4 Lucifer, Lucifer
Feed me power stones, to satiate my infinite hunger.
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"The Great Leviathan is that one
Creature in the world which must
Remain unpainted until the last."
-Herman Melvillie
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A roar ripped through the sky, a power making itself known across the world. The air distorted, as a foreign energy met with the magical energy in the air. A hum of power, beyond anything ever felt before.
Why? Why was I in such pain? What have I done to deserve this?
[Emergency Life Form Activated]
[Truth Idea Activated]
[Germination of the Seed of Light: 1%]
My mind was full of pain.
"[Warning. Activating Book Ezekiel, Chapter 7, Verse 8.]"
A robotic, female voice wrang through the alley way, like the voice of the world itself warning of an upcoming disaster. A force of nature that cannot be stopped, and to warn those near to evacuate.
{"I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you."}
Pure, utter power raged through the alley way, as something manifested. An invisible figure, with 4 wings spreading out from behind the formless golden figure. In one hand it held a flaming sword, and in the other a golden scale. The scale tipped, as fire poured out of one side of the scale, like a sea of fire that filled the alleyway.
The devil jumped back, and placed her hand on the ground, ice beginning to spread throughout the alley, creating a wall between the fire and herself, before she quickly began to run off.
I was no longer myself. Who was I? Ahh. It hurts. Punish the demon. Punish the devil. I followed quickly, my body materializing into light, reappearing some ways out.
"I've never seen that sacred gear before. It seems like an unknown Longinus just based on the power. But it seems to have gone out of control. I suppose that is partially my fault. That is why I won't kill you when you are defeated." She spoke casually. I heard her dozens of miles away from where I stood. But I heard easily, for God knows all things.
"I am going to have to have another annoying meeting with Yakasa about fighting in Shinto territory, so don't blame me for roughing you up a bit as compensation .I will end this quickly. [Celsius Cross Trigger]." Power flowed throughout the land, and the entire landscape, as far as the eye could see, was turned to Ice.
["Warning. Activating Book Ephesians. Chapter 6. Verse 11."]
{"Put on the full [Armor of God], so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."}
[Warning: Activating Book Ephesians. Chapter 6. Verse 14]
{"Stand firm then, with the [Belt of Truth] buckled around your waist, with the [Breastplate of Righteousness] in place,"}
My body was covered with pure light, brighter and hotter than a trillion stars. Yet nothing was burned or scorched. The ice easily burned away, not even a single inch of it remained. Yet the ground did not burn. The grass grew, the flowers turning to me, like a sunflower turning to face the sun. The Devil's eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing.
"Anti-Ice and Anti-Demonic attacks? Counter classing me this early in the fight? What a tryhard. The villain should wait until the Hero powers up first and gives a speech before attacking. I haven't even transformed into my Sailor Moon Uniform." She complained, as if this was an everyday occurrence.. But inside, she was panicking.
'My Ice will do little against that armor. My Celsius Trigger was burned away just by the pure heat of the armor, not even its Anti-Demonic attributes. Even if I were to use magic other than ice, my demonic power would be countered by the Holy power it radiates. anyways.'
She scowled. This might be slightly more problematic than she thought. She might have to use 'that'. She became a little worried. This sacred gear was strange. Most sacred gear were well known, and there was no way such a powerful Sacred Gear would go unnoticed.
That meant it was likely one of the Holy Relics. But they were elusive, and rarely awakened even if by chance a Human happened to be born with one of them. Judging by the fire, she guessed that he possessed the [Incinerate Anthem]. But most of the Holy Relic Sacred Gears were closely guarded and tracked by the Church.
["Warning. Activating Book Ephesians. Chapter 6. Verse 17"]
{"Take the [Helmet of Salvation] and the [Sword of the Spirit], which is the [Word of God]"}
A roman-like centurion helmet manifested, masking his head and face from her view. A sword appeared in his hands, with dozens of small glyphs and symbols carved into it, radiating with light.
The boy disappeared, before reappearing in an instant, sword poised to decapitate the demon. Her eyes widened, but she had no time to react. She wanted to scream, as her very existence was burned, purged and exorcized. Her very core, her being itself, was being burned away. Her Demonic Power was quickly dispersed by the aura of the sword, and she could see no escape.
