"Damien."
"What?!"
"We lost Barrath."
Damien wanted to freeze from the shock, but he didn't have the time. He pulled up mid-flight to dodge an oncoming barrage of bones flying at him, grimacing as a few cut open his arms.
"That's five, isn't it?!" He demanded.
"Yes," Xisplate replied. "Five of us have fallen."
'So one more-"
"And Zomrus will awaken in his chains. Hades will become one of the most powerful wizards in the world. And we may potentially die ourselves."
"What about the other Demon Lords?" He asked as he went into a nosedive to avoid a shadow that attempted to consume him. "Any updates?!"
"Vantros is still fighting those two God Slayers," Xisplate said, making Damien grimace again. Katsuchi and Tetsu, of course that had happened. "Quinxotic has not revealed herself to Gray and Nemesis, and seems to have no plans too. All other surviving Demon Lords remain safe. Then there's us."
"Then there's us," Damien mumbled in agreement. "Fighting on the edge." Xisplate was silent on this, allowing Damien to think as he flew. They were now all that stood between the world and utter chaos. If either they, Vantros or Quinxotic fell, Zomrus would wake up. Then who knew what would happen. But he could not let it get to that point. He had to stop it.
"Xisplate," he said slowly, "I'm not going to run."
"I never suggested we do."
"I know, but if another Lord falls...I'm not going anywhere. We both have a responsibility to stop it."
"Running does nothing, anyway. Hades would become a God Takeover wizard for a Brother of Creation. He could find us easily, so of course we stay." Damien took a deep breath and steeled his nerve, swallowing all of his nerves and worries and honing his mind directly onto the battle before him.
He could only hope Vantros and Quinxotic could survive long enough for them to defeat Hades.
"Katsuchi? Katsuchi, wake up. We were called."
Katsuchi made a face at this and slowly opened his eyes, seeing Azzie and Tetsu's faces hovering above him.
"Called for what?" He asked, "I thought we had today off."
"Apparently Master Kronos has a new method for us," Azzie replied as he sat up. "He said it was time for us to gain a new power."
"New power?" He asked, "what does that mean?"
"Who knows," Tetsu replied, "the guy is really secretive. Apparently Icas and Maya have already started, we were waiting for you." Katsuchi frowned at this.
"What about Taisho?" He asked.
"Apparently he's helping the Master," Azzie said. "Are you ready to go?" Katsuchi sighed and moved to get up, grabbing a pair of shorts from the storage crate next to his bed.
"I guess so," he said, "let's go see what the big deal is." After getting dressed, Katsuchi walked in between his friends out of their room and down the hall. The base of Devil Advocate was a sprawling underground complex in the country of Fiore. He wasn't entirely sure what the overall goal of this group was, but he wasn't really in a position to argue. He'd been given a home here after his parents abandoned him, so he was just happy to be fed.
Descending down a flight of stairs and heading left, the trio soon came upon a massive double door. The door opened as they approached, revealing Kronos inside standing with several of his aides. Kronos was an older man with greying black hair, giving him an air of wisdom. Katsuchi recognised several of the aides scurrying about, but not the man standing with Kronos himself. Over to the side was a bed, along with a door leading to another room to the left. The bed had dark stone restraints for hands and legs, unnerving him.
"We're here, Master," Tetsu said, making both men turn. The man accompanying Kronos was a young man, but Katsuchi couldn't tell how old. He was wearing a dark suit that reflected all light, and his hair was just as black. His eyes were also obsidian black, and he felt like he would be absorbed by those eyes if he wasn't careful. In his hand he held a staff that was as tall as he was, it's figurehead a serpent preparing to strike outwards. The staff seemed to radiate raw power, making him want to shy away from it.
"Ah, there you all are," Kronos said. "Excellent. Katsuchi, you will be joining us here. Azzie, Tetsu, my assistants will lead you to your own room."
"Do we have to go alone?" Azzie asked tentatively. The other man nodded.
"You do," he said, his voice smooth and velvety, but it hid something sinister. "You all are destined for something much greater, but you must take this trial alone."
"Who are you, even?" Katsuchi asked. The man turned to smile at him, making his spine tingle.
"My name is Cain," he said, "but you'll remember me as Hades. I'm something of a boss to Kronos." Katsuchi made a face at this. Why was Kronos' boss so young? Casting a glance at the Master, he could tell he wasn't pleased by this either.
"Let's get this underway," Kronos said. Two women appeared, gently guiding Tetsu and Azzie away. His friends cast him a wary glance, but all he could do was wave at them. He'd see them again in a second. "Katsuchi, would you be so kind as to take a seat on that bed?"
Doing as he was told, Katsuchi walked over to the bed in the corner and jumped up, turning just in time to see Hades walk up to him.
"Katsuchi, hm?" He asked, "that's a strong name. Does it belong to a strong boy?" Remembering this was a test, Katsuchi nodded.
"It does," he said, "and I'll make sure to prove it to you." Hades snorted at this, seemingly finding it amusing.
"We'll see," he said. Hades turned to walk to the other side of the room where Kronos was.
