I have a fun announcement to make!
The ninth anniversary of this story comes on the 26th of November, and to celebrate I'll be posting the final chapter of this arc on that day! I have been grinding all of November to write these remaining chapters, and I think 425 and 426 especially are fantastic! Until then we have Five Days of Updates! From today until the 26th I will post a chapter a day, then take a small break before the final arc begins sometime in the New Year!
Get hyped!
Also, anyone have any tips for the tech issue from last chapter can still say something. Still happening.
Enjoy!
Before Rina's Ascension...
Rina had never felt more horrible in her entire life. She rocked herself back and forth slowly, trying to find any positive emotion inside of her. She could not. The mirror selves had taken all of her joy from her. All she felt was anger, sadness, and jealousy.
"You have no one to blame but yourself," One of the mirrors said, "None of this is anyone's fault but yours."
She knew that was true. Nothing these reflections had said were not things she herself hadn't felt. That was what made it all the worse.
"Poor Rina Nanagear. Always putting on airs, always lying to herself, and everyone else. You're not a big, strong, God Slayer. You're a sad little girl who hides her soft side because she fears what people might think."
She knew that was true.
"Always hiding her real feelings behind a brick wall. What would people think if the daughter of big, strong Orga Nanagear wasn't like her Dad? If she was more like her soft-hearted mother?"
Rina had never known her Mother. From what her father had told her, she had died during childbirth from a complication. She knew from stories, though, that she was like her mother. Soft, empathetic, easy-going.
And she always lied.
"Hiding from everything, including the real you. Hiding from your soft side, hiding from your real feelings. Hiding from who you are. Always trying to be the shoulder people leaned on instead of being the one crying. You're pathetic."
She really was. Rina had always felt like a disappointment growing up. Always crying, always needing the others to save her. She could feel the disappointment oozing from every one in her guild. She couldn't be her real self, they wouldn't like her. She knew that. She needed to be like her Dad. She had always admired her Father. Tall, strong, reliable. Someone you could trust to watch your back. Rina wanted to be like him.
She she became like him.
People noticed her change in attitude, but chalked it up to puberty. It wasn't. Rina had locked her soft-side away in the deepest trench of her heart to be reliable. She wanted the others to look at her like she looked at her Dad. She wanted that more than anything. And now they did, because of the façade she'd been running with. But it wasn't who she was deep down. Not really.
"Hiding is what you do best, isn't it? Hiding your soft-side. Hiding your tears. Hiding your love."
Rina flinched at this.
"Even now, as the fate of the world rests on you and the others, you hide. You shy away. Just do away with yourself already, will you? You're just slowing your allies down, doing this."
The mirage was right. All Rina was doing was wasting time. She couldn't do this, someone else would have too. But how could she off herself with what she had? Her own magic wouldn't hurt her, so she'd have to find another way.
"Do you want my help, cutie?" A voice asked. Rina weakly lifted her head to see a woman standing before her. She was clad in a dark, sultry dress that showcased her cleavage, dark angel wings sprouting from her lower back as well as her shoulders. She had dark, serpent-like eyes, and a smile that sent a chill down her spine. Her flowy dark hair looked as black as midnight, slick like the top of a stagnant lake.
"...You must be the Demon Lord," Rina said. The woman laughed.
"I am," she said. "I am Ruli, the Demon Lord of Evil. Would you like me to put you out of your misery?" Rina gulped and looked down at her shaking hands, frowning.
"I don't want to die," she mumbled weakly. "...I have so much I need to do."
"Like what?" Ruli purred. "Tell your friends you love them? Perhaps be honest with yourself? Save Nashi? You can't do anything. You're not helping at all."
"But..."
"But what? What can you do to stop me? Your pathetic. Not even worth noting in history. Why must you waste all our times with your presence?"
Ruli was right. What was she doing? She'd been reduced to a quivering mess so easily. How could she be expected to take on a Demon Lord on her own? This was insanity.
"...Okay," Rina said. "Okay." Ruli smiled.
"I knew you had it in you," she said. Raising a hand, the Demon Lord's nails extended into sharp claws as she approached Rina. "Come here, my sweet. Let me end your suffering."
