Chapter 152

Arc 15 - Dead Men Rising - Part 5

Lucifer's dimension:

Far above the conventional multiverse, a small dimension lied that was hidden from the view of most.

Nazar opened a portal to the dimension and walked through it.

"Where is he?"

A few moments ago, Lucifer asked him to come to his dimension so they could create a counterplan.

But now that he was here, Lucifer was nowhere to be seen, so be wondered if he had changed his location.

"Ugh," he let out a soft grunt with a roll of his eyes.

The small dimension, which felt like it was larger than a universe, laid before him and he found it tiring to search him at every corner.

When you invite someone, shouldn't you be here to greet them?

He shook his head while he cursed him under his breath.

Nazar clasped his palms together, creating a unique vibration that could be felt across the whole dimension.

“Not here, huh?”

But there is someone else… Someone with a different signature---!!

His body leapt up in reflex, moving forward.

If X or that bitch is here, then Lucifer might as well be dead. And if… But wait if he is dead, then the multiverse will crumble… Unless-- Doesn't matter. I just hope he isn't dead. I don't need more shit to deal with today.

He flew through the infinite green fields and a never-ending ocean, but he could not find the source of the energy.

Is the dimension changing to keep me out?

“Such pain,” he stopped moving and spoke in a tired voice.

Lucifer built the dimension to be his haven, away from the meddling gods and angels, so it was designed to keep them all out unless Lucifer wanted otherwise.

“Worst host ever!”

Nazar clenched his fist.

He increased the gravity of the dimension to pull him down as fast as possible.

Okay, so I have sufficient control over certain aspects of the dimension.

The ground pulled him down and he swung his fist forward, slamming it into the green ground, causing the surface of the dimension to jiggle like jelly. The jiggling caused the laws of the dimension to be distorted momentarily.

Nazar used that opportunity and flew away towards the energy signature he was feeling.

Before the laws of the dimension returned, Nazar reached a small forest of trees. Behind the giant trees, there stood a beautiful castle surrounded by a colourful garden.

What’s their obsession with medieval castles?

Nazar landed in the middle of the forest and walked slowly towards the source of the energy.

The thick trunks of the trees moved apart and made way for Nazar.

Usually, it would have attacked an intruder, but it seemed as if they feared him.

Shortly after, Nazar stopped walking as he noticed a figure in this colourful garden. Their long golden hair danced happily in the slow and warm wind of the summer.

The long golden hair gleamed under the yellow sun in the blue sky.

“!!”

The figure turned around and looked in the direction of Nazar.

While they moved abruptly, Nazar’s eyes perceived them very slowly. It was as if he was watching something in slow motion.

It can’t be…

He shouldn’t believe what his eyes sees, but he did not care and shot himself forward.

He closed the distance between the two of them and reached his hand forward.

“Huah?!” the figure yelped as they felt something oddly familiar.

Nazar wrapped his arm around the waist of the figure happily and hugged them tightly, “Aarin!”

“Nazar?!”

He picked Aarin up from the ground and spun around happily. Her body was spun around as if she was a feather.

“I missed you so much.”

“Wah--- Wait, a minute. Slow down!”

She had never seen Nazar this happy before, so she scoffed before smiling softly.

"Honestly, you…"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and spoke softly.

“I missed you, too.”

“I looked for you but did not expect to find you here.”

“Me neither.”

“Can’t believe you are having your honeymoon already.”

“...”

She pouted her lips in sarcastic anger and she slapped him on the back of his shoulder.

“But man, it’s great to see you,” Nazar put her back on the ground and caressed her face with a happy smile. “I thought you were gone-- Ah, are you hurt in any way?”

“No, no, I am fine. But...”

Her smile slowly started to vanish as she recalled what happened a few days earlier.

Nazar noticed that and put her down.

“Don’t you dare apologise.”

Aarin was taken back a little.

“It’s not your fault. I know that someone controlled you,” Nazar smiled a guilty smile. “Anyway, I don’t want to bring back sour memories, but what happened that day? Who hurt you?”

“I don’t--” she let out a soft grunt then shook her head. “It was your friend Rewind.”

Nazar narrowed his eyes.

“What did he do?”

“I don’t know. He just touched me and then I lost my vision. The next thing I remember is Lucifer’s face. He told me what I did to you. I tried to go back but he said this is safer for me.” In a barely audible voice, she added, “I should have left instead of listening to him.”

