Chapter 514 – A Battle of Lies (Part 2).

"A complex illusion that's placed us in an infinite plane?" Akagi hummed as she examined her new surroundings before casually slipping off her sandals and placing them into her inventory. "How cute, though I suppose I shouldn't be shocked that literal Gods could do something on this scale."

The forest stretched without end beneath a perfect sky. The grass was too even, the distant hills too artfully arranged. It was less a place than an idea of a place; Cheofla’s fantasy given shape by divine power.

{It doesn't seem that hard to break either, though this actually works perfectly with what I had planned. My external connection doesn't seem to be affected either, so everything remains the same.} (Akagi)

"Actually, this works out to be better than I'd originally planned." Akagi laughed as the Twins marveled at such a complex weave of magic. “You six know what would happen if we went all out in real space. Enoris might collapse under the strain, especially after that flashy entrance of yours. Wouldn’t want your meal ticket to disappear before you’ve finished eating, would you?”

{Hence why they also needed to channel their power onto a single point. I'd wager they had some kind of beacon propositioned to ensure that with so many coming down at once it didn't break things too bad.} (Akagi)

"You laugh, but the collapse of a world while you are within it should be just as lethal to you as it is us, no?" Esquire commented as she drew a pair of handheld sickles that sat at her sides. "Even a Demon Lord cannot survive in the space between worlds."

"You can think that." Akagi said, her eyes briefly glowing. "Now then, after inviting me out here I think you lot owe me a dance. Please note that I'm quite a demanding partner, so try your best to keep up with me. If you can't, then I regret to inform you that I tend to step on the toes of those who can't match my pace." She said before glancing at the Twins who nodded.

"Don't worry, Boss, we won't disappoint you." Zo said, rolling her shoulders as red-black power gathered around her. They excited at the prospect of fighting a God and actually getting to go all out.

"Yeah, we'll make them regret looking down on us." Ro added as thunder snapped around him. Their combined aura struck the illusion like a hammer against glass. Fine fractures raced across the sky then vanished as the spell repaired itself.

*BOOM* *CRASH*

"Kids these days." Akagi chuckled. "Have fun, and remember not to play with your food too much."

With the proverbial green light lit, the Twins launched themselves forward. They crossed the distance before the Gods had finished adjusting their stances, colliding with Cheofla and Teirea in a double burst of thunder and lighting. The impact drove all both figures toward the far horizon, where their battle dwindled into flashes of red, white, and black; which left Akagi alone with the remaining four Gods. "They’re certainly enthusiastic. Can’t promise they’ll win, but I’ll be cheering for them."

“That smirk is getting on my nerves,” Hilare growled. The God of the Forge flexed his bare hands. No hammer, no blade, just thick fingers and wrists that looked capable of bending even reality itself to shape. “I’ll enjoy wiping it off your face.”

"Hey! Don't forget to leave some for me." Marret said as she summoned her hammer, enlarging it in such a way that she was reminded of the hammer used by a certain pink hedgehog. Though Goddess of Emotions hefted it as though it weighed nothing. "I owe this bitch for what Vikes did to me last time!"

"Sins of the Brother much." Akagi shrugged as she shook her head. "But that works for me." She said, letting out a quiet laugh that disturbed the four Gods. "Just don't blame me if I get a bit carried away. I'm known to be quite... excitable when I find something that piques my interest." She said before raising her hand skyward. "But first things first. This peaceful atmosphere is boring. I want a backdrop that's a bit more my style if I'm going to fight you to the death." Dark power streamed from her palm and spread through the illusion. Clouds rolled over the perfect blue sky. Rain began to fall in silver sheets; thunder rumbled through the hills, and lightning forked between the trees. The spell’s artificial serenity became a storm-tossed wilderness in the space of a breath.

{She altered Cheofla's Fantasy World spell?!? From inside it?!?} (Esquire)

"Oh, and Gale. I know that you're watching." Akagi smirked as she glanced skyward for a moment. "Know that as I'm pounding the life of your Kin here, I'll be thinking of you the entire time."

"Well you should be focused on those who are here now, Demon Lord!" Hilare vanished from sight and reappeared behind her, hands locked together, and brought them down in a brutal double axe-handle strike. The blow drove Akagi into the ground. Earth burst outward in a ring, throwing up a wall of mud and stone at the moment of impact.

