I shot towards Kazuma like a bullet and he teleported behind me.
I caught his claw on the blade of my gun and blasted his hand off.
He reeled back in terror, but before he would move any further, I blasted his other arm and part of his wing off.
Draiko lunged at me with claws of frozen blood, but Isabella appeared in a flash of light between us. She blocked his attack and bashed him away.
Finally...
"EXTERMINATUS!" I shouted.
The blades at the end of my shotguns extended into chained segments and I unleashed a barrage of shotgun blasts with sword strikes.
When I finished, I saw Kazuma had been utterly annihilated. Completely blown apart.
Energy gathered from the remains of his body and shot towards the sky.
Draiko looked on in horror.
"H-hold on! I'm new here! I haven't done anything except follow orders! Do I really need to die!?" Draiko said in a panic.
Around that time, Dante, Leiso, and Gavin returned to us with victory written all over their faces. Or well...we assumed Dante's face would have said such a thing if it were less...skeletal...
"You're working for Novak, right? How many atrocities have been committed by soldiers for 'simply following orders'? Also... You seem to be the only remaining Overlord left alive at this point. Your power makes you a liability," Leiso said.
"When you killed Samuel, I lost any real attachment to this horrible place that I had. That bastard made me believe that I loved Nexus. No...I hate it here! If you want to take over, please do! I won't stop you! Hell, I can't stop you," Draiko said.
"Iris...orders?" Dante said.
She held up a hand as she descended to the ground.
"His power is directly linked to Novak. If Novak dies, Draiko will also... This is tricky..." Iris said.
Draiko looked over at Iris suddenly.
Something within me began to panic...
He flexed his hand at his side, then...
Draiko shot towards Iris at blinding speed.
Leiso jumped in front of her and Draiko's attack slammed into a barrier made by Isabella.
"What!? WHY!? NO! DAMN YOU, DIVINE CRUSADER!!!" Draiko wailed.
At once, I was already upon him. I kicked him back and slashed at him with the blades on my shotguns.
He couldn't keep up with my strikes and I ended up blasting his head off.
After Draiko's body fell to the ground, the same energy from before rose from it and shot into the sky. After that, I walked back over to everyone.
That was far too easy... I expected more of a fight from those two...
"Leiso, are you okay?" I asked.
"I'm fine. Thanks to Isabella, that is. If she wasn't here, I may have suffered a terrible injury...or potentially worse..." Leiso said.
Isabella bowed her head gracefully.
At the same time, I thought about the Oracle.
Damn Oracle... Leiso would have died here, wouldn't she? I despise you...
Leiso smiled and saluted.
"Leiso! That idiot couldn't have killed me even if he landed an attack! What were you thinking!?" Iris said angrily.
"I'm sorry... It was a reflex..." Leiso said apologetically.
Iris sighed.
"Very well...everything seems to have turned out nicely then. Now...all that's left is-"
"ME, RIGHT!?" Said a thunderous voice that interrupted Iris.
We all turned and saw Novak slowly descend to the ground.
"Everyone get back. FAR BACK!" Iris said as she stepped forward.
We did just that and she faced Novak directly.
"Novak...you are ordered to vacate Ignitus immediately, by command of the Creator. I have been given full permission to use my supreme form if necessary to subdue you. You have lost. You've utterly and completely lost this war, Novak!"
"AS IF! I'LL DRAG YOU INTO THE DEPTHS OF HELL BEFORE I SURRENDER, YOU DAMN WASHBOARD!!!" Novak screamed.
"Insulting my chest size right now? You're truly pathetic. If you won't see reason, I'll show you what you're dealing with."
Iris rose slightly into the air and held out her hands.
Energy of the same color as her hair began flowing around her.
The teal energy enveloped her body and a set of scales appeared behind her back.
It was truly magnificent. One of the most beautiful things I had ever laid eyes on.
Glowing teal energy had completely formed around her body, her clothes, and her hair.
Her eyes blazed with golden fire.
And I felt a tremendous amount of power flowing from her.
"I, IRIS, GODDESS OF BALANCE, ORDER YOU TO VACATE IGNITUS IMMEDIATELY!!!"
Her voice boomed with divine authority.
It was easy to forget that she was a goddess when she acted like such a geek, but...wow.
"GO TO HELL, IRIS!" Novak screamed.
He did the same. His form was dark blue with the same golden eyes. He held a whip in each hand. Both blazed with blue flames.
"Really? Whips? Isn't that a bit kinky, Novak?" Iris said.
"SHUT THE HELL UP! AT LEAST A WHIP IS A WEAPON! SCALES ARE NOT A WEAPON!!!"
"Hm... I use it for divine magic, but...oh well. I think it's about time we got started. I'll say it one more time: vacate Ignitus, or be executed. If not, the Creator will deal with you."
