Jeremy gasped, spasming as he tried to get away. A golden apple appeared in a shaking hand, shakily raising towards his mouth as his helmet vanished.
Patroclus slapped the apple away, pulling out a dagger and driving it into Jeremy's now exposed throat.
Jeremy's eyes unfocused. Achilles tore his sword free, allowing the dead man to tip backwards, falling heavily to the ground.
Patroclus put a hand on Achilles's arm, pulling him backward. "Stay away from the mist. That's how they trapped you before."
Crimson butterflies filled the air all around them.
Patroclus tensed, raising his dagger threateningly only to hesitate as Achilles laid a hand on his arm.
"Don't." Achilles said. "She's a friend."
The butterflies condensed into a vaguely feminine form. With a flash of light, Medea appeared.
"Matatabi, cover me. Destroy anything that comes near." Medea ordered, eyes fixed on Jeremy's slowly cooling corpse.
Roaring, Matatabi leapt over Medea, stomping crimson armors into dust as they moved to encircle her.
With a distracted flick of Medea's wrist, the earth collapsed beneath another group of armors as they tried to attack Matatabi's flank. Red armors were ground to dust as massive rocks shifted to bury them.
Medea knelt next to Jeremy's body. A wicked dagger shaped like a key appeared in her hand. She raised it up.
"Rule Breaker." she intoned, stabbing the knife into Jeremy's back.
Jeremy's body convulsed, spasming as light filled the area. Slowly, a golden apple covered in gleaming scales oozed from his back. Medea grabbed it and secreted it away in her robe.
Standing, Medea turned to fully face Patroclus, eyes narrowed. "You're coming with me. You're going to tell me everything you know about this attack."
X
A volcanic eruption claimed another shadow creature. A flaming skull sunk into another hulking red armor.
Shang Tsung couldn't fight the grin on his face as he blasted away the attacking creatures with wild abandon.
These insects thought they could attack his home and succeed?
Shang Tsung was delighting in proving them wrong.
Pointed chittering.
Shang Tsung looked up in the direction Mothra indicated. His smile turned positively shining.
A mage slunk through the edges of the mist, slowly creeping towards the wall.
"Another one. How fortuitous." he said.
A droning screech shook the air. Mothra quickly grew to her true size, flapping her wings aggressively.
The mage was blasted forward, unable to fight the current of air created by Mothra's passing. He stumbled right into Shang Tsung's waiting hand.
"Your soul is mine!" Shang Tsung hissed.
The mage screamed, desperately batting against Shang Tsung's grip as his lifestuff was sucked away. His struggles grew weaker until there was nothing but a wrinkled corpse where once had been a powerful mage.
Shang Tsung tossed the body aside, sending it atop the slowly growing pile at his side. Mages, harpies, elementals – this was quite the banquet.
Chiding chittering.
Shang Tsung let out an affronted huff as a rapidly shrinking moth flew down to land atop his head.
"I don't have to say it every time." Shang Tsung acquiesced. "But why should I not?"
Thoughtful fluttering.
"It is not repetitive!" Shang Tsung denied, blasting another harpy with a flaming skull.
Humming insistence.
"Well what would you say?" Shang Tsung demanded, summoning a volcano to engulf an entire line of approaching shadows.
The air was split by a screeching drone, boring through the ears into the mind.
An unlucky mage too far free of the mist clapped her hands over her ears, screaming as blood ran freely from her ears.
"And you call me repetitive!" Shang Tsung said, grabbing the female mage. "Your soul is mine!" Green energy rapidly siphoned from the mage into Shang Tsung. "I mean that's the only battle cry I've heard you give."
Smug shivering.
"It is not better!"
Shang Tsung blasted away another crimson armor, features twisted in irritation.
These fools came to destroy his home. Their souls would be his!
…And his catchphrase wasn't lame!
Fluttering doubt.
X
When Aqua emerged from her keyhole, she was greeted by chaos.
Mist covered the grounds all around the castle, slowly encroaching on the castle itself. Only the enchantments laid into every brick in the castle by Medea kept the mist at bay, blasting bolts of magical energy and gusts of wind to force it back.
On the ground, Medea and Shang Tsung's magical constructs battled with crimson golems, shadow creatures and elementals. Coal and Anankos flew through the sky, scorching harpies with their fire as they passed.
Above the castle, Shiroe and Irene struggled to dispatch mages approaching them from all sides. Balthazar flew around them, Holes rapidly opening around him to fire magical weapons into the harpies that got too close.
Once more, Medea's protections were their only saving grace. Only a pittance of the attacks sent by the enemy mages actually reached the three devils at the top of the castle, requiring them to erect barriers to defend themselves. The vast majority were absorbed by the castle itself either through automatic barriers or shadowy tendrils striking out to catch the hostile magic.
All the while, rainbow bolts of energy fired forth from the castle in all directions, showing no sign of slowing. Entire groups of mages were forced to hold protective barriers up to keep the gem turrets at bay while their comrades advanced.
Aqua couldn't help but feel she should have been faster, but she knew it was vital they sent out the call for help. She and Keno had notified Serafall Leviathan about what was happening. The Satan was currently gathering a force to teleport as close as they could then fly to support once they were here. For now, Aqua had brought what backup she could.
"Ladura! Go to the top of the castle. Protect the mages." Sairaorg issued orders to his peerage, surveying the battlefield around him. "Kuisha, take Misteeta and Corianna and report to Balthazar. Go where he needs you. Regulus, you and I are going to the opposite side of the castle from Matatabi to hold the ground."
The short, golden-haired man grinned, teeth sharpening into fangs. "After you, master."
Sairaorg spared a glance at Aqua, torn between staying with her and joining the fray. "Will you be okay here or…?"
"Go!" Aqua all but shouted.
Sairaorg needed no more encouragement. His peerage all scattered to the four winds, leaving Aqua and Keno alone in the sky.
Keno took a quick look around, frowning as her eyes fixed on Matatabi. "She's alone." Keno said.
Following her gaze, Aqua saw she was right. Bal wouldn't have sent her out there alone. Matatabi and whoever she was fighting with must have gotten separated in the chaos.
"You go back her up." Keno said. "You're more useful on the ground. I'll go join Irene and Shiroe. I'll do my best to cover you guys."
Aqua frowned, not liking having to split up with the vampire, but knowing it was likely the best choice.
Aqua reached out, tightly squeezing Keno's hand. "Stay safe."
Keno nodded seriously before turning around and flying to the top of the castle where Irene and Shiroe were raining spells down on any target they could see.
Aqua watched, waiting until Keno had safely met up with Irene before she dove down towards Matatabi.
As Aqua approached, her body shimmered into twelve identical Aquas. Each of her copies dove towards a different enemy. Aqua cut through red monsters with her keyblade. She blasted shadow creatures apart with light blasts and lightning bolts. She impaled mages with her sword.
One Aqua paused her slaughter long enough to check on Matatabi. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Matatabi spit out the head of one of those red creatures, sending a passing glance at Aqua. "I'm fine. Keep killing them." Matatabi leapt back into the fray.
Keyblade in one hand, sword in the other, shadows gathering around her, Aqua followed Matatabi into the fray.
X
This was awful. Balthazar's home was under attack. The force arrayed against him held the clear intent of killing him.
Why then, could Sairaorg not keep the grin from his face as he dove down to the ground? His friend's life was under threat, yet he was overwhelmed by an all-encompassing excitement that would not fade.
Sairaorg landed with a thundering boom, cratering the ground and crushing an earth elemental into dust beneath his boots.
A challenging feline roar shook the air as the golden form of Regulus landed a short distance away from Sairaorg, tearing a massive animated red armor the size of a truck to the ground. Regulus, swatted the downed monster with his paws, sending chunks of the thing flying in all directions.
