FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

A big thank you to Zerrex Narrius for helping me out with editing this chapter, and finding the right words where i did get stuck.

_ Everyone needs someone. We can fight alone only for so long. _

Chapter 49 - Building Trust

It had gone on and on for hours. Vesta was ravenous like Alexis, and just as strong and insatiable. And Killer, after a long, unprecedented forced abstinence, was more eager than ever to meet all her desires and satiate his own hungers. He had pounded her with fearsome power, and she had eagerly met all of his thrusts, bucking back against him with hunger, their hands stroking each other's bodies half of the time and wrestling the other half. She had enjoyed countless orgasms, so much so that from a point onwards, her beautiful thighs had been quaking and spasming uncontrollably all along, even as her legs wrapped needingly around his thick waist and pulled him closer atop her.

She had bathed in the waves of his strong seed, rolling in the lake of semen that soon was covering the whole meadow, howling his name in amazement and delight with each enormous blast that splattered over or into her...

And at one point, with her cheeks bulging outwards ridiculously with the load cramming her mouth, strong cum dribbling down from the corners of her lips and plastering her hair and face, she had jumped up and quickly portaled out of sight, leaving Killer staring in confusion for a moment at the "door" in reality before it closed and he gave a little, amused sound realization.

The portal opened again a few minutes later, and Vesta stumbled out of it, bent forwards, groaning and pressing her muscular arms around her abdomen, her belly bulging with the ungodly amount of semen he had crammed into her... But she was grinning, and her lips and face were clean, her mouth empty.

Alexis had loved the gift she had brought her, and they had kissed with passion, sharing the male's mighty load until the ligeress had hungrily swallowed it all... And then, of course, as Killer had warned, Alexis had snarled and slammed a building-crumbling punch into Vesta's stomach for snagging all the real fun to herself.

It had been an amusing moment when the Demigoddess had re-emerged before Killer, especially since Vesta had laughed and grinned dumbly towards him, raising a thumb in a victorious gesture... before falling with a groan on her aching, bulging belly, ass up in the air. Killer had grinned, licked his lips, and advanced easily towards her, stroking a hand leisurely along his immense member as he walked around her and then straddled her from above, pointing his colossal shaft at the gaping, obscenely-stretched, once-tight rosebud of the Seraphim. He had penetrated her once more, sinking himself in to hilt, loving the howl of pleasure-pain she launched, loving the way a cascade of his own strong seed gushed out of her gaping pussy as he pushed inside, a river of thick cum leaking constantly out of her and seeming to never end, while more of his own powerful semen sprayed and squelched out of her ass as he pounded it hungrily, even that passage crammed and overfilled with his cum already, his own essence now lubricating his monstrous shaft in each thrust, wrapping around his member, and leaking and bursting out of her whenever he moved and forced the fluids out by cramming her with solid meat in its place.

She had fought valiantly, and they had both loved it to no end, going at it again and again and again, over and over, until she couldn't take anymore. Literally.

At the end of their ferocious dance, Killer had slowly pulled back, out of her ravaged, viciously-pounded sex, his gigantic cock dripping mixed juices, his thick sperm dangling in ropes that connected the head of the goliath member to the battered lips of her vagina, which gaped wide, stretched insanely wide. His cock was stained with red streaks of her blood, with how he had stretched and reshaped her insides, and the huge male grinned at the loud pop that echoed in the air when his bulging, colossal head came out of her, her thighs spasming as her sex clenched weakly, the gape not closing at all as Vesta groaned blissfully, eyes rolled up in her head and an amazed grin of ecstasy on her muzzle.

She had collapsed on her front with a blissful, exhaust grunt, letting out a sigh of heavenly satisfaction as she lay in the middle of a literal sea of his potent cum, which had covered with a thick, hot carpet the lawn they had been using as bed. She could not even begin to quantify the gallons of sperm that painted her body and the world around her white: she only knew that he had blasted an ungodly amount of gallons with each mighty, punishing release... And she had lost count of how many he had enjoyed, too busy howling her pleasure through her own orgasms, which had been... an unbelievable lot.

All she could smell was the liger's strong, virile musk. All she could taste was his strong flesh, his taste still overwhelming in her mouth and on her tongue, and the seed she had swallowed and mouthed in ungodly amounts. Her muscular abdomen was bloated, expanded and bulging with the obscene load of cum crammed into her depths. She felt like it was everywhere. She could feel it making her stomach bulge, she could feel her guts crammed with it, and she could feel it gush out in twin cascades from her gaping, ravaged holes. She was trembling blissfully, breathing softly and irregularly, still high on the waves of her ecstasy and on the sensuality of it all, huge, strong muscles spasming and flexing with power, of their own accord, her body feeling like it had been overloaded with electricity and energy. She felt totally exhausted, yet full of power. His power.

She grinned when Killer's cock popped out of her, even as his thick, enormous head forced her gaping sex to open even wider for a moment, making her eyes bulge as her hips bucked hungrily in the air, his huge cock swinging up and slapping his chest gently, sending thick droplets of white seed raining around them, his member fully and domineeringly hard and ready for more, even after such glorious battle.

He had walked around her, grinning down in her eyes and stroking his immense length leisurely, and under her amazed, hungry eyes he had exploited the sensitivity and lust charge of his just-ended orgasm to quickly, expertly bring himself rapidly to yet another release, the huge male kneeling before the exhausted demigoddess and blasting his thick, huge loads all over her already totally drenched body and face, firing volley after volley of semen, plastering her hair even further, sealing her beautiful eyes closed, and filling her mouth to overflow as she eagerly opened her jaws and stretched her tongue out as a target, greedily catching his gigantic loads and gulping them down as best she could, even as much of his semen ended up covering her enormous breasts, drenching her back, and enlarging the sea of cum that already covered the lawn.

It had seemed infinite, like all of his orgasms, but when he had finally slowed down to an end, he and Vesta had traded a grin, the demigoddess wiping handfuls of thick, hot cum out of her eyes and licking her lips hungrily, before they had laid together in a quiet aftermath, the Seraphim snuggling close to his thick chest and resting her head between his shoulder and neck as she recovered some of her strength.

They had rested there for a long time, Vesta rubbing a hand gently along his strong abdominals and teasing his erect member until he finally went back to flaccid, sated for the moment being... And the Seraphim had sighed and observed that it was such a horrendous waste to be alone and spent, unable to exploit all he could still give.

Killer had laughed, squeezing her to his body and they had kissed, hungrily, both tasting his potent seed and flesh in their mouths as their tongues wrestled lustfully...

And now, in the deep of the night, Killer finally walked out of a white, swirling portal in the bastion that was the entrance to Eaglenest. He gave a worried glance to the huge Gatling guns mounted in the corners of the building, which all trained on him as he appeared, and a group of heavily armed angels turned towards him, their eyes covered by Helmet Mounted Displays which, Ira had said, were fitted with a sophisticated soul scanner that would detect most, if not any sort of spiritual Possession, so that in no way a friendly face possessed by an enemy could make it into the fortress.

The angels did not say a thing, several of them shifting their grips on their magic-enhanced assault rifles, but they did not stop him as he walked onwards through the yard, probably because he was carrying an amused Vesta in his arms, and the sight of her was enough to open almost every door in Heaven.

Thankfully, they were no longer drenched in seed, as Vesta had fixed the problem with cleansing spells... a good number of them had been necessary to accomplish the job, too, with how much cum there had been by the end of it all. They had both recovered their clothes as well, Vesta again wearing her loincloth and golden armor, but with her muscular abdomen still stretched and bulging with the thick, huge load he had flooded her with. She was probably exploiting his affection and generosity, asking to be carried around like that, but he didn't mind at all, and one of his hands had her wonderful thigh to squeeze, while the other could easily reach up and squeeze one of her sumptuous, enormous breasts whenever he wanted. It certainly wasn't bad. And anyway, after the pounding he had given her, she had still real trouble walking straight, to say the least: under her loincloth, her ravaged holes, which had been gaping wide open when he had pulled out of her, were still struggling to close and relax after being stretched so powerfully. Like all females he had possessed, she was changed forever... He would have found her delightfully tight next time, no doubts, but any other male would have probably felt terribly and utterly lost inside her, now. He could still feel her leaking and dripping a mixture of blood, juices and cum every now and then when she moved, when her muscles flexed.

"You know, Ira is gonna kill us. Or me, at least." Killer observed calmly as he walked up along the narrow, suspended wooden bridge that leaded from the entry Bastion to the actual fortress-monastery of Eaglenest. He looked down briefly, in the abyss beneath them, to the clouds below, masking the ground, uncountable miles further down between the two Monoliths of black Lodestone the fortress had amazingly been built upon.

Vesta looked at him for a moment, her arms wrapped around his neck and her head resting on his shoulder, and she seemed thoughtful for a moment before shrugging and easily saying: "Naaah."

He looked down at her flatly, and she stared back up with a dumb grin for a long moment, before coughing and nodding wisely. "Ok, I was trying to reassure you. Yes. Yes, in reality, she is sure gonna kill us. No shit."

Killer made a grimace, looking towards the door of Ira's own house and hoping, without believing it, that she might have gone to sleep as he saw the lights turned off. But he knew all too well that Ira was used to sleeping rarely and for just short time... and for sure, she was not going to let him "waste" the better part of a training day without leaping at his throat to choke him for it.

And in fact, the lights in his own house were on, as he saw across the simple windows, and he and Vesta traded a worried glance at that, before he pushed the wooden door open... And promptly recoiled as he was punched in the face by Ira, the muscular Cobra filling the doorframe and glaring at him angrily as he blinked and stared at her stupidly, grinning dumbly.

"You know, Alexis is his wife and wasn't at all angry. Why do you have to play the jealous wife? He's still got ammo, if you want your share." Vesta observed casually, looking at Ira from her vintage point in Killer's mighty arms.

"What the hell are you... talking about...?" Ira asked with a frown, before her eyes widened and her cheeks took on a red shade as she understood the bad pun and saw what Vesta had meant all along, the Demigoddess grinning widely and nodding.

The Cobra rolled her eyes and sighed, sidestepping to let Killer squeeze into the doorframe and inside the house, where he could stand comfortably thanks to the enlarging spells that made the inside far more spacious than it should have been. He smiled as he smelled the perfume of a thousand different flowers from the plants and ivy and sprawling nature that covered the walls almost entirely, and he smiled wider as he saw Gaia sitting at the table, looking at him with an amused, welcoming smile.

"So, why are you being carried like a baby? What happened?" Ira asked simply, pushing the door closed behind Killer before walking back in front of him, looking at Vesta with curiosity.

The Demigoddess looked back with a frown, probably asking herself if Ira's question was serious or not, and then saying easily: "We did spar some more. I of course kicked his ass, but... huh. I then... tripped on an exposed root and fell over. So. He is... carrying... me."

Vesta's eyebrows arched as she crossed her huge arms and looked down at the queen flatly, until Vesta shifted in his arms and asked loudly: "What? It is totally true!"

Ira glared at her and tapped her fingers over her strong bicep impatiently, and Vesta finally snorted and then exclaimed: "Want me to say it loud an'clear? He fucked the living shit out of me! Have you got an idea of how huge his cock is? You could drive a subway train inside me right now and I wouldn't feel a thing."

Killer's cheeks bulged as he bit his lip to suffocate his loud laughter, while Gaia suddenly looked down into the cup of tea on the table before her, stirring it with a spoon filled with honey, her cheeks red as she paid as much attention to the simple operation as one would pay to a complex and potentially explosive chemical experiment as Ira slapped a hand over her face and dropped her head forwards with a sigh.

"What? WHAT?" Vesta loudly enquired, flailing her arms a bit. "You totally are envious, but continue to play the cold bitch not to show you have desires too. But I bet you want your brain rattled just as hard as I want it."

"Whatever." Ira awkwardly said, shaking a hand dismissively even as shadows of red insisted about her cheeks, under her beautiful emerald eyes. "You remain a reckless, lazy moron." She lectured, pointing a finger against Killer. "You've wasted the whole day. Time is precious, and you must train. It is a miracle none of the Gods made a serious attempt to kill you yet, but you are not going to be this lucky all the time. And you totally are not ready for that."

"Give Lord Killer a rest every now and then, what the hell." Vesta snorted, before moving to sit on Killer's arm and carefully putting her feet back down on the floor, standing up even if her thighs contracted in a series of spasms. "I can tell you, this afternoon he got a workout that beats 10 - 0 the working in the cave. And he didn't waste a moment of it, believe me! He literally fucked me into the ground... couldn't look out of the crater I sunk into as he pounded me. Cracked the frigging stone of the cliff, babe."

Killer grinned a bit to himself, before trading a smirk with Vesta as the female looked up at him amusedly. It had been quite impressive to hear the loud snap beneath them and the noise of the landslide of stone that crashed down into the raging sea below as large cracks spread in a web into the rocky cliff with the force of his thrusts. At one point, a howling Vesta had seized the trunk of a huge tree with a hand, bracing against it under his merciless assault... and when her body spasmed after a particularly powerful piston of the huge male, her muscles had bulged as she howled loudly in agony and ecstasy, and the massive wood had all but exploded into slivers, her grip snapping the huge trunk in half like a breadstick.

Vesta was fantastic... her powerful body was not just beautiful and astonishing: she was strong, hungry, insatiable, and she could take a pounding so ferocious that it would have reduced, Killer knew it for experience, a mortal girl into nothing more than paste. Vesta craved that kind of power instead. If it didn't make her shriek and howl and spasm and cry and bleed, it wasn't worth it. At the end of their ferocious day, Vesta's body had been convulsing weakly on the ground under his massive form, under his mighty assault. And she had loved every second of it.

Vesta laughed stupidly at that, throwing her head back and resting her hands on her hips, Ira looking from her to Killer, and back to her, disbelievingly... and Gaia, sitting at the table, flushed deeply and merely offered gently: "Tea?"

Vesta blinked, then grunted and seized a simple wooden chair, pulling it from under the table and half-sitting, half-crashing into it as her legs still refused to support her properly, her eyes closing with a fleeting expression of bliss, before she reached forwards for the cup of tea that Gaia was filling with a smile, saying quietly: "Now that is a good idea."

