I stood at the center of the Main Courtyard with my hands in the pockets of my robes as I stared at the mysterious figure and his Crest of Arcane. The figure stood before me as well, looking up at the sky and noticing it beginning to slowly lower, the last days of V.J.I seemingly growing faster.
The mysterious figure slowly pulled back his hood, revealing himself to be Leonidas, yet it wasn't surprising to me. He looked ahead, his eyes meeting mine with a light smirk, this golden eyes gleaming in the sunlight as well.
"You've grown exceptionally quickly since our first encounter, and with Floria now gone, the playing field is even between us," Leonidas said, taking off his coat and manifesting his white wings, his straight wings spreading out with strength.
"Even? You may be Ryoma Miyazaki's descendant and carry all of his abilities, but that doesn't make us equal. Our lines split once Terminus hindered Yesha's true descent to Earth. Ryoma is the reincarnation of Henosis with Yesha's teachings, which is why Ryoma knows so much," I said, taking my hands out of my pocket then unwrapped Clover from her roots.
"Meanwhile Ascea chose August as His temporary vessel to break Chaos' Veil over Earth. Ryoma fell like Solomon despite his unrivalled wisdom, the man of over 100 Wives and 50 concubines over the entire region of Utalia," I added, allowing Clover to hold onto me by manifesting vines to wrap around me.
Leonidas chuckled softly at me and summoned his sword, the Emperor's Blade: Yeshan. The blade hummed with ethereal light colors, Mana particles flowing upward from the blade. "Hm, you truly do amuse me Lord Nox...but sadly, our time comes to an end."
"It doesn't have to, y'know. You are still my direct family through the line of Messiahs," I said, summoning Madriax in my hand and taking my stance.
Leonidas closed his eyes and hummed lightly, opening them and teleported toward me with a vicious downward slash, but Clover generated a root to block the attack for me, leaving him open for me to lands Hammer Bash against his stomach. Leonidas grunted as he was blown away, but he generated wind energy to stop himself in the air.
Leonidas took off into the sky with a flap of his wings, but I flew after him and threw my hammer toward him at bullet speeds. Leonidas dodged my hammer and watched me warp to it, pivoting around quickly to block another smash from my hammer.
Leonidas chuckled as he continued clashing with me in the air, his Crest glowing brightly upon his hand with excitement. "And you say we aren't evenly matched, yet I'm more even with you than Claudio ever could be!"
I let off the offensive to focus on my defense, phasing through each of Leonidas's attacks then Clover fired her butterflies toward him with a squeal, the butterflies slamming into his body and sapping his energy with Nutrient Absorption. "Then allow me to tip the scales to my favor! Zodiac Arts!"
Leonidas grunted as the butterflies sapped his energy, his body temporarily growing weaker due to the sapping. He glanced up at me as he felt Zodiac Energy rushing through the skies, a large scale manifesting behind me with one side representing Genesis and the other representing Ragnarok.
"Balance Shift!" I bellowed, activating the Scales of God behind me and tilting the scales toward Genesis, a divine light shining and blinding Leonidas.
The light began to dim, gradually revealing the Main Courtyard had shifted into a new arena with massive statues of the 2nd Triad of Angels surrounding us. Leonidas uncovered his eyes slowly, grunting softly as he noticed the statues around him, hearing soft sounds from the statues giving praises to God.
〘Battle Room: Choir Triad II〙
〘Battle Room Description: The Angels govern this arena, Dominions, Virtues, and Powers. All enemies beware of the 2nd Triad, none who go against the Kingdom of God shall outlive His judgement.〙
〘Battle Room Location: Main Courtyard - Main Department〙
Leonidas landed on the ground and looked around the battlefield, seeing each Angel Statue was in a set of three, bringing them to a total of nine Angels around us. "I see, Dominions, Virtues, and Powers...I wonder what you have planned for me."
I looked down at Leonidas and descended to the ground as well, standing up straight and throwing my hammer toward him then warped toward it. I caught the hammer, using the momentum to twirl into a spinning heel kick, but Leonidas blocked my attack, grunting softly as he felt a second burst of energy knock him back.
I rushed forward with a clean blow to his midsection, a second burst of energy suspending him in the air, leaving him open enough for me to blast him away with a burst of floral energy. Leonidas recovered quickly and summoned two orbs of energy, using them to release two beams of ethereal energy.
