Chapter 182: Hunt.
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(Davian's P.O.V)
"Gather closer."
I instructed Grail and Manhattan.
This was just as we passed through the exit of the underground training chamber.
They wordlessly complied, stepping nearer to me. I formed a green shield around us using Fullbring, enhancing it's structure and durability as much as I could. The shield pulsed brightly.
It was ready.
"Not even gonna say goodbye?"
A voice said from my back.
I sighed.
"You're the one that decided to play dead."
I looked over my shoulder, catching Urahara leaning on the frame of the exit door.
"Can you blame me?"
He shrugged.
"I didn't want to fight you. You would crush me in a heartbeat."
He said with a sincere smile.
I snorted.
"Well, you're not wrong."
I turned my back to him, holding something up for him to see. The Hogyoku.
"If it's this you want, then you're out of luck. I'm not giving it back."
Urahara stayed silent.
Then,
"You can keep it. I can't think of anyone who would be able to take it from you. Besides, it's corrupt nature would only lead to trouble for me and my allies. I prefer boring but peaceful days as a shopkeeper after all."
I smiled.
"Wise choice. Then I guess this is goodbye, Kisuke Urahara."
"I suppose it is, Davian Mabuz."
He added.
"Let's go."
I told my companions, whisking us out of the BleachVerse.
Star constellations and heavenly bodies passed by us, as the shield popped through the dimension wall of the universe we were leaving.
We appeared in the Overvoid. Am infinite realm of nothingness. The Overvoid was different from the bleed. The bleed was the space between Universes in a local multiverse.
The Overvoid was the space between multiverses.
There was an even high plan of non-existent however.
Something even greater than the Overvoid. But, as I was, I could only sense it, not pierce through its walls or journey there.
"Wow...it's all so majestic."
Grail said, looking around at the pure white space around us and the rainbow colored marbles of existence that were multiverses, just calmly floating around.
"I'm keeping an active cloak around the barrier. Step out and the things that make this their home will be onto you."
I warned her, wary of her excitement.
Manhattan was already well aware how dangerous this place could be. Infact, I could only access the Overvoid because I saw him do it the first time.
"I'm not stupid. Of course I wouldn't leave the shield."
Grail snorted, tapping the barrier with her finger.
The whole thing rippled like water.
"But...are you sure this thing can keep us protected? It looks kind of...weak."
Weak? Weak!!?
Are you fucking-
I ignored her, instead turning towards Manhattan.
"The pale woman. Start talking."
I told him, my tone deadly serious.
Manhattan blinked.
"I can only tell you, it is not who you think it is."
I narrowed my eyes. That wasn't saying much. Still, I didn't think I would get anything else from pressing him. That wasn't how you dealt with someone like him.
Besides, it was enough that he had confirmed I was wrong to suspect who I was suspecting. Gah, this whole thing feels so convoluted.
"My initial suspicion was Death of the Endless."
I disclosed to the two.
"That was my theory as well. The second I heard about the butterfly tattoo, I knew it could only be her."
Grail spoke up, eyes narrowed.
"But it was not her."
Manhattan reminded.
"So an impersonator."
I mused.
"That's not even the most important question."
Grail countered.
"Indeed."
Manhattan agreed.
"There is still the matter of how she knew we would be, where we would be."
Fortunately I had the answer to that. It was in the Hogyoku. The corruption Urahara was talking about within the Hogyoku felt... familiar.
Now that I could focus on it, I noticed a few things. Rather than calling it Death energy, it would be more fitting to call it, unliving energy.
"I think...whoever this Impersonator is- she and I have a connection. That's how she knew where we would be. From there, it would only be a simple matter to manipulate the time stream of that universe and arrive before we did. Giving her enough time to scheme."
Even as I said it, something told me I was right.
"You sound so sure."
Grail commented, gazing at me strangely.
"You're finally getting used to Transcendent perception."
Manhattan observed.
"Transcendent perception?"
Grail inquired from him.
"Upon crossing the boundary between mortality and true conceptual immortality, a being's core self is elevated to a different class. Call it the final evolution."
Manhattan explained,
"This final evolution comes with increased sensory perception and the awakening of Divine Sense. Though your Divine Sense shares traits with Omniscience. You are simply able to know what you need to know."
"In other words, I'm a badass among badasses."
I said, finally succeeding in tracking the Unliving energy within the Hogyoku back to it's source.
"As if you couldn't get a bigger head."
Grail rolled her eyes.
"Don't hate the game...hate me. Because I'm just that awesome."