Killer looked at this with amusement for a moment, before rubbing a hand slowly in his mane, grinning stupidly to Ira as the Cobra looked at him with... hard to tell. Amusement, but also exasperation and worry.

"You really need to train, you know." She finally said, crossing her muscular arms and making a bit of a face. "One of these days, something bad will happen - I'm amazed it hasn't already - and you won't be ready for it, if we do not speed your learning process up."

"Not tonight, Ira." Vesta said calmly, eyes closed as she inhaled the perfume of Gaia's special green tea before taking a sip from her ridiculously-large cup. "Tonight, the only training I will accept is an orgy."

Ira rolled her eyes at that, but she walked to the table and sat down grouchily all the same, reaching forwards for her own cup as Gaia quietly filled it up, the black cobra glaring at the queen of Seraphims a bit.

"I'm staying for the night, and we will all squeeze into Lord Killer's bed - Stop that, I know you actually love the idea! -" Vesta barked, putting down her tea and glaring back at Ira as the black cobra made a grimace. "We will keep Lord Killer company, and relax and rest. And tomorrow in the morning, we will resume the training. I'll be helping, and we'll make sure he learns plenty."

Killer sat down at the table himself, smiling to Gaia as the shy Goddess pushed a large cup of hot tea toward him, the huge male nodding gratefully before quietly blowing over the drink, cooling it down some before bringing it to his lips. The taste of that tea was, and would have always been something unbelievable, just as its power of immediately soothing all feelings, all pains, helping even the healing of any wound. A true divine drink, and indeed, Gaia made it out of plants that she had created herself, and that she hadn't spread on the Mortal Plane or Heaven or Hell. The fact she was so happy to prepare it for him was, in itself, a proof of how much she cared for him. And Killer was more than grateful for it, as the snow leopardess smiled to him amusedly, quietly looking at him as he sipped the tea and Ira and Vesta bickered on the other side of the table, until, after a few minutes, Gaia looked up and simply, quietly said: "I will be honored to sleep here tonight. And Lord Killer certainly needs some rest, too. He's bearing surprisingly well the sudden change from mortal plane to Heaven, and he's been awake ever since he arrived. For us Immortals it is normal, for him it is not."

"Technically, he is a God. He can do without sleep for much longer than this." Ira replied wisely, holding up a finger, but Gaia shook her head with a smile and said cleverly: "We believe he is a God. Perhaps something superior to even that. But he might also not be. And in any case, we can all use some rest, and I believe Lord Killer won't complain." She turned to him, her eyes patiently asking him for his opinion...

And in all honesty, he could only answer in a way: resting for some time would have helped him greatly. He could carry on, if necessary, sure... and despite the long day of supernatural sparring, and all the ferocious, otherworldly sex with Vesta, he felt surprisingly energetic still, filled with vigor and ready to do it all over again... yet, he felt he craved rest, at least in the deep. Sleep to escape the never ending pain of separation from Alexis, which never abandoned his heart and mind, no matter how busy he was, no matter what he was doing. Sleep to forget, at least for some time, the fact that not all Gods, and very few angels and demons, had a good opinion of him, the others wanting him dead for good measure. Sleep to fall away from the responsibilities he was being loaded with, being asked to save the world from an enemy he didn't know, and even less understand. Sleep, to take a pause, hopefully, from his own darker self, the monster within him that scared him more than anything else; the black Killer that would destroy whole planets for the pleasure of it. A sleep without nightmares would have been of great help, he was sure.

"I would love to get a few hours of rest indeed." Killer said softly, before smiling over at them all, Gaia smiling back happily and Vesta grinning in proud, amused satisfaction as he added: "And with your company, it'll be even better."

"Orgy!" Vesta cackled, grinning widely and nodding to herself as she stood quickly up, slamming a fist up into the air in victory... before swaying a bit, her legs still weak. "Holy hell, you sure do pound hard."

Killer grinned at her as he stood up easily himself, slapping teasingly one of her huge and barely-clad breasts with the back of a hand, winking as he teased: "Who's the one who needs training, huh...?"

Vesta coughed a bit at this, looking away and mumbling something, the huge male laughing a bit to himself as he walked past her and smiled to Ira, who stood up with a sigh.

"Come on, it can't be that bad. I promise I'll train extra hard tomorrow."

"You better." Ira said firmly, before they both were pushed off as Vesta made a sprint for the door of the bedroom, cackling as she easily unclasped the metallic links of the chains that held her armor-bra up, freeing her sumptuous breasts and reaching for her loincloth, before Ira called at her: "Hey, we are not having an orgy."

Vesta sulked, sitting on the bed - with a little wince - and looking at her flatly as she crossed her arms. "Your loss. You are the one who needs it the most."

"Stop it!" The black-scaled cobra exclaimed, flailing her arms impatiently before shoving at the queen's shoulder. "We do not all have your absurd amount of sexual hungers."

"Yeah, some have got 'em worse!" Vesta replied easily, grinning and shoving back with a loud laughter, Ira blushing and looking horrified, before the queen let herself fall back onto the bed, wrapping her arms around the cushion and laying on a side, looking up at Killer enticingly with eyes glowing with playfulness even as she pushed her face into the pillow.

Killer put a hand gently over Ira's shoulder, and the simple gesture seemed to awaken the cobra from her trance, the Seraphim grumbling something to herself before she calmly removed the leather straps that held the sheaths with her Katana sword crossed on her back, putting them down with religious care, but she did not remove the - admittedly, already tiny - leathers that wrapped in a complex design around her huge breasts, which didn't do much to cover her glorious, smooth scaled boobs.

Killer pushed his jeans down, but despite the way Vesta held her breath and looked impatiently at him, his hands did not push his boxers away, not to freak Ira out again, nor to embarrass Gaia excessively, the shy Goddess wearing only, as always, flowers and leafs and plants that formed a bikini top and a simple loincloth on her lithe, beautiful body.

The huge male easily climbed onto the bed, naked but for his black boxers, the obscene bulge of which anyway didn't make it hard to imagine the powerful maleness hidden beneath, and Vesta pulled him to herself, guiding his head to rest over her breasts more than the pillow, her hand rubbing lovingly down his strong abdominals and then playing suggestively with the happy highway of luscious fur than from his navel went down into his boxers.

But the male did his best to control himself, even as Ira followed, laying down at his other side, the cobra beautiful and enchanting, her smooth black, red-stripped scales gleaming in the light and her wonderful curves only enhanced by the strong, rough leather straps crisscrossing them over, without hiding them, her breasts enormous and her muscles bulging with power as she crossed her arms behind her head, looking up at the ceiling pointedly, even as her cheeks burned red... And last, but absolutely not least, sweet Gaia, the smallest of the three females, lithe and quiet, and yet by far the strongest of them all, a spectacular leopardess of otherworldly beauty, who snuggled her way with a blush between Ira's side and Killer's own, smiling when he wrapped a arm around her waist, caressing her flat belly gently.

Her hands wrapped lovingly around his much larger one, and she turned to look up at him with a smile as she gently guided his hand up along her abdomen, and into the sprawling flowers covering her bosom, to rest his palm over her chest, over her heart, letting him feel the excited beat of it, and making him smile in a mix of surprise and pleasure at the way she shyly, silently told him that she loved to be there, near him.

Even Ira looked at the scene, her eyes curious and - possible...? - envious, even as she masked her interest, while Gaia turned on her side and allowed Killer to pull her against his side, the Goddess letting out a deep, content breath as she pushed her head over the huge male's strong shoulder, her arm sliding over his chest and fingers stroking at his powerful musculature lovingly.

Killer smiled down at Gaia and Vesta, squeezing both closer, and then he looked up, over Gaia's head, meeting the gaze of Ira, eyes which told of confusion, of desire and fear at once, and he stretched his arm further, gently sliding it under the Cobra's back, and pulling her closer too, his eyes reassuring her, telling her that he wanted her to be close, that she was welcome... And the Seraphim hesitated, but did not resist, looking at him with surprise, as if she couldn't believe to what he was doing, as if that simple affection was something she had never expected. Her strong body flexed, and he felt how tense she was... but it lasted for only a moment, before she relaxed, and squeezed herself closer, pulling the blankets up with a hand, even if her eyes never left his.

"Good night, everyone. Call me if you change your mind on the orgy thing." Vesta said softly, before yawning and closing her eyes exhaustedly, resting her head against Killer's neck as he shook his head amusedly, Gaia laughing a bit before whispering her own goodnight and closing her eyes with a quiet sigh... And Killer found himself staring into Ira's eyes as she looked at him with a little smile and both said 'goodnight' at once, trading a friendly smile as they rested their heads on the pillow and silently looked at each other... until Killer fell into a warm, quiet and dreamless sleep.

Oh, he did remember that night well. Despite Vesta's attempts - she had woken up very energized after merely a few hours of sleep, and had made it clear that she wouldn't have minded at all a new pounding - no orgy had followed. But that did not mean at all that it had been any less precious a moment of sweet pleasure and contact. Eventually, he had fallen asleep again... and the real surprise had come at awakening, the successive morning. He smiled a bit to himself as he remembered Vesta, her head resting on his thick chest, one strong arm wrapped around his neck, one long, bare and beautiful leg pried up the wall as the Demigoddess snored quietly, a cheerful expression on her wonderful features.

He had been surprised to see that Gaia had already woken up, silently walking down the bed... she had smiled happily from the door of the bedroom, a large teapot already heating up in the fireplace as the Goddess looked at him amusedly as the male tilted his head to show her the absurd position Vesta was resting in...

And then he had had the real surprise, as Gaia had silently laughed, and pointed a finger to his side. He had blinked, and turned... and he had stupidly realized that he had been hugging Ira to his side all the time, one huge arm wrapped tightly around her waist, the cobra herself snuggled against his side, her head resting on his chest, a hand gently lying on his strong abdominals, her body curled up against him. He smiled to himself, staring at her in amusement and amazement, and realizing with entertainment that, even with her huge muscles, her powerful body, and her sumptuous breasts... she now looked quiet, loving, even innocent.

"You are cute, you know..." He whispered quietly, smiling slightly...

And Ira, as if feeling his gaze on her, awakened, her emerald eyes blinking open and staring up into his, making him wince and stiffen as she stared for a long moment, then shifted away from him, turning away from the huge male and sitting up quickly as she mumbled: "Don't get weird ideas."

"Huh. Never...?" Killer replied stupidly, grinning awkwardly as he rubbed a hand in his mane and shifted a bit into the bed himself. Ira gave him a flat look over her shoulder... and then winced as Vesta awakened with a yawn, looked invertedly up at them, and grinned widely, straightening and pulling Ira in a hug, the cobra's head squished against one of the Demigoddess's enormous breasts.

"I knew you'd make the right choice at the end! So, who gets first go, who gets first go...? Oh, let it be me! I need to start the day with a good fuck!"

"I'm totally leaving you all rounds you want!" Ira replied, her voice slightly choked by Vesta's hug, even as the Cobra tried to push the tigress away, snarling a bit. "I've no intention to start a fuck-fest!"

Vesta made a face at that, and sighed dejectedly, before letting her go, grumbling to herself: "You just gotta kill all the harmony and fun in the day, every time. Fun-murderer."

Even now, weeks later, Killer remembered every moment of that particular event. How Ira had, overnight, snuggled with him, seeking the contact that she so stubbornly refused when awake. It was probably the biggest proof of her fears and worries and suspicious nature... She was developing an obvious affection for him, yet she was scared and afraid of it, of tying herself in any way with someone else. She feared betrayal... she just seemed to be unable to trust anyone, and it hurt Killer to the core.

He didn't know her story, but he was aware of how coldly most people in Heaven, including fellow Seraphims, treated Ira. He had suspicions about the reasons of that coldness, but no certainties at all... And Vesta had merely told him that, yes. Ira had suffered a lot in her past, and lived to that day a difficult and hostile present.

She had not said anything more specific, and Killer, once more, had respectfully not asked, much as he found himself thinking about Ira more and more frequently along his days. His affection for her was great, and continued to grow with time. He wanted for her all the best the world could offer. He was glad the rare times she smiled, and furious when angels showed their coldness towards Ira, even while obeying her orders, out of fear of her superior strength and skills. Her rank, he had learned, had been given her by Vesta and Gabriel, but did not matter as much as it should have, as the Council was rife with opposition to the power the Cobra had been given, despite the passionate support of the two most powerful warriors and leaders of Heaven.

The two days after that night, Vesta had been able to stay around most of the time, and she kept faith to her promise of helping Ira in training Killer to the best of her possibilities. And her possibilities were almost boundless, her power being nothing short of godlike, her battle experience covering Eons of wars and supernatural clashes. Together, Ira and Vesta could teach him the secrets of a whole new universe. Sword, magic, supernatural: they knew it all, and they were firm on making him learn it all as well. Besides, Gaia helped them, adding her own astounding capabilities and knowledge to the mix. To exploit those days fully, Killer had been spared the work in the Quarry, instead focusing on sparring, and furthermore meditation and training in the complex art of magic, and in the control of his dormant, but slowly awakening, supernatural powers.

On his part, Killer put all of himself on the line. He did not spare a drop of his sweat, trying even to put aside the fears that his inner darkness, exposed to the power he was slowly unleashing, gave him. He owed it to Vesta, Gaia, Alexis... and of course, in a special way he owed it to Ira.

The cobra herself would have never admitted it, but she was growing more and more affectionate towards her pupil. She was learning to know every expression on his handsome face, every move of his powerful body, every fold of his complex personality, included the way he cared for her, something that Ira still didn't fully understand, but could feel, gifting her a warmth that she had very rarely known in her life.

And much as she continued to tease him, scold him, urge him... She was fully and proudly aware that sparring with him was getting more and more challenging with every minute that passed.

He had a seemingly endless potential... and she knew that, had he unleashed it, he would have learned everything she could throw his way in no time, just like Alexis, at the other side of Heaven, was doing. He continued to hold back instead, pulling his punches, fearing to lose control of himself, seduced by his own power, by the infinite possibilities it promised.

She scolded him for it, for how slow he was at learning and improving, because of the way he tried to break the Seals... and yet at the same time tried to keep them whole, fearing what would happen when they snapped, as the eyes of Black Killer grinned in his mind, expecting, anticipating.

