Xenthos revealed himself just as the demons had, removing the cloak that bound him and sealed his power from all. He is now free to cause havoc as he pleases, destroying all Demons that cross him.
"Lord Xenthos. Ibaraki and Junsui have been dispatched together and are all working to reduce the number of Demons in the area; they're holding all the other Demons away so you can focus on the commander." The Telepath from the Divine Mountain transmitted to him.
"Where's Axel? Shouldn't he be here?" Suddenly a swarm of dog sized spiders leaped at Xenthos in the attempt to kill him but were sent flying with a flurry of fierce blows.
"No. He refused to join the battle and stayed in his home village," the telepath informed him.
"Why?"
"Remember the events of The Emergence, they couldn't kill it so it might reawaken."
"Right, smart guy as usual, protect his home before the capital. That man never backed off on his ambitions. But that isn't the main cause for concern. As of now, we kill." Xenthos removed his cloak, which contained the emblem for the Fiends, as he walked onward toward the bay to check on the ships; he was blocked by demons. Behind them, he saw their commander… sitting on the shoulder of a massive demon. It was as if they were waiting for something—for the commander of the Fiends.
"Soooo… ten Imps and an Ogre. Isn't that something? He actually thinks this is enough to deter me." Xenthos walked toward them, but before he could kill them, arrows rained down upon them, piercing their flesh, and they dropped instantly.
"Ha! Small demons are very easy to kill. They have no body parts, and we always do lots of damage to them, because their life source is attackable all the time." Ibaraki said as she landed next to Xenthos.
"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes? Status Report, if you may." Xenthos said to his second in command.
"Everything south is dead; The base is still secure; We evened the odds; And this is now a full fledged war." Ibaraki ran everything by Xenthos as quickly as she could.
"So, Ibaraki, got any idea where Junsui is?" Xenthos stared at the Ogre as it beat on its gut and roared at the two. It began running full speed at them, and suddenly, they saw a silhouette in the sky.
"I'm right here, Captain." In seconds, the beast was split in two, and when its body fell, a young teenager with a great sword stood up and then bowed in front of Xenthos.
"Captain, allow me to stand by your side in the battle ahead." Junsui respectfully asked to accompany Xenthos.
"The right is granted. Let's move you two." Xenthos looked at the two and walked ahead as they watched as their Slayer brothers & sisters cut down the Demons and, sadly, were also cut down at times. But they focused all their true attention on the Demon Commander and his beast.
"Never seen a Demon like that bastard." Xenthos walked toward it, his Gauntlets flashing.
"This is one of the demons hidden from time, we assume his emergence is the reason for the sudden influx in demon activity. The creature with him is one with an overwhelming body size and massive arms, it's called a Brutal Savage. They're named for their brutal and savage nature, destroying anything in their path leaving nothing but blood stains. They're extremely dangerous. Proceed with caution." The telepath of the Divine Mount Informed the trio.
"Understood." Junsui readied his great sword, looking at Ibaraki, who had an arrow ready.
"They're attempting to interfere; kill them." the commander spoke and began to float. The Brutal Savage roared and turned around before it began to run at Xenthos.
"Come on!" Xenthos rushed the Brutal Savage, both Titans of power sprinting full speed at one another, the beast roaring in pure anger and Xenthos giving out a fierce war cry. Both reached the other and threw a fierce punch that collided with the other, causing a vicious shock wave. The savage knocked Xenthos off balance and staggered for a moment. However, with surprising speed for its size, the Savage swings at Xenthos with its massive fists, stained red with blood.
"Captain!" Junsui shoved Xenthos out of the way and caught the down-coming fist with his great sword. While blocking the blow, it launched him into the sky before it punched him into a weak nearby Minka that due to the damage it already sustained collapsed on him. Ibaraki ran over to help Junsui out of the rubble as Xenthos recovered and began sprinting full speed at the Brutal Savage, rage filling him as he held his arms out at his sides at the ready.
"You sonnova!" Xenthos ran at it.
The monster roared, tearing a chunk out of the ground and launching it at him. Sliding to a stop and spinning around, Xenthos used the momentum to launch a ferocious punch that destroyed the boulder.
