Chương 285: chapter 285
Chapter 285:
–Red Dragon Empress–
{Boost!} {Boost!} {Boost!}
"This is so annoying!" Isane had been having the best dream—a steamy one full of glorious oppai—when the mother of all earthquakes ended it abruptly. Soon after being jerked awake, she found herself in her Balance Breaker, fighting a monster straight out of a biblical nightmare. Yasaka, who was an actual fox at the moment and unfortunately not a sexy milf, and Amaterasu, the NEET goddess whose kimono kept slipping off for some reason, were right there beside her, duking it out with a giant Behemoth from the dawn of creation!
"Take the shot, pervert!" Amaterasu threw a massive orb of fire into the Behemoth's face to temporarily blind and distract her/it.
Isane had seen pictures and videos of Serafall Leviathan's sexy blonde queen, who occasionally starred in the Maou's weird Magical Girl show. She had trouble relating that woman to the 150 meter tall monster they were currently facing.
"What do you think I was doing all those Boosts for!?" Isane retorted as she gathered all of her stored power into her left arm!
{Dragon Shot!}
A searing beam of red light blasted from her fist, smashing into the Behemoth's massive left arm. The flesh bubbled and smoked under the heat, but...
"That's not going to be enough!" Ddraig's voice echoed in her mind, and Isane felt her stomach drop. That blast could've vaporized any Ultimate Class being, but the Behemoth? It was too freaking big! She'd left a crater the size of a bus in its arm, but it was barely more than a bee sting to this giant monster!
"Rooooaaaarrr!"
"Look out, Isane!" Yasaka screamed in warning.
"Shit…" Isane barely got the word out before a tail the size of a skyscraper whipped around and slammed into her. The air shattered with multiple sonic booms as she was violently flung away. The G-Forces were so extreme that she ended up temporarily losing consciousness.
Before she could drift off to another pleasant dream, the next thing she knew, she was gasping awake as she found her body embedded halfway into solid rock.
"Ugh, ow…" she groaned, blinking as her blurry vision cleared. "Holy crap, I just got launched to Mt. Fuji?!" Half her body was stuck in the side of the mountain. And, when she tried to move, pain shot up her arm. "Yep. That's broken," she grumbled. The armor on her right side was completely wrecked. The Behemoth shattered her Balance Breaker in a single hit.
"What the fuck, Ddraig? That thing's OP as hell! You could have warned me!" Isane complained as she pulled herself out of the bedrock with her good arm.
Ddraig sighed in her mind, and Isane groaned louder. His sighs always meant bad news. "The Behemoth was made by God himself. Probably when he was drunk, to be honest. He tried to kill her later when he realized what a mistake he'd made. But he failed. Her size, power, and insane regeneration make her nearly impossible to beat. That gaping wound in her arm has probably already healed over. As for Albion and I... well, we always tried to avoid her back when we still had bodies," he said with a hint of embarrassment.
Isane's jaw dropped. This was a monster even Ddraig couldn't beat in his prime? What chance did she have then? "Wait, wait, wait. How did Serafall get this monster into her peerage then?!" Isane asked as she started boosting again, gathering more power to rebuild her balance breaker armor. It was a 350 km flight back to Kyoto. That was going to take her a couple minutes unfortunately. "Did she just flash her tits at this monster and it decided to join her peerage?"
"Maybe?" Ddraig replied…
–Yasaka–
"Shit! We just lost the Red Dragon Empress!" Lady Amaterasu shouted, stating the obvious for some reason!
Yasaka's heart raced as she scanned the devastated landscape just outside Kyoto. She couldn't sense where Isane had been flung, which meant it was far. She just hoped her perverted apprentice wasn't dead, or if she was, hopefully her body was in a large enough piece so that Layla would be able to revive her.
Blue licked at her feet as Yasaka sprinted forwards, running on the literal air itself. She pushed her legs hard, leaping as high as she could. "Foxfire!" she roared, opening her jaws wide. A massive stream of blue flames erupted from her throat, crashing into the Behemoth's face. The flames weren't quite as hot as Lady Amaterasu's, but they were tainted with her corrosive Youki.