"Lay down," Kronos instructed. Swallowing hard, he did as he was told and laid down on the bed. Another young aide walked up to him and clamped closed the restraints around his wrists and ankles, sealing him to the bed.
"Is that really necessary?" He asked weakly.
"This trial may be dangerous," Kronos said. "We don't want you hurting yourself on accident. Those cuffs are made from Magic Canceller, to insure your safety. Well if that was the case, then he supposed it was okay. He was familiar with Kronos' methods, so that made sense. The aide then turned and walked to the counter, walking back with a syringe in hand.
The syringe was filled with some dark black liquid, which shimmered like magic in the light. As soon as he laid eyes on it, Katsuchi wanted to be anywhere but here.
"What is that?" He asked.
"A magic booster," Hades replied calmly. "It'll accelerate your bodies ability to handle your magic, and make you stronger. You'll be fine, you're a strong boy. Right?"
Right.
Katsuchi watched as the aide lowered the syringe and pressed it against his skin, slowly inserting it. Once she had, she pressed down and injected him with whatever was inside.
Immediately Katsuchi felt something was wrong. The black liquid raced up his arm, a searing rage following it. Once it hit his head, he arced his back and roared in pain as his body was lit on fire. Every part of him hurt, and it got worse with every second. The rage coursed through him as well, consuming every part of him.
"Something's wrong!" He shouted, "Master, help me!"
"You're fine," Hades said. Katsuchi managed to open his eyes and look towards the men, begging for help with his eyes. Hades simply watched him, smiling.
Kronos had looked away.
Another wave of fury washed over him, and he could contain it no longer. Opening his mouth, Katsuchi bellowed. Black fire erupted from his mouth as he did, but it soon dissipated thanks to the Magic Canceller. He was fighting so hard against his restraints he was sure he'd broken his wrists and ankles, but he couldn't tell. The pain was so horrible. Was this what they were planning to do to Azzie and Tetsu? He had to stop them.
"Don't you dare do this to the others!" He managed to scream. "I'll kill you!"
"If this doesn't kill you," Hades replied. Katsuchi opened his mouth to respond, but another wave of fury shot down his spine and throughout his entire body. His vision faded in and out, barely able to remain conscious. Still, he fought to do so, screaming to keep himself awake.
"This is all so troublesome," a voice in his head said. "Surely they don't think they can create a being comparable to a Demon Lord with a mere injection."
Katsuchi wanted to ask whose voice that was, but he could not. Darkness consumed his vision, and he fell unconscious.
Katsuchi shouted in surprise and bolted upwards in bed, grabbing at his chest desperately. He looked around, seeing he was in his room.
It was a bad dream.
Sighing in relief, he fell backwards onto the bed. That was been horrendous. The worst pain he'd ever felt in his life.
"Wake up, you three!" Icas' voice shouted from outside the door to their shared room. "We have training today."
"Okay," Katsuchi replied, "coming." He turned to see Azzie and Tetsu getting out of bed slowly, and they also looked fine. That was good. The last thing he wanted was to see them get hurt.
This was home, this was safe. He didn't need to worry so much, Kronos would take care of them.
"Ice has always been such a slow death."
Katsuchi's vision faded back in, and he found himself staring at an icy cavern roof. He couldn't move any part of his body, not even when he put all the effort he could muster into it. Something was wrong. As he stared, a man's face entered his eyesight by towering over him.
Vantros.
Memories of the fight and where he was flooded his brain at the sight of that face. He and Tetsu were fighting Vantros, and then Tetsu's hands had been shattered into nothing but dust. After that, he could recall nothing. All he could think about was how empty the Demon Lord's eyes looked.
"It must be peaceful," Vantros noted. "The body tries desperately to conserve heat to continue operating the vital organs, but as the cold seeps in it can't do it. Your body eventually shuts down, leaving nothing but a frozen husk begging for the sweet release of a quicker death." The Demon Lord sighed at this. "I envy you, in a way. I wish I felt as calm as you feel."
Katsuchi felt very calm, like he was slowly falling asleep. He could feel no parts of his body, like he was just a consciousness floating around in the air, waiting to be blown away.
"The fate of the world hangs by a thread," Vantros said. "The status quo is being destroyed. I can't waste time with you two. I need to find that invader and deal with her next. Then, I'll see what I can do for my surviving brethren." He looked back at Katsuchi, "I hope you'll forgive me once you die. At the very least, I can promise you a little leniency during your Judgement. Your courage calls for that much at least."
Katsuchi could just barely make out the Demon Lord's figure slowly retreating from him, stirring something within him. No, no it couldn't end like this. He couldn't die here, he had a job to do. People he owed a debt to that he intended to repay.
He owed his life to Fairy Tail. Had they not challenged them, and then subsequently helped them defeat Devil Advocate, his life would still be in shambles. So would Tetsu and Azzie's as well. He needed to get out of here, he needed to seal Vantros here like he'd been told too.
Tetsu. Azzie.
Fire sparked to life within Katsuchi's stomach, but the flames resembled embers more than anything. The subzero temperature threatened to snuff it out, but it persisted as well as it could. He couldn't die here, he had work to do. He had things that needed to be done before he died. This couldn't be it.
