The Final Battle Approaches! Enjoy!
It didn't take long for Katsuki to blast through the remaining rubble, clearing a path forward. The demons were still held at bay behind them and with Prometheus and Pandora out of commission, there was nothing left to stand in their way of their progress.
They made their way to the cemetery at long last. There was an invisible wall all around it; they only found it when they tried to walk inside. If it was still up, then Stiyl must not have arrived yet. And true to Tsuchimikado's word, Imagine Breaker didn't dispel it. Inside the barrier, to the confusion of those who witnessed the chapel's destruction; it had returned in full form as if it had never been touched.
"Well shit, what the hell do we do now!?" Katsuki shouted, slamming his fist into the barrier and triggering an explosion. The barrier was seemingly unfazed.
"Barriers of this nature are extremely resilient; being directly powered and repaired by the caster's own mana supply. It's specific design lets those inside of it leave freely but will not allow entry." Index said, running her hand along the barrier's wall. "The problem with this kind, however, is that one can change its properties without the caster noticing by enforcing one's will infused with their own mana; the process however consumed a large quantity of it. The only other option would be to inflict significant structural damage and slip in before it can regenerate."
"…And Kacchan's explosion and Touma's Imagine Breaker don't do enough to break it…" Izuku said.
"Then get out of the way and let me work." A voice said. The fire of one of the intersections seemed to part, and Stiyl Magnus walked forward.
"Hey, Stiyl! What took you; we beat you here." Touma joked. Stiyl huffed in annoyance.
"Investigating." Stiyl responded. "Things are starting to get even worse. Out of my way; I need to prepare." Stiyl swiftly moved towards the barrier, drawing out an unusual symbol on a piece of paper, and sticking it to the barrier's wall.
"…How bad is it?" Index asked, looking concerned.
"Rifts from the underworld are starting to pop up around the city, letting more demons in; they don't need souls to manifest anymore." Stiyl continued to work, placing several more unusual symbols around on the wall. "The only way to stop this now is to close the original rift. If this continues for much longer, Academy City will become a permanent bastion of hell."
"How long will getting inside take?" Izuku asked.
"The channeling won't even take a minute, but I'll be severely drained and vulnerable. I'll try to take shelter afterward." Stiyl replied. "What this will do will forcefully make a hole in the barrier here, letting anything slip through unhindered. Unfortunately, that will include the demons should Japhet call them to his aid."
"So you put two and two together about Japhet too, huh?" Touma asked.
"Either Gregory's revival plan has failed and he suddenly has access to a massive amount of magic, or he was successful in reviving Hugo Japhet. Those are the only ways I can imagine this event coming to pass." Stiyl replied.
"So if left unchecked, it will be us against an army… plus Japhet. Not to mention this Gregory person." Ochako said.
"That is the unfortunate truth…" Stiyl replied. "Alright, I think I'm ready; stand clear." Stiyl instructed, holding his hands outward from his sides. Before he could begin, however, a deafening roar erupted from behind them. A large number of demons surged forth, accompanied by a Chaos Knight, seemingly targeting them.
"These fuckers won't give up!" Katsuki shouted.
"If what Stiyl said was true, this could be a secondary force. If more are pouring in…" Index trailed off. "They must of sensed danger and came to defend the origin point!"
"Son of a… Stiyl! Can you still get us in!?" Touma asked.
"Sure; but you're going to be chased by demons the entire time. Good luck holding off Japhet and a demonic hoard!" Stiyl shouted back.
"Damn it, what do we do then!?" Izuku shouted, getting ready to fight. The demons charged ahead like a tidal wave.
-District 7, The Windowless Building-
"A snag, it would seem…" a male spoke. The male in question floated in a tube full of liquid that stood in the middle of a room that looked like circuitry. Before him, a projected image of the scene unfolding at the cemetery played in real time. The male narrowed his eyes.
The man in question here is none other than Aleister Crowley, the current head of Academy City.
"I have received what I desired out of this incident." He spoke, seemingly to himself. "Now, these mindless dregs only seek to annoy me." His plan was simple; let the demons flow forth and collect data and specimens. Many of the demonic hoard had already been captured and promptly transported to his own laboratories for study. He knew what would happen very well; when the main rift would close a cataclysm would occur and the demons would be forcefully recalled back to hell. But with the unique properties of the demon's containment cells, the one's he captured would be left behind; free for Aleister to poke and prod however he wished.
Though his desire for magic had ended, he could not deny the appeal to experiment with rare subjects such as this.
