Shout out to the anonymous viewer who told me he's tired of seeing my story! Just for you, I'm gonna post another chapter real quick! Thanks for giving me the inspiration to write this so fast! Hope you see this and seethe in anger, my friend.
Enjoy!
Philotis collapsed onto her knees as the core of the 2nd Circle of Judgement screamed. She watched as red essence flowed into the dagger in her hand, the ground shaking more and more as the essence of Drakhosz was consumed. She exhaled loudly and hung her head.
"Thank God the Dragneel's dealt that much damage to him," she said, "otherwise I'd have never gotten out of that spell." She raised her hand and stared at it quietly, the limb shaking as she tried to hold it up. The pain Drakhosz had subjected her to would probably haunt her for the rest of her life. Even now, every nerve in her body felt raw and exposed, like she'd just been electrocuted.
"Well, I hope the others have an easier time," she muttered, reaching into the top of her shirt and pulling out a small medallion. She held it tightly against her her palm, a fine black mist racing down her arm and across the ground, forming a portal. "Now to wait for what's to come."
She never could have known what truly was coming.
"Do you feel that, Xisplate?!" Hades roared as Damien flew away from him as fast as he could. "Another of your kind has fallen! Do you feel the locks becoming undone?! Can you feel your true form pulling at you?!"
"Xisplate?" Damien asked worriedly as he avoided another blast of dark magic from the staff in Hades' hand.
...Drakhosz has been destroyed," he said weakly. Damien nearly froze in midair, but he couldn't. He had to survive, at all costs. There was no other choice. "Ten of us remain."
"How many need to die for the locks to come undone?!" Damien demanded, "all of them, or what?!"
"All of them, yes, but if more than half fall...Zomrus' consciousness with awaken. He will awaken in his chains, and Hades will be more than capable of killing us. We must pray my brothers and sisters do not allow it to happen."
"I have never prayed more in my entire life that I have in the past week!" He shouted angrily, flying high into the sky and turning, raising his arm. "Death Zone!" A territory of black exploded outwards on the ground near them, but Damien could tell he hadn't hit Hades. It wouldn't be that easy.
"Are you scared, Xisplate?!" Hades asked, reappearing on the ground near his previous attack. "Are you worried about what will happen when you assimilate with God of Death?!"
"Don't let him psych you out!" Damien shouted. "I need you to help me out! We can only survive this together!"
"...It isn't him psyching me out, but I understand. Damien, listen closely. If more than half of the Demon Lords fall, I am doing to give you access to my full power."
Damien's eyes widened as he dodged a massive barrage of black magic blasts, flying in a complex pattern to avoid getting hit.
"But you said-!"
"Yes, I am aware. One of the Sacred Laws is that I cannot give you my full strength. Doing so rouses Zomrus. But if half of us fall, there is no other way to ensure you survive. Do you understand, Damien? It will be worse for us if you die than if you receive my complete strength." Damien swallowed hard at this as spikes of bones raced towards him from all angles, trying to impale him on their sharpened ends.
"I understand," he said. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
"Yes, let us hope."
Elise was already tired of the random teleporting.
An one moment, she and Simon were talking through the crimson wasteland of the Third Circle, keeping their eyes out. The next, the world was ripped out from underneath them and they appeared before Meridia, who was standing next to a small pedestal that had a bright red orb hovering over it.
"I said warn me!" Elise said angrily. Meridia was unimpressed.
"I don't have time to argue with you," she said. "Mezevera and Drakhosz have fallen, their essence destroyed and returned to Zomrus." Elise felt all annoynace leave her system. That was bad. Very bad. Simon looked even worse than she felt.
"Mezevera?" He asked, "That means..."
"That her takeover wizard is dead?" Meridia asked, "Yes, Pythia of The Olympians has died. Just as Bella will if that invader gets here to me." Elise shoved her shock aside for a single moment to look at the red orb next to the demon.
"What is that?" She asked. Meridia turned to look at it quietly.
"That," she said, "is the core of my Circle of Judgement, and a apart of my being. If the invader in my Circle were to make it here and use whatever method they used on my brother and sister, the result would kill me."
"That seems wildly useless," Elise told her. Meridia snorted.
"It happens when your existence was predicated by an omnicidal God who was only able to be sealed, not killed. Anhkseram made many fail-safes in case one of us were to go rogue. That way, he can kill us outside direct combat."
"So we just have to stop this invader from destroying your core," Simon said as he recovered from his shock. He still looked pale, though. "Sounds easy enough."
"Indeed. I see you have stopped distrusting me as well." Meridia replied. Simon grit his teeth and looked down.
"If what you said is true, I already lost someone I know today," he said. It occurred to Elise at that moment that Simon had been on the team that went to see The Olympians. He had met this 'Pythia' when he was there. Now she was dead. "I don't plan on letting Bella die today either. I'd never forgive myself." Elise was slightly startled by the fire that ignited in Simon's eyes. She'd seen him angry before, but the righteous, pointed fury on his face was another thing entirely. It energised her the more she watched him.
"Neither would Damien," she said, neglecting to point out Damien might not survive the day, either. "So, what do we do?"
"We wait," Meridia replied. "I can only assume the invader will find my Core on his own. Then, I will send all of you away and you both can defeat him. I cannot abandon my position."
"Seems reasonable," Simon said. "Just warn us this time, okay?"
