Stein gazed up at the sky. His weapon partner and wife, Marie Mjolnir, grasped firmly in his hand. High above them the crow witch Lady Tengu sat astride her flying broom. She looked down at the pair in disdain. With a wave of her hand bolts of black and red energy shot down at the experienced duo from above. Stein dodged the energy blasts effortlessly, his analytical mind allowing him to calculate their trajectories and avoid them with a minimum of movement. Stein spun Marie's hammer form around in his hand, waiting patiently for a chance to strike. But the witch was clever and crafty. Lady Tengu deliberately stayed out of his reach using her magic feathers to attack from a distance.
But as Lady Tengu circled around him, Stein was up to a plan of his own. He silently increased his resonance rate with Marie. As sparks began to ignite over Marie's weapon form Stein decided to go on the offensive. Using Marie as a lighting rod he began to call down thunder from the skies above. The once fluffy looking white clouds floating in the sky coalesced into dark grey rumbling thunder clouds. The air became charged with electrical energy. Lady Tengu was forced to dodge as the bursts of energy exploded around her. She twisted and dodged around in the air but it wasn't good enough. A stray lighting bolt clipped the end of her broom and sent her careening towards the ground. Just before she crashed she somersaulted off the stick and landed on all fours. Lady Tengu looked up from the ground with a scowl.
"This can all be over painlessly if you just hand over the Medallion Lady Tengu." Stein called as he strode forward. The witch's scowl deepened as she stood up.
"I will never in a million years give up to you Shibusen scum!" She spat venomously. Her hair flared around her and she spread out her fingers. Sharp talons sprouted from her fingertips, glowing with crimson energy. Stein smirked and brandished Marie in front of him.
"You don't seriously think you could take me one on one do you?" Stein asked.
"True, you would be my better in a purely physical fight. But luckily I won't be alone." Tengu taunted with a smirk. She clasped her hands together and in another second copies of her appeared suddenly from mid air. The copies cirlced around Stein whose face grew more serious at the sight.
"Plus I still have this!" She said holding up the medallion of Rage. Lady Tengu's fist wrapped around the pendant and clutched it tightly. Her crimson magic flared as she absorbed the madness from the Medallion. Her fingers grew longer and sharper and veins ran up and along her forearms. Her expression changed to one of unbridled fury and her eyes glowed blood red.
"RRAAAAHHHH!" She screamed aloud as she and her clones rushed forward at Stein. They descended upon him like a hungry murder of crows. Talons were swinging and slashing as they tried to tear him apart. But Stein was not deterred. He struck back at the crowd of assailants. A vicious punch here, a deft low kick there. He did not manage to escape the sharp claws completely, several talons drew blood along his back. However he did manage to strike back at the throng of witches with Marie. His powerful hammer strikes knocked the clones back sending shockwaves of electrical energy rippling through them. The clones disappeared into puffs of black smoke as they were destroyed. One by one he incapacitated the witches until he was left standing alone.
Stein looked around himself. He had seemingly defeated all of Tengu's clones yet now she was nowhere to be found. He kept his guard up, preparing for an attack. But he was taken by surprise as blood spouted from a gouge in his side. He looked back to see Raven's clawed hand had struck from behind creating deep bloody gashes in his torso. Stein spun around intent on slamming his hammer square in her face. But the sudden pain dulled his movements and Lady Tengu deftly backflipped out of the way of the strike. Stein clutched his side, his breathing growing suddenly ragged. Lady Tengu stared back at him with a viscious grin. Stein put a hand to his wounds, focusing his soul wavelength. In another minute the wounds were stitched closed with his soul threads. Stein faced off against Lady Tengu again. The witch stood tall, a black feathered fan splayed out in front of her face in a taunting motion.
"Face it Stein, with the power of the medallion I'm untouchable." She called out cockily. "You can't possibly hope to defeat me." She said. Stein smirked back at her and the sight gave her pause.
"Maybe alone I couldn't. Good thing I've got friends." He called back.
Lady Tengu looked at him in confusion. Then suddenly the earth around her feet erupted. She looked down to see gnarled brown tree roots reaching up and curling around her legs. She panicked and backpedaled. The plants were relentless though and grasped tightly at her feet. She swiped her claws at the roots, her sharp nails severing the roots from their base and setting them alight in fire. She fell backwards and scrambled away from the writhing wood. She looked behind her to see her former comrade Gaia with her hands reached down to the ground. Gaia stared at her with an intense look. Lady Tengu's face grew furious. She rose into the air, the medallion glowing red and surrounding her aura.
