"I was always trying my best to become the greatest I could be for the one I love most. I trained diligently, even against her own ridiculous amount of strength. I aimed tirelessly for a way to finally breach beyond the realm of deities through true evolution. I wanted to be above just using Chi from one of the primordial realms. I wanted that greater strength to make sure you were always safe. Our children were always safe, my family was always safe. Our families would always be safe and could freely live their lives as they see fit. I wanted to ensure all of that... No."
"We have to make sure he's alright!" My pops shouted.
"Get ready to annihilate the wound!" ZeeNastasia commanded.
"I still wish to save everyone, even now. I want to protect them, I want to precure their futures, I wish to...
"Chop that fucking drill to splinters and save my BROTHER!!!" ZeeNasia let down her dome. Lealing forward to slash the drill as quickly as possible.
"HEEEMY!? We have to save him!!" YeeNessa and YeeRashuri shouted as they leapt forward.
Everyone, including myself, rushed to save my precious husband.
"I-I... I... I wish to DESTROY my enemies. THEIR ENEMIES!!!" We all watched as Heemy released a massive explosion from his wound before Maleignos could pull out his drill.
"What is this!?" Maleignos wondered.
Heemy was able to surprise us all and completely engulf everyone in a massive destruction ball that would go on to do two things. Completely destroy our wounds and fatigue, and then... He even managed to blow Maleignos to bits yet again. Just one strike, one mere burst technique that couldn't be used to its fullest potential. It was strength well beyond what I have ever witnessed from Heemy. It was truly magnificent, but it was almost as if it was his parting gift. His body dropped down to a platform I had created. It hit the surface like ton a bricks, laying flat as if the life were already stripped from him.
"Heemy!? ... HEEMY!?" I rushed to his side.
Grabbing his body and sitting him up on my lap. I wasted no time in wrapping my essence around the wound so that I could heal him. As this all occurred, Annihilo-Sect and the leaders of each Colossaverse were taking down the remaining Stuliathans. At least four had decided to surrender rather than give up their life. According to Ghonny, who has a very KEEN sense of smell. Those four were the only Stuliathans who didn't smell like Atomen and his three commanding Dark Forces. Meaning they were recently recruited for this mission. What's more, they were all Archduke level, and had barely taken any scratches. It's like they were here to simply stall our forces and nothing more. By the time our side nearly repelled all Stuliathans completely, Annihilo-Sect could sense what had transpired in our battle.
"Can you guys sense that?" Ri-ohhanna asked.
"Yeah, uce... ReighHeem's life force is...
"Tch, what happened up there?? When did he even get up there!?" Kolipso thought to herself in frustration.
The entire group came together, blasting off one by one at their top speeds. Each and every single one of my teammates, my comrades. They all made their way towards our current location. The place where Heemy now lies, feint of life.
Well beyond our point of view sat Seightahn and the Stuliathan that saved Kolipso, Medusaria. They continued to observe the events in book form for the fun of it. Watching my story play out the way it was destined to.
"Huh, so it truly never changes. Just happens in a different way. Oh, Zee... I'm so sorry, babes. Hm!?" Medusaria glanced into the distant future and saw something disgusting, disturbing, and vile that she still won't tell me about until this very day. I can't even seem to see it even today. At a time where I can see all passage of time at once... My destiny is blank. And I can no longer see... Heemy.
"You're a piece of shit, you know that, Lord Seightahn!!" Medusaria smacked him in the back of his head.
"I'll allow that... I'll allow it. But you finally see it, huh? I can't lie, even I hate myself for it, though it wasn't entirely my choice. He insisted I do so." They speak of an event involving a third party. One I'm sure I'll come to know in the distant future.
By now everyone had gathered around me and began pouring their essence into Heemy's wound. Our parents fended off Maleignos along with Lords Heirien and Simosses, the Twin Black Knights. Together, they were able to hold him at bay while we worked on getting Heemy back up.
"I-It's not WORKING. Why won't it WOOORRK!!!" I became hysterical, desperate to save my husband, my best friend for eternity.
"Calm down sis, we'll make it work!!" ZeeNastasia desperately tried to keep the peace, but Eve her face was drowned out in tears. As were her husband's and everyone else's. They couldn't help it, he is their best friend too, their brother after all.
"C'mon Heem... Fight it, FUCKING fight it, Y'HEARD!?" Jah'malle began to crumble from the inside.
"Come on man, get back up, we NEEEED you!!" Dila held his hand while pouring his essence into the wound.
Everyone slowly fell into despair, coming to the realization that we'd be unable to heal Heemy after all.
