Brockton Bay was rarely peaceful in the past, that was one thing James Crawford could thank Faust for. Before he'd be barely paying the bills and the idea of sending his kids to good education was insane. Now? He and his family didn't need to skip meals, his youngest didn't have to wear their older siblings old clothes, and they were getting free health care and education of such a level it didn't feel real some times.
Sure, he was living in the territory of a mass murderer who took over an entire city, but sometimes the benefits outweigh the cost and in this case they certainly did. In a way, it was practically paradise-
[This is not a drill, repeat this is not a drill! An unknown mass of metal is moving towards Brockton Bay, estimated time until it hits is three hours! Please head to one of the newly improved Endbringer Shelters until the battle is over, this message will repeat for the next hour]
James stared at his phone announcing the message in horror, various speakers around the city doing the same. He instantly cut off the message and called his wife, he needed to make sure his family was okay and they could head to the shelter together.
At least they had a decent amount of time before what could be a new Endbringer arrived.
Faust stared from his castle, it'd been a rush of action, planning, and praying to ready themselves for Humbaba's arrival. Even limited as a Servant, Humbaba was a living cataclysm and if FB and Meltryllis' scans were correct, far bigger then he could've ever imagined.
"Its size has drastically increased, its as if an island was moving about". FB noted, a hint of nervousness in her voice. He couldn't blame her, he really couldn't. "We'll begin to see signs of it in three, two, one-".
RUMBLE!
"An earthquake?! Is it already unleashing its Mana Burst!?". Faust cursed, his castle was as protected as could be against an earthquake, but that didn't mean it couldn't be damaged or destroyed if things got bad enough.
"No, there was no magical energy detected... No, don't tell me!". FB's eyes widened in fear, her psychic senses able to feel the sheer mass that was moving.
The ocean around the bay began to shake and tremble violently, horns beginning to poke out of the water.
No... Those weren't horns, they were towers. Faust stared in horror as a hand that could grab and crush the Simurgh with ease lifted itself from the water, followed by another one, and then, the head.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOONKKKKK!
An ear shattering roar was released, a roar that echoed with a thousand screams as the monstrosity made itself known.
Humaba, King of the Cedar Forest, was here.
"S-shit, its massive! How is it even sustaining the magical energy needed for that giant of a form!? And what are those orbs of light floating around it?!". Aleister was shook, he was starting to think he may have over-prepared for one Servant, but now he realized he may have under-prepared. "Unleash everything we have against that thing! I don't care if we destroy its Spirit Origin so much it can't be used for the Grail! We cannot let that thing get any further on the land then it already has!".
"Hai!". A telepathic message responded in agreement, as he felt a massive drain on his magical energy begin to take effect.
Tomoe Gozen glared from her spot, on top of one of the towers of Faust's castle, from here she could see everything Brockton Bay had to offer, and the giant monstrosity slowly crawling its way closer to the land, its hands already reaching forward. She took note of the wave of Bio-Tinker monsters rushing to meet it, but against a beast of such size, they were effectively pebbles standing in its way.
"You will go no further!". Flames began surge around her feet, moving upwards and gathering around her arrow. She rarely used this Noble Phantasm, but here? Her ordinary tactics wouldn't work. "Burn it all to ashes! Namaḥ Samantavajrānāṃ Hāṃ!".
The blazing arrow was unleashed, breaking the sound barrier the second it was shot, one moment it was there and the next it had already collided with Humbaba's head, an explosion of heat and noise echoing across the city. When the smoke faded away, half of its had faded with it.
But despite what would be fatal on any other creature, it began to regenerate. Tomoe's keen eyes took notice of how it was absorbing metal from whatever it touched!
"Lord Faust! Do not send anything metal at Humbaba! It seems to be absorbing it!". The Archer began to unleash more arrows upon the still approaching titan, she couldn't spam her Noble Phantasm even with her master's infinite mana, less she risk hitting her allies.
