Chapter 145 - Intervention
If there was ever a time where Crimson Soul wanted to get his comrades over 3000 miles away from this place, then this would be it. No, perhaps 6000 would be better. In the end, the most important thing would be that he just HAD to get the girls out of here as soon as he possibly could.
The reason?
This presence had almost unclassifiable energy levels. Levels that he could not even begin to fathom the possibly of existence, levels that left Biko, his Demon Persona, completely baffled and speechless. That was what kind of levels that Crimson Soul was looking at. There wasn't even a trace of any sort of attempt to hide it either, not to mention it just flowed out of the presence like a continuous river from deep within the presence, without end nor with any limit in sight. It almost seemed like it would never stop flowing… no, that would be EXACTLY the situation regarding this energy, Crimson Soul felt. This energy… if there was no limits to it, then just how the hell could that have been possible? Why? When? So many questions filled his mind regarding this presence, but there was definitely ONE thing clear to him.
That had been something Biko had told him once, negative emotions and DPUs mix well together, cause they were formed from carnage and warfare. Any kind that could be felt within their vicinity, the range of which varying from one DPU to another, a DPU could either sense, manipulate or absorb to boost their abilities, to fuel their powers and energy reserves. Envy, wrath, lust, sloth, gluttony, pride, all emotions pertaining to those sins would be possible resources for Crimson Soul's kind. One could say that DPUs are the true Chaos Gods whilst Khorne, Slaanesh, Tzeentch and Nurgle were merely imitations of the DPU's power. Negative emotions, no matter what, could be used to boost their powers though rage and hatred were the most beneficial to a DPU. They couldn't do the same with positive emotions however, another factor which made them the complete opposite of the CPUs who DID rely on positive emotions like hope and faith, in order to both function and protect their lands, to guard their people.
But this thing? Why, the DPU wasn't even sure that it would even NEED such an ability anymore, if this limitless energy he could sense was any indication. Why would it, when its energy was so overflowing with no sign of running out? It wouldn't need it to be replenished since it never got exhausted, it wouldn't need its potency boosted since its potency felt through the roof in terms of power levels. It would be classed as 'insanity' if he were in his human form, though thanks to his DPU form being the one he was in, Crimson Soul kept his composure. What a truly fortunate perk this was, DPUs seemed to truly embody the essence of warfare and carnage to have control over themselves even with stuff like this thrown in their faces.
Heck, for even more proof on that last claim, on the other side of things he felt Soul Edge trembling with sheer excitement and joy on his back. The DPU felt it so clearly that it would be comparable to feeling something touching him there all the time. Even so, Crimson Soul felt reluctant to draw on that blade just yet, especially since his comrades were still here. Whilst it was indeed true that their powers had intensified greatly since they last saw each other, Crimson Soul still felt like, in the current levels of power they were in his power would easily surpass theirs. This thing before them surpassed even his all the same, so the situation felt quite dire. If he drew Soul Edge now and PREDATOR (an ability that made it get stronger the more powerful the opponent is) activated, then the amount of power that it would gain from the boost… he almost didn't want to imagine the amount it would gain. Soul Edge's power now (even without the boost from PREDATOR) no longer would destroy just one continent with a full powered swing. No, now it could do so much more than that, which was another one of the reasons why the DPU wanted to get the girls out of here as soon as he could.
Soon enough however, his thoughts got broken when he saw the presence, bathed in darkness, suddenly shed that darkness as if it were a serpent shedding its scales. It literally just 'stepped out' of the shadows and 'into the light' one could say if they saw the presence… which finally revealed themselves to them as the light of the sun shone down on the presence. It illuminated it's features, apparel etc, and boy was everyone shocked to see what they did.
In the essence, what they saw was an adult, tall man about 6 foot 4. He stood there, arms crossed whilst possessing shoulder length spiky violet hair with bangs that were angled to the sides, while a thick strand of it went down the right side of his chest. His eyes, they were comparable to that of purple diamonds, being pure amethyst that almost glowed in the sunlight, making it so that any normal mortal or immortal female would get lost in them (fortunately Purple Heart and the girls before him were an exception to this). In this form, unlike the darkness one he had been in before, his attire consisted of a Black Trench Coat with a large collar, with a black muscle shirt underneath. He wore black military-grade pants that were tucked into a pair of matching large boots, with various belts strapped across his trench coat (some strapped down his right side), 2 around his waist in a cross manner. He wore pure black gloves over his hands, giving him an abyssal-like appearance. Like he was a black void that will devour anything in his path.
The man, now no longer clad in darkness, stopped pacing forwards whilst his hands pocketed themselves inside his Trench Coat. His eyes scanned over them, his gaze having the same intensity as a supercomputer. No, it felt more like a… well, a ruler of a supreme nation looking down upon a crowd of subjects. If that was a thing, though Crimson Soul also felt something else. Something else about the man that he couldn't help but find familiar to him. It didn't take him long to figure out why, and looking into those sharp amethyst eyes helped out greatly. This man… he reminded the DPU of a Tyrant, the way he looked at them just now, it made him feel like he was literally sneering at them. The words that came out of his mouth following these thoughts soon confirmed them. "Hmmm, so THIS is the group of brats giving you trouble…" the man spoke, calmly and yet in a manner that just felt so aggravating. "Hmmm, a bunch of worthless mongrels is all I can see. Though I guess before was somewhat entertaining."