The behemoth let out an ear-piercing roar that shattered every single window in 100 kilometers. It swung one of its massive arms at Yasaka in retaliation, trying to smash her out of the sky. She barely managed to dive out of the way before being swatted like a fly.
She still ended up getting sent flying though. The sheer force of the wind caused by its movement was insane. This was a beast that could cause tornados using nothing but physical strength!
She managed to steady herself, landing on an actual cloud and digging in her claws–something that was only possible because magic was bullshit sometimes. Yasaka was starting to feel very frustrated. Her golden eyes narrowed as she watched the horrific burns she'd inflicted on the behemoth already beginning to heal. Its face was almost completely recovered already. The Behemoth was regenerating faster than she could injure it…
Yasaka was old, hundreds of years by human standards, but not nearly as ancient as some of the other faction leaders in the world. She hadn't fought in the Great War, so she had no idea just how powerful this monster was. Now, staring at it, she realized she had gravely underestimated the Devils' trump card. The Behemoth wasn't just a threat—it was a disaster waiting to happen.
She'd hoped that, by teaming up with Lady Amaterasu and going all out, they could defeat the beast. Sure, it would probably level a huge chunk of Japan, but it was better than letting the beast roam free. Now, though, she wasn't even sure that would be enough. The way the Behemoth moved, almost lazily, like it was toying with them—it chilled her to the bone.
Or worse, maybe it was just buying time, like Amaterasu suspected. Keeping the Yokai and Shinto pantheon occupied while the Devils laid waste to the rest of the world.
"We're not winning this fight," Yasaka said, grimacing and clenching her razor sharp teeth.
"No shit," Amaterasu sulked as she landed on the cloud next to Yasaka. "And we're not getting any back up either. Tsukuyomi and Susanoo were both in China on a diplomatic mission when this attack started. They're currently helping them fight off another attack on foreign soil."
"How lucky for China…" Yasaka grumbled. That stupid monkey Wukong always seemed to have the best possible luck! They could have really used those two Gods on their own side right about now.
"Do you sense the Red Dragon Empress anywhere nearby?" Amaterasu asked as they both took a moment to regain their barings.
"No, she was sent flying towards Tokyo, I have no idea where she ended up or if she'll even make it back anytime soon." Yasaka said while keeping her eyes on the large beast about a kilometer away from them. Its injuries were now completely healed, even the bone deep gash Isane had put in her everything to inflict.
The cloud they were resting on immediately evaporated as golden flames swirled around the Goddess of the Sun. The Sun in the sky shined down brighter than ever as Amatersu called upon more power than she had used up to this point. The consequences could already be seen on the landscape below them. Half of the forest around Kyoto began to burn…
"I really hope your eldest daughter can get Layla's attention soon," Amaterasu said somberly. "Before this battle destroys our beloved home…"
"I hope so as well…" Yasaka took a moment to send one of her own prayers towards Layla.
–Layla–
As soon as I stepped out of the portal, I was nearly knocked off my feet by two fuzzy missiles. Kunou and Alter clung to me, tears streaking down their cheeks. I wrapped my arms around them both, holding them close as they sobbed into my chest.
"Layla! You heard my prayers! I'm so glad!" Alter's voice shook, her brave facade crumbling now that I was here. "Japan is under attack. It's bad—Mother and Lady Amaterasu are fighting a behemoth right now."
I ran my fingers through their hair, scratching gently behind their ears. Even though they were terrified, I could feel both their tails start to sway back and forth from the scratches…
I smiled. "Don't worry, girls. Everything's going to be okay now." I knew they were safe for the moment, but I wasn't going to take any chances with this sudden war. We had all underestimated the desperation and brutality of the Devil's once already. "Go back through the portal and wait at the penthouse. You'll be safe there," I told them.
Kunou and Alter hesitated for a moment, but then nodded, running back through the portal I came from. I closed it behind them, letting out a breath of relief. With the heiresses safe, Yasaka and I could focus on what needed to be done without worrying so much.
I didn't waste any more time and sprinted outside into Yasaka's backyard. As soon as I cleared the trees, I spread my sixteen wings and took off, soaring high into the air above Kyoto. What I witnessed shocked me.