"You want a warning?" A new voice asked, making Elise jump and whirl around. "Then I shall give you one!" A man erupted from the smoke with his fist prepped to strike, aiming it at Elise. She turned her limbs to iron and blocked the strike, bring ing her knee up and extending it into an iron rod to force him away. The supposed invader fell back and landed on his feet, rising up again.
Elise had to admit, there was something uncomfortable attractive about his features. He had chiselled features that made it apparent he had worked on his body a lot. His arms were as thick around as her own head, and his face was equally attractive. His brown hair was tied up in a ponytail at the back, waving around as it's momentum carried it.
However, all of this was nothing when she met his gaze.
The second her eyes connected with his brown ones, a spike of terror drove itself into her heart. She could feel her body start to shake, but she brushed it off. She wasn't scared of him, not in the slightest.
"I take it you're the Child of Nyx in question," Simon said, readying his blade.
"What tipped you off?" He asked as he stood up straight. "Now, I'll have to ask you to get out of my way, both of you. I have a date with the woman behind you."
"I don't think so," Elise said, balling her fists and preparing to be teleported again.
"I said move!" The man roared.
Elise fell backwards a few steps, her heart racing in her chest as she gasped for air. What the hell was happening? Was this his magic?
"Move!" He shouted again.
Elise fell backwards onto her ass in terror, scrambling backwards from the man in question. Simon had not fallen, but she could see he was trembling and avoiding the mans eyes.
"Fear Magic," Meridia said, "an old and evil technique."
"I'm flattered that you know about it," he replied. "But I'm even more flattered that you haven't been affected yet."
"I'm not so weak as to fall prey to your magic already," Meridia said. Elise looked back at the demon and saw she was standing just as she had been. However, there was a hint of apprehension in her eyes. It was affecting her, if only barely.
"You will be," the man replied. "All come to fear me in the end."
"A-And who exactly are you?" Simon asked, voice trembling. The man smirked as his tone.
"I am Deimos," he said. "Spirit of Terror and Panic. But I'm sure you figured out that last bit." They had indeed. Elise had been scared before, plenty of times, but the fear she felt now was different. She could tell, in the dark recesses of her mind, that she was being hit with magic. But her primitive brain largely could not tell and was telling her to flee, to panic. But she knew she didn't have time for that.
"I know you both are feeling his magic," Meridia said, "but you needed worry. I have an answer for you." Elise didn't know what that meant until she was hoisted up to her feet, Meridia grabbing her under the arm to lift her. She was placed on her feet and whirled around to face the demon, staring at her in confusion.
"Meridia?" She asked, "what-"
Elise did not get to finish her sentence as Meridia closed the distance, planting a kiss on her lips. That was an odd feeling. Elise had never kissed a woman before, and had no inclination to see as she wasn't interested in woman. However, as she stood there with Meridia towering over her, she could not deny the pleasure that flooded her veins. The terror was washed away in the flood, dying into a faint whisper in the background.
"There," Meridia said as she pulled away, "that's better, isn't it?" Elise was a hundred percent certain of her sexuality, yet she could feel the urge to pull the demon close and continue kissing her. It had nothing to do with Meridia being a woman, but the feelings she was feeling...They were immaculate.
Elise watched as the Demon Lord walked to Simon and repeated the kiss, trying not to feel jealous when Simon's eyes glazed over in enjoyment. She missed it already.
"Can you not do that in front of me?" Deimos asked, sounding annoyed, "I don't want to watch you three make out." Elise wished it had gone that far.
"Can you not tell the difference between a kiss and a spell?" Meridia asked as she pushed away from Simon, who looked dazed. "I was cleansing them of your influence. The only thing more powerful than fear is love, lust. They're not afraid of you now." No, but now Elise could feel heat building in her core. Did Meridia know the difference between a kiss and a spell?!
"D-Don't do that again," she said weakly, trying not to squeeze her thighs together. "I-I'm not into that," Meridia rolled her eyes.
"It's got nothing to do with that," she said. "It's my magic, Redfox. I know you're straight. But now, with your mind and body more focused on the lust you feel for me, you can fight him. Remember our deal?"
Elise had enough time to remember it before the world lurched around her, and she was tossed onto her face in surprise. Teleported away, yet again.
"She really doesn't listen when we ask for a warning, huh?" Simon asked. "Did...Did she need to kiss us to use her magic?"
"If she's anything like Bella, no she didn't," she replied, struggling to her feet. She looked over her shoulder and saw Deimos getting to his feet as well, shaking his head in confusion.
"Are you sure neither of you want a moment to yourself?" He asked with a smirk, "Too, you know, unwind?"
"Don't you start," Elise said irritably, "I already want to kick your ass."
"If you think Meridia's little spell will keep me at bay for long, you'd be incorrect," Deimos replied, stamping his foot on the ground. The movement caused Elise to flinch and look away. Damn it, he was right. As she felt fear start to take hold of her, Elise was reminded of Deimos' purpose. He was here to kill Meridia. To kill Bella.
Rage coursed through her at the very idea. Kill Meridia and Bella? Not a chance. It was then, as she stood in defiance to Deimos that she realised Meridia's spell was working. She felt less fear when she thought about her, and her friend. They could do this.
"You ready to go, Simon?" She asked as she cracked her neck, "we're gonna destroy this idiot."
