I, Necromancer Chapter 31 (Patreon)

Creating the Domain Expansion wasn't done on a whim, or just because it is one of the powers I love the most in fiction.

It is because of what it can do, if we will it. It enforced a pocket of space to obey no outside Laws, no outside Rules, other than the ones I myself dictate.

It is a lawless dimension, where Angels could Sin and not fall, where Devils could read the Bible and not have their brains be liquefied in doing so, where Vampires could bask beneath the Sun and not be weakened.

It is a space where everyone is equal, but also not, for they are beneath the one that created it. Thus, they are beneath me. And I can fill that space with whatever I want.

I can flick my wrist and drown the domain in Necrotic Flames, or unleash attacks from any and all directions. I am the Domain, and the Domain is me. An extension of my Everything.

From my Magic, to my Undead, to my very Soul and the Sub-Species Sacred Gear laying within it.

And what did that Sacred Gear hold within it?

The Principles of Life and Death.

Three cups in total, one holding Death, the other harboring Life, and the third holding both, coexisting like they are meant to be.

One cannot exist without the other, after all.

Within this Domain, my body could be destroyed as many times as possible, but it would just come back. Any wound would heal instantly, and Death wasn't even in the book for anyone on my side.

The Ocean of Death caused rapid decay, aging any target within its waters entire centuries within seconds, while the Ocean of Life healed any wound, boosted my Undead with immense might, and devoured all the Souls of any monster that was swallowed by my growing Domain.

By now, it was hundreds of kilometers wide, millions of monsters flowed into it from all directions each second, only to die and be devoured. In turn, their death would make the Domain grow stronger and bigger as I devoured their Souls, strengthening my own.

My power swelled with each passing second, my armies kept growing more and more, and the sheer presence of Life radiating from my Domain due to the Ocean of Life was like a blinding beacon for any Gate Monster in the Beast Tide.

The entire North-West area of the Underworld was covered by me, soon to be swallowed by my gargantuan Domain, with no beasts able to pass up the apparently very juicy presence due to their demented, broken minds.

Still, if it wasn't for Hades' blessing, I wouldn't be able to devour this many Souls constantly. The sheer influx of power was making me feel like I was going to explode, hence why I was putting all of my Mana and Qi behind each blow that rained down upon the Wanderer's gargantuan body.

It didn't matter, because I recovered ten times what I used, even when I unleashed it all, over and over again. Even with the Undead army siphoning from me, and even with Mugen unleashing apocalyptic Spells to help with the strain, the blood of Ophis in our bodies was… Kinda fucking me over at the moment.

And this uncomfortable feeling isn't one I could just turn off with my Lich Body, as it came from my Soul. It was growing too fast and too much, but I kept compressing it, forcing it to maintain its shape.

Once I am done here, I'll have to ask Yi Xuan and Changli about some Soul Cultivation Methods. It would be a waste to not use one of my most powerful weapons, after all.

I blink as my body is destroyed, and then born anew, my steed leaping in the air with a nightmarish neigh. Hunter shifted her form once more, titanic tentacles covered in jagged spikes rising from the Ocean of Death and slamming down on the Wanderer, binding and pulling the roaring and flaying turtle the size of a large island.

Sparks rained down as spikes dragged and screeched against the Wanderer's impossibly hard shell. Another tentacle rose, becoming a path for my steed as I brandish the gleaming scythe, a green Sun blooming along its blade.

I've lost track of how long I've been tearing at this damn bastard, but the battle made me understand why it wanders around.

It is a Trihexa-Level being, but it only shines in absurd defense. It couldn't hold any territory in the Core Area of No Man's Land, and all the other beings on par with Trihexa basically kicked it out, and it only survived due to its defenses.

Thus, it became the Wanderer, feeding on stray Heavenly Dragon Class beings across No Man's Land, and the recent Beast Tide made it follow the masses. Mostly because it went where its food was, simple-minded as it was.

