Chapter 87: The Hero & The Demon (I)
On one side of the bridge stood Cao Cao with Georg positioned at his rear, and Leonardo even further behind.
On the other, Alduin. Cut off from the typical, exceptional aid that was Senjutsu, and left to rely on his other talents to go toe-to-toe with True Longinus. The de facto worst weapon a member of the devil race could ever have the displeasure of facing.
His martial arts were top-tier, but there was no way for him to actually confront Cao Cao in hand-to-hand combat. All of his strikes would be immediately nullified by the unmatched degree ofHoly Power that coursed through the spear's composition like a venous system. He needed a weapon, a way to shield himself from the radiance of God's faith.
"Draconic energy," Alduin muttered under his breath. It was the only thing he had available to him that'd be unaffected by True Longinus's Holy Power. Sure, the Sacred Gear itself contained an insane degree of raw power, boosted by the holy effect or not. But he had to do what he could.
He outstretched his arm, his hand readying itself to grip onto something. He wouldn't go for Partial Dragonification or Dragonification just yet, the former would require him to engage Cao Cao in hand-to-hand with the majority of his body undefended, and the latter would turn just turn him into one, massive target for Cao Cao to wreak havoc on.
Instead, he relied on Fafnir. Conjuring the Dragon King's Golden Aura to create a spear, two-meters long, just like Cao Cao's to match his opponent's reach.
Intrigued, Cao Cao's eyelids lifted. "You've studied spearmanship? Color me surprised, I was under the impression your kind loathed training."
Alduin chuckled. "It's a bit of an exaggeration to call it 'training', but yeah, I guess you could say I'm a bit of an exception."
His 'spearmanship' was simply the product of him mindlessly using the weapon during his mother's morning training sessions. His technique was the product of repetitive brute force, not guided training and weapon theory.
At the same time, he and Cao Cao lowered their hips. Prepared to launch themselves at one another at the drop of a hat.
Alduin's calves bulged, demonic power coursing through his bloodstream and causing his veins to expand, reinforcing them—alongside the rest of his body to the absolute limit. If Alduin couldn't reinforce himself with Ki, then he'd just fall back on good ol' reliable demonic power.
The strengthening resulted in the appearance of a visible, bright-green luminescence highlighting the outline of his form. Kind of like glowing smoke. The full force of a Satan-Class Devil's physiology on display.
Cao Cao grinned, supernaturals weren't the only ones who could pull off that trick.
Slowly, he started to siphon off some of the boundless Holy Power that existed inside True Longinus. Effectively turning himself into a conductor for the spear's divine energy, allowing it seep from the weapon's staff into the pores of his skin. Filling his vessel up with radiant power, as much of it he could hold, and producing a strengthening effect of his own.
As a human, he couldn't draw in nearly as much power as Alduin theoretically would be able to, but that didn't matter. The density of the holy cells that resided in True Longinus were leagues above that of a mere Satan-Class Devil's. That didn't necessarily mean Cao Cao could call upon the full extent of those cells, he was not Saint Longinus after all, but he was one of the best wielders to hold True Longinus in a long time. He could muster up enough to even the playing field. Quantity could be made up for with quality.
"Like I said, try not to—"
"Disappoint, yeah, yeah." Alduin positioned himself like a slingshot, ready to erupt forwards and clash with Cao Cao head-on.
They moved in sync, catapulting themselves off the ground and leaving thunderous gusts of wind in their wake. The tips of their spears aimed at one another, daring the other to deviate from one-hundred-percent accuracy, even by a fraction.
CLANG!
The clash began. The steel of True Longinus met with the energy-based hardened exterior of Alduin's spear, the sound of them grating against one another more akin to the brakes of a high-speed train rather than a weapon-on-weapon contest of strength. The prickling, needle-like sensation of being so close to the holiest of relics putting a scowl on Alduin's face.
