242. ”Debatable.”
Chulainn groaned and stepped back. A man with a fancy white robe, and a white cape, was walking toward them. Flavio's expression wasn't better at all.
"I will only ask this once. Who are you?" The man with shiny hair spoke coldly. Each time he took a step forward, the entire cumulonimbus would tremble, the light of the stars would blink, and the elements would bow.
"Oi, oi… this guy is stronger than Ambrogio. What the hell is going on? Isn't he just a normal Heavenly God? How can there be such a difference from our Reality?" Flavio was shocked and terrified beyond words.
"{Hey! What do we do?!}" Chulainn panicked a little and Flavio grimaced.
"{Just stand your ground for now. Our only chance is that Arima comes out of this thing. We need to distract this guy.}"
"{How?}"
"{I don't know! Just throw some bullshit!}"
Chulainn's three heads were all hurting.
"…I am Chulainn Kerberos. This guy is Flavio. We… are the Kind Demon's companions."
"The Kind Demon?" The god raised an eyebrow. "Kind?" His voice sounded even colder. "Kind?! I just passed by a field of dead angels who had their wings torn apart! Who, and where is that Kind Demon you're talking about?!" He shouted and the entire realm trembled. Rumbling and loud noises echoed as if the world was tumbling down.
Flavio paled and Chulainn almost fell on the ground while vomiting blood. "{Well, congratulations. You got his attention but now he wants to kill us.}"
"{Fuck off! How would I know? I know killing those angels would bring us misfortune…}" Chulainn retorted and faced the god. He grinned and snorted. "You may not wish to meet him. The only fate that awaits you is death if you confront him."
That was bluff. Pure bluff. He wasn't even sure that Arima could beat this man in these circumstances.
"Don't try to be smart with me," the god replied. "I am Bhiunz, God of Eternity and Truth. Don't even think about fooling me," he scoffed then looked past Flavio and Chulainn. "Did that murderer you call 'Kind Demon' enter the Chamber?"
There wasn't a need for a response as Bhiunz immediately got his answer from their reaction.
"Then there's no need to keep you alive."
Flavio's eyes narrowed. "Move!" He shouted and Chulainn could barely move his body in time as Bhiunz's punch grazed his middle-head.
"You're decent. But my attacks are eternal. They never end."
Chulainn jumped away and released a fire breath but the god brushed it off and casually went through the fire in Flavio's direction. When he turned his back, the Hellhound saw his middle head explode. The two other heads roared and blood flowed like a fountain.
"Fuck!" Flavio made a spear hand and planted it in his stomach. His innate ability activated and his body structure changed. His arms melted and became a liquid that enveloped him like a carapace. When Bhiunz's attack touched that liquid, it was already stronger than the best mineral in the universe.
"You're an odd one."
"Thanks… for the praise!" Flavio struggled to speak and released his 'shell'. His transformed organic-matter gathered around his left shoulder and became a giant arm. He then punched the god and sent him flying. Bhiunz went through the clouds and crashed splendidly on the surface of Heaven.
When the dust and boulders stopped falling like rain, Bhiunz stood up from the crater he had created with absolutely no scratch. He dusted his clothes and looked up.
“As I said. They're eternal."
Flavio's cry resounded and the melted flesh he had produced broke apart. It split into many pieces before returning to their original place as normal limbs. But what Flavio ended up with was bruised arms and crushed bones.
"That's bullshit! Everything he attacks will get locked-on and be chased eternally until it's destroyed. That's what he means by 'eternal'," Flavio exclaimed as he desperately tried to heal his body. Chulainn's middle-head was slowly growing back too.
"Finish them off!" Bhiunz ordered and a swarm of angels and weaker gods teleported and surrounded them. He then ignored Chulainn and Flavio to enter the Sage's Chamber.
But when he was about to step inside, Bhiunz shivered and urgently retreated. At first, it was a simple cracking noise. But then, a spark appeared. Then a few strands of black electricity erupted around the Chamber.
Thunder raged and in the next instant, a wave of endless energy annihilated the entire Chamber and called lightning upon the land. The closest angels and gods were either vaporized or blown away.
