The Strongest

"Let him get up! Let him get up!"

Enhancing his physical body with [Dark Strength], Grim kicked Lucifero one last time letting out his feelings of triumph.

While the power from the eclipse and his [Nogitsune] form wasn't enough to do any long lasting damage to the devil king, it would be a lie to say that humiliating Lucifero wasn't the highlight of his day.

As for that jumping thing? It was brilliant!

Who knew that fighting with someone else could be this fun?!

This may actually be the best day of his life.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. As the [Black Moon] slowly moved through the sky and the rays from his [Red Sun] began to shine through. The unique strength that he and Yami wielded vanished like smoke.

"Huh?" Losing his illusionary tail and ears, Yami's appearance returned to its natural state.

Even the black coloured [Nogitsune] fur that had covered Grim returned to its natural white.

But that was fine. From the begining Grim didn't really think that him and Yami could beat Lucifero. If anything, he just wanted to experience fighting alongside his captain.

***

'How could this be? I'm the king of devils aren't I? The Supreme Devil that reigns over all others? The absolute ruler of gravity?!

So why... WHY have I been cut, burned and stomped on like a mere ant!'

'THE ONE WHO RUINED MY ASENSION! GAVE ME THIS INCOMPLETE BODY!! DARED TO DAMAGE TO MY SOUL AND FORCE ME INTO THIS SICKENING HUIMILIATION!!!!'

It all stemmed from the same source!

GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM, GRIM.

As that name repeated itself over and over again, filling his head with mind numbing chaos. The rage inside of Lucifero's heart began to spread without limit as his immense powers started to go out of control.

Sensing that something wasn't right, Yami grabbed Grim and jumped back moments before the entire battlefield was torn to shreds by a level of destructive power that eclipsed anything shown so far.

Standing in the centre of it all, a disheveled looking Lucifero let out an inhumane roared that shook the hearts of everyone unlucky enough to hear it.

'Dammit.' Yami cursed clenching his fists.  'Weren't we just wailing on this guy a minute ago? How'd he suddenly get so strong?'

Letting go of Grim, he knew that the Lucifero in front of them now was an entirely different monster compared to the one that they had just embarrassed.

Panting heaviliy, the veins in Lucifero's eyes seemed to be on the brink of bursting as the gravity around him began distorting and collapsing space. Whatever had happened, it was clear that something about him had changed.

"He's gone feral." Adamelech muttered upon seeing the actions of his king.

Sacrificing his intelligence in order bypass his own mental limiters and draw out more power. With such a body, his power might tear him apart.

Within every being exists a mental limiter that stops them from accessing more power then their bodies can handle. Right now, Lucifero no longer had that limit. Without caring about the damage done to his body, he could now truly fight at 100 percent.

Roaring again, the world trembled.

Drawing out even more power, the passive mana leaking out of him cracked and shattered the space around him like it was made glass. Even the action of him simply blinking completely rearragned the landscape they were standing on.

'Shit.'

Frowning at the sight of all of this, Yami felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn't help but feel like their chances of winning this fight had fallen into the negatives.

In his opinion, the only magic capable of fighting against Lucifero was [Demon Slaying] and [Anti-Magic]. But with Asta still receiving treatment from Mimosa and Grim facing him without the support of [Blades of the Eclipse]. The likelihood of them coming out of this alive was so embarassingly small that it was a joke to even mention it.

Looking at Grim for a solution, just as he was about to speak up Grim suddenly cut him off.

"Alright, I'll take things from here."

"What!"

Placing his hand on Yami's shoulder, he pulled him back and stepped forward. Not even bothering to spare him a second look, Grim's eyes were fully focused on the feral Lucifero.

Compared to the 100% power the he had boasted about using before. The lucifero in front of him now felt like an actual threat. That power, that bloodlust! It made his body tingle. It was like his entire being was being stabbed by thousands of tiny needles. Even breathing was becoming harder.

Could he match him?

Could he win?

Could he even survive?

Feeling the beating of his restless heart, the corners of Grim's lips rose as the land around him was stripped away.

Win? Lose? Survive?

Who gave a fuck!

*GRINS!*

To fight someone of this calibre.

*BADUMP!*

Wasn't this what he always dreamed of?

*BADUMP!* *BADUMP!*

What he had trained for?

*BADUMP!* *BADUMP!**BADUMP!*

What he fought for!

*BADUMP!* BADUMP!* *BADUMP!* *BADUMP!*

"Ha...Ha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" He suddenly started laughing in a way that made Yami feel uncomfortable.

'This kid, what's he planning?'

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! YES! YES!! YES!!!" He suddenly roared towards the feral devil king who eyed him with unconcealed hatred.

Unfortunately, the only answer he would receive was a feral sounding roar.

"THERE IT IS!" He celebrated unable to hide his excitement. "THAT POUNDING IN YOUR CHEST! THAT BEATING OF YOUR HEART!"

Clenching both his fists, the ground and sky began to tremble at the rising of his mana.

"THIS IS IT LUCIFERO!"

*Rocks start to levitate*

'What is this?'

"THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ALIVE!"

'What the hell is happening!?'

In Yami's eyes, Grim was tweaking.

As his body began to convulse, the air started around them started to tremble and phantom-like roars echoed from the infinite void.

Whatever Grim was doing, it wasn't just affecting him. Just like Lucifero, his presence was begining to leave its mark on the world.

Ultimate Magic, a power created by the naturally talented Elves.

Mana Method and Mana Zone, techniques born of human ingenuity.

Great and powerful abilities that shaped the current world into what it was today.

But was that all there was to it? Was there truly nothing more?

No! He refused to believe it!

To walk down a path that someone else had paved. His ego couldn't take it.

That was why he refused to learn mana zone, mana method and ultimate magic. He wanted something of his own. An ability that was unique to him. Something that belonged to him and him alone.

Suddenly Grim's body started making strange noises and started getting taller and his muscles thicker. The length of his whitened hair suddenly started growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even his once pristine and ethereal skin took on a darker bronze shade.

"What... what is this..." Lucifero muttered. Despite sacrificing some of his intelligence, whatever Grim was doing, by instinct it forced the dormant part of Lucifero's savage mind to return to the surface.

With his eyes glowing a bright yellow, Grim's rounded pupils constricted transforming themselves in vertical slits as his cainine teeth grew sharper and sharper eventually resembling shortened fangs and giving him a slight demonic feel.

Shooting him a hate filled glare, Grim's body became stranger and more terrifying than that of a supreme devil. With his increase in height that put him on equal footing with Lucifero. Strange chains wrapped around his forearms, white coloured fur settled on his neck and shoulders.

But what really forced his mind back to the surface was the aura of ferocity gushing out from the boy. Something about it felt old- no, it was primal. The sheer pressure emanating out of his body caused his hair to float above his head and three savage looking claw-like tattoos decorated both sides of his cheeks.

But the strangest thing yet was that his feet began to pierce into the rocky ground below as if it was made of quicksand. His weight had increased by a tremendous amount.

Wide open and floating in front of him, his grimoire flipped to a completely blank page that only had a single line on it:

[Breath of the Beast: 0th Form: Beast Beyond The Heavens]