeasurable power. They were skill, power and speed, all in one package.
A fallen angel – no matter how powerful – didn't scare them.
"Well, it isn't my fault that the greatest meeting between the three factions since before the war is going down in your backyard," Helel remarked. Susanoo stiffened up a second, not knowing that Helel didn't know of the circumstances surrounding Kuoh. He relaxed soon after, but the damage had been done.
"Meddling in affairs that don't concern you, huh? Didn't know you were this altruistic, Susanoo." Helel rose from the ground till he was high enough to meet Susanoo face-to-face. "It hardly matters, though at least you'll put up a decent fight.
"Plus, I've always wanted to try my hand at deicide."
The silence of the battlefield was drowned out as multiple sun strikes fell from the sky. The three Shinto divinities didn't even move. The light struck them and simply fizzled out. Helel's smile widened.
"Ah! You've come prepared. Protected by the Sun-broad, aren't you? We'll see how far that gets you." Helel yelled as he brought forth a sword made of intense light, pulling it from his very soul. He didn't get very far with it.
"I'd appreciate if you didn't talk about my lady that way."
There was no warning as Yamato Takeru disappeared from his position beside Susanoo. He appeared behind Helel, his hair no longer black, but pure gold; barely restrained as a ponytail. His eyes were pools of light.
"Aspect of pride: Amaterasu"
"You move fast, knave, but not fast enough!" Helel whipped his sword to cleave Yamato Takeru in half, but his sword passed through thin air. Before he could recede, debilitating pain shot up through his body. Multiple cuts appeared on his chest. Yamato Takeru appeared on his opposite side, slowly sheathing his sword.
"You may control Light, heretic, but you are not it. I hold no such limitation, thanks to my mistress."
Helel snarled and moved backwards. The kid's attacks were like paper cuts to him, but the fact that he was impossible to hit turned this into a battle of attrition. If this became a battle of attrition, could Helel beat him before reinforcements arrived? So mired was Helel in his thoughts that he failed to account for one fact.
Yamato Takeru wasn't alone.
"Shoryuken!" Yelled Masakado as he appeared right in front of Helel. His entire body coursed with pale-blue electrical impulses, and his long hair spiked and rippled as the electricity passed through it. Had Helel not been preoccupied with dodging Yamato Takeru, he would have intercepted the fist that caught his face with ease, but he was, so he couldn't.
The punch struck hard, and the upsurge of electricity that accompanied it was nothing to laugh at either.
"I've always wanted to try that one out! Whoever said that videogame attacks are unfeasible in real combat was so full of shit!" Masakado yelled as he saw Helel's body sail higher into the sky. "Why couldn't Lord Susanoo's Aspect of Sloth give me powers of fire? It looks way cooler when Ken does it."
Susanoo appeared above Helel, his feet parted as they gripped on nothing but air, his stance tightened as Helel's body drew closer. When Helel finally came into his range, he drew.
"Ame-no-Habakiri" He yelled as he let loose. The sword cut right through Helel, but the force of the slash kept going, slicing the Kuoh field neatly into two. The gouge in the earth went too deep to be measured. Such was the power of the blade that slew the great Yamata-no-Orochi.
"Was that it? Shame, I didn't even get to draw my blade." Masakado commented as the power of Antichton started to recede. He turned his gaze towards Yamato Takeru, who had taken but a millisecond to round up all the fallen combatants. They were all conscious to some degree.
"Hardly, kids."
It was a credit to Susanoo's gruelling training that he was able to dodge the attack that flew at him from the position of Helel's downed body. It was a much slower attack than his sun strikes, but magnitudes more powerful. A beam of bright, white power that didn't come from the sun.
Almighty power.
As the dust cleared, every combatant – downed or otherwise – got their first look at Helel's true form, and what a form it was. It was nothing like Amenadiel's abhorrent, bestial visage. It was grand, and not too far removed from his original form. The horns were straight and long, longer than his face. His features were still the same, save for his now-bloodshot, red eyes. The biggest difference was his wings, or lack thereof. In their stead hung a pitch-black halo, with four spikes shooting out of it. The transformation had also given him back the legs on which he now stood.
