Little disappearance there fellas, nothing to worry about!
Enjoy!
Something was very, very wrong.
Elise remembered being sucked into the Circles, and she expected to find herself in some hellscape where hope could never escape. Instead, she found herself in a crimson red wasteland. That wasn't the worst of it though.
She was aggressively horny.
There was no other way to say it at this point. Elise had never felt this much sexual frustration in her life. She felt like she was on the verge of a climax more than once, and it annoyed the hell out of her, because she knew damn well what Demon Lord she was with.
"God damn Meridia," she hissed under her breath and she took a deep breath, "I'm murdering Bella after this..." She'd known Meridia was called the Succubus, but this was infuriating. "Didn't she say her powers didn't work on women? That was a lie!"
"The actual reason was that my powers work off my takeover wizard's sexual preference," A voice said. Elise snorted.
"Leave me alone," she said. "I'm busy."
"I can see that," Meridia's voice replied. Elise looked over her shoulder to find the scantily clad demon standing behind her, a hand on her hip as she watched her. "It's rather amusing, how easily pleasure can disarm an opponent."
"Shut up and fight me normally," Elise begged. She sounded pathetic, but she couldn't muster an actual threat. Meridia smiled down at her.
"I don't think I will," she answered, "see, I'm not particularly interested in fighting you, as I fear I may kill you. I don't want that."
"How could that be?" She asked. Meridia chuckled.
"Would it be hard to believe that I'm actually found you and your family?" She asked, making Elise raise an eyebrow. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I'm rather attached to you all. I'd hate to kill anyone. So, honestly, I'd rather just keep you disarmed until this little spat is over."
"...Will you fight when my friends come for you?" Elise demanded.
"Do you think you're friends will beat my siblings?" Meridia countered. "Hm, I suppose you want to believe that. Don't mistake me for Vantros or Drakhosz, though. I understand you, Elise. Do you think my sphere of influence is only sex? Sex is a sub-sect of love. I know what it and why you all chose to fight us."
"And yet you're still stopping me," she noted.
"Because I also understand you're foolish," she said coolly. "You're fighting to allow the God of Death a chance to rise. I can not, under any circumstance, allow that to happen. My existence depends on it."
"I mean, that isn't exactly what we're doing..."
"One leads to the other," Meridia said. "You can not seriously imagine this is the right thing to do. You must realise what this is leading towards."
"Of course I do," Elise said, trying to fight off another wave of pleasure. "But it doesn't change a thing."
"You'd burn down everything to keep her safe?"
"I have no choice."
"There is always a choice."
"Does love have a choice?"
There was a silence between them, both watching each other warily. Elise wasn't pleased that she was struggling with this. She had to seal Meridia to her circle, but this was not going anywhere fast. She needed to do something to fight off this magic.
"Let's assume for a moment you and your friends win," Meridia said, "will you take responsibility for Zomrus' awakening?"
"I think we'll have more problems than whose responsible," she pointed out. Meridia made a face.
"Perhaps," she agreed. "Still, I cannot allow you to win. I have you incapacitated, I suppose I should go and deal with your friend who can fend off my power."
"Someone else is here?" She asked.
"Yes, your redheaded friend is here as well," Meridia said. "His armour is blocking my influence, so I suppose I'll have to deal with this myself-" Meridia stopped abruptly, her brow furrowing. She seemed to be thinking intently. After a few seconds her eyes widened, and Elise heard her gulp.
"What the hell is going on?" She demanded, "Xisplate, you can't just...Oh for goodness sake." Elise was about to ask what she was complaining about when, all of a sudden, the sexual desire that had pervaded her body disappeared in an instant. She blinked in confusion, looking up as Meridia offered her a hand.
"What are you doing?" She asked, on edge.
"The situation has changed," Meridia replied. "Xisplate has sent a message to us. The Circles have been invaded by Hades and his Children of Nyx. From what I understand, they're after myself and my siblings."
"Well maybe I should help them instead," Elise offered, standing up on her own. Meridia frowned.
"You and your friends wish to seal us," she said. "The Children of Nyx are going to kill us and unseal Zomrus. You would be aiding your own destruction by helping them instead."