Arfoire, who was still pinned and chained to the cross, tensed up whilst losing any color that her skin tone originally had. Normally when someone said that to her, she would have blasted them into oblivion, erasing every shred of their existence then made sure their homes were destroyed by monsters. As Conversation, she had made sure to 'enforce' the fact that she was to be respected as Overlord Momus' messenger and thus, should she be disrespected then the Overlord would direct the monsters (normal and Abnormal), towards their homes in retribution. However, this time Arfoire did the exact opposite of that as she desperately tried to hide away from his gaze. Sadly, for her anyways, these efforts resulted in futility thanks to her restraints. "Y-Yes… they are…" she replied with uncharacteristic meekness.
Something which startled the rest of the girls.
"Huh? Why is Conversation being so… subdued, right now?" Purple Heart wondered, putting a finger on her chin whilst glancing to the trembling woman. Part of her couldn't help but drink in the fear that she was radiating, another part of her showed pure anger that it wasn't because of them, since that meant that she didn't even see herself or her fellow heroines as even the slightest bit threatening. Yet, there was also a part of her which worried for what might happen, as the reason she had changed her tune so quickly stood before them whilst radiating power like it was no big deal. For someone so bold and arrogant like the evangelist, whom had been so cocky and superior before, to be reduced to something like this rung SO many alarm bells in Purple Heart's mind.
Plus, she could feel Soul Calibur in her hands trembling… as well as a set of mixed feelings passing through their link to her. On one side, she could feel intense PANIC from the purified Devil Arm. Panic that came from the raw power that radiated from this man in such quantities that the weapon couldn't tell where it ended. Nor when it would stop, as if it were a bottomless pit of nothing but pure darkness, death and misery. Panic and fear raced through the bond as if it were a crowd of people fleeing for their lives in a blind fear-induced craze, fleeing from huge monsters which were slaughtering them left and right.
On the other hand, though, she could also feel an undertone of EXCITEMENT, BLOODLUST and HUNGER from the blade. The excitement of a good fight, excitement for the opportunity to absorb such a high-quality soul. The bloodlust that came from a stimulating conflict, the thrill of the kill, to be a warrior. The hunger for the chance to prove its power against a powerful adversary, to achieve greater heights that it had not considered beforehand thanks to the lack of such a powerful opponent. These emotions… they came underneath the panic and fear, so Purple Heart guessed they came from the weapon's demonic aspect. It only made sense since the demonic aspect wasn't as powerful as the divine one Said aspect did not radiate any fear of this man at all, in fact it felt more like it WANTED to fight him, like it wanted to exchange blows with whatever weapon he wielded and to utterly dominate him in battle. To make him realize his place beneath it's blade so Purple Heart, the Goddess form of its master, could finish him off like she would be meant to. That was what she kept getting from that aspect of the weapon called Soul Calibur right now, though she didn't know why.
All she knew right now, was that this man was dangerous.
She would soon learn how right she would be.
"Pft, if she wants to play sissy, then she has my permission." Black Heart snorted derisively, utter disgust in her eyes as she held Balmung at the ready. Aside from her hatred for the Evangelist for what she had done, Black Heart could understand somewhat what she was feeling, since she felt it in a manner herself. Her instincts, human, Abnormal, Goddess she didn't know which of them, or perhaps all of them were though right now she didn't care, her instincts kept telling her that this man was bad news. Just from the way he stood, Black Heart couldn't keep the shudders from her form. If it weren't for Balmung sending her comforting feelings through their link, then she believed she'd have been much worse off. "Not like she doesn't deserve it."
Glancing over to her, Green Heart and Guts gave her looks, both of them a mix of scolding and concern (though Guts was more on the former than the latter). "Now, now Noire, you mustn't kick the opponent whilst they're down." She gently admonished, brandishing Gungnir. Like Balmung and Soul Calibur, Gungnir also reacted heavily and negatively to this man's presence, something Green Heart noticed right away and grew concerned over. 'Hmmm, this does not bode well for us… Gungnir's telling me to stay the hell away from this person… and now that I think about it, if I were in my human form, I'd be more likely to go crazy over how this man looks like he's from an otome game. Though, I do believe Nicky is better looking if I'm honest.'
Whilst he observed all this stuff, the purple haired man eyed each of the girls with no small amounts of intrigue… although, if one looked even deeper behind his eyes they would see something much more… sinister, in them. The kind of sinister that any father would want to keep his teenage daughter from, the type that any girl would fear. "Whelp guess I have no choice. Though I will say that whoever made that crystal construct over there…" he began, but his eyes glanced over towards Purple Heart who got the feeling he already knew it was her, much to her confusion. "… Needs to get their pathetic, worthless mongrel head examined, or better yet detached, for they did a pathetic and weak ass excuse for a try, because this can't be intentional. It is too weak for that; I mean, I could just do…"
FLICK!
