The Lost Lord Ch. 25

The wingless incubus gritted his teeth, trying in less than a second to decide what to do. Not enough time. While Caetorum dashed the dagger aside with the help of his stance, his focus was placed too much on that and Hezazias swept at Maturity's legs. He promptly fell to the ground with Hezazias grabbing his arms, placing him in a tight grip.

The two grappled for sever dozen seconds until the victor was obviously clear, Hezazias. "Ah, good try, but not good enough." He knocked Caetorum's chin with his elbow, knocking the incubus out. "Ah, you guys, from my district, take this guy prisoner. Don't kill him." Hezazias got off the ground so his subordinates could follow his orders before shifting his gaze towards Asmodea.

The Seduction of Lust was standing still, with a harsh smile on her face. She stood without her sword for some reason, Hezazias looked confused, how could she fight effectively without her soul weapon?

"Looking for my sword?" Asmodea cackled haughtily.

Hezazias raised an eyebrow and made his thoughts clear, "You laugh like an old crone, even for a demon. Hrm, where could your sword be? Wait a second, it's not that, is it?" Hezazias pointed a finger towards a unusually serene cloud behind Asmodea, undisturbed by the raging war."

"That's correct, yet not entirely correct. This little cloud of mist is only part of the sword. The other part is behind you, stabbing you right now." Right when Asmodea said the word 'behind', Hezazias swiveled his head, only to find the tip of Asmodea's sword piercing his upper chest.

"Guah! What kind of soul weapon is this? Has to be magic..." Hezazias mumbled loudly, incredulous that he couldn't even defend.

Several more metal shards came forth from the mist and cut into Hezazias' body, sending maximum pain to his mind. He didn't care, not now. He felt the full brunt of the pain, but did not make it visible on his face. He merely wanted to know the secret behind this weapon's power.

"Out of the desire to be free from his oppressors, the wielder of this legendary sword in the human world fought with this weapon in his battles. The Wallace Sword, it has the ability to be free from any restrictive environments, even from its confinements as a 'sword'. Thus the mist here and there." Asmodea willfully explained the secret behind her sword to Hezazias who just blinked and smiled.

"Really? Well, can I trust you to make sure my body isn't damaged too much so I can receive my rewards or punishment depending on who wins this war?"

"Yes."

"Cool."

Asmodea picked up Hezazias' sleeping body from the ground and took flight with her wings. Her red armor had holes especially designed so a demon can take advantage of their flight. She flew straight to the palace while giving the order to pull back to the troops.

-

"Aaaah, so lovely."

"The hell? Are you hallucinating?"

"I must ask you that same question, are you hallucinating the fact that such brilliance and loveliness does not exist?"

"No... She's a succubus, so of course she is attractive. But how in LUCIFER'S NAME, can you find that 'brilliant and lovely'."

Reginald exclaimed towards Renning. The spectacle they were both talking about was the very painful looking duel between the Sadism of Lust and the eighth district leader, Ornias. Her words, more so than her violent actions, seemed far more malevolent and disturbing, even for most demons.

"Extend!"

Out of nowhere, a spear tip tried to hit Reginald's heart.

"Retract!"

The spear tip rescinded and flew back to Renning's spear, the soul weapon named Ascalon. A famous spear known for slaying a powerful dragon in the human world, it had soul weapon capabilities and powers, powers Reginald had already figured out.

"Hum, you're spear is just like that one staff that monkey wielded. Either way, it can extend and retract at your will. It can probably expand and compress as well. Amazing, how did you come by this weapon?" Reginald easily explained the soul weapon's power to its wielder.

Renning nodded, "You're right, absolutely correct. As for how I came about it, uh... NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR THIS! Move aside, retch." Renning brandished his spear and whacked the head of a random defending succubus.

"Whoa, what's up your ass? You... Are such a damn idiot. Screw off, Miss Teras has no need for a useless idiot like you. Besides, she's scary (who knows what she'll do to you if she captures you, ling chi perhaps?)." Reginald faked a stressed face and danced around comically.

Renning scowled and charged forward, twisting his spear in the air before bringing the spearhead down on Reginald. Reginald formed his shield tattoo located on his arm, easily blocking the attack and sent his snake tattoo at Renning's face. The snake managed to snag the amorous demon's nose.

