Chapter 29: The Devil's Rematch!
Now the battle truly began! The red eyes on Epoliktzus' angel wings glowed as rays of light emanated from them and divided the crowd that the demon had as enemies. Epsilon was the first to attack. On the surface, this was a fight for this world between a team and a devil, but beneath that surface there was a personal conflict between two antagonists. The direct frontal attack did nothing, even if Epsilon's sword fighting only improved now that she had her most trusted weapon back, but it still sent a signal when one of the two red long swords had to stop the attack.

The remaining eight fighters also got involved in a duel that seemed downright unfair on the outside. However, this was Epoliktzus, an enemy who only needed two swords to keep nine opponents under control. Two swords, four angel wings, six eyes and blood! Blood quickly filled the battlefield, not belonging to any of the Pokemon, but appearing as if from nowhere. But the fact that a liquid seemed rather pointless as a weapon did not apply in a fight like this, thus even blood was used to spill blood!

At the same time, Epoliktzus also had more to deal with than just a few Pokemon. What he faced was the owner of the Plot Armor, a Plot Emperor in full armor, the Plot Warrior, the great Aralsian leader, two league veterans and a trained warrior of Grimmsnarl. And Epsilon! It was she who wanted to take this fight completely upon herself, not even giving her teammates the opportunity to take the front position themselves. She was the source of this problem. If she had acted differently as Plot Empress in her old home, NOTHING of this would have ever happened! Even if she had seen the truth.

The author had trusted in her, given her a relic more powerful than himself! The one item that gave the Zoroark a chance to have a second chance, truly and completely! But this was where Epoliktzus actually spoke the truth. What had she done to deserve a second chance? Nothing! And then she had snatched that chance like that, with the chance to reject it and keep the peace of those who had learned to accept her despite everything. She had broken families in the hope of gaining! And now here she was, doing what was actually deserved for her! Fighting! So that her second chance could actually make things better! No Mon would die in this fight! Only demons! And if a Pokemon did die, it would be herself! There was a time when Aurora and Kel could look forward to a future that shone brighter than the sun, and they would have it again! They had all learned, but Epsilon in particular had become a different Pokemon between her last fight against Epoliktzus and this one. And only at the last moment, when the fight had already begun. Because before that she had probably been too blind. Too stubborn!

The past did not stop her from changing the present, however! And in this one, from fighting a fight, more determined than ever before! Her Feathersword hissed through the air, not finding its target, but its weapons, the attacks against her seemed to be in slow motion as the Zoroark dodged, further and further! It was as if an invisible force was driving her! An inner feeling. A feeling of rightousness! So often she had fought great battles, believing in her own right, but deep down... had she ever been truly sure in her heart that she was doing something just? Here and now, however, here she was fighting for truth and justice!

Geysers of blood shot out of the ground, again and again, all with the same goal. Forcing the group around Epsilon together! The closer they were to each other, the easier it was for the ruler of hell to keep an overview. And at the same time, he wanted to make sure that this overview was only given to him and not to his enemies. This was ensured by bright flashes of light that regularly filled the grotto, and a short time was enough for Epoliktzus to find himself in a completely different place, which the warriors had to discover again. There was only one regularity here, which they could all rely on... the distance between Epoliktzus and Epsilon never became too big.

But that didn't mean that the Zoroark was really the enemy's only target. Instead, there were three in particular that he was after. First and foremost was and remained Epsilon, who was probably Epoliktzus' arch-enemy at this point. But the two main leaders of the Plot also seemed to be a thorn in the side of the Blood God in this duel! Polar, who used the Plot Emperor's armor to exploit the power of the Plot, and Kel, owner of the Plot Armor and host of this demon in another world. And it was precisely the former that Epoliktzus seemed to have in mind. The armor was easy to destroy and Plot was still a fear of the deceiver.

With the next flash of light, the Blood God's strategy changed. Epsilon was immediately ready to block a quick blow if Epoliktzus appeared near her again. However, they did not expect that the monster would find itself at the back of the group, right next to the wearer of the Imperial armor. And it didn't take more than a moment of inattention to let his two long swords strike the armor at the same time.

The force of the blow hurled Polar, as the bearer of the armor, with all its strength into the nearest wall, where the emperor immediately fell to the ground. And upon impact... the armor shattered into thousands of small fragments. But this small victory was obviously not enough for the beast. Now one of the Pokemon was vulnerable, namely Polar, who was lying unconsciously on the ground. A laser beam from one of the angel eyes was supposed to finish off the first enemy.

But this was not to be so easy. Because Epsilon reacted faster, jumping in the middle of the path and fending off the attack as best as she could with her Feathersword.

