Chapter 76: Pride (II)
"Umbra Domain."
Tephos' voice dripped with menace.
In an instant, all color was drained from the coliseum. The faint dark-purple light the Underworld's sky provided mercilessly swallowed whole.
Up. Down. Left. Right. It didn't matter, Alduin would be facing pitch-blackness all the same, his sense of vision no longer had any function.
"So this is your ultimate move…" The Buné chuckled somewhat nervously. Even Fafnir's Golden Aura appeared to have been rendered useless, unable to shine in the presence of the dark world Tephos had conjured around him.
A feat worthy of no less than one of the Underworld's top devils.
"So it is," Tephos answered.
Umbra and Speculum started to rise, losing their two-dimensional shell in favor of a tangible, three-dimensional one. Their crimson and azure eyes gleamed with heightened power, the kind that made either of them seem more than capable of tearing Alduin in two with a mere touch.
And Tephos' servants were no longer limited to just them. One after the other, tangible, shadowy creatures popped up within the domain. None of them came even close to reaching the main duo's power, but their numbers made up for what they lacked in individual might.
Not to mention that the ranker was perfectly capable of shadow-swapping with any one of them. His teleportation reached a plane where any predictions Alduin could make would be rendered meaningless.
In the world of darkness, Tephos' power reigned supreme. Alduin was but an ant who had tried to fly too close to the sun by overestimating his own abilities and gravely underestimating that of his opponent.
"You are a gusty kid, and Lord Lucifer seems to hold some fondness for you, so as a courtesy, I'm going to go ahead and give you a chance to save yourself the humiliation." The Beur's voice resonated with absolute confidence, as he had just adorned an impenetrable suit of armor. "Do you yield?"
"Yield?" Alduin breathed a hollow chuckle. "Yeah, I should probably yield, shouldn't I?"
[Parasite.]
For the first time in a while, Fafnir called out to him.
[You know what you have to do if you want to win: you need more of my light. My sealed strength isn't enough to beat him.]
'Oh? Is that concern I hear in the big dragon's voice? I'm touched.'
Unamused, Fafnir scoffed.
[Now isn't the time for your antics. You want to win, don't you? If you're serious about running this overarching gauntlet you've cooked up for yourself—use it.]
Alduin exhaled, looking up and rubbing his hands down his face in resignation.
'If I do, it might lead to me revealing your Governor's secret. You sure that's what you want?'
[Hmph. I know how Azazel operates far better than you do, he doesn't need some brat looking out for him, so just use my damn power and get this over with! What kind of dragon lets himself fall without using everything he has?]
'Haha, fair enough.'
With his Senjutsu and other four senses guiding him, Alduin faced where Tephos was standing.
"Sorry, but it seems like I'm about to do something pretty reckless."
Tephos sighed. "Is that so? How unfortunate."
Despite his confidence, he wasn't going to just stand there and let the young upstart do as he pleased. With the snap of his fingers, he sent every shadow at his disposal, including Speculum and Umbra, bolting towards him. Prepared to make an example of the odd Ultimate-Class who believed himself capable of taking not just one, but five rankers.
"You…"
But the instant his shadows were about to make contact, something changed.
"...How?"
Even while enshrouded in total darkness, Alduin began to emit a faint, rapidly expanding shine.
Somehow, Fafnir's Golden Aura was resisting Tephos Beur's Umbra Domain. The Dragon King's might continue to pulsate and grow with reckless abandon, holding the ranker's shadows at bay as their corporal forms squirmed and writhed in agony.
Panicked, Tephos gathered every ounce of demonic power his fingertips could muster. Forcing his shadows to endure through their anguish and throw themselves at Alduin's radiant figure. Even though he was beginning to resist, the Buné was technically still within Tephos' domain. If he managed to create some kind of opening through Alduin's all-encompassing defense, there was a possibility he could regain his upper hand.
[Downfall Dragon Spear: Balance—Break!]
Or so he thought.
Golden Aura's incremental rise ceased, and an unparalleled explosion of power took its place. The blinding glow forced Tephos to shield his eyes as Umbra and Speculum gathered right beneath his feet, too afraid to speak or challenge their master's opponent.
