32 Chapter 32: The Meeting of the Three Faction (Part 2)
Chapter 32
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Chapter 32: The Meeting of the Three Faction (Part 2)
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- Damien -
I looked at the blank faces of those present in the room.
"I don't get it?" Azazel replied, as if not even understanding my words.
I looked blankly at him. "Let me try again, how many birth parents does a child have?"
Yes.
The fact itself was so strange that even if they knew the whole thing, their minds refused to register it.
"Two! What of i…" he suddenly paused, looking at me, mouth opened wide but try as he might, no words came out of them.
Shemhazai was the same while Uriel just looked confused.
For a minute, no words were spoken and the tension in the room kept on increasing.
And when it finally broke, it was Azazel who did so. "You are joking."
I just looked at him impassively.
Getting no reply from me, he turned towards the only other person in the room who knew.
"He is not being serious, is he? Is this one of his elaborate plans and you both are trying to pull our legs as a get together prank?" he asked, but by now, there was a sense of urgency, dare I say, pleading in his voice towards the end.
Michael didn't reply.
The angels in the room, both pure and fallen, still kept looking at Michael, waiting for him to speak and say that it was a prank of some sorts… but no reply came.
I let out a sigh and finally spoke.
"I swear in the name of my Father, the God mentioned in the Holy Bible… that I am not lying."
Immediately, there was a blast as Azazel shattered the table in front of us with a smash, his face enveloped in utter rage. It was extremely rare to see Azazel in such a state.
In fact, I had only one memory of such a scene and that was in the Old Testament period.
The guards quickly got into a fighting position but I waved my hand and they settled back.
He took some deep breaths and calmed himself down but his anger was clear to see. To get such a reaction from Azazel… then again, knowing him, it was expected.
"I apologise for losing my composure." He said but his formal tone alone said it all.
The guy was mad.
It did help though as his outburst had shocked the anger out of Shemhazai and he, while not completely calm, was still relatively composed.
Uriel on the other hand was dead still, not speaking a word.
As for the devils, they looked like they had stepped foot in the wrong place but wanted to know everything as well.
So I began. "Creation always needs both masculine and feminine energies. Yin and Yang if you will. It's the basic principle."
They looked at me when I began and seeing that no one was interrupting, I continued.
"Father knew this too. So… when Heaven was created, there were two beings inhabiting it. Both completely opposite of the other. One represented Holy power while the other definitely had to represent the opposite, demonic power. Not to mention, they were almost evenly matched in terms of power. And contrary to what people would think, they were actually a very happy couple from my childhood memories. I guess 'opposites attract' does hold some truth. The first lives they actually created… were a pair of twin children. Michael and Helel."
At this point, the whole room was completely quiet, paying attention to the story.
"They lived together in peace and the two children knew nothing about their mother's demonic powers. She then showed her other side to Michael… and he was scared." I looked at Michael and the guy had his fists clenched. It must have been more painful for him later.
"You know what… I'd rather show you what happened. Don't resist." I snapped my finger and everyone fell into an illusion.
So my illusion did work on these people.
I played the scenes I knew about their mother.
After all, I had no idea if I was missing some memories and if I made something up, Michael would catch me instantly.
- Shemhazai -
He watched the scenery around him shift into a very family yet nostalgic one.
Heaven.
How long had it been since he had seen this place?
But today… he couldn't engross himself in this feeling of nostalgia because of the scene in front of him.
Mother.
….
This world was so alien to them that none of them even realised what Helel… Damien was speaking for over a minute.
Since the very start, all they knew was the word Father. Their very lives revolved around this word. In fact, the entire Biblical Pantheon revolved around this word. There had never even been a word about any Mother.
How could they have a mother?
But yet… there was this scene in front of him.
And Helel's oath as well as Michael's reactions, made the authenticity of this scene unquestionable.
But even if that had not been the case… just a look at the form of the woman in this… this illusion… he knew… he just knew that their words were not untrue.
This woman… was somehow their Mother… and they didn't even know of her.
He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
Why?
Why were they denied this happiness?
This was even before any one of them had fallen… or rebelled… so why?
Had they not been loyal enough… even back then?
Did he not trust them enough?
Looking at the scene in front of him, the faces of Michael and Helel… laughing and playing around, basking in that feeling and being doted upon by the unfamiliar woman who seemed all so familiar to him… he felt an intense rage… and jealousy…
Why could they enjoy this and yet… they didn't even deserve to know of her?
He suddenly felt that Azazel's reaction had been quite tame… because right now he felt like destroying everything around him.
They saw the scene where she gave Helel his name, Lucifer, the Light bringer.
One after another, scenes flashed by their eyes.
Next came the scene of the rest of the Archangels being created.
Unlike the first two however, they were created by both their parents.
Uriel watched in shock at the moment of his own birth.
And then, out of nowhere came the scene of their Father sealing her.
"Just because she could be a danger to the world?" He asked, shocked. "What do you mean she could be a danger? What exactly was Father even thinking?"