*BOOM*

"Hah! That's what you get for not paying attention!" Marret laughed as Esquire thrust out a hand. Two black spheres streaked toward the crater and detonated together. The shock wave flattened the grass and carved a smoking hollow into the earth. "This seems like it will be even easier than I expected! What a stupid Demon Lord."

"Don't start getting cocky." Hilare scolded her for getting ahead of herself. "Look." He pointed down to where the Demon Lord should've been. There was no body in the wreckage. No blood. No trace of Akagi at all.

"Where'd she go?!?" Marret scrambled to find the Demon Lord, but was unable to sense her as Akagi.

"Right here." Akagi said as she appeared behind Marret and drove a fist between her shoulder blades. The Goddess shot across the landscape and struck a distant mountain. The peak shattering on impact, and disintegrating in a cascading avalanche of stone.

"Marret!" Esquire shouted before pivoting, sickles crossing, and launched a chain of dark blasts. Rather than attack Akagi directly, the projectiles curved around her from several directions, closing around the Demon like the jaws of a mighty beast.

Korex joined in with an attack of his own. He swept his flaming glaive upward, and a pillar of fire erupted beneath Akagi, merging with Esquire’s dark magic. Flame and shadow climbed into the storm, swallowing the space where Akagi hovered.

*WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *FHWOOM*

"STOP!" Hilare’s voice cracked through the roar of explosions, and the other Gods checked their attacks. Smoke and magical residue drifted away as the seconds passed, and Akagi was gone again. "You're wasting your time."

Esquire scanned the area, frustration sharpening her features. “How is she moving that quickly? There should have been no time to react once Korex added his attack. She couldn’t possibly have escaped both in that split second!”

"This fight will be nothing like we've dealt with before and we need to be careful about our assumptions." Hilare said as an enraged Marret exploded from beneath the mountain, causing a massive explosion that removed the rubble and the nearby forest. "That first hit... I'm almost certain that she let me land that blow."

As Hilare put together his thoughts a tremor ran through the distant mountain. Marret burst from the rubble, blasting stone and trees in every direction as her power ran wild. Her face flushed red and her eyes bright with fury.

"What?!?" Esquire said, her eyes going wide in surprise. “Why would she-”

"She's testing us." Hilare said as he calmly examined his surroundings, calming his mind in an attempt to sense the faintest traces of the Demon. "Much like an Apex Predator stalking its prey she's trying to feel us out to determine how much of a threat we are before committing to the fight. That first hit I landed, she probably wanted to see how much damage it inflicted and chose to let it go through to get that information."

"Correct." Akagi's voice sounded from the trees below. "I've never fought your kind before in a serious bout, so excuse me for wanting more data. Its not like the other Gods I've met put up much of a fight."

"Just as I thought. And? How did you find my blow?" Hilare asked as he continued to search for the Demon Lord's whereabouts, finding it frustrating that she'd hidden herself so perfectly. "I assure you that I've got much more where that came from if you found it unsatisfactory."

"It wasn't bad. It stung a bit, so there's that I suppose." Akagi replied as Marret flashed over at high speed, her face red with anger. "Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your flight."

“You bitch! Stop hiding and fight me!” Marret snarled upon returning. Her aura surged with every word, and the storm, both the literal and emotions ones, around her seemed to answer. The other Gods watched the growing pressure with wary eyes. Marret’s anger made her stronger—but it also made her less predictable, and less able to distinguish a trap from an insult.

"Oh, don't go complaining about that little love tap." Akagi laughed demonically, which instantly brought back bad memories of their battle with Vikes. "And don't you worry, there will be plenty of time for us to play. So sit tight and wait for your turn. I promise you that I'll make it fun! Just make sure you keep me entertained in the meantime lest I get bored, and we don't want that now, do we?"

"How can we not sense her?" Esquire grumbled as she flew over to Hilare. "It's impossible to completely hide one's own energy so perfectly. I can't even sense minor variations in air pressure."

“Mental channel. Now.” Hilare’s thoughts reached the others. “She may be listening. Keep verbal conversation to a minimum, that means you Marret.”

"Think that again, old man! I dare you!" Marret hissed.

"And this is why I didn't want to bring her." Hilare sighed to himself.

"You know, it's impolite to ignore someone else in the room." Akagi said, leaning against one of the trees below as she watched the Gods bicker amongst themselves. "I'll feel left out if you only use telepathy."

