Chapter 31: Conquering Fire
Even with Shiranui's protection, the heat of the fire was thick as they entered the gates to the park. The smell of melting metal and burning chemicals was sickening. That and the brightness made Naoki's eyes water. He closed them and navigated through his demonic senses instead. "You can retreat if this gets too much for you," he said.
"There's no way I'm backing down from a challenge like that," Hanuman said gleefully. It worried Naoki briefly. But really, the demons should be fine if they fell here. He could resurrect them later. It was his own safety that he needed to be mindful of.
We have five minutes we can be in here before we get overcome. There, there's Gehenna! Past the wall, but not far in past that.
"There's a concentration of power past the wall," Amaterasu said.
"That should be exactly where we're going," Naoki said, hurrying to the door. The heat of the door was enough to made a different glow inside his closed eyes. Not bothering to touch it, he knocked the door off its frame with Chaos Blade.
A bunch of metal walls had to be shunted aside in a similar manner for them to reach the manikin who held both of his objectives. As he had Gehenna, Sakahagi was completely untouched by the flames around him. There was a scent of decay and death to him; the cloak he wore was made of faces sliced off dying manikins, something that made Naoki glad he wasn't looking at anything. He had nine knives hidden on various parts of his body, of varying lengths and widths. All of them were keen with sharpness.
Sakahagi was staggering along, injured from another battle. He clung onto a strangely cool object under one arm and a human arm in his other hand. That... that had been Chiaki's arm. "What did you do to Chiaki?" Naoki demanded.
"How the hell should I know what happened to that bitch?" Sakahagi replied, disoriented but not caring that he was suddenly talking with someone. "I do know what'll happen once I find her; I will finish her off."
"You give me no reason to spare you," Naoki said, tempted to use Deadly Fury again.
Not quite, you're almost ready to use that normally, but not yet. Gehenna is weak to ice and thus so is he.
"No one will stop me!" the manikin shouted. Hanuman bounded forward to strike with his sword. In spite of his condition, Sakahagi stepped back just out of the attack. He dropped his trophy arm and clasped the Yahirono Himorogi in both hands. "I will rule over all of you demons, just you watch! With this, I can call..." he screamed in pain and fury as Hanuman pressed forward and cut through his torso.
But as a being of clay, that wasn't nearly enough to kill him. It was enough to disrupt the summoning he was attempting with the Yahirono Himorogi. The unleashed magatsuhi burst out, unsure of the form it was meant to take. Without that direction, it turned to the chaotic force of the fire. The flames warped and gathered into a serpentine creature.
Having already concentrated, Naoki aimed the Glacial Blast at Sakahagi and the developing creature of flames. Sakahagi's body shattered immediately, crumbling to the ground in death. As Naoki hurried ahead to grab Gehenna, a shrieking roar cut through the heat and smoke. The magatsuhi was not as organized as would be in a normal demon.
"Now this seems fun," a woman said, playfully unconcerned about the potential danger. She was another fiend, one who wouldn't easily be overcome by such flames. Mother Harlot had a goblet of wine in one hand, quickly having a second. "Care for a drink? I think I know just the thing to match such a primal force of destruction."
"No thanks," Naoki said, then swallowed Gehenna. A moment later, he felt like the world had suddenly shifted under him. His throat and then his whole body felt like it was burning.
Sorry, we had to cut Gehenna across differently to use it immediately. You should keep your eyes closed as that would be less painful. This beautiful fire is a primal being, so it's going to lash out indiscriminately. Mother Harlot is going to be trouble, though.
But the fire was a being now, so it could be fought to death. How that would affect the whole inferno was something that had to be seen. "Amaterasu, Hanuman, you two can tell where that fire being actually is, right?"
"Sure, it's got a different look," Hanuman said, then laughed. "We're going to wreak it, right?"
"Of course," Naoki replied, bracing himself as a tendril of fire tried to strike him. His body still felt hot, but that meant the fire brushed against him like wind. When he struck back with his fist, the tendril broke apart.
"What, you don't have any interest in playing with the fire?" Mother Harlot asked like she was teasing him.
"It doesn't seem like the sort to play," he said.
While Hanuman was dancing around wildly, cutting up the tendrils trying to wrap around him, Amaterasu didn't have to try to be untouched by the flames. She used a powerful Expel move that did damage rather than try to banish the target with light. From her, Godly Light didn't bother Naoki even as the spell came close to him. It was too bad that the spell also did little to the primal fire beast, nearly passing right through it.