With a grunt, my Magic explodes forth, the scythe cleaving upward and ramming a supernova of Necrotic Flames into the turtle's jaw, rocking its skull skyward.

Then Ddraig came down, a roar of pure exhilaration flowing out of his jaws. His clawed fist came down so fast that it was a scarlet meteor, sending shards of his own body and the Wanderer's hard exterior flying in all directions.

Then his chest swelled, and blinding flames poured down, swallowing the Wanderer whole. The beast roared in agony, while Ddraig laughed aloud, "To think there was a punching bag that I could hurt even with Penetrate!" Somehow, having his Ignore Defenses attack do nothing made Ddraig even happier.

Though, to be fair, him and Albion are basically using the Wanderer to further refine their techniques and fuck around. These two dumbasses, I swear…

Lu Bu's roars come from the burning back of the Wanderer, the Undead raining blows upon it without care nor specific target. He was just happy that he could finally hit something that didn't die quickly.

My gaze flicks past the body of the Wanderer, once a pure obsidian black, now more than half of it was bleached gray, and those areas were brittle. It still took a lot of power to destroy them, but whatever magic the shell has to boost its defenses is now swiftly dying and growing weaker as the Wanderer aged.

By now, it must've aged tens of millions of years if not more. Nihil was eating away at it, and it was thousands of times stronger in my Domain, coupled with the Ocean of Death constantly pouring down the beast's body… The mere fact the battle is lasting this long shows how hard it'll be to deal with the Core Area.

I lift my free hand, a purple star blooming at the tip of my fingers before a Disintegration Ray explodes into being, pouring all of my magic inside it.

Mugen appears beside me, floating through the air alongside my galloping steed, staff moving to stand alongside my outstretched hand.

His magic connects with mine, and the mountain-sized purple ray swell, swallowing the Wanderer whole, even drowning out its wail of pure, complete agony.

Its form keeled over, falling from the skies once more, and collapsing into the Ocean of Death, just for it to wail more as its lifespan is eaten away.

Hunter's form swelled, tentacles pulling the turtle deeper into the waters, and the two Heavenly Dragons flew down, hammering blows down its back to keep it there.

I use the moment of respite to flick my gaze past my Domain, my Soul Sight allowing me to gaze at all my allies.

Everyone was still alive, if a bit tired, but pushing back the initial immense hoard. Sirzechs had taken care of the issues on the Norse side, Ajuka had… Changed, and cleared the area in front of the Devils side, thus giving them a moment of respite.

Serafall had turned her own enemies into ice sculptures. Alive, but bound and likely frozen for eternity, or until Yah decides to shove them into a Sacred Gear.

Still, casualties were mounting, and fast, on all sides. I had to move fast if I wanted to bring them back, else they'd move to their own afterlives, where… I'd rather not think about it.

The afterlife here wasn't perfect. It was abhorrent, even. Too slow, too cluttered, with not all Gods of the Dead doing their job perfectly.

Especially due to the Gates. Who knows how much death they caused in just two decades, after all.

All because I had to go and fucking play God.

As I sweep my gaze past the horizon, I let my shoulders sag in relief. Zani and the others are okay, still alive, and so is Fleurdelys, her Soul blazing as she battled Rizevim, the one I was waiting for.

"Your target finally showed himself, Vali." I turn away, using just a fraction of my magic to help him come back. A sonic-boom cracked the Ocean of Life open, and a white-red figure shot out of my Domain and across the Underworld in a split second.

I breathe out, the constant influx of Souls still being too much, even with me dividing it between all of my Undead Minions, and even giving a share to Ddraig and Albion.

I was keeping it together, but I was reaching my limit, and fast. The Wanderer must reach it first.

My gaze flicks to its Soul, as blinding and as radiant as the Sun itself. Aging it was making it slow, weak, but I don't know how much more it will take to kill it that way. Tens of millions of years have already been shaved away from it, yet it still isn't enough…

The shell is hard, its lifespan is immense… My gaze flicks to the mouth, and I smirk.

