***The World***

***Nova***

“...send him back to Hell!”

Then Hara twitches and pained disbelief enters her expression. She arches her back strangely, still looking down at me, nicely caged inside their barrier, unable to do anything but watch as layer upon layer of magical defences are piled on top of each other. Having assured herself that I couldn’t possibly be the source of the underhanded attack, her eyes wander down to her chest.

A crystal blade, shaped like a short sword, slowly blooms from between her modest breasts, smoothly sliding through flesh and bone. As the blade is seemingly birthed into the world, the cloth of her pristine, white robe turns a dark red with blood, blooming like a terrible flower.

Bending forward, I push the blade of my spear further in and lick over Hara’s pristine neck, tasting her fear.

“Hell is already full of those who suffer, so I am afraid that I have to stay here with you for the time being.”

“Hara!”

Lemion notices me first, and I quickly float backwards before a ray of light can hit me. In the same action, I retrieve the spear and give it a triumphant twirl, creating an arc of blood. The God of Health catches his dying comrade, casting a powerful healing spell, but there is nothing he can do.

For a moment, the gazes of seventeen horrified gods are locked on me, wandering over my golden regalia, fitting for Nova, the Necromantic Empress. Smiling, I raise my spear and lick the blood off the blade, smacking my lips as if I found the metallic taste delicious. “It tastes like freshly pierced heart.”

It took me a while to set up a situation in which I could be reasonably certain to get to Hara, which was an impossibility as long as she was surrounded by Lemion and at least four of her comrades at all times. There would have always been someone ready to interfere.

But when they decided to lock me inside a barrier, they bound all their numbers to cage me in, leaving only Lemion at Hara’s side. With Hara unprotected, it created an acceptable opportunity for a surprise attack.

Screaming, Lemion charges at me, summoning some kind of gauntlets to his hands.

Spinning around myself, I allow our auras to collide, ignoring the resulting arcs of plasma between us. Using my spear for stabbing, I lash out three times in quick succession, putting enough force into the mere movement to evaporate a mountain in the distance.

Then I am past the deity who allowed himself to lose control of his emotions, only slightly knocked off my course. The opportunity proves to be perfect, so I rush forward, slicing straight through the back of the closest opponent who is supporting the barrier. He parts into two halves, cleanly separated.

Lemion’s healing doesn’t matter in this fight, as long as I continue dealing killing blows. Being the only one with access to Crystal Weapons should account for all the advantage I need.

Having dealt with the first supporter of the barrier, I continue onwards and impale another god. My spear sinks into the side of his chest and I twist, ripping it out through the front in a spray of blood and bone.

With his chest opened and bare to the world, he falls, tumbling to the ground.

The rest of them gets the hint. With at least one of my bodies free to move as I please, they can’t keep up an effective barrier. Caging in my other half is no longer a feasible plan, so they disperse in an attempt to rally their resistance.

Four of them decide on a frontal assault and our auras collide after I tanked a few half-hearted spells. Laughing, I reply in kind, throwing energy with enough power to obliterate mountains. Anything less wouldn’t even scratch a deity of mediocre power.

One of the attacks caught an unlucky angle, and somewhere in the distance the planet’s horizon visibly deforms, as a blast of pure force rips open the planet’s crust.

Realizing that this battle can’t end with anything else but an extinction level event, they act. Some are trying to contain the forces called forth by the combatants, but bereft of their commander, their ranks dissolve into chaos as some abandon their teamwork in favour of fighting Nova. They attack with the desperation of those who are sensing inevitable doom, no longer holding back anything.

Sensing my chance, I push my defensive sphere outwards with my other body, letting out a scream as I try to put as much energy as possible into the expanding cloud of Crystal shards, turning them into shrapnel shooting outwards with Ascathon as the centre. Sometimes, it’s the most basic of ideas that’s the most effective.

Raising my spear in a defensive stance, I take a pathway away from the centre of the deadly cloud of projectiles to protect myself from any serious injuries. With most of their numbers so close to the barrier, there is no real reason to aim.

Caught off guard, most of my opponents get injured or maimed at the very least, if not outright incapacitated. There are screams of pain and horror as flesh is pierced, bone shredded, and limbs torn off. Sadly, nobody is killed outright, but two gods fall from the sky, unable to continue the fight. Scarcely anyone got away without some kind of injury and I count only three deities who were quick enough to evade through the pathways.

With a last flicker, the pierced remains of the barrier collapse and I am able to participate in the battle with both my bodies.

I/We join each other, turning back to back with our other self, then the enemies attack in a wild frenzy. Without their leadership, injured and disorganized, they rely purely on their numbers. We tear through the survivors in a deadly and beautiful dance as their ranks dissolve into chaos. Faced with our perfect unity, they turn into nothing more than sheep, ripe to be hunted down.