The eyes of one of the Virtue Statues began to glow, a wall of Aether forming in front of me and blocking the beam of energy. "Weapon formed against the Lord shall prosper..."
Leonidas laughed softly at the statue, holding his hand out and his Crest of Arcane began to glow brightly, two shadow figures of a Queen forming beside him. "Now this is the battle I sought for years! I knew you'd grow into a warrior like this since the day I encountered you!"
I got into a low stance, my hand touching the ground as I prepared myself to face against the next phase of Leonidas. The two Shadow Queens rushed forward in puffs of black smoke while I used my raw speed to boost forward, the ground beneath me cracking under the pressure of my speed.
I clashed with the Shadow Queens, both Queens swarming around me to attack Clover, but I weaved around the area too quickly for them to reach Clover, each of their attacks landing upon me. I began to gather a large pool of Holy Energy around my body as the Shadow Queens rushed around me with flurries of attacks.
"Now face the Light of Heaven!" I roared, unleashing a massive burst of Holy Energy around my body with a dual voice roar.
The eyes of the Powers Statues began to glow brightly, amplifying the Light of Heaven and a light from above began to form, releasing beams of light toward the ground with destructive force. Leonidas grunted as he began dodging the beams of light, groaning as a blinding light began to glow.
Leonidas uncovered his eyes slowly, looking forward and noticing me standing strong at the center of the battlefield, his smirk growing into an exhilarated grin. "That power...I knew it from the day I gave you the Holy Fire that you'd evolve it into something greater.."
I panted softly from light exhaustion as I used large amounts Spirit Energy to execute Light of Heaven, a bead of sweat rolling down my cheek. I held Madriax in the air, manually activating a Virtue Statue to replenish my stamina and Spirit Energy.
"That Crest of Arcane...it holds every Crest from Utalia doesn't it?" I asked, my eyes continuing to become attracted to Leonidas's Crest.
Leonidas nodded, looking at his hand and exhaling softly. "Every Crest from Royal to Minor... However, I don't have the Eternal Crests in here like Conquest, Death, War, and Lament. But I'm also missing an important Crest, the Emperor's Crest...which reads Lord of Lords.."
My mind snapped back to my first awakening of my Messiah Form, my hand subconsciously touching my stomach where my Lord of Lords tattoo lied. I glanced at Leonidas, now realizing why he dragged me here alone. "Hm, so you want the Emperor's Crest huh? Why?"
"You lack the necessary strength needed to handle Terminus while I have not only the power but the wisdom to strike him down for good. I can do what Ryoma could not, and that is strike down Terminus!" Leonidas declared, holding his hand out toward me with his sword held at a Low Ward.
I scoffed lightly at Leonidas as I noticed he carried no true fruits of Ryoma other than his Greed, Pride, and Lust for power. "That's all huh? You just want glory...that's all it comes down to. Becoming an Icon..."
"It's more than becoming an Icon! It's about fixing everything Yesha started! Fixing all the wrong doings that others simply can not fix!" Leonidas declared, dashing toward me with a spinning slash.
I blocked his slash with Madriax, entering a lock with him and scoffed at Leonidas with slight contempt. "Sounds like you're just jealous that you aren't Ascea! You want to be him so badly then go ahead, I never asked to be the Messiah! You think you can carry the weight the responsibility comes with?!"
"After you all tried to kill me five years ago, you still believe you have a chance of becoming me? I'm sure...you knew about me even before then. After all, you were the first to admit here that I am the Son of Man," I questioned, pushing Leonidas back then dropped Madriax on the ground and got into my stance once again.
Leonidas stumbled backwards and watched as I dashed toward him at high speeds with a windy strike, but he dodged my attack and countered with a fiery slash, his slash missing me as I phased through his attack. The two of us continued our dance of push and pull, neither of us able to land an attack upon one another.
I phased through Leonidas's slice then knocked his sword from his hands with a swipe of my hand. The eyes of the Dominions Statue began to glow, weakening Leonidas and encasing his body with dark blue energy, his Crest of Arcane becoming more obsolete in the Choir Triad II arena.