“I see...” Nazar bit his lip as he thought. “So, you don’t know what happened to Solace?”

“Solace...” Aarin widened her eyes. “What happened to her?”

“She vanished on the same day as you,” his voice carried a hint of sadness.

“That… What abou-- Have you looked for her?”

Nazar nodded.

“I tried everything I could, but nope, can’t find her anywhere. And when I had that blasted ability, it completely slipped my mind. For some reasons, X or that bitch doesn’t want me to think about her.”

“X? Bitch?” with a puzzled look, Aarin questioned.

“She is...” he trailed off and let out a soft grunt. “It’s a long story. Let me tell you everything I have found out.”

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A few short moments later, Lucifer ascended abruptly from the ground near Nazar and Aarin, causing Aarin to yelp.

Angrily, Lucifer said, “We don’t have a lot of time, finish your chatter and let’s go. ”

“Can you two not do this, please?”

“Do what?”

“Do what?”

The two of them questioned at once.

Aarin grunted, ”I don’t know, LIKE POPPING OUT OF NOWHERE WITHOUT A WARNING?!”

“She is clearly agitated about something, I am out,” Lucifer walked away from the two of them. “But finish this quickly.”

Nazar and Aarin stared at one another blankly for a few moments.

“So, what’s up with you, sis?”

“What do you mean?”

“That energy… It’s different. Very different.”

“That’s… complicated. But let’s talk about that later,” Aarin placed her hands on his shoulders. She put a lot of force into her right hand, forcing him to turn away from her and face Lucifer. “So, please, go now. The universe needs you.”

“But I don’t need the universe,” he spoke tiredly. “Also, why is he so angry today?”

“I suppose that’s because of what happened the other day on Earth. He told me a little but from what I gathered; you did wrong.”

Nazar clicked his tongue, “We were both at fault.”

While Lucifer was walking far away, he heard that.

With his face twitching in anger, he turned around and looked at Nazar.

“What?”

“You heard me,” Nazar shrugged. While his tone was carefree, Lucifer could sense great seriousness in it.

“Your power was ravaging across time and space, destroying, and creating things as it saw fit, and yet somehow I am at fault?” Lucifer walked towards him angrily.

“Precisely.”

“Pray tell me, how?”

“If you hadn’t transmitted the images of dead Eddie into my mind, using that ability would have never crossed my mind. But when I saw those images, that’s when I realised, I had to do it and was looking for an excuse.”

“I--"

Before Lucifer could say anything, Nazar continued.

"If you want me to rectify that, then say so. I will get rid of the new multiverse in a second. Do you want me to do it now?"

"I don't need your help with something so simple. I just want you to be more considerate of your surroundings. You are the filth at the top, so the damage you cause to us is considerably high. Either stay all the way at the top or change."

"Change?" Nazar scoffed. "On whose standards?"

"That's not for me to decide, but you. Change or else you will pay the price."

"Are you threatening me?" Nazar smiled evilly as his eyes turned crimson red, getting rid of the white.

"I believe I am."

"You cannot kill me."

"Of course, I can't. But doesn't mean I cannot hurt you."

Nazar scoffed, "How?"

"You are invincible but others--"

Before he could finish, Nazar kicked the ground, shaking the dimension to its core.

"Haha! It's easy. You are so gullible," Lucifer clicked his tongue and walked away. "Come with me, God, we need to save the universe."

However, he did not get any reply from Nazar.

"Let's go, I said," he said loudly in anger.

"No, I need to go to Earth. Something just came up."

Nazar's eyes returned to normal as he opened a portal.

"Sigh, I understand that you wish to protect your little sister, but this is not the time. The fate of the universe hangs in balance."

"I know, but this… It's more important."

"Need I remind you; this is your mess we are cleaning"

Lucifer clenched his fist as his face twisted in anger.

With his teeth grinding, he kept himself from punching Nazar in the face.

All Lucifer had to do was throw his body backwards, and it will be easy.

But at the same time, he had to endure the silliness of this ultimate God for he is needed to save the universe.

What would be the sensible thing to do?

Force the ace of the game into doing something he doesn't want or convince him in a way that he would do his job, without feeling like he was used as a tool.

Lucifer wondered between the two option.

The last one was the most sensible since if Nazar is forced, small missteps could cost him everything.

So, Lucifer decided what he wanted to do.

He unclenched his fist and sucked in a few deep breaths, calming himself down.

