Author's note: I changed this alot, tell me if there are any problems with it. Because the fighting scenes and the motivation behind their choice of moves may not sound plausible. Like, if you question, " why didnt he do this?" or "why didnt she do that?" or,
" Okay, if he/she was able to do that, why didnt he/she do it at the start?"
Those type of things.
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Asmodeus found body after body of red-armored guards. He descended to the lower levels until he found a large white door that was smashed to bits, a trail of blood leading past.
Behind it was a vast chamber that was large enough to fit a thousand people. It was dark, only illuminated by orbs of light at regular intervals.
He heard slow footsteps in the distance.
A woman, incomparably beautiful and serene, was walking toward a massive doorway that could even let a dragon enter with room to spare. In one hand she dragged a beautiful young woman by a horn, in the other a young man was pulled by the hair. He was missing an arm, his blood making a trail. Both of them lacked the power to move, their eyes blank.
Jezebel, Maverick!
Asmodeus felt an unquenchable anger seeing the two in such a sorry state. " Gehenna!" He yelled. He pulled out a sword, one that hung by his side at all times. He was mad with rage and his blade shone with a unmistakable grey light.
He charged at her, making sure to avoid his children.
A black fire spread from her body to block the attack. He stopped, knowing full well the power of those black flames. She never even loooked his way.
"Speak, for what reason have you done this! My city, my guards, my family! Why have you come? Talk, Gehenna!" He shouted furiously. He unleashed his Authority, the power of Lust, of seduction. His was a mental-based Authority that could warp others to his will. His was the only Authority to take such a route.
Against nearly any other female the power of his Authority stored in his words would have evoked a feeling of lust and subservience, such was the degree of his power over the female mind. Though he seldom used it and never for dark purposes he was too enraged to care about demanding answers through the use of his power.
But this one, she would never waver, never put him in her eyes.
Yet for reasons known only to her she answered anyway.
"I need something. Behind that Vault of yours lies that which will bring us towards our happiness. You can not understand our desires, you cannot fathom our pain. . .Will you stand in the way of our happiness as well?" She suddenly asked. She shook here head, as if the answer was already known. " It was good you were away, or else we would not have had gotten to this point so easily."
Her words were soft, unlike the ice-cold Queen of Destruction from his memories. But that face of cruel, mesmerizing beauty, that absolute indifference, that lack of real emotion, was still from the terrifying monster of insanity and death he had always known.
He didnt understand. "Our", she said. But apart from them she was the only one there. Could there be another enemy hiding somewhere?
" Bitch, if what you seek is so simple you would not have to do something like this! You killed countless people in my land, for what? If you wanted the Vault open, why must you murder and destroy to do it?!" He launched another attack, his sword emmiting a coldness and bloodlust that was enough to break mountains.
Grey demonic energy leaked out from his body as an overbearing pressure spread through every corner of the chamber. The demonic energy had a profound effect.
It was so pure and concentrated, so thick and choking that clouds began to form outside and the sheer power of the energy gave it a quality that was terrifying to those still living outside. They felt like the gaze of death was upon them.
Suddenly a large, black sword with glowing azure veins appeared from the shadows out of nowhere. It was wrapped in glowing red chains and easily fended off the attack. The impact sent shockwaves throughtout the room, cracking the walls with it's massive force.
"How. . ." Asmodeus was shocked. That attack he launched had killed thousands with a casual swong, how was it so easily blocked?
"If we had asked, would you have let us enter you Vault?" She asked, not halting her steps in the slightest.
"Never." He bit out. He couldnt deny it. Asmodeus, no, all three of the other Regional Rulers hated Gehenna. She was sick, twisted in a very unique way that made even them repulsed.
In recent years it appeared as if she was normal, softer, more sane. But to them they only felt a coldness different from the past her. It was subtle, now, her insanity having only become better well-hidden. More focused. Focused on what exactly they were not sure. Rumors spread that she was searching for something, or someone, but to them that only meant she was more dangerous than ever before.
The four of them had a long history, and Gehenna was one who was hated by all those in hell. Her cruel methods, her indifferent attitude toward killing even those of her own kind. . . She was a walking disaster. Everywhere she went, destruction followed.
She remained quiet for for so long already, but none of the other three Rulers had any thoughts that she was any less deadly, any less volatile than she had been.
Rather, they now were even more cautious, Even Lord Lucifer once told them that she unnerved him.