When it wailed from another one of a Ddraig blows, the black water of Death rushed down its throat together with me. The scythe of my blade gleamed with pale green flames, giving me light as I rushed down the gullet of the titanic beast.

I had thought about attacking the Soul, but I do not want to damage it. I need it, after all.

Thus, when the exterior is hard… The interior must be weak. At least this long battle allowed me to empower my tools, my Scythe and Spell Book and Armor, myself and my Undead Minions, to absurd amounts. Not that the Beast Tide is anywhere close to being over, of course.

I reached the immense cavity that was the stomach, and nearly paused at the sheer amount of corpses within it. Half-decayed, not digested, and covered in rot.

It feels like its body can't digest them… The Wanderer was never a carnivore, was it? Whatever was its main food, it either doesn't exist here, or its mind is too shattered to even think about finding proper food, just devouring anything it could.

But then why target just Heavenly Dragon Class beings? My gaze flicks past the corpses, each one looking… Drained.

It feeds on energy? That probably explains it. Though its stomach is now cluttered, unable to digest these corpses. What a weird beast.

Shaking away those thoughts and wonders about this body, I instead call upon my Magic, gathering the Mana from Mugen and my immense, growing army of Undead beings.

I don't know if it'll find a way to attack me from the inside, so it is best I unleash all I have and can in one devastating blow now that I am here.

A pale Necrotic Sun blooms above my palm, reaching a brightness that was downright blinding as I poured my reserves and the reserves of Mugen and other Undead inside it over and over again.

I kept going for a minute, then two, then three, until the Spell swelled and was reaching the point of self-detonating.

The good thing about having stolen the book from that Arch-Lich is that it has all sorts of Spells from Dungeons and Dragons, all the way up to the Ninth Level.

And there is quite a nifty Spell at the Seventh Level called Finger of Death, which unleashes unimaginable pain through a creature.

Thing is… What if I overcharge it, and unleash it when aiming it straight at the organs?

The answer?

The collapse and decay.

The stomach ruptures and pops open, a tsunami of blood ravages the inside as the Wanderer let out the loudest, most horrifying agonized wail yet.

Its blood is corroded by Necrotic Magic, turning a foul smelling black sludge that pours out of any holes it could.

Organs collapsed and turned to mush, bones decayed and cracked, and body massively weakened, the Wanderer collapses, stomach bursting open as Lu Bu, Ddraig, Albion, Hunter and Mugen unleash a final array of blows upon it, finally cracking the shell and beast open.

The beast's immense vitality runs dry, and I let the exhaustion digging deep into my bone marrow wash over me… But I fight it back for one last, final struggle.

My hands, trembling and weak, reach up to grasp that immense sun of a Soul, and I devour it.

Power floods my very being. Enough to unmake me from the inside out. Enough to make my very Soul crack and collapse beneath that sheer wave of power.

But despite my darkening vision, despite the agonizing pain of my Soul collapsing, I hang on and call upon the Sephiroth Graal. Upon the Principles of Life and Death.

I can wield them freely while within my Domain, for I dictate so.

Thus, even with all the immense waves of power ravaging throughout my very existence, I allow a grin to split my face apart.

My hands clasp around that glittering star of overflowing, excess energies, and call upon the Principles of Life and Death.

And with one final struggle, I tear the star asunder.

A wave of immense power washes forth as my Domain collapses. It sweeps past the land, past the Underworld as a whole, past each Dimension and Realm of existence and livable corner of our world.

Every single Soul, trillions of them, be they human or not, monster or not, that had been on a nigh eternal cue was instantly taken to the Lifestream.

Death was no longer cruel. It was no longer darkness, then waiting in a line. It was no longer cold. It was no longer the mistake of a moron who unwillingly played God and caused untold amounts of death in just two decades by tapping at a few squares on a computer screen.