Renning swatted the ethereal snake away, though not before it managed to rip part of the cartilage and skin away. Renning clumsily touched his fresh wound, though recoiling once a spasm of pain coursed through his body. "Guh, it throbs and pulses... Did you inject me with some poison?" Renning questioned Reginald.

Reginald flamboyantly splayed his arms out, with his ethereal green snakes slithering through the air like miniature Chinese dragons. "Yup! My snakes here hold some pretty effective poisons; the one I injected you with is pretty lethal. Now! How long can you last while fighting me with that stuff coursing through your veins and arteries?"

Renning smacked his lips and narrowed his eyes. "Ascalon, slayer of the dragon and the spear that bathed in its blood. I commend you for staying still this long, LET'S GO ALL OUT!"

Without a moment's notice, Ascalon extended by one hundred meters. Reginald only dodged the thrust by centimeters, though he saw the spear trailing off, impaling several soldiers of both sides. "Retract! Eeeeeextend!" Ascalon retracted back to its normal state and thrust out again, extending for an even greater distance of one hundred and fifty meters.

"What the he-WEH!" Reginald managed to sputter out some words, but the haft of the extended spear slammed into his side, bruising his body a forest green. Reginald went flying and slammed into the battlements.

"Retract! Extend! Retract! Extend! Retract! Extend! Retract! Extend! Retract..." Renning shouted numerous times, commanding his soul weapon to retract and extend multiple times. Each time, the spearhead pierced Reginald's bare body, bloodying up his chest and opening multiple holes to his insides. "EXTEND! EXPAND!" Two more cries strode out from Renning's mouth. Ascalon's spearhead entered Reginald's abdomen, brushing aside the bones and organs painfully. And with the cry of 'Expand!' the spearhead did just that, expand.

The spearhead enlarged and sliced apart the inside of Reginald's body. The massive pain paralyzed Reginald, who could do nothing but watch as his body was mutilated from the inside out. He couldn't even concentrate long enough to utilize any of his tattoos, at least the ones on the outside of his body.

At a great deal of pain and money, Reginald not only had his outside skin tattooed, but the inside of his body as well. It was a tattoo Reginald liked to call, [Black Hole]. Purely out of speculation for the future, Reginald figured that foreign substances might enter the insides of his body, in this case, Ascalon. "Bingo! R-*cough* Right where I want you, damn idiot."

"What?!" Renning furrowed his eyebrows. "Retract! Eh? Ascalon, why won't you retract, damn it?"

"You know what they say? Checkmate! Your Ascalon is now inside of my abyss." Reginald coughed up more blood. Streams of the crimson liquid seeped from every facial orifice of Reginald's body. "The tattoo in my body, the [Black Hole] tattoo, it takes in every invasive substance into its abyss."

Just like Reginald claimed, the soul weapon, Ascalon, was vigorously sucked into a menacing black tattoo that swirled with dark energy. From the extended spear head to the bottom of the haft, every meter of it was sucked into Reginald's body.

"What the hell are you? What did you do to my spear?" Growled Renning.

"..." Silence emanated from Reginald's body.

"Fuck... You're asleep from your wounds... And I'm dying because of the poison. And I can't even talk with that amazing succubus..."

And so the two warriors fell asleep for the duration of the war. As for why death did not take them... Reginald's poison is only tangible for as long as his snakes are, which cease existence once Reginald loses consciousness, allowing Renning to live. Reginald only lived because of his massive resilience towards wounds and pain. He is, or was, an assassin after all.

"Huh, were they both this weak?" Wondered Teras as she carried Ornias' body with levitating rock.

-

"Ah, it is good to see your youthful faces. I don't suppose you have affirmed your love with him since our last meeting?" A surprisingly warm voice entered the ears of Nerissa and Aureal.

"I'm sorry, we cannot say anything that may divulge master's whereabouts." Aureal, understanding the meaning behind Sasilith's words, declined to reveal any information about Rainer.

"My fiancée is probably having a lovely time without me..." Whined Nerissa dramatically. "I'll make sure to defeat my fiancée's enemies without fail!" As fast as Nerissa became depressed, she became enthusiastic.

"Oh? As will I, for my beloved brother. Let's not waste time on words, let us waste time on action." Sasilith dipped her head politely.

Aureal and Nerissa tensed up, tightening their hold on their weapons and keeping their minds clear to increase their reaction time. They watched as Sasilith's wings beat faster and faster.

