......…..
Third Person P.O.V.
Despite the situation looking bad, with demonic energy filling the whole place and the heroes surrounded by portals that are bringing in strong demons with ill intent, Eidolon is happy.
Thankfully, and as expected, those demons are incredibly prideful and didn't tolerate his cheap provocation. Confident in their own power, they are emerging from their hellish dimensions, ready to teach the two disrespectful men a lesson.
Eidolon thought that Thor's presence would make them a little more cautious, but it seems he was overthinking.
Unfortunately, that can only mean one thing… If those demons are not afraid of Thor, or not even Odin behind him, they are powerful.
Probably much more powerful than what he initially thought.
All four of them finally appear, filling the room with smoke, fire, and lightning. A normal person would have died by their sheer presence alone, and outside, the climate had already changed. A continent-sized part of the Atlantic has already become tumultuous, overtaken by their power.
"What an exaggerated power play." Eidolon chuckles lightly, but internally, he is taking it seriously
"Should we change the weather too?" Thor asks in the same light tone. He doesn't like being upstaged by someone in his own specialty.
"Nah, let them have their moment." Eidolon waves him off. "Imagine for how long they don't have a challenge; they must be itching for a chance to show off."
"Tis true. I have lived a relatively long life, and I can't stay put for long."
"You are a relatively young adult, so it is fine."
The two started talking casually, as if they were not about to face very dangerous beings. And of course, the carelessness annoys their enemies.
"Insolent!" How could it not? Those four are used to being feared and/or worshipped.
They are also smart enough to avoid anyone stronger than they are, so it has been a long time since someone treated them like air, as the two are doing right now.
It is not even a big deal, but apparently it is a great offense to them. That is how far their tolerance has fallen after so long at the top.
BzzzzzzT
The portals appear to overwork, and they appear even faster; their true forms reveal themselves amidst the swirl of demonic energy.
'Let's see whom I am dealing with… I could only confirm one, and it is why I called Thor.' Eidolon takes a very close look at the appearances, and all the information he read in the demonology sections of both the Kamar-Taj and Asgard's libraries comes to the forefront of his mind.
And his efforts in studying paid off because he recognized all four of them immediately.
"Ba'al is not a surprise… and neither is Moloch, albeit I was unsure if he would show up." Eidolon comments, "But Pazuzu and Asteroth…" He clicks his tongue.
He was right. Those guys are the elite of the highest ranks.
First, Asteroth shouldn't be confused with Astaroth. Their difference goes beyond the fact that the demon before him is a woman.
Astaroth is the famous demon of the Lemegeton of Solomon, one of the Grand Dukes of Hell and the representative of the Cardinal Sin of Sloth. A former angel who sided with Lucifer during his rebellion and now has a good chunk of Hell as his territory, so there is no doubt about his power.
And, in Eidolon's humble opinion, based on his studies, the Asteroth before him, even though she appears to be a sexy female demon, is more dangerous than the Grand Duke of Hell. Especially after knowing all those demons lost a part of their powers long ago to someone.
She is old and apparently born of the Chaos of Creation, which links her to the Great Old Ones. Yes, the eldritch beings that existed even before the universe.
During his brief sightseeing adventure with Satana, Hector deepened his knowledge of Hell, discussing the Cataclysm the dimension underwent and how it fragmented into the Hell they know now.
Asteroth comes from a time even before this cataclysm, from an era before Lucifer.
From what he read, she was sealed in some hellish prison, and that, ironically, saved her from the cataclysm, from the change of an era, so she was never banished to the "outside" like the other eldritch beings.
The demonologist who wrote about her theorized that she is not really part of the same group as the Old Ones, like Shuma-Goroth or Yog-Sothoth, but rather part of the Lesser Old Ones, a race of servants created by the Old Ones.
Her true humanoid appearance is the main pillar of this theory, and the demonologist rebuffs her claim of superior strength as proof that Asteroth is part of the Old Ones, arguing that it is natural for demons to grow stronger with age and that she is probably the oldest known Lesser Old One.
Ironically, being banished both cut the master-servant relationship with the Great Old Ones, giving her autonomy, and allowed her to accumulate vast power.
