Lilith stood. "You're little more than a cheap nock off of the one true death. It's too bad he's not around to kill his fake."
Akuro scowled at Lilith. "I don't care what you think of me, and I don't care who this Azazel guy is. All I know is that you are a demon, and we are gonna send you back to hell."
Lilith smiled. "Well, we will see about that, won't we. I mean, with such a pretty little mortal at your side I couldn't help but come and... pay her a visit. Maybe you should check on her before you worry about me?" Lilith strode past the three Deities with a triumphant smile. "Ta-ta, good luck. My friends will be coming soon, so don't get too comfy. Give me a good show." And with that she exited out the door.
"Emma." Akuro said, turning and going down the hallway that led to the stairs, then followed them up and wandered around the second floor until he found Emma's room. She was laying face down on the bed. Akuro sighed in relief. 'She is just sleeping.' He thought as he walked up to check on her. But then he saw a black mark on her neck. He leaned over to get a closer look, and realized an aura was emanating from it faintly.
"It's a curse mark." Darius said. "It seems she has been sent into a coma."
"Looks like Lilith decided to leave us a parting gift." Inari spoke darkly.
Akuro clenched his fist. "Damn it all!" He yelled, startling both Inari and Darius. "Why can't people just leave me alone and let me live in peace! I hate this! All I want to do is live in peace and watch anime and play video games and get fat on snacks and be lazy!"
"Wow. You really set the bar low, huh?" Inari said.
"Screw off. The point is why the hell can't I just live my second life in peace?" A memory of his old life flashed through his mind; his mother screaming at him tirelessly, his sister laying in her hospital bed. He clenched his fists. "I hate this world... I hate it so much. But even so, that doesn't mean the people living in it deserve to suffer. Everyone suffers in their own way, bottling it up and hiding their pain from the world. That's how humans work. Maybe that's why Adeline wants to wipe humans out... even so, they don't deserve to have their lives stolen away."
The image of his sister's face appeared in his head, her smile, her hopeful eyes. And the thought of another…someone who gave him hope.. "Everyone deserves a chance at joy. So why do people who want to take that joy away get to exist? It's not fair."
Neither Inari nor Darius had anything to say in return. Instead they just stood in silence, letting Akuro's words sink in.
"Well..." Inari said, "if you feel that strongly about it, then I guess that means we are gonna fight, huh?"
"In the end that's our only choice. I think, deep down, I knew that ever since I chose my power." Akuro said quietly.
"Well, then we'll do it together, as a team." She hit Darius. "Right?"
"Ah, yeah. Yeah." Darius said, rubbing his side.
"Thanks. But there's no way we can fight both demons and the other Deities. To be honest I have no clue what to do."
"About that. I think I may have an idea." Inari spoke. Akuro turned to her and saw as she held out her hand. Light blue markings began to glow down her arm as an ephemeral form began to materialize at her side.
"This is Makane. She is a kitsune." Inari spoke as a nine tailed fox spirit appeared before them. It had stark white fur and blue markings in swirls and arcs across its body and down to each of its tails. It's eyes were intelligent and a deep ice blue.
"You're saying you wished for the power to summon a Kitsune?" Darius asked. "Interesting."
"Well, not just summon" Inari spoke.
"Correct." Makane spoke in a silky voice. "My soul is bonded to hers, you could say I'm like her spirit's materialized form."
"So kind of like Spiritual Materialization, except with the soul of a divine fox?" Darius asked.
Makane nodded.
"What's your idea then?" Akuro asked, locking his eyes with Inari's.
"Makane spoke to me while you were confronting Lilith. She told me she knows a place that can give us strength."
"Strength?" Darius inquired.
"Yeah, she can explain it better than me."
"Far from here there is a temple," Makane spoke. "It contains an ancient power of old, when gods and demons walked the earth. The power is one that was given to mankind during the Divine War so that they could survive the conflict between the three great races."
"Three? You mean there are more than just gods and demons?" Akuro asked.
"Yes... there were." Makane answered. "In those days, the Titans ruled the earth. Their power was much more than your average god or demon, one Titan could destroy an entire continent in less than a day."
Akuro shivered. "Titans... those things really existed?"
The fox spirit nodded. "They were sealed long ago by the One True God, but no one knows where they were sealed or how. That knowledge has been lost, or rather, erased from time."
"By that same God I'm guessing." Darius spoke.
"Yes. And if it weren't for the power they were given, mankind would not exist today."
"What is this power exactly?"
"The power given to the first five Deities. The blessing of the One True God. Instead of wishing for a specific power, the first Deities were give pure, raw aura, and they used this aura to craft their own combat style. It made them more versatile than any of the Deities who came after them, but it also gave them the power to slay demons."
"Are you saying we can obtain this power?" Akuro asked. Makane looked directly at him and flicked its tails. "Yes."
"Awesome, then we'll be able to kill the demons with no problems!" Darius exclaimed.
"Not quite. Even with their power, in the end the five Origin Deities were still killed by a demon named Azazel, who, at the time, was the demon king." Makane said.
"Azazel huh." Akuro echoed her words. "We just learned that such a demon existed not to long ago."
"I am aware. Even with the power of the first five, killing demons will not be easy. Not just that but Lilith is after you. She is as old as Azazel, she served directly below him, and now she still serves as the hand of the new king. Lucifer."
"Lucifer?" Inari asked in surprise. "You mean like the fallen angel, Lucifer?"
"Yes. Lucifer was once a god, but then he descended from divinity. He became the first demon, along with his brother, Azazel."
"None of that matches up with the Bible." Darius joked.
"The Bible is accurate in a lot of ways, but just as rumors are altered as they spread, history is the same way. That's precisely what the Bible is, rumors of truth changed around time and time again, changed by history." Makane explained. "Either way. You can't get overconfident just because of a power up. It would be quite foolish."
"She is not wrong." Akuro pointed. "So how far away is this temple?"
"Far."
"How far?"
"It is located deep in the Arctic."
"The Arctic? How the hell are we supposed to get there?" Darius inquired, confused.
"Relax. I can teleport us there, though I doubt you'll want to go in your current clothes. Not just that, but that mortal," Makane nodded at Emma. "We can't just leave her here, there is a good chance she will be killed." The fox spirit looked up at Inari. "My partner will dress her. We are taking her with us. So boys, go to another room and find yourself some warm clothes. Go. Shoo. Out."
Akuro glanced at Inari, who shrugged. "Alright, just make it quick." He and Darius then exited the room closing the door behind them.
"Can we trust her?" Darius asked when he and Akuro were in another room searching through the closet for clothes.
"Yeah, I think we can. She's more trustworthy than you." Akuro said.
"Haha, funny."
Akuro did mean it as a joke, but for some reason he sensed an edge to Darius's response. He decided to ignore it, hoping it was just stress. He had allies now, and he wanted to keep them. He didn't want to be alone in the fight to come, he knew that if he was he'd end up dead. But in the end he still had a hard time trusting. Especially after his past life. Akuro gripped a thick jacket in his clenched fist and clenched his jaw. He refused to let history repeat itself. He wouldn't let it. He couldn't.