Accel14
patreon
(TPD) Chapter 33: The Underworld Supremacy War (2)
🕑 Added 2025-01-13 13:51:31 +0000 UTCChapter 33: The Underworld Supremacy War (2)
Avalon observed Baraqiel intently, watching as he gathered a maelstrom of Holy Lighting around his fist, expertly imbuing his hand with the devil-countering ability like he had done countless times before—both during active combat and training.
But he didn’t stop there, sparks erupted around his feet as well in order to give his speed a drastic increase and help him gather as much momentum as possible beforehand.
Bolt Strike! Baraqiel catapulted himself forward, stopping right before he reached Avalon and planting his left foot into the ground, his arm reeling back all the way and lunging forth with the intent to blow his head clean off, the force he had generated guaranteed to shatter Avalon’s skull if he allowed the attack to hit.
He’s quite fast, but that’s not all that surprising considering that he’s a lightning-specialist, Avalon praised the attack inwardly, promptly side-stepping out of harm’s way with a level of speed that left Baraqiel utterly frozen. His destructive power is probably his strongest point, and it’s nothing to scoff at either. Unfortunately for the Cadre, Avalon’s speed and perception made reading and evading an opponent’s movements second nature to him, especially since he was still using a 50% controlled release.
Avalon’s arm bulged, his strength gathering by virtue of the Touki he had channeled beforehand before he pummeled his balled fist into Baraqiel’s abdomen. A chunk of spit flew out of his orifice as he was sent crashing into the distance, his back hitting the walls of a nearby house and destroying the piece of infrastructure in an instant. Rubble and debris falling down from above onto the Cadre.
Eurus observed the entire series of events with a calm expression, making no effort to come to her partner’s aid. “You didn’t go for the kill,” she commented idly.
“He wasn’t my opponent to fight,” Avalon replied, pointing to the two approaching figures in the distance, easily detectable by both him and Eurus, being none other than Albedo and Sapphire who he had brought with him. Even though neither of them were guaranteed to be capable of evenly matching Baraqiel on their lonesome, he was confident that they’d be able to take him on a serious battle together, at least while he was still in his weakened state from his bout with Wilbert.
“Suit yourself,” she shrugged. “But before we fight, you should probably tell me your name. It isn’t very fair if only you know mine is it?”
“It’s Avalon.”
She scoffed, “Avalon? Either you’re lying, or your parents really hate you.”
Actually, I’m not sure why they named me that either. Uninterested in further conversation, Avalon decided to forgo reaching for his kunai altogether and summoned his two-meter long blue-tinted katana—Muramasa, without a second thought. The Demonic Sword’s strength had been tempered even further from his fight with Armaros radiating at full force, earning a smirk of both amusement and approval from the female Cadre.
“That’s a fine blade you have there, I’m surprised you’re able to use such an aggressive sword without experiencing any backlash.”
He assumed a firm clasp over the blade’s hilt—staring Eurus down as he let the weapon’s alloy convey his intent for him.
“As you’ve probably guessed, the children you attacked back there were in fact mine. Like Baraqiel, I’ve also got a lust for vengeance on my mind.”
“That’s a shame, it’s harder to enjoy battle when your mind’s preoccupied.” Eurus held out her hand, Orion—The Hunter. Instead of a hunting knife, her stardust came together to create an elongated machete, the weapon appearing to be awfully familiar to her. “Oh well, you’re the least boring devil I’ve encountered thus far, so I’m sure you’ll be able to perform just fine.”
“You’re going to take me on in melee combat?” In spite of her undeniable might, she didn’t give Avalon the impression of an exceptional swordsman or hand to hand fighter.
“Yeah, but that isn’t the only thing I’m going to fight you with.” Ursa Major—The Greater Bear, Canis Major—The Greater Dog. Eurus snapped her fingers, creating a vortex of light-blue stardust that spewed out of her hands and coming together to create two anime constructs beside her.
