Author's note: My apologies for having disappeared like that for the last 2 weeks. Due to personal matter which has now been resolved, I was unable to write any chapter and have just restarted a few days ago. To be honest, having not written anything for long, the chapter is not that long and took more time than I thought compared to the previous ones. It will take some time before I can retake the usual speed like before so please bear with me for a while.

But enough babbling from me! Please enjoy!

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THE PHOENIX HAS RISEN ONCE MORE

Embers and ashes floated to the whim of the gale across the battlefield. From the large pyre a figure stepped out, walking forward toward the group. With veins of fire covered her body and clothing, emitting an intense heat, her every step melted the soil below her feet, turning them into molten lava. The fieriness was so intense, it evaporated all sources of waters and humidity around the woman while the far-away land dried out and cracked on its own. Her presence was like of the sun, only instead of staying in the sky granting us the warm light the world needed to survive, it was now on earth releasing its burning fury, obliterating all lives.

“Prepare yourselves!!! She is coming!” Lilith, still recovering from her wounds, shouted at the group.

With her fiery fist, Asmodeus lunged herself at the target closest to her: the ten winged celestial. However, what she or anyone else did not expect was that the celestial was no longer her old self: weak and frail. No, she was now much more than they have thought she was, than any of them could possibly imagine. Using the pole of the great lance, Ikarus blocked the heavy fist that was so heavy it created a crater under the celestial’s feet but no injuries to her body.

“You…when did you become this strong?” Asmodeus uttered in surprise facing the celestial. Having lived in Alastor for years, if there was any source of power or any individual standing out, Magnus would have told her of that person. Yet, the celestial in front of her now was unlike anything she has ever seen. Even though Ikarus has not gone onto the offensive, the demon lord could feel the surge of power increasing, waiting to be unleashed from inside that frail body.

“I gain this power so I can bring him back to his reasons.” Ikarus answered.

“Alastor wants this. This is revenge for all the things the world has done to him. And you who claimed to be his lover, his family, dare raise your sword against him?” Asmodeus fumed.

“It’s because I want the best for him. To love someone does not mean I will do everything he wants. Not like this! There are already enough tragedies as it is. No matter what happens, destruction is not the way to do it.” The celestial muttered as she pushed back the almighty demon lord. “I am doing this because I love him.” Ikarus used all her strength and launched the demoness away from her.

“So am I. We both do this for love. Let’s see whose is stronger!!

”

A giant snake made of fire and heat scorched the ground it passed through and turned everything it touched into cinders as multiple copies of it rose from Asmodeus before attacking the group. Such high concentrations of mana made them almost invulnerable against physical attacks and only affected by magic.

“”

Using her own sword, Maria stabbed herself before pulling it out. Like a flood, crimson liquid poured out of her wound toward the sky and fell down again, somehow dispelling the snakes while leaving her allies untouched by even a single drop of blood. It was outlandish to see that much blood that could probably fill a river was coming out of her pale body. However, Asmodeus has used that chance of her recovering and dashed toward the Huntress, piercing her chest and pulled out her heart.

“Now you die!” the demon lord crushed the heart into a bloody mess, much to the horrors shown the others’ face.

“MARIA!” they shouted.

“…Ha…ha….ha!” To Asmodeus’ bewilderment, the heartless figure standing in front of her was somehow still alive and even laughing in a broken tone. “Hahahahahahaha!” Without warning, the silver-haired woman wrapped her arms around her waist and embraced the demon lord tightly. It was at this moment Asmodeus could see the pool of blood below the two as if they were bathing in it.

“”

In an instant, hundreds of thin long needles made of blood rose from the crimson pool and skewered the two repetitively. One after another, they pierced through the skins onto the other side before pulling back into the pool, letting another piercing from another angle. The consecutive attacks made it impossible to escape from and Maria holding her firmly only added to the restrains.

After a moment of that deadly tortures, Maria let go of the motionless demon lord, somehow survived that ordeal despite all those wounds just a short while before. Strangely, the wounds on her body were all gone while Asmodeus’ was filled with holes, simply because she healed too quickly, making it seem as if she was not even hurt in the first place.