"The internalization of Antichton allow me to take on the characteristics of a god. I need not a Longinus to kill a god with this form. I created it to kill father, but I guess that's no longer an option, so I'll fucking kill you gnats instead!"
Susanoo sighed as he re-sheathed his sword. He could see that this form was powerful. Sadly, he could also see its one great downfall. Helel had no combat experience in this form. The first attack he fired at Masakado was powerful, sure, but it lacked both speed and precision. Sure, Helel was currently physically identical to a god, but he was matched up against a god, and two demigods. They did not need sacred gears to kill Helel.
Gods were tenacious and powerful, though. Had Helel just died when Susanoo bifurcated him, he'd have saved the storm-god a metric shit-ton of boredom. Now, he'd have to take down a fumbling, novice god, and that meant making him bleed out, slowly and painfully.
If death through a thousand cuts was howHelel wanted to go, Susanoo would be happy to oblige.
"You've sealed my means of escape, huh?"
The Blonde teen lay at Naruto's feet. There was still not a single blemish on his skin. None of the damage that Naruto had given him actually stuck, almost as if it wasn't being taken by his body at all. It reminded Naruto of the power of the devil house Decabria. They had the power to transfer all their injuries to someone else, no matter how great the distance. It couldn't be that power, though, because the amount of damage that the blonde kid had taken was enough to kill a Super-devil.
"Izanami is a goddess; do you really think it would take her this long just to remove the defences that she placed on Yomi?" Naruto asked, stabbing the teen with Samsara yet again. He picked the teen up with the blade, the flat of the blade making the entire manoeuvre possible. "Helel will be dead soon, and I'll make sure to lock up his body somewhere where you can never find it again."
"You'll seal it up in the Megido Arc? Really?" The teen questioned, the sudden reversal made Naruto almost drop his blade. The teen capitalized on this and blasted Naruto's face with an orb of destruction. Naruto stepped back, only to find the teen at his throat, a blade of light in his hand. Naruto was fast enough to block it before it punctured him, but that only made the teen spin sideways and deposit it in his back. Thankfully, Samsara's armour-form reappeared, destroying the blade. Naruto spun sideways, catching the teen on the edge of his blade, just as he bounced backwards. The slit cut into his chest knit back up almost instantly. That's when Naruto realized.
The teen was now moving just as fast as him.
"Oh yeah, I know exactly what you are. I've trailed you for the better part of a decade. I know what you can do, I know who your friends are. Yet, I brought you in here. Why do you think I did that?" The teen lunged at Naruto. It was no longer as suicidal as his last few attempts. He came in low, and then switched to a higher stance almost instantly. For the first time since releasing Samsara, Naruto was forced to fight defensively. There was no style to the teen's swings, but there was a method. He was hard to read, and harder to react to.
It almost felt like Naruto was fighting himself.
Naruto cursed. Of course, the kid was using the power of the devil house Ipos. The ability to equalize the field of battle. The cursed power that had gotten their line either slain or married off to other houses.
Naruto backpedalled and activated the Rinne-Sharingan again. Between his chakra, Samsara and his eyes, the teen couldn't completely equalize the field of battle. "Shinra Tensei" Naruto yelled, but the teen was already gone. A deep and long gouge in the land in front of Naruto was good enough indication that the attack did work.
"Can't hit something you can't see, can you?" The teen leapt up from below. It was almost remarkable how the child had almost flattened himself to the ground to make use of Naruto's blind-spot. Capitalizing on the opening he made, the teen struck down with his sword. Samsara's helm rose from Naruto's skull in a bid to neutralize the attack, but the teen's aim wasn't Naruto's head to begin with. That honor belonged to his shoulder, and the attack struck true.
The teen drew first blood as he cleaved into Naruto's shoulder blades. Not wasting a second, Naruto lashed out with his other hand, Samsara's axe form appearing in it. The blow connected with the teen should have had enough power to cleave him in half, but all it got Naruto was some distance. It felt like the Teen's body had hardened impossibly within the millisecond that elapsed between the initiation and strike of his attack.