"You're not so bad yourself, Tephos Beur. Honestly, I'm not sure any of the others up there could push me to fall back on a crutch like this."
Slowly, Alduin's form was revealed.
The bright-green, cryptic marking that appeared on his chest when he was about to use Dragonification was present. Though its verdant hue only lasted for a moment before being replaced by Fafnir's signature gold. The same regal color highlighted parts of his ashen hair, and overcame the eerie glimmer of his irises, replacing his pupils with a blood-red coloration.
'Hm. Fafnir, is this how it's supposed to work?'
[Doubt it, this isn't how it looks when Azazel used it, at least. You've probably activated one of those "sub-species" things he talked about.]
'So you're saying my version's more impressive?'
[Don't get a big head. He's a fallen angel, you're a draconic hybrid. It's only natural that your compatibility with me is higher than his.]
'Heh. A win's a win.'
Wings sprouted out of his back, completely luminescent and burning with Fafnir's bright-gold brilliance.
Alduin looked down at his palm, inspecting his power.
'Interesting, my full Dragonification hasn't been triggered, but this form is way too powerful to be called Partial Dragonification if I'm being honest. It's something else entirely, a feat that can only be achieved with Fafnir acting as the medium.'
Calmly, he hovered over towards the edge of Tephos' domain, arching his arm backwards and hammering his fist into the shadowy construct's barrier with all his might.
SHATTER!
In one blow, a top-ranker's trump card was eviscerated to nothingness.
"To be honest." Alduin began, looking down at Tephos from above. "I think you're capable of achieving a lot more on your own than with the King Piece, don't you think?"
Tephos' jaw hit the floor, his eyes looking up at Alduin's regal figure in a conflicted mix of awe and terror.
Unlike him, the Beur had nothing else hidden under his sleeve. That domain of his was the summit of his strength.
"I wouldn't know anything about that… however… I do know this." He swallowed his hesitation. "I cannot beat you, therefore, you have earned the right to decide my fate."
In line with his own principles, Tephos turned around and kneeled before Ajuka.
"I forfeit my King Piece."
Alduin nodded solemnly, looking up at the spectator stands where the rankers were standing.
"Next."
///
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"Bullshit!" Bedeze spat, disbelief annexing every inch of his face. How could Tephos lose?! And to a brat of all people?! He was the strongest ranker here, right behind himself! Perhaps even just as strong!
His enraged, cerulean eyes were locked onto Alduin's. The Buné's smug expression as he gestured for the next ranker to come down and face him felt like a slap on the face to everything Bedeze stood for.
'Calm down… I need to calm down! He's only beaten one of us, there's still four to go! Fighting Tephos must've taken a serious toll on his stamina… yes… even if the impossible happens, and he gets through these three, there's no way he'll have the energy to take me on!'
Tempted to bite his thumb, Bedeze glanced at Sirzechs. Wondering if the Satan had any plans on pausing the matches to give Alduin time to recuperate his strength.
'No… he said it himself. This was all mini-Sebastian's plan! If such a condition existed, then surely it would've been stated by now, right?'
Sirzechs gave nothing away, waving at the Abaddon while maintaining his usual courtly demeanor.
Though from Bedeze's warped perspective, he believed the Lucifer was mocking him. Taking delight in the highest present ranker's anxious display as he conspired with his young accomplice to deal a fatal blow to Zekram Bael, his benefactor's sphere of influence.
'I have to be attentive, I don't know how many rabbits that kid's going to pull out of his hat, but the more I analyze his powers and fighting style, the better my chances will be if it comes down to it!'
He turned to face the #9 spot holder, Dilra Marbas, the only woman among the piece-holders present. He could see how her lips were pressed together with trepidation, and how her palms were beginning to stain themselves with moisture. For a moment, he contemplated trying to give her some kind of pep-talk, but quickly threw the idea aside.
In all honesty, he didn't expect much from her.
'No matter, at least she'll be able to waste more of his stamina.'
///
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Before his next opponent met him on the coliseum's soil, Alduin deactivated his Balance Breaker. There was no need for him to use such overwhelming power against anyone other than Tephos Beur, whom he didn't expect to wield such strength and finesse, and Bedeze Abaddon, whom he did believe would be his toughest opponent out of the five.