Leonidas looked at his Crest of Arcane, grunting softly as its glow began to dim slightly, his aura gradually weakening for reasons he couldn't explain. "What the hell..? Why am I growing so much weaker?"
I took his moment of distraction to launch him away with a roundhouse kick then Clover launched a vine toward Leonidas and wrapped it around his leg, pulling him back toward me with a heavy yank. I dashed forward as he came toward me, summoning my Golden Ram and boosting forward with a Velocity Devastation.
I roared as I continued charging forward with gold and black energy bursting around my body, Leonidas equally resisting my Zodiac Arts with a burst of his own aura. He roared loudly as his Crest began to shine brightly, each pulse of energy boosting his strength beyond his limits.
Leonidas managed to push me back with a burst of his aura, his Crest of Arcane shining brightly and soon evolving into the Crest of Henosis to break out of the Dominion's Divine Subjugation. "I refuse to go down this easily! It's gonna take more than this!"
I grunted as I was surprisingly launched away by the intense force of his pulsating energy, but landed onto my feet and looked ahead at Leonidas, noticing a halo forming behind his head in the same position as the Powers Angels. "Crest of Henosis...now he has the Crest of Conquest.."
The Crest of Henosis shares the same abilities as Arcane, only with stronger Spiritual Abilities, Mana Control, Messianic Energy, and the Eternal Crest of Conquest awakened. This was the peak of Ryoma Miyazaki's power, a Hero of Origin Level Hero, one step below Messiah.
Leonidas chuckled as the Dominion's powers had become ineffective against him due to his Crest of Henosis, his aura pulsing between multiple colors yet missing the Iridescent Properties. "Rainbow Energy...just a tad weaker than Iridescent, but still enough to finally get what I truly deserve.."
I adjusted Clover on my back and studied Leonidas's new form, bracing myself for the next phase of the fight, the physical realm feeling a shift as the battle escalated. I exhaled slowly, calming my mind and heart then took on my unarmed Emperor's Stance.
Leonidas summoned four orbs of rainbow energy, snapping his fingers and having all four release thin laser beams toward me, each laser aimed at my limbs. My body became a light green silhouette, the thin beams of energy piercing my afterimage and dissolving into energy particles.
"Hiding won't get you any closer to sanctifying your child! There's only one way out of this mess and that's through facing me!" Leonidas roared, glancing around the arena for me then noticed the nine statues vanishing into thin air.
The Scales of God tilted to Ragnarok's Side, the Balance Shift now favoring Ragnarok and the Iridescent Energy rising from the ground began to darken into Rebirth Energy. I reappeared in front of Leonidas in my Dark Lord Form, launching a swift strike, but he managed to evade my attack.
Leonidas summoned his sword into his hand and went for an overhead slice, but I countered by summoning Duran the Dullahan, his spear of light blocking Leonidas's attack for me. Leonidas grunted softly as he looked at Duran in front of him, temporarily losing focus from recognizing the Spirit of an old ally.
"You use my own allies against me like pawns! It's going to take more than that to get me shaken up!" Leonidas roared, his Crest of Henosis glowing brightly upon his hand as he summoned Pyroc, the Blazing Red Dragon, her scales humming with volcanic brimstone.
I smirked as I held out my hand, summoning two Monsters, a Sahuagin and a Lizardman Girl in front of me, both of their bodies becoming blue orbs of energy and fusing together into a powerful Fusion Monster. "You believe you have a chance against me? Well, face the might of Thetis!"
Wielding a metallic staff, Thetis had the appearance of a woman with floaty light-blue hair whose lower half was a navy colored octopus. She wore a revealing navy blue leotard and evening gloves and was armored with lovely blue tassets and a valkyrie headdress. Pyroc looked at Thetis and roared aggressively at her, Thetis staring at Pyroc with no fear in her eyes.
"Pyroc, show this Exzodian how we truly fight as an Eyican!" Leonidas commanded, thrusting his arm forward as Pyroc flew toward Thetis.
"Hmph, Thetis...Show them what a Divine Curse looks like," I ordered, using Madriax to manifest the Arrow Trap Room around us, bows of Rebirth Energy forming around us and locking upon Pyroc.