Adamantine skin, the power of the devil family Ose…
"You're taking this seriously now, aren't you?" Naruto spoke as he brought forth his Sage of six paths cloak. "You're trying to buy time. You know that Helel has no chance of survival, yet you are adamant about keeping me here. What for?"
The teen laughed as he suddenly burst into flames much like those of the Phenex. "Oh, Helel's going to die either way. He has something of mine that I need back, you see. Fighting him myself was out of the option, because he can disable almost all of my abilities."
"I'm just buying time till he dies. I can't have you destroying his body like you did to Amenadiel."
The boy shot forward, covered by an armor of fire. Naruto dispelled Samsara and called on his chakra. He went through a few hand-signs, once used by one of his most deadly opponents. Water coalesced at the tips of his fingers, before exploding outwards in the shape of a gigantic shark. A brief look of hesitation appeared on the face of the teen, and the shark shot forward to meet him head-on.
"Suiton: Daikōdan"
The explosion of steam that followed was enough to give Naruto's healing body a few scalding burns. The teen, on the other hand, was in the middle of the said explosion and was sent barreling away, bouncing on the ground thrice before coming to a rest. Yet, he still got up, no injuries on his body.
The teen stood up and raised one of his hands. Hundreds upon hundreds of light spears formed behind his back. "I also wanted to test you, my destined rival. Let me tell you, I'm not disappointed.
Naruto readied another Shinra Tensei, ready to eradicate the oncoming attack. The teen smirked as he prepared to launch his attack. Naruto stood ready, prepared to attack at the first given opening. Suddenly, the teen stopped, almost like he just had a revelation. He gave Naruto a smile as he let the spears of light dissipate.
"It seems our time here is over, Naruto Abbadon. We shall meet each other soon. He spoke, waving his hand." Something changed in Naruto, but he didn't know what. The teen stepped back and a rip appeared behind him, a rip in the very fabric of space and time.
"I'll give your regards to your 'friends' as I kill them. Have fun wallowing here in Yomi as I'm out there slaughtering them." The boy spoke as he stepped into the rip. Naruto made to follow, activating his power of the Black hole. Nothing happened, so he tried again, with no results. That's when he realized what the teen did with the last wave of his hand.
Worthlessness, the power of the Belial.
He'd neutralized the demonic powers of not only Naruto but also Izanami's divine powers – something a normal Belial could never do.
"Izanami, I'm leaving Yasaka and Kuroka to you. I will meet you in Kyoto afterwards." The goddess just nodded, not even complaining about breaking her oath to stay in Yomi. Yasaka, meanwhile, posed one very simple – yet significant – question.
"What are you going to do now?" She asked. Naruto responded by drawing out Samsara's original, spear form and drawing a vertical line through thin air. The line widened, a dangerous miasma emanating from it. Dangerous, but all too familiar. On the other side of the newly-created door lay the bane of many a curious creature. The dimensional gap.
"Something really fucking stupid." Naruto spoke, as he walked past the door, disappearing from view.
"Why won't you gnats stay still?"
Helel recoiled as Masakado's sword found purchase in his abdomen. He felt his life-energy seep through the newly-created laceration. Such was the power of Masakado's blade, the Masakado-no-yaiba.
Yes, the fool had actually named his sword after himself.
"I don't fancy death, the ladies would really miss me, you know?" He answered, dodging another blast of almighty energy. Susanoo was completely correct with his assumption. Helel fought like a baby in this form. Sure, he had a lot more power, and access to the strongest type of energy, but it was all for naught if he couldn't hit anything.
Plus, the demigods of the National Defense Divinities were more than used to fighting creatures stronger than themselves. While for Helel, this fight was a novel experience, for Takeru and Masakado, this was just a rather hectic Monday.
The fact that Susanoo was fighting with them just demoted it to a rather normal hunt.
"This was your choice, fiend. You were the one who wanted to kill a god, it is only fitting you die as one." Yamato Takeru spoke as he disappeared and re-appeared in his original location. The only tell that he had even moved were the numerous slashes that now lined Helel's body.