Damien shrugged. "No idea. He never had the habit of telling any of us. Why do you think I had such a big fight with him?"
They watched as she was sealed in… 'the seventh heaven'.
"Is that why…" Azazel finally broke his voice to speak. "Is that why no other Angel was allowed there except you three?"
Michael kept quiet but his silence was a good enough answer.
The first great argument between Father and Helel.
He made them swear not to ever speak of her till death.
It was then that Father created Heaven's system or rather… a cage for her soul.
Was it also the source of the system's power?
Helel looked at Uriel. "This is why when I tell you something about Heaven's system… you don't argue. My understanding about the system is second only to Father's and right now, I am the one who knows the most about the system. Magic was never Michael's forte. The afterlife in Heaven is also a sub part of the system."
At this point, everyone paid attention to the man, especially the Devils.
"He never exactly hated demonic beings since Mother was the source of all demonic beings in the world. What he hated was the chaos they brought most of the time. That's why, when someone qualifies for a place in the Third Heaven, they get it… even if they are demonic beings. After all, why would she differentiate between her own children?"
They listened to him in silence.
It was Ajuka Beelzebub who broke the silence with a question of his own. "What happens to the souls which do not qualify for the afterlife?"
He shrugged. "I wasn't strong enough to make an afterlife for the devil souls. They all go to the world of the dead, you know that parallel plane of the dead which can be seen through the Graal and drives people mad. The very same."
Things were coming along now that he thought about it… the reason why Helel was so against humans, why Angels were only created in the Seventh Heaven but could never see the place ever again. He was creating them using both their powers.
Was she also the reason why he left Heaven?
It did make sense once he thought of it.
Keeping all of that resentment bottled up and being forced to guide the very figures who were responsible for their Mother being sealed… there was only so much one could take.
He still couldn't understand why Father did such a thing.
What exactly were his reasons?
Was there even a reason for any of his actions?
At least he couldn't understand any.
No wonder Helel said that if he hadn't kept his oath, the results of the Great War would have been far different.
A large part of Heaven would have left with him and maybe some of the Fallen Angels would have joined him in the Great War, uniting against their Father, making things far worse for Heaven.
Hell, he was sure that if revealed right now, a large part of the remaining Angels would fall and rebel, starting another Great War instantly.
"I guess this explains the Falling of an Angel." Ajuka said.
They looked at him and it was Helel who continued. "Angels were always made with both the powers. It's just that Father sealed the other side of the Angels with his own Light and Holy Powers. They also have to follow an extremely rigid path to keep their demonic side from overpowering the seal or it gets revealed and they become Fallen Angels. Their demonic side is still sealed by their lights, because they were created that way."
"Then… how did you?" He couldn't help but ask.
A dark look took over his face which soon disappeared and was replaced by an emotionless one. "I completely removed the light."
….
His eyes widened as he understood the meaning of his words.
"You madman… just what in the nine hells were you thinking!" he couldn't help but exclaim.
After all, even Fallen Angels could use light but Devils couldn't.
It was because he removed it completely… removed the very part of his soul.
All of the pieces of the puzzle were now falling in place.
No wonder he went crazy and became that thing.
He mutilated his own soul.
Everyone in the room was appalled at his reveal.
He didn't speak further and the scenes continued.
They saw him trying to convince Father over and over again, only to be met with a refusal every single time.
Later on, his thoughts underwent a change as he tried to prove to Father that Humans were really not worth his affections so that he would release her… but they already knew how that would end.
Then came another shocking reveal.
"So… Lilith was actually made from…"
"Mother's energies alone and shaped into a human." Helel confirmed.
No wonder she could give birth to the whole Devil race. She was born from the power of their Mother.
And it seems that was the breaking point.
Lilith being ordered to get together with Adam against her will… he could still remember that day when Lucifer had openly violated their Father's wishes and married her and left Heaven with her.
Helel stopped the illusion at this point and the room was quiet for a while.
None disturbed him, especially after seeing a scene like that.
"I left for the Underworld for several reasons. First… it was the realm where Mother was born from what she had told me. And second… it was the place where her body was sealed away by Father. Wanna take a guess where?" Helel looked at the Devils.
A look of realisation seemed to have dawned on Sirzechs' eyes and his mouth opened in shock.
"Yup. That's the place. Agareas, the place which was guarded even better than Lilith is the resting place of my Mother. The Agerasite Crystals that you use to make your fancy Evil Pieces are actually normal rocks which were mutated after being in the presence of her aura for several millennia. The aura of the Mother of all Demonic beings. It has an enormous effect on increasing the power of Demonic beings like Devils. Anything make sense now?" He asked, looking at Ajuka who was quiet but Shemhazai could tell that his mind was whirling with all the possible thoughts right now.
"Before the Great War, when Father was busy creating his trinkets, I and my fellow Satans were afraid of Father and his actions and as a final resort, to resist his power and what better than the power of the progenitor of Demonic Beings."
