"Gah!"
Akeno flew through several boulders and slowly slid down. She panted heavily. Her body was littered with bruises and cuts. One of her wings were broken and she had a large gash running down her arm. She clenched her jaw and glared at the person before her.
Baraqiel relaxed his stance and stood in front of that infuriating line.
Days. They had been at this for days and she couldn't make him budge. Days on this accursed mountaintop in this dead landscape. The storms here never ended and the scent of death was still as fresh as it was thousands of years ago when the almighty Death God laid waste to an army of rebel gods from other she had 13 days left until the Sitri-Gremory Rating Game and she couldn't make him move. Akeno wanted to scream. How hard was it to make him move?
Akeno got to her feet, nearly falling over due to how unexpectedly wobbly her legs were.
"Hmph. Get up." Baraqiel was like a drill sergeant.
"Fine…" Akeno growled.
Lightning crackled around her body. She could do this. She had gotten more and more used to fighting up close but she could never claim to be as good as Shin or Sophia. However, Akeno felt that she could at least outfight Issei in a fistfight now.
The form her father used was Tetragrammaton Form Vav. A highly offensive fighting style that focuses on pure offensive movements and had very little in the form of defensive techniques. Though, the form made up for it in high-speed maneuvers and pure force to cancel out attacks. She quickly learned that the best defense was a good offense.
"Haaaah!" Akeno rushed forward, zigzagging at high speeds and seriously making use of her Knight Speed for the first time.
She disappeared and reappeared in several spots before appearing above her father. She performed a lightning-infused ax kick.
Baraqiel raised his arm and blocked the attack. He smiled when he felt himself move just a smidge but it was not enough to push him behind the line.
He swung his arm, pushing her off.
Akeno flipped in the air and landed on the ground before rushing back in at full speed.
She slammed her palm into her father's solar plexus, pushing him back more but she could never get his heel over the line.
"Son of a- Graaagggh!" Akeno roared.
"Anger doesn't suit you, Daughter," Baraqiel said.
"Don't call me that!" Akeno yelled. She jumped back and leaped into the air. She performed a roundhouse kick that was blocked.
Using the fact that her father would not absolutely attack first, she switched tactics and kicked off his arm.
Akeno landed on his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his neck.
Her plan was to flip her father and throw him over the line.
However, Baraqiel had read through her intentions in an instant. He unwrapped her legs and grabbed them, throwing her off and violently slamming her onto the ground.
Akeno let out a soundless gasp, feeling a few of her ribs break before she was thrown to the edge of the summit.
"Damn, Barry. Should I call 911?"
Baraqiel turned to see Yeshua sitting on a rock, drinking a bottle of vodka.
"I thought you only did wine, Brother," Baraqiel said, raising an eyebrow.
"Nah, that's for regular days. Today's a vodka day!" Yeshua said, swaying a little.
Akeno weakly sat up and saw the Messiah waving at her drunkenly.
Yeshua had been more useless than a hyena's penis. The man had done nothing but watch her get beaten by her father for a week. For someone praised by humanity as Christianity's Chief God, there was nothing godly about him. The only reason he was even here was because of the Law of Genesis. He was the only Law wielder willing to teach her.
Tosca Cristaldi could not teach her because of the neutrality rule that the Seven Stars apparently had to follow.
Brahma pawned her off to Yeshua.
Akane refused to teach her because she wanted to protect her brother's purity.
That last one made Akeno blush. She and Shin were not at that stage yet… and she doubted that they would ever reach that stage. Shin was too good for her anyway.
"When am I going to learn how to use my Law?" Akeno coughed out. "All we've been doing is beating me into the ground? How is this going to teach me how to tame the powers of Conquest?"
"We're just strengthening your body! You can't rely on Laws all the time," Yeshua said, waving his vodka bottle.
Akeno snapped and fired a bolt of golden lightning at the bottle.
"Nooooo! Mah vodka! You monshter!" he wailed.
"Just teach me damnit!" Akeno yelled.
Baraqiel sighed and rubbed his forehead.
Akeno had inherited more from him than she liked to admit.
Patience was certainly not his strong suit.
"Fine, fine…" Yeshua got off the rock.
"Are we finished with physical training, Baraqiel?" Akeno asked.
The man sighed and nodded, knowing there was no arguing with his daughter when she became like this. It would be like arguing with himself.
"Finally," she muttered.
Yeshua motioned for Baraqiel to give them some privacy.
