Chapter 41: Cast Down Your Kings (Part 14)

The start to the battle was about as anime as it came, Lucifer simply raising a hand and firing off a blast of silver-tinged darkness that Harris blocked with an upraised arm, the Baron of Hell he'd turned into suffering minor injuries as hardened and charred flesh cracked and flaked off, the molten muscle and skeleton beneath glowing a fiery red as the shapeshifter idly observed that the pain associated with the injury seemed to make him stronger.

"Yeah, that seems in line with DOOM."

But as masochistically entertaining as it was to just sit and get more pumped up the longer he ate the destructive force that would ultimately be too boring, his free arm lashing outwards and sending an arc of Argent energy towards the Devil, forcing him to divert the attack for a moment in order to deflect the crackling hues of red, a brief wince adorning Lucifer's features as the shield he'd used held up just fine but seemed to let through some kind of feedback. Its shimmering surface crackling with bloody discharge.

"Interesting. Then let's see how he handles this!"

Infernally powered strength propelled him forward, bestial roar of excitement slipping past his lips as his opponent once again released a stream of pure destruction-

-that Est seamlessly absorbed, Harris channeling the transferred energy into his Argent arm blade as it glowed with hellish illumination, growing in size and potency until it was as large as his body, the weapon descending on Lucifer as he raised a manifested longsword to parry the strike, a voltaic scream echoing through the impromptu arena as sparks flew from the clash, Lucifer gritting his teeth before allowing Harris' blade to slide off of his own as his Baron of Hell form proved to be far stronger, a pained hiss leaving the Satan as one of the streamers of energy cut a thin line across his cheek, steaming and bubbling with Argent energy as his momentum carried him past, skidding to a stop as Lucifer gingerly traced the edge of the wound, Harris smirking as he growled, "Something wrong? Or did you grow so conceited sitting on your precious throne that you forgot your own mortality?"

His only response was a violent flare of his power, the natural ambiance seeming to dim slightly as it instead drew tight around the Devil, lips peeling from perfect teeth as the Satan's strength seemed to double in potency.

Harris merely laughed, the sound brutal and primal thanks to his altered body as he mocked, "Finally taking things a bit seriously? Fine by me!"

All deliberate goading aside the male was practically bursting with anticipation. The past three years hadn't just been spent annoying Heaven and the Leraje, practicing with the Extra Legions or getting his dick wet, a fair portion had been spent in constant, unceasing practice.

Seeing what his limits were, how quickly and often he could change forms, if there were shared resources between states, how much instinctive knowledge was passed along…anything and everything that would be of use when facing down an opponent that was leagues stronger than he was.

Because while it was hard to establish a consistent baseline when he had so many different sources of power to choose from it was a certainty that in terms of plain, magical resources or whatever Lucifer outclassed him by quite a bit.

…It was truly unfortunate for the Devil that he'd spent much of his life being the underdog, taking on opponents with immeasurably more influence and heft than he did.

"You getting excited, Est?"

His enthusiasm must have been bleeding over to the usually apathetic Sword Spirit, her placid words containing an undercurrent of fire as she firmly replied, "Mmm. I'll be waiting for your order, Harris."

"Then let's put this bastard down."

Serafall, in the privacy of her own mind, reflected that she hadn't given Xavier nearly enough credit. And considering how both she and Sirzechs had been incredibly wary of the man in the first place that was saying something.

"You know, I had always just assumed that his companions were being nice or selling into the idea that he was more powerful than they were when they said he was more the more threatening of them all. I'm now of the opinion they were telling the truth all along."

"What gave you that idea?"

The woman's dry response to her redheaded friend's observation coincided with the light around them being sucked into Lucifer's orbit, golden streamers of what could have been sun or starlight enhancing several arching blasts of Demonic power, the legendary technique of the first of God's children to Fall a sight she wasn't sure she would have ever had the privilege of seeing, except she was now watching the man in question fire them off with seemingly no reservation.