A trail of grey energy was highlighted in the white space of the Overvoid.
"Jackpot."
I turned to the other two,
"The rest of my questions will be answered by our target herself. No more guessing games."
I smirked.
"Who's ready for a hunt?"
********
The first thing that my eyes captured upon arrival, were souls.
Trillions of sentient glowing spirits, aimlessly wandering in a world devoid of light.
A massive black sun hang overhead, sending rays of darkness throughout the realm.
The only source of light was the light passively produced by the souls themselves.
"Well, someone clearly miscalculated. This feels more like Limbo."
Grail said, pointedly staring at me.
"I did not miscalculate anything you brat. We are right where we need to be."
I answered, annoyed.
"Ah!? Brat! You're the same age as me!"
Grail yelled.
"The Reaper is right. The sight you see before you is the domain of Nekron, God of the Unliving. The Hogyoku's power led us here for a purpose."
Nekron. So, I wasn't wrong. He was my number one suspect. Well, number two if you count Death.
I was also a little surprised the blue bastard spoke up in my defense.
"FINALLY, THE FAKER HAS ARRIVED! And to meet him, I come. Death to all things! Perish! Draw the last breath upon my arrival!!"
A monstrous black skeleton dressed in shadows and the very essence of darkness manifested from the black sun above us.
Oily tendrils of darkness fell to the floor, submerging thousands of souls in a wave of liquid darkness.
The darkness gathered into a pool on the ground. One that popped with a grey miasma and what I was now terming as Unliving energy.
A skeletal hand reached out, longer than the Eiffel tower, grabbing onto the pool's edge. Then a second limb broke through the surface of the pool.
It smashed onto the edge of the pool, causing an earthquake to ripple out and shake everything.
Very quickly, a shadow fell upon the souls and us. The being that was formed was easily bigger than 10000 feet.
Which I guess made sense as one of it's arm as stated before was longer than the Eiffel tower. And the Eiffel tower was a whooping 1000 feet.
And that was before he stood upright. When he did, it was like facing up a Titan. No wait, a God Titan.
I was impressed!
"Nekron the god of Unliving! Everybody!!""
I called out, clapping my hands amazed by the bastard's horrifically awesome entrance.
"You're such a geek."
Grail said, unimpressed.
What was left of Nick in me blossomed. My own soul shuddered at the fact Nick's memories were influencing me this much.
I wasn't chuuni.
I couldn't be a weeb!
These antics...they were unlike me.
So I turned to my front and unsheathed Chesha Neko. To get back my glorious Alpha male attitude, I was going to have to soundly beat the crap out of a similarly cool bastard.
Sorry Nekron, but I'm about to kick your ass so bad, you're gonna complain to your momma.
(Grail's P.O.V)
The second Davi unsheathed his weapon, I was instantly reminded who it was I was standing next to.
Immediately, the entire realm shook with the weight of his power.
It instantly became harder to breath. Something told me that if it weren't for his own shield, I would have been crushed by his presence alone.
A pressure wave exploded out of his position. And Davi disappeared.
I stumbled backwards a little, gentle but unnaturally warm hands holding onto my shoulders, stabilizing me.
"Are you alright?"
The owner of the words, the blue guy who radiated power even greater than my father asked.
But even though I appreciated his concern, the monotonous way he spoke...chilled me to my bones. He was so... mechanic and unfeeling.
Stop. That's the weakness talking. I'm not weak. I'm strong. I could have taken over the Fourth World if I'd wanted. I was Darkseid's daughter.
'But you bend a knee to your father's killer.'
I heard my mother's voice echo through me.
'Stop it, Davian won fair and square. That's a warrior's way.'
'Vengeance is a warrior's way...'
My mother's cold voice echoed back.
Towards the end, Desaad's poison had messed with her mind. That's why I made extra sure to enjoy his screams as he died.
I made that bitch bastard squeal like a pig. Or in this case a sow.
Besides, when someone had the power Davian had, all notions of vengeance were thrown out of the window. It wasn't about me anymore...fate itself sang with his significance.
And I was here to witness all of it.
Nekron's own power was insurmountable. And yet...
A shield of darkness formed between it and Davi. The latter was smirking in the mischievous way he usually did.
Without even wasting a single drop of energy, Davi punched out. I also had to admire his control.
The punch broke right through the barrier Nekron had created.
"Impossible!!"
The massive skeleton exclaimed in surprise at the punch. A punch that shook the entire realm.
'Idiot. You should have just given up. Davian is thousands of times faster than light speed.'
