5 hours ago in the Underworld...
The sound of Dark Essence being used suddenly echoes throughout Rein's Palace's Decision Making Department. The three Demonic Lords present, the twins Akane and Aoi and of course the renowned Hellva, all frown at this unorthodox event. And then they widen their eyes when they finally notice the root of the peculiar sound. Somebody has breached in without permission.
Hellva- Who are you? How did you get here?
The intruder approaches them until his face comes to the light and becomes visible. While holding the Pendant of Immortality in his right hand, Sachrist presents himself to his enemies.
Sachrist- Hi. I am Sachrist, the Omniscient Archangel.
Akane- Huh?! Whachu doing here, uninvited?
Aoi- Yeah, appearing outta nowhere like this is your home! Begone!
Hellva- Is this... Yahin's—
Sachrist ironically responds.
Sachrist- Do you like it? It sure is magnificent.
Hellva gets mad and angrily confronts Sachrist.
Hellva- You!!! You're gonna pay for this...
Sachrist couldn't care less, apparently, as he proceeds to stand before the wooden table the Demonic Lords were just sitting at. On a whim, he grabs a diner knife and spins it ignoring everyone's glares. He then responds to the Demonic Lords infuriatingly looking at him from the other side of the table.
Sachrist- I'm sorry, I came here penniless. But I'm willing to trade this Pendant if you want it that badly.
Hellva narrows her eyebrows.
Sachrist- I'll trade it for your life!
Hellva is silent and reserved. She shows no signs of of being shaken. Despite all her acting, however, deep down she is more scared than ever. She's now starting to understand what Sachrist's hidden goal is... And the thought of that leaves her petrified.
Since Hellva has a hard time responding to Sachrist, the twin demons speak on her senior's behalf.
Akane- How foolish of you, Sachrist... You have your little sister back in the Lingering World, all alone and helpless and you suddenly want to take Hellva's life?
Aoi- You resurrect your sister and then leave her life to chance? You mindless, heartless bastard...If you love her sooo much then why are you doing this? Have you completely lost it? I'd be so mad and disappointed at you if I were Hisami...
Sachrist slightly grins at first, but then he completely change expression. He gets furious from that last sentence.
Sachrist- Hahah... Funny... Say her name again if you have a plea for death...
"Hit a nerve? Hahaha!." Aoi thinks.
Sachrist, omniscient as he is, responds by throwing the knife he picked up earlier at Akane's upper arm nerve. The pain induced from the attack makes her frantically jump up and down.
Sachrist- Now that she's shut up, Hellva, I have a question for you.
"Do you want me to kill you the painless way or the painful one? In other words, torture you to death, or the convenient way you all like to boast about, the Ritual of Execution?"
Aoi- What the hell do you want to kill her for? Are you nuts?
Hellva now knows what he wants. Sachrist's final goal... But now, it's already too late to do anything about that.
Sachrist- Hah... It's already over for you all, so I don't mind telling you my final plan. You were close to the truth, but you fell for my trick and misinterpreted my final intent. I'm not just willing to live the rest of my life together with my revived sister in this corrupted New World. I've completely lost hope for this World's future. My aspirations lie elsewhere. Once I become a God-like being from killing my Veil's Opposed Demonic Lord and with the help of the Eternum Horonomicon, I will alter the past and create a Parallel Universe, in which the Barrier doesn't have to be created. Does this reasoning explain my arrival here a bit better?
The sisters look at Hellva's awestruck, fearful facial expression and her trembling hands. A chill runs down everyone's spines.
"Aniik, Yonuro... He was always one step ahead of us... We couldn't see through his plan completely. Learning about his sister, Hisami, and Sachrist's unbreakable will to save her was only a trap to lead you guys to his empty Shrine. Learning the truth was a distraction all along....... Even after all of our efforts to stop him, it was still not enough. We were always checkmated, we were just never told. It seems like my fate is to be killed from his hand...
Everything that Sachrist does, his every action, has a reason behind it all. Him being here can only mean that I... am already dead..."
Sachrist- You know they can't hear you, Hellva. The only one hearing you is me, so why do you keep on struggling? Let me ask you again. If you know you are going to die, are you willing to perform the Ritual of Execution and end it all peacefully?