…All for seemingly no gain whatsoever, Harris seamlessly shifting from a bulky and fiery demon into an odd fox-like creature that had a halo of spoons rotating behind it, Est's ornate sword form resting at the center as a shimmering pane of what could have been glass snapped to life, deflecting and blunting the assault as the immaculately blended stone of the plaza was turned into so many fast-moving shards of molten rock, bouncing off of the unified barrier the observers had formed like a kaleidoscope of fireworks going off.

She briefly wondered if the shield that had been erected would be able to withstand the coming duel. While the combined strength of hundreds - if not thousands - of powerful Devils was nothing to scoff at that distributed nature of the shield meant sufficiently powerful and focused strikes could break it…and Serafall had no doubts whatsoever that the fight to the death happening before her eyes was going to reach that point sooner rather than later.

As if to solidify that thought Lucifer abandoned his long range barrages, twelve wings propelling him forward in a blindingly fast burst of speed…and promptly found himself crashing face first into the ground, the violence of his downward trajectory and forward momentum carving a Satan shaped trench in the stone as Harris' fox form had raised a single hand outwards, some strange energy hued pink no doubt causing the effect as Lucifer struggled to lift his head, glaring malevolently at his target as Devilish wings - unaffected by the strange technique - snapped forward and attempted to skewer his aggressor, smashing against the shimmering barrier and causing it to crack and splinter before finally shattering like so much glass.

Except Harris was already gone, morphing into some kind of grey-skinned and gangly insect that faded from view in the blink of an eye as Lucifer leapt to his feet, snarling as he fruitlessly tried to find his target.

Serafall doubted he was going to succeed. Harris was hard to spot in perfect conditions and if he was physically concealed then she wished the Satan luck. The shapeshifter's energy signature was in constant flux between miniscule and nonexistent and amid so much energy being thrown around by the barrier and Lucifer's own expenditures he was essentially invisible.

An advantage that was blatantly exploited as a sudden tearing noise filled the air, a stream of what looked like steaming bile splashing over the Devil as a roar of pain left his throat, the liquid simmering and caustic in the extreme as gouts of steam lifted from Lucifer's body.

It also convinced him to forgo any attempt at subtlety as he instead raised his hands despite the painful burns he was suffering, dozens of energy-based lances forming in the air before crashing down with the force of an enraged Dragon and throwing enormous pillars of debris into the air, the assault exposing Harris as the insectoid body flew through the arena-

-and rapidly grew into a metallic colossus that landed with enough force to shake the terrain, it's design cylindrical and bringing to mind a number of the Human knights, adorned in banners and what passed for religious iconography, wielding on one 'arm' a serrated sword and the other a long-barreled crossbow that looked like one of those rumored 'gunpowder' weapons thought to be of increasing interest in China, it's back housing a number of metallic spears as a distorted growl left it, Lucifer firing off another barrage of the spears that crashed down onto the colossus. Although just like with the fox creature some sort of shield sprung to life around the new form, halting the strike and affording the behemoth time to raise its projectile armament Lucifer's direction-

-and Serafall wasn't the only Devil that winced as an ear-splitting roar and a burst of fire emanated from the weapon, the Satan's hastily manifested barrier almost breaking with a single strike as the transferred kinetic force nonetheless tossed the man backwards, armored boots scrabbling for traction as he finally came to a stop, significant dent openly clear to see on the Satan's shoulder pauldron as the assault wasn't even close to finished, the metal spears on the machine's back spitting fire before they flew forwards at respectable speed, Lucifer once more manifesting shields to block them…which proved to be a rather hasty decision on his part, the spears detonating in blinding balls of flame that looked like they could have individually erased an entire platoon without a trace, the large crossbow firing at a rapid pace into the conflagration as the behemoth charged forward, serrated sword raised and howling as a black and gold blade of mixed energies rose to meet it, Lucifer's hair singed and smoking at the edges as weapon met weapon-

-and the Sitri imagined more than a fair few of the crowd presently gathered joined her in gritting their teeth as a painfully loud shriek emanated from the blade lock, sparks flying as the metal giant's weapon strained against Lucifer's, the Devil's own natural strength barely managing to meet Harris'...and with sudden violence the metal bits broke apart in a pinwheeling display as the Satan broke through, his sword carving through the machine's arm and spear pack as he made to press the advantage.