Whatever happened during the time when she had disappeared all those years ago had made her smarter, more lethal in the way that now she was no longer a wild beast but a cunning snake whose poison they believed would eat away at everything once unleashed.
None of the Rulers would let her in their lands.
". . .As I thought. And you ask why i would do this? You give me no choice. You would not have let me through so I can only use force. If your soldiers had not gottten in my way, no one would have had to die." It was said casually, as if the lives she took were of no importance. To her, it wasnt.
She reached the masive door and dropped the bloody bodies in her hands on large circle that appeared by her feet.
The circle held numerous runes and intricate designs. When the bodies hit the circle the runes glowed with a red light, illuminating the large doors in front of her.
It creaked and groaned loudly, opening slowly.
His Vault only opened with Asmodeus' blood or the blood of both his children. It was impossible to open any other way.
He didnt worry about his children and attacked. Those two were battered but still alive. If he lived after this he would attend to their injuries.
Asmodeus no longer spoke. Whatever she wanted, she would not be allowed to have. For her vicious action he couldnt let her remain unpunished. Now that his children were not in her hands he could let loose his full power.
He charged at her, flying past that large sword in the air. His sword was inches from her back when she suddenly caught the blade with a delicate hand. The force was more than she expected, pushing her deep into the room the now-open Vault door had exposed.
It was much larger inside. No, not just large, it was an entire area. It had a sky, clouds, birds and gigantic floating islands in the far distance that looked like specks. There was no floor, everything levitating high up in the air. But that was no problem for the two who were capable of standing on air.
This was a sub-space that was created by Asmodeus eones ago when he was still young. A place that he held his vast fortune, his priceless treasures and exotic animal that he had taken a fancy to.
Gehenna held out a hand and the large black sword instantly appeared in her palm. She slashed at Asmodeus, the blade emitting azure and black flames.
Asmodeus let go of his weapon and dodged, feeling the incomparable power behind the flames. His sword was turned to ash instantly.
He gathered demonic energy in his hands and it's grey light bled up into the sky. His grey hair grew until it reached his back, his skin became patterned with black tattoes and his fingernails grew long and black with red tips that ended with a sharp point. His eyes were glowing grey. His youthful face held a near peerless perfection and the aura he released was choking.
This was Asmodeus in his most primal form, the form that made him the Regional Ruler of the southern area of Hell. It was a simply transformation but it was the true body birthed from two people who held powers that could hold the opposite sex in thrall.
And those powers were all concentrated in Asmodes which is exactly why, of all the other possible sins, he was the only one who reigned absolute over Lust.
Even if he did nothing, the powers he inherited made him sought after by others. It was both a girt and a curse. Had he not been so powerful even as a child he may have ended up used for the pleasure of others, unable to fight back.
His mother, Naamah and his father, Adam. These two possessed powers that could dominate the opposite sex. This is what his current form exemplifies. A face that was peerlessly beautiful, a strong and lean body that was made to attract and pleasure others. This aura of his that could kill or could heighten the sexual desires in all.
Gehenna felt the strange power of his new form. Indeed, if it were most other woman they would have already submitted to Asmodeus, read to serve his every desire. . . But Gehenna only snorted softly in disdain.
Asmodeus tore off his upper clothing that covered his torse. His powers in this form was best executed if he was more vulnerable to attacks.
Gehenna had fought him in this form before, she knew that if she attacked then half damage she inflicted would only be given to her. Not only that but the pain would be double what he felt and the pain from the backlash would double even more each time she struck him. But that pain, to her, was nothing. However, to strike directly would only waste time.
She didnt talk, only rushed toward one of the islands where she felt her target lay. It called to her.
"Dont think I will let you go so easily!" Asmodeus blocked her path, striking at her with his sword viciously.
She defend with the sword in her hand and shoved him with an open palm, knocking him back several feet.
She wanted to kill him right then. He would continue to block her way unless he was dealt with. Also . . .
If she left him alive then surely once he took care of his family and his city he would chase after her. If he got in the way of her, if he told him of all she had done in the past. . .
Deep down she knew that her cruel actions were unneeded. Those people she killed had done nothing to her. But the bloodlust in her needed to be sated. It was not something that could be controlled, rather, if she had not let loose then the destruction she would have wrought would have been much worse.
Asmodeus had long since tattooed various magic circles all over his body. Naturally these were Forbidden Spells that enhanced his power once activated. However Forbidden Spells need a long activation time. These tattoes shortened that time considerable. Some he could even cast instantly. Others, some of the more powerful, needed several minutes of uninteruption.