Sairaorg looked up, grinning. He was nearly surrounded. Only the castle at his back was free of enemies. The ground exploded as shadows and more red abominations like the one Regulus tore apart charged towards him. Shadowy tendrils rose from the ground to tear them apart. Deadly magical rays rained down over his head to strike the approaching army. By all accounts, it should have been a slaughter. It wasn't.
Somehow, the enemy seemed endless. More and more emerged from the mist slowly creeping over the outer walls of castle Abaddon, uncaring as they watched the entire line in front of them blasted away by the castle's defenses. They charged without fear. Most fell to the same defenses. A scant few made it far enough to be torn apart by Regulus's claws or crushed by Sairaorg's touki-enhanced fists.
The mist began to recede.
Sairaorg's eyebrows furrowed as he crushed another ice elemental. "Regulus!" he called.
The golden lion leapt to his side in a moment. "What is it, master?"
"I don't know. Something's wrong." Sairaorg said, eyes narrowed.
The mist was surrounding the entire castle. Now the grounds were clearing. The mist was rapidly sucked away, pulled back to condense at a single point.
Directly in front of Sairaorg and Regulus.
All at once, the mist surged forward in a line. No longer was it reaching to surround the castle, merely streaming directly forward in a straight path to the castle. A path Sairaorg and Regulus were standing in.
"Move!" Sairaorg ordered. Together, he and Regulus leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the lance-like approach of the mist.
The castle's gem turrets fired an unending stream of bolts into the mist to no effect. Shadow tendrils were scattered to nothing as the mist rolled over them. Moments before the mist reached the wall, a powerful crimson barrier sprung to life, holding the mist inches away from the wall.
"Master!" Regulus roared, leaping in front of Sairaorg to crush a lumbering earth elemental charging out of the mist.
Before, the enemy forces were spread all around the castle as they emerged to fight. Now, a tidal wave once spread to encircle the vast Castle Abbadon spilled forth from one channel directly towards Sairaorg and Regulus.
The gem turrets on the castle walls grew to an unending whine, firing so fast as to appear like lines of energy. Shadow tendrils sprung from the ground between Sairaorg and the approaching forces to slow their advance.
There were just too many of them. The turrets were able to keep up with their numbers when they were spread out. Condensed like this, they were only able to pick off the stragglers at the edge of the group.
Sairaorg fell into a fighting stance, letting out a short breath before stepping into an advancing red armor. He struck once with his fist before spinning to face the next opponent, then the next, then the next. Sariaorg lost himself in a sea of enemies, flowing between strikes, blocks and counters without thought.
A distant part of his mind noticed Matatabi's arrival. She on Sairaorg's left. Regulus to his right.
Aqua descended from the sky moments later. Seven copies of the woman flowing forward to act as distractions, quickly surrounded and destroyed.
The tide was unending. They needed to do something.
"Move!"
Sairaorg leapt backwards as the entire plain in front of him was consumed by fire.
Looking up, Sairaorg saw Balthazar and Irene descending together towards the mist. Balthazar's forehead was creased in concentration. Holes opened all around the condensed field of mist, unleashing fire so hot the air burned with its passing.
At his side, Irene's entire body was aflame. Her lips were pulled back in a fierce snarl. Sairaorg could have sworn he saw red and white scales growing out of the flesh around her eyes. She held her hands forward, blasting continuous streams of fire into the unending tide.
Sairaorg's eyes narrowed. He saw movement behind Balthazar. The mist was slinking up the barrier against the castle wall. The mist condensed. Sairaorg could have sworn he saw a shape moving in the mist.
Sairaorg's eyes widened as a grey shape leapt out of the mist towards Balthazar.
The air screamed in Sairaorg's ears as he leapt off the ground with touki-enhanced strength. He collided with the grey shape in mid-air, moments before it would have grabbed Balthazar from behind.
Sairaorg's weight slammed the figure back through the air. He quickly leaned back, narrowly avoiding the snap of a snake's fangs mere inches from his face.
Sairaorg settled into a defensive stance as he observed his opponent.
A woman in gold, black and green armor floated across from him, a snake's tail extending from her back and two curled horns crowned her head. A goat's head grew from one of her shoulders. A lion's head from the other.
A Sacred Gear. That much was obvious, but it wasn't one Sairaorg recognized.
'I'd know that Sacred Gear anywhere.' Regulus's forlorn voice spoke into Sairaorg's mind through their connection.
Sacred Gears were the leader of Heaven's gift to humans. Only those with human blood could possess them. Though Sairaorg was a devil, he'd cheated the Sacred Gear system by using his Evil Pieces reincarnating Regulus while he was free of the axe. By reincarnating Regulus himself into a devil, Sairaorg had bonded to him, making Sairaorg the lion's bonded Sacred Gear partner. They could communicate much like the White Dragon Emperor could speak to Albion.
'What is it?' Sairaorg asked.
'Tri-Beast Chimera.' Regulus said, a pained fury tainting his words. 'My sister's prison.'
Sairaorg's eyes narrowed. So this woman held the Sacred Gear Chimera was bound to? That was just one more reason to destroy her.
Sairaorg rocketed through the air towards his opponent.
The woman threw her head back and roared, the sound growing to shake the very air.
Sairaorg felt his equilibrium shift unnaturally.
Regulus roared into Sairaorg's mind, steadying him.
'My sister's jailor will not overcome you!' Regulus growled.
Sairaorg grinned as the woman staggered clumsily away from him, surprised her roar hadn't stunned him. She may possess a powerful Sacred Gear, but she was a poor fighter.
Sairaorg landed a punch in her midsection, following up with an elbow to the top of her head when she curled in on herself.
The woman's snake tail struck toward him.
Sairaorg caught it, holding it tight as he spun around hurling the woman back towards the castle.
The woman slammed into the crimson barrier inches from the castle walls.
Sairaorf was on her in a moment.
She struck towards Sairaorg with her fist. Sairaorg easily blocked the clumsy strike, countering with a blow to the woman's helmet where her temple would be.
The woman's head snapped to the side, dazed. Before she could recover, dark tendrils sprung from the castle walls, snapping around her limbs, holding her pinned in place.
Sairaorg's wings shot from his back as he floated away, leaving the woman pinned against the wall.
Sairaorg jolted in shock as another woman materialized from the shadow tendrils of the castle. Medea drifted in front of him, approaching the bound Sacred Gear holder.
The woman struggled futilely against the shadows binding her. Her struggles turned desperate as a dagger appeared in Medea's hand.
"Rule Breaker." Medea said, voice full of fury. She stabbed her dagger down into the armored woman's chest. The dagger passed through the armor like it wasn't there.
The woman screamed. The armor around her body dissolved, revealing the agonized features of a blonde woman with green eyes. Medea tore something from the woman's chest, a small bracelet styled to look like a snake body with one end terminating at a goat's head and the other ending in a lion's head.
The blonde woman went limp. The shadowy bindings released her, letting her body fall meatily to the ground below.
Medea secreted the bracelet away in her cloak as she looked up to meet Sairaorg's eyes.
"Thank you for coming." she said. "Please keep the perimeter secure. The mist will be dealt with shortly."
Medea flew swiftly past him. Aqua jolted in surprise as Medea's arms wrapped around her from behind. The two disappeared in a flash of violet light.
'What just happened?' Regulus asked in Sairaorg's mind. 'For a moment…I felt Chimera's presence.'
'I don't know.' Sairaorg replied, looking in the direction Medea had disappeared with a thoughtful expression on his face. His mind drifted to thoughts of Coal, free to roam the sky when history knew him to be trapped in Perfected State. Medea had taken something from the dead woman, hadn't she?
Sairaorg looked down at the battlefield. Despite the onslaught of the gem turrets and Irene and Balthazar's fire, the tide of red monsters and twisted shadows was unending. Some were still managing to slip through to charge towards the castle.