But the demonologist doesn't dare to theorize too much, after all, for all he knows, she may still work for the Great Old Ones and be trying to create a way for them to invade this dimension again.
As with many other demons, her motives can't be fully understood, but in any case, she is an obstacle to Eidolon in his quest to make the world a better place.
The eldritch entities known as the Great Old Ones are often confused with the Outer Gods and Other God, Nyarlothotep, because they sometimes reveal a very incomprehensible form, with many eyes, mouths, and tentacles.
This is the form normally associated with Eldritch entities, and consequently, they are all lumped together, even though Old Ones and Outer Gods are distinct groups.
Asteroth is not showing an "eldritch appearance"; she just looks like a very stereotypical demon lady. Pale white skin with a skin-tight suit that only covers her important bits, black wings, horns, and a tail.
The same can't be said about Moloch, though. He indeed appears like an Eldritch entity, even though he has no relation to either the Outer Gods or the Old Ones.
Moloch looks like a giant blob of pink flesh, with tentacles and a beast-like face. It is a testament to his depravity that his appearance is so disgusting.
In this universe, Angels assume human form because it is the shape of creation chosen by God, and when they fall and become demons, their forms become twisted like their hearts.
Moloch was active with Ba'al in Gehenna, one of the most evil places ever to exist in human history. He was very active in his interference with humans, being worshipped since the Hyborian Age as the God of the Hill, teaching his followers to do taboo acts like cannibalism, human sacrifices, or depraved sexual practices.
So it's no surprise that a degenerate like him looks like this.
The other fallen angel of this quartet of demons is Pazuzu, and unlike Moloch, his appearance is vaguely humanoid yet still disturbingly demonic in visage.
His skin became pitch-black, his wings bat-like, a serpentine tail with a scorpion-stinger end grew from his back, curved horns grew on his bald head, and his face became that of a monster.
As one of the 14 angels who became Lucifer's Lieutenants during the Rebellion, he has clear power and influence.
What is interesting is that Eidolon knows he became famous in Mesopotamia on his own and was known as Imdugud by the Sumerians. Many demons were pagan gods in antiquity; they took advantage of the lack of heavenly interference to expand their own influence.
What Hector finds interesting is that he heard that Pazuzu, or Imdugud, entered into conflict with a certain Pantheon of forgotten pagan gods, the Annunaki.
And one of the Annunaki is right here in this room… the fourth demon, and the one that talked with them and created the storms outside.
Hadad, the Storm God, is also the famous demon Ba'al. What everyone thought was a demon was, in truth, a god from an old, lesser-known pantheon.
"Well, well… A demon passing as a god, allying himself with a god passing as a demon. What twist!" Eidolon laughs loudly, finally understanding the whole plot after seeing all pieces of the puzzle.
Who would have thought that the famous Ba'al would in truth be a god?
One of the demons responsible for making Gehenna a hell on Earth and the one who taught humans to perform evil and taboo acts like child sacrifice. The demon that popularized the goat- or bull-headed visage of demons, in truth, looks pretty normal. It is all a scheme with Moloch.
Hadad is a strong-looking man with a thick black beard and bronze skin. His chest is bare, but his shoulders carry a gold pad, and he also has a gold headdress that keeps his thick black hair from covering his face.
"So it is true…" Thor speaks in a solemn, disappointed voice. "As you said, my friend… a god is wearing a demon disguise."
The reason Eidolon brought Thor here was that he guessed the God of Thunder would have something to say to a god who chose this path. Especially a god of storms like Hadad.
"Right? Imagine how disappointed the Baalists would be? They think they are a demonic cult, but instead they are just another religion?" Eidolon jokes.
"Your mouth really runs wild, mortal." Hadad speaks with a thunderous voice. It would have exploded a normal person's ears; it even creates an echo in this huge chamber.
"Doing the mortal bit? Really? That is so pathetic coming from a guy who uses subterfuge to grow in power." Eidolon laughs on his face, looking down on him even when the god is positioned above. "Imagine using a fake name as a god? Abandoning your origin to seek easy power…"
"He is a disgrace. "Thor agrees, "I am ashamed of being a god like you." The God of Thunder points Mjolnir at Ba'al. "I will strike you down like the demon you lowered yourself to become."
