XXXIII - Power of the Gods

33

Hades snapped his hands together and summoned two beings. "Meet Trarthron and Verut, they should be enough for the likes of you."

Kazuki smiles and tells the group to get ready. "Oh please, they will be dealt with quickly," Balak quips. "They don't stand a chance," Beru stated.

"Don't underestimate me, ant!" Trarthron yelled. "Everyone, attack now!" Rias commanded. Kazuki equips a light spear and chucks it at the demon who slaps it away. "Hmph, that stung. But it won't be enough!"

Verut charged at Kazuki, ready to end his life. Kiba jumps in front of him and stabs the creature with his sword. Verut was not impressed, the sword broke on impact. "T-this guy is a monster!"

"Puny runt," Verut attempted to swing his sword at the devil. Balak on the other hand was not about to let that happen. In a flash, he blocked Verut's sword with his own. The Oni grins, "You are no true demon!" With his two large horns, he decapitates Balak. "Hahaha! Who wants to go next!"

Verut now had his attention on Kazuki. He stands there with a smile on his face. "Smiling won't ease the amount of pain I am about to put you through."

"I don't think Balak appreciated getting decapitated," Kazuki says calmly. "The one I just killed? What the hell are you on about?"

The Oni then felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looks down to see Balak's sword. Then lightning was thrown at the two, it was Akeno using her elemental magic. Verut groaned in pain as this happened and Balak was largely unaffected.

"Sorry about that," Akeno says from the sky. "Don't worry about it," Balak answered. Igris then came to his assistance and used the Demon King's Longsword to pierce the Oni's skull. His body came crashing down.

[Verut has been defeated.]

Kazuki took this as his chance to raise the Oni. "ARISE!" He says with absolute authority.

[Name your soldier.]

"Your name shall be...Veru."

Issei, now using the power of a rook with his Sacred Gear, went in for an attack against Trarthron. "Dragon Shot!" The red burst of energy was blasted at Trarthron who was holding off multiple shadow soldiers. "You all are getting annoying!" Issei wasn't done, he ran straight for the demon.

Striking him face first. Issei smirks, "How do you like that?" He asked. "You are nothing!" Trarthron punches him so hard that he is sent flying off. Kazuki shakes his head in disappointment. "Issei!" Rias yelled. Both she and Asia came to his aid. He was knocked out.

Kiba, Akeno, Koneko, and Xenovia stepped forward, their weapons drawn and ready for battle. They knew that he would be a formidable opponent, but they were determined to defeat him.

The group charged towards Trarthron, their weapons clashing against his sword. Kiba spun around, his blade slicing through the air with deadly precision. Akeno summoned bolts of lightning, striking Trarthron with powerful shocks. Koneko charged forward as she prepared to deliver a crushing blow. Xenovia joined the fray, her sword clashing with Trarthron's.

Trarthron was caught off guard by their initial assault, but he quickly regained his composure. He began to unleash his full power, calling forth pillars of hellfire that engulfed the battlefield. The group scrambled to avoid the flames, but they soon found themselves trapped in Trarthron's telekinetic grip.

One by one, Trarthron picked them off, his sword cutting through their defenses like butter. Kiba's blade shattered, Akeno's lightning fizzled out, and Koneko's strength failed her. Xenovia stood alone, facing Trarthron in a showdown.

Xenovia knew that she was outmatched, but she refused to give up. She charged forward, and Trarthron swung his sword, but Xenovia managed to dodge the blow. The demon then used his telekinesis to force her to the ground.

He was about to make the finishing blow when he was pierced by one of the claws of Colossus. Titan then steps on Trarthron, who was struggling to break free. Kazuki was enjoying watching this happen but he wanted to get in on the action as well. "Step aside," he tells the two giants.

Trarthron got up to his feet, now staring down at Kazuki.

['Domain of the Monarch' is Active.]

Kazuki's eyes turned purple as did his soldiers. "I will have fun beating you down," he says. "Bring it on!" Trarthron yells.