"Ple--"

"He is back," Nazar cut off his words with a spaced look on his face.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Both Aarin and Lucifer widened their eyes.

"That's--"

"It's worse than we thought," Nazar looked across the cosmos for certain people. "Those who were erased from the very existence have also been returned."

"Wait, you are kidding, right?" Aarin asked with a worried look pasted on her face.

Deep down she was hoping Nazar was lying because that would be much worse.

"This is bad. Across the multiverse, beings--"

"He is back, too," Lucifer cut off Nazar's words. "And he has grown immensely since then."

Seeing the worried look on Lucifer's face, Aarin and Nazar exchanged confused glances.

"Sephrah."

Aarin's body shuddered in fear before freezing in her place.

Nazar, however, did not understand.

Did this name hold any meaning?

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Billions of years ago- Heaven:

Orion, the Angel of War stumbled across a small room - almost like a prison - hidden from the view of most.

The angel whose blood was constantly raging with fury suddenly lost that feeling as a new emotion overtook him.

Curiosity.

Why does a small room like this exist in Heaven anyway?

What could it be hiding?

A titan, perhaps? An old God, perhaps?

“!!”

His body jerked as he heard a rustling sound from within the room.

“Who is there?”

He stormed through the door with great conviction.

If it's a titan or a God, he will slay them like he has many times before.

But what he found was not a titan nor a God, but an angel with an interested smile.

“Arael?!”

Arael, the Angel of Power’s white halo shone brightly above his head.

“Oh, hello there, Orion,” the angel was looking around the dark old room and he did not look back to the Angel of War. “What brings you here?”

“That is what I wish to know as well.”

“Nothing much, I just felt the presence of an angel here, but I cannot seem to find them.”

The confused Angel of War looked around.

“Can you still feel it?”

“Mm-hmm, I still can but I cannot see an angel. Can you?”

“... No, I don’t think I can sense anyone here.”

“Any… one…?”

Arael abruptly turned his head around and looked at Orion.

“What if it’s a thing?”

“...”

Orion stared at the excited angel blankly.

“That would be amazing, don’t you think?!”

“...”

He did not understand why that would be interesting, so he let out a sigh.

“And get rid of the gloomy look on your face,” Arael turned away from Orion and continued to search. “We might be soldiers, but we are not robots. We don’t always have to feel the same emotion.”

“What are…?”

“I have a goal, a grand goal.”

“That’s good,” Orion ignored his goal and focused and searched for this “angel”.

“Are you sure you do not want to know?”

“...”

Orion looked at Arael’s back and frowned.

While he could not see his face, Orion could tell how dejected Arael felt.

“...Go on.”

Arael let out a victorious sound.

“I want angels to be more than soldiers. To feel more than one emotion.”

“Ah, I see. Good goal.”

Hearing his enthusiastic reply, Arael clicked his tongue.

“You will see--- AH!” Arael squealed excitedly. “There it is! I FOUND ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!”

Orion had to cover his ears because of how loud he was.

“So, this is it, huh?”

Arael picked up a sword from the ground and held it in his two hands.

“Volda, the Angel of Blades.”

“How do you know that?” Arael looked back at Orion in a confused manner.

“It told me.”

“Oh,” Arael let out a dejected sound like a puppy. “I suppose you can have this then,” he handed the sword to Orion.

Arael understood that the sword chose Orion over him, so he sighed.

Orion took the sword without any hesitation and held it tightly.

“Every blade and weapon across the multiverse… It is this,” he held the sword high up in the air and looked at it.

The sword flashed with white energy for a moment.

“Aye, I understand.”

“He has gone crazy,” Arael muttered to himself.

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Orion's World - Sixth Dimensional Plane of Existence:

In a world dyed red and orange with the blood and fire, on top of a million dead bodies, Orion, the God of War sat as he thought back to a certain memory from a long ago.

This is his world. A world with never ending war.

Being the God of War, he lives constantly on the battlefield.

Days and days, he goes down to lower realms to keep himself busy.

But when the mortals bore him, he returns to his world where titans battle.

"We are needed..."

He looked down at a long Claymore-like glowing with white energy.

"Volda."

The Claymore flashed brightly for an instant, as if agreeing with him.

Orion got off from the pile of bodies and opened a portal.

"Indeed, Volda, it will be hard, but it must be done."

His gloomy voice carried a lot of sadness.

The Claymore understood its master and his emotions.