Upon realizing neither would overpower the other, they each took a step back. Cao Cao planted his feet and twisted his hips, aiming for a two-handed horizontal sweep, as he had practiced tens of thousands of times before.
Alduin replied with two, precise motions he made in the infinitesimally small window of time he had to act while Cao Cao spun. First, he stomped his foot. Creating a medium-sized, but dense wall of earth between them. Obviously, True Longinus would be able to cut through such a demonic construct as if it wasn't even there.
Unless the wall was reinforced with Fafnir's Golden Aura.
CRASH!
The holy spear still went through, but at the cost of more than half its original momentum. Which meant—Alduin now had the setup he needed for his second motion, a window of opportunity to counterattack.
He side-stepped, the spear brushing past him, millimeters away from his shoulder. It didn't make contact, but the proximity of it alone caused a series of grotesque burns to appear all over his skin. A sickening rash he had to grit his teeth through in order to endure. True Longinus's presence alone was simply that powerful. To a devil, exposure to it was no different from radiation.
Nonetheless, Cao Cao missed. And the realization of that blunder was written all over his face with big, beady, widened eyes of shock. For him, the world itself seemed to come to a slow. The sight of Alduin's spear thrusting its way forward, primed and ready to pierce through Cao Cao's exposed torso, and skewer his heart.
He could not dodge, nor could he guard. He didn't have the speed to do so.
So, instinct took over. The instinct to live, and fight another day to continue his 'divine responsibility' to eradicate all that wasn't human.
Even if it was only the second exchange between himself and the devil-dragon.
"GEORG!"
Georg adjusted his glasses. Fully prepared, he muttered several incantations all at once. "Greater Slowing. Greater Pressure. Greater Weakening. Greater Binding. Greater Disorientation. Greater Numbness."
Seven, multi-colored magic circles formed around the length of Georg's extended arm. The effects of the spells hitting Alduin simultaneously, stopping him mid-thrust and allowing Cao Cao to back away scot-free. Thanks to Alduin's natural resistance as a Satan-Class Devil, the debuffs weren't enough to give Cao Cao an immediate opportunity to counter. Not unless he was willing to go for a suicide rush, which evidently, clashed with his demonstrated sense of self-preservation.
"One move," Alduin snickered. "That's all? That's all you could do before calling on your boyfriend to save you?" His snickering morphed into open, unashamed mocking laughter. "I feel for that spear, all that power wasted in the hands of someone so weak."
He raised his head, purposefully making himself look as arrogant as possible, filling the stereotype of a 'self-obsessed devil' to perfection. The mirror image of what Cao Cao loathed, of what he felt obligated to eliminate.
Cao Cao ground his teeth, like a pent-up bulldog. There was no shame like that of being taunted by a devil when you had the perfect devil-killer clasped between your fingers. The attempt at provocation was obvious, but the fact that it was backed by the truth of what had just transpired still made it somewhat effective.
"Cao Cao," Georg's voice sobered him. "Don't lose your cool, this is just a side quest you've decided to humor, remember? I can't have you losing sight of our main object—"
"I know!" He insisted, tightening his clasp on True Longinus. "I'll handle it, just sit back and let me do what I need to."
"You know," Alduin coughed. "If you guys need to take a breather to settle your lover's spat, I'm willing to call a timeout. Let's say like, five minutes? All in the name of fair competition and whatnot." Even though he was still experiencing some of the lingering effects of Georg's chain of debuff spells, he wasn't worried, not in the slightest.
All he had to do was flex Fafnir's Golden Aura directly through his body, like so, and brute force his way through the spells.
If Georg wanted to get serious about weakening Alduin, he'd have to siphon off a significant portion of the energy he was using to maintain Dimension Lost's Balance Break to make the spells stick, which made the risk of the dimensional mist itself failing astronomically high. An undeniably foolish risk to take in the eyes of the tactician.