Thetis dodged Pyroc's initial attack then the orb within her staff began to glow, a pillar of dark waves falling upon Pryoc and Dulling her energy. Pryoc could feel her body growing heavy, her movements becoming sluggish and too slow to avoid the barrage of arrows piecing her body.
Pryoc let out a pained roar, her body shining and shattering into energy particles, leaving behind the Crest of Pyroc floating in the air. I held my hand out toward the Crest, my presence alone commanding the Crest to float over toward me.
"Not only were you at an Affinity Disadvantage, but you fail to grasp who I truly am and what Choir Triad II can truly do," I said, grabbing the Crest of Pyroc and revealing the Powers Statues behind each Rebirth Bow around the arena.
Leonidas grunted softly as he realized the Statues were Angels in disguise and the dangers of Thetis's abilities. He couldn't think of a counter quick enough that wouldn't immediately get punished by my Dull Curse + Critical Volley combo.
〘Monster: Thetis〙
〘Index No.: 24〙
〘Ranking: 6 Star〙
〘Ability: Abyssal Curse〙
〘Ability Desc.: Applies Dull to all targets in a vast range, weakening the targets' Spirit, Moral, Energy, and Stamina, leaving them more vulnerable to Lethal strikes. Any target attacking while Dulled will have their attack power reduced GREATLY!〙
Thetis pointed her staff at Leonidas, casting Abyssal Curse upon him and putting him in a Dull State, a dark blue aura encasing his body. Leonidas quickly his Crest of Henosis to dispel the Dull Effect, rainbow energy pulsing around his body with surgical might.
Leonidas rushed forward at high speeds, The Crest of Galvan appearing above his Crest of Henosis, a loud roar echoing in the skies in response. Storm clouds began to form in the sky, the sounds of thunder travelling loudly through the clouds.
"Galvan, crash down with your Fulgur Drive!" Leonidas commanded with a roar, swiping his hand down toward me and Thetis.
A Lightning Wyvern began to descend from the clouds, spinning in a circular motion and generating massive amounts of lightning energy within his body. I stepped forward and shifted the Powers Statues into Dominions Statues, each of their eyes glowing brightly with immense Spirit Energy surging around their bodies.
Thetis held her staff up high, a whirlpool of energy spiralling beneath me and herself as she began bracing herself for Galvan's attack. Just as Galvan crashed down toward us, Thetis rode her Abyssal Barrier and casted Dull upon Galvan as soon as he collided with the barrier.
"It's time for Judgement," I said, snapping my fingers and activating each statue.
All Beasts and Men shall fall under the Most High...
Endless Judgement for those unrepentant...
You will fall in line....
Chains of light shot out from the Dominions Statues, each one piercing Galvan's body with purifying energy the Holy Energy of the chains searing Galvan painfully. Galvan could do nothing but roar in pain as he was Smited, his body becoming lightning particles and leaving behind the Crest of Galvan.
Leonidas grunted softly as he had lost two of his Affinity Dragons to me, only having four left and knowing he couldn't run through each of his Beasts. "Tch... having to go back to Warrior Spirits because of this Dull effect! Why won't you just fall!"
"I think it's time you took a short break, and let me take it from here," A familiar voice said in the distance, putting our battle on hold with her smooth tone.
I felt a sudden surge of grief in the area, my heart starting to become heavy with sorrow, but I continued to listen to the praises coming from the Dominions Statues, my heart becoming at ease again. Turning to my side, I noticed L'Tenma watching our battle from the side lines.
"Mary?" I asked, L'Tenma's image blurring between the figure of her current form and the form of her I witnessed earlier.
L'Tenma smirked at my reaction upon seeing her then warped toward me with a powerful blow to my chest, the force of her strike sending me flying backwards. "No, it is not Mary, but someone...even more close to you. Come on, Nox...look for a moment!"
I released a burst of wind energy to stop myself in the air and protect Clover, using the air currents to safely descend to the ground and stared at L'Tenma for a moment. I watched as she began walking closer, my eyes unable to recognize who she was at the moment until she was now face to face with me.
As I stared into her eyes, a faint memory of my childhood began to play in my mind, her appearance becoming more clear to me. Soon, my eyes began to widen slowly with revelation, my body physically taking a step backwards.
"Mama..?" I asked quietly, my eyes scanning her up and down and verifying that the woman I was looking at was indeed Myra Exzodia, my true Earthly Mother in the flesh.
