Nelius Saga: Night Warriors

My Calling: Night Warriors

Author: Cornell Valentine Gainsborough

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

MAKAI! Separates Paragraphs

Final Chapter: Approaching the End of the Majigen

Nelius was hurled through the air, crashing into the side of the engine car. His rematch against the cosmic tyrant wasn't going so well.

"Agh, damn it. I killed him; how'd he become so much stronger?" The demon got to his feet, only to dodge a Sol Smasher fireball. Pyron casually walked up.

"Hm? Something is amiss. How is it that the one I fell to scantly 9 years ago can barely muster a fight now?" Pyron gave a malicious grin. "Perhaps the powers of the universe were too much for a body like yours to handle. Allow me to rectify that!" A larger, more powerful Sol Smasher was launched from the cosmic being's fingertips, and crashed right where Nelius had once been.

"If I go all out, this train'll blow sky high." He backflipped into the air and landed on one of the other cars, avoiding a Cosmic Disrupter attack. "But I can't just stand here and let him kill me." Looking downward, Nelius saw something jutting out from Pyron's feet, something that shouldn't be there, given his cosmic nature.

"What are you focusing on? I'm right here!" Pyron jumped up and dove down toward Nelius, spikes of energy ready to impale him. The alien tyrant collided with the top of the car, scattering debris everywhere. Giving no pause, he whipped his body into a tornado, ready to crash into Nelius.

'For a second, I could've sworn I saw… there!' Drawing his axe out, he waited for the opportune moment. 'NOW!' Nelius tossed the axe behind himself, and it began spinning, generating several mana clones of itself, which launched forward, seemingly flying around Pyron instead of through him.

"That was it? What a worthless gesture." Pyron's body, however, didn't agree with this statement.

"Look closer." Strings, only mere molecules wide, began snapping, having been sliced apart by the mana axes. Pyron's shell of a body fell to the ground and dissipated, revealing a marionette, if one could call it that, as its puppetmaster. "I had the feeling someone was pulling some strings." Yes, pun intended. The wooden demon fixated its soulless gaze on Nelius.

"Rather impressive, seeing my strings." For being a genderless puppet, it had a feminine tone to its voice. "I want to see how you act under my control." It shot its hands out, releasing several strings that twisted around like snakes, ready to attach to Nelius and place him under control.

"Not happening," He commanded his real axe to fly forward, severing an arm from the marionette. "I was already someone's servant once before, and it ain't happening again!" He ran forward and delivered an uppercut that sent it flying straight upward. He jumped up as high as the upper atmosphere of the demon realm, and followed through with one hell of a punch that sent the Marionette flying around the demon universe (Rising Dragon). It skidded to a grinding halt, having been broken into charred pieces from the reentry; Nelius landed a moment later.

"Not bad, demon…" Marionette turned its head toward him. "But, the master… will recreate it all, no matter your actions…" It managed the strength to limp over to the edge of the still-moving train. "Master Dohma, I… have failed." It fell over the edge, and down into oblivion.

MAKAI!

"So, she failed after all." A shadowy figure could be seen peering through a Dimensional Window. "Master Dohma, neither Q-Bee nor Marionette had the power to stop him."

"All the better to fuel my goal." Standing before a set of doubledoors was a demon in a thick, dark blue suit. His wings looked more like scythes, and his red eyes were fixated on the doors. "A soul like his may be necessary to accelerate the process."

"Shall I invite him in, then?"

"Would you kindly?"

"As you wish." The Shadow prepared to leave, but hesitated. "One last thing. The human's savior is in this realm."

"No doubt searching for the darkhunter. This could be used to my advantage." A hand went to his chin. "All too good of a coincidence. To be able to rid myself of the human savior and her little 'Hero'." A wicked smile graced his countenance. "Can I entrust you to take care of the boy?"

"Of course. I already have a new shell prepared."

"Oh yes, the human with the dark heart. She does make an excellent conduit for your powers, but don't let it go to your head. He is not a demon of this realm."

"Common knowledge, especially with those techniques."

MAKAI!

"Last stop, kekeke." The skeletal conductor announced, signaling the end of the line. Nelius was the only one left on the train, so he disembarked. "Gah, business is worse and worse each day." The train began running in reverse, retracing its steps.

Finding himself standing on a floating platform in what amounted to be a nexus between dimensions, Nelius could see what looked like the human world solar system, but a blood-red planet stood out, as there was another planet that appeared to be leeching off of it.