Bhiunz covered his face for a second while blocking the energy from hurting him. But after only that short second, the scenery of Heaven had been replaced by a barren land being hit by a wave of lightning. In the middle of it, a hundred-meter-tall demon deployed his hybrid wings.
Around that demon, seven phantoms revolved and wailed. The demon's twisted smile sent shivers down everyone’s spines. He raised his hand as the red and white runes on his robe glowed. White lines were painted over his scales in clear patterns.
When he waved his hand, the phantoms laughed eerily and separated.
The first one just needed to be near Heaven's forces to make them go crazy.
The second one just needed contact to put them under eternal sleep.
The third one was giving them extreme weakness by emitting ear-piercing screams.
The fourth one made them fight with one another.
The fifth one made them betray, rob, and eat each other.
The sixth one made them see illusions and whispered in their ears.
The last one brought them to their knees from exhaustion.
Flavio staggered backward when one of them flew by and cried at him. Both him and Chulainn were being spared.
"This…" Bhiunz felt like he was experiencing a terrific nightmare. He clenched his hands and summoned a sword in his hand which seemed to be the fusion of a great sword and a saber. His eyes were glaring at the demon.
He kicked the ground and flew off. He bypassed every phantom and even pushed them back with holy light. He reached the demon in seconds and swung his sword.
Arima smirked like never before. He appeared to be enjoying the moment more than anything. He summoned two katanas made out of lightning and parried the god's weapon.
Bhiunz infused light, life, and fire magic into his attack. It clashed with the black lightning and provoked a discharge of pure energy. A dome of light was created with them at the center and proceeded to obliterate everything as it became bigger.
The angels and gods tried to flee but were killed by the seven phantoms before they could. Chulainn and Flavio ran away at full speed though. When the phantoms had nothing to kill anymore, they went back to their master inside the light dome.
After hundreds of thousands of miles of escape, Chulainn and Flavio witnessed the dome turning purple. In the middle of all that, Bhiunz bit his lip and exchanged blows with Arima. Each time he swung his sword, he would break the ones created by Arima's magic.
‘What is this?! He is absorbing my magic. I can see it! But if I release the pressure now, it will backfire. My only choice is to give him more to absorb! But why!? How is he still absorbing?! How much mana capacity does he have?!’ Bhiunz was panicking for the first time in thousands of years.
"You can't see it? Ô God of Truth and Eternity," Arima spoke. His voice dazed Bhiunz. The demon seemed to know everything about him. "You have the power to see the truth. Can't you see it?"
"If I can see it?" Bhiunz gritted his teeth and swung his sword downward. He slashed through Arima's weapons but couldn't even get through his skin and reinforced magic barriers. His eyes glowed and the eternity was activated, an infinite number of blows were sent. But Arima didn't even blink.
"It’s the first time I ever wished the truth I'm seeing was a lie!" The god screamed. "There's no way someone can have infinite mana and knowledge!" He wielded his sword in frenzy and each swing left a trail on the purple energy surrounding them.
"There's one just in front of you," Arima snorted and caught the sword barehanded. "You shall die now," he declared and the purple dome shrunk at unbelievable speed.
The pressure of the dome suddenly disappeared and Bhiunz was disoriented as he saw the sky again. His eyes rolled up and he almost fell unconscious. He spotted a purple sphere in Arima's hand. Then, a burst of Omni element erased him and the entirety of Heaven just before he saw his soul being devoured by one of the phantoms and his life force sucked dry by Arima.
***
Malum was now a human again as he sat down on a pile of dead behemoths. Shakti was sitting beside him. He sighed and looked up. "He started."
Shakti tilted her head with a puzzled look.
Malum chuckled. "Hey, do you know why I turned like this even though I'm supposed to be Arima's evil side?"
His question was too unexpected for Shakti to answer. She opened her mouth then closed it as she didn't know what to say. Malum snickered.
"That's because there's absolutely no hidden evil inside him."
"Isn't that… good?" Shakti was perplexed.