I thought to myself, a little sour at the admittance.
I could only go a tenth of that. And from the very second we met, Davi was operating on a different level.
His power...had left me feeling weak. How anyone not blessed with a New God heritage or an Amazonian bloodline like me, could ever reach my power level and even exceed it was crazy.
But here. In this undead dimension, just as the darkness had creeped in on us, the Reaper's presence rippled out in defiance.
And I was reminded why my father could never hope to stand up to him.
Pure emptiness. That's the only thing I saw through my sixth sense. That's the only thing fighting him would bring Nekron.
Death.
In all caps.
D.E.A.T.H
There was no surviving Davian
I don't know how it happened, but... he'd become the true incarnation of Death's wrath.
Something about his heritage...he was like a new god, fighting for a piece of the pie.
Luke Apollo against Helios.
The Child of Death would naturally attain a deathless Domain but it wouldn't be easy anymore.
Most of the Death-gods would not ignore the challenge any longer.
And the strongest of them all- at least below Death herself- Nekron would be the first to challenge him.
However, what they haven't considered...is who they fight.
He had come out of nowhere.
I knew nothing about his past. I knew nothing about this grudge with Divinity he seems to have. Or his hunger for power.
Nor anything about his past. He claims to come from another Universe and yet...he seems to know us all so intimately.
What a mysterious guy. He fought without even knowing what side he should be on. All to protect someone he cherished.
And at times, he mumbles to himself. As if he's speaking to somebody no one else can see.
And yet, even after I fell under thousands of Para-demons, the first face I saw was...his.
Him and the Life Entity, peering down at me. The latter was flapping it's wings, filling the space around us with golden flecks of light.
And then he offered me a hand.
At that moment, whether it was the Omega Effect or an instinct born out of my Amazonian bloodline, I could recognize his true power.
He was a GOD.
(Davian's P.O.V)
"Impossible!"
Nekron yelled in shock as I plowed through his darkness shield.
"That shield contains the repellent energy of a supermassive black hole. How did you break it so casually?!"
He demanded, raising a hand to the dark sky and bringing it down on my position.
I stared at the descending digits.
"Impossible. My middle name."
Boom!!
The souls behind me were instantly thrown back by the pressure wave produced, as my forearm colored black with Tairyoku, collided with his hand.
He took a single step backwards, his own strength coming up short to mine.
Shunpo.
I popped up next to his neck, hand pulled back. The air cried around my fist as it landed smack dab on his cheek.
Thwack!
The blow produced a loud thunderclap, Nekron's body lifting and flying thousands of feet away.
He landed, creating a crater with his body.
Shunpo brought me to stand on his chest, peering down at him. All traces of humor were missing from my face.
"Hey, I know that wasn't strong enough to take you out."
"Damn you, Child of Death!"
His chest rumbled out as he lashed out with his left hand, a black Scythe manifesting on his left hand.
Chesha Neko blocked the blow easily.
"You have been watching Chase and ai for months. Even when you were doing your best to hide, I could still smell you out. Like a rat hiding in the shadows."
He didn't seem to like my statement.
"Aaarghhhhhhhhh!!! I shall end you where you stand boy! Darkness descent!!"
Nekron roared in anger.
Through Reikaku I detected the fall of millions of dark lances and alikes falling from the black sun. Headed straight for me.
I raised Chesha Neko and wordlessly entered Shikai.
"Chesha Neko Spider Web shield."
I pointed to the sky and activated the defensive skill. Strings launched out, attaching to the very air.
Nekron's attack was stopped in its tracks, but the God of Unliving was Unwilling to accept that. I detected another Scythe slash headed for my neck.
Clang!
A massive Purple Cat appeared at my back, using it's claws to Barry the scythe.
"A sneak attack, how ungodly."
Chase told the downed deity.
"Impossible. This cannot be. How can you be this powerful?"
Nekron demanded, still on the ground.
And he wasn't coming off it anytime soon. Reiatsu was making sure of that.
"I'm the one with the questions here so let's get down to it. You know, I have more than enough Power to kill you and take over your realm if I wanted."
I began, sitting cross-legged on his chest.
Chase lay down behind me, providing me with something to lean on.
Nekron said nothing.
"Tell you what, if you answer me one simple question, I'll leave you be and never enter your realm again. Scouts honor."
I offered.
"What would you want to know...?"
Nekron asked in a subdued tone.
(Grail's P.O.V)
It's over? He- defeated Nekron in seconds!? How?