Emeric gave Ichika a proud look as she drifted away. He was right after all! Ichika carried the potential of a true Legend. It was exactly what he had hoped for. Only Ichika, who had awakened the Balance Breaker at the most critical moment, could carry the burden to him.
Although the True Forum of Uselessness had no consciousness, but it was filled with Dichauser's last will. Therefore, it would never let him retreat. Typhoon would simply move through the city right behind him. Even now, he could feel the surge of the wild demonic force. His cover of the power of destruction was holding on to its last breath.
Oh, and Excalibur....
Emeric lowered his gaze to the holy sword. Wisdom was already fully parsing all aspects of Excalibur...
Excalibur is in a malicious state of bewilderment. First, he was caught in the center of some demonic collapse that wanted to destroy his essence every second! Secondly, a demon, but not a demon, dared to pick it up! How dare you, you incomprehensible spawn of Hell! It's not just some trinket, but the most sacred of swords! It has been wielded by the most worthy of the most worthy! Excalibur will never indulge your evil schemes! Denial!
The holy sword refused to bend to his will. Wisdom allowed him to bypass the requirements for possessing the "holy" factor, and also destroyed his vulnerability to all things holy, but.... Excalibur felt he was not human, so he refused to work and as if locked in a shell. Centuries of use had given this sword a rudiment of consciousness that sensed its wielders perfectly. It was because of this that Excalibur completely refused to exude any holiness factor. Even the edge was dulled. At this moment, he wouldn't even slice a loaf of bread with this useless piece of metal!
Emeric gritted his teeth irritably. He had to strengthen his defenses and use his gift in a whole new way at the same time. He didn't want to test every facet of his Wisdom right during the battle, but he had no choice! And the most annoying thing was that, according to Solomon, after all these events, the gift would go into "hibernation" for a while. Simply because he overstimulated it too much!
«Ugh... - He exhaled gently and sank into the Wisdom....
"Need. For the sake of. Peace." - The words were more like some kind of charade, but as it was. Excalibur had too peculiar a mind. Probably no one but he could find the rudiments of that very mind at all.
Denial! Excalibur is not interested in peace! He wants glory and justice! He will not be tainted by a demon!
"For. Your. Owners. Irina. Zenovia." - He tried to play on pity, but got an unequivocal answer.
Rejection! Those owners were weak! And they were women! Heh-heh-heh!
Toward the end, Excalibur even let out something like a gloating laugh.
Emeric waved the sword in his hand with a raised eyebrow, but he didn't react in any way outwardly.
What an asshole! And a chauvinist as well! Emeric couldn't believe that this historical sword was actually something like a stiff old man who measured everything by the glory of his past!
«All right, you little bastard... - Emeric looked at his burden with growing rage. - Let's give it a try. All right!
There was no change in appearance, but Emeric's posture, his gaze, and his aura itself changed subtly. It became more regal and "solemn," if I could put it that way. It was as if some saint from the past had taken his place. A real King.
King Arthur!
Yes, Emeric was able to look into the past and "pull on" the "guise" of the most famous wielder of this holy sword. Not just behaviors, but charisma along with something like an aura. Emeric has no idea how he pulled it off, but the fact is that in the eyes of the not-so-smart Excalibur, he is now King Arthur. It wasn't easy, for Emeric could sense that Wisdom was already cracking at the seams. He was scared to imagine what would happen if it broke. But it would have to work...
Arthur? Is that you?
«Yes," he answered aloud, for the sword was now beginning to carefully climb out of its shell when he felt a familiar aura. - It's me, uh. my best friend! Yes, yes, there has never been a sword in my royal life more awesome and dazzling than you!
Oh, come on, Arthur!
The sword responded with some analogy of flattered modesty. The kind of thing that asks you to stop, but your eyes demand more. What a vain artifact! But his inhuman intelligence was only to Emeric's advantage. Deceiving him was damn easy!.....
Arthur, where's that filthy demon? I thought he was just holding me!
...or not...
«Uh... I... beat him! Yeah, I had the whole company with me, you know. Lancelot there. Merlin, the whole thing.
Cool!
... no, it was very easy.
