Icarus vanished from the skeleton's line of sight, reappearing crouched behind him and tripping his flaming opponent to the ground. Grunting upon landing on his bony rear, the Jester smirked and stood back upright. Coursing his burning fist through the air and toward the ground, the Jester's strengthened knuckles smashed Beau's form through the ground. But he wasn't done—not by a long shot. Instead of letting the impact from the first punch gradually carry him through every layer of the Castle's interior, Chrollo gave chase.
His steaming knuckles repeatedly smashed against the burning skeleton's ribs, carrying him through the ground with a monstrously sadistic grin. Giggling, he threw the final punch into Beau's skull, just watching his knuckles shatter the bone and send him flying through the floor ten times faster than before. Edmund fell toward the cityscape below the hovering castle, uncontrollably flailing and spinning around, noticing the fire plaguing his bones had been dissipated by the wind.
Icarus hovered amid the sky, his hands casually pocketed while his black strands swayed with the wind.
"I suppose that takes care of that then. But, just to be sure—"
The Jester swiped the air, throwing an imaginary projectile that disconnected Edmund's bones with one clean slash. Icarus scratched his nape and clicked his teeth.
"And here I thought these guys were gonna be strong—"
Icarus was interrupted, swiftly turning around to spot the imminent body flying his way. Like instinct, he caught the man's build, looking over his shoulder to recognize that bearded appearance. It was Azazel—his face stained with fresh blood. The Jester's teeth clenched, his eyes spontaneously widening upon processing the fist crunching his face inward and sending him flying across the air.
Reappearing right above Chrollo's soaring body, the opponent smashed his leg into the crown of the Jester's skull, sending him into the same cityscape the skeleton had been damned to. He crashed right into a street, slowly rising from his crater and scratching his neck while looking around.
'What the hell was that? That strength was unlike anything I've ever seen before… and that speed! He might even be faster than Founder Rivers himself.' He giggled, licking away the blood from his lips. "Things are getting interesting…"
The opponent revealed itself, barely hovering above the street and holding Azazel's unconscious body in its left hand. Demiurge threw his past victim forward, watching his face plant against the road—blood leaking from his wounds.
"Who're you supposed to be?" asked Demiurge; godlike voice mixed between male and female vocals.
"I could ask you the same damn thing. You see, that guy right there is the only tolerable member of my inefficient alliance. Sorry but… since you made him bleed before me, I'm gonna have to slaughter you," the Jester declared.
Demiurge and Icarus vanished simultaneously, each darting around the deserted road at breakneck speeds so their attacks would occasionally collide. Demiurge initially darted forward, throwing a knee at the Jester's chin. Chrollo instantly flipped back once his enemy ran ahead, and, as he made his descent to the ground, swiped the air before landing.
'Separate.'
Demiurge's starry, white eyes widened. Surely, there wa smithing before it, and even so, advancing through the space in front of it was none other than a wave of sharpened Vita. Shifting its hand into a blade, the deity relied on its instincts to deflect the imminent slice, watching as it sliced apart most of the buildings to their right.
Eyeing the disaster from its peripheral, it subconsciously stepped forward… and pondered.
'That technique was different. The energy surrounding him now and the energy enveloping that technique is completely different.'
"Surprised?" The Jester advanced ever so slightly, rising and opening his idle right hand. "In truth, my soul's about 45% right now. If I expend too much, I'll die. My innate technique, Ringleader's Supremacy, allows me to steal others' abilities by consuming their souls." he said.
'He's disclosing his technique? Isn't that kinda counterproductive? Well, no matter. I can tell from right here that the amount of life energy he possesses compared to me is… far less.'
Demiurge chased him again, continuously slamming its galactic feet across the street until its fist unfortunately
connected with Icarus's chest. Flying down the road, Icarus eventually fell from the air to collapse onto his back, quickly recovering and jumping away from the imminent fist descending from the heavens.
The deity's knuckles demolished the concrete—quickly, it removed the fist from the ground and chased after Icarus a second time. Icarus swatted away the imminent punch, widening eyes spotting the other fist headed for his left cheek—swiftly hitting it away. Chrollo pushed the deity with both open palms, watching it stumble away following the blow.
The Jester's eyes were engulfed by blackness; buildings' shadows formed by the sun inexplicably growing sharpened tendrils of darkness stabbing at Demiurge's behind. Even so, it was idle, hearing the sound of the projectiles ashen once they touched the air around itself. The deity's starry white eyes shone only briefly—speedily dissipating seconds later.