She grumbled that he had to let go to truly learn... But in silence, she admired the inner struggle he fought, every moment of each and every day, over and over again. Besides, even so, and despite what she always said, he truly wasn't a slow learner at all. He hadn't a great talent for magic, no, but even there he was actually learning damn fast... and when sparring, he pulled out the best of himself. Ira and Vesta both loved the training battles with him: they could give their best, and Killer absorbed everything they had to teach. He observed, listened, picked up ideas, suggestions, and immediately revised it all to adapt the best elements to his own fighting style and skills, so that he was in constant evolution not just because of his tremendous strength, which continued to grow at astounding rate, but because his arsenal of moves and techniques constantly expanded.

Ira was grudging in Killer's praises, but Vesta did not make equal mystery of her admiration: Killer's fighting, despite his sizes and bulk and power, was growing in elegance as well. It was becoming a deadly dance, perfectly attuned, in which every blow carried the stopping power of a nuke.

Unfortunately, the days of the sparring had ended rapidly. After a mere two days, Gabriel had made it clear that he would be unable to hide Vesta's absence any longer, and the Demigoddess had been forced to get back to the Fourth Heaven, where things were still far from fixed.

Indeed, in the successive weeks, things had worsened once more, reaching the apex when Sobek had popped up and raided some kind of important place, slaughtering the whole garrison that had been guarding it, and leaving the place as a charred, smoking wasteland covered by desert sand and rubble. The commotion caused by that raid had been terrible, so much so that most of Eaglenest's own garrison had been urgently called out. All Seraphims, Ira included, but also most of the angels, and Gaia herself.

Killer ignored what made the place that had been destroyed so important, and Ira had refused to explain, but there was no doubt that something really, really serious had happened, just from looking at the dark shadows in her expression.

The God had simply left after razing the place completely to the ground, but perhaps it was better that way: even Vesta and Gabriel wouldn't have been able to take him down, and the tremendous dimensions of the slaughter that had taken place were evidence of the tragedy that could have followed.

And so, even now, Killer was alone. He had resumed working hard at the Quarry, and he had been ordered to continue studying the many, enormous books that Ira had left for him, so that no time was wasted, even while his mentor was gone.

The job hadn't changed, but it had gotten harder: the stronger he grew, the more weight he was ordered to carry, simple like that, meaning that instead of improving, things only got worse in terms of pain and fatigue. Now he was climbing the Monolith with a block of Lodestone chained to each wrist, and a further three hanging from a 'tail' of Godblood chains connected to the collar and waist element of his lodestone "jewels", meaning that with every movement, he felt his body torn from multiple directions, like his arms would snap off, and his spine bend backwards to the point of breaking in the middle. It was a constant torture, and the effort was such that his muscles literally ripped in bloody gashes here and there with the way they flexed explosively under the strain.

He had no margin at all for errors when he climbed the vertical wall of cold stone of the Monolith: losing the balance and grip even for a sole moment would likely spell his end, as he highly doubted to be able to catch himself if he started falling with all that weight on... But he tried not to think too much about it.

"Move it, boy!" The muscular elephant worker barked from behind, and Killer growled angrily as he felt a whip snap onto his shoulder, ripping a gash in his flesh and suddenly sending a shock of electricity cursing through his system.

Killer closed his eyes with a groan, then turned slowly to look over his shoulder at the grinning giant. Some 24 feet tall, the white elephant was thick with muscles, and would never go unnoticed anywhere he went.

He was wearing expensive leather pants, held up by a thick belt with an elaborated metallic clasp - sure, no problems in wearing elegant, you bastard. Easy to work with the Exoskeleton... - , his strong chest bare, powerful abdominals only slightly hidden by a bit of fat, due more to a lust for booze than to food. The fact that, as Ira always reminded him, no one in Heaven really needed to eat or drink did not mean that addictions weren't present. Many of Heaven's inhabitants, once mortals but even born-immortals, had the habit of wasting lots of their gold coins in expensive and delicious food, and booze, and other "unnecessary" luxuries. The world is the same, all along, no matter where you go.

Long tusks protruded from his muzzle, thick and sharp, and covered by a thin but solid sheet of polished steel. Killer had recently found out that his name was Hyperion, and that he had once been a high officer in a division of Angels in Heaven's army... but he had been kicked out after a brawl in which he had beaten his commander into pulp.

He had been a constant cause of trouble from the first time Killer had met him in the quarry, and now that no one, nor Ira, nor Gaia were around, he was worse than ever. Freedom of action seemed to urge his imagination to find new ways for giving Killer trouble, and he had apparently expended a good bit of his money to buy a long, deadly whip made of linked, sharp-edged pyramids of steel, connected to a crystal glowing with energy inserted into the handle, supplying the electricity for adding electroshocks to the fun.

Killer turned away from him, intent on connecting the last Godblood chains to his torturous lodestone jewels. Unsurprisingly, the whip lashed down again, hitting him twice across the back, and electrocuting him again, making his fangs grit with a muffled cry of agony... But Hyperion wasn't stupid as he was bastard. He always waited for Killer to be already burdened by a new, ungodly load of lodestone before stepping forwards to poke his nerves.

And of course, just to make sure, every time Jael was casually loitering nearby with his gigantic exoskeleton. Jael was the fellow elephant in the group of workers, and Killer had learned that the two were actually brothers, despite Jael being a couple of feet smaller and dark-grey instead of white. They really did not resemble each other... other than being both assholes, and the exoskeleton, while being a machine thought for quarry work and not for war, could well be used to destroy: the robot had a tremendous force, a vice-like mechanic hand capable to crush almost anything, and a fearsome chainsaw of Godblood, designed to cut through Lodestone, and thus more than capable to slash almost anything into slices without effort.

A terrible enemy to grapple with in normal conditions, and one that Killer knew he had to avoid while barely able of moving because of the unfathomable amount of burden he was ordered to carry.

"You are slow, today. Lazing on your ass, aren't you...?" Hyperion teased, grinning widely as he lashed out again with the whip as Killer tried to stand up, the liger biting his tongue as his musculature spasmed out of control when a shock of electricity much worse than those of before traveled through his system, feeling his legs almost giving away under himself.

"I've got a good teacher in you. No one lazes better than you do." Killer said calmly, flexing and shrugging off the whip, the deadly-sharp pyramid sections of the long weapon coming free of his flesh and dripping with his blood, but the gashes in his shoulders rapidly healing, making Hyperion grimace in evident disappointment. He had hoped the whip would have more effect, but Killer was much harder than he wanted to give him credit for.

The elephant stared as Killer squatted and slowly but surely stood up, and he snarled in inarticulate rage, slashing the whip ferociously down onto the liger's back, again and again, ripping wounds in the muscular back of the huge male only to see them healing almost instantaneously before his eyes.

It did not make it less painful for Killer, but it gave him reasons to grin derisively as he looked over his shoulder at the furious worker. It was a bitter grin... filled with rage. All days were like this, if not worse. It was a constant torture, a constant effort that made his days as miserable and painful as possible.

"Laugh all you want, vermin." The elephant hissed angrily, pushing up a small lever in the handle of the whip, making it glow with a supercharge of all the energy the weapon could get from the crystal fueling it, and he slashed it again against Killer, making the liger stumble with a grunt, the huge male feeling his legs betraying him for a moment as they spasmed, and he nearly fell forwards... before the Godblood chains tied around his neck noisily snapped taut, and nearly strangled him as they kept him standing, anchored to the monstrous weights of the Lodestone blocks on the ground behind him. "I'm going to teach you that there's no place for you here or elsewhere. Amon-Ra..." The elephant spat with a grimace, before barking: "There is no Amon-Ra, no Savior. And for sure you wouldn't be it, even if it existed."

"You won't believe me, but I wish you were right." Killer muttered, making a grimace as he turned towards the Monolith, the enormous blocks of Lodestone tied to his body dragging over the ground, ripping trenches open in the earth.

"You liar!" The elephant snarled angrily, lashing out at him with the whip and electrocuting him savagely, even as he made an angry gesture with his other arm, calling Jael in for support.

Killer groaned in agony as he fell down to one knee, making a grimace as he felt the ground shaking beneath him as the gigantic, 40-foot exoskeleton turned on its heels and rushed over. He knew the script all too well, as the workers were very glad to exploit every chance they got for making things hard for him. "All that attention! How you are revered, how even the gods care for the Amon-Ra... you've got everything!"

"I've got you as company. That's how lucky I am." Killer muttered darkly, walking onwards, even as Jael guided his exoskeleton in front of him, the terrible Godblood chainsaw buzzing mendaciously, before the massive exoskeleton raised a gigantic steel 'foot' and slammed it down onto Killer's shoulders, making the liger groan in pain as he fell to his knees and forced back upwards with all the strength in his body, his bones creaking in protest at the absurd weight they were asked to bear.

"Very lucky, I'd say." Jael exclaimed, sharing a laugh with his brother, his voice coming amplified out of the exoskeleton's loudspeakers as he looked out across the thick, dark glass of the cockpit and raised a leg: the robot, connected to his body and wired directly into his nervous system, did the same, and Killer was relieved of the pressure... only to be stomped again, viciously, as the elephant slammed his foot down, again and again, accompanying Killer in each torturous step towards the base of the Monolith.

Killer closed his eyes and carried on, trying not to listen to their laughter. He hated being laughed at. It was one of the things he really couldn't bear in life. Yet, his period in Heaven was about control, and he tried to convince himself that this was just a part of it. Patience, control, coldness. He had to learn to be less impulsive, to better control himself and eventually handle his own terrible power well... But it was tremendously complex. The only things he could hear past the laughter was the loud, strained beat of his heart, hammering him into the ears, and the creaking of his bones and fangs as he gritted his teeth.

And worst of all, he could feel the rage boiling in his veins, the power burning in his body, and the voice of his rage and of Black Killer, both telling him to turn against the bastards, and squish them into ugly stains on the ground.

He walked onwards, and felt the whip of Hyperion ripping into his arm, but he didn't even listen to the insults that came with the blow. He made a grimace as the exoskeleton once more stomped down onto his curved, burdened shoulders, and he flexed his powerful body, experimenting his own strength as he pulled his arms forwards tentatively and dragged the enormous blocks of Lodestone forwards, before twisting his wrists in order to grab the thick Godblood chains, grunting breathlessly as he lifted the blocks clear off the ground, walking onwards faster. He was pretty sure that he had enough juice to take on Hyperion and Jael, even in his exoskeleton, even now, burdened with such ungodly weight... and it tempted and horrified him at the same time.

Hell, he had to admit that he felt enough power in his body to know that he would have stood up even to the third worker coming in to help his comrades... Alec was the only worker that was actually doing his job, at the moment. Killer turned towards the quarry, and easily spotted the huge exoskeleton at work, sparks flying high into the air as the Godblood chainsaw cut into the mountain. Alec, a bear with strong, muscular arms but a rather pudgy gut, had been a trucker in his mortal life, and admittedly, he still looked like your standard truck driver from the movies. He was, however, far more calm and peaceful than one would expect. Killer had learned that Alec tried to stay out of the actions of his companions as much as possible... he had done his part at times to make Killer's life miserable, but only occasionally, and never with as much pleasure and dedication as the elephant brothers or Uther, the bull that was the leader of the bunch.

If he had to guess, Alec had joined the ranks of the group more out of fear than for any real interest... he felt out of place among the others. He was like the boy who becomes a bully just so he escapes being bullied by making his enemies his friends.

Killer could understand such a reaction... but never accept it. Alec was less of a problem than the others, and never did bother him if he could avoid doing so, and the liger had thus no reason to hate him particularly, but if Killer's suspicion was true, and he had chosen the easy way, going along with the evil instead of fighting it, he sure was not anyone to admire or respect at all. Potentially, he was in many ways worse than the others.

But Killer, at the end of the day, was not so much worried for the presences, but for the absences.

Uther was nowhere to be seen. He had showed up that morning, and harassed Killer as he always did... but the bull had then vanished at some point. Killer did not know when exactly... it might have been during his first daily climb up along the wall of the Monolith, but he wasn't sure.

What he knew without a doubt was that Uther had been absent many times, almost daily, in the last while, and that had Killer thinking. The bull was not only the strongest in the group, his body strong with thick muscles and his head crowned by proud, long horns... he was also the mind of the group. The one who elaborated all plans, from the small idiocies to the big machinations. In Hell, Killer was sure that Uther could have been an Inquisitor, torturing souls and bodies... and indeed, fittingly, Uther had been an Inquisitor in life, a priest of Taranis, a follower of the cult of the God of War. And a priest of war was a warrior and a torturer, not at all a priest in the normal sense of the word.

Uther was, under any aspect, the most dangerous of the group, and Killer felt safer when he was in sight - even if that meant he was torturing him in some way, unless Ira or someone else was around - than when he was absent.

The elephants were not to be feared because of their intellect, after all, and annoying as they were, their attacks and derision and teasing could only go so far... But Uther, who directed them all, could well come up with nastier ideas. And he still wore the tattoo of the serpent coiling around a broadsword's blade, the symbol of Taranis... one of the mightiest of Gods, and one that had no sympathy at all for Killer.

Uther had been absent often, ever since Killer had smashed the leg of the exoskeleton he used to drive, when the bull had teased him too much, for too long... Levant, the director of the Quarry, had sent the damaged machine to repair, and kept the money from Killer's pay, while making available another exoskeleton for Uther to use. But the bull nonetheless made constant, suspect "secret" trips to the repair site. Secret to Levant, at least... his companions covered his absence, and even tried to make up for it harassing Killer with extra commitment, but the liger had of course noticed that something was wrong.

More than once he had been tempted to tell Levant about the trips of Uther... but that had always felt like a childish move, and anyway, Killer was sure, it would have been mostly useless. At most, Levant would have kept Uther's pay... and the bull would have had extra reasons to plot against Killer.

What Killer feared, was the result of all those absences. Each day it happened, Killer expected nervously for something to happen... he knew it was only a matter of time. Something was bound to come out of it, and it sure wouldn't have been a present.