Helel took a deep breath and explained.
"Mother's body was kept in a sealed coffin made from the wood of the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. The seals were engraved into the wood itself so that her body, even without a soul, would not completely die. This coffin was then encased in rocks at the deepest part of the island, the so-called unexplored area. It was unexplored because the seal there was made by Father personally, not something you can break. I could only enter it because I knew about them as I was present there at the time of sealing. Not even Michael knew of it." And sure enough, from Michael's devastated reaction, it seemed that he knew nothing of it.
"We chose the rocks directly covering the coffin." And here his tone took on a serious tone.
"And that's where we made a mistake. Our intention was to make something which could increase our powers but we forgot to include the variables. The crystals contained Mother's energy… raw untamed demonic energy… but they had been affected by the energies of the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge… gaining their own sentience. And thus, all twelve of the tools we created, turned into autonomous entities with independent wills of their own. These wills which wanted nothing more than the complete destruction of all creation."
He took another deep breath and continued.
"Each of them is comparable to a Longinus. Let me put forward an example to give you an idea of how strong they are." He turned towards Sirzechs. "You remember the brat, Beelzebub's grandson who had become a mutated insect of sorts?"
Sirzechs thought for a moment before nodding. "Balzac Beelzebub. From our information, he was only a peak Ultimate Class but during that incident, his power was beyond even Serafall's own although his control had suffered a lot. We assumed he underwent some kind of experimentation."
"Experiments would have been better. That fool did something even Beelzebub himself was afraid to do. He took the offer of one of the Malebranche… Scarmiglione who offered him… a tiny bit of its power."
"That's… insane."
"It is. But that's not even the worst part."
Oh, how much worse could it get, he complained in his heart.
"Scarmiglione was actually one of the weaker ones. The power of their leader, Malacoda… it's not something you can imagine. If I had to give a comparison, I would say that he is a demonic version of the True Longinus with every bit the power."
"The True Longinus contains Father's…" Uriel was about to speak but stopped midway realising what he was saying.
Helel looked at everyone with a stern gaze."So… if Rizevim actually has the Agreas Island in his possession along with the Book of Lucifer, not to mention Malebranche, he… could actually create more of them. They might not be as strong as the original ones but they will still be extremely strong and looking at the replica in Euclid's possession back then, I am compelled to think that they have been planning exactly this for a while now."
The entire room was drowned in a sombre mood again.
"That brat doesn't know the horrors of a Malebranche, especially Malacoda. The reason why we were afraid of using them was because they could and would have killed us in our sleep and taken over our bodies the first chance they got and would have razed everything in sight. Malacoda could have directly overwhelmed us at any moment had any of us tried to wield it. That's one of the reasons why, even when we knew that we might die in a fight against Father, we didn't resort to using them."
"Was creating something like that even necessary?" Serafall asked and they looked at her weirdly so he hurriedly explained. "I mean… the four of you could match him in a fight, right. Especially with your own 'Denial of the Divine.' Then why…?"
He was the one who answered in this case because he knew that except Michael who was not in a state to answer any question, all three of his remaining siblings would have battered the poor girl with words alone.
"They could only defeat Father because he was exhausted."
"Not to mention… he was already on his last foot." Helel added, suddenly turning many heads in his direction. "Father was severely exhausted and injured even before the war started. That was actually the very reason he even started the war."
This was something they had guessed and was one of the only reasons why the Fallen Angels had even dared to fight against heaven back then.
"I would assume that Father was around five or ten percent of his power in that fight and he still killed Beelzebub and Asmodeus while severely injuring Leviathan… Seriously, girl. Just what are you basing his powers on? Him?" Damien pointed towards Sirzechs. "While strong… Father had to use his injured state to seal the two Heavenly Dragons and make the Boosted Gear and the Divine Dividing. That takes a lot of power. There was only so much he could do. At his full strength, he could have folded him in half had he been serious."
"We are getting off topic." He interrupted, diverting the topic so that they don't lose their tempers. Today had been stressful enough as it was. He turned towards Helel and asked. "So what exactly are your plans?"
"I wish to ask for the cooperation of all Three Factions to face Rizevim and his forces… and prevent the Second Great War."
"Can't you locate him? I would think that many of the Old Satan faction devils will be willing to follow you now that you have revealed yourself." Serafall asked.
"They do. And they have already been contacted to join me. But this operation of Rizevim is something done by only his closest confidants. It's nigh impossible to find out what he has been doing."
But before any of them could say anything… A loud explosion was heard outside.
Helel dispelled the illusion and looked at Merlin who nodded and used a spell to check the area.
"It seems we are under an attack, my king." Merlin spoke as he displayed the scene outside on the wall.
On the other side was a gathering of several different enemies.
Fallen Angels and Humans but he was paying attention to the leaders and quickly recognised one of them…
"Kokabiel! What does he think he is doing?"
