Life Hunter

In a world filled with seawater, enfolding mysterious spheres called nebulas, two figures brought their weapon together. The water vibrated for thousands of miles while the nebulas around were blown away as if they were ships sailing off.

One of the figures was a man with the upper body of a human with four arms, and the lower body of a fish. He was fighting a literal humanoid jellyfish while wielding a trident-like weapon. That man was more the depiction of Poseidon than the actual god bearing that name.

He contracted the muscles in his four arms and battled against the countless tentacles of his enemy. They were exchanging more than ten thousand blows each second.

At some point, the jellyfish spread open his limbs and the water around him formed a terrifying maelstrom. The other fish-man grasped the water with his hands and confined it inside a magic barrier. He waved his hands for a bit until an irregular flow of water was following his movements.

The two fighters conjured their respective magic and a strange phenomenon occurred. Something that couldn't be called an explosion or detonation at all. The pressure was so much that it felt like that the composition of the water itself was changing. Anyone inside of that would be crushed until all the bones in the body were ground to dust.

But even so, the two individuals causing that were still throwing blows after blow in the middle of it. But something unexpected happened just after. A giant silver gear materialized between them and pushed them away. It even forcefully calmed down the mayhem raging there.

"What is this?" The jellyfish grumbled and the fish-man shook. A woman with a divine appearance emerged from the silver disc and leisurely started drifting underwater. She slowly went to the side of the gear just before a large shadow came out of it.

The two folks who were waging a battle there gasped and froze. A humongous size that surpassed those of most nebulas, but more importantly, a terrifying aura that could crush millions.

"Lord Rak-Loyra!" Instead of being purely scared, the two were shocked too. They were especially focusing on the unknown runes tattooed all over that whale-like monster.

"'Rak-Loyra'… that's what they said? That's his name?" Evangeline arrived with Aergia and raised her voice.

Layla hummed and observed the whale. "Are you somewhat famous, Apana?" She completely ignored the fact that he could have a real name and still called him with the one she had chosen for him.

Apana, who had become a pet, made a sound as if he was happy to be distinguished and straightened his body to show his importance.

"Don't be snobbish."

But he soon stopped.

"Now that I think about it, he can understand us even without using telepathy," Aergia said. "That alone shows that he's quite special."

"Who are you? Why do you have Lord Rak-Loyra with you?" The fish-man asked with an anxious expression.

"Ooh, fish people," Layla marveled and smiled. "{Are you perhaps one of the Guardians?}"

"What? Telepathy…" The fish-man frowned then glanced at the jellyfish he was fighting until now. It seemed like he wasn't planning to go away soon, so he responded.

"{I am the Second Guardian, Mopas. Who are you?}"

"{I am Layla. I came here under the instructions of a being much stronger than you. We are here to disband the Plane Guardians and Pillars of Elysium.}"

Mopas shuddered and the jellyfish-man, who had been connected telepathically too, trembled as even his group was mentioned.

"{But it's quite lucky of us that you're fighting already. Now you can tell us where is the rest of your groups,}" Layla chuckled and the jellyfish made a decision in the split of a second, he turned around and dashed.

Mopas didn't move. It wasn't because he had not envisaged doing the same but because he saw one of the women in front of him disappear right in front of his eyes. Aergia moved like a death god and grabbed the neck of the fleeing creature.

"{You're not allowed to leave yet.}"

Mopas shivered and clenched his hands. "{What will you do when you know about the location of everyone else?}"

"{We will either kill them all or let them live at the condition that they swear loyalty to the Kind Demon,}" Layla answered as Aergia dragged the jellyfish back. "{For now, just tell us where they are.}"

Mopas groaned and was about to speak when Apana let out a short cry. The huge beast even changed place so that Layla would be looking down on him and began telling her something. She tilted her head and listened. The voice of that whale had some really strange powers. She could perfectly understand it.

When Apana finished, Layla's eyes were wide open.

"Wow. I'm even luckier than I thought," she remarked and giggled. Aergia and Evangeline who had received the message too were amazed as well. "Then do it, Apana. I'm counting on you."

The whale opened his mouth and bellowed. His aura spread in exactly eighteen different directions. There was no leaking of energy at all. It was as if his aura had formed thin threads leading to a certain location. Then, he roared and the water split open and formed as many tunnels underwater as there were threads.

Mopas and the jellyfish stared dumbfounded. At the end of those tunnels, powerhouses were being trapped by the surrounding water and being propelled inside as if it was a hydro tunnel. Some of them even were located on other Planes.

But it only took a few seconds for exactly eighteen people to appear in front of Apana as if they were obedient subordinates being gathered by their boss.

"{Now, dear followers of the Creators. Surrender or die. I'm afraid that's the only choice you have,}" Layla smiled gently and softly, scaring the shit out of everyone. Even a few giant creatures who had just arrived.