"When you'll finally fall, when people will all realize you are nothing but a lie... You'll lose everything. And your sweet wife, Alexis... we all have good uses in mind for a whore like that." Hyperion teased, and this time Killer heard him above everything else, no matter how hard he tried not to listen... and he felt his rage erupting like a volcano, exploding like the death of a star... Yet, he somehow restrained himself, and did the only thing that made sense. He laughed loudly, turning to look at the elephant from over his shoulder, grinning widely. "Alexis." Killer said firmly, closing his eyes for a moment, savoring the wonderful sensation that even just her name gave him, seeing her grinning in his mind. "You clearly have no idea of who she is. Because if you did, you'd know all too well that she'd crush you to the size of a marble, eat you, and spit your bones out before you could even think about raising a finger."

"How dare you -"

Hyperion snarled, raising the whip to strike, but he was suddenly interrupted, Killer and Jael both looking up as well as a massive, 60-foot tall portal opened in the air before them, the white vortex expanding and opening a hole through reality itself... And Hyperion now grinned, crossing his arms and exclaiming: "It's come, actually. The end of your travel. And after you die, we'll see if your words about Alexis ring true!"

Killer tensed, making a grimace as he looked towards the portal and realized that, yeah, he had been worrying for good reasons. Uther had effectively a plan... and now he was acting it.

People started pouring out of the vortex, two queues orderly marching out side by side and then parting ways as the mages - Killer had no doubt they were - formed a wide double circle around him, a first row of evenly spaced-out figures holding their hands up and forming a transparent, semi-lucent barrier, as a second row, standing a few feet further behind, formed out of people chanting a dark song in an ancient dialect of Enochian, the angel's tongue, which Killer still knew too superficially to be able to understand.

The rhythmic chorus of acclamation "Taranis, Taranis, Taranis" though, was very clear, as was the fact that all mages wore black, long robes with the symbol of the God of War drawn on the front, hoods hiding their heads and expressionless silver masks hiding all of their faces and expression, making them all look almost the same.

Killer heard Hyperion shout loudly into the chorus when the invocation to Taranis rose again, and he also heard Jael yelling to Alec, calling for him to come over as well... But that did not really matter. He was worried because of the mages. Tens of them, and magic was still undoubtedly the thing he had the most difficulty with. And he still was chained up to blocks of lodestone which anchored him to the ground almost as solidly as a moored ship is tied to the jetty.

The bad news, however, continued as Uther guided the repaired exoskeleton across the portal, and made Killer regret losing his temper and smashing a leg of the huge machine into bits. They had not just repaired the monstrous machine, but prepared it for war, turning it into a monstrous fighting superweapon.

It was at least 10 feet taller than before, perhaps more, towering at least 50 feet high, even as it sat on new, far more powerful and agile legs of unguligrade stance. The cockpit no longer had glass, having been replaced with a fully armoured, enclosed safety cell which was most evidently coated with a layer of lodestone as well, to protect it against magic. Projectors had been installed, showing on the front of the cockpit the image of a grinning Uther driving it from inside, so that Killer could see his taunting smirk even more clearly than if glass was still there. The arms had been reinforced as well, and completely covered with shaped plates of thick armor, with special attention given to shielding the energy-crammed crystals that powered the machine, many of them clipped into slots in the robot's joints.

The chainsaw had been retained, unsurprisingly: with its segmented blade being made of Godblood, it made for a formidable weapon to start with. The other hand had been changed, replacing the vice with a frightening set of missile launcher cells and rotary assault cannons circling the wrist, giving the machine an absurd amount of firepower, undoubtedly increased by other, still not-visible weapons... and by a scorpion-tail mount arching up from the back of the metallic monster, where the original exoskeleton had sported a crane. Now, the robotic appendage terminated in a double, huge-caliber cannon, feed by chains of crystals hidden into the tail.

"Amon-Ra, my friend!" Uther called teasingly, grinning widely from the screen. "You'll be pleased to see that we have not wasted the time that Ira's absence granted us. Nor did we undervalue you. I hear magic is your weak spot... You can certainly appreciate the wisdom in investing on mages on our part."

"Can't be really your idea." Killer replied easily, grinning a bit as he stood up tall, eyes imperceptibly wandering from side to side, mind running as he tried to get a good idea for getting out of such unfair fight. "Summing together all your brains, the best idea you can come up with is to ask someone else for suggestions."

"Arrogant until the end." Uther said coldly, but his grin did not fade. "But this time there's no one here to save you, and arrogance won't help. Your lie will be revealed, Mortal."

The enormous battle robot made a step forwards, easily walking over and past the two rows of mages and raising the enormous arm ending in the chainsaw, the latter growling into life as the crimson blade of it became a lucid, murderous blurr.

"This is the end, Lord Killer." Uther claimed proudly... and then many things happened at once, as the gigantic chainsaw slashed crudely downwards to chop the liger in half.

Killer threw himself backwards with all his strength, backflipping and landing on his hands atop one of the lodestone blocks he was dragging along, the chainsaw biting into the ground and into one of the blocks of stone, sparks and fragments of rock shooting out like shrapnel.

There was a rumble of annoyed surprise around the circle at the unexpected agility shown by Killer, even when burdened by chains, jewels of stone and blocks, but it only served for the mages as a signal that they weren't going to be spectators, but participants. They immediately chanted the first incantations, and in the same moment in which Killer landed in his handstand, vicious spikes of rock jutted out of the ground to impale him.

Everywhere, other than where the Lodestone blocks lay. Lodestone is impervious to magic. Show them that you remember what you've read in the manuals and heard from Ira.

Killer threw himself forwards again, flipping once more and landing with his feet onto the steep side of one of the stone spikes, leaping from this to another, eyes flashing as he grinned viciously, eyes darting towards Hyperion as the elephant stared at him in stupid, horrified surprise. "Don't write me off just yet!"

"Get the hell out of the circle!" Uther boomed on the loudspeakers even as he charged forwards with the massive exoskeleton, but Hyperion only gaped, his mouth opening and closing stupidly a few times, backstepping in fear as Killer suddenly charged towards him, even as the enormous chains dragged behind him.

He finally managed to turn and sprinted towards the circle of mages and the barrier they kept up with their chanting, and he lashed out backwards with the whip, striking Killer across the muzzle, bit the liger didn't even flinch, even as a deep gash was ripped open in his muzzle, electricity zapping his body cruelly... but the huge liger continued to savagely grin, reaching a strong hand up to seize the sharp, deadly whip.

The pyramidal links of steel of the weapon groaned as they were squished in his vice-like grip, and Hyperion grunted as the whip tensed and stopped him in his escape. Before he could even think about letting go of the handle, Killer snarled and pulled violently towards himself, dragging the elephant onto the dust and over the ground, until he could seize the worker by the throat.

Hyperion shrieked in horror and denial, thrashing on the ground and clawing at Killer's wrist as the liger's hand seized him by the throat, squeezing viciously and suffocating a howled, useless denial. The elephant's screams turned into a gargle as he was effortlessly lifted high up into the air. His eyes bulged with terror, tears rolling down his cheeks as he thrashed and writhed uselessly, staring in horror into the cold, grinning eyes of Killer.

Jael and Uther both shouted something, but it didn't matter... the mages outside the barrier chanted something new, different. And Killer felt a bolt of lightning striking him from above, gritting his fangs in agony as the electricity raced down his body, but his grin still not fading at all, as Hyperion howled - breathlessly and without making a sound - as the lightning invaded his system as well, and smoke came out of his mouth and nostrils as he trembled uncontrollably, his insides literally melting.

"This is the end, bitch." Killer growled, grinning viciously down into the eyes of the elephant, who stared back at him with amazement and hate as he saw the electroshock unable to bring the liger down to his knees, even as it devastated him. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to send your friends your way rapidly. I might be a bastard, but I'm not heartless. You'll have company real soon!"

"Stop it! Stop it! You are fucking killing my brother!" Jael shouted from his exoskeleton, before running forwards with the huge machine as the mages stopped their attack. Killer twitched as small bolts of lightning still cracked in the air around him, his body smoldering and feeling on fire as his musculature spasmed and his heart beat to a painful, disordered rhythm, but Hyperion had it far worse, his body resisting far less to the tremendous shock, all of his limbs trashing violently, out of control, as his head collapsed forwards, eyes rolling up in his head to stare up at Killer in horror as the liger snapped the whip, grinning viciously.

"No... please... no..." Hyperion gargled weakly, his eyes darting to the cruel series of sharp metal triangles that dripped with Killer's blood... and the liger shook his head softly, grinning widely.

"You don't want to miss this out. You totally should try it too."

It all happened in a confused second, with time seeming to go into slow motion as too many things happened at once. The whip lashed through the air, and wrapped tightly around Hyperion's neck, zapping him with a new, tremendous discharge of electricity even as the cruel blades and sharp corners ripped flesh and muscle apart, blood spraying into the air in a cloud... And Killer's free hand tightly squeezed into a fist, which shot forwards and smashed into the elephant's muscular chest. A second cloud of blood erupted, this time from the back of the elephant... and Jael screamed, the mages shuddering outside the barrier even as they continued to chant, as Hyperion's torn head flew through the air, and Killer's fist ripped out of the elephant's back, vertebrae flying off like shrapnel as the liger's fingers wrapped around the heart of the dead worker.

It weakly beat once... then Killer's hand clenched into a fist again, and blood and gore spurted out of his hold, splattering on the ground.

At the same time, the twin cannons on the back of Uther's war-exoskeleton glowed with white energy, before erupting in two focused beams of terrible force, which smashed into Killer's back with a massive explosion, sending the liger flying through the air as blood sprayed up from his form, a deep, ugly gash covering his back and smoldering as he crashed into the ground with a groan of agony... And his eyes immediately bulged as his instincts screamed at him, the huge male quickly muttering one of the few spells he had learned even as he spat a gout of blood, and the air under him iced over instantaneously, forming a thick bed beneath his body, just as rocky spikes and thorns ripped out of the ground to impale him.

The ice cracked and shattered beneath him, but parried the attack... but before he could kick himself back to his feet, Jael's exoskeleton pounced on his devastated back, the monstrous steel plates the robot had as feet slamming into Killer's spine and making his body arch horribly, the liger vomiting a gout of blood and fluids as his eyes bulged with the howl of agony that left his mouth.

"You bastard scum!" Jael howled, the loudspeakers whining loudly as the elephant drooled furiously over the robot's commands, even as he raised a foot to stomp down harder onto Killer. "I'll make you regret your birth!"

The exoskeleton's vice-hand shot down from above, punching Killer down into the ice, which shattered, the deadly spikes of stone pushing against the liger's strong front and ripping gashes in his thick abdominals before he could focus enough to cause more ice to form around him, even up the legs of the robot, which was suddenly immobilized.

But the terrible steel vice still closed around Killer waist, making him roar in agony as he was crushed into the tremendous machine, the cold, sharp steel biting into his sides and squishing his strong arms into his ribs, which creaked loudly.

Killer's eyes opened wide, but he barely saw anything as white and red flashes exploded in his vision, blurring the outline of the exoskeleton, but still letting him see the other arm of the robot rising into the air, the deadly chainsaw roaring as if thirsty for blood as Jael shouted his fury, snarling at him from behind the cockpit's thick glass. The liger groaned in agony, but gathered all of his strength, muscles bulging with power as his arms began to wrestle back against the steel vice of the robot, the white crystals inserted into the mechanical limb glowing blazingly as they feed all of their terrible energy into the exoskeleton... before Killer grinned as a first crystal cracked, then exploded and turned obsidian as it flew in all directions, broken into shards... and then another, and another, his huge biceps bulging painfully and nearly bursting out of his own skin and fur as he forced the vice open, until the steel arms of the robot's hand groaned loudly and snapped off like breadsticks.

The chainsaw lunged towards him, and the only response Killer could think of was to kick some of the slack Godblood chains that hung from his collar and manacles up to his hand, seizing the enormous links in his fingers in a rough noose, which he swiftly threw over the chainsaw blade. He winced as sparks flew from it in an explosion of light, Godblood clashing against Godblood, his muscles aching as they bulged with all their might as he yanked downwards on the chain-lasso to deviate Jael's attack.

A moment later, Killer leapt forwards, throwing himself between the exoskeleton's legs, still anchored to the ground by thick, glowing ice, so strong and dense that the robot was unable to move, and the liger dragged the chains with himself, pulling the robotic arm along with them. The whole exoskeleton bent forwards, the torso yanked down into an impossible bend as the cockpit was pulled between the robot's own thighs... and the frozen, iced-over legs snapped, crumbling like they were made of biscuits as the top half of the exoskeleton collapsed on the ground, the chainsaw still roaring, biting into the chains that connected Killer to the blocks of Lodestone tied at his left arm... until the liger grinned as a link of the chain

was torn apart by the gigantic chainsaw, and his arm came free of the ungodly burden, a few meters of heavy chain dangling from the manacle, but no longer connected to the Lodestone monolith.

Killer had no time to even cheer for the sudden freedom that at least one of his limbs now experienced, as Alec charged in with his own exoskeleton, swinging the deadly chainsaw down towards the liger, who ducked under the first lunge and went into a roll on his shoulder, grunting as he thrust his hands into the ground and kicked upwards with both feet, slamming a donkey kick into the cockpit of the bear's exoskeleton.

Alec screamed from inside, the thick armoured glass shattering in a rain of slivers as the robot sailed high trough the air, before smashing into the solid, translucent barrier the mages continued to keep raised to trap Killer and protect themselves.

The exoskeleton flopped back to the ground, and Alec groaned dazedly from inside the shattered cockpit, alarms sounding from the controls and several red lights blinking all over the screens and panels, before he kicked back to his feet as Killer straightened and turned towards him with a cold, murderous glare.

"Let me the fuck out!" Alec howled, slamming the chainsaw into the magic barrier and pounding at it with the vice-hand of the robot, trembling in terror as Killer now charged towards him...

Killer's eyes bulged as his instinct howled a warning and the mages in the outer circle chanted a different spell, as he quickly brought his strong hands up to shield himself, just as a blast of terrible energy erupted across the barrier and smashed into him like a train, sending him flying backwards, crashing into the ground with a grunt of pain. The mages behind him chanted yet another spell, and Killer stared in error as spears and blades and spikes made of darkness appeared in midair and rushed towards him as he kicked back to his feet.

