Chapter 40: End of Days

Zeboiim-Zoar- New Capital of the Center Evil Beings

In front of a castle with a demonic structure, stood the Center Great One, the leader of the Center Continent Akujin.

A towering humanoid with a crown-shaped crest on his head with a purple orb in the center of the crown protrusions, black sclera eyes with red irises, a black bio-mechanical set of ornate armor with elongated pauldrons with horns emerging from it, a long purple tail emerging from his backside with a mace at the end, draconic wings emerging from his back, and a grizzled face of a well-built muscular human with a purple goatee. His body was covered in scars from his enemies over his millennia of battle.

Nefarious- Center Great One/Hell King of the Evil Being Empire/Father of Pure, Malice, Insidious, and Vile.

"Wiseman.," he said to a long-bearded sage with diamond-shaped pupils within dark pink irises and bunny ear-like hair antennae on top of his long silver hair that shot out from the barbute helmet that obscured most of his face; he wore black bio-mechanical ancient robes and wielded an ancient wizard staff made of black wood covered in purple runes.

Wiseman- Black Sorcerer Akujin King.

He chanted in his ancient tongue as runes built up from the ground. They formed an obsidian stairway heading straight for the heavens. Quite literally as the Akujin's goals were to kill the Divine Ones, the leaders of the Jizenjin. With them gone, they could take over Heaven and dictate what was right and wrong.

All seemed to be going to plan, but suddenly, a laser fired from the heavens, from the direction of the West. It destroyed the stairway completely, sending debris flying in every direction.

Nefarious, realizing that this was not due to the Divine Ones he knew said, "We're delaying this till we find the culprits." He looked around at his minions, his eyes scanning for any signs of doubt or fear. "We're going to show the Jizenjin the true power of the Akujin."

They cheered as Nefarious and Wiseman went into the castle.

As they walked through the corridors, the two discussed what happened.

"Do you think they caught on and intend to avoid a confrontation?" asked Wiseman. His voice was ancient and stoic due to how ancient he was.

"No, they're resolved to finish it. I can feel it. It must be a party from a land beyond what we know. One we should include to bolster our forces rather than antagonize and have two or three enemies instead of just one.," Nefarious countered.

As the doors to the cathedra opened, were greeted by a group of old men in the throne room. These were the Pentagram Forebearers- the council of the eldest Evil Beings, going back to the founder of the Evil Being empire, Malicious. They were the ones who had advised Nefarious during his early reign. The room was dimly lit, with torches casting eerie shadows across the ancient stone walls. The air was thick with the scent of must and decay, a stark contrast to the grandeur of the throne that stood tall in the center.

These five were as follows-

A short old man (roughly equal in height to that of a young child), with a large pointy nose, red iris eyes, as well as gray hair, and a mustache. He wears a classic wardrobe; consisting of a formal black suit and white shirt, complete with a black bow tie and a relatively large black top hat

Shinchū- Former Original Center Insect King.

A thickset, elderly man with a full white mustache and beard. He possesses white dreadlocks which he wears a flat black hat over. He wore a black suit with a gray tie.

Gyuki- Former Original Center U.L.F. King.

A very tall and thin, elderly man with long white hair, including a mustache and beard reached down to his upper chest that was vaguely wing-like in appearance dressed in a dark business suit.

Itsumade- Former Original Center Avian King.

A stout bald elderly man who has a very large white mustache as well as scars on his forehead and right cheek wearing a business suit of dark coloring.

Fengxi- Former Original Center Beast King.

And an extremely tall man of advanced age, with a pale-grayish complexion and neither head nor facial hair, compared to the other Elders who have beards and/or mustaches. He has a wrinkled face, a hook nose, thin eyebrows, and wears round, metal-frame glasses. He donned a black, loose-fitting keikogi held closed by a gray obi, but open enough to expose his chest and abdominals, and his lower half was that of a skeletal horse- exposing him to be an undead centaur.

Bakotsu- Former Center Undead Steward of the Original Center Undead King.

"It seems like the Apocalypse will be delayed till we resolve our issues with a potential foreign enemy.," Nefarious explained, his voice echoing in the grand chamber. The Pentagram Forebearers stared at him, their ancient eyes gleaming with the wisdom of their combined millennia.

"Whatever our liege decides.," said Bakotsu as the five prostrated before him. The castle walls trembled slightly as if the very structure itself was acknowledging the gravity of the situation.