That was fine with her. Rina was tired. So very tired of her lies. If this could put her out of her misery, then that was fine. The closer Ruli got, the more she felt as though she was being dragged down into the ocean. Cold seeped into her bones and ice in her veins, lulling her to sleep slowly and softly. This was what she wanted, to go and stop holding everyone down...
"Why are you crying, Rina?"
Rina made a face and opened her eyes, but she was no longer sitting in the Circle with Ruli. She was on the streets of Gazania, a child standing before her father. She frowned at the sight of her younger self. She was bawling her eyes out, face red and puffy.
"Come here sweetheart," Her father said, kneeling down as she rushed into his arms and cried. Rina watched as she was soothed, barely able to watch. "Where those kids in the park bullying you?"
"T-They said I'm the reason Mom died!" Her younger self sobbed. "That I killed her!"
She had done that. Rina's existence had taken her mother from the world. She wasn't a worthy replacement. How could she be?
"I-I did kill Mom, didn't I?" Rina's younger self asked. "I killed her and took her from you!"
Rina didn't recall how this memory went, but she had already accepted the answer within her own mind.
"Don't be silly, Rina."
Her eyes widened as she looked back at her memory. Her Dad had a soft smile on his face as he wiped her tears from her face.
"Your Mom didn't die because of you," he said, "she died to bring you into this world. Not once did she consider not going through with it. She knew the risks."
"B-But-"
"No buts," he said. "She loved you more than anything, and she only got to know you for a few seconds. Your mother gave you your name, remember?"
"She did?" Young Rina asked. Her Dad nodded as Rina herself swallowed hard.
"Rina, after my own Mom," Rina and her Dad said at the same time, "the strongest woman I know."
"Don't ever believe for a second your Mother died because of you, or that she didn't love you," he told her softly. "She loved you more than anything. Just like I do, okay? Don't ever forget Rina. I love you more than anyone or anything. I'll always have your back."
Always had her back.
Loved her no matter what.
Rina looked over her shoulder as more faces took shape. She watched as her friends came into focus through the fog. Michael, Keita, Juno, Kyoko and Blake all watched her with smiles.
Then she looked to her side, and her eyes widened.
Before her stood a foggy vision of a woman. She didn't recognize her at first, but familiarity quickly seeped into her. It was her Mom. She had short blonde hair and soft green eyes that made her feel at home. Rina had never seen her Mother talk or heard her voice, so the apparition couldn't speak. It just smiled at her softly, causing something to bubble inside Rina's gut.
It was rage. At herself.
How could she have forgotten? Forgotten all the people who she loved? The people she needed to protect? They didn't care about her faults, known or not. They were her family, and they loved her.
And she loved them too much to go quietly.
Plasma flooded Rina's veins, and she grabbed Ruli's extended hand. Black lightning raced into the Demon Lord, causing her to screech so loudly Rina's ears nearly bled. The Demon was blown backwards by the sheer force of the lightning, allowing Rina to struggle to her feet.
"I'll have to apologize," she muttered to herself as she stood, "I nearly forgot how much you all mean to me."
Even if Rina was hiding parts of herself, even if she hadn't been truthful, it didn't matter. She loved them, and they were counting on her to seal this Demon Lord. She wasn't going to go down without giving it her all.
Charging her body, Rina stood up straight as lightning crackled around her. She wasn't going to go down without making sure she sealed this Demon Lord here. With a roar, she unleashed a wave of electricity. The mirrors shattered in an instant as the wave crashed against them, leaving Rina alone, with no mirrors reflecting her faults back at her. Ruli let out a laugh from where she'd bee tossed.
"Nice!" She called as she got to her feet, barely a scratch on her. "It's been a long time since someone escaped my 'Faults of Oneself'. You must be stronger than I thought you were." Rina didn't offer a reply, instead taking steady breaths to regain control of herself. Without the mirrors her self deprecation had returned to a muddy feeling in the back of her mind, no longer consuming her like it had before. Ruli smiled devilishly.
"I'll admit you surprised me," she said, "but you're not near strong enough on your own to seal me."
"who said she was alone?" Another voice said. Rina made a face and turned her head towards the source. Standing between herself and Ruli a distance away was some woman.
The woman's hair and eyes were like a kaleidoscope of the color spectrum, glowing every different color she could think of. Despite the chaos of her eyes and hair, her clothing was a simple black dress with black leggings. She didn't seem to pose all that much of a threat, but Rina knew that had to be a ruse.