"Shit! Meltryllis! Cancel those plans to use Dragon's suits! Nibelcole, focus on keeping the civilians safe!". Faust cursed, part of him wanted to jump into the battle straight away, but he wanted to gather more knowledge of what Humbaba was capable of. "Iris! Begin preparations to fire Rhongomyniad! We need to deal as much damage as possible before it gets into the city!".
"Okita, Gorgon, and Lakshmibai are heading in!". Nibelcole informed the Magician, who frowned. Those three were strong yes, but he was worried if they could even deal enough damage, the Avenger's Mystic Eyes were their best bet to hold Humbaba back until-. "H-huh? Master! Gorgon destroyed her communicator!".
"What? Dammit! Now isn't the time to go on her own!". Faust grit his teeth, sending a telepathic to the fallen goddess. "Ana! Now isn't the time to be running off on your own, return to base and get a new com-".
"No". She growled back, the Magician flinching back as he felt himself rejected from their telepathic conversations, he still had his contract with her but she seemed determined to be alone. What the hell had gotten into her!?
"Dammit! Does anyone have eyes on Ana?!". He asked his comrades both telepathically and physically, receiving a wave of no's. Dammit, what was she doing!?
"Master! Ana is approaching an unknown figure! Please see through my eyes". Tomoe responded back, and Aleister did just that, rapidly paling as he did so.
"Shit... Things just got worst, Demi-Servant, or at this point may as well be complete Servant of Euryale spotted". The Magician frowned, why the hell was she here? Wait...
Humbaba was a Berserker in every sense of the world, it shouldn't have been smart enough to know to absorb metal to increase its size. But if it had been charmed to obey, shit!
"Dammit! Euryale's the one controlling Humbaba!". He cursed, while the rest of his Servants were fighting Humbaba, it seem he'd need to deal with the mastermind. "I'm going after her, Nibelcole your in charge till I get back!".
He quickly used Flash Air to get where he sensed Gorgon, their master Servant connection letting him feel her even that far away.
The moment he arrived, Faust could feel the killing intent in the air. Ana stood protectivly in front of her sister, who only watched him with a bored gaze. For a moment, each were silent as he tried to think of what to do. Did he attack? Or did he try and convince Euryale to join him? At this point it was obvious Ana would only protect her sister, any loyalty he'd managed to gather was nothing in front of her love for her sister.
"The goddess Euryale, an honor to make your acquaintances. I assume your the one controlling Humbaba?". Trying diplomacy before resorting to violence, Faust spoke respectfully to the goddess.
"And your Meduseless's master and the guy holding the Holy Grail, right?". The goddess smiled at him, and even with the protection of Hestia, Aleister felt his heart skip a few beats. He wasn't charmed, and usually he wasn't into loli's, but something about Euryale spoke to a primordial part of him.
An ideal idol indeed.
"I am, you want the the Grail?". It wasn't even a question.
"I do, and oh, cut your contract with Meduseless, I can't have some random human holding her chains after all". Euryale began to inspect her nails, even as the sounds of combat against Humbaba echoed from the distance.
"...And if I say no, you'll have Avenger attack me?". Glancing to his Servant, Faust couldn't even see any hint of apology in Ana's eyes. He had hoped he'd bonded with her more.
"Of course". The goddess smiled, confident in things going her way. "You could Command Seal her to kill me and then herself, but then the last chains holding Berserker back vanish. Or, you could cut your contract with Meduseless, give me the Holy Grail, and the three of us will be on our way".
"...And what if I could offer you more then the Holy Grail ever could?". He offered, it was only for a second but he saw a hint of interest in the Archer's eyes. "I've already made the offer to Ana, but I'm making a new religion you could call it, on a parallel Earth, using a species completely of my own creation. You could be worshiped as the goddess you are, your every whim met. I'm already working on plans to summon your final sister, Stheno".
"...And I should trust your word, why?". The goddess tone which had been so casual before, became ice cold. "Your offering far to much for a random stranger".