"It's not just Kokabiel. Look on the other side. Those people are from the Church." Merlin pointed out and on a closer look, they were indeed from the Church, headed by the former exorcists and even some of the current ones like David Cero.
"Is that Loki? The Norse are involved?" Sirzechs asked.
"More likely that he came here on his own because Odin and Thor were getting chummy with us. Sigh… what a headache." Helel closed his eyes and sighed once more. "There are more people than I was expecting."
"Yes. The Fallen Angels and humans were expected but the Norse are a surprise. But when we think about it more, it was only a matter of time before Loki got up to one of his so-called pranks."
"You knew about it?" Sirzechs asked, surprised.
"Well yeah. Why do you think I shifted the meeting here? I guess despite using my name you still don't realise the weight that name carries. Did you think people would just sit quietly and let 'The Devil' walk again just because they were warned not to provoke me? You underestimate the stubbornness and idiocy of these people. I knew they would try to do something like this, especially since I had called for this meeting. Many of them are worried that the Three Factions will establish some kind of Peace agreement with me, putting their imaginary vendetta on the hold. As for the Norse, they are doing so because of my alliances with Odin. Not to mention, I sense Rizevim fanning the flames from behind the scenes. How annoying. I guess we will have to put the story telling on the side."
"You are not getting out of it so easily." Azazel interrupted. "You… both of you will tell us everything about… her."
He was about to stop Azazel. They had to take care of the problems in front of them first when Helel replied.
"I was going to do that anyways. But first let me take care of these annoyances."
"Helel… let me try to talk with them. They are just blinded by hate." Michael spoke for the first time since the reveal.
"You think they are going to listen? These people came here knowing who was taking part in the meeting. They didn't care then, so what makes you think they will now?"
"Please… let me at least try." Michael pleaded.
"Azazel, we should go too. Kokabiel is out of line this time."
Azazel nodded.
Today was turning out to be one of the most stressful days of his life.
- Damien -
The attackers had set up a barrier around the whole place, isolating the whole area in a different dimension.
I inspected the barrier and found Norse Runes used to strengthen a barrier used by the Church. At the corners along with several holy swords as well as named weapons being used as anchors to hold the barrier together. There had to be at least hundreds, even thousands of people maintaining the barrier.
It was the standard method of the Church when hunting Ultimate Class beings although it was barely used and never at this level.
They had isolated the entire dimension to prevent being affected by the Conqueror's Haki.
Smart.
The effect was that holy aura as well as light magic was strengthened inside the barrier and they could even weaken Demonic Powers.
Loki had obviously modified the barrier as well. One thing people always forgot about him was that he was also a God of Magic despite his usual fooling around.
In fact, there are only a few magicians better than him in the entire Asgard.
I have to give them this… they did come prepared.
With such a lineup, I would have fallen had I not been prepared.
Especially if Loki brought out his sons, not to mention that figure in the back cloak.
I think I even sensed a bit of a draconic and divine aura on Kokabiel.
Ophis…
Sigh.
I wasn't trying to test my luck with it till I was strong enough to face the consequences.
There have been several differences in this world compared to the one I knew. I wasn't going to take my chances with the personality of one of the strongest beings in this world, someone whom even Father was wary of.
But it seems that it had gotten involved in this whole mess regardless.
I saw Michael walk to the front and address the Church people. "What is the meaning of this? Why are you all doing such a thing?"
The one who answered him was surprising to say the least.
I looked at the giant of a man coming at the head of the group and bowing his head in apology. "My apologies, Lord Michael. I tried to stop this but most of us still cannot sit back and watch as the Devil walks on the face of this world once more. He represents the source of all evil, all our sufferings, something we have been taught to oppose and now… watching him sit there, even talking about peace… as if all his deeds were nothing… many of us cannot accept this… and I as someone who has trained them, instilled this belief in them, cannot see them walk to their deaths like that so… please forgive us. Please let them vent out their anger today."
With that said, the man drew his sword… the original Durandal and stood in front of the group of exorcists, facing me with a stone face.
On the other side, Kokabiel was being persuaded by Shemhazai but the idiot was blinded by his own increased power.
"Why should we bow down in front of him? You are foolish Azazel. You could have continued the war when he had died along with his fellow Satans and Father and we could have obtained our rightful place back but you chickened out. Now that he is back from the dead, do you really think he would just sit back and let everything go. Are you actually dreaming of your so-called Peace again?"
"Kokabiel, shut your mouth." Shemhazai quickly tried to shut him up but it was already too late.
The fool had said something which shouldn't have been said.
There was a moment of silence before the crowd of exorcists erupted in chaos.
Kokabiel looked at them mockingly. "Yes… in the last Great War, along with the Four Satans, Father also passed away. And the one to kill him… is standing right in front of you."
….
….
….
….
I looked at the fool, flying in the sky and gloating at the reactions of the Church people while he stared at me and felt an intense rage well up inside me. Not because of his arrogance… but surprising due to being accused of murdering him.
The shouts of the fools from the Church didn't help either.