"A fledgling god like you has no say in my matters." Ba'al's eyes crackle with electricity
"Said the guy who is not even this." Eidolon retorts with an exaggerated shrug
"Humans turned out to be so amusing." Asteroth says in a languid voice "I felt your power, Mortal." She points a sharp black nail at Eidolon. "What do you think about serving me?"
It seems they did not come here just because Eidolon taunted them; Asteroth apparently saw an opportunity to ensnare a strong champion.
"Sorry, I only use demons and am never used by them." He refuses her proposal immediately.
"Oh…" It is just a simple word, but the way her eyebrows furrowed shows she didn't take it well. "Such a pity that you will die then." Her eyes narrow into dangerous slits
"Geez, someone doesn't take rejection well… No means no, woman." Eidolon rolls his eyes
"You have a talent for making women mad and dislike you." Thor smirks on the side
"Maybe it's a superpower, Reverse Charm. But it's good because only bitches don't like me at first, while good women love me."
"Enough with this play." Pazuzu finally speaks in a deep voice. "Let's eliminate them before things get more complicated."
"I think your scheme is already over." Eidolon gives his condolences. "Even if by any miracle- and I believe you guys can't rely on miracles- it happens and you defeat us, your satanist ploy is exposed, and it will not be able to sustain itself. I doubt you guys dare to continue this under the Ancient One's nose."
"..." He struck a nerve.
Demonic influence is heavily restricted by the Sorcerer Supreme, and it is the main reason demons haven't tried to silently take over the planet by enticing or possessing world leaders.
Eidolon has to give props to them; they created a way for powerful people, including some people who lead nations, to practice the taboo acts that feed them, like human sacrifice, without gaining anything, hence not gaining any demonic trace. Those humans are never tainted in body and soul by the demonic acts they perform, hence living outside the Ancient One's jurisdiction.
They make the humans in the demonic cults create a club that is as evil as possible, as evil as a true demonic cult, but without the real demonic part.
This way, not even the Ancient One would be able to know who is consorting with demons and feeding them with sacrifices.
'The greatest automatic AFK farming ever made…' Eidolon thinks with some dark humor.
"Not gonna say anything, Moloch?" Eidolon turns to the most monstrous of the quartet.
But the demon only makes bestial sounds and wiggles his soft body.
"Don't mind him; it has been like this since that pesky Black Knight." Asteroth waves her hand and says dismissively
"Oh, so an old user of the Ebony Blade discovered your plot and tried to end it." The hero guesses as much.
"You are pretty knowledgeable." Asteroth praises him, but her tone is not friendly. "You should know that your fate will be the same as his, right?" She mocks while looking down on him
"Hahaha!" Eidolon laughs in her face. "Thor, this one is mine… She will now know what the E of my name stands for." For true Gender Equality.
Thor catches the inner joke and shakes his head in amusement. "Fine, I always end up holding back when I fight women."
"I will tell Lady Sif."
"Hey!" Thor protests before adopting a serious face. "Then this fallen God of Storm is mine." He looks at Ba'al
"It is exactly why I brought you here." Eidolon says "I will deal with Moloch too; he seems to be the hard-to-deal-with type in the sense that he is always full of tricks." Eldritch beings tend to be problematic and have a variety of Hax up their sleeves.
"Then I take the other one." Thor gestures to Pazuzu with his chin.
The two heroes divided the enemies so that Thor would fight the more straightforward ones, while Eidolon would deal with the trickier ones. Eidolon has a lot of tricks himself, so it is only appropriate.
"I imagine that not only will be against moving this to the Mirror Dimension, right?" Eidolon doesn't hide his intentions, waving his two hands in a practiced motion.
The air shimmers and solidifies, and a screen of geometric shapes expands from him. No one reacts; everyone here thinks that it will be for the best that they do not fight on the real Earth.
Those are demons, used to doing things in the shadows; their powers would shake the planet and attract unwanted attention to their plans.
