Chapter 660: A Narrow Escape - The Deadly Warning
His beam tore through the sky, and the crimson lance howled as it reached the male. But the moment it came close, the Arbiter placed both palms together and screamed. "Insect! You will die! Divine...."
Divine aura rapidly gathered into a golden sheen that coated his palms before he pushed out violently. "Smite!"
A blinding eruption of golden light surged from his hands, colliding with the beam instantly.
KRAKOOOOOOM!
The collision shattered the atmosphere itself, ripping the air into jagged rifts of black and white. Crimson light spiralled around the divine radiance, each wave of force creating ripples across the sky and dragging the clouds into a massive ball.
’Burn!’
Asmodeus gritted his teeth as the sheer energy from the attacks burned the ground into a molten pool of raw energy, leaving nothing but fractures where the earth had been a moment before.
"Haaah!"
Asmodeus roared, his black hair whipping wildly as the abyssal markings carved into his skin pulsed with a weak red light, forcing more of his bloody aura into the beam.
His vision blurred with pain, every heartbeat like an explosion inside his chest, but still he pressed forward, step by step. The Arbiter matched him, golden veins crawling further across his large hands, eyes bloodshot and glowing with divine light.
Both men refused to falter, pouring everything into destroying the other.
The clash carved a rift through the world, half the sky drenched in red, the other half dripping in gold and groaning like glass about to shatter.
"Burn!"
"Die!" Asmodeus roared back at the Arbiter, his black halo expanding with a sudden burst of energy.
His beam grew larger, the heat causing the ground to bubble and melt as the crimson beam swallowed the Arbiter whole, dragging his golden light screaming into the sky. The beam tore through the heavens, exploding beyond the clouds in a sunburst of blood-red light that lit the entire continent.
A moment of silence passed by with a distant whine of noise.
’Damn it...’
Asmodeus clenched his teeth and tightened his muscles. He couldn’t fall apart here. His insides burned, muscles screamed with each breath he could feel a sharp pain inside his lungs. He staggered forward, panting, his skin cracked, his body dripping blood.
To avoid them noticing his bravado, he continued to grin through the pain.
But then a shadow moved inside the smoke.
The male Arbiter floated in the air, cracks running down his chest like broken porcelain, golden ichor dripping freely, his body half burned with smoke rising from his flesh.
His eyes burned with rage.
"You..." he rasped, voice broken and monstrous. "You dare... wound me?"
However, beside him, the female Arbiter’s lips remained curved into a bizarre and uncanny smile while fixated on Asmodeus. "Now, Zwei... do you understand why I warned you?"
She shook her head and stepped forward, a flicker of divine aura appearing around her figure.
The battlefield trembled again as golden fire erupted from the male’s shattered form. His aura exploded in all directions, stronger and burning hotter than before, as his muscles bulged, swelling twice their size.
Asmodeus spat blood, straightened his back, and grinned wider.
"Round two, then."
***
’How long is left...’
Asmodeus thought to himself while watching the growing power of the male Arbiter, which had surpassed his long ago. The sheer weight once again pressed down on his shoulders.
The Arbiter stepped out of the storm of blood and light, steam rising from his cracked body. Golden ichor dripped in steady streams down his torso, and the fire remained vibrant and wrathful.
"Now... you die."
The world itself seemed to tremble as he raised his hand, a sun forming in his palm.
"W-What?"
He could sense it...
The promise of one final, obliterating blow.
Asmodeus wouldn’t be able to survive this attack in his current state.
He tried to move. His muscles screamed. His bones creaked like splintered wood. The Abyssal Sovereign form that once felt limitless now weighed on him like a collapsing star. His domain had faded, the manipulation of time slipping through his grasp and leaving him gassed.
"Move..." he ordered his own body, staggering one step forward, then another.
Blood poured from his mouth, running down his chest. Every breath burned his throat and lungs. Every heartbeat created a dull ache in his muscles.
And yet he needed to stand.
He couldn’t afford to break, not until they returned.
The massive force gathered in the centre of the sun formed between the Arbiter’s two palms. The aura was more than double what he showed before, a savage attack that would wipe out the entire capital.
The air distorted. Runes shimmered like fading stars as the sky cracked, the land shook as if the world itself was trembling in fear.
Asmodeus glanced skyward with half-closed eyes.
"Zwei. It’s time." The female Arbiter’s voice cut through the tense moment. "We have to leave, any longer and the Plane will distort and reject us."
"EIN!?"
He snarled but couldn’t help but lower his arms, the divine flames dispersing in a flash of heat before seeping back into his body. His hateful gaze never left Asmodeus, even as his form began to dissolve into motes of golden light.