The black succubus drew her weapon, a different one from last time. It was about two meters in length and five centimeters in diameter. The pole was made of a glassy black metal, probably of Greed's Norse Dwarf make. A long strip of blue cloth decorated the back length of the pole. On the front length, was a sharpened piece of curved metal adjoined from both ends of the pole. The blade had a double tempered edge made of grey-white steel. The blade was connected to both ends of the pole with a small, but durable, metal dowel. A metal circlet circled around the pole, so that it slid between both dowels. Connected to that circlet was a thick chain that was wrapped around Sasilith's right arm. In all, it was a strange weapon.

Sasilith jumped in the air and raised her weapon, which in the circles is called a crescent. She closed the distance between her and the girls within seconds with weird crisscrossing sidesteps.

"I'm sorry to say to you both, but I excel in air combat. Not even Iris can hope to match me in winged combat. While I can appreciate your affections for your loved one, he is my enemy, and so are you two. Please be defeated in a glorious battle, younglings." As caring as her words were before, only directness could be heard.

"I do not know where you got your information, but neither of us are lacking, in age, skills, or experience." Aureal easily blocked an attack from Sasilith's crescent with her massive war hammer.

Taking advantage of the situation, Nerissa ducked under and instantly flapped her white wings. A solid thrust from her brand new sword, Old Age, was aimed directly for Sasilith's breast. It pierced the armor, but not the skin, surprising Sasilith greatly.

Sasilith bounced back, alarmed at the ferocity of the duo's attacks. "I should not have taken a fallen angel and a Daughter of Pride lightly, it seems. A grave mistake, and mistakes should not be allowed on this battlefield." Murmured the succubus softly, though loud enough for Nerissa and Aureal to hear.

Aureal twisted her hammer in the air and slammed the head down on the ground. A small explosion of light erupted from the center of the hammer, literally forming cracks in the air. Aureal dragged the hammer around her in a concentric circle until a completely filled circle of light formed below Aureal's feet. The circle spun towards Sasilith, leaving a bright trail of light behind.

Sasilith at first tried to stop the circle with her strength, though it was clear that blocking such a magic wasn't as simple as putting her crescent forward. And unfortunately for Sasilith, she did not use large-scale dark magic, which could easily negate the circle of light.

(Hm, no choice but to go under or above.) Sasilith beat her wings and flew above the circle of light only to find, once again, Nerissa aiming a sharp thrust. The white demoness, with the help of Old Age, stabbed multiple points of Sasilith's body.

The armor was once again pierced twice, but Sasilith learned, and blocked the rest of the thrusts with her crescent.

"Ah, so you think so too? Which one are you again, number one hundred and sixty-four? Really? You're a famous one! Alright then, I'll try that with Aureal." Nerissa spouted out words to no one in particular.

"Hm, to whom are you talking to?" Wondered Sasilith out loud.

"Oh? Considering you are a Daughter of Lust, I thought you would know about this sword's secret. Nerissa formed a prideful smile.

"The sword's secret... Old Age, I presume? No, I do not wield swords nor have any of its previous users ever told me of it. Only its users probably know of what you're talking about." Sasilith answered honestly while exchanging blows with her crescent and Nerissa's sword. "It is an Aspect of Death weapon, Old Age. It should obviously have some sort of power, though what?"

"That's confidential! Hey Aureal, I need your help!" Nerissa flew back to Aureal with Old Age in hand.

Right now, in order to keep Sasilith back, Aureal engaged in a magical war of attrition. Various bolts of light and dark of varying size entered the scene, either flying past both parties or being negated by another bolt. Sometimes, larger bolts enveloped the smaller bolts and became smaller until they were negated or dissipated. Neither side could spend too much time creating a large bolt, lest the miniature war turn against their favor.

"Uhn... What, Nerissa, I can't keep this up forever." Aureal said through grunts and mutters when she cast her spells.

"I got a little strategy..." Nerissa then engaged into a whisper where only she and her friend could hear. "She seems somewhat weak now, but she's a black demon, so she obviously has a trump card hidden up her sleeve. If we want to end this without too much trouble then listen and follow this." Nerissa took a deep breath and explained her strategy. "Set visual mines of light in key points, make them as dense as possible. Before that, infuse my friend here, Old Age, with as much light as possible. Don't worry, only the blade will hold the light, I won't be harmed. Death does not adhere to dark or light. Then pressure her, keep her busy until I can release this energy."