The #4 wasn't the sharpest nail in the shed by any means, but he did hold his position for a reason. Zekram Bael didn't seem the type to collude with a complete idiot, or so he hoped.
Alduin watched as a woman jumped from the ranker-designated spectator booth and landed a few meters in front of him. She looked to be in her mid-20s, with a tall, athletic build shaped by centuries of combat and training. She fashioned her long, raven hair into a high ponytail in preparation for the battle that was about to commence. Her pale skin contrasted with the pitch-black armor she wore, etched with her house's sigil.
This was the Underworld's #9 ranker, Dilra Marbas.
The woman's sharp, golden eyes radiated with the desire to best the boy she was primed to face, and at the same time, masked the gradually building fear she felt towards him. This 'boy' had somehow brought down Tephos Beur after all, someone whom she, and every other ranker accounted for in Zekram's scheme, knew wasn't to be trifled with. A powerhouse with a mutation few had the strategic thinking or necessary countermeasures to overcome.
"There's no need to be nervous." Alduin's voice spoke to her, his tone gentle as a chime. "I know your piece is on the line, but this isn't personal, I assure you. My grudge is with Zekram Bael."
Dilra gulped, struggling to meet his gaze. "Why? What has Zekram done to you?"
"He got in the way of something he shouldn't have." Alduin's expression hardened. "But you don't need to worry about that, just try your best, and fight me with all you've got. As long as you do that, I assure you, you won't have any regrets. Regardless of whether you lose your piece or not."
'If anything, I'm doing you all a favour by snipping the strings Zekram's making you dance with. Sometimes the right medication comes with a little sting, but that doesn't make it any less effective.'
Alduin withdrew his hands from his back and assumed a defense-focused stance.
"Come! Show me what a top-ranker can do!" He beamed.
She took a deep breath, gathering her composure.
"As you wish."
Instead of facing Alduin head-on, Dilra started to dash from side to side. Moving around the coliseum in a seemingly random pattern, the only consistency being that she never came within more than ten meters of the Buné.
'Oh? Is that her Clan Trait?'
But Alduin's acute sense could tell her movements were anything but 'random'.
The more she moved, the more Dilra's body 'stored' the energy and friction her momentum produced. Like a stockpile. The intensity of her halcyon eyes appeared to glow brighter and brighter the more power she amassed.
House Marbas' Clan Trait was known as Infernal Momentum. The ability allowed their clansmen to store kinetic force from movement, impacts, and magical recoil and release it in a big explosive burst of destructive power. Throughout her entire family tree, Dilra was the one believed to be the most adept user.
That said, her family wasn't exactly a renowned line. Even with the King Piece, Dilra's demonic power just barely qualified her as Low Satan-Class. Unless she was about to whip about a technical masterclass as Tephos did, she'd have a hard time putting a dent in Alduin's armor, even if his last opponent had sapped a great deal of his stamina.
'Mm. This should be simple enough.'
To the confusion of most of the spectators above, Alduin made no attempt to put a stop to Dilra's stockpile before it reached its pinnacle. As a matter of fact, he didn't seem to be doing much of anything.
He simply readjusted his stance a little and allowed a thin sheen of Touki to envelop his skin.
For some reason, he believed he could not only take Dilra's full power, but do so solely by using his Senjutsu.
The ranker continued to dart all over the allotted battlefield, the demonic power she'd be able to unleash in a single instant rising from Low to Middle Satan Class. If she tried to store any more than that, her body would collapse like an overloaded vessel.
She didn't know what Alduin had in store for her, but after seeing his battle with Tephos, she knew it was bound to be quite the spectacle.
As he said, all she could do was give him her best shot, and if that wasn't enough, then she didn't have any chance of winning in the first place.
It was better to have failed trying than not to have tried at all.
In a split-second of decisiveness, Dilra made her move.
The golden hue of her irises faded and was replaced by a bleeding crimson as she primed her legs against the coliseum's wall, holding her body mid-air in a completely horizontal position, lowering her hips to the wall as much as she physically could. The ranker's thighs bulged with herculean-like power.
WHOOSH!
What could only be described as a red comet in devil form rocketed towards Alduin, the Buné still refusing to activate any of his other abilities as he faced his impending doom with an even, unbothered smile on his face.