“No….you die!” Maria smirked.

Suddenly, fire emerged from the carcass of the demon lord as spears of fire were launched in all directions. Some managed to pierce the Huntress before she melted into the pool of blood and appeared from another one in order to get away from Asmodeus.

“Is she immortal?” asked Maria.

“Yeah…she can revive as many times as possible. It’s practically impossible to kill her permanently.” Lilith replied in awe after witnessing the horrifying skills of Maria. Since when did she get this strong?

“Then how did she die in the first place?” asked Edward.

“…She killed herself. Only when she abandons her will to live, can she die.” The goddess answered.

“So what? Asking her ‘can you die please?’ “ Viviana said sarcastically.

“……”

“Don’t forget about me!” Jumping down from above, Asmodeus dived down like a meteor, crashing onto the middle of the group. However, just before she could land, white feathers floated on the air as ten huge wings stood in her way like a shield protecting everyone under it. The impact was immediately negated upon contact with the soft ashen plumes of the celestial before a strong wave force seemingly emitted from the wings pushed the demon back.

“You won’t get passed that easily.” Ikarus proclaimed. “Not when I am here!” She struck down the demon lord with her large spear, only to be caught by Asmodeus as the two engaged in a battle of strength.

“”

The lowest pair of wings and also the smallest of Ikarus shined brightly, giving her an incredible boost in physical attribute. Lifting the spear along with the demon lord with ease, the celestial shook her from the weapon, launching her on air.

“You!!!!” Asmodeus raged, firing a volley of fiery projectiles from her back onto the battlefield.

“”

The second pair of wings from below shined. A soothing wave of energy echoed from Ikarus across the field, creating shields of light and healed her wounded allies, protecting them from the rain of fire.

“”

The third pair of wings shined. In an instant, the celestial disappeared from her spot and reappeared behind the confused Asmodeus who was unable to follow her. With the pointy bident, Ikarus stabbed the demon lord from behind before raising the spear high above toward the sky.

“”

The fourth pair of wings shined. A holy light pierced through the clouds and shined upon the impaled demon lord who was paralyzed before the divine luminescence. The white ray somehow managed to burn the demon lord, making her shrieking in pain. For the very being claiming to be the reincarnation of fire itself, how was it possible for her to be burned by anything? But unexpectedly, what caused her wounds was not the heat of the light. It was its pureness, a miraculous energy that purified the very essence of the soul. Or at least that was what many would claim it to be.

However, reality was different. For this strange power came from the user’ sense of justice, created from Ikarus’ perspective. To her, all her enemies were evil and that light she used on Asmodeus only affected them while leaving her allies, those who were good, safe.

The body has now turned charcoaled on the spear under the light. With a simple shaking of the weapon, the carcass crumbled into dust falling onto air, leaving no traces of the Living Flame behind.

“Is…is this over?” Viviana asked.

‘….No!’ Yggdrasil uttered.

Another surge of energy spiked as the particles of ashes converged themselves to one location and formed a body. Once again, the Phoenix rose from its ashes.

“Impossible!” the cat girl uttered in shock.

“I have long surpassed the realm of mortals since the moment I was born…” Asmodeus put a hand on her knee, standing up with her new body. “This accursed vessel…is unable to die and my will is forever bound to it…This monstrosity..I..was created by you Gods, Lilith.”

“I…” The Goddess muttered.

“What? Why would you create such a thing?” the cat girl shouted.

“It was simply a test, to see if we could create another race…We never intended for it to be…”

“To be this kind of monster you could not control? Do you have any idea of the pains you caused me just to satisfy your curiosity? But that’s just how the Gods are right? You don’t give a damn about your creations.” A fiery flame engulfed Asmodeus. “I will purge all of you!!!”

