Chapter 517 –  A Battle of Lies (Part 4)

"Well, well, well. You four have some real fight in you, huh?" Akagi laughed as she wiped some dark 'blood' from her mouth. The Demon's gesture was casual; almost dismissive. However, her nonchalant attitude was merely a cover, as her battered body told a very different story. Bruises darkened her skin, torn fabric clung to scorched patches, and several wounds still bled from deep gashes on her body. The ground around the Demon had been reduced to a sprawling field of craters and broken ridges. Every few seconds, another stone fell from one of the shattered cliffs surrounding the battlefield as the illusory world struggled to hold back the weight of the combatant's combined power.

Across from her, the four Gods were in similarly rough condition. Golden ichor streaked their bodies. Esquire's clothing was torn in several places, and one of her scythes had a deep notch near the blade from a recent clash with the Black Sunrise. Korex's flaming glaive flickered unevenly, while Marret's hammer bore the marks of repeated collisions with Akagi's defenses.

Though out of all of them Hilare somehow looked the worst. His knuckles were split, his face swollen, and one arm hung a little lower than the other as he held it in pain. Yet he still stood upright, his gaze fixed on Akagi. On the outside it looked like a stalemate, or perhaps slightly in the Gods favor. Undeterred, the Demon Lord rolled one shoulder, then the other; her joints cracking loudly like shattering glass.

"You know, I haven't had such a good battle since my PvP days. Back then, I was hunted by all kinds of colorful characters, and those battles always got my blood pumping... But this...." Her grin widened into a razor-sharp smile enough to unnerve even the Gods. "I'm actually starting to enjoy myself."

"Damn you, monster." Korex said as he and the other Gods drew closer. Their latest clash hadn't gone according to plan, and while they'd inflicted visible damage to Akagi, it was painfully obvious that it was superficial at best given that she was still raring to go. While their goal may have been to delay the Demon Lord, they were honestly trying to kill her, and their failure to do anycritical damage irritated them to no end.

"Irritating though it may be, this works in our favor." Hilare spoke to the other Gods, hoping to prevent a spiraling irritation from exploding into rage and undermining their overall goal. "So far, we've managed to keep her focused on us. Gale is undoubtedly keeping a close eye on Rehael and our battle, and as soon as his reaper establishes the connection, we'll have won. Remember, we are not here to win, merely to buy time, and we're doing that well."

"Still irritates me." Marret said, spitting out some ichor before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, scowling at the sight of her golden blood. "That smug attitude only makes me want to crush her even harder."

As the Gods went back and forth Akagi merely tilted her head slightly, much like dog does when it tries to hear better. While she couldn't break their mental encryption, she could read enough of their behavior to understand the conversation without needing to hear it. She knew what they wanted. She knew why they were stalling, and she was perfectly happy to let this charade continue. After all, this battle of lies served a purpose, one that the Demon found far more important than destroying the divine beings in front of her.

"Let's change up the pace a bit." Akagi said as she shook out her arms, interrupting the Gods' discussion as she descended to the ground. "I've always preferred avoiding head-on combat. Attacking from the shadows and using stealth to strike my opponents down with a single swift strike was always my taste moreso than what we're doing here..." She sighed theatrically before letting the Black Sunrise return to her inventory. "But I suppose I've no choice but to accept reality. Such a method works well against weaker opponents, but against those with actual power, a head-on clash is the only viable option. Unfortunate, but its just how things are." She shook her head. "But lucky for me, I've spent a great deal of time preparing for just such the occasion." She flexed her fingers and bounced lightly from foot to foot, as if warming up before a sparring match. "So I think we'll just have to do THAT." She said before launching a swift punch toward Esquire, who, not expecting to be attacked, was slammed in her midsection by a mixture of compressed air and energy, causing the Goddess to double over in pain as a compressed burst of air exploded from Esquire's back; her boots skidding across the ground as she tried to plant her feet and recover. Unfortunately for the Death Goddess, Akagi was already following through. "And now for the follow-up!"