It was a disaster.
From the air, I could see the chaos below—buildings toppled over, some still burning, others reduced to rubble. Tens of thousands of bodies were trapped under the debris, while both humans and yokai rushed around, either trying to escape or digging through the ruins to pull people out. I spotted a few looters taking advantage of the chaos, and the sight made my blood boil. But this wasn't the time to deal with them.
Right now, I had to find Yasaka. Which wasn't exactly hard.
"Rooooaaarrr!"
And there it was—the Behemoth, stomping through the city like a real-life Godzilla. Yasaka, in her golden nine-tailed fox form, was darting around it in the air, looking almost small in comparison to the 150-meter-tall monster. Blue flames swirled around her, lashing at the Behemoth from every angle as it swatted wildly, trying to knock her out of the sky.
Not far off, I could feel a massive concentration of Divine Energy. Amaterasu hovered above the chaos, both arms raised high as she gathered power into a blazing sphere of fire above her head. The thing was like a miniature sun, growing bigger with every second. I could tell she wasn't holding back—if that thing hit, it'd be like detonating a nuke right next to Kyoto.
"I won't let you win, monster! Die!" Amaterasu shouted, her voice full of rage as she hurled the fireball with everything she had. Yasaka scrambled out of the way just in time.
But the explosion never came.
A purple portal suddenly materialized in the fireball's path, swallowing it whole before snapping shut. The fireball was gone, snuffed out somewhere deep in space, far from where it could do any damage.
"Who dares?!" Amaterasu's voice dripped with frustration as she whirled around, searching for the culprit. She was so flustered, she didn't even sense me appear behind her.
I raised my hand and thumped her on the back of the head, hard enough to make her feel it.
"Ow!" She spun around, clutching her head, her eyes wide. "What was that for, Layla?! And when did you even get here?!"
"That," I said with a sigh, "was for almost blowing up Kyoto. And, for the record, I just got here."
"You should've gotten here sooner!" she huffed, crossing her arms like a scolded child.
"Sorry, I was a bit busy taking care of some other things." I stretched my wings wide, releasing just a sliver of my magical aura. The air around us vibrated, drawing the attention of both Yasaka and the Behemoth. They broke off their fight, Yasaka's golden form gliding toward us.
The massive fox let out a series of happy yips as she came closer, nuzzling her enormous snout into my shoulder. "I'm glad you're finally here, anata," she said warmly, even in the midst of chaos we'd found ourselves in.
The Behemoth paused her assault, her massive eyes locked onto me. "You… What are you…?" a deep, guttural voice growled. It didn't sound like any human or devil I'd ever heard. Her voice was so loud, I had to shield my eardrums with magic just to avoid them being shattered.
"I am Layla of the Fallen. This ends here, Behemoth. You've already caused enough death and despair—for what?" I asked, activating my Rinnegan. Something about her felt wrong. She radiated demonic power, far more than what should have been normal. With my enhanced sight, I saw the truth. The Behemoth had turned into a Stray Devil. Her outer form was mostly unchanged, but on a deeper level, she barely resembled the proud creature Father once created.
"The Devil race will reign supreme! I follow Lady Serafall's will! I will destroy the children of the great betrayer!" she roared.
I nodded solemnly. "So be it…" I remembered the stories of this creature from my time in Heaven. Her creation had been celebrated by the oldest angels—Father had given them a new sister. But shortly after her birth, he had tried to destroy her, and no one ever knew why. We would never know now, not with him gone and her half-feral, drunk on the souls writhing in her belly.
The Behemoth hadn't just destroyed Kuoh Town—she had devoured it. I could see the souls of hundreds of thousands trapped inside her, clawing desperately for escape. Just for that, I couldn't let her live any longer.
Thankfully, the souls hadn't been digested yet. If I could defeat her quickly, they could still be freed, moving on to the afterlife they deserved.
This was the end for her…
{Emergency Quest: Slay the Behemoth!}
{Rewards: 5 Levels and the Behemoths blueprint!}
Yasaka shifted back into her humanoid form, staying close to me. She was panting hard, clearly exhausted from overdrawing on the power of the leylines. "I'll handle this from here, Yasaka," I said, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her close. "Susanoo!"