I took a deep breath, looked at Kokabiel and spoke. "I am not in the mood to kill today but you are seriously making me reconsider my decision, Kokabiel. But I will forgive your first mistake due to your ignorance and clarify things first. 'I did not kill him!' Do not… ever… say that I did… or I will kill you even if I have to burn the whole world for it."
Michael was quick to come up and confirm it as well. "He is not lying. He didn't kill Father."
But the fire had already been set.
The Church people were here to fight and now just had a reason. It didn't matter to them if the reason was true or not, they just wanted blood.
"Enough of your drama. This is a war. If you want to exchange words all day, then step aside and let me take care of it." Loki flew to the forefront and spoke. "Seriously, what even was that old geezer thinking, making an alliance with these kinds of rabble?"
"Yes. The time for words is long gone. It has been gone since the Great War started. Back then it had to be paused due to the cowardice of some of you people so let me remedy that today." Kokabiel shouted as he created a light spear in his hand.
"Kokabiel." Azazel spoke once more and by now I could sense the anger in his voice. This day had been too much for him, especially after that reveal and now Kokabiel pulling this stunt. "I will say this for the last time. Stop this nonsense or you will be declared rogue."
Kokabiel's face morphed into one of rage. "Do you think I am afraid of you, Azazel? Do you think you can stop all of us? If you do, then you are a fool." He shouted as his aura kept on increasing. Purple energy with a draconic and divine tint covered him and a pair of black wings emerged from his back. "I am no longer weaker than you… any of you!"
"What is that power?" Shemhazai asked, stunned.
"Ophis. It seems Kokabiel was in contact with Sataneel and they have managed to get the support of Ophis. Those are the effects of her snakes. Borrowed power. Just destroy the snake inside him and he will go back to normal. Anyways, it's a good thing. Now I can find out exactly where Satanael has been hiding."
I looked back at the group and saw that Michael was still looking conflicted but was preparing to fight either way.
"Attack!" Kokabiel commanded and the Fallen Angels on the other side were the first to attack.
"Gretel." I commanded.
"Yes, My Lord."
Bring up the barriers.
"Yes."
Gretel used her Dimension Lost to activate the barrier we had laid even before the fight.
I knew they were going to attack so there was no way I was going to let them run away.
Ophelia and the rest were currently hiding and powering the barrier, making escape impossible even for Super Devils or similar level beings.
The attacks smashed into the barrier and shattered, without even leaving a mark.
"Sean, Merlin. I leave the exorcists to you. Do with them as you please. Celine, Lavy, Musashi, the Fallen Angels will be yours. Kuroka, Akira, Hagoromo Gitsune, you three will keep Loki and his grandchildren at bay. Cleria, take down any of the rabbles Loki has brought with himself. I will take Fenrir myself." I quickly commanded the group.
"Let us lend a hand." Sirzechs said quickly and I nodded.
He quickly ordered Grayfia to lend a hand to Gretel in maintaining the Barrier.
"Master! What about me?" Ingvild said from behind me.
I smiled and looked in a direction where none of the other forces were gathered. A single man in a black cloak was standing there, releasing no aura. If not for my Observation Haki, it would have been missed by many in front of such a large hoard.
"You have your own opponent I'm afraid."
"Who is that?"
"A dragon. And sensing the power I am feeling from him, it is at my own level, a bit higher actually. At such a level, my guess is… Crom Cruach."
"The Eclipse Dragon!" Shemhazai exclaimed.
"The very same. I am afraid we are out of discussion time."
With my words said, I flew towards the oversized dog which was trying to bite at the barrier.
The rest looked at each other and flew up as well.
- Sean -
"Why does boss always stick us with the Church people?" He asked as he jumped out of the barrier to face the crowd of fanatical exorcists who were led by the giant of an old man.
Seriously, was this guy a human?
Did he start taking steroids in a milk bottle?
What kind of steroids did they even have in the Church? Holy Steroids?
"It's because we don't have a weakness against Light and Holy based magic." Merlin replied as he landed beside him.
"Tch, as if that kind of thing was ever a problem for the other members? Even the kids have developed ways to deal with it."
"Damien's not the kind to take any risks." Merlin replied.
"Too bad we cannot use Conqueror's Haki in such a small space without affecting our own people or things would have been so much easier." he complained as he summoned his spear.
"It's good to stretch our arms once in a while." Merlin replied as he drew a Holy Sword of his own.
"Caliburn?"
"Borrowed it from Arthur for today." He replied as he effortlessly knocked several exorcists with a casual strike.
"No. I mean I have never seen you use swords?" He replied as he kicked one of the exorcists, directly shattering the holy sword he was defending himself with and breaking several of his ribs, sending him flying back into the crowd.
"Who do you think taught Arthur how to use one?" Merlin replied as he sent several different elemental spells showering on the enemy.
"Huh! I guess I forgot about that." He dashed into the crowd, destroying the other side effortlessly.
He suddenly felt an attack from the side and parried it with his spear.