"I've been waiting for you, honestly," Simon said. "Requip! Flight Armour!" Simon's clothes morphed into his cheetah-printed armour built for speed, and he took off for Deimos. He brought a blade out of his inventory and tried to swing it down on Deimos, who glared up at him. Simon faltered for only a second, but it was long enough that Deimos could punch him in the head and knock him to the side.
Elise came after him while he was distracted, Turning her arms into blades, she swung them horizontally at him, but Deimos turned and glared at her as well. Fear spiked down her spine like a cold shower, making her close her eyes to get away. He wasn't scary, he wasn't! She didn't feel her blades cleave through him, so she could only assume he'd dodged them. Opening her eyes, she saw Deimos bounce back to his feet after dodging her, turning and shouting at Simon who was rushing him. Simon, once again, faltered briefly and got a kick in the head for it, sending him towards Elise, who caught him.
"This Fear Magic is annoying," she grunted.
"That's not the worst of it," Simon muttered, rubbing the growing bruise on his cheek. "That kick was harder than the punch before it. His strength is increasing."
"What? How?"
"I don't know. If he's only using Fear Magic, I can only assume his strength increases as our fear does. If that's the case, we need to focus and discard our fear no matter what, or he'll get too strong to defeat." That sounded great in theory, but the fear she was feeling wasn't rational. It was an invading force that made her think everything was horrifying. Easier said than done to counteract that.
"Discard your fear?" Deimos asked with crossed arms. "That isn't something normal humans can do. I've watched you both, and your whole guild, for a while now. I know neither of you are psychos. That's why you can't beat me."
"We're not afraid of you," Elise snarled.
"Right now?" Deimos replied, "maybe not. Normal humans are always afraid of something. "What if my friends die in this battle? What if my parents die?" What if this isn't a battle we can win?" What if, what if, what if...Fear can not be discarded like any old emotion. Because it isn't an emotion, it's a reaction. Your body trying to tell you you need to flee to survive. You can fight it, resist it, but you cannot be rid of it. Not unless you are a maniac you never felt it to begin with. That's why you're both going to lose. With every moment, my Fear Magic worms it's way deeper into your brain. Meridia's spell is proving to be resilient, but not unstoppable. It's only a matter of time before you are so scared you're paralysed."
Elise knew he was right. She could feel it as he gloated to them. Even as he acted high and mighty, a part of her wanted to flee from him. To run and make Meridia deal with him instead. But she couldn't do that. She had to fight it.
"A matter of time?" Simon asked, "so what happens if we blitz you before it takes hold of us?" Deimos did not get to reply before Simon exploded into the air, his arming quickly changing to his Black Wing Armour. He soared straight at Deimos in a straight line, extending a lance to run him through. Deimos stomped his foot against the ground, but Simon just grit his teeth and kept pushing. Deimos was forced to dodge out of the way, but Simon whirled, equipped a sword, and began slashing at him. Deimos was fast enough to dodge, but a few times the sword nicked him and he got cut on his arms.
Elise saw the plan. They needed to go all out now, defeat him while they were at full strength before he got strong enough to match them. Realising this, dark iron scales began to form on her arms and face. Her magic power amplified, and she slammed her hands into the ground.
"Iron Dragon Pillar Prison!" Iron Magic raced through the earth and landed under Deimos, a dozen iron pillars erupting from the ground and ensnaring him within them. He whirled to look for an exit, but there was none. Elise, grinned, feeling magic well up in her stomach.
"Simon, hit him now!" She shouted, planting her feet firmly. "Iron Dragon Roar!" The blast of iron exploded from her lips and flew to the helpless Deimos, who watched on with his own fear.
"Grand Chariot!" Simon shouted, placing his hands into formation. Golden Light formed into a constellation behind his back and flew at Deimos, connecting at the same time Elise's magic did and exploding violently. Elise watched intently as the smoke billowed past her, waiting to see if Deimos was down already. Simon readied his blade, waiting as well.
She saw that it wasn't.
As the smoke cleared, Deimos was bloodied but standing. His arms were in front of his face, cut up and bleeding. His clothes had been tattered save for the metal chest plate he wore, the skin underneath also bleeding and bruised.
"Did you think that was enough already?" He asked, panting. "Not even close."
"Well, we'll just hit you again!" Elise shouted, "Iron Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Iron-!"
"Manifestation of Trauma!" Deimos screamed, open palm aimed directly at her.
Elise had enough time to know the spell hit her before the Circle faded around her.
"Elise?" Simon asked warily, watching the Iron Dragon. When she'd been hit by Deimos' spell, she'd frozen in place. Dragon Force hadn't faded from her body, but she was as still as a tree. Before long, her limbs began to tremble. It was only a little at first, but soon she shook so much she looked like she was freezing.
Then she let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"No! Please!" She screamed, collapsing backwards. "Don't touch me! Go away!" Simon's eyes widened as he connected the dots. His heart began to pump liquid anger through his body, his entire being swelling with rage as Elise screamed and cried.
"Let her go!" He roared, turning and flying at Deimos. He swung his sword at him, but Deimos blocked with his bare arm. A metallic thud resonated when the blade and his arm hit one another.
"Let her go?" He asked with a knowing smirk, "what do you mean? I'm not hurting her."
"You know damn well what you're doing!" He shouted, rearing his blade backwards and swinging again and again. "Stop making her relive that!"
"I'm not making her relive anything!" Deimos said as he effortlessly blocked Simon's swings. "My magic is simply calling on her biggest fears! And the more she's afraid, the stronger I become!" Deimos aimed his fist squarely at Simon's chest, who blocked it with his blade.