"It must be from the same landmass that my sons' Royal Guard Members- Ratking and Cacti respectively protecting Vile and Insidious, hail from. From what they hint, it's a democracy of a corrupt nature that oppresses its Akujin population in favor of the elite and...Humans.," Nefarious explained, with his emphasis on Humans being harsh and even hateful from his tone.

Wiseman nodded gravely, "Indeed, they call it Amerike. It's a place of great power and potential. We must tread carefully. Since we've only focused on the five nations. This unknown country might be accompanied by another one, let alone more."

"And we have the Teigu users to worry about. They killed half of the White Kings...most of them had it coming.," Fengxi noted, showing contempt for the other faction, who were underhanded and avoided fights not skewed in their favor.

"Indeed, we can't ignore the threat they pose. If they're as powerful as the legends suggest, we at least ensure they don't interfere," Nefarious mused, stroking his goatee thoughtfully.

"I'll do it!," shouted a campy voice. They turned to see the speaker- an above-average-sized well-built man who looked much older than he actually was with a muscular body with large feathery wings of white emerging from his back, and the lower torso of a four-legged white horse with the blonde tail. His "macho" head had a thick, cleft chin, prominent lips, and long, flowing orange hair. His face also had a well-defined jawline and sparkling gray iris eyes with long eyelashes. He was known for being very effeminate, melodramatic, and goofy, which irked Alba to no end. Despite this, he possessed a dangerously lecherous side as he was known to be a serial rapist of young boys, viewing it as a divine service.

Eurytion- Heir to the White U.L.F. Evil Beings/Royal Guard of Vile.

Nefarious raised an eyebrow at Eurytion's sudden outburst, his gaze sharp and assessing. "And what makes you so eager to take on this task?" he questioned, his voice carrying a hint of skepticism.

"The Prince can't be dealing with such a minor threat. And it's my duty to eliminate assassins such as them who killed the beloved White Kings who have done so much to improve society for Akujin.," Eurytion spoke in a manner that seemed melodramatic and scripted.

Nefarious and the elders' faces upon the White Kings being talked so favorably was to give a visible scowl as their eyebrows arching upward, wrinkles appearing along the forehead, eyes, and mouth. The eyes themselves narrow and look aside, as if avoiding looking at the speaker as well as the mention of the White Kings. Their noses seems to disappear into just nostrils. The mouth reveals teeth clenched.

"Very well, Eurytion," Nefarious said, his tone cold and calculating as his face went back to normal. "You will lead a scouting party to find these Teigu users. Find out the extent of their power and report back. Do not engage them unless absolutely necessary. We need information, not a war on two fronts."

"Yes.," Eurytion explained as he left the throne room. Itsumade then sighed as the doors closed. He remarked, "He's the one that trafficked all of the orphaned Akujin male youths to Papillion the late White Insectoid King, and (growls) Solar-Flor the late White Plant King. In order to avoid killing members of the community, thinking he wouldn't get caught."

Solar-Flor managed to get under Nefarious' skin. Solar-Flor through the aid of the user of the Teigu user of Susanoo, managed to have both of his wives, Lillith and Eve tortured for 500 years with the unborn heirs- Vile, Insidious, Malice, and Pure still in the womb. And Papillion was a sadist who loved turning victims into collections on the walls of his home.

"He'll get karma soon enough.," Nefarious cryptically mentioned.

Outside the Throne Room- Corridors

Eurytion slowly paced through the halls, his smile slowly becoming a scowl.

I can't believe Lord Solar-Flor, Lord Ignis, Lord Marli, Lord Divination, Lord Feline, Lord Cyber, Lord Gladiator, and Lord Papillion are all dead. Lord Solar-Flor's technology would've brought greater success. If only those wenches didn't corrupt the Great One. And I have to-, he thought before stopping midstep.

Eurytion saw walking down the hallway, a young male resembling a lavender-skinned cute human boy of average height with purple stripes running down each side of his face much like his older twin, Insidious, but his golden horns were 90 degrees, his straight raven hair flowed down to his ankles, and his tail ended in a spiked stegosaur-like tail whipped upwards. He removed his cloak to reveal a topless upper torso, a pair of white with silver lining fingerless gloves with yellow reptilian eyes where the knuckles are imprinted on the knuckle area, and as well as a pair of white baggy pants with two sections each with a set of three straps on each leg and shoes with two eyes protruding from the toes. He also wears a white belt embedded with the Five Point Star and the straps are lined with it as well. A five-pointed star pattern is also found in the medium-sized gauge stud earrings he wears. The youth that Eurytion had to answer to.

