Chapter 75: Their Legacy
The vast territory where the Kingdom of Hell existed was incredibly extended and still contained some areas that were still forbidden or even unknown to the knowledge of the most recent maps about the place.
It was the 'dark' equivalent of how stretched the lands on Earth were, thus it was easy to understand how the limited population available in the underworld, most of which were usually living on Earth proper rather than in Hell, would be far too little to properly 'domesticate' the lands that were rightfully theirs.
That and… the aggressive and genuinely powerful wildlife lingering there and giving problems to those few explorers that actually dared the unknown for the sake of wealth and knowledge. The monsters weren't merciful, only pieces of clothes survived the massacres learned by the patrols sent to find the wandering people.
An issue that had been there for centuries now and… that was now being used by Lilith to create the perfect training regiment for both me and Vali. The lands were unforgiving, but the woman was far worse to deal with as she had been fairly serious with her demands.
We had to train for a full week, to improve and to gain experience from fighting with the natural fiends living in the span of several acres of ice and fire. It was a mixed biome that contained the worst kind of mythological animals to ever exist, some even known only by older religions than Christianity itself.
It had been incredibly sudden, the redhead just presenting herself the day after I had fused with Vali. Sporting a wide grin that gave off only giddiness, amusement and an outstanding amount of determination, Lilith was quick to set us 'flying' right where we were supposed to train for seven difficult days.
I protested and so did her 'grandson', but the woman wouldn't care nor listen as she merely went to set up a terribly-powerful barrier all over the region where we had to train for the time given. Of course, our first interest was trying to destroy the barrier and end this stupid and senseless attempt as we had already made sure to create a training schedule for our team, but just as we prepared to blast out of that ridiculous attempt… other people decided to join her up in the formation of the energy-sphere.
Azazel, Baraqiel, and the Four Maous were soon giving out their energy to further increase the power of the barrier, giving me a terrible and panicked sense of understanding about what was happening right now. While the barrier itself, on a visible perspective, was giving me nothing to work with and seemed fairly unique and new, the presence of those individuals, coupled with the raw power imbued in that 'cage' around Vali and I, were enough to remind me of something similar that had been used in the Canonverse of DxD.
It was the barrier that the Maous and Azazel used to contain and seal themselves away with Trihexa, the same powerful spell that had saved the world at that time, when the Brigade had freed the Beast of Apocalypse.
And while I was unwilling to spend unneeded energy on something I knew that I couldn't pierce, Vali decided to test out the barrier's integrity, grimacing as his powerful punch that had been enchanted with his Sacred Gears' inner strength and his demonic energy had all but failed to even chip at the spell.
We were thus stuck to fend off against the unrelenting wildlife for seven long days, the first two spent together as we tried to keep up a basic truce of not fighting each other until we were out, while the rest were spent without the white-haired douche as the Lucifer had gone up and left during the night of the second day.
I was annoyed at the unexplained disappearance at first, knowing that Vali was maybe trying to get develop beyond my current level as he was aware of the difficulty of doing so with me being around. Understandable, but I had set my plans to first beat the crap out of him and then prank hard those that had all taken part about this situation.
Irritation was enough of a deterrent to pursue the moron early on, my mind settling on actually looking around for any structural weakness over the barrier. Something this big had to have some flawed sections that were more susceptible to strong hits, enough to break a small opening that would have him leaving and go home.
I was determined, I was starting to feel hungry and… I discovered that grand salamanders tasted like fish with a chicken-like flavor. It's odd to explain, but I can say for sure that it was edible and quite refreshing compared to the infuriatingly-strong animals.
I don't know if the WWF extended its reach over supernatural beings, but I sure wasn't minding the morality behind eating non-sentient monsters that were out to eat me up. I merely returned the favor and… it was good food to try and enjoy in the harsh predicament I had been thrown into.
It was annoying, but also to a fair degree rather nostalgic. It's been a month or two ever since I had to seriously put forward the full-extent of my mind to move through the fiend-dense forests and tundras. I wandered deep and long through the massive region, going from a wet tropical biome to a cold and unforgiving mountain.