I poured 100,000 MP along with a small amount of Cosmic Energy into my construct. It expanded, towering up to the same height as the Behemoth. Like me, my Susanoo now had 16 wings spreading out from its back. Yasaka and I were safely shielded inside.
"Hey! What about me?" Amaterasu complained, floating next to my construct's forehead where we were protected. "Let me in?"
"Sorry, it's a little cramped in here already," I teased, making the goddess pout. "Just kidding. I need you to protect the city while I handle this, okay?"
Amaterasu sighed. "Barriers aren't really my thing, but fine!" She flew away and started chanting in Japanese. The sun above us flared brighter as a massive golden forcefield began forming around the remains of Kyoto. I could see her divine energy dropping quickly—she wouldn't be able to keep this shield up for long.
I promised I'd finish this fast. "I'm sorry it had to end like this, sister…"
"I am NOT your sister! He was not my father!" the Behemoth roared. The ground shook beneath us as she charged, obliterating the burning forest around her.
Since the Behemoth was still technically a Devil, I decided to go with the classics. I channeled another 100,000 MP into my Susanoo's right hand, and a Colossal Light Spear materialized. "Let's go then!" I shouted as 16 massive wings flapped powerfully, generating a hurricane behind me to boost my speed as I charged head-on to meet the Behemoth's assault.
Her massive fists were glowing with demonic energy, ready to unleash devastating blows. At the last moment, she leaped into the air, aiming to smash me from above. I thrust the massive spear upward, meeting her fists in a clash of raw power. The collision created an enormous explosion, obliterating the remaining trees in the vicinity. The shockwaves slammed into the barrier Amaterasu had erected, protecting the people inside from the catastrophic fallout of only a single exchange.
Damn, she's ridiculously strong. The Colossal Light Spear cracked from the force of those hits. This was a battle at the peak of this world.
{The failed creation, Behemoth: Level 180}
Did Serafall even have a clue about the true power of the monster she had recruited into her peerage? Behemoth could have easily claimed the title of Queen of the Devils if she had wanted to and none of them would have been able to stop her.
[Focus, Host. She's attacking again!]
Heeding the System's warning, I raised my Susanoo's left arm to block the Behemoth's tail from smashing into us. We managed to stay upright, but the impact created two massive trenches in the ground as we skidded over a kilometer, bleeding off the momentum.
"I can't believe the beast was just toying with me and Amaterasu…" Yasaka lamented, staring at the devastation from the past two blows. I kept silent about the fact that the Behemoth was still holding back. She wasn't using her full power because doing so would cause her to sink half of Japan underwater.
I was holding back as well, testing the creature I might have called sister in another life.
"Can you please hurry the fuck up, Layla! I can't hold on much longer!" Amaterasu whined from inside the barrier. I could sense she was on her last legs.
"You will all die here!" the Behemoth roared as her jaws opened wide. I felt a massive concentration of demonic energy building in her throat, a dark red light gathering in her maw.
"She can do a breath attack? What is she, a dragon?" Yasaka clung to me tighter. The amount of power the Behemoth was channeling was enough to level Japan. It seemed like she didn't care if she ended this battle underwater.
"Guess you want to end this with one final blow, sister…" I muttered. I channeled the rest of my MP into the Colossal Light Spear, which now shone so brightly it outshone Amaterasu's sun. I pulled my massive arm back and hurled the spear with all my might.
At the same time, the Behemoth released her full-powered breath attack.
Purple Light clashed with Demonic Red as our attacks met. For a brief moment, I worried if I should have used one of the Stones or called on my reserves of faith energy. Those worries quickly vanished.
The Colossal Light Spear pierced through the demonic breath attack, continuing its trajectory until it struck the Behemoth's head. Her near-unparalleled regeneration might have been impressive, but it was hard to regenerate without the upper half of your body, especially when my Light Energy was eating away at what was left. At least I granted her a swift death. The ground trembled one last time as her massive legs and the remains of her torso collapsed onto the devastated earth beneath us.