A grizzly bear, and a dog that looked to be reminiscent of a German Shepard from its outline. Even though Eurus’s constellation magic was capable of creating utility constructs like Orion, or binding spells like Andromeda which she had used on Avalon when they first encountered one another, that wasn’t her specialty, nor what took up the majority of arsenal.
Her true specialty lied in summoning magic, most of the constellations under her command represented different animals which she could call upon to act as immediate familiars for her—and as she was displaying now, she appeared to be capable of summing more than one at the same time if she wished to do so.
“I’m still using the lower-end of my arsenal, so make sure to put on a good show if you want to see something more impressive.” She smiled, eagerly looking forward to how Avalon would respond.
He inhaled sharply, calming his mind before holding his left hand out in a claw shape. Spider Dance, hundreds of threads made out of Demonic Power bursted from his fingertips, wrapping around the limbs and torso of the bear and dog.
“A binding spell?” Eurus’s eyes widened, “Did you create one because I used Andromeda on you back then? Gosh, you really know how to flatter a woman.” Orion, hundreds of hunting knives appeared around Eurus, each of them precisely aimed at the threads entrapping her summons.
But his confidence didn’t waver, her casting speed is slower than mine. However, I’m already using up some of my battery by having a 50% release active. If I let the fight drag on I’m guaranteed to lose, my every micromovement has to be instant. Fox Fire spread from across the surface of his threads before Eurus’s knives could hope to sever them, her summons letting out a ghastly howl as their bodies were reduced to mere ashes. Hopefully she’s not capable of regenerating them immediately, if I’m lucky there should be some sort of cooldown period between uses.
Well that’s strange, Eurus scratched her temple. Azazel’s recording made me think he was more of a sword specialist, but apparently he’s also quite the competent mage. Or would it be more accurate to categorize him as both? Even though it had only been a year and a half since his battle with Armaros, Avalon’s fighting style had almost been completely overhauled—designed to make use of both his spellcasting ability and swordplay at the same time.
Avalon’s leaning posture informed Eurus that he was planning on closing the distance next, If I try to create another summon now he’ll probably just cut me before I can do so. Knowing that she would have to meet him with her own close quarters ability, Eurus decided to make use of her one and only strength-enhancing constellation. Cassiopeia—The Queen, a stardust crown formed on her head, alongside a royal robe reaching down from her shoulders to her feet.
Like Touki, Cassiopeia boosted all of Eurus’s physical traits, her offense, her defense, and her speed. Moreover, since her robe was created out of stardust which was an exceedingly powerful version of Light Magic unique to her, it had the added fact of preventing Avalon from touching it with his bare hands unless he wanted to succumb to its natural poisoning effect against devils.
Fortunately for him—he was using a Demonic Sword, a weapon designed to counter Light Magic and Holy Power.
Even if my skin just grazes that cloak I’ll be in trouble, it’d be safer to throw off her balance first before rushing in. To Eurus’s confusion, he decided to stab his blade into the road they were standing on instead of closing the distance.
A tremor rumbled through the ground, fissures appearing around her feet as the asphalt split open with an inferno of Fox Fire spewing out of the joints—the fact that they didn’t contain any Demonic Power making her defenses not as potent against them as she hoped they’d be.
Shit! The nanosecond she flinched, Avalon appeared right in front of her while making full use of Muramasa’s impressive reach to swing at her neck, intent on ending the fight as early on as possible. As if I’d be finished off that easily! She grit her teeth, redirecting all the energy she was using to reinforce herself to her hand and grabbing the blade head on, squeezing her palm with all her might to prevent it from decapitating her.
Blood started to drip from the gradually deepening wound the sword was etching into her skin, the properties of the Demonic Sword still clashing with Eurus’s high-density Light Magic despite consuming hardly any stamina from Avalon in comparison to what she was using to defend herself. Wait a minute, he’s only using one hand to hold his blade? Her eyes darted to Avalon’s left hand, greeting her with the mortifying sight of him holding a three-pronged kunai in it.