SHATTER!
"That, and it'd all be over." The man finished… just after flicking his fingers towards the Crystal restraining Arfoire which then shattered into many thousands of atom-sized pieces. Pieces which just vanished out of existence thanks to the lack of power and support funnelled to them. "See? Even a peasant could do better than the shit-show that was." He remarked, all the while not losing that calm, composed demeanour. He then clicked his fingers again, and Arfoire found herself being teleported via a demonic Warp much like that of Crimson Soul's over to the man's side. She only had a second to recover though, before she would have fallen flat on her face… to the man's disappointment, she didn't fail at the quick task assigned to her.
Now THAT obviously sent the girls, especially Purple Heart, into a bout of shock. "EH?! What the?!" the purple haired CPU exclaimed, nearly backpedalling when she did a spit take on what just happened. Heck, the woman nearly dropped her weapon in shock over what had taken place at that moment 'What the heck?! What did this guy do?!' she shrieked in her mind. For a moment, she just blue screened, until thoughts returned to her… though, they weren't the comforting type. 'H-He just casually flicked his fingers… and my constructs merely shattered into pieces from that alone?! That… That's…!' Yeah, her brain was still clogged up from that blue screen moment.
Black Heart narrowed her eyes in silent understanding as she gripped Balmung. 'Alright, now I understand why Balmung's reacting this way…' she thought to herself. "Looks like this guy's not that much of a weakling then." she commented to herself, though the rest of the group heard it.
"Indeed." Green Heart added whilst Guts readied his Dragonslayer. The Black Swordsman didn't pay much attention to their weapon states, he just got ready for any incoming attacks. He merely focused on preparing for whenever this man would strike next, although if he WERE to think about anything odd about this man, it would be something like as follows: 'What weapon does this man use? I cannot see what it might be, so does he have an Inventory?' Bending his feet slightly, Guts darted forwards faster than the girls' eyes could track, thus not allowing them to get any chance of stopping him with words or actions. 'No matter, I'll strike him down with Dragonslayer before he gets a chance to draw it!'
That was Guts' thought process behind why he managed to get close to the man, shortening the distance between them near instantly and cutting down on the man's neck... only to not be able to even cut one of his hairs slightly. But he had no time to be surprised because the man's hand moved towards his head slowly, painfully so, but when Guts tried to step back and evade he realized that it was already too late as the man's hand was already covering his face, making Guts feel weaker than he ever felt in his life. Like an ant being stepped on casually but with the boot stoping millimeters away from fully crushing it, every single instinct he ever had in his life said the same thing to him as he felt the cold touch of this man.
Death.
It was all there s to it, Guts was completely and utterly at his mercy and everything he did, trained, or happened in his life has been made meaningless by just this slight move.
The man glanced at the sword which he had stopped on his neck, before glancing over to the man he grabbed, or to be more specific his neck. "Hm? Oh, how interesting. It appears that this one isn't completely broken when being touched by me, normally humans' brain just gives up and turn off by the slightest touch so you really are something. For a pathetic existence who isn't worthy of being in the proximity of a true god." the man mused, though whether or nor he was actually interested nobody could tell since he said it so blandly. His eyes then shifted back to his neck as he continued with a thoughtful hum. "Looks like you… you have a date with destiny…"
'Nn?!' Guts thought, his breath catching itself in his throat as he felt air enter his lungs for the first time in what he felt like an eternity. He started trying his very best to move, to ignore and overrule his instincts by using sheer rage and furry, but no amount of it was enough to get away from this being's hands.
"So, uh…" The man began, and even without him glancing behind him Arfoire, whom had been slowly inching backward (only Crimson Soul had noticed however), quickly tensed up, knowing who he had been directing his words too. "Quick question, who the hell is this mortal, again? He kinda got guts coming at me like that so I wanted to know his name as to make sure to kill everyone who has the same name. I kind of hope it is something like Bob as it means I can kill more than just a few."
Arfoire glanced at the man for a moment, before she responded with a dry tone off voice and the deadpanned look. "That's literally his name, the fourth word in the sentence after your question."
At this, the man DID glance at her, his eyes showing little, before he looked back to the struggling man held in his grasp, who struggled to escape his grip in vain. "Huh… so its Guts, huh? Weird parents, he must have had. I bet the father was a drunk bastard and the mother was a drugged whore, otherwise no one would choose this sort of name." He then thought for a while before showing a slightly displeased face. "Cheh, now I can't go ahead with my little game of killing everyone with his name. Who else would name their child this way, there is a limit to how stupid humans can be? And their parents probably managed to both reach the limit, and probably passed it forward as otherwise how could this one even think of standing up to me?"
Arfoire merely shrugged her shoulders with disinterest. "I wouldn't know about his family to affirm what you said, but what I can tell is that his parents were killed in a massacre by mercenaries and his mother was hung from a tree from which he fell out of her womb."