The flames grew, turning into a crackling campfire. Feeling slowly returned to his chest, and warmth began to seep through the rest of his body. As it did, his anger and drive returned. He needed to seal Vantros, but he also needed to save Tetsu, who had lost his hands. He needed to save Nashi, whose soul was at risk.
But mostly, he wanted revenge against Vantros.
It wasn't lost on him that Vantros was not directly responsible for his life, but the Demon Lord had only done the bare minimum to intervene, merely preventing Kronos from stealing his power after he and the rest were deemed failures. He was still a Devil thanks to his corruption. He was still a freak.
His desire to make the Demon Lord pay for not stopping Kronos earlier caused the flames to swell, and soon the flames roared. The fire raced through his veins and ignited his whole body, the ice slowly beginning to melt. He regained more and more of his sense of self as it did, only making him angrier. Once he sensed the ice had weakened enough, Katsuchi roared and flexed his arms.
With an explosive wave of black fire, Katsuchi broke free from his imprisonment. His body had returned to full form, allowing him to flex his sore muscles. He turned to his right and saw Tetsu frozen next to him, looking like a corpse left to freeze. Raising a hand, he shot a torrent of flames at his friend. He knew Tetsu was tough enough to survive it, but he made sure to keep his stumps frozen to help with the pain. Slowly but surely Tetsu began to thaw, and life returned to his face as he gasped for air and collapsed to his knees, coughing.
"Tetsu, are you alright?" He asked, rushing to his friend's side."
"As good as I can be," Tetsu said, coughing into his forearm. He regarded his lost hand sadly. "I'll miss those hands," he noted.
"We'll get you prostheses once we get out of here," Katsuchi told him. "We need to seal Vantros, and we need to do it now."
"What's got you in such a hurry." Katsuchi frowned and turned his eyes to were Vantros had disappeared, his mind racing.
"I don't know," he admitted, "but Vantros said the fate of the world was in danger. I think this fate may not be going swell for other Demon Lords. He also said there was another invader."
"Another one?" Tetsu asked, "did he say who?"
"No, but I can hazard a guess that it's a Child of Nyx." Tetsu frowned and looked at the ground under him, thinking.
"Kat," he eventually said, "We aren't strong enough to defeat him as we are."
"I know."
"We need to be even stronger if we're going to hold him off to seal him."
"Mm hm." Silence fell over the pair, both knowing what was coming next but neither wanting to say it.
Devil Form.
Katsuchi had never activated his Devil powers once. From what Azzie and Tetsu had said, it felt like a boiling rage overcoming your entire body and turning you into a feral animal, bent on nothing but the defeat of your perceived enemies. That made it incredibly risky, because if they accidentally hurt Vantros too much, they could give the invader an opening to kill him. That was discounting the immense strain it would put on their bodies, which could leave them in a wounded state if they didn't defeat him quick enough.
Of course, though, the Devil Experiments had been a failure. None of them were able to enter their form without extreme psychological or emotional duress. It was only when they lost any inhibition that they had been able to invoke the power at all.
But what choice did they have?
"Do you remember the key phrase?" He asked Tetsu, who nodded.
"I do," he said, "since Azzie dispelled the memory magic surrounding the experiments."
Despite the failure of the experiments, they had still been given a keyword. A phrase to say, which was supposed to allow them to enter the Devil Form at will. From what he recalled of his childhood it had never worked, only coming out once the beatings had been awful. Then again, what was this if not extreme duress? If they didn't do this, the world could end. They could die here, which was to say nothing of what would happen if Vantros died.
They needed this to work.
It had to work.
Helping Tetsu to his feet, Katsuchi watched as his friend formed iron hands at the stumps of his arms, flexing them slowly.
"I didn't mention this earlier," he said, "but we might not need to be distressed."
"Why not?" Katsuchi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"This is the Circle our power originated from," Tetsu explained, gesturing around. "What do you think would happen if we ate the magic here?" Katsuchi's eyes widened as he stared at his friend.
"That would boost the power," he said, "but it could also kill us."
As oppose to what Vantros will do," Tetsu replied. The two had a silent exchange, both eventually nodding. They had to try, or else they were in trouble. Steeling himself, Katsuchi opened his mouth and used his ability to eat magic. The ether-nano in the air of the Circle was so dense it wasn't hard to consume, easily flowing into his mouth. Tetsu began to do the same, both consuming more and more of the Circle.
Before long, an icy pit formed in his stomach. He began to ache all over, but he didn't stop. They needed to do this. If they didn't, they'd die anyway. The pit grew bigger and bigger, and his body began to tremble. Not from the cold, from the sheer power coursing through him. After a while Katsuchi stopped and closed his mouth, trying to keep the magic from erupting out of his mouth.
"Do it now!" Tetsu hissed, raising a hand over his head. "Say your phrase!" Katsuchi mimicked his stance, raising a hand above his head.
"Diabolus Ferro/Ignis!" They shouted together.