"As oppose to helping Nashi die by helping you?" Meridia looked annoyed with her, but Elise wasn't planning on trusting her anytime soon. This was not the time or the place.
"Let's talk with your friend as well," Meridia said.
Elise's senses were assaulted, her body flying through space at Meridia's whim. She flew past the red surroundings as she was sent through the Circle, before she came to a halt. She stumbled as she stopped, cursing as she nearly fell on her face.
"Warn me next time!" She snapped, straightening up and narrowing her eyes at Meridia.
"Elise?" A voice asked. Elise looked over her shoulder to see Simon standing there, wearing his Heavenly Emperor armour. Having already seen Meridia, he was on the defensive, sword in hand.
"Hey," she greeted. "Glad to see you."
"Why're you all buddy-buddy with Meridia?" He asked, gesturing to the Succubus.
"Circumstances have changed," Meridia answered. "The Children of Nyx have invaded the Circles, seeking the destruction of the Demon Lords. If any of you actually claim to care about the differences in their goal and yours, you will aid me in defeating them." Simon made a face and looked to Elise, who simply nodded to confirm that information. Simon didn't seem pleased with the situation, but lowered his blade.
"How the hell did they get here?" He asked, "I thought you needed a relic to get in here."
"It appears that Hades had kept many secrets," Meridia answered. "For now, we need to find and defeat the invaders."
"Well, find him for us," Elise replied. "You sent us both to Simon. Find whoever is here."
"I can't."
"And why the hell not?" Meridia glowered at her.
"How should I know? If there is an invader in my domain, I cannot sense them. I can only assume Hades has a way to mask their presence."
"So how do we even know you're telling the truth?" Simon asked.
"Why would I bother freeing your friend and requesting an alliance if I was lying?" She asked, "I mean honestly Simon, that doesn't make sense."
"Well, why would I not want another ally?" Simon asked. "Seems like a bonus to me."
"As I said to Elise, your goals are different." Meridia looked annoyed at their lack of comprehension. "They wish to kill me. Do either of you care about Bella? If you do, I advise you help me. If I'm killed, she dies as well."
Elise hadn't even thought of that. The souls of the takeover wizards were intertwined with the Demon Lords. Killing the Lord would kill the wizard. That meant Damien was it trouble as well. and Gin, and Anna, and Eastyn.
"She's right," she said. "We need to stop them."
"Thank you," Meridia said, "finally, some sensible words. I will search for this intruder on my own terms. If I find them, I will bring you to us." With this Meridia disappeared, leaving Elise and Simon alone.
"Do we work with her?" Simon asked as soon as the Succubus disappeared.
"Do we have a choice?" Elise asked, making the redhead shrug.
"We could use the numbers advantage to seal Meridia, then deal with the intruder," he offered. Elise shook her head.
"We'd be wasting energy," she replied. "If anything, we deal with it in the opposite order. Child of Nyx first, then Meridia." Simon frowned and swung his blade around in a circle, lowering it as he did.
"I don't like this," he said. "Hades being able to get here is worrying."
"We can worry about the exacts later,"she said. "Right now, we need to stop them before they weaken Zomrus' chains any more than they already have." Simon nodded.
"Agreed," he said. "Let's get to it."
"Are you kidding me?" Mortavius demanded. Michael gulped and looked over the boulder he was hiding behind, watching the massive Demon Lord look annoyed. "What do you mean there're intruders?! Damn it Xisplate!"
"Intruders?" His Dad asked across from him behind another rock. "What does he mean? Us?"
"Doubt it, he knows we're here," Michael replied.
After getting sucked into the Twelve Circles of Judgement, Michael and found himself with his father, separated from everyone else. The hellscape they found themselves in could only be described as a hellhole post-war. The ground all around them was stained with blood and blasts from magic, and rocky spires dominated the foggy sky around them. He hadn't gotten much of a chance to look at they're surroundings before Mortavius had descended on them.