It did not matter, the force of the punch still made him fly backwards. He dug his sword into the ground to stop himself, trying desperately to block out Elise's screams. He could tell her throat was already being damaged by the screaming. This just made him angrier.
"Let her go!" He yelled, requipping into his Lightning Emperor Armour and using the spear to call down lightning on Deimos' head, but he just laughed.
"The only way she's being freed is if she finds the exit herself!" He shouted, "now, show me just how powerful you are, Simon Scarlet!" Gritting his teeth, Simon let his anger take control. Requipping into his Flight Armour once again, he equipped a massive club and launched himself at Deimos, swinging the weapon at his body. The swing connected, and was enough force to send him flying.
"I bet if I kill you she'll be freed!" He shouted, requipping a blade into his other hand and flying after Deimos as he flew, stabbing the blade into his side. The blade didn't do anything, but Simon had been prepared for that, and instead swung the club onto Deimos to send him to the earth. The Child of Nyx hit the ground and made a crater, but easily got back to his feet.
"You're running out of time, Scarlet!" He called, "Elise's fear makes me stronger and stronger! You'd better kill me fast!" He knew that, of course he knew that!"
"Shut up!" He roared, "Requip! Thousand Arms Armour!"
This was a new one his mother had helped him to craft after Nashi died the first time.
The armour itself consisted of a relatively simple suit of armour across his lower body and chest, silver steel accented with gold on the edges. But at a closer look, one could see additional arms sticking out from both Simon's armpits and above his shoulders. This gave him eight arms to fight with, not just two. Simon felt the SE Plug pierce his skin, powering the arms and giving him access to the additional arms.
"That's a fancy looking piece," Deimos noted, "but how will more arms help you, exactly?" Simon did not answer with words. Instead, he opening his inventory and grabbed for eight weapons.
In his normal right hand, he swung the Club of Purgatory. In his normal left, the blade of the Fire Emperor. In his lower left he gripped the Spear of the Lightning Emperor, in his lower right a piece of his Adamantine Shield. In his upper right arm, he held onto one of the many blades from his Heaven's Wheel Armour.
And in his upper left, he grabbed a hold of the blade Nashi and Elise had helped him to forge. The Dragon Slayer Sword, Astra appeared in his hand, it's blade of Dragon Iron glinting in the low light. Across the flat edge of the blade was imprinted markings of flames bouncing up and down the weapon, another mark of one of the people who had helped him forge it. He aimed all eight weapons at Deimos, who too his credit, did look a little intimidated.
"I said," he said in a low tone, "to let her go."
"No! Stop it, Stop it!"
Hands. There were hands where she didn't want them. Things where she didn't want them.
Elise felt paralysed, like her entire body refused to cooperate with her mind. A small part of her knew this was a trick. That she wasn't actually being defiled and that it was all in her mind.
But, just as Deimos had said, fear was not rational emotion. It was the unfiltered reaction from the brain. She could not stop it. She could not stop ice flooding her veins as she was groped, over and over, her throat raw from screaming for help. No one could hear her, not here.
Then, the scene changed.
Elise was no longer being touched, she was standing in a graveyard. She looked down at the headstones in front of her, all of them reading her friends names. They were all here, but they were all dead.
"No!" she screamed as she collapsed and held onto Nashi's tombstone. "No, you can't be dead! Why?! Why did you leave me all alone?!"
The scene changed.
Elise was standing over a body. No, not any body. It was a massive, dark purple dragon's body. She instinctively knew who it was.
"Drake..." She whispered. She'd had to kill him, she'd had no choice. He'd transformed into a dragon and gone insane, and she had to kill him for it. "Why did you make me do it? Why did you have to go and die on me?! Why?!"
It changed again.
She found herself standing in front of Keita, who watching her in disgust.
"You?" He asked accusingly, "and me? A couple? Get real. Who could ever love someone as ugly, disgusting and defiled as you are? Never in a million years." He then turned his back on her as her heart shattered in two.
It changed one final time.
Now she was staring down at Nashi's lifeless corpse, Natsu holding onto her dearly. They'd lost. The Demon Lords took her soul back. It was all over.
These scenes played all at once in her brain, her mind concocted her worst fears into a horrifying reality. She fought and squirmed, kicked and screamed, but it did no good. The scenes would not stop playing. She could not stop them from feeling like her reality. She was completely at the mercy of her fears as she was subjected to them over and over, helpless to stop them from playing out.
As she watched the one of Nashi dying again, something clicked in the back of her mind. The rational part of her brain had enough power to remind her this was not just a fear, it was a possibility. If she didn't get up, if she and Simon didn't defeat Deimos to save Meridia, it would get worse than that too. She had to get up, she had to fight these fears. But how?
After countless more rotations of her worst nightmares, she could take it no longer. Elise forced herself to open her eyes for the first time. She looked up as she felt herself being defiled, and realised she was all alone. No one else was even there with her. The scene flipped to the graveyard, and when she truly looked with her eyes not her fears, the tombstones were blank with no names. When she looked up to dragonified Drake, she saw it was not even him at all. When she forced herself to meet Keita's eyes when she confessed to him, she saw he was blushing and looking away from her.
These fears weren't real. They were just in her mind. None of that was currently happening, or would ever even happen. Elise took a deep breath as she was sent back to the room where she'd been dragged with those men from Phantom Dove and balled her fists.