As a matter of fact, Alduin didn't want him to disperse Dimension Lost either. If Serafall were to get involved, she too would be exposed to True Longinus, and unlike Alduin, she had no means to defend herself from its holy properties. Even the slightest slip-up could result in the death of the Underworld's Satan Leviathan.
Cao Cao took a deep breath. As infuriating as they were, he couldn't let the measly words of some devil get the better of him. Held his spear up high, its already luminescent blade shining even brighter than before, heralding the gathering of Holy Power around its tip. Not for the sake of further reinforcement, but offense.
"Mm. I suppose that's one way to use it too," Alduin knew precisely what was about to be flung his way. He also knew he didn't possess the necessary speed to dodge, not without Ki, which meant his only option would be a head-on confrontation.
Placidly, he raised one hand up. The river under the bridge he was standing on began to stir in response to his command over elemental manipulation, a staggering 40% of its total volume that ran through the section of Urakyoto consumed by Georg's Sacred Gear rising up over his head. Meandering and circling above him as if it were alive, a newly-born creature designed to listen to none other than Alduin.
Then, he raised the other. The bridge itself started to snap, crack, and fissure. Breaking off into smaller chunks before joining the watery airborne amalgamation, mixing with it and executing the basic formula for the formation of Alduin's Wood Magic. Water + earth. Usually, he'd just create water and earth from thin air, but doing it this way was far more energy-efficient. Of course, the demonic construct in and of itself had no hope of challenging True Longinus.
So, Alduin enhanced it. Molding the excess of wood he had before him into the shape of a mighty, hundred-foot-long eastern dragon. Its eyelids opened, revealing a bright, royal gold hue. Proof of Fafnir's Golden Aura being imbued to its core. Made clearer by the gradually brightening shine of golden veins spanning down its exceptional length.
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, still allowing his spear to accumulate as much energy as it could in its base form. "That won't be enough."
"Yeah?" Alduin tilted his head. "Prove it."
Cao Cao took a sharp breath.
The 'hero' proceeded to perform a wide, sweeping overhead swing. Sending out a narrow, impossibly sharp streak of Holy Power shooting towards Alduin. The kind that could take out a Satan-Class Devil in one blow, or cripple them at minimum. The intensity of its shine forced both Georg, and Leonardo who was a few steps behind him to shield their eyes. Even with the former of two wearing glasses.
Alduin couldn't help but chuckle. Not confidently—nervously. He had a plan in mind, yes, but it was hard to have full faith in it when the instinctual dread of such a large expulsion of Holy Power was eating at his confidence. It couldn't be helped. Devils weren't designed to be 'brave' in the face of it, unless they had evolved past the definition of a devil like Sirzechs and Ajuka. They were designed to be afraid. To cower under its radiance.
"Come on, Alduin. You're way too young and handsome to die here," he muttered words of self-affirmation.
His wood dragon opened it's maw, letting out an ear-rupturing, bestial roar before lunging straight towards Cao Cao's stream of Holy Power.
BOOM!
The second clash began, this time magical instead of physical. The insertion of blinding white energy enters straight through the wood dragon's maw, causing a sandstorm of wood splinters erupting from the impact point of the collision.
Demonic power. Holy Power. Draconic energy. All of it violently mashing with one another like a Kodoku container. Holy Power consuming demonic power, only to be stopped halfway as reinforced cells jam-packed with draconic energy kept them stable. The sheer scale of the maelstrom potent enough to decimate the West Yōkai Faction's headquarters in one blow if it were to be redirected.
Instantly, the bridge started to tear apart, even inside Georg's Balance Break. Its structure crumbling to pieces as if it were experiencing the full brunt of an EF5 tornado.
Georg took a step back, placing himself near Leonardo and multi-casting again. "Stabilization. Greater Warding." One spell acted like glue to keep their feet grounded, the other protection from the intense magical residue bouncing off the two constructs in front of them.
Leonardo, usually the personification of listlessness and apathy, looked up. His dead expression demonstrated a few, oh-so-faint shimmers of attentiveness. "Should I help?" He asked Georg, unsure whether or not Cao Cao was truly in control of the situation.