"GyaHAHAAAAA!!! You fools finally get it, eh? He's going to die no matter what you idiots do-
"Hey, I-I ain't dead yet, bitch!" Heemy used the last of his strength to sit up.
"Tuh, he's still kicking, eh? Barely!" Maleignos scoffed at Heemy's words.
"You act as if my team is over and done. W-We have seen the very depths of the damned on the battlefield. We have overcome countless odds, and survived to create what we have created today! N-Nrgh Gaaah!!" Heemy fell back down, agonizing in pain from his wound.
"Hmph, ah... There we go!" Maleignos snickered.
"Heemy, you gotta stay still!" I insisted.
"I don't know how, but my instincts, my inner power... It healed my back and lots of organs. I'm still in critical condition, but I can feel it surging. If I focus, I could go beyond my limits... Or DIE TRYING!" Heemy began to dissolve his entire existence into evolution. He wanted to finish what he started before saving my life.
"Heemy?" I watched him go limp, but I could feel his life force still.
"Babe?"
"Yes, Heemy?" We talked telepathically.
"Kill that bitch!"
"Hmph, with pleasure."
A pillar burst from around me and three others. It's been far too long for us. Far too long since we've reached such levels of strength, yet no evolution.
"So many of our comrades have moved forward, but here we were holding ourselves back, merely mimicking a primordial species. Let's begin our ascension." ZeeNastasia stepped forward before the entirety of Annihilo-Sect.
We were all determined to make Maleignos pay for what he had done. We had to thanks Heemy for calming us down, because now we had control of our wrath. Aiming it all on a singular target.
"ZeeNasia, follow my lead!" Seikosen sent a mental message to my sis.
"Lead the way!" ZeeNasia responded.
They flashed ahead of us all, drawing their powerful blades as they close the distance. Maleignos had just repelled my parents, aunt, and uncle. He turned around to face our two swordswomen. They slashed through his body using their blessed blades.
"Hmph, her concept of Lust is still beyond me. I'll need to eliminate her first, she's the true threat amongst them!" Maleignos attempted to shoot after ZeeNasia. He thrusted forward with a massive tentacle as his weapon of choice. It turned into a spear, mid attack, but was met by the face of pops's fan.
"Nah, nah nah... I can't allow you to come at my daughter with that bullshit!" He deflected the attack with ease, reflecting the same attack back at Maleignos, but nothing occurred.
"It's like I thought, rely on your weapon techniques and hand-to-hand! He's canceling concepts with his Chi. None of our Chi is higher than his, so only direct contact will work." He spoke to us using telepathy.
"Understood." Went the entirety of forces, that includes Lords Heirien and Simosses too.
Maleignos summoned countless tentacles from his body, all of which turned into rapier blades, spears, knives, different stylings of all sorts of blades from swords of various types. He thought he caught my pops before we could all rush'em, but man was he shocked. Every attack was annihilated as it got within five meters of his person. Maleignos was perplexed, but had no time to figure it out, or even react to it! YeeNessa was the first to make contact, striking that bastard in the jaw like he owed her currency. He turned into a shadow and turned his body into one capable of monster, and beast mimicry. He leapt above our heads and turned into a multi-headed elephant, even more massive than the biggest Colossaverse.
"Ha, I got dhise one guys!" Ri-ohhanna laughed as she turned into a massive tigress. She sported two sets of front legs with massive paws. Five tails, five of which were very akin to that of a snow leopard's own. Her territory of the of the Versetian Omniverse being casted all over. Her tattoos glowed with a golden light, ones far brighter than the most brilliant star. She touched the foot of Maleignos and forced his body into the shape of a ball with her superior manipulation. She bounced him off her head then smacked him with five tails full of impairment. He flew deep into the void until he was stepped in by another another Pantera combo, far bigger than a Colossaverse. It was a black panther type, sporting a stunning, large mane made of fierce nebula . The five tails held the same type of hair on them, flowing like the most illustrious of lochs.
"Well tear the ribbons, Maleignos." Ri-oh'Dioh bounced off of Maleignos, pulling him along for the ride. He then smacked him with all his might, a mighty paw that would force Maleignos back into his normal form. Then into the spear head of Siciliarn.
"Ah, that would be-a my baaad. Allow me to fix, yes? Yes, I fix'et right away!" She pulled her spear out, and then with the assistance of her twin brother, Silmadrâg. They twirled and swung their spears until they couldn't be seen anymore, neither could their arms. He become a cloud if dust by the time they were done.
"Heh, how's that feel, shmut!?" Silmadrâg smiled like a cocky thug.
