Battle Start!
As the massive Leviathan glared down on them absolutely no one was concerned in the slightest, and they instead made small talk of how impressive the size and power of the beast was, even though it released a mental attack that would've crippled most hardened warriors with fear. After several seconds Alex asked,
"So who wants to go first? From what I can see this monster is at a divine level that eclipses anything we've seen so far on Tortus." A ripple of interest passed through the group at his words, while the divine beast glared at them before roaring once more, as if demanding to know why they weren't terrified at the sight of it. Though several of those gathered wanted to fight it, the first one to speak up was surprisingly Ingvild, who asked,
"Um, can I try first?" This surprised everyone as they knew she didn't like fighting too much, but Alex interrupted Vali's attempt to speak up by saying,
"Of course, do as you want." Ingvild gave him a look of gratitude while Vali glared at him as if demanding why he couldn't go to fight it first. As Ingvild slowly flew out in front of them the divine beast focused its attention on her, causing her to flinch slightly as it's mental attack increased in intensity. Without faltering however, Ingvild stared back at it intently before she suddenly started summoning massive amounts of demonic power. As her power continued to grow, a noticeable change started manifesting in Ingvild's appearance, as her skin was suddenly starting to grow emerald scales and fins also started appearing in places like her ears, between her fingers, and along her arms. Once her super devil transformation was complete she looked like an upgraded version of the Dagon race like Remia and Myuu, before the sea started to boil and rise up around her.
"Even though I don't like fighting, I practiced in secret so that I wasn't always the one being protected!" She declared as the water around her formed into several dragons, before attacking the Leviathan. Seeing the sea rise against it, the divine beast grew even more enraged at the fact that someone dared stand against it as lord of the sea, and blasted a fire of unimaginable magnitude at the insolent woman. Unperturbed, Ingvild made the sea rise in front of her as a shield even as the fire evaporated it in an instant, but with literally and endless supply of water at her disposal Ingvild's composure never wavered. Instead it was the leviathan who suffered first, as the dragons she created from the sea tore literal chucks of flesh from its body, turning the sea red with its blood as it stopped attacking her to deal with the irritating attackers. It thrashed and bit, and breathed fire at the attacking water dragons even though they simply reformed after each attack, much like itself after they tore chuck after chuck of flesh from its body. The Leviathan was growing increasingly frustrated even as its destroyed flesh regenerated, but it stopped suddenly as it just noticed a peculiar sound drifting through the air.
"Why does she have to do that?" Vali groaned as he squirmed uncomfortably, along with Alex and Tio as they too felt the effects of Ingvild's singing, even though she wasn't targeting them. The Leviathan started roaring in frustration as it swung its head back and forth, as if doing so would remove whatever influence the song was having on it. Ingvild couldn't help but smile as she slowly flew closer to the leviathan while making her water dragons back slowly away, before dispelling them altogether. The leviathan was so distracted with the effects of Ingvild's singing that it never even noticed her approach until she was right in front of it, and as if it lost all will to resist it did nothing as she slowly reached out with her hand until she could feel the smooth metallic scales beneath her palms.
"Is she doing what I think she's doing?" Rias incredulously asked no one in particular, as Ingvild continued to slowly stroke the Leviathan's head while maintaining her singing. Eventually it stopped resisting altogether, and a nearly thunderous sound different from hat they'd heard so far started rumbling thought the air, as it closed its eyes in contention and seemed to start purring.