A large explosion resounded in the area and the land under his feet shattered but the attack didn't even touch him.
He saw the man on the other side.
David Cero.
Sean remembered him from when he had accompanied Lord Michael to the opening of the bar.
He didn't like the attitude of this guy.
Too fanatical for his tastes.
But what did attract his attention was the sword in the guy's hand.
Excalibur Galatine.
One of the sister swords of Excalibur and possessing the Unbreakable Trait.
"Spawn of Pagan Gods and servant of the Devil. Today I will rip the Relic of our Lord from your cold dead hands and wipe this disgrace off the face of the world." The man snarled.
….
He pushed the guy and sent him flying several metres away. Suddenly he felt another attack and jumped to the side and the place he was standing on was pierced by an invisible force.
He spread his observation Haki and realised that it was another exorcist.
Another familiar face.
Edward Christaldi. The guy who was brought to his knees by Boss' aura.
The sword in his hand was… Excalibur… or rather a fragment of the Excalibur Sword.
The Excalibur Destruction.
In his other hand was another sword.
Excalibur Rapidly.
On his waist were three unsheathed blades.
The Excalibur Blessing, Excalibur Nightmare and Excalibur Transparency.
He was using the effects of Excalibur Transparency to hide himself and his attacks, the buffs from Excalibur Blessing to increase his attack power and the power of Excalibur Rapidly to increase his speed.
Seriously, this man was stacking buffs to his teeth.
"While I do not prefer a two on one battle. This is not a duel and I cannot allow the last remains of our Lord to be sullied in your hands." The man spoke as he transformed Excalibur Rapidly into a wristband and pulled out Excalibur Destruction.
….
"You Church idiots always find a reason to suit your purposes, don't you? And where did you get those lines from… the eighties? Seriously, did you practise that line before coming?" He mocked.
A two vs one and he still attacks while hidden from behind and now he was pretending to be a righteous saint.
Sean was not one for blaming others for playing unfair in a war… after all, it was a war.
That said, he had a very low level of tolerance for these kinds of pricks.
"In that case, I won't be holding back either." He took a stance with his spear.
He saw the other side making their move. David Cero attacked with an overhead slash. He easily parried it with his spear. But the man in front of him suddenly opened his mouth, exposing a bead inside, emitting a blinding light.
Sean jumped back to make a distance between them as he quickly channelled his magic power in his eyes to remove the effect of the blinding.
Chirstaldi took advantage of this and sent an attack with Excalibur Rapidly which he quickly swiped away with a swing of his spear only for him to bring down Excalibur Destruction on him. Sean coated one of his arms with Armament Haki and punched but surprisingly, the Excalibur Destruction in his hand suddenly morphed into a whip and bound his hand instead.
Cero took this opportunity to send another attack at him directly.
He kicked away Cero's attack with an Armament infused kick but in the next moment, the scene in front of him changed as he was still struck by the attack and he was sent flying and crashed into the side of the building.
Excalibur Nightmare's Illusion.
That sword… Excalibur Destruction… was not exactly the Excalibur Destruction but rather Excalibur Mimic transformed to look like Excalibur Destruction.
How smart?
The damned old man was quite good at using those swords but they forgot to include one crucial thing in their plan.
The scene in front of his eyes disappeared as the surroundings returned to the one few seconds ago.
Observation Haki's Ability, Future Sight.
It was an extremely nifty trick and almost made fights too easy so he doesn't like using it that often in fights but today… he couldn't afford this privilege.
This was… after all… a war.
There was something else the other side miscalculated.
He used his abilities as the other side got in their position to attack.
Armament Haki.
Reinforcement.
Protection Rune.
Enhancement Rune.
And finally for the last bit of oomph, Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
Sparks flew out of the True Longinus.
David Cero attacked and just when his sword was about to fall, Sean made his move, kicking the man with a full power Armament Infused kick, sending him flying to the other side of the field, before he even had the chance to open his mouth.
Christaldi, stunned by this, hesitated for a moment but even if he hadn't, it wouldn't have mattered because Sean kicked the ground, leaving a massive crater behind him and rushing towards the guy, swinging his spear.
He defended with both his swords crossed but this was the True Longinus, not a toothpick… hell, even a toothpick with these many buffs could withstand a Holy Sword. And so the result was obvious.
The swords were shattered and the man was sent flying several hundred metres away crashing into the ground.
Sean swung his spear before looking at them.
The thing they had forgotten to calculate… was his own strength.
These kinds of attacks… he could tank with his own body with just his Armament Haki and Reinforcement.
Their base stats were too far apart.
Now if it had been the guy currently fighting Merlin… that might have been a very different case.
He looked at the burly giant facing the flower-boy, two completely contrasting figures and yet, the aura they were emitting was deterring anyone from even approaching them.
Sean himself obviously wasn't included in these people as he could easily approach and even fight them but unlike these pricks, these two wouldn't want anyone else approaching them.