"Now… I suppose it is time to guide the hands of fate. Let's see how strong Hugo Japhet's magic truly is." Aleister seemingly smiled as a variety of conformation messages appeared all around him. With one motion of his hand, the messages turned green and faded.
"It didn't work during world war three, but perhaps it will work here instead…"
-Outside the Cemetery Gates-
The demons charged forward with reckless abandon. They were quickly closing the gap.
"This is bad…" Touma said, standing ready.
"Right now… our only chance would be to break in, but that would leave Stiyl behind…" Izuku said. He gritted his teeth, racking his brain for ideas on how to proceed. But suddenly, the demons stopped. "Wait… what are they… doing?"
As if to answer his question, suddenly everything turned a blue hue due to a bright light emitting from the sky. He turned, and immediately backed up upon setting his eyes upon what was coming. A massive beam of energy traveled straight down, as if aiming for the cemetery courtyard, and smashed into the barrier. The formerly invisible barrier lit up in a golden color as the blast hit. The energy seemed to sink inwards, forcing the barrier to contract, and then it suddenly shattered, the blast hitting the ground and causing a large explosion, the shockwave erupting outward. The demons backed up, bracing themselves. When the dust settled; the barrier was completely destroyed, and in the middle of the courtyard there was only a giant crater.
"What the hell was that!?" Katsuki shouted.
"A-a laser beam!? From space!?" Izuku questioned.
"Looks like the Academy City higher-ups are finally taking this situation seriously!" Touma shouted. "They missed the chapel, but the barrier is down! Let's go!"
"Wait! The monsters are starting to move again!" Ochako shouted. Just as she did so, a large number of rune cards flew all over the area, and a massive beast seemingly made of fire erupted from the ground in front of Stiyl. Innocentius had once again been called to the battlefield.
"Don't worry; if it's a situation like this, I can hold them off. Go! We don't have time to argue this out!" Stiyl shouted. Reluctantly, the group moved forward, leaving Stiyl behind.
The demons charged again, bit Stiyl simply smirked.
"Go ahead; fight on, you worthless piles of sin. But bear in mind, that which stands before you has no concept of damage. Attack it as much as you want; its immortal flame will only rise again to burn you to ash!" Stiyl said as Innocentius roared, partially laughing as it charged into the demonic hoard with only a giant white-hot cross as a weapon.
-Chapel Interior-
"This is… troubling." Hugo Japhet stood within a magic circle behind a podium at the head of the church.
"What is wrong, master?" Gregory questioned.
"Something powerful has demolished our defenses. The enemy is here." Japhet looked towards the front doors.
"C-can you not reconstruct it, milord?" Gregory asked.
"No need. It would be pointless now." Japhet replied. He popped his neck. "What I stand in is what maintains the gateway. Step inside. I shall deal with our guests myself." Gregory agreed and took Japhet's place in the magic circle. "Be careful, it will drain your mana constantly; do your best to keep it running."
"Understood sir!" Gregory replied. Shortly after, the front doors were blasted open by a violent explosion. Five figures walked into the room; Touma, Index, Izuku, Ochako, and Katsuki. Japhet at first looked irritated, but this quickly faded as he turned his body fully and leaned on the podium.
"Welcome, welcome!" Japhet greeted with apparent enthusiasm. "You now step forth into the realm of the Millennial Phoenix! I, Hugo Japhet, am the host of this grand establishment! So tell me; why is it that you have come before me on this fine Friday afternoon?"
"Listen! We know what you are doing with those demons!" Touma shouted as the group walked forward. "Innocent people are being hurt; lives destroyed! We want you to put an end to it!"
"Oho! I see; I can understand why you would be concerned!" Japhet replied. "Unfortunately, I cannot comply with your request; this form of judgement as been long overdue for this city, and I cannot act against the natural order of things."
"Those monsters are hurting innocent people!" Ochako shouted. "How can you call yourself a holy man and watch as people suffer!?"
"My dear… allow me to inform you the purpose of demons in this world…" Japhet pushed himself up and leapt over the podium, stepping into the center aisle.
"Be careful, master! The one with black spiked hair can negate magic with his right hand!" Gregory called out.
"Thank you, Sir Gregory! But I intend to end this without such a violent confrontation if at all possible. As rich young minds, I am sure they can be reasoned with." Japhet replied.
"Index…" Touma called out quietly. "Try to sneak around; if you have a way to counteract that spell, go for it. We will keep Japhet busy."