And this is not about the Ancient One, Odin, and other pantheons… They also want to hide their schemes from other demons. Those four have a good(disgustingly evil) thing going on here; they don't want to spoil it by letting other demons in.
There are demons that are more powerful than they are, and Pazuzu himself answers to Satana's father. Mephisto is also out there.
A weak man's sin is to hold wealth, not being able to protect it. It only needs one of those figures to get interested in what they are doing, and everything will be over.
So they don't react or interfere while Eidolon transports everyone to an enormous mirror world, a projection of the whole planet.
The transparent screen extends beyond them, and nothing seems to change, but they all feel they are no longer on Earth; they feel the magical presence in everything. After all, this whole place is essentially a magical construct simulating reality.
Magic Theory aside, a normal person would also not take long to notice how this is a different dimension. In the Mirror World, there are no living beings, so the strangeness would be apparent once they notice the absence of normal sounds, like those of birds or other animals.
Eidolon continues by amassing power in his moving hands and bringing it down.
"I am Eidolon, and this is my introduction."
BOOOOOM
An explosion with a radius large enough to erase the island from the map occurs, and all the combatants are thrown in different directions.
Despite its enormous radius, it was not highly concentrated, so it was not an overly destructive force; everyone could withstand it with their basic defenses, but they allowed themselves to be moved.
Eidolon's precise control separates everyone from their respective opponents; miles away, he faces Asteroth and Moloch, the three floating a little north of South America, with the land of Venezuela on the horizon.
Thor, Ba'al and Pazuzu are in the perfect middle of the Atlantic, with no land in sight.
Facing two very powerful demons, Eidolon floats with his arms slightly open, his forearms poking out of the slits in Shaed, the mantle billowing in the wind.
"As a hero, I think it's fair to give you two a chance to surrender." He says in a calm voice, ever-changing eyes staring at his two enemies
"Heroes have gone soft over the years; last time, the one who tried to face us didn't even talk; he just tried to strike my body." Asteroth gives an amused laugh, poorly covering her mouth with two fingers.
Moloch, on the side, half-groans, half-roars.
"It's what I expected." Eidolon is not surprised.
BoomBoomSwwosh
From that position, he immediately reaches absurd speed, breaking the sound barrier multiple times in an instant and arriving between the two.
Fwoosh
From that position, he shot two streams of energy at the two demons. He is not hoping to hurt them, but the attack could at least blind them and serve as a smoke screen.
To prevent them from fighting together, he moves to Asteroth and punches her with enough force to create a bowl-shaped opening in the ocean.
Twoon
But to his surprise, Asteroth stops the punch with her palm. He didn't go all out, but it's still incredible that she can do that.
And now that he is close, something is evident: the size difference… Asteroth is a giant. At least 6 meters tall, Eidolon would only reach her thigh when put side by side. Dirty-minded people would say this is the perfect size difference, but Eidolon understands that, despite looking like a hot woman, this demon can actually engage in a fistfight like any other.
"I admit, I thought that you would be the sorcerer-type, not the Amazonian one." He says to her while their arms tremble in exertion.
"Hmpf." She closes her big hand around his forearm and pulls him to her while cocking her fist.
Eidolon, of course, isn't gonna take this without doing anything, so he closes his other fist as well.
BAM
The clash of punches is so strong that it moves the clouds away, and the two are separated afterward.
Asteroth is moved a dozen meters back before flapping her wings to stop, and Eidolon is the one who is sent flying for kilometers.
"I see…" He comments calmly. Any damage was minor, and he has already recovered.
He normally counters it with some powers, but if he punches someone at the same power level, it is expected that he will be the one sent flying because his weight is low.
He needs to activate a lot of powers to equalize things, and he didn't do it now. Asteroth, on the other hand, already used a little trick.
While sliding on the surface of the water, Eidolon nods in understanding before abruptly cutting off his momentum and forcing the water away with a Bang.
"Didn't expect Gravity Manipulation." That was not on the records.
It is not only that she is a monster in the physical sense, a real heavy hitter who can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Thor, but she also has Gravity Manipulation in her arsenal, one of the most overpowered superpowers.