When his vision was no longer obscured, he saw the beast had balled up and spun at him. Stunned by the attack, he put his hands up and caught it, the ground behind him lifting and sparks flying from his gauntlets.
"Hnnng!! Need a little help!" Xenthos shouted as the Commander continued to spin down at him, its speed picking up.
"Ibaraki! Xenthos needs aid!" Ibaraki turned, hearing the Telepath's words. As her flames began to rise, she fired a barrage of arrows at the Brutal Savage, which slammed into its back; the Savage didn't seem to feel it.
"Xenthos! Move!"
"No! Look!" Ibaraki's eyes went white and she saw life signatures behind Xenthos, it seemed like a family.
"Th-Then what do I do?"
"Burn us both!" Xenthos shouted before suddenly a red beam was fired past him.
"Nooooo!" Xenthos tried to stop it, but he then saw Junsui's blade come flying past, deflecting the beams. Ibaraki looked behind her and saw Junsui coming out of the rubble with blood coming from his head.
"Oh? Aren't you a smart one, using your sword to deflect my blast?" The Commander put his foot on the floor and smiled. He snapped his fingers, and the Brutal Savage bounced away from Xenthos and to his side.
"Team Knightmare, right? No wait… you're the new ones right? Makes sense, I don't feel that burning desire in my body whenever I met them." The Commander spoke with a grin, and he saw Xenthos grab Junsui's blade and toss it to the boy.
Junsui caught it and asked, "So you're him, Asmodeus. Lord Axel has spoken of you greatly, Asmodeus The Fallen." Junsui wipes the blood from his head, huffing.
"The Fallen? No, no, I never rose to the skies to begin with. Oh, and don't wipe that blood away. I plan to draw much, much more from all of you. I hope you plan to do the same of me." Asmodeus grinned as he opened his hand, and a glowing red orb was shown.
"Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why do you demons desire this? You all have such high intellect, you can understand what is what… so why? Why don't you desire coexistence? What is so wrong about peace and quiet?" Junsui asked as he began to clench his blade firmly, drawing blood.
"Hm? Oh, you misunderstood; we aren't friends. None of us, we don't necessarily work with each other unless we have too. This thing of ours that you mortals call The Revival is our little breeding ground for what each of us really wants to do. Oh and as for your little question about my disliking of peace and quiet, I don't dislike it not at all. We just have two different definitions of it, you want the norm version of peace and quiet where all things coexist. I, however, desire the Ultimate Form of peace and quiet-" Asmodeus caught an arrow from Ibaraki just before it could hit the orb as he grinned and crushed it.
"Dammit… it was worth the shot." They all grouped up together and watched as Asmodeus clenched his hand around the orb, making a darkness swirl and envelop him. Then, it suddenly erupted into a burst of black and red energy.
"Come Now! Let Us Determine Which Form Of Peace And Quiet Will Reign Over The World, One Where All Things Coexist Or Mine!" He laughed, and his wings sprouted from his back. His energy surged and exploded more.
"WHERE NOTHING EXISTS!"
The Battle For The World's Fate Has Now Begun.
"Look alive!" Ibaraki shouted as Junsui clenched his blade, rushing ahead. But as he did, he saw Asmodeus beside him. Asmodeus kicked him into the sky and laughed maniacally as he flew into the air with the intention of attacking. However, a flurry of arrows stopped him. He began to spin around, causing his wings to deflect them.
Asmodeus glared at Ibaraki and growled, "Fine. I'll Start With You!"
He rocketed down at her, inches away from her, before he felt Xenthos's gauntlet smash into his head and knock him away. He slammed into a nearby house, and it collapsed as his energy erupted, the rubble rising.
"......" He snapped his fingers and The Brutal Savage roared before rolling at Xenthos, Xenthos would jump out of the way and before he could land, Asmodeus kicked him into a house and began to summon multiple weapons in the sky.
"Nope nope nope nope!" Ibaraki began rapidly firing arrows and even firing multiple at a time to destroy the weapons.
"Somebody Needs To Be Punished!" Asmodeus began to rush at Ibaraki, but Junsui blocked his claws.
