In order to relax, I walked around Hell to get an idea of the situation. Everywhere I went, the battle-oriented demons were gearing up in armor, or practicing with their swords. To my surprise, even the succubus sisters I had previously met, Kroa and Japsen, were preparing their own armor. As I spotted them, I decided to go over and chat with them for a bit. I hadn’t actually talked to either of them since before I was killed, so this would be as good of a chance as any. This might even be the last chance, depending on how things go…
“Hey, you two. Been a while.”
When they heard me call for them, the two sisters turned to look at me. Kroa was a well endowed succubus with black hair and short devil horns. Her sword was nearly as tall as her, and obviously required great strength to wield as easily as she seemed to. Unlike her normal playful clothes, or the fantasy stereotypes that Lilith played to, her armor covered everything it was supposed to.
Japsen was a white haired succubus, who made up for her lack of such pronounced curves with one of the most beautiful faces I had ever seen. Her horns were a bit longer, and curved towards the back of her head. From her equipment, I could tell that she favored speed over strength, unlike her sister. Her weapon of choice was a rapier, with three Mana Stones embedded around the hilt. Her armor, while still managing to properly cover her, was replaced with chain links instead of sheets of metal over nonvital areas.
“Oh, hey Jin!” They both smiled to me as I approached, Kroa being the first to answer.
“I never pictured the two of you as combatants.”
This time, it was Japsen that spoke up. “Succubi aren’t just for looks, you know? We’re still one of the upper classes of demons in terms of fighting power.”
Kroa nodded happily to her sister. “Yeah, didn’t I tell you before that we can still kick butt?”
I smirked to the two of them. “Yeah, you did. Be careful out there, though. I wanna make sure I have just as many friends waiting for me after the battle is over.”
Kroa smiled a bit wider, nodding her head again. “Sure thing! We already left behind some Imp Gems, in case something happens to us. Most of the demons going off to battle are doing that. Well, the ones that can at least. But anyways, you’re the one that ought to be careful.”
Japsen apparently supported her sister in this claim. “Yeah. We’ve only got to fight a war on even terms with the full might of Heaven. You’re the one that’ll be facing an army of religious fanatics with less than a dozen men. Please, tell me you at least have some backup?” At Japsen’s words, both sisters looked at me pleadingly.
“Shi will be there with me. I’ve also got Kor, and the Prince of Blades.”
“A reaper demon, a nephilim, and a fallen angel… This sounds like an opening to a bad joke…” Kroa shook her head with a sigh, but then smiled to me. “Still, they should be a good help. Each of those three might as well be an army themselves.”
“You two know Kor and the Prince of Blades?”
“Not personally,” Japsen replied with a shrug, “But we know of their reputations.”
“I see… well, thanks. Again, you two be careful out there. I’ve got to go see if I can find Denise and Cynthia.” I smiled to them, and they waved me off so that I could finish my last peaceful day before all Hell literally breaks loose.
Chapter 33
That night, everyone participating in the battle made sure that the final preparations were in place. Cynthia gathered her equipment, Denise replenished her supply of arrows, and I checked for information on the area we would be fighting. Of course, for this I spoke with the knight of Hell with the title of ‘the Wise’, Dremor.
Dremor and Krath were together in a room adjacent to the throne room, with a large map rolled out onto an even larger table. They seemed to be deep in discussion by the time I arrived.
“Did you set up the wards already?” Krath looked to his fellow general, who nodded.
“I did. Anyone interfering will have to go through Jin’s team to reach the battle, unless they were already there.”
“Good. As long as that’s the case, we have a decent chance.”
Hearing their discussion, I couldn’t help but clear my throat, making my presence known. Once I did so, Krath looked up towards me, and I could see a faint smile on his face. “Ah, speak of the devil. You’re here for information, right?” When I nodded my head, he chuckled slightly. “I was wondering if you would show up, since you haven’t been around the last couple days.”
“Sorry, I had to work on something myself, or I wouldn’t be fit for this fight. So, what can you tell me about the area that we are fighting in? I’ve never visited it myself..”
Contrary to my expectations of getting information from Dremor, it was Krath that answered. “The area has been named Devil’s Valley by the angels, and is a forbidden territory as far as their religion is concerned. My best guess is that this is because they don’t want people to realize that the first gates to Heaven and Hell were established next to each other.”
Pointing to the map they were reviewing, he continued. “The valley is a hundred kilometers across, and surrounded by mountains on all sides.” His smile grew a bit before explaining, “That seems to be the after effects of the last great battle. Now, there are only three ways to enter by foot, without having to climb the mountains. These three entrances are to the north, south, and west.”
“In order to stop people from simply teleporting in en masse and interfering, I asked Dremor to set up a ward that stretches as far as a single kilometer outside the valley on all sides. The only way to enter will be through the two gates. That includes the two that you are counting on for backup, so they won’t have it as easily as you will.”