"Oh, no. It's not good at all," Malum smiled. "It's not good because everyone has a hidden evil. No matter who it is. The problem is that Arima embraced it. In short, it's not hidden anymore. When I was born, I basically was a berserker. That was the last 'hidden' side of Arima who usually is very composed and calm in battle."
Malum's smile widened. "You see. I enjoy the battle. I enjoy the process and beating your opponent and crushing him. Do you know the main difference between me and Arima expect our way of fighting?"
"…I don't know," Shakti shook her head. "Rather, I feel like I can understand you enough. But… there's absolutely no way I can probe that man. The dread is too much for me. I don't have what it takes to compare you two."
Malum laughed. "Good answer. But the actual one is very simple," he lifted his hand and looked at the dried blood on it. "As I said, I enjoy the process. As for Arima, it's slightly different. He doesn't enjoy the fight. He finds fulfillment in the result."
Shakti shuddered. Malum patted her head to calm her down. He stood up with a cold expression.
"In other words, I like to battle and struggle. He likes to destroy and kill," he shrugged. "That's why… fortunately for us, Arima has morals along with a twisted personality. Don't you think that there's no one else more worthy of the title of 'Demon'?"
Shakti put her hands on her head to hold Malum's and inhaled. "What about the 'Kind' bit?"
Malum laughed out of pure amusement this time.
"Debatable," he replied and Shakti smiled in return.
***
Arima wagged his wings in the literal void left by Heaven's destruction. He had killed all of the gods on top of Bhiunz with that explosion.
"Well, that was fun. But I suppose I have to destroy Hell now to balance things," Arima scratched his head in his human form.
"{Will you resurrect them?}" A voice abruptly echoed in his head.
"No. Not now at least. I have assimilated all of the life force that was present here. So, I'll just let them go on a planet to live a normal human life later on," he responded. "By the way, how should I call you from now on? I won't call you 'Existence' or 'The World'. Especially the latter makes me feel uncomfortable."
"{Well, I have a name I gave myself back then. You can call me Krynox.}"
"Then, Krynox. Let's get along from now on."
"{It will be a pleasure of mine, Arimane.}"
242. ”Debatable.”
Chulainn groaned and stepped back. A man with a fancy white robe, and a white cape, was walking toward them. Flavio's expression wasn't better at all.
"I will only ask this once. Who are you?" The man with shiny hair spoke coldly. Each time he took a step forward, the entire cumulonimbus would tremble, the light of the stars would blink, and the elements would bow.
"Oi, oi… this guy is stronger than Ambrogio. What the hell is going on? Isn't he just a normal Heavenly God? How can there be such a difference from our Reality?" Flavio was shocked and terrified beyond words.
"{Hey! What do we do?!}" Chulainn panicked a little and Flavio grimaced.
"{Just stand your ground for now. Our only chance is that Arima comes out of this thing. We need to distract this guy.}"
"{How?}"
"{I don't know! Just throw some bullshit!}"
Chulainn's three heads were all hurting.
"…I am Chulainn Kerberos. This guy is Flavio. We… are the Kind Demon's companions."
"The Kind Demon?" The god raised an eyebrow. "Kind?" His voice sounded even colder. "Kind?! I just passed by a field of dead angels who had their wings torn apart! Who, and where is that Kind Demon you're talking about?!" He shouted and the entire realm trembled. Rumbling and loud noises echoed as if the world was tumbling down.
Flavio paled and Chulainn almost fell on the ground while vomiting blood. "{Well, congratulations. You got his attention but now he wants to kill us.}"
"{Fuck off! How would I know? I know killing those angels would bring us misfortune…}" Chulainn retorted and faced the god. He grinned and snorted. "You may not wish to meet him. The only fate that awaits you is death if you confront him."
That was bluff. Pure bluff. He wasn't even sure that Arima could beat this man in these circumstances.
"Don't try to be smart with me," the god replied. "I am Bhiunz, God of Eternity and Truth. Don't even think about fooling me," he scoffed then looked past Flavio and Chulainn. "Did that murderer you call 'Kind Demon' enter the Chamber?"
There wasn't a need for a response as Bhiunz immediately got his answer from their reaction.
