When I noticed we hit 500 reviews, I had to write this chapter. When we started the Edolas arc, we had 100 reviews. Three arcs later we have five times that. You guys are the best :)
Enjoy!
The scariest part of the whole fight for Damien was knowing he was the one controlling his own motions. Xisplate wasn't in control, he was. Damien knew it had been a risky move activating such a magically draining spell after he'd almost died, but he had no choice. He slammed Xisplate into the wreckage of the airship and brought his fist into his face an lightning speed. Taisho retaliated by bringing his fist to Damien's sending out a shock wave that leveled several trees. Damien grabbed Taisho by the neck and flung him away. Acting quickly, Damien grabbed the broken thruster of the airship and threw it up at Taisho and watched it explode as it made contact. Unfurling his black wings, Damien rocketed into the sky after Taisho, who was floating up above. The other demon laughed as Damien reached the height he was at.
How does it feel?" The other man asked as Damien watched him. "the power, the want for flesh between your fingertips...Wonderful, ain't it?"
"I stand by what I said before." Damien replied, his own voice startling him. "You're a fucked up, corrupted piece of meat. I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart." Taisho chuckled darkly.
"Was that Damien talk or Xisplate?" He asked Damien, who thought over his sentence. His eyes widened a little when he realized what he said. "Don't worry about it, man. Just go with the flow of the anger, it makes killing so much easier."
"Is that what happened to you?" Damien asked, and when he received a nod of confirmation he chuckled. "So you allowed the demons anger to replace your own emotions, essentially allowing it to take control of your body...And I'm the pathetic one?"
"Not using something because you're afraid of it is pathetic." Taisho replied, "It means your still immature, that you've more to learn."
"I have a lot to learn, that's true." Damien growled, flexing his fingers and hearing a satisfying crack. "After I kill you, obviously." Damien rushed at Taisho and they were instantly locked in a mid-air grapple, one of which Damien was winning with ease. He had forgotten the incredible boosts Xisplate gave, and he was almost enjoying himself. Grabbing the other man by the neck, Damien flinched as his vision turned a blackish blue hue.
Kill him.
Rip the flesh from his bones.
Destroy his feeble body!
DIE!
"Shut up!" Damien shouted angrily, shaking his head to clear his vision. Taisho chuckled and slowly ripped Damien's hand away from his neck.
"You can hear them, can't you?" He asked as Damien shuttered, voices he didn't know the owners of assaulting his brain. "The souls of the damned are speaking to you, aren't they?"
"The souls...of the damned...?" Damien whispered, more angry voices entering his head.
"Yes, the souls that have been damned to the 12th Circle of Judgment are speaking to you." Taisho grinned. "Most likely because of the whole Demon Lord takeover thing. Don't worry, it'll pass. Maybe" Damien was too busy blocking out the voices to hear Taisho fly straight at him, tackling him back down to the earth. Damien did his best to fight off both the voices and Taisho, but he couldn't do both. Throwing out a blind punch, he heard a satisfying crack as it connected with Taisho's jaw.
He isn't worthy.
Beat him to death.
Kill him!
Damien growled as more voices assaulted his brain, anger overcoming his common sense. He threw out attacks that he didn't even remember trying to do, he was trying to vent all the voices out using his brain.
"What was it you called me out on?" Taisho asked, the enemies voice breaking through all of the undead. "Something about succumbing to the anger?"
"Damien, can you hear me?" One voice said, standing out above all of the other voices.
"Xis...plate...?"
Oh good, you can. Listen up, this is important. It's good you can control my power, but the voices of the damned will not stop assaulting your conscious until you have ceased the takeover."
"Fuck off, seriously?"