Spirit Inheritors will no longer be a thing, for they are such a cruel existence. A past Soul superimposing another, subsuming them with their stronger will and presence, but also being tainted by their current host, thus creating embarrassing stains on those once magnificent legacies.

The Souls of fallen Angels and Fallen Angels from the Great War, still scattered across the Underworld, were returned back to Heaven.

The impure Souls of Devils, ancient and recent alike, were given access to the afterlife too. Access to Reincarnation, access to being bleached and getting the chance to be reborn as a Human in their next life.

Gods no longer will need Faith to be reborn. As long as another God gave them Divine Energy, they could reform their bodies, or they could slowly recover at the seat of their power.

Everyone could now Live and Die properly. Be it Man, Devil, or God.

The wind howled in my ears as I fell from the titanic carcass of a butchered God, the smile on my face as radiant as it could ever be.

Despite all that, I allowed a breath of relief to flow out of my nostrils as I closed my eyes.

Finally, since I acquired the Sephiroth Graal and could properly handle it… Finally, the billions of wailing Souls have finally gone quiet.

Hell is empty.

And Death shall forever remember the shape I gave it.

~XXX~

Sometimes, Fleurdelys really had an urge to curse her father.

He had the stupid habit of creating things- Bad, horrible, and sometimes highly dangerous things, and then just either forget about them, seal them, or just… Ignore they existed in the first place.

Why couldn't he just destroy the tools he knew were so dangerous that they could threaten him instead of sealing them away?

Because then his idiotic first son would of course grab the most powerful and dangerous tool and brandish it like a child swinging around a knife not knowing how sharp the damn thing is.

Albeit, Rizevim knew the knife was sharp, he knew it was dangerous to him and those around him, he just didn't care. He was throwing a tantrum, he wanted to hurt everyone, the how didn't matter at all.

With Malacoda in his grasp, Rizevim finally had a decent outlet for the immense strength granted to him by his Super Devil genes. All that raw power was being used to fuel the Malebrache with the power of Evolution, enhancing his body, his senses, and allowing the Son of Lucifer to finally master what he couldn't due to his inherent laziness.

Compound eyes to follow Fleurdelys swift movements perfectly, a mighty exoskeleton of metal and chitin, limbs enhanced with the physiology of animals, insects and all manners of species just to bring out the highest amount of strength from each of his blows, the highest speed from his movements, all so he could overwhelm the one Devil he hated the most.

Fleurdelys' horn burned, glowing like a brilliant purple Sun, the Defiled Waters coming down like a titanic waterfall, heavy and hot both, so much they distorted space with the sheer weight and heat they possessed.

Her head was tilted, like a curious cat, as she watched Rizevim advance through the raging and heavy waters. His body was constantly changing, constantly Evolving… Yet his presence was growing weaker. His reserves were being eaten to supplement the Evolution, and when they run out… Malacoda will eat him, so to further refine and Evolve itself.

It was such an obvious flaw, but one a fool would never be able to notice. No wonder her father had the weapons sealed.

She raised her blade, the movement slow and practiced, as she had done since she was small, since her mother could teach her how to wield her magic, and her father teach her how to swing his blade with that gentle smile on his face.

There was no style. Just brute force.

She raised it above her head, bent her arm until the blade was perpendicular to her back- Then swung.

Rizevim tensed, six arms rising and crossing six blades that stretched out of his exoskeleton to block the falling blow.

A crescent-moon cleaved the heavens and the earth apart, leaving behind a colossal ravine in its wake. Rizevim quivered, standing just a step before the ravine came into existence, right shoulder cleaved apart, hanging just by a few threads of flash and bone at the waists.

Then it snapped back, healing him instantly, the exoskeleton taking on a strange, gleaming golden shine beneath all the dark color.

Fleurdelys raised her blade once more, floating forward and above, her presence causing steam to rise from Rizevim's form, his exoskeleton slowly turning a glowing white-hot due to the pressure and heat of her Light and Water.