They are just dogs who thought they were hunting a cat but found themselves facing a tiger.

Where Nova attacks, Ascathon defends. Where Ascathon casts, Nova blocks. Joined in a single aura, the two bodies don’t repel each other, while our attackers are so numerous that they actually hinder each other.

A crystal shard blows through the forehead of a deity, taking off a sizeable part of the back of her head and emptying her brain. The blunt end of my spear caves in a chest, while my dagger cuts through the swinging sword in his hand.

Auras grate against each other, creating an oversized lightning sphere in the sky above the world with us at its centre, its discharges singeing the continent. Each blow is strong enough to evaporate a city. Our enemies orbit around us like planets around their sun, certain that retreat wouldn’t be an option.

They bet everything on this attack in the hope that confronting Tjenemit with a fait accompli would give them a reasonable chance at survival. But by now the damage to the world is already far too great to be brushed off as a minor mishap.

Their only choice is to fight and to fall, one by one they fall…

***The VOID***

***Seria***

I stopped chewing my Nachos by the time the battle started devolving from a genuine fight to a seemingly one-sided Ascathon-bashing, wondering how much longer Myrm’s distraction would hold. But then I reasoned that if the Alliance of Light had found a way to delay Ascathon long enough, it would have been reasonably easy to delay their own leader.

Myrm is smart, reasonably ruthless and a person of authority among her followers. But she has a dangerous personality flaw. Once she decided that a person is on her side, she trusts them implicitly to the point at which it would be easy for a traitor to stick a knife into her back.

Then the tide changes for the worse and they actually manage to seal Ascathon inside a barrier. I slowly get really worried that I would have to change my plans, but decide to wait a little longer. Ascathon would never enter such a battle without some kind of ace up his sleeve. And that means more than Crystal Weapons.

Originally, I deemed the chance of Ascathon being defeated by a bunch of lesser deities and a few random mid- to god-tier immortals nearly impossible, but Hara and her fellowship proved that even small fry can accomplish something if there are just enough of them.

Then Ascathon suddenly gets assistance in the form of Nova and was now obviously using two bodies, both sharing one mind at the same time.

I spew wetly salivated Nachos all over the extra large viewing screen of my bungalow. Anticipating a major fight, I had moved my floating island to a secret location inside a Void-Zone, incidentally making sure that none of my guests would be able to escape.

The yellowish remains of chewed Nachos on the screen cause the rest of the audience to look at me with disgust, but I pay Karin and Ashley no heed. This is my place after all. If I want to mess everything up, I do so.

Altogether, I had managed to gather twenty-eight of Ashley's daughters before something fatal could happen to them, causing my little island resort to be a little crowded at the moment. The overall mood on the island could be called touchy at best, not only because I had liberally abducted anyone who I managed to get my hands on, but also because there were currently no men available to satisfy the succubi's desires. I wrinkle my nose, trying my best to ignore the smell of about two dozen needy demons.

The only point in my favour was that I also had managed to 'save' the souls of anyone who died.

“Holy shit in a bucket,” I mumble. “I didn't know he could do that!” Looking sideways, I glance at Ashley who wears a rather annoyed expression while sitting on the furthest corner of the couch, watching the live-feed with me while staying as far away as possible. I admit that I kind of deserve that after putting her under house arrest.

Normally, I would never forcefully recruit somebody, but this situation is a little different. At least I want to think so. In case Ascathon ever remembers them in the future, I am sure that he would like to know where they are.

Ashley shrugs. “He is one of the best soul and mind mages I've ever met. It's not surprising that he would be able to control both of his bodies.” A smile steals itself onto her lips as she watches the fight. “It begs the question whether he realizes the true potential of being in control of a male and a female body at the same time. It opens the opportunity to explore sexual paths that are closed even to me.”

For a moment, my brain refuses to process her words, coming up only with static noise. Then I try again and it finally clicks. “No! He wouldn't do that!” Or would he, he would never!? Ew...

Sensing that she hit a nerve, Ashley continues, “You know, he is clearly not unused to either gender. I heard that it happens to immortals every once in a while, genetic lottery and all that. It would be no different from jerking off – only that the available equipment is so much better, so I see no reason why-”

“Not listening!” I cut her off, shaking my head. She is trying to mess with my mind because I showed her that she is no opponent for me in a straight up fight.

Karin's expression turns full of bloodlust and she points at the screen. “Look! Those motherfuckers are finally getting what they had coming to them. Ascathon and Nova are like one of those insect lanterns, with their enemies being inevitably fried once they get too close.”

I return my attention to the battle and have to admit that the analogy is correct. Ascathon is certainly showing why no sane deity would mess with a full-fledged god. With this show of power, it feels like he would even be able to stand up to Tjenemit.

A fleeting hope, but no more.

