The angelic brethren each felt the passing of Raphael, and though sadness gripped their hearts, there was no time to grieve. They were locked in their own battles of life and death. Meanwhile an ongoing confrontation unfolded between Chayyliel and Azriel.
Chayyliel was in the middle of unleashing a barrage of strikes with her spear aimed with deadly precision, but time and time again the shadow knight parried her attacks.
They clash at near instant speeds as Azriel uses his greatsword to elegantly pierce through the air each strike destroying landmasses below. As the duel intensified he suddenly positioned himself for a blunt strike seemingly taunting her. This audacious act only infuriating the angel. "You dare make such a sloppy attack." She yelled in an enraged tone as she begins creating after images of herself instigating a mighty attack.
"For your insolence you shall pay with your life. Power of Heaven and Earth Multi-Strike!" an aura of divine energy began to accumulate around her being from both the mortal and heavenly realms. This was a self taught skill which empowered her attack to be several times stronger than it normally would be as all her apparitions materialized aligning themselves such that the tip of their spears collided into one magnificent array of energy.
The culmination of her power was unleashed as her true self hurled her divine spear through the concentrated energy, creating a devastating force racing towards the shadow knight.
But in an instant Azriel vanished from sight, appearing right behind the archangel mid-slash and with an astonishing display of speed and precision his attack connects.
A perfectly executed strike, not just in its precision but in the power it contains. Chayyliel though, was left confused and her mind disoriented as her sense of direction goes numb
.
"H-how… t-th-this can't be happening." The once unshakable archangel found herself unable to comprehend the sudden turn of events. Her viewpoint began to shift and rotate as she fell, but something was amiss; she couldn't feel her body. That was when it dawned upon her as she finally saw her body a distance away, separated from her essence falling towards the earth.
She had been decapitated and by just a single strike, she the Archangel of Valor had been slain in battle so easily. Her body began to crack dissipating into a thousand fragments as she had not yet come to terms with death. Her eerie silence as her life ended made even the shadow knight flinch, and with a smile it was done. Chayyliel was no more.
On the far outer rims of the conflict was Diablo, legs crossed and all with a smirk. He truly enjoyed the despair he causes the Lord as neither of them can get involved in the war as their might counters each other. He enjoyed putting the so called all mighty in a position of helplessness, but this wouldn't last long.
"FALL BACK!" a shout reverberated across the sky. It was the light keeper himself with a face filled with rage and despair. The million or so angels which were left immediately withdrew from their battles, returning to area around him. This included a badly wounded Gabriel and Araqiel whom both had deep gauges in their bodies as well as their wings being nearly permanently damaged. This was as a result of their battle against Null. The reality was that even with the strength of the both of them it was not even taken aback.
This retreat prompted the thousands of demon knights who survived to go back as well but before they could even do so.
"Hell flame." A massive burst of flames similar to those of the All Consuming Fire permeated the air as the entirety of the demon army was eviscerated, leaving only the generals alive. This attack came from the Monarch of the demons himself.
"Pathetic weaklings, only death await those who fail me." He scorned finally getting up from his throne. "Tsk, guess I must finish you myself."
Up standing Diablo is simply a demon with light brown skin, a structured jaw line and glimmering red eyes his robe adorning him in all his greatness and his short red hair flowing in the wind. This form was different from the one he had before. He had transformed in the midst of the war.
"Let our battle be as legendary as the last." He said as he unsheathed his crimson blade adorned with all sorts of archaic symbols along its sharp and curved edges. The Lord also stood up as armor similar to that of the archangels forging itself upon his body. He extended his arm and a thin, pointed long sword appeared with a glow of light. "Very well, but this time I shall do more than send you back to the netherworld."
They slowly levitated themselves over to each other meeting at the halfway point. With weapons drawn they stare into each others' eyes releasing a massive aura of killing intent. The weather changes, as a storm gathers, emasculating the suns' rays.
The confrontation between Diablo and God is a battle of cosmic proportions, one that surpasses the mortal realm. Their clash has the potential to alter the very fabric of existence.
It begins to rain, hail and snow at the same time as the two auras counteract each other the weather being unparalleled in its unpredictable nature.
Diablo suddenly charges forwards swinging his blade in a flurry of attacks. It is clear that he is aiming to impale vital points while the Lord dodges and parries each strike. They begin a continuous clash of power, neither side showing any signs of stopping their attacks. The energies of both divine and dark sources collide in an awe-inspiring display of cosmic force.
Even while the impact of the battle was greatly minimized as they nearly cancel each other out. But still the resulting shockwaves are strong enough to push back the entire angelic army with enough pressure to crush them. Even the archangels and generals had to endure in order to not be sent down to earth. The earth itself shook tremendously threatening the very existence of humanity.
"Araqiel, it seems father is too engrossed in the battle to notice the impact on the earth." weakly said Gabriel. "I'm sure he can manage it."
Just as Araqiel spoke a stray beam of energy shot through the sky at immeasurable speeds as the battle shifted between melee and Qi attacks. This blast not only incinerated that portion of the atmosphere but went on into the void of space causing the disappearance of thousands of stars in that portion of the universe.
"Are you sure about that?" Araqiel kept silent.
They both raised their arms and cast a blanket of energy to cover the globe, preventing any "accidents".