"Then this will surprise you even more." Asteroth smirks before raising her fist high in the air and punching down.
Eidolon's Danger Sense flares, and he activates the powers he needs to counter the incoming attack. He already judged that the range is simply too vast for him to dodge.
An invisible platform appears beneath his feet as he lowers his stance; defensive powers activate, and he also uses his Gravity Manipulation to counter the attack.
The air distorts, and the ocean around him opens, but Eidolon remains still. An immovable object against this strong force.
The most important part of this exchange is for him to gauge her ability.
'Hm, it seems her Gravity Manipulation is a tier higher than the one I got from the Devil Fruit.' He gives his assessment of Asteroth's power.
"Oh." The female demon also looks surprised that he withstood that attack, looking at him with slightly wide eyes.
The impasse doesn't last long because the two are not the only ones fighting.
An indescribable sound makes the area tremble, and Eidolon is the most affected.
His eyes widen, feeling like thousands of needles are prickling his brain.
'A mental attack…' That was a roar of Moloch, an invisible attack that bypassed his defenses, and it was able to take away his concentration for an instant.
And an instant is all Asteroth needs; the female demon grins widely while increasing the potency of her attack and strikes again.
BOOOM
A confusion of water flying in all directions blocks visibility; a tsunami forms, and there is even water in the sky, as if there were suddenly two oceans on opposing sides.
Eidolon is sent down like a bullet, deeper and deeper in the ocean at lightning speed. He doesn't stop till he hits the bottom of the sea. His landing is muffled by the water, but it shook a tectonic plate or two.
While buried in a deep hole on the ocean floor, Eidolon pauses to contemplate. The damage was already healed; he can't be brought down by physical attacks like those; he has shock and kinetic force absorption.
'Their powers are a little tricky…'
Contrary to what he expected, they are not using sorcery but raw, natural, magical, and cosmic powers. He can't replicate what he did against Varnae, frustrating their attempts to conjure a magic circle or spell and throwing his enemy off rhythm.
This two-against-one fight will be harder than he thought.
This last exchange also exposed his weakness… The truth is, Eidolon doesn't really have the raw power that people at his level do. Only recently has he really started gaining characters that could increase his raw power, but it is not like a perfect addition to his 'Strength Stat'.
For example, only by combining multiple powers can he punch as powerfully as the Hulk. It needs a lot of concentration to keep the fusion of powers while fighting, and that was never an issue because he was simply that good.
But if someone can attack his mind like Moloch, that eldritch monstrosity, he will not be able to fight at his peak. A normal person can't do any job well if they have a splitting headache.
Luckily, his mental defenses are strong, and Moloch's attempt was not as severe as it would have been against an unprepared victim.
'My weakness is also my strength…' He is not gonna complain. Having so many powers also allows him to fight enemies stronger than him, so he keeps a calm mind and prepares to make a comeback.
He also has his tricks.
Miles above him. Asteroth stares down the turbulent ocean with an aloof gaze.
"Is he already dead?" She ponders, "I don't think so… but he must be hurt-" She stops her monologue as her instincts warn of imminent danger, her senses picking up a spatial fluctuation behind her.
Whoosh
She moved to the side without looking back or even thinking, but even so, she was not able to completely avoid the attack.
A blade struck her ribs, leaving a gash on her sides.
"Kuh…" She groans, surprised that she is hurt and that she is in pain.
Her demonic eyes flick to the weapon in her enemy's hand, immediately deeming it as dangerous as the Ebony Blade of the past.
After a long time, Eidolon is finally using the Sword of Actuation again.
The eldritch sword is as ugly as it was in the beginning; the blade is still made of many eyes, mouths, and noses, but now it is a head. The thorns that come from the handle are purple, and some coil loosely around the hero's forearm.
"I thought that smoothly cutting the space would be the sneaky option, but you have surprisingly good battle senses." Eidolon comments, a little impressed
"Little bastard." She curses, her face distorted, but with just a pass of her fingers, the wound is healed.
'Not an automatic healing factor? Interesting.' Nothing is hidden from Eidolon's eyes.