Sean had heard of Vasco Strada and actually respected the man quite a bit and so, he turned towards the rest of the Church people and moved to face them.
- Merlin -
Today's meeting was going as Damien had planned. The number of people who attacked the meeting was a bit unexpected but not something which they couldn't manage.
To be honest, even he hadn't known about God's wife.
The deepest secret of Heaven and the true history behind the birth of Angels.
He could understand the surprise and shock of the other parties, especially the Fallen Angels, who were cast out of Heaven by their Father while not even knowing that they had a Mother.
When considering their situations, he actually felt a bit of pity for them.
Does that mean God's decision was wrong?
Not really.
His way of handling the matter might have been a bit different but without knowing every aspect of the situation, hardly anyone could say that he had been wrong.
And this thought of his was mirrored by his King too.
Unlike the last time, Damien actually wanted to know the reason behind his Father's actions.
If the man was under so much pain… then why did he take such actions?
And as his advisor, Merlin supported his King's pursuit of truth. After all, this was leagues better than his approach in his last life… talk about going extreme.
This Lucifer however was completely different from the last one.
Having a full soul was doing wonders for the man. The mutilated soul was also explained when he regained the memories of his previous life.
The current Damien was a perfect balance between Holy and Demonic, between 'The Lightbringer', the brightest Angel of God and 'The Devil' and this was something Merlin could get behind.
The effect of his actions was already evident on the Underworld.
With just one appearance, he cleared a large part of the problems in the Underworld and brought it back to its tracks and if his plans really succeeded, then the world will truly see true peace between the Three Factions for the first time.
To bring the Three Factions together using Rizevim as a common enemy… was a crazy but good plan. After all, the Angels were already out for Rizevim's blood after the glimpse of their Father's last moments and now even the Fallen Angels will join the boat even if only to retrieve the body of their Mother.
With just a few actions, he turned the entire Three Factions into his attack dogs against Rizevim.
Or maybe he was just doing this to spite Rizevim. Using him, someone who desires chaos and destruction… to bring peace… ah what irony. Seriously… he could actually see Damien doing such a thing.
Despite his relatively calm nature now, he was still extremely vindictive.
He wondered what kind of face Rizevim would make if he knew about Damien's plan.
But to get there, this battle was an important step.
He stood in front of the man exuding an enormous amount of Holy Aura which wouldn't be off on a Seraph but certainly would shock anyone when it appeared in a human.
The strongest Human in the world, the violence of Heaven and the wielder of the Holy Sword Durandal, Vasco Strada.
And Merlin could see that his fame was not unwarranted either.
They heard a sound in the distance and saw Sean taking down both David Cero and Edward Christaldi in a mere instant.
"Your companion is quite able. The Child of Light and the student of the Witch of Dún Scáith. He is truly the strongest wielder of the Lord's Spear since the Lord himself. David and Edward's defeat was truly not unjust."
"Well yes. He does have great skill with the spear but you are wrong about something."
"Hmm?"
"Sean is the third strongest wielder of the True Longinus."
The man didn't understand his comment but didn't pay attention to it either.
"Never in my dreams did I imagine that I would one day face you, the teacher of Arthur Pendragon, one of the greatest Heroes to ever have been born, especially considering the relationship between the Pendragon Family and the Church." Vasco spoke.
"The Church has always been quite ungrateful when it comes to remembering me. After all, they unilaterally declared any magic created by me as heretic. That's… not quite something one would do to people they have good relations with."
"Those magic, while helpful to humanity, were based on Devil's Magic and thus something against our principles." Vasco replied, without any anger in his voice.
"Oh! Then what about the Church using Demonic Swords like Gram until recently which, might I remind you… were also from your so-called 'Pagan Gods'?" He made air quotes with both his hands.
"It was not one of my choices. Unfortunately, the Church is also an organisation and I cannot impose my own views on everyone. All I can do is fulfil my duty honestly and leave everything to the Almighty."
"You… do know…" Merlin questioned.
"He is… and will always remain in our hearts as we live our lives according to our teachings."
"Fair enough. I can respect that. It's something I rarely see from the fanatics of the Church. Belief is after all a very strong driving force. Yours drives you while mine drives me. It's just that we are on different sides, a simple case of difference in beliefs leading to conflicts."
"Since you already understand this, let's not waste any time on words. I too want to see how I would compare to the Master of the legendary King of Camelot." The man took a stance with Durandal, which, despite being a sword bigger than his Caliburn, looked like an oversized knife in his hands.
"Very well. Then let me experience the strength of the strongest human…" He too took a stance with the Caliburn.
Defeating him with Magic would be too easy but this guy had challenged him as a swordsman, using the name of his favourite disciple. Merlin couldn't back down on this challenge… for old time's sake.
For a moment, there were no movements between the two of them as both their auras completely calmed… and then, as if by an invisible signal, both of them shot out from their respective places, and clashed in the middle of the field.
Vasco Strada had immense strength but Merlin could feel it in just a single clash that he was not just a musclehead. The man was also an amazing swordsman.