Aoi- Going to die? Huh? Not on our watch! We're going to beat the shit out of you together, right Hellva?
Hellva remains speechless and does not accept Aoi's handshake. Sachrist then approaches them menacingly and gets ready for the ritual.
Akane- This can't be happening, right?!
Sachrist gets so close to Hellva that the twins are about to attack him. Their attacks, however, are stopped by Hellva's right arm. With tears forming on her eyes, Hellva says her last words to those two.
Hellva- It's not worth it. At least you two can keep on living...
Sachrist translates this as an approval to the ritual.
Sachrist- Then shall we begin? Bearer of the Sinful Essence...
The ritual of execution begins and Hellva kneels before Sachrist, the executioner in this case.
"Hellva..." sorrowfully exhale the twin demons while the procedure is underway. Sachrist asks for Hellva's approval on things such as the "peaceful rellocation of Dark Essence" and the "acceptance of death". The ritual takes about one minute. Fourty seconds in, Aoi and Akane are starting to cry. They have overwhelmingly intensifying feelings like sadness, agony and also anger. Ten seconds remain. The last few moments of Hellva's life are here.
Sachrist- This soul shall be cleansed of Ket's ailments and find peace and quiet. In exchange, the cursed essence shall be inherited by the executioner who shall bear that burden until their cycle is over. Do both former and future Demonic Lords agree?
Sachrist answers for himself "Yes, I agree." and holds out his hand, waiting for Hellva's answer. With hesitation in her voice, she answers.
Hellva- I ag—
*Slap* A loud sound of someone being slapped pauses the ritual. Aoi's left hand, together with Hellva's left cheek both look slightly red.
Aoi- Are you seriously giving up without even trying to fight back?! What would the great Demonic Lord, Yahin, say if he saw you right now? You're being pathetic, Hellva!
Hellva is caressing her cheek while letting Aoi's words sink in. After realising her stupidity, she looks up at Sachrist's Pendant of Immortality and then clenches her right hand.
Hellva- You're right, Aoi. The only one stupid here is me... How could I give in so easily to the likes of him...?
Hellva slowly gets up on her feet and then does something unexpected.
Hellva- The likes of him shall be burned in Hell!
Hellva aims her tight fist at Sachrist's face and punches him with all her might. Sachrist decides to take the hit and almost falls down from the sheer amount of strength put into the punch.
Aoi / Akane- Hellva! Nice punch-e!
Hellva- Even an old woman like me can pack a punch when infuriated. Ha!
Sachrist cleans the dust off of his white angelic veil and tilts his head in the opposite direction of the punch.
Sachrist- I really needed that, thanks. Now my body's ready for a fight.
Akane- Let's see what you've got, moron!
Sachrist- Mind your words.
Aoi- We're beating the shit out of you!
Sachrist- I won't hold back on you three.
Hellva- Neither are we! We will give it our all, for the sake of the Underworld!
Silmutaneously, each Demonic Lord summons their Demonic Items. First one to appear is the Dark Scepter originally held by Aria, now wielded by Akane. Then comes the Diabolic Shield, this crimson spikey shield with bloodstained history. And finally the widely-known Pandonomicon slowly sits on top of Hellva's right hand.
Sachrist on the other side of the battleground, says no word, performs no incantation, summons nothing. He just streches his hands forwards and gets ready for a tough fight.
Akane signals something to her twin sister with her index finger and Aoi nods.
Aoi- Ahhhhhh!
Aoi charges at Sachrist with her shield blocking and attacking at the same time. Standing back with her staff ready, Akane is ready to fire a dark fireball once Sachrist is immobilised by Aoi.
Without even having to react to his opponents' strategies, Sachrist simply moves to the side and kicks Aoi's head with a side kick. Aoi is disarmed and launched back by a great margin. Her diabolic shield spins in the air.
Then Akane fires her powerful attack consisting of highly concentrated, directed Dark Essence.
Akane- Black Fireball!
Sachrist slightly giggles and counterattacks her in an unique way, a plan that only he could have carried out. The fast spinning shield, flying in the air, finally falls down and Sachrist grabs it at the perfect moment, just before the fireball is fired.
