God of Nothing

Rayse and his friends stood face to face with the Demon King. She eschewed her simple but practical work garments this time, going for a much more menacing appearance. Her armor was as deep as night, such that even standing where she was, both the morning light and illuminate's shine refused to reflect on it. Whatever it was made from, it was made shoddily, as if errant streaks of metal had tried to escape. The result was a brutal looking, fear inducing silhuette, as if before them stood a shadow of a ghastly demon, come to escort them to hell.

"You…" Aleph said from beside him. Do they know each other? His master moved to cover him, drawing his blades.

"Godling. We meet again." Lost gave a little bow to greet him. Her voice echoed through the closed helm, giving it a menacing tone. "I've stayed in your realm for some time. It was quite comfortable."

"Hey! You better not mess around in my master's sanctum, ya freak!" Brandon roared. Rayse noticed he was sweating a lot, and thought his friend was using anger to temper his nerves a bit.

Rayse shook his head, resuming his work, regardless of how meaningless. Lost showing up means they've foiled her plans somehow, but he still wanted to make sure. Even with what he got from the workshop, he still doubted he'd be of any use in the fight.

"Ha! Such bluster! Your students are quite amusing, God of Nothing." Lost said, sending out waves that chilled Rayse to the bone. He tried not to let it get to him too much, but Lost acting like her usual self in this setting felt so surreal that he could hardly believe it. The familiar voice contrasted with the otherworldly armor is really throwing him for a loop.

"Why have you come, Puppet of Erebos?" Aleph interjected.

"I've come to settle the terms of your surrender. Why else would I have come?" The demon king pulled out a deep purple gem, which shone wickedly at her touch.

"hArK! oUr sAvIoR HaS CoMe!" The mad king cried. It seems that whatever Lord Vaynard and his brother did to subdue him has come undone.  "UnHaNd mE, mY ChIlDrEn, LeSt yOu dOoM Us aLl wItH YoUr iGnOrAnCe!"

"I hear your cries, king of Mios." Lost declared, using the same voice magnification magic that she had been using on the king. "Now speak. Will your people bend the knee? Or will you let them die in the service of my god? Either gift is acceptable."

Shadows once again crawled out from underneath her, threatening to swallow the populace. Rayse could see people fainting en masse, unable to handle the demon king's presence for any longer.

"Stop!" He cried, redirecting his efforts now to the encroaching dark. The shadows slowed to a halt, then started to pull back.

"Ehhh?" Lost exclaimed, and suddenly it was like he was speaking to his friend again. "I thought you couldn't do that anymore?"

Before Rayse could answer, several people attacked her all at once. Streams of light shot out from above him, streaking right into his former friend. It did no visible damage, only serving to finally give the black metal a brief sheen. Aleph and Brandon struck next, perfectly engaging her from several directions. Lost pointedly ignored Brandon's mana blade, and it dispersed as soon as it touched the black metal. A swift kick followed, taking him in the midsection and sending him flying into the crowd.

Clang! She blocked Aleph's blade. She took out a spear made with the same dark metal. What Rayse thought was one of the errant metal spikes was actually a weapon. Lost's voice came ringing back.

"Superb!" She taunted as she crossed blades with Aleph. They matched each other blow for blow, their deadly dance looking more like a performance. Lost's advantage in reach was all but nullified by Aleph's aggression, pursuing the fight in close quarters. The demon king, understanding this, matched his step forwards to her own, maintaining the distance as she loosed air slicing thrusts. The pair anticipated and countered time he saw anyone match his master's skill with the blade. Faced with such an epic fight, a

Rayse felt his own skill growing with every clash. He selfishly thought it would be great if the fight went on forever, until an attack finally made purchase. A shining meteor struck Lost, sending her crashing into the wooden stage right next to him. The meteor bounced off and settled into Aleph's side. The light waned to reveal a panting Carrack, who was down on one knee.

"Insect!" an irritated Lost cried out. The jewel in her hand shone a wicked light, emitting slicing shadows towards the pair. Aleph covered the recovering Carrack as well as himself with a wide emerald shield. The shadows bounced harmlessly against it, scattering harmlessly as soon as it made contact.

The shadows continuously battered Aleph's barrier, locking him in place. Lost roared menacingly, letting her anger boil over. Rayse's vision blurred, nauseous at the intense bloodlust she emitted. It caused him actual physical pain. Struggling to stand, he saw everyone else reacting the same way. Beyond the mages, he found the closest members of the crowd dropping like flies, still as corpses. 

That broke something in Rayse. He snapped into focus, charging at his former friend. He pulled out 'that thing' from the sleeve of his shirt and lunged at the demon king. A brilliant green light shone from the knife he held, filling him with strength.