"I find the honey approach is far better then the stick. Think about it, you three sisters reunited, no gods or Counterforce getting in you way. I'll even swear a Geas to you, if thats what it takes to convince you". He offered, this was it, he'd ether succeed and he could end the battle now, or this could be where things got difficult.
Euryale glanced to Ana, a silent conversation passing between their eyes.
"...Swear an oath by Nyx, an oath to reunite us sisters". A feeling of Mystery filled the air, even in a world with no connection to the Greek Gods, an oath like this could not be broken.
"I swear on the name of Nyx, goddess of the night, I will do all I can do reunite you three sisters". Aleister shivered, a feeling of coldness filling his body as the oath took place. "Now, your end of the bargain".
"Hmff, I suppose so... Berserker! Kneel!". Euryale ordered the titanic Servant, causing it to freeze for a few seconds as the lights across its body began to dim. "As promised-".
Scrrrrrrr...
Scrrrrrrrr...!
SCRRRRRRRRRR!
The sound of metal scratching against metal echoed from across the city, the lights on Humbaba bursting back to life, a horrific mix of screams and screeches released from every inch of its body and then...
Its head turned to stare exactly where the three stood, the shining green lights it had for eyes displayed no emotion. No.
They only held a feral desire to destroy.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOONKKKKK!
Faust stumbled, his entire body shaking and begging him to run, to get as far away from this monster as possible! He likely would've fled on the spot if Ana hadn't taken hold of him from the back of his armor, pulling him and Euryale back as a magic circle appeared in front of her eyes.
Humbaba let out another roar, unleashing what seemed to be a volcano directly at the group! Even with his vibranium armor, Faust knew it was unlikely he'd survive a dip directly into lava, thankfully someone had already.
"Turn to stone and shatter!". Ana growled, unleashing a beam of purple light from her eyes, her snake her quickly joining in each with their own beam of light. The wall of lava that had been surging towards them was instantly turned to stone. "GET US OUT OF HERE NOW BEFORE IT FIRES ANOTHER ONE!".
Faust didn't need to be told twice, the space around them warping as they were instantly transported away, just in time to avoid a massive tsunami of water falling upon them.
We were so, so lucky with the Euryale interaction here. If Ana's bond had been lower, or we hadn't gotten a lucky dice roll, Euryale would've just ordered Ana to attack us.
Sadly, it seems for all those lucky rolls... We rolled a very, very unlucky roll when it came to Humbaba.
As that was going on, Humbaba was rampaging. Frequently letting out roars that froze the heart of even the bravest, while unleashing all kind of natural disasters with every second. Tsunami's the razed streets, storms raining down thunder like arrows, tornadoes that tore even the toughest of houses down, waves of smog and lava bursting out of the towers turned volcano's of the Berserker's back, and even meteors starting to fall from the heavens.
It was as if the apocalypse had arrived early, and nothing could stop it. Okita and Lakshmibai had been forced to retreat to Faust's castle, while Tomoe still took as many shots as she could on the Berserker to seemingly no effect.
"Dammit! What the fuck did you do to this thing, Euryale?!". Faust demanded of the Archer, who seemed just as shocked as the master at just how powerful the King of Cedar forest truly was.
"I-i just had it pick up whatever souls it could from the bottom of the ocean, I didn't think it'd have this much of an effect!". The goddess was shocked, she'd never intended to unleash this kind of force on the Bay! A few threats, some physical combat from Humbaba, and she should've been good!
"Its not just the souls...". Medea had arrived in the room everyone was observing from as well. "Its absorbing energy from everything around it, the land, the people. We could try waiting it out as it uses all that energy, but theres no doubt the city will be destroyed if we do".
"How can it even do that?! I thought this world had no Leylines!". Okita stared with horrified eyes as Humbaba unleashed another tornado that tore through Brockton Bay.
"It doesn't, but there is still life energy to be found in everything. Berserker is absorbing it all and burning it up as fuel, add in who knows how many souls its consumed on the way here... It may as well be a rampaging Divine Spirit". Medea looked to Aleister. "Its to big for our original plan to work, unless we can drastically cut it down to size dropping it on the Machine Army in Eagleton would just get them absorbed".