"Then there's no need to keep you alive."
Flavio's eyes narrowed. "Move!" He shouted and Chulainn could barely move his body in time as Bhiunz's punch grazed his middle-head.
"You're decent. But my attacks are eternal. They never end."
Chulainn jumped away and released a fire breath but the god brushed it off and casually went through the fire in Flavio's direction. When he turned his back, the Hellhound saw his middle head explode. The two other heads roared and blood flowed like a fountain.
"Fuck!" Flavio made a spear hand and planted it in his stomach. His innate ability activated and his body structure changed. His arms melted and became a liquid that enveloped him like a carapace. When Bhiunz's attack touched that liquid, it was already stronger than the best mineral in the universe.
"You're an odd one."
"Thanks… for the praise!" Flavio struggled to speak and released his 'shell'. His transformed organic-matter gathered around his left shoulder and became a giant arm. He then punched the god and sent him flying. Bhiunz went through the clouds and crashed splendidly on the surface of Heaven.
When the dust and boulders stopped falling like rain, Bhiunz stood up from the crater he had created with absolutely no scratch. He dusted his clothes and looked up.
“As I said. They're eternal."
Flavio's cry resounded and the melted flesh he had produced broke apart. It split into many pieces before returning to their original place as normal limbs. But what Flavio ended up with was bruised arms and crushed bones.
"That's bullshit! Everything he attacks will get locked-on and be chased eternally until it's destroyed. That's what he means by 'eternal'," Flavio exclaimed as he desperately tried to heal his body. Chulainn's middle-head was slowly growing back too.
"Finish them off!" Bhiunz ordered and a swarm of angels and weaker gods teleported and surrounded them. He then ignored Chulainn and Flavio to enter the Sage's Chamber.
But when he was about to step inside, Bhiunz shivered and urgently retreated. At first, it was a simple cracking noise. But then, a spark appeared. Then a few strands of black electricity erupted around the Chamber.
Thunder raged and in the next instant, a wave of endless energy annihilated the entire Chamber and called lightning upon the land. The closest angels and gods were either vaporized or blown away.
Bhiunz covered his face for a second while blocking the energy from hurting him. But after only that short second, the scenery of Heaven had been replaced by a barren land being hit by a wave of lightning. In the middle of it, a hundred-meter-tall demon deployed his hybrid wings.
Around that demon, seven phantoms revolved and wailed. The demon's twisted smile sent shivers down everyone’s spines. He raised his hand as the red and white runes on his robe glowed. White lines were painted over his scales in clear patterns.
When he waved his hand, the phantoms laughed eerily and separated.
The first one just needed to be near Heaven's forces to make them go crazy.
The second one just needed contact to put them under eternal sleep.
The third one was giving them extreme weakness by emitting ear-piercing screams.
The fourth one made them fight with one another.
The fifth one made them betray, rob, and eat each other.
The sixth one made them see illusions and whispered in their ears.
The last one brought them to their knees from exhaustion.
Flavio staggered backward when one of them flew by and cried at him. Both him and Chulainn were being spared.
"This…" Bhiunz felt like he was experiencing a terrific nightmare. He clenched his hands and summoned a sword in his hand which seemed to be the fusion of a great sword and a saber. His eyes were glaring at the demon.
He kicked the ground and flew off. He bypassed every phantom and even pushed them back with holy light. He reached the demon in seconds and swung his sword.
Arima smirked like never before. He appeared to be enjoying the moment more than anything. He summoned two katanas made out of lightning and parried the god's weapon.
Bhiunz infused light, life, and fire magic into his attack. It clashed with the black lightning and provoked a discharge of pure energy. A dome of light was created with them at the center and proceeded to obliterate everything as it became bigger.
The angels and gods tried to flee but were killed by the seven phantoms before they could. Chulainn and Flavio ran away at full speed though. When the phantoms had nothing to kill anymore, they went back to their master inside the light dome.
After hundreds of thousands of miles of escape, Chulainn and Flavio witnessed the dome turning purple. In the middle of all that, Bhiunz bit his lip and exchanged blows with Arima. Each time he swung his sword, he would break the ones created by Arima's magic.