"She knows! Does that mean she can intercept our thoughts?" Esquire said as she launched a blast of black energy toward the spot she'd briefly seen Akagi at, only for the Demon Lord to vanish during a flash of lightning.

"I can't decrypt or block your communications, but I can still sense them." Akagi said, this time appearing in the branch of a nearby tree. "I'm going to assume that's what your frantic little message was about, Esquire." She laughed.

"We'd best be careful. She could be lying." Hilare said, figuring that while it would be hard to break their encrypted magic it was not impossible. "Vikes never could break into our telepathic communications, but this one may well have that power." He said as Korex sent a torrent of flames from both his hands into the trees below, burning a huge section of the forest to ash and turning a large swath into a sea of flame

“Such a tantrum. Destroying all those poor trees is such a waste.” Akagi said as he stood atop the lone remaining tree among the sea of flames around her. “Those poor trees never did anything to you, so let me retaliate on their behalf!” The Demon said portals opened behind and around her. Black blades spilled out in a glittering storm, converging on the Gods from every direction. “Blade Starfall is still one of my favorites.”

*WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH*

“I've got this one!” Esquire crossed her sickles. A ragged tear opened in the air, swallowing the incoming blades into a pocket of darkness. “Let me give those back to you!” With a twist of her wrists, she opened a second tear in front of Akagi and sent the stolen attack screaming back.

{Oh?} (Akagi)

*WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH*

“Not bad!” Akagi leaned aside, deflecting one blade and letting the others carve trenches through the burning ground as she danced around them. “Not bad at all!”

“And that's not all I've got in store for you!” Esquire said as she raised both sickles. Black lightning gathered between them, shot into the clouds, and returned as a web of seeking bolts. Akagi sprang from the tree, twisting through the air as each strike detonated behind her. The forest vanished in patches beneath the bombardment; mostly turned to ash.

“Good! Good!” Akagi continued to laugh as she leaped away, chased by lighting that shot down from the sky, dodging, rolling and jumping out of the way as each strike created huge blasts that vaporized large sections of the ground and turned any nearby foliage to ash.

*BOOM* *CRASH* *CRACK*

“Allow me to contribute.” Korex said, sending waves of flame through the gaps between the lightning strikes.

*SIZZLE*

“Hey, now. No need to get pushy, Korex! I'll give you all the love and attention you need! All you need to do is ask nicely!” Akagi said as she rolled beneath one blast and batted a bolt of lightning away with the back of her hand. It veered toward Esquire, who ducked, but Marret caught it on her hammer and knocked it aside.

“Thanks for the save.” Esquire said as she and Korex focused on their attacks. They were too nervous to engage the Demon Lord in direct combat, and while Korex was a much more melee focused combatant than the Death Goddess hitting with long rage barrages like this was their preferred fighting style anyway. “Hilare, take any opening you see. We can drop our attacks in an instant if need be.”

“As much as I'd like to, she has yet to present one.” Hilare said as he watched Akagi dance around attacks while occasionally batting lightning or flame back toward the Gods. “She’s studying us and I intend to do the same until the moment is right.”

“Are we just going to play magic explosion all day?” Akagi taunted them as she kicked a bolt of lightning to disburse it. “I'm getting bored already! Do something more interesting!” She said and the ground answered. Molten tendrils erupted beneath the Demon, twisting around her limbs and torso like chains. Korex closed his fist, and the magma hardened, pinning her in place with divinely enchanted hardened magma.

“Interesting enough?” Korex asked as he put the squeeze on the Demon Lord, preventing her from moving as she was pelted with attacks.

*BOOM*

“Nice!” Marret cheered, but was stopped from jumping in by Esquire.

“She's baiting you.” Esquire said her words causing Marret to hesitate for a fraction of a second, but that was more than enough time. Akagi flexed, and the restraints shattered into glowing fragments.

“I'll give you a one out of ten.” Akagi said before swinging her hand to dissipate any further incoming attacks from the Gods and brushing ash from her clothing. “You had an opening and wasted it on a restraint that wouldn’t hold a determined child.” She shook her head, the level of mockery on display agitating the Murder God. “But then again, I shouldn't be surprised that the most pitiful member of the Pantheon is such a failure. No, its really MY fault for expecting more of you.”