An intense wave of fire and iron magic rocked the Tenth Circle, a shockwave of magic blasting out from ground zero. Although the Circle was infinitely large, all souls sentenced there trembled in their icy shackles.
Vantros turned his head in the direction of the wave as it washed over him, frowning.
"Kids these days," he murmured as two dark figures raced through the sky towards him. "Never obeying their elders." The two figures landed across from him, and immediately began circling him like animals hunting their prey.
One the Devil's had dark wings of fire, which dripped molten hot lava onto the ground of the Circle as he stalked him. A pair of horns made of fire had appeared on his head, pointing up then out forwards. His golden blonde hair underneath provided the only light spot on his body, as the dark flames raced across his form like a suit of armour embedded in his skin. He'd been granted massive talons of fire o his hands, which also dripped lava onto the ground. A tail made of liquid magma flicked around angrily, like a snake warning it's predators.
The other Devil didn't ooze power like his friend, but that was because he was clad in it instead. His skin was hidden under a layer of dark iron, which flexed and moved like skin would. He has horns on his head that had multiple horns protruding from each, creating something akin to a deer or moose's antlers. His wings were solid iron, but also flexed like a birds would as he flapped them threateningly. He too had claws, but they morphed between razor-sharp talons, screw-like daggers, and countless other weapon forms. The end of his tail did the same, changing between countless blades, maces and other weapons.
Vantros took these forms in silently as he was circled, making a face as they growled at him.
"Have you lost your humanity again?" He asked, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Taking on my power for yourself like that is bound to break a human mind. How do you plan to seal me with your minds broken like that?"
"Who said we lost it?" Katsuchi asked. Vantros looked over at him in surprise to see the man smirking. "We're all here."
"Guess there's a difference between invoking this power on purpose and being forced, huh?" Tetsu asked, his voice echoing off his iron-clad neck. "Don't worry, we'll be able to stop you." Vantros rolled his eyes at this. Even if he was rather indifferent, he was quickly growing annoyed.
"Shouldn't we deal with the Child of Nyx first?" He asked, "I told you, several of my brethren are dead. If you attack me and create an opening for the Child, I would be the sixth to fall. And trust me, you do not want that."
"I don't see one anywhere," Katsuchi replied, gesturing around. "Do you Tetsu?"
"Nope, no one here but us," he said.
"So I suppose we can seal Vantros then deal with the Child ourselves, huh?"
"I would think so, yeah." Vantros allowed his shoulders to slump a little in annoyance as both braced themselves.
"God damn kids," he muttered.
Katsuchi erupted off the ground towards Vantros. He raised his right hand and raked his talons vertically down on the Demon. Vantros raised his arm to defend himself, but the red-hot claws broke through his defence and left him steaming, which made him even more annoyed. Tetsu appeared behind him and swung his body, causing his tail in the shape of a hammer to slam into Vantros' side and send him flying. They both flew after him, but Vantros steadied in the air and turned to them.
"Cell-Death," he said. A wave of cold rolled off of him, and Katsuchi could sense innately he could not get hit by that. Raising his hands, he coiled up heat within his own stomach.
"Ardenti Solis!"
A massive ball of black flame shot up above his head, and from it rolled a wave of intense heat. The wave of heat and cold collided, causing the wind within the Circle to be disrupted as the heat rolled upwards while the cold went downwards. The sun he had created blasted off another wave, and then another. Soon Vantros' initial attack had lost it's steam, and the Tenth Circle was beginning to melt.
Vantros, however, just looked mildly irritated.
"I should have guessed you could use the power you stole from me to neutralise my own attack," he said. Tetsu appeared behind him, claws raised over his head. Vantros turned and swung with his arm, connecting with Tetsu's stomach and sending him flying.
"But I can do the same to you, no?" Katsuchi's eyes widened as Vantros appeared before him in the blink of an eye. He moved to dodge, but the Demon Lord shoved him out of the way and aimed for the sun he had created.
"Heat-Death of the Universe."
The cold that rolled off of Vantros this time was incomparable to anything Katsuchi had ever felt. He wasn't even in it's direct path and it caused his entire body to numb and his fiery limbs to flicker and die out, frost climbing his limbs. He roared and reignited his own flames, turning back to look at his own sun.
It was frozen solid. With a single kick Vantros shattered it, the celestial body shattering into a million pieces.
"There is nothing in existence that does not fear the cold grip of the end," He said, watching it fall. "The void calls all things, organic or otherwise, and once it digs its claws into you there is no escape. A paltry copy of the sun created by Anhkseram and Zomrus could never withstand that cold."
"You talk too much," Katsuchi hissed, forcing his fire into overdrive. It was the only wave to keep himself alive from the horrific cold permeating the area. Tetsu had come closer to him to absorb the heat, shaking visibly.
"You listen too little," Vantros replied. "I'll admit, you're surviving more effectively than I thought you would. Still though, there is no other end for you. I'm going to win."
"You don't know that," Tetsu replied, somehow not stuttering through the cold. "We're not done yet!"
"And how exactly do you plan on fighting past my power?" Vantros asked. As if to prove his point, another wave of obscene cold washed over them, making his fire flicker again. "You've absorbed my power, so what? You still don't compare to me."