The older Fallen Angel glanced at his daughter and Yeshua for a few seconds before flying back to the cave below the summit.
Yeshua motioned for her to take a seat on one of the rocks.
As she was about to move, she felt a sharp pain on her back. Akeno glanced over her shoulder and remembered that she had a broken wing.
"Don't worry about it. Your Horseman regeneration should take care of even the worst wounds," Yeshua said.
Akeno nodded and moved to sit on the rock.
"So what are we doing today? More meditating?" Akeno asked.
"No. Today, we'll get acquainted with the forces we call Laws," Yeshua said, using the Law of Genesis to sober himself.
The Laws of the World?
Akeno had heard that term get tossed about a few times. It was a nebulous concept that she had very little knowledge of despite possessing one herself.
"What do you know of Worldly Laws?" Yeshua asked.
"Um…" Akeno tried to think.
"Anything. Just tell me anything. What do you know about the world's laws?" Yeshua asked.
"Well, I know about physical laws like the Law of Gravity and Newton's Laws of Motion. Do you mean those Laws?" Akeno asked.
"Close but not so. Those Laws only describe portions of the actual natural laws," Yeshua said.
"Laws described by man are more accurate than Laws described by the Supernatural. But both fail to grasp the full scope of existence. Of this world and the worlds these laws govern," Yeshua said.
"Worlds?" Akeno asked.
"Ignore that last part. That's an entire hodgepodge of information that will overload your brain," he said, waving his hand.
Akeno nodded but made a mental note to ask him about it later.
"Tell me more."
"Eh? More?"
"About Natural Laws. Tell me what you learned in physics class about them," he said.
"Um… well, the Law of Gravity states that every particle in the Universe attracts each other via a force that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the distance between their centers," Akeno said, mentally thanking Shin for helping her with her physics homework.
It paid to have a boyfriend… friend who was a boy that wanted to go into Robotics.
"Mmm, I guess you're not all boobs, after all, are you?" he joked.
"W- Wha…? You perverted old goat!" Akeno fired a bolt of lightning at him.
Yeshua smiled and raised his hand, completely nullifying the lightning bolt.
That ability…!?
Akeno's eyes widened considerably.
"Surprised? I'm the last child of the Biblical God. I was born naturally like my older sister and not created like the Angels. Yaldabaoth was born via Parthenogenesis, a magic developed by certain Gods to give birth without the presence of a male God. Lotan and Elohim created her this way. I was born through Mary, a human vessel for my Mother's power and thus, the power passed on to me. Essentially, I was a human born with Stigmata," Yeshua said.
"But let's not digress. Your explanation and example of a Natural Law were spot-on. I never thought someone who looked as air-headed as you could ever dabble in science," he complimented.
Akeno squirmed in her spot. The display of power this man put on made her warier of him. "I don't. Science is Shin's thing," she admitted.
"Shin? That boy? Yaldabaoth's Contractor eh?" Yeshua stroked his chin.
"So tell me? Did I explain it well enough for you to actually teach me what the Law of Conquest is?" Akeno asked.
Yeshua nodded. He picked up a rock and rolled it around his hand. "The world is guided and composed of forces. Forces that set forth rules and guidelines that push the world forward in time. Humans see them as natural forces that can be explained via science and mathematics such as Gravity and Energy. Gods and beings of magical origin view them as the wellspring of a God's authority and the sources of magic themselves. For example, Fire Magic works by rapidly oxidizing material by inducing a chemical process known as Combustion. This is a process that is achievable by science."
"But Magic is superior to the weapons of humans," Akeno said.
"That is true but I'm just explaining that magic and technology are not too far apart. There are still some things that the supernatural can do that humans cannot but basic things such as…" he held his palm out and created a small flame, "generating fire is something humans can also do."
"So a Law is…?"
"Laws are the forces that underlie and control all phenomena in the universe, ranging from the understandable to the complex. All phenomena from cause and effect to the control of time fall under the authority of Laws. Even the Power of Destruction and the Authority of Rebuild fall underneath them. No amount of Divine Authority or magic can control the Laws of the World. Only those who have ascended like the Seven Great Gods or those who are natural manifestations of cosmic forces such as the Ouroboros Dragon can control Laws. As a Horseman, you derive your powers from the Law of Conquest, an offshoot born from an original Law known as Entropy," Yeshua said.
Akeno nodded. However, a thought sprung into her mind.
"What is… Entropy?" she asked.