He then uses the shield not only to precisely block the body-piercing projectile, but also to activate an ability that has never been used before from all the bearers. He caresses the sharp edge with his right hand until he bleeds. Using his blood as fuel, the shield reacts to the projectile, turns completely midnight purple and deflects the fireball back to the attacker.
Akane widens her eyes when she sees her own hard-channelled attack redirected back to her.
Akane- Impossible...
In the blink of an eye, Akane loses her left arm. Blood that doesn't stop falling. Torturous pain that has no cure. It's looking pretty gloomy for this Demonic Lord.
Aoi- Akane! Hold in there!
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Aoi gets up, summons her demonic item that was momentarily stolen by Sachrist and tries to help her twin sister however she can.
Hellva utters a loud tsk and glares at Sachrist.
Hellva- Unacceptable...
For her lack of combat experience, Hellva's consecutive punches, "imbued" by her sorrow and rage are unfathomably fast. Only Sachrist and Yonuro could have dodged them all. Although Yonuro would need to put some effort, unlike Sachrist.
Moving his head and and limbs perfectly, Sachrist dodges all of the attacks. Some only manage to slightly touch his long hair. Apart from that, all the attacks miss. And then, it's Sachrist's turn.
Sachrist- That's it? My turn.
One, two, three, all his punches powerfully hit Hellva. On her stomach, her chest, her face. Each punch makes Hellva regret the decision to abandon the ritual more and more.
The final one in the diaphragm renders her unconscious for a while. Sachrist shakes his right hand to ease the pain from all the fisting and then looks away to catch a breath.
After doing so, he takes a glimpse at Aoi who helps her wounded sister move somewhere, probably to tend for her grave injury. When Aoi tries to open the door however...
Aoi- What the hell?! Why is it locked? Somebody! Help!
Sachrist- Oh don't bother. All the exits have been blocked out and I dealt with the security as well. I tricked the security system and now all the guards have moved to the the borders of the Overworld-Underworld. There's only me and you left in the building.
Akane's blood keeps on falling on Aoi's clothes, making them soaked in blood as she helps her move around. At some point, Akane lets go of her sister's help and tries to manage by herself. She cuts off a portion of her skirt and tightly ties it around her cut arm to reduce the blood loss.
Akane- Then... we have no other choice... but to fight....
Akane's low sounding voice indicates her unbearable pain right away.
Aoi- You cannot fight like that!
Akane- All I need is one hand...
The Dark Scepre rematerializes and Akane holds onto it as though her life depends on it, which let's be real, actually does. She tries to signal to her sister the same thing as last time, but she has no free hand to do that. An expression full of disappointment, despair and frustration surrounds her. Her sister however understands what's going on through sibling telepathy, and accurately does what Akane is thinking.
In perfect sync, Aoi creates a ring of fire surrounding Sachrist and Akane fires poisonous black fireballs from the sky above Sachrist's head.
Sachrist thinks highly of them and grins. If their target wasn't him but someone else, then they'd undoubtedly fall here. But knowing it all comes with many advantages. Omniscience grants countless possibilities that Sachrist efficiently utilizes. What he proceeds to do is really unexpected, foolish you could say. He takes a step back, and gets ready to run out of the ring as fast as he can.
Aoi- What the—
The part of his hair and veil that almost caught fire after exiting the ring, he extinguishes with his bare hands.
Sachrist- You know, the diabolic shield is all bark and no bite. In contrast with the Sceptre's power, this measly ring of fire is only used to scare the victim. It doesn't pose much of a threat on its own, it only makes the opponent panic. But if you know what you're dealing with, then you can easily run out of it and escape an otherwise fatal attack. Thinking about that on your own is impossible though. I give the credit to my omniscient angelic veil.
The sisters are petrified by fear. Sachrist really knows everything. Any trick, any possible outcome, the solution to any problem. Anything that they might try will not work against him. The moment they realise that and show clear signs of fear and hesitation, Sachrist snatches the opportutiny. Now that the morale of the most healthy enemy is down, he relentlessly attacks Aoi with fearsome quick attacks that scare her even more. Playing with someone's psychology is just another walk in the park for Sachrist.
Sachrist- I know your ever move, Akane! You're going nowhere!
