Calliope Moriyama, Suisei Hoshinami, and Towano Kizuna boldly assumed their roles as the rescue team for the primordial kingdom's forces.
The pink-haired woman, Calliope, was flying across the land, following her instinct to find the rest of the seven champions. Until she finally stumbled onto a large cave system that hosted a familiar residual energy. With all due haste, she entered the cave and found whom she had been looking for.
"Calliope here. I have found Admiral Addison. She was inside a cave system a few kilometres from the battlefield." She spoke to the small earpiece-like magical device toward her team.
"Her vitals are… non-existent. But I think Lord Revival should still be able to revive her," she said through her device, communicating with another member.
GRUMBLE~
The ground suddenly shakes as Calliope senses a gruesome fight happening above where she is standing.
"Hoshinami Senpai. Did you feel that energy? Do you have eyes on who was fighting above me?"
"Copy Calliope. We have visuals. The ones who are fighting are Ebonyflame and a member of the Ebon Heralds." A voice responded to Calliope.
Calliope looked at the lifeless body of Addison and began to reconsider her options. "Please send someone to this coordinate to evacuate Admiral Addison's body. I will be joining in the fight with Ebonyflame." She said.
"Roger that Calliope!"
***
Ebonyflame was releasing 100% of her power as she chased Echo, the Ethereal Spirit, through the lands, who were fleeing away desperately. "GRUA!!!!" Ebonyflame growled in anger as she landed uncontrolled attacks toward Echo.
The Ethereal Spirit was still moving alongside her while dodging Ebonyflame's attacks, seemingly at ease. Igniting the anger and fury of Ebonyflame even more.
"What's wrong? Is that all you got?" Echo asked, smirking.
A flash of light went by as a sound of slash sounded.
SHURT!
Suddenly her body was chopped into two.
Her torso was dismembered from the rest of her body.
"It can't be! There shouldn't be any weapon that can pierce me!" Echo said in shock.
A scythe was now visible in front of Echo.
It was the weapon that was used to dismember her. Holding that scythe was a woman with pink hair and pink eyes, complete with the battle outfit of the Umbral Fighters. The woman smiled sadistically, saying, "A mere blade may not pierce thee. However, my scythe is a weapon of blessed by the queen of reapers."
The word reaper struck Echo's mind as she was visibly scared. In this world, one of the greatest weaknesses of ethereal spirit beings such as herself was a race called 'the reapers'. A sub-species deviated from mankind that could reap the souls of the living or the wandering spirits left in the world.
"Since you are already a spirit, could ya let go of your soul for me? No better yet. Pardon my intrusion but please do me a favor and die!" She said whilst her eyes glowed in bloodlust.
You can already know what happened next.
The scythe moved swiftly in a slashing motion. With every slash, the body of Echo was wounded. A painful moan escaped Echo's mouth as tears overflowed from her eyes.
The scenery was enough to make Ebonyflame, who was previously growling, calm down. If only Calliope had not been here, Ebonyflame would probably still have a hard time-fighting Echo due to her invincibility with physical attacks and her spirit form, which is nigh invulnerable.
Sadly Echo was lucked out this time.
This was because her master was nearby.
In an instant, magical energy enveloped her, and her body began regenerating. The sudden burst of energy had stunned both Ebonyflame and Calliope from further attacks as they tried to comprehend the situation.
Echo looks to the sky beyond Calliope and Ebonyflame, a figure flying above the sky with traces of bluish magical energy.
"This power! My master!!! Lord Ruin!!!" She spoke to the figure in the sky above. Both Calliope and Ebonyflame looked up at the sky. A figure in a black coat was flying and rising down towards them.
"It's better for you to retreat, Grim Reaper. Before I show you what a real god of death looks like." He smiled.
Ebonyflame and Calliope were instinctively stunned to act. This was due to Ruin using something that previously was only possible to be done by The Demon King of Death and The Demon King of Revival. It was the voice of the demon kings. Ruin had somehow let out a voice resembling that.
Ruin, seemingly satisfied, held out his hand and closed it. In an instant, Echo disappeared from her location, seemingly transported somewhere else.
"Teleportation magic!?"
Ebonyflame was surprised.