"Entropy is a Law that can be described as… well… it's hard to explain. Entropy is the Law of the End. Humans described Entropy as randomness, disorder, and uncertainty within the system but in truth, it is a force of decay. It is the driving force that pushes the Universe towards extinction. It is the force that opposes the other Laws, which serve to sustain the existence of the Universe. Infinity, which represents the Expansion of Space and the Big Bang, and other Laws such as Karma, which represents Cause, and Absolute, which represents Effect. Or Genesis, which represents the Beginning. Entropy opposes them all.
"It is a force of destruction that will one day claim Time and restart everything back to the beginning. The ultimate fate of all Worlds," Yeshua said.
"And I… as a Horseman derive my power from it?" she asked.
"As a Horseman, your Law is an offshoot from the Law of Entropy. Though we have no idea where or how the Horseman came into existence, we do know that you are tied to Entropy. And there will always be Four. No more. No less."
Yeshua held his hand up and conjured an illusion of four gems of differing colors. A white gem which Akeno instinctively recognized as the White Core. The others she did not know but they were red, black, and pale violet respectively.
"Conquest." He waved his hand and sent the white gem to her.
"War." The red gem flew to her side and manifested as a tall dark male silhouette with red eyes.
"Famine." The black gem flew to the right of the red and formed another shadowy figure.
"And Death." The pale-violet gem hovered in front of him and formed a hooded figure.
"Each Gem represents a Law connected to each Horseman. Each one seeks a host to manifest its powers in. And each one consumes and corrupts their host with the single-minded desire to bring ruin to the World and return to Entropy," he explained.
"Your Law, the Law of Conquest, has a variety of abilities like the Law of Genesis or the Law of Karma. Creation of disasters. Generating an overpowering and domineering aura. But the main attraction. The meat of this Law is its ability to exert total and complete control over the Fundamental Force of Electromagnetism. In layman's terms, you have the power to dominate almost all physical phenomena that are visible to our eyes," Yeshua pointed at her.
Akeno unconsciously backpedaled.
"Light. Heat. Magnetism. Matter. Even magic itself. You may even have the power to control the polarity of an entire planet's magnetic field or even the Sun's," he said.
"Such a power. That's my Law?" Akeno asked.
"Mmm. A terrifying Law. Approximately, 12 years ago, you went on a rampage and nearly killed your parents and destroyed all of East Asia. However, you were stopped by the Sun Goddess Amaterasu at the cost of her life… supposedly," Yeshua said.
"I almost killed Mom and… Dad?" Akeno said, holding her hands up to her mouth.
"Which is why it is imperative we get your powers under control. The faster you tame them, the lower the chances you have of being consumed by the overwhelming desire to dominate and destroy existence," he said. "You've felt it. Whenever your powers reacted."
Akeno held her arm and looked away. He was right. There were insidious voices that whispered from the deepest recesses of her subconscious. Voices that told her to slaughter everyone around her. Voices that told her to destroy everything.
"If I can get them under control, I can remain myself?" Akeno asked.
"Possibly. We've never had a Horseman on our side before," he said.
"Peachy. Just peachy," she grumbled.
"But, getting you to remain yourself isn't our only priority. We are up against the Red King of War. The Red Horseman of War. He is the puppetmaster behind the scenes. A foe greater and more existential than the Khaos Brigade. War by himself will take a massive effort to bring down as he is almost at the height of his power but if Famine awakens, we'll need to pin our hopes on you" he said.
"Me?" Akeno asked.
Yeshua nodded and dispelled the illusions.
"It's a burden to put on someone as young as you but… that is the harsh reality of this world and of our current situation. You, Akeno Himejima, are our only hope."
This was the first day she had gotten a break.
Training with Yeshua was somehow more draining than training with her father. Even if they just sat all day, Akeno never realized how difficult it was to control electricity despite controlling it her whole life. A power beyond magic. A power beyond the Gods.
And this man, who possessed a Law, birthed an entire world before her as a demonstration before easily doing away with it.
Akeno landed in front of the cabin Sophia was staying at.
She looked around and saw several rotting trees and eroded rocks. Wafts of black mist rose from them and Akeno realized that Sophia's contract was similar to the twisted divine power she felt at Sheol.
"Haaah!"
Akeno whipped her head and saw Sophia flying into the air.
A figure appeared behind her and kicked her into the ground, causing it to shake violently.
However, Sophia recovered quickly, jumping away as the blade of a massive black scythe slammed into the earth, tearing it open.
"Sophia!" Akeno began rushing over.