"This isn't real," she hissed as the men's laughter echoed around her. "None of this is real. You're all dead, I know you are. You got what you deserved for touching me. None of this is real, but the last one could be. I won't let that happen. I won't let Nashi suffer again! This isn't real! IT'S NOT REAL!"
Elise gasped as her eyes shot open and she rolled onto her back. She was back in the Third Circle, laying on the ground in the fetal position just a moment ago. Her heart raced at a thousands miles a second, blood roaring in her ears. She was back. Even though she had broken free of Deimos' spell, the fear had not disappeared. Her limbs trembled as the Phantom Dove men's voices echoed around her. Her legs nearly gave out when she thought about being the last one standing. She nearly puked at the thought of Drake not only dying, but at her hand. She almost collapsed again when she heard Keita refusing her.
None of it was real. She couldn't let these fears control her, or Deimos would win. The fear made him stronger, so she needed to defeat the fear. She needed to discard it. But Deimos had said that wasn't possible. That fear was a part of being human.
...If it's a part of being human, why am I fighting it? Why am I refusing to acknowledge I'm afraid?
Because truthfully, she was afraid. She was afraid of all of those things. She still feared the men from Phantom Dove. She was terrified of her friends dying. She couldn't handle losing Drake, or Keita not feeling the same way about her that she did him. She was horrified at the idea of losing this battle and letting Nashi's soul be taken away again. Not only that, but she was afraid of battle, of Deimos. His magic was powerful, and it was still coursing through her even now. She'd always been afraid of battle, but she'd never let it control her. She couldn't afford to. Not then, and especially not now.
Elise took a deep breath and stopped clenching her fists. She inhaled and exhaled deep breaths a few times, forcing herself to confront those fears. Yes, she was afraid of all of those things. What did that change? Did it change who she was, what she had to do? Did it change the fact that she needed to protect Meridia then seal her afterwards? No it didn't. She was afraid, yes. But she had to accept that. If it was a part of being human, it was a part of her. She didn't have to run from these fears, she could just let them wash over her and accept them.
It was not possible to defeat fear, but it was possible to accept you feel it and fight anyway.
Elise felt her limbs come back under her own control. Her heart beat stabilised, and her mind cleared of the scenes Deimos had forced her to see. Yes, she was afraid. All of that scared her. But so what? Was it bad to be afraid of scary things? No, of course it wasn't.
Like Deimos himself said, it was a part of being human.
Elise exhaled one more time and opened her eyes, seeing more clearly then she had before. Even if her fear could still power Deimos, she could fight back. She wouldn't let that fear consume her again. Not while she had work to do.
An explosion sounded in the distance, making her head shoot up in that direction. Simon was still fighting, he might need her help. Realising Dragon Force had yet to fade, Elise grinned and clenched her fists again.
"Hold on Simon, I'm on my way!"
She took off running in the direction of the fighting, following the sounds of steel on steel. It took her a little bit, but using her enhanced sense of smell and sound she was able to catch up to them just as Simon slashed a massive gap into the fog in the air, Deimos flying thorugh it with a laugh as Simon followed him, sporting an armour she'd never seen before.
"You better hurry, Simon!" Deimos called, "Elise is making me more powerful by the second! If you aren't careful, I'll be strong enough to kill Meridia!" Elise said nothing, simply turning her arms into swords and leaping into the air. She kicked off towards Deimos, who seemed to notice her and turn around in surprise just as she slashed for his midsection, blocking her blades with his arms.
"Elise!" Simon exclaimed, "you got free!" Deimos regarded her quietly, looking almost impressed.
"So you figured me out, huh?" He asked with a smile. Elise smirked back at him.
"Wasn't that hard, you gave me all the time in the world." Shrinking her arms back to normal, Elise twisted in the air and slammed her foot into his head, knocking him down to the ground ahead of her. She landed on her feet, crouching to absorb the impact a little better.
"I'm glad to see you got out," Simon said as he landed near her. "How did you do it?" Elise grimaced.
"I'm still powering him," she said, "because I'm still afraid. But I had to accept what happened to me. I had to stop fighting him. Stop fighting myself." Simon nodded along, seeming to understand.
"Accept the fear and not fight it," he said. "That makes sense."
"Yeah. How long you had this armour hiding?" She asked, gesturing to the four extra arms.
"A while," Simon replied. "I haven't used it because it uses up extra magic to keep the extra arms operable. I was going to need to switch out of it soon."
"I'd advise against that," Deimos called, having gotten out of the crater he'd created. "The fear you both feel is still powering me. I can feel myself getting stronger by the second."
"How bad is it?" Elise asked Simon, getting into a fighting stance.
"Bad," Simon replied. "He's already matching me in speed and strength. We need to end this now, or he'll surpass us." Elise nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Take everything you have left," she told him, feeling Iron God Slaying Magic she'd stolen from Tetsu welling up inside of her. "We need to use it all and take him down now. We have no other option."
"I agree," Simon said. "Requip!" Simon's armour disappeared into his inventory, replaced by his Heart Cloth Armour. Now he bore nothing but wrappings around his arm, and red samurai pants. She noted that he had Astra gripped in his right hand still. He was discarding any defence for pure offence.
"What's the plan?" She asked as black iron traced up and down her arms, her body moaning in protest to the incompatible Slayer Magic.