"Yes, sadly. However, you cannot allow their anger at their fates to allow you to become angrier. The angrier you become, the more control the demon gets. Stay as calm as possible, alright? If all else fails, try and use..." Damien listened to Xisplate's instruction as best he could, and nodded as the demon finished speaking. Turning back to Taisho with renewed concentration, he blasted death magic at the ice demon, who had to move as fast as he could to dodge it. Several blasts met icy ones, which created miniature explosions. Taisho used his wings to propel himself at Damien, who grabbed him and threw him into a rather thick tree. Damien used the tree as a bat, slamming the trunk into Taisho and sending him into the sky. Flying after him and tackling him, the two of them flew back down to the earth and both hit the ground at the same time, but neither seemed fazed whatsoever.
"I'm impressed your battered body can hold the takeover for so long." Taisho commended, smiling at Damien. "Sadly, it won't matter soon anyway. Another ten or so minutes and your body won't be able to hold up any longer." Damien didn't want to admit that Taisho was right, but he could feel the fatigue already. His body, slowly, was slowing. It would eventually become irresponsive, so Damien needed to finish this quick.
"You know what I love about you, Taisho?" Damien asked, death magic gathering in his hands. "That, no matter what situation you're handed, you think you'll win. I cannot wait to tear that ideal off with your head!" Damien's vision went dark blue again and he flung himself at Taisho, the voices of the damned spurring him forward.
Get him!
Raze him!
Fuck him up!
Erase him from this world!
"Shut up!" Damien shouted again, emphasizing his point by grabbing Taisho by the neck and choking him senseless. "You know how to shut them up, don't you?! Tell me!" Taisho laughed as Damien's hand began to freeze, and he freed himself.
"Whoever said I can't hear them?" He asked, crossing his arms. "I love hearing those angry voices spurring me on to kill who stand before me." An evil cackle spread from his opponents lips, and Damien's anger surged to a new level.
"Damien..." The demons voice from within calmed him only slightly. "I think it's about time you freed yourself temporarily, don't you?" Damien knew he was right, so he concentrated as hard as he could on the voices, listening to all of their pain and anguish.
"Oi, what are you doing?" Taisho asked.
"...I call upon those damned souls from the 12th Circle..."
"W-what?"
"Screams of the Damned!" As Damien used the spell, waves upon waves of souls exited from his body and flew right at Taisho, using all of their anger and wish to see blood to attack him. The attack resulted in an explosion. Damien began to paint from exhaustion, waiting for the smoke to clear. He didn't expect, however, to see an attack similar to his own come back at him, sending him to the ground as thousands of souls screamed at him. He writhed in pain as thousands of years of pain and anger washed over his being, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"FUCK!" Damien roared, the voices causing far to much damage. As soon as it stopped, Taisho was on top of Damien, holding him down by his throat.
"Didn't see that coming, did you oh powerful Demon Lord?" he asked, smirking. "I figured if you could do it, so could I." Damien's vision fluctuated wildly, his anger going from non-existent to completely enraged in the span of a few seconds. "I'm really impressed, Damien. You truly are a powerful opponent, but I'll have to put you down now." Damien had only felt this much anger once before, and it made his stomach churn in fear.
"Taisho..." Damien whispered. "You just made the biggest fucking mistake of your life..." Taisho made a weird face as Damien struggled.
"Why?" Damien couldn't reply, the anger blinding him.
And with that, Damien Dreyar ceased to exist, lost to the darkness within his own soul.
Nashi could hear the sounds of battle, and a few times the two figures fought above them, the dark blue dot getting pushed his way and that by the black one.
"So," Ultear said, in a sitting position. "That happened." Drake chuckled, but then entered a coughing fit.
"Yeah." he agreed quietly, rubbing his wound. "I'm impressed he's controlling that fucking thing. Last time wasn't very pretty."
"Don't get confident yet." Simon warned, pale as a ghost. "There's still a chance that he'll lose."
"As Xisplate?" Nashi asked. "Somehow I doubt that."
"Taisho is powerful, very much so." Simon said. "The very thought of him made Icas terrified." Nashi didn't know who Icas was exactly, but she assumed that if Simon made that comparison, he was very powerful.