"Really? Huh… wonder what she would have felt like." The man answered, shrugging his shoulders soon afterwards. "Oh well, what can you do? Perhaps I can visit her corpse later, once everything's done here."
"You mean to resurrect it for your pleasure?"
"Maybe, or just screw it whilst its dead, no way she can fight back. Not that being alive would make it any difference, every woman is a toy to satisfy carnal desires and every man is a tool or perhaps a lowly slave when you reach my level, so her being alive or not would make no real difference."
'That's a bit TOO casual for talking about someone's backstory like that, and the insults to EVERYTHING is a bit much too!' those thoughts were the consensus of each of the girls, plus Crimson Soul (whom thought them notably calmer). One could not express just ow much shock and disgust boiled within the blood of these girls right now, hearing those two so casually discuss something as horrific as what those two just said about Guts' family. Even Crimson Soul looked a minor level of disturbed, but none of the girls noticed as they were too busy trying to not to hurl at the mental image. Plus, not to go absolutely bonkers in rage over how they showed little care about something as big as a massacre that size.
Green Heart scowled, absolutely furious. 'It's like they're talking about the freaking weather…!' she screamed in her mind. This… this was what people who don't care about life look like, was it? She couldn't help the disgust welling up inside of her, and she wanted to throw up. Seriously, just how messed up were these two? Green Heart honestly didn't even WANT to know at this point. 'Not to mention… his implications for what he would do to Guts' mothers' corpse… oh my goodness I feel like I'm going to be sick, that just sounds SO wrong…'
Yeah, those thoughts were shared by the rest of them, save for Arfoire and this man.
"Meh, this one isn't too interesting, so I guess I'll leave this one to THEM."
That was all the man said before casually making a tossing motion with his arm… and sending Guts flying into the skies like a certain trio with the 'R' word in their name. Heck, when he tossed him, a sonic boom erupted from his arm which caused the ground beside him to break apart slightly even though the man did this on the same way a child throwing a toy away would do.
'Ngh?! Biko, what the-?!'
'Calm yourself, it appears that this one only used physical force to toss Guts away. He didn't use any kind of magic or special ability, kind of like Okada Izou. Likely Guts will survive such a fall thanks to that Armour and absurd endurance he has, however take note… with the calculations on the force this man used so casually, its likely Guts will end up on the opposite side of the continent. And, it is expected that at least 70% of his bones to be damaged or broken at the very least and that if he were to fall close to Abnormals, it is possible that Guts may not survive this'
'Tch, you're kidding… Well, you never kid, so I shouldn't be surprised. What are the odds that this guy was the one who summoned that guy to this world?'
'Odds are: Very much likely, about 80 to 95%. His energy feels much like that which connected Okada to this world, not to mention that when you set up the Death Parade, I sensed some odd fluctuations that allowed me to identify this energy further. It HAS to have been this guy…'
Well, that was ONE mystery solved, something which Crimson Soul furrowed his brows at under his helmet whilst he slowly reached his hand backwards towards the hilt of Soul Edge. With what he had been hearing, his previous reluctance on drawing the large, vile blade that came from his very soul had begun evaporating all too quickly. Plus, there was the way this guy felt to him, not only did it just feel WRONG, like he should hate this guy's very existence more than anything he had ever hated before, not just because he looked at the ones he considered comrades in a way the DPU did NOT like in the slightest, but there was his previous actions to consider.
He had mentioned this before, but Crimson Soul, in his human form way back when, had dealt with his fair share of necromancers, enough to develop a proper hatred for the arts they practiced. Maghda was merely one of the many whom he'd dealt with, and not only that but she had been one of the 'tamer' ones. However, this… whatever this guy just did was NOT just mere necromancy, since A: the resurrected being had so much free will as he actively rebelled against his creators by allegedly slaughtering all those Demons (something which Crimson Soul had no trouble believing when he learned of it from Okada during their brawl), and B: he had an energy within him that was much more powerful than ordinary necromancy. If anything, it was like comparing the blackness of a crow's wing and eternal night.
Quite obvious.
Hell, Crimson Soul could sense the states of the other weapons too. Their energies, no matter their nature, each were reacting with caution towards this person, so that would be more than enough to ready his weapon for a quick-draw.
Then, the man noticed him, but instead of saying something… he just appeared behind him with his hand on the male's sword one, stopping him from drawing Soul Edge. 'Gah?!' he mentally exclaimed in surprise. 'Holy shit, that speed! I didn't even see that fucker move!' the male thought, glancing to where the man once stood only to see Arfoire standing there. Nothing but a faint gust of wind followed the man's movement, and even then, it felt like the wind struggled to keep up with him like he managed to break the boundaries of space for a brief moment.
That HAD to mean his speed would be unparalleled.
"I guess THIS must be the DPU that I've heard so much about…" the man muttered as if deep in thought whilst looking him up and down… rather closely too, something that, if he were in human form, he would have shuddered in no small amount of disturbance. "Guess he's just entered the Multi continent class, probably from that power surge a moment ago. Though judging by your age, I'd say you are a late bloomer compared to the average, though then again you ARE his champion since I sense his power in you…" the man mumbled, pretty much ignoring the rest of the party.