He remembered Mortavius. He was The Brute, Gin's Demon Lord. And that made sense standing across from him. Had Michael not been prepared, the Demon Lord's blood-lust alone would'be knocked him out. His bony armour and massive blade were covered in nicks and marks, same with his face. The fight had barely even started before it had been interrupted.
"Oi! You two!" Mortavius called, "You know anything about the Children of Nyx?" Michael clicked his teeth.
"Followers of Hades," he called back.
"So they're working with you?"
"Hardly," His father replied, "they're probably trying to kill you." That had been their assumption. Of course, who knew what those psychos were really after. Mortavius made an annoyed sound.
"I can't believe this," he hissed, "humans are so annoying! I guess I have to kill that one before I deal with you two. I'll return soon enough, once I find the one who's invaded my domain."
"Wait!" Michael tried, but it was of no use. Mortavius had blinked away to search for the Child in his Circle, leaving him and his father alone. "Well, now what?"
"Don't ask me," His Dad replied. "I imagine the Circle in infinite, so I doubt we'll find him by just looking." Great. Now they'd been left to their own devices for who knew how long. He just wanted to seal the Demon Lords and get out of here. They had bigger fish to fry.
"Don't worry," a new voice said, "I imagine he'll be back soon enough. Michael whirled around towards the voice, finding a woman standing behind them. At least, he assume she was an adult woman, it was hard to tell. She was small, even more so than Elise, and was hunched over. There was silver coloured hair coming out from underneath her hood, but he was still on edge. After all, there was only one person this could be.
"I assume you're the intruder?" His Dad asked, magic at the ready. The girl sighed.
"I am," she said. "I was hoping to get here before Mortavius went off looking for me, but I was too slow...Oh well. He'll be back."
"When he does come back, you'll already be defeated," Michael said flatly. The girl hummed to herself.
"Maybe," she said, "if you can fight me off." Michael tensed up at this, waiting for her to cast an attack. She never did. Instead, she threw back her hood, revealing a small face with dark blue eyes sunk into her skull. That wasn't the worst part.
When he made eye contact with her, Michael was overcome with an intense sadness. It felt as though his heart had been ripped in two, and he could feel tears welling up in his eyes. She looked so...sad.
"You both have so much grief stacked up in your hearts," the woman said quietly, taking a deep breath. "It's overwhelmingly sad. I can't help it, it's so sad."
His eyes were watering. His nose was running. He could feel a sob working it's way up his throat but he fought his off. He didn't need to cry. What did he need to cry over?
His girlfriend probably didn't love him anymore.
His life, as well as the lives of his family and friends were in mortal danger.
His innocent little sister could die.
He could die without seeing the people he loved one last time.
A choked sob escaped his mouth as his knees turned to jelly. This was horrible. grief washed over his entire body as tears began to cascade down his face. His legs could support him no longer, so he fell to his knees and stared at the ground, a pool of tears gathering there. He turned his hands up to stare at them, but they were shaking like crazy. He couldn't contain his sadness anymore. He was one step away from letting out a full-blown sob.
"I suppose I didn't introduce myself, did I?" The woman asked, "Hades named me Oizys, the spirit of Sadness and Misfortune."
That made sense. Through his sadness, Michael was able to recognise this was not natural. He'd come here to fight, to save his family, and now he was a mess on the ground. He'd come to fight for their lives, but now he'd lost the will to fight. His problems, his sadness was overwhelming him. He couldn't summon any strength. It had escaped him, and was replaced grief.
"H-How do you plan on fighting a Demon Lord with magic like this?" Michael heard his Dad choke out. This just made him sadder. He'd never heard his Dad sad before, let alone cry. The sound tugged at his heart.
"Do you think Demon Lords have no emotions?" She asked, "Mortavius can feel sadness like anyone else. Anhkseram ensured that when he bound them to humanity. When he returns to you, he will find just how sad he really is. And when he does, I will kill him and unlock one of the seals."
"Y-You have to be kidding!" Michael shouted out, tears still streaming. "You know that will unleash Zomrus, don't you?!"
"Of course, that's the whole idea."
"Why would you want that?! What kind of lies has Hades filled your head with?!"