“I'm going to make you eat those words, Demon Lord.” Korex’s expression went blank with rage. Power gathered in his palm, a red sphere veined with lightning, hot enough to turn the rain to steam before it touched the surface. It swelled until it was larger than a house, bathing the forest in a sun-bright glare. “If you think me so pitiful, then how about you test your mettle against this?” He said as the red ball of lava like energy grew larger as it crackled with lightning.

“Korex, don’t let her bait you!” Hilare tried to get Korex to back down from this waste of power, but was ignored as the Murder God unleashed his attack.

“Eclipse Cannon.” The attack moved far faster than its size suggested. Akagi’s smile flickered as she caught it with both hands. The force drove her backward, carving a trench through the earth for hundreds of feet before she dug in her heels and stopped it.

“Well, this is a lovely present!” Akagi laughed happily as she caught his attack. She'd anticipated it being a slow moving blast but it moved as if it were a fastball thrown by the world's best pitcher. “Do you still have the receipt?” She said as she braced herself and dug her hands into the blast.

“Good luck with that attack.” Korex laughed. “Eclipse Cannon is a bit different than my normal attacks. Attempt to toss it aside or otherwise interfere with it and it'll detonate on the spot, and it'll just blow up in about ten seconds anyway even if you do nothing. So have fun.”

“You should jump in now! While she's distracted by the attack!” Esquire urged Hilare and Marret to jump Akagi while she was busy, channeling her own power as she intended to drop a similarly large attack on Akagi herself.

“We'd be caught in the blast. Marret, be ready to attack with me as soon as it goes off.” Hilare said, warning Esquire off adding more power to the mix since that could quite literally blow up in their faces given that Korex's Eclipse Cannon was highly unstable.

“You don't have to tell me twice!” Marret grinned as she prepared to go on the offensive.

“I see.” Akagi continued to smile as she felt the sphere’s unstable energy begin to buckle. Korex hadn’t been bluffing; the countdown was real. A blast of this magnitude could damage more than the illusion. It could bring the whole house of cards crashing down, which was not what she wanted at this juncture. “If this thing actually goes boom that will be a bit of an issue. Don't get me wrong I do enjoy a good explosion but I prefer it to be of the comically timed cat variety! So I think I'll be canceling this one!” The Demon said as she pressed her power into the sphere. The energy fought back, trying to tear itself apart and, for an instant, its light grew brighter.

“Fool, all you've done is... What?!?” Korex's next words died in his throat. Rather than detonate, the sphere started to shrink. “What's going on?!?”

“I told you, I'm canceling your attack!” Akagi roared as she closed her hands around it, steadily compressing the unstable mass. The light dwindled from house-sized to barrel-sized, then to a ball no larger than an apple before it was crushed between her palms. The remaining energy winking out like a candle that'd run out of wick. “And we're done.” She said before dusting off her hands as if she'd merely gotten a bit of dirt on them from the garden.

“She... Did she... Destroy Divine energy? And so easily?” Esquire stared in utter disbelief. They had seen powerful beings disperse divine attacks before, but not so directly, and not a blast of this magnitude, and with such apparent ease.

“Show me something else neat! I want to see what you Gods are capable of before I send you to the happy fun time that is oblivion!” Akagi stuck her tongue playfully as she laughed before vanishing into the remains of the nearby forest.

"Hey! Wait! Don't run away! Get out here and fight me!" Marrrot yelled as she smashed her enlarged hammer into the ground. Once. Twice. Then again and again, each impact making the forest jump as she tried to flush Akagi out like a mole from its burrow."Coward!"

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

"I'm ready any time, kid." Akagi said as she leaned against the God's back, briefly causing Marrot to break out in a cold sweat, before she swung her leg around in an attempt to kick the Demon Lord away, only to have it blocked by her forearm. "Just remember that we're playing for keeps, so try not to die too quickly."

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Rehael POV>

“Its time.” Gale said to his Angel of Death via 'video' connection. Rehael was stationed at the top of the central tower in the Holy City, an intricate weave of magical etchings running along its flat roof. “May your victory be swift and total. As you know, failure is not an option.”

“Of course, Father.” Rehael smirked as the formation began to glow red with magic, her compatriots similarly ready for the fight to come. “I shall see you soon.” She said as the three Demi-Gods vanished in a flash of red light.

“Yes, I suppose we shall.” Gale said as he cut the connection.