"Like a brand new day, brat!" Maleignos regenerated instantly, despite the impairnent and Shattering placed on him. He performed the splits as he came to, kicking both the twins in their faces before they could react. Forced to back up, they would come to leap away in the next step. Both watched Maleignos land on his own platform, blitzed by the sudden smile performed by Dila.
"Cheeky brat-
Maleignos flipped upwards into a headshot performed by Simosses. Tjaye would then shoot his chest, followed by three shots to the back from Dila. Maleignos turned around to go after Dila, but as he did Tjaye and his dad silently snuck up on him with their special-grade daggers created by Lady Betsalynn. Maleignos summoned two arms from his back and defended against their attacks. They entered a frenzy of exchanges that held them at a stalemate. That was until two powerful arrows shot the shoulders of Maleignos.
"Tch, he just temporarily sealed my ability to generate extra limbs-
Simosses knocked him into shock with a powerful knee to the chin. Dila came up behind him and smacked him in the back of the head with the edge of his bow. Tjaye followed it up with a powerful uppercut to the face. Dila followed it up with a nasty snack to the side of the head. Simosses shot him one hundred more times within the next instant, following that up with a powerful kick to the chest. Maleignos flew back a few thousand miles away, met by the might of several of our forces. ZeeNastasia, YeeRashuri, YeeNessa, and I were amongst them. We all surrounded him, preparing to attack with as much force as we could muster. Though, the millisecond any of us flinched, Maleignos's body turned into a mass of needles with potent ailment concepts being utilized at the needle point. We all sliced the needles into dozens of pieces, shattering the structures like nothing. We'd quickly come to learn that this was used to hold us at bay while he got his wits about him.
"Don't give him any space!!" Shi'Ho-ho shouted.
He smiled before appearing in front of Shi'Ho-ho. She blocked with her shield, turning it into a gauntlet as she grabbed his hand. He attempted to form several more, but they came out in slow motion, nearly motionless even.
"This is... Sloth!?" Maleignos could feel the essence of Nikola in his body.
Shi'Ho-ho laughed as she leapt back, using the concept of Misdirection to force Maleignos's many gazes her way. He was lifted higher into the void by a nasty, Superman-style, flying uppercut. Lord Heirien's speed was truly a majesty to the bewilder. He managed to strike Maleignos a thousand times before he knew what hit him. Everytime Maleignos would block one of our strikes and force an opening, Heirien would come with a sneak attack to create an opening for one of us instead. Dila, Tjaye, and Lord Simosses complimented that strategy with their incredible sharpshooting abilities. Their coordinated teamwork allowed our side to push Maleignos back. Keeping the abyssal bastard from gaining any real upper hands here.
"How utterly revolting. You fools seem to think you've gotten pressed into a corner, do you?" Maleignos showed clear signs of frustration, but something seemed a bit off about it.
"You're all getting ahead of yourselves. Mere deities thinking they can stop my advance, eh?" His power began to rise once again. His stats and techniques were boosted once more. Moves that couldn't break our formation now forced holes into our gameplan. Making it possible to catch many of us off guard in the grand scheme of things.
"Leeeiiiigh~ nosnosnooos!!! The way you all have convinced yourselves that you can win. How entertaining for me, yet ignorant for bigoted insects!" Maleignos reformed his natural body, shrinking his size to match our own natural "normal" size for humanoid mortals. Almost like the prick was mocking us.
Maleignos continued to copy us, cracking his newly created bones and smiling like an idiot.
"I can now say I've gotten used to everyone's cadence. Your habits, your battle styles, your strengths, and even your weaknesses. Your unorthodox rhythm makes me feel a bit uneasy, but it's not something I'll have to worry about in the long run. All I have to do is control the flow." Maleignos got into an actual martial arts stance.
Ironically, he chose to use Muay Thai, the same exact fighting style we of Zeefist family specialize in.
"Heh, so jou really think jou have us figured out, abismo?" Lord Heirien asked.
"Well, but of course, little rabbit. Now then, considering the fact that you handful of deities all look alike and use this style of hand-to-hand. Oh, my bad, you idiots call it Martial Arts, right?" Maleignos cracked his neck one last time.
A few of us attempted to rush'em, but he was more than ready for it. Each attack was blocked masterfully, then countered with powerful, 9-3 elbow strikes. Lady Rosareideem jumped in and managed to fend off some of his attacks before being sent flying by a flying knee. Z'lusha immediately replaced her along with two others. Maleignos was more than ready, dodging their blows before breaking down their fortitude with blocking, elbow strikes. He used strengthened joints, bones, skin, and muscle tissue to forcibly break through any attacks sent his way. We all three were pressed too much to reiterate in time, he stomped his foot, creating cracks in space. Those cracks became pressure, pressure was condensed, leading to a diabolical explosion. It sent many flying, including those approaching to intercept Maleignos.