Katsuchi knew that.
He could tell, even from where he was standing, that the gap was still too big. They still couldn't deal enough damage to keep him restrained so they could seal him. They simply were not strong enough, that was all there was too it.
Gritting his teeth, Katsuchi pushed his flames as far as he could. This forced back the onslaught of cold from Vantros, but not nearly enough for it to matter. Every second he fought like this was another second he lost. Vantros had all the time in the world to push his powers, he did not. This was a losing game. They were going to lose. There was just no way. Even with their empowered Devil Forms, it still wasn't enough. Why had he even come here?
I owe a debt.
That was why. He owed Fairy Tail his life. If he had to lay it down here, then that would repay it. Nashi and her friends were the ones who came along and managed to pull him out of the pit that was Devil Advocate. Now, when they needed him, he was going to fail. He was going to die to Vantros, without sealing him. That was just the way it was going to be...
...Wait.
Wait.
Katsuchi's eyes widened as the realisation dawned on him.
Sealing Vantros and surviving wasn't a two for one deal. If they could seal him, even at the cost of one or both of their lives...
"...Tetsu," he eventually said.
"Yeah?" Tetsu asked.
"Did you come here willing to die?"
Tetsu was quiet for a moment before he huffed and flexed his shoulders.
"I was willing to throw my life away the minute we got here," he said. "Nothing else would suffice." Katsuchi smirked at this, his flames growing.
"Good," he said. "I'm going to give you an opening. Use it. Seal Vantros."
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Katsuchi laughed, patting his stomach.
"By pushing past the limits of man or devil."
With that, Katsuchi opened his mouth and inhaled.
The act of a Slayer-Class mage consuming magic was one wholly unique to them. When they consumed their element, they're magical power increased by multiple times. It was also possible for Slayer-Class mages to consume other types of magic, but at a detriment to themselves. Natsu may have eaten lightning from Laxus, and Gajeel shadow's, but it wasn't an easy or painless process.
There, there was the Slayer's who consumed pure magic.
When Natsu ate Etherion atop the Tower of Heaven, or when Nashi jumped into a vat of Etherion at Silverridge, the power boost that resulted from it was incomparable. Their strength was multiplied too levels they had never reached before. Natsu had been able to handily defeat Jellal, and Nashi had awakened END and defeated Apocalypse, surviving a point blank blast from Etherion in the process.
And now, Katsuchi was consuming the pure, unfiltered ether created by a minor God and his domain. A magic so divine humans could not begin to broach it normally. Had any other Slayer attempted this, they would have died immediately.
Katsuchi was no mere Slayer. He was a God Slayer. He did not know it at the time, but like Winter and Rina before him, he had opened the gate to Ascension.
Tetsu watched in shock as Katsuchi absorbed more and more magic, his body glowing unhealthily red. Vantros was watching as well, a stunned expression on his face. Neither knew what was coming, but he could sense it was something incredible.
"Just don't kill yourself, moron," he mumbled to himself.
Before long, Katsuchi's outward appearance began to change. The dark wings created by his Devil Form had white veins growing inside of them, dripping white-hot lava on the ground. His limbs gained this white glow as well, and every other talon on his hand became white as well. Bright white ether jumped from his shoulders to meet over his head, forming a glowing halo. After what felt like a million years, Katsuchi stopped inhaling magic and straightened his back, his head hanging.
"...Kat?" Tetsu asked quietly, "you okay?"
Katsuchi replied by lifting his head and opening his eyes, revealing one eye was glowing white and the other black.
"I'm fine," he said. His voice jumped both up and down, getting deeper and higher seemingly at random. "Great actually. You ready to end this?"
"As ready as you are." Katsuchi nodded and returned his attention to Vantros, who had readied himself.
"Do you think you stole enough of my power yet?" He asked, raising his hands by his sides. "I am still a God, child. Do not take me so lightly. "Heat-Death of the Universe."
The unstoppable wave of death raced for Katsuchi and Tetsu, but his friend simply looked over at him.
"Get behind me," he advised. Tetsu did as he asked as he raised his own hands by his sides, black and white flames licking at his palms.
"Birth of New Life!"
Fire's roared to life around Katsuchi and Tetsu, and when they collided with the cold the two magics exploded against one another. Tetsu watched in awe as the heat battled the cold, the flames keeping them alive as the cold threatened to snuff them out. When one seemed to gain the upper hand, the other reinvigorated it's efforts and returned it to a stalemate. Looking towards Vantros, Tetsu was shocked to see a bead of sweat running down the Demon's forehead, his eyes wide with shock.
"Impossible," Vantros said, his voice shaking. "How did you do it? How did Ascend without exterior assistance? It shouldn't be possible without-" He paused, grimacing. "Of course. My ether is divine, so when it mixed with your own God Slayer Magic it jump-started your Ascension. You skipped the hardest part of the process by using my own power. Here I thought I was safe because I wasn't going to break your minds."