***

Gilgamesh controlled every weapon and force that came out of the Babylon Gates with his mind and fought against the Téra. He personally was trying his best to block the way of the leader of that group. It was a humanoid Téras with black and white scales all over its body and three eyes.

None of the Téra were fighting with weapons or anything similar. They would all use their own body to attack. But that specific Téras had two blade-like bones sticking out of its arms.

Gilgamesh parried them with his golden sword and grunted when the cold and emotionless face of the monster approached him. He summoned another sword and swung it. The Téras' third pupil moved and his sword was stopped with telekinesis.

Gilgamesh didn't seem to care as he let go of his sword and used it as a foothold to retreat. In the next instant, he snapped his fingers, and countless gold armors charged at the Téras and tackled it. Gilgamesh snorted and they all self-destructed and created a massive explosion.

The golden flames spread far and wide and melted the planet they were fighting on. It soon became a burning star and was then destroyed by the second shockwave of the explosion. The thousands of Téra around were scorched and turned to ashes.

Gilgamesh ordered his remaining forces to stand down and flew away while dragging the four gates to the other Realities with him.

"Now!"

Deva heard him and deployed her two pairs of wings. In the middle of the crumbling planet, she released a magic fluctuation that blew away the remnants of the explosion. The Téras came out of it with its scales burned and an arm in less.

Deva locked her sight on it and opened her mouth wide as she roared. The surrounding matter of the dead planet twisted strangely and was unnaturally inhaled by her. A massive magic pressure condensed inside her mouth. She howled again and a large energy ray was launched.

The Téras' three eyes opened wide and glowed. The monster crossed its arms in defense while creating a powerful psychic barrier. But the ray still went through its defenses and killed it in seconds.

Deva closed her fuming mouth and Gilgamesh sighed in relief but then Deva started growling even more threateningly than before. His entire body shook and he looked up again.

"There's no way…"

A group of Téra at least a hundred times bigger was coming toward them. Furthermore, amongst them, there were terrifying ones that were larger than members of the giant race. There were at least a hundred who had the same level of strength as the one they just took down. And finally, a unique one. Just one Téras in the middle of all.

That Téras was the smallest. It was just a tiny black rabbit with red eyes. But its spiritual presence made Gilgamesh remind of Arima himself.

"This is daunting indeed," he then heard an unfamiliar voice next to him and turned his head in panic. A young woman was standing beside him. Her looks were so pure that he thought she was even less appropriate than him, who had the appearance of a child, to be on a battlefield.

"That power rivals mine," she muttered while probing the rabbit. "Probably just a bit weaker than Angra… How did they evolve so fast? I thought Pandora was supposed to create a species that would get stronger over time depending on the people around them."

"That is simple, My Lady," an old butler appeared out of thin air and Gilgamesh became even more confused as a man with a dark aura and another who seemed to be the descendant of Anubis himself followed their apparition.

"If they have a common goal that their instincts are telling them to accomplish, the Téra can fuse and share their strength with their kin."

"Sebas," Ahura called solemnly. "Is that what your son wanted to create in the end?"

The butler smirked. "Yes. He achieved his motive apparently."

"…Do you want to avenge him?"

"No," Sebas shook his head with a smile. "Karaskan might be my son but he told me this when he left; 'I will die to finish my venture. Presumably, to someone I hurt. That same someone may also be the one who will complete the meaning of my existence. So, Father, let me become the Evil in your stead'. Today, I still clearly remember his conviction and there's no point in moving for revenge when you hear that kind of line. Still… that man killed both Karaskan and Baphomet. Does he have some kind of grudge against my family?"

"Then, are you prepared to fight against what your son gave his life for?"

Sebas laughed cheerfully. "My Lady, I'm proud of my son. But if he made something that can be stopped by me, it would be laughable. I will as pre-arranged, fight with all my might. But I will still believe in my son while I do so."

Ahura closed her eyes and smiled faintly. "Then go. Relic of The Ancient Times. First Man called Fiend and the Fourth Divine Beast. Sebasfiel Mendes."

The butler laughed and his maddening voice spread in the void. All of the Téra abruptly halted and the rabbit moved forward. It saw an old man in a suit growing a pair of horns. Space and Time seemed to twist as it welcomed a titanic goat with bloody fur and chilling golden eyes. Lightning and fire were forming between his horns.

The goat cried and triggered the Téra's repressed survival instinct. The rabbit screeched in return and contrary to its petite size, its cry and aura clashed equally against Sebasfiel's own.

***

Meanwhile, the armies led by Hades, Ifrit, and Gabriel were already getting familiar with the Realities they had gone into and were preparing to spread around the different Planes.

Everything was coming into place as Arima entered the Sage's chamber.