21 The King of Lust.

Leaping from their concealed position, Ren, Ann, and Ryuji launched an offensive barrage at Kamoshida, hoping to land some initial hits. However, their bullets merely grazed the king, leaving insignificant marks on his form.

Kamoshida's reaction was a derisive laugh as his gaze swept contemptuously across the group. 

"Ah, the treacherous bitch, the punk, and you… the arrogant brat that tried to scheme my demise.," he taunted, placing the crown upon his head with a sinister grace.

"Come to finish the job, eh?… Well, I'll finish it for you. You aren't leaving my kingdom alive. After all, those who scheme against their king deserve death." He sneered, fury contorting his features as his skin began to bubble and swell grotesquely.

"You fools don't understand, but how I teach is effective. The kids were nothing but garbage before I stepped in. It's only fair that I receive some sort of benefit from them. No one will stand against me because they know I am untouchable. The whole school knows that they need me!" Kamoshida proclaimed, his voice booming with a toxic blend of arrogance and delusion.

With each word, a menacing aura enveloped him, and he underwent a monstrous transformation, growing to an imposing height of thirty feet. His visage twisted into something demonic, dark horns erupting from his head, while an additional pair of arms emerged from his torso, rendering his figure not just imposing but truly demonic in appearance.

As Kamoshida shouted in anger with the ferocity of a demon king, the very foundations of the castle quaked. Some walls and parts of the ceiling crumbled away to unveil a tempestuous storm raging beyond the confines of the palace.

"I, as your king, decree." His voice thundered with an infernal authority, his finger aimed menacingly at the group.

"Kneel before me." The command, imbued with dark power, forced the group to their knees, all except Ren, who clutched the pulsating crystal, its light a beacon of defiance.

Kamoshida's hand soared through the air, intent on obliterating them. Ren, with no time to spare, invoked Tartuffe in the guise of Eligor, the crimson knight riding atop his horse. With a battle cry, Eligor swooped in, rescuing Ann and Ryuji from certain doom, tossing them to safety, while Ren nimbly rolled away from the descending giant hand.

The impact of Kamoshida's hand against the ground was cataclysmic, fracturing the floor and kicking up a blinding cloud of dust.

"I, the trickster, command you." Echoing Kamoshida's earlier decree with a mocking tone, he retorted. "Silence." He wanted to prevent Kamoshida from using his King's Decree to much by silencing him temporarily.

He charged at Kamoshida's hand and, with a leap fueled by determination, plunged his knife deep into the demon king's palm. Kamoshida's reaction was instantaneous; his mouth agape in a silent scream.

As Kamoshida, in a reflex, lifted his arm, Ren was hoisted aloft. Yet, he used this momentum to his advantage, launching himself higher into the air. His voice cut through the chaos, a single word carrying the weight of their hope.

"Ryuji!"

With a thunderclap, a lightning bolt struck the knife embedded in Kamoshida's arm. The electricity coursed through, causing Kamoshida's arm to twitch and miss just as he attempted to spike Ren to the floor.

In the midst of the dust and chaos, a barrage of fireballs erupted, each one aimed precisely at Kamoshida. The onslaught forced the towering fiend to stagger back, giving Ren, still suspended in the air, a chance to act. He summoned Anubis, who, with an elegant glide through the air, caught Ren, halting his descent. Then, with a majestic lift of her scales, Anubis unleashed a series of golden blades, each emanating with divine light, that sailed toward Kamoshida.

Kamoshida, with a dramatic gesture, raised his arm and summoned a massive volleyball into his hand. After which, with all the force of his monstrous form, spiked it directly at Ren.

"Shit." Ren cursed under his breath as the ball, charged with the ferocity of a lightning strike, hit him square in the chest. The impact sent him hurtling towards the throne room's wall. The collision was catastrophic, the wall giving way under the force, leaving Ren struggling for breath amidst the rubble. Yet, in that dire moment, a warm, soothing light enveloped him, offering a brief respite from the pain.

Inside the room, Captain Kidd charged headlong into Kamoshida. An impact that drew otherworldly purple blood from Kamoshida's wounds 

As Kamoshida raised his arm for another attack, he found his movements hindered, as if bound by unseen chains, courtesy of Shiho. And as he looked up, he saw a barrage of fireballs flying in his direction. Yet, with a desperate gesture, Kamoshida summoned Mishima, the student he had manipulated into servitude, to his defense. 

With Mishima's appearance, the fireballs all changed direction unnaturally toward him, turning the newly summoned version of the student into dust. This distraction, however brief, allowed Kamoshida to unleash a devastating blow on the ground, shattering it and sending Ann and Ryuji plummeting to the floor below.

The impact was brutal, but almost immediately, a rejuvenating warmth enveloped Ann and Ryuji, mending their wounds and bringing them back to full health.

Turning to look at Kamoshida, they saw him crawling down along the walls as if he were a spider. As the silence imposed by the Trickster's Decree faded Kamoshida turned to look at them, his gaze filled with madness as he shouted.