Tetsu had no idea what he was talking about, but from what he heard it sounded like the scales had evened out significantly. Katsuchi roared and pushed his hands outward, forming a ring of fire around both himself and Tetsu. He regarded the ring of fire quietly, running his fingers through it. It was warm to the touch and felt almost alive, but it did not burn.
"Look for an opening," Katsuchi advised him. "My fire will keep you safe. When you see him get weak enough, seal him here. Then we win." Tetsu nodded at this, taking a deep breath.
"Don't overdo it, Father," he teased. Katsuchi scoffed, but returned his eyes to Vantros. The two stared at each other for a moment, seemingly sizing the other up.
They clashed in the blink of an eye.
Death and Life collided together, fire pushing against ice. The Circle trembled as they fought, and the small ring of fire protecting Tetsu nearly went out more than once.
Vantros flew backwards with a flap of his wings and raised his hands.
"Nature's Wrath!"
A gigantic glacier of solid ice erupted from the ground, nearly impaling Tetsu before he could dodge it. The glacier rose into the air and was flung at Katsuchi, who simply raised his hand.
"Global Heat Flash!"
The glacier disappeared in a nanosecond, leaving nothing but steam behind after being hit by the massive fireball from Katsuchi. Vantros flew through the flames and tackled Katsuchi, sending both of them flying. Tetsu did his best to keep up, but both were way faster than he was. All he could see were brief glimpses of them as they flew past him at light speed. After a dozen or so of these exchanges they both appeared before him again, Vantros holding Katsuchi by the face with his hand. Katsuchi tried to free himself by grabbing the Demon Lord's wrist and burning him, but the ice kept it at bay as Vantros glared at him.
"I will not be defeated by some pretender!" He shouted. He had finally lost his temper, it seemed. "I won't be taken down by mere pups like the others! Disregard For Life!"
In an instant Katsuchi stopped resisting, his arms going limp at his side. Vantros released him, and for a moment he simply floated in mid-air before starting to fall. His eyes, despite missing their pupils, looked unfocused and uninterested.
"Perhaps the worst thing a human can be," Vantros said as they watched Katsuchi fall. "Having no care or regard for human life. Butchering others like it doesn't matter, risking lives because they aren't yours. Now you have been cursed with this disregard, but with your own life. Fall and die with ease, false God." Katsuchi showed no signs of recovering, making Tetsu grimace. He had to do something!
"Iron God's Shattering Hammer!"
Morphing his arm into a gigantic hammer, Tetsu raised it and brought it down.
On Katsuchi.
The hammer connected with his friends head, making Vantros jump in surprise.
"Why did you-"
Fire erupted from underneath the hammer, Tetsu quickly retracting so he wouldn't get burned. Vantros growled.
"Disrupted by power with your Slayer Magic," he hissed. "Why do humans have to be so troublesome?!"
"Thanks for the wake-up call, Tetsu!" Katsuchi shouted as he raced for Vantros, raising his fist.
"Just don't do it again!" He called back. The Demon Lord and Katsuchi clashed again, trading countless blows with their arms and legs, as well as their magic. Ice flashed with fire, ether fought against ether. The fabric of reality was beginning to warp around them, being torn at the seams from the sheer power they are emanating. Tetsu hoped reality could hold on until they sealed him.
"Enough of this!" Vantros roared, kicking Katsuchi back. He raised a hand over his head, and a gigantic ice clock formed over his head. "Call Of The Void!"
The hand on the clock flipped to one, and the temperature in the entire Circle collapsed considerably.
"There's nothing more indifferent and disregarding than the void of preexistence!" Vantros roared over the clock ticking eerily. "A place so devoid of life and reason it took divine beings to survive! Mere humans can't survive in a place so unforgiving!"
Tetsu didn't know how bad that was, but as the clock hand hit two and he lost feeling in his body, even with the ring of fire protecting him, he knew it was bad. Katsuchi looked less effected, but his fire was beginning to flicker. This was bad.
The clock struck three, and he nearly passed out. They wouldn't make it to twelve before they died if this was already bad enough.
"Tetsu!" Looking up, he saw that Katsuchi was watching him over his shoulder, a smirk on his face. "It's now or never," he said. Tetsu watched him warily for a moment before swallowing and nodding.
"Understood," he said. Katsuchi turned to look back at Vantros.
And heat exploded from him.
Katsuchi soon became as hot as the sun, but his fire so exceeded that. The flames were so hot that they were losing any colour at all, Tetsu only knew they were there because of the heat. Vantros watched them quietly, but Tetsu could see he was nervous. Katsuchi's power had been rising the entire fight. If it was high enough now to immobilise him, it was game.
And then, Katsuchi absorbed it all.
All heat within the Tenth Circle was taken in by the God Slayer, leaving nothing but darkness around them. Katsuchi, however, was glowing with heat and power. Raising a hand and opening his palm, a small orb of flames rested there. The sphere was small and practically invisibly thanks to the sheer heat, but Tetsu could sense it's presence, if only barely.
"You seem to think that your void scares me," Katsuchi said, addressing Vantros. "Let's see what's stronger; The void of nothing or the first breath o creation."