Well… I hadn’t planned on that. I nodded my head to him. “That’s fine. I was going to have them and Shi take the other two exits. I’ll take the northern one with Denise and Cynthia.” Part of me really wanted to see how the Prince of Blades, Kor, and Shi would fight, but I had a feeling I’d eventually find out.
“That works, so long as you can at least keep the majority of them from interfering. Right now, we don’t have the slightest idea how many people will be showing up. It could be anywhere from a hundred, up to a hundred thousand or more. I’ve been told that you acquired Azamoth’s power, so you should be able to hold one of the entrances. Just so you know, we don’t have the slightest idea how long this battle will last.”
I nodded again, looking between the two generals. Since they had everything taken care of on this side, I already knew what I had to do. Of course, that didn’t stop the following window from appearing in front of me.
New Quest!
Battle Royale of Heaven and Hell - Leveled Field
The long standing war between demons and angels has finally come to its climax. The powerful treaty binding the two races has dissolved, and they are preparing for their final confrontation.
Due to the thousands of years of religion implemented by the angels, they will likely summon a massive army of mortals to tip the scales in their favor. Your job, as the trusted Emissary of Hell, is to ensure that they do not pass you. This quest can not be declined.
Difficulty: A
Reward: ??
Failure: If the mortals break through, the war will encounter the worst case scenario.
Yes, I get the message already, this is important! I cursed the game’s A.I. in my mind, shaking my head slightly. “I’ll go make sure the others are ready.”
After that, I left to go spend my last few hours of peace with Denise and Cynthia. Mostly Denise, but Cynthia understood why. She blushed constantly before running away with her hands covering her face, but that was mostly how we knew she understood.
The next day, the three of us found ourselves leaving Hell and arriving in a wide valley, where we could see a ring of mountain peaks in the distance. After arriving in Devil’s Valley, Dremor immediately teleported the three of us to the northern exit. Can he still use teleportation magic because
it’s his own ward? Interesting…
The area that we arrived at was a wide passage, about fifty meters across. On either side were large mountains, where the slopes were so steep that they practically formed a wall. Behind me was the valley we had just left, but it was already too far away to see the gate he had come from, or even the mountaintops on the other side of the valley. Just how strong is Dremor to make a ward this wide within three days?
In front of me was another wide valley, but this one had a forest just before the horizon. Otherwise, I might not have been entirely certain which side I was supposed to be watching!
Okay, first, I should summon the others. A good ways in front of me, a light shined down from the sky, revealing the figure of a lone old man. From his looks, and the small text above his head that I could just barely make out, it seemed to be Kor. Focusing my magic, I silently cast a Message spell to him. “The three of us can handle this exit. There’s another one to the south that I was hoping you would handle, and one at the west of the valley where I was going to send the Prince of Blades.”
He nodded his head in the distance, and vanished in another flash of light. I wasn’t sure how much time I had, so I wanted to go ahead and get started. “Born of light and earth, prince of past and present. Blade eternal, come forth. As the one who holds the contract, I summon you in this time of need.”
Unlike a typical summoning spell, a specific incantation is needed for significant individuals such as the Prince of Blades. Given that such was not required for Dariel, I could only guess the level of power the nephilim possessed. And naturally, the spell appeared as close to me as it could, which was a thousand meters away. Even at that distance, I could clearly make out the large, imposing figure.
Something I had learned early in my travels, was that it was possible to communicate telepathically with my summons. As such, I gave Kirinad his instructions to defend the western passage with Shi. Not responding to my command in the slightest, he simply vanished from view. However, I could see his icon on my mental map rapidly moving towards his destination.
“Now… we wait.” I looked around, as if expecting the armies of Heaven to arrive as soon as I said that. However, there was no such luck. On the bright side, this gave the three of us plenty of time to get into our best equipment. My body was once again wrapped in the infernal robe, Hell’s Embrace. As in the fight with the angel soldier, my body shifted into the form of the Rune Lord.
Beside me, Denise equipped her infernal bow, Nightshade, with the sword Omen and dagger Shadow’s edge on her waist. To the other side, Cynthia was equipped with obsidian armor that made her look more demonic than I was. Three twisted black horns sat on her helmet, the eye sockets emitting an eerie orange glow. On her shoulders, there were two spikes each, and another series of twisted spikes running down her arms.
In her hands was a massive sword, easily bigger than herself, with three glowing Mana Stones decorating the blade. Well, I guess I should grab my most useful weapon too.
Reaching into the Artifact World, I retrieved my own powerful staff, the Ghost Demon weapon Stoneheart. As it was pulled out, I heard an annoyed voice calling into my mind, demanding an explanation as to why it had been thrown in there for so long. Because you were annoying, and way more powerful than you needed to be.
With that thought in mind, I tossed Stoneheart to the ground, allowing it to form into its elemental self. This time, the form it chose was smaller, looking more like a slim human male than a massive harbinger of destruction. “Okay… So… They did get the invitation, right?” I was going to be embarrassed if, after all of this, the angels didn’t feel the need to call for backup.
