Helios stepped forward, and golden mana extended from his hands and moved up to his elbow before stopping and solidifying into another layer of armor. “You are but a demon. A species beneath my own and only serve to act as the mortar on which we will build our civilization.” Helios spat out with complete enmity as he extended his wings outward and ascended into the air.
Eros eyed Helios and kept his lance pointed at him. “Shut your mouth, Angel. I will mount your head on my wall.” Eros charged mana into the tip of the lance and jumped forward. Helios twisted his body in response and caught the tip of the lance and placed his other hand on the length of the shaft. He threw Eros into the ground, causing a large gout of dust to eject into the sky, along with the sound of stone parting from the impact. The two armies under him quickly broke apart and started a hasty retreat, far enough to where they could watch the fight unfold safely. Which, I don't blame them. I would hate to be caught in between two deities fighting like that.
As I watched the dust cloud quickly climb into the sky, I heard the door to my control room whirl open and the familiar clacking of boots as someone entered my control room. “Hello, Inovia,” I called out to her as I watched the fight unfold.
“Hello, Lord Overseer. I was curious as to how the battle was unfolding.” She told me as I materialized a chair for her to sit on.
“You missed the first part of the battle. However, I am now allowing Eros and Helios to duke it out,” I explained to her as I enlarged the screen a bit more and glanced over to Nemesis, who was busy equipping her armor and making sure everything was set for her to reveal.
“That is actually what I was hoping to see.” She told me as she took a seat and smoothed out her pant legs.
I hummed an acknowledgment out in response to her and focused back on the battle at hand. A pair of red eyes became visible from the brown dust that still permeated the air and a laser of red mana shot from the dust cloud and covered the distance between Helios and Eros in a split second.
Helios reacted quickly and brought his hands up to protect himself in just the nick of time. The golden mana on his arms absorbed the impact before crumbling away like broken glass. I heard the sound of a pair of massive wings flap once, and the dust in the air dissipated forcefully, revealing the unblemished form of Eros who rose from the crater slowly and with intent.
“You are stronger than most Angels; I will give you that. But strength alone will not save you.” Eros told Helios as he closed the distance in a flash and brought his lance to bear. The tip of the spear cut a swatch through the air and plummeted towards Helios' face.
Helios though, did not skip a beat in response and slipped past the spear and delivered a bone-shattering jab to Eros’ chest. Eros rolled with the punch and used the momentum of his missed swing to bring the haft of the lance around and smashed it into Helios’ face.
The metal impacted his face with a crack like lightning, and for once, I saw a trail of blood run down his face. The scarlet red blood stood stark to his flawless white flesh, and a look of indignation crossed his face, which elicited a snicker from me. He deserved that. Stupid, pompous angel.
A flair of golden mana rose behind Helios, and he growled, and the two began to trade rapid-fire blows that emitted shockwaves on each impact. Helios would dash forward and land four punches in under a second, and each would cause the air around him to ripple and blow outwards. Eros would bare his teeth and use his lance like a quarterstaff and try to create a distance between the two, but it was clear that Helios was superior at close range combat.
“Interesting what Helios is doing.” Inovia mused to herself quietly as she watched the fight unfold with rapt attention.
“What do you mean?” I asked as I looked at the screen to try and understand what was happening from a strategic perspective.
“Eros has a heavy focus on defense and specializes in breaking tougher enemies. Helios has a focus on overwhelming offense to subdue most opponents. You see, he is sticking on top of Eros and not giving him breathing room, nor is he letting Eros use his ranged advantage.” She explained to me as I gazed at the fight and realized what Helios was doing.
“Well, if Eros has a higher focus on defense, than wouldn't make Helios’ attacks less effective?”
“You break a strong defense with a stronger offensive. Helios is overwhelming Eros with pinpoint attacks that are chipping away at his overall strength, and if Eros doesn't do something about that, then Helios will win.”
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I leaned forward and glanced over the two combatants. Blood ran freely on both of them. Eros’ armor was broken, and blood dripped from his shattered gear. Helios’ armor lost its shine and was dented, and his cape was tattered and blood-smeared various parts of his body.