"A Child of Nyx, huh?" Ruli asked, seeming unaffected as well, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I had heard the other Circles were breached. Some of my siblings have even died." Rina's eyes widened at this, as it was the first she was hearing about this.
"Some of them are dead?" She asked weakly. Ruli's eyes flared angrily at this, but she nodded.
"Yes, it seems several of my brethren have somehow fallen to mere children," she replied. "Don't worry, I'll make quick work of you so that doesn't happen."
"The help you need has arrived by the way," the woman said in Rina's direction. "Eris, at your service. She had heard the name before. This was the one Fairy Tail had captured in order to break into Tartarus. Apparently that had been a part of Hades' plan too.
"I don't want your help," Rina replied. "You're trying to kill her."
"Can you afford to not use my help?" Eris asked with an innocent expression. "You heard the Demon; you'll die."
"I'd rather die than have you help me," Rina replied. "As a matter of fact, I think I'll use you to warm up!"
Charging her legs with power, Rina took off in Eris' direction, raising her arm. She charged her forearms as well, and tossed out several dozen punches in the span of several seconds. Eris managed to evade some, and those she didn't outright avoid she struck back with orbs of magic that matched her hair. Every time Rina struck one, pain raced up her arm into her chest, causing her to grimace. Whatever that was, she wanted it done with quickly.
Backing up, Rina raised her arms. Clenching her fists, she bent one arm back and stretched out the other, lightning crackling between her fists.
"Lightning God's Thunder Barrage!" A Bow formed between her fists, the string in her other. Lances of lightning erupted from her bow, flying straight at Eris' face, who just watched with a grin.
The barrage of bolts redirected away from Eris and flew for Ruli, who had been watching with mild interest. She dodged them easily, but her face showed she wasn't amused.
"My, how chaotic," Eris said sweetly. "It was odd that happened!" Rina knew she had done something to her magic, but she wasn't going to ask. Not like she'd get an answer anyway. Bringing her hands together, Rina created a javelin in her hands. Once she did this, she charged her arms and legs with lightning.
"Lightning God's Supersonic Art!" The lightning in her limbs enhancing her speed, Rina used the javelin to jab at Eris, spinning it like an expert staff twirler as she struck at the woman. Every time her attack struck Eris, it seemed like the impact of her blade bulled. Like Eris was taking it somehow. After another quick interaction, Eris flew backwards gracefully and raised an open palm, a multicolored orb floating there.
"It's funny, isn't it?" She asked. "How sometimes your blade seemed to not work. A little random, don't you think?" Before Rina could reply, Eris tossed the orb towards her. Rina tried to follow it with her eyes, but it darted all over the place randomly, making it hard to follow. Before long she lost track of it, and before long she saw she had been surrounded by the balls of magic. The orbs raced towards her, forcing Rina to dodge out of the way. However when she tried, her left leg was sluggish and her right was sore. She got struck on the side by an orb, and pain raced up and down her body from the contact. More and more struck her, pain assaulting her body as she fell backwards and hit the ground.
"Bet your body hurt randomly, hm?" Eris asked, "how chaotic, how random." Rina grit her teeth as she stood, her body both responding too quickly and too slowly to her command. Her left arm began to shake, while her right leg went numb. Eris spawned another orb, and she realized she'd lost control of her lower half. Eris flung the ball at her, and when it connected it caused dozens of explosions to rack Rina's body. Flying backwards, Rina hit the ground and groaned. What the hell was happening? Why was her body not responding?
"Quite an interesting power," Ruli's voice said, "Chaos Magic, is it? An old technique."
"You know it?" Eris asked as Rina struggled to move. "It's an interesting power. causing all actions and motions to have a random, chaotic outcome. Magic being either too weak or too strong. Either a thousand explosions or a few. But what will they're power level be?" Rina absorbed these words slowly, trying to digest them quickly. Even her thoughts felt slow. "So, Rina, are you going to let me help you? Or are we going to continue our battle royale?"
"Eat dirt..." Rina managed to spit out. "I don't want your help." Ruli let out a sultry laugh.
