Disclaimer: Black Clover is owned by Yūki Tabata, Studio Pierrot, and Shonen Jump.
Saga 8: Hell's Bells (Pt. 3)
Gravitos Rock Belt, Eye of the Midnight Sun's Base Exterior (Dawn; about 4 hours until daylight)
The reddish-black flames engulf the Demon completely.
"GHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Vetto bellowed out. "HOW DOES IT FEEL!? DO YOU FEEL THE DESPAIR YET, YOU DAMN DEMON!? BURN FOR YOUR ARROGANCE! WALLOW IN YOUR DEFEAT! FOR I HAVE ENLIGHTENED YOU WITH THE ONLY TRUTH OF THIS WORLD! AND THAT IS-"
"Tell me, Vetto, 'The Hopeless'." A voice was heard from the roaring flames. "Do you feel any euphoria of me feeling despair? If not, anything?"
Vetto's own words fail to come out of his mouth.
"I guess not much then." Claudius then emerges from the flames completely unharmed. "But for you, I've got several things to get off of my chest to dump it all onto your furry ass."
"SHUT UP, YOU DAMN DEMON!" Vetto then pounces toward the Fallen Angel, baring his claws towards him.
"First." Claudius grasps both of Vetto's hands, with each of his digits between his own. "The so-called [Ancient Beast Magic] that you use? That kind of shit is literal child's play back at my home. Normally, a mage of your caliber would be smart enough to pack more then just one attack, right?"
Vetto's eyes open wide in shock.
"... Please do not tell me that the only spell in [Ancient Beast Magic] that you know was only [Dragonbreath]?"
"SHUT UP AND DIE, YOU DAMN DEMON!" Vetto then tries to squeeze Claudius's hands with his fingers, but he wasn't even able to get him to budge.
"I was expecting to be disappointed, but you just had to lower the bar even further down." Claudius's fingers then tighten into Vetto's own, only this time, the beast-man's hands were crunched between the Demon's fingers, with said hands twisted into a demented parody of their former form.
Only then, the beast-man's hands then twist themselves back into their normal places on their own, thanks to the passive bonuses that [Ancient Beast Magic] provides.
"Heheheheheheh..." Vetto laughs in a low tone. "So Demon, do you think you can kill me with that pansy-ass attack?"
The Demon then rips off his burnt black cloak, revealing a scarred torso with a pair of raven-black wings on its back. "You better hope that I do it quickly."
The two fly towards each other, and Vetto gets immediately shot back by the impact of Claudius's punch.
"Second, the way you fight is a complete joke." Claudius points out. "Your movements are sloppy, your own powers have completely devoured what little remaining sanity you had left, and even though I clearly showed you the difference between our power, your blows aren't even trying to kill me in one go." Claudius then stomps onto Vetto's chest, digging his heel into it. "Are you still insistent on trying to teach me that so-called 'despair', or are your blows that weak? Either way, by sunrise, I'll be wearing your hide like a damn coat."
"I said..." Life then pulses back into his body. "SHUT UP!" Vetto then grabs Claudius by his ankle and tosses him aside.
Claudius spreads out his wings, reducing his speed and taking the air. "And finally, you claim that you know the 'truth of the world'. And from your insistent preaching, I'm assuming that 'truth' you speak of is 'despair'?"
"SHUT UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF THE PAIN THAT WE ELVES SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF HUMANITY!"
"Am I supposed to?" Claudius responded in an unamused tone. "Because you're asking me, a Demon, to pity you, a dead man walking?"
"I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY! I WANT YOU DEAD!" The beast-man prepares for another [Dragonbreath].
"You're asking for the impossible, you mongrel. "Claudius then pulls out from his partially intact pouch, a black apple depicting a face with a pair of crossed-out eyes and a sewn-shut smile.
He then consumes the whole apple in one bite before swallowing it whole.
"[Ancient Beast Magic: Dragonbreath]!" Another torrent of blood-red flames devour Claudius's whole corporal form.
"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Vetto gloated. "HOW IS IT!? THE AGONY THAT WE FELT THAT DAY!? THE PAIN!?"
"The despair?" A deep, yet familiar voice emerged from the crackling flames. "You really love to milk that word dry, dontcha?"
The Demon then reveals himself from the fire, with his already-demonic visage now peaking at infernal levels of hellish. On his forehead, a third eye opened, the top of his head now sprouting out a pair of long horns, his facial tattoo become more twisted and claw-like, his black hair now snow-white, the wings on his back now numbering to six, the white of his eyes now black, and his pupils now glowing blood-red.
"J-J-J-JUST WHAT ARE YOU!?" The beast-man yelled.
"The truth of the world. For I am now death incarnate.The judge of all your collective sins. The witness to your inevitable end. And the executioner of your death sentence. In the name of our king, Apocrypha, the Hungry Joker, I shall teach you the true meaning of despair."
