True Magician (FatexDxD)

An unknown place.

The teleportation circle transported me to some place. Or rather, it really was, once upon a time.

Giant holes, at least several dozen meters in diameter, gaped in the hard stone of the rocky mountains. Trees, bushes, and the ground itself were ablaze with an ominous scarlet and black flame, the heat of which could be felt even where I stood. Huge craters and cut marks marred the ground, and anything near them died almost instantly.

Dark clouds completely hid the sky, plunging everything around it into darkness, scarlet lightning bolts running every now and then creating a mesmerizing yet terrifying sight.

And in the middle of it all, on four clawed paws that were bigger than some skyscraper, stood a black beast. Terrifying, grotesque, and partly majestic.

Its entire body seemed to have been molded from the parts of all sorts of animals. Scales that glistened with red light every time a bolt of lightning ran across the sky. A lion's head, with several rows of fangs of different shapes and sizes in its mouth. The muscular and strong body of a bull, whose skin shone with cracks. The hooves were covered in fur, and the lizard's long tail, at the end of which a giant blade was present, danced from side to side.

The most prominent parts of the body were the wings and eyes.

"Wings" were formed by an inordinate number of thin, eyeless and scaleless black snakes with toothy mouths that came straight out of the beast's back. They danced and intertwined with each other, giving the impression of a living blanket, as if capable of outshining the sun itself. And if the beast opened its "wings" fully, anyone would really believe that such a thing could happen.

The eyes, on the other hand, there were three of them, arranged in the same manner as in the magic circle of the sectarians who had attacked Anma's village. The black sclera contrasted strongly, yet matched the scarlet vertical pupils.

Around the beast's body went a dark glow, causing anything that came close enough to die. True, this only applied to mortals, and there were none here. Only the beast and the gods.

The latter had physical bodies, though they definitely felt somewhat inferior. They shot beams of pure energy and divinity at the beast, jumping at it with weapons in hand, but there were no results. The beast's scales simply absorbed all the attacks. But if there were any wounds, they were quickly healed, and after a second, there was no trace of them.

There were about ten gods in the camp, but I only recognized Hardy, who was holding a staff. And she looked tense, albeit purposeful.

Strangely, the beast itself didn't attack. It simply absorbed the attacks, waited and watched the futile attempts of the gods to defeat it. There was only coldness and patience in his eyes, which, given the information about him, is rather absurd. I was sure that he would immediately try to tear them apart since he had discounted humans to the critters of this world.

On top of all this, there was a barrier placed around it, forbidding one from leaving it from the inside. I sensed it when I was already here. I guess it's some kind of plan.

- Observing, otherworldly?

I, still cloaked in magic, slowly turned my head to the side where the voice was coming from. There was a rather tiny black snake hovering there, looking at me indifferently.

- You're pretty calm, I see," I grinned, "Aren't you afraid I'll attack you?

- That would be pointless. Your eyes clearly see the futile attempts of these pests, and I don't think you can do better. - Monotonously said the snake, snapping its jaws.

- Well, who knows, who knows. But I'm still interested in why you don't attack? As I see it, you have no trouble swatting them in one blow.

- Why would you do that?

- I'm just curious. - I brushed it off, at which the snake began to look a little thoughtful.

- I'm waiting. - After a few seconds it said.

- For what?

- For the ground to clear.

I raised an eyebrow.

It was clear he was referring to the genocide of the humanoid races, but what did that have to do with his waiting? Sure, gods lose their power with the death of the faithful, but does that play a role at this point?

- I still don't see the point of your inaction," I said and rubbed my temples, "Even I can see that their true forms are in front of your main body. What's the problem with just getting rid of them?

- You are still immature, otherworldly. Your divinity has not yet manifested properly to understand the nature of my actions.

Yeah, thanks for the explanation. Well, as long as nothing is essentially happening, I'll wait too. I wonder how Tia is doing?

-0-

Pina wasn't feeling well. Her once clean and neat clothes had turned into an ugly mess. Now, on a street in the capital, she and her order of knights were helping refugees, bandaging their wounds and getting them to accessible safe houses, and maintaining at least some semblance of order in the storm of panic that reigned in the city.

Everywhere Pina's gaze went, the situation looked dire and desperate.

The screams of panic and the cries of children interrupted the sound of footsteps or breathing. Soldiers and those who wanted to help ran from side to side, trying to lighten the atmosphere, to give hope that things were as bad as they seemed. Even if it wasn't.