"Humans were always good at holding grudges and picking sides," she said. "It's such a good trait and yet...A horrible one, too. Although you both seem to have forgotten that I'm not obliged to wait out your spat." Rina lifted her head weakly, just in time to see Ruli aiming one of her palms at her as she lay on the ground, the other pointing at Eris.
"True Evil's Existence."
The Circle faded around Rina, everything growing dark. She couldn't see anything, hear anything, except her own body and movements. What was happening? What had that spell done to her?
Before she could ask, her vision faded back into view. She was not in the Circle anymore, though. She had been transported somewhere else entirely. Where was she?
"Line them up!"
Rina turned just in time to eat a sword hilt to the face, knocking her to the ground. She was hoisted up and dragged somewhere as she tried to figure out what had happened to her. She was thrown by the hands dragging her, and her back slammed into a wall. Looking up, she saw she was in some city, which was going up in flames. She looked around her and saw that she had been lined up against a wall with a bunch of other people. They all looked terrified and injured, staring at their captors. Rina turned to look herself, and saw they were wearing dark military uniforms. A man in a black robe was ordering them around, shouting orders.
'We need more souls!" The robed man said, "start the execution!"
Execution?
Rina turned in horror as one of the men walked up to the first woman in line and slit her throat. Blood sprayed everywhere as she slunk to the ground, but the man moved on as if nothing had happened. He slit the next man's throat, and then the next. He was moving quickly towards her, and Rina felt her stomach turning. Was she going to die here? Seriously?
"Do not go afraid, little lambs," the robed man said, arms raised. "For you go to your death to appease the Dark Lord Zeref. Your purpose will be fulfilled." The executioner got to Rina, and she was hoisted to her feet. She tried to flee, to speak up, but her body failed her. The man reached forward and, with one swift movement, sliced her throat open. Blood soaked her front as she collapsed, grasping at her throat in a desperate attempt to keep her blood inside.
The world shifted.
Instead of being executed, she was now in a dark room. She could feel bedding of some sort beneath her, but when she tried to move she found that her arms were tied up over her head. Before she could speak, someone jumped on her.
"Stop squirming, you little whore!" A man's voice said, "let me get what I paid for!" A cold chill went down Rina's spine as she felt the man trying to spread her legs.
"Get off me!" She screamed, trying desperately to free herself. "Let me go!"
"Let you go? Ha! You think I paid that much Jewel to let you go? Now shut your mouth and open your legs, slut!"
The world once again shifted.
Now she was out in the desert, with a rope in her hands. Without knowing why, she shouldered the rope and pulled as hard as she could, working alongside other people to haul a giant rock across the sand. As Rina pulled, she cried out in pain as a whip tore open the flesh on her back, causing her to fall to the ground.
"Work faster!" Someone shouted in a gruff voice, "The King's monument will be completed by the next harvest, or you're all going swimming with stone shoes!"
The world shifted again. And again.
She was being murdered by a psychopath. She was being passed around by a group of bandits. She was kept as a slave by a rich family of the nation that defeated her.
And the world just kept on changing around her.
Zoka and Ruli were twin Demon Lord of Light and Darkness. Of Justice and Evil. The two sides all humans were capable of.
While Zoka represented the good humanity was capable of, and was as benevolent as a Demon Lord could be, Ruli was the opposite. She represented all that humanity had done wrong, and it was to her Circle that the worst, most disgusting sinners were sent for their eternal punishment. There was no horror she had not seen inflicted, no disgusting act left unknown.
And she inflicted it all onto Rina and Eris.
The spell True Evil's Existence conjured the worst spirits within the Eighth Circle of Judgement and forced the recipient to become the victims of their evil. To see the worst humanity had to offer, and relive it over and over, forever.
Rina could never confirm afterwards how many hell's she lived through before she snapped. Before her mind finally broke from the horror and fear and she receded within herself. But of course it was once she had been broken that something changed within her. As her fragile mind broken into a million pieces, God Slayer Magic rushed to fill the void. As Rina was tortured, she cascaded over the edge of sanity and found herself in a pit, staring at the epicentre of magic. As her human mind broke, the magic of the Gods filled in the holes.
And when you stare long enough at the void, eventually it stares back.
A wind picked up within the Eighth Circle of Judgement. Ruli made a face and looked around, curious as to what was happening. Eris seemed to still be babbling incoherently, but Rina had gone silent. Her green hair was moving slightly in the wind, her eyes obscured.
