Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena's POV - September 7, 2008
"Are you ready?" I asked Bella, she just nodded seriously while holding Casull tightly.
"I am." She said seriously. I nodded and looked around.
We were in a vast dimension that I had created within the Dimensional Rift. It was a terrain large enough for Bella to fight effectively, and at the same time, stable enough so that the impending battle wouldn't shatter the dimension and drop us all into the Dimensional Rift.
Thanatos. Finally, Bella grew tired of waiting and was about to confront Thanatos to absorb his Authority. He lay on the ground, still asleep from the potion Riveria had forced him to drink. The only reason the Draft worked was because of Thanatos's sealed Arcanum, which kept him at a mortal level, and since his life wasn't in danger, his Arcanum wasn't automatically released.
"Very well, I'm waking him up." I told Bella with a final nod. "And remember, if things get bad, we'll intervene." I said seriously.
"You won't." Bella said, glaring at me, almost offended by the implication of my words. I just glared back at her.
None of us really knew how strong a Danmachi god would be. We had some ideas based on what Freya had told us, but even so, it was difficult to estimate his strength or get a real sense of it, since she hadn't personally witnessed Thanatos fight.
So, we were all prepared to fight Thanatos if things went wrong. And when I say all, I mean everyone here, even Lucius, despite being the least skilled fighter among us, and even Enid, despite hating to fight, but she'd come just in case.
Freya was also prepared to use her charm if anything went wrong. Although I hoped it wouldn't, I still couldn't help but worry about her. Bella finally just grunted, and I just snorted and shook my head.
Finally, I grabbed the potion before using magic to force the liquid down Thanatos's mouth and throat, into his stomach. The potion would take a few seconds to take effect, so I created a portal and moved away to where the group was.
"It's about to begin." I said simply as I stood up alongside the others. We were far away, but thanks to my eyes, I could see him easily, as if I were right beside them. I saw Thanatos suddenly rise to his feet. I used magic to create a screen that transmitted the sight and sound to those who couldn't see or hear.
"Where am I, and who are you?" Thanatos asked immediately, standing up. "And... why does the world feel different?" Thanatos asked, almost growling. "Where is Nine Hell? Loki's daughter?" he asked again quickly. Bella didn't answer at all; she simply picked up Casull and shot Thanatos in the stomach.
Thanatos barely made an effort to dodge it; he stood still as the bullet pierced his stomach.
"Idiot, I'll just return to Heaven." Thanatos mocked, seemingly unfazed by the pain. Then he blinked as seconds ticked by, and he didn't return to Heaven. "What?" he asked, frowning, then flexed his arms before a massive pillar enveloped Thanatos.
Thanatos's figure was shrouded as his Arcanum was released before the light vanished, leaving Thanatos visibly shocked. His appearance hadn't actually changed, though I could sense the enormous difference from here. I could feel his divinity striking me from so far away. The deathly sensation it evoked.
"What? I... released my Arcanum and wasn't returned to Tenkai?" Thanatos asked in surprise, ignoring Bella. "The protections of Uranus and the other gods failed? No... the world feels different, you—" he finally said, looking at Bella. "Did you do something to prevent me from returning to Heaven? How?" Thanatos asked immediately before smiling broadly. "You know what, it doesn't matter."
"I'll simply kill you, and then I'll continue. Thank you for releasing my Arcanum. This way, I can more easily fulfill my task of filling Heaven with new souls," Thanatos said with a huge smile. Then a massive scythe manifested in his hands and moved.
Thanatos moved much faster than his appearance suggested, fast enough that Bella could barely jump back, and still, she could not dodge the attack of the great scythe that descended upon her.
Bella raised her arm, enveloped in Haki, but the scythe sliced through it like butter before it could cut from her shoulder to her hip. I grimaced. Being connected to Bella, I could feel how that single attack somehow killed a couple dozen souls.
"So many souls! There are so many souls inside your body! Let me take care of them completely!" Thanatos said maniacally with a wide grin. Bella instantly reformed before dodging Thanatos's next attack. Then she drew Kazikli Bay, enveloped it in Haki, and slammed it hard into Thanatos's scythe.
Bella began speaking rapidly while defending and dodging; the chant ended, and Bella activated Kazikli Bay, Impaler Queen's Edict, and Will of D.read, her Noble Phantasm, a level-up magic, and a curse to reduce enemy parameters.
The first two activated with ease; enormous stakes began to emerge to attack Thanatos, while Bella's strength and speed increased by a step. But Will of Dread could be resisted and hadn't affected Thanatos in the slightest.