"Huh? A… Akeno!? What are you-" She leaned her body back, avoiding the swing of Mot's scythe narrowly.
"Pay attention," Mot said, twirling her scythe.
"Tch!" Sophia held her scythe in a reverse grip and began channeling divine power into her body. Her wings unfurled and the tertiary feathers began to glow brightly.
She dug her heel into the ground, cracking it underneath the pressure her body was exuding. With a single step, she vanished from her spot, tearing up the ground around her with her sheer speed.
Several images of her appeared around Mot simultaneously.
Mot glanced over her shoulder, seeing the multiple images of her Contractor surrounding her. Their scythes were poised and prepared to hack her into multiple bits of flesh. A small smirk formed on her face and she brushed her pink hair aside.
"Come!"
Starlight Phantom!
That was the name of the new finisher she was developing.
A move of pure speed and power. All the images of Sophia dashed forward, creating several dozen sonic booms behind them. In a single instant, in a single moment, they all converged on a single target.
Mot.
However, the Goddess possessed eons of experience and possessed reflexes faster than even the fastest Gods.
With a few swings of her scythe, Mot danced around them, slashing each afterimage methodically until she hit something solid.
Sophia had twisted her body in time, creating a second weapon out of light that blocked Mot's scythe.
But the force of the impact shattered the weapon and sent Sophia flying at high speeds across the field.
She shot past a running Akeno and crashed through several trees before skidding across the ground.
"Sophia!" Akeno yelled.
"She's fine."
Akeno froze and turned around to see the pink-haired monster staring at her with blood-red eyes.
Mot. The Canaanite Goddess of Death and the Underworld. The elder sister of Ba'al, the Canaanite God of Heaven, Storms, and Rain and Yam, the Canaanite Goddess of the Abyss and the Ocean. From what she learned from Yeshua and Baraqiel, these three Gods were walking calamities and Gods she should never anger.
"Y- You…" Akeno took an involuntary step back and began charging her demonic power. Lightning crackled around her body, ionizing the air.
"Relax, Sophia's fine. That was merely a love tap."
Mot smiled, making her ease up somewhat.
But Akeno's instincts reminded her that despite this woman's kind demeanor, she was still a God and her self-preservation kicked in. It was a situation of a rabbit standing before a lion or an ant standing before a dinosaur. There was just too massive a gap between her and this Goddess.
"Haaah!"
She raised her fingers and blocked Sophia's blow.
"Tch!" Sophia jumped back and landed on the ground with the grace of a gazelle.
"Anyways, it seems that you have a visitor, Sophia. We'll end our spar for today," Mot said.
Sophia panted, her chest heaving up and down as she struggled to catch her breath. Her heart was beating a thousand miles per minute. The pounding sound of her heart resembled that of horses stampeding across a plain.
"O… kay," Sophia breathed out.
"I'll go tell Lilith to prepare some food. Next time, we'll work on perfecting sneak attacks," Mot said.
"O- Oi!" her face turned red in embarrassment.
"You don't scream when you try to catch someone off guard, my dear Contractor," Mot said, patting her hair.
"D- Don't pat my head, Lady Mot!" Sophia yelled indignantly, swatting her hand away.
"Ahahaha!" Mot let out a laugh and wiped a tear that escaped her ducts. "You remind me of your grandmother almost. I'll see you inside the cabin."
"Damn Death God," Sophia grumbled, watching her Sponsor walk towards the cabin. She traced a magic circle across the air and reached into it.
"So what's up?"
"I have a break today," Akeno said.
"Really?" Sophia pulled out a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap. Within seconds, Sophia had downed the entire bottle, gulping loudly.
"Haaah! That hits the spot!" she said, letting out a satisfied sigh. She wiped the sweat off her brow and fell on the grass.
Akeno sat down next to her, allowing the cool breeze of the Lucifer territory to wash over her. Her eyes trailed over to Sophia and noticed something peculiar.
"You… You have three pairs of wings," Akeno said.
"Huh? Oh yeah! Pretty neat huh? They grew in last night," she said, flapping the third pair. "I got a message from Shin the other day saying that he was training with Akane again."
"Yeah, I know. He called me the other day," Akeno said.
"Really, what did he say? Wait, he called you but only texted me? I'm jealous," Sophia said jokingly.
"Shin said that he was doing fine. He got attacked by a Baku during training though," Akeno said.
"A baku? Is he okay?" she asked.
"He's fine. From the sound of the phone call, he sounds like he just woke up after a few days worth of sleep," she said.