I ended up 'meeting' with some interesting creatures that I had heard in the past, but never thought of encountering anytime soon. Many, from Ice Demons to Chenoos, were incredibly wary of my presence and never dared too close to where I was, either out of fear or because they were conscious of their lacking numbers and strength.
Yet Wendigos proved to be the more active of the bunch, their intense and raw interest over my 'succulent' body being more than enough to drive them far and long to try and catch me off-guard.
When I first noticed the growling monster, the first to try and approach me, I had been partially-surprised and shocked of what I was looking at. This specific monster was given different aspects in various supernatural-related series, each giving them a unique detail to make them 'new' and 'scary'.
The one I had been looking at had the most known of the appearances given to Wendigos. It stood on its hinder legs, bones slightly bend and creaking, reaching an imposing height of four to five meters. Muscled arms with easy-to-see black veins on its dark-blue fur and then… a threatening snarl from its boney face, similar to the skull of a deer because of its antlers and pronounced muzzle.
I didn't engage the fight, my quick-thinking rewarding me with the fact I ended up dodging the sudden appearance of two more of the creatures trying to lie an ambush on me. Something that failed and gave me the opportunity to make a quick run out of that specific section of the tundra, only ending up getting chased thorough the place, the hunters giving no relief to the 'human' they were hunting.
These interesting bastards proved to be far more complicated to understand, their nature being mre complex than anything I had fought back in that tundra and urging me to give even more attention to face properly. Blasting my way through was something I couldn't do, my core recharging far slower than how much energy I required to steam-roll them, and I wished to avoid getting encircled and tired out too easily.
The deer-like fiends have a primal need for human flesh and my prominent scent among other beings that had lived there was easy to find with their strong noses and it had then running for me recklessly and mercilessly, never stopping a moment to investigate properly what the explosive light balls I had left for them to run into were supposed to do.
Having them to either explode, get vaporized or outright burned ended up giving me a renewed amount of food for day four and five, something that managed to keep me well-fed until I concluded my trip through the mountain and… I ended up in the worst place possible.
The heat was now unbearable, the ground was dark as coal as several cracks along the floor sported light-orange/red flames coming from those. It was magma trying to reach out from its original place, the gases containing in the dangerously-hot muddy substance being enough to propel some outside, but not enough to turn it into lava.
From the freezing temperatures to the ones that would easily see me melting given enough proximity to the hot liquid flooding underneath the ground I was walking, I was now sure that I had to truly find a way out or death would become a possible option for little old me.
I had to put away some of my clothes on one of the bags I had with me, leaving only my half-sleeved shirt and my pants rolled up to give relief to my tired legs and feet. After six days of relentless fighting to survive against the endless horde of monsters of various kind, I was indeed starting to get a little exhausted from the continued fighting.
I had no Phoenix Tears with me, Lilith having made sure that we had our reserves stolen or destroyed before leaving us here. Trying to have a battle and avoid getting even a lucky hit on me passing proved to be quite the strenuous labor to endure.
In the end, I merely tried to find a safe place where to rest and recover for the last day. I had improved… but I was unsure about how much I had. With my mind focusing on the ever-existing threats planning against me, I was left unsure over the full-extent of my improvement and…
Then I found a cave away from the horrid heat of the volcanic section of the region. It was much cooler and it was a desolate place where darkness and shadows offered some refuge from the monsters patrolling around for any easy preys.
I sighed calmly as I managed to get a sit by one of the further corner of the hiding spot, my eyelids trying their best to close as the sudden lack of light was enough to get me needy of some quick rest before resuming my walk.
Yet, even though my eyes closed and my body relaxed, I couldn't find any sleep from that sturdy floor and wall I was trying to use as 'bed'. I was relaxing, stuck in what looked to be a state of stillness but also full-awareness.
My heartbeat was eased, lulled by my heightened senses bringing up the complex nature of the magical leylines within the region. So much magic was fluctuating, so much natural energy and… I felt my mind wandering away even further, logic fading as I let my body succumb to the need of some rest.
Shiranai and Apophis were screaming at me to stay awake, to not fall asleep in that moment of weakness. I was still in danger and I couldn't afford to sleep in a moment where my limited reserves were starting to run low and required some attention.
But I was just… too tired.
And went to sleep.