0.09 seconds.
That was the amount of time left before Dilra's fist launched itself into Alduin's forehead and turned his head into a bloody splatter.
'Foolish girl, that all-or-nothing fighting style of yours reminds me of my student.'
In those 0.09 seconds, Alduin's perception changed. His Senjutsu blended into the five senses he bore, second only to his father among devilkind, and unified with them in perfect harmony.
Time froze.
Not literally, but through Alduin's eyes, that's what it looked like. His battle instincts that had been set ablaze by his battle with Tephos Beur overclocked as they had never done before. It opened the Buné's eyes to a world where the #9 ranker's trajectory became an open book, almost as if he were peering into the future.
Alduin pivoted his weight to his side, evading the punch and performing a palm-strike towards the sole of Dilra's foot, causing her straight line speed to experience a momentous increase as she continued to hurl forward, completely missing her mark.
CRASH!
Head-first, Dilra's body exploded into the coliseum's structure. A dust-cloud that would rival the spew of volcanic ash from an eruption, imploding throughout the field, kicking up a gale that swept Alduin's hair backwards and forced him to cover his eyes to prevent them from filling with dust.
"Yikes, that one might leave a mark." He sucked his teeth in second-hand pain. There was no doubt that the impact rendered Dilra completely unconscious.
In truth, there was absolutely no need for Dilra to commit to a full-power attack straight from the get-go. She could've danced around him here and there if he wanted, especially when he was using such a minimalistic fighting style. Had she done so, she would've had a chance to build a profile on Alduin's fighting style based on her personal experience clashing with him.
Yet, she didn't.
Instead, she overcommitted to a reckless, supercharged attack right out of the gate.
Why?
Because of fear.
The battle between Alduin and Tephos, including the immense display of power the former had shown at the very end to shatter the ranker's Umbra Domain, had completely ruined Dilra's mental preparation. In fact, she didn't even think she'd have to prepare at all. What possible chance did an Ultimate-Class Devil have against a Satan-Class? Much less Tephos Beur of all people.
Only to be proven so, so terribly wrong.
The only thing 'Ultimate-Class' about Alduin Buné was his demonic power. He wasn't some young upstart, he was a genetic miracle, or freak, depending on who you asked, sired by Sebastian Buné and Martha Sallos. He was a devil who possessed the strength of two legendary Dragon Kings, including the strongest one to have ever reigned within him. And most importantly, someone fully intent on dealing a fatal blow to Zekram Bael's total influence.
He could smile, wave, and quip all he wanted. The truth of the matter was that Alduin was enraged. He loathed Zekram, even though he had only met with the political powerhouse once, and for a rather brief period of time, that singular meeting was enough for the Bael to sicken Alduin to his core.
As a result, Dilra's approach was flipped on its head.
Instead of understanding her opponent, she overestimated him. You could even go as far as to call it a slip of ego. She expected Alduin to fight her with the same overwhelming show of force he had displayed against Tephos, only for him to switch to a highly technical, countering strategy instead.
And thus, she failed.
Wiping a trickle of blood from his nose, Alduin grinned.
"Next," he looked up at the stands.
The stamina he had just saved by taking Dilra out in such a manner would be crucial towards winning his next three matches.
///
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"Worthless!" Bedeze snapped.
Defeat? That he expected.
A complete, one-sided, meaningless defeat, on the other hand? He hadn't even considered the possibility.
She was supposed to force him to exert more of his limited stamina, then be defeated. But she had achieved the complete opposite! Not only did Alduin win, but he did so simply by utilizing a little bit of Touki. A power that didn't even draw from his demonic power reserves!
"Fimmil!" Like a maddened beast, he glared at the #7 ranker. "You better not let yourself be defeated like that!"
The Vassago replied with a cold snort. "You're seriously comparing me to Dilra? Man, that kid's getting on your nerves more than I thought."
Alduin's fight with Tephos demonstrated his impressive brute strength, and his 'battle', if you could even call it one, with Dilra just now demonstrated his impressive technical prowess. Both sides of the Buné's fighting style had been put on full display. There was virtually no chance any of the rankers from this point onwards would misread their young challenger.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." As Dilra had, Fimmil leaped from the spectator booth.
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