A few minutes earlier:
With Bardou, Samson & Valerie:
Kuoh Suburban Neighbourhood, Kuoh Town(Destroyed):
3rd Person POV:
"Sense anyone yet?" Bardou asked as he and Samson walked next to the floating Valerie, who shook her head negative as her eyes glowed a bright white.
"The only signs of life I can feel are the two heading towards Lord Isaiah and Kuroka and the two that are with Saji, Issei and Meredith."
"Haaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Where are you, my foes?! Are you that scared that you'd hide from my wrath?!" Samson roared as Valerie and Bardou sighed, the ground quaking slightly before they heard a chuckle from behind them.
"So Sephiroth Graal can't sense me when I'm under Tom's spell. Good to know." Samson swiftly twisted around while throwing one of his cleavers towards the voice, grinning widely as a golden hand appeared from thin air and stopped the blade from piercing Netero.
"Oi! Oi! Respect your elders, gaki. That could have killed me." Netero said with a grin, his hands clasped together as if he was praying as Samson grinned.
"Nah, you look like you can take a hit or two." Netero just chortled before Valerie frowned as she turned to the side.
"You can ssseeee me, little girl?" Tom's voice hissed as he appeared from the shadows, Valerie just staring at him before she smirked.
"Necromancy, huh? That explains why I was unable to feel you coming towards us. I assume that's also why I could not feel the absurd amount of Life Energy of your partner here." She said as she gestured with her head at the smirking Netero, feeling the near-endless amount of life energy burning under his skin.
"Decrepit buffoon, I ssssshhhhall take care of the girl. The mutt and the barbarian are yourssss."
"Sure thing, Skeletor." Netero said with a grin. "Bardou, you stay with her. Your flames would help with dealing undead." Samson said and Bardou grinned as he nodded, transforming into his hellhound form as Valerie smiled.
"It would not have taken me long to take care of the skeleton myself, but I suppose I'll accept the help." She said and Bardou just rolled his eyes.
"Uh, you sure you want to face me on your own? There's nothing wrong with needing help." Netero said with a slight frown before his eyes widened as dozens of golden arms appeared in front of him, Samson's grinning form crashing into them all and carrying them far away from the other battle.
"So, why don' we get this party started?" Valerie said with a smile as the three chalices of Sephiroth Graal appeared around her while blue flames wrapped around Bardou's form.
Kuoh Development District:
Samson vs Netero: Begin!
"You're stuck with me, old man! Now, don't go and croak over before I kill you with my own hands!" Samson exclaimed with a grin as he pushed off the golden arms and whipped his own forward, the chains disconnecting from the hilts of his blade as they wrapped the arms and Netero in a ball of steel before Samson grunted as he spun through the air and tossed him into the ground as hard as he could.
Netero quickly breaking out of the chains and flipping to land on his feet just made Samson grin even more before his excitement grew as Netero smirked at him Samson's eyes widened as a gargantuan golden Buddha statue crying tears of blood appeared behind Netero, a golden Touki aura roaring to life around both Netero and the statue before Netero moved.
In the blink of an eye, Samson was sent flying off to the side at breakneck speeds, the Buddha statue having slapped him at full power as Netero and the statue bolted after him.
Samson grinned as he flipped to his feet and attached the chains back onto his cleavers whilst pulling them out, grinning as he saw Netero just a few feet in front of him before he rocketed towards him.
Dozens upon dozens of golden arms attacked with punches, chops and finger pokes, Samson cackling gleefully as he whipped his chains to and fro, blocking and parrying every attack.
A punch from the front was parried into a chop that came from above while Samson jumped over a double slap and leapt off a dozen other punches to avoid the Touki-covered finger pokes coming at him from all directions.
'So young and yet so powerful. I guess it's true what they say. The next generation is always going to be stronger.' Netero thought with a smile as he watched Samson avoid his attacks, not wasting a single movement nor wasting time enjoying the battle as he dashed towards Netero.
'It pains me to kill the future of devilkind, but unfortunately, orders are orders. Time to take this more seriously.' Netero thought with a smile before his smile disappeared as he grew serious, Samson feeling a sense of dread travelling up his spine before his eyes widened as the golden Buddha statue transformed into that of a crimson snarling Oni, the golden aura around the statue and Netero also growing crimson.
"Gah!" He grunted as he blocked a fist, feeling the power of its punch as the force reverberate throughout his body before it sent him flying backwards. Netero didn't give him time to rest as his arms blurred, the demon's one hundred arms moving in sync with his own as attack after attack was sent towards the flying devil.
Yet, all of this was not enough to beat Samson as he gave the surprised Netero a bloody grin, stabbing his cleavers into the ground to stop his momentum before he blasted forward.
"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAA!" Samson roared with laughter as his eyes turned a pitch black, his dreadlocks growing to reach the back of his knees as a bloody crimson aura appeared around him.
That was not all as the chains around his arms disappeared, the cleavers in his grasp transforming into large white boulders nearly half his height before the chains shout out from his palms and melted to the chains.
"What?" Netero muttered in shock as he attacked relentlessly, Samson swinging his fists and destroying arm after arm before Netero repaired them just as fast as the berserker bulldozed towards the monk.