'We can investigate later.' Sairaorg decided. 'The battle demands our immediate attention.'
Regulus grunted. 'As you say, master.'
Sairaorg rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles before diving back into the fray.
X
Idyia gently rocked the slumbering baby in her arms, humming a gentle lullaby.
She adored children. New life always caused a surge of hope to well in her chest. Nothing would happen to this innocent child while she drew breath. Idyia had retreated to the deepest, most defensible level of her castle with the child, not allowing the babe out of her arms.
That didn't mean she was incapable of fighting.
Beyond the walls of her palace, the deep waters of the lake she'd created churned and roiled with fury.
Foolish water elementals thinking themselves safe from her power were rent apart as Idyia exerted control over their very bodies, shredding them into nothingness.
A contingent of mermaids thought to dive directly towards her castle. The corals buried around her home rapidly grew, extending spines and electrically charged tendrils to capture and drag them down to the razor-sharp corals.
Their screams were too far away to disturb the baby's sleep, but Idyia heard them echo through the water all the same.
Idyia would give their attackers credit. She would not have expected a kraken to make the journey through Hell. What meager respect she had for the kraken making the journey was lost when the foolish monster attempted to best Thetis in the water.
The monsters of old were terrors of the seas. The ocean's daughters prayed to the gods above to grant them swift flight away from the titans of the deep. Oceanids and Nereids alike feared to venture too deep or to certain locations for fear of what dwelled there.
The 'titans of the ocean' in modern days were horribly disappointing. How this kraken could ever compare itself to the likes of Charybdis, of Cero, of Phorcys was insulting to the struggle Idyia and her sisters had to face.
The kraken shrieked in pain as Thetis crushed the water down around it, magnifying the water pressure one-hundred fold. A coral spear flowed up into Thetis's waiting hand. She hurled the spear forward, accelerating it through the water as it lanced towards its target.
The Kraken mewled, falling to the side and drifting downward as the spear punctured its brain.
"I learned that from my son." Thetis said proudly, her voice reaching Idyia through the current they shared. "I taught him to sing one day, and he taught me to throw a spear like the great heroes of old."
"Impressive." Idyia said, an amused smile on her face. "My daughter once taught me to brew a potion capable of keeping your skin forever fair."
"She did? Could you make one for me?"
Idyia chuckled softly. "Once we are done here, it would be my pleasure. Please keep watch for any others foolish enough to strike us."
"I think that's the last of them." Thetis said. "The ones on the surface realized how stupid it is to challenge us and are heading back towards the castle. Should we go help them?"
"You may if you so desire, but I have sworn to protect this child. I will remain here. I have faith in my daughter and her husband." Idyia said calmly.
Thetis hummed doubtfully. "Faith is all well and good, but action is better. I will be heading back. There are others holding back. I will strike them from behind."
"Stay safe." Idyia said.
"You too, Idyia."
The water rippled as Thetis shot through it like a torpedo. A vortex opened in the deep, sucking her away.
Idyai sat in a cushioned chair, still gently rocking the child in her arms, shielding the innocent girl from all that may befall her.
X
Medea clinically listed off information Patroclus had willingly given her detailing the force arrayed against them, eyes far away as she looked through the eyes of many familiars simultaneously. Even with her exceptional multitasking skills, it was giving her a headache.
Each familiar recited her words to the rest of the peerage. All the while, Medea oversaw and, in some cases, manually operated the defenses she had built into her home brick by brick, spread around the castle grounds to defend their home from this invasion.
And invasion was certainly the right word.
Monsters, mages, Sacred Gears, constructs created by a Longinus Sacred Gear, a valkyrie, Gods. What could one call that but an invasion?
Medea was once more alone in the castle throne room. After pulling Aqua back into the castle, she directed Aqua to bring Achilles and Patroclus to the armory with her keyholes to rearm them. She'd need all of them in top form for what she was about to attempt.
Medea thought the unending tide of disposable magical constructs was strange. Patroclus had explained exactly what allowed their enemies to have an endless army.
A young boy sat safely sheltered within a pocket dimension created by Dimension Lost. That boy was using Annihilation Maker to create an infinite army that Boreas was hoping to use to whittle down their defenses.
Medea would be insulted at the clumsy attempt to defeat them if she wasn't so murderously angry. How dare they strike her in her home?
She was newly married. She should be lying in bed, sheltered by the homely embrace of her husband. She should be enjoying the passion of his love. But these worms thought to take that joy from her.
She would enjoy ripping each and every one of them apart. She would delight in tearing that irritating Sacred Gear out of the bastard who currently held it.
Medea blinked, staggering slightly as she finished relaying information through a dozen familiars at once. It was a touch disorienting, even for a witch as skilled as her.
She spent a moment catching her breath.
Medea hesitated to say anything good had come of this battle, especially while the battle still raged fiercely outside, but Medea couldn't help but want to thank Boreas for bringing so many delicious Sacred Gears to her doorstep.
A keyhole appeared in the space in front of Medea. Aqua, Patroclus and Achilles stepped through it. The two Greek warriors were rearmed. The weapons were not tailor-made for them as the spear Achilles had left in Dimension Lost was, but Medea would have time to make true replacements when their enemies all lay dead.
Nodding with satisfaction at seeing Patroclus and Achilles prepared for combat, Medea touched a gem in the wall, delighting as, through her familiar's eyes, she watched as Kuisha Abaddon was violently pulled through a magical teleportation trap, unable to defend herself in time.
"I apologize for the unwelcome transit." Medea said as the Queen of Sairaorg's peerage appeared in the throne room with her. Shiroe and Keno followed a moment later, looking supremely confused, but not nearly as uncomfortable as Kuisha. They had both traveled through the castle's gem network before.
Medea held Kuisha's arm steadyingly, letting the woman get her bearings. "I require your help."
Kuisha swallowed, staring pointedly at the floor for a second while she collected herself. "What do you need?" Kuisha said, straightening.
"I'm sure you heard everything I said to Keno and Shiroe? I plan to tip the scales of this battle in our favor. To do so, I will need to step onto the field personally. I would like you to remain here and coordinate our defense in my stead. Shiroe will help you view the castle's automated scrying defenses. He can assist you however you need."
"What do you plan to do?" Kuisha asked.
Medea's lips thinned into a line. "Eliminate the only individuals that can cause us problems."
Medea clenched her fist, calling another wave of skeletons and Shang Tsung's animated armors up from the defensive tunnels below, a final act to make Kuisha's task easier until Medea was able to return.
She still had plenty of skeletons in reserve beneath the castle, but they were running out of armors. Annihilation Maker's infinite army was proving to be a problem, one she intended to deal with promptly.
Medea reached up to her shoulder, channeling magic into the spectral green thrush familiar sitting perched on her shoulder.
"Circe," Medea said. "I need you to deal with Khione. Irene can't rain fire while that bitch is still on the field. I trust you are more than enough to put her in her place. With Coal and Anankos, you should have no issue even if she has surprises for you."
"I'm already searching for her." Circe said through the bird. "The mist is making things difficult."
"The mist should not be a factor for much longer." Medea assured her aunt. "Be ready to move when it falls."
Learning that Khione, the Greek Goddess of Snow, Daughter of Boreas, had joined her father in his foolish bid for revenge for Runa's death had surprised Medea, but not nearly so much as it infuriated her. One god was not enough? Boreas had to bring his daughter with him?
During his explanation, Patroclus told Medea that Khione seemed genuinely hurt by her half-sister's death and desired revenge.
Medea could not care less. Runa had attempted to harm what she was building with Balthazar, so Medea had removed Runa. Khione and Boreas were now attempting to destroy what she and Balthazar had built. God or not, both of them would fall today. Medea would not allow them to escape.