"[Mahāpadma]" The word was spoken, and the world froze. As Space and Time themselves froze, allowing a few seconds to move back, before it resumed. The sword barely missed, and she could feel a single scratch from the sword would be fatal. Her ultimate trump card, a technique that used almost all of her power, a single get-out-of-jail-free card. It's name was that of one of the 8 Cold Hell's in Hindu Cosmology.
She was sweating, pushing herself into overtime. Her instincts were screaming at her. She almost died. This was no longer a simple out of control sacred gear. This was a life-or-death battle. She called upon her magic, her power spreading far and wide.
Everyone in Japan noticed now. From the Yokai, to the Shinto Deities, immeasurable power ruptured forth, rivaling the Kotoamatsukami. She began to use her demonic power to its fullest.
Her magic was something of an oddity. Unlike most of the other Demon Clan's magic, the Sitri's Water Control was rather lackluster. It was much less conceptual compared to the Belial Clans [Worthlessness], the Bael's [Power of Destruction], or even the Extra Demon Clan's magic, like the Abaddon Clan's [Hole].
But, her Ice Magic, a variation and adaptation of the Sitri's Water Magic, was much more powerful. It was the manipulation of the Energy within Water, to turn it to ice. And the manipulation of energy was a powerful thing.
She rushed in, intent on quickly ending this. A prolonged battle would be bad, and she wasn't as confident in her victory as she once was. Her instincts from the War flared up, and her demeanor shifted.
She was no longer Serafall Leviathan, the Leader in charge of Foreign Affairs, but Serafall Sitri, one of the 4 generals whose power was enough to overthrow the previous Satan's during the great war.
She uttered her first spell, runes beginning to appear mid air. "[ˈnivlˌhɛimz̠]". Magic itself was not what most people think. It was not created by the certain movement of a wand, the pronunciation of a spell, or the materials of the wand or catalyst. It was done with pure power and imagination.
The runes were Old Norse for "World of Mist", meaning Nifilheim, one of the 9 Realms that existed on the World Tree, the Land of the Ice ,and the realm of the dead controlled by the Goddess Hel.
The land was once again covered in Ice, but a thousand times more potent. Serafall was someone who had visited everywhere, and was friends with many people as the person in charge of Foreign Affairs, and had become an acquaintance with Hel during her visits, a lonely and gloomy God who dwelled with the dead in Niflheim. She taught her the Magic of Runes, in exchange for her help in tracking down a Sacred Gear long ago.
This spell was much more potent, not being powered by demonic energy, but rather from the Word Tree itself. The Runes she learned from Hel connected to Yggdrasil, creating a hellscape less powerful that her famous [Celsius Cross Trigger]. But, the holy energy radiating from the Sword didn't burn away the icy terrain, as it was not made of Demonic Energy, but invoked through the power of Runes.
She then raised her hand, tracing along the air from her clenched fist, as if an invisible blade was held in her hand. She then put down her hand, as ice began to form from the water in the air, making a razor-thin blade.
"I haven't gotten this serious since in a while. I'm sure Ajuka will be ecstatic to study your Sacred Gear." She mildly taunted. She wasted no more time as she rushed forward, swinging her sword in a wide arc, before it met the boy's flaming sword. They clashed, as power began to roll off each blade. They repeatedly clashed, as their strikes met. Serafall disengaged, flying back, frowning. She was no swordswoman, and rather preferred spells, but she expected her skills would exceed that of a human boy who seemed to have never wielded one before. She had lived for hundreds of years after all, and had her fair share of sword fights. Another effect of his strange sacred gear?
She raised her hand as her wand reappeared, and dozens of magic circles formed mid-air, pelting him with spells. Thousands of spells formed, of fire, water, lightings, and dozens of other kings.
[Warning: Activating Book Ephesians. Chapter 6. Verse 16.]
{"In addition to all this, take up the [Shield of Faith], which can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One."}
A golden shield manifested on his left arm, and the many magic spells dissipated before they even touched him. Without moving it, her hundreds of spells were counted effortlessly.