"This is weird, but this thing's not taking magic damage," Naoki said to his followers.
"We've still got this," Amaterasu said, changing over to casting Tarukaja on them so they could deal more damage.
"You don't seem to be doing much physical damage either," Mother Harlot said. Since he wouldn't drink with her, she seemed content to dance around.
It was true. As a being of fire, it had nothing much to strike at. But as she was doing nothing to help, Mother Harlot had no place being critical. Could she be tricked into being helpful?
Almost certainly, but you'll have to get flirty with her to do that. Don't worry, we should be able to pull this off.
That had Naoki worried more than trying to fight this fire. Following Satan's suggestions, he retorted back to her, "Well you're not doing anything but looking pretty here." That seemed to make her happy, so he added, "I don't think you'd be able to do much to it either."
"Oh ho ho, you have no idea what I'm capable then," she said, stopping her dance to whistle. A huge seven-headed beast jumped into the fray from nowhere, landing right at Harlot's side. Six of its head snapped at the fire's tendrils while the seventh curled around so Harlot could hop up on its back. Like with the Rider's horses, the beast would have a linked identity with her. "I'll show you how much more passionately I can burn than this mindless thing."
"Go ahead and show it all off," Naoki said, making Harlot laugh harder as she threw out a potent Almighty attack that would cut through anything. It had a heady scent to it, like sweet wine, that would muddle the mind of beings that could think.
"Demi, are you okay?" Amaterasu asked in concern.
He hadn't been hit by the fire that hard, so it must be about how he was acting. Unfortunately, he couldn't reassure her easily without tipping off Harlot. "I'm seeing nothing but pink," he answered as if he were touched too much by the scent of wine. It was technically true since his eyes were still closed and the fire was intense.
"Huh?" Amaterasu asked quietly, worried even more about him.
"That tends to happen when naive boys meet me for the first time," Harlot said cheerfully while attacking the fire being again. Her attacks were disrupting its hold on itself. At Naoki's side, Amaterasu got angered although she didn't reply right off.
We can apologize to her later. We do have Megido, but it won't be nearly as impressive as her Babylonian Wine. Let's try Glacial Blast again, though. A weakness can cut through a magical defense like this at times.
Setting up to cast Glacial Blast did cool his body off. Actually, it was mildly painful using it when he had Gehenna in the fore. It felt like something he could get used to. Naoki searched for the highest concentration of magatsuhi for the fire being and sent the spell after that. When it hit, the being's shriek of pain fell apart even as it vaporized the ice. It tried to bring itself back together and went too far, forming a dense orb for a center. The fire gave a rumbling roar, straining to keep the new orb up high, too high for any of them to get close.
There were distance physical skills that should do a number on it. But Naoki had another idea. "Hanuman! I can throw you up there."
"Got it, boss!" As he darted over with building enthusiasm, Naoki focused and tapped into his physical magatama. Crouch down, offer one hand as a foothold and the other for a hand… the padded foot was in hand, Hanuman clasped his other hand while leaving his sword out in the other for balance. Naoki hurled him towards fire being's new core.
Acting like he'd done this dozens of times before, Hanuman curled his body and spun through the air. He was already focused. Once he got to the core's level, he unfurled and sliced through the core with astounding speed. His arms would be a blur if Naoki was looking. The fire being fell apart again. This time, it drew more of the inferno around them into itself trying to keep together.
Hanuman never landed from his move. As he'd started coming down, he used his victorious move to change again into something greater. Wu Kong didn't touch the ground either, discarding weapons entirely to gather a cloud at his feet to levitate with. "Hah, I am invincible now!" he declared.
Well, he had no weaknesses. That was still far from invincible. "Too bad we can't use that launching trick again," Naoki said, though he was happy for him.
"Oh, I'm sure we can come up with some crazier tricks," Wu Kong said. "So is this thing going to die any time soon?"
"Probably when it runs out of fire," he said. "We've got it, although Mother Harlot here is still just being pretty for the battle."
"I'd be flattered, but I can rip this primal beast apart quicker than you," she said, taking it for a challenge. Mother Harlot struck the reforming core with a Ziodyne, causing it to drop back down. Her beast snapped and snarled, tearing through what fell even though it was only flames.