What followed was… probably the strangest dream I had ever experienced until now.
It wasn't anything about the world I was in… but rather about…
The past.
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It was morning and I wasn't feeling any of the terrible heat I had endured until that point, my body was tensing up a little, distancing itself from the sleepy tone that had once coated it to rest. I was mere moments from waking up, my brain slowly picking up the fact that I was lying on some soft bed, the pillow on the side giving me some strange confusion over what had happened.
Just as my eyes were finally opening, I heard a familiar whistle and something like a mug being settled by the bedside. My eyes snapped open at the noise, but the post-sleep blurred sight proved to be an issue for little old me.
A yawn was suppressed the moment I heard the door of
my room closing, a feminine figure going out of it after leaving the steamy cup of coffee near my bed. I blinked numerous times and… then I felt relaxing.
The yawn finally reached out from my lips as I didn't have any reason, I decided to slowly get up from
my bed. A sense of familiarity and safety, my brain reverted out from the need of training and to protect people as I was once again back to where everything had 'started'.
The vivid dream, the one that had seen me being a 'hero' was now over and I took a sip from my bitter coffee to validate this concept. It was hot, a little too much from my tastes as I felt my tongue almost melting at it.
Bad move, I chided myself as I proceeded to silently wander out of my room, my eyes scanning all around me. My guard was relaxed, non-existent even as I ended up walking through the cramped hallway that led right to the living room.
The room was a mix of kitchen and normal living room, something born out of convenience rather from willingness to have it displayed in that manner. The house was small compared to many of the villas present on the street where it was sited, but still big enough to keep me,
mom and dad.
I blinked, a small smile forming on my face as I went to greet the two individuals in question.
"Good morning~." I half-yawned, my stare alternating at my parents as both seemed to be busying themselves with different activities. Dad was reading some newspaper, seemingly groaning at some bad news about the current situation about the economy.
He was wearing a normal set of formal clothes for work, his black hair kept short and starting to graying after years of enduring some difficult tasks at the workplace.
Mom was happily humming as she was finishing cleaning up the dishes, she was wearing a flower-themed dress with an apron to cover it from the splashes of water coming from the sink, her blonde hair were tied down and short to avoid getting those stuck somewhere annoying.
Both turned with their respective smiles at me, seemingly glad to receive my greeting and replying with their own.
"Good morning, Tommy."
"'Morning, champ."
I nodded at them and slowly made my way right by the table as I settled down to read the last alerts from my phone. Hundreds messages from social groups, some little news about work and some spam reaching my email.
"Anything new, dear?" The lovely woman asked as she took off her apron and approached to see what I was doing. "Something about possible promotions or-"
"Mom," I groaned with a tiny smile. "I remember telling you that they wouldn't promote someone as young as me. I'm… I'm just too inexperienced."
"And you aren't recommended by any rich fellow," The older man admitted with a bitter huff as he folded his newspaper. "Work is just a harsh environment where to develop, just a few of people your age manage to get a stable one."
"Always the cheerful one..." I mused, getting a sigh from him.
"Son, I still believe in you. I know that you are good- no,
better than any of your colleagues at this stage of your life," Dad replied quickly, appearing rather panicked at the glare mom was giving him. "But I wish to also remind you that life isn't… as hope-driven as we all want it to be. I know you will go far but-"
"It will not happen anytime soon, I know that." I sighed, giving a sad smile back at the man. "I know you care, dad."
He smiled back and nodded, while mom started to pull me in a hug from behind.
"My little Tommy is a big man with his new job!" The woman squealed in glee at the recent news. I remember getting that job by the local administration just a few days ago, this being my first day and- "I wonder when you will finally end up having your own house and… your lovely wife."
I blushed a little at the sudden interjection, the teasing tone the lady took more than enough to have me flustered as she started to pinch my cheeks. "And I want some grandchildren too, you dummy."
I chuckled and she giggled, dad just deigning a head-shake and a snort at the mirthful scene.
"Remember to also take care of your family, boy. You can't certainly forget about them." He warned, getting a smile from me.
"Of course!" I exclaimed with determination and mom sighed.