Despite her relaxed attitude, she was sweating now. Her energy was slowly being eaten away, and was not replenishing fast enough. She had to call for help. She abandoned her pride, and held out her hand, her sword dispersing. She began to chant as more attacks pelted him. Runes began to form in the air, as she finished her spell, the mechanical voice spoke once again.
["Warning. Activating Book Revelation. Chapter 12. Verse 9."]
{"And the Great Dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, The Deceiver of the Whole World-he was thrown down to the Earth, and his angels were thrown with him."}
She ignored the voice, and called her only peerage member to her side.
"Come to me, your King. Rise, [Magical Beast King of the Earth - Behemoth.] "
She opened her eyes, as a giant monster rose from the earth, colliding with the flaming figure as it flew towards her. It roared as the earth itself shook beneath the fighting figures.
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Rain was pouring from storm clouds, heavier than anything that had been seen in generations. The Japanese government issued a Heavy Flooding alert. A Lot of the Supernatural thought Susanoo was fighting another god who insulted him again. The entirety of Japan stayed indoors, as lighting continuously flashed in the cloud overhead.
I was standing, panting and exhausted. My mind was fuzzy, with barely any coherent thought besides 'I need to go back home.' My arm was ripped off, blood having soaked the left side of my uniform. I looked around, without moving my head.
I could barely move, I was so exhausted. I looked in front of me. The person in front of me was much worse for wear, all things considered. Her entire form was soaked with blood, with one of her arms severed. Though this was the first time it didn't immediately regenerate. I had cut it off dozens, maybe hundreds of times before. She was breathing slowly, her hair undone and messy. Her clothes were completely gone, making me pity her as rain poured on her naked form.
Yet, I felt no compassion. Only disgust. All around us was a hellscape of our battle, that I could barely comprehend, let alone remember. The spear … yes the spear. It rested in my right hand, propping me up. It appeared as she slashed my arm, to take her legs as retaliation.
I felt its power dwindling, as if it used up a lot of its durability during the battle. I felt the precede before as it washed over me, taking control. But now it was weakened significantly, as if this battle took a lot of its power.
"Ahhh … Sona … tan." The girl muttered weakly. I recognized the name, but couldn't bring myself to ask, or care. All around us was destruction and carnage. Bodies of people, buildings destroyed. The city itself was flooded, the water rising to my knees.
The entire city of Kyushu had been destroyed. Over 10 million citizens were killed. Murdered. Dead. By my hand. It would be remembered as a disaster for centuries.
I felt a pain in my chest. Guilt. Regret. How many families were ended, young children were killed, innocent blood was spilled? How could I live with myself? Should I just kill myself now?
No. I couldn't do that to my mother. It would break her heart. I pushed down my emotions, my guilt and regret. This was not the time. I still had a job to do. This battle was won, but not over. I looked at the pathetic figure in front of me, the pouring rain making hearing anything impossible, let alone conversation.
I felt a stream of information from the Spear enter my mind. Leviathan. The Beast of the Sea. Besides that, the spear offered no more information.
I was fed up, not caring about anything besides revenge. I stumbled forward, the spear helping me to keep myself upright, leaning against it as I hobbled forward, to the downed body of the girl.
I looked down on her with hatred and disgust, feeling a storm of emotions within me. So many dead. And for what? I didn't even really understand what had happened. Only that whatever happened, it wasn't worth the cost. That so many died.
I pushed myself upright, looking over her body, covered with blood and wounds. Most looked fatal, and she looked like she would die in a few minutes. I shakily lifted the spear, with the intention of piercing her heart and killing her. If I didn't, she would likely track me down and attack me again, leading to even more casualties.
I placed the tip at her heart, and the point sunk into her skin a bit, drawing blood. I shifted my grip, placing the spear over my shoulder, like I was about to throw a Javelin. I would strike the heart of the Leviathan.
I let out a shaky breath, my hands cold and wet, the spear shaking in my grasp. She would die, and all those lives would be avenged. After all, it was her fault. If she hadn't attacked me, no lives would have been lost. Kyushu wouldn't have been destroyed.