"That sounds like Shin," Sophia chuckled.
"We're not very good at maintaining a conversation, are we?" Akeno mused.
"No, we haven't hung out enough despite spending a lot of time with each other. Isn't that weird?" Sophia said, leaning her head on her knees and smiling at her.
Akeno smiled back.
It was true.
Despite being friends and members of the same club, the two barely talked to each other. Despite everything they've been through in the few months they had known each other, Akeno realized that they barely had the makings of a friendship.
"Yeah. How are things here?"
Sophia nodded and picked a flower off the ground. Within seconds, the flower wilted in her hands and turned into dust.
"Things here are fine. Dad and Mot have been training me in how to use my abilities. The Lucifer Ability to create an ability. Lady Mot's been training me how to use my Contract more effectively. As if I wasn't using the Authority of Serenity more effectively than I already was," Sophia said.
Akeno nodded.
"How are things with your… dad?" she asked tentatively.
Akeno stiffened before grabbing a flower and holding it in her hand.
"Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. We're mostly just sparring every day and training. Lord Yeshua is helping me handle my Law but his explanations for it are complicated," she said.
"The Law of Conquest?"
Akeno nodded.
"It's the control of Electromagnetism. I can do magnet stuff and control lightning," she said.
"Can't you already do that?" Sophia raised an eyebrow.
"Not the magnet stuff. I can also create cataclysms like that mega typhoon 12 years ago." Akeno tossed the flower aside and held her hand out.
White lightning arced off her fingertips.
"Did he tell you about the other Horsemen?" Sophia asked.
Akeno nodded her head.
"Can we talk about something else? I don't want to think about…"
Her trailing off was enough of a cue for Sophia to hastily change the subject.
"Well, Rias called. She asked how you were doing and I said you were doing fine training with Yeshua and Uncle Baraqiel," she said.
Akeno perked up. "How is everyone?"
"They're fine. Xenovia is training to use the Durandal. Yuuto is being trained by Tosca in swordplay. Koneko is training in the Gremory Gym and Rias is off training with her older brother. Issei is off training with Tanin. You're the only one missing from the mix," she said.
"I wish I could go and see them but… I understand why you brought me here. Lord Yeshua said that if Famine and War were to awaken, then I'd be our only hope in fighting them," Akeno said.
Sophia remained silent for a few seconds, absorbing everything Akeno had just said. She balled her fists for a few seconds. Sophia reached her arm out and pulled Akeno into a one-armed side-hug.
"But you won't be alone. You have us. Me, Shin, and everyone in the Gremory Peerage. We're not going to let you handle all of this alone just like we won't let Yaldabaoth take you," Sophia said.
"Sophia…"
"So don't go and think that this is all your responsibility. We'll always be with you, right?" Sophia said, flashing her a smile.
Akeno couldn't help but laugh.
"Oi, what's so funny? It took a lot of courage for me to say something that corny," Sophia said.
"Ahahaha, I… I'm sorry. I just never expected someone like you to say something like that," Akeno said, wiping a few tears from her eyes.
"Jeez, first Shin and now you," Sophia grumbled.
"Aww, don't be like that," she said, poking Sophia's cheek.
"Summer's almost over," Sophia said, looking up at the sky.
"What? Summer just started," Akeno gave her a dry look.
"Hey! Let me say a cool line every once in a while. We're stuck here for a few more weeks," Sophia retorted.
"Yeah but… I have you so I guess it won't be so bad," Akeno said.
Akeno closed her eyes and allowed the cool breeze to wash over her once more, savoring its gentle, soothing caress.
And for once, since she started training, Akeno felt at peace.
Peace of knowing that she had friends to have her back through all of this.
And peace knowing that he was always going to be by her side.
Her lips curved upward in a small smile as she began thinking of only one person.
I miss you, Shin….
So I guess this is the start of the three chapters I drop every once in a while. We got a lot of lore dropped her from the Horsemen to Laws. Essentially, Laws are what Yeshua explained them to be. A select few of you might recognize them as they are similar to Laws from... a certain visual novel series involving magic nazis. But essentially, in a brief rehash of what Yeshua said, the Law of Conquest, in addition to other abilities, controls electromagnetism which basically allows Akeno to control energy and matter on a very very very large scale. The scale of this power is very terrifying because she can reverse the polarity of Earth's magnetic field at the height of her power and even mess with the Sun.
But for now, Akeno is just learning how to do "magnet stuff" as she calls it.
So I guess that's it. See y'all in the next chapter.