His eyes flashed and a wall of fire erupted around him, turning in a pillar of magma that completely hid him from sight as the spikes and blades smashed into the hellish fire and were melted, even as several pieces still made it to the other side, sinking into Killer's strong chest and sending sprays of blood up as he coughed... and immediately, he felt the mages using different runes, and felt their combined energies dueling his own as his magma was turned into ice, trying to resist for a moment, before grinning and letting go, the fire freezing over entirely and trapping him inside a transparent column of rock-hard ice.

The mages chanted louder, feeling victory at reach, before they were nearly blown off their feet as Killer focused all of his power, and caused the pillar of ice to explode into deadly, cold shrapnel, which ripped holes in the exoskeletons of Alec and in what remained of the exoskeleton of Jael, the elephant still in the cockpit, dragging himself forwards with the arm that had once ended with the vice, now broken and nearly useless as it cracked with bolts of electricity from the damaged systems and circuitry. But he had still the chainsaw, and his eyes crazed with endless fury and hate as he crawled towards Killer, even as ice shards shattered the cockpit glass and nailed him to the seat in a macabre explosion of blood.

"I... will... destroy... you...!" Jael howled, his voice broken and unsteady, but still strong and laden with rage... Alec, instead, all but undid the safety belts and leapt out of the cockpit of his own exoskeleton, shouting to the mages to let him out as he hammered his fists against the barrier...

"No fire and no ice, idiots!" Uther shouted angrily from his battle armor, even as he stepped forwards and trailed the arm heavy with missiles and guns towards Killer. "He controls both!"

Killer winced as he saw Uther's exoskeleton vanishing behind a cloud of smoke as a barrage of rockets and gun shells were fired in a true hurricane of fire and steel towards him, holding his free arm up and focusing as much energy as he could in his palm to create a wall of fire that erupted high into the air. Explosions shook the ground beneath him as the rockets and shells started hammering the wall of magma, and he tried to think of a way to move out... before grinning viciously as he saw a couple of mages lowering their guard and allowing a hole to open in the barrier, Alec quickly leaping through this...

Killer's right hand fumbled with the heavy chain that connected his wrist to an huge block of lodestone, and he wrapped the Godblood links tightly around his wrist a few times... before roaring as he pulled forwards with all of his power, muscles bulging explosively as he punched at the air to lift the block clear off the ground, throwing it forwards in a hard sweep at the mages, holding onto the chain as he laughed darkly and turned quickly on the spot, the massive block of stone lashing through the air at waist-level.

His waist level.

Chest-to-head for the mages outside.

The block of stone flew through the air like a missile, and sailed through the hole in the barrier, missing Alec by mere inches as the bear howled in terror and landed face-first into the ground, crawling away as quickly as he could... Killer pulled back on the Godblood chain, muscles bulging with power as he restrained the stone from flying too far away, and he swung out in a circle as the mages scattered around in terror, shrieks rising from their ranks as the Godblood chain slammed in the neck of one of them, and sent the head flying off like a top, blood spraying in a cloud as the body collapsed forwards on his knees, then flopped down bonelessly.

Another mage had enough time to turn in shock towards the threat before the enormous stone block smashed into him like a train, sending his cloaked body flying in a boneless, shattered heap over one hundred feet away, the corpse bouncing up twice as it loudly crashed into the ground.

Several of the other mages ducked in time, but another was caught by the chain, and cut in half at chest-height, blood spraying onto his nearby comrades as screams of terror rose from the whole circle, before the huge slab of rock smashed into two more mages, with such violence that they were both squished into boneless paste.

It did not last, however, as the other mages ducked and quickly chanted again, rebuilding the barrier... and Killer grunted in surprise, recoiling as the heavy Godblood chain was repealed violently backwards... But Lodestone, which was impervious to magic, was not.

The block flew, suddenly free, through the air, crashing a hundred feet away and shaking the ground with the tremendous impact, as the Godblood chain bounced backwards, slammed away by the energy of the magic barrier, clanging on the ground as Killer stumbled backwards, then winced as the mages regained concentration, getting back in the ranks, and his firewall was turned into cool rain.

Immediately, missiles and gun shells from Uther's gigantic exoskeleton poured through the falling rain, and smashed into Killer with a massive explosion, his chest ripped open with a spray of blood as he was slammed back into the barrier, and he howled in agony as electricity zapped him and blasted him away, throwing him back to the center of the circle. And suddenly, it was darkness.

Killer's eyes opened, and he found himself standing in a whole different place, a place he did not recognize. There were no wounds on his strong body, his simple jeans weren't in tatters - well, not any more than normal, at least, and without the damage left by the latest battle -, and there was no pain and no sounds. Just total, supernatural darkness.

His eyes would normally easily see into the darkness, as clearly as it was day... but around himself, he only saw blackness now, with mere, confused shadows ahead, and distant, trembling line of lights of different colors rising towards the sky.

He blinked, wondering for a moment if he hadn't been killed for real this time around... But then it finally dawned on him. He was inside himself. Inside his mind... and it could only be Black Killer calling him. He could feel the terrible power of his dark self in the air, almost warping reality, perhaps the cause of the impenetrable darkness itself.

"Where are you...?" Killer asked to the darkness, crossing his huge arms on his chest and making a grimace. "I was kind of busy right now, if you did not notice."

"Hard not to notice." Black Killer replied idly, in a bored voice, just as Killer stumbled a bit on the spot, feeling dizzy and looking around himself to see he was now standing... well, somewhere else entirely, once more. Still surrounded by the thick darkness, but here there was some soft light as well, as they were standing beyond one of the seeming-endless lines of light rising to the dark sky above.

Killer glared to the side as Black Killer looked at him silently, the huge male a few feet taller and even more muscular, his body bulging with terrible power and energy radiating off him in waves that made Killer's fur stand up, as if electricity was heavy in the air. Then he looked up to the weird trembling light... and he realized that he was actually looking at a chain on flames.

It was not a normal chain, of course... every link of it was so huge that a warship could have sailed across the holes, and it burned with bright crimson flames that danced as if alive, all along the length of the supernatural chain, which climbed high up above, to an unfathomable height. The chain, Killer noticed, came out of a gigantic pyramid of stone, each enormous step of the temple much higher than he was, each structure looking as big as a mountain, and with the first link of the chain sticking out of a steep side.

"What's this place...? It really wasn't the best timing, to call me here right now." Killer said, even as he curiously looked towards the nearer pyramid. He assumed every other chain visible in the distance, disposed in a huge circle, had an equal base, but he could barely make out the outline of the monstrous building with the thickness of the darkness around him.

"This "place", is actually your own self. You know all too well." Black Killer replied coldly, looking annoyed, as if he was explaining a simple concept for the hundredth time to a dumb child.

Killer made a face, turning away from his dark, larger and more powerful self. "Fuck you too, then." He grumbled irritably, before looking up again along the chain, and realizing that all the chains he could see converged towards what could have been... a collar?

Darkness hid it, but Killer could still make out the outline of it. It was massive, far larger than any arena or stadium, and it was wrapped around something.

A neck.

Killer suddenly gritted his fangs and reached a ready position as an otherworldly, ungodly roar seemed to rip reality itself apart, the thick darkness rippling like water and the ground trembling under his feet as the chains rattled and tensed and glowed, the flames expanding with angry eruptions of energy, burning higher and stronger... And Killer's eyes bulged as he realized that it hadn't been a roar, but just a low growl. Much as it had seemed to shatter the universe, leaving his ears whistling painfully, the ground still shaking, it had been little more than a yawn.

Of a creature of glorious, godlike proportions.

He couldn't quite see it... but some outlines, in the distance, in the sky above, were enough to make his eyes dart from an extremity of the horizon to the other, gaping in shock as he realized just how immense the monster was... Straight ahead of himself, he could see a talon, immense and wicked. Alone, it could have crushed a whole town out of existence without the monster even noticing, and it was only one of five toes of a gigantic foot which could have annihilated a continent. Gigantic legs which had a slight bend forwards, in a digitigrade stance, bulged with immense muscles, towering uncountable miles above them, spread wide and radiating a power which felt endless.

Godlike...

The beast was resting, his body relaxed... yet, muscles bigger than mountains bulged with crushing, obscene power, dwarfing Killer into insignificance as he stared upwards in amazement, his eyes unable to see much up along the rippled, muscular thigh.

Even further above, filling up the sky, the torso of the gigantic monster was enormous and powerful, terrifying and awe-inspiring, bulging with musculature that, even though Killer could only see shadows of it, was incredible, mocking the Gods with the obscene, impossible power it was full of.

Limitless...

He couldn't see the arms of the monster, yet he could feel their strength through the darkness, crushing him down into humility as power he wasn't even able to imagine washed over him in waves that almost physically battered him backwards.

And adding to the majestic imposingness of the titan, were wings so massive to fill up the sky in every direction, looming over him and making him feel even smaller.

Killer openly stared as his eyes met the faded, confused outline of what was, unmistakably, a gargantuan, prodigious cock of immense proportions, the virile shaft hanging heavily between the strong legs of the monster, past even the knees of the gigantic creature. And Killer could see a matching pair of colossal, astounding, impossible testicles, hanging down between the muscular thighs and looming above them like planets, dwarfing both Killer and Black Killer to irrelevance.

He couldn't see the face of the monster, but he could see the glimpse of sapphire light glowing from the eyes of the monster, even as they rested half-closed, as the flames burning on the chains tied at the collar around his neck sapped the titan of his energies, and kept him in a sleepy state, midway between sleeping and awake.

And it was a good thing, because for how huge and astounding the chains were, the monster was clearly filled with such devastating power that he could have ripped them all to shreds with a bare flex of his immense, godlike muscles.

Killer stared for a long moment at the godlike sight, his heart thudding as he gaped and looked over the glory of the titan with amazement and, probably for the very first time in his life, worship. He felt thrilled by the immense, endless power he felt in the air, tempted by the limitless possibilities that such a strength would ensure, scared by what could have been done with such fearsome energy... and he felt envious, craving that power for himself, even as he trembled at the awareness of the dangers, of the monstrosities he could have committed, high on the wings of such omnipotence.

"What the hell is this thing...?" Killer asked, turning to gaze at Black Killer, and the larger, black-furred male grinned, walking closer and wrapping a strong, huge arm around his neck, squeezing him closer in a friendly gesture.

"That, my dumb little brother... is us."

Killer groaned in agony, his eyes snapping open as he spat out a gout of blood, even as he pushed himself off the ground immediately, glaring up from the earth, and realizing stupidly that not even a full second had passed, as Uther glared at him from the massive war-armor, and Jael came charging forwards with his own exoskeleton, which crackled with bolts of electricity and groaned with every step, almost literally falling apart, riddled with frightening ice-daggers that had pierced the steel like cheap toilet paper.

Jael himself was impaled upon one spike of ice, which had nailed him to the seat by piercing his abdomen from side to side, but the elephant still laughed maniacally, swinging the chainsaw-arm wildly as it ran towards Killer, even as blood dripped out of the shattered cockpit and dripped on the ground.

"Die, die, DIE!" Jael howled in fury, grinning in cold insanity as he lunged towards Killer for the final blow, but the liger slammed a palm into the flat of the chainsaw, muscles bulging as he delivered the blow with all of his terrifying strength, and the robot's arm swung wildly off to the side, so violently that it was ripped out of the shoulder-socket, flying through the air to crash into the ground some forty feet away.

"You're nothing but a lie, a false God and a murderer! And I will cleanse the world by getting rid of you!" Jael roared nonetheless, shifting on the seat as he drove the exoskeleton to clash against Killer's strong body, the liger falling on his wounded, ravaged back with a grunt of pain, before his eyes went wide as Jael all but pushed his chest proudly out, the enormous, cruel spike of bloody ice sticking out of him like a spear as he threw himself over Killer.

The liger arched his back and kicked himself back up immediately, shooting forwards against the falling exoskeleton, hands reaching forwards and seizing Jael's long tusks, the elephant looking at him with shock as Killer grinned and roared, muscles bulging as he pushed against the exoskeleton, and literally smashed through it, the back of the huge robot exploding as Jael, still sitting in the seat, and Killer shot out of it.

"Don't you dare touching me, filthy rat!" Jael shrieked, reaching up to seize Killer's wrist, trying uselessly to dislodge the huge liger's hands from his tusks as Killer landed on his feet and held him high up off the ground, the giant feline grimacing in distaste and hate as he growled coldly: "Give your brother some company."

Jael howled in fury at the mention of his lost brother, clawing wildly at Killer's strong arms before shrieking in agony, eyes rolling wildly in his head as the huge liger pulled apart, and a bloody rip opened down the middle of the muscular elephant's body, before the scream turned into a dead gargle as blood sprayed high into the air and the body tore entirely, torn in two halves like a sheet of paper, brains and insides and fluids and blood splattering in a puddle on the ground as Killer threw the two broken parts of the worker off to the sides with a mere, dismissive gesture.

"Two gone, one running away like the coward he's always been." Killer said coldly, looking at Uther with distaste. "What will you do now, without your pawns?"

"They are not important." The muscular bull replied coldly, gritting teeth that looked far more like the fangs of a predator. "They have given their life for mighty Taranis, God of War, and there's no greater honor... Other than those that Taranis will grant me once I cause your fall." The bull added, grinning widely. "I don't like to share... but you solved that issue. More honor, power and richness for me, now. Taranis will be generous when I'll bring him your cock on a silver plate."

"Original." Killer snorted amusedly, grinning. "Cock-envy, then? That's why he hates me?"

"How dare you!" Uther roared, snarling at him from the screen, before he made a gesture to the two circles of mages around them. "Your troubles begin now, vermin... the morons were always on the fire line, and messed up my plans. But now, you'll get to feel the true extent of our firepower."

Killer tensed, sensing the danger, and he dropped down in a split just as Uther fired a new barrage of energy beams from the scorpion-tail guns, explosions ripping craters in the ground and hiding Killer in a cloud of dust and dirt and flames as he slammed a hand into the ground and forcing his energy into the earth... and flames erupted in a circle around him, washing up the dome of transparent energy of the barrier that the first circle of mages kept up, the magma hammering into the protection and washing down harmlessly. Gonna need a plan B.