And then, without warning, a hole was torn through the fabric of the Circle's reality by a black lightning bolt, striking her directly.
Ruli shielded her eyes from the light, the power burning her skin as it consumed the God Slayer. Once the light died down and Ruli looked, she saw that Rina had gotten to her feet. The girl was covered in a slick sheet of dark magic, bright yellow lightning-bolts lining her body. More bolts erupted from her back to form a pair of abstract wings, and a halo formed to frame her head. When Rina opened her eyes, they had been consumed by a bright yellow light that crackled energy, and when she lifted her head Ruli tensed.
"I guess it really is possible, huh?" She asked with a chuckle. "Ascension."
Ascension, the final form of God Slayer Magic. When a God Slayer was forced over the edge and their minds broke, their magic filled the holes and caused them to evolve to the next step. To start down the path of consequence. When a God Slayer was capable of Ascension, it was inevitable that they would try and ascend to Godhood itself, before the true immortals struck them down.
Of course Rina Nanagear did not know any of this, nor did she really know what was happening around her. Although she had been healed somewhat, her mind had not yet recovered and felt only one goal.
To eradicate Ruli.
In a span of time so brief only immortals would have been able to comprehend it, Rina blinked forwards towards Ruli and threw a punch. The Demon Lord blocked it, a shockwave erupting between them as electricity crackled. A stray bolt struck Ruli every now and then, burning her skin and leaving a mark. Grunting in irritation, she put her effort into it and managed to force Rina back, but it barely mattered. In another span of basically irrelevant time, Rina was on her again.
"GƼ▍Նﬦ GᕓϺ MԖΛӨӨԖΛՆϺ K┍ϺⴵƼᕓĦ"
Whatever language that came from her mouth wasn't comprehensible to mortals, but Ruli got the basic idea. She raised her arms to shield herself, but it didn't do much. Rina raised her arms, and in the span of only a few seconds threw countless punches into Ruli. It was impossible for even Ruli to keep count as she was assaulted relentlessly. Every strike caused a lance of lightning to pierce the Demon Lord, making her cry out in pain. The final blow caused her to fly backwards, landing in a heap on the ground. She laughed as thunder boomed around her.
"You really are terrible!" She cackled, watching as Rina descended towards her. "You gonna do me in yourself, moron? I thought you were just going to seal me! Or are humans so far gone that you just want your petty revenge on me?"
"DԖΛĦ▍┍ⴿƓ Ƽᕓ▍ ƔԖΛՆ-ᕓӨᕓⴵƓ▍ԖΛⴵԖΛƓß"
Ruli's body was consumed by a horrific electric shock, one that zapped her very atoms as the power fried her soul. Despite the pain, all she could do was laugh.
"I guess I really drove you off the edge, huh?!" She asked manically towards the being before her. "I didn't think it was possible to force a God Slayer this far!" Ruli kept chuckling as she got to her feet, wiping ichor from her mouth.
"I'm going to enjoy condemning you," she seethed.
The battle restarted in earnest.
Ruli grabbed Rina by the arm and flooded her with the worst pain she could conjure from the souls she had condemned, but Rina barely flinched. She wrapped her hand around Ruli's head and electrocuted her, causing Ruli to screech as the increasingly divine magic seared her. Growling, the Demon Lord clenched her hand into a fist and drove it into Rina's stomach, sending the God Slayer backwards. Ruli raced after her, raising an arm towards her.
"Pain of Endless Crushed Souls!"
Ruli's spell forced Rina to endure yet another volley of horrific psychological attacks, her body being ruptured by the sheer amount of bodily harm the horrible people of the Circle had inflicted in life. Even though blood, tinged yellow began to seep from her eyes and mouth, Rina did not relent. She right herself mid-flight and flew at Ruli, who met her halfway and collided, sending another shockwave out into the air.
"How does it feel to be a demigod?" Ruli asked with a smirk towards Rina's unmoving face. "Bet if feels good, doesn't it? Don't hold on too long, though, or else the God of Storms will have something to say about it!" Kicking Rina in the stomach, she raised her arms and created a small orb of dark magic in her palm.
Plight of the Executed!"