"...Tell Iris to prepare the spear, and for Keramon to empower himself as much as possible before entering the fight as well. FB, do whatever you can with Mewtwo's power to disorient it. Chop chop! The Endbringer Shelters will only hold for so long at this rate!". Faust ordered, everyone quickly moving to get to work.
A part of him was cursing, if only he had more time to figure out users for his SMILE Fruits and train A-Team, a Ho-Oh or Yveltal would be super useful right now. Note to self, create a Rayquaza Fruit as soon as possible, its ability to cancel out weather effects would be great if he faces something like Humbaba again.
Iris took a deep breath as magical energy surged around her, she wasn't a true Servant so she couldn't receive magical energy directly from Aleister. Her own reserves, while impressive, couldn't unleash the full light of the End of the World. Thankfully, she did have something to solve that issue.
She crushed the four mana crystals she'd been given, feeling her reserves surge, her eyes taken on a golden light as she prepared to unleash Rhongomyniad and hopefully end this.
She began to chant, a pressure beginning to fill the air.
"The sea, the land, the skies, and the animals...
Pierce these cloudy skies, and show the truth of the world".
The storm that formed with Humbaba's rampage seemed to be warring against something, a peak of light trying to break through the clouds. It wasn't enough, Iris pushed more magical energy into her Noble Phantasm,
"Split the heavens, raze the land, and rattle the underworld.
Light will gather here, the piercing spear that crushes everything in its path".
What had been a peak of light was rapidly evolving to become a shining beacon, the storm clouds swirling around it as the Noble Phantasm slowly took form. Just a bit more, just a bit more.
"Truth of the world, the wedge of light that waits at the end of the world!
Show yourself now, Tower of the End!".
The spear had become fully formed, floating above the titanic form of Humbaba, causing the Berserker to take notice and begin firing its own attacks. Waves of lava, water, wind and electricity were unleashed against the spear, but not even a scratch was left.
"SHATTER THE WORLD!
RHONGOMYNIAD!".
The Tower at The End of The World fell onto Berserker, even as dozens of stone hands rose from the ground and from Humbaba's body to try and stop it. Everything was pierced, no defense could stop the light as it pierced directly.
Light blinded the world.
As soon as the light in his vision faded, Faust instantly used Flash Air to appear on the battlefield, he had to do this fast! He was trying to find wherever the largest piece of Berserker's consciousness was-
"There!". A psychic message from FB screamed in his head, the master instantly noticing where a large pile of rubble remained, glowing with the same green lines that had covered Humbaba.
He instantly tossed both teleportation grenades he had, watching as Berserker was consumed by them. As soon as that was done, he near instantly collapsed to his knees and would've met the ground if Okita hadn't grabbed him.
"We need to hurry, if we don't act quick Humbaba will just regenerate and rampage somewhere else now!". Aleister used Flash Air once again, teleporting somewhere specific.
Eagleton was an absolute mess the instant he arrived, with Infermon (Having shrunk down to a smaller size, something they had discovered he could do while training) leaping between piles of rubble and firing blasts from his mouth-cannon, Machine Army drones unleashing every weapon they had, and Humbaba rampaging about.
The Berserker was smaller, still massively larger then an ordinary human, but only a bit bigger then the Simurgh. But as he watched, Faust could see how it was slowly absorbing downed drones and increasing in size.
"Damn Berserker! Starting to get why Gilgamesh was scared of this thing now! Iris, how long until Rhongo can be fired... Iris?". Aleister glanced at his communicator worriedly, why wasn't she responding.
"She passed out, she put so much energy into firing Rhongomyniad she passed out". The voice of Nia spoke into the communicator, drawing a curse from Aleister. Alright, if the spear was out, he'd have to resort to other methods.