"Gaia!" She screamed. "I have not forgiven your betrayal! Did you really think you would escape punishment?" Lady tengu yelled angirly. Gaia returned her glare with an equally stern and determined gaze. The ancient shaman stood up, supporting herself with her staff as Lady Tengu rose higher into the air. Black winds began to whip around her, causing the talismans and jewelery that Gaia wore to jangle. Gaia leveled her staff up at the witch.
"Why do you side with them Gaia? Don't you know they don't truly care about you or your home? The current order would rather let you and everything you love burn rather than take responsibility for all the wrongs they have committed." Lady Tengu spoke emphatically, gesturing with wild flailing arms.
Gaia spoke up in her ancient tongue. She waved her staff emphatically to punctuate her words. Whether Lady Tengu could understand her was debatable. But what she did understand was when Gaia summoned a large golem of earth and roots beneath her feet. The behemoth rose it's fists into a defensive position. Lady Tengu narrowed her eyes.
"That's where you're wrong Raven." Stein said. The witch twirled around to see Stein approaching her from behind, Marie still held firmly in his grip. "Maybe the old order was content to make sacrifices and keep secrets. But Kid is different. As the new Lord of Death he's already accomplished so much in such a short time. He's made changes I never dreamed would be possible. That's why we'll gladly follow him and trust in the future he creates." Stein spoke.
Lady Tengu scowled. "Then I will make sure there is no future but ours!" She cried. With a wave of her hands she summoned two enormous orbs of red and black magical energy. "Kuro-Kurrow-Crow!" She let loose her spells which shot out at her opponents.
Stein raised a shield in front of himself and charged it with Marie's electrical wavelength. The two energies clashed until eventually the magic fizzled out. Gaia on the other hand raised a large stone barrier in front of her which obliterated when the magic hit it. Thankfully she was left unharmed. Both Stein and Gaia then leapt into the air to attack Lady Tengu simultaneously.
Nearby Kid was fighting tooth and nail against Deva. The young king was calling upon the powers of the medallion of Order. His body was wreathed in a glowing blue aura. His skin turned cerulean. Around him several large meter long swords floated ominously. The swords swung in front of him, deflecting the bullets from Kid's twin pistols. But Kid was not so easily deterred. His lines of Sanzu glowed bright white and his black cape twirled and writhed around him as if alive. Kid's twin pistols glowed with the pink energy of his soul wavelength as he fired them off. The bullets streaked towards Deva who deftly dodged them by mere inches and blocked the ones he couldn't dodge with his glowing sword. But Kid was relentless. He fired repeatedly at the swords, the impact of his bullets driving Deva backwards. Suddenly the glowing blue blade began to crack and splinter until it shattered under the ceaseless barrage of Kid's firepower.
Deva was forced to retreat as the hail of bullets began to pepper his torso. His aura grew brighter and he levitated backwards. Deva outstretched his hand and his eyes glowed as he focused his pyschic powers. Rocks and boulders began to rise from the earth, surrounded by the same blue aura. They levitated closer to him, drawn by his telekinetic powers. As the rocks drew near they began to coalesce. The once sturdy stone morphed and twisted like clay until it took on the form of another glowing white sword which took up position with the rest of Deva's floating armory. Kid looked up at him with an inscrutable expression on his face.
"Deva! Please listen to me!" Kid called out. "You don't need to pursue this any further! Why can we not just work together to make a new order?" Kid asked. From on high Deva sneered as he responded.
"Face it Shinigami, you're just scared of what someone with real ambition can accomplish with your powers!" Deva barked back as he held the medallion aloft. The amber metal and engraved shinigami skull reflected the blue glow of his aura. "I will create a world of perfect order! A world where there will be no suffering because everyone will know their place! And I shall rule at the top of it!" He gloated.
"Deva you are a fool. Without an eighth person to wield the Medallion of Fear the world you hope to create will never come true. You will destroy the current world without creating anything!" Kid tried to reason with the Mad King. Deva however shook his head.