"Thank fuck that's over!" Amaterasu's voice echoed loudly across the surroundings as the barrier protecting the city fell.
Yasaka giggled at the crassness of her Goddess and snuggled closer into my bosom as I dismissed my Susanoo as well. "What do we do now?" she asked me.
"Today, we assess the damage and help rescue all the injured and trapped people. Tomorrow, we help our allies drive the Devil's back into the Underworld and finish this war," I said before turning my head to the side. "Where the hell have you been all this time?"
Isane Hyoudou was floating next to us in her Balance Breaker, with heavily cracked armor. She was also clutching one of her arms that was clearly broken. "Mt Fuji…" she lamented.
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Chương 286: chapter 286
Chapter 286:
–Layla–
{You have leveled up x 5!}
[Layla of the Fallen]
[Title: Sixteen Winged Angel, High Goddess of Angels, Death's Favored.]
[Level: 110]
[Sacred Gears: Purger of Darkness, Orb of Infinity]
[HP: 1,245,000]
[MP: 1,412,000]
[Faith Energy: 545,687,566]
[Vigor: 124,500]
[Strength: 59,340]
[Intelligence: 141,200]
[Luck: 27,780]
[Available Free Stat Points: 5000]
{You have gained the blueprints to create the Behemoth!}
The blueprints were packed into this thick, ancient-looking notebook, worn and frayed like it had been around for thousands of years. I couldn't help but wonder how the System had managed to get its metaphorical hands on my father's actual notes.
[I have my secret ways…]
I rolled my eyes at the System's lame attempt to sound mysterious.
[Oy! How rude! I am cool and mysterious!]
Ignoring the System's whining, I refocused on the bigger issue at hand. Earth DxD was in serious trouble. It was a full-blown disaster. I had thought the Devils would retreat to the underworld after losing Ajuka, and wait to be exterminated—I thought maybe they might even surrender, agreeing to be moved to some empty universe where they couldn't hurt anyone else.
But no. They've decided to go out in some dramatic, ego-driven blaze of glory, lashing out at everything and everyone else in the world!
They can't actually believe they can win this fight can they?
[You've got to stop underestimating stupid…]
My long hair whipped around as I floated high in the sky, taking in the wreckage that was once Kyoto. The fires had been put out, thanks to the combined efforts of humans and yokai, but the flames weren't the worst of it. Half the city's buildings had crumbled from the earthquakes and explosions.
The official death toll was going to be heavy once we finished digging through the rubble. Kyoto had a population of 1.5 million humans and about 500,000 yokai. Most of the yokai survived, but the humans? Not so much. Amaterasu had already reported that 400,000 humans were dead, and tens of thousands more were expected to die from their injuries. I had a shadow clone on the ground, trying to heal as many as possible, but it wasn't enough. There were too many.
"This is just the damage in one city," Amaterasu said, appearing beside me in the sky. Her voice was somber as she continued, "The earthquakes shook the entire island. No other city got hit as hard as Kyoto, but none of them got off easy either. And then there's Kuoh Town… It was just plain erased from existence."
"I'm sorry about that," I said while glancing at her for a second. "I guess hiding all of this is out of the question now, huh?"
Amaterasu glared at me. "Obviously that's impossible. The whole city saw our battle, and despite everything going on in the world, the Internet is somehow still up and working. The Devil's have jammed Magical communications, but it didn't take me long to figure out mundane ones still worked," Amaterasu wasn't the only Goddess in the room that had basically holed themselves in their domains and gamed all day and night long. She was apparently friends online with a bunch of others. She continued. "That's how I've figured out how bad things are in other countries. Compared to some, Japan got off easy. Half of India is a smoking crater. Shiva's absolutely furious—he's rallied the surviving Hindu gods to strike back at the Devils. But they lost over half their worshippers, so their powers are seriously diminished."
"How's everyone else faring?" I asked, knowing I couldn't afford to stick around much longer. The rest of the world needed me as well, but first I needed a quick rundown to know where to head—and where to send Hela's army when they arrived. They shouldn't be far behind me now.