The light against his eyelids was darkening as the fire desperately drew in more flames to stay functioning. Wu Kong was now punching and kicking his way through the scattering being, trying to keep it from reforming. When another core tried to form nearby, Naoki punched it out of doing so as well. The air grew cooler and the fire being eventually fizzled out of existence. The stench of smoke and molten metal still hung on tight.
"It was a shame to destroy that beast," Mother Harlot said. "It would have made for a nice pet, if one voracious about fire. But you see now how elegantly powerful I truly am?"
"Yes, thank you for helping us take care of it," Naoki said. While she was stunned at that, he turned his head towards Amaterasu and put his hand over his eyes. "Is it safe to look around now?"
"You should be fine as long as you don't look directly at some of the heaps of metal," she said.
"You had your eyes closed this whole time?" Harlot asked.
He finally opened his eyes and looked at her. She appeared to have a human body, although it was mostly trickery through her layered attire of translucent silk and sparkling gold. Even her face was covered up by a pink-veiled headdress. "Yes, it was way too bright in here for human eyes."
"It must have been too bright for you if you couldn't tell that," Amaterasu added.
"So then, it was all trickery to get me to do what you wanted?" She laughed at that, using a gloved hand to pull her veil aside. Although she used her own trickery to look attractive, her face was still that of a grinning skull. "To fight blindly and charm even me into doing your bidding, you do seem like someone I might call a peer. But not quite. You see..." she gestured to him, but then stopped suddenly. "Hmm?"
"What are you trying?" Amaterasu asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. She seemed willing to snap him out of trouble if something happened.
"There's something in those pretty gray eyes that I don't see often," Harlot said, curling her hand near her chin. "I wonder. Well, you have me here to do as we please. Would you care for a challenge," she summoned her candelabrum to her hand, "for our little game?"
Using Whisper, he told Amaterasu, 'Don't worry, I was acting a little off to trick her.' Then he replied to Harlot, "Sure, while we've got you here."
"Well I was going to seduce you and see how you'd fare in those conditions," Harlot said. "But it seems you're the polar opposite from our master in that regards. Heh, it's surprising to me that he'd still choose you in spite of that. So let's see how your followers fare." As she spoke, she sent the candelabrum away and caused a pink haze to fill the air.
That's a strong charm spell based on feelings of lust, so it's not about to affect you. But, it could hit the other two hard since she has means to bypass normal resistances.
"What is this?" Amaterasu asked, cringing as she fought it.
'Keep it together, you two,' Naoki whispered to them. Harlot had no weaknesses. In fact, she would reflect all of his physical attacks. Electric attacks would even heal her. But, Glacial Blast should still work just fine.
Near him, Amaterasu was distracted in trying not to get charmed. Wu Kong swerved around to face him. "And why should I take orders from you now? I'm invincible!" Then he winked since Harlot wouldn't see it. Wu Kong wasn't affected yet and was hoping for some trickery.
"Is that what you think?" Naoki dared him outwardly. Then he whispered, 'Go ahead and tussle with me a moment. Your attacks will only help her, so I'd like you to distract her beast once I make the first attack.'
Wu Kong gave a slight nod, then leapt at him with fists at ready. He was a lot more nimble as well as stronger, able to dart around without touching the ground at all. While Naoki covered his Concentrate with defending himself, the martial monkey expertly whiffed every attack made at him. If one of those punches did land, though, it'd be like a sledgehammer. Harlot laughed at this.
"Stop doing this!" Amaterasu said, playing up her struggle more than it was affecting her now. She called back powerful fire to attack Harlot with.
'Go' Naoki whispered, then followed up with Glacial Blast. The beast stumbled back at the force of the blow; Harlot clung onto its neck tighter to keep perched on it.
Then Wu Kong was there, poking three of the beast's seven heads to get its attention. He bounced around keeping just out of its snapping jaws. "A miss and a miss, and a miss… come on, you can do better than that!"
"You won't get anywhere taunting me," Harlot said. Except, she did look down to him and started up another spell just to hit Wu Kong.
As long as she didn't heal herself, they had this in the bag. 'Give me a moment to concentrate again, then we'll hit her together,' Naoki whispered to Amaterasu.
"You got it," she said back quietly. And with the combined forces of fire and ice, they brought Mother Harlot down. The Candelabrum of Beauty appeared on the ground; its flickering black flames were the only sign that it had been disturbed.