"Even if that were true I would rather destroy the current world rather than continue to let you rule." Deva shouted back before hurling one of his many swords at Kid. The young reaper nimbly went on the defensive dodging the many swinging blades. He summoned his flying rockets from around him and flew into the air. Kid dodged the many blades, flying closer and closer to Deva.
"Even if you disagree with mine and my father's rule what makes you think you're qualified to be the world's new god? What gives you the authority?" Kid shouted back.
"I am the ruler of Shambala! God-King of the land of Shangri-la! I am the reincarnation of the great god Vishiva, the ancient god of life and creation! My powers and soul are proof enough of this!" Deva yelled angrily. He gripped the medallion and held it in front of him. "My right is in my divine nature!" He shouted back.
At that moment, Kid stopped and floated in the air. His hands which gripped his weapons lowered. Eventually he holstered them in his belt loop.
"Uh Kid what are you doing?" Patty asked nervously
"Just trust me on this girls." Kid whispered through their soul link. Patty and Liz exchanged nervous glances but knew better than to doubt their meister.
"You claim to be Vishiva's reincarnation correct?" Kid asked having left himself vulnerable. Deva quirked an eyebrow at the shinigami. Kid's was the one mind he couldn't read easily and he was sure that the shinigami knew that. But intrigued nonetheless Deva decided to play along for the time being.
"Yes that is correct." He replied.
"But how much do you really know about Vishiva?" Kid finally asked. Deva scoffed at the reaper but Kid's face remained impassive.
"What are you trying to get at Shinigami?" He asked derisively.
"I'm asking you, how much do you know about this supposed god? Do you even remember any of your past lives?" Kid asked him. Deva's face fell for a half second before he quickly steeled his gaze again. However it was just enough time for Kid to notice his reaction.
"I'm right aren't I? You can't remember any of your past lives can you? Could any of your predecessors remember either?" Kid questioned. It was then that Deva grew angry and scowled.
"So? This proves nothing? So what if I can't remember my past lives? I still have the psychic powers and the same soul wavelength! That proves my divine birthright!" He insisted. Kid shook his head.
"I am not denying your lineage or your abilities. I am questioning what you have been taught and what you have been told. It has been millenia since Vishiva walked this world. How much of what you were taught do you really believe is true?" Kid asked sincerely
"You insolent dog! First you insult me? Now you insult my people's entire history and culture? Does your arrogance know no ends?" Deva shouted insulted.
"I'm not trying to insult you Deva!" Kid sighed exasperatedly. "I have looked up the history of Vishiva in my Father's old journals. He wrote about her quite a lot. He wrote down the truth about her and your people." Kid pleaded with him.
"Her? What are you babbling about? Vishiva is male." Deva insisted.
"And yet my Father always referred to her as female in his writings. If they couldn't even get something as simple as that right, what else of the story could possibly be wrong?" Kid asked. Deva grew nervous at Kid's words. His swords dropped and his soul wavelength diminished, the blue sphere around him shrinking until it disappeared.
"Y-y-you're lying! This is all some trick!" Deva screamed irrationally. "You are trying to decieve me! Make me lower my guard!" He said, his eyes growing fearful and panicked. But Kid floated with his arms outstretched.
"I have put away my weapons Deva. I want to reach you with my words but you must choose to listen." Kid spoke. "If you wish to know whether I am lying why not just read my mind? I will drop my mental defenses if that's what it will take." Kid suggested.
"Kid that's dangerous!" Patty exclaimed. But a hand from her sister quelled Patty's dissent. Liz gripped the medallion of faith, willing some of it's power into their combined wavelength.
"No Liz," Kid said after a moment. "I must convince Deva alone, otherwise what trust will there be between us." Kid spoke aloud. Liz swallowed nervously but dropped her hand and the medallion's glow faded.
Deva continued to eye Kid warily. Finally his aura receded slightly and his once blue skin returned to it's normal brown hue. He levitated closer to Kid, still watching him with distrust. But Kid's steely gaze was unwavering and sure of himself. Soon the two would be gods were floating but a mere arms width apart. They stared into each other's eyes searchingly. After what seemed like an eternity Deva finally spoke.
"No tricks shinigami." He stated.
"You have my word." Kid replied.
Deva nodded and closed his eyes. A moment later Kid closed his as well as he felt Deva's mind reach out to his own.