"That means taking care of your parents," She hummed happily, her throat hiding a giggle around the corner. "But also of Kunou, Koneko, Ophis and Lith."
…
"W-What?"
Mom sighed and smiled as she interrupted the embrace and walked by dad, the man having completely ditched the newspaper as both parents were now staring at me. I was shocked by what I had just heard, my soul storming in with the memories of that curious vivid dream-
which was actually the truth, my eyes glowing in realization that…
Everything here was- it has to be fake!
"Son."
The curt reply from dad was enough to take my attention back as the man sighed. "This isn't… truly a dream." He failed to explain.
"It's true to the fact that the house and… the food is fake," Mo-
The woman looking like 'Mom' said. "But the explanation about our presence, our real selves, is a little more complicated and… even difficult for us to understand."
"You mean for me, darling," The man scoffed with another head-shake. "I never believed to anything about deities and all of that shoddy stuff, but then
he came to help us."
Mom huffed and bashed dad on the head. That very motion was just… so unique and who was 'he'?
"When you first disappeared after the first day at work… I thought that you had been kidnapped." She said with a now-sad tone. "I had gone to the police with your dad, explained the situation and tried to have them finding you but… you went missing for five months. No sign or clues were found my the detectives and… we thought you-"
"Nonsense, dear," Dad jumped in, standing up as he pulled his wife close to him to try and give her some comfort. "L-Let us talk about what 'he' said."
There was a pause, I was getting more confused and more aware that things were far off from what I had them initially thought. This was the dream, there shouldn't be any explanation behind the apparitions before me.
I had passed out because of soreness and heat, nothing about something a little more complex-
"I-It was a blessing!" Mom finally spoke, her tone lifting up and showing some awe at what had happened back then. "I-I've always believed in His existence and… and He granted us a new hope. He told us about what happened to you, that you were alive and-"
"Who is He?" I interrupted with a stern tone. "Tell me who is 'He'?!" I added with a stronger voice, making the woman jump a little while dad's glance hardened at the tone I had gotten.
"She is speaking about God," He revealed. "The Big G himself, the one that-" Mom elbowed him before the old atheist could have gone too far with his words.
"God?" I parroted with a confused look. What were they talking about? There was no magic back to the world were they were from and-
"He exist!" The woman replied back with a big smile. "He was so kind and mindful, he told us so much about you and your adventures. About the people you befriended and fought, about those you saved or defeated," She giggled. "About the lovely ladies that are now closing up to get you in a true relationship and… about the cute little ones you are family to."
She ended with a squeal. "To think that someone as adorable as those cuties exists!"
"D-Dear, you are digressing-" Dad tried to restore some sanity to the discussion much to mom's pout.
"Y-You are right, hun," The woman huffed and then smiled once more as she stared right at me. "He told us everything, he showed us all the things you have to brave so determinedly and strongly." Her smile softened. "You were meant to do something so grand and good but..." She sniffed, her eyes sporting some tears. "You went beyond that and you proved me to be better than what I hoped for you to be."
"M-Mom-" I barely saw her rushing for another hug, her head digging on my shoulder as the tears started to fall.
"I… I would like to really have you back," The woman sobbed. "My b-baby boy, so brave and strong." I put my arms around her neck and smiled sadly.
"B-But now… now you have a responsibility to them." Her tone cracked a little but she seemed serious with her words. "Y-You have people that have put their faith in your, their hopes and dreams."
"You have also people that loves you so intensely, kid," Dad intervened with a cheeky smile. "Lovely women that are truly into you and would end up crying if you mess things up because you forget your mission."
"And we don't let girls cry..." I pointed out softly getting a snort from my old man.
"Damn right, son!" The man said with a big grin. "We are going to keep watching, to make sure that you will succeed with what you are trying to do, that you will end up winning against the monsters trying to ruin the beautiful world around you."
I opened my mouth, ready to renew the promise when… I felt a pair of hands descend on my cheeks, bringing my face up as I stared at the teary-eyed face of mom.
"But this isn't an oath or a promise to forget ever again," She said with a strong voice. "I want you to make this your life mission, to finally accept the fact that, you will never mess up ever again until you truly believe in yourself and those around you." The woman's smile was twitching in sadness. "So… don't forget who you truly are, my child."