"If this is Makai…" He looked from the planet of Makai to the connected planet, "Then this must be where I am. Still, what realm is this?" Something that sounded like fighting exploded next to him, nearly causing him to fall off the tiny platform. "What the hell was that?" A dimension gate began twisting open, leading to another part of the Majigen. Jumping through the gate, he landed at what looked like…a womb. And right in the middle of it was the biggest demon baby he'd ever seen. "Creepy." The sound of something hurtling through the air caught his attention, and he turned his head to see a familiar looking blade. The blade had designs similar to a face, but it now looked tortured and disfigured. There was only one person Nelius knew that had that sort of blade, but Oboro's words came to mind. He watched the blade return to its owner, who had also undergone his own changes. He was wearing attire that looked suspiciously like Demitri's own wear, just colored crimson, and his hair, once combed back, now hung wildly.

His opponent, holding what appeared to be a scythe in his hand, was dressed in a dark blue, full body suit. His wings took on the appearance of scythes, and his red eyes were fixated on the former darkhunter.

"I must thank you for coming here." Weapons clashed as the former Vampire Hunter, Donovan, began attacking the Majigen's ruler. "Your presence here shall attract my real target."

"Real target?" Donovan had been distracted, and Jedah used this to his advantage. A pool of blood appeared below the former darkhunter's feet, and several liquid hands shot up from below and dragged him into the ground.

"Yes, I need her. My work will not be undone by a human."

Nelius went to go assist Donovan, but a hail of stray bullets and several rockets stopped him. Glancing in the direction the shots came from, he saw what appeared to be a cosplayer of Little Red Riding Hood, except that most wouldn't carry around a basket that shot rockets and carried Uzi machine guns! Her eyes were hidden beneath her hood, but he could see the pure maliciousness behind them.

"Look, Harry." An evil smile accompanied her sugarcoated voice. "It's our little guest. Let's welcome him properly!" The little Labrador puppy growled, changing into a demonic monstrosity. "Sic him!" It darted for Nelius, aiming for his neck.

"Whoa!" He held the dog by its muzzle, keeping its jaws from clamping down around his neck. Gunshots rang out, as the girl fired her Uzi, sending several bullets into his upper arm, laughing with a sadistic glee. "Agh! If I continue to deal with this mutt, that red bitch will keep shooting. I go after her, and this fleabag will tear into me." He needed to get her firearms away from her, and he had one solution. Continuing to endure a hailfire of Uzi bullets, he used his injured arm to hold the mutated dog's jaw up, while using his good arm to reach around and pull out his old gun. Dodging around several shots aimed for his head, Nelius aimed his firearm over his injured shoulder and pulled the trigger. A mana bullet found its mark, embedding itself in the girl's kneecap, throwing her off balance. He squeezed off a second and third shot, knocking her Uzi and basket out of her hand. "Now for you!" Placing his gun away, he brought his fist up and socked the dog across the side of its jaw, sending it tumbling. He furiously dug into his injured shoulder, using his fingers to dig out and remove the bullets. The chunks of lead clattered to the ground, dripping in blood.

"Damn! Is there nothing that can stop him?!" From the girl's body, an inky black pool slithered away, forming into a shadow being. "That human body is worthless against a demon. I need another body. He will have to do." It melted into the ground.

Donovan flipped upward, summoning several spiritual swords to attack Jedah. In response, his wings grew more bladelike protrusions and blocked the projectiles, only to open up and receive an electrified bodycheck from a demonic Donovan, who transformed back into a humanoid form.

"Wait, Donovan's barely scratching him." Jedah's power just seemed to keep growing, regardless of the damage Donovan inflicted. "Something fueling him, but what?" As the battle raged on, he looked all over, searching for an answer. "Aha! That has to be it!" Sneaking around the battleground, Nelius climbed up the wall of the womb-like structure, hanging near the umbilical cord supplying the demonic unborn with hundreds upon thousands of souls. "That must've been what he meant, 'All souls returning to one'." He reached for his back, pulling out his axe. "I'd be dong us all a favor."

Wait.

'Huh. What the..' Where'd this voice come from?

That's no ordinary demon.

'No shit.'

Not that, it's power. It's the only thing holding this realm together.

'So, let's axe this thing.' Nelius raised his axe, ready to slam it down.

Hold it! If that thing goes down, so do we!

'We?'