Tch! She noticed, he didn’t waste another second bringing up his left hand to stab her in the left side of her neck while still attempting to drive Muramasa into her right.
Aquarius—The Water Bearer! She couldn’t afford to spread her physical strength thin by defending herself on both sides, leading her to use an ability Avalon had already experienced before, the one she had used to turn her skin buoyant when Avalon tried to pierce her neck during the Mortis Campaign.
She’s able to maintain this much energy expenditure all at once? Just how boundless are her reserves? Before Avalon could attempt to think of a counterattack, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up as if they were trying to warn him.
I can’t afford to let him remain this close to me! Repulsion! A colossal amount of Light Magic shot out of Eurus’s body in all directions, Avalon immediately dropping his kunai and just barely managing to hold Muramasa out in front of his neck, specifically where his CAD was, to defend the crucial device as best he could.
The sound of asphalt, concrete, and wood being obliterated could be heard no matter where you stood. The street they were fighting on was ruined beyond repair as Avalon found himself laying back-first in a pile of rubble like Baraqiel earlier.
“Cough… Cough…” Avalon weakly held his hand up, feeling the sensation of a warm liquid trickling from his mouth onto his skin. What the hell? Did she just self-destruct? No, she doesn’t strike me as the mutual-destruction type. He touched his CAD, Pandorica? You still there?
[Fret not Young Lord—the Lord’s craftsmanship is not so fragile. Furthermore, the energy she used to create that explosion didn’t come straight from her body, but rather the energy from the cloak she was wearing.] Avalon’s frustration rose, his senses telling him that Eurus was still in fact alive. [Before you ask, the burning sensation you’re feeling is the aftereffect of being hit by the enhanced Light Magic. Your Ki is counterattacking the poisining effect to a degree, but you will still be weakened by it from this point onward.] Chunks of his were now dark purple, slowly spreading throughout the surface of his skin.
It was only now that the stupidity of him choosing to fight in his Levi-tan pajamas and pink slippers started to settle in, which were now completely tattered and ruined. Granted, not even the Bael Clan’s armor would do much for him in this situation, unless it were something from Zekram’s private vault. The person who he had snuck away from to come here in the first place.
Eurus’s once composed breathing had now been reduced to a state of labored panting after sacrificing her activation of Cassiopeia to free herself from his terrifying close combat prowess—her hair completely disheveled and her skin throughout bruised and battered, coupled with the still continuing blood loss from having Muramasa driven into her palm.
“I know you’re still alive! There’s no use in hiding!” She snickered, carefully scanning the sea of rubble in front of her for any sign of Avalon. He’s able to completely mask his presence even from me—I’m impressed, she quickly gave up on trying to find him before he made his next move, aware that doing so would be nothing but a waste of time that would be better used for preparation.
Leo—The Lion. Despite her current worn and torn state, Eurus still had enough gas in the tank to keep going. The sheer depth of energy her body was capable of retaining reminded Avalon of Adaloth to an extent, the main difference being that Eurus had full control over her power whereas Adaloth didn’t. Stardust pouring out of her hands and creating a gargantuan-sized lion beside her, the towering creature immediately lowering its head to Eurus as she gently patted it.
Track his scent, she ordered, the beast raising its head and sniffing the air around them. Searching for Avalon’s current position, even if he can mask his Demonic Power, Leo should be able to locate his smell. Her summon eventually stopped, pointing its head east of her, in the direction of a pile of rubble and breathing a beastly growl from its maw.
There? Good work, she pointed her finger towards it and charged up her stardust. Orion, an arrow the size of Avalon’s three-pronged kunai manifested in front of her hand, vibrating with explosive intensity as it eagerly awaited its master’s command.