"I will skin you alive and use it to cover my throne." Asteroth snarls
"I confess that my experiences with demons gave me a little ego and made me think that you two would be the same as the ones I met in the past." He declares while standing in the air. "Anyway, luckily there is still time to take you all seriously…"
Then he completes ominously, "We are not on Earth, too… I can let loose and give you the treatment you deserve." He raises the Sword of Actuation and flares his powers, readying himself for the next round.
......…..
Far from there, Thor is engaged in a fiercer-looking fight with Pazuzu and Ba'al.
The three combatants favor close quarters, even though they have other ways to attack, making it a very impressive display from the outside.
They move so fast that they look like blurs; their clashes create air displacement and sonic booms.
Not only that, but their attacks also create changes in the atmosphere. The pressure alone could cause the clouds to move and maybe even rain to fall, but two gods with climate-related powers are fighting, so every move is as if they are trying to wrestle control of the weather.
It is a cataclysmic sight. The whole region is filled with strong winds, clouds, dark smoke, dark flames, and lightning.
A normal human would think the world is ending, and they would not be far off. If those three were fighting like this in the real world, a good chunk of Africa and Europe would be in serious danger.
Thor flies fast, his hand holding the Mjolnir in front of him, and crashes into Ba'al. The exchange releases an electric discharge, creating a blue flash that would blind anyone watching.
The two are thrown back in equal measure, but Thor is immediately attacked by Pazuzu, who appears above him with his two hands high in the air.
The former angel lowers his arms and smashes Thor with a pillar of black flames.
Thor is forced down by the flames' power, and his cape is slightly burnt, but he immediately recovers and flies low with the assistance of Mjolnir.
More and more pillars of black flames fall toward him, but he expertly weaves around them to dodge. After a big one, he turns around, spins his hammer, and throws it at the attacker.
ZwoonThwack
Pazuzu is hit squarely in the chest, being sent flying and rolling in the air while grunting in immense pain.
Ba'al advances on Thor to take advantage of the fact that the god is without his weapon, but Thor, who extended his hand to call back his hammer, stops suddenly and turns to punch Ba'al in the face.
Pow
The former god's head jerks back, and he even spits blood from Thor's punch. He is not that dependent on Mjolnir as he was in the past.
Thor doesn't waste the chance he got after his feint; he grabs Ba'al's shoulder pads with one hand while they fall into the ocean. His other hand is extended over his shoulder, and Mjolnir finally flies back to him.
Crack
Thor only needs to raise his hammer a little; lightning charges it before he brings it down on Ba'al's face.
"Behold what you rejected! The fury of the storm!"
CRAACKBOOOOOMZwwinBzzzzzt
It is like a mini blue nuclear explosion; it cuts the sound in the area, and lightning as thick as a man's arm flies in all directions after the impact. One can only imagine the huge crater that would form if they fought on land.
As with Eidolon, Ba'al is sent down into the ocean like a bullet, but his blood can be seen flying through the air alongside the water, even changing the ocean's color.
"..." The attack even made Pazuzu pause.
He needed to admit that they couldn't underestimate Thor. Both he and Ba'al reached this understanding at that moment, and they decided to go all out.
BoomSplash
Ba'al emerges from the water with violence, splashing seawater everywhere, his face distorted by both anger and the last attack. It is like someone hit a person's face with a… with a hammer. The side of his skull is carved and bloodied.
"Godling…" He says it like it is a slur. "Don't get cocky. The powers that you so proudly wield are child's play in front of me." With a gesture of his hand, a golden spear is conjured, crackling with electricity.
Pazuzu, on his end, passes through a small transformation. His previously smooth black skin ripples, and an armor of scales covers his arms, legs, and part of his chest. His fingers elongate into blades the size of claymores, sharp and dangerous-looking.
Thor doesn't panic; he spins the Mjolnir in his hand and bravely faces the two enemies that just received a power boost.
"It is only appropriate… You choose to live miserably, so at least die with dignity!" Thor declares, "Give you all!" And he attacks.
......….