Except his body switched once more into a new shape, this one just as metallic but more streamlined and a fair bit taller, resembling a Humanoid more than it did blocky suit of armor. It also seemed immensely more fierce, hunched and lupine in design as a writhing tail of metal swung behind it, gargantuan mace held in claw-tipped hands as echoing growls that were very much wolfen in nature coincided with it crouching low-

-and in a burst of agility that split the air around it Lucifer became acquainted with the business end of the brutal weapon, barrier flaring to life and just barely managing to blunt a strike that would have otherwise turned him into a greasy smear, nonetheless smashing him into the ground as the tail whistled downwards at a killing velocity, a wild swing of Lucifer's blade managing to turn aside the appendage enough that it deeply embedded itself in the stone nearby rather than his corpse, the Satan forcefully flapping his wings and sending himself darting backwards in a bid to create space that ultimately didn't bear fruit, Harris' new form keeping right up as a lethal swing was narrowly avoided by the Devil, the barrier struck full force by the blow and Serafall was certain the dangerous creaking and flexing of the shield wasn't imagined in the slightest, a blast of Demonic power heating and flaking off some of the armor but for the most part it seemed to weather the assault, Lucifer having to cut off the assault in order to strike away the tail once more as it approached before taking to the air, no doubt hoping to abuse an aerial advanatge.

Except the metallic suit rose into the air on jets of azure fire, howling and attacking all the while as the fierce melee continued far above, further portions of the metallic beast's armor flaking or burning away from the constant barrage-

-and the Satan was a hair too slow to block one of the berserk strikes, yet another barrier not fully blunting a swing from the mace and causing the Devil's arm to snap like a twig beneath the imparted force, features contorting in pain as Harris pressed his advantage, bearing down on the wounded man.

It was a moment of oversight as Lucifer managed a precise strike to one of the unarmored parts of the machine, severing an arm and leg and slowing Harris just enough to wing further away, gathering a tidal wave of power in his uninjured arm before unleashing it on the lupine armor-

-except an abrupt shift into a tiny, midnight cat creature with yellow markings allowed Xavier to completely avoid the assault by leaping and subsequently being swallowed by the multiple shadows that haloed Lucifer's every movement, Effortlessly dipping and diving around the constant onslaught as an ineffectual barrage turned the arena into a veritable moonscape with nothing to show for it.

"Hmm, the Phenex seem quite nervous. A sharp contrast to the Shax, they appear in good spirits."

"Were it not for the death grip on their seating."

"A little bit of apprehension simply spicens the experience, right~?"

Serafall blinked, caught off guard by the irreverent and completely unconcerned dialogue happening between Merlin and Robin even as the battle raged, Sirzechs joining in her incredulity as he slowly asked, "Neither of you…are worried? Or passingly interested?"

"What's there to watch? Our time spent in Lombardy was more than enough for Harris to properly grasp what he's capable of and right now he's merely playing up the drama for the crowd, selling the idea that this is a grand showdown for unrivaled legitimacy. We have the actually difficult part of getting initial impressions of those in attendance and seeing who might be at all interested in jumping the proverbial ship and who's a hardliner. Robin, dear? Make special note of the Gusion Patriarch."

"Why?"

"He's looking at us like he wants us tied up and bent over backwards on his bed."

"Not technically a crime Harris would kill him for."

"Oh that note isn't for him, it's for me~!"

The Draconic woman rolled her eyes but nonetheless did as requested, meeting Serafall and Sirzechs' disbelieving gazes as she casually remarked, "Your families seem rather worried. A shame we can't tell them not to."

Following Robin's nod Serafall noted that their kin did appear more than slightly anxious, not that she could blame them. Nor were they overtly showing it, Sirzechs' parents utterly collected and impartial were it not for their tightly clasped hands while her own mother and father matched them in outward composure, white-knuckled grips on their chairs aside.

More to the point she found herself reciprocating Robin and Merlin's actions, watching the gathered Devils and finding a truly eclectic mix of responses on display. Wild cheers for the bloodsport occurring before them, polite applause or shouts for a well executed maneuver, curses and insults hurled at Harris for his arrogance…and the truly unexpected variety of people openly jeering and heckling Lucifer.