"Alright…" Index then took off in-between the chapel seating, making her way around. Japhet noticed her evasive maneuver, but didn't act against her.
"Now then; the nature of demons." Japhet began. "As you know, demons are violent creatures, yes, but there purpose is not to simply kill humans, but to admonish them! Though they will violently attack, their purpose is to set an example for what will befall them in the afterlife should those bathed in sin choose not to repent and live a much better life. What they do here is merely an example to be set for the entire world what will befall them should they go down the same path."
"You're hurting innocent people!" Izuku shouted.
"A tragedy, yes. But fear not; the souls of the pure and innocent will transcend to the afterlife in peace. No more fear, worry, or hunger. Though the die here to set an example for the sinners, their reward is eternal bliss; their sacrifice shall not be in vain. What starts here will be a grand revolution of the world!"
"Revolution? The hell are you talking about?" Katsuki said.
"A revolution of life itself! Now; we are all slaves to danger, war, and sin. Life and death endlessly teeter back and forth as we struggle to slay one another just for the sake of survival! But with me, that can change! I can change the world, you see!" Japhet stopped walking and put a hand on his chest. "I care for the people, I honestly do. And that is why I have done such a thing this day. With the example set, the world will understand what cannot be done, and through my order, I can erase all of these hardships from the world!"
"What are you talking about?" Touma asked.
"Thank carefully." Japhet started. "Think of the things in this world that inconvenience you, the things you hate, the things that try to end your life prematurely; I can erase them all! I swear upon my soul, I shall create a truly flawless world! No poverty! No violence! No hunger! No more mistakes! I shall crate a world with these two hands of mine; a perfect world where happiness cannot be erased!" His words left an odd impression on the group. It made them unsure; where they doing the right thing? This man spoke with such conviction… is it possible he was right? It left them all confused, save for one. And that one spoke up.
"…That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard." Touma replied.
"Beg pardon?" Japhet replied.
"What's the point of living if everything you could ever want is just given to you? Who wins in a world like that?" Touma added.
"And you suggest that the current structure of the world is perfect then?" Japhet retorted.
"No, it's not. But it's better than what you're suggesting." Touma replied. "Just existence on its own is pointless; without any real drive, there's no reason to live. Everyone needs a reason to keep going forward; what you're suggesting would just send us all backwards."
"Surely you jest?" Japhet replied.
"I don't." Touma replied. "Look, I gut pulled into a lot of stuff, not all of it is good. Sometimes I screw up. Sometimes it's terrible. Sometimes my life is on the line. And yeah, I wish I could go back and change my mistakes for the better, but that's not how it works! Our failures, our mistakes; they are what make us human! It develops us into who we are, just as much as our successes do! Each time something backfires, we learn, we grow! We humans evolve naturally through the struggles of life! A world where those life-defining moments are gone? Not even the world where the monsters outside these walls reside could be a worse hell than that!"
Touma's words seemed to resonate with the heroes that stood beside him. Their doubts erased, they nodded at each other with a smile, before turning their attention back to the man in front of them.
Japhet was taken aback. He didn't have a rebuttal. Touma's words were strong and filled with confidence. It's not that he didn't want to rebuke it, however.
It felt more like to do so would be an insult to this boy's way of life.
"…I see." Japhet replied. "Your views are sound; well defined. You believe your way is how the world should be, just as I feel about mine." Japhet closed his eyes and smiled.
"Does that mean you're going to stop this before more innocent people are hurt?" Touma asked. With a sigh, Japhet's smile faded. He opened his eyes again, with a powerful seriousness in them.
"As you defend your own world with such ferocity, I must defend mine, I'm afraid." Japhet replied. "I take no pleasure in what I must do. Forgive me." Japhet took a combat stance, his palms open.
"It doesn't have to be like this you know…!" Touma said.
"It does. This is a battle for the direction of the world. Prepare yourself." Japhet readied himself. Almost in an instant, Katsuki broke formation and leapt into the air, preparing to slam his hands down on Japhet. He moved swiftly to the side to dodge, and promptly slammed his knee into Katsuki's stomach, then struck him across the face with a powerful palm strike, launching him across the chapel.
Izuku charged forward next, with his Full Cowl active, attempting to kick Japhet across the face. He ducked and shifted his body into Izuku's guard and grabbed his leg. He spun around, and eventually threw Izuku away. He then generated a large surge of golden flames in his other hand and threw it at Izuku, attempting to incinerate him. Touma quickly moved in the fire's flight path and blocked it with his right hand, Imagine Breaker completely dispelling the flames.