Back to Eidolon, the hero is in a complicated spot; it is hard to fight against Asteroth and Moloch. His two enemies have very good control of the area thanks to their abilities.
Eidolon flies while dodging a rain of pink tentacles that try to impale or at least grab him. The hero is a specialist in aerial combat, so he is able to dodge 95% of them with well-timed spins and turns, and by killing his momentum. The ones he doesn't dodge are cut by his sword.
The fact that he was untouched by this overwhelming attack is an impressive feat, given that Asteroth had already messed with the area's gravitational field, creating a chaotic, unpredictable, and downright hostile environment for him.
Luckily, he has his own Gravity Manipulation, so he can negate her influence on his body.
Eidolon dodges the next wave of tentacles by teleporting above Moloch's blob-like body, and, to no one's surprise, the eldritch monstrosity bubbles a little before thousands of sharp tentacles emerge to impale the hero.
"..." Eidolon disappears from his spot to reappear in front of Moloch's bestial face, his palm open, and releases an energy blast in the demon's mouth.
Moloch roars in pain, but Eidolon can't press his advantage because Asteroth is already on him, delivering a claw sweep.
BamPowThwack
The two exchange a multitude of blows, and Eidolon has to admit that Gravity Manipulation is really one of the greatest superpowers.
His usual method of deflecting the attacks by tapping the enemy's forearm is not working that well because Asteroth is surrounded by an invisible gravitational field. The attacks directed at her lose power, or are even distorted in the opposite direction, while her blows are much stronger and have a deceptively wide reach.
She didn't waste the billions of years she lived.
Eidolon stops another punch of hers with the sole of his foot; the two don't even touch because of their powers, but the crash creates enough leverage for him to do a front flip and cut her with his blade.
The Sword of Actuation can cut space, so the gravitational field she is keeping around her will be no real obstacle against the esoteric sharpness of the blade.
Asteroth knows that, and that is why she dodged.
Eidolon noticed how she cleverly used gravitational pull to move faster out of that awkward position without needing to correct her posture.
The hero decides to be sneaky and uses his spin motion to hide his blade with his mantle. Out of her sight, he puts his whole arm inside a wormhole and tries to stab her back.
Asteroth felt his attempt, but he simply did it too quickly and was able to sink his blade into her shoulders.
"Ugh…" She makes an ugly face, but Eidolon doesn't give chances.
The vines on the handle move to circle her body, pulling her to him as Eidolon emerges from the wormhole. Using his own gravity powers, Eidolon bypasses her defenses and grabs the back of her head with his hand, like an eagle's talons gripping prey.
And then he used Power Manipulation.
That is the first time he has used his main power in the middle of a fight.
It is a shot in the dark because he felt her Gravity Manipulation was something similar to a meta-power, but as expected…
"Tch!" He clicks his tongue after failing.
To be fair, his power tried; it really reached, and he felt it grabbing the power, but it couldn't "pull".
So it is not really magic, despite the "fuel" being something akin to magical power. It is similar to the powers of the Hulk, Captain Marvel, and other heroes; this power comes from an outside source.
The truth is that he thinks his Power Manipulation will one day be able to affect this type of power, maybe even steal Galactus' Power Cosmic, but that is far in the future.
"What did you try to do?!?" Asteroth shouts, pissed as hell.
She felt that Eidolon just attempted something outrageous, and she felt danger and disgust. That is natural when a part of you is almost stripped away.
It is not talked about much, but stealing power is a very evil act and unpleasant for the victim, especially when Eidolon doesn't care about it. He can do it more gently, though, and copying can go unnoticed.
Asteroth's angry shout releases an omnidirectional blast, forcing Eidolon to retreat. Asteroth is so angry that she immediately follows up with a horizontal chop, a strike so swift and strong that it would cut a mountain in two.
Swish
And that is exactly what happens with Eidolon… His eyes widen as his body is bisected cleanly at the waist.
Asteroth smiles victoriously…
BAM
But her vision swirls, and she feels dazed, and then pain on her chin.
'What…?' She can't understand what is happening for a moment.
Her pupils spin around and finally land on the hero's legs, which just now kicked her chin, even after being separated from the rest of the torso.