"The Norse have gone completely silent for some reason, so I have no news from them. The Americans lost New York and DC, but most of their country's still standing," Amaterasu explained. "South America hasn't seen more than a few probing attacks. Their gods have always stayed in their shrinking territories, so they're not a big threat in the Devil's eyes. China is a full-on war zone, but my Tsukyomi and Susanoo are assisting Wukong and the Heavenly Palace in holding the line. The Devils fighting there are led by some of the top-ranking players from the Rating Games, so the fight is slow going. As for Europe, your siblings are doing their part well. Gabriel and Michael have both been spotted multiple times already, pushing the devil's back on all fronts."
I couldn't help but smile at that. There was no way my older siblings would lose to any devils! Ironically, I had complete faith in them!
"There's something odd about this attack, though," Amaterasu added with her brow furrowing. "...People have noticed a surprising lack of reincarnated devils in the armies. Every single one that's been spotted has been a stray."
"Hmm," I murmured, thinking it over. "That is strange. There must be something wrong with the Evil Pieces system. I thought it was weird that Behemoth was a stray devil…" Whatever the reason was, it could only be a blessing for us.
"Where are you headed first?" she asked me.
"I'm going to take back New York and DC. It's a miracle the humans haven't started launching nukes just yet, but that's only a matter of time if the US's two biggest cities are lost." I felt like that was where I needed to be first and foremost. "When Hela arrives here, tell her to take her army across the world and see what's happening with the Norse. Also tell her to not kill this world's Odin on sight. I hear he's a pervert but he's actually a pretty decent guy otherwise." Azazel and him used to get drinks all the time.
"Good luck, Layla. We'll all be here when you get back. Yasaka and I are soon going to give a speech to all the humans of Japan. She will be taking temporary command of the Land of the Rising Son." They weren't planning on usurping the human government permanently, but in the midst of a war like this there needed to be a central leader calling the shots. One who was familiar with Supernatural warfare.
–Riser Phenex–
Riser had expected more glory from this war up to this point. Things had not been going as he had hoped.
He scowled as he stormed down Wall Street. The heart of American wealth, controlled by people most citizens would never even meet. To him, it was a ridiculous idea, but he wasn't surprised. Humans were foolish, good for nothing—except their delicious souls.
Marrying Rias Gremory was supposed to make him the official Head of the Gremory Clan, a powerful position he thought was rightfully his! But he and his family had been deceived. It turned out the Gremory clan had always been matriarchal, with the real power lying not with Zeoticus Gremory, but with his wife, Venelana. For centuries, Venelana had been quietly running the show while keeping Zeoticus from blabbing by throwing a constant supply of women into the man's bed.
Everything had changed when her Queen Akeno had run away, and soon after, the rest of her peerage had perished similar to most of Riser's own. He managed to get over it, he always knew there would be more slaves, but Rias didn't. She was way too attached to them all. Losing "her family" did something to her mentally.
Rias stopped letting Riser push her around, and instead of pushing her parents away, she began seeking actual advice from her mother. Venelana started grooming Rias to officially take over the Clan, preparing her for the future that was supposed to be his! The tables had turned on him. Rias was rising in power, and Riser had been reduced to little more than a househusband!
He couldn't stand it! Damn women, they should know their fucking places!
Something needed to change. When this war broke out, he demanded a spot on the front lines, a chance to prove himself. If he could earn recognition and distinction in battle, even if Rias became a duchess, she wouldn't be able to control him.
Grand Duke Riser Phenex. It had a nice ring to it. But if he expected that promotion, he had to do his job perfectly!
Riser was put in charge of 1,000 mid and low-class devils, given one job: take over the American East Coast. So far, he'd kind of done his part—well, he was trying. Half of Washington, D.C. was burning, and he'd wiped out as many government officials as he could find—which, annoyingly, wasn't nearly enough.
To their credit, the Americans were better prepared than he'd expected. Riser thought they'd panic like headless chickens once they realized they weren't at the top of the food chain anymore. Unfortunately they didn't.
Now, they were hitting back faster—and harder—than he'd thought possible. Human weapons couldn't kill him, but in large enough doses, they definitely hurt. And his troops? They weren't so lucky. Unlike him, they weren't immortal. They were dropping like flies under the endless rain of bullets and missiles.
