Devil's Luck[Arc 5: Worlds Apart]

Boom*! Boom*! Boom*! Boom*! Boom*! Boom*!

The Underworld trembled constantly as Zenkichi and Envy battled for supremacy in the sky? Their authorities, divine or monster, collided violently, sending shockwaves throughout the entire realm.

The sheer force of their battle cracked the very fabric of the Underworld, and the sky above seemed to be tearing apart, ripped asunder by the chaos they unleashed.

"Sheesh. They're really going all-out right now," Gudako commented, her gaze fixed on the chaotic sky above, where Zenkichi and Envy's clash had transformed the battlefield into a storm of destruction.

She shielded her eyes from the brightness of their attacks, the heat and power radiating even down to where she and the others stood.

'And he's around my age....some people just has all the luck,' She wryly smiled.

She already went through six singularities, plus the fuyuki singularity, and went through innumerable near death experiences—and it was all due to luck that she was still alive at this point. Gudako sometimes wonders to herself, that if she had parameters like servants has, she'll probably Luck EX or something.

But the point of it all, was why doesn't she have any superpower? Although mystic codes grant her great spells that help her allies— it was merely temporary, has a long cooldown and only usable in certain situations.

Everyone dreamt of having superpowers, Gudako was no exception. Especially with the upcoming confrontation she has with Solomon after they collected all seven Holy Grails.

'Wait, where did Zenkichi store his Holy Grail?'

"Zenkichi's using so much of his energy..." Gudako's thoughts were interrupted, she turned to her side to see Mash adjusting her shield, her face tense with concern. "If this keeps up, he won't have anything left."

"Nah. He still has his demon power, monster authorities, spiritual power, and there are his other skills as well." Brunhilde remarked, cutting down another group of undead before retreating towards Ereshkigal's side, trying to protect her from enemies as she tries to regain some control over the Underworld.

Fortunately for them, due to Zenkichi's explosive fire lotus, most of their enemies had already been incinerated, leaving only stragglers to deal with.

She glanced at Ereshkigal and said, "That said, we shouldn't take too long either. Sooner or later, Zenkichi will fall. Ereshkigal, how much longer?"

A vein throbbed visibly on Ereshkigal's temple as she gripped her twisted cage-spear tightly, she sunk it deeper into the ground. "How much longer? You think I can just snap my fingers and fix this?!" she snapped, her voice tinged with frustration.

The Underworld trembled under the immense pressure, and the dark energy clinging to her domain made it even harder for her to regain control.

The first part of their plan to defeat Envy was to get her out of the Underworld, which would take a lot of energy out of Zenkichi like last time and would probably kill him, so Ereshkigal had to regain control of the Underworld in order to create a sort of "gate" enroute to the surface world where Quetzalcoatl and rest were waiting to help deal with Envy.

However, it looked like it wasn't going to be as simple as they had hoped. Ereshkigal's grip tightened on her spear as dark tendrils of corruption burst out of the ground beneath her, writhing like serpents determined to strangle her control over the Underworld.

Swish*!

Brunhilde sliced through the dark tendrils with one swift motion, Gram glowing with divine cyan energy as it cut the tendrils into pieces. The severed tendrils hissed as they dissolved into smoke, but more emerged from the ground, writhing and snaking toward Ereshkigal with relentless persistence.

Dozens more began to sprout, but Mash quickly destroyed them with her shield, her eyes fierce with determination as she defended Ereshkigal.

"Ereshkigal, please hurry up!" Gudako shouted, her voice edged with urgency as she casted "Threefold Therapy" a spell that grants her allies healing and stamina regeneration for the next three minutes. It sounded pretty cool but it has a twenty minute cooldown and could only be used three more times.

"I'm doing the best I can!" Ereshkigal snapped, her ruby eyes turning more red in frustration and the strain of regaining the Underworld against Envy's corruption. The veins in her hands stood out as she gripped her twisted spear even tighter, her divine energy pouring into the ground beneath her.