Just before Purple Heart could interject however, the man vanished once more and appeared by Arfoire's side. "You COULD have just left by now, you know. Those cockroaches wouldn't have been able to stop you." He stated, leisurely pointing a finger behind him towards the Party.
"And miss you trying to straighten them out? I-" Arfoire began, only to suddenly feel a chill go down her spine when she noticed the man's gaze. For a brief moment, Arfoire saw something else breaking through his calm, composed exterior, something that she NEVER wanted to see since the time that the man began their little 'partnership'. It was that look a wild animal gets just when it was about to snap and go on a bloodthirsty rampage. It made her want to hide as a small molecule, no, even smaller, in order to avoid that gaze.
Even so, Arfoire refused to let her fear show itself, as THAT would be the worst mistake possible. People like this guy valued strength over all, even one's life, if there is even the FAINTEST level of cowardice in his sight, then one can bet that he'll snuff it out like dousing a candle. She would know, she'd seen it before. "A-Alright, I'll be going. Take care not to have too much fun without me, alright? Or at least film it for me to enjoy later." she stated, though she made sure not to have the edge she would usually have. She had been shown MANY times what he would do to her if he was ever badmouthed, and as much as she hated it Arfoire didn't want to anger the one her superior in terms of power.
None of her powers worked on him, she knew this cause she had tried once herself. He had just laughed it off after severing then reattaching every limb of her body, then severed and reattached every major organ… even though this also had another effect she hadn't been aware of until he told her days later.
With a wordless nod from him, Arfoire clicked her fingers as what looked like a black portal of darkness opened beneath her feet.
Seeing what was about to happen, Green Heart acted first, pumping energy into her body and dashing forth at breakneck speeds. Her eyes shone with violent wrath, wrath directed towards the woman whom had caused her nation so much pain and suffering. "I will not let you leave!" she yelled, making to throw Gungnir in order to impale her heart…
When her instincts alerted her to danger and she jumped backward. Good thing too, cause the nanosecond she made her move, a crater the size of a school bus from Planeptune suddenly appeared there. She glanced to the source after landing, finding it to be the purple haired man whom had flicked a finger in her direction. "One: that weapon you have… I've seen it be used before… but unlike HER, you don't have the exact qualifications for it…" he mused, eyeing the spear intently. "Not to mention that Spear is merely a replica of the real one… and even the real one is a failed product at best so your failed copy of a failure makes it sort of match." He spat. "If you want to fight that slightly useful tool though, you'll have to pass me."
"Grr… move out of the way!" Green Heart yelled as she made to charge at him, her rage fueling her whilst Gungnir crackled with deadly energy. However, just before she could charge at him, several hands appeared in front of her that were outstretched, blocking her path and stopping her from her goal. "Huh?" The woman exclaimed, blinking before looking to the sources. To her shock, it was revealed to be both Purple Heart and Crimson Soul. "You two?! Nicky?! Neptune?! Why are you stopping me, she's going to get away!"
In response to Leanbox CPU's words, Purple Heart shook her head in denial whilst she glared at the man in question. "Control yourself, Vert. If you tried to go after the evangelist right now, then she'll not only get away but you'll be shredded to pieces by her companion here." She stated, pointing her Soul Calibur at the man whom had intercepted Green Heart before. Just by looking at him, she got the feeling that he wouldn't be letting them pass, something that had been confirmed by his actions just now. "If we want to get out of this, we'll need to focus on him."
Crimson Soul then nodded his head in agreement as he gave the man a look over, trying to search for weapons as his wings flared behind him. Luckily, they didn't hit any of the CPUs, however they did cause both of the girls to look away from the sheer heat they emitted. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anything which could imply what he used to fight, something which concerned him immensely. "Neptune's right, Vert. If you haven't noticed, our current adversary is right there, and he will not let us pass. I don't like it any more than you do, and I haven't even been here that long, or seen what you all have had to go through. Even so, it is still safe to say that HE…" taking a moment of pause to form a ball of Hellfire, Crimson Soul held it in a ready stance within his left hand. "Will be our opponent."
"Heh, nice to see SOMOENE's in the know amongst you cum dumpsters." The man spoke, his lips twitching as a dark look appeared in his eyes. The way that he referred to the girls however, quickly began to irritate the male, who poured that rage into his Fireball to make it the size of his entire torso. He then proceeded to hurl it towards the man, who batted it aside with a simple smack of his hand like it didn't even matter to him. In all fairness though, it didn't. "But yes, I'll be your opponent, through I do consider calling me your opponent slightly wrong, it is more like I am your DEATH really. Because, if you were having so much difficulty against that rejected product I made in a matter of instants..." he began, gesturing to the crater so they all assumed he meant Okada Izou. "Then you'll have only a SNOWBALL's chance in, I guess the sun, on beating me… fleshbags. Even if that idiot didn't go full out from the start, he should have just killed you all like I told him to instead of playing with his food like a mangy mutt. Oh well, that just shows that this ability I have needs to be refined to its original state once more as he was actively trying to not move like I wished, and was uncooperative the entire time."