"To hell with the damn Creator! I WON'T BE MADE A MOCKERY BY THE LIKES OF YOU! I AM THE GOD OF DOMINATION! IGNITUS BELONGS TO ME, YOU WENCH!!!"
"SO BE IT THEN!" Iris roared.
She spread her arms out and the ground began to shake, violently.
Novak teleported to Iris and she raised a hand to him.
With a thunderous blast, he was blown back hard. He crashed into the ground with an explosion.
His whips shot out of the ground below Iris and she simply moved away.
The Novak flew straight at her again with both of his whips prepared to strike. Iris evaded his attacks and continuously pushed him back.
Eventually, she pointed her hands directly at him.
Suddenly, the scales on her back shifted.
One side was black and the other was white.
The black scale was weighted heavily. And once that happened, Iris' power exploded outward.
The energy was so intense that all of us began finding it hard to breathe.
As soon as Novak swung his whip again, Iris grabbed it and sent a burst of teal energy into him.
His arm disintegrated and he pulled back from her.
He raised his remaining arm as he began to rapidly regenerate. The whip in his remaining hand began to blaze even brighter than before.
It extended and he swung it rapidly at Iris. Once his other arm regenerated, he rapidly swung that one as well.
Each impact sent out a thunderous shockwave that rumbled everything in the area. When he finished, Iris remained unharmed.
"You are a fool, Novak. You don't have permission to release your full power. As such, you are no match for me."
After she spoke, the scales tipped lower and Iris spread our her arms.
The flowing energy solidified into glowing teal streams of power. They all rapidly shot towards Novak. He tried desperately to put up a barrier, but it shattered easily as he was impaled all over by the energy.
Finally, it exploded and blasted him to pieces.
After it happened, an orb of golden energy appeared and Novak's form began to regenerate around it.
Once it finished, Iris continued her assault.
Over and over...Novak was destroyed.
Eventually, he teleported above her and slammed his foot into her head, throwing her into the ground with tremendous force.
He landed on top of her with an explosive kick, but was quickly repelled...
Iris levitated slightly above ground as Novak tried to attack her again.
She deflected his whips over and over again until she seemed rather fed up with it.
Iris blasted Novak back away from her with a burst of divine energy, then raised her hands to the heavens.
The sky itself split open as divine power began to rain down upon Novak.
The landscape was utterly decimated by the repeated assault from Iris. The already-ruined part of the city had now become a gigantic crater in the ground.
Novak still lived, however.
He shakily stood to his feet.
"Give up now and you might even retain your dignity, Novak," Iris said.
"You...bitch... Just die! Ignitus is mine!" Novak barely managed to say.
"Very well. Your fate is sealed. I CALL UPON THE POWER OF THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR! SOVEREIGN OVER ALL CREATION! HEAR MY PLEA AND SUBDUE THIS REBELLIOUS GOD OF DOMINATION! I HUMBLY HAND HIM OVER TO YOUR MIGHTY PRESENCE, LORD!!!" Iris said.
After she spoke, gigantic golden chains shot from the sky and landed in the ground all around the crater where Novak stood.
"Wait...no... NOOOOO! TAKE HER! NOT ME! I'M SORRY! PLEASE HAVE MERCY, CREATOR!!!" Novak screamed.
Several more chains shot from the sky as a gigantic pair of hands composed of pure light were held out.
The chains wrapped around the resisting Novak and pulled him into the sky.
Despite all of his screaming and resisting, he could do nothing but wail in horror as the hands wrapped around him.
Novak was pulled up into the sky and with him, the gigantic chains also followed.
The sky began to close, but before it did, a light shot down into the crater.
The destroyed ground was filled in with new soil and beautiful plants. Flowers that I had never seen before bloomed.
They eminated a glorious light that I couldn't tear myself away from.
And after the sky closed, Iris returned to her normal form.
I could hardly believe the things I had just witnessed.
Truly, what I saw were things no mortal should ever lay eyes on...
Iris happily strode back over to us and smiled just before her supreme form dispersed.
Immediately, the other Enforcers ran to meet her
"Today, we have finally won. Ignitus is free and we suffered no Enforcer casualties. I'd say this was a complete victory," Iris said.
"Is it...really over...?" Leiso said.
"Yes. From this day onward, we will live peacefully on a unified Ignitus. I swear to all of you that we will rebuild Nexus and make it a place as prosperous as Arcadia. The War of Unity is finally at an end!" Iris shouted.
Dante, who was on his reaper form sighed quietly. He stood in complete silence and started at the sky. Leiso and Jallah dropped to their knees as the other Enforcers began to tear up.
They all silently wept to themselves.
This war had gone on for far too long. I couldn't imagine how relieved they finally felt.
I felt Isabella gently grab hold of my arm and she smiled at me.
"We did it, Mizik. We helped the people of this world. Does this...make up for Avernia...?" Isabella asked as she looked up at me with tears forming in her eyes.