"I, your king, command: Burn," he decreed, igniting the surroundings in a ferocious blaze. 

Ann withstood the inferno with relative ease, but Ryuji felt as if he was about to be overwhelmed by the flames.

The thunderous sound of a bullet being fired echoed. A bullet pierced the air, striking Kamoshida and forcing him to the ground with a hand clutched over his eye. The shot was followed by an icy mist that cooled both of them. As they looked up, they saw a battered Ren with Belphegor beside him, the toilet-bound demon.

Sliding down through the rubble, Ren met up with the group as they prepared for the next wave of attacks. However, rather than attacking once again, Kamoshida raised his arm, causing a golden chalice to appear in it.

Noticing his actions, Ryuji and Ren charged forth, calling upon Captian Kidd and Eligor. They both prepared to attack with physical moves as they saw Kamoshida bring the chalice up to his lips, the wounds on his body letting out a small wave of steam as they began to close up.

"The chalice!" Ren shouted to bring attention to it, earning a nod from Ryuji next to him.

Captain Kidd soared into the sky aboard his spectral ship, then descended with force upon the chalice in Kamoshida's grasp, interrupting his healing. Following closely, Eligor brandished his spear, flames enveloping the weapon and leaving a fiery trail with each powerful swing.

"Carmen! Tarunda." Ann shouted from the backline as a wave of energy landed upon Kamoshida, weakening him just in time to dampen the blow that struck Ryuji, sending him flying through the air towards Ann, who, with the use of her persona, caught him.

Ren, quickly analyzing the situation, saw that things would turn for the worse if he didn't deal a more deadly strike. He called Tartuffe to change form into Archangel. The crimson knight was consumed by shadows to reveal an armored angel who held his sword aloft into the air, charging for his next attack.

Kamoshida, with a deranged glint in his eyes, conjured clones of Shiho, Ann, and the volleyball team, each armed with a volleyball, encircling him in a macabre display of power.

"Everyone, take cover!" Ren commanded, dodging to safety.

As Archangel charged forth, its blade shimmering with celestial energy, the girls launched the volleyballs into the air. In a swift, explosive motion, Kamoshida sent the volleyballs hurtling like shrapnel across the room, causing the castle itself to tremble.

When the dust settled, it revealed Kamoshida with a large gash on his chest, the room in ruins around him. Thankfully, though quite injured, Ann and Ryuji had been able to dodge most of the impact by taking cover. Ren, on the other hand, was close enough to Kamoshida that the volleyballs all flew past his head.

Grabbing Ren with one swing from the floor, Kamoshida raised him up in the air as a smile covered his face.

"Any last words, brat?"

Ren, who looked at Kamoshida, couldn't help but let out a smug smile.

"Yeah, I bet you'll never see this coming."

Morgana, who had stayed in the shadows this whole time, jumped through the rubble, snatching the crown from Kamoshida's head. At the same time, Zorro appeared behind the cat and slashed at his arm, causing him to drop Ren to the floor.

With the crown removed, Kamoshida's large frame became smaller. His appearance returning to his human self. His appearance looked quite haggard as the aftermath of the battle left him on the floor.

Ren landed on the ground somewhat gracefully, with Morgana handing the crown to Ren before standing next to him. As Kamoshida scrambled on the floor with fear, the rest of the group joined with Ren. Shiho did not look injured, yet she was walking full of exhaustion, the constant healing and support taking a toll on her energy.

"Nowhere left to run," Ren said as he handed his pistol to Shiho, who grabbed it from him and stepped in front of the group.

Kamoshida, seeing this, looked down as he muttered.

"I- I guess this is it, isn't it?"

Tears formed on his face as he looked up to Shiho from the floor.

"Go ahead, finish me off. You do that, and my real self will go down too… You have that right since you won…"

Shiho clutched the pistol in her hands with both hands before she shouted.

"We all saw what you did, you bastard! You don't deserve to live." She raised the gun, her arms trembling slightly before she let out a frustrated shout and kicked the kneeling Kamoshida in the gut.

"Damn it!" She shouted in frustration as she raised the gun again before bringing it back down. "I want to kill you, I really do! But if I do, then I am no better than you. And I'll kill myself before falling to your level." Shiho shouted with anger before handing down the gun to Ren. And starting to walk away through the rubble. 

"If we leave now with his treasure… His conscience would cause him to turn himself in…" Morgana said as the group turned to look at Ren, awaiting his decision.

A hush fell over the group, punctuated only by the castle's ominous quaking, signaling its imminent collapse. After a momentary pause, Ren holstered his pistol, his decision clear and final.

"I promised the last decision would be hers... Let's leave." he declared. 

As the group made their way out of the castle, they witnessed its monumental structure crumbling inward. One final look of destruction before they crossed the threshold back into the real world, leaving the crumbling castle behind.

~A/N~

Imma start working on the next chap, depending on how long it takes I might post later today or tomorrow. See ya!