'To talk so casually like that…' Crimson Soul thought whilst narrowing his eyes as both hands now sported Hellfire fireballs. Each of them were the size of a basket ball whilst his wings looked like they would morph into something else at any second. 'This guy must be VERY confident in his ability to win… though, if he could summon someone like THAT Okada, then perhaps he may not be all bark. The few feats I've seen so far only support that. We'll have to be careful, and attack very carefully.'
"…Ah, and to make this more interesting, I'll stay in one place." He stated, and to prove his words the man simply drew a circle on the ground with his left boot, a crude one but a circle nonetheless. Though, he didn't assume any combat stances and instead just crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Now then, come at me and see if you are worth keeping under my boots or if it there is no hope that any of you ca ever entertain me, maggots."
Far away from the remains of Halo Mountain, Arfoire reappeared from the Portal of darkness… or rather, it would be more accurate to say she was literally sent flying out of it from the portal itself as if it reflected the irritation it's master had with her. A loud THUMP occurred when the woman landed on the ground, a startled "Ouch!" escaping her, which she could only feel GLAD nobody was around to see.
THAT would be humiliating enough for her to blow the person out of existence…. Even if that were one of the higher ups in the Overlord Momus faction or even a village.
"Ugh, that man… the things I do for my goals…" the woman muttered, groaning as she stood up slowly and shakily, using her Glaive as a support. A sharp pain flashed from her rear, and Arfoire made to use her free hand to rub the aches away. "Ugh, my backside… Its fortunate I was able to soften the impact at the last second, not to mention that I left when I did. It felt like that man's irritation just kept rising and rising without limit…" she shuddered briefly, recalling herself some memories she had of seeing what happened when that guy went 'wild' from letting his irritation get out of hand. Not a pretty sight, and their many servants were still cleaning up what remained of their bodies.
At least now however, fortune began to work in Arfoire's favour. She would be a fool to think otherwise as she looked to the skies above, narrowing her eyes as she tried to get a reading from the stars themselves. Since it was the day though, it would be substantially more difficult for her to do so, but she got her bearings quick enough. 'Since he did intervene, it ended up saving my skin at the last moment… something I'm not all that happy about, but I'll take what I can get. Nothing will stand in my way, I will do what I set out to do, and that would be to change Gamindustri into what it truly should be. A world where the DPUs should be rulers once again, and if I do end up becoming the sole Goddess left to rule, then I'd not mind for the time being until another, stronger Goddess takes the job. Its not like I don't have an eternity after all, the former Goddess which ruled Gamindustri has seen to that.' She thought, furrowing her brows as memories flashed through her mind.
Memories she quickly suppressed, perhaps too quickly…
Once she got her bearings, Arfoire began to trek in the direction towards Leanbox's Capital MICROSOFT, intending to use that city for her trip to the next Nation. 'Now that things have progressed to this point, I do believe that the time for things in Lowee to achieve their apex has finally come. The long days of serving under that ill-mannered brat of a CPU are finally going to be over. Haa hahahahahaha!'
The fight begun with Compa going first.
Surprisingly enough she had remained silent through the entire conversation… something which meant that the man didn't even notice she was up in the skies until he remembered her energy signature and looked up. The man's features didn't change, but his aura turned into a mix of what felt like a mix, a mix between disinterest and the feelings one gets when they recall something they'd previously forgotten. "Oh right, forgot about that maggot… She just had so little power in comparison to what she COULD be…"
"Take this! METATRON: SUN BARRAGE!"
The Pillars that made up the 'crown' that shaped as Compa's Angel Metatron, quickly began circling around her, gathering light energy as evident by their gradually glowing forms. It took a second or two to charge them up, and afterwards Compa threw her right-hand forwards with a battle cry escaping her lips. In the next second, a series of 'PEW!' sounds got emitted through the atmosphere, as their tips unleashed a shower of brilliant white energy blasts. Each of them aimed towards the man's position as if they were bombs dropped from bombers onto an unsuspecting city, with the intent to burn holes through his body. such was the command of their creator whose eyes almost blinded her comrades with how bright they were glowing.
As they got within striking distance from the man however…
"Pft. Weak."