In the next instant, the sword shone with a bright light that dispersed the wild currents of uselessness around it.
Emeric was relieved that the unstoppable flow of power had stopped pressing down on him. He almost fainted at once. His body was held together only by his will.....
«Ugh... - Emeric used both hands to grasp the sword that was fully providing him with his strength. Looking up, he could see a denser figure of white streams twenty meters ahead.
He started to fly straight toward her, but ...
The streams were becoming more and more assertive by the second. So strong that even Excalibur couldn't disperse them all. It was a good defense, but it couldn't get through.
No problem, Emeric knows how to enhance the holiness aspect.
Need a prayer to fight against demons to spur the Excaliber Blessing shard! He, a noble demon, will recite the prayer! Where has his life come to!
«Holy Archangel Michael, intercessor and protector of my spiritual path, we ask you to come to my aid during the struggle with the forces of evil...
With each word, the glow began to gather momentum. Excalibur echoed his prayers with full dedication. The uselessness in front of him was slowly dissolving. Step by step, he was approaching the very center of the typhoon.
«... May your mighty hand guard me from demonic danger and guide me to the light of truth. Help me to overcome temptations and strengthen my faith in God's mercy!
True Form also felt threatened by his approaching figure, but there was nothing she could do. The streams of demonic power she sent at him could kill a careless Satan-level demon. These were some incredible streams of power. Most likely at such a close distance and Aldis would not be unharmed.
But he was cheating in the worst possible way! The kind of behavior that no demon would ever shake your hand after!
He was fucking praying!
«AMEN!
BOOM!
A flash, no, an explosion of holy energy completely cleared the path between him and the phantom of uselessness. For a fraction of a second, there was a gap in the huge hurricane of uselessness power!
Emeric at once with a jerk that almost drained his strength to the bottom, drew close to the phantom and...
With a roar, stabbed the figure with a right hand!
This form did not have any anatomical details in it. Pure, unadulterated power of uselessness. It was physically impossible to get the Royal Figure out of it, but the fact was that Emeric could. Using Wisdom and all his experience in manipulating energies, Emeric was able to get the figure out of Dichauser's soul.
BOOM!
The typhoon stopped in an instant with a loud sound. It was so fast that it was as if someone had just fast-forwarded a few hours. There was no hundred-meter hurricane left, no ubiquitous swirls of white bundles of force.
Only two demons remained, hovering above a huge pit going tens of meters down. Uselessness had done its best.
Emeric's hand scrambled across Dichauser's chest, which returned to 'human' form. Emeric's surgery was able to completely stop all processes of Dichauser's absorption of uselessness, but...
It didn't save him.
Emeric began to gently pull his bloody hand out, eliciting more painful expectorations from the Emperor. He stopped.
The Emperor began to naturally fall apart. Skin, bones, even clothes turned to dust.
«Mo... - His parched lips began to utter barely audible words. The last words of the best of kings. - Well done...
«Goodbye," he said with slightly sad eyes, staring into the void where no one else was. - Dichauser...
Dichauser Belial, Emperor, Eternal Champion, idol of all Hell, inspirer of generations of young demons...
Dead.
Emeric shook his head, chasing away the sadness. They had fought to the death, and he had won. All that remains for him to do is to honor his memory...
The young Gremory looked at his newly unclenched fist that had impaled the Emperor some time ago.
The red, slightly glowing figure of the king stood out on his palm.
So much temptation...
Emeric could feel how with Wisdom, he would be able to completely control the all-round strengthening of the Royal Form. The next demon who discovered the True Form could be him, right here and now, but....
«No," Emeric hid it in his subspace. He remembered Solomon's warning. - We'll have to deal with this the old-fashioned way.....
«PRESIDENT, YOU DID IT! - Ichika, already without armor, braked sharply in front of him, looking at his not-so-tidy appearance. To be more precise, he looked like a character from some horror movie who would give his soul to God right at the end. - AAH! That's a lot of blood! You need to go to the hospital right now!