'A berserker is always hard to fight when they have no care for their life.' Netero thought with a frown as he released his wings and bolted skywards, the Oni statue following after him as Samson snarled and crouched lowly before he leapt and rocketed skywards.
Large wings unfurled on his back as he ducked and dove around Netero's attacks, a dark crimson aura gathering around his right fist before Netero grew confused and concerned as Samson flew past and further up in the sky.
'Increase. Suppress. Release. Increase. Suppress. Release.' Samson chanted over and over in his mind, focusing on just this chant and dodging Netero trying to stop him as he slowly came to the apex of his jump before he twisted around to face the monk.
Unfurling his wings, he pulled his aura-covered fist back before he blasted back towards Netero, the visage of a crimson roaring lion appearing behind him as he grinned.
'I have to stop that. I guess it's time to use my final attack.' Netero thought with a sigh before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, the Oni statue behind him turning back into a golden Buddha statue before it opened its mouth.
A dull white light glowed at the back of its throat, the glow growing brighter and brighter until it was all but blinding as Netero opened his eyes and formed a heart with his hands just above his own.
'Zero Hand Meteor Storm.'Netero chanted with a smile as the statue mirrored his movements, a large white beam of light blasting out of the mouth of the statue as its hands broke off and flew towards Samson.
Just a few feet from Netero, the beam split into smaller ones, with those ones also splitting up into even smaller beams of light and the hands all transformed into golden light before they morphed into a swarm of wyverns that screeched as they flew towards Netero.
It was not long before Samson grinned at the attack flying towards him, the entirety of the sky under him nothing but a gold-white sea of lasers and golden wyverns all wanting to end his existence. Samson didn't even care about the attac as he grinned widely, clenching his fist tighter before he swung it forward as hard as he could.
"Big Bang IMPACT!" Samson roared as he punched the air in front of him, space warping as a devastating crimson beam, nearly the same size as the Buddha visage behind Netero, ripped through the air, destroying beam after beam and wyvern after wyvern as it flew towards Netero.
Netero didn't let that stop him as he teleported Guanyin in front of him to act as a shield, his eyes widening as the beam ripped through the statue like a hot knife through butter.
'To be defeated by a youth not even half my age…ah, I suppose this isn't a bad way to go out. Wait for me, my love. I'm coming home' Netero thought with a defeated smile as he closed his eyes and opened his arms fully as if wanting to hug someone just as the beam washed over his body and eviscerated him.
The beam was not done as it crashed into the ground, turning half of the district they were in into a blazing explosion as shock waves destroyed what was left. As the explosion died down, half of the district was nothing but molten lava while the rest was desolate ground that was completely flattened.
"Who knew fighting an old man would be that much fun?" Samson said with a grin as he snapped out of his rage and landed on the ground with a loud thud, feeling his body ache(but in a good way) as he stretched.
"Okay, now…another battle!" He yelled happily before he hooked his cleavers back to his side and sprinted/ limped slightly towards where he last saw Valerie and Bardou.
Samson vs Netero:
Winner: Samson
Battle Time: 1 minute 15 seconds
With Bardou & Valerie:
Bardou & Valerie vs Tom: BEGIN!
"SSSSSephiroth Graal, the pinnacle of Life and Death magic…in the handssss of a little half-vampire that barely knowssss how to usssse it." Tom hissed with a glare, making Valerie smile as Bardou grinned.
"And yet, you're hesitant on facing this little half-vampire? Why? Are you that scared of me?"
"Tom Riddle fearssss no being!" Tom snarled, to which Valerie just raised an eyebrow as a series of Azathoth crests appeared floating behind her, flames slowly flowing out the sides of Bardou's maw before he opened it and released a sea of flames onto Tom.
"Child'ssss play!" Tom scoffed as he waved the wand in his grasp, pitch black water gathering in a large orb in front of him before it was all released in a tidal wave that surged forward.
The sea of flames were all snuffed out as the water continued towards Bardou and Valerie before Valerie snapped her fingers and the crests combined into a large barrier in front of the two of them, blocking and absorbing the dark water.
"That's not ordinary water, is it?" Bardou asked with a frown and Valerie had a frown of her own as she nodded, both of them watching as bits of water splashed onto the barrier in front of them and slowly ate away at it.
"Impresssssssive, dhampir. Now, let'ssss sssssee how much you can truly handle." Tom hissed with a smile as he waved his hand like a conductor stick, dark blue flames slowly appearing from the ground in a circle around him before his smile turned into a grin as he pointed his wand at them.
The flames roared to life as they transformed into the form of a Hydra, the Hydra roaring loudly as it barrelled towards the duo. Bardou grinned as he began to grow, pushing off to stand onto his hind legs that transformed into legs while his front legs grew thicker and transformed into arms.
Bones cracked and shifted, muscles tore and healed into new forms and soon, standing next to Valerie was a bipedal hound with blue flames wrapped around his arms and legs and blue flames spewing out the sides of his maw.