"Is that all you've got, mortal?! You went to the trouble of releasing my Arcanum and fighting a god head-on only to lose so pathetically?!" Thanatos laughed. Bella gritted her teeth and continued moving.
Bella spun around, dodging Thanatos' attack, or rather, preventing the attack from hitting her completely. The tip of the scythe left a small cut, enough to kill some of her souls, but it did not incapacitate Bella, so she continued moving.
She lifted Casull and fired multiple times; all the bullets were fired at a divine speed, almost point-blank. Thanatos moves just as fast; he turns his scythe in front of him and protects himself from her attacks. Bella appears behind him and tries to cut him with Kazikli Bay. Thanatos only turns his scythe and receives Bella's attack with the handle of his scythe.
Thanatos was stopped for a few seconds so that several stakes could be thrust toward him, attempting to impale him, only for the stakes to break upon impact. Bella grunted in annoyance before removing the stakes.
She moved swiftly and began using Kazikli Bay to absorb Thanatos's scythe attacks, moving just as fast as he did. In contrast, her other hand began firing constantly, but all were useless against Thanatos. With each shot, Bella sacrificed more organs to make each blast stronger than the last, but still, she got no results. Bella kept pushing until she began sacrificing souls for her own soul.
The attack was completely devastating compared to the others; this time, Thanatos frowned slightly, stepped back, and defended himself against the attack with his scythe, cutting the enormous attack in half.
Even so, I looked at his slightly steaming hand with a wound.
"Using souls as fuel? What an interesting weapon you have there," Thanatos said, narrowing his eyes. Bella only took a deep breath before her body turned into black miasma and hundreds of souls emerged from her, each forming a body, and each of them wielding a scythe. Harpes. Hundreds of Harpes that I had created.
Bella launched herself once more against Thanatos along with her souls; she was the first to arrive and attacked Thanatos at great speed. The other souls were slower, but they arrived in a multitude and tried to attack Thanatos.
Thanatos barely flinched as he turned his body, and his scythe cut them in half. Though none of the souls dissolved, they continued to move as they played, even without half of their bodies.
Bella enveloped her Kazikli Bay in her earthquake power and brought her spear down with force. Thanatos raised his scythe and took the blow head-on. The sky cracked from Bella's power before the ground shattered.
That didn't stop Bella's Souls. With Thanatos frozen in place, the souls attacked. The scythes struck Thanatos, slashing and piercing his skin. Thanatos barely frowned. He ignored Bella's attack, flung her back, and spun once more, this time with the scythe upside down. He struck all the souls, sending them flying away from him.
Then I looked at the wounds on his body.
"My wounds aren't regenerating; what are those scythes?" Thanatos asked, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Harpe's replicas. Bella just laughed maniacally, not caring about Thanatos's question, and lunged at him again.
Thanatos frowned, but responded in kind and continued attacking. He expertly dodged the scythe attacks while still reaping souls. Bella's soul supply was dwindling considerably, yet he didn't hesitate to keep attacking.
After several minutes of the exchange, Thanatos attacked Bella out of the corner of his eye, simply to push her away from him, but to his surprise, his attack connected, cutting Bella in half once again; this time, Bella reformed, still with Thanatos' scythe in her stomach, which continued harvesting souls inside her body.
Taking Thanatos by surprise, Bella immediately dropped her weapons and grabbed both of Thanatos's arms at the wrist. His body then clouded slightly, and more souls began to emerge. Thanatos watched in surprise and tried to back away, only for dozens of arms to burst from Bella's arms and torso, clinging to Thanatos's arms and scythe and holding him rigidly.
Then more souls emerged from Bella's body, each wielding a Harpe. The upper half of a woman burst from her leg, attacking from below with a Harpe. Two devils emerged from her back, one attacking from above with its own Harpe, and the other diagonally, aiming directly for her neck. A fourth emerged from her ribs; this time, its Harpe shot forward, aiming for Thanatos's torso.
Thanatos's eyes opened, and he tried to unleash his divine aura and power to push them away, but Bella clung to him with a deranged smile. The attacks rained down on Thanatos's body.
One of Thanatos' legs was instantly severed; the attack from above pierced his eye, and the other pierced his shoulder, cutting several centimeters diagonally and leaving a large wound between his neck and shoulder. Finally, the attack that struck his ribs connected with Thanatos' chest, though his heart was definitely not pierced.
Thanatos finally groaned in pain for the first time, releasing all of his divine aura.
