Akuro watched as his troops moved towards the gates of hell, entering the Midrealm in mass. A massive three headed dog with chains enshrouding it's body sat by the doors. The exit didn't simply lead out into the real world, it was more like a portal. Once you walk through the red wall of aura, you emerge through cracks in the earth in your desired location.
Mettrag and Kessana had already built a fort in the center of what used to be New York, and what Akuro now called Fort Arashi, the beginning of the greatest storm. He got the name not just from his recent battle with Raijin, but also as a symbol. A symbol of the first life to be taken for this war between he and the gods, the first bolt of lighting in a storm of many.
He stood, arms crossed, atop a Boulder as waves of demons marched forward. He wore a large black cloak, torn and ripped at the ends and two holes cut into the shoulders, elbows and his hands where the metal spikes protruded from his body. The cloak was open down the middle, exposing his bare chest while the hood was pulled over his head.
Inari walked up behind him, watching in awe as the demons moved in a constant flow towards the gates.
"Do you really intend to kill the gods?" She asked.
"I do." Akuro answered simply. "And you are going to stay out of my way."
"Out of your way?" She asked, then sighed, realizing that was the same thing he always said, not matter what. It was always the same story with him, anyone in his way, no matter who it was, was an enemy to him. "Fine. I won't try to stop you, but what do you plan on doing after the war?"
Akuro was quiet for a moment. He wasn't certain of what he'd do, if he was to be honest, he had no idea. Up until then, he's only been living in the moment with no concern for the future. He had no intent to change that.
"It doesn't matter." He said. "All that matters is the fall of of the gods."
Inari watched Akuro, as if she were trying to peer into his soul and find something missing, but she shook her head. "Do as you will."
"I plan on it."
•
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•
God sat below a small tree with soft brown wood and lush leaves that seemed to give off a faint glow, golden flowers illuminating the small garden in full bloom.
Aphrodite sat, legs crossed, a couple feet away, her eyes closed in concentration. The garden was silent for a long time, relaxing and calm, but then Aphrodite suddenly gasped, hunching over.
"See something, did you?" God asked, not even opening his eyes to look at her.
"The gates of hell have opened, the demons seem to be creating some kind of fort in the city called New York, or what's left of it.." Aphrodite said. "There appear to be three Archdemons at the surface currently and a steady stream of lesser demons… there is also a space of emptiness, like a hazy blackness, I can't see anything there, and that is where they are all going."
"I see, that's the work of the maiden of the night, Kessana. She can nullify our sight. It would appear that they are constructing a base of operations on the surface…" God spoke. "Which also means Raijin failed, so he must be dead."
"Which means.."
"The war has officially begun, and our enemy has first blood."
"Why don't we just attack full force and wipe them out? They are out in the open.." Aphrodite offered.
"Because I doubt they'd set up there without some kind of trap in mind. There must be a reason they chose their current location."
"Why didn't they just stay in Xinoll?"
"I'm guessing it has something to do with Raijin invading them without taking the known routes. It must've thrown them off guard so now they don't think Xinoll is safe, which is a correct presumption." God grinned. "That boy… he is crafty. He reminds me of him…"
"Him?"
"Don't worry about it." God said, waving his hand. "You say only three Archdemons are on the surface?"
"From what I saw before they went into the null zone, yes."
"Hmm, then send Notus. We will use him to test their strength a bit, maybe even weaken them. I think poking and prodding them from a distance is the best move for now, since we don't know what they are capable of."
"Yes, I will relay the message immediately, your majesty." Aphrodite bowed, then vanished behind a wooden door.
When she was gone, God couldn't hold his smile any longer. It had been a long time since he'd been at war, and he couldn't help but be excited to spill blood.
•
•
•
Tetsuno stood atop one of the watch towers constructed by Mettrag's troops, watching as streams of demons poured onto the surface from the gashes in the earth, red light illuminating the immense crater that was made from previous battles. The night sky was cloudy and dark, not a single star in sight, the moon being the only light in the infinite darkness of the night, casting an eerie glow through the clouds.
"Tetsuno!" Came Kessana's voice. "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be helping us?"
Tetsuno's head tilted as he turned to look back at her. She was standing at the top of the stairs glaring at him. He attempted to speak to her, but only inaudible, ghostly whispers came out of his mouth.
"I don't care if you are supposed to be on watch or not. There is no way the gods will be so hasty to attack us this soon, just help us."
Tetsuno hissed, plumping himself down on the edge of the watch tower.
Kessana let out a frustrated groan. "Fine, do whatever you want, don't come crying to me when…" her words faded out of earshot as she descended the stairs.
Tetsuno turned to the sky, staring at the endless shadows. To any one, it would seem like he was just staring off into space, but in reality, he was blind. His senses were much greater than that of any of the other Archdemons due to this, and it allowed him to sense enemies from a great distance as well as feel their intentions, giving the illusion of him being able to read the future in combat. That wasn't the case though, he just had insane reaction time and could sense what his opponent was about to do just through the aura waves they gave off.
