Chapter 515 – A Battle of Lies (Part 3)

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *WOOSH*

Explosions hammered the illusory world. Trees toppled in waves, lightning split the rain, fire and darkness carved luminous scars through the clouds. Through it all, Akagi moved like a shadow that had learned to laugh, easily slipping past attacks that could have reduced a Returnee to ash with a glancing touch, each near miss close enough to stir her hair or tear a strip from her clothes.

The Gods were not so foolish as to mistake her focus on evasion for helplessness. None committed fully without a way to withdraw. Every spell overlapped another; every opening was watched by at least two sets of eyes. They were trying to corner Akagi without giving her the clean opportunity she wanted. Naturally, Marret was not a fan of this methodical method of attack.

"Grrrrrr." Marret snarled, tracking Akagi as she twisted between Esquire’s dark blasts and Korex’s waves of flames. Each cast intricate and deadly weaves of magic that ranged from waves to blasts or even mass cones that tried to encircle or outright swallow the Demon Lord. "I just want to get one good hit on her! Argh! Lemme at her! Lemme in!"

"Calm yourself." Hilare said as he put his hand on the Goddess' shoulder to prevent her from giving chase. "While your anger makes you considerably more powerful, recall that it saps your sense of reason. The Demon Lord seems to know that is trying to take advantage of that fact." He'd swiftly figured out why Akagi'd been toying with and harassing Marret at the start of the battle, figuring that she was wary of Marret specifically. He reasoned that this was because Elariel had tipped the Demon off to the Goddess of Emotion's power before hand.

*BOOM*

“Then I’ll hit her so hard she won’t have time to laugh!” Marret said as she tried to tear herself free.

“And give her exactly what she wants?” Hilare’s grip tightened for a moment before he released her. “You are our best chance to hurt her. If you rush in without thinking, you’ll become her best chance to hurt us. Remember why we came here. Winning this exchange is not the objective, do not lose sight of the real objective.”

“Yeah, yeah. But if you take too long, I’m going to get antsy.” Marret said as she shook off his hand.

"Hey, you two! What's the hold up?" Akagi called out to the two stationary Gods, halting her movement and kicking off an invisible wall before rocketing past the two pursuing Gods and vanishing into the treeline just in time to avoid several dozen slashes from Esquire's scythe. "Or don't tell me you're just going to let these jokers do all the hard work while you stand around acting important? What are you, city construction workers?"

“Damn it!” Esquire snarled as she and Korex wheeled around, searching the forest. “This cat-and-mouse nonsense is getting old. If Cheofla’s precious scenery is so aggravating, I’ll remove it.”

Darkness gathered above her palm, compact and dense enough to bend the rain around it, and after a moment Esquire hurled it into the ground.

*KABOOM*

The blast swallowed the forest. Trees vanished in a rolling wall of pressure, the ground liquefying into a crater that stretched to the horizon. The storm briefly disappeared in the glare; and when it returned, the rain returned through a cloud of ash.

“That was excessive.”Hilare said as he looked down over the devastated landscape, waiving his hand to clear the debris.

“It was effective.” Esquire replied. “She can’t hide in a forest that no longer exists.”

The ash cloud peeled away under Hilare’s magic, and at its center lay a crater vast enough to hold a city, its deepest sections glowing with molten earth. Amongst this whole mess Akagi stood on a shelf of unbroken stone, brushing soot from her shoulder as if someone had rudely dusted her with flour.

“Aww. I was having fun.”The Demon complained. “I don’t get to play assassin very often anymore. Hiding in the trees, picking my moment, and letting everyone wonder where I’ll appear next is such a treat! And yet you went and ruined the whole experience.” She glanced at the molten crater. “And that was a terrible waste of trees. But I suppose I shouldn’t expect much from the Gods who intend to sell this world and everyone on it to save themselves.”

“This world’s sacrifice will be remembered, unlike you!” Esquire roared as her composure cracked before charging in. Hilare moved at the same instant from the opposite side, turning their approach into a pincer. Akagi met Hilare’s fist with her palm and caught Esquire’s twin sickles on the Black Sunrise. The impact rang through the crater. She then redirected the two attacks past one another and tried to slip between them, but Marret dropped from above, hammer descending like a falling fortress.

"DIE!" Marret screamed as she brought her hammer down, something that Akagi's mind registered as dangerous.