"Enough, Mortal! Release me this instant!" Thanatos roared furiously, glaring at Bella with his single eye. Divinity—a normal mortal exposed to the divinity of a god—would have obeyed him instantly, instinctively. Bella simply smiled broadly and derangedly, an arm swinging above her head with Jackal clutched in her fingers.
The gun was placed against Thanatos's forehead as he tried unsuccessfully to escape. Finally, Bella sacrificed some souls in a single bullet and fired it immediately.
The bullet practically obliterated Thanatos's head with a single shot. Thanatos stopped moving, his remaining body weakened; Bella released him, and the corpse fell backward with a thud. Bella simply removed the scythe from her stomach with a grunt and threw it aside.
She was smiling broadly as she stared at Thanatos's corpse. I let out the sigh I'd been holding in since the beginning and moved immediately, creating a portal and stepping through it.
I appeared next to Bella with Thanatos's body. I didn't even hesitate. Cia appeared between my fingers before transforming into the Circle of Usurpation. I lifted her in my hands towards the sky, almost like an offering, and the words came out of my mouth.
"Oh Pandora, the all-giving woman, witch who brought forward all evils of this world and a shred of hope, claim this child as your newest daughter!"
The words left my mouth, but they seemed to resonate with the world itself and spread everywhere. The ritual began. I could feel the very essence of the Circle of Usurpation activating. I felt the weight of the ritual, the weight of the divine artifact, and I held it firmly.
"By the black arts that You and Epimetheus left behind, this is the sacred birth of an illegitimate child, shrouded in darkness, born of a fool and a witch. A secret of usurpation only made possible through the sacrifice of a god. May all those present bestow their blessings and their hatred upon this child!"
Then I felt it as I continued my proclamation. Shouts. Anger. Fury. I could feel dozens, hundreds of voices seeming to pierce through and fill my entire body. The full weight of the wrath of all the gods of heaven loomed over me like a threat. They were feeling it. They were feeling the death and usurpation of a god, one of their own. And they did not like this blasphemous act in the slightest.
I just smiled broadly, even though my nose started bleeding, even though tears of blood fell from my eyes, and even though my organs seemed to be being torn apart from the inside; I just smiled, looked at the sky, and continued speaking against the heavens, the gods, and nature itself.
"Pandora, grant your blessing to Bellatrix Prince."
"So that she may be reborn as the first god-slayer."
"King of Kings."
"Campione!"
Finally, I finished my proclamation, and then the sky fell silent. But now I felt a completely different weight. The essence of Thanatos, the weight of his soul, all his divinity, was drawn into the Circle of Usurpation and was held by my body and soul.
I breathed heavily as I began to manipulate the Circle of Usurpation. I could choose—no, I could direct—the essence of the authority that could be usurped. My control was limited at best, clumsy, I'd say. It was my first time using the Circle of Usurpation, and the tension in my body was mounting. Even so, I took my time. Though my body was being crushed, I began to direct the essence, the authorities of Thanatos, toward Bella.
Thanatos, son of the primordial goddess Nyx and her husband Erebos.
In Danmachi, he was a god of death, working to purify souls so they could reincarnate. Here in DxD, he was still a god of death, but he was also the most powerful soul reaper commanded by Hades.
Both of them presided over death, to a greater or lesser degree. So I clung to that before I started filtering out everything unnecessary. I needed to give Bella something useful; she didn't need to be able to summon an army of the dead, or open the gates of the underworld, or be able to reap souls with a scythe.
So I focused on the most important thing. Personification of death. God of peaceful death in some stories. God of death in a broader sense in others. He was the one who guided souls to the underworld.
With that, the Authority began to take shape, then it began to adapt to Bella, to her personality and her needs, and it began to take on a new form. Then I grabbed that new Authority and pushed it inside Bella, who immediately collapsed to the floor. I smiled broadly as I felt Bella's body begin to change.
Her body grew stronger, more resilient, enough to allow her to maintain the authority of a god within her body—what was expected of a devil king, a king of kings, a Campione!
I smiled broadly when the process finally ended. It was almost instantaneous, but for me, who had to bear the weight of all the divinity and hatred of heaven, it felt like hours, even days.
And I had definitely reached my limit when I staggered before falling unconscious with a satisfied smile.
Author's Notes: I didn't really know how to draw Thanatos, especially since there isn't much information about the gods in Danmachi without their Arcanum, so I tried to keep it simple, especially since I wanted to focus more on the other aspects and not so much on the fight.
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