In this chapters, our heroes will fight Eligor.

And yes, he's an evil knight.

An evil demon knight. Scary, huh?

Hence our heroes' reasons for getting rid of him.

I figured I wouldn't give him a simplistic personality, however.

I'm kind of playing with the idea of demons being evil monsters.

Chapter 11: The Dark Knight

"These demons like to hide in jars, don't they?" spoke Yuzuru.

"They sure do." nodded Tao.

After fighting some Agathions (unsurprisingly, their jars contained Macca), our heroes realized the Tokyo Diet Building was within sight.

Now they could go home.

It would be nice being able to rest easy without the threat of demons. Who knew when they would ambushed again? It was surprising how sneaky they could be.

"I have to admit, it's awfully hot out here." noted Yosuke. It was unfortunate that they did not have sunscreen on them. Unfortunately, there was no place to get some in the Netherworld.

Luckily, none of them had gotten sunburns. They would thank God for that, but they weren't sure he was alive anymore. Things were rather chaotic in the desert, after all.

The demons said that he had passed on.

"I know. That's why it's good to have an opportunity to get back home where it's cooler." agreed Tao.

However, there were angels blocking the path.

It seemed they were worried that demons would enter the Tokyo Diet Building.

Wouldn't want a massacre to happen, now would they?

Their job was to protect humans, after all.

"We can't just let anyone pass." explained one of the angels.

Tao wondered what they should do.

Unless they could get home, they would be stranded in a desert full of demons. Which was a very unhappy thought.

"Wait, you're the saint. I guess we can trust you." noted one of the angels. They recognized her as an agent of Bethel.

If they couldn't trust the saint, then who could they trust?

However, Tao was now an angel for some reason.

They weren't sure why.

Though there were people that had called her that, aside from the saint. She truly was a good person.

"But can you do us a favor? There's an evil knight that's been attacking us." explained another angel. They were worried what would happen if he was allowed to wander free.

His name was Eligor.

"Well, we have gotten good at demon slaying." noted Tao. They had fought a lot of demons, after all. Perhaps they were building up a reputation.

If they kept it up, they could take on really strong demons.

It was best not to bite what they couldn't chew, however.

Sure enough, Eligor was nearby. He was dressed in red armor. It looked sturdy. He was also wearing a yellow cape.

Unsurprisingly, he was riding a horse.

A demonic horse. He had black fur.

"Shouldn't he be in a castle somewhere?" asked Tao. It seemed the most likely place to find a knight.

"Well, it does make it easier for us to find him." noted Yosuke.

She imagined that was where he would be.

But apparently not.

"There's a demon king that has a castle in Chiyoda, actually. But I'm not going there at the moment." explained Eligor.

Though he had entertained the idea.

"Fair enough." nodded Yosuke.

"So, the angels sent you to fight me, did they?" questioned Eligor. It seemed that they couldn't handle him by themselves.

Or maybe they didn't want to get Abdiel involved.

Tao nodded.

"Since there's four of you, allow me to even the odds." requested the knight.

"Seems fair." agreed Yuzuru.

"After all, I heard you took down the hydra." spoke Eligor.

That was no small feat.

He summoned two Andras to give him support.

"That should do it." noted the knight.

It was ironic that they resembled owls, given that it was the middle of the day.

Tao struck first, hitting Eligor with Hama.

"Ouch!" exclaimed the knight.

Luckily, he was not knocked off his horse.

In retaliation, one of the Andras attempted to punch Tao.

But Yosuke blocked his path.

He hit the Andras with his dagger.

"Ow!" exclaimed the owl demon. He was now bleeding a bit.

These humans were strong.

In retaliation, another Andras punched Yosuke in the face.

He was knocked to the ground.

"Ouch!" shouted Yosuke. That demon packed a mean punch.

The Andras then flexed.

Sahori looked concerned for her comrade.

Being knocked down didn't bode well.

Eligor then charged towards him with his lance. Perhaps he figured he could score a critical hit.

However, Sahori defended her friend by striking Eligor's horse with Agi.

He was nearly knocked off-balance.

Hayatoro bit into one of the Andras.

It burst into Magatsuhi.

"One down, one to go." noted Yuzuru.

However, the other Andras became angry.

It looked like he was going to fight harder.

He cast Garu on Yuzuru.

"Ouch!" exclaimed the boy.

In retaliation, he shot the Andras.

The owl demon was wounded.

"I don't feel so good." noted the demon.

Perhaps his prey was a bit more than he could handle.

Yosuke then finished him off.