L'Tenma stared at me with a smirk, watching me slowly falter as memories of my childhood began playing in my head. I gripped my head tightly, grunting softly as the images of my mother reading the Book of Lamentations to me as a child.
Leonidas watched as I slowly began to break down, his gaze shifting between me and L'Tenma with a mix of awe and concern. He watched as the Holy Fire from my chest began to erupt with grief, watching as my Spirit began to grieve once more.
Everything was taken away from you...
They call it Prophecy...
This is your Father..?
Your God..?
"You dare...use my mother's image against me..?!" I grunted, falling onto one knee and gripping my hair as my head began to throb.
Noxius...
You ran so far...
Yet, you come back to me...
Still...Lament has control over your soul.
Your mother...is Lament...
I am Lament...
My aura began to shift from Rebirth Energy to pure grief, my aura shifting to dark blue with hints of despair. I closed my eyes tightly, every traumatic event from the Fall of Exzodia to the Death of the Fosters and Zachary...till now. I couldn't escape the once force that truly held me back.
Suddenly, a volley of holy bullets began flying toward L'Tenma, forcing her to warp away from me and back toward Leonidas. L'Tenma looked over at the direction the bullets came from, noticing Fleur, Effie, and Luciel storming forward to protect me.
"Here comes the royal court of Lord Nox, Squad V. Here to save a falling Messiah? It's nearly too late for him! He knows the truth, and with deep revelation comes Despair!" L'Tenma proudly boasted, her lips curling into a grin as she watched me slowly crumble.
"C'mon, Nox! You were in this position two years ago! Snap out of it, please!" Fleur called out to me, keeping her Gatling Gauntlet aimed at L'Tenma and Leonidas.
Luciel looked back at me, noticing I didn't have my Sovereign Butterflies with me to help soothe my pain and grievances. Her eyes soon glowed with remembrance as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a Whispering Clover from her pocket and kneeled down next to me.
"Please, Nox...don't fall into grief. Overcome...just as Yesha did," Luciel said softly to me, holding the lavender flower to my ear.
Clover opened her eyes slowly, looking at the Whispering Clover and gasped softly at it, reaching out for it and gently holding Luciel's hand. She hummed sweetly as she began to listen to its soft whispers, the soft flower whispering soft scriptures from The Chronicles.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness...
Come before him with joyful songs...
Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
The Choir Triad II Statues began to crumble, the pieces falling onto the ground and turning into rubble. The girls looked around with worry as they watched the Angel Statues fall apart, Luciel looking down at me and gently grabbing my shoulder.
"Nox..! What's wrong? Why aren't you responding?" Luciel asked, shaking my shoulder and demanding an answer, her tone becoming stressed for the first time in years.
"It's over. Your Messiah has fallen, this truth was one too much for him to handle. He's crumbled completely into his Human Side. Lament has fully grasped his Spirit!" L'Tenma laughed, looking at the four of us with a wicked grin.
I scoffed softly at her statement, letting out a cold laugh and gripping the ground below me with my blood boiling within. My hair slowly began shifting white, glowing lower and reaching to my lower back. "You sound just like my mother...you have her voice... everything about you looks like her..."
"But none of you is her...You...you're a demon using my mother's body..." I chuckled softly, black lightning crackling around my body and my aura shifting darker, seeping into wrathful black and crimson energy.
Luciel grunted heavily as she felt the wrath of my energy, her body physically repelling from mine as she felt my Abyss Energy, my aura having properties of Rebirth Energy yet tainted with pure anger. "N-Nox..?"
I stood up onto my feet, the Scales of God tipping completely to favor Ragnarok, the Dark Lord Sigil manifesting upon the ground and shifting the Main Courtyard into the Boss Room. I manifested my Hateful Thorns, my black chains emerging violently from my lower back.
Clover in return had become more aggressive, her mana blue eyes glowing with a ferocious glare as she began to manipulate the branches of the Tree of Life to enclose the area, preventing escape from both sides.
"In one hour...it will be V.J.I's Last Day. Judgement Day. Nothing will stop me from sanctifying Clover, I will destroy what little legacy you have left here. By God's will...I will exorcize you!" I roared, pointing my chains toward L'Tenma, only targeting her.