Turning her gaze towards the arena she found that the situation hadn't even really changed all that much. Harris was still seamlessly leaping around in his strange cat form as Lucifer fruitlessly tried to hit him, the male even going so far as to lazily lick a paw in clear dismissal of the Satan as the Devil's features twisted into an offended sneer of epic proportions, hand shooting out to the side and gathering ambient energy into it as Xavier decided that was a perfect time to switch things up, altering his form into a chitinous and pitch-black creature sporting a sloped head and lethal looking talons, racing towards Lucifer in a predatory burst of speed as the Satan swung his condensed blade-

-and to Serafall's shock it struck true, Harris' chest exploding outwards in a storm of ash and gore as a chittering scream filled the arena, a smirk of violent satisfaction gracing the Devil's face as he was splattered by his foe's blood…and promptly started screaming in horrific pain, a noise Serafall never would have associated with the Satan as he aimlessly thrashed about, an emerald healing spell ensconcing his head as Harris limply crashed to the ground, not moving…and seamlessly morphed into the Demonic form he'd initially assumed, rolling a horned and fearsome head before boisterously laughing, mocking the wheezing Satan with, "What's the matter, Lucifer? Fires of Hell a little too hot for you?"

Removing his hands from his face and revealing several large splotches of mostly healed but nonetheless noticeably discolored skin Lucifer completely and utterly lost his cool, Serafall feeling her breath freeze in her throat as everything went dark. The sky vanished from her sight, Sirzechs and the Extra Legion became vague outlines while her own body turned gray and washed of any color, the only illumination being Lucifer himself as he shone like a beacon, Harris flickering with hellish fire but nonetheless paling in comparison to his foe.

"Enough of your trickery, WRETCH! This ends now!"

A solar eclipse manifested behind the Devil, a crushing pressure filling the arena as Serafall immediately offered her own strength to the barrier alongside every Devil present regardless of allegiance, instinctively knowing that this was the climax of the duel.

And through it all Harris merely raised his arms upwards, hellish arm blades glowing with a challenging fire-

"Wait…two arm blades? Wasn't one-"

Through the altered landscape a brief glint of silver flashed, Lucifer noticing it at the last possible moment as he used one hand to launch a diverting stream of energy…and critically forgot that just a few minutes prior Est had absorbed such an attack with laughable ease.

CRUNCH.

The arena fell silent as if all sound had been erased from the world, only a wet scrape and anti-climactic thud marking the end of the fight as Lucifer crumpled to the ground, once noble and handsome features locked in a rictus of surprise and shock as a clean, bleeding hole marked where the Satan's brain had once resided.

Harris didn't even bother to gloat or spare his fallen opponent a second glance, all present deathly quiet as he marched towards the throne, blade faithfully floating to rejoin his side, heavy footsteps sounding unnaturally loud in the pervasive stillness as even the elements themselves had been stunned into silence.

Grayfia and Euclid - the custodians of the Lucifer line and the ones who had served him the longest - made no objection as Xavier shrunk back into his Human shape, the pair sightlessly staring at their former master's cooling corpse as Harris lazily tossed himself upon the seat of power, sword resting across his lap as he offered Grayfia a pointed look, the silver-haired Devil snapping out of her shock long enough to nervously swallow, warily announcing, "By the challenge issued from the former Satan Lucifer, accepted by Harris Xavier…he now possesses the title of Satan Lucifer, with all the privilege, power and responsibility that comes with it."

No one so much as breathed, all staring with expressions that ranged from slowly dawning horror to pure incomprehension as a grin that could only be described as shit-eating adorned his lips, Serafall willing to bet that the deafening quiet was infinitely more gratifying to the man than any raucous applause or cheers.

"Well, it looks like you were…right…"

Quickly tugging on Sirzech's arm her redheaded friend snapped out of his own shock, the Extra Legion quietly groaning or cursing with relief as the raven-haired Devil hissed, "Did you see where Robin or Merlin went?"