{That's a hell of a lot of power!} (Akagi)

*BOOM*

"Get back here!" Marret screamed at Akagi, as she twisted away. Marret’s hammer struck the ground and split it open, sending a shockwave through the crater. Stone slabs rose and tumbled. Akagi used one as a springboard, but the other Gods were already moving to close the gap. “I'm done watching you run!”

The four figures blurred into a storm of motion. Akagi dodged a hammer blow, ducked beneath a sickle, and caught the edge of Hilare’s next punch on her forearm. Korex didn't remain on the sideline, adding in a blast of fire that swept across the space Akagi had just vacated, forcing her to change direction before she could counter.

*WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *WOOSH* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Without question Akagi was an absolute master of evasion, but with three Gods engaged with her in close combat, there were bound to be a few blows that hit their mark. The Demon was placed entirely on the defensive as she watched their attack patterns closely, desiring information more than anything else. At this point, she lacked enough data to properly calculate how they'd attack, and so she was left relying on her speed, instinct, and a healthy dose of guesswork since her innate skill could only do so much under these circumstances. Though, it was still quite something to watch as the Demon Lord deftly moved between their attacks, deflected their magic and danced around their myriad of strikes; each of which was powerful enough to crumble entire mountains with just a glancing blow. Such was the power of the Gods, hence the Demon's heightened level of caution give the fact that she had and could take genuine damage from a sustained assault.

"Not bad, not bad at all!" Akagi laughed as she made a small hop, contorting to avoid one of Marret's hammer strikes that were aimed at her legs, only to find Esquire's blades aimed right at her throat; the Goddess of Death not missing a beat as she attempted to sever Akagi's head from her body.

*SLICE* *SLAM*

"Heh." Akagi smirked as she used her shin to block one of Hilare's punches, using her open hand to balance herself against the ground before pushing herself off and landing in the distance. "Good on you for that one. Your movements were impeccable and your teamwork top-notch. I sensed a lot of mental traffic between you, so I take it that entire exchange was coordinated in real time? Not bad, not bad. You actually managed to get me good with that last one." She laughed.

"So you do bleed." Marret smirked as she spun her weapon around and steadied it on her shoulder, readying herself for another go at the Demon. "So that just means I have to hit you hard enough and you'll die." She said as she pointed toward the black puddle forming at the Demon's feet.

"I suppose that's true." Akagi said before healing the damage done to her neck. She'd moved out of the way of Esquire's attack enough that, while it didn't threaten to remove her head, it had sliced through part of her throat. While such a blow would've been lethal to most anyone else it didn't really do much to her given how her body worked, though it was a good reminder that she did need to take this fight seriously lest the Gods gain the upper hand. "There are no truly indestructible beings. Everything can be destroyed if you apply enough force. Naturally, reality itself is no exception either." She said as she settled into a low stance; the Black Sunrise disappearing behind her body as she held it like a sword still sheathed. Her posture changed so subtly that a mortal observer might have missed it, but the Gods did not. Their attacks paused, not from fear, but from the instinctive recognition that her next movement might matter. “Fun fact, due to my unique skills I've created my own school of swordsmanship. The Thousand Branches School is what I've called it, though, sadly, I doubt anyone can truly master it other than myself. Even my Sister will likely only hit intermediate level at best; though that is to be expected as it is a sword style created for and by, a Demon Lord.” Her thumb shifted against the hilt. “I don’t usually bother with named techniques. Too theatrical for my taste. But since you’ve all been kind enough to entertain me, I’ll show you the first form. Something simple.” Akagi said as she mentally centered herself before quickly 'drawing' her blade and sending slash of black energy toward the Gods. “First Form: Void Slash!”

*WOOSH*

In an instant a line of black energy crossed the crater. It was not especially large, nor did it travel with a dramatic roar. The air simply parted along its path, like water moving out of the way of an oncoming boat. Undeterred, Marret stepped forward and brought her hammer down. The attack shattering against her weapon with a sound like glass breaking.

“That’s it?” The Emotion Goddess scoffed. “A fancy name for a weak little slash like that?”

Akagi did not acknowledge Marret's attempt at harassing her. Instead she focused on the fragments of her attack, studying how they had separated as her mind interpreted the data at lightening speed.