Usually, his leader never showed any signs of struggle whatsoever, no matter who it was he went up against, supernatural or human. He was an all-powerful hero descendant that wielded an all-powerful Sacred Gear.
But when he looked upon Cao Cao's current situation? 'All-powerful' was the last thing that came to mind.
"No, Cao Cao still hasn't used his Balance Break, and I'm willing to bet the devil still has a few more tricks up his sleeve." Georg analyzed, his glasses making a clack as he adjusted them. "Neither of them are serious—yet."
Disbelieving, Leonardo blinked. Observing the sheer chaos and destruction unfolding before his very eyes, in what world could any of this be described as 'not serious'? Even from the perspective of someone like him, who wielded another top-tier Longinus, Annihilation Maker.
Alduin's gaze sharpened, most wouldn't notice it so early on, but he could see that Cao Cao's Holy Power was starting to overpower his reinforced wood dragon. In a matter of seconds, True Longinus's energy would break through and continue its charge, fully intent on reducing him to Satan-Class Devil ash.
Coming to the same realization, Cao Cao laughed aloud. Happy to let Alduin hear the same sounds of mockery he had been subjected to a minute ago.
Gradually, the sub-dimension was polluted with more white than it was gold. The holy spear's force tearing through the dragon's hundred-foot-long body, bound to exit its rear end and continue its rush towards the verdant-eyed devil.
CRASH!
And tear it did.
But oddly enough, Alduin's expression wasn't nearly as panicked as it was before, as a matter of fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to call it relaxed. As if he had just lost a game with no real life-threatening stakes, despite there being a very-much-real Jetstream of terrifying Holy Power charging at him.
"Not bad," Alduin exhaled with resignation. He raised his right arm and activated Partial Dragonification, allowing an exterior layer of black scales to coat his skin, and strengthening it step further with the reinforcement of Golden Aura.
Preceded by a sharp breath—he swung. His scales protecting him from the stream's holy radiance and allowing him to effectively it swat it elsewhere, causing it to ricochet to the side and crash into the thinned river, creating a submerged eruption that sent a torrent of water spattering into the air, raining down on the bridge's occupants and drenching them from head-to-toe.
Not that they minded, they were both trying to kill each other after all. So what if they got a little damp in the process?
"Isn't that a bit of an understatement?" Cao Cao didn't seem too bothered by Alduin's deflection. He wasn't a dunce, he understood basic magical theory. The energy his ejected projectile consumed in order to break through the devil's wooden dragon was too great, thus, once it left the dragon, it only retained a tenth, perhaps even less of its original power.
Forget Alduin, any Satan-Class Devil worth their salt could handle that much.
It was simple math.
Wordlessly, both fighters moved.
Cao Cao reassumed a two-handed grip on his spear, holding it perfectly vertical in front of him in an almost ritualistic manner.
Alduin reached into his wetted coat, pulling out the small, shining object that was responsible for providing him with the necessary footing to battle True Longinus with. The dagger-sized, lance-tipped golden object Azazel had given him quite some time ago.
Georg's earlier comment couldn't be any more correct, the two had indeed been holding out on each other, probing the other's strength before they committed to fighting with everything they had. To see if their opponent was actually worthy of such power.
That phase was over. Their confirmations were made.
In perfect unison, they activated the same power.
BALANCE BREAK!
///
For those wondering what a 'Kodoku' is, it refers to the ritual where a bunch of venomous insects are put into a jar until only one remains. You've probably heard of it in some media before, you just don't know the official term.
That aside, the Hero Faction is probably my favoriate faction within the Khaos Brigadge, it's just a shame Ishibumi doesn't like to expand on anything non-devil.
If you want to support my work and get access to early chapters, go check me out on P@treon/Accel14!
There's also a discord if you want to communicate with me there or get updated on public chapter releases! (wNzT9AEsaz)