Without wasting another second, she launched the projectile forward with the speed of a bullet train—the ruins her repulsion had created being sunk further into destruction as pieces of concrete went flying all over the place like shrapnel from a grenade, the force of which being more than enough to atomize anything caught in the blast radius.
However, Eurus’s expression was not one of victory, but one of immeasurable shock and dread.
What she hadn’t hit wasn’t a person—but rather a pair of pink fluffy sandals! Both of which had been purposefully covered in blood from a self-inflicted cut Avalon had made after he was hit by her repulsion.
He knew I’d use his scent to track him! After seeing Eurus use Ursa Major and Canis Major, both animal-type summons, the thought of her using their sense of smell to her advantage naturally struck him as someone who relied on senses more than any other living being. Especially if he chose to mask his presence from Eurus, giving her no other option to locate him other than smell.
Of course, the chance of her doing so wasn’t a 100% guarantee—meaning the possibility of him sacrificing enough blood to trick Leo’s senses for absolutely no reason definitely existed. However, Eurus wasn’t someone he had any delusion of being able to beat with a clean, perfectly calculated plan of action. With how much diversity and variation her arsenal had in comparison to him, he’d have to gamble if he wanted to win.
Leo rushed behind Eurus, the creature’s instincts demanding it protected its master at all costs—its senses knew precisely where Avalon would come from, alongside the fact that it had no chance of counterattacking time, leaving it with no other option than to use itself as a meat shield to keep her safe.
Not good! She panicked internally as Avalon appeared in front of Leo in an instant, his blade piercing the lion’s forehead and using its extreme reach to shoot towards Eurus, planning to skewer her alongside her summon.
Fortunately for her, the fact that Avalon first had to impale Leo before gunning for her gave her just about enough time to put her arms up in a crossguard and channel them with as much Light Magic as possible—the blade digging into her forearms, but not making it to her chest.
He’s not striking with as much force as he did last time, Eurus noticed the purple blotches spreading throughout the surface of his skin, coupled with the beads of sweat running down his forehead and gradually paling complexion. His Demonic Sword is having a similar effect on me, but my Light Magic is weakening him more than his weapon is doing to me, meaning my constitution is significantly stronger.
Avalon frowned upon realizing that his attempt to finish her off right then and there had failed, his worsening condition making it harder and harder for him to contest Eurus and allow Muramasa to do as much damage as it could. This isn’t good, my battery doesn’t have long left before I’ll need to recharge it—and I’m not really in a position to be expending more of my Demonic Power to do so. She’s used three summons so far, and expended a lot of energy with that cloak as well. My assumption about her having a cooldown period appeared to be right, but I don’t know how many more of them she still hasn’t used.
He clenched his teeth, steeling his resolve and coming to terms with the fact that dying here was now a complete possibility—his grip on the hilt of Muramasa tightening as much as it could. I can’t give her time to find her footing again, I have to disrupt her rhythm as much as possible! A strand of demonic thread snaked out of his sleeve onto her arm, binding their limbs together before Avalon tugged on it with all his might to disrupt Eurus’s footing and launch her towards him.
The knuckles of his prosthetic hand crashed into her temple, disorientating her as the world around Eurus seemed to spin a little. You call that a punch? But in Avalon’s current state, there was only so much force he could generate, his opponent recovering from the blow in what seemed like an instant. She returned the favour by sucker punching him in the abdomen, the thread that Avalon had used to bind them together making it impossible for him to dodge in time.
He winced in pain as he felt his spine crash against a piece of concrete, his legs wobbling as he used every microdrop of strength he had left to make sure he remained upright—not sure if he’d be able to get back up after falling down or not.
Avalon, Tomoe’s deeply concerned voice reached him.
I know—I’ve held out this long, with the amount of battery I have remaining it’s either all or nothing. He spit out a chunk of blood onto the floor, wiping his mouth and reaching for his blindfold. I thought I learned to withstand the pressure of death looming above my head against Armaros, but you’ve proved me wrong Eurus. Unlike usual, he hadn’t smiled once during this battle, a fact that he didn’t fail to notice.