They continuously clashed with one another and each of his attacks were lethal, filled to the brim with Holy Aura.
Durandal was a sword unlike Excalibur or Caliburn. It was focused totally on destruction. A blade which didn't like being restrained and with the trait to cut any obstacle in its path.
Merlin was sure that had it been some other blade instead of Caliburn, it would have cracked already.
The man's skill was approaching Arthur's and had he been a bit younger, he might have even had the ability to face Arthur himself… although winning would have been doubtful.
After all, Arthur might not have been the best swordsman in Camelot but… he was certainly the strongest.
Everywhere they clashed, the ground was torn apart, sending shockwaves all around the place, blowing away anyone who dared to come near.
Some Fallen Angels had tried to sneak attack them during the clash. After all, this was a flimsy alliance at best. But their light spears were torn apart by the aura and shockwaves of their clashes.
And in the next moment, he sensed those fallen angels being devoured by a wave of Holy Flames, leaving no traces of them behind.
But neither he nor his opponent paid more than a wisp of attention on the other side. They clashed for a final time and made a distance between them.
"Your skills are indeed the best I have faced in all my life. I can see how you could teach someone like Arthur Pengragon." The man said, catching a short breath before raising Durandal as his Holy Aura poured into the sword like mad and he slashed.
"Says the man who can beat Ultimate Class beings senseless with his bare hands." He didn't hold back and poured his own magic in Caliburn, and countered his opponent's slash.
Right when he was about to overcome the slash, the attack was ripped apart… from the other side and a fist the size of a bucket, covered in Holy Aura came from the attack, punching him and sending him flying.
This insane bastard…
"Hahahaha." Merlin couldn't help but laugh as he jumped to the side to dodge the slash of Durandal in the place where he had crashed and quickly got on his feet.
He still wasn't proficient in Observation Haki to use Future Sight but he was still proficient enough to catch the attack at the last moment and coat his body in Armament Haki, diverting the damage so he was more or less fine but still… it seemed that he had underestimated the guy.
To risk his arm just to get a chance to get a hit on him…
Such dedication and madness… deserved a suitable response.
In that case… he would stop holding back too.
In the next moment, he let loose on his magic completely, blowing against the man who was trying to follow up with another attack. Strada plunged his sword into the ground, and steadied himself.
But Merlin didn't give him any chance to take a breath.
Mana Burst.
In the next instant, he was right above Vasco Strada and slashed down his Caliburn infusing it with Mana Burst Light, making the sword shine with a blinding light.
Vasco Strada drew another blade from his back and blocked with both swords.
Durandal and Excalibur Destruction.
Caliburn directly tore through Excalibur Destruction and sent Durandal flying from his hands as a large gash appeared on Vasco Strada's chest, sending him flying into the corner of the barrier.
The amount of Mana he had put in the attack made sure that he wouldn't die but the light in the attack would make sure that he didn't get up anytime soon.
The entire battlefield had quieted down in that instant as they looked at him.
Especially the church people. Some of them dropped their swords in fear at the sight.
After all, this was the strongest exorcist of the Church for decades, the strongest human… or rather… the former strongest human in the world.
And from what Merlin knew, Sean, Musashi and he himself were all stronger than the current Vasco Strada.
The difference in their powers were… just too great.
He turned towards the rest of the battlefields and sheathed Caliburn.
Since it had come to this, he might as well get a bit serious and let loose a bit.
- Satanael -
"My Lord. The fight has started. They were already prepared." One of his subordinates reported through a magic circle.
"Alright. Keep an eye on the situation." He cut off the communication and looked behind at the group gathered behind him.
Rizevim Livan Lucifer… how did he get the support of that ancient skeleton?.
The thousands of Grim Reapers were exuding a chilling aura as they lined up in a group.
Had it not been for the support of Ophis on his side, he might have found the first opportunity and left this place.
Things were getting beyond what he had expected at the start. But now, that it had come to this… there was no backing down.
"They have started fighting. They were already prepared so it won't distract them for too long. We need to take action now."
"Uyahahahaha. As expected of dear Dad. He was always great at surprising everyone. But I wonder… how will he like our surprise? Let's go Uncle. Make this day a memorable one for dear Dad."
He nodded and they teleported.
[IMAGE: Gretel Lucifuge]
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Spoiler: Author's Note
Author's Note:
Wow….this one took a lot out of me.
Things are getting heated up.
Azazel and Shemhazai had their minds blown.
Uriel is contemplating the meaning of his existence.
While Sirzechs and the rest are feeling completely out of place, stuck between the Family Drama of the Three Factions.
On the other hand, Sean and Merlin completely crushed the Church Side.
The match being one sided was a given seeing as how much they had overprepared for years.
Damien is playing 5D Chess with everyone while Rizevim is planning to play baseball.
What will be the result of all this?
Keep tuned to know this in the upcoming chapters.
Enjoy the new Chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.