Tetsuno has never once been wrong about his predictions, and he has never been defeated by anyone other than Zealous… until Akuro. It threw him off, the kid was able to completely conceal his intentions… no, it's not that he concealed them, it is that his focus to kill is so much that it is overwhelming, making it impossible to tell what he would do next, his aura was just too chaotic. Being the incarnation of war, Tetsuno respected only power. Showing true, overwhelming power was the only way to earn his respect and loyalty, so when Akuro not only defeated him but also every single one of the Archdemons by himself, he had earned Tetsuno's complete allegiance.
A powerful gust of wind blew in from the south, tugging at Tetsuno's cloak. He shifted his feet, bending down into a crouch. He tilted his head, facing to the south. Something was coming.
He held out his hand, a ball of red fire forming in his palm. He shot through the air like a bullet, then spun, loosing the ball of fire from his hand sending it soaring towards the ground in the distance. Upon impact, the forest below instantly turned black, all forms of life being scorched in red flames and being turned to ash in a mere second. The entire forest had combusted into red fire, and as it did, a gust of wind shot up, slamming into Tetsuno, sending him higher up into the air.
To anyone else, it would seem like Tetsuno was attacking nothing, but in reality the wind that had struck him was a wave of aura, and someone invisible was controlling it.
He did a somersault in the air, placing a hand on his mask, and as he did, he lifted it up a small amount, releasing a wave of aura that perfectly imitated his opponent's last attack. A loud rumble ran through the sky like thunder as the waves of aura collided, exploding outwards and flinging Tetsuno downwards towards the barren, empty waste land that used to be New York.
He lowered his mask back down as the air shifted a couple yards away from him, condensing and taking the form of a middle age man. He wore a dark blue robe and was bald with a dark brown beard and large eyebrows. His eyes were a light blue while he held a sickle in one hand and a katana in the other.
"Impressive. You not only managed to detect my presence but also copy my aura…" the man spoke, his voice gruff. "What is your name, demon?"
Tetsuno tilted his head, a hollow hiss sounding from him.
"Not one for talking, huh? Well, no matter. I presume you are one of the Archdemons Aphrodite informed me of." He lifted his chin, looking down upon Tetsuno. "I am the great god of the South Winds, Notus, and I am here to kill you foul beings."
Notus drew back his katana as if he were about to thrust it forwards, and the blade began to vibrate, sending out a soft hum through the field. "Now die." He thrusted the katana, and when he did a burst of wind shot forward, splitting the ground and rushing at Tetsuno, who simply stood, watching the attack grew closer until it skewered his body, blowing a large hole in his shoulder and knocking him back to the ground.
"Humph." Notus scoffed. "Pathetic." The god began to walk forward, stepping over Tetsuno's body, but as he did the air began to vibrate. His eyes going wide, he looked down and saw that Tetsuno had lifted his mask up slightly, a shockwave of wind shooting upwards and rupturing Notus's body, ripping his flesh and sending him up into the air and back to the ground a couple feet away.
As his wounds regenerated, blood spilling over his body, Notus stood, expressionless and unaffected as he got back to his feet.
Tetsuno's body cracked and popped as he awkwardly rose from the ground, his body twitching around as he stumbled upright, his head lulling to the side.
"That mask…" Notus spoke, "you are able to copy my attacks by letting yourself be hit.. I see."
Tetsuno's head snapped to the other side as he lowered his mask. He only ever lifted it slightly, never showing his face.
Notus made a face of disgust. "Also, stop doing that… thing with your head. It's both gross and creepy."
The god took in a breath, then sheathed his katana, pulling back his hand.
"Ha!" He shouted as his fist flung forward, a shockwave of air blasting outwards from his hand and smashing into Tetsuno's upper body, knocking him backwards, but he never fell, his body just bent backwards unnaturally before he stumbled back upright. He raised his hand to his mask, but then Notus zipped next to him, his fist a few feet away from his head.
"I won't let you!" The god called.
Tetsuno bent to the side, his back snapping and, as he lifted the mask slightly, his other fist twisted at an awkward angle, wind swirling around his arm as it flew towards Notus's gut, but the god grabbed the demon's arm, spun on his heel and wrenched it over his shoulder, snapping it backwards at the elbow while flinging Tetsuno over his shoulder to roll across the ground about five yards.
Notus shook his hands, as if shaking off water. "I think you might just entertain me, the way you contort your own body, it makes combat more… interesting."
*SNAP*
*POP*
*CRACK*
Tetsuno stood, his wounds healed and his body leaning to the side, his head cranked to the other side. A ghastly hiss echoed across the field, and a moment later Tetsuno's arm burst into red flames, the cloth burning away as his arm was scorched black all the way up to the shoulder. He then reached back, his hand grasping the hilt of the sword twice his size tied to his back, and as soon as his fingers wrapped around the handle, flames engulfed the blade, burning away the cloth tied around it, revealing an obsidian black blade.