"You... Do not seem sure about this, mistress."

"Yea, to be honest, I don't even know how to hold in light magic with Old Age yet. Don't worry! I'm the fiancée of The Lord of Lust and a Daughter of Pride, there's nothing I can't do!" Nerissa puffed out her chest proudly and an oddly confident smile appeared on her face accompanied with beaming eyes.

"Very well, mistress. Although, I can't help but be a little skeptical." Aureal then focused her undivided attention on Sasilith. As she stared at her enemy, Aureal hovered a hand over Old Age, channeling light into the sword like Nerissa asked. Almost instinctively, Aureal knew when to stop.

Aureal followed Nerissa's earlier suggestion, by placing aerial land mines of light magic in the sky. She sidestepped individual dark bolts originating from Sasilith while flying to various points in the sky. Each time Aureal stopped, she concentrated for only a second, until an amorphous blob of densely concentrated light literally oozed out of the butt of her war hammer. At one point, Aureal swatted a dark bolt with her hammer like a bat, which normally wouldn't have happened with angels or fallen angels if not for Aureal's condition.

It was an extremely strenuous procedure. Aureal was forced to keep on her toes at every second and could not have a single moments respite. She had to strain her muscles in order to stay alive. Each time when Sasilith neared Aureal's position in the sky, a small clash of arms occurred. Sasilith used her crescent to the fullest of her skills, however, she could not once breach Aureal's strict defense. Both had been in wars and multiple battles, and while one had a large advantage of being a black demoness, the other had a special condition.

Around thirty minutes passed until Aureal was satisfied with her arrangement.

"Now, it's complete. Sasilith, I apologize, but your loss has been confirmed when you allowed me to set this field in my favor." Aureal wiped the sweat off her brow and finally relaxed.

Aureal was even more amazed than Sasilith that she was even able to set this amount of bombs. A large field of bombs of light magic littered the scene. If one looked from down below, it would seem as if the night sky full of stars seemed even closer than before.

"It was obvious that you were up to something. Yet I failed to hinder you even once. I wanted to save this power for later so that I may at least reduce the capabilities of the pillars and the pretender, but if I am to continue in this war, I must use it now." Sasilith that wrapped the chain of the crescent around her waist, allowing the weapon fall freely around her body.

Sasilith pulled a small, but sharp, needle from her boot. Without hesitation, she swiftly pricked two thin holes through both her wrists, all the way through the arm. Black blood flowed from the self-inflicted wounds, dripping to the ground far away.

Sasilith then opened her mouth and released an ominous chant, "[Dark Avatar], activate." Her words, from before, they seemed normal, even slightly sweet. Yet now, malice and darkness seemed to seep from every syllable. "I haven't felt so invigorated enough to bring me out for a long time. You really dislike me, me. Why does myself seem to hate me? I don't understand myself."

"You... Are different. You are not Sasilith, what are you?" Aureal barely kept her composure.

"Hm? I don't know what you're talking about. I am me, myself is I. Or is that too much for that rotting brain of yours, fallen angel?" Sasilith formed an evil smile coupled with eyes that seemed to look down on everyone and everything. As if the situation didn't matter to her, Sasilith looked about frivolously, surveying everything in sight. "What a simple trap. I can do the same thing, you know."

Sasilith held aloft both arms and scores of amorphous black blobs of dark magic dripped from her hands. Each of the black blobs sought out one of Aureal's aerial mines and attacked. Within the span of four seconds, each mine that Aureal spent so much of her energy to create disappeared without Sasilith even breaking a sweat.

"How!?" Aureal cried, breaking her expression.

"Yes, how is the question. Though I really don't feel like answering. I'm thinking about administering a little test. A test of how long your pitiful body can keep out. And the price for failure is the death of you and the prideful bitch. She seems to be in a little coma, I wonder why? Oh well, if she doesn't move soon enough, I'll be slitting her pretty throat." Sasilith seemed gruesomely cheery and energized.

"..." Aureal tightened her grip on her hammer, "Mistress... Nerissa, please hurry." ... "Ohohoh! It's been awhile, girlie." "The Daughter of Lust's back?" "Heh, our source of entertainment decided to grace us with her presence." Several presences spoke out, either in whispers or in loud shouts. These, among the one thousand two hundred seventy seven that resided in Old Age, all congregated in one way or another around Nerissa.