"I got it." Bardou said with a grin as he crouched lowly before rocketing forward, the Hydra not standing a chance as Bardou blasted through the Hydra and continued on his path towards Tom.
Tom frowned before he waved his wand, the dying embers of his blue flames condensing back into fireballs before they were all transformed into ice and sent flying at Bardou.
They were all quickly evaporated and turned to steam as soon as they got close to Bardou, Tom's eyes widening before he swiftly slashed his wand through the air and created a sickly-green shield in front of him.
Bardou grinned as dark blue flames covered his claws and slashed at the shield only to frown as it fractured at his attack, but didn't fully break before he leapt backwards and away from a barrage of earth spears trying to turn him into a kebab.
Valerie didn't give him time to prepare as dozens of Azathoth crests appeared in a spherical formation around Tom, the crests all activating before dozens of fireballs, water javelins, ice spears, boulders and wind blades were launched at Tom.
Tom just smirked as he waved his wand in intricate patterns, launching counter-spell after counter-spell as he systematically destroyed each of her attacks while also dodging Bardou as he moved in-between Valerie's spells to try and take Tom out.
'This is getting us nowhere. I thought I could take him out on my own, but he's nullifying each of my attacks while also making sure to keep Bardou at bay with defensive magic. Hah, I suppose I didn't want to use this, but at this point, Bardou and I need to get Samson and get back to Lord Isaiah as fast as we can.' Valerie thought with a sigh before the Azathoth crests around Tom disappeared, both Bardou and Tom stopping in their tracks as they turned to her before she smiled at them.
"Balance Break." Valerie muttered softly with a smile, yet the words were deafening as Bardou's eyes widened and he turned & bolted away from Valerie as fast as he could.
Tom, while wanting to run away because Bardou was running away, felt too prideful to run away away, but he was also excited to see how powerful the ultimate artifact of necromancy truly was.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!' Bardou cursed in his mind as he bolted far away, his eyes widening as he saw Samson running towards him.
"Ah, Bardou! I assume your battle is-!"
"Valerie is using her Balance Breaker! Start running NOW!" Bardou interrupted him with a shout, Samson's eyes widening before he took off alongside Bardou.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Samson verbally repeated Bardou's words, making him nod as they both ran far away from the battlefield.
There was a reason Valerie was not allowed her Balance Breaker no matter what.
It was not because of how powerful it was.
It was not because when she finishes using it, she's stuck in a day-long coma.
No, it was because that when she uses it, everyone is affected, whether it be friend or foe.
"Keeper of the Akashic Records." Valerie announced with a smile, her chalices gone as they were replaced by a thick book in her grasp. The cover of the book was made out of an old leather and a golden tree was on the front of it, Valerie smiling as she opened the book onto the first page.
"A book? The pinnacle of necromancy…issss a book?" Tom asked with a bewildered frown and Valerie giggled as she shook her head.
"This is a book that contains everything that has ever happened throughout the history of time." That made Tom's eyes widen as greed shone in his eyes, making Valerie smile before she looked down at the first page.
"Chapter 1: ! &%&% A9 !&&!72." Tom gasped as Valerie spoke in an unknown language, his eyes widening and it felt as if his brain was melting as he couldn't make heads or tails of her words.
"A(!1y*9413!#8!Æt£¢§©«ðƷDžƴƳƧƭƛƘǼǽȐǾ" Valerie didn't stop at Tom's pain as she continued reading, Tom falling to his knees as blood flowed freely from his orifices. He was babbling along with Valerie as his eyes darted back and forth, his body shaking and trembling before…he screamed.
A scream of utter terror erupted from his throat as he clamped his hands over his ears, frantically rolling on the ground as he kept screaming while Valerie smiled at him and closed the book.
"And that was just the first bit of knowledge I wanted to bestow onto you, but I suppose you're not meant to learn that knowledge." She said as she watched Tom stop rolling, staring aimlessly up at the sky while frothing at the mouth as he laid still. The book in Valerie' hands withered away as she let out a soft sigh, falling towards the ground before she gave a smile as Samson appeared next to her and caught her falling form.
"It's you…right?" Samson asked with a wary and cautious look, making Valerie giggle as she nodded.
"Don't worry, idiot. It's me. Now, quiet. I'm going to sleep." She muttered before she closed her eyes, Samson chuckling as he picked her up in a bridal carry and turned towards Bardou, who had transformed back into his hellhound form.
"Really?" Samson asked with a smirk as he saw Bardou standing above Tom's form, watching as Bardou sunk his teeth into his throat and ripped it out.
"Double tap. Master's number one rule." Bardou said with a shrug as he ate up Tom's throat, making Samson chuckle as he watched Bardou blow out an intense blast of flames and quickly burn the corpse to ashes.
"Come on. If nothing else, we can see if the others need help." Samson said and Bardou nodded as he quickly ate up the ashes, both of them turning as they walked towards the centre of the city.
Bardou & Valerie vs Tom:
Winner: Bardou & Valerie
Battle Time: 1 minute 42 seconds
A/N: And there we go! The battles done and a new Balance Breaker unveiled!
The next battle… Kuroka vs Yang and Isaiah VS Bedeze.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one… Ba-Bye~!