Then Fleurdelys smirked and tilted her head, her blade halting, "You might want to brace yourself, brother."

Rizevim didn't brace himself.

"Boost!" A white-red meteor rammed into Rizevim fist first, the punch landing squarely across his left cheek, caving in the man's skull and sending shards of metallic chitin flying across the air.

Rizevim sank knee-deep into the earth, the pressure of the blow sending arcs of plasma bursting into the air from the bowels of the earth.

His body was then shot into the earth, sending plumes of dust flying high into the sky- But Vali followed suit, a flash of silver and red, blue and emerald gems flashing brightly across his suit of armor.

His wings howled like jet engines, his fist swinging through the air with such speed it super-heated before striking Rizevim's stomach, caving it in and sending his form flying high into the Heavens from the bowels of the Underworld.

His disfigured, healing form flipped through the air, before a blade glowing with burning profane light stabbed straight through where his heart should be.

Compound eyes flickered, meeting Fleurdelys intense gaze as their forms plummeted from the skies. "You can't scream at me anymore, can you?" Her gaze softened, Rizevim's shattered hands rising and trying to choke her, tear at her face, punch in her eyes. Anything.

"What a sad existence you are. And what a sad death you shall have, brother."

It tore at heart that this was her family. That her brother and sister had never loved her.

She had looked at their backs, sometimes wondering what if they had been one big, happy family. But instead, what she got was their hatred, because she was born with everything.

Rizevim was born with power, but… Stupid. He inherited nothing from either Lilith or Lucifer, and wasted his Super Devil genes.

Tsufamee was born a proper Leviathan, but was born from a union with a Devil that the original Leviathan had not loved. Her heart had always belonged to the Morningstar, and giving birth to a child that was not his felt… Wrong.

Then Fleurdelys came along. Lilith adored her and pampered her, nursing her when she never nursed Rizevim while the original Leviathan was out leading her armies.

The Leviathan adored her, would tell her stories before bed, would brush her eyes, would knit things for her. Things she never did for her first daughter.

And the Morningstar taught her how to swing her blade. How to call upon her profane Light. Threw parties for her, and had Ancestors grovel before her during her birthdays.

"In the end, we are shaped by the mistakes of our parents, brother." She wrenched her blade out and sent his form flying down, "I shall love all my children unconditionally. That I promise you."

Her blade hacked down. A black star fell from the Heavens, and a white-red one flew up to collide against it at Mach speeds, the collision causing a ring of compressed air to bloom and sweep forth like an annihilating wave.

Vali ground his teeth, gauntlet clad fingers digging into Rizevim's skulls, uncaring of the blows raining down upon his silver and crimson armor, born as a fusion of the two Heavenly Dragons.

"Your careless 'advice' made my life a living hell, because that pussy of a my father feared me." Their skulls collided. Scales and chitin cracked from the catastrophic impact. Vali's clawed fingers dug deep into the cracks, drenching themselves in blood. "I couldn't enjoy a proper childhood. I couldn't live with my mother. With my siblings."

"Now, she doesn't even know I exist because of you." The blue gem on the left side of his chest flashed constantly, a chanting 'Divide!' being repeated by it over and over again, siphoning away at Rizevim's strength. "And you took that revenge from me when you killed your own son. Thus, I'll take it out on you."

With a roar brimming with pure, unbridled fury, Vali launched Rizevim down towards the destroyed earth with all of his might, then smashed his palms together, the armor around his arms shifting and fusing together.

His wings screamed, spewing mountain-sized silver and emerald flames from them.

Divide stole Rizevim's energies, Boost enhanced them more and more.

The armor around his arms swells, slowly forming a cannon-shaped weapon bigger than Vali's own body, which he aims straight down at the falling Rizevim.

From it, a scarlet star with silver edges blooms to life, turning the skies that very same shade of color.

"Heavenly Dragons Eternal Flare!"