"Don't forget, there's more than two of us on this team." Meanwhile, in the rubble, Xenthos lay there bleeding. He would sigh and start to stand up as he heard a voice in his ear.
"Down."
"But not out." His body began to glow a purple aura as he grunted a bit before he flexed his body to shrug off the pain, causing an eruption of energy to knock the debris away.
"Handle Him." The Brutal Savage began to spin and rushed at Xenthos. It spun at full speed at him as he clenched his fists. A glowing energy radiated from it. The Brutal Savage got closer as he raised his arm back and swung, creating an explosion the moment his hand connected, sending the beast flying away and crashing into the water.
"Nghe...hahahahahahaha!!" Asmodeus reeled forward, shuddering before he began laughing. He rushed at Xenthos, who launched his fist forward. Asmodeus caught it, and Xenthos saw him throw a punch and caught his.
"Show Me More Destroyer! I Want You To Break Me!!~" Asmodeus cackled.
The Brutal Savage stood up and roared, pounding its chest as it smashed its fists together, causing small explosions before its fists fully engulfed in fire and began to roll. Ibaraki took a deep breath as her arm began to glow blue. A wave of water began to climb up her arm in the shape of a dragon and slide into the arrow. Her eyes went white, and veins began to show as she aimed at the Brutal Savage.
"I am by your side, Ibaraki. Now, draw the mightiest shot you can muster. Alone, the arrow will only bounce off of its tough armor. But together, let our arrows pierce the heavens." A spectral being appeared and held her arrow, adjusting her stance and syncing with her. Ibaraki focused, and in her eyes, it appeared as if time itself had been slowed down to a perfect half, giving her the perfect shot. She fired the charged arrow, tearing through Brutal Savage's leg, ripping it off, and exposing its life force. The Brutal Savage rolled off course and toward Junsui. He took a deep breath.
"Sync with me!" Junsui called out, emitting a green glow. Soon, numerous mimics began to appear.
"By my blade all evil shall be slain." Another hand grabbed Junsui's blade, and their combined might make his blade extend into The Blade Of Armageddon. With one swing, Junsui tore the Brutal Savage's physical arm off, leaving only its life force exposed. The Brutal Savage roared and crashed into a few buildings, growling.
"Junsui! Kamikaze attack!" Ibaraki went zooming past as Junsui held his blade out and ran beside her.
"Annoying." Asmodeus would begin to glow as he ported him and Xenthos in front of Junsui and Ibaraki.
"Void!" Xenthos shouted, and his body began to glow again, allowing both Junsui and Ibaraki to phase through them.
Junsui slashed its chest hard, launching it into the air, and Ibaraki rapidly fired arrows coated in different colors. The Beast roared as Xenthos spun around and launched Asmodeus away before he punched the ground and launched himself into the air.
"Heaven's Wrath!" Xenthos summoned his inner self, his eyes glowing a silver shine as the inner destroyer within him was unleashed.
"Essence of Destruction!"
"XENTHOS, LOOK OUT!" Xenthos punched through Savage's body as he heard Ibaraki scream from below. Once he did, he saw Asmodeus above him in the sky, his wings extended.
"You All Have Spirit, But We're Done Here." Asmodeus smiled as daggers began to formulate. Suddenly, they began to rocket down and slam into Xenthos, but he blocked it with his gauntlets before he spun around and slammed into the ground.
He looked around and saw the daggers begin to glow. He grabbed Junsui and Ibaraki before the daggers exploded. Once it settled Xenthos, Ibaraki, and Junsui all stood from the crater.
"Wait! The Brutal Savage… it's- it's gone." Junsui looked in a bit of fear, there was nothing to purify, and the limbs broken off had returned to the underworld. Xenthos noticed that himself and saw a small residue of Miasma.
"It fled? What kind of cowardly tactic is that? Where the hell is Asmodeus?" Xenthos looked back to the sky and then around.
"There!" Ibaraki charged an arrow and fired it as Asmodeus caught it, he looked to them.
"Still brea-GAH!" The arrow exploded engulfing him in flames, he waved his hand and growled.
"Team Knightmare!" The trio were startled as their General Shōkyo walked toward them.