"…So, it was true then. You're right hand can dispel magic… but I wonder how much it can take." Japhet gathered more flames in his hands. Seeing an opportunity, Ochako used her quirk on one of the large wooden benches from one of the rows, and promptly lifted and smashed it into Japhet's back. The bench shattered on contact, but Japhet did not move. The only response Japhet made was a small grunt of discomfort.
"W-whoa…" Ochako stood holding the remains of the bench, partially surprised by Japhet barely being hurt, and partially because she didn't think she was strong enough to break the bench with a single swing.
"…Is that all you're going to say? I was looking forward to that!" Japhet then turned and unleashed both waves of fire towards Ochako. She managed to dodge one, which went off to hit one of the concrete pillars along the walls, causing it to break and fall over, but the other actually hit the ground near her and exploded violently, launching her into a wall.
Japhet then moved to the side, dodging a punch from Touma, and promptly slammed his elbow into Touma's back, sending him to the ground. Japhet then moved in front of Touma, and then stomped once on his back, and continued to apply pressure.
"You're ideals are strong, but your body as weak in comparison to mine." Japhet stated. "I have been trained in a variety of combat styles, and in combination with my golden flames, my capabilities are boundless in battle, it would be wise to concede." He pressured his foot into Touma's back again.
"I'm not… done yet!" Touma reached forward with his right hand and grabbed ahold of Japhet's other leg. A searing pain shot up through Japhet's body; it felt like his entire being began to tear itself apart. He promptly kicked the hand away and jumped back, panting.
'What… was that…?' Japhet pondered. It felt like he was at deaths door, just by touching Touma's right hand. 'Was his hand starting to undo the Fire-Borne Ritual and send me back…?' His eye's narrowed as a golden flame formed in his hand. 'Very well… for the sake of my ideal world, I will end the life of this boy!' Just as he would drive the fire down into Touma's form, Katsuki suddenly charged him from his right, and unleashed an explosion into Japhet's side, launching him away.
Japhet recovered in the air, but not in time. Ochako was back and lifted up a large piece of the concrete pillar and swung, slamming it into Japhet's back and launching him away again.
'Those attacks… are actually hurting this body of mine…!' Japhet screamed in his mind. Izuku was on his feet again and once more activated Full Cowl, and then promptly round-house kicked Japhet in the stomach, launching him at an angle towards the ground. Japhet dug into the floor and traveled backward; the great amount of force behind the attack becoming quite clear. He only stopped when he hit the base of the podium, knocking it backward. He sat there for a time, pondering. He was roused form this sate when he heard the grunts of struggle behind him.
He turned his head and looked behind him, only to see Gregory sitting in a praying position, but seemingly struggling to maintain control of the magic seal below him. Japhet was confused at first, but then noticed the silver-haired nun known as Index sitting in the circle as well, chanting.
"I-I am sorry master… b-but this girl… I d-don't know how… is making this difficult!" Gregory stuttered out, struggling to maintain control. Japhet started to ponder once more.
'This girl… I can sense no magic from her yet she can dissuade the Necronomicon's magic this well?' Japhet decided it was time to stand, and pulled himself out of the ground. 'And these four… unique abilities, but I also cannot sense magic… the only hint of it I can detect is form the brown-haired girl…'
Izuku ran over to Touma and helped him to his feet.
"Hey, are you alright?" Izuku asked. He sounded less concerned than he actually was; he was fully aware that the gash from Prometheus still stung and that elbow smash and the stomp probably didn't help the situation.
"I'm fine…" Touma said, standing up. The group gathered again, and turned their attention to Japhet once more.
"...In this new age, even I have something to learn, it would seem." Japhet chuckled. "Very well." Two large flaming wings suddenly burst from Japhet's back, as a pressure filled the room. "I'll use everything I have to defend my desires. You better not insult me by failing to do the same!"
"…We just have one more obstacle before this situation is over." Touma said simply. Izuku stepped forward towards Japhet, staring him down.
"…My goal is to be a hero, you know?" Izuku started. "Nothing more; nothing less. I want to use this power to save people, like how you do; pain, suffering, and struggle seem to be never-ending constants in this world, and I want to do my part and help people through it... But to go out and hurt innocent people like that just for your goal is unacceptable!" Izuku made a fist and aimed it at Japhet.
"So you just wait right there! I'll show you the meaning of my own ideals as a hero! I'll teach you the meaning of Plus Ultra!"