Vile- One of Nefarious' Four Heirs.

Vile's personality was usually calm, and cruel, and always had a smile on his face except when someone angered him, which resulted in either death or a rather harsh beating. He used to be rather duplicitous as well. While generally polite and respectful towards his own followers who all venerate him in large part because he saved many of their own lives, Vile used to care very little for them and views them purely as a tool to achieve his goals. After a very intimate session and later a sparring match, most of the members developed undying loyalty to him and he had now genuine bonds with them.

He was accompanied by an above-average-sized male in a pointed wizard hat, white robes, and a face completely obscured by his hat/high collar except for two purple orbs in the black space exposed by the intersection of the hat and collar.

Warlock- Heir to the White Sorcerer Evil Beings/Royal Guard of Vile.

Compared to how egotistical and maniacal the White Faction members usually act, he is much quieter and reserved in that he will only speak the bare minimum and only if he deems it necessary to do so, otherwise he tends to act through gestures. While manipulative and cruel, he could show chivalry and dignity when needed. He is an avid researcher in the dark arts.

"Hey, Eury. Where ya going?," asked Vile casually, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. Eurytion sweated a bit.

"Eh...I'm going to be finding these Human Saviors that killed most of the White Kings and Lanza-," Eurytion replied, but Warlock interjected.

"No one liked Lanza enough to avenge him and he gave no indication he ever cared for the cause. It was the same for the White Kings who fell.," the hooded sorcerer remarked.

Vile's smile grew a little warmer, "But we must understand why they're here and what they want with us."

Eurytion took a breath of relief as he replied, "Yes, it's just that they might be aiming their blades towards you. And I am obligated to eliminate threats to your name."

He then began to gallop a way when a giant red immaterial hand with claws blocked his path. The alicorn Akujin slowly glanced behind him as he gulped, knowing Vile had summoned it.

"We're on the same side. Don't give any indications you're too ambitious for your own good.," Vile said to him as he snapped his fingers. Eurytion looked up to see an above-average-sized winged knight with vaguely avian motifs. His small helmet had a purple ponytail and two purple ris eyes peered from behind the eyeholes of the featureless face cover. His feet had three talons while his hands were platinum fingerless gloves with mechanical-like fingers. Two metallic wings grew on his back with the wings made of purple energy.

Alba- Heir of the White Evil Beings of the Avian Division/Royal Guard of Vile.

Cruel, insane, sadistic, selfish, yet sharp-witted and cunning, Alba delights in the suffering of others, both physically and mentally, and relishes pure chaos. He happily provokes and manipulates others for his own amusement, and ruthlessly tortures anyone who irritates him or gets in his way. Unsurprisingly, this has earned him the contempt of almost everyone. Despite this, he's been developing a close relationship with Vile.

"Don't be doing anything treacherous.," said Alba as he summoned a white energy blade that put the fear of God in Eurytion. "You're not leading any parties without me or Warlock knowing where you're going."

Rich, coming from you., thought Eurytion. But he kept his thoughts to himself as he nodded. "Understood, Prince Vile. I shall not proceed without your consent or knowledge.," he said, bowing slightly.

"I feel some of the energy that fought Alba is in the outer parts of the city. Go there and bring your men.," Warlock said. Eurytion felt frustrated being ordered by someone lower on the totem pole, but since Vile was there, he complied. The red arm disappeared as Eurytion scurried away.

Vile then turned to a pillar as a figure appeared-

A slender yet slightly muscular young man-like humanoid of average height with a melancholic look on his face, bleach white skin, and a long segmented sickly green rodent tail coming from his tailbone. He had yellow eyes with slit-like pupils and black sclera; his eyes had large eye rings and thin eyebrows. He wore a long white, segmented jacket with long coattails and thin long pants with skull pattern trims of a black color.

Ratking- Heir to the White Beast Evil Beings/Royal Guard of Vile.

Ratking is a very cold, callous, and dispassionate figure, and is rather aloof, brooding, and indifferent, willing to harm his comrades in addition to his enemies should they get in his way. He refers to anyone he does not find interesting as "trash", and treats them as expendable. Despite this, unlike most Akujin, he is not particularly violent, and will only fight when provoked or ordered to by his superiors. His cold demeanor allows him to stay completely calm and in control in most situations, and he is not easily surprised or caught off-guard. He is also shown to have great foresight and patience. He doesn't believe in fighting against extreme odds, which is seen as cowardice by others. Desptie this, he is very close to his fellow Royal Guard, Rose and Blizzard.