"Grand General, get back!"
"Wh-When did you go to the front lines?" the Divine Mount Telepath asked, shocked to see the Grand General on the field.
"I go where and when I please! It is my duty, first and foremost, to give orders in battle to my warriors." Shōkyo responded back to her.
"To the matter at hand. This is interesting Asmodeus, you seem to have gotten weaker." Shōkyo glared at him.
"Is that so? Well, I—" Asmodeus looked around and saw numerous Fiends all around him. He laughed as he began to float in the air.
"I'll Save My Words For Later, For Now, Let The Bleeding Begin!"
"Remember, We Stand Between Demons And Humanity's Destruction! The Easy Way Out, DEATH IS NOT AN OPTION!! WE DESTROY HIM WE GIVE OUR ALL TO THIS CAUSE!! '' Shōkyo shouted to boost his soldier's resolve, and it worked.
Ibaraki's elements rose, Junsui's eyes turned purple, and Xenthos gave off a glare. Fiends began to attack and rush Asmodeus but were effortlessly dispatched as he smacked them aside and caused them to either kill each other or die by his blades and claws. While doing so he got hit by Ibaraki's arrow and when he turned to attack was slashed by Junsui and punched down by Xenthos. He fell to his knees and an aura of black energy swirled around him, the two rushing him and rapidly slashing and punching at the energy till they broke through and hit him causing him to burst into a Crimson energy knocking them away.
"YES MORE MORE GIVE ME MORE I WANT YOU TO DEMOLISH ME DESTROYER BREAK ME!! BREAK ME TILL I'M NOTHING LEFT, MY WEAK SPOT IS MY CORE NOW COME CRUSH IT!" Before anyone could do anything, Shōkyo, in shock, looked at the sky.
"What is that thing?!" He shouted, and everyone looked in the sky to see three heads emerging from the clouds.
Ibaraki, Junsui, and Xenthos stood in a defensive stance as everyone watched and listened. All three heads laughed in sync, but it sounded all too human. It didn't sound like the growls of any Demons known to man. The creature stared at Ibaraki and her company, laughing as it roared and blasted the ground, the blast being deflected by one slash from Junsui's Armageddon Blade, but he noticed...it wasn't deflected. It didn't even hurt.
"Uwaaaah!!"
"What the hell?!" Ibaraki and Xenthos were yanked into the sky. Ibaraki dropped her bow, and the blast disconnected Xenthos's gauntlets. Junsui grabbed Ibaraki's bow and fired arrows at the demon as the other Fiends tried to bring them down, but the force was so strong that they slipped free.
"NO!!!" Asmodeus roared in anger as he flew into the sky and was blasted down by the creature. He growled and rocketed back up before summoning a Dark wing, a birdlike demon. Junsui leaped onto it when it arrived.
"I Won't Let You Take My Greatest Pleasure From Me!!" As they got closer the demon in the clouds fired a powerful blast caving Junsui into the ground and killing the Demons instantaneously and pushing against Asmodeus, he kept flying through before the blast bested him and sent him crashing to the ground. Junsui painfully stood up, his armor destroyed and breaking off and he was in tears.
"Give them..back..please." The tears turned into pain, the pain into rage, and the rage into a brewing cancer.
"I WILL KILL YOU!!! IF I EVER FIND YOU I WILL KILL YOU ALL!!!" Junsui roared almost like a demon himself, his anger taking hold, the Fiends looked up in sorrow but that was quickly replaced by fear and a realization. Asmodeus floated out of the hole and glanced at the sky in rage, though his face held merely a glare everyone could feel.
"Someone must pay for this…" Asmodeus looked to the sky and took a deep breath. He looked toward Xenthos's gauntlets and then closed his eyes as he spoke once more to himself.
"...And I almost liked you," Asmodeus spoke as he breathed a sigh and glanced at the Fiends as they saw across the waves and beyond the flames of the burning Capital were just eyes.
"Now Let There Be Blood, Let Humanity Remember This Day As The Day All It Had Strove To Create Was Lost." The Fiends stood firm and resolute.
The battle For Humanity's Future Has Only Begun.
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