Medea turned her back on Kuisha. Shiroe was already conjuring screens in front of her. Medea had faith Kuisha could manage until she returned. Medea did not expect her task to take long.
"Achilles, Aqua, Keno, Patroclus, you will all accompany me." Medea said.
"Accompany you where?" Patroclus said, watching her with caution.
Medea met his gaze easily. "You said you have been to the realm within Dimension Lost where Dimension Lost's holder and Annihilation Maker's holder are currently hiding, correct?"
Patroclus slowly nodded. "Cao Cao held me back as reinforcements with Perseus in case anyone needed help. I convinced them to let me fight Achilles so I could get him out of there."
Medea grinned evilly. "Good. Using you as a guide, Aqua will be able to open a breach into that pocket dimension. We will strike them hard and fast. They think they are unassailable in their Sacred Gear's power. They will not expect an attack. Annihilation Maker and Dimension Lost are our priority, but do all you can to eliminate True Longinus as well."
"Wait, how do you plan to get there?" Patroclus asked, confused. "Dimension Lost is the single strongest barrier Sacred Gear in existence, perhaps even the greatest barrier ability. It can't be breached."
"Aqua will handle that." Medea said dismissively. "Will you be willing to strike down the men you joined to attack my castle, or should I leave you behind?" Medea asked, eyes dangerous.
Achilles moved to step in front of Patroclus. Patroclus put a hand on Achilles's shoulder, stopping him. He didn't break eye contact with Medea.
"I joined them because they said they could get me to Hell. I didn't have the means to transport myself here. When I learned they planned to attack you, I stayed with them so I could sabotage them. They wouldn't have let me go to warn you, so I waited for a chance to help. They are not my comrades, certainly not my friends." Patroclus finally broke eye contact to look at Achilles. "If Achilles is with you, then I am too."
Medea's serious expression broke. A soft smile graced her features. "Good. Is everyone ready?"
"One second!" Keno said, frantically swiping through screens on her phone. Medea watched, intrigued as a short two-second video played. Keno shut her phone off and put it away in her robes. "Ready."
"Are you sure we should only take the five of us?" Aqua asked.
"We will kill them quickly before they can react." Medea explained. "Patroclus, you will take Dimension Lost. Achilles, you will take Annihilation Maker. Aqua, you will strike True Longinus. Keno, you will be there to support the others in case something goes wrong. Any further questions? The longer we wait, the longer our allies outside must battle Annihilation Maker's monsters."
"What about Perseus?" Patroclus asked. "He's probably back there with them."
Medea smiled, baring her teeth. "Leave him to me."
Patroclus regarded her warily before turning to Achilles. "Dimension Lost has black hair, glasses and is wearing a red coat." Turning to Aqua, he said, "True Longinus also has black hair. No glasses. He's wearing a black coat."
Medea nodded. "Thank you. If there are no further questions or comments, it is up to you, Aqua."
Aqua stepped up next to Patroclus, reaching up to rest a hand on his shoulder. Her Keyblade appeared in her other hand. Aqua closed her eyes, lifting her Keyblade out in front of her.
"The moment I open this, they'll start to realize they're under attack. Everyone move fast." Aqua warned. "Opening in five…four…three…two…one… Now!"
Achilles and Patroclus were through the Keyhole the instant it was finished forming. Aqua, Keno and Medea scrambled through to catch up with them.
"What!" a black-haired young man yelled, surprise and a faint trace of fear on his face as five devils suddenly appeared in his haven.
Achilles's spear was already driven through the heart of a man in a red coat.
Patroclus's spear was driven through the throat of a smaller male with white hair.
Both were already dead, held upright only by the spears impaling them.
"You–" the third man started to say, freezing in place as Keno held out a hand, a slowly turning green magic circle alight in front of her.
"Now, Aqua!" Keno demanded.
Aqua was already moving. Her sword stabbed up through the man's jaw, into his brain and out through the top of his head. When Keno lowered her hand, the man's limbs turned to jelly as he collapsed onto Aqua's sword.
Medea grinned, watching in glee as the dark space around them slowly unravelled. Amethyst mist faded to nothing. Their feet came to rest on green grass. Castle Abaddon stood strong, unassailable a short distance away.
The mist had vanished. The entire field around the castle was clearly visible once more. Without Dimension Lost, the mist could not sustain itself.
Hulking red constructs crumbled into nothing. Mishappen shadow creatures faded away. Without Annihilation Maker, they were unravelling.
Medea delighted in the shocked cries and screams of the now visible mages, elementals and harpies as, all at once, the beautiful gem turrets she'd lovingly built into her home cut down the fools who thought to attack her castle.
The mages were quickly realizing they'd lost the two things keeping them alive, their only chances of victory. Teleportation circles began to expand out beneath them only to fizzle and die.
Medea laughed evilly.
The fools were able to enter her wards because of the power of Dimension Lost. Without it, they were trapped, unable to flee as the castle's defenses tore them apart. They tried to take Medea's home. They came to kill her and her husband.
None of them would leave alive.
"Protect me for a moment, then feel free to take your retribution on those who sought our end. I know I certainly will." Medea said cheerfully, finally turning her attention to the struggling, brown-haired man trapped in a veritable sea of red threads.
Medea flexed her fingers and the wires constricting Perseus tightened.
He let out a pained grunt, opening his mouth to speak only for Medea to fill it with more thread.
"Hush now, cousin." Medea said gently, kneeling next to his bound form and running a hand through his hair. "I'm sure they filled your head with so many lies. Don't worry." In a flash of pearl-colored light, a silver box appeared in her hand. Medea retrieved a rusted nail from the box.
"I'm going to help."
Medea pricked the nail into Perseus's forehead.
Instantly, Perseus's struggles ceased. He went lax in Medea's wires.
Slowly, the wires of red energy unwound freeing Perseus.
The reincarnated demigod groaned, pressing a hand against his forehead. Slowly, he made his way to his feet.
"Thank you, cousin." Perseus said, shaking his head clear. "I feel like I can finally think clearly again."
"Anything for family." Medea said sweetly, dropping the nail into her box before it vanished in a flash. "Now, about your brother…"
Perseus frowned, turning up to glare at the sky. "Heracles," he hissed. "Where is he?"
Medea laid a comforting hand on Perseus's shoulder. "Leave him to me, cousin. You go with Achilles. He'll need your help."
Perseus nodded easily. "Tear Heracles's arms off for me." He turned to Achilles, an excited smile on his face. "Well, cousin, what's the play?"
Achilles watched Perseus, sceptical. He looked questioningly at Medea over his shoulder.
Medea smiled and motioned to the carnage of the battlefield. "Go have fun, little cousin."
Achilles grinned, looking between Perseus and Patroclus. "Follow me." he said, turning to dive into the fray.
"Keno, Aqua, a moment before you join them. Please cover me while I finish one last task." Medea said, speaking so calmly no one would be able to tell dozens of mages were being slaughtered on the field around her.
Keno and Aqua watched as Rule Breaker appeared in Medea's hand. She walked towards the three corpses of three humans who had brought Longinus Sacred Gears to bear against her home.
At least they brought wonderful gifts as compensation for their insults.
Rule Breaker fell three times. Medea Pocketed a shifting orb of amethyst mist and a small red construct not unlike an action figure.
The spear was a different story. Medea hissed, snatching her hand back as she attempted to lift it. Aqua and Keno leaned away from its holy light.
Medea produced a dark cloth that magically expanded out to cover the spear. Its light safely contained, Medea lifted it up.
"I'm finished." Medea said happily. "Be sure to enjoy yourselves!" Medea disappeared in a scattering of crimson butterflies. The dying screams of the fools who attacked her home was music to her ears.
X
"There!" Circe called.