"That's a good boy...." Ingvild said slowly and calmly as she finally stopped her song and continued petting the massive beast, much to everyone's surprise. As the minutes ticked by, they all watched as Ingvild tamed a dragon that was obviously on a different level compared to a "Dragon King" like Fafnir, and even Ddraig said to Alex mentally,
<I'm pretty interested in what's gonna happen if we bring that thing back with us, too bad it's not as advanced as the rest of us mentally though...> Alex couldn't help but agree as he couldn't see Ingvild leaving the Leviathan behind, something that was confirmed when they heard her say,
"I think I'll call you Levi, short for Leviathan!" As if pleased at its name Levi's purrs increased in volume until it felt as if the air around them was vibrating. Ddraig then added as a sad afterthought,
<To think such a powerful dragon would fall to the point of accepting being treated akin to a pet, that woman's ability is truly terrifying.> As everyone heard him this time they all nodded in agreement, as Ingvild's ability easily made her the most dangerous person in Asora, making them all grateful that she was kind and caring person. After several more minutes of her calming Levi, Ingvild finally released her transformation and sat herself on top of its head and said,
"It's ok now, she'll accompany us the rest of the way." no one argued with her logic as they all once more followed Alex's lead, though Alex heard Vali mutter,
"Maybe I'll be able to fight it later when we return." Alex shook his head wryly at that, but decided not to comment. As Levi joined them a space that was previously empty of anything except water started shimmering, before an island appeared before them. It wasn't too hard to deduce that the island was the place with the next gate, so they unhesitatingly flew to it while Ingvild happily followed atop Levi's head. Though the island also processed a myriad of powerful monsters, none of them even compared to Levi, so they were considered nothing but small fry as they blasted through to the gate. On the other side the ocean of water was replaced by an ocean of clouds, as the only ground they could see was the many floating islands covered in rush vegetation.
"Wow..." Shizuku muttered absentmindedly, as Alex stated,
"I am definitely having this kind of environment added to one of the space-time orbs." everyone nodded absentmindedly as they admired the amazing view before them. This didn't last long though as they remembered the reason they had come to this place, and so they advanced towards the largest floating island in order to advance. As they were about to reach it however, everyone suddenly reacted as they sensed killing intent surrounding them before hundreds, then thousands, then what seemed to be millions of silver haired people appeared. As they were slowly surrounded Alex said,
"Well, here's your fight." This caused everyone to get into a battle ready state as one of the apostles got closer to them and said,
"We are here to purge your heretical existences from our masters world, but before we do that I have been instructed to demand you hand over the existence known as "Nyx". If any of you do this then my merciful master may spare you from the slaughter that will be commenced in his name." Alex snorted in response to the apostles offer along with the majority of those with him, but before he could actually say anything Noint stepped forward and said,
"Hearst, I see you have been promoted in my absence." Hearst glared down at her former superior, and spat at her,
"Indeed, but do not fret Noint, I will put your memory to rest by eliminating those who have corrupted you before destroying the heretical being you have become!" Noint couldn't help but sigh as she replied,
"It was our creator who threw me away, leading to my "corruption". I have simply come to realize that our creator is not all powerful, and that there is such things as free will." As Noint spoke Hearst's eyes narrowed even further as she said,
"How far you've fallen, to even believe such false concepts as free will to exist, and to lose your faith in the most powerful being to exist. It will be my mercy to you, as our former leader, to erase you as swiftly as possible." Though her former second-in-command was still threatening her, Noint did not react. Instead she touched a couple of her fingers to her lips and asked with a slightly melancholic expression,
"Tell me Hearst, have you ever felt the softness of another person's lips on your own?" This question had what seemed to be an unusual effect on Hearst as she actually seemed to flinch slightly at it, but before she could say anything else Noint continued,
"What about the warmth of another person's body against your own? The heat of passion as you embrace your lover? The slight fluttery feeling in your stomach the next morning as you lay in bed together? These are all things I have experienced in the short time since our creator abandoned me, and in such a short time it feels as if I have truly lived more than I had during my entire existence." As she spoke a phenomenon that should have been impossible happened. To ensure their superiority and to lessen their sense of self, all apostles were set to share their memories and experiences with the other, the only existing differences being their names and individual capabilities. When she was discarded by Ehito the connection Noint maintained with her fellow apostles was completely severed but, during this moment as she recalled what were now her fondness moments, Hearst experienced fleetingly the memories and feelings Noint had experienced herself at this time. As this brief and fleeting connection reached Hearst, it was automatically transmitted to each and every one of the apostle surrounding them, causing them to flinch unconsciously and irritably. Though she retained her composure, Hearst pointed at both Noint and Alex and declared with a slight red tinge on her cheeks,
"You will both die now for that blasphemous mental attack!" With a single gesture from her the entire sky darkened as it was filled with fluttering silver wings and hair in the millions. As the tidal wave of attackers approached them, Alex could help but state,
"Aren't these numbers a little exaggerated?" Noint nodded in response next to him, and replied,
"It is possible that after the destruction of the mass produced dragon army, my creator started creating more apostles en mass in preparation for our inevitable attack. Thankfully they shouldn't be as capable as myself or even an average one of my kinsmen as a result." Alex nodded before turning back towards everyone and saying,
"I'm going to go on ahead, stay here and play to your hearts content. There's literally millions of opponents so don't complain." With that said Alex deployed the six drones Hajime gave him, and used the key and compass once more to open a gate to Ehito's location as one of the drones followed him. As he left Sairaorg turned towards the mass moving towards them and asked,
"So, a free for all then?" There was a round of agreement at his proposition, as everyone replied,
"Sounds good~Nyan."