The man jut casually raised his right hand and, in a fit of boredom, swatted each and every one of them aside effortlessly… or rather, instead of his hand he just used one finger. Just like he had said he would. Each time an energy blast touched his finger, it tried to burn the digit… only to fail somehow, and thus get promptly smacked aside so it couldn't hit its target. Each one that got deflected, hit the ground uselessly and did a human sized explosion of light. Something of which, the man noticed out the corner of his eye after deflecting the last ray. "Huh, I guess you put a moderate amount of measly light power, for a mere baby maker like you, into those strikes. I'll be blunt, a weakling mongrel like yourself has no place using such a power. Yours is so inferior that I can't even make a demeaning insult its so bad." He stated coldly, much to Compa's fury as she tried to strike him again with the same attack: SUN BARRAGE. Unfortunately, like before it didn't work, and the man continued as if it hadn't happened. "To this day there is only ONE who is the true mistress of light. And YOU…"
In that moment, the man narrowed his eyes as he flicked his finger at the young girl. Her eyes widened when she realized what was about to happen, quickly diving down as she felt tremendous air pressure cross over her back to let her know just how close she had been to getting hit. She soon felt more air waves being sent her way, and with a quick use of Metatron's DIVINITY WINGS where her Angel took the form of wings, Compa accelerated so fast she left afterimages.
However, the man didn't look all that impressed. In fact, if one looked at him, they would see that he looked to be getting increasingly annoyed by the second, his eyes trailing her form's movements with ease whilst a disgusted snort escaped his lips. "Ugh, that stench... How the hell can anyone even stand such a putrid, tainted and impure light running through their veins? You, who likely rolls around in sewage all day, are nothing but a disgusting rodent compared to HER, your light is nothing but a spec in comparison." he sneered with utter revulsion. "Such worthless wretches... and as for you..."
The man stopped speaking when he sensed the 'wretch's' presence behind him, his right eye shifting behind him. She ended up appearing right behind the man, having switched her Angels and now held Sandalphon in a two-handed swing from the right to left and from way back. Just before she could swing however…
SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-POKE-POKE-POKE-POKE- SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH- POKE!
The man didn't even look at her when his right arm became a flurry of motion. Motion which finished faster than she could have ever hoped to track at her current level of ability. Even so, she DEFINITELY felt the effects, as all four of her limbs got torn off by his finger being waved about in slashing motions. First of all, her breasts got poked rapidly like machine gun bullets, with enough force to tear them off with absolute bloody savagery. Blood violently exploded from her torso like two fountains, guzzling down her chest like two bloody waterfalls. Dozens of varying degrees of wounds plastered themselves all over her body as if they were glorious decorations. If that wasn't enough, then a hole appeared in her throat where her vocal chords were located... the chords having been ripped out of there by the man's right hand.
"grk, urk, grrk, grk..."
Eyes shot open wide and trembled violently as Compa saw the blood flowing in front of her vision. The sudden loss of her limbs and body parts sending a wave of shock through her system. In a way, that would be a good thing since it would be better than the pain that would surely follow once her mind registered what had just happened. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out, no sound even escaping beyond inaudible babbles thanks to not having a voice anymore.
Aside from the blood from the removal of her vocal chords, none of the blood even stained the man's clothes as, with another flick, the man sent her body and its body parts away from him and towards the ground furthest away from the crater. The girl's form landed there, bouncing multiple times before rolling to a halt, wt her body parts scattered around her. "Are NOTHING compared to that above average whore."
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"COMPAAAAAAA!"
For a moment, each of them, no matter their state, became paralyzed and frozen stiff. Their eyes shrunk like saucers as their breaths got caught in their throats. Even so, it didn't take them long for them to finally regain their wits and scream out their comrade's name. Everyone screamed in shock at seeing the way that the Spirit girl got totally WRECKED just then, and in a manner that would give them some real nightmares too. As her form in all its pieces fell down the crater next to them, each of them made to follow suit when several THUDS impacted around them, leaving craters the size of buses in their wake.
"All you sluts don't have the luxury of worrying about one useless mockery of a harlot, you know." The man stated, having held his finger out as if having flicked several times to make those craters. His eyes held nothing but their bland looks as he made one more flicking motion, forcing the group to split up by jumping to different sides or behind to avoid the impact force. "That useless bitch will die, and its all her fault for being so weak, pathetic and worthless, just like the mongrel she is."
Oh, the group did NOT like that.
It was Crimson Soul whom acted next, not even waiting to land as he Warped right before him with a fist engulfed in Hellfire and cocked back. He threw it forth towards his face before Warping to avoid a cutting motion made by the man's hand, which caused a fissure to form in the same direction as his finger went across the ground. Once he reappeared the DPU quickly launched a succession of Fireballs, waves and created pillars of Hellfire from the ground in which the man stood at a rate faster than the fastest gattling gun. Unfortunately for him, the man's form didn't even get touched by any of the flame attacks, as if his very aura served as something that cooled the flames till they were doused. Almost like the cold grip of death was protecting him at those moments, soething that utterly baffled Crimson Soul enough for it to show on what could be seen of his face thanks to his Helmet. The man scoffed at this. "Pft, how pathetically tame. You really need to get your worthless head examined, you wimp excuse of a champion. The Hellfire of Sparda was much more powerful than that, my power could not even touch his. Yours is practically a CANDLELIGHT to his FIRESTORM, Mongrel. Honestly, why the hell did that power choose YOU if you're this level of weak?"