Eligor realized he was at a disadvantage.

Both of his comrades had fallen.

Now it was one against four.

Well, two if you counted his horse.

As such, he gathered magatsuhi for a powerful attack.

"We should defend." noted Tao.

Yuzuru nodded.

Immediately, they defended themselves from the attack.

It was lucky they did, for he was using Gram Slice.

Tao hit Eligor with Zio in retaliation.

Unfortunately for the doom knight, his armor was conductive.

It was made of metal, after all.

"Aaarghhh!" exclaimed the demon on horseback. He wondered how one angel could wield such power.

There was something different about this angel, however.

In retaliation, he cast Maragi.

"Oww!" exclaimed Yosuke and Yuzuru.

Luckily, Tao and Sahori avoided the flames.

However, Sahori was hit by his horse.

"Ouch!" exclaimed the redhead.

In retaliation, she stabbed the horse, causing him to collapse.

Tao then finished off the dark knight with a sword slice.

Being able to summon a laser sword was rather cool.

Though a metal sword would suit her purposes.

"It appears you've bested me. Well done." spoke the knight.

No wonder the angels had sent them.

"I do feel glad about it." noted Tao. It was an accomplishment, that was for sure.

"However, you should know there are stronger demons than I am." warned Eligor.

"I've heard of Lucifer the Demon King." noted Yuzuru. They said he was basically a one-demon army.

"Well, him obviously. But there are others as well." informed the knight.

He burst into magatsuhi.

The angels were understandably happy the heroes had helped.

"We appreciate your help. Though we still have that goddess and that human partner of hers." noted the angel.

"Who is that?" asked the saint.

"Don't worry about it. I think you've helped enough…for now." answered the other angel.

The two angels showed them the way to the world transporter.

Using the device, our heroes found themselves back home.

"I'm glad we made it." remarked Tao.

The Netherworld had been a dangerous place.

Suddenly, Abdiel appeared.

Our heroes could tell she was a powerful angel.

"Mistress Abdiel?" asked Tao.

"You know this angel?" questioned Sahori.

"She's the angel's commander." explained the saint. She had led them during the war against Lucifer. Unfortunately for them, they had lost the war. YHVH had underestimated what the demon lord was capable of, it seemed.

"I don't understand it…God forbade the demons from merging with humans…yet this one looks like an angel." noted Abdiel.

Things had been so much simpler for the angels back when YHVH was alive.

"Yeah, I do look like an angel." admitted Tao.

"Perhaps God has changed his stance." suggested the angel commander.

"Nahobino are forbidden?" questioned Yuzuru.

"Yes, they are." confirmed Abdiel. God was worried what would happen if one was made.

"Hmm…" noted Tao.

"I shall allow it to slide. However, I will have the director look into it." spoke Abdiel.

Sure enough, they met with the director.

"So, you went to the Netherworld and survived." noted Koshimizu.

It was impressive, to say the least. The Netherworld was not a friendly environment.

Especially since Tao didn't have fighting experience.

She felt that the pen was mightier than the sword.

"It was scary." nodded Tao.

"I assume you understand the threat that demons pose now." spoke Koshimizu.

"Yeah, I do." said the saint.

"Luckily, we should have an easier time fighting them now that you've become a Nahobino." explained the prime minister of Japan.

"You got that right." agreed Tao.

"However, I would like it if you would part with Aogami for the time being." suggested Koshimizu.

"Well, I don't imagine myself fighting demons right now." noted the saint.

"Exactly. I figure Aogami has valuable information that can help us with fighting demonkind." noted the director.

After all, he wasn't unlike a computer.

They did say that knowledge was power. And he got the feeling that Aogami was gathering strength from merging with a human.

Being a Nahobino had its perks.

"You're probably right." nodded the popular girl.

Though she wondered if she would merge with him again.

It seemed entirely possible.

Aogami accompanied Koshimizu to a different room.

"You should know that my memory is a tad fuzzy." explained the robot.

"I understand. But we'll do our best to help you remember." noted Koshimizu.

He found that Tao was pretty lucky that she managed to find an operational Proto Fiend.

What were the chances of that?

"I guess we can go back home now." noted the saint.

Yosuke sighed in relief.

Fighting demons had worn him out.

Yuzuru was relieved too.

He decided to go see his sister.

Miyazu was understandably happy to see him again.

"I was starting to get worried." noted the girl with glasses.

"Well, I'm home now." assured Yuzuru.

"It feels good to be home." noted Sahori.

She decided that she would get some rest. It was night time, after all.