Reading his opponent's every move, Sachrist knows exactly where Aoi will dodge next and faints his kicks to follow up with precise punches to vital signs he knows in the human anatomy. Each vital nerve, each vital organ that can paralyze the enemy, he knows of. Therefore, the only thing he has to think about in order to win is simply to choose one of these vital points.
"Let's go with this one." Sachrist thinks and uses two of his fingers to strike at the edge of Aoi's jaw. The nerve he hits there casues Aoi to lose her senses and drop down.
Akane shouts her sister's name and tries to save her. As a result, Sachrist changes target. Seeing her running towards him, Sachrist aims for a different pressure point to knock her out. Taking advantage of her high speed, he swiftly takes a step forwards and strikes with his elbow behind her neck. Both twin sisters are out of the fight.
Seeing this with her half beaten eyes, Hellva cleans the blood off of her mouth while approaching Sachrist. When she gets close enough, she stops Sachrist and warns him for a final time.
Hellva- Your schemes end here, Sachrist! I will not allow this to go on for any longer! Let's have a final duel to determine everything!
Sachrist turns to Hellva's position and laughs a bit while saying the following.
Sachrist- Hah! I accept your challenge. Entertain me, Hellva!
Staring each other intently, Hellva and Sachrist are looking out for an opening as they circle around each other in this destined battle.
Hellva strikes first. She hops forward a bit and then throws a high kick at Sachrist. Stepping back in time, the attack is barely avoided. They then continue moving slowly around each other like before. This time, Sachrist attacks. He pushes forwards and performs a one-two punch combo. Hellva blocks both attacks and retaliates with a punch of her own.
Sachrist dodges to the side and grabs her from the upper arm. Their faces are now in the same horizontal line, but Sachrist has the undeniable advantage. Utilizing the momentum of his sidestep, he manages to lift his enemy up in the air and then throw her down on the floor next to the red carpet. Hellva is hit so hard that she tries to gasp for air after falling. Mid flight, she though she was going to die from that attack. Even though she didn't, it's not like that, now on floor, she has a better-looking future...
Sachrist- This is not fun at all... I expected more things from my counterpart Demonic Lord! You're all pathetic!
Sachrist says that before kicking Hellva in the face, a move that makes her entire body roll to the side, till she finally stops with heavy injures all over her body. Her senses are fuzzy and she cannot focus properly. Yet, she is still not giving up. Aoi's words earlier referencing Yahin make her unable to stop fighting. The person she admired the most in her life, she'd never want to let down. Ever.
Hellva slowly gets on her knees and tries to stand. After firmly standing her ground with her right leg bent, Hellva shouts the name of her Demonic Item: "Pandonomicon!". She opens the book to a blank page and holds it against the leg she touches the floor with. With an elegant quill, she draws some lines and utters two powerful words.
Hellva- Anu's Rim!
This powerful ability of her demonic item is the perfect counter to Sachrist. It is an attack directly aimed at the enemy's soul making it unavoidable and deadly at the same time.
Hellva uses all of her Dark Essence on this attack. She bets everything on this final ability. If it fails, then she has nothing else to counter omniscience. Should it fail, she is surely going to... die.
Sachrist seems too calm for this. And that reaction sends a shiver down Hellva's spine.
The curse is placed and Sachrist starts feeling immeasurable pain. Nevertheless, he keeps calm and closes his eyes. Keeping his mind still and clear, Sachrist thinks of all the tragic memories he has; his gruesome past and all of the things he has been through.
Hellva watches him with fear. He somehow isn't on his knees, as he should be. Alas, the pain is starting to fade away...
Sachrist opens his eyes again and has a dead serious expression. He approaches Hellva, who's still not standing, and intimidatingly stares deep into her eyes.
Hellva- This can't— be happening...
Hellva's final ace has been thrown, yet Sachrist still dominates the battlefield, effortlessly. Even that last idea of hers, Sachrist managed to counter.
Hellva- How did that not work...? I— don't understand...
Hellva almost tears up as Sachrist's shadow begins to conceil more and more parts of her body.
Sachrist grabs Hellva's book and turns it to a certain page. He then grabs her from her hair and shoves the book to her face. Hellva closes her eyes, thinking that she is going to be hit again, but Sachrist has other plans.
Sachrist- Read it.
Hellva- What?