Kshhhh!!

Sparks showered overhead as Rayse's blade skated across Lost's spear. His attack was batted away almost casually.

"Nice toy, kid." 

Rayse wasn't having it though. He may have been her friend at one point, but now, her mere presence was actively harming everyone in the area. The brilliant green gem shone ever more brightly as he drew more power from it. 

"LOOOOOOOST!!!"

He got ready for a second strike, putting all his strength into it, but this time, Lost got the initiative. A quick punch to the gut dropped him on his knees before her. She continued to send endless waves of shadows to the masses, and it took all of his master's magic just to defend them. A lot have finally begun to escape this place, but there were still a lot of people on the ground from the demon king's previous outburst.

"No… Stop…" Rayse begged, holding onto her mailed boot. The overbearing presence assailed him once again, threatening to pull him under.

"Submit, and the pain stops." She answered, staring straight ahead. It was like she was addressing everyone else, rather than him, looking out in the crowd like that. He felt heat emitting from his back as the stage started to burn. He wondered when that happened, but it only served to add an orange cast into the already bleak scene.

The orb in her hand shone more magnificently, intensifying her efforts against Aleph's barrier. Cracks slowly ran across it, unable to endure for much longer.

Rayse saw all this, but Lost was still ignoring him. Does she think I can't do anything?

He gripped his weapon hard, psyching himself up for another attack. The ground surrounding him shook, and the shadows all around him responded. The surging mass of darkness slowed to a halt, then started to converge in his position.

"Stop." Lost demanded under her breath, this time without voice magnification. It was clearly addressed to him, but Rayse didn't care. 

"Valiant Blow!"

He slashed upwards, putting his all into the attack. His target saw it coming and reacted in an instant. She slammed her head down, meeting the point of the blade literally head on.

Krsshhhhh!!

The knife shattered into countless pieces. Rayse looked straight into the demon king's eyes peering out from her helm, unable to read the emotions within.

"Stand. Down." Lost said again, more firmly this time. They stayed like that for a while, with the demon king looming over Rayse like a jagged mountain. It was the case even though his body was larger due to Valiant. Was she always so tall? Rayse dismissed that thought and met her gaze with as much fire as he could muster, hoping to convey his answer through them. In response, Sonia's gem shone brilliantly, as if the woman who held it before was adding her courage to his. At the same time, he gathered as much of the shadows as he dared, enveloping both him and his next attack.

Rayse pulled out all its energy, fueling the spell he spent all night practicing.

"Unbroken ascent!"

The metal shards on the floor took on the same emerald luster before surging into the demon king. They gained size as they gained momentum, eventually stabbing her from every direction. They shattered once again upon hitting her, but Rayse kept up his own attack, thrusting with the newly formed spear in his hand as it grew in size like the rest.

Lost was stunned. She elected to ignore the other shards, opting instead to block the vicious thrust that was headed her way.

Skreee!!

This attack was blocked like all the others before. The difference was the sheer level of power Rayse displayed. Lost took a step back for the first time since the battle started, and he capitalized. He turned and lowered his center of gravity, performing a circular sweep with his spear. That managed to trip his adversary, making her vulnerable to more attacks.

"Unbroken cascade!"

Fragments of metal floating in the air once again reformed into giant metal spikes. This time, they rained down on a defenseless Lost.

The offensive kicked up a dust cloud, making Rayse unable to see how effective his attack even was. He could sense each hit gaining purchase though, so he kept it up, reforming each and every shattered splinter into more spears. They endlessly rained metal upon her until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Enough, son. Sonia's heart will shatter." Aleph said, and he immediately obliged. The spell cut off immediately, letting the dust and broken remnants of the stage settle. The fire grew intense, though, letting Rayse finally have time to see where it was coming from. The bright orange flames cast a large shadow overhead, an inctedible figure covered by the shadowy cloud of mana that he himself put there.

On the ground was the demon king, laid out flat on the ground with the shattered remains of Deceit's mana heart laying beside her. She wasn't moving, but Rayse could tell from the state of her armor that even with all that, she didn't take much damage.

"Call it off." Aleph commanded, and Lost immediately sat up as if getting out of bed. She held out her hand and shouted a command of her own.

"Come, Betrayal."

The large shadow swooped down in a flash, intending to crash right where they stood. Aleph moved quickly, taking Rayse and retreating.

It was a dragon, of similar appearance to the one Deceit changed into during the attack on Kyrios. This one was clearly no fake, though, exuding a killing intent that did not seem lesser to the demon king's own. It landed right next to her, completely destroying what's left of the stage.