Vantros growled at this, and the clock above him accelerated. Tetsu's consciousness retreated, fleeing from the cold around him. It soon returned, however, as Katsuchi's warmth exploded outwards again. Vantros forced out a laugh.
"You think your pretender powers can beat mine?!" He shouted, "try me, then! And return to the void! Grip of Preexistence!"
"First Breath Of Life!"
Existence itself disappeared before Tetsu, rendering him blind.
Tetsu could not be certain how much time had passed before his vision began to return. It could have been seconds, it could have been months. The time he could not see felt both incredibly short and eternally long. Eventually, though, his vision returned. He found himself staring at the sky of the Circle, flat on his back from whatever had happened. Trying to sit up made his skin crawl and bones ache, but he managed it. Once he did, he took in his surroundings.
Right in front of him lay Vantros and Katsuchi. Both were sitting up, lags splayed out in front of them. Neither looked in any condition to fight, either. Katsuchi looked like he was fading away, his skin snow white and his flames barely flickering. Vantros, for his part, was seared black in multiple places, burning covering any exposed skin he could see. Golden blood dripped from his eyes, nose and ears, his mouth already coated in it. His wings had lost the skin that made it possible to fly, leaving nothing but bones protruding from his back.
"Damn it all," he spat, teeth coated in golden blood. "Forced to a draw? By a mere child? I can't believe this." His eyes moved to Tetsu. "Just hurry up and seal me, kid. I'm not going to be able to move for a few minutes. Probably even more than that, actually." Tetsu managed a weak laugh at this.
"Minutes?" He questioned, "I was worried Kat killed you. Not going to blink out of here?"
"He very well could have," Vantros replied as Tetsu got to his feet and approached him. "Teleporting away would be too dangerous right now. Your friend started channelling Sol's power at the end, there."
"Sol?"
"Sun God," Vantros replied, "he was put in charge of the sun and all things fire by Anhkseram. Your friend was channelling that power." Tetsu cast a wary eye back at Katsuchi, who had not moved.
"That sounds dangerous," he said. He looked ahead of himself again, raising his arm. The white tattoos he had been given glowed, and the characters lifted from his skin to circle Vantros. They then squeezed against his body, disappearing into his skin.
"Ah, feels like Father alright," Vantros said. "So he really did bless you."
"I guess," Tetsu replied as he fell back down to sit. "That surprise you?"
"A little," Vantros admitted. "But I don't dare act like I understand our Creator. He is more wise and understanding than all twelve of us combined." Tetsu felt like that was Demon Lord speak for 'Dad's a prick', but he didn't voice his opinion. He sighed and looked up at the sky before he looked back at Katsuchi.
"Do you know what that was?" He asked, "You said he was channelling Sol's power."
"He was," Vantros replied. "It's called Ascension. Think of it as Dragon Force for God Slayer's."
"We have something like that?" He asked, Vantros nodding.
"You do," he said, "but like Dragon and Devil Slayer's before you, it has an existential drawback. Activating Ascension too many times and for too long causes your soul to trespass into the realm of the Divine, and when that happens you are wiped from existence by the God you offended. Your friend is lucky Sol did not rend him apart when he used that attack." Tetsu's stomach turned as he regarded his friend quietly, who still had not moved. He could tell he was breathing, at least.
"Not only that, but it is unavoidable," Vantros said. Tetsu turned back in shock as he continued, "Every Ascension causes God Slayer's to lose more of their humanity, to become more arrogant and, well...Godly. It becomes a drug they cannot stop taking. I'm afraid he's signed his fate by doing what he did."
"There's gotta be a way to stop it," Tetsu reasoned weakly. "Surely it can be stopped?"
"If it can, no one in recorded history has stopped it," Vantros told him. "Dragon and Devil Slayer's both have a method, so maybe you do. I don't know it, though." Tetsu made a face at this.
"You're being oddly friendly now," he noted, "why's that?"
"I told you I can't move yet," Vantros said. "We can engage in polite conversation until then. Besides, I'll need you to protect my existence from the invader."
Before Tetsu could ask what he meant, a tingle went down his spine. Grabbing Vantros, he jumped out of the way just before someone dropped right where the Demon Lord had been sitting, a dagger in their hand that glowed red. Tetsu spun once he got far away, watching as the person got to their feet. She had short-cropped blonde hair that stuck to her head, and her figure was malnutrition and weak. Despite this, a fire burned behind her blue eyes. That wasn't the worst part though.
She reminded him of somebody he knew. Somebody who had asked him to kill his sister if he saw her.
"Apate," he said. The woman did not react to her name being said, she simply twirled the dagger between her fingers as she advanced towards him. "Or would you prefer Sarah?"
"I am Apate," she said in a raspy voice, "Spirit of Deceit. You will hand over the Demon Lord Vantros to me. He must die and his lock must be undone."
"Yeah, not going to happen," Tetsu told her. "I can't let you kill him." Apate tilted her head to the side.
"No?" She asked, "do you need convincing?" She gestured with her free hand, and Tetsu followed it. Kneeling behind Katsuchi was another Apate, holding her own dagger to his throat and watching him. He clenched his fists as his stomach turned.