"Oh come on, can no one break through to force me into a real FIGHT!?" Maleignos mocks us as he smacked the Shattashoust twins into next week, literally. He smacked them through time to test if our guard was up, but it seems we're falling a bit behind to his concepts. His ability to copy us was something no one expected. He dodged us and our weapons, using very precise counters and astounding levels of agility. It was hard to fathom that Stuliathans can truly fight like us. Then again, we can also fight like them, so maybe it was just our inexperience and naivety as Annihilo-Sect. A rather young team when compared to STRIFE and even Young STRIFE.
"Tuh, how gross of you to overestimate yourself in such a way." My pops snapped his fingers and returned Siciliarn and Silmadrâg from the future. It was truly impressive to say the least.
"Overestimate you say? Leeeeeig-nos nos noooos!! My personality shift does not allow for such a thing. Or have you miniscule, lackluster, loads of loathsome judgment made you lose sight of my best ability as a Stuliathan??" Maleignos leapt over a sneak attack orchestrated by Jah'Malle and Primoz. Leaping over them as he slammed down faster than they could pass. Pressing his elbows deeply into their backs.
"Aye, aye ayyyee!! Don't let this piece of shit get anymore ground, we won't let another member fall to his might!!" My pops shouted.
"Hmm... Roger that, pops. But now I'm wondering what he could be going on about, what possible concept or concepts could he be using to gain so much traction in this form??" I thought as I entered combat with the bastard.
We both began to clash with a large amount of elbows, repeatedly and relentlessly. Creating major spikes of ripples within the void itself.
"Heh, facing you now, I can tell!"
Maleignos's face grew with malicious curiosity. Curiosity that would get the better of him as more masters of the Muay Thai craft came into play. We held him at bay for a bit, showing actual proof that his efforts, transformation, and use of concepts didn't place him well beyond us. We three sisters were briefly blown away by a pulse he released from his chest. By then, he could tell we had finally grown accustomed to his usage of concepts. Turning them off by annihilating whatever we could within that next instant. He stopped using just Muay Thai and mixed in some Kung-Fu styles. He leapt off the fist of Heirien, dodging a speed blitz attempt. He spun his body like a cork and contorted his body for a more devastating wind-up, kicking strike. He managed to blow Melumini'itii away with that odd strike, using her as a spring to leap off of. He kept his body wrapped in strong Stuliachi, all four types to be exact. This allowed him to to counter our concepts on contact, forcing us all to use similar techniques as well. Even though he was clearly copying our tactics, tactics that were viewed as bullshit to the mighty Archdukes of the Stuliathan Omniverse.
"Copying our styles, are we? To use the "lowly" techniques of mere deities is pretty fuckinnnn' PATHETIC LEIGNOOOOS!!" Lord Tut'Enkoh-min oun his long scepter to generate a potent barrier of essence in front of him. Then he proceeded to punch through the barrier and wrap it around his fist as it clashes with Maleignos's foot. The resulting shockwave shook several Colossaverses, nearly knocking some of us off coarse as we close in.
"Tch, wretched deities!!!" Maleignos launched a pulse through his fist and blew Tut'Enkoh-min away.
Tiamuht rushed in soon after, along with Ghonny, Theodore, Timone, Ri-ohhanna, and Kolipso. All that power, technique, tenacity, and strength coming at him. They were able to land blows as they blew past him, punching and kicking parts of his body away. He regenerated from every hit, striking back with even more force after learning from the experience. He dodged several blades from Lord Tiamuht, grabbing his fist after the millionth strike came his way. He kicked my brother-in-law in the stomach, sending him flying. The others surrounded him, but he already caught on to their high-speed movement. He kicked each with differing roundhouse kicks until they all were repelled like a pheasant flying into a window, but not being knocked out from the impact. He left the floating there to use as shields to hide behind. Using them as repellant and kicking then toward whoever approaches before the paralysis he'd woven into them could be broken.
"You insects won't be able to break through. You're merely delaying the inevitable defeat you'll all face. Your absolute Denise, just like that fading fool over there!" Maleignos pointed towards my Heemy, smiling like a freak.
"Tsss... Come.. onnnn! You must heal, you must evolve, y-you... y-you.. must... GROOOWWW!!!" Heemy's essence signature began to fade in and out of a burst. But I was still able to sense it all the same. Hearing Maleignos mock him as if Heemy didn't save the day irritated me to my very core. Unfortunately for him... everyone else on the team had the same thoughts.