"Thanks, both of you," Naoki said, picking the gold candelabrum off the ground. "That's one more."
"Not a problem," Wu Kong said. "How many more have you got?"
As Naoki shrugged, Mother Harlot reappeared. "That would be two more, Pale Rider and Trumpeter. There are other fiends out there, of course, but they're the only two left in the game of candelabrum. Hmm, I suppose you have done well. I didn't expect you to take me down in one go as well."
"I have a sun goddess who's been loyal to me for many identities and an invincible monkey," Naoki said. "How could you expect to win?"
"He's got that right!" Wu Kong said proudly.
"Naturally we'll give our all for him," Amaterasu added.
Harlot chuckled and took a sip from her goblet. "I see, I see. Such devotion from other demons is a treasure, dear Demifiend, don't forget that." She then curtsied to him. "I am the Fiend Mother Harlot, here for whatever you may desire."
As he agreed with her on the point of loyalty, Naoki gave her a slight bow. "I am the Demifiend, I will use your power well. Although, don't expect me to have the same tastes as you."
"Well it's not what your purpose is really for, so I'll accept that." She tapped him on the forehead playfully. "You are missing out on much pleasure, though. I can at least teach you the finer points of wine if you wish."
Naoki nearly said no, but an idea came to him. It was horrible in a way, but it could solve a problem. "Not myself, but there is something you could help me with. How would I go about making an angel drunk without them realizing it?"
As that truly amused her, she burst into laughter again. "Oh-ho, that sounds like you have something truly fiendish in mind. That's easily done if you have a way with words and great skill with mixing drinks. You wouldn't have the latter, but I can handle that. Although, we're best off going to see my old friend Nyx. She'd be the only one in this world to have the right supplies for it. Now, what exactly do you want done?"
They didn't need to be in Yoyogi Park any longer, so Naoki explained his ideas to her as they walked over to meet up with Yuko. Harlot was eager about his plan, offering advice about his target and other ideas to make it work. While he wanted to get back to help Futomimi, this felt much more important to accomplish if he could pull it off now. Harlot seemed to think he could.
When they got to the shrine, Naoki tried to ignore the call of Kailash. The magatama was with another legendary figure he recognized, the Heavenly King Bishamon. The ancient king was outside of the shrine with the others there: Yuko, Sentata, Oberon, Titania, and even the troll who had lugged the terminal over here. "The fire's out already?" Oberon called over. "What did you do to it?"
"Beat it into submission," Naoki replied.
"What else would you expect out of the Demifiend?" Mother Harlot asked.
"Well we've seen some who weren't all that impressive," Oberon said. "But you're certainly different."
"I'm glad you came out fine," Yuko said, relieved more than anything. "What about the manikin?"
"He's dead now," Naoki said, calling out the Yahirono Himorogi. "Got this from him too. But, he used up a lot of the energy it had messing around with the fire."
She accepted it from him. "I see. Still, it should be enough. I'll be able to get the name for my Reason from Aradia now and why she wouldn't tell me it before."
"Is that how it works?" Naoki asked. Isamu, Chiaki, and Futomimi had all known the names of their Reasons without knowing what god to call on. Hikawa might have even known his Reason's name before Conception happened. Did she really need this artifact to find that out? If Aradia was supposed to tell her that, he could probably be more effective at coercing the goddess with Kailash.
However, she didn't seem to hear his question. He noticed that darkness again; Aradia only offered hope with no way to fulfill it. It seemed like one would have to be blind to accept that goddess. But, maybe Yuko was? It didn't seem right. This was his teacher, one who had changed the very way he thought and made school a lot easier on him. She should be able to recognize when a situation was bad.
Aradia took her over more rapidly than before, backing away from them with a swiftness that was unsettling. The bitterfly guardian with her wasn't acting to stop this. "The odds are powerfully against us," Aradia said. "The odds are powerfully against you, Fool of Chaos. Do you see now? Whatever choice you make, you will have to sacrifice a portion of your heart, if not all of it."
"That's not true," Mother Harlot said. And with some assurance from Satan, Naoki could tell that she was speaking what she believed was truth.
But so was Aradia. "I know you've seen your future in a multitude of ways. You will lose all that you love; you will be ridiculed, abandoned, hated, and cursed. But for the true players of this game, you are nothing but a pawn trying to surpass a queen's power, something to be tossed aside should you fail or come close to victory. Are you afraid of this dire fate that hangs over you by no fault of your own?"