Drifting high among frozen clouds, no longer shielded from Circe's scrying by Dimension Lost, a woman with skin and hair pale as bone wearing a dress made of pure snow, Khione Goddess of Snow, hastily flew back, fleeing as two dragons and an angry goddess flew towards her.
A blizzard was conjured in their path. Blankets of snow and ice tore through the air towards them to slow them down.
Together, Coal and Anankos opened their mouths. Mighty fire poured forth to meet the torrential snow. Superheated steam hissed as the snow immediately evaporated on contact with dragonfire. A light mist spread through the air. Unlike the mist created by Dimension Lost, Khione wasn't able to hide in this mist.
Khione kept flying up, frantically looking around, trying to find anything that could help her face the two dragons hot on her heels.
"Surrendur and I will spare you!" Circe called up.
Khione stopped, spinning around. Khione's features were twisted in fury as she spat downward. "You ally with the bastards that took my sister from me. I will not yield!"
Circe's expression hardened. "Then you leave me no choice. You tried to kill my niece. A single chance is all I will offer."
Khione laughed, throwing her arms wide. The sky turned white as snow and ice swirled into a vortex. "That whore is the cause of all of this! Had she stayed dead where she belonged, all would be well in the world!"
Circe's lips thinned into a hard line, firming with her resolve to destroy this weak goddess.
Khione thrust her hands forward. It seemed as if the sky was falling. A blanket of white fell down from the heavens, glacial daggers hidden in the powder.
Coal and Anankos unleashed their flame once more.
The snow began to melt only to harden once more. Khione was actively maintaining the effect with her power. They wouldn't overcome it before it was upon them.
Coal coiled through the air, snapping himself into the air over Anankos and Circe, covering them.
"Go, son!" Coal shouted, snarling in agony as he absorbed the full impact of the goddess's fury into his body. Coal began to fall, carried downward by the snowy blanket of death Khione had summoned. "Make your dad proud!" Coal called upward, voice shaky with pain as he began to regenerate from the severe wounds Khione inflicted upon him.
Khione's eyes widened as Anankos and Circe rapidly closed the distance to her. The goddess had expected her attack to be far more effective.
Rapidly conjured spears of ice were easily absorbed by Circe's magical shields as they closed in on Khione.
Khione turned and tried to flee, summoning the winds to hasten her escape. Khione shrieked in shock and fear as her command of the winds was stripped from her.
Watching with cold eyes, Circe commanded the winds to pull Khione into Anankos's waiting jaws.
Anankos's jaws closed with a sickening snap.
Khione screamed, her single free limb, her arm thrashing wildly as she struggled in Anankos's teeth, only succeeding in worsening her injuries.
Circe affectionately ran her hand over Anankos's neck. "Well done, my son." she said, drifting up into the air off his back. Circe lazily flew up to Anankos's head.
Khione's thrashing was growing weaker. Golden ichor spilled from innumerable wounds across her body like a waterfall, spilling out of Anankos's mouth into the open air below.
"Hush," Circe said, laying a hand on Khione's head, running it comfortingly through the snow goddess's frigid white hair. "Breath. You are not dead yet."
Khione sucked in a gargling breath. Hacking as she slowly exhaled.
Circe smiled, producing an empty vial from her robes. "Just like that. Keep going."
Khione's features, already convulsing in agony, twisted in panic. She tried to inhale, but she couldn't. An unseen pressure on her lungs forced her to continue to exhale, expelling air she did not possess. It was as if an unseen smith worked her lungs like a bellows, refusing to permit her to draw a breath inward.
"That's it." Circe said, voice kind, eyes cold. A near-transparent stream of white energy flowed from Khione's mouth through the air into the empty bottle in Circe's hand. "You're almost there."
Khione smacked weakly at Anankos's adamantine snout with her free hand, still exhaling. Her arm went limp. The glowing blue light hidden in her eyes died. The stream of energy stopped.
Circe collected the last of the stream and stoppered the bottle, secreting it into her robes. She laid a hand on Khione's forehead. "You acted foolishly and paid the cost. I did not desire this outcome." Circe carefully closed Khione's eyes.
Anankos growled low in his throat, verbalizing a question in his way.
Circe shook her head. "Take her body below. Either the earth will claim it, or Medea will. I care not."
Anankos grumbled an affirmative. His wings pulled close to his body as he entered a dive, falling away from her.
Circe sighed, turning to stare out over the horizon. She came here to escape conflict, yet it seemed to have followed her.
Circe was not a warrior. She was comfortable in her home with her loom and her elixirs and her meager concerns. She'd rather not fight at all.
Circe's eyes hardened.
If she was to fight, she would much rather fight for those she cared for than for the orders of an uncaring god in the sky who'd never lived as she had, who held no hope of understanding her life and desires.
Circe turned around, taking in the battle below. If she was needed, she would step in once more, but she did not enjoy combat. She would refrain if her presence was unnecessary.
X
Sairaorg was blasted backwards.
He righted himself quickly, barely in time to deflect another punch. Where his hand made contact with his attacker's arm, a spark grew into an explosion, sensing him hurling away.
"You devils irritate me." The gray-haired man growled, body illuminated with an orange glow. "You steal our best and brightest and keep them as pets. What do you see when you look at me, devil? Do you see a demigod, the son of Zeus himself? Or do you see a toy to claim?"
Sairaorg raised his fists into a ready stance. "I see an insecure oaf seeking validation from his enemy."
Sairaorg dashed across the ground, landing three strikes before the brute was prepared.
Everywhere Sairaorg touched him, his fists were blasted away.
Variant Detonation. A less-common, though still well-documented, Sacred Gear. Sairaorg couldn't touch his opponent without suffering the force of an explosion wherever his fists made contact with his opponent's flesh.
Sairaorg was blasted away by a larger explosion than before. He kept his feet, skidding to a stop. Smoke drifted off his touki-enhanced shoulders.
Sairaorg frowned. This was a very bad match up for him. Heracles, reincarnated son of Zeus, stood across from him. That alone demanded Sairaorg's respect. With Variant Detonation to boot, Sairaorg was in a tough position. Sairaorg specialized in hand-to-hand combat, and this guy hurt him every time Sairaorg touched him.
Looks like he had to get serious.
"Regu–"
Sairaorg's call was interrupted by a flash of violet light behind his opponent.
The gray-haired man choked, reaching down to grasp the tip of a wicked dagger poking through his chest.
Crimson butterflies slowly fluttered away behind him, revealing Medea's sinister smirk.
"To think one so weak as you dares to liken himself to he who bears the curse of the God Hand. You are not Heracles, merely a pretender with a paltry trick. A trick that is now mine. Rule Breaker."
The man screamed. Orange light gathered around his chest, condensing into a ball of flame. Medea ripped the flame free and the man fell in a tumble of useless, lifeless limbs.
Medea nodded respectfully. "I apologize for stealing your opponent from you, Sairaorg, but I had an obligation to fulfill. Thank you again for coming. I believe I know how to repay you once this mess is cleaned up. I will see you when this is over."
Medea scattered into butterflies.
Sairaorg blinked, not quite sure how to respond to the rapid sequence of events he'd just witnessed. He'd been preparing to bring his full strength to bear only for his opponent to be killed as an afterthought by Medea.
He shrugged. When in doubt, more punching.
With a roar, Sairaorg dove back into the fray.
X
Irene breathed deeply, attempting to reign in her fury.
The mist was gone. The unending tide of shadow creatures and red armored golems had ceased. The castle's defences were making quick work of the harpies, elementals and mages trying in vain to flee. She didn't need to fight anymore.
If only it was so easy for her to cool down.
Irene grit her teeth, features twisted in concentration as she resisted every instinct she had, all screaming at her to unleash her true self. The scales on her face were spreading down her neck and across her chest. All she needed to do was let go.