"I like that idea!"
"Well, at least we can still fight without holding back!"
"This one will enjoy this immensely!"
"Like there's any other option."
"I would request that Hearst is left to me, as her former commander I feel as if it is my duty to personally see to her." No one contested Noint's request, and instead focused on their own fight as literally millions of enemies descended onto the sixteen people(seventeen counting Levi).
***
As the gate closed behind him Alex found himself in a space not too different from the one they were in when they first arrive in the divine realm, the biggest difference though was that the surrounding space was darker than the one before. A long pathway that seemed to be made of chalk extended it in front of him, leading to a set of stairs. Alex unhesitatingly made his way to the stairs, and looked up to see them veiled in light at the top. Without hesitation he went up the stairs and found himself now in an expansive pure white space. As he looked around and saw nothing but white Alex muttered,
"Even if I wasn't a devil I'd still get a head ache from looking at all of this..." As he looked around a voice suddenly said,
"So, you are the one who has decided to bear your fangs at God, and even invaded my home so impudently." Alex turned to find a some of the white fading like a curtain, to reveal a platform with a throne atop it. "Sitting" in the throne was a being that didn't seem to have any distinguishing features due to the fact that it was only a spiritual existence. Alex could tell that it was vaguely humanoid and seemed to have wings protruding from its back as if to emulate an angel, but it was also giving off an intense light while also contradicting this to be somewhat transparent. As the two looked each other over, Ehito demanded,
"So where is the so called goddess called Nyx? If you were going to deliver yourself to me for death couldn't you at least have the decency to bring her with you Instead of making me look for her when I slaughter your comrades?" Alex snorted before responding,
"Wow, you're even more irritating in person. Though I have no obligation to answer you, I will say that even if I did bring her it wouldn't have made a difference. Unlike a pretender like you, she was born a goddess, making her an existence on a different level than you or me, even if we are both more powerful than her." Ehito frowned at this as he could see that Alex wasn't lying when he said this, meanwhile back in Asora the goddess of night and darkness in question beamed as she watched the two on the projection. As Alex had stated, even if Ehito tried to take over her body he would have been unable to contend with the mental abilities of a genuine born goddess, regardless of who was stronger with magic between them. Annoyed at this fact, Ehito raised a finger and directed a random attack of magic at Alex, causing the entire space to ripple and bend with its intensity as a massive portion of the surrounding white to be destroyed. Even after causing such damage Ehito didn't believe that Alex was dead, as cockroaches were the most annoying yet the most tenacious of pests. Instead he opened his mouth and stated,
"I command in the name of Ehitorujue-" But he never finished whatever he was about to command, as a Haki covered fist came flying out of nowhere to collide with his face, sending the god flying across his own space. Though there was no damage to the surroundings due to his lack of a physical body, it didn't change the fact that he experienced an intense pain like never before while howling,
"IT HUUUUUUURTS!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" As Ehito had never experienced pain in the long time since acquiring his spiritual body, he was livid that someone had actually laid a finger on him, let alone actually punching him. His gaze focused on the obvious culprit, Alex, as he stood back where he had punch the god at his throne. Even as a glare promising a slow and painful death was being directed at him, Alex smirked and said provocatively,
"I believe this is where the phrase 'shut up or nut up' come into play." Ehito's glare intensified, even as he summoned all his accumulated magic power just to punish the insolent bug that dared laid a hand on him, and the two prepared for the next round.