He removed his blindfold, stuffing it into his spatial pouch and finally witnessing Eurus’s figure with the boundless depth contained in his radiant violet pupils. So that’s what you look like, he could feel her preparing to gather up more stardust, leaving him with no other choice but to act immediately if he wanted any chance of winning.
[Uncontrolled Release.]
Like he had done against Armaros—Avalon activated his Youkai form.
But this time, something was different.
His hair turned completely white like before, but now shone with a fierce white luminescence that seemed to illuminate the space around him. The sheer density of the Ki radiating off his figure resonating with the ground he was standing on, the potency of which almost rivalling a Sage.
An even brighter white cloak reaching down to his feet draped itself around him, it had a large open collar that reached up to his scalp, and had even brighter shine to it than his hair, the Ki making up its composition looking like flames stemming from the cloak’s surface.
His tails and ears were no different, looking drastically more ethereal than physical—his pupils turning into vertical slits just like Tomoe’s with faint purple eyeliner coating his upper and lower eyelids. The strength he was experiencing at the moment felt nearly twice as strong as when he activated the ability against the Anti-Magic Cadre.
Tomoe? What’s going on? He wondered.
What’s with the surprise? Just like Muramasa, I’m also growing stronger the more you fight and train. Tomoe clarified, or did you really believe I’d agree to make you my vessel without gaining anything in return other than your memories? I love you Darling—but I never have, and never will be a selfless saint.
You should’ve told me this sooner! Also, aren’t you just getting a free ride while I do all the work? The thought of it alone was infuriating, the only thing soothing his frustration being the fact that he was benefiting from Tomoe’s increased strength as well.
Work smarter not harder, and now isn’t the time for you to be whining about me is it? Hurry up and kill her already, Tomoe urged him.
“So you’ve improved on the form you used to kill Armaros, well done.” She praised him, the stardust gathering above his head still gathering at an alarming pace with no end in sight. “At least now you won’t be able to complain in the afterlife about not being at your strongest when I killed you.” The temperature around Eurus started to skyrocket, Avalon’s senses informing that she was going for a final attack judging by the amount of stardust she was using up. Farewell Weeping Angel, you were the most fun opponent I’ve faced thus far.
Smoke trailed out of the sides of his mouth as he breathed a sharp exhale, focusing to the best of his ability in preparation for whatever she was about to send at him. Forcing himself to drown out the beeping sound of his CAD informing him that his battery was on the verge of running out, the light attached to it flickering red.
Draco—The Dragon! Eurus initiated the creation of a monstrous form, a serpent-like stardust dragon with five heads, each of them staring Avalon down with overwhelming intensity, filled with nothing more than the desire to rip him to shreds in the most gruesome way imaginable. Finish this for me, she ordered.
It reeled all five of its heads back, balls of hyper-condensed stardust accumulating in front of each of them, radiating with more power than any of Eurus’s previous attacks had displayed.
Ignite—Muramasa, the most potent Fox Fire Avalon had ever generated coated the alloy of his Demonic Sword, burning the very air itself with molten-like ferocity. His pupils contracted as his focus sharpened, the pressure of death being embraced to its fullest extent by him.
“Are you having fun?” Avalon asked out of the blue.
“Do I have the face of someone who’s bored?” He could sense the balls of stardust reaching their limit, signalling that her attack was about to launch.
I have to dodge! The first beam shot forth like a boundless river of destruction trying to sweep him in its current until he drowned, Avalon chose to dodge instead of meeting it head on with his now ignited Muramasa, the beam continuing to move towards him while he mind was predicting the trajectory of the next.
Eurus’s dragon adjusted to his movements, firing the second beam to his other side, attempting to have its beams close down on him like a pincer attack—squeezing the space around him as much as possible in a constricting manner.