Lilith found herself at something of a loss in regards to the events that had transpired far below, her secluded and heavily guarded chambers atop The Tower affording her a restricted but nonetheless all encompassing view of the battle far below and its ultimate conclusion.

…It was a strange thing, to witness the death of a man she had once loved enough to join in rebellion against Yahweh, only to watch centuries of warfare and escalating desperation turn him into a tyrant of pitiful proportions, treating her body and soul as a resource to be exploited rather than worshiped and cared for in a union that withstood rigors most could only dream of.

The proclaimed Mother of Devils decided grieving for the man that had once been was a more appropriate course of action than for the man he had become, as disappointing and disillusioning he had been.

She supposed it was a fitting end for the persona Lucifer had ended his life as, to anticlimactically lay upon the ground dead and forgotten with a simple hole where his brain had once resided.

"I wonder how Rizevim will react to this…"

It was no great secret that her son held only the slimmest of respect for his father, instead being largely enamored with Lilith herself and heeding her word rather than his father's given the opportunity. Were he not outside of the city at the moment she would have expected him to already be at her side, suggesting they flee and not look back.

Instead all she was gifted with was the pair of guards her late husband had always kept assigned to her quarters, both her protectors and jailors in equal measure as they rushed inside, voices tight and postures jagged as one stated, "Lady Lilith, we should flee while we still have the chance. Lord Lucifer's final orders were to ensure you did not fall into enemy hands."

"Of course they were. No final proclamations of regret or love, just asset denial."

Wincing as her aching, raw and near emaciated body stiffly rose Lilith settled for a simple nod, knowing full well that she had no chance of denying her 'protectors' should they resort to force, especially since her skin felt as if it could split open at the slightest touch.

…

"What smells like Areca Palms?"

With little reason or explanation for the abruptly soothing scent that permeated her chambers Lilith turned to the guards in order to discern what was happening and blinked as they unevenly swayed on their feet, eyes drooping and awareness fleeing as a pale-haired woman lightly skipped inside her room, longsword flashing in elegant arcs and cleanly divesting the pair of their heads before she spun to face her, Lilith lightly blinking as she recognized the woman before as Xavier's companion.

"Have no fear, my lovely damsel in distress locked away in a tower~! As of this moment you are under our protection rather than those unimaginative souls~!"

Caught off guard by the irreverent cheer and sudden scent of blood Lilith was quick to regain her composure, staring into a grinning Merlin's eyes as she raspily stated, "Then it seems I have no choice but to submit to the new Lucifer, then."

"...Ah, I can see why you would be less than enthused at this latest bit of fortune."

"Oh, can you?"

Draconic tail lashing in annoyance and irritated features marred by a splash of blood that certainly wasn't hers Robin marched in, sheathing her sword before grousing, "What possessed you to sprint up the stairs and leave me to deal with everyone else guarding alternate exits and entrances?"

"The desire to vicariously live out a fantasy of mine."

The next words directed Lilith's way seemed disarmingly genuine, Merlin empathetically stating, "I know a thing or ten about being confined to a lonely tower, unable to leave."

Robin merely rolled her eyes but left things at that, her tail lightly smacking her companion across the back of the head before she lightly bowed to Lilith, remarking, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Lilith. We're here on behalf of Harris Xavier to ensure your safety and wellbeing for the foreseeable future."

"And no offense meant, but that wellbeing might just include a trip to the local spa. A woman's skin should be carefully maintained, yes~?"

While she didn't have the slightest idea of what Xavier would wish for her to do in the future Lilith - and that she was going to remain a prisoner at the mercy of the latest Lucifer - her captors at least promised to have more personality and intrigue to them.

4/19

I don't know why I didn't think to include this. Probably the same reason I think I'll remember to take the meat out of the freezer in the morning to dethaw before going to work but always forget anyway.

List of forms in order of appearance:

1: Baron of Hell (DOOM)

2:Mega Alakazam (Pokemon)

3: Novistador (Resident Evil)

4: Imperial Knight (Warhammer)

5: Barbatos Lupus Rex (Iron blooded orphans)

6: Umbreon (Pokemon)

7: Xenomorph (Aliens)