The Japanese schoolgirl felt that she deserved it after everything she did to save her friend. And night had fallen.

Additionally, she had fought a bunch of demons along with her friends.

That should make Bethel's job easier. After all, they had taken down a demon knight.

No doubt people would be proud of them.

Koshimizu felt it was a good idea to go on the offensive sometimes. Abdiel was always on the offensive against the demons.

That way the demons would stay away from Tokyo altogether.

When she went to sleep, she had a scary dream. Though it wasn't quite a nightmare.

It wasn't a surprise considering she had been in the Netherworld. Or Da'at if you preferred to talk about it.

"Where am I?" asked Sahori.

She appeared to be in a fortress of some kind.

Additionally, she could see portraits lining the walls.

They were of different demons.

Additionally, she was standing on a red carpet.

This was just a dream...right?

And yet, it somehow felt real.

Suddenly, an incubus approached her.

Sahori gasped.

Unfortunately, she did not have her daggers.

How was she going to defend herself?

"There you are! It's time for the assembly to begin!" exclaimed the incubus.

"Huh?" questioned the redhead.

She couldn't help but wonder why the incubus had a horn located in that particular area of his body.

It made her feel a bit uncomfortable.

The incubus gave Sahori a seat.

"Thanks." thanked the teenage girl.

The incubus was scary, but he certainly was friendly.

She considered herself lucky this demon didn't eat humans. He was treating her like she was a fellow demon.

Some demons could really work up an appetite. Like the Pretas, for instance. When were they not hungry?

She noticed that there were many other demons seated nearby, which made Sahori curiously.

Among the demons seated were Onis, Pyro Jacks, Lamias, and Obariyans.

"Why are they all gathered here?" asked Tao's BFF.

Whatever reason, there sure were a lot of them.

Being around so many demons made her feel nervous.

However, they had no intention of eating her. It seemed she was safe.

She decided to look at the stage.

Suddenly, a scary demon appeared.

He has tentacles and wore a mask. And he had dreadlocks for some reason.

One could only imagine what he looked like underneath that mask.

"What is that? Some sort of evil squid?" asked Sahori.

She wondered why he wasn't in an aquarium somewhere.

But he certainly looked like a predatory animal.

It appeared that he was in charge.

After all, he was larger than the demons that were seated.

"Greetings, my minions. As you are aware, I intend to take the throne of creation. But I do not intend to take it for myself. I intend to take it so that we shall all be free from the oppression of angels…forever!" exclaimed the demon lord.

The demons clapped and cheered. That was a prospect that they were looking forward to.

It seemed this demon was indeed in charge.

"Huh. I didn't know angels could be oppressive." remarked Sahori. The angels that she had encountered were friendly.

But maybe not all angels were good.

"YHVH managed to cripple me, but I think I can regather my strength. Especially now that Lucifer has taken care of him. It won't happen instantly, but I imagine it will happen eventually. And when that happens, I will be ready to take the throne." explained the masked devil.

"I guess God really is dead." noted Sahori. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

"All hail the demon lord!" exclaimed the demons.

It seemed they were devoted to the demon lord's cause.

Sahori woke up.

Unsurprisingly, she was feeling sweaty.

But it was all just a dream…wasn't it?

"That dream was scary…but I suppose I understand why the demons and angels are fighting. Perhaps both sides have a point." admitted Sahori.

Perhaps there were good and evil soldiers on both sides. It wasn't good vs. evil, so much as order vs. chaos.

It was probably best to keep the barrier separating Tokyo from the Netherworld intact, though.

No point in taking unnecessary risks.

Maybe tomorrow she should talk to her friends on the matter.

Meanwhile…

Yu and Kouhei fought against a Kyodaigumo, a spider demon.

"Where's a pest exterminator when you need one?" questioned Yu.

"Don't call me a pest!" exclaimed Kyodaigumo.

They had some nerve calling him that, if you asked him.

Working together, they managed to fell the demon.

However, they weren't sure if Tao was in the Netherworld anymore.

Should they go back?

I guess that's the end of the first arc.

It appears that Sahori had a scary dream. And yes, it's similar to the dream Miyazu had with Khonsu in canon.

If you've played Shin Megami Tensei V, you'll know who that demon is. He appears in the second act of the game, to be precise.

But will he be as evil is in canon? I don't think I can make him more evil than in the game itself, but I can make him less evil.

Let's find out.

By the way, you're probably wondering why Nuwa hasn't shown up yet.

I assure you, she will.

But I'm taking creative liberties with the source material.