He had hoped to hit the mages outside the barrier by making his fire erupt under their feet... but the barrier they kept up made it impossible. And to further complicate things, he still had chains stretching from the jewels he wore, only two of which dangled loose: the others still connected to enormous slabs of Lodestone which anchored him and slowed him down terribly, limiting his freedom of movement to almost none.

Every leap he had taken, had strained him to the core, his very bones sore and asking for mercy.

If only I could get rid of those at least...

He heard a new note in the mage's chanting, and he immediately tried to leap backwards to safety, snarling as thick, enormous roots ridden with spikes and vicious steel thorns ripped out of the ground all around him, snaking their way into the air like Cobras standing up for the attack, and shooting at him from every direction, even as he closed his eyes and a wall of flames surrounded him.

The roots slammed into the fire, and were consumed by it, the plants screaming as if alive, writhing and dying, as more thick roots arched in the air all around but kept at safe distance, and as Killer thought of a countermove, a missile from the exoskeleton shot at him, the huge male grunting as he ducked under it, only to be hit squarely by a second rocket, the explosion throwing him down into the ground as his flame barrier faded for a moment... just enough for the vicious roots to dive over him, wrapping ferociously around his body, crushing him into a deadly hug as spikes and thorns pushed into his body from all sides, making his back arch with a cry of agony even as he struggled against the vines, which now twisted together, more and more coming in to try and trap him forever, suffocating him and lifting him higher into the sky as Uther grinned and charged forwards, the chainsaw roaring.

"Analysis of the situation, little bro." Black Killer said calmly, his eyes still looking up at the godlike chained monster. "Not a weapon at hand, not a valid way to take out the mages outside the barrier, wounds all over your body, chains anchoring you to several huge blocks of stone, and a nasty war machine with a 20 feet long chainsaw swinging at you."

Killer made a grimace, looking off towards the other side. "Nasty, but I'm working about it."

Black Killer turned to look at him flatly, then snorted and pushed him away, making a face as he spat: "Working about it! Ah!" The giant looked at him with derision as he added angrily: "You are gonna get yourself killed, that's what you are doing."

"Not a matter of concern for mighty awesome you, anyway." Killer replied coldly, glaring at him from over his shoulder... But Black Killer softened at this, grinning amusedly as he replied calmly: "You are cruel, little bro. Of course I'm concerned. I've good reasons to be. What annoys me the most, though, is that you are getting your ass handed to you by enemies that aren't even worth being called gnats. You should have blown them off like dust, but you keep pulling back your punches."

Black Killer paused, then closed his eyes for a moment, and Killer saw him vanishing... before he reappeared, miles away, standing atop the nearer, gigantic pyramid, feet on the first link of the monstrous chain, his arms crossed on his powerful chest.

"I know you've understood from the first moment, brother, much as you act like an idiot about the matter. This is us. And these chains are the Seals that the Gods, the Metatrons of Heaven and the Scribes and Scholars of Hell imposed on us with their supreme combined effort, even before you were born. Seals meant to deny the rise of a God greater than they'll ever dream to be."

"Seals meant to avoid the rise of a monster!" Killer howled back in fury, before finding himself standing on the chain as well, merely feet away from Black Killer. The chain link was so thick that to Killer's feet the top of the chain was not rounded, but flat, and as wide as a motorway... but from this close, it was also evident that, however impressive, the chain wasn't destined to last much longer. The link was knackered and damaged, nearly torn open in several points, the metal stretched and ripped and cracked, and the pyramid itself was nearly broken in two, from top to bottom, cracked and ruined, several large chunks of the immense steps of the structure having already collapsed and piled up like junk around the base of the building.

"Their supreme effort is still little impediment. A flex, bro... that's all it takes, and their oh-so-mighty Seals will snap like cheap strings. And we'll be free. And the enemies out there, with that pathetic exoskeleton and those accounts of mages... we'll slap them away like flies."

"Stop talking of us. You are not me!" Killer snarled, glaring to Black Killer with fury. The larger, black male smiled back down at him patronizingly, however, shaking his head slowly and saying softly: "Yes and no, little brother. You are deceiving yourself, and you know it... isn't it all simpler, if you can blame your dark alter ego for all your Sins? He is the monster, you the good guy."

Black Killer paused, and Killer stared at him in horror, shaking his head in denial and yet feeling questions crowding his heart... "Are you sure it is true, little bro? Am I the monster, really...? Or perhaps we are the same person. Or maybe, you are the monster, and I'm the good one. When you feel the lust of killing, of bathing in blood, of raping little girls, shoving your big cock deep into them until you bust them like balloons... Is it my voice that tells you to do it? Is it you who lusts for the slaughter, or is it me...?"

"Stop it!" Killer growled, his earth thudding in his chest as he repressed a shiver, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them to glare at his alter ego. "Whoever of us is the monster, the Seal stays. The monster won't be unleashed over the world."

"So noble." Black Killer mocked, before grinning and nodding a bit to himself. "And so limited, too. The world is such a little place, brother. Open your mind. The mortal planet, Heaven, Hell... that's just a little candy. An appetizer. The main course is the universe."

Killer winced as the roots around him constricted further, his ribcage creaking loudly as he coughed up blood, his eyes following the blade of Uther's chainsaw as it swung towards him, even as the roots covered up rapidly even his face.

He concentrated, but as happened still frequently enough, he was unable to control fire to get out of the mess, groaning as a vicious spike shoved into his abdominals like a sword... But at least, his own energy responded. Gold flames erupted around his form, an explosive blast of energy ripping the roots into shreds which rained down in every direction, energy eating the vines and plants with no less ferocity of fire, and Killer dived down towards the ground, ducking in his fall under the exoskeleton's chainsaw as it swung down in a vicious slash.

Killer landed in a crouch with a grunt, and immediately sprinted forwards, only to groan as the chains tensed and the remaining blocks of Lodestone slowed him down and dragged him backwards with their absurd weight... And Uther laughed as he exploited the moment, the other exoskeleton's arm, heavy with Gatling guns and missile launchers, slamming down into Killer like a Goliath's punch, the liger collapsing on his back with a roar of agony.

Red splotches clouded his eyesight, painfully-loud whistles filling his ears... but he still sensed the chainsaw slashing down from above, and his hand fumbled with the Godblood chains laying on the ground around him, grabbing hold of several thick spires of indestructible links and rising them up above him as a shield.

The chainsaw slammed into the chains, and Killer's hands burst forth with splatters of blood as the rattling blade turned the chains in his hold into meat-grinders, sparks flying in every direction as Killer stared up into the blade, only inches above his face, his powerful muscles struggling against the combined force of magic and mechanics as the exoskeleton bent down over him, overshadowing him entirely, Uther grinning viciously from the screen.

Killer's eyes widened as the chain links in front of his face began to visibly give, even though shards of the chainsaw's blade itself exploded away like shrapnel, and he readied himself as best he could.

The links finally snapped, the chains torn in halves, and the chainsaw blade immediately dived down, but Killer rolled onto his shoulder and out of the way as the monstrous weapon dug a trench in the ravaged battleground.

The huge liger kicked up to his feet and turned on his heels, allowing himself a grin even as he panted heavily, as he regained more of his freedom of movement... and he roared as he hurled forwards the chain he still held in his hand, bicep bulging explosively as a massive slab of Lodestone was thrown into the air and launched forwards like a missile, which smashed through the magic barrier and squished two mages into paste, crushing the corpses into the ground as it screeched to a halt only fifty more feet away, leaving a long trench in the lawn. The other mages in the circles shuttered and swayed fearfully, some of them instinctively backstepping out of the circle, but Killer had no chance to even try and exploit the moment, as Uther turned towards him with a snarl, trailing the heavy-artillery arm of the battle-armour on him... And as a new barrage of missiles and shells burst forth, Killer focused his energy, golden flames roaring into life around him, as explosions went up from the cluster of rockets and guns, Uther shrieking in horror as golden flames torn apart the arm of the machine in a terrible sequence of explosions which rocked the exoskeleton and sent it crashing on its side, smoke rising in a thick column from the devastated shoulder, the arm of the machine simply obliterated.

Killer charged forwards immediately, aiming for the sealed cockpit, the bull's eyes widening in terror as they looked at him from the screen, Uther scrambling over the command consoles and quickly trying to make the huge armour stand back up on its feet, even as he screamed: "Reinforces, reinforces! Come in!"

Portals opened all around him, Killer glaring from side to side even as he leapt against Uther, seeing burly, muscular gladiators running in through the vortexes, all wearing bits of arena armour, all carrying huge swords, battleaxes and spears, most, if not all, sporting large tattoos with the symbol of Taranis... And he snarled in rage and frustration even as he slammed his feet down into the thick armour of the exoskeleton, the chest of the robot denting inwards as the projected screen flickered in and out, Uther's grunt of shock coming through static as Killer seized the edge of the thick door to the cockpit, pulling back with a roar of fury, muscles bulging with power as he snarled, the steel, lodestone and every other material in the composite armor cracking and bending and shattering as he pried the cockpit open.

He sensed the danger a moment too late, his eyes bulging as he ducked, but still got caught by the invisible, but very tangible, blast of sharp, blade-like wind that the mages threw against him. It slammed him backwards through the air, the huge liger flipping in midair and stomping a foot down on the head of a orca gladiator who lunged at him with a spear, knocking the black and white giant senseless... before something seemed to explode in his mind, earth, senses and vision. Screams of ungodly, frightening agony. Pleas of help. Death gargles. Pain, which set his nerves on fire, causing him to collapse as he lost balance and suddenly fell in a world of darkness as vision faded entirely... but before he could even worry about the darkness, he was assailed by horrible images. Alexis dead. Mriya dead. Anubis dead. His daughters and sons, Athena and Joy, Rika and little Tuomas, all broken heaps of flesh into lakes of dark blood... he writhed, shaking his head in denial and grabbing blindly at his temples, trying to chase the nightmare away, but the mages continued to cloud his senses and mind with visions of death and tragedy, even as the gladiators closed in and the exoskeleton climbed back to its feet.

"All this pain, for nothing." Black Killer said coldly, making a grimace. "You are allowing a bunch of gnats to humiliate you."

Killer opened his eyes again in the darkness of his inner self, and made a face at the sound of his alter-ego's voice, even as he blinked in relief, freed by the terrible psychic assault that had filled his mind with images of tragedy, pain and loss.

Here, he was nearly entirely safe from the assault... But all around them, as if projected on a spherical screen surrounding and trapping them and the gigantic, chained-up dark god, were the images of his beloved ones ripped apart, killed and ravaged, coming in flashes, in a constant race to the worse and worse and worse.

It made him sick, his eyes closing as he took a deep breath and turned to Black Killer, before glaring at him as he saw the giant black male tearing one of the damaged links of the immense chain apart, widening a deep cut and crack in the steel as his huge muscles bulged with power.

"Stop it!" Killer snarled, leaping towards the larger male and landing on the thick chain link beside him, seizing his wrists and wrestling his hands away from the groaning, breaking chain. "I won't let you break any of the Seals."

Black Killer only snorted, however, before grinning in his face as he arched his back and pulled outwards with his mighty arms, muscles bulging explosively as he ripped the wound in the chain link wider, the metal letting out a loud groan of what sounded almost like despair. "I'm just gonna make you stronger, bro... and we both know that you want it. No matter how many times you say no, I know that deep within you crave it!"

Killer shut his eyes, shaking his head wildly as he gritted his fangs painfully, and tried to deny it to himself, but knowing full well that it was all too true. He envied Black Killer, and even more he envied the gigantic creature in the darkness, craving the terrifying power he felt in the air, wishing for the immense, irresistible force of the immense monster. But still... he knew that he did not just crave the power. He wanted the possibilities that came with it. He wanted the absolute freedom that such godlike power would ensure, making him unstoppable, far stronger than any other being in the universe, giving him the power to bend even reality itself to his every whim and desire. The power of ruling over everything and everyone, making the life of any other being irrelevant, their very existence dependent on his most futile of whims.

The sheer thought was thrilling, exhilarating, and he couldn't even begin to imagine the full extent of the crushing power he could feel looming over him in the air. But he well remembered how Black Killer had effortlessly crumbled a whole planet before his eyes before, only to piece it back together as easily and naturally, with little more than the flick of a wrist.

And that was before Black Killer even began to try at all. It was hard to imagine a limit at all that he wouldn't have been able to shatter and overcome... it was a power that simply went beyond supernatural, beyond godlike, beyond understanding. All things Killer could think of, felt insignificant party tricks that the flick of a finger could have accomplished easily.

Oh, gods. He craved it. He craved it immensely.

And yet, he didn't want it to happen.

It was monstrous, it was wrong, it was cruel. It did not have to happen.

"I won't let it happen." Killer said coldly, pulling with all his force at Black Killer's wrists, trying to close the wound in the chain link, trying to bend it back together... but to his horror, he was unable to even budge the larger, black male, who grinned down at him in cruel amusement.

"You can't win, little bro. It is futile to even try." The dark-furred male said gleefully, smirking widely. "Moreover, you do not wish to win. You wish to get the power... you crave it, and I will give it to you!"

Their eyes met, and Killer stared into his alter-ego's ones, which grinned down at him eagerly... before a flash of crimson glowed in them, Black Killer's expression turning to one of evil, terrible lusts of destruction and violence, making Killer's determination return in full force, the huge male snarling as he seized the black male's wrist again, wrestling it, as the liger roared: "Get the hell out -"

"- of my head!"

The huge liger snarled, his eyes closed, his head pounding with pain and agony as cruel visions of his adored daughter Mriya hanging disemboweled from a burning cross to which she had been nailed continued to fill all of his senses, deadly accurate, up to the stench of death in his nose, to the feel of the ashes wet with blood and gore under his feet.

The gladiators charged at him from all sides, launching shouts of victory, as Killer grabbed the sides of his head, tears of blood rolling down his cheeks from his shut eyes. But when the first spear lunged towards his chest, the liger's hand shot forwards and seized the pole, just behind the sharp tip. The lion thrusting it forwards grunted in surprise, then groaned in agony as Killer pushed back the spear and slammed the butt of the pole in his stomach, lifting him into the air and throwing him flying through the air as Killer spun the spear around his waist.