"Shadows! Attack all at once!" Kazuki smirks as he sees the facial expression of Trarthron. "Are you nervous?" He questioned. "I will destroy you all!" Trarthron says, seething with rage.

The air was thick with tension as the eight warriors faced off against Trarthron, the powerful demon who had been wreaking havoc on their kingdom. Freed gripped his holy gun tightly, the metal cool against his palm as he prepared to fire. Beru, his fists clenched, shifted his weight from foot to foot as he prepared to pounce. Igris, stoic and focused, brandished his longsword with deadly intent. Veru, his katana held with practiced ease, snarled at the demon before her. Akuma, his movements fluid and graceful, prepared to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Kappa, his sword glinting in the light, readied himself for battle. Balak, the demon sword he wielded pulsing with dark energy, snarled at his opponent. And Kazuki, his holy light spears crackling with power, aimed.

Trarthron stood before them, his eyes glowing with malevolent glee as he lifted his hand. The warriors braced themselves as they felt a sudden pressure on their bodies, the demon's telekinetic powers threatening to crush them. But they held firm, their wills strong as they pushed back against the force.

With a roar, Beru charged forward, his fists striking out with lightning speed. Igris followed suit, his sword flashing as he delivered a series of swift strikes. Veru darted around Trarthron, her katana a blur as she sliced at him from different angles. Akuma danced around the demon, his martial arts skills allowing him to dodge and weave around his opponent's attacks.

Balak, the dark power of his demon sword pulsing through him, charged forward with a fierce battle cry. Kappa followed suit, his own sword flashing as he struck at Trarthron's defenses. Kazuki, his holy light spears crackling with divine power, let out a burst of energy that struck the demon square in the chest.

Trarthron stumbled back, his powers weakened by the onslaught of attacks. The warriors pressed their advantage, their attacks relentless as they fought to bring down their foe. Freed fired his holy gun, the shots finding their mark with deadly accuracy. Beru landed blow after blow, his fists striking with the force of a freight train. Igris's sword flashed as he cut through Trarthron's defenses, while Veru's katana sliced through his flesh. Akuma's martial arts skills proved too much for the demon to handle, while Balak's demon sword seemed to drain the very life from him. Kappa's sword struck true, while Kazuki's holy light spears burned away at Trarthron's dark power.

Finally, with a mighty roar, Trarthron fell to the ground, defeated. "Good job everyone," Kazuki says.

He attempts to use the shadow extraction skill on Trathron but it fails. Kazuki attempted it again and it failed. "It looks like this one is loyal to Hades..."

"That was quite the battle," Hades says. He and Beelzebub flew down to meet Kazuki face-to-face. Rias and her peerage watch on, not being too far away. "But I'm afraid this is where your fun ends."

Kazuki notices that Lucilius was not there, he looks around for him and sees him floating in the air with swords surrounding him.

In response, Kazuki revealed his 10 shadow wings which surprised the gods. He goes in the air now face to face with Lucilius. "Those look like the wings of a fallen angel but...what exactly are you?" He questioned.

"The Monarch of Shadows, Kazuki Tanaka." He chucks a light spear at the god. Lucilius blocks the attack with one of his swords. "Do you know who I am? I am Lucilius, the all-powerful Fallen Angel!"

"I can't believe I'm about to go head to head with an actual god. Tusk, strengthen me!" Kazuki yells.

[Tusk Skill: 'Hymn of Strengthening' is Active.]

"You cannot defeat me! No matter what tricks you pull off!" Lucilius says. One of his swords rushed straight towards Kazuki, the monarch dodging out of the way. "C'mon, show me what you're made of!" Kazuki demanded. Lucilius doesn't say anything, he just smirks. "What are you smiling at?"

"My liege!" Then suddenly, Beru tackled Kazuki out of the way. Lucilius' sword just missed them. "Woah didn't expect that. Nice save Beru."

"These guys seem quite powerful. I don't doubt your abilities but we may be in trouble," Beru says. Kazuki chuckled. "Yeah, I knew that the second I laid eyes on them," he admits. "Then why choose to fight?" The king ant questioned.