"Your magic works like Jason's, I bet," he said. "Only one of these Apate is real."
"Don't compare me to Dolos," she warned. "I am more powerful than he was. Do you want to take that bet? If you don't give me the Demon Lord, I will slice his throat. You have thirty seconds." Tetsu's eyes darted between Apate and Katsuchi, trying desperately to come up with some sort of plan.
"Tetsu," Vantros warned from his shoulder, "don't do it."
"Can't you just teleport away?!"
"No, because Katsuchi has caused serious damage to my being. He's basically stunned me."
"Oh damn it all..."
"I'm serious. I don't care how close you and Katsuchi are, my life cannot end. If I do, that makes six of us. And if that happens-"
"Silence!" Apate shouted over him, "your time is up. Give him to me, now. Or else you'll die too." Tetsu grimaced as the other Apate pressed the blade closer to Katsuchi's neck. His friend still showed no signs of stirring, so he couldn't account for that. He took a deep breath and sighed.
"Fine," he said, "Just stay there." Apate did so as he walked forward, Vantros silent over his shoulder. He got closer inch by inch, calculating just how he was going to do this. He was now within arms reach of Apate, who took a step closer and gestured to the ground. Tetsu knelt and put Vantros on the ground, eyeing the Demon Lord quietly.
He then sprung into action.
Slamming his open palm into the ground, an iron pillar shot out of the ground and struck the other Apate on the chin, causing her to dissipate and drop Katsuchi. He swept the original's legs out from under her and aimed to club her in the head as well, but she disappeared before his strike could land.
"It was a valiant attempt," Vantros noted.
"Shut it," Tetsu replied.
"I warned you," Apate's voice said from the mist that had closed in around them. "I will have Vantros' soul."
"I won't let you reach him, even if it kills me," Tetsu replied.
"No?" She asked, "how many people can you protect him from?
Before he could asked what she meant, figures approached from the mist. Dozens, Hundreds.
Before long, they were surrounded by Apate's. Tetsu couldn't even count them all, there was so many. He didn't get a chance to prepare before he was rushed, so he turned to Vantros.
"Iron God Prison!"
Iron sprung from his open hand and enlarged, wrapping itself around Vantros and sealing him within it. It was all he could do to protect him before he was engulfed by the swarm. He covered his entire body in iron, but it was barely enough. The Apate's struck him all over his body, seemingly all at once. No matter which ones he struck, it never worked. They would simply disappear and another would take their place. The iron around his body began to crack, which alarmed him. He needed to get out of here.
Drawing on his Devil Power, Tetsu spread his wings and punched his way into the sky, finally freeing himself from the girl's clutches. He turned to look down, and his stomach turned. Apate had multiplied into the thousands, easily. Some stared up at him, while others were climbing on top of the cage prison he'd locked Vantros in. He didn't have to worry about that, there was no way they could-
An Apate slammed their dagger into the iron, and Tetsu gasped as it started to splinter and disappear.
"No!" He shouted. Flapping his wings, Tetsu dove for the dying prison, but was blocked by a literal wave of Apate's. They dropped down on him like a tsunami and tried to suffocate him, but his rage fuelled his escape. Opening his mouth, Tetsu bellowed out a breath attack that sent hundreds of them flying into the air and dying. He burst from the ground and whirled to find Vantros, but he froze.
An Apate was cradling him in her lap, looking down at him like a mother would their child.
She had ripped open his neck, end to end. She had nearly decapitated him. Golden blood spilled from Vantros' neck, and the light in his eyes died. In a manner of seconds he began to crumble into nothing, the thousands of Apate's following suit as she dispelled them.
No. No, no no. He couldn't have failed like this! How had she destroyed his prison so easily?!
"Apate!" He roared. Flying at her, Tetsu slammed into her and they rolled away from Vantros' crumbling body. Fighting his way on top of her, Tetsu raised his arm and transformed it into a club.
He slammed it directly into Apate's face.
A sickening crunch followed the blow, but Tetsu's rage consumed him. Using both arms he slammed clubs directly into Apate's face, each one caving her face in more and more. With one final angry strike, Apate's head exploded and bits of skull and bone flew everywhere. He stared down at the mess angrily, sinfully enjoying the destruction he had wrought.
"Did you enjoy yourself?"
Eyes widening, Tetsu whirled. Apate stood before him, alive and well. He looked down to find the one he'd attacked was nothing more than a heap of rocks.
"Wha-"
"Deceit, remember?" She asked, "I wormed my way into your mind before our battle even started. You had no hope of hitting me. Not even once."
The Circle around them began to tremble, and Apate held onto her necklace. A portal opened, and she stepped through it without another word. Tetsu watched in shock, unable to even speak as the Circle began to collapse.
He'd failed. They'd failed. Vantros was dead.
"AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"
Mezevera, The Mistress of Time.
Drakhosz, The Lord of Pain.
Archos, The Embodiment of Chaos.
Ruli, The Aspect of Evil.
Barrath, The Baron of Greed.
Vantros, The Icy Indifference.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
Six.