It was all her fault. So many lives lost. Children, young innocent souls that ended with no warning. Families ripped apart. So many lives lost. They needed to be avenged, so they can rest in peace. Right?
I was frozen, unable to push the spear further into her heart. I finally looked at her face, meeting her eyes. They were tired, with regret and sadness in them. And pity. Pity for who? Me? She opened her mouth, mouthing the words.
'Do it.'
I felt angry. She was pitying me? Not those children she murdered, killed, and those who still lived, and made into orphans? Those parents whose children and lover they lost?
I was still frozen, the spear shaking. Her eyes were partially covered by her hair, which was no longer in pony-tails. She looked pathetic. She looked human.
Didn't she call out Sona Shitori's name? Was she her sister, or mother? A close friend? Did it really matter? Did it change the lives she took, the children with no family, who would live the rest of their lives alone in misery?
I grit my teeth, determination to finish her here filling my mind. But I didn't. The spear was still frozen in my grasp, vibrating slightly. It was responding to her presence. Was she precise what awakened the spear?
I bit my tongue, the pain searing my brain. Why was I thinking about that right now? Was that what really mattered? My enemy was in front of me. I must finish what I started. I must kill her.
I looked into her eyes, pushing the spear a bit more. She winced in pain, crying out. Blood poured out of her mouth, and the wound above her heart. The pain, pity, and acceptance within her gaze made my heart hurt. Guilt, and regret were also in that gaze. How could someone like her feel guilt? She had killed so many people.
Who was I kidding?
I let go of the spear, collapsing to the ground. It clattered to the ground, dissolving into particles of light.
My one good arm was weak, my mind in a state of delirium from the blood loss. What the hell was I thinking? Could I really kill someone, and take a life? When they had a family and ones who cared about them? Even if every instinct in my body told me to kill her? Even when she was a Devil, a creature of darkness and Evil?
Who was I kidding? Evil? So what if she was a Devil? I new humans that fucking Lucifer wished he could be as evil as. There was no such thing as a purely Evil being. And even if they did exist, No creature of darkness nor monster of the night could even come close to being as evil as humans.
I also knew if I killed her, more might come after me. They would hunt me down and try to kill me, then try to kill my mother as well. I would then hunt them down, and the cycle would continue, till one of us died. Over and over.
Did she have a family, a reason for living and attacking me?
And if she did, how could I live with myself, knowing she had a family? People who would miss her and wish death on me for killing her? Just like all those innocents she killed in our battle?
Was it really her fault for all this destruction? Maybe it was my fault for all these people's deaths. I recognized this as cowardice and a coping mechanism, to take the blame on myself to justify my actions of sparing her.
It was my own moral justification. And it rang hollow even in my own ears. I was a coward. It was as simple as that. I didn't have the guts or the courage to kill a person, even if they were evil.
I began to chuckle, before throwing my head back and breaking out into laughter, as my lungs screamed at me in protest. I then fell into a coughing fit, throwing up blood. Rain soaked every inch of my body, leaving me shivering and cold.
"I guess I overdid it a bit.." I muttered to myself, as I leaned my back against a nearby wall in a sitting position. I was dying. That much I knew.
I was human. Mortal. Limited. My body wasn't made for this kind of exertion. It was a miracle it sustained this kind of battle for this long anyways. To put it simply, I overexerted. I pushed myself too hard.
One of the silly things about fiction was that it portrayed exercise and strength falsely. My mind went to a scene from a movie in my previous life. The teacher of a student berated the student for overexerting, for training too hard. I laughed at him, and thought the teacher was stupid.
Pushing yourself too hard? Too much training or exercising? That was silly. Instead, the protagonist should just exercise as much as possible, to become as strong as possible. Then, because they tried so hard, they would be stronger than anyone. Simple, right?
But, I found out myself, that was untrue. The human body has limits, and can only push so far. It was fragile, and only changes a little bit at a time, or else it won't work at all. The human body was painfully limited.
I had pushed past my limits in this battle, that was without question. But that pain, tiredness, and stiffness after exercising existed for a reason. To help regulate the body. To maintain a stable condition that wasn't dangerous. The body maintains a careful balance at all times, in thousands of ways.