Seriously, how many freakin' bullets did Americans have?!
A few hours into this so-called "war," he was down to 786 devils. Losing to humans—humans who couldn't even use magic—it was humiliating. An insult to his name and everything the underworld stood for. Riser wasn't about to let that slide. Plan A hadn't worked, so he switched gears. He and his army flew up the coast to New York, deciding to take the entire city hostage instead.
So far the new plan was going ok. The human armies and war machines surrounding Manhattan hadn't budged an inch since he started his little routine of executing humans on live TV as a warning every hour.
His warning was simple: He was Riser Phenex and he was not to be fucked with! If anyone tried to stop him, he'd burn New York to the ground with no hesitation!
Of course, he couldn't actually do that—not for a few days at least. He'd burned through most of his demonic magic torching D.C. Obviously, the humans didn't know that or they would probably start swarming regardless of his hostages.
Riser reached his destination. A group of ten random people—scooped right off the streets—were tied to wooden stakes in front of him. It was once again time to send another message. "Bear witness pathetic mortals! This is what happens to those who oppose the Devil race!" Riser grinned at the cameraman who was shaking in his boots. "Burn, you filthy humans!" Riser snarled, flames flaring from his palms. The wooden stakes burst into flames as another execution took place. The screams brought a smile to Riser's face, though they didn't last long enough. Humans were way too fragile.
Once the screaming stopped, it was sadly back to business.
"Lord Riser!" one of his mid-class lieutenants came running up to him with the latest report. Riser hadn't bothered learning this soldier's name and had no plans to.
"What's the situation in the city?" Riser asked dismissively.
"We've locked down most of the streets, but our forces are spread thin. There are millions of humans here, and we only have—"
"I know how many troops we have left!" Riser snapped, his eyes narrowing. He didn't need a reminder of his failures. "Just kill any humans you see out there. The fear will keep the rest in line," he said.
"Of course, sir. But about the human army surrounding the City... They now number over 100,000," the lieutenant said grimly. "Some of the low-class devils are getting nervous…"
Riser scoffed. "They won't make a move as long as we have hostages. Humans are soft like that. I've already asked my brothers for reinforcements. With any luck, that army will burn by nightfall. Relay that message to the rest of our forces. From here on out, everything will go smoothly!"
–Layla–
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets slammed into my skin and dress as I stepped through my portal. Wait, was this even normal? I thought devils were too proud of their magic to bother with mundane firearms.
"Hold your fire, men!" a voice boomed. I looked up to see a man in a green uniform, a Major in the U.S. Army by the looks of it. It took a few tense seconds, but eventually, the soldiers around him ceased fire, their weapons still trained on me.
A small mountain of lead accumulated at my feet as I walked closer to the line of soldiers.
"Do not move!" the Major barked. "Identify yourself immediately or we will open fire again!"
I suddenly remembered I was on Earth DxD, where I wasn't the world's most famous woman. None of these men knew who I was. "What's with the hostility?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
The sound of gunfire and shouting had drawn even more attention, and soon dozens of soldiers surrounded me, all their rifles aimed straight at me. I noticed some tanks in the distance beginning to shift to my direction as well. I let out a whistle when I sensed the sheer number of troops nearby. I hadn't expected to run into tens of thousands of soldiers just outside Manhattan. Then again, it made sense. No human nation would roll over without a fight against monsters, whether they were aware of the supernatural world or not.
"Identify yourself!" the Major shouted again nervously.
I shrugged and let all sixteen of my pitch-black wings unfurl behind me. It had been a while since I'd made this kind of dramatic entrance. "Be not afraid, humans! I am Layla of the Fallen, the last Daughter of God. Sister to the archangels Michael and Gabriel. I have come to purge the Devil filth from this world!" A vibrant purple aura enveloped me, lifting my body a few feet off the ground for added dramatic flair. I'm pretty sure I just nailed it!
"No freaking way!"
"Holy crap…"
"Is she for real?"