'NOW!' The shadow rose up from a crevasse in the fleshy wall, aiming for Nelius. "What I cannot kill, I will simply take!"

You have a guest!

"You again!" He leapt from his spot on the wall and landed on the umbilical. "You don't give up, do you?"

"You're a smart one, eh? I like this form master Dohma gave me. Fluid, quick, and able to slip into anywhere and anyone I wish. Compared to my other associate, there's no real strings attached."

"A body snatcher, huh? I know about your powers… and your real weakness."

"Hm. You bluff, otherworld demon."

"Do I?" A cocky grim graced his face. "By all means, go ahead and try."

"Gladly!" The shadow raced toward Nelius, osmosing into the demon's body, and almost immediately took control. "Ah, this body is amazing! Such potential, such power, Master Dohma will—what!" The shadow felt itself acting up. "NO! I cannot lose control!"

"See, there's your weakness." Nelius' voice came through. "You can take a body, but only if no soul exists within it." Casting a hand out, the shadow was forced out, but was still attached to his hand. "For a shadow, you're not as tough as advertised, huh?" Within his other hand, a potent orb of mana formed. "Goodbye, little shadow." The ball was launched, and as soon as it hit its target, it disintegrated the creature.

Think that was a bit much?

'Maybe, but we have a bigger problem to worry about. Donovan won't… where'd he go?' Donovan was gone, and even Jedah looked pissed off that his plan had backfired.

He's seen us. Get ready.

'I've got an idea.' Watching as Jedah drew closer, he waited. 'Closer, closer…' The scythe blade was thrown. He jumped, watching as the blade sank into the umbilical, slicing it open. Realizing his mistake, Jedah pulled the blade from the cord, but it was too late; the damage had been done. The Dark Messiah's fury turned to something resembling a pitched fever of insanity, as he went on a crazy offensive. Having no time to withdraw his axe, Nelius was forced to dodge and block the scythe attacks as necessary, and nearly got caught by a liquid hand that rose up and tried to grab him.

An ear-piercing shriek filled the room, causing both combatants to stop.

"It's awake, the Shinitai is awake, but it's not at full power." Jedah and Nelius could do nothing but stare as the giant unborn opened its eyes and shrieked once more. Sparks of electricity raced up and down the walls as the realm began to quiver. "It would mean… the doors will be…"

Shit! This realm is about to blow! Not two seconds later, a blinding flash filled the area. Nelius! Nelius! Look at that!

"Hgn, I can't see a damn thing." The light blinded Nelius, but his eyes soon adjusted. "What the shit?!" All around, the world shifted and warped. "Where's Jedah?"

Over there, I feel his power fluctuating. He's trying to merge with what is left of the Shinitai so his plans can continue.

'Just who are you?'

Never mind that. We appear to be in the rift between dimensions.

Nelius looked around, seeing the remains of the Shinitai floating around in the space, and Jedah trying to merge with the remains. Grabbing his axe, he flew over, to try and stop him. The remains began glowing as Jedah placed his hand onto the head of the demon, right over the third eye in the middle of the brain. "Crap!" Nelius morphed his wings into a set of jet engines and sped up.

"Now, all I have to do, is to destroy their realm, before their leader can fully awaken." Jedah was about to finish his merging. Nelius raised his axe above his head, made a quick charge of energy, and swung it down, splitting Jedah's head in two. The blade of his weapon was wedged into the demon messiah's skull.

Now, Nelius had his heart in the right place, but his action was about to have one hell of a consequence. Jedah's body began to glow as the buildup of power from the merge began welling up. With too much of one power clashing with another, something had to give, and man did it give.

MAKAI!

The land of Veldime, a human world that had the misfortune of becoming home to an Overlord, and the curse he brought with him just a scant 450 years ago. Although the curse was lifted and the Overlord defeated, those who had been born under the curse still remained a demon. Despite this, human and demon relations improved, and it was rumored that even denizens of Celestia were going to visit, to improve their own relations with other human worlds.

The newly appointed Dimensional Gatekeeper was getting ready to start her first day on the job, when an enormous welling of energy forced open a new gate, and spat something out. It skidded into the ground, bounced three times, and crashed into the side of the RosenQueen Company Store, Veldime Branch.

MAKAI!

Finally, I can say this fic is over.

When I do decide to write up the third part to this, it will be back at the Disgaea section.

Until next story,

Cornell Valentine Gainsborough