Without giving her enemies time to rest, Asmodeus, now recovered from the wounds with a completely new body, proceeded to take out the seemingly weaker foes first. At first glance, she could tell that Ikarus and Maria would be the biggest challenges thanks to their mysterious boost in power. But what about the boy who seemed to have no place in this situation?

Spotting the light speed charge of the demon lord, the young boy has taken out the gift that was given to him. Holding the hourglass horizontally on his hand, Edward cast his spell.

“”

“What? Why can’t I move?” Asmodeus uttered in disbelief upon seeing that her punch has been stopped by Edward with just one hand. Even weirder, her palm has actually turned into black and white without able to move or even flinch. In fact, there was something like a bubble of black and white surrounding her palm. “What did you do???” The demon lord shouted.

“No matter how powerful you are, the shackles of time are absolute.” Edward uttered as he grabbed her wrist. His face however showed a perplexed expression with a deep regret. “I am sorry for doing this to you…Please forgive me!” With his fingers, Edward reversed the hourglass from its direction from before.

“”

“AAAAAAAAA” Asmodeus roared as she felt every inch of her skin and bones being touched, ravaged by the course of time. But unlike Beelzebub, Edward was not trying to speed her age. For that would only allow her to be reborn again and the cycle would keep going. It was impossible to kill her, not with the current means they had. So the only other option was to seal her away and by that, Edward intended to keep her in her own prison.

Bright light engulfed the demon lord, blinding everyone before subsiding. The moment it was gone, everyone looked back at Edward who was now by himself. The demon lord Asmodeus was gone. In her place, lied a small egg. Cold and lifeless, the thing did not have the same warmth it used to possess when being found by a certain boy. How many years did it spend in this state before meeting him? Nobody knew except it. However, with its time now completely rewound, those memories, those feelings it has developed…they were all gone. It was as if the person known as Asmodeus has never existed in the first place. In a way, this was the cruellest thing that could be done to someone: to take away their very own self.

“Ha….ha….ha” Edward breathed heavily. “It’s…over…argg..!” the boy collapsed on his knees over a pain on his chest. He could feel it, his own time being drifted away. This spell has cost more than he expected and the price would be immense. “ *heavy breathing* Only fourteen left? ….damn it....”

“You okay, boy?” a short figure appeared behind the unsuspected boy who was too exhausted to even turn back. Yet, despite that fatigue making all his muscles numb, he was still able to recognize the voice. It was Sullivan.

“Yeah…*heavy breathing* I am fine” he panted.

“Doesn’t sound like it….But…What did you do to Asmodeus?” Sullivan looked at the still egg.

“Asmodeus may be immortal….she may not has an end but she had a beginning, a time before she became that powerful…All I did was reverting her back to that state, her body, her power, her memories. I have reset everything. The individual known as Asmodeus no longer exists in this world.” Edward explained.

“Reset???...What kind of magic was that?” the dwarf uttered in shock upon hearing the revelation.

“Trust me..you don’t want to know or have anything to do with it.” Edward said.

“…Alright then. Let’s just get you out of here!” Sullivan helped lifting the boy up with his shoulder. “Whatever you did, it worked. Now there is only one last opponent we need to defeat.”

“I know…Master must be stopped.”

…..

As the group gathered up after the intense battle, a pale large figure with glossy skin who has watched the battle since earlier started to smile insidiously. He did not expect this kind of result at all. No one thought Asmodeus could be defeated and the most these people could have done was to greatly weaken her. However, the result was very different from anyone’s expectation. Even more, these strange powers employed by the trio of Maria, Ikarus and Edward far exceeded all imaginations. While that aspect has not been taken in account, especially Edward’s unusual abilities, the figure believed this would matter not to his own plan, not to the incoming event.

“Maragon, Asmodeus….they are all gone. Alastor won’t interfere so only Lilith is left…But those three…no matter. The plan shall proceed.

Finally, after all these years…Finally…Now the main actor of this act shall enter the stage.”

* * *

“THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!!!!! HOW? HOW?????”

“Can you stop it? You are hurting my ears.” A female voice spoke.

