Chapter 32 :: The Master of Mana

"You haven't figured it out yet, have you?" Yuan said. "No amount of power can end the hatred burned into the hearts of people."

"Wars are caused by those with weak hearts. I'll eradicate them all!" Erebus said back. Flickering for a second, he teleported up to Yuan and held his blade up to stab downward.

"Divine Storm Blade!" Mithos cried, slashing Erebus with the holy sword. Erebus crossed his two swords, easily parrying his attack.

"I'm counting on you, Martel. Blade of Osiris!" Yuan said. He jumped over Mithos while Erebus was blocking and sliced diagonally from the left and right with his dual blade.

"Is that all you can muster, Yuan? I better hopes for the future successor to Enigma's Ghosts," taunted Erebus. Yuan smirked, delivering the critical part of the Blade of Osiris move. His first two strokes were only meant to throw the opponent off guard. Yuan vanished into a flash of light, reappearing in four locations around Erebus. All the illusionary figures, created from Amaterasu's ring, rushed into Erebus at once. Erebus sensed Yuan coming, striking at one of them as it came. However, his two swords slashed through an illusion and Yuan sent Erebus crashing into his throne with a thrust of his weapon.

"Time for me to step in. Tiamat's Claw!" Solstice's two hands changed into dragon claws as he jumped at Erebus and tore into him.

"Get off me, old man!" Erebus said, throwing Solstice back with a wave of his hand. "I've let you have your fun, but there will be no escape this time. I summon the powerful demons of the underworld!" He held one palm out to Mithos, who took a defensive stance. "Come, Chaos!"

"Mithos, you'll have to strike him as soon as I attack, understand?" Kratos said. "I have tried for many years to perfect this move... Sword of the Nine Guardians!"

Kratos' Dragon's Tear pulsated as he sprinted with the Divine Storm Blade technique into Erebus. He struck Erebus with two slashes of the Divine Storm Blade then sprang off a pillar for a Dragon Ascension. Lifting Erebus into the air, Kratos did three spin slashes, and an aerial Divine Storm Blade. Just before landing, Kratos slammed Erebus from above and finished with the Diviner technique.

"Such power..." Erebus said, trying to catch his breath. SNAP! Kratos' Dragon's Tear, stressed too much from that attack, broke into two pieces.

"Go, Mithos!" Kratos said.

"Too late!" Erebus said. A black aura surrounded him and his swords grew to twice their size. He speared the ground with his twin blades and sent a shockwave across to Mithos.

"Here goes... Dragon Light Explosion!" Mithos called. Gliding to Erebus with his wings, Mithos dodged to the right as the shockwave ripped through the floor. Then, he came at Erebus and lifted him into the air with Dragon Ascension. However, instead of finishing the technique using a Divine Storm Blade, Mithos pointed the sword into Erebus and yelled.

"Prism Sword!" The light penetrated Erebus with such force that he was sent clear through one of his statues and into the Kharlan Tree. Erebus disintegrated, leaving only his Angel Crystal to fall to the tree's roots.

"Erebus is dead," a voice said. With a ring of crystals around him, a four-armed man appeared. He held a sword in each of his upper arms and a spear in each of his lower arms.

"Origin," Mithos said. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes, by defeating Erebus, you have proven yourself worthy of my pact," Origin said.

"Good. Then I shall make my vow: I vow to create a world in which nobody will ever have to suffer," Mithos said.

"Something's wrong," Solstice said. "Erebus was far too easy if he had the power of Origin on his side."

A column of light exploded from the roots of the Kharlan Tree, lifting Erebus' Angel Crystal to their level.

"I am still bound to you, Mithos. In dying, I lived on in this crystal more powerful than ever!" Erebus' voice said. Sparkles flowed from Mithos' crystal to Erebus'. His crystal underwent a transformation from red to a rainbow of colors.

"He's gone into overlimit!" Yuan said.

"I am the mana's true master. I am Hades Erebus," Erebus said. He materialized with the crystal around his neck, bearing a black spear. "This is the spear of the god Odin- Gungnir!" Leaving a trail of a black shadow whenever he moved, he drifted to the throne.

"I will not allow this!" Origin said.

"And what are you going to do about it, you four armed freak? Judgment Spear!"

Origin teleported out of Erebus' lance attack to Mithos.

"You are the one who has formed a new pact with me," Origin said.

"Yes, I ask that you give me the strength to change the world," Mithos said.

"It is yours," Origin said. Excalibur lengthened and turned into a blade of crystallized mana. "The Eternal Sword is a blade which only you and other half-elves can use. It matches Erebus' power, but you must find the strength within yourself to best him." With that, Origin vanished in a flash of light.