The female lingered a moment and watched Asmodeus with her eyes that became silver. There wasn’t the same disdain in her voice or expression; rather, it seemed closer to amusement. "Next time," she whispered. "Let’s hope you can endure a little longer... Demon."
And then they were gone...
The sky, land and air became still as steam and sizzling heat rose.
Asmodeus collapsed to one knee, blood pooling beneath him as he struggled to breathe, unable to regain his bearings. He couldn’t move; the pulsing undulation of his muscles gripped tight as they spasmed and cramped in unison.
"Haa....Ngh....Ha...Haaaa.....Damn it.... Haa.... Next time...?"
There was a sense of pride that he lasted long enough. And yet the feeling of devastation and defeat clawed at his mind, like a wolf gnawing at his pride and achievements.
"Darling!"
"Asmodeus!" Serena and Lumina rushed towards him, both of them in their damaged wedding outfits, hair a mess and cuts all over their bodies.
Serena took advantage, wrapping his body in her tails, the burns and deep wounds instantly wrapped in a gentle divine light as she scooped him into her arms before he hit the ground.
His body was hotter than molten iron, the Abyssal Sovereign aura clinging to him in turbulent wisps before flickering and fading like dying embers.
"Ryuji...! Ryuji, stay with me!" Serena’s voice broke, her usual playful tone gone, replaced with raw panic. She pressed her forehead against his, ignoring the blood that smeared across her skin.
"... I’m okay..." His voice was faint, hoarse and strained by his exhaustion. "Don’t cry... Serena."
’It’s like someone is squeezing my throat... damn it.’
His legs finally gave out. The last vestiges of his divine form shattered with a sound like cracking glass, the dark sheen of his skin fading, the glowing runes dimming one by one until nothing remained but his battered, broken body. The majestic black halo behind his head flickered and vanished completely.
"Darling’s aura is gone..." Lumina panicked, her webbing wrapping his body to seal his wounds and cover his naked body. The elegant Arachne is no longer present; instead, a worried mother and wife, sweating with messy hair and clothes covered in blood.
She could barely stand herself because of the female Arbiter’s gravity domain. Her legs were trembling as she reached out and touched his cheek.
"He’s burning up... his body wasn’t ready for that transformation."
The cool ground rapidly started to hiss and steam from the residual energy still bleeding off Asmodeus’s skin. His breathing ragged and messy as he closed his eyes.
"I pushed too far..." he muttered weakly, barely able to lift the corner of his lips. "Hah... always overdoing it, right?"
"Don’t joke!" Serena yelled, her tears dripping onto his chest. "You idiot... you idiot! You almost died!"
"It’s better me like this... than to see either of you two hurt."
’I hate being weak...’
All around them, the true weight of the battle was becoming clear.
What had once been the heart of the Demon Empire, a magnificent citadel crowned with banners of unity, became a scarred wasteland. Entire districts were gone, erased as if they’d never existed. The sacred plaza was nothing but a crater of molten glass. Towers lay toppled, broken spires jutting from the earth like the bones of a fallen giant.
’I want to be stronger...’
Thankfully, the two beautiful trees from his wedding remained, and their aura managed to deflect most of the damage.
To Asmodeus, the silence was unbearable. He’d been enjoying the celebrations and music all day. Now it was groans and fearful screams... or just silence.
The people who had survived huddled in groups, many too stunned to speak. Demons, elves, and beastkin all stared at the empty sky where their king had just fought the arbiters of the gods.
Yuina and Velvet arrived moments later, their armour cracked, blood smeared across their faces. "The barriers in other districts held on," Velvet reported hoarsely, scanning the destruction. "The capital... most of it’s safe, the only damaged part is the main district."
"We lost thousands," Yuina whispered, clutching her arms around herself. "If he hadn’t fought them away from the city..."
"Then everyone would be dead," Lumina snapped back, while stroking his cheek, aware that the words might comfort him, but still... it was almost like she blamed Asmodeus.
Serena tightened her grip around Asmodeus’s body, pulling him closer. "It’s over now. It’s done. We’ll rebuild. For now forget this, help the wounded and as for you..." She cupped Asmodeus’s cheek. "Get some rest!"
"I can’t afford to..."
"Shush, you’re going to rest!" Lumina huffed with a soft yet firm voice as she wrapped his entire body in her webbing. "You’ve done enough, now please let us protect you."
"We’re your wives now, you can’t stop us." Velvet followed up.
This time, he didn’t argue and relaxed, his eyes stopped flickering, and he could feel the consciousness fade from his mind. "I’ll behave and rest." His arms dropped to the side, and his breathing became deeper and more at ease.
"Thanks... my treasures."
But in his heart, anger, rage, and a desire for vengeance smouldered in a cold heat.
’I won’t forgive them... Next time, they won’t leave this place alive.’