"That attack just now..." Esquire said, side eyeing Hilare and Korex, who nodded. The other three Gods seemed to understand that Akagi's strike wasn't just a simple attack, and were quite disturbed by what they saw.

"Marret, we need to be careful. Whatever you do, DO NOT allow an attack from that blade to reach you." Hilare said, addressing her specifically using their mental connection.

"Huh? But why? It didn't seem that strong and it didn't even reach me." Marret knew that Akagi's blade was clearly bad news, but didn't quite understand why they were wary of it or that last strike.

“Because I don’t believe it was meant to.” Hilare’s said as his gaze remained on the Black Sunrise. "That blade... There's something wrong with it. It reeks of something fouler than even the weapons used by Vikes. I am certain that she could end our existences with that blade if used properly, and I don't say such a thing lightly. That slash was either a warning or a measurement. Either way, don’t assume you can break it that easily a second time." The Forge God noted that the attack had not merely cut through space. It had had played around dangerously with the boundary of existence itself. "We don't know what other nasty surprises she's got up her sleeve, but given how she still managed to almost entirely avoid our joint attack, it's clear that she's both highly experienced in combat and naturally talented."

"Interesting. I was told that you were quite a powerful Deity, Marret, and while you're quite something, I'd say I'm honestly disappointed." Akagi smirked, which caused Marret’s grip tightened around her hammer in irritation. "Those three have been doing all the work. Don't you feel bad being so useless? At least the other two Gods I killed earlier had an excuse for doing nothing, but what about you? What's your excuse for being dead weight?"

"USELESS?!?" Marret’s power erupted. The rain flashed to steam around her, and the air buckled beneath the force of her fury. “I'll SHOW YOU USELESS, YOU BITCH!” She launched herself at Akagi with a scream that became a physical shock wave.

This was expected by the Demon and Akagi easily met the first blow with her forearm, slid beneath the second, and stepped aside from the third. Each of Marret's strike grew heavier, faster, and, most importantly less controlled. Just as expected the more Marret was infuriated the stronger she became, though also increasingly easy to lead.

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

"That idiot! She's playing right into the Demon Lord's hands." Esquire growled as she and Korex gave chase, not wanting Marret to be isolated, all while Hilare stayed behind.

{No... Something is wrong. I can't shake this feeling in the back of my mind that I'm missing something, but I don't know what... I just hope that Rehael finishes her work quickly so that we don't need to find out whether or not this sense is merely unfounded paranoia or...} (Hilare)

_____________________________________________________________________________

<Reflia POV>

"I'm hoping that this emergency you messaged about really is such. I'm in the final stages of my calculations, and I don't have time for distractions." Gale said he appeared within Reflia's library. He'd been blasted with an urgent request from the Space Goddess, and while annoyed, was not foolish enough to ignore her given that she wasn't one to cry wolf.

"The battle between the Demon Lord and the others has begun?" Reflia said as she appeared from behind one of the many bookshelves, the look in her eye causing Gale a bit of concern.

"Indeed. As planned, Cheofla has placed them within her Fantasy World illusion, though the intervention of the Twins has changed the dynamic a bit. It shouldn't prove much of an issue as those two are nowhere near as powerful as their scion." Gale said, a bad feeling welling up inside of him. “They will be dealt with in short order and, so far, the Demon Lord is being distracted just as we expected. Defeating her as a combined force looks to be even easier than expected.”

"Good... Good..." Reflia said, tapping on her desk quietly. The world seemed to grow still as the Goddess' nails clacked against the wood grain, Gale's bad feeling growing stronger with each passing second. However, before the Order God could utter even a single additional word Reflia exploded forward in an instant, summoning Labrys and bringing the Axe down on top of him, the Order God only barely managing to block the attack with the handle of his spear; a shock wave causing most of the Library to shudder as the shelves collapsed around them.

*BOOM*

"Reflia! What is the meaning of this?!? Why do you have Labrys?!? What is going on?!?" Gale exclaimed as the two Gods burst with power, blowing the entire building to smithereens and leaving them within a vast, nearly empty white space that surrounded the Space Goddess' residence.

"I'd think that very obvious, Gale." Reflia said as the two separated, the Space Goddess unfurling a set of wings as well as a halo as she unleashed her full power. "I'm going to kill you and take this whole wretched world with us!"