Icarus arched his brow. Shaking away the curiosity from his face, he drew an arrow of light, glowing bright purple entangling his fingers. Upon releasing his hold on the projectile, the blast flew from his appendages. Demiurge scoffed. In one mere instant, he blitzed past the plasma arrow, and attempted to smash his head in with one punch.
'He vanished? How'd he surpass me in a battle of speed?!'
Manifesting right behind him, Icarus connected both legs against the side of his head, kicking its skull twice. The first was a simple stun attack, effectively disorienting Demiurge while the second kick sent the deity flying. Momentarily giggling in mid-air, the Jester darted right after it—warping right behind its flying form. Just as he reappeared, Demiurge caught Icarus by the throat and tore it right out, their environment a mere blur as they twirled around in above ground.
Chrollo instantly regenerated the wound, glaring into its starry white eyes. For some reason, that's all he did. There was something odd about this thing… it was seemingly invulnerable and even so, he was still alive. For a being like him to stand up to a being akin to a god—shouldn't that be impossible? Demiurge removed its grip around the Jester's neck, simply kicking him across the face and sending him into a house through the roof.
Icarus recovered, giggling sadistically while wiping away the blood from his mouth. Standing upright from the debris he was seated against, he prepared to return to the fight—but something stopped him. The sound of agony originating from below him belonged to none other than the crushed Requiem Subject trapped under the rooftop debris. The manic grin staining the Jester's lips only expanded, applying pressure to the slab and hearing their bones break.
"You're different from the others. Even more so compared to the Crow and Reaper especially. You're… not human, are you?" Demiurge's boastful vocals queried.
"You just realized? I'm not one of those self-righteous brats. I've already figured out your ability. Your innate technique allows you to adapt to any phenomena. After you witness a new attack, your eyes glow white and your technique records it, right?" asked Icarus, smirking and pointing his finger at the deity.
"So? What advantage does knowing my technique grant you?"
"Why don't you come over here and find OUT?!"
Icarus vanished from the house, reappearing from a sky-blue doorway transporting him across space. Demiurge didn't even turn around even while Chrollo's fist soared toward its skull, unraveling starry tendrils from its galactic skin that caught the imminent attack.
Snapping its head unnaturally to the left, the deity glared with incomprehensible whiteness that peered ever further into his opponent's eyes. Icarus immediately jumped back, burning away the tendrils enchaining him after layering his arm in destructive Vita. Just as he did, another punch connected with his chest, sending the Jester flying toward the road.
Flipping upright instantly following his landing, Icarus spun back twice, simultaneously kicking away two incoming plasma bolts. At the end of the road, Demiurge's fist crashing into the ground unleashed a wave of debris coming for the Jester. Once wave seemingly decimated its opponent, Demiurge witnessed him dart from the thickened smoke.
Wiping its hand across the air once flawlessly decapitated him—but the second his corpse fell to the ground, it began disintegrating. Demiurge eyes widened.
'He cloned himself using another technique?! No, that's… the same technique he's been using from the start!'
Icarus's fists sunk into his enemy's gut, leaving the deity's fist to try and backhand him. Its enclosed knuckles struck the air beside him, eyes widened. Before its head could turn completely, it was spontaneously punched across the face—stumbling away into another attack kneeing its head back.
'He's completely overwhelming me with a combination of multiple techniques! I can't believe it but… I feel my power draining! Such monstrous power!'
The Jester's barrage continued—until that very movement it instantaneously grew another arm that caught a punch aimed for its cheek. Glaring at Icarus's black-haired face, Chrollo watched Demiurge's eyes glow white before returning to their original radiance.
'After an innumerable amount of continuous blows not strong enough to make it bleed, it adapted. I've made considerable enough headway with explosive punches that drained its power enough for it to notice. But if it notices this is all the damage I do physically, he'll start adapting constantly and slaughter me before I can react. My greatest advantage… is that Incarnated Spirits are weaker after being initially summoned! I can do this—and I know just the right way to execute it.'
Icarus moved quickly, swiping at his opponent's legs and watching it tumble into mid-air. Just before Demiurge landed, it was kicked in the gut and sent flying down the road. While soaring down the street, Icarus appeared the end of its path, connecting his fist with the deity's back.
Watching Demiurge flail throughout the sky, the Jester motioned ever so slightly, throwing one foot forward that would soon retract upon his peripheral noticing the Detective's unconscious body. A plot started formulating in Icarus Chrollo's devious mind.
"Heh…~"
Multiple marked Requiem Subjects battled amid the cityscape directly below Retly's castle. One was clad in a blackened robe enveloping his whole body, shimmering through the streets and leaving dead bodies in his wake. His narrow eyes opened slightly, noticing the twins wearing discolored outfits however similar at the end of the road with drawn bows.
