Momonga let out a soft, weary sigh.
Of course, no breath left his skeletal body. The gesture was nothing more than habit, an echo of a humanity he no longer possessed in this form.
Within the hollow darkness of his skull, twin embers of crimson light flickered as he gazed across the horizon. What had once been a thriving forest and greenery of the Underworld was now a lifeless expanse of sand and drifting ash. The devastation had been wrought in mere moments by a single Super-Tier spell.
[Fallen Down]
Empowered by layers upon layers of enhancement—[Bless of Magic Caster], [Magic Boost], [Magic Caster's Blessings], [Penetrate Up], [Greater Magic Potential], and countless other amplification spells cast by Yuuji and Aika—the spell had reached a level far beyond anything Momonga had ever cast, even in the glory days of Yggdrasil.
In the game, the super tier spell could level a town.
Here, in this world, it had erased an entire region from existence.
The land had not merely been destroyed. It had been purified through annihilation. Soil turned to sterile sand. Forests reduced to drifting ash. Even enchanted items—artifacts layered in protection, relics brimming with magic—had been obliterated without a trace.
There were no ruins. No debris. Not even fragments.
Only a wasteland.
It was overkill. Beyond overkill.
But that had been the point.
The goal had never been to kill Rizevim outright. It was to strip him bare—remove his cover, erase his prepared formations, destroy his artifacts, and eliminate any reinforcements, hidden guards, or lurking monsters that might buy him time.
And the most efficient method, given their absolute element of surprise, had been to unleash a Super-Tier spell, which only flaw was its long casting time—normally a fatal weakness.
But not today.
"Did that do it?" Satoru muttered, still in his Overlord battle form.
Aika immediately flinched.
"Ah, Satoru-san! You're totally raising a flag there!"
"Ah! I-I'm sorry!"
Yuuji only smiled faintly and shook his head.
"No. He's still alive. He teleported just before the blast reached him."
"Huh. Quite the reaction speed."
They floated high in the green-tinged sky of the Underworld.
Satoru's skeletal form radiated the shadow of death.
Beside him, Yuuji stood in his half-angel, half-devil form—white and black wings spread in perfect, impossible symmetry as a half crown of thorns and brilliant golden halo floated on his head. Divine radiance pulsed from the sword Est in his hand, its glow synchronized with the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
Aika had assumed her True Primordial Demoness form, twelve jet-black wings unfurled behind her, her elegant black dress trimmed in deep crimson, exuding an oppressive, ancient aura.
Erika stood transformed as well—her True Primordial Oni form, Shura. Black flames wreathed her form. On her hips, a long, cursed blade wreathed in the same black flames rested.
These four would deal with Rizevim directly.
The others watched from afar, ready to intervene in the slim—almost nonexistent—chance that something unexpected occurred.
In the distance, they saw him.
Twelve devil wings beat unevenly against the sky. His once-pristine suit hung torn and scorched from his body. Rizevim Livan Lucifer hovered in the air, barely steady.
Now that the first strike had been delivered, there was no need to conceal themselves. Their auras were immense, monstrous. Though they did not purposefully emanate their aura, even from such a distance, their presence pressed against Rizevim's senses like a mountain.
He noticed them instantly.
"You…!"
Shock twisted into fury.
Magic power exploded from him in a violent surge—greater than even his late father, the original Lucifer. It was a power capable of challenging gods.
In his rage, he flung out his arm.
Thousands of condensed demonic bullets materialized, each one dense enough to shatter castles, to level cities. Crimson-black streaks tore through the sky toward Yuuji and the others.
None of them moved.
Erika stepped forward calmly, placing one hand on her scabbard and the other on her katana's hilt.
In one smooth motion, she drew Murasame—the Cursed Sword of Absolute Severance.
Jet-black flames erupted along its elegant blade. And with a single sweeping slash, a tidal wave of darkness poured into the heavens.
The sky itself seemed to ignite.
When the demonic bullets met the black flames, they did not explode. They were erased.
In an instant, thousands of projectiles vanished, replaced by flames darker than the void.
"Impossible…"
Rizevim breathed.
He had activated his Sacred Gear Canceller—a unique ability he had developed to nullify nearly all Sacred Gear powers.
It did nothing.
The flames did not falter. They did not waver.
And they were getting closer.
A chill of instinctive dread ran down his spine. Rizevim abandoned pride and dove downward, fleeing the advancing inferno.
The flames passed through the space he had occupied—Then dissipated.
Not naturally. They faded with intent.
It was then did he realized a terrible fact.
The wielder had chosen to let them disappear.
Which meant— If she had not, they might've burned eternally.
'So it's them… The mysterious faction…'
He thought, teeth grinding.
Unknown magic. Unknown powers. Unknown identities.
"So you've finally shown yourselves!"
He roared, spreading his arms.
"Good! Very good! You've saved me the trouble of hunting you down! Now—let's dance in hell together!"
Spells and demonic bullets exploded outward as he shot forward at blinding speed.
Then— His body grew heavy.
His wings strained harder to keep him airborne.
His magic flickered.
Every spell he had cast vanished mid-flight.
"What—?! Kgh—!"
The suppression lasted only an instant.