‘What is this?! He is absorbing my magic. I can see it! But if I release the pressure now, it will backfire. My only choice is to give him more to absorb! But why!? How is he still absorbing?! How much mana capacity does he have?!’ Bhiunz was panicking for the first time in thousands of years.
"You can't see it? Ô God of Truth and Eternity," Arima spoke. His voice dazed Bhiunz. The demon seemed to know everything about him. "You have the power to see the truth. Can't you see it?"
"If I can see it?" Bhiunz gritted his teeth and swung his sword downward. He slashed through Arima's weapons but couldn't even get through his skin and reinforced magic barriers. His eyes glowed and the eternity was activated, an infinite number of blows were sent. But Arima didn't even blink.
"It’s the first time I ever wished the truth I'm seeing was a lie!" The god screamed. "There's no way someone can have infinite mana and knowledge!" He wielded his sword in frenzy and each swing left a trail on the purple energy surrounding them.
"There's one just in front of you," Arima snorted and caught the sword barehanded. "You shall die now," he declared and the purple dome shrunk at unbelievable speed.
The pressure of the dome suddenly disappeared and Bhiunz was disoriented as he saw the sky again. His eyes rolled up and he almost fell unconscious. He spotted a purple sphere in Arima's hand. Then, a burst of Omni element erased him and the entirety of Heaven just before he saw his soul being devoured by one of the phantoms and his life force sucked dry by Arima.
***
Malum was now a human again as he sat down on a pile of dead behemoths. Shakti was sitting beside him. He sighed and looked up. "He started."
Shakti tilted her head with a puzzled look.
Malum chuckled. "Hey, do you know why I turned like this even though I'm supposed to be Arima's evil side?"
His question was too unexpected for Shakti to answer. She opened her mouth then closed it as she didn't know what to say. Malum snickered.
"That's because there's absolutely no hidden evil inside him."
"Isn't that… good?" Shakti was perplexed.
"Oh, no. It's not good at all," Malum smiled. "It's not good because everyone has a hidden evil. No matter who it is. The problem is that Arima embraced it. In short, it's not hidden anymore. When I was born, I basically was a berserker. That was the last 'hidden' side of Arima who usually is very composed and calm in battle."
Malum's smile widened. "You see. I enjoy the battle. I enjoy the process and beating your opponent and crushing him. Do you know the main difference between me and Arima expect our way of fighting?"
"…I don't know," Shakti shook her head. "Rather, I feel like I can understand you enough. But… there's absolutely no way I can probe that man. The dread is too much for me. I don't have what it takes to compare you two."
Malum laughed. "Good answer. But the actual one is very simple," he lifted his hand and looked at the dried blood on it. "As I said, I enjoy the process. As for Arima, it's slightly different. He doesn't enjoy the fight. He finds fulfillment in the result."
Shakti shuddered. Malum patted her head to calm her down. He stood up with a cold expression.
"In other words, I like to battle and struggle. He likes to destroy and kill," he shrugged. "That's why… fortunately for us, Arima has morals along with a twisted personality. Don't you think that there's no one else more worthy of the title of 'Demon'?"
Shakti put her hands on her head to hold Malum's and inhaled. "What about the 'Kind' bit?"
Malum laughed out of pure amusement this time.
"Debatable," he replied and Shakti smiled in return.
***
Arima wagged his wings in the literal void left by Heaven's destruction. He had killed all of the gods on top of Bhiunz with that explosion.
"Well, that was fun. But I suppose I have to destroy Hell now to balance things," Arima scratched his head in his human form.
"{Will you resurrect them?}" A voice abruptly echoed in his head.
"No. Not now at least. I have assimilated all of the life force that was present here. So, I'll just let them go on a planet to live a normal human life later on," he responded. "By the way, how should I call you from now on? I won't call you 'Existence' or 'The World'. Especially the latter makes me feel uncomfortable."
"{Well, I have a name I gave myself back then. You can call me Krynox.}"
"Then, Krynox. Let's get along from now on."
"{It will be a pleasure of mine, Arimane.}"