"Cretins! Your attacks do little to me! When I do catch you, I'll make sure to pay you back tenfold!" Helel yelled as he fired another blast of almighty energy. The white light ripped through the remains of Kuoh, but hit nothing living.
"You talk too much; you know? Not the most godlike attribute to have." Aria's voice rang out.
Seven arrows of almighty energy embedded themselves into Helel's torso, followed by an intense pillar of black flames. Helel tried to move, but his body was halfway-encased within Ice, while another dragon of Ice tried to devour him whole. Helel shot a beam of almighty energy from his mouth, destroying it. Sadly, he didn't account for the huge orb of destruction and the rain of light arrows that followed. As the attacks collided, the seven arrows of almighty energy embedded in him exploded.
The result was phenomenal.
The entire ground of Kuoh was disintegrated by the confluence of light, demonic and almighty energy.
Yet, Helel still lived. His body was covered with burns, lacerations and holes. His arms were missing, but the look on his pain was one of pure hatred. "Well then, it seems you have… bested me. I cannot allow that." He coalesced all his power into his body. His enemies realized this and scattered. Those who were adept with magic threw up shields. They'd seen enough kamikaze attempts to know them.
"If I'm going down, I'm taking you down with me!"
"I'm afraid I cannot allow that, Helel."
The coalescence of power stopped. It had to, considering there was a hand shoved through his chest. Attached to the hand was a rather disheveled-looking blonde teenager. His other hand held five rings that glowed different shades of red. His body was in pristine condition, but the clothes he wore looked like rags.
"I can't let you destroy your soul, especially when it holds something that belongs to me."
The boy pulled, and out came his hand. Within it, he held something white and misty. As he drew it, he gave it a passing glance. "For someone with ambition and power like yours, you sure do have a small soul." Helel looked up at him, the light rapidly fading from his eyes. In response, the blonde simply raised his other hand.
"I don't need your body anymore." The boy spoke, and an orb of pure power of destruction came to life around Helel's body. There was no screaming, no pain, only death and its deliverance. The soul in the teen's hand shifted, running over his other, bloodied hand. It passed over his four white rigs and finally settled on his index finger, taking the shape of yet another white ring.
"And then, there were ten." The boy remarked, a nostalgic smile appearing on his face. He stayed like that for a second, while the others around him tried to figure out whether he was a friend or a foe. The answer came when a hail of light spears forced them to distance themselves from him.
"So you lot are his friends. I must say, I'm impressed. It only took ten of you to take one of him down. Honestly, I did want to save his body too. It would make a fine home for some random soul." The boy spoke as he slowly levitated into the sky. His power rose, and rose, and rose further. It surpassed that of Helel, then doubled it, then tripled it.
Yet, it did not stop growing.
That was when Michael finally put two and two together. Ten rings, five for the seventy-two devils, five for the angels. Wielded by a soul that was created with one singular purpose, to lead humanity. A sacred gear, linked to the one who would lead humanity to fulfil its unlimited potential. Prototype Gears: Ten Rings of Jedidah. The one who wielded them?
"Solomon?" he asked, dreading the answer. It couldn't possibly be him. A king who led for ages, till he realized one fatal flaw in God's plan. For humans to fulfil their potential, they'd have to grow into gods themselves… something that could not be done if old gods still persisted.
God killer, oath-breaker, the darkness of enlightenment.
"That's 'king' Solomon to you, Michael, or have you forgotten that already?" He shot back, sneering at the leader of the heavenly pantheon. Such was his grandeur that the archangel had to physically fight back the urge to kneel. Only the thought of what the bastard had done to his brethren kept him from committing the act.
"You are no king of mine, God killer," Michael spoke. He wanted to kill the man, to strike him down where he stood, but he knew he did not have the power to accomplish such a feat.
"Now, I was in a fight before I came here, as you can tell by my state of undress. It was a fun fight, which I thought would draw out a bit longer. My body's still awash with adrenalin, and I haven't had as much fun as I did in those twenty minutes as I've had in ages." More and more spears of light appeared behind him as he spoke. The ten combatants took up arms too, doing what little they could to defend against the oncoming Skyfall of light-spears.