He had to be careful of which he used.
Asmodeus didnt use them immediately because they drained his power quickly. First he had to see how he fared without them.
He compressed the demonic energy in his hands, giving it form. It took the shape of a long bow, incorporeal and glowing grey. The bowstring was a mere thread of grey light. Usng his Authority, he attacked Gehenna using a mental blast before firing.
He was wary of those black and azure flames. The black flames of Gehenna's he long since knew of, but those azure flames, their almost ethereal beauty. . . He sensed an overbearing aura from them, a mysteriousness he couldnt see through.
He pulled the bowstring and twenty arrows of grey light shot out at once, their speed breaking the sound barrier and causing loud noises to echo throughout the sky.
Gehenna felt a large boom go off in her mind. She screamed, her mind feeling like it was tearing from the inside out. The pain was overbearing, making her slow to react from the incoming danger.
Arrows made from pure demonic energy. If she was hit, her injuries would not be light.
She hurridly swung down the large sword, sending azure flames to meet the arrows in midair. She held a hand to her head, still reeling from Asmodeus's mental attack.
The arrows were extinguished but the flames blocked her view of him. That combined with her slowed reactions from his mental blast gave him the perfect opportunity to attack.
He abandoned the bow and created a sword. Instantly he appeared behind her. Several of his tattooes glowed with varying colors. These were Forbidden Spells that increased the power of your body and overall abilities. The strike was an earth-crushing blow.
Untold amounts of power gathered in the sword, making it feel hot to the touch.
But to his surprise the arm which held the enormous sword moved with god-like speed and positioned the giant blade behind her.
boom!
The resulting force split the clouds and traveled for miles.
Asmodeus stared in astonishment. Not a scratch could be seen on thte blade's surface!
He couldnt understand how this was possible.
" Simply accept your demise, Asmodeus. With this sword in my hands only one person can defeat me, and you are not he."
Her eyes looked at him with contempt.
Asmodeus retreated. That last blow confirmed his suspicion. He felt that Gehenna was even more powerful than usual and now he knew why.
That sword, the strength it contained was overwhelming. It continuously fed her power, making her ten times stronger. He surmised that if those chains did not seal the majority of the sword's power then perhaps he would have not been able to even get close to her without suffering injury from it's mere aura.
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He felt dread build in his heart. What kind of sword was that? How could it be so powerful even under what appeared to be such powerful seals? That level of power was too monstrous!
That sword, its very existence was enough to go against heaven and hell!
Asmodeus had never seen anything like it. It's power he felt, it made him shudder. What's worse, it's actions earlier made him think that it actually held sentience.
Was this not equivolent to fighting two strong opponenets at once?
He knew now that he couldnt hold anything back.
He manifested two swords. He gave up on using power and focused on speed.
On his hands several tattooes glowed green, making him faster, swifter. His swords moved like lightning, slashing at her in a flurry.
Gehenna, even wielding such a large weapon, was not slowed at all. The two, in the span of only several seconds, echanged more than fifty blows that rang out across the sky.
After a n unknown time had passed Asmodeus and Gehenna became riddled with wounds. Gehenna was even more in a sorry state. The mysterious power he had made it so the pain she felt doubled for every attack she landed on him caused her to feel unimaginable pain.
The arm she held the sword in was shaking slightly.
However, to Asmodeus's utter shock, the wounds she sffered began to close! Soon not even a mark could be seen on her.
The only indication of their previous exchange was the tears that appeared on her clothing that revealed her supple, flawless skin.
The two retreated back.
The woman was enraged inwardly, her eyes emitting killing intent.
This man, had he been hiding his strength? He was never this powerful before. . .
It was only then she noticed that on his body the marking on his skin glowed faintly. Then she understood.
So, you chose to go all out from the beginning. However, how far can borrowed strength take you, I wonder? Compared to him you are too lacking. Such things will only drain you faster as we go on. In this battle, your death is assured.
She called upon her flames once more, throwing them at him.
He once again materialized a bow and fired multiple arrows at the flames, canceling the attacks out.
He moved around, seeming to teleport from place to place. He fired arrow after arrow at her.
One came close to hitting her, but she dodged it expertly amd sent a wave of azure flames his way.
He attacked her mind once again, this time using a different method. . .
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Gehenna's mind suddenly hurt, but the pain was gone as soon as it appeared.
"What have you d--?" She froze.