'I will not let her defile it! This is my home! My. Realm!' Ereshkigal's thoughts raged as her ruby eyes glowed with righteous divine fury. The dark tendrils of corruption squirmed under the pressure of her divine energy, but they were relentless, pushing against her efforts to reclaim the Underworld.

In the depths of her mind, a reluctant voice sounded out.

"Just this once, I'll help you out."

In the battle between Zenkichi and Envy...

"Flashbang!" There was an intense flash of golden light, illuminating the darkened sky of the Underworld as Zenkichi unleashed a blinding wave of solar energy.

The light surged outward like a tidal wave, burning through the oppressive darkness and momentarily halting Envy's advances.

"My eyes!" Envy, caught in the flare, hissed in annoyance, shielding her eyes with a wave of shadowy energy. She gritted her teeth and swiped her arm, lashing out an arc of dark-purple energy toward Zenkichi, the attack slicing through the air with deadly precision and speed that it seemed like it teleported right before Zenkichi's eyes.

Zenkichi's expression tightened as he used Hirenkyaku to avoid the attack. The arc of energy tore through the sky, leaving a jagged rift where it passed, distorting the very space of the Underworld.

"Nice try," he muttered, recovering his stance on the air and looking down at Envy, whose fury was palpable. Zenkichi felt the pressure in his chest increase, his time running out. His system screen flashed before him again, reminding him of the ticking clock.

[Time limit: 4 minutes]

Envy glared at him, her eyes flickering with dark energy as she began to recover from the Flashbang. "You can't hold out forever," she growled, her voice dripping with malice. "And once your power runs out, this entire realm, you, that Goddess and the rest of your friends will be mine!"

Zenkichi smirked, despite the heavy burden weighing on him. "Maybe. But I don't plan on letting you get that far."

He glanced at the cracks in the sky—at the rapidly deteriorating boundary between the Underworld and the surface. He could sense the others preparing the next phase of their plan, and he just had to hold out a little longer.

'I need to step it up a notch,' He started to prepare his Reiryoku(Spiritual Power) in order to use his Vollständig.

"...I don't understand."

Zenkichi narrowed his eyes as he observed Envy's sudden shift in demeanor. The wild madness and obsessive envy that once defined her seemed to vanish, replaced by a cold, calculating expression. Her eyes no longer flickered with a sort of envious desire, but rather with sharp intelligence and unsettling calm.

"What? That you haven't defeated me yet?" Zenkichi remarked.

Envy lightly tilted her head, studying him with a curious expression. "Yes. You are a God, yes? Even though you were some kind of Demon in our first encounter.... it doesn't matter. You are using divinity, correct?"

Zenkichi blinked, not expecting such a...civil conversation all of a sudden. 'Is she planning something?' he thought and glancing at his system panel, with just a minute left of his God mode, he quickly shifted his source of power.

His blond hair dimmed, no longer glowing like flames, and his crimson eyes faded back to their natural light blue. The weight of his divine authority lessened, but Zenkichi felt a surge of another energy flowing from the depths of his body—Reiryoku.

He lost his ability of flight for a moment before blue particles began to converged beneath his feet and created a platform of shimmering energy, lifting him back into the air. The radiant particles, Reishi, danced around him obediently.

At that moment, Zenkichi almost felt like slapping himself in the face.

He was part Quincy! Quincies has the natural ability to control Reishi and Reiryoku, energies that were completely abundant in the Underworld where souls rest! It would boost his soul-related abilities and replenish his Reiryoku simultaneously.

He had been too drunk in his new attainments in divinity and demonic power that he completely forgot about his Quincy abilities—unsurprising really. To him, divinity and demonic power felt like they were superior to everything he had known as a Quincy.

But in this realm, surrounded by the essence of souls and the remnants of countless spirits, his Quincy blood was a vital asset he could no longer afford to ignore.

Envy hummed, "I remember you using this sort of power beforehand. You understand that it might not work against me, again. I have divine authority over the underworld, I can simply lock the space around you, preventing you from using the spiritual energy in this realm."