"Watch out!" Hilare exclaimed as he swiftly moved to intercept the Demon Lord, closing the short gap in a blur as he put himself between Akagi and Esquire with his shoulders squired and fists raised defensively. However, while this was the correct response; it was exactly what the Demon wanted.

"As if I'd be that easy to read." Akagi laughed as just before contact, her outline blurred and vanished. Hilare's attempt to stop the Demon failed, his fist cutting through empty air. A heartbeat later, Akagi reappeared at the Forge God's flank, her body already turning as she drove her knee into the side of his head. Her strike landed with a sharp crack as Hilare's head snapped sideways, and his body followed a fraction of a second later. He was hurled across the battlefield, spinning once before slamming into the ground where the earth gave way beneath him sending broken rock leaping into the air.

*BOOM*

"Hilare!" Marret yelled as she rushed Akagi with her hammer raised overhead. The weapon descended in a crushing arc, its head wrapped in divine energy.

"Too slow." Akagi bent out of the way, Marret's attack missing by inches as it smashed into the ground. The tore a large trench through the rock, sending a wall of dust and debris surging outward. Before Marret could wrench the weapon free, Akagi drove a knee into her stomach. Marret doubled over in pain as the force of the attack threw Esquire, who was still struggling to recover, off her feet and sent her tumbling across the battlefield.

*BOOM*

However, that was not the end of the Demon's assault as Akagi caught Marret by the shoulder before she could fall away. Then the punches began.

Akagi's fists hammered Marret's ribs, chest, and sides in a blur of movement. Each blow landed before the previous impact had finished traveling through the Goddess's body. The overlapping strikes created a continuous thunder that shook dust from the distant ridges as the world trembled.

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

Marret tried to raise her arms to defend herself, but Akagi kept changing the angle of her attacks. A punch from the left forced Marret to turn; the next struck from the right. A blow to the ribs made her lower her elbow, opening her guard just long enough for Akagi to strike her chest before, finally, Akagi seized Marret by the head and dove downward.

The two of them accelerated toward the ground at incredible speed, Akagi maintaining her grip as Marret struggled to wrench free. At the last moment, the Demon Lord twisted her body and forced the Goddess's face toward the earth where Marret struck the ground with a thunderous roar. The ground crunched beneath the Goddess' head, then collapsed into a shallow basin of pulverized stone. But the Demon was not done. Akagi kept one hand pressed against the back of Marret's head and leaned down until their faces were close.

"And here I was led to believe that you were one of the stronger Gods." Akagi laughed as she held Marret down by the back of her head, the Goddess' one visible eye glaring back at the Demon, filled with rage. "But, so far, all I've seen out of you is an arrogant child with too much power and insufficient skill and intelligence to use it. Truly disappointing. Perhaps I won't get a real challenge until I face your boss." She said, grinning as she met Marret's gaze.Akagi'd been intentionally harassing Marret to draw out more of her power, mostly because the Demon was hoping to see just how powerful the Emotion Goddess was. So far, the power she'd seen was quite high though Marret was too caught up in the swirling emotions that fueled her to properly utilize the surging power within."It seems that I was wasting my time hoping that you were anything more than another peon. I guess that I should just kill you now since I can't expect anything more substantial from you."

"You...." Marret hissed as Akagi held her down, the Demon sending a swift kick of power toward Korex, who was attempting to intervene and sending him flying away. "Don't you dare look down on me! I am a God!"

"And I'm a Demon Lord." Akagi smirked as she blocked the hand Marret attempted to use to swing at her, catching it before twisting it in such a manner that a normal person's would've snapped like a twig. "In the pecking order, I far out rank you. Remember that."

"I... You..." Marret growled as her anger continued to boil, the Goddess' body erupting in a blaze of white-hot flame that licked at the Demon Lord as more Divine power condensed within the her body. "How... How DARE YOU! I am not a joke! I am not a child! And I will not allow you to toy with me any longer!" She screamed as her anger finally boiled over, blasting Akagi away as a huge explosion erupted from the God's body and adding further to the destruction of the battlefield.