"Perfect, now that should be able to protect the planet mostly right Araqi-" But in the midst of their brief respite, a horrifying scene unfolded. A moment of disbelief seized Gabriel as he witnessed a dark tendril penetrate his brother's skull. Araqiel, the Archangel of Justice, had been caught off guard, and the attack was swift and merciless. In an instant, Araqiel's body went limp, his once mighty form now lifeless. The malevolent being had been biding his time, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
Gabriel distraught had no time to process the scene as he instinctively dodged a multitude of tendrils that attacked him from above. But then a sense of helplessness gripped the messenger angel as he watched Null's dark tendrils manifest all around him. He could feel the malevolent presence closing in, the tendrils striking with deadly precision, leaving him with no time to react.
In his anguish and pain, he managed to utter a few words, but his voice was weak and faltering. Both he and his brother shattered into fragments of light as the rest of the angels stood steadfast shocked and saddened by the altercation.
The Lord though sensed this as well and it was the last straw.
"DAMN YOU BASTARD!!!" He released a surge of raw power ready to destroy all creation in his rage but then felt a sudden ache in his abdomen. He looked down to see a spear impale him, and this was no ordinary divine weapon; it was the morning star.
A legendary weapon forged from a portion of the absolute light containing the power of every star within the confines of the universe. It was the way through which Diablo had been vanquished before and was lost in the dimensional rifts between the realms, but now it was here in the hands of the Demon Monarch.
"I bet you weren't expecting this to appear right?" he asked mockingly.
"Believe it or not I found it within the confines of my realm out in deep space." His grin was ecstatic laughing now at the situation at hand.
"And now, all things are mine!" the lord held a confused expression at the current situation as if not believing he lost. In the end though it was his lack of control that lead to his downfall. Something he should make note of for next time.
"Hmm, I guess you have won." The Lord said as his body began to crack, the spear still engraved in his body. But despite it all he let out a smile which radiated warmth across the earth. His body began to finally fragment as he said his last words.
"My children, return to the heavenly realm and take heed until you once again feel my strength." The angels scattered in roves as the link between the heavenly realm and all others would be severed. Alas only a few hundred thousand could make it before it was too late.
"Eternal Seal." And with that said there would be no way to access the heavens again, not even through death in order to safeguard those who were already there.
"It is done, Activate." He had completely fragmented into an uncountable amount of shards as the battlefield fell silent.
[… Initializing Configuration]
[1%,
5%,
15%,
45%,
70%,
85%,
90%,
91%,
92%,
93%,
94%,
95%,
96%,
97%,
98%,
99%,
99.9%]
[System creation complete...… initialize soul extraction]
[Error, soul is badly damaged]
[Gathering of soul fragments….. successful]
[Reconstruction of primary host... successful]
[Skill collection from Archangel Gabriel... successful
Skill collection from Archangel Raphael... successful
Skill collection from Archangel Chayyliel…... successful
Skill collection from Archangel Araqiel... successful]
[All processes complete, begin the search for a vessel]
[Scanning entire planet
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
95%
99%]
[Search complete, suitable vessel found]
[Initialize soul replacement]
[Error, vessel refutes the overriding of its soul]
[Vessels willpower exceeds the systems capabilities]
[Searching for potential answers]
[.....Fusion]
[Initialize soul fusion]
[Successful, vessel is now the primary host]
[System dormancy until vessel reaches the required age of 16]
[Setting up defense to keep vessel alive until then...…. successful]
[Skill bloodlust will now activate around any threats passively]
[System dormancy initialize.... complete]
"I didn't expect him to seal off the heavenly realm, but regardless this world is now MINE!" Diablo could not help but relish in his glory as he glanced towards the remainder of the army of light. With a single arm outstretched he forces them towards the earth, resulting in an impact of epic proportions.
They tried to stand but were only met with the intense pressure emitted by the monarch and his generals whom were already waiting for them. Some of the angels began to panic as this was their end.
"I don't want to die, not after all the that I've suffered to live." Said one of the battered angels on the ground
"How am I going to get out of here, why didn't I move fast enough towards the portal."
The angel struggled to grasp the reality of the situation. They were at the mercy of the strongest being in creation who is just by chance an irredeemable killer.
"Bow and you live." Those words echoed through the desolate wastelands as the angels couldn't help but contain their rage. Given the situation they're in, any outbursts was certain death. Out of the blue a single angel got on his knees and bowed down. It was the one who was panicked and it seemed as though he had lost all sense of reason.
"What are you doing?"
"How dare you betray our Lord!"
"It would have been better if you slit your own throat."
Insults and slurs where cast upon him by his brothers whom he had fought alongside all this time, all in the name of a dead man.
Then as soon as he did this an aura of darkness shrouded the angelic soldier, and as soon as it dissipated his pristine white and golden armor was now a deep black, his eyes which shone like the suns' rays now eluded a neon glow. He was now a fallen angel, the first of his kind.
He stood up in his elegance and walked towards the monarch and as he reached him he bowed once more at his feet. An arm stretched out and pat the head of the angel.
"Welcome home, my child." Spouted Diablo as a smirk enveloped upon his face.
After that display the panicked angels began bowing down one after another compelling more and more to do so until but a few hundred were left loyal to their father.
"How could you do this to our father, you are no brothers of mine, but mere spineless cowa-"
He was stopped mid sentence as an arrow penetrated his skull. Those whom were left could only be in shock at the act. Alas, before they could do anything about it death had already met them. All of them were decapitated by their sworn brothers in but a mere instant as they began to fragment.
Thus it began, the world would never again be the same.