Asmodeus was gone. Now stood a young man with black hair and azure eyes, close enough that she could reach out and touch him. His looks did not quite lose to Asmodeus's own appearance. The two had their own unique appeal but the man before her was, to her, much more mesmerising and perfect than Asmodeus could ever be.
He smiled at her, causing her to become dumb-founded at his sudden appearance. She didnt even notice her sword was missing.
" It cant be. . .You cant be here, this. . .this has to be an illusion, , ," She whispered. She knew this meeting could not be. She knew this man couldnt be him.
However, everything about him perfectly matched the person she remembered. Not a flaw could be seen.
" Perhaps this is an illusion. Does it matter?"
"But you arent real. You cant be!" Gehenna suddenly yelled, her emotions a mess.
He laughed. " What is real? What is fake? Is there really a clear line between the two? If you wish it so, I can be as real as anything. Come, Gehenna, dont you want us to be together again?"
The words made her pause, uncertain.
He brought his face close and whispered softly in her ear. She could feel the warmth of his skin, smell his masculine scent that she had longed for all these years. Her heart suddenly beat faster.
" Well, that is what you would expect me to say, isnt it? To try enticing you with words like that. But that's not the case. No matter what you believe, I am real. Can you not feel me?" He touched her cheek, gazing into her eyes deeply.
" Gehenna, im really here, in the flesh. I have always been searching for you, you know. Did you really think I would abandon you? No, I could never. You have no idea how precious you are to me." His soft voice was filled with passion. He smiled at her once again, lovingly, tenderly.
"We can be together now. . . Always, for eternity." His words were dangerously seductive to her.
He hugged her, burying her head in his strong chest. His warm embrace was making her head spin as he stroked her hair gently.
Tears slided down her cheeks quietly.
This was what she had always wanted. In the passing of all these years she had fantasized this a thousand times. It was something she thought of endlessly, to be here wth him, to be wanted by him.
However. . .
Her eyes flashed with a bone-chilling light.
Seconds later an arm could be seeing blooming from the man's back.
The man let out a pained groan, blood escaping from his mouth. She pulled her arm out, causing blood to pool at his feet.
He slowly backed away, his face showing pain and betrayal.
" Gehenna. . . Why?" He forced out the words.
She looked at him with a dead, frosty expresson. " If you arent the real thing, what good are you? There is only one of him, and I wont accept any other. How can you ever measure up to him? How can you ever think you can be his replacement?"
If you were truly the one I long for, you would not recognise my current appearance. Even if you did, you would never call me by that name.
In an instant his figure faded away.
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Asmodeus had locked her mind away in an illusion, one of his most powerful ones. He called it "Daydream".
It was not a ability one ould learn, but was born from Asmodeus fully mastering his Authority. Even the other three Regional Rulers could not say the same.
In it, you could'nt tell the difference between something real and something fake. It was the perfect illusion that preyed upon what a person most wanted in life and made it appear before them.
Everything, touch, sight, sound, smell to taste, was perfect. It was one of his most powerful abilities, but also one of his most cruel. It didnt last forever, and once it ended. . .A person may beg to be placed back inside.
There were those who had escaped before, but it usually took several hours. Asmodeus only needed a few minutes for what he was about to do, and right now he was almost done.
However, he suddenly felt something. He looked at Gehenna's unmoving body, her eyes clouded over as if in a dream.
Suddenly her figure flickered and reappeared in front of him, the move so unexpected that he earned a long slash across his chest.
"Impossible . . ." Asmodeus retreated far away, looking at her with disbelief. No one had ever broken out of that so quickly!
It could be said that from the start she didnt take the battle seriously. She liked playing with her prey. But now she felt like something broke inside her, making her unleash all her power to make sure he died.
"How dare you. . .How dare you use his face against me!" She yelled venomously. Realizing what Asmodeus had done made her feel a burning rage inside her, a bloodlust like never before driving her mad.
Asmodeus didnt know who she meant. "He" was obviously someone very important to her. But who would be able to cause her, the terror of Hell, to become so enraged?
Not only that , but that attack from her should have sent her to feel an incredible pain. The time they exchange blades with each other caused them many wounds. Although her were now healed, the pain should not have gone away. After that last strike how could she not at the very least flinch from the pain?
But it didnt matter anymore.
Although this was unexpected, he still had enough time to finish what he was doing.
Several of his tattoes glowed a cold blue and another glowed black.
He felt his demonic energy and magic power drain rapidly as he unleashed one of his most powerful Forbidden Spells.