Sachrist- In a fair duel, the loser has no say and does whatever the winner wants. Read it!
"Anu's Rim, an ability of the Pandonomicon that targets the enemy's soul and makes it suffer only works if the victim has a soul that is not already suffering. If the target's soul is empty and filled with insufferable darkness, then the spell simply won't work."
Sachrist- Thinking about my past made my soul temporarily empty. Instead, I forcefully filled it with all the negativity in the world. And the spell, couldn't make me suffer more than I already was.
"I don't want to break it to you Hellva, but it's over..."
Hellva's tears fall on her cheeks like rivers. She knew the events were going to transpire like this. She knew that Sachrist was going to kill her in the end. Nevertheless, she still couldn't believe it. She wanted to think that her efforts would eventually bear fruit. That if she tried hard enough she could beat her counterpart Angel. In the end, however, these foolish ambitions were put to rest by the hand of the fearsome, Accursed Angel.
Sachrist- I will now initiate the Ritual of Execution.
Hellva- No... Please... Sachrist... Don't do this.
"Bearer of the Sinful Essence..."
Sachrist asks Hellva the conditions of the Ritual: "...the soul of the Demonic Lord peacefully. Do you agree?"
Hellva musters the courage to talk back and declines.
Hellva- I will not accept this! If I am going to die, then I will at least haunt you after my death, Sachrist!
Sachrist- Tsk. You' re such a nuisance.
Sachrist grabs Hellva's neck with both hands and tries to choke her to death. Just before she dies, however, Sachrist releases her and asks her again.
Sachrist- Do you agree...?
Using his omniscience, Sachrist knows exactly for how long he needs to hold her neck before she dies. Consequently, this monster continues this same process over and over again. He strangles her until exactly one second before her death and then allows her to breath again. This is the first time a torture of this disturbing nature has occured.
Hellva succumbs to this unbearable pain and slowly agrees to all the conditions.
gasp* gasp*
Hellva- Ugh, ugh, ugh..... I— I— a-accept.......
The last condition is here and Sachrist tortures her to the edge of death 5 times before she finally agrees.
"This soul shall be cleansed of Ket's ailments and find peace and quiet. In exchange, the cursed essence shall be inherited by the executioner who shall bear that burden until their cycle is over. Do both former and future Demonic Lords agree?"
Sachrist agrees for himself and waits for Hellva's final words.
"I'm sorry, Yahin. I wasn't nearly as strong as you... I'm really sorry..." Hellva thinks before uttering her last desperate words.
Hellva- Ugh uh, ugh, ah UGH! AHHHHI—
Unable to stand the pain for any longer Hellva succumbs to Sachrist's torture.
"I agree—"
Sachrist, the executioner, immediately strangles Hellva with all his power and chokes her to death. The Dark Essence of his counterpart, his opposed Demonic Lord seeps into his soul and reacts with his Angelic Bond. An ever powerful explosion made out of a dark orange essence destroys the Decision making department.
Sachrist stands his ground and takes a look at himself. His right eye surrounded by that same ancient energy is shining with power. His Veil has now a golden dark hue to it and his Godly Item, the Eternum Horonomicon, is automatically summoned and a symbol of the eye of omniscience suddenly appears on its cover.
Sachrist- Ha.. Hahahaha! I can now compete with the Gods themselves!
Sachrist has achieved his disgusting goal. He has achieved power far less potent than what he thinks but criminally on par with mine, when I was still alive. Indeed, he has become a God-like being...
At some point in his celebration, Sachrist realises that it took him a while to achieve his goal and now Yonuro and Aniik have uncovered Hisami's location. Her invisibility is cleverly undone by Aniik and they are close to uncovering the truth.
Sachrist- I need to hurry...
"Hisami. The days of struggle are going to be over really soon. Here I come, my little sister."
Sachrist doesn't even need to use the Pendant of Immortality. He uses his own Godly Essence to teleport in the blink of an eye to his desired location, the Holy Shrine of the West.
After getting there, he uses one of his Godly abilities to directly inflitrate everyone's minds in the vicinity. To end things once and for all, Sachrist invites everyone to his ball shaped, glass covered room. It is the highest point in all of the New World, a room that stares the stars themselves. The place where anything and everything will happen. The final encounter, at long last, is here...