No!
Irene snarled, forcing the scales to recede.
She was a human. Well, a devil, but a devil with a human body.
She was one of the most powerful magic users alive in the world she came from. Here, in her new world, she was not among the strongest as she was before, but she was so close to the top as to be within arms reach. She didn't need the curse she'd lived with for centuries to grow beyond her limits. She could do that alone.
"Attack!"
Irene's head snapped to the side. An animalistic growl slipped through her lips as she snarled.
A crimson magical circle appeared before her hand, absorbing a torrent of spells. As the attacks tapered off, Irene let her shield fall, turning to fully face those who'd tried to kill her.
A gathering of mages huddled together. Two of them concentrated together to hold a shield, defending the others from the onslaught of the castle's defenses. Three others stood in a loose triangle, staring down Irene. The two in the back were quivering in fear. Irene ignored them. The woman in the lead was different. She only looked angry.
The leader, a woman with short dark hair in a frilly purple dress stepped forward. "I've really had enough of this." the woman said. "Lower the wards and let us leave. Your fight is with Boreas, not us. Allow us to go, and I will take all of my mages with me."
Irene's eyes narrowed. She blinked. When her eyes opened, her pupils were slitted like a snake. "You think you can attack us and simply leave? You think I will let you go after you threaten the home of my daughter?"
The woman closed her fists. Purple fire swam up and down her arms, snaking up off of her shoulder in a dazzling display. "Let us go and I'll spare your life. You can't beat me, Irene."
"Don't speak my name." Irene cried, voice distorted, deeper.
The woman sighed. "Maybe once you fall, the others will see the benefit of accepting my generous offer." The woman raised her hand.
Violet fire streaked through the air in the form of an arrow.
Irene raised a shield in front of the arrow, already preparing to counterattack. Irene's eyes widened in shock as the arrow cut through her shields as if they weren't there. Irene was too close to dodge, barely managing to shift to the side so the arrow pierced her shoulder instead of her heart.
Irene screamed. Pain burned at her from within. Every place the arrow touched felt as if it was submerged in plasma.
Her skin, her bones, her muscles.
Everything burned.
The woman shook her head, stalking forward. "You should have been reasonable, Irene." She raised her hand and fired another arrow.
The arrow sank into Irene's stomach. Irene threw her head back and screamed. The high-pitched scream of pain dragged on, distorting.
The woman stopped, taking an unconscious step backwards as Irene's neck lengthened. Irene's clothes tore away as her muscles swelled. Red and white scales grew out of her skin like armor. Her teeth sharpened into fangs. Her face stretched unnaturally.
Irene's scream turned to a deadly roar of rage. Irene's body slammed into the ground. Standing on four legs with two massive wings spread wide behind her, Irene glared murderously at the tiny woman in front of her.
The woman's eyes were wide, full of fear. She staggered backwards. The mages that were with her had already turned and ran, terrified as they now faced a massive, powerful, pissed off dragon.
Three of them were shot down by the castle's gem turrets. The other two were consumed by the earth and crushed.
The woman beneath her swallowed loudly. "Irene, we can discuss this civilly. I am Walburga, Leader of Hexennacht. If you let me go my organization will–"
Irene roared, a cone of fire enhanced by Irene's magic filled the air.
Walburga hastily erected barriers layered atop one another. Barrier after barrier shattered as the flame grew ever closer.
"Please, Irene!" Walburga cried. "We can–"
The ground beneath Walbugra's feet glowed orange. A spell circle fired a small bolt of flame up from beneath her.
Walburga's head snapped backward as the firebolt struck her beneath the chin. As her focus was broken, her barriers all vanished.
Walburga screamed as she was burned alive by Irene's fire.
Irene cut off her roar with a hiss of pain. Her shoulder and stomach still burned. Whatever Walburga hit her with was still affecting her. It almost felt like a disease rapidly spreading through her system. She didn't know what to do. She had to…
A small moth fluttered down from the sky, landing daintily on Irene's snout.
A chittering of concern.
Irene huffed. "It still hurts. Can you help me?"
A song of eager affirmation.
Mothra's wings flapped lopsidedly as she descended, landing lower on Irene's body. She skittered up to the burn in Irene's shoulder and shook her wings.
Irene closed her eyes, sighing contentedly as blue scales fell over her wound. The pain was soothed away. The spreading burn dulled to a rapidly disappearing ache.
"Thank you." Irene said.
Fluttering acknowledgement. Chittering praise.
Irene frowned, unused to being complimented on her draconic appearance, the curse that held her trapped for centuries. Mothra thought she was beautiful.
"Thank you." Irene said softly.
Irene felt a pulse of magic. Her head snapped up. She relaxed as she saw Medea appear in front of her, already kneeling over Walburga's well-charred corpse.
"Are you alright, Irene?" Medea asked.
"I'm fine now." Irene said, voice deep and rumbly. "Mothra fixed whatever the mage did."
"You were struck by Incinerate Anthem." Medea explained. "It is exceptionally dangerous to devils. I was moments from coming to assist you when I saw you had things handled. A moment please." A dagger appeared in Medea's hand. "Rule Breaker." she intoned, stabbing down into Walburga's body. The ash fell away from the dagger.
Medea withdrew, smiling as she held an ember of violet fire pinched in her hand.
Medea turned back to Irene. "There are a scant few mages and harpies that managed to escape the radius of the gem turrets in the chaos of Dimension Lost disappearing. I have familiars tracking them. Would you like to go after them, or should I send someone else?"
Irene grinned, a long suppressed feral instinct rising to the surface. "Tell me where they are."
Irene was going to hunt.
X
The moment the mist fell, chaos descended upon the battlefield. Ladura and Coriana surveyed the battlefield from above. Coriana had stopped casting spells, leaving the castle's defenses to destroy the enemy force. The castle was quickly working its way through what was left of the invading force. Medea's defenses were impressive.
"Nooo!" a furious shriek split the air.
"Coriana!" Ladura shouted, shoving the Bishop aside.
A spearpoint sunk into Ladura's chest. He braced himself, holding the shaft of the spear and pushing it back lest the weapon impale him fully.
A woman with hair the color of a hawk's feathers glared hatefully down at him, eyes manic.
"Where is he!" the woman screeched. "Where is the bastard that killed my daughter? I will–"
Ladura roared, muscles bulging. Scales grew from his skin. Great wings and a tail grew from his back. Still growing into his dragon form, he swatted the woman away.
She was sent careening downward, barely able to catch herself on large, falcon-like wings before she hit the ground.
Before she could get her bearings, Sairaorg was on her, punching and kicking, not giving her any room to breathe.
Golden energy exploded in a shockwave around the woman, blasting Sairaorg back. Shining runes glowed bright on her shield as she straightened, wings spread wide behind her. Beams of energy shot from the castle to attack her. Each was absorbed by a corona of golden energy. The woman paid no mind to the castle's defenses as she faced down Sairaorg.
"Come!" she challenged. "I am Hildr of the Valkyries. I will slay each and every one of you devils and fashion a throne from your bones!"
Ladura roared, diving down towards the valkyrie from behind as Sairaorg charged her from the front.
Hildr tucked her wings around her into a cocoon and spun, rapidly accelerating. Golden ribbons of energy extended away from her, rotating and quickly picking up speed.
One of the ribbons caught Ladura under his draconic jaw, snapping his head backwards and sending him careening into the ground, dazed.
Sairaorg weaved through the ribbons, smacking several away with his forearm as he leapt towards Hildr.
Hildr's wings flared wide. She held her shield up towards Sairaorg. Golden energy gathered and exploded.
Sairaorg was blasted back with such force he thundered away, cratering the ground and digging a long trench before his momentum finally gave out. Sairaorg was slow to stagger to his feet.