"I rarely do this…" The hero says even with this fatal wound. She should have noticed that he didn't bleed from her attack.
His arm is already raised, and he doesn't waste time impaling Asteroth on the eye with the Sword of Actuation.
Puchi
The blade goes cleanly through her head, emerging from the other side.
"..." But Eidolon had to hold back the urge to roll his eyes after seeing the result.
Asteroth then grabs his sword with one hand and his arm with the other. Her large stature allows her to cover both blade and forearm with her palms
"So you are immortal like Belasco…" He can't help but comment tiredly. He should have guessed that the origin of Belasco's powers is similar to hers.
"You dammed–" She says with such a malevolent expression that would make grown men piss their pants.
The pressure in his arm starts to increase, and if it continues like this, Eidolon's limb will be crushed into minced meat. To avoid that, Eidolon becomes intangible and phases out of her grip, and as always, when he phases through someone too strong and overcharged with some high-quality energy, he feels a tingle.
'Like submerging my arm in scalding water.' It even damaged him a little… Whatever demonic cosmic power Asteroth has is extremely powerful. Eidolon feels that his intangibility will not be that useful against super-strong enemies.
But he heals the minor damage and simply kicks her in the face to get away.
Now he needs to change plans… Asteroth can't die.
And there is a high chance Moloch can't either. Luckily, since Belasco, he has learned some sealing methods, but he is still unsure whether they will work on high-level demons like those two.
'Hmm, the plan is to destroy their influence here anyway…' In the end, he can simply hack them to pieces until they take a long time to reform, or force them to run away and not come back for some years. Then he would be better prepared to kill them for good.
He was never 100% prepared for this operation, but he did it anyway because it had to be done.
"Pest." She continues to curse him angrily, passing her long fingers through her eye and healing it.
'There it is… like Belasco, she is only indestructible. No healing factor, like her body is a puppet controlled by a higher power.' Eidolon thinks, 'High probability this is not even her.'
"MOLOCH!!" She shouts, and the bestial demon lunges at her.
"Oh… is that a fusion? I feel that I should stop it, but making it a 1v1 favors me even if your power increases." It will also facilitate sealing them.
But that is not what happens. Moloch suddenly opens his mouth unnaturally wide, so wide that he is basically a mouth now. Eidolon vaguely notices that he looks like an evil and pink Pac-Man.
Asteroth opens her arms wide, and Eidolon feels the area around him grow heavier, and he instinctively understands that it becomes hard to move at his top speed and even to teleport.
That is when Moloch starts sucking air… no, the world.
'I was wrong; he is Kirby, not Pac-Man.' The hero thinks that the suction catches on him, so strong that the clouds, the ocean, and even space start being pulled to Moloch.
Even light… The place dims a bit, growing darker the more Moloch sucked; even the blue sky begins to show the stars beyond the atmosphere, and Eidolon is the main target of all of this. He is like a naked man in the middle of a storm.
'Yep, not happening.' Eidolon begins his own preparations in response, rooted in place by powers that bind him to his spot.
He drops the Sword of Actuation, making it float beside him, and he joins his palms.
There he is, concentrating all the spatial and gravitational powers he has; the space between his hands starts to distort and twist. A spiral forms and a vortex emerges, and then tiny black particles start cracking the space.
For now, they are at an impasse, but he feels the danger and what is about to happen…This is not their endgame; the demonic duo has concocted something more to use against him, and it is deadly.
So he attacks first. The concentrated chunk of space is thrown by him and doesn't even fly halfway between the combatants before Eidolon detonates it.
Why aim at them when the explosion will catch them anyway? Moloch is even sucking it into himself. He doesn't want to test whether the demon can "eat" it, and he also wants to "share" his attack with Asteroth.
You don't aim a grenade directly at the enemy, but close enough to the explosion to reach them, but far enough that they can't kick it back at you.
Eidolon saw something shine at the end of Moloch's throat and then…
BOOOOOOOOMMM
In the mirror dimension, part of the American continent disappears as if a giant beast had taken a bite out of it, and the fake dimension nearly disappears.
......….
A.N.: Hello There
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