The cannon fired a shot using Ddraig's Penetrate, which Boosted the Divided and stolen excess energies of Vali's target.

There was no explosion. Just a flash of light that vanished as fast as it came.

It pierced down until it just vanished, leaving behind a several kilometers wide pit with seemingly no bottom.

Vali panted, pale in the face as his armor slowly reverted back to wing form. He flew down, staring at the hole, sensing nothing from it other than his remnant energies.

Rizevim… He was gone. He had no final words, for he could speak none.

His death… It wasn't satisfying to Vali. Not one bit. But he had always expected such a thing.

He takes in a deep breath, then lets it out as Fleurdelys floats down beside him, her own rampaging might slowly dissipating away. Her armored palm landed on his shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Finally, that disgusting stain on my bloodline is gone." A cold, aloof voice sneered out. Vali turned, staring at the beautiful woman with blood-colored eyes, hair and dress.

The woman blinked and floated in the air, staring straight at him with curious eyes, "Sweetie, who might this boy be?" Lilith questions, and Fleurdelys floats closer and hugs the woman, tossing Vali a cheeky grin.

"Aunty Lilith, meet Vali Lucifer, your great grandson."

Vali blinked and stared at his great grandma.

Lilith blinked right back, jaws falling open.

"You mean to tell me… That my foul creation somehow procreated?!"

Vali lifted a hand, "His failure of a son managed to procreate too."

Lilith shivers, a look of disgust crossing past her face before she focuses back on Vali with a critical eye. "...Eh, better than Rizevim, at least. Call me Aunty."

"But you are my grand-"

"You call me that, and I'll shove your head up Samael's asshole."

"Nice to meet you, Aunty."

Lilith smiled, wide and cheerful, then proceeded to take Fleurdelys' and Vali's hands in hers.

"Now, I have some questions… Mind telling me why the fuck my Underworld is at war with everything?"

Vali didn't even know where to start, but he didn't pull away from the hand holding his own.

This was family. A family that welcomed him.

It was nice.

~XXX~

The war at the borders raged on and on. Days flew by and turned into weeks.

After the initial wave, the battlefront was stabilized. Hades withdrew his armies of the dead, letting only the corpses of the beasts keep the tide back while the warriors built immense walls within moments.

Hephaestus had joined, mostly as a bet with Poseidon and Zeus, who had dared the Blacksmith God to make a wall that couldn't be smashed through.

Hephaeustus and his demigods took that challenge a bit too seriously, and filled the walls with so much automatic and manned artillery that it took five days for the first monster to even reach the walls.

In the end, Hades laughed at the pouty frowns on his brother's faces as they had to give their prized weapons to Hephaestus to study for a while.

The Heavenly Host didn't remain idle either, moving from one battlefront to the other, assisting in building walls, securing battlefields and perimeters, healing anyone that could be healed, and handling powerful monsters certain sides couldn't handle.

Ajuka had erected immense wards and barriers and walls to assist the Devil side after having created some breathing room for them, and with the other Satans present their armies faced no real danger.

The danger, then, completely vanished when the Mother of Devils returned after resting and properly recovering.

Her presence ignited the blood of the Devils present, nearly intoxicating them as they felt their might swell to levels they could never imagine.

Her blood created copies of the monstrosities they battled and slayed, having them support the Devil side and take the blows in their stead.

But Lilith didn't create more Devils. She looked at the current generation, saw the mistakes of the past, and decided to just support the current children.

They were no longer weapons meant for war, after all.

Changli and Tio had gone to assist the Youkai in the south once more, with Changli's armies of Cultivation Beasts having ravaged the tides with gusto and pure, unstoppable might.

Yi Xuan had taken Zani to the Chinese Faction, and Zani had mostly just sat on the ground far ahead of the main battle line and devoured the time of anything that came within her range. Yi Xuan had to go pick her up days later because the woman had fallen asleep.