The lion crashed into his comrades, knocking several gladiators sprawling over like pins, before four more went down with screams of pain as Killer windmilled the spear out around himself, blood spraying up from the wounds. A muscular bear with plates of armor covering his left arm and breast leapt at Killer's back, aiming a sword at the nape of his neck, but the liger twisted his wrist and aimed the spear backwards and upwards, the gladiator shrieking in horror as he impaled himself on the long pole, blood spraying out of his mouth as his eyes bulged in stupid surprise.

Killer swung the spear over his shoulder, and hammered it down on the head of another charging enemy, using the corpse impaled on the pole for knocking the gladiator senseless, sending him crashing face-first on the ground at his feet, before stomping down on the skull, crushing it like a ripe fruit in a splatter of gore.

A tall horse with a long blond mane swung a sword against him next, and Killer's free arm swung out, the deadly bone spikes on the liger's elbow catching the blade before slamming into the equine's chest, sending the stallion crashing on the ground in a bleeding, broken heap, as the spear in the tiger's hand lunged forwards lighting fast, twice, finding its way through two chests, piercing them from side to side and then ripping out swiftly to lunge at another target.

"Impossible! It's impossible!" Uther screamed from the back of the crowd, turning to the mages with a snarl of fury. "Your fucking trick's not working, assholes! Put some juice in it!"

Killer snarled, barely hearing the voice on top of the screams filling his mind, but enough to locate it... and as his fist lashed out like a meteor, it slammed into the chest of a muscular wolf swinging two short daggers, sending the gladiator flying and crashing into the huge exoskeleton, the robot stumbling backwards with the violence of the impact, as the wolf was nearly splattered like jelly on the thick armoured cockpit.

"I said..." Killer roared, muscles bulging with power as he lashed out a slap which literally ripped the head of a dog gladiator off the neck, sending it flying like a top. "... get out of my head!"

He snarled, focusing all the energy he could gather up, flames erupting in a tremendous explosion all around him, turning the nearer enemies into nothing but ashes, before turning into ice in midair as some of the mages turned the flames into water. The ice exploded into a rain of daggers and shrapnel that riddled with wounds everyone it reached, shrieks rising into the air as more of the gladiators were ripped to shreds, and the mages in the outer circle were knocked backwards with groans of agony, several of them falling to the ground and vomiting blood as their minds were suddenly invaded by the screams and horrible images they had generated.

Killer's eyes slowly opened, blood reddening his faded, confused vision, but the images in his head receding and vanishing as the shrieks faded away... and he found himself staring at a huge black bull with a skirt of chainmail charging at him with a halberd. The liger leapt over this, lashing out a foot and kicking the long weapon into the chest of another gladiator as the bull looked up in terror, just as Killer's hands seized his horns and ripped upwards.

The bull's head seemed to explode, skin and facial muscle tearing, before his skull was ripped out of him, the eyes falling off and dangling from ropes of nerves as the spine of the warrior came out of his body, lolling from the skull, which Killer threw away with a snort.

"I'll fucking destroy you, no matter how long it takes!" Uther howled in fury, charging in and swinging down with the gigantic chainsaw, Killer grunting as he went into a slide on the ground, ducking under the blow and springing back up to a crouch as the chainsaw ripped a wound into the earth, throwing up a cloud of dust and dirt.

Killer winced as rocks and pebbles hailed onto his back and into his deep, bleeding wounds, gritting his fangs to restrain a groan of agony... before his eyes bulged and he threw himself off to the side as a long curved blade sprung out of the robot's elbow, ripping a gash in his arm. It could have easily ripped him in half, and he glared at this as he turned to face the damaged, but still massive and terrible exoskeleton, the remaining gladiators gathering up for a new assault.

First in was a crocodile, bulging muscles covered in thick, impenetrable scales as he swung a massive, spiked sledgehammer down towards Killer, the exoskeleton charging from the opposite side.

Killer threw the spear towards the crocodile, but the gladiator easily slapped this away with the hammer, grinning as he came closer and swung his terrible mace out. His smirk turned in a grimace as he missed, Killer throwing himself forwards and to the side, slamming chest to chest against the crocodile and slamming both of his hands up: the first seized the pole of the hammer, knocking it out of the reptile's hands and sending it flying high into the air as his other palm smashed into the crocodile's throat, smashing his jaw into bits and sending fragments of bone shooting upwards into the brain, the head of the gladiator nearly exploding as blood burst out of mouth, nostrils and ears.

Killer then turned to the side as the exoskeleton came in, but his eyes bulged as a lithe but athletic lynx gladiator leapt in from the side. Their eyes met for a fleeting second, the lynx grinning cruelly, before Killer threw himself backwards and he grunted as his long spear pierced the liger's muscular thigh instead of the chest he had aimed to.

The feline grunted and tried to rip the spear back out of Killer's leg, but the much larger liger slapped him angrily away, knocking him flying and turning towards Uther as he swung down the chainsaw...

But suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the back of the massive robot, and sent it toppling forwards, Killer diving forwards with a wince before the massive machine could squish him under its mass.

Killer screeched to an halt in a crouch, and he grinned as he raised his gaze and saw Ira leaping out of a portal, another blazing fireball already sizzling in her palm, before she threw this into the nearer mage, blasting him into ashes as the circles of mages broke down as they all turned to face the dangerous newcomer.

Ira did not let them recover, however, her eyes flashing a deep, bright emerald, her pupils gone to leave an emotionless pit of light as she grinned and easily reached her hands up for the handles of Vampira and Arctica, drawing her katana swords out in a swift, smooth motion.

A first mage stepped forwards chanting, hands glowing with malicious energy, but he had just enough time to let out a sudden shriek as Ira looked at him and burning lava immediately engulfed him whole, and literally liquefied him as the Seraphim leapt forwards with a mighty flap of her six, strong wings, shooting forth like a missile and lashing her fist out as she passed by the first mage, sending him flying bonelessly through the air, blood exploding from his mouth as his silvery mask shattered.

A muscular gladiator leapt at her with a battleaxe, but Ira easily twisted out of the way, Arctica slashing upwards and effortlessly cutting the pole of the axe in half, before Vampira swung down as well, ripping the fox in half, legs and torso falling away separately as the blade of the long, elegant Katana glowed a ghostly white, eating of the fallen's energies and feeding them to Ira.

Killer saw her grinning coldly, easily ducking under two spears that were lashed forth against her, and then shooting back up with an easy flap of her wings, her swords lashing out to either side with a low, almost musical hiss, the thin but deadly blades cutting two more enemies into halves, before she swung Arctica out, ripping a terrible gash in the chest of a mage. Ice immediately spread over the dying, black-cloaked mage, and past him, as a freezing mist enveloped three more nearby enemies, turning them into statues of ice in the space of a blink, just before her hand, closed in a fist around the handle of Vampira, slammed into each sculpture, each punch sending a mage crumbling into ice cubes.

Killer reached down for the spear sticking out of his thigh, wincing as he pulled it out with a grunt, blood dripping down the pole from the deep wound in his thigh, as he spun the long javelin to aim it forwards as a dark-furred bear gladiator covered in scars charged at him with a huge cleaver. Killer threw himself to the side as the gigantic blade slashed downwards, and stabbed the spear up into the bear's eye, sending him crashing backward with a shriek of pain, the long pole sticking up from his skull and nailing him to the ground even as Uther's exoskeleton forced back up to its feet and swung a huge arm out, smashing Killer in the back and sending him flying through the air with a groan of pain.

The liger crashed on the ground on his chest, wheezing... and he immediately pushed his hands into the ground to donkey-kick his feet up into the face of a horse gladiator leaping at him with an axe, sending him down in a crumbled heap as he stood back up on his feet, looking around himself as Uther and another thick group of gladiators surged forwards.

"How nice that Ira could reach us!" Black Killer observed amusedly, grinning down at him as he forced the chain link further apart. "So she can see what you are like once the Seals start breaking!"

Killer leapt at him again, snarling as he lashed a fist out at his face, but Black Killer merely grinned, letting go of the chain just long enough to seize his fist in his hand, crushing his fingers with terrifying strength, making Killer grunt in agony even as he slammed his other fist onto his alter ego's powerful chest, barely rocking him at all.

Black Killer snorted, and then slammed a foot contemptuously onto Killer's stomach, sending him crashing down onto the dark floor below as he seized the nearly-torn link in his hands again.

"I already said it to you, bro. You can't stop me. Don't force me to become unpleasant."

Ira dropped into a squat as the huge cleaver swung at her, ducking under the blade and chopping the legs of the gladiator neatly off with a double slash of her long, thin blades, before straightening and leaping into the air, grinning as she flipped elegantly forwards and swung his leg out in a backwards kick that caught a mage under the chin, sending him flying bonelessly through the air, to crash into the crowd of warriors surrounding her.

A tall, muscular badger leapt at her with an oversized saber, but Ira easily twisted out of the way of the blow before lashing her fist out: it caught the gladiator in the chest, causing his breast armor to explode in shards as his chest caved in, a splatter of blood erupting into the air as she literally blew a hole through him, his ribs exploding out of his flesh as the corpse shot like a missile into the other gladiators, knocking them sprawling backwards.

Her mighty wings flapped once, and she shot forwards over them as they fell, Vampira neatly swinging downwards as she grinned coldly, and the blade hungrily, ferociously slashed through their bodies, cutting flesh and muscle and armor like butter, glowing with ghostly white energy each time that an enemy was killed, the energy flooding into her muscular arm... before her eyes flashed and the ground suddenly cracked apart, several gladiators and mages falling over as enormous cracks ripped open beneath their feet, before magma erupted through these, short-lasting shrieks of agony rising to the sky as at least a dozen enemies were liquefied almost instantaneously...

And Ira shot through the solid wall of magma rising towards the sky, a mage backstepping and falling over with a shriek of terror as he saw the powerful female grinning above him, before Vampira pierced his chest.

Ira let go of the sword as the corpse began to fall backwards, her now-free hand shooting up to reach for her shoulder as she tilted her head to the side to allow her fingers to seize around Wyvern's huge, long handle.

"Here, sorry for the delay!" She exclaimed, drawing out the immense sword and throwing it easily towards Killer, before she snapped her fingers and seized the handle of Vampira before the corpse even hit the ground, pulling the blade out easily to swing it out at a gladiator charging at her back.

Killer turned towards her in surprise at her call, the huge male blinking as he felt the collar and manacles and other heavy, burdening jewels of lodestone snapping open and falling off from his body for the first time in so long... and as his hand shot into the air to easily seize Wyvern's handle, he grinned, feeling lighter and faster and more agile than he ever had been.

The gladiators before him did not take long to notice, as they lunged forwards with a solid wall of swords and spears, only for Killer to vanish from their sight, leaping into the air easily, faster than their eyes could see. Killer grinned viciously, the warriors now seeming sluggish as he moved easily above them and saw their heads turning upwards with what felt like terrifying slowness... while the gladiators only saw a crimson shadow zapping in front of them.

Wyvern sawed their swords and spears in halves with a first slash, and before they could react at all, the blade slashed backwards and upwards, catching them before they could even understand what had happened. Their corpses crumpled on the ground in broken heaps, and already Wyvern had pierced through the chest of another enemy, the huge blade ripping through bodies like through paper as it glowed a vicious red with each life it took, energy flooding into Killer's body and easing his fatigue and pain instantaneously as the runes that Vesta had carved in the sword's spine glowed with golden light.

"I came immediately when Alexis told me that something was wrong." Ira said calmly as she landed by his side, swords at the ready, blades leaking blood in streams that rolled down her muscular arms.

"Am I ever glad you are here!" Killer admitted, grinning as he gazed sideways at her... and she grinned back, nodding a bit.

"Stop it, it is not necessary anymore!" Killer snarled, charging towards Black Killer once more. "Ira's here, we can get out of it together!"

"Don't be an idiot, brother!" Black Killer roared angrily, even as he grinned cruelly, looking up at the deepening wound in the chain link his hands were slowly but surely ripping apart. "Power is always necessary!" The huge black male shouted, laughing as his mighty muscles bulged explosively and he delivered the last pull.

Killer's eyes bulged in horror as he looked upwards and saw, heard and felt the chain link snapping apart loudly, the flames wrapping the metal dying away and vanishing as the gigantic monster stirred and let out a low, yet world-shaking growl... and Black Killer laughed, arching his back in triumph and flexing his mighty, enormous body as he shouted: "Sorry Ira, but you -"

"... are late to the party!"

The Cobra turned to Killer in shock, her eyes widening as she saw his eyes turning into expressionless pits of bright, cold sapphire light, just as the huge male arched his back and flexed, muscles bulging with tremendous power, before she felt it coming, gaping and shooting up into the air with a flap of her wings to gain safety distance.

She looked down at him disbelievingly, gaping as waves of an unprecedented force ripped through sky and earth in pulses, exploding forth from his form, lightnings of golden electricity and energy crackling loudly around the male's mighty body, even as he threw Wyvern against a charging badger, the sword nailing the gladiator to the ground in a spray of blood.

The charging gladiators and even Uther's exoskeleton stopped in their attacks, staring in terror at their rival as Killer laughed and a blast of energy even stronger than the first ones sent them all crashing over one hundred feet away, Ira herself snarling and covering her face with her arms as she was slammed backwards through the air like a fly.

It can't be... it... he's way too powerful...

A few of the remaining mages took the initiative, and they fired a barrage of spells against the giant male. But nothing at all worked, this time, as the deadly roots ripping out of the ground were immediately burned into ashes and blown into the wind by the frightening energy that the liger radiated in waves.

Beams and spheres of concentrated energy thrown at him smashed against his thick, powerful body, but they didn't even scratch him as he flexed idly before letting out a roar of challenge and dominance, arching his back as a shockwave of fearsome power exploded out of him.

The ground around his feet cracked apart, huge boulders moving like earth itself was revolting to the tremendous power of the male, the whole prairie seeming to shatter into pieces as a web of deep, enormous cracks spread through the lands, the massive boulders and fragments of stone floating up into the air all around him, before crumbling into smaller pebbles with the force resonating through the air.

The mages around him covered their faces with screams of terror, but they only managed to look pathetic before literally vanishing, vaporizing by the tremendous blast of force as Killer's mighty body expanded in sizes and power under Ira's astounded gaze.

It's impossible... he only broke one Seal...how powerful can he be...?

The Gladiators threw their spears and javelins at the growing, huge male, but the weapons were incinerated long before coming close to his growing body.

