Location: Nijo Castle - Inner Ward
Time: Night (Under a magical fog)
The historic Nijo Castle was shrouded in a thick, unnatural mist. The Hero Faction had turned the site into a ritual ground.
At the center of the courtyard, a massive golden fox - fifty meters tall - raged against magical chains. Yasaka, the Nine-Tailed Fox, had been forced into her beast form. Her eyes were vacant, glowing with a chaotic violet light.
Cao Cao stood on the roof of the main keep, watching the chaos.
"Beautiful," he mused. "The Ley Lines of Kyoto are flowing into her. Once she reaches critical mass, we will harvest the energy."
"Is that wise?" Georg (the magician of the Hero Faction) asked. "The energy signature approaching us is... concerning."
BOOM.
The front gate of Nijo Castle didn't open. It dissolved.
A sphere of black void erased the wood and stone, leaving a perfect circular hole.
Raiden stepped through, cracking his knuckles.
Behind him were the Gremory Peerage, Kunou, and a very angry "Magical Tour Guide" (Serafall).
"Issei," Raiden pointed at the army of summoned shadow monsters. "Clean up the trash."
"Got it!" Issei roared. [WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER!]
"Kiba, Xenovia. Take the left flank. Don't let them interrupt me."
Raiden looked up at the roof, locking eyes with Cao Cao.
"I'm coming for the main course."
As the battle erupted, Serafall Leviathan stood by Kunou.
"I want to help Raiden-chan destroy them!" she whined, her wand sparking with devastating ice magic.
"You can't!" Ravel Phenex (via comms) shouted. "If a Satan is seen using full power in Kyoto, it will cause a diplomatic incident with the Youkai Faction and the Gods! You have to stay in character!"
Serafall pouted. Then she grinned.
"Fine! I'll just use my Magical Girl Barrier!"
She twirled her wand.
"Magical Girl Levia-chan Special Technique: Prism Wall!"
A massive, glittering pink barrier expanded around the castle, trapping the Hero Faction inside and preventing the damage from leaking to the city.
"Now nobody can see us!" Serafall winked at Kunou. "Which means I can freeze the bad guys a little bit."
She snapped her fingers. The ground beneath the feet of a hundred Hero Faction soldiers turned to absolute zero ice, freezing them instantly.
Kunou stared in awe. "Magical Girls are terrifying..."
Raiden leaped onto the roof, landing opposite Cao Cao.
"Back for seconds?" Cao Cao smiled, spinning the True Longinus. "You barely survived the first hit."
"I was just tasting the seasoning," Raiden replied.
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes. "Polar Night Longinus Chakravartin: Hatsutei (Horse Treasure)."
The Spear glowed. The orb moved to redirect energy.
Cao Cao thrust the spear. A beam of holy light, concentrated to the width of a needle, shot at Raiden's heart.
Raiden didn't dodge.
[Form Shift: Lucifer Mode]
The twelve wings of black light erupted from Raiden's back.
He wrapped the wings around himself like a cocoon.
Sizzle.
The holy light hit the wings. Smoke rose. The wings burned, but they regenerated faster than the light could destroy them. The Lucifer essence (Pride) was fighting the Biblical essence (Holiness).
"Using a Devil's power to tank a Holy Spear?" Cao Cao scoffed. "Inefficient."
Raiden opened the wings.
"Who said I was tanking it?"
Raiden's hand was already gripping the shaft of the True Longinus.
Cao Cao's eyes widened. "You touched it directly?! Your hand should be vaporizing!"
"It is," Raiden grinned through the pain. His hand was smoking, the skin bubbling.
But he didn't let go.
[Gluttony: Concept Devour - "Rejection"]
Raiden wasn't eating the light. He was eating the force that pushed him away.
"Get over here!"
Raiden yanked the spear, pulling Cao Cao into a headbutt.
CRACK.
Cao Cao stumbled back, his nose broken.
"You brute!" Cao Cao wiped the blood. "Mani (Jewel Treasure)!"
The spear targeted Raiden's weapon - his Gluttony. It tried to seal his ability to eat.
Raiden felt his stomach tighten. The hunger was being suppressed.
"Trying to sew my mouth shut?"
Raiden laughed. It was a demonic, guttural sound.
"My hunger isn't magic, Cao Cao. It's Void. You can't seal nothingness."
Raiden's aura exploded, turning the sky black. The suppression seal shattered like glass.
Below them, the giant Yasaka howled. She was gathering a massive ball of energy - a Tailed Beast Bomb powered by the Ley Lines.
She aimed it... not at the heroes, but at the city.