"It would be more accurate to ask what lies your God has fed you," Oizys asked. "Humanity is...so incredibly sad. We are disgusting, vile creatures. We require correction. We need to be ruled over." Michael didn't understand how a human being could desire being enslaved by a God. that didn't make any sense, but he couldn't think straight through his sadness.
"You'd enslave a-all of humanity?" He asked, choking on the words, "all for this goal of correction?" Oizys nodded, a sad smile on her face.
"I would," she said, "to make things as they should be." Michael somehow found a way to deepen his frown.
"That's more sad than anything so far," he noted.
It was a damn good thing Erza had sparred with Jellal so much.
She parried a strike from her husband that he'd aimed at her stomach, leaping backwards through the web of wires all around them.
"Nice dodge, honey," he noted as his fists awkwardly squared up again.
"Less compliments, more getting your body back," she replied. After they had been sucked into the Circles, she'd found herself in this wired-hellscape with Jellal. Before she could take in the sights, she was attacked by her husband, who bemoaned that he had no control of hid body. Using what knowledge they had, she deduced they'd been sent to the Puppetmaster, Akirelys. Which was bad.
She wasn't foolish. He'd grabbed two people, two of the strongest in the strike team. And now, to waste time, he had pit them against one another. Unless they could work out a way to cut Jellal's strings, this wasn't going to end anytime soon.
"Worked anything out?" She asked as she blocked a flurry of punches.
"No," Jellal replied with a grimace as she grabbed the leg he tried to kick with and slammed an open palm into his chest to force him back. "I can't tell where he is from his hold on me, and he's also got a hell of a grip."
"Any other thoughts?" She asked.
"I'm annoyed I haven't hit you yet, but not much else." Erza managed a snort, but her thoughts were elsewhere. They needed to flush Akirelys out of hiding, but how could they do that? He had no reason to reveal himself. She frowned and cracked her neck, trying to figure out what she needed to do.
"I'd rather not kick your ass to free you, I might need your help," she noted.
"I don't know if a one-on-one would change his ability to control people, darling," Jellal replied.
"Perhaps I could be of some assistance?" a new voice asked. Erza turned and summoned a blade from her inventory, pointing it towards the voice. Standing one a wire nearby, watching them, was a man. He was a tall, stocky man, with a bald head and closed eyes. Somehow, though, she knew he was watching them. He was wearing nothing but a black cloak, his hands crossed.
"And who are you?" She demanded with a flick of the blade.
"My name is Hypnos," he said, "I am a Child of Nyx."
"Hades' little worker bees," Jellal noted. "He's an enemy."
"The enemy of my enemy if my friend," Hypnos noted. "I could free your ally, Erza Scarlet, so we may fight Akirelys."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" She demanded, "You don't seem all that strong."
"I am the spirit of sleep," he said. "But I also have an fondness for hypnosis. If I were to hypnotise Jellal, I could put him under my own control, not Akirelys."
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Erza demanded, "not only are you an enemy, you're not as strong as a Demon Lord. You couldn't beat his control with your own."
"My siblings and I are blessed with power," Hypnos said with a bow, "we were trained specifically for this fight. Akirelys can not defeat me, for we carry a blessing from our Lord."
"Anhkseram would never bless you lot," Erza accused, "which means you mean the other one." Hypnos grinned.
"Yes, Zomrus has enough consciousness to ferry blessings into this world. Even splintered into twelve pieces, his original being carries more power than them. I can help you defeat this being, but I must be allowed to carry out my work. What will you do, Erza Scarlet?" Erza grumbled at the use of her name, trying to figure out a way around this. Sadly, she could think of nothing. Either Jellal was under Akirelys' or Hypnos' control.
"Seems I'm fresh out of third options," she said.
"That you are," Hypnos agreed.
"Question is," another voice asked. "Which poison would you infect your husband with? Mine, or this dark child's?" Akirelys' voice reverberated darkly off the wires, creating a demonic screech of a tone that made her ears hurt. She grinned weakly.
"He's been poisoned before and lived," she said. "I'm sure one more time will be no different."
A lot of these chapters exist purely to set up all the fights, but we'll progress soon enough, don't worry! I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!