"If only Arael was here…"

The Claymore flashed again, understanding the pain he was going through.

Without saying another word, Orion walked through the portal.

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Hell:

In the fiery world of the demons, an angry beast-like sound roared loudly.

In the fiery world, thousands upon thousands of pitch-black horses neighed.

The headless people in jet black armours sitting atop the horses all stared in one direction.

Among the legion of headless warriors atop horses, one of them with a chalk-like skin got off from her hose while holding her head between her right arm and abdomen.

She walked forward towards the beastly voice without a fear.

“Master...” the Dullahan spoke in a cold, very cold and lifeless tone. “What must we do?”

“Raid,” the over a hundred-meter tall, large crimson demon with large eyes and grey wings replied.

“I do not understand.”

“The lower realm has stolen the souls from my kingdom, it must be returned to me at once,” he answered her angrily.

The Dullahan, with her never changing expression, nodded ever so slightly.

“What about… God?”

“Bah, God will not face me again if he wishes to live a peaceful life,” the demon waved a dismissive wave of his hand, causing great winds to cascade over the fiery lands.

“I understand,” the woman’s jet-black hair flapped in the wind.

“You,” he pointed to the Dullahan in front of him. “You must go to the Void and see what has transpired in that lowly place. Curse the Void kins.”

“I understand, my lord,” her red eyes glowed for a split second as she knelt.

The demon parted away his eyes from her and onto the black army.

“Come, my Dullahans, we raid the lower realm to reclaim what is ours.”

“YES!”

“YES!”

“YES!”

All the Dullahans exclaimed loudly behind the demon.

“The souls of the dead shall be mine once again,” the demon arched his fist, facing upwards with a thin evil yet victorious smile.

The clenched hand of the demon caused a great shockwave that befell the fiery lands, causing it to tremble.

“March, my Dullahans, MARCH!”

All across the fiery lands of Hell, black portals appeared and the black horses of Dullahans with their red eyes flit through them.

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Universe Prime:

Near the edge of the Casuan Galaxy, a galaxy in the farthest reaches west quadrant of the universe - opposite of the east quadrant where the Milky Way Galaxy and Andromeda Galaxy lies - thousands upon thousands of black portals ripped open in the time-space continuum and black soldiers marched out of them.

The black horses flew in the starry sky as they parted away, going in different directions.

Someone, not far from here, noticed their entrance so he flew towards this place as fast as he called.

The person who rushed to this place was a middle-aged man in a skintight red costume, which covered his entire body including his head, leaving only his face visible. In the middle of his body, there was a blue belt. A white helmet covered his head but left his face open.

He was 「Lord Cosmos 」, Phantom Star’s father and one of the greatest heroes in the universe.

“”

Lord Cosmos was on his way to save a nearby planet, but he sensed something terrible from this place and could not let it slide. No matter what, he had to come here.

But now that he was here, he could not find anything but a large, extremely large black hole.

The black hole was greater than a planet itself.

“”

Before he could finish, a large demon, bigger than a planet, walked through the black portal.

Lord Cosmos sucked in a breath as he laid his eyes on the crimson demon who looked like the scariest beast out of his dreams when he was a child.

“It… can’t be...”

“Oh? What is a small man doing in front of me?” the demon mocked Lord Cosmos.

Lord Cosmic felt fear like never before.

In his prime, he stood against titans and felled them.

He stood against the men with God complex and felled them.

But for the first time in his life, he has felt fear for his life.

A hero is someone who helps people without regard for their own wellbeing, and most would be ready to sacrifice their lives too.

Lord Cosmos was always ready to lose his life if it meant he was going to save an innocent person.

But for once, just this once, he wished he had stayed home and let chaos brew.

“As a gesture of good will, I will warn you to stay out of my way--” the crimson eyes of the demon lit up with orange fire. “Ah, you are a hero of the people?”

“!”

Lord Cosmos’ body froze in its place.

The fear was too much for an old man to handle.

“Go back and cower under your bed, Lord Cosmos, or else...”

Lord Cosmos gulped.

“Blink and you are gone.”

“Who...”

Amid the fear and confusion, Lord Cosmos forced a few words out of his mouth.

He was curious and wanted to know who this monster was.

“Who are you?”

“Call me Asura,” the demon clenched his fist, sending shockwaves of terror through the space, “the Demon King.”

And so, the Demon King, finally freed from his prison, began his havoc.