"Yes. I'd say it does. But we still have a long road ahead, don't we?" I whispered softly.
She hugged me tightly and rested her face against my shoulder.
I smiled.
"One day...we'll avenge Avernia. I swear it."
* * *
A week later, a grand military funeral was held. In honor to the billions who had lost their lives in this pointless war.
Central would remain forever barren in tribute to the fallen heroes and soldiers that fought in the War of Unity.
The final battle was henceforth referred to as the Battle of Heaven's Crater.
Once the funeral had finished, we were each given awards for our efforts in the war.
Dante Cooper. First seat Enforcer. Leader of the Enforcers. Designation: The Frost Reaper. Age: not currently recorded. Estimated to be over two thousand years old. Awarded for valiant efforts in the War of Unity. Helped save Arcadia in a time of severe crisis on the brink of defeat. Slew many Overlords over the years and was also responsible for killing Supernova Kiyomi and Atomic Serpent Elizabeth in the final days of the war.
Dante would remain as one of my most respected comrades.
Leiso Akali. Second seat Enforcer. Alpha General of the Ignitian Military. Designation: Iron Tsunami. Age: 1,567. Previously given thousands of military awards for her dedicated service to the war. Awarded for her irreplaceable assistance in the War of Unity and her role as a constant deterrent for the High Imperial General of Nexus.
She had a major port named after her right next to the remains of Port Davis. Additionally, she said she would continue her efforts to serve and protect the world and its people that she loved so dearly.
She also became one of my personal most treasured friends and comrades.
Jallah O'Brien. Third seat Enforcer. Lead investigator of suspicious activities on Ignitus. Designation: Thunderfist. Age: 1,223 Previously thought to be dead and lost forever, Jallah had been unintentionally powering the Abyss Engine. A weapon of mass destruction capable of severing the connection Enforcers have to Iris. He was awarded for unflinching courage in the face of complete destruction as well as his efforts in the final battle.
Jallah vowed to continue his efforts to protect Ignitus from unknown threats alongside his adoring wife and personal Attendant, Rune.
He was yet another of my dearest friends.
Gavin Ulric. Fourth seat Enforcer. Investigator of suspicious activities on Ignitus. Designation: The Blast Tornado. Age: 772. Gavin, while being fairly closed off, was awarded for unbreakable courage and heroism to his allies. He also helped slay the monster that was Overlord Jason. The Rock Mutant.
Gavin simply said he was just doing his job and didn't need any award. He loved Ignitus and its people. Protecting their smiling faces was enough. He promised to continue his efforts to protect the world in secret as he always had.
He was given an award, anyway.
I still didn't like Gavin very much, but he had grown on me. I trusted him with my life, regardless.
Michael Harris. Fifth seat Enforcer. Investigator of suspicious activities on Ignitus. Designation: The Eclipse. Age: 460. Michael was often referred to as The Legendary Soldier when he got serious. His playful attitude was often a source of both annoyance and morale for his comrades. He was awarded for his efforts in the War of Unity to scout enemy locations with unflinching bravery and protecting allied encampments from enemy attack.
Michael said that he loved his job and protecting people was more important than being around pretty girls...just a little though.
Michael had a tendency to annoy the hell out of me, but he was a great guy. I learned to appreciate and respect him as a dear friend.
Carlos Ortega. Sixth seat Enforcer. Head of research and development for military and civilian technologies. Designation: The Bloody Inferno. Age: 189. Carlos was a man of few words. But despite this, his work on the Divine Engine was considered one of the most important contributions to the war in its final days. The Divine Engine made it possible to fight in enemy territory. At the same time, Carlos was a brilliant scientist that had made many advancements in both medicine and technology during his service. He was awarded for all of these things.
Carlos only said Thank you to everyone that supported him.
He was a difficult guy to read...but I knew he meant well. Still, I respected Carlos as a friend and a wonderful ally.
Isabella Iratus and Mizik Iratus. Seventh and Eighth seat Enforcers. Special Forces for the protection of Ignitus and her people from existential threats. Designations: The Divine Crusader and The Warmage. Ages: 20 and 18. Our appearance in this world was by complete accident. We were...'running away from a Demon King'. Despite this, we made Ignitus our new home. We were awarded for dealing with Overlord Kazuma, the Psycho Demon, and Overlord Draiko, The Rotting Vampire. The two of us were also given credit for rescuing Jallah and destroying the Abyss Engine. The people of Ignitus said that they would owe us an eternal debt of gratitude for our help.
Despite this world not being our true home, we had grown to love it.
We told everyone that no matter what happened, Ignitus was our home and that we would defend it at all costs.
Finally...we were at peace.
Thoughts of the Black Ooze and the horrors it brought began to fade. And as Nexus was rebuilt, we were given both rest and plenty of work to do in making sure everyone was safe.