True Magician (FatexDxD)

An unknown place.

I frowned, feeling a decent amount of discomfort, and turned toward the capital.

Even with the titanic amount of mana I had, I could clearly feel it draining away. It was as if a skyscraper-sized hole had formed in the giant dam, and the mana was the water in it. If I didn't possess True Magic, I'd have plus or minus an hour before I'd have to use Solomon's body if I didn't want to fall unconscious from overexhaustion.

On the other hand, besides me, Tia, who had taken the form of the Beast, had another source of strength.

The local Gaia.

Tia is a goddess belonging to the 'mother earth' type. Those like her have the status of creators of the "earth" or "source" that created creation. In fact, such gods, like Tia herself, are the personification of the "cycle of life in nature".

All life, in one way or another, begins in the "earth". And anyone who has been born in absolutely any way on planet Earth is unable to deny the authority of the likes of Tia.

Every plant, insect, fish, beast, bird and so on is born in it and makes a cycle among themselves. One devours the other, thus maintaining a kind of balance of life.

Humans do not fit into this concept as they are the top of the food chain on Earth, becoming pests. The population of humanity as a species is not constrained by anything other than natural lifespan, and thus the balance is disturbed. This is actually why, apart from Gaia, there is only Alaya, the Unconscious Will of Mankind, not birds, animals, plants and so on.

Based on all this, it's no wonder that the local Gaia was giving Tia strength. But that wasn't what bothered me.

As soon as she changed form, certain urges immediately appeared in my mind....

To kill.

They felt about the same as when someone higher up orders you to do something. You don't want to do it, but you're required by regulation to obey and do as ordered. Kind of like a job, but a little more complicated.

Also, in this case, I was called upon to kill not just people, but anything my hands could reach. And that was no longer the influence of this world, but of Tia's very essence as a Beast of Gaia.

However, to consider these urges simply as 'killing' is not to be considered. With a little thought, it could be considered a sort of forced reset to the original point when only earth, water, and sky existed. To allow life to retrace its evolutionary path, so to speak.

Back on topic, the urges were quite tolerable, at least here. I think if it had happened in the Nasuverse, the level would have been quite different. And my words that I would take Tia's pain upon myself applied to that very point. The bond that had formed between us allowed me to redirect some of those urges onto myself, to give her more freedom than I would have had in any other case.

Let her do what she wanted to do.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the snake beside me looking in the same direction.

- Did something interest you? - I asked, to which she didn't respond - If you noticed my companion, don't worry. She'll do what she wants and leave. And me with her, of course.

- I sensed a faint presence of a spirit like me near you... Is it her? - After a little silence, the snake asked worriedly - Why is she so... like me? As if she is my sister... And why is she against the children? Against me? I... don't understand...

I raised an eyebrow.

"Children?" That sounds about as much as Tia would say.

- She is you in a way. From another world, but still. So, it's to be expected," I shrugged, "And since I've answered your question, deign to answer mine.

The snake said nothing at my words, but still turned toward me.

- I can understand your hatred for gods, but for people? Don't you think it's a bit excessive?

- They are just as much to blame as the pests.

- Oh?

- They deprive children of food. They deprive children of a home. They just destroy without giving anything back. And sooner or later, they will do to the children what the gods did to me. This must be corrected.

- Heh. While that sounds pretty noble, you do realize that's not how it works a bit, right?

- What do you mean?

- The way you put it is reminiscent of a father saying he doesn't want to let his children go free. Sure, it's a good thing to keep them out of danger and all that, but you're forgetting one very ironic fact.

- And what's that?

- Humans are your children, too. Not the best, but still," I said, to which I felt a sharp look from a snake that doesn't even have eyes, 'Your 'children' do the same thing as humans, basically. Yet you've only turned on the latter. Double standards are a very bad trait, you know.

- What you're saying doesn't make sense.

- Why not? Humans are also carriers of "life", aren't they? Besides, well, you will exterminate both gods and mankind, and then what? - I grinned, and when the snake was about to object, interrupted her - Don't answer, I'll give you a hint. The cycle will repeat. Another species will take the place of mankind. It will conclude that it is superior to the others and will begin to consume. Just like humanity before it. And, of course, new gods will be born. The very ones you hate and despise so fervently. Then what will you do? Commit genocide again? And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to talk you out of it, I'm just trying to understand your thinking. After all, I've told you before that I don't give a damn about this world or its people.

- I'll decide when the time is right. And if you don't care, why are you still here? Why are you and your companion in my way?