If I fall back now, I’ll run out of battery before I have a chance to reach her again. Using the energy I’ve stored into Muramasa isn’t an option either, I need to save that for the dragon’s actual body. He kicked up one of the many torn slabs of concrete surrounding him that Eurus’s destruction had created, using his immense ability to jump and land on the airborne rubble with both feet—forcing the dragon to spend time readjusting its aim which brought the speed of its beams to a temporary slow.
I can’t stop her from firing a third beam, and by the time she’s got the fourth out I’ll have completely run out of space to move. He inhaled sharply, honing in on Eurus's position. My blindfold’s off, and I’m using my Youkai form—I should be able to read the third accurately enough. He crouched down, ready to take off at a moment’s notice.
The third beam fired directly at him, the two previous ones now snaking up towards him while still maintaining maximum output. Shit! However, Avalon’s movements were just ever so slightly off balance from the damage he had endured, and the poisoning effect he was still experiencing. It was only a matter of milliseconds before the third beam overlapped with his trajectory—and that would be the end of it for him.
No! I can still reach the dragon in time if I make a sacrifice! He leaned to the left, purposefully allowing his prosthetic arm to be eviscerated by the beam, the artificial limb allowing him to avoid being poisoned any further and get close enough to the dragon to have it in range of Muramasa.
“You lost,” he said in a hoarse, sickly tone of voice, swinging his trusty Demonic Sword with every last fiber of strength he could breathe life into—an endless sea of Fox Fire erupting from the blade’s metal and severing the dragon cleanly in half from the base of its neck.
Eurus’s face was frozen solid, a helpless expression worn on her face as Avalon slowly began to walk over towards her from her fallen summon. Confident that his opponent had finally ran out of gas in spite of how bottomless her energy reserves seemed during their fight, “I lost?” She repeated, as if the concept were completely alien to her. I lost? Me? She slowly looked down, a strange feeling overwhelming her. What am I supposed to be feeling right now? I’ve never lost before, I didn’t even know that losing was possible for me.
“Don’t look so grim,” Avalon made himself sound as audible as he could, Eurus looking up to face him. “Everyone loses eventually, someday I’ll also lose—but apparently that day isn’t today for me.” He finally came close enough to where he was within arm’s length of her, “As much as I’d like to talk with you more, you’re going to pass out in a second.”
As he had predicted, Eurus’s eyelids shut against her will as she fell back-first onto the ground.
Avalon had won.
He raised Muramasa as high as he could with his authentic arm, the tip pointed down at her heart.
Avalon? Tomoe spoke.
What is it?
You’re hesitating, he continued, the fact that they were linked to one another enabling him to read Avalon’s mind. Just kill her already, there’s nothing left to think about. You sought her out because she attacked your children didn’t you?
Tomoe—she’s quite strong isn’t she? He continued.
That much is obvious, but so what? Armaros was also strong, you didn’t hesitate then.
Armaros was a good opponent, but he had no use for me alive—nor was there any reason for me to spare him. He had already come to terms with dying midway through our battle when he consumed that piece.
Tomoe groaned, You’re telling me you have a reason to keep her alive?
I might, to Tomoe’s further befuddlement—he withdrew Muramasa and deactivated his Youkai form. Encasing Eurus in his demonic thread like an orb weaver wrapping their prey in silk, or I might just end up killing her later. He picked her unconscious body up and hoisted her over his shoulders, the innate healing effect of his Ki capable of keeping him concious for a while longer without him receiving any treatment—but doing absolutely nothing to ease the gut-wrenching searing pain he was experiencing. Coupled with all the damage and trauma Eurus had inflicted on him. Hopefully my filthy rich fiancée left a Phoenix Tear or two with Albedo.
He turned to the side, speaking of Albedo, I wonder how she and Sapphire are fairing up against Baraqiel?
---
The end of Volume 1 nears, I can hear the planning doc calling to me—beckoning me to suffer at its wrath.