Cantarella instead hung back in New Haven, enjoying the view from the walls as the demonic aquatic beasts Scaith had made ravaged anything that came within range, dragging them beneath her poisonous waters to become food.

The Heavenly Dragons instead roamed free, tearing across battlefields and No Man's Land without care nor aim, picking targets close to their level of power.

Ultimate and Satan Class monsters were innumerable in the tide, forcing every side to grow stronger, to grit their teeth, to struggle against the unending tide that turned the skies dark with their constant demented presence.

Sometimes, at least a few times a week, a Heavenly Dragon Class beast slipped through the net. Immense battles ravaged each time they were caught, and they were always with casualties. Even Gods fell.

And yet, because someone had changed the very meaning of Death, Gods no longer feared Death. They looked at it as a moment to rest. As a moment to close their eyes properly and come back good as new.

Then they came back, better, stronger, sometimes even wiser. If that someone wasn't named Ares, who had died five times in the span of three weeks and was being laughed at by the Norse Pantheon. Ares nearly started a war right then and there.

Then, most gazes shifted to the north-west. Green clouds that rained acidic, Necrotic Rain swallowed the land there.

The land was a defiled black, Necrotic Lightning struck constantly, Necrotic Flames spread with the steps of the unstoppable army of Jianqshi.

Where all other Factions held their position, the Army of Death advanced.

Lu Bu led the armies at the front, leaving rivers of blood and mountains of torn corpses in his wake, soon to be turned into additional numbers to the armies walking behind him.

Hunter took the skies with the other profane beasts, spewing lightless flames that left nothing in their wake.

Mugen hung back, standing at the end of a staircase leading up to a grand, empty throne made out of bones and burning profane flames. Titanic corpses dragged the throne, and the growing statue behind it.

The Undead offered their tithes to the throne. The tithes burned, turning into wisps of Necrotic Fire, and each burned tithe made the statue grow, take shape, enforce its presence in reality.

Mugen could feel it. He could feel his essence changing. He could feel the nearly billion strong army grow with each tithe, their profane flames growing stronger.

The first week had many casualties. The second barely had half as many. Then third even less. And this current week, the Undead army had no casualties.

The more tithes they offered, the greater their Lord became, and thus the stronger they became in turn, for he does not leave his soldiers behind.

The zeal of the Undead army grew, and grew, and grew. Each corpse was a tithe. Each Soul was one too. Thus they killed, and killed, and killed.

They raised more comrades, their minds filled with greater clarity, and the Priests joined them.

They bowed before the throne and the statue, chanting prayer after prayer with their very Soul. Nothing concrete, something that Mugen could quite understand without holding the Sephiroth Graal.

But each prayer was felt. It made the growing statue thrum and hum, its profane presence growing and growing.

Its shape wasn't concrete yet. Mugen couldn't quite stare at it without feeling a headache, when he shouldn't even be able to have them.

Whatever the statue was becoming, it was likely his Lord Divine Form.

He was letting his army give it shape. Give it meaning. Give it power.

He gave them Life. Thus, they in turn gave him the World.

Mugen watched the armies advance, supporting them from the back like he has always done.

Meanwhile, he hoped his Lord was enjoying a proper, much deserved rest.

~XXX~

"My Lord! Allow me to use my body to soothe your aches and heal you-aya!"

"Will you quit being so indecent, Tio?! You are shoving those melons of yours in his face! He can't breathe!"

"Like you wouldn't want to be in my position and take on these most sacred duties- Zani, don't you dare get ahead of me this time!"

"You snooze, you lose, lizard."

I blinked at the sheer craziness inside my room, my back resting against the bed frame as I watched the women before me nearly tear into each other.

Fleur laughed softly, leaning against my left side, having been the first to arrive when I woke up, her hand holding mine while Zani tried to crawl into my lap, ignoring Tio trying to shove her face away, while Changli in turn tried to pull the indecent Bune away.

"I've been asleep for quite a while, I presume?" I ask Fleurdelys, her head tilting to rest against mine, and I welcome the affection and presence. Hers and the others too.