Crimson Soul scowled as he made to form more Hellfire in his hands, to pump it all full of rage and hatred from both himself, as well as his Red Rage Ring. But then, he stopped when he realized something: It appeared that the difference in ranks of power between the two of them had been all too significant. Not just his energy, it was likely that his overall skill was leagues bigger than his, and since he was in the multi-continent class, Crimson Soul felt that according to the DPU ranks of power... 'Oh shit, if THAT's the class he's in, then we're gonna be fucked.' The teen thought to himself with his eyes slightly wider and his jaw a bit more open, thus the transformed Spec Ops Agent felt shivers of dread crawling down his spine. Just a LITTLE bit. it was like each class was a league of its own, and he was multiple leagues beneath this guy.
Could... Could they really win against this guy?
Guys like this, coming out JUST after he had barely came out of fighting Okada alive...
Looks like lady fate wanted to whip them into shape, to so some SXM play like the dominatrix she was.
Not something the transformed male wanted to think about, so instead he mad to morph his wings into Tendrils so that he could restrain the guy, only he felt a force slam into his torso, right where his yellow core was located. This only made Crimson Soul go wide eyed, as the mind of the DPU quickly numbed down the shock and horror that the heart within experienced with this. 'No...! Not there...!' he thought, just before he got surrounded by his flames which then dispersed to reveal his human form, Nico.
'Shit, that guy hit my Core! What happened, Biko, what's the status of DDD?!'
'This is not good! It appears that, thanks to that attack, that core which was keeping your transformation active, has been hit! Therefore, not only have you been forced out of DDD, and will not be able to re-enter it for another 10 minutes! It would have been 10 hours, but our training unknowingly shortened the time... not to mention the ascension to multi continent class helped!'
'Ugh! Seriously?! Shit, that sucks!'
That would be quite frankly one of the WORST things that could have happened in this scenario. The weight of such a thing happening planted itself on his chest and began to constrict his lungs, making breathing already a daunting task to accomplish. Not only was DDD his strongest weapon, for it gave him the power of a being that could destroy multiple continents, but it also meant that his Demonic powers had been severely decreased. His DPU form was the best form he had to utilize those Demonic Powers, as outside of it they suffered a debilitating decrease in potency. His Hellfire and Soul Edge were perfect examples of that. Therefore, id he couldn't access it right now for a full 10 minutes, then he would be next to USELESS in this fight against this guy...!
SERIOUSLY not what he would have wanted!
If he thought THAT was bad though, Nico would get a huge reality check, as before the now reverted Nico could do anything, dozens of long, Skeletal arms suddenly burst out the ground around him in a twisted, morbid splendor, quickly grabbing and restraining him. They grasped him by the arms to put them behind his back, his legs were pinned down by the calves and thighs, whilst Ebony and Ivory vanished into his Void Storage to save themselves from their touch. The moment they did all this, Nico found his strength quickly fading, all of his energy leaving him like it were a crowd of people running for their lives from an extreme threat. He knew what this was like, cause he;d seen it a few times during fights with powerful A to S ranked Abnormals.
'Ugh! Shit, I can't break free or call on my Demonic Power! Biko, is it these arms?!'
'It seems to be the case. They feel like they were made by DEATH itself... interesting, I'll look into this, but for now it does not appear that our Demonic Powers will be able to help us unless we're freed.'
"There." The man mused, lowering his finger with a faint look of amusement on his features. A look that also contained no small amount of victory and sadistic pleasure as he twisted on his feet to face the rest of the girls, his hands now in chopping motions. "Now that the mangy mutt has been taken care of, time to beat the inferiority into these walking pussies." he sneered as he looked towards the others, whom were still in the process of Landing. After all, all of the previous actions had happened within a couple seconds. It wouldn't be like they could do anything, and if he were honest, the man had had enough of these weaklings, now would be the prime opportunity...
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... To teach them a lesson.
'Time to show these worthless mongrels, just what it means to face a god who is superior to them in every way.'
Chapter end!
There we go, another chapter complete. Nearly the end of the main story line on the Leanbox arc guys, then all we have left is a few mini arcs, some downtime before we finally move on to Lowee. Though, I will say that there will DEFINITELY be a surprise during the interlude between this Arc's ending and the next mini arc which will be the Spec Ops Exam. Look forwards to that.
Aside from that, This new antagonist, whom had been with Arfoire from the beginning, just showed himself to be far stronger than Okada Izou could ever be. He is someone I've been building up to for a VERY long time, and will have MAJOR impacts on the story from here on, in the past, present and future. What powers he has, and what potential he has in terms of sheer strength, well I will be showing that in a bit next chapter as, before this IF had practically no chance of intriguing him enough to use more power. As versatile as she is, her overall power level is actually one of the lower ranks. The only reason whys he would be able to take on so many Demons, lesser, and greater Demons, would be due to her insane regeneration and her ability to shapeshift. Her reserves are large too, therefore she;d be able to do that. However, this guy is leagues above Greater Demons, Demon Princes and I kid you not even the CHAOS GODS don't measure up to this guy's power. So yeah, meet the prime antagonist, everyone!
That said, read, fav, follow, review etc, and hope to see you all in the next chapter!
Peace out!
