Lucifer POV
I groaned as the roaring army entered through the massive portal.
I was dying already, why did they bother?
Supremacy was a trap set by the Ruler. Now I understand why Rose refused.
I coughed out blood.
Helel grabbed me as I fell.
"My lord, what should we do."
[Fight, of course. Fetch my armor.]
"But, lord!"
[No buts. You remember what the Author said. This is the end of the line, the final battle. I will not go out begging for my life. If I die, it will be through battle.]
I stood on shaking legs, the light that once shimmered barely in my eyes.
Dear reader, I do believe I am going to die here. I am just thankful that Rose was able to survive my blast.
I intend to give her a struggle, she won't accept me going easy on her.
My red glow, once so vibrant, had carved gouges into my skin in the shape of those unreadable runes.
I never understood until now what exactly made Rose different.
I thought that maybe the Author simply liked her actions.
Perhaps her being a deity helped.
Then, I realized that she was emotionally unique.
She most certainly was not flawless, but… she was good… Not in the aspect, the attitude, or even her speech, but…
She is good…
When I saw her… I thought I was just reacting to the massive potential… that was why I influenced her life, so I could prepare her…
At least… that's how I rationalized it in my head.
I wasn't reacting to her power, or her potential, I reacted to her goodness. That pure, unfiltered, cruel goodness that has never been seen for as long as I've been alive.
Could she be His angel, the one that He sent to show us truth?
Me and Milel were the only two that met the being truly known as God…
Rose was nowhere near His purity… but… she was the closest I have ever seen.
Could it be as He said?
Could she be what He referred to?
Raidren of the God Slayers had reliable prophecies, but they were proven wrong when Rose and her faction killed him…
But could the One truly predict her? She, who is a denier of fate. Could she be known?
Is she the Light of Purity?
…
The Garden of Hope…
Rose is the prophesied one…
I was right all along. Even when I attempted to annihilate her after achieving supremacy… I was just fulfilling more of it.
Free will is quite funny compared to Him.
We are free, Rose has shown that to me…
But He knows her anyways.
_
As we entered the world, demons flooded forward. They struck ferociously, causing our frontline to be killed nearly instantly.
I charged forth and saw Rose begin to take flight with the Valkyies.
Knowing she was in good hands, I leapt forward, slashing a demon in half.
"COME ON!!! Move quickly or be taken down!"
The men were receptive and began their charge.
Jalad held a front with 3 demons, despite being one of the lower levels, his Ultimate, Rule by Sword, marked him as the best swordsman in known existence.
Mammon was also good, he had a powerful skill that allowed him to motivate everyone.
Vitilio led with his commanders in a flanking maneuver.
Celios and the other children of Kala flanked in the opposite direction.
With this convergence of powerhouses, the first demon legion was pinned.
Of course, the deities' rise was still shocking, it became less shocking when put into the consideration that they were the closest Rose had to children.
Some of them still referred to her as mother or mom.
The lowest level of them was Duhnheim, and he was a shocking 734.
Even I was only a 603.
Of course, I could still best them in combat, but it was very close, Ausar, Celios, and Silith could beat me usually.
Of course, that was until I used my ultimate.
Both me and Darsen received a custom Ultimate. Darsen's made him a shadow fighter, allowing for his tactics to be more precise.
Mine… well, you'll see.
"Ultimate Skill, King's Grace."
Some demons, not knowing the skill, charged me recklessly.
So, I flowed past them… It just so happened that I cut them so cleanly that they fell in two.
Darsen could move through the shadows, and he could use them as a weapon.
I could simply move through people, and my blade movement was so smooth that no one could see it.
It also allowed me to see the movement around me with more precision.
Amy liked to call it my Ultra Insti*ct, whatever that meant. While it had the limit of only being active for 10 seconds, it still had only a minute cooldown, meaning I could use it continuously.
"Flank him!"
I dodged a slash and struck one of the charging demons.
Kicking one in the face led to a stab in another.
I danced around the group that struck at me.
It was clear that these were the elites as I gained a level every few slain.
I smiled, for an initial assault, this was quite effective.