You broke yourself down, to build up again stronger. This is what most people consider to be the main focus and reason for exercise. But I had pushed it too far.
I pushed past my limits, destroying my body completely. With no regard for my health and future, I had destroyed every inch of my being to push myself a little further, with no hope for my body to build back up again. No resting, sleep, exercise or eating to help. I had destroyed myself completely.
I coughed up more blood, my throat burning and sore now. I was shivering, probably suffering from hypothermia as my body was too weak to regulate my body temperature. I had flown too close to the sun, and my wax wings had melted.
The world was going darker, as the girl had now stood up, her arm now regenerated. I didn't bother trying to meet her gaze, knowing my body was too weak to even tilt my head back. I pushed air into my lungs, taking a deep breath. Each breath felt like a monumental task, like rolling a boulder eternally up a hill. And each breath just got harder and harder as I got closer and closer to the peak of the hill.
I tried to speak, coughing a bit and wincing. She knelt down, sitting on her knees, leaning in close to my face, filled with guilt and concern. She cupped my cheek, moving my head to look me in my eyes. She then brushed my wet hair out of my face.
"M … other." I spoke after some time. I blankly thought about what I said, wondering if she thought I was delirious and calling her my mother. Strangely, I was calm. My delirium had passed, and my emotions were dull. I was serene and saddened. It was strange. I don't remember how I died in my previous life, nor what awaited me. I just simply awakened here.
Despite killing millions of people for no reason, despite causing so much damage and destruction, I found myself not regretting that in my final moments. Instead, I only regret was having to put my mother through the pain of what would happen to her after my passing.
I had no memory of an afterlife, or some memory of my time in oblivion. Despite having died before, I was still afraid. Of what would happen to me, to my mother after I passed. I was scared. The girl leaned in close, seeing the fear and sadness in my eyes. Resting my head against her shoulder.
I didn't want to reincarnate again. I fear my life to end with nothing of note done again, like I had proven the last two times. I wasn't worthy of such a gift. I proved that as I wasted my second life away, doing nothing. Instead, I wished for my mother's reincarnation. A new life where she could be happy, and have as many children as she wanted, who actually loved and cared for her. An actual loving husband, instead of some hookup who left at the first opportunity.
If there was a God. Please, give my mother the same gift you gifted me in my place. I only wish that she would live a happy life. Without my intervention, without me possessing her son, without the burden of my existence on her shoulders.
"T-the dr-dream was good…." I spoke with my final breath.
And my chest did not rise again.
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No, this WILL NOT be the same story of getting reincarnated as Serafall's Queen, etc, etc. Yes, inspiration for Serafall's Character was taken from A Demon Lord's Hero. Yes, Serafall will be a love interest.
Kotoamatsukami is a term that refers to the Original/Primordial Gods in Shinto Mythology that existed before Izanami and Izanagi, for those who don't know. And yes, Serafall's Trump card was copied from Esdeath's Trump card from Akame Ga Kill. I'm uncreative okay?!
The ending of the Introductory Arc should be ending soon, and then Crossover elements from Fate will show themselves. Yes, there will be world travel, likely into other anime's as well. And no, the part about Behemoth is Cannon. He is canonically apart of Serafall's Peerage.
As well, alot of the explanation for the setting and mechanics of the story will be explained within the next few chapters.
I'm trying to establish Yasao as a character, who will be very similar to Cao Cao. I want to keep most of his aspects, notably the hatred of the (Changed to certain aspects of the) Supernatural, and goal of creating his own faction among Humans.
Power scaling with be toned back a lot, this is just for narrative purposes right now, so don't worry about an Overpower MC right of the bat. And I really don't want an Overpowered MC at all.
This chapter was originally alot longer, but was cut in half due to it being too long. In concern to updates, my goal is about 1 chapter a week of 5k words. The next two chapters are already written, so I will try to update every Monday. I was supposed to post this yesterday, but was too lazy to be bothered.
I love to read comments, reviews, and any sort of constructive criticism, so please don't be afraid to comment. Or just yell at me to work faster. Feed me power stones, to satiate my infinite hunger. And give me motivation to continue to write. I read almost of the comments, and discussion makes me happy.