Hildr dove towards Sairaorg, spear seeking his heart.
A titanic bronze serpent struck her from the side. The creature's fangs shattered against the golden protection around Hildr, but it was sufficient to knock her off course, forcing her to right herself in midair to face her new opponent.
Hildr froze, jaw falling open in disbelief. "Runa…?" she said, breathless.
Silver hair danced lightly in the wind. Ornate armor hugged a curved figure. Runa Boreasdottir slowly approached Hildr, hands held up placatingly. "Mother please," she said. "It's alright."
Hildr's features twisted in fury. Golden energy condensed into several small points around her. "You dare!" Hildr screeched. Seven beams of pure magic fired from the points around her, all aimed directly towards Runa.
Runa grinned, features twisting into those of Balthazar Abaddon. An instant before Hildr's attack would have struck, the figure stepped back into a Hole.
Hildr gasped as a cold hand closed around her throat from behind. She spun, intending to send an elbow into the sternum of whoever attacked her. She found she couldn't move. Her eyes were frantic, scanning the entire battlefield for what kept her still.
A short distance away, a small woman with red eyes glared hatefully at Hildr, hand held up to maintain a slowly rotating spell circle in front of her.
"Rest well," the man with Balthazar's face said as green energy slowly flowed around him, reverting Shang Tsung to his true appearance. "Die knowing you have reunited with your daughter."
Frozen though she was, a scream still tore free of Hildr's unmoving lips as Shang Tsung sucked something out of her. She couldn't resist, trapped in Keno's spell, forced to weather Shang Tsung's assault with no defense.
Hildr's muscles atrophied. Boils grew on her skin as it lost its color and sagged. Hildr's eyes lost their light as one final, quiet gasp slipped past her lips.
Shang Tsung released Hildr's throat at the same moment Keno released the woman from her petrification.
Hildr fell, limbs tumbling unnaturally through the air to splat on the ground below.
Shang Tsung turned, looking down at the crater Sairaorg left when Hildr struck him. "Is he alright?"
A fluttering affirmation.
Sairaorg was standing up, dusting himself off. On his shoulder, a small moth shed glowing blue scales over the worst of his injuries. Sairaorg was rapidly healing like one would expect from Coal.
The sky darkened.
Frowning, Shang Tsung looked over his shoulder. His eyes widened. Green energy flashed around him. He was half-way to assuming Balthazar's face and powers when the attack struck.
Shang Tsung screamed, sent flying backwards as a powerful lightning bolt took him in the side. Shang Tsung didn't even register when he hit the ground. His entire world was pain.
Far away, Shang Tsung heard Sairaorg rushing towards him only to be flung aside by winds so powerful as to create a hurricane.
The ground shook as a massive form landed above Shang Tsung, looming dangerously over him.
"You," Boreas, God of the North Wind, growled. "You will suffer for what you have done."
Boreas raised his arms. Power gathered above the god. Lightning condensed, crackling between the god's fingers.
Shang Tsung tried to complete shifting into Balthazar. He tried to erect a barrier to defend himself. He couldn't. He could only weakly struggle to raise his hand.
Boreas thrust his arms down.
Shang Tsung's eyes were shut tight. A massive boom shook the air. The ground quacked with Boreas's fury.
Shang Tsung hesitantly opened his eyes. He lay on the ground at Sairaorg's feet. A hundred meters away, Boreas stood before a smoldering crater, glaring towards him hatefully.
Mothra fell from Sairaorg's shoulder to land heavily on Shang Tsung's chest.
A pained song of concern.
Shang Tsung sighed as a heavenly feeling spread from his chest throughout his body. Azure scales rained from Mothra's wings down upon him as the small moth frantically fluttered her wings.
"Sai, please watch over my Pawn while he heals." Balthazar Abaddon said, stepping in front of Shang Tsung protectively, placing himself between the wounded Pawn and the furious god.
"I can help you fight." Sairaorg said simply, watching Boreas with narrowed eyes.
"I know." Balthazar said. In a flash of violet light, a long staff appeared in Balthazar's hand. Balthazar slammed the end of the staff into the ground.
Laying flat on the soil as Shang Tsung was, he felt the ground itself respond to Balthazar's presence.
"But this is personal." Balthazar said, voice turning into a growl.
"Personal?" Boreas cried. "You took my daughter, Balthazar!" Lightning crackled around Boreas. The winds howled as the god slowly levitated into the air. "I will have my vengeance in blood. Martin, now!"
The air shimmered and a man in dark robes appeared. He hefted a brass staff and directed it at Balthazar.
Glowing golden lines of magical energy snaked up Balthatazr's legs, moving to encircle his waist when they shattered.
Boreas's eyes widened as he stared in disbelief.
The man in the robes staggered backwards, mouth opening and closing uncomprehendingly. He gasped as a long silver blade punched through his chest. Aqua stepped out of his shadow, kicking his body away to let it fall dead to the ground.
Balthazar raised an eyebrow at Boreas. "Was that supposed to do something?"
X
"Was that supposed to do something?" I asked, more disappointed than anything else. This bastard brought an army to my home with the intention to kill me and everyone I care about, and this was all he managed?
I'd be insulted if I wasn't so grateful he was an arrogant idiot. Had he been competent, we might have had a harder time dealing with the attack. As it was, he was the only one left.
Boreas stared in dumbfounded shock, mouth slowly opening and closing. I didn't know it was possible for gods to be flabbergasted, but here we were.
"No," Boreas said in a confused whisper. "No. This isn't… No!"
Power erupted from Boreas's body. The icy clouds above, left behind by Khione to slowly dissipate, thickened and darkened. A mighty wind roared over the grass.
"You will die, Balthazar! I will ensure it!" Boreas called. The sky rumbled above.
I'd had enough of this.
I hefted my staff, sighing as I felt it empowering me. Holes opened all around, filling the sky like hailstones. You couldn't move two feet without falling through one. Fire spilled into the air, roaring into a raging inferno that turned the sky orange. Spears, daggers, swords, axes – all manner of enchanted weapons sailed through the blaze to strike Boreas.
Boreas roared in fury. The flame was burning him, but he was far more resistant than the underlings he'd brought. The spears and daggers that managed to get through the tumultuous winds around him without sailing haphazardly off-course struck him with the force of a ballista, but they still only scraped his skin, leaving minor facts and abrasions. The god was much tougher than those I'd fought in the past.
Boreas threw his arms above his head and roared. The clouds above crackled with electric power. At Boreas's command, lightning thundered down from the sky towards me.
I stepped back through a Hole, appearing opposite Boreas, I needn't have bothered.
Boreas's features twisted in fury as the crimson barrier around the castle stretched upward, intercepting each bolt as they rained down.
Medea's voice reached into my head. 'I will protect you. Kill this bastard.'
I grinned. How could I disappoint my dear wife?
I floated through the air over Boreas, watching as his eyes tracked me. He tried to call more lightning down on my head, but Medea's shields took the strikes.
Seeing his attacks were ineffective, Boreas switched tactics, sending blades of sharpened wind towards me as he flew up into the air after me.
I opened Holes in front of each attack, harmlessly sending them away. What few I missed were swallowed by shadows or stopped cold by crimson barriers as Medea covered me.
I continued leading Boreas back and away from the castle. All the while, my Holes roasted him alive with elemental fire. His skin was beginning to char.
Roaring in pain and fury, Boreas exploded towards me on a gust of wind, hands clasping towards my throat.
I smiled, stepping back through a Hole. I appeared atop my castle and looked up at Boreas. I had brought him close to the edge of the castle's protections as I was leading him away. Maybe he thought I was making a mistake and was trying to get me further away from my peerage. I hadn't made a mistake. I just didn't want to ruin my lawn.
Five Holes appeared around Boreas, rapidly expanding to the size of a truck.