The now ascended-Demon raises his hands, ready to beat the living crap out of this cowering animal.
"Pray that your soul remains remotely recognizable upon facing your maker."
The now-empowered Demon suddenly appears before Vetto in a flash.
"Because I shall not."
The empowered Fallen Angel then delivers an uppercut that sends Vetto's whole body hurling into the air. Vetto's hole in his chest heals immediately, no thanks to his [Ancient Beast Magic].
"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MY WOUNDS HEAL FASTER THEN YOU CAN MAKE THEM!"
"Then I'll simply kill you faster then you can heal them."
The beast-man then lets out another [Dragonbreath] from the air, but unlike last time, Claudius rends through the flames with his bare hands, causing Vetto to stammer incoherently in panic.
"WHAT'S THE MATTER, KITTEN!? WHERE DID ALL OF YOUR LION'S SHARE OF BRAVADO GO!?"
Claudius then ups the ante by grabbing Vetto's mane, and throws him down back the cold, stone earth below.
"Did you that your [Ancient Beast Magic] is based off a branch of [Demonic Arts] originating from the Seventh Circle of Hell: Violence?" Claudius then lands onto Vetto's chest, causing the now-blubbering kitten roar in unholy agony. "That little stunt of yours kinda pissed me off."
"So allow me to put your pansy-ass through the wringer with the true version of [Ancient Beast Magic], the [Demonic Arts Branch: Chimera]. Let's see how well your regeneration can keep up with it."
The Fallen Angel then moved, as the beast-man trys to stumble back up onto his feet.
"First, [Demonic Art: Ladon Flame]." The Demon breathes out a wave of reddish-black flames to the beast-man from the above.
"Second, [Demonic Art: Sphinx Claw]." Claudius's fingernails extend into sharp claws, rending through Vetto's flesh and bone.
"Third, [Demonic Art: Cerberus Fang]." A fist dug into the beast-man's chest, leaving three marks of impact on his chest.
"Fourth, [Demonic Art: Harpy Talon]." Claudius then kicks up both of his feet towards the air, slashing at Vetto's chest, drawing even more blood out of his body.
"Fifth: [Demonic Art: Gorgon Eye]." The Demon's left eye then glares at Vetto's own, causing him to become paralyzed to a complete standstill.
"Sixth, [Demonic Art: Basilisk Lash]." A reverse roundhouse kick from Claudius punts the frozen beast-man into the dawn sky.
"Seventh, [Demonic Art: Arachne Form]." At the beast-man's travel arc's zenith, Claudius grapples the frozen Vetto into an incomprehensible shape, and drops his tangled body back down towards the earth.
"Eighth, [Demonic Art: Hydra Barrage]." Just before Vetto can go back to his own impression engraved into the earth, the Fallen Angel appears on his supposed landing spot, which he then proceeds to air-juggle him with an immeasurable flurry of uppercuts.
"Ninth, [Demonic Art: Manticore Point]." As Claudius finishes with his barrage, he then strikes the statue-man's back with his finger, curing of his paralysis and untwisting his body back to humanoid shape, but in turn, sends the limp kitten flying back up again, but this time, leaving a sonic boom behind.
"Tenth."
Vetto then snaps back into his senses. He then realizes that he's flying.
And above him was Claudius, with both of his arms coiled around each other, ready to deliver the finishing blow.
"[Final Demonic Art]."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Now die, knowing the true meaning of despair."
In the name our king, Apocrypha, the Hungry Joker.
I sentence Vetto, "The Hopeless", to an eternity in the Fifth Circle of Hell: Anger.
"[Typhon]."
Vetto was no more. In its former place, an explosion of blood and mulch.
The Demon's empowered form reverts back to its former state of grey hair and hornless brows.
"My goodness..." He looks back at the folly he's made behind him. "I've just wasted my precious time on that bitch..." Claudius then flies back toward the fortress where his prince was. "Please hurry, milord..."
The Fallen Angel then glances at the rising horizon. "Daylight's near."
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: It was short chapter, wasn't it?
I mean, my plan is to save the 1 VS 3 fight for the next chapter, since if I crammed in that fight scene into the same chapter, it would oversaturate this chapter.
On another topic;
Yes, I just made two Hungry Joker references (the demonic-looking black apple and Apocrypha's Red Baron title), sue me.
And the [Demonic Arts Branch: Chimera] are roughly based off the Rokushiki (Six Powers) from One Piece, (even with its own version of the Six King Gun), except more versatile and only Demon-exclusive.
Oh, and there are other branches of [Demonic Arts] as well, so look forward to them.
Going off by the One Piece comparison, I like to think that the Magic in Black Clover are like the Devil Fruits, while Ki is like Haki, but only if the weakener versions of observation, armament, and possibly conqueror's all rolled into one.
Oh and on a small note, when Claudius said "neuter", he actually meant "completely obliterate".
So what do you guys think? Leave a review or a comment below, for I'd like to hear what you guys think.