"Give me a single opening to prepare, and I can end this with one spell," Simon replied. "I'm powerful enough to cast Sema without preparation now." Elise cast him a surprised glance at this. She didn't know that., when had he accomplished that?
"Can do," she said, "but you'd better be right by my side making that opening."
"As if I'd be anywhere else."
As if the two had timed it, they both leapt forward into the fray. Elise sprinted towards Deimos while Simon took to the air, using Meteor to fly in a confusing pattern around Deimos to distract him. He did not move his eyes from Elise, smiling at her.
"Iron Dragon God Ballista!" Elise shouted, her arms transforming into a massive crossbow. She shot a barrage of six-foot arrows directly at Deimos, whose eyes widened and dodged. He wasn't strong enough yet to not get hurt by them, that was good. Elise kept up her assault and followed him with her arms, some of her arrows slashing open his arms and legs. Deimos grunted in annoyance and tried to take to the air, but Simon was on him.
"Heavenly Fire Dragon Slash!" Astra glowed in the light, and a slash of Heavenly Body Magic infused with flames burst from the edge and slashed into Deimos' back, sending him back down to the earth.
"That thing can use Nashi's magic?" She asked as Simon landed next to her.
"Your's too, but not much," he said. "It's basically just a burst of your magic power you imbued when you helped me craft it." Elise smiled down at the blade she and Nashi had forged.
"Better be enough to end this!" She shouted, turning her left arm into a rotating buzz-saw and the right into a spear. She ran at Deimos as he recovered, stabbing at him with the spear. He grabbed it's shaft to stop her, and Elise turned her arm back to normal to close the distance, swinging down on him with the buzz-saw. Deimos blocked it with his other arm, screaming in pain as the rotating blades dug into his flesh and spat flesh and blood everywhere.
"I've had enough of you!" He shouted, releasing Elise's other arm and grabbing her face, force their eyes to meet. "Feared Foe!" Elise's eyes widened as Deimos' form changed, his entire being morphing into something else.
Apocalypse stood before her.
Elise felt fear shook into her body as she met the torturer's eyes, her body reminding her of the pain she had suffered at this mans hands. The buzz-saw stopped cutting into Deimos, and he laughed in Apocalypse's voice. Her fear was powering him.
"He scares you, doesn't he?" Deimos asked in the dead man's voice. "I don't blame you, he was a fearsome opponent!" He punched Elise in the stomach, and with this new fear powering him in broke through her defences and sent her flying. Elise hit the ground and threw up from the impact, spewing vomit onto the ground. She stared down at it angrily, her arms shaking.
She knew Apocalypse was dead. He had to be after Silverridge. So she did not have to fear Deimos like he was actually here. She just had to accept Apocalypse scared her and keep pushing. Accept the fear and fight through it.
She got to her feet and whirled around to see Deimos and Simon engaged in quick exchanges between blade and arm, though the pulses of fire and Heavenly Body Magic from the blade was forcing Deimos back. The man growled as a wave of flames burnt him, raising his arm.
"Manifestation of Trauma!" He shouted.
"Simon, no!" It was too late a warning. The spell caught Simon, and his eyes glazed over. He was silent for a few moments before he collapsed to his knees. Tears began to streak down his face quietly.
"Nami..."He whispered, "I-I couldn't stop him, I'm sorry...He cut off your hand..." Elise knew what he must have been seeing. The fight with The Olympians, when Nami had lost her sword hand. "H-Hades, he was too powerful...I couldn't stop him." Deimos tried to approach the struggling redhead, but Elise put herself in the way. His face morphed back into Apocalypse when she met his eyes, but she refused to back down.
She ran at him and swung her blade down at him, which she blocked. She turned her leg into a blade as well and swung it at his legs, but he jumped over it. Once he did so, she used her other arm and transformed it into a mace and swung it, wrapping the chain of it around Deimos' body and slamming him into the ground. She whirled and used all her strength, throwing him up into the air.
"Iron Dragon God Shrapnel Bomb!" She roared, a cannon forming from her hands. She clicked the trigger and fired it, a massive iron bomb flying upwards and colliding with Deimos. The explosion wasn't anything to write home about, but it exploded into shrapnel on contact, embedding itself in Deimos' body. He growled and aimed a hand down at her, a black glow in his palm.
"Surrounded By Enemies!" He called. Elise winced, waiting for the fear, but nothing happened. Before she could laugh, bodies began to form from the fog around her. People she knew all too well.
She saw Apocalypse. She saw Kronos, as he had been before their attacks maimed him forever. She saw Aphrodite, as beautiful as she had been before. A tremor shook the ground and she whirled around in surprise.
The Dorma Anim lumbered out of the fog. The Edolas Mech raised it's arms to fight, and she could only presume Edolas Simon was inside.
"Do you think I'm scared of apparitions, Deimos?" She asked as she turned to look for him. "These people are either dead or not as issue! I beat them before!"
"When did I say they were apparitions?" Before Elise could reply the Dorma Anim slammed it's arm down on her, and she had to raise her arms to block it. It was real, she was actually going to have to fight them.