"So Amerike is where you're from?," asked Vile, his curiosity piqued as he studied Ratking's emergence from the shadows.

"Yes. I didn't go into details before since I know what kind of creatures the White Kings are and what they would do if they knew of its resources.," the gray young man replied.

"Do you know of anyone that might be helpful in case Eurytion were to go away?," asked Vile, with sinister implications.

Human Saviors Base

In an abandoned city block, the rebels sat in a room that was much bigger on the inside and more luxurious than previously imagined. It had long sofas, a bar, a hot tub, a kitchen, several private rooms, chandeliers, and a giant map of the city on the wall with red pins scattered across it.

Frey, Husan No. 1000, and Houdini sat as Murasaki explained. Her tone was serious and genuine despite the absurdity of the words spoken.

"Once the Akujin reach Heaven, kill the Divine Ones, and take everything over. They're going to open seven seals, it is guarded by The Lamb, with seven horns and seven eyes, and opening them will summon the Five Horsemen of the End. It's the first of the three sets of safeguards to bypass to cause a mass extinction event in case Humans tried another war that threatened all life again.," said the fused woman with a third eye, six arms, and flowing white hair.

"Wait, is this really true? Sounds ridiculous.," Hasan no. 1000 muttered. Murasaki ignored them.

"The first safeguard has seven seals protecting the next set. The first seal removed will awaken the first rider on White Horse of Conquest, which with a crown and a bow, conquer the world for Nefarious. The 2nd seal will awaken War- riding a red horse, whose rider, wields a great sword of flame to cause conflict for humans to drive each other to mass extinction. The 3rd Seal will summon Famine and Pestilence- one on a black horse while the other is on a blue horse, whose black rider carries a pair of scales, which represent famine, and the purple rider wielding a leaking grail, which represents pestilence- they will cause disease/starvation for the survivors. The 4th Seal will summon a pale horse, whose rider has the name Death and Hades follows him. He is given authority to kill with wars and famine and disease and wild animals- this will kill off the remaining humans. The 5th seal will raise the dead from the ground to be judged The 6th Seal will cause a great earthquake, and the sun will become black as sackcloth and the moon will become red like blood. And the stars of heaven will fall onto the earth as the concept of Humanity is erased. The 7th Seal will be the silence before the storm as there's no going back now with the Akujin in control."

"Then the Akujin will use the 2nd set of fail-safes, 7 Trumpets to reshape the world after first gathering all of the Anima to Heaven. The first horn will cause earthquakes spewing magma to engulf the planet. The second horn will set off volcanoes to dry up the oceans. The third horn will summon the monster- "Wormwood" to poison the air. The 4th horn will cause the world to be shrouded in darkness. The 5th will open an interdimensional portal to the bottomless pit to summon the monster- Abaddon as his Locusts- human-headed horses with leonine teeth/scorpion tails to crumble the core of the planet. The 6th will summon a force of two hundred million mounted troops plagues of fire, smoke, and brimstone from their mouths. The mounted horsemen wore breastplates with the color of fire, hyacinth, and brimstone. The horses are with lion's head and their tails, as well, are like a serpent with a head. The plagues exuding from the horses will destroy the debris of the planet. And the 7th sound will announce the two witnesses and the Beast to judge what the state of the new world be as it's being recreated. It will be a three-way decision. One side- the two witnesses will make a case for humanity's revival as better people. The second side with the Beast of the Sea- a Triceratops-leopard hybrid with seven heads with ten crowns, feet like those of a bear, and a mouth like the mouth of a lion accompanied by the two-horned beast of the Earth who acts as his spokesman to convince others to instead allow humanity to return to resume their corrupt ways by obtaining the Mark of the Beast- 616 to make them invincible. The Akujin being the 3rd can decide to ignore this to recreate the world in their image."

"The Beast?" asked Frey.

"The refusal to accept either debate while doubling down on their decision will lead to the final fail-safes 7 Bowels- the first causing stars to explode, the second causing black holes to suck in planets with human-equivalent species while sparing their animal equivalent inhabitants, the third will cause the universe to freeze up in heat death, the fourth will cause spatial rifts as they remove all unneeded concepts from the universe before collapsing in on itself, the fifth will cause the world to go back to darkness, the sixth will cause another Big Bang, and the seventh will be a fight to define the new reality. They'll have to defend an entity from a figure, but if they win, it'll be their reality and if they lose, the new universe and all life will be nonexistent. "

"What does this final fight entail?," asked Frey.