"I hope you can entertain me a bit before I end your pathetic existences."
Samsara was a weapon forged in the very bowels of the dimensional gap, long before Ophis and the great red took over it. It couldn't be forged in any other realm because the sheer energy needed to make it would change its world of creation forever.
Hence, when he allowed the weapon leeway, it would always be attracted back to its 'home'. That was how it ended up there to begin with, and that's where it would end up if Naruto was to ever die; not that he planned to anytime soon.
With the power of the black hole unavailable to him and Hiraishin's inability to work through multiple, separated dimensions, the only method Naruto could think of that would let him back into the human world depended on help from a very temperamental dragon.
As he stepped into the dimension, he removed all his numerous seals. With them gone, his power was no longer regulated inside his body. At this point, anyone with even a mite of sensor ability would be able to detect him from half-a-world away. The roar he heard from the distance told him that his dragon of interest had definitely heard him. It took only a minute hence for the dragon's body to appear. He was too gigantic to miss, after all. The dragon circled around him in the air, almost creating a full-sized tornado with every flap of its massive wings. Finally – done with his showboating – the dragon alighted, shaking the earth.
"Why are you in my dimension again, Arbiter? Have you come to gloat?" he growled. Naruto shook his head. "Then why are you here? Do you wish to fight me again?" He asked, raising his wings and snarling as he did. Naruto shook his head again. "Then what do you want? Speak fast or let me be. I do not wish for more scars, yet."
Naruto nodded. "I need you to punt me back to the human world. Someone's sealed my power of the black hole. There's something of an emergency back home."
The dragon grunted again. "Why should I do that? Why would I willingly aid my rival?" matters of pride aside, the lack of time was already grinding Naruto's gears. He spoke nothing, letting his power speak for him. A hype-realistic looking Juubi slowly coalesced out of the rivulets of power that were pouring out from his body. On seeing it, the great red did something that no self-respecting dragon would ever do.
He whimpered.
"Okay! I get your point. One express-ride to the human realm coming up." Great red spoke, and Naruto let the pseudo-Juubi fade from existence. Without saying anything else, the Great Red lined up one of his talons with Naruto's body, and then he flicked.
He flicked hard.
Naruto was launched back at supersonic speeds, and he felt his body slip out of the dimensional gap. He felt the telltale power of the blonde teen right next to him, and he did something that would make Gai-sensei extremely proud.
"DYYYNAMIIICCCC ENTRYYY!"
As the dimensional rip closed behind him, Great Red roared with all his might. "Using me, the Great Fucking Red as a transit service? That kid has nerves of fucking steel. Next time he shows up here, I'm going to teach him a lesson, mark my words!" he yelled to no one in particular. Deep inside, he knew that was never going to happen. The blonde was powerful in his own right, but it was that creature that dwelled within him that truly scared the dragon of dreams.
For good reason too, that beast could probably scare Trihexa… and Trihexa couldn't even feel fear.
Something loud, blonde and powerful shot out of a dimensional rip at a speed that was borderline impossible to follow. Within a fraction of a second, that blonde thing had jammed his foot into Solomon's face, and Solomon had been sent flying.
It was then that the blonde finally came to skilling stop in the crater that was once Kuoh academy's ground. The ten people present there finally got a look at the new arrival. Naruto had undone his henge when he took off his seals, and the differences between Naruto Uzumaki and Naruto Abbadon were much clearer now. For one, his hair fell all the way to his feet. He hadn't undone his henge for over a century, so a barber visit was definitely in order. He still wore his counselor clothes, so making an excuse to differentiate himself from his alter ego was no longer an option either. Finally, on his face were the three pairs of whisker marks that distinguished him as Naruto Abbadon.
"Naruto…" Sirzechs spoke. If Naruto heard him, he didn't react. He had eyes for only one person, and that was the blonde teen that was slowly getting up from the hole-in-the-ground he'd been knocked into.
"Powerful and resourceful, I see. I never even thought you'd brave the dimensional gap to find a way here. You must really care about your friends." The teen spoke, a grimace on his face. "Sadly, I don't think my patron can take any more injuries. We'll meet again, King of Framp, our destinies dictate it."