Luma POV
I floated next to Sona, showering a heavy magic assault on the demonic legions that clashed with Dallel.
His ultimate was certainly masterfully made. Rose was a natural at creating.
Thalia burst her flame as Elren blasted his life magic.
Alice was atop her father, standing next to several archers.
She rained death magic upon the enemies, occasionally mixing with her father's magic to revive one of our fallen.
Rose, as always, created a masterful plan.
We had a few casualties as some demons could cast smite, but they seemed to be a rarer type.
The ones I found annoying were the ones with weapons enchanted with a smite-like attribute. It also led to an unrevivable death.
I saw one try sneaking up on Dallel, so I struck him with magic, instantly killing him.
I looked over and saw Rose cutting through a few legions with the Valkyrie. It was like watching a knife cut through butter.
The Valkyrie were faster and stronger, plus their weapons were physically part of them, so it couldn't be knocked out of their hands.
The demons, on the other hand, were tailed, so they could get gabbed upon their retreat.
They had flesh wings instead of metal, so fire was effective.
They were just far worse off.
That's not even counting in Gabriel and Rose.
Milel was just an upgraded Valkyrie.
Gabriel was a Seraph. As such, his wings were obsidian instead of metal, and his weapons were much stronger. Not to mention, he had 6 wings, so he was very fast.
His visible green aura, hinting at his potential of supremacy, was vastly overshadowed by Rose's golden glow.
Her wings were golden, and her armor was the same color. Similar to a Valkyrie, her armor was also made from her wings. Though, the one thing that made it hers were the touches of red.
A cloak, the one that Dalla made, flowed from her back.
She had it for 6 years now. Since before the start of her adventure. She rarely wore it nowadays, ever since Celios broke her original armor tattering it.
Rose repaired it the day before the assault, sewing it by hand. She also made an insignia that was on the back. One that I imbued on every shield.
A lone rose sitting in the abyss. It was a simple insignia, but the meaning it held was deep.
She was a lone rose, and we were her garden. We let her fight for us, we didn't fight for her as we should have…
We will never let that happen again. The insignia, even if she didn't intend it to be, was a reminder of our failure. The failure that we would no longer tolerate.
("If you feel hopeless and aren't going to contribute anything to keeping those still with us safe, then save the Supreme faction the trouble.")
Those words stuck with me, long after it faded from everyone else.
As the system, I never really cared or faced any contest, but as Luma I faced continuous problems and fears.
Then she said that, and it struck me.
I can't just sit idly. I must fight to pay back the kindness Rose has shown me again and again.
I've broken several rules, several mantras. And, to serve Rose, I intend to break many more.
Now, check on Darsen.
Darsen POV
…. WOAH, is this what they meant?
This is surreal.
Anyways let me tell ya what's been happening.
My party stuck to the shadows, my and Marcus's skills kept the people hidden, we occasionally leapt out and killed a few demons before shadowing up again.
Already, our levels skyrocketed.
I went straight from middle 400s to 500 in a matter of minutes.
I saw Dallel utilizing his ultimate with great efficiency.
All of the commanders, save Luma, received an upgrade to their skills. Each of us gaining an ultimate.
I crept through the shadow of a demon and grabbed her, pulling her into the darkness, where I ripped her apart.
I steadily did this to one of the idle legions that merely watched the battle, waiting to be sent in.
"Sir, where's Semeli?"
"She's right behi- where is she?"
As the demons looked around with confusion, I grabbed the commander and dragged him into my shadow.
"They're attacking from the shadows?!!"
I launched out at the shouter, crushing her skull in my hands.
The rest of my men also came in and started slaughtering the stunned demons.
By the time one realized that he needed to move, all of his comrades were dead.
"This isn't fair!"
"Please, alls fair in love and war."
I chopped off his head before he could resist.
"As always Rose."
I smiled.
"What a wonderful plan."
My smile was dark.
"Men, next target is the ones on top of the hill."
Amy, Ausar, and Marcus nodded before telling their beastkin rogues.
I opened a gate into the shadow and we entered.
Rose was an ingenious strategist.