"It'll be protecting a concept in the form of a woman from a purple dragon with seven heads and ten horns who wants to kill her. This innocent woman represents the new universe. This beast is ridden by a woman dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold, precious stones, and pearls. It's said in case they fail, the system will generate a savior for humanity, one wearing a robe with a golden sash, hair as white as snow or wool, eyes like blazing fire, feet like bronze glowing in a furnace, a voice like rushing waters, seven stars in his right hand, and a double-edged sword coming out of his mouth for him to wield in his left hand. If he wins then humanity will be back, but it's a last resort."

"But you say the Akujin are definitely going to win. And that's how we'll win. So isn't the last resort the best option for us?," asked Frey.

Frey, Husan No. 1000, and Houdini stared at Murasaki in disbelief. Her words painted a grim picture of the future, one that seemed to have been ripped straight from the pages of a twisted holy book. The gravity of the situation was palpable in the room, the air thick with tension.

"It's true. Certain Humans are good but as a whole- the decent ones are overshadowed by the inherent paranoia and flaws of Humanity..," said a tall, beautiful, and young-looking slender woman with long, light blue hair with jagged ends resembling icicles, porcelain white skin, and blue iris eyes wearing a blue crop-top exposing her midriff while wearing denim jeans. She appeared at Murasaki's right side.

"This is my mom, Tsurarahime. Technically, it's one of my half-moms- a mom to one of the three beings that compose of me.," explained Murasaki as she introduced the newcomer.

"I had to research it when I was finally freed from the Chuseijin archives- they're the Neutral Beings that balance out the Akujin- Evil Beings and the Jizenjin- Good Beings.," Tsurarahime explained, her voice echoing the same seriousness as Murasaki's. "It's sad to say, but we have to fight to convince them to see the benefits of Humanity because the power gap is too wide."

Husan No. 1000 leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "So, we're dealing with a divine level of messed up here. How do we even stand a chance against something like that?"

"Maniacal went off the rails when he decided to take Shekhinah as the host for his child- injecting with a syringe of his essence, creating Nefarious. He innately has good in him as do his children. Therefore they're not completely influenced to do evil- not all of them at least." explained Tsurarahime.

Murasaki nodded solemnly, "But it's not just about fighting them. We need to convince the heirs to see that Humanity and Akujin can get along. They're not inherently evil, they're just...misguided."

Frey wasn't convinced as her idol, Tyr the North Divine One was killed by Malice, the son of Nefarious. "He killed-"

"I'm a killer too. But I see things from a bigger picture- the Akujin hate humans for ruining their habitats and polluting them which in turn harms the ecosystem so they turn on the Jizenjin who seemingly spoil them rotten and protect them while the Chuseijin turn a blind eye.," explained Murasaki.

Tsurarahime placed a comforting hand on Murasaki's shoulder. "The Akujin are not inherently evil, but they have been bred to see humans as inferior and have been manipulated by discrimination and hate for millennia. Even if we kill Akuji, they'll just get reborn to repeat the cycle till it leads to this same conclusion."

"I've found you!," shouted a campy voice as Eurytion burst through the door. He was accompanied by a literal cat-fish- a feline mermaid, a literal bull-frog- a bull with a frog hindquarter, a literal dog-fish- a dog mermaid, a literal spider-monkey- a monkey with a lower torso of an arachnid, a literal horse-fly- a horse with fly eyes/wings, a literal flying pig- a pig with bird wings, a literal tiger shark- a tiger shark mermaid, a literal sea lion- a lion mermaid, and a literal sheepdog- a dog with sheep horns/hindquarters.

"You're surrounded, scum!," Eurytion announced with a flourish of his white cape.

The Humans then proceeded to get ready for a battle, knowing what was at stake.

Next Chapter: Regina- Eurytion manages to lay a trap for the Teigu users and the Humans, leaving it up to a surprise ally to save them.

Author Notes: I've laid the foundations for the winning conditions of the Akujin's final objective taking inspiration from Revelations. While also potentially setting up Eurytion, described as a repugnant creep in my Side Stories to be replaced potentially soon. The Akujin might have one final battle on Earth before they go to the heavens.