Naruto tried to jump at him, but was stopped as several walls rose from the earth. It was probably another devil's power, but Naruto didn't have the time to think it over. He raised a fist and punched cleanly through the half-a-dozen or so walls, only to find a dimensional rift closing on the other side.
The teen had escaped again.
He turned back to look at the remaining fighters, two of whom were still trying to come to terms with who he truly was. He looked them over, relaxing as he confirmed their safety. A little pang of pain shot out in his heart as he saw an injured Grayfia nestled within Sirzechs' grasp, but disappeared as soon as he saw Aria's smiling face.
He then turned to face Susanoo.
"Susanoo, your mother and Yasaka are waiting for you in Kyoto. Things are afoot, and I'm going to cash in my favors." Susanoo understood, and a magic circle appeared below him, teleporting him away. Masakado and Yamato Takeru gave Naruto a dignified bow and followed suit. Finally, Naruto addressed the rest of the congregation.
"I know you have questions, and I know I owe you answers. Sadly, they'll have to wait. There are things happening that are beyond all of us, and I need to go to Kyoto to do some things." Naruto felt the power of the hole return, so he put it to use, creating a passageway between Kuoh and Kyoto. "You'll get your answers soon, please be patient."
"Wait!" Sirzechs shouted, a distraught look on his face. "Are you really Naruto Abbadon?" he asked, and a slightly bemused expression appeared on Naruto's face.
"What do you think?" He asked, answering Sirzechs' question with one of his own, and then stepping through the hole without demanding an answer. As the hole closed, only one thought echoed in Sirzechs Lucifer's mind.
"I'm fucked."
"Your underling made for a very convincing replacement for Helel's body. You should be proud of her."
Solomon walked into the dark, damp cell that housed a contraption holding back a small, black-haired girl. Judging by her size, the machine seemed like overkill, especially taking into account the number of seals, wards and magical circuits that were embedded into its construction.
When you took into account that the captured girl was Ophis, the dragon of Infinity, even such measures looked half-assed. But half-assed or not, they were effective. Contributing to her confinement were the innumerable amount of injuries on her body. They all looked incredibly fresh, and if someone was to take a closer look at her body, one could easily tell that almost all her bones were broken as well.
"I got the ring from him, his soul will serve as good fodder for my power." Solomon spoke, passing his fingers close to the little dragon's eyes. "I also faced Abbadon. I expected him to be nothing great – based on what you told me – but my-oh-my, he completely destroyed me. I would have died within the first ten minutes of battle had I been unable to pass my wounds on to you." He jeered. Ophis could only whimper. The gag in her mouth didn't allow her to do much else.
"But of course, I don't have to tell you that. You felt every hit, every single laceration, every single broken bone. Didn't you?" He cupped her face in his right hand, allowing the healing light to ease her suffering a little. He didn't want her getting used to it, though, lest she forgo healing herself. A dragon's healing factor was no small power, and he needed it if he was to make the most of his 'shield'.
"Now, you're going to get some time to heal up! This new ring carries the power of Antichton, and I'll need some time to get used to it. Then I believe I'll be able to take Framp's king down. If not, then back to the drawing board again." He let go of her face and walked out of the cell. "It goes without saying that till he dies, you're going to be my personal meatbag, loli-dragon. Ciao!" He slammed the door shut and warped away from the isolated prison.
The crying of its only inmate went unheard, as always.
And that's that. I'm kinda not impressed by how this chapter turned out. The entire thing's basically a 20-minute fight and I took over 10k words to write it.
Other than that, I recently got affiliated by twitch! My Twitch channel is named Kilm3 and I hope some of you do show up for my stuff! I stream every Thursday to Sunday and I do all kinds of games! Feel free to drop by!
-CruelRuin
Just to repeat from Ch.1: NOTE: THIS IS NOT MY STORY, NOR IS IT AN ADOPTION. THIS IS PURELY FOR READING PURPOSES. The author had his muse killed by the community, leading to him deleting this, and I've simply decided to re-upload it to be able to read it again. Don't go hassling the dude to revive it, or trying to get me to continue it.