*KABOOM*

"Marret!" Hilare tried to reach out to the Emotion Goddess via their telepathic link, but was either ignored or repulsed by her anger. "Dammit it all!" He cursed as he returned to Korex and Esquire who'd finally recovered from her earlier blow. "She's going to go out of control! That Demon Lord..."

"Wait. This might work to our advantage." Korex said as Marret's power continued to climb higher, quickly eclipsing the three of them combined. "Marret's feelings of humiliation and anger toward the Demon Lord may well be exactly what we need to turn the tide."

"That's if she doesn't then go on to KILL the three of us." Esquire said as she coughed up blood. "I've seen her get worked up before, but I never imagine someone foolish enough to intentionally get under her skin like this." The three Gods had quickly figured out that Akagi was purposefully targeting and angering the Emotion God. They weren't sure of the exact reason, be it as a desire to see Marret's full power or because Akagi was banking on her becoming more unstable the angrier she got, but there was no doubt in their minds that the directed humiliation and insults were intentional given how Akagi had otherwise refrained from taking advantage of the Emotion Goddess' openings to finish her off.

"Ah, there we go. That's much better." Akagi clapped while hovering a small distance away from the three Gods, unbothered by the fact that her foes were so close by. "It looks like I just had to shake the tree hard enough to get the fruit to fall. That level of energy ought to give me a much better fight." She paused before turning to the three Gods, who were all dumbfounded by the fact that Akagi trulywanted Marret to get stronger just for entertainment. "Korex, let me play with the kid a bit, and then you and I can have a bit of fun." She winked which sent a shiver down the Murder God's non-existent spine. "And let me know which you'd prefer, the sailor suit or the lobster costume. I've still got both ready to go."

{Do I even want to know what that means?} (Esquire x Hilare)

"I mean, if you made me pick..." Korex paused, shaking his head to end that line of thought, which drew a look of pity and disgust from his fellow Gods. "No, the only thing that will happen here is your destruction, Demon Lord." He said as raced along his weapon's length, gathering around the blade until the weapon shone like a strip of molten metal. "Your foolish desire to test our strength will be your undoing. Together we shall end your unnecessary existence."

"Perhaps..." Akagi shrugged. "By all means, come at me with all you've got. Up until now, every opponent I've fought since becoming a Demon Lord has been little more than an irritant that I could easily dispose of without a second thought. You four have by far and away packed more wallop than anyone I've faced previously, which is to be expected given that you're Gods." Even as she spoke, her attention remained on Marret. The white aura around the Emotion Goddess had stabilized. Its wild outer edges drew inward as the power settled into her body.

{It seems that everything is going exactly as planned. The battle on Earth is proceeding without issue, the Gods are completely focused on me. So I suppose a bit of indulgence is acceptable.} (Akagi)

"So far, you've been able to take my attacks quite well, and you've even damaged me a bit. Now we just need to push things as far as they'll go!" Akagi said as hundreds of magic circles opened around her, each rotating at a different angle. Before their patterns could fully unfold, Esquire and Korex launched a coordinated barrage of magic. Deadly darkness and searing flame converged on Akagi from opposite sides, forcing her to choose between defending against the spells and completing her own attack; and Hilare slipped through the gaps between the spells as if he had memorized their trajectories. He used the barrage as cover, then burst through the smoke and drove a devastating punch into Akagi's guard, the blow sending her flying. A heartbeat later, Esquire's and Korex's attacks struck the same point and exploded and the blast swallowed the Demon Lord in a sphere of fire and darkness.

*KABOOM*

"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY! WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU, THERE WON'T BE ANYTHING LET, YOU BITCH!" Marret screamed as she exploded out of the white bubble of energy, shattering it, before spiraling toward Akagi at incredible speed as the Demon partiallyemerged from the dust cloud kicked up by the God's attacks. “GET READY! BECAUSE I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE THIS QUICK!” The Emotion Goddess screamed as she matched Akagi's intense gaze, their faces met just moments from impact; all while the Goddess' body was wreathed in white-hot flame that, when combined with her halo and white wings, made Marret appear truly Divine.