The light which was once in Calliope's eyes was suddenly gone. In front of her, the person who wiped out Unit B and masterfully mimicked her master's voice had appeared out of nowhere and attempted a close-range fatal attack towards her.
Naturally,, Ebonyflame's Wyvern tail interrupted his advances as it parried the blade Ruin directed at Calliope. Upon deflection, Ruin moved to the side and launched another barrage of attack towards Ebonyflame that landed a few cuts on her body.
A bluish magical energy then appeared on his arm, launching it directly at her. Blue mana flash sparks appeared, rupturing Ebonyflame's sturdy body and sending her flying to the ground.
Ruin then looked to the side to find Calliope, who was finally back to her senses as she swung her scythe towards his neck. Silently smiling, he moved his hand and conjured another blade from his hand, parrying the scythe advances.
As the two were locked in a power struggle, Ruin spoke. "How unsightly. What a poor control over one's power." He said before bluish mana enveloped him as he managed to push back Calliope's scythe and made her the bottom one during the power struggle.
Calliope was astonished as she felt an eerie sensation slowly growing. Before long, she decided to disengage and retreat for a few steps. Yet, "You won't get away!" Suddenly strings of magical energy tied her down, up in the sky.
"Grim Reaper, let my power carve fear into your soul!" Without any retaliation option, Calliope was left screaming in pain as her body suffered considerable damage.
"Playtime is over." Ruin flew above her as he began charging his fabled strongest one-hit kill attack.
Bluish energy was charging and rapidly enveloping him as he held out his hand, summoning a black sphere upon his hand.
"This is the end for the both of you."
Calliope was left to only look at her impending doom at the hands of the great lord Ruin.
"Supreme…"
A figure then suddenly flew to Calliope Moriyama's side. It was Ebonyflame who suddenly held onto Calliope as Ruin finished his chant. She made a last-ditch effort to shield Calliope from the unparalleled powerful attack that wiped out Unit B. Which, in a sense, would be a futile attempt.
"OVERLORD!!"
A flash of light blinded the two of them.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Calliope and Ebonyflame was now on the ground.
Both of them opened their eyes to look at the sky.
No damage was done to their body.
Ruin and Echo had vanished.
They were the only ones left.
.
"Calliope! Ebonyflame!" A woman's voice called out to the two.
Another member of the umbral fighters named Towano, was carrying Admiral Addison. Ebonyflame quickly walked towards her as she disregarded her previous encounter with Ruin. Yet Calliope was no doubt severely traumatized.
****
The aftermath of the battle in the Demi-Human Region resulted in the retreat of the Primordial Kingdom as directed by the Demon Kings. Due to the Demon King of Revival's ability, there were no casualties yet; it was a fearsome battle. United Front, Umbral Fighters, NPCs, and the Ebon Heralds.
If Carmilla The Saint hadn't been there to cast the Great Seal, would the Primordial Kingdom have won without any intrusion? Or rather, would they lose because they were fighting against the Ebon Heralds?
I silently contemplated that fact as I walked through the halls of the throne room of the demon kings.
"Lilitha!" Zeta greeted me.
"Ah! It's you. Did Lord Death call for you too?" I asked Zeta.
"Yes. He said he wanted to discuss something important."
"I see. It must be because of our previous performance…" I said whilst looking down in disappointment. "We won't be in any big trouble, will we?"
Zeta held an anxious expression before forcing a smile and comforting me with a light hug. "It should be fine, and we did try our best after all." She held my hand as we walked into the throne room door.
The door opened, revealing the two demon kings who were standing beside one another.
"Zeta…"
"Lilitha!"
The Demon King of Death and Revival said, respectively. I can feel my lord's gaze was that of a father-like gaze. I could sense his love for me the moment he laid his eyes on me. On the other hand, I can see how Lord Death saw me and Zeta with eyes that were somehow full of regret and pain.
I don't know since when.
But they are always like this.
If one was happy, the other was saddened.
If one was calm, the other would be angry.
I don't even know when it started.
But maybe something in their past had made the two of them like this.
Something Zeta and I would probably don't even know of.
Are we all here because they finally decided to reveal it? Or was it because of something else?
.
"I presume we have a traitor among us."
The words that came out of the Demon King of Revival had made me and Zeta into a shock.