Zenkichi shrugged. "Can't hurt to try. Also, you were curious about my divinity? What about it?" he sweatdropped, hoping that Envy wouldn't do what she said.

Envy hummed in agreement, his diversion worked. "I know my kind has a natural ability to suppress Gods, so why is it that you are not affected?"

"That...." Zenkichi paused, not knowing what to say. He felt the same way, honestly. He had used his Sun God Mode as bait in order to catch her off guard and use his Demon Mode to fight against her, instead, he actually managed to keep her at bay.

He didn't know what to say, except, "I'm just built different, I guess."

"What?" Envy stared at him.

Zenkichi smirked confidently at her, trying to stall her further.

At that moment, however, something strange happened.

'Please....'

'Save....us....'

'Pain....So much....'

'What the—?!' His eyes widened in shock, hearing strange and gargled voices in his head.

Zenkichi frowned and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the pulse of Reishi in the air, recognizing how it thrummed with a sense of desperation, hope, anger, joy, etc. The souls and spirits that had been caged by Envy cried out for him.

His Empathy skill unconsciously activated and the emotions flooded his senses, overwhelming him with a torrent of feelings.

He felt the anguish of lost souls, the lingering joy of memories long past, and the relentless rage at being trapped in this twisted realm. Each emotion resonated within him, amplifying his resolve and igniting a fire deep in his heart.

In the distance, he could feel the emotions of Ereshkigal fighting against the wall of corruption that Envy had established her authority over the Underworld.

As the true ruler over this realm, she certainly could hear the anguished souls crying out for liberation, their despair resonating in the very fabric of the Underworld. Zenkichi could sense her struggle as she fought to break free from the shackles of Envy's corruption.

The weight of her responsibility pressed heavily upon her, yet within that burden, there was an indomitable spirit—a fierce divine will to protect her home and the souls trapped within it.

Suddenly, he and the others could feel her divine energy seemingly doubled at that moment—her entire body began to exude a golden aura that evaporated the corruption that was of Envy's Monster Authority. At that moment, it was as if she had regained her former peak seat, as the Goddess of the Underworld.

"What?!" Envy was shocked, turning towards her direction in disbelief. She was certain she still had a part of Ereshkigal's divine authority, so how could she...?

"I am the True Goddess of the Underworld," Ereshkigal's words reverberated through the air, resonating with a commanding authority that silenced the chaos around them. Her golden aura blazed like the sun, illuminating the darkness and casting aside the shadows that Envy had woven into the very essence of this realm.

"Souls are to rest here, not to be twisted and tormented by your vile influence!" Ereshkigal continued, her voice ringing with an undeniable truth that resonated deep within the hearts of all present.

"You—!" Envy's expression contorted, as if an explosion, her entire body exuded a vast cloud of darkness, thrumming with chaotic energy. "You think you can simply reclaim what I've taken? These are mine! Mine, mine, mine—!"

"You talk too much." Zenkichi appeared behind her, in his Vollständig form, his construct wings expanded as he absorbed vast amounts of Reiryoku and Reishi, channeling it into his left arm. He cocked back his arm, which had a light sheen of iron, and swung it forward with blinding speed.

Boom*!

The impact resonated through the air, sending shockwaves of light crashing into Envy's dark aura.

The force of his attack broke through the thick cloud of darkness, illuminating the space around them.

Envy stared at him, an unreadable expression on her face as she narrowed her glowing purple eyes at him.

"I can't go back further than this point of time? Has my authority gotten weaker...?"

'Huh? Her authority?' Zenkichi heard her mutterings and looked at her in confusion.

He didn't know why, but he suddenly had a foreboding feeling stirring in his stomach.

"Zenkichi!!"

Zenkichi blinked, staring blankly at Envy, who was face-to-face with him now all of a sudden. Also, that foreboding feeling in his gut seemingly disappeared.

He looked down and blinked once more, a slender fair skinned arm had pierced through his stomach.

"Oh..."

.....

AN: Man. Zenkichi does not get a break....welp, see y'all later!

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