"I was just curious and wanted to meet Hades. Just didn't expect Beelzebub and Lucilius to even show up."

"If you manage to land an attack on me, I'll give you the Sword of Renunciation. You'll have a little advantage, although it would be quite minuscule."

"If that's all I have to do then you're on!" Kazuki states. "I never said it would be easy," Lucilius comments. "Iblis!" The Sword of Renunciation was aimed at Kazuki. It was so fast Beru couldn't react.

The sword launched into Kazuki's abdomen, causing him great pain. He slowly descended from the air. Not only was it painful, but the effects of it were also deadly. He was not able to move, he started to bleed, he felt weak, and most of all, he felt fear.

Balak catches him and brings Kazuki to Asia who didn't waste any time in healing him. He stopped bleeding but the other two effects were still active.

"Do you now understand what you are dealing with?" Lucilius questioned. "You are nothing but a plaything. You resurrect creatures as if you are some kind of god. But you are no god, but a mortal!"

These words stuck to Kazuki, maybe Lucilius was right. "My liege!" Beru lunged at Lucilius, nobody was going to harm his liege like that. "Get out of my sight!" Lucilius yells. The fallen angel uses the Sword of Repudiation to cut Beru into millions of pieces.

He watches as his attacks prove futile, Beru regenerates and claws the face of Lucilius. "Why you vile creature!" Beru let out an onslaught of attacks. The ant manages to ram the angel into the ground, creating a giant crater.

The rest of the shadows had been trying to fight Beelzebub and Hades, but they were too weak. The two gods were playing with them. Hades brought out a sword, to the shadows and Rias' peerage it seemed like he showed a small portion of his weapon.

Then all of the shadows were gone, and the members of the peerage were brutally wounded. "We are so dead! Kazuki, we need to quit the dungeon!" Issei yelled. Kazuki's soldiers were regenerating but this time it was going a lot slower.

This caught the ears of Beelzebub and Hades. "What do you mean?" Hades questioned. Before any of them could answer, the Sword of Renunciation's effects finally stopped. Kazuki got up to his feet. "No, not yet. I am not finished."

Kiba then noticed that Beelzebub had disappeared. It wasn't long until they heard a blood-curdling scream. It came from Asia. Beelzebub stood over the girl who had a hole where her heart should be.

All of this went unknown to Kazuki, he was in the air and was careful not to be too close to Lucilius. Kazuki puts both of his hands in the air. "What do you think you're doing?" Lucilius questioned. "Defeating you," Kazuki says with a smirk. "By putting your hands in the air? You are truly a fool."

Then the fallen angel finally notices. There was an uncountable amount of holy spears that Kazuki was ready to throw. "An unexpected move," Lucilius commented. Kazuki laughs, "I know." Kazuki launches the spears at the fallen angel.

But he was confused to see that Lucilius did not react. He didn't move, just stood still. Until he said one word: "Atheism." A force field was made around him which was able to deflect the spears.

Kazuki was not about to sit back and let this happen, he put his hand out and redirected the spears. Lucilius was unaware and was pierced by a large majority of them. The fallen angel smiles. "Impressive, but I believe you've already lost." As promised, he gave the Sword of Renunciation to him.

Kazuki catches the weapon and asks, "What do you mean by that?" Lucilius grinned, "The weak one is dead." His eyes went wide, immediately he looked to the battlefield where he saw Rias and her peerage. They were brutally wounded and his shadows were slowly regenerating. And then he saw her, he saw Asia. She was lying on the ground with a hole where her heart should be.

In the blink of an eye, he was by her side. "Why?" He quietly asked. Lucilius stepped onto the ground. "Which one of you did this?" Kazuki asked. "That would be me," Beelzebub answered.

Kazuki got up to his feet and faced the three gods. His body was surrounded by darkness, after a few seconds the dark aura started to take form. "I will make you pay!" He declared.

"Come at me," Beelzebub says.