The Magician rushed at the Berserker, his eyes glowing as a piece of it began to twist and twirl in on itself. He hadn't practiced much with his Mystic Eyes, but it was still useful. He considering unleashing System Keraunos, but decided that was to risky on the energy absorbing monster. So instead.
"STANDO POWAH!". He couldn't resist making a reference as he summoned the puppet Oryou, launching her forward as she slammed a fist into Humbaba-
CRACK!
RUMBLE!
What he didn't however expect was the miniature earthquake her punch would cause! Humbaba had been shoved half into the ground, letting Infermon hit it with a Spider Shooter that took off a good chunk of its body. Aleister put his hand forward in a gun gesture, channeling two spells at once.
Mana Beam and Flames of the Hearth.
A blistering beam of red hot flaming mana burst from his fingers and slammed directly into Beserker, causing it to let out a screech of agony. Just a bit more and this thing would finally go down.
Perhaps realizing it was outmatched, Humbaba tried to dig into the earth to escape, but it was already to late.
"CACOON CRASHER!". Infermon slammed directly into Berserker, his mouth cannon glowing as he stood above the monster. "SPIDER SHOOTER!".
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOOOM!
A series of explosions and dust clouds followed up the Ultimate Digimon's attack, Faust was tense, was it finally over...?
When the smoke cleared, only Infermon stood. Finally, Humbaba was dead. Aleister let out a sigh or relief, letting Oryou fade away as he approached his partner and pat him on the back.
"Good job buddy, that thing was a fucking nightmare to put down...". Faust grinned, pleased at their victory. But... "Buddy? Something wrong?".
Infermon wrong was beginning to shake, cracks appearing along his body with light seeping out of them. Aleister stepped back, worry clouding his heart for his partner. But it was quickly replaced by excitment as a familiar glove covered the Ultimate Digimon.
Infermon Digivolve to...
His body shifted, many legs becoming a single pair with two arms from his chest. Purple armor formed along skin, with wild orange hair coming out of his helmet. Finally, he roared his new name to the heavens.
DIABOROMON!
The new Mega level Digimon was three times Aleister's height, staring down at him with a grin which was returned.
"Well well well, look at you buddy! Feeling strong?". The Magician glanced around them, he had been planning to use the spear for this, but it seems something better had appeared. "How about we test just HOW strong?".
The Mega level Digimon grinned, his chest glowing as he uttered two single worlds.
"Web Wrecker".
Eagleton was consumed in orange light.
Mana of Humbaba added to the Holy Grail.
And with that, we FINALLY have ourselves a Diaboramon! Along with a few other improvements even if we only fought the smaller form of Humbaba.
Skills improved.
- Observation Haki 45%. 45% chance to be forewarned of attacks.
- Armament Haki 40%. Converts willpower into an invisible armor around your body, enhancing both defense and offense. It also allows the user to hit those with non physical bodies (Logia Devil Fruits, Spirits, stuff like that).
- Conqueror's Haki 30%. Allows you to exert your own willpower over others, doing things such as intimidating, knocking people out, and if strong enough even damage the world around them. (NOTE! This Haki cannot be trained and only improved through combat and the user's own will becoming stronger).
Ten to Observation and Armament, but Conqueror's increased by fifteen, this is a big boost.
A few days later.
It had been a few days since the attack of the creature the internet had taken to calling Nephilim, although many denied its status as another Endbringer (Many fearing what the world had come to if there were six Endbringers running around). The government of Brockton Bay (Essentially just Faust) had said they'd be making an announcement about what had happened once the city had been restored to a livable state.
And despite what should've taken months, Faust had gotten done in days. It seemed like the Bay had never even been attacked, and the soldiers and Capes of Faust had never been more popular, with many children and teens even starting to want to work under Faust if this was the sort of benefits they'd get.
A-Team had been doing a wonderful job serving as symbols of Faust's more open capes, with Joseph (Going as Sigurd, unaware of the truth of his cape name) and Maia (Who had taken on the name Morrigan, the Celtic Goddess of death) becoming practically celebrities.