"My Fear Magic has manifested the enemies you feared most out of ether-nano," Deimos' voice echoed around her as she dodged a blast of pure magic from the Dorma Anim. "These enemies are as real as you and me right now." Elise turned to look at the others, throwing a slash at Kronos, who used Arc of Time to steal it. Green spots appeared all over her body, and her magic in her body exploded. Elise fought the pain, but she had even more to worry about when the Dorma Anim slammed it's massive arm into her, tossing her far away. She got up to face them and saw a pink glow surrounding them. They were being charmed by Aphrodite, their power amplified. She grit her teeth as she stared at the ghosts of her past, knowing this was already going to far. If they didn't stop Deimos now, they never would.
"Simon!" She roared as she dodged a barrage of missiles from the Dorma Anim and ran straight at her enemies. "You have to accept the fear! Don't fight what scares you, accept and push past it! Fear is not a weakness!"
"Fear is the biggest weakness!" Deimos roared as Apocalypse activated his Rupture Magic, Elise's body racked by internal explosions again. She almost fell but kept herself upright, running for her enemies. "Fear is paralysing! Fear is all powerful, all demanding! The only thing all people and animals share is fear! It is the strongest of all feelings!"
"Don't let it control you!" Elise roared, hoping Simon could hear her as Kronos raised an arm and shot her stolen Iron Sword at her, which she had to bend awkwardly to dodge. "Accept the fear and let it go! You can't stop feeling afraid, but you can stop it from stopping you! Push forward!"
Apocalypse ruptured her internal magic again, and she hit the ground in a heap. The Dorma Anim blasted her with pure magic, while it also shot some at Kronos. The old man amplified it and shot it at her, it's power even worse. Elise was blasted over and over again into the ground, enemies she'd long left behind trying to seal her fate. She had to get up, or Deimos would be to powerful to stop. He could go after Meridia soon if they didn't knock him out, now.
Soon the onslaught of attacks stopped, leaving her face down in the crater they had created. She was still conscious, but pretended not to be as someone descended the crater's edge to check her out. When they did, she leapt from the ground, grabbed their arm, and impaled them with her sword arm.
Kronos' surprised eyes met hers, but she did not look away as she drove the blade deeper into him. No blood spurted out of him, but he did lose the light in his eyes and collapse into her, turning to dust. Rupture Magic racked her from within yet again, but she fought through it and jumped out of the crater. The Dorma Anim rumbled towards her, it's armour black and a sword replacing it's left arm. She knew the mech was powered by the ether-nano in the air, which meant in this realm it was all but impossible to make it run out of strength.
She'd just need to destroy it.
Dragon Force exploded across her body, scales growing over her face and arms. The Rupture Magic tried to stop her, but it couldn't. As the Dorma Anim got close, Elise used her own sword arm to match its swing, slicing off the mech's blade easily. Kicking the blade aside, she extended and forced her blade through the mech's midsection, then extended smaller blades into it to prevent it from running from her.
She inhaled.
"Iron Dragon God's Bellowing Roar!"
Elise's strongest breath attack smashed into the Dorma Anim and shattered it instantly, throwing pieces of it all over the place. No Edolas Simon was within it, but that was probably because she hadn't really ever feared him specifically.
"You brought my enemies back," she hissed under her breath as she turned to Apocalypse and Aphrodite. "Seems you didn't bring their power level up. I'm too strong to be taken out by these fools now!"
She ate her words when Apocalypse used his magic again. She collapsed to her knees as her magic exploded inside of her.
"So I'll just have to use your own magic against you," Deimos' voice echoed. Apocalypse blew her up again and again, and black spots appeared in Elise's eyes. She was going to lose to Apocalypse, a man who had died years ago. This wasn't fair.
"Get up, Elise!" Simon's voice reverberated around her, and the explosions stopped. Looking up weakly, she saw Apocalypse's head hit the dirt, Astra having decapitated him when Simon brought it down on his neck. Aphrodite tried to back away, but Simon moved for her and, in one swift motion, cleaved her in two horizontally. Both remaining enemies returned to dust, revealing Deimos standing some ways away, bleeding and annoyed. Simon's face looked haunted by what he'd seen, but he'd broken out regardless. He had heard her.
"Thanks for the save," she mumbled as she struggled to her feet.
"No problem," he replied. "Now give it all you've got, I'm going to blast this moron to hell."
"We're in hell."
"You know what I meant."
"You think you can stop me?" Deimos asked, "your fear has let me surpass both of you! I can't be beaten by you now!"
"Let's test your hypothesis," Simon said as he pointed Astra directly at him. "I may be afraid, but I sure as hell am not afraid of you!" Simon disappeared in a flash of golden light, and he reappeared in front of Deimos. Using Meteor to speed himself up, Elise watched as he slashed Deimos dozens and dozens of times, Astra breaking the flesh and causing Deimos' blood to fly everywhere.
"No!" Deimos roared as he kicked Simon in the stomach, "you do fear me! Everyone does! Your fear powers me even now, I can feel it!"
"That why I was able to slash you open so easily, Deimos?!" Simon asked as he flew back at him, slashing Astra in the air. Waves of Fire and Light flew from the blade and impacted Deimos, tossing him backwards with every hit. "For a guy who has surpassed us both, you sure do look beat up!"
"Shut up!" Deimos roared. "I'm the strongest Child of Nyx! Fear is the strongest! Fear controls everyone!" He raised his fist as Simon got close and hit the redhead in the face, blood spurting from his nose. Simon did not react and grabbed a hold of Deimos with his right hand, which glowed gold. With a roar, Simon whirled in a circle powered by Meteor and flung Deimos at Elise, who had been waiting for this moment.