Maleignos snickered as he turned to counter ZeeNastasia's nasty 9-3 elbow with his own. Just as they made contact, ZeeNastasia deleted the very nature of Contact itself. Forcing a shockwave to comyw about even without the contact. It left Maleignos stagnant and in a state of inertia, leaving himself wide open for a perfect surprise attack from yourself truly.
"This is payback for what you've done to, and said about MY HEEEEEEMMMYYYYY!!!!" I was able to successfully make contact and blow his head into space dust along with half of his upper torso.
"Timozzia, Shi'Ho-ho, Nikola, Ri-oh'Dioh, have you completed the task yet!?" I turned to face our brightest minds.
"Heh, yeah big tits, we're ready and rarin' to go. His concepts... Will be Impaired, slowed by Sloth, Eradicated, and Exterminated by our hands. Make this bitch... PAAAAYYY!!!" Shi'Ho-ho shouted with tears in her eyes.
"Heh, you hear that, my precious family?" My pops asked, casting a large lump of his essence into the blades and face of his fan.
"Yeah pops, let's charge straight ahead and eliminate this threat!" I pulled out my unstable Erasure Great sword along with my gauntlets.
"Hell yeah, let's move... Zeefist family. It's our time to shine!!" Mamastasia shouted as she brought about her own fan.
The family marched forward, syncing our essence, breathing, movement, cadence, and even our spirits and minds. We became a single unit within that very moment. Rushing forward as Maleignos pulls away from the many members of Annihilo-Sect and it's guardians. He came crashing into us, but was stopped by the defending nature of the twin fans my pops and moms wield. Their defensive capabilities were well beyond what I could ever imagine. He was deflected, then he was repelled by the force of his own attack. ZeeNasia and YeeNosha slashed through his arms before he could create a swarm of limbs. A late few came through that he didn't allow to fight against Sloth's affliction. He used it to his advantage and created an opening to their blindspots.
"Not today!"
Seikosen closed in from his blindsoot and wiped his delayed limbs off the map. In that decisive moment Kolipso pinned his movements and inhibited his ability to use essence properly. Ri-ohhanna used the very weight of the space she controls within the Versetian Omniverse to weigh him down with pressures unheard of. He was completely immobilized at this point, vulnerable to the many bombardments of Annihilation essence that smashed into him. Chipping away at his body as he regenerates at alarming speeds. Even with all these afflictions and debuffs, he's still coming at us like a crazed monster. Allowing his entire body to run rampant while fueled by his insatiable hunger for triumph over what he views to be beneath him. Even still, we stirred our souls, maximized our essence within these forms, and even steeled our resolve in the face of this absolute monstrosity.
"We're almost there, we almost have this son of bitch beateeeennn!!!" I poured everything I could into our attack until the bastard was burned to a crisp. His cells, his very essence that makes up the fibers of his existence were now burned to a point of no return. We finally had him where we wanted him, it was our battle to win, here and now!
"Tch, you all act as if I need to wait for Atomen's permission. I'll show you loathsome fools what the Abyssal Deep can do when he releases all the stops!!!" Maleignos's body turned into a massive black mass just as we were about to finish him off. He becane larger than several Colossaverses combined, a truly brazen beast well beyond the scopes of what we've seen thus far. A shadow Leviathan that had the very abyss itself coarsing through his body. Eyes and teeth of all sorts lined his body like trimming on a sports car. The damn thing was made of limbs that were bent, condensed, and twisted to mimic that of scales.
"Heh, it hardly matter if you do that now, we stand a chance so long as we have our newly found affinity to your conce- nrgh!?" I turned around to look for the source of essence I had been keeping an eye on. It was fluctuating like a rising pulse mere milliseconds ago. But now it's gone.
"Dammit, why now, why hasn't his tactic worked!? Even after we shut down this prick's essence... It's almost as if him transforming has extinguished- uhhhh!?"
"You MONSTER!!!" Tears flowed down my face as I came to realize what this transformation was really for. Our hope, our fuel for battle and our reason for coming together before we initially planned. He snuffed it out in the blink of an eye when he increased the potency of the countless concepts under his command. That includes the ones used on my Heemy.
At the current time and location of what will become Maleignos's final resting place. A plague on our team that will be snuffed out by the premature awakening of power and strength through despair. Despair caused by the lost soul of her beloved, my beloved. The cause would come to be known as the Annihilation Catalyst later on. That catalyst being the current condition of ReighHeem Destructor II...
Deceased.