- The answer is in the question. Tia. She's dear to me. It pains her to see you die, so she wants to stop it. And I support her in her endeavors," I said and snapped my fingers. The next moment, a wave of golden light traveled through the closed spirit field we were in - That's why I'm here. To deal with you.

- What did you do?

- Changed the structure. I don't know if you'll want to escape or not, but there's no point. The barrier won't let anyone, not even you, out of here unless I let them. Finding you is a bit of a challenge after all," I said in a snide tone, to which the snake hissed threateningly at me, "Being able to understand any magic is really useful, eh?

In the next moment, both me and the snake turned sharply towards the capital as we sensed something.

Tia had already started. And since that's the case...

A small magic circle flashed behind my shoulder, from which a ray of light flew out a moment later, completely vaporizing the snake beside me.

In that case, I should get down to business as well, shouldn't I?

-0-

Pina's wide-open eyes looked straight into the sky, which the creature's wings touched due to its enormous size.

It seemed to her that the creature had the body of both a human and a dragon, as the corresponding features of both species could be seen.

The human face was framed by huge rounded horns that reached half the length of the creature's entire body. Its hair developed from the amount of energy and force of the wind, and the edges of its mouth, full of razor-sharp teeth, stretched all the way down to its neck. And its crimson eyes with cross-shaped white pupils shone in the darkness.

Its human hands, which flowed into scaled and fur-covered paws, had huge claws at their ends that rested firmly on the ground and created cracks in it. The legs seemed to dissolve into something resembling tree roots, also covered with scales, and from the creature's back came a long tail, the end of which branched and swayed.

Massive wings, with blade-like outgrowths glistening at the ends, emerged from the creature's shoulders and hid the sky itself from Pina's eyes. The dragon scales, which were a dull blue color, and the rest of its inhuman features were covered in veins that shone with a bright, ominous scarlet light. In addition to it, however, a soft gold was present, which slightly softened the creature's appearance.

The beasts, unmoving, still growled at the creature, to which it cast them a sympathetic and pitiful look.

- Wake up, private! Who is it?! How do we confront it!!! - the officer questioned the soldier, shaking him by the shoulders.

- We can't... - the soldier squeezed out of himself, then looked the officer straight in the eyes - This is Tiamat, the mother of gods and dragons in Mesopotamian mythology. And she is absolutely immortal, as well as invulnerable to any weapons we have.

- M-mother of the b-gods?! B-immortal and n-invulnerable?! - Pina couldn't stand it anymore.

She grabbed her head, and her back, palms, and forehead were wet with cold sweat. Her hands were shaking and her heart skipped a beat every now and then.

Pina didn't know what to do, what to hope for. She simply couldn't believe what was happening right now. And she wasn't the only one. Everyone who had even partially heard what the creature was had come to the same state of mind as Pina.

No weapon could harm the goddess who appeared before the walls of the capital. No effort could offer even the tiniest hope of survival.

The fighting spirit was fading fast, like a candle flame under the oppression of a winter blizzard. The hands of the defenders slowly sank and their grip weakened, causing stones, arrows, bows, swords, and anything else that could be used to fight to fall to the ground. People simply saw no point in fighting, as the outcome was obvious no matter what they did.

Pina's eyes went blank and a lone tear slid down her cheek. All she could hear now were the cries of the children and the cries of despair that echoed in the hopelessness-soaked air.

At one point, however, Pina heard the voice of a soldier who could recognize the goddess.

- But..." he started and stopped talking.

- But what! - The officer asked.

- She's not attacking... - muttered the soldier - And she's looking at the beasts, not us. Maybe we still have a chance?

As if hearing him, the goddess raised her head to the sky and sang. The black clouds quickly dissipated, and the sun, which had almost set behind the horizon, illuminated the now clear sky. And this scenery brought back a tiny but still hope to the people.

In the next moment, a whole sea of black liquid formed under the goddess, which almost reached the wall, but stopped a couple of meters away from it. And after a second, a variety of creatures began to emerge from it: a wingless dragon of a poisonous green color, whose lower half of its body looked like a snake; a sharp-faced reptile whose tail belonged to a scorpion; a giant red lion with a yellow mane; a lion-like dog with huge sharp fangs; a four-legged creature with human teeth, no eyes, and covered with bardic burning fur.

All these creatures came out of the liquid one by one, and then rushed to attack the beasts, which responded in kind. A natural carnage between the two hordes of beasts began, with Pina and the defenders looking on, eyes wide open.

And in her mind, the princess of the Empire shouted out what she was thinking at the moment.

"What the hell is going on!"

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.

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