"Nearly a month, my love." Her hand squeezes mine tightly, showing the worry she must've felt, and my heart squeezes at her endearing nickname, "Mugen told me what you did. That was risky."

Yeah, it was. But it was needed, and necessary.

I focus inward. The Sephiroth Graal was dormant, still drained after what I did, even with all the death currently happening across the Underworld.

My Soul instead… It was blazing brightly, still digesting the influx of power I devoured. I feel a bit weak, but it'll be like so until it settles. Another few days of proper rest, give or take.

I can't wait to see how powerful I've grown. I also feel… Something else, though I can't quite focus on it. A strange, grand presence and pressure, deep within my Soul. I feel it changing me and my Necrotic Magic, but I can't quite put my finger on the how.

I shake away those thoughts for now.

Instead, I look at Fleurdelys, "How did your mission go?"

She smiles. It wasn't radiant, just… Soft. Calm. "Rizevim is gone." I allow my shoulders to sag at that. Finally, that stain has been removed. We don't need traitor among our enemies right now. "The Machines had gotten a grasp on him, and I fear they may have extracted all he knows from his mouth and mind."

I shrug at that, "Euclid was the mind behind his everything. The Machines likely only have little to nothing on their hands." She laughs softly at my words, while my hand reaches over to brush through Zani's hair as she drops her head on my lap.

Tio, of course, wails in outrage at that.

Fleurdelys then informs me of everything that I've missed. The Beast Tide is still ongoing, as more Gates open and spew out beasts while we kill them and close the ones that already exist, thus creating more space.

Luckily, the situation has stabilized on all fronts, casualties are rare now, aside from when Satan or Heavenly Dragon Class beings show up.

Luckily Transcendent Class are close to the Core Area, but if one shows up then Yah will likely sense it long before they do. Those things are on par with Michael himself, after all.

Then she informed me that Yah sealed the Dimensional Gap, much to my surprise. The seal of course wasn't going to hold for long. Two years at least, five years at most.

Thus, we have to use this span of time to push back the Gates at least to the Core Area, and grow stronger as we do so, as then we'll have to handle the Void Beings and the Machines.

There were already some plans in place, one being from Fleurdelys.

She'd gather an army and advance one thousand kilometers straight ahead from a Faction walls, create a swift fortress there, and start a siege, using anything they could to draw over the beasts.

The siege was going to be used to train and grow those that need it, but also to let the Faction push their walls forward so that they have fall back options.

Then the fortress would be left in the hands of the specific Faction, and Fleurdelys would bring her army away and create another fortress for another Faction.

They are also meant to be look-outs and early warning signals, because the Heavenly Dragon class beasts cause too much damage each time they appear. The fortresses will help prevent that.

As for me… I have a feeling Yah will want to talk to me soon.

With a grunt, I move and go to rise from my bed, "C'mon, let me get washed up so I can cook you ladies something." It takes some bartering and promises of intimate time later to stop Tio, Zani and Fleurdelys from following me into the showers.

And I had to make sure Yi Xuan wasn't lying in wait either. Damn vixen.

Though, Fleur does leave me with some parting words.

"Dress up, my love. My Aunt Lilith really wants to meet you."

So, uh… I'm meeting the family. Mainly, the Mother of Devils.

I kinda wanna go back to sleep now…

A.N. Next few chapters will be them relaxing and preparing.

Then, the next arc will start, which will have quite a few new characters that I'm gonna love writing about.

Plus, we are now quite close to the end of this fic. Just two more Arcs, then next one, then the final arc!

Jeez, never expected it would have gotten so close, but I am loving doing this.

Is there a setting you think you'd want to see with such a Solo Leveling Cross-Over?

I was thinking of doing a My Hero Academia x Solo Leveling like this next, just not on this Apocalyptic Scale, and much slower.

Lemme know what you all think about!

Toodles!