Five Tailed Beast Bombs erupted from the Holes, moving towards Boreas from all sides.
Boreas exploded upwards on a gust of wind. He managed to dodge three of the blasts. He was too close to avoid them all.
An explosion rocked the air as two of the Tailed Beast Bombs connected. The clouds were scattered. Blades of grass were buffeted so violently by the shockwaves and furious wind that they tore free of the ground.
Boreas's body was sent sailing down to the ground, leaving contrails in his wake. The god was visibly injured now. Golden ichor dripped from many wounds covering his body. I didn't know it was possible for divine entities to bruise, but Boreas's flesh was covered in discolorations, one taking up the entire right side of his chest.
Boreas slowly rose from the crater, panting painfully, glaring murder at me. "Next time, you fall, Balthazar."
My eyes narrowed as he summoned a cloud of vapor around himself. Like hell was I letting this bastard get away. Dozens of Holes opened around Boreas, burning away the water vapor with flame.
Medea seemed to share my sentiment.
Massive shadowy tendrils exploded out of the ground all around him, batting him around like a pinball, sending him tumbling away. Violet skeletons crawled free from the soil, charging towards Boreas with glowing spears and hammers.
Boreas snarled, sundering nearby skeletons with blades of wind and shocks of lightning that bounded between the skeletons.
I watched Boreas flounder from atop my castle. The staff in my hand lengthened, morphing into a golden-tipped spear.
With a roar, Boreas slammed both his fists down atop a larger skeleton, crushing it.
I stepped through a Hole.
Boreas gasped, arcing his back to look up at the heavens. Slowly, he looked down at the golden point of my spear pierced through his chest. Numbly, he reached up, incomprehending as he tried to pull on the spear.
I stepped back, tearing the spear out of his chest.
Spasming, Boreas fell backwards. He started to seize. Golden blood sprayed all around.
There was a massive, gaping hole in his sternum the size of a baseball. Dark, diseased lines grew along the edges of the wound, rapidly expanding outwards. As the disease spread, Boreas's flesh began to rot and crumble out in a ripple.
Boreas was blabbering like a child, eyes unfocused as his body twitched uncontrollably on the ground.
This was a god? I was sorely disappointed on behalf of all his followers.
I hooked a hand under Boreas's ankle, lifting it up and dragging his seizing body through a Hole.
When I emerged, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.
Shang Tsung was standing now. Mothra was still attached to him, crawling all over his chest shaking blue scales of healing energy onto his form. He looked haggar, but he was alright.
"Shang Tsung," I said, drawing his attention. I yanked Boreas's leg, calling on the strength my Sacred Gear was granting me to toss Boreas at my Pawn's feet. "I have a gift for you."
Shang Tsung's eyes glowed as he stared down at the God of the North Wind. "Master…thank you."
"I'd hurry." I said, watching clinically as the diseased rot festering in Boreas's body began to eat away at his chest.
Blind to the world around him, Boreas was convulsing, unable to so much as manage to speak as he convulsed on the ground.
Shang Tsung bent down, grabbing a fistfull of the misty ice that was Boreas's hair, dragging the god's body up. "Like your daughter before you, your soul is MINE!"
Some far away part of Boreas's mind was able to register that he was in pain. A scream slipped past the god's lips as a hurricane of green energy was sucked out of his body into Shang Tsung. The rot slowly eating away at his chest dramatically hastened, spreading to disintegrate Boreas's abdomen and down into his legs.
Shang Tsung seemed to grow taller as the energy poured into him. What remained of the wounds he suffered were gone, healed by the torrent of energy flowing into him. His eyes glowed, arcane green then misty grey. Electrical energy crackled through his hair.
Shang Tsung's lips parted. A low growl grew into a loud, thunderous roar as the last of the green energy was sapped from Boreas.
The once powerful god's body fell to the ground, a sickly, malnourished mockery of its former glory. The black disease transmitted from my spear made quick work of what was left, turning the body black as bits and pieces fell away to scatter into the grass. Soon there was nothing left but darkened bones and muck.
Shang Tsung looked to the sky, arms out at his sides, every muscle tense as he roared. The green energy swimming around him settled into his body, fading.
That was not the end of the light show.
A sinister red light exploded into being, making all other lights seem dim by comparison. The glow emanated from Shang Tsung's chest. A small Pawn set in Shang Tsung's breast erupted with demonic power. The Pawn seemed to expand. Through my connection to it and to Shang Tsung, I felt as the Pawn changed.
Shang Tsung's scream tapered off with the red glow. He staggered backwards, panting.
I was at his side in a moment, laying a hand on his shoulder and looking him over. "Are you alright?"
Panting out of breath though he was, Shang Tsung's smile was brighter than the stars. "Master, I have never felt better."
"His Pawn mutated."
I looked up. Shang Tsung, Mothra and I weren't alone. We'd gathered quite the audience. With almost all of the fleeing mages dealt with, nearly everyone from mine and Sairaorg's peerages was present except for Coal and Irene who were tracking down the last of the ones that managed to slip away.
Sairaorg had been the one to speak, watching on in open-eyed fascination.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Evil Pieces can mutate when they make jumps in power that place them above where they should be relative to their King." Kuisha explained, stepping up to Sairaorg's side as she too looked at Shang Tsung. "He just…absorbed power from Boreas. He's too strong to be a Pawn anymore."
I frowned, looking at Shang Tsung. I could definitely feel the Pawn was different, but I wasn't sure it was just a simple mutation. I was metaphysically tethered to Shang Tsung in a way Sairaorg and Kuisha weren't. I knew there was something else.
'His Pawn mutated into a Mutation Pawn then forced him into a Queen promotion after he absorbed Boreas's soul.' Medea said in my mind, reaching through our own connection to examine what happened to Shang Tsung. 'I do not think there is a way to turn the promotion off. It feels locked on.'
I sighed, relieved it wasn't something damaging. So long as Shang Tsung wasn't about to burst from the power he'd taken, we could sort it out later.
I looked back up at Sairaorg. "Thank you for coming."
Sairaorg grinned at me. "I don't think you needed the help, but you're welcome all the same."
A blinding flash of pink light exploded into the space.
Tense as mine and Sairaorg's peerages were, many of them fired spells at the figure to emerge from the teleportation circle.
Serafall Leviathan emerged from the light, easily smacking the spells aside. She looked murderous. Instead of her usual suitcoat or magical girl attire, she was wearing a suit of thin platemail covered in cool blue arcane designs. I'd never seen her in armor before. I had to admit though, the dark metal and icy designs really suited her.
"I didn't realize the teleportation block was down. Where is he? Are you alright?" Serafall demanded.
Moments later, a dozen other pink flashes filled the air around her. A sea of devils I didn't recognize flooded into my lands, all armed and armored for war.
Mami and Ingvild appeared at Serafall's side. Seraphine followed a moment later with someone I hadn't properly met, but still recognized, a woman with bone-white hair and dark skin. Behemoth, Serafall's Rook.
A dark void opened in the air behind Serafall. A crackling storm of pure nothing emerged. Crimson hair whipped around as its owner scanned their surroundings.
Sirzechs Lucifer met my eyes, then slowly turned to look over my perfectly fine peerage.
Sirzech's destructive aura vanished as he drifted through the air to Serafall's side.
"Are you okay, Balthazar?" Sirzechs asked.
"I'm fine. It's done." I said, waving for Serafall and Sirzechs to relax.
Serafall's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'it's done'?"
Sairaorg stepped up beside me, slapping me on the back. He had a wide, proud grin on his face, almost as if we hadn't just been fighting for our lives against a team specifically designed for the purpose of killing devils. "It means Balthazar is collecting titles like trading cards. Lady Leviathan, I present Viscount Balthazar Abaddon, Godslayer."