"You throw yourself at the defenseless? Aren't you ashamed? Take on a Mon at your level!"

Cold, with a fixed gaze, the red outline slowly floated towards the Zoroark.

"Such a Pokemon cannot exist! And that's why I kill whoever I find! And that's this Ninetales! So get out of my way! Unless you want to go first!"

Epsilon simply stood where she was in silence, which said more than any words!

"Good!"

Red light began to surround the outline again.

"You've bothered me long enough anyway! But now we're finally at the end of the road! Feel the Wrath of the World!"

A strange outline seemed to form behind the demon as the light became brighter and brighter. This was similar to the technique that Epsilon knew from Epoliktzus. The purgatory that once burned down Berelo! And yet, here too... the former empress felt her sword vibrating. And as if in response, she raised her feather to the sky, where the rainbow-colored light seemed to flash!

Seconds passed before the red light of the Wrath of the World disappeared again. And the sight that greeted Epoliktzus was exactly what he had expected. In the place where two Pokemon had just been, nothing remained but the gray rock of the cave wall, burn marks upon it. Determinedly he turned around again, facing the rest of the Pokemon. Aurora, Kel, Grimmsnarl, Hail, Zeraora, Tyrantrum, Aurorus, those who remained, who had seen what had just happened.

"And so you see what happens to those who stand in my way! You all should have continued following my command! But you preferred to turn away, to follow a madwoman! And this has led you here! To me! To death! You all had a destiny! And you should have followed it!"

Immediately the red light flashed again, this time in the demon's blades. Once again, unspeakable power wanted to be unleashed. But a blow stopped it. A sword blow, right through the wings and chest of the blood god. Two of the angel eyes closed at the same moment, seeming to disintegrate into nothingness. Opposite him stood someone whose true face, in full power, he had never wanted to see again! This Pokemon, however, first put down the motionless Ninetales, which had been draped over her shoulder.

"Take care of him! And I'll take care of this guy here!"

During the last words, the empress turned around and pointed the tip of her Feathersword at Epoliktzus.

"Epsilon! You're alive? And in this form?"
"For you, it's 'Plot Empress Epsilon', fool!"

The armor around Epsilon's body shone in bright red, her cape like a vampire in dark red around her shoulders. A crown sat on the head of the gray mask. She was finally back! The true, the only true Plot Empress! Epsilon, ruler of Plot and Chaos, in her finest garments!

"For me, you are still nothing more than a fly in my web, whether you are wearing armor or not!"
"The threads of your web are starting to tear, more and more! Don't you see it? Every time you think you are even close to partial success in this fight, we become stronger and you become weaker! With every minute of the fight, our victory and your defeat come closer! And do you know why? Because it is not the victors who write history, but history who writes the victors! And the victors will always be the heroes! That is why my plans failed in my old homeland! Because I was not the hero! And this time, I finally am! And this fight will end accordingly! Fate allows no other outcome. You cannot defeat it!"

"Fate knows no good and evil! It knows me and you and what decides is power! And you will never be able to match my power, no matter how lucky you are! At some point your luck will run out and a single blow will be enough to kill you! While I am still just beginning! The difference between us is too great to ever be balanced out!"

The impact of a purple lightning bolt followed, although this did not seem to bother Epoliktzus, the target. But it heralded the next phase of the fight! The rematch of the first of all true duels of the Demon King! Just him and the Plot Empress, one on one, like back then on the main square of Kira Town, but this time it would end differently, Epsilon was sure of that! Her Feathersword would guide her, the author would command her, her team would have her back, her mind would strengthen her! And her enemy would learn what true fear was! And so the most brutal part of the fight was about to begin! Sword stroke after sword stroke shot through the room, light and shadow as weapons, plot and blood in contrast. Two opponents on equal terms were about to meet here! That's what Epsilon wanted!

And yet it quickly became apparent that this time it was her opponent who seemed to be right! Eye level? The demon had never known such a thing! The loss of two angel eyes only meant that he almost had to make a little effort. But what was an empress against a god? A master of a sword against a monster that could wield two long swords as if they were daggers? A fighter of the shadows against the bringer of the brightest light? A user of a little Plot against the entirety of the Anti-Plot?

It didn't even change much when Kel no longer wanted to watch the whole fight from the side, Aurora with him, so that both of them stood by the real empress and fought. It simply seemed that Epoliktzus fought just as he had before, but had lost one attribute: Patience. And what was otherwise a negative for a warrior, he helped rather than harmed when so much power and so much speed were coupled in attacks from any distance. All the strongest warriors together still had no chance? The bearers of the Plot and the author's hopes? Although... were they really the strongest this world had to offer?

"Enough! Stop this madness! Now!"