"Guess we'll have to wait and see then, huh?" Elise asked. As if on cue, the bubbles Damien had set up around them shuddered. They all turned to find Damien and Taisho back in front of them. Taisho was lying on his back, staring up at the sky, while Damien was crouched, eyes closed. When he opened them, Nashi squeaked.
Obsidian black orbs regarded Taisho quietly. Damien stood and strode towards Taisho, grabbed him by the neck, and hoisted him high into the sky, glaring at him. Taisho had the courage to chuckle.
"How does it feel, Dreyar?" He asked Damien, who didn't react in the slightest. "To let the anger consume you? To let it control you?" Didn't that mean...
"He lost control." Simon growled. "Again."
"But he had it..." Elise murmured, sounding more than a bit scared.
"I bet you're loving this." Taisho hissed, "Seeing me squirm like a trapped anima-"
"I am the Demon Lord Xisplate of the 12th Circle of Judgment." Damien interrupted, no remnant of his own voice anymore. "And you, Taisho, will be subjected to the Demons Judgement."
"What the fuck are you talking abo-"
"I am to judge your life." Damien said, once again interrupting Taisho. "And if the bad outweighs the good, your soul if forfeit." Before Taisho could reply, the obsidian eyes in Damien's skull glowed, and Taisho's eyes began to glow as well. The ground around Damien's feet began to wither and die. The process lasted about twenty-five seconds, before Taisho began to scream, a bloodcurdling one at that, and writhe in Damien's grasp. Damien's face remained unmoving as the spell continued.
"Stop!" Taisho shouted. "Please, stop! I don't want to-"
"Your Judgement is complete." Damien announced, glaring up at Taisho. "Your soul if forfeit." Damien applied a slight bit of pressure, and Taisho screamed even louder as a golden substance flowed from his eyes, mouth and nose, right into Damien's being. This lasted a few seconds, before Taisho stopped screaming, and didn't move.
"Is he dead?" Drake whimpered.
"May your soul find restless torment in the 12th Circle." Damien hissed, and cracked Taisho's neck with the flick of his wrist. The lifeless body of Devil Advocate's ace dropped lifelessly to the ground, and Azzie squeaked. This, in turn, made Damien turn in their direction, and snarl.
"Damien?" Ultear asked as the bubble faded. Damien strode towards them, death magic forming in his right hand. Everyone cowered, but Nashi did not. She stood unsteadily, using her knees as support.
"Nashi, get down!" Katsuchi shouted. "He's going to kill you!"
"You dare stand up to me, human?" Damien demanded. "Do you know who I am."
"Yes I do." Nashi said loudly, standing up tall and meeting Damien's' soulless eyes. "Your name is Damien Dreyar."
"Wrong. I'm-"
"No, you're wrong." Nashi interrupted. "What would Steph say if she saw you doing this again? Huh?" Nashi was proud to see a reaction out of the bigger figure, as his expression wavered.
"Ste...ph..." he said slowly, the magic in his hand flickering.
"Yes, your baby sister." Nashi replied, holding her ground. "The one you killed like this last time. What would she say if you killed someone else because of this?" Damien's face grew angry, and he shook it angrily.
"No! I'm not Damien, I'm..."
"You are NOT Xisplate!" Nashi shouted. "You're Damien! Remember that!"
"Damien..." Damien repeated, the blackness of his eyes slowly leaving. "My name is Damien..." Slowly but surely, the magic in his hand died as well, and he stood there quietly. he smiled down at Nashi, the armor and images of the demon slowly fading back to his normal clothing, albeit it was ripped and he was bruised and bloody.
"There." Nashi said, smiling brightly. "Better?" Damien didn't reply right away, there seemed to be a far away look to his gaze.
"S-sorry for threatening you..." he whispered, before he collapsed into Nashi, who had to act fast to catch him and not fall over with him. Nashi paled when she couldn't feel a heartbeat.
"...Damien?"
Oh, what a chapter! Maybe not exactly what yu guys expected, but I loved it all the same! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!