“You filthy, Angel!” Eros roared out in rage and swung his lance in a wide arc, and a sphere of mana surged out around him and forced Helios to jump back to avoid the spell. Eros pointed his spear down towards Helios and another laser shot from the tip of his spear that caught Helios on the side and blackened his golden armor and tore his cape from his back and incinerated it. Helios dropped to a knee while he floated in the air and a scowl crossed his face.
“That was a game-changer.” Inovia crossed her legs and then her arms as she watched Helios struggle to stand. “Eros forced him off and used the range to his advantage. All of Helios speed is focused on combat, and has very limited mobility, at least for the moment. The wound he was dealt with will severely hamper the speed at which he can move and is going to swing the fight in Eros’ favor.”
Sure enough, Eros began to pressure Helios a little more, but in reality, it looked about even. Helios strikes grew less powerful and were slower, but Eros still couldn’t keep up with the flurry of blows that Helios could dish out in seconds.
After watching the two fight for a while, I decided that I should probably put an end to it all. I don’t want to see either of them die, and I'm sure it helped them both with pent up aggression they would have towards each other.
“Nemesis, my dear, you are up,” I told her as she tightened a loose piece of her armor.
She turned to face me, and she tied up her hair. Her amour clung to her body and didn’t make a noise as she moved. I am not sure where they got their armor, but I want to pick some up. I think I'll drop by to see Ferrarus after this before I go down to Ouradia and retrieve Quinn. I will need some anyway when I go to the simulation.
Nemesis drew her artificer, and it started to morph and shift into a blade that became half of her size that she swung around with ease. I guess Lucifer has been influencing her a fair amount lately. She turned the sword in one hundred and eighty degrees and pointed the tip down towards the metal floor and grabbed the handle with both ends, and vanished from the room.
She then appeared above the fight a split second later and rose the giant sword before slamming the tip down into the air. “Enough!” Flame shot from the tip of the sword and roared out in every direction. Nemesis gazed out over the battlefield, and the fire changed course and darted back behind her and formed a pair of wings that spanned twenty feet in every direction.
“Things just got interesting,” Inovia told me as she leaned forward, and a look of interest danced through her eyes.
Nemesis slammed the tip of the blade back down once more into thin air, and glowing red chains rose from the ground and bound both Eros and Helios before cascading over the land like a tsunami. The two armies finally broke and tried to run away, but the chains grabbed every soldier and bound them in place.
Nemesis rose her sword once more and slammed back into the air with a loud boom. “The gods were watching this fight unfold, and they are not happy. Normally we do not interfere with the lives of the mortals. However, we do not appreciate that two gods took it upon themselves to lead the mortals into combat.” Her voice rang out across the battlefield, not in a yell or a scream, but as a whisper. It was almost as if she was whispering in their ear, and was laying bare all of their crimes with a voice full of judgment. She was genuinely frightening to behold.
“Hey, that wasn’t..” Eros was stifled by a chain that crawled around his neck and wrapped tightly around his mouth.
“You will speak when spoken to, newborn. Now that I have intervened, I come with an order from the other deities. You are to set aside your differences and unify under one banner. How you do so is up to you. That is the punishment that was to be delivered. Be glad that it wasn't me who decided your fate.” Nemesis paused and looked over the battlefield at all the soldiers that were bound and gagged as well. “This order applied to all of you mortals as well. All must comply, or you will suffer my wrath.”
She turned her attention back towards the two gods that were bound by her magic. “Please do not break the rules again. Otherwise, you will have to deal with me.” She swung her greatsword around in a wide arc. The flames licked the tip of the blade and desperately tried to cling to it as it passed through them. The fire roared and covered her form for a split second before she vanished behind the curtain of fire.
The chains melted off of everyone and sizzled as they touched the ground before they vanished. Eros and Helios stood up and rubbed the spots that the chains clung to the tightest and gave each other quizzical looks.
“Well, that was partially a letdown. Though it amazes me that Nemesis holds that level of mastery over her power. Given enough time, she will become a true menace on the battlefield.” Inovia spoke as she stood up and adjusted her rapier before placing her hand on the hilt gently.
“I mean, I was using her reputation to try and instill fear in the armies, and make it easier to try and unify the two species. The next step is to introduce the Nephilim into the populace and try and push for the complete unification of the three species, but I am content taking it one step at a time.” I told her as I dismissed my screen and stood up as well. On to Ferrarus’ forge to get some armor made for the coming simulation.