This time, it seemed like I did jinx their arrival. Barely a kilometer away from our position, countless lights began to illuminate the sky. I could see some striking the ground immediately, while others fought for their position. From where I stood, it looked to be raining streams of light. And each light, when it fell, turned into a person. I couldn’t make out their individual appearances from this distance, but I could tell that some wore white cloth robes, while others wore metal armors.
For a full three minutes, there was a constant stream of light falling onto the horizon, bringing more and more enemies into this battle. And standing between this army and the holy battle it wished to take part in, were three little humans. Why did I sign up for this…
All that was left at this point was to accept my fate, and use the spells I had prepared to thin the herd. While they were still a kilometer away, that distance would mean nothing to someone with speed similar to Denise, so I didn’t have any time to waste. My mana spread through the sky and the earth, my eyes closing while I prepared my makeshift incantation.
“Shackles that bind creation, laws of earth and stone. Witness the origin, and gather your armies. With mind, and voice, and magic I call. Show those fools before me the strength that lies beyond the skies, beyond heaven itself.” As I spoke, I opened my eyes, my image of the spell complete. “Grand Crush.”
The slowly advancing army ahead of us seemed to stop in its tracks, some stumbling on unsteady ground. In the sky above them, an aura of darkness appeared, but that went unnoticed by many, for the ground itself had turned against them. With cracks audible even at this distance, chunks of rocks flew into the air. Every now and then at first, these rocks would be accompanied by fearful passengers.
Each rock that flew into the sky gathered at that single dark aura, and soon more and more rocks, gradually growing bigger, flew to join them. Any time the mass in the sky grew larger, it also lifted up higher into the air, as if to make room for itself. Within ten seconds, that dark aura had been covered with rocks, making it roughly ten meters thick. Then, people began flying up with the even larger rocks, likely crushing them as it joined the makeshift orb of stone.
By the time the orb had reached fifty meters across, it was nearly a full mile in the air! I could almost see the gaps caused by its creation, and many people were swarming to vacate the area directly below it, but that wouldn’t help them. This was the answer to my search for the ultimate meteor spell, Grand Crush.
The first stage acts in two parts. While creating a gradually growing field of gravity in the sky, I also use earth magic to loosen the rocks below it, causing some to fly into the air and start the process. Next, as the meteor grows, it rises higher and higher, and the gravity becomes stronger as well. Once it has reached a stage where the rocks are fused into one, the final phase kicks in, and it transfers all of its saved gravity magic to propel it in a direction of my choosing. Naturally, this meant that it would not fall straight down.
Sure enough, the flying meteor shot off to the side, towards a large group of people that had been gathered. Even here, I could hear the crash that it caused as it tore through them. Under normal circumstances, I would never even consider killing hundreds of people as I likely had just done. But this was a war, and they were more than willing to kill me and those that were precious to me. “Homunculus, it’s your turn.”
With my opening barrage down, I knew that I had only taken out a small fraction of their force. Now that the spell was over, I had roughly half a minute before my magic would be high enough to launch another tier 5 spell. I had already planned out this string of attacks, whose aim was simply to take out as many of the enemies as it could.
As I commanded it, the tome-shaped homunculus flew out of my pack, rising into the air. Once it was a good distance above my head, its pages tore open, three falling out of the book. I winced slightly, realizing that this must be the cost for my homunculus to cast this kind of magic. From those three pages, countless runes emerged in glowing lines, forming the circles of the spell in the air above us.
Once the spell had been assembled, shards of ice and streams of fire shot out of it towards the army that had barely managed to return to its feet. These opposing elements collided, merging into a blue fire, and then shaping into a towering dragon far larger than what I had created when
I tested the spell. This Frostfire Dragon quickly covered the distance between the two armies, releasing a torrent of blue flames that seemed to erase everything in its path.
Although the book fell down into my arms, drained of mana, the spell was still operating off of what it had been given. Streams of frostfire flew through their armies, destroying priest and paladin alike. By my estimation, half of the army had been destroyed before they developed a suitable countermeasure. And by suitable, I mean something other than throwing bodies at it.
In the distance, I saw fields of yellow light rising into the air, making a barrier to prevent the assaults of this powerful spell. In my mind, I couldn’t help but nod in appreciation, seeing that they figured out the weakness of this spell so quickly. While frostfire was a power that defied logic, and could destroy practically any material defense, it held relatively little force. A magical barrier, even a weak one, would be enough to stop its advance.
Thanks to the difference in power between my own mana and the homunculus, it was able to maintain the spell far longer than myself. In fact, I had estimated that the homunculus had roughly three times my mana pool. The downside was its wisdom, which would likely be only one. If that was correct, it would only recover a single percent of its mana every ten minutes, and take most of a day to get back to full.
The Dive: Birth of a Hero Page 48