From the sky appeared a large, meteor-like shard of ice. Around it large black runes were emitting a sinister glow.
Her power was draining away, she felt it leaving her as the ice grew closer. Soon her black flames withered away into nothingness.
This would have made anyone in Hell socked. Those flames of her's, did they not strike fear in the strongest beings in hell?For them to be extinguished so easily. . .
But those azure flames were still running trong, not affected in the slightest. Gehenna, with this sword in her hands, feared nothing. the rage she felt needed to be let out and the first target would be that ice meteor. After that, she would vent out every ounce of anger upon Asmodeus as he begged for mercy that wouldnt come. . .
Asmodeus watched from afar, having retreated out of the way. This was Forbidden Spell called Heaven's End.
It was no ordinary ice, but ice of the highest tier that could survive, no, even freeze, the heart of a sun.
What's more, ice got harder the colder it was. One can only imagine the hardness of ice like this.(1)
That was only one part of the spell. That alone didnt make it a Forbidden Spell, rather, it ws only after combining it with another spell that its true power shone through.
The spell was known as Heaven's Punishment and it held the power to forcefully surpress even the most powerful of beings, the spell that was the only reason for Lucifer's defeat so long ago.
Lucifer could only retreat under its suppression , resulting in him becoming Fallen.
When the two were combined, it was said nothing could stand in it's way. As for it's creator, no one knew who it was.
And currently the people who could cast this spell numbered only ten.
Among them was Solomon the Wise, Odin the Allfather, Morgan Le Fay, Circe, and the goddess of witchcraft, Hecate.
It was only after a unspeakable sum that Asmodeus was able to have Solomon and Hecate work on a way to make the spell usable via a tattoo. It ended up making a very large, intricate pattern that took up half his torse and part of his arm,
Before this, no one had thought to be able to use a Forbidden spell through tattooes. Using spells via tattoes had long since been known, but Forbidden spell had never been able to be given written form in that way.
Solomon and Hecate demanded an enormous sum for the very attempt.
They suceeded in making it, making it possible for other people to use it without learning it from scratch. However, this consumed a large amount of power and few had the amount of mana needed to support it. Not just that, only those two knew how to replicate it..
Demons naturally had superior mana capacity and Asmodeus, as one of the most powerful demons, had a phenomenal amount of mana available to him. . . And it still drained him nearly dry.
The reason he locked Gehenna inside that illusion was to have enough time to cast as it required severl long minutes of concentration.
The other Forbidden Spells in his arsenal, he now knew, were not strong enough to beat her. He gambled that this one, with its suppression effects, would weaken her enough to cause serious damage to her. If she lived after, he could deliver the final blow quickly.
But he already began to feel its effects of casting it though. His insides hurt and his blood was flowing backwards. On his one horn, hair-like cracks appeared.
From the short exchange, Asmodeus knew normal attacks would not work on her. That regeneration ability was not her own. It was likely to do with the sword. He tried to take it away when he first put her under his Daydream but found that merely touching it sent a jolt of unbearable pain.
Since normal attacks wouldnt work, only a Forbidden Spell that concentrated on attack would be able to take her down
. . . Or so he hoped.
He watched as the meteor of ice neared her.
Gehenna let out a furious roar and charged at it, azure flames surrounding her body. She used all her might and struck at the large piece of ice. The impact sent pain up her arm.
Asmodeus snorted in disdain. Foolish, do you not know what this is? To go against it like that directly is suicide.
The strike from her caused a large explosion of ice, the meteor of ice crackling under it's might.
The force of the two's collision was astounding enough to knock Asmodeus back.
Not only that, but he clearly saw that an instant before the azure flames caused steam to rise from the ice. This feat was not achievable even when that ice was thrown into a sun, how much hotter could those flames be to cause such a thing?
How did the resulting heat not fry them to ash from it's mere proximity?
Several minutes later, the meteor was split into large chunks that continued to fly down, pieces of ice flying in all directions.
Asmodeus protected himself through a barrier. It couldnt withstand Gehenna's attacks, which is why he didnt use it. But it was more than enough to block some ice shards.
As everything cleared, his heart grew cold.
There, not having budged from her postition, was Gehenna. . . .And she didnt have a single mark on her.
Azure flames surrounded her body, her eyes locking on him with a bloodlust that made him appear as if he was gazing at death itself.
" Did you really think. . . .That everything would be over with something of this level?"
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Author's notes : Yeah, also, i will explain what an Authority is later.
1- this line i added a few hours or so after post.