Naoki didn't want to be abandoned. Or hated, to tell the truth. But then, he was already running that risk just being what he was now. His fate couldn't get much worse if he raised the stakes by pursuing something he wanted for himself.
"No," he told Aradia. "I did not choose to become the Demifiend, but since I was chosen, I'm not afraid to accept this fate now."
"I see. Your hope and power would be enough to bring any Reason to Kagutsuchi. Don't lose it." Then she dropped her possession over Yuko. She looked disappointed; her magatsuhi was cold and bitter. "Oh… that didn't work."
"Yuko?" Sentata asked, going to her side and reaching out to her.
"Yuko, you should be able to find the name for your Reason on your own," Naoki said, trying to encourage her.
But it was like she hadn't heard them. "But I can't lose hope. There must be something..." the Yahirono Himorogi shifted its top point. Amala characters flickered across its side. "Something should be done. I need to find..." she started walking off, still watching the artifact in her hands.
"Wait!" Sentata said, starting after her a couple steps.
"Something's keeping her from hearing us, maybe Aradia," Naoki said. "I always thought she was a wise and strong woman, but ever since the Conception, she's..." he licked his lips, trying to figure out how to word this. "There's a darkness to her I never thought she had; I'm not sure what's going on with her anymore."
"We can't just leave her be, even with that servant of Kagutsuchi," Sentata said. He then turned to Oberon and Titania. "Forgive me, I know we should search out the others, but I'm concerned for that woman. I'd like to follow her for her protection, and see if I can't get through to her."
"She seems to bear an unnamed Reason," Titania said. "Go on ahead, the two of us can handle things here."
"Right, she could use your help more than us right now," Oberon added with a nod.
"Thank you," Sentata said, then hurried off to catch up to Yuko. He was a shade of a hero, so Naoki felt better having him looking after her.
"We should be off helping to track down the other fairies," Titania said. "Thank you for your assistance, Bishamon."
"It's no trouble to me," the heavenly king said. "Just send them here and I'll make sure the area is safe."
"Good, we'll discuss what to do later," Titania said, then patted the troll's shoulder. "You just keep an eye on your treasure then, I suppose. It could be useful."
"Yeah, purty thing safe with me," the troll said, glad to be left with his terminal. The king, queen, and what other fairies were there left to search out others who had escaped the fire.
Bishamon then looked at him. "You beat a fire into submission with your bare fists?"
"And some magic, yes," Naoki said. "You have one of my magatama." And it didn't matter who he was, he'd get beaten into submission too if he refused to hand Kailash over. But no, this didn't require a fight yet.
"Indeed," Bishamon said, taking it out of his armor. "I intended on dueling you for it, but if you can conquer a massive fire through battle, I see no need for that. You even have this fiend following you, so you must have considerable skill as well."
"Oh yes, I wouldn't take orders from just anyone," Harlot said, acting happy for it.
Bishamon then offered Kailash to him. "I will allow you to take it then, although I do hope we can duel sometime soon. Not now, I have given my word to the fairies."
"I hope so too, thank you," Naoki said, taking Kailash and swallowing it. He was fairly certain it wasn't going to disrupt him much.
"How many do you have left to find?" Bishamon asked.
"Three more," Amaterasu said, to which Naoki nodded.
"When you do find them all, there is someone who would like to meet with you," Bishamon said. "Go speak with the minister of the Cathedral of Shadows once you have them; he'll let you know where to go and what to do."
"I know, I hope that happens soon," Naoki said, glad there wasn't much fuss over getting this magatama.
"If you'll excuse me then, I need to check over these grounds to make sure it is safe for the fairies," he said, then left to search around his shrine.
Glad for that, Naoki turned to Mother Harlot. "Since we're done here, I'd like to put this plan of ours into motion soon, before they catch on about it."
She nodded. "Yes, we should strike quickly. Do you need me to speak with the other fiends?"
"No need," Naoki said, silently beckoning with Whisper. "Three of the Riders are with us; they will have overheard."
In response, Black, Red, and White all appeared around them. "We have indeed," White said. "This is a highly ambitious move for you, especially with Pale being unconvinced so far."
"It's very risky too," Amaterasu said, worried. She put her hand on her chest. "Are you certain about this?"