I felt my brain burn at the words, I felt tears running and as I was about to reply everything collapsed and…
~I woke up back in the cave.~
I blinked in shock as I felt the soreness and the unpleasant touch of the heat upon my exposed skin, my mind recovering from what I had just assisted and… I sighed.
Good morning, you idiot. You almost died and-
Soon, my brain focused on the issue at hand, the barrier still existing outside and… I had to break it. But how and-
Are you even listening to what I'm saying?
The encouraging words from mom burning brightly in my soul and I felt the solution at hand. It had always been there, that little problem about the Senjutsu Mode that had always hindered its true potential. That very limitation that I never dared to approach for fear of losing myself.
Hello-
"Of course," I mused quietly as I stood up and started to make my way back to the entrance of the cave, eyes preparing for the light coming from the outside after spending so much time in the shadow. It was blinding at first, my eyes wasting some time to adjust to the illumination and… then I stared up at the barrier.
I had it as my main priority, my main target and… now I had to have it to blow up to smithereens. I breathed in and out, then addressing the ignored Shiranai.
We need to use the Senjutsu.
You can already access that without asking and why weren't you answering-
And this time don't filter the negative energy.
Wait what-
Trust me-
NO! You better tell me what is it or-
I… I saw them.
...What?
I saw them, mom and dad.
Apparitions-
They were real. They know what I'm doing and… they want me to-
Continue to do your best?
You-
It's not difficult to remember what they wanted from us but… I thought you were already putting your best efforts out but… are you sure about it? Your body couldn't-
I think it will work, but I need your help.
As always. Let us do this, my lord!
I felt the familiar pressure starting to coax my entire body, I could feel the sudden burst of energy filling my reserves but I could also feel the sudden presence of malicious corruption reaching out for my core, trying to take it and cause it to rot.
But… then said corruption halted its advance, quickly pulled away from the path it was taking and right onto my reserves. There it was then rendered mine to control and use and… I felt stronger than before.
A silver-like aura forming around me replaced the former dark mist and I felt ready to proceed with the barrier-busting. I crouched a little and brought my hands close to my side, chanting the beam I was mostly familiar with.
"
Kame..." I felt normal magical energy, light one and… dark one mixing.
Wait, that means-
I know what I'm doing.
"
Hame..." I could feel the two opposing energies clashing with each other within the growing sphere of magic. Further magic was involved to stabilize the process, the attempt being fairly difficult to maintain for long. I had to be quick.
"
HA!" The blast shot right it would usually do, but instead of the bright blue color, the beam was actually a light-gray with white and black lightnings crackling all around it. It took it some time to reach the barrier and then… I felt it resisting.
The powerful spell was holding well against the blast, but it was creaking and having some problem to tank it when directed at one specific spot. I continued with the beam even thought I could feel my entire reserves being drained by the brief skirmish of magical offense and defense, the containment effort starting to wavering the more it continued and… then it happened.
My face lightened up as I saw cracks starting to spread all over the barrier and then it finally broke, large magical shards disappeared before impacting on the ground, giving me further proof that… it was over.
I grinned as I fell on my knees, my breathing turning labored as my core had strained a lot with what I just did. Uniting Light-Magic with Dark-Magic had been something I've been thinking about for a long time now and… I've never considering taking the Final Flash as the basis of what I just did.
The Final Flash was the combination of two 'rejecting' energies that once combined would unleash a powerful blast, the only issue being that it requires the user to be capable of keeping the spheres stable until the explosion happen
and then manipulate the explosion to create a beam of light.
I closed my eyes as I felt rain pouring down on me. Now that the barrier was down, the water could finally descend even in that hellish area of… hell.
And while I rested a while in that moment of satisfaction, I was completely unaware of Lilith's confused stare at my current appearance. Instead of the dark mist dignifying the fact I was still in my Senju form, it was my hair that showed that I was still not back to normal.
Instead of my jet black-hair in that form, I had silver-hair and red eyes. Just like Lucifer.
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AN
The Hermit Week is over, I enjoyed Christmas and the New Year with my family and… we are back on track. I hope you all enjoyed the festivities with your families and those you hold dear as the story is now back!