The narrow-eyed man advanced ever further, summoning thunder to strike through the air after he'd already surpassed the idle twin archers. Wiping their blood from his cheek with one swab, he sighed.
'That's five down now. And here I thought these guys were marked for a reason. Tch. They're just fodder for the strong to easily decimate. But why? What could that damned Requiem savior… be planning with all of us?'
The man's pondering would soon turn out ceaseless, for amid his self-absorbed contemplating, he spotted that figure—far into the distance in the sky. Surely, his sight was playing tricks on him, right? Unfortunately, the second his eyes widened, he felt the truth sink into his flesh's every corner. Demiurge's very flying body had crushed that man's build under its build, rendering him nothing but a bloody splatter staining the road.
Rising from the street, the deity scratched at its neck. Dramatically groaning, it searched the environment while seated upright, noticing the multitude of Requiem Subjects battling down the street. Rubbing its jaw, it vented a snicker after turned back to the sky.
'He's strong. Each of his punches carries enough explosive power to send me flying. But, that's only with physical blows. Plus, after that barrage of attacks utilizing ulterior techniques, I doubt he has much power left. Not with that pathetic thing he calls a soul. I'll end this quickly.'
Demiurge determined, rising slowly from its crater within the ground, standing tall the moment it realized the Jester had appeared right before its starry white eyes.
"What's your name?" Demiurge queried.
"Icarus Chrollo. And if we're asking questions, I hope you don't mind if I take my turn. Did you know that before the Evolutionary Capital was overtaken by Requiem administration, the Bureau used a certain ranking system to designate rogue superhumans? They ranged from B to A++ to SSS. During our fight, I was analyzing your movements and I've determined you're nothing more than an A-. As for me… well, with this treasure, I summon—"
'What?! His life energy is swelling up again! What is the meaning of this?!'
Icarus interlocked his fingers, wide grin reflecting the overhead sunlight into the blue sky. Extremities conjoined into the Namaskara Mudra, he invoked his soul's divine technique.
"Territory Envelopment. Humanity's Reckoning!"
From right below the Jester's feet, a tidal wave of blood came splashed down the street, leaving Demiurge to cover its face. Before it could move any further, it realized the blood it were submerged in was steaming and its entire bottom half were missing entirely.
'Acid blood? But how?!'
Icarus isn't human. The scientists who created him formulated a humanoid vessel composed of multiple human souls composed of hate conjoined into one that pushed the Jester forward. By using Puppet Master's manipulation, the heat within his blood was increased to the maximum—disintegrating everything in its path as the wave splashed down the road.
The battling Requiem Subjects were clueless to this attack until their heads started to turn, noticing the myriad skeletons floating within the blood and immediately screaming while making a break for it. Demiurge warped its upper half from the Jester's range, reappearing atop an overlooking rooftop, regenerating slowly simultaneously. Before it could finish reforming its legs, a hand patted its head.
"As long as I live, my Vita will persist in the real world, regardless if I'm controlling it.
But right now… I am. Allow me to show you—what true power is."
Watching the vast blood indiscriminately decimate each Requiem Subject in its path, Icarus extended his hand—slowly spreading his fingers apart. Crimson malice shining within his pupils and a maniacal smirk staining his mouth, Chrollo instantly closed his fist while invoking that final command.
"Cataclysm."
Covering on a distant rooftop amid the lower cityscape, Azazel awakened while moaning, slowly rising and spotting that fire overtaking the horizon. In one fell swoop, before Demiurge's very eyes as it now hovered beside Icarus in his grasp, the center of the city had been replaced by a ginormous crater.
Using a singular attack that came by default with his territory, Icarus had slaughtered over 800 Requiem Subjects. Most in the street, others hiding in houses and those in the outskirts who gazed upon the fire. Regardless of wherever they stood whenever the bloody wave detonated, they were caught in the blast all the same. Having baselessly slaughtered hundreds in a mere instant, Icarus snickered at his handiwork, admiring the crater from the heavens as the mushroom cloud gradually dissipated.
20,000 points awarded to Icarus Chrollo.
"I stand atop the realm of supremacy."
The Jester glared through black strands at the immobilized deity, sinking his fingertips into his enemy's crown. A sadistic grin spread across his lips; with ease, he'd torn Demiurge's head clean from its shoulders, feeling its starry blood splash onto his face.
"Second to… no one."
Next chapter: Darrell takes on some foes of his own.