But if their fame was impressive, then Sakura was even more so, going under the name phoenix and being having no desire to keep her identity secret, her shrine had practically tripped in size both as a gift from Faust and from the donations she'd received. She had even began training a new order of shrine maidens, which had given Faust some ideas to consider later.
But finally, it was the day of the announcement, which wouldn't just be in Brockton Bay, but other cities across the globe would be broadcasting it across every screen they could. Many wondering if Faust had managed to do the impossible, and kill an Endbringer.
"Greetings, citizens of Brockton Bay and those listening in. For those who don't know me, I am Faust, leader of the Mephisto and Brockton Bay. Recently, my city was attacked by the creature the internet has taken to calling Nephilim, with many fearing its arrival as that of the sixth Endbringer to appear, but I can safely say that isn't the case". Faust's appearance was broadcast to every screen in the world, the Magician speaking calmly as he showed footage from the wreckage of what had once been Humbaba's giant form, all pieces of it now long removed. "Nephilim was actually a work of evolving Tinker-Tech. Nor was its appearance in my city its first showing".
An image of Humbaba's first appearance in New York showed, with capes battling it and eventually leading it into the water, where they had believed they had defeated it.
"Nephilim was thought defeated, but in reality as it sunk to the bottom of the ocean, it began to absorb scrap and rubble, growing in size and strength. Likely it headed to Brockton Bay after detecting the energy of some of the new power sources we're working on, with it gathering more scrap on its way here, increasing rapidly in size. If you see this chart here, this traces its path from New York to Brockton Bay". A map appeared besides Faust, showing a red trail that traveled from New York, across the ocean, to Brockton Bay. "Many boats were reported missing in this area, likely destroyed and absorbed by the out of control Tinker-Tech, their passengers... May they rest in peace".
Next a picture of Humbaba arriving at Brockton Bay, with Faust's allies battling against it, and then a picture of Rhongomyniad slamming into it. The rubble, Faust appearing to use two grenades to teleport the Berserker away, and then the wreckage of Eagleton was shown.
"My forces and I were forced to use two experimental anti-Endbringer weapons to damage Nephilim and send it away, to Eagleton where the Machine Army rested. Further footage was impossible to find, but there must have been some kind of reaction when the two Tinker-Tech monstrosities met, causing an explosion that took them both out". Faust let that statement rest in the air for a few moments, before speaking again. "I know many wish to celebrate, our world has just rid itself of one of its greatest threats and stopped another before it could begin a rain of terror.
But there were lives lost to both the Machine Army and Nephilim, lives that should not have been lost if we had acted more efficiently. May we have a moment of silence to remember these poor souls?".
A minute of silence followed, before Faust started to speak again. Explaining how they intended to fix any remaining damage from Nephilim, even offering aid to those who had been caught on the edges of the Eagleton explosion.
But even if it was subtle, Faust's words would have another effect. The PRT's incompetence in not even checking for Nephilim's destruction had almost led to a Pseudo-Endbringer coming into existence, which had only been stopped by the actions of Faust. Sure some would claim he'd blown up Eagleton, but they would be shut up by other supporters of Faust.
Others wondered if Faust would test his new Anti-Endbringer technology against the other Endbringers, some countries even promising him unbelievable amounts of money and resources if he could do so. Japan was even offering an entire chain of islands if he could take down Leviathan.
All in all, this was a massive victory for Aleister Crowley.
We rolled, so, so many lucky rolls and spins here. Seriously, near everything was ether optimized or just flat out going beyond for the best interactions. We didn't lose Gorgon (Which was what I expected going into this when you guys sent her into battle where she'd easily be found and switch to Euryale's side), and even managed to get Euryale on our side by promising her stuff.
Sadly, we then got an extremely unlucky roll with Humbaba at this point just being to berserk to be controlled even by Euryale's charm. There is a good reason even Gilgamesh was scared of this thing and wasn't willing to fight it without Enkidu, but since the wiki was so blank I had to take some creative liberties. We still won, it was just a lot harder then expected.