A huge number of lives had already been lost, and it only increased with every breath they took. The wounds didn't want to heal, causing the streets to be stained scarlet with blood. The poison that some species of critters possessed was slowly killing the victim, causing them to scream and beg for death.

Pina wasn't a little helpless girl who only knew about flowers and love. She had seen death and honestly thought she was used to it, but it turned out to be far from that.

What was going on around her was weighing on her both mentally and physically. The faces of dozens of people dying and suffering tore at her as Pina realized there was nothing she could do. And the nauseating smell of blood permeating her nostrils practically forced her to empty her stomach.

Pina cut another piece of cloth from her cloak and applied it to the wound of the poor man lying before her, unable to move but only moaning in pain, then looked toward the palace.

For once, Zorzal was actually being helpful. His idiocy that caused nothing but trouble was almost the only reason that there were still defenders present on the walls.

His fierce and confident calls to fight back were boosting morale. He told them that they were but foolish beasts, that they were no equal to man, that it was man who had subdued the beast, not the other way around, that the gods had blessed man, not the beast. And that was enough to rally the capital and inspire a desire to take up arms.

But Pina was well aware that it was not enough.

According to reports, every humanoid race, every city, every village, every temple was under similar attack. It was as if nature itself had ordered the beasts to rid themselves of humanity.

Settlements would definitely fall from the onslaught and then head for the next one. This means that no matter how long the capital city holds out, the flow of death will never end. The forces would leave the bodies of the defenders, to the very moment when the fingers simply could not clench and hold a sword, much less allow a blow to be made.

The forces of Japan that were present in the capital had long since joined the battle. Their weapons only subsided when ammunition needed to be replenished. And the "barrel" of the "rifle" was getting so hot that it could seemingly melt right before their eyes.

According to one of Sir Itami's colleagues, reinforcements would arrive, but they would need time to get here. A little later, he added that the air was far from safe, too.

Birds were huddled in massive flocks, interfering with the flying "swords" and "chariots", with dragons and wyverns helping them. "Steel elephants" were met by whole armies of various animals that were bearing right down on the 'elephants', slowing them down greatly and trying to pierce the metal with their claws, fangs and hooves.

"We have no hope, eh?"

- Princess!

- Hmm? Bozes? - Turning her head in the direction of the voice, Pina saw a girl dressed in the armor of her order running towards her.

- Princess, follow me! You need to see this! - She shouted and grabbed my hand and led me to the wall.

Upon reaching the spot, Pina noticed that the gunfire had stopped. Japan's weapons had fallen silent and no arrows were being drawn on the bowstring. All the defenders froze and stared at the wall somewhere.

- Look!

Looking where Bozes pointed, Pina saw a lone figure standing between the walls and the horde of beasts, and she ahhed. It was a woman of unimaginable beauty with an extremely gifted body, hair the color of the sea reaching to the ground, and huge rounded horns coming out the sides of her head. Her legs, neck, part of her chest and arms were covered in something resembling scales of a dark blue color, providing a contrast to the woman's pale and clear skin.

But it wasn't just the woman's appearance that struck Pina, it was the horde's reaction to her. The beasts stopped twenty meters away from this inhuman figure, cowering, snarling, but not moving. It was as if they were asking her to get out of their way, which reminded Pina of children trying to change their mother's mind. And the princess of the Empire found it very strange.

- Isn't that..." one of the Japanese soldiers standing next to me muttered in surprise.

- Do you know her, Private? - Another asked.

- Y-yes," the soldier nodded, "I've seen her in anime and mobile games. She looks just like the picture.

- What the hell are you talking about?!

- It's true! I swear!

- Who is she?

- Well...

The soldier didn't have time to finish, as a melodious and gentle, mother-like singing came out of the woman's mouth. And a few seconds later, the sky suddenly became even darker than it was before, and the woman sank into the ground as if it were water.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then a wave traveled across the ground, hitting the capital and making it shake like an 'earthquake'.

Pina staggered and grabbed the edge of the wall to steady herself, then looked over to where the woman had plunged.

A huge crack suddenly appeared in that place, glowing with an ominous scarlet light mixed with soothing gold. And a moment later, blasting the earth itself, a creature emerged from it. A creature that, with its size alone, dwarfed the sky. And the creature's roar, more like a chant, echoed throughout what seemed to Pina to be the entire world.

The princess's mind could not comprehend what was happening in front of her. She didn't even notice that she had fallen, unable to stand on her own feet and her hands shaking madly from the shock and absurdity of the situation.

Only one single thought ran through Pina's mind over and over again, like the pounding of her still-living heart...

"May the gods save us..."

-0-

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