Kapitel 73: Mad God

"...had enough?"

Dulio stares at the charred ruins, eyes dull and lightning surging across his skin. The power wafting from him is clear, and the divinity contained in his Longinus shines through his mortal skin.

Here, standing right next to him as tornadoes sweep across the lands,

It feels surreal.

"No." He says, carefully leashed anger coiled around his tone. "I am not." He says, staring coldly at the whimpering man before us, shivering like a leaf in the wind. There is terror in the man's eyes, and he shrieks as Dulio takes a step forward. "This fire inside me has yet to extinguish." He takes another step, and wisps of iron sand swirl around his feet.

The man screams, and I slowly turn away.

It's three weeks before the Pandemonium, and I'm beginning to reveal my plan to those I know. Most are rightfully skeptical, but they'd accept once I explain my reasoning to them.

Dulio is one of the few that had accepted my plan without question, though he then asked why. I explained that my hostility towards the Church had been growing as of recently.

And then Dulio asked if he could watch the Footage.

I knew I shouldn't. Dulio is a kind man. Too kind at times. Despite the growing divide between him and the Vatican, he genuinely does still consider many of the clergy as his friends. To show it to him-, to pull away the curtains and throw all of the Church's dirty laundry into the sky,

But it would've also been cruel to let him be in the dark. Dulio knows he has failed to save everyone, and he's put a lot of effort into finding out why. The Footage would be his answer, no matter how crushing it would be.

So I did.

The results are…both surprising and not.

Dulio was enraged, and bolstered by that maddening anger, he chose to brigand one final strike against the Church before the Pandemonium. He returned to the Church, donned his polite mask, and began kidnapping members of the clergy. He'd then bring them back to Kuoh, where I'd then bring him and his victim to a secluded location somewhere on the planet.

And Dulio would reenact those tortures these people had done to the many kids they'd killed. He'd strike and strike and strike, and he'd been especially cruel to those that'd taken a voluntary hand in the atrocities.

The Church had become alert because of it, and all sorts of suspicion is now cast on Dulio. But he doesn't care, and nor do I.

After all, in a few weeks the Church will fall.

There is one thing I hadn't expected to happen though.

This is, arguably, the first time Dulio has felt this level of rage at something. And his soul clearly responds, burning and twisting with such vitriol that it looks almost unrecognizable to Akeno and I.

And following that shift, a chain inside him had shattered, and he'd achieved his Balance Breaker.

Zenith Tempest—an Elemental-type Sacred Gear that allows its wielder to control the weather and elemental attributes. An incredibly powerful Longinus on its own, made even more deadly by the sheer scale it has even from the moment of its awakening.

It's a Longinus capable of destroying the world.

And now it's become even scarier.

If Dulio activates his Balance Breaker, then the range of abilities he can control widens to a ludicrous degree. The limited control over 'Planetary Aspects' grows larger, and he now has a set of new tools under his belt. Control over pressure, over air composition, and even over gravity once he trains himself enough.

That's not the end though. My eyes have told me of the vast untapped potential of the Longinus, and it's insane.

Given time, Dulio might gain control over the Earth itself. Controlling tectonic plates, causing volcanoes to erupt, creating tsunamis, turning the oceans into acid, filling the air with toxic chemicals-

The list goes on and on and on.

Which isn't surprising, really. Its name is 'Zenith Tempest'. Excluding the true Longinus, it's the Zenith of the Christian God's creation. Whereas he'd only placed one or two aspects of his powers into a Sacred Gear, the guy just abandoned all rationality and forced an insane number of abilities into a single weapon.

Discesa Del Dio Pazza is the name of his Balance Breaker.

Or simply, Descent of the Mad God.

Suddenly the ground shakes, and I turn just in time to see the man scream as a blade of wind slices him in two. His lower body falls back, and what remains on the man flops onto the ground, blood flooding out of his now exposed guts. He screams and begs, and Dulio only stares as he gently places his foot on the man's head.

A moment later, Dulio's foot splatters onto the ground, squeezing through bone and brain matter.

"Had enough?" I ask once more, frowning worriedly as Dulio rigidly stands still.

"No." He answers again, eyes shining with murder. "I need more." He whispers under his breath, as if he's speaking to some beast he can only see.

I frown deeper. This can't go on. We've been doing this for almost five days now, and the young man looks nowhere near satisfied. His clothes are stained red with dried blood, but he hardly gives it a care.

It's worrying. Very worrying.

So, like the worried friend I am, I march straight into his space and deliver a powerful punch straight into his left cheek. It's not a light punch, and Dulio goes flying several meters back before he crashes into the dirt.

I walk up to him, and I smile darkly. "Had enough?"

"...yes." He finally says, even if he sounds incredibly reluctant. Hearing that, my smile softens, and I hold my hand out to him. He stares at it for a quick moment before he grabs it. I help pull him up. "Thank you, Sir."

"I get that you're angry—I am too." I say, giving his shoulder a pat. "But let's not blow the fuse before we're ready. Wait three more weeks, and then you'll have the excuse to be as vindictive as you want to be."

He sighs. "I'll…try, sir."

I shrug. It's the best response I can get from him at the moment.

I turn to the side. The sands of the desert I'd brought us here look as they've been for hundreds of years, as if Dulio hadn't murdered over eighteen men upon these sands. The intense heat and the powerful winds blowing across the deserts are the cause of that, turning this place into the perfect place to commit some casual genocide.

At least for those capable of withstanding the desert heat.

"Sir."

I turn back to him. "Yes?"

He looks away for a moment, his expression odd. "I must ask something." He says. I gesture for him to continue, and he takes a breath. "Can I…ask for a favor?"

I hum. "Something about Griselda Quarta?"

He blinks. "I-, um," He coughs, and then smiles shyly. "Yes, sir. She and I may have had our disagreements in recent times, but I can't let her be caught up in what is to come." His expression turns stormy for a moment. "She's just as I am. I'm simply…more blessed to have met you."

I nod. "That's doable enough. Bring her to Kuoh, and I'll see what I can do."

He smiles. "Thank you, sir."

I stare at the young man for a good moment. He looks tired—it seems he hasn't slept in days. It's beginning to take a toll on his body.

"Let's go home." So I say. He looks at me, and that reluctance returns to his eyes. "You're about to keel over. I'm not going to let you sleep in enemy territory, or in the middle of the desert." He still looks reluctant. "If you don't-" I hold up my fist, and I smile as blues and whites swirl around my fist. "I'll send you back myself."

He laughs awkwardly, carefully taking a few steps back. "O-Of course, sir." He quickly forces his lips into a grin. "L-Let's go home!"

I smile back, and harshly, I grasp his shoulder as my Mana roars to life. Light surges around us, and in seconds, we disappear from the deserts.