There is more to the situation than just Tjenemit. Even if we were able to smite him, it would just mean bringing the rest of the Council down on our heads, and every one of them is at least as powerful as Ascathon or I am. That doesn't even include the hundreds, maybe thousands of lackeys they could throw at us at a moment's notice. Not to mention our chances once the Council actually decides to raise an army.

I seriously consider the idea of abducting Ascathon and Myrm and to tell them about the whole situation.

But no. Even if there was no argument at all, our victory would be far from guaranteed at this point. At the moment, we have no supporters. We would be buried beneath the Council's minions until we dropped from sheer exhaustion. Not to mention that Myrm is extremely unreliable in her current state. It would be just as likely that she would turn against us, even knowing the full extent of the truth.

No. We have to go with my plan, which ensures the Council's defeat. Sometimes you simply have to play the long game, even if it's painful and tedious.

I get to my feet. “I have to go now. It's likely that Myrm will find out any minute now, and I have to be with Tjenemit when things go up shit creek.”

“You mean that things could get worse than they already are?” Karin glares at me, not even attempting to hide her hostility towards me. I can't blame her. My only excuse is that she wouldn't be able to help anyway. At most, she and even Ashley would stand in the way.

“Yes!” I reply, steeling my voice. “Tjenemit could decide that Ascathon and Myrm are too dangerous when he sees them fight, or takes account of the aftermath. I have to be there when he makes his decision and whisper the right suggestions into his ear.”

Taking a pathway, I head for the administrative section of the Crystal City, hoping that my timing would be just right.

***The World***

***Nova***

A body is torn apart in a shower of blood. Another pierced by a spell. One's power fades, unable to keep up with the energy discharges between our auras. He simply disintegrates when I discharge another arc of plasma, lancing through him.

At the edge of my consciousness, I realize that all of this is happening, but I don't care. The diary at my side is humming with power and it makes me feel just too good. Like in a trance, I keep on fighting, reacting to anything they throw at me. One part defending, the other attacking in perfect harmony.

Then the last opponent falls, down into a scorched landscape no mortal could live in, the earth itself turned to magma, leaving no signs of a previous battlefield or even sentient life. There is nothing in my mind and I just float there, back to back with myself.

Three people arrive, the woman among them feels like the order to my chaos. There is also a large man and a small one. Their mouths move, talking feverishly to the woman, apparently trying to hold her back. While the small man positions himself between me and the woman, the large one approaches me, talking.

But there is a haze in my mind which makes it hard to understand them or even to think. Are they enemies or allies?

The Chaos tells me that it doesn't matter, even if they aren't hostile. My overall directive hasn't changed, which means cleansing this world of the world enchantment. Those three are just another hurdle. Smiling, I follow an internal whim and strike down the larger one with a swipe of my blade.

***The Crystal City***

***Seria***

“Enter!”

Following the command, I step through the entrance and into Tjenemit's office. He is sitting behind his desk, clad in a pristine, white robe, clearly occupied with administrative duties.

“Ah, Seria. Why are you here? You normally don't show yourself unless you are called.” He furrows his forehead, looking up to me as I approach his overly large office desk. My gaze is fixed on the window-front behind him. It grants an enviable lookout over the Crystal City, making me wish I had an office like that.

His demeanour quickly turns impatient when I don't answer him right away.

“You better spew out what concerns you. A pretty bizarre murder case landed on my table this morning, and I would prefer for it to be solved sooner rather than later.”

A murder case he is taking care of himself? It must be pretty serious if he decides that a mere minion like myself wouldn't do the job.

“What happened?” I ask.

“Someone decided to disembowel one of our paper pushers on the lower floors, then cast a pretty nasty necromantic rite to revive just his head. Normally I would say, ‘Fuck it!’, but the whole affair happened right here in our administrative headquarters. Such a thing shouldn’t go unpunished, or it would give the common folk the idea that we aren’t as untouchable as they think we are. The poor sod who got beheaded had to wait on a table for the entire night, feeling everything that was done to him without the ability to lose consciousness. The mind-mages had to wipe his memories completely because, by the time he was found, he had already gone over the edge of insanity. They will release his soul afterwards, allowing him to walk the path of transcendence anew.”

He points his pen at me. “Normally, I would point the accusing finger right at Ascathon. There is no doubt that he is the kind of person who would do shit like that. In fact, that’s exactly the kind of mission I would give him. He is always good at making a point of an execution. Necromancy, combined with the ability to kill a deity within the Crystal City without anyone ever noticing that an aura was released, that’s also in his skill-set. I've looked away more than once when he did it. One or two people per decade are a small price to pay for someone with his abilities. But Ascathon isn't that stupid. He is reasonably skilled at cleaning up his messes, so there is no way it’s him.”

I wince.

Tjenemit drops his pen and his expression turns flat. “Why does your expression tell me that you know the culprit?”