"Iron Dragon Secret Art!" She shouted, aiming an arm out behind her. "Primordial God's Gauntlet!"
Her arm formed into a massive gauntlet akin to one from a suit of armour, and with a roar she raised it over her head and gripped the gauntlet into a fist, slamming it onto Deimos' head when he got close to her. The Child of Nyx was pressed into the giant hand and crashed into the ground, debris and dust flying everywhere as she forced him deeper into the dirt.
"Simon now!" She shouted. Her friend was way ahead of her.
He had taken to the ground, and entered the stance. One hand pointed two fingers at the ground, the other behind him pointing two fingers at the sky. Simon began to glow, his magic power making the Circle hum with energy.
"True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!"
The dark Circle was flashed with light as the sky began to glow. A Cyclone of wind kicked up around them, flinging the fog far away. Looking up, a massive meteor, easily the size of Magnolia itself, descended from the sky of the Circle. The meteor glowed with Heaven's light as it flew downwards, intent on destroying anything in it's path.
Elise was in it's path.
She had planned on using her magic to protect herself, but she knew it wasn't going to be enough, and that she'd still get hurt. That was until she was tackled around the midsection by Simon, who had used Meteor to race to her and fling her out of the way. They flew out of the blast radius of Sema, and Elise watched as the meteor crashed into the ground and exploded. She closed her eyes to prevent glowing blind, but her eyes still burned from Simon's power. She felt her back hit the ground as Simon ran out of strength, and she waited until the tremors and light faded away.
When she did, she could see the impact zone from where they'd landed because the fog had been blown away. The impact crater from Sema had blasted a whole the size of Magnolia as well into the Circle, and near the bottom she could see a dark spot. Deimos was on his face, from what she could tell.
"You got him, Simon," she said, pushing the redhead off her chest to sit him up. "Good job."
"Thanks," he breathed. "I used up way to much magic on that Sema. I'm spent."
"I can tell, it was way bigger than before."
"Yes, you both did wonderfully." Elise whipped her head around, and Simon struggled to look. Meridia stood behind them, watching with a smile.
"Please don't start," Elise moaned. "We're exhausted now, mentally and magically."
"Start what?" Meridia asked. "I was congratulating you. I believe I already made it apparent I was not interested in fighting you."
"Yeah, but we still have to seal you," Simon said. Meridia sighed and closed her eyes, apparently deep in thought.
"...Do it then," she said. Elise's eyes widened at this, but Meridia continued. "Seal me here."
"Why?: Simon demanded, "why let us after all this."
"Because while you two fought, I realised something." She said. "This entire time we have been dancing to Hades', to Zomrus' tune. The three of us coming to blows is what he would have wanted. Our best chance at avoiding catastrophe is this. Seal my power into my Circle, and together we will prevent anymore attempts on my life. This way, at the very least, we can avoid one Demon Lord's death. Perhaps one chain will be enough to keep Zomrus asleep."
"And if it isn't?" Simon asked.
"Then I die anyway. Not great options, so I've decided to cast my ballot. Seal me."
Elise cast a wary eye at Simon, who shrugged. He was spent, so a fight was currently out of the question. Taking a deep breath, she got to her feet and walked a bit closer to the demon, raising her hand. The tattoos Anhkseram had imbued into her arm glowed, glyphs and symbols she did not recognise floating into the air. The runes snapped around Meridia like a rope, and began to glow brighter as they did. After a few seconds, the runes flashed brightly and disappeared, the Circle thrumming with energy around them.
"Excellent work," Meridia said. "I feel Anhkseram's will in this spell. I've been sealed into my Circle and cannot manifest without Bella's permission. You succeeded." Elise sighed in relief and slumped her shoulders, rubbing her head.
"Thank God you're friendly," she said, "or we'd have been in trouble.
"Yes, you lucked out getting one who is friendly to you," Meridia agreed. "Now here, let me heal you."
"Come again?" Elise asked. Meridia rolled her eyes and put a hand on her voluptuous hips.
"I am a God, Elise," she said. "I am capable of performing healing magic. Now come here and let me help you."
"...Are you gonna kiss me again?" Elise asked warily. Meridia grinned seductively, and Elise could not stop her eyes from following the hand the demon caressed her own body with.
"Would you like me too?" She purred. Elise gulped as Simon scrambled to his feet.
"...Maybe."
Far away from the battles in the Circles of Judgement, Bella Realight had no idea how close she truly came to dying in that moment. She was completely unaware this battle was taking place at all, having not been forewarned of it starting.
She sat quietly in the Blue Pegasus guild hall, bouncing her leg up and down anxiously. She was distracted by thoughts of her friend Damien, and how he was doing. She didn't know at the time she should have classified these feelings as love, but she would come to find that out later.
She had only narrowly avoided death, but if Hades were to succeed, she would never get to tell Damien how she felt. Yet she was blissfully unaware.
It would not remain this way for long. Two were gone, nine battles remained. The Chains were weakening by the second.
This chapter is a little bit of a breather for me, because it wasn't actually against Meridia. She's friendly to the cast, so she didn't have to fight them and instead allowed them to seal her. Because of this, it was possible to get this chapter out much faster, as I didn't have to think so much about what abilities Meridia would use in combat and how to make it the best fight ever, you know? I could relax a little. Plan other fights more.
Somehow we still ended up over 9k words, which I do not know how that happened. I was just going on my merry way and ended up here. I hope this isn't my new minimum. I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!