«Stop!" He raised his hand and measured Excalibur in his hand. So far it was obeying, though he was beginning to suspect something. Arthur's aura was becoming harder and harder to hold. Excalibur would not be the most reliable weapon in the next battle, especially when he would need every drop of Wisdom to unmask it. His determined gaze met Ichika's gaze full of fear for him. - We have Azazel to deal with! And you're going to take an active part in that! By the way, can you contact Valerie...? I just don't have much left, I need every ounce of energy I can get. Oh, a couple of boosts would be nice, but not too many, or you won't be able to fulfill your part of the plan! Which is one of the most important parts of your plan. Don't worry, haven't you awakened your Balance Breaker?! Don't be modest, just show it to me. Ohhhh. Awesome!
*****
Valerie craned her neck, holding back her heavy breathing. She didn't want to show that she was already at her limit.
Just now, word had finally arrived from the King, who'd given clear instructions for action, promising a sure victory. Half an hour ago she would have dismissed outside help, but she had to admit that she couldn't take this fallen man alone. She could try the final trump card, but Emeric had strictly forbidden its use. She hadn't mastered it yet.
Azazel squinted slightly when he realized that she wasn't making another attempt to get closer. He realized she was up to something.
The blue wings behind Valerie's back stretched sharply to the sides.
«Half a Dimension!
With a loud shout from Valerie, the space around Azazel turned a blue hue and froze. Azazel couldn't move a finger, but he didn't panic too much. He was already starting to fight back.
It was one of Valerie's signature moves. She uses her Longinus to halve any objects and space in the area of effect. In fact, on strong opponents like Azazel, this technique acts as a kind of prison. The space is constantly shrinking and prevents the object inside from moving, but...
Azazel was too strong. Valerie could feel every cell in her body cracking at the seams from too much tension. A few more seconds and he would break free.
But that's exactly the amount of time Ichika needed....
The red armored figure abruptly flew up to Azazel standing there and managed to touch his hand...
At the same moment, the space around him shattered into a multitude of blue shards, and Valerie received the full impact of her failed hold. She managed to keep her consciousness toned down, but she wouldn't be able to fight anytime soon. This was why she hadn't used this move before.
But it didn't matter, because Ichiki was able to touch the fallen...
«Transmission!
Ichika could see Azazel's eyes start to naturally pop out of his skull, so much so that he didn't like it....
He opened his mouth in a silent scream, but didn't utter a sound. Two tracks of tears began to form on his face.
Yes, she had used "that" technique on the fallen one. And Ichika had to admit with her chest full of pride, this technique was equally effective on any field! Even on a man's field! Or rather, watching Azazel turn dead pale, it was even more devastating on a man's field!
While the fallen man is still reeling from the shock of his life.....
BOOM!
From above Azazel was hit by Emeric, which sent the two of them straight to the ground. The collision formed a dust cloud that prevented the others from seeing what was happening there.
The main objective was not to defeat Cockabielle, but to remove the damn mask!
«Shit!" Emeric gritted his teeth as he felt Wisdom nearly knock him unconscious, he'd allowed himself too much today, and now he was starting to get even. He grasped the empty space in front of the panicked Azazel, or rather Cockabiel, with trembling fingers. - Take that damn mask off!
Kokabiel resisted, but Azazel tried his best to help him by distracting the former. Now that the mask was already several centimeters away from their face, the will of the Grigori leader was beginning to play a more important role.
About ten seconds of fighting between Emeric and Azazel, as...
«A-A-A-A-A!... - With a loud cry, Emeric finally pulled Solomon's Mask back on himself, thus reclining on his back, no longer trying to stand up. He just held it against his chest and looked up at the sky.
With a flash of golden color, there were already two men in Azazel's place.
Emeric stared at the golden mask in his hand as if in a trance, and suddenly felt sick to his stomach. No, life had not been easy before, but now he felt as if he were in the grave, so bad he felt.
His fading consciousness could hear the renewed sounds of fighting, but between two fallen men. But Emeric didn't care.
He looked up at the purple sky full of cracks and thought about nothing. He was just very, very sick.... He ignored the panicked screams of his entourage as various visions from the past, present, and future began to assault his consciousness.
In the next moment, the purple sky finally shattered. With a deafening crack, the dome above the city was completely destroyed from the outside.
Help has arrived.
And Emeric will finally rest with a clear conscience.
He deserved it...
***
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