“We lost all the demon lords!!! All of them!!! Even Asmodeus! And you want me to calm down?”

“We still have still other weapons and Tartarus is not out of the game yet.” The woman said.

“What troubles me is how they managed to defeat Asmodeus. If they indeed did that by themselves then we were wrong to underestimate them. We must accelerate the plan! The Gate of Celestia must be opened!”

“And it will!”

* * *

The sound of trumpets echoed across the battlefield. Without warning, a strange torrent of rain poured down from the sky as well as geyser of massive quantity of water appeared, creating waves and many tunnels of water trailing on the ground. From them, creatures of the deep sea attacked the soulless invaders taking the form of a girl in white. Controlling them all was one such strange creature itself, being half man half fish. A woman with white skin like snow and hair as red as rose, her beauty caught the eyes of all men who had the chance of witnessing her prowess in battle. Wielding powerful magic and an odd golden trumpet that seemingly controlled all these supernatural phenomena around her, the fish woman quickly regained the control of the battlefield as she lent her assistance to the helpless people of Astora.

“Incredible...” Noroeth uttered in shock. “Who is she? Or rather, what is she?”

“Who or whatever she is, we are lucky to have her on our sides. With our leaders busy taking care of the demon lords, there are no one else that could assist the soldiers in the battle. Well, that is until now. With her help, we will win this war.” Ganon said.

“…..” Unlike the two excited masters upon seeing a chance of victory, the youth Lucas remained silent, staring at the strange woman since the first moment he laid his eyes on her. While perhaps he might have come to terms with his growing feelings for a certain cat girl, Lucas could not deny the alluring charm this woman had and its effect imposing on him. What a dilemma! But such was the passion and stupidity of youth.

*Bang* a solid object hit the behind of his head lightly, bringing down to earth from his fantasy. “Fool of a Lucas, what are you staring at in the midst of a battlefield?” Ganon scolded the young man.

“Grandmaster Ganon! Oh I..I..uhm…” Lucas stuttered.

“Ah youth!” Noroeth grinned.

However, as the young man tried to look the other way to hide his embarrassment, he noticed the presence of something strange coming toward them in the sky: a massive cluster of murky cloud that moved simply too fast for its peers. A storm perhaps?

“Hey, what is that?” Lucas asked the two masters, pointing at the strange thing.

But they too did not know what to make out of it. For a cloud, it looked a bit odd with its strange texture and swirling motion that seemed almost alive. That was because it was.

“A mana storm?” Ganon uttered. But his question was answered by an unexpected source.

“No…” the red haired woman replied from her bubble floating above the men. “Death..is coming.”

It started to rain from afar as the cloud drew closer and closer to the group. But unlike the rain the fish woman was summoning since earlier, the drops were actually silvery in color. It fell onto the landscape, the grass, the rocks and of course the soldiers. Unable to grasp what this could mean, a soldier put his hand on his face to wipe away the substance.

“What the hell is this?” He looked back at his hand now covered in a weird silver-like liquid.

…..

“AAAAA” a horrifying scream shocked everyone, turning their attention to the soldier. Holding his arm firmly in pain, the soldier was shouting in fear when he noticed the silver drops were entering his body through his skin. In an instant, hundreds of drops around him moved themselves like slime toward the screaming man. It only took a few seconds for the man to vanish from his location and only a silvery blob was in his place before breaking itself apart into tiny little drops moving toward the group. Those who were not quick enough were quickly consumed as the rain continued to advance into the continent from the coasts.

“That is…the Living Metal Akroma.” Noroeth affirmed his fear. “RUN!” He shouted at the rest of his men who were frozen in fear upon seeing what happened to their unfortunate comrades. “You too, order your monsters back! You are no match to its power.” He turned to the half-naked woman.

“....” Watching the rain of death coming toward her as it ravaged through countless soldiers on its way, the crimson-haired woman raised her golden trumpet and gave it a long blow.

The sound of the Trumpet echoed across the world

“Oh Great Bastille of the Depth, listen to my call! Rise and…fly!”