"Yes," Naoki said. This wasn't a time to doubt, either in himself or his plan. He'd deal with the consequences as they came. "I could be safe and just return to Asakusa. But whatever I end up doing, this is too important to me to leave alone. Besides, I'm sure Pale Rider will at least agree to face me in battle if I pull this off."
"If you do pull it off, it should be enough for him, battle or no," Black said.
"And you don't go becoming a legend by taking things safe," Wu Kong said, smiling proudly. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's got this."
"I'd like to help out more directly, but convincing Pale is important," Red said. "You can depend on us if things go south. Shall we inform the other players?"
Naoki nodded and gave them more specific instructions.
She'd been beaten by a manikin. Never mind that that one was more powerful than he deserved, it was an utter disgrace. Chiaki should have won, she nearly did. But nearly wasn't good enough. Nearly was getting a sub-par test score and not proving oneself the best; it was a shame and it was not right. She had to survive, yes, but she should be conquering this world.
"Woman, why do you bear such anger with a desire for conquest?"
Who was speaking to her? Chiaki looked around, but her vision was hazy. This was a cool dark place. Close to her, a red light pulsed. Was that the light that had led her? She had been following some light, trying to go somewhere when her mind wasn't clear.
"I thought I had the power to personify my Reason," she said. "I thought I'd grown stronger, but it wasn't enough. Are you the one who called me here?"
"Yes. I am Gozu-Tennoh."
There didn't seem to be anyone in this place with her. Some torches held small flames, dying quietly. But it felt like someone was here, someone with true power. "Then you haven't died."
"Not quite. Ever since my defeat at the hands of the followers of stillness, my spirit has been drifting. I do not give in easily, even when there is little I can do. With that shame of that defeat ever in mind, I will find a way to overcome them when they least expect it. I have spoken to others, but none have proven suitable to work with."
"I do not want to give in either," Chiaki said. "But at this rate, my Reason will be lost. I want to build a strong world so people get what they deserve. All the people who should be agreeing with me are being idiots, though. Hikawa did something to help me, but I know he only means to control me. I want to show him that I will not be controlled, no matter what he tries. But I lack the power to do so."
"If I were human, I could make a far greater impact in this Vortex World than I could even if I manifested again," Gozu-Tennoh said. "I could make the new world as I want it. But even without that, I see where I went wrong. I should not have focused on war for the sake of war. I should have built a kingdom of the strong, able to deflect any attack against it. As it is, your Reason resonates with our desires. Woman, take what strength I have left. Together, we shall humiliate those who have shamed us and create a world for the strong."
She didn't want to owe more power to someone else. However, she didn't see many other options. Chiaki could spent time here trying to recover and lose any of the lead she had over the other Reasons. Or, she could take this power and get right back in the thick of things, advancing before the others could.
"Yes, we'll crush those who falsely think themselves strong and right," Chiaki said.
Unlike with Persephone, Gozu-Tennoh had no need for an intermediary. He offered himself straight to her. He changed her body so that all of these wounds meant nothing. Not even the loss of her arm. As she got the strength to stand back up, her shoulder burned and an entirely new arm grew out of it. And grew, gaining a thicker black skin that gave her strength beyond imagination. She knocked aside the remains of Gozu-Tennoh's head and brushed it to dust in doing so.
Chiaki laughed at that, swiping her new limb through the air in admiration. "Yes, this is perfect. No one can stop me now. I will be the victor I was meant to be."
The large doors creaked open, letting Kagutsuchi's light into this dark place. Now that she was alert again, she could see that it was Gozu-Tennoh's former throne room. But it was her's now. She led the Mantra and she would lead them to victory. To make things even better, it was a pair of angels coming in, a crystalline virtue and a clerical principality.
"Here you are, Lady Chiaki," the principality said, bowing once she got close enough. "We of the Divine Clan have come to a decision: we will all back Yosuga and see to it that your world comes about."
The Divine clan? This may have been a mistake.
You will not overcome Chiaki, demon. I will see to it that her will is realized. With that, Persephone clamped down on what fragment of Gozu-Tennoh's mind remained and kept it from speaking up.
Good, she wouldn't owe anyone anything. She would conquer all. "Excellent. I know exactly how to accomplish that now."
With Gozu-Tennoh's power and the authority of the Divine angels, Yosuga's victory was practically guaranteed. There was just one thing that could possibly stop them now: the Demifiend.