This spell raced for Rina and connected, forcing her to live all of the pain, terror and sadness created by all humans who had executed people she had condemned. However, Ruli was failing to realise that Rina's mind was already shattered. The only way to stop her, at this point, was to neutralise her.
Rina recovered, although she was now bleeding much more profusely. Her blood seemed to glow more and more yellow as time went on, starting to resemble the ichor or the Demon Lords. She turned to Ruli and raised an arm to the sky.
"KӨƵϺᕓƓ ĦⴿӨԖΛƓƓԖΛϺ╥ ƓƼ┍ϺЩᕓ▍ƔՆӨƓ"
The lightning bolt Rina unleashed was unlike anything the world had seen before. It would not be an exaggeration to say this strike would have carved a hole into the planet so deep you could fall to it's core. The power was so intense that the Circle around them was ripped apart like fabric, catching fire and burning gold as the lightning zapped Ruli.
Just as soon as it had started, it was over. The attack faded, and Ruli fell to the ground, unmoving. Rina could tell she was still alive, but as she began to regain some of her sense she realised this wasn't what she wanted. Part of her knew she needed to seal the Demon Lord, but part of her wanted revenge for the torture she had suffered.
"You would dare steal a bolt from me?"
Rina's world was once again shifted, and now she was seemingly floating high in the sky. She turned around, seeing a bright gold orb behind her.
"...Wha...?" She tried, but her mouth wouldn't work.
"You humans must remember your place. Use this power to much, and you would force me to destroy you. Never return here, Rina Nanagear. It will be the end of you."
The power of Ascension completely evaporated from Rina's body in an instant, sending her to the ground in a heap.
Rina gasped for air, but she could not get it. She tried to move but her body was numb and unresponsive. What had just happened? What had that orb been? what had she done?
Finally managing to lift her head, Rina saw Ruli lying spread eagle nearby, laughing to herself.
"I bet the big man was angry, huh?" She asked. Rina had no strength to reply. "God of Storms just spoke with you. You trespassed into his realm and used his power with that lightning bolt. Had it really been him attacking me, I'd have been turned to ash. Lucky me you're so weak."
Rina had no words she could reply with, as her body still wouldn't respond to her. She could barely hear over the ringing in her ears.
She thought she could hear footsteps though.
Managing to turn her head, Rina's eyes widened when she saw Eris approaching, a dagger in her hand. The dagger glowed red, and the sight of it made her skin crawl. This was bad. Eris let out a maniacal laugh as she approached.
"How ironic," she said as she stumbled forward, "that the bitch whose responsible for that torture I went through has been immobilised. I thank you, Rina. You've made my job much easier."
No. No!
Rina tried to move. She tried everything she could to move her limbs, but she couldn't. Not even her magic responded. She was paralysed, helpless, as Eris straddled Ruli and shakily raised the dagger.
"I'm glad I get to kill you," she said weakly, "a being as evil as you has no place in Zomrus' perfect world!" Ruli just laughed.
"I await your realisation once that world comes to pass," she replied. Eris raised the dagger even higher, and Rina screamed.
Her magic responded.
Lightning gathered around her calves and shot her forward, flying right at Eris. the Child turned to look, but had no time or strength to react before Rina slammed into her at top speed, sending them both toppling downwards. Rina went rolling after the tackle, trying desperately to raise her head and see what had happened. When she did, her heart stopped.
The crimson dagger had been jabbed up through Ruli's jaw into her skull. Golden ichor dripped from the wound before the Demon Lord's body began to crumble, turning to ash racing towards the wound. Eris laughed again.
"Nice stab, Rina," she said, "Couldn't have driven it into her skull without you."
Rina watched, helpless, as Ruli disappeared into ashes, leaving the two girls alone.
Far from the Circles, in a base used by Hades and the Children, sat two young siblings. Ben and Zoe knew what was happening in the Circles, and had already resigned themselves to their fate. They had been promised eternal peace and paradise by Zomrus anyway.
Zoe dropped dead without a word, causing Ben to look solemnly towards her.
"I'll see you in Paradise, Zoe," he whispered.
He tried to fight the tears, but he could not.
Four were dead. Four were saved. Would two more perish, or would three more be saved? Only time knew the answer to such a question.
And the river flowed forever onward.