He felt his magic return. But before he could do anything, something invisible carved across his torso.
Blood sprayed.
He hadn't seen a blade. Hadn't felt a weapon touch him.
But the wound was real.
Turning sharply, he glimpsed a black-armored knight lowering his sword.
"You dare—! A mere summon—!"
He retaliated instantly. Demonic bullets hammered against the knight's shield, each one blocked with perfect precision.
Rizevim retreated, creating distance.
He tasted iron.
The slash was deep. Even his high-speed regeneration was struggling against it.
He unleashed a barrage of lesser bullets—fewer in power, greater in number—filling the sky in chaos. Beneath the cover of explosions, chanting under his breath, Rizevim began preparing a large scale spell.
'Buy time. Once this finishes—I must retreat.'
He was prideful, not foolish.
Unlike the three whose arrogance had left them without heads, or even a corpse.
He would accelerate Trihexa's awakening. Release the chaos dragons. Let the beasts of destruction handle these monsters.
The explosions created a veil of flame and smoke.
Hidden from sight, he began activating his large scale spell, while also beginning to prepare a teleportation spell.
"Begone—GHHKKH—!"
He coughed.
Not blood. Jet-black liquid spilled from his lips.
A searing pain slithered up his body.
He looked down.
Black vines, adorned with blooming roses, coiled around him.
"Get off!"
He tore at them.
One vine split— Three more grew.
Thorns pierced his nearly invincible flesh. Lethargy weighed down his limbs.
He gritted his teeth.
If only he kept his protective wards and magic items with him… If only he had cover… If only he had back up to protect him, be his meat shields to buy time for him to escape.
'No… They did it on purpose…'
It was then did he realized.
The initial strike.
It wasn't meant to catch him off guard and kill him outright. It was to destroy everything around him.
His cover, his magic items, his subordinates. They destroyed everything, all to put him in this corner.
'Clever bunch…'
He thought, gritting his teeth. So much more irritating than a powerful enemy were clever ones.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, he felt a searing pain that painted his mind white.
"AAAAARRRGHHHH!!!!"
His throat strained in pain from his scream, but the pain paled far in comparison than the ones he felt from his legs, arms, and back.
As if plunged into the lava from the deepest part of hell, the pain overwhelmed his mind. And only after a moment did he realize.
He had lost feeling, lost control over his limbs and wings.
He looked down, and saw that from the knees and elbow, the rest of his limbs had begun falling down from the skies.
Right by them, twelve familiar jet-black wings fell along with them.
And before his brain, wreaked with pain and confusion, could barely process what happened, he felt a forceful tug in four directions.
Shadowy black chains erupted from nowhere, binding what remained of him and suspending him midair.
His wounds would not heal.
The cut… Divine energy burned within them—far more potent than even the God of the Bible's light.
"You finally stopped buzzing like a fly."
He slowly lifted his head with great effort.
The pain still wreaked his body and perception, but he was still able to see the four figures he had previously seen only from afar.
A large skeleton adorned in expensive looking wizard's robes.
A beautiful horned female devil with feather-black wings.
A female oni, a type of demon from the eastern regions, wreathed in black flames.
And finally… An abomination even Rizevim couldn't even comprehend.
"What… are you…?"
A half-demon, half-angel.
He had never seen such ridiculous beings before.
Two sides of absolute contradiction in one body… This went beyond the balance breaker of the sacred gears.
This was a complete abomination of nature.
The half-angel, half-demon man looked at him in silence. He didn't even bother to answer him.
Gritting his teeth, and his logic clouded by pain and confusion, began to activate the teleportation spell he had prepared. But when he tried to activate it…
*Shatter*
The magic circle cracked like glass.
"What…?"
"It's useless."
Yuuji said calmly.
"This is no longer the reality you know."
Rizevim glared at the beings before him, thinking they were the ones who canceled his teleportation spell.
But he hadn't felt anything from them. Not even a tiny spike of magic…
"H-Huh?! What are you saying?"
The jet-black chains rattled against his struggle. With his strength, even in such a state, even magical chains would've been broken. But it didn't even budge a bit.
"This is a separate dimension. A different reality. One controlled by us. You've been here for quite a while."
Before arriving, Albedo had transported Rizevim into her own created realm with her [Dream of Reality] ability. Before Rizevim even knew it, he was already trapped without a way to escape.
There had never been escape.
"Now…" Yuuji said softly, stepping forward.
"Die obediently."
[True Death]
He pointed a finger towards Rizevim's forehead.
And the devil's grin twisted into madness.
"Hah! As if I'll die! I'll leave this place! I'll live another day! And I'll find you… You, you , and you! All of you! I'll make sure all of you and those who hold wish for death! I'll torture them all in front of all of you! One by one! Until you all die by my ha-!"
Light disappeared from his eyes… His manic face froze in the moment of death, before slackening into a dazed expression.
"Ughh… How disturbing…"
Erika muttered.
She stepped forward and pressed Murasame's flame-wreathed tip against his chest.
Black fire consumed him.
Not flesh. Not bone. Not even ash remained.
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AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!!
Also, if you'd like to read additional chapters ahead and get a pdf version (Light & Dark), please feel free to check out my at patr_eon.com/verglasx ~!
Thank you~!