I watched as a wave of astonishment swept over the soldiers within earshot. Many let out relieved sighs, lowering their rifles without being told. The Major gulped and then raised a finger to his ear. With my enhanced senses, I could hear that he was receiving orders from someone a lot higher up on the totem pole than he was.
"The General wants to see you in the command center…" he said nervously.
"Lead the way," I replied. Thirty seconds later, a military jeep pulled up beside us. The Major motioned for me to hop in with him, and I demanifested my wings, sliding into the passenger seat.
The ride was a whirlwind of sirens and shouts as the jeep drove to its destination as fast as possible with no stops. When we arrived at the command center–which was just a commandeered high school–the Major immediately ushered me inside.
The General stood waiting in the center of a classroom that had been repurposed and filled with military equipment. His expression was a mix of awe but also caution. He extended his hand nervously. "I am General Roberts, United States Army."
I shook it with a smile. "Hello, I am Layla of the Fallen. Although, I'm here representing quite a few factions as well…"
The General and his advisors exchanged glances, their curiosity piqued. "Is that right? I don't suppose any of those factions can tell us what the hell happened today? Half of Washington burned to the ground, and over a dozen congressmen and women have been slain in cold blood. It was sheer luck that the President and Vice President managed to escape in time. All we know is that our enemies have strange powers, and their leader is a blond man named Riser Phenex. He claims they're actual devils from Hell."
"That's mostly correct," I replied. "Although these devils aren't from Hell. They come from the Underworld."
"What's the damn difference?" the General snapped.
"The Hollow Earth theory is real," I explained. "The Underworld is a tangible place. The devils have lived there since Lucifer created them as his personal army. As for Hell…that place is worse." I left it at that.
Mutterings broke out among the advisors, while a vein throbbed on the General's forehead. "Are you trying to tell me that a hostile force has been living beneath American soil this whole time?!"
I shrugged at him. It was what it was…
The General's irritation flared at my nonchalant attitude, but he quickly shifted focus to the matter at hand. "I'm sure the President will love to hear all about this later. For now, what do these devils want from all this? We've been getting reports of attacks across the globe. There's even something about a nuke going off in India and massive earthquakes hitting Japan."
"Japan has been managed, but yes, half of India was decimated by the new Lucifer," I replied. "As for what the devils want, I think they're aiming for world domination." It was about as cliché as it got, but sometimes the truth was just that straightforward.
"New Lucifer!? The hell is that supposed to mean?"
"The Bible hasn't been updated in a while," I explained, once again probably destroying their world views. "The original Lucifer is dead, and a new devil has risen in his place, assuming his name."
After that, I asked what Riser had been up to since entering New York City. My teeth clenched as I listened to their response. He had been burning people alive every hour, convinced he was broadcasting it all on national TV. Of course, the government wouldn't allow that kind of horror to reach the public. Only members of the special forces were tuned in to his gruesome show. That didn't piss them all off any less though.
The General was eager to storm the city, guns blazing, and slaughter all the Devils. But his hands were tied at the moment. The upper brass were hesitant. They feared Riser would start indiscriminately torching buildings, just as he had threatened—and already done—in Washington, D.C.
I clicked my tongue in irritation. Riser was only a High-Class Devil, but his Phenex bloodline allowed him to unleash more destruction than anyone else at his meager level. Hellfire was notoriously difficult to extinguish without magic…
"What is it you want here, Layla of the Fallen?" the General asked me seriously.
"I told your Major already, and you were probably listening in…" I replied with a knowing smirk. "...I'm here to wipe out the devils. And I would appreciate it if the human governments didn't start launching nukes everywhere in the meantime. This world is home to everyone, after all." That said, I didn't want any radiation damage carrying over to Earth Marvel when the two halves merged soon. The convergence was approaching fast.
The General took a moment to weigh my words. "I'll relay everything you said to the President. He'll probably want to meet with you himself once this is all over. The most important thing right now is taking back the city from those devils. Can you kill Riser Phenex for us?" he requested.
I grinned at him. "It would be my pleasure to kill the little shit. In fact, give me five minutes…"
XXX
Riser: "My brothers are coming to help me!"
Layla: "The more the merrier!"
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