"Mother!" Kunou screamed.
"She's lost control," Cao Cao smirked, retreating to a higher spire. "She will wipe out Kyoto, and the energy release will summon the Great Red. Checkmate."
Raiden looked at Cao Cao, then down at the massive fox.
"Ravel," Raiden spoke into his comms. "Calculations."
"The energy density of that fox fire is equivalent to a tactical nuke," Ravel's voice trembled. "If you try to block it, the backlash will destroy the barrier. You have to... neutralize it."
"Neutralize. Got it."
Raiden dove off the roof.
He fell straight toward the giant Yasaka.
The fox roared and fired the massive energy sphere point-blank at Raiden.
Raiden didn't use a technique. He didn't use a shield.
He unhinged his jaw.
[Demon Lord Art: Grand Feast]
Raiden's body became a singularity.
The massive sphere of destruction didn't explode. It warped. It spiraled.
It was sucked into Raiden's mouth.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Raiden floated in the air, his stomach distended for a second before compressing as the energy was converted.
Burp.
Raiden wiped his mouth. "Spicy. Way too much curry."
He landed on the giant fox's nose.
Yasaka growled, trying to bite him.
Raiden punched the giant fox on the snout.
WHAM.
"Bad dog. Sit."
He placed his hand on her forehead. The violet corruption - the mind control spell - pulsed.
"Eat."
Raiden ripped the curse out of her mind. It looked like a black sludge. He swallowed it without chewing.
Yasaka's eyes cleared. The golden fire returned. She shrank down, reverting to her human form, falling from the air.
Raiden caught her bridal style before she hit the ground.
On the roof, Cao Cao clutched his spear. He watched Raiden catch Yasaka.
"He ate the Ley Line blast..." Cao Cao whispered, a drop of sweat rolling down his face. "And he ate the curse. He is a natural disaster."
Georg appeared beside him. "Leader. The plan has failed. We must retreat. If that monster focuses solely on us now, we will sustain heavy casualties."
Cao Cao glared at Raiden.
"Fine. We learned what we needed. The True Longinus has a predator."
A mist enveloped the Hero Faction.
"We will meet again, Raiden! Next time, I will bring a bigger fork!"
They vanished.
Location: Nijo Castle Courtyard
Status: Victory
The mist cleared. The moon shone down on the battered courtyard.
Raiden set Yasaka down.
The Lady of Kyoto looked up at him, her face flushed, her kimono disheveled.
"You..." Yasaka breathed. "You saved me. And my city."
Kunou ran over, hugging her mother's legs, crying. "Mother!"
Yasaka hugged her daughter, then looked back at Raiden. She saw the burn marks on his hands from holding the True Longinus.
"Your hands..."
"They'll heal," Raiden shrugged, his regeneration already knitting the skin back together. "But I'm starving. Eating energy is fine, but it doesn't fill the stomach."
Yasaka smiled. A genuine, dazzling smile that charmed every male in a ten-mile radius (except Raiden).
"Then come to the Palace," Yasaka declared. "I promised you the finest beef in Japan. And... perhaps other rewards."
She stepped closer, her tails brushing against Raiden's legs.
"The Youkai value strength above all. You dominated me in my beast form. By our laws... that makes you a candidate for my mate."
"EHHH?!" Issei screamed from the background. "ANOTHER ONE?! AND SHE'S A MILF?!"
Kunou looked between Raiden and her mother.
"Does this mean Raiden-sama is my papa?"
Serafall (who had dropped the disguise) tackled Raiden.
"NO! Raiden is MINE! No foxes allowed!"
Ravel (walking up with a sigh): "I will draft a non-aggression pact and a courtship schedule. Please form a line."
Raiden ignored them all. He looked at Yasaka.
"Is the beef wagyu?"
Yasaka chuckled, linking her arm with his. "The highest grade A5."
"Lead the way."
Location: Unknown Dimension
Azazel sat in a chair, watching a hologram of the battle. Sirzechs was beside him.
"He held the True Longinus," Azazel said, pouring a drink. "Do you realize how insane that is? That spear has a 'will' that rejects devils. Raiden simply... ignored it."
"He is becoming a problem," a new voice spoke.
An old man with a long beard appeared. Odin, the All-Father of Norse Mythology.
"Odin?" Sirzechs stood up.
"I am here for the upcoming alliance meeting," Odin grunted. " But I see you have a wildcard. That boy... he has the scent of Fenrir. The wolf that eats the world."
Odin narrowed his one eye.
"Be careful, Sirzechs. If you don't feed him well... he might decide to eat Yggdrasil next."