Killer's already huge, strong form flexed mightily, his back arching as he expanded and began to quickly grow even bigger and stronger, the deep wounds on his powerful body healing under Ira's eyes as his feet sunk into the ground with a loud crack, the earth itself seeming to rip apart and crumble into small islands and boulders which floated up into the air, shattering into pebbles as they floated.

His pants ripped into shreds as he grew, grinning viciously as his eyes slid closed and he expanded. Thirty feet, forty feet, fifty feet, and still rising, even as he now overshadowed the massive, damaged exoskeleton, his shadow throwing the crowd of gladiators and mages into the darkness as they stared up at him in shock, unable to move or even think as Killer loomed over them, his body full of barely contained power. His muscles bulged out and grew stronger and even more huge in relation to his body, hills and valleys of fearsome strength making him look stronger than ever, his limbs massive and powerful.

Some of the gladiators were the first to realize that things had definitely gotten nasty, and they turned their backs to sprint away from the massive monster, as Killer stood now at least two-hundred feet tall and likely more, dwarfing them into insignificance as his body rippled with awe-inspiring power, reality itself seeming to tear apart and tremble around him, Ira gaping as she thought for a moment that the sky itself was bending out of shape, feeling the tremendous waves of beyond-supernatural power that he radiated over Heaven and beyond, his energy pulsing through the universe.

The mages desperately tried to open portals to escape, but all their efforts proved vain, as no vortex was able to open while Killer's tremendous power warped the laws of physics, the gladiators shrieking like little girls now as the world around them seemed to collapse, some of the huge mountains of lodestone over the prairie cracking apart and collapsing into rubble as Ira repressed a shiver at the sight of the spreading devastation, fearing that the whole region, even the Monolith and Eaglenest, would crumble into nothing more than dust.

"S-stop... stop it! Killer, stop it!" Ira shouted, but even as she tried to howl it, it barely came out in a breathless whisper, shivers rolling down her spine as she stared, unable to believe the force of the immense male, trembling a bit at the awareness that only one Seal had broken... and then she clenched her eyes shut, grabbing her temples and groaning as she felt a new energy shake Heaven's very foundations, just as tremendous, just as godlike. Just as unstoppable.

"Alexis..." The Seraphim breathed, realizing that the mighty ligeress had undoubtedly unleashed her own immense, fearsome power, and feeling her energies smashing into her like a tsunami even though Alexis was four Skies away, in the fourth Heaven, making her shudder at the thought of the power of the two - Gods - as she flapped her six wings with all her force to keep high into the sky, even as waves of energy battered her back and forth like a doll.

Killer slowly straightened, standing up to his full height, enormous and powerful, terrifying andastounding in his glory as he grinned widely, licking his muzzle slowly as his eyes glowed with power and cold, emotionless sapphire light which seemed to burn, literally, in flames blurring the outline of his eyes, his mane blowing slowly in midair, as if made of fire and not of fur as Ira stared in shock, watching breathlessly as he grew a little more, to tower over the prairie at an enormous two-hundred and fifty feet tall... But what drew her eyes the most, she had to admit, hang heavily down from his groin, looming over his enemies in an obscene display of power. Gargantuan, impossible testicles of prodigious proportions casted an ominous shadow over the crowd at his feet, the immense orbs bloated with his load and bulging with thick, protruding veins as they seemed to overtax his scrotum with their weight and mass. And not just that, his glory included a monstrous, colossal black shaft, hanging past even his spiked knees, astounding in its godlike might, it alone making even the exoskeleton of Uther look tiny and powerless, even before the liger's divine body, covered in bulky, rippling musculature and radiating fearsome physical power.

"Uther..." Killer called calmly, grinning widely as he looked down at the - Bugs - crowd of enemies trembling in his shadow. "You've had your chance of playing. You've made your submission... now I think it is my turn. We shall see who's the strongest."

Killer's voice was soft, but because of it, even more terrifying on the gladiators and mages beneath him, as it carried the deadly certainty of a fate already sealed for them all.

"Open a portal!" Uther shrieked, looking at the mages left around him, eyes bulging with terror. "Open it now! Open it! Open it!"

"I suggest calling more reinforces!" Killer boomed from above, laughing cruelly as he raised a huge foot slightly, only to slam it down again on the cracked, shattered prairie, sending a shockwave of tremendous force rippling through Heaven as the ground collapsed under his weight, the earth revolting on itself under his power and magma exploding out of the immense cracks spreading through the valley.

The exoskeleton, the mages, and all the warriors were thrown into the air by the violence of the impact, and as they screamed, Killer's other foot lashed easily up and kicked into them like they made a football.

Many of the enemies simply exploded like overfilled sacks as the gigantic paw smashed into them, blood raining down onto the grass beneath as gore and shattered limbs shot through the air like shrapnel as Ira watched in astonishment.

Uther's exoskeleton was crushed on itself like a can of weak tin, the legs of the robot snapping into pieces which fell down like meteors, even as the wrecked torso of the machine flew high into the sky, along with the broken survivors, all bleeding heavily from mostly-crumbled bodies... And Killer's eyes flashed with dark amusement at this, psychic force easily slapping them all violently back down towards the earth below.

Corpses and body parts and barely-alive warriors fell from the sky with the violence of meteors, smashing down into the ground and leaning dark puddles of blood and gore on the prairie, before Killer made an idle rising gesture with a finger, and they were thrown into the air again, only to be slammed into the earth once more immediately after, and then again, and again.

Finally, Killer made an easy shoving gesture with a palm, and a monstrous wave of force exploded forth from his hand, smashing into the broken remains of the crowd of once-warriors, and blowing them away, the beam of energy vaporizing all remains even as it shot through the prairie all the way to the horizon, miles away, leaving behind itself an ungodly, one-hundred feet wide smoldering canyon of blackened, incinerated earth stretching as far away as the eyes could see, Ira staring at the male's incredible energy crumbled mountains and annihilated forests and trees on its path.

"Killer, please... stop it..." She prayed again, but her voice failed her once more as she hugged herself and stared at the immense male.

"Now, now. That looks a lot like you are pathetically losing." Killer teased, his voice booming like thunder and nearly deafening Ira as he raised a foot idly, moving it so that his sole loomed over the wreck of Uther's exoskeleton, the bull freezing in place and staring up at the foot that obscured the sun above, filling his sky.

Killer let it hang there for the longest of moments, Uther wheezing breathlessly as he curled up on himself and stared upwards in horror, waiting to be crushed out of existence, knowing that his end had arrived and that there was no escape and it was futile to even dream of fleeing.

The bull shut his eyes and screamed when he saw the foot coming down... but he re-opened them shortly after, when he surprisingly was not crushed. He stared off to the side, seeing Killer's foot moving to loom over a thick group of leftover mages and gladiators, and he trembled violently as he saw most of them trying to run away, but some dumbly staying under the terrible, end-game shadow of the giant, a couple of mages throwing fireballs up towards the immense feet, only for them to dissolve without effect against the giant's sole.

Killer grinned viciously as he moved his foot slowly, teasingly above them, looking down at the tiny gladiators as they attempted to run out of his paw's shadow, herding together and swaying from side to side as Killer's foot followed their movements, torturing them with the way it loomed above, always ready to squish them like bugs, yet never doing it.

The immense male amused himself for a few moments, before allowing his foot to hover over the crowd long enough for the nimblest of gladiators and mages to escape from its ominous shadow, and then he finally let it fall over them.

For a brief moment, Killer only rested his foot over them, grinning cruelly as he felt them writhing and shrieking beneath it, and then he finally shifted his weight onto it, licking his lips as he heard bones crumbling and bodies popping wetly underneath, until the ground itself finally gave way, cracking apart and collapsing into a footprint shaped crater, blood gurgling up from between his cruel talons before he slowly, leisurely twisted his foot on the ground, the earth rumbling as it shattered, the crater expanding and growing deeper.

The huge male did this one more time, further thinning out the terrorized crowd at his feet, the earth shaking with every stomp, the air itself nearly splitting apart with the shock, the massive liger laughing cruelly before again his foot was raised into the air and the shadow casted over Uther, the bull cowing in the darkness as he looked up in horror.

To his astonishment, the gigantic foot continued to loom above, the vicious talons of the liger dripping blood, gore and earth and dust, the vile rain dripping onto Uther as he trembled and crawled pitifully backwards into the damaged cockpit, the crumpled armoured door nearly completely torn asunder, but nonetheless blocked in the way of the escape, trapping him half in and half out of the unrecognizable wreck which had once been a powerful war machine.

For Uther and the remaining survivors all around, the sky had vanished. Their world now started and ended with the massive, muscular legs of the titan looming over them, Killer's powerful thighs like dark mountains rising on either side of their horizons, the immense testicles of the colossal male hanging like planets overhead between them, the godlike, skyscraper-sized gargantuan shaft looming over them, and far beyond that, high above, the liger's merciless grin and glowing eyes.

Uther found himself crying, feeling tears of terror running down his cheeks as he prayed for help, feeling like he would totally lose his mind as the titan above them did not move for the longest of torturing times... But the bull was still sane enough to understand the meaning of that waiting. The massive male was flaunting the absolute power he held over them all, dwarfing them to insignificance in the shadow of his immense malehood.

Uther was well aware of it, and for sure every one of his minions by now was... they were bugs to the titan. No, less than bugs.

And Killer wanted them to know, to be well aware of it, before he terminated their existence.

"Low on ideas...?" Killer cruelly teased, even as Uther's eyes looked up through the rain of blood and gore, his gaze darting from one shattered corpse to another, tracing the mess of ugly, disgusting red stains on the underside of the titan's foot. Each stain had once been a warrior, a mage, a follower of Taranis, a volunteer which had rallied on and joined Uther's plan for killing the "false Amon-Ra".

"How stupid I was..." Uther moaned weakly, before curling up on himself with a shiver, howling as loud as he could manage: "I want it to end! Please, I just... want it over...!"

"How comfortable!" Killer observed amusedly, grinning to himself. "Errors are paid, Uther. There's no saying that we want them over and forgotten. Errors punish us. Errors hurt us." Killer paused, a cruel grin gaining his muzzle. "Errors kill us. But that isn't even a problem for you, no...? What you're best at, is getting other people to fight your battles in first line. I know you rallied together more troops to use as reinforces if things become nasty. So I'm sure you won't mind me calling them in. I think you could use the help!"

"No!" Uther howled, shaking his head wildly as he shrieked it again and again, tearing his lungs as he cried harder at the sight of portals opening in a straight line across the prairie, an horde of gladiators and volunteers stepping out of the vortexes as Killer grinned viciously.

The newcomers surged out of the portals throwing shouts of war, carrying heavy weapons... but as soon as they saw Killer looming over the devastated prairie, as soon as they spotted the wounded, broken and few survivors running desperately towards the portals they had just come out of, they quickly turned back as well, trying to escape the slaughter.

"Now, that's a fast retreat, isn't it...?" The massive male taunted, laughing cruelly at the sight, before holding out a hand to unleash a fearsome tidal wave of golden flames, which washed over the prairie and over the running crowd of warriors, annihilating them in a maelstrom of white-hot energy, flames roaring downwards and raging through the valley, burning everything into ashes and silencing every scream, leaving behind an otherworldly, frightening wasteland of charred, smoldering and blackened earth.

"And an even faster departure." Killer observed easily, before his eyes glowed as he looked down at the handful of survivors left wandering in crazed terror between his feet... And Uther screamed in denial as he saw the gladiators and mages stumble to sudden halts... before they all turned towards him, their eyes gone and replaced by empty, glowing pits of sapphire light.

"No, no, no...!" Uther shrieked, pounding his bleeding fists onto the wrecked armoured door of the exoskeleton's cockpit, trying desperately to pry it open to escape as his once-allies turned on him, charging forwards with roars and drooling like beasts.

The bull stared at this in horror, before ducking back into the cockpit as the first gladiator leapt over the chest of the exoskeleton and grabbed the edge of the damaged hatch. Uther scrambled for the command lever of the chainsaw arm, and swung the arm out, slashing the gladiator in half as blood sprayed all the way inside the narrow cockpit, before two more gladiators leapt onto the arm of the machine and ripped the few remaining crystals out of their sockets, until the chainsaw ceased to move at all, and the arm flopped lifelessly to the ground.

The other gladiators surged forwards all over the cockpit's hatch, and Uther shrieked from inside it as they ripped it finally open, clawing into the machine and tearing the bull out of it, throwing him onto the grass like he was nothing more than garbage, before they all suddenly halted again... and then literally exploded like overfilled sacks, blood and gore spraying all around and leaking onto Uther, the bull howling in horror.

Killer looked down at him in distaste, then racked him carelessly with an immense toeclaw, overturning him so that the bull stared up at him... And the titan squatted down, Uther screaming in denial and instinctively throwinghis arms up, as if he could hold off the immense mass that was descending upon him, filling his world entirely.

"One last thing, Uther." Killer said calmly, grinning down at him. "You said you wanted to bring my cock to Taranis on a silver plate." The titan shook his head slowly. "Big error. Never promise to handle what is clearly too big for you."

The bull gaped at this, in horror and dumb surprise... before he shrieked and crossed his arms over his face pathetically as Killer squatted easily, and his flaccid, gigantic shaft loomed down over Uther, before the colossal flared head smashed heavily into him, squishing him down into the ground like a bug, even as Killer made sure not to kill him immediately, enjoying the sight of the muscular worker gargling to death as his chest caved in, ribs crumbling and arms breaking as his bones noisily snapped when he hopelessly tried to push against the colossal member... And when Killer bent forwards just a tiny bit more, the monstrous cock crushed Uther entirely, turning him in a dark stain of blood and gore printed on Killer's flesh and on the ground.

Ira stared at the whole - slaughter - battle, taken in a sort of tranche, but she shook herself out of her amazement when the titan straightened, looking around himself with a terrible hunger of destruction in his glowing, expressionless eyes... She shot forwards with a flap of her mighty wings, and closed her eyes to focus her energy, her body expanding in size and power as she grew larger herself, well over sixty feet tall and rippling with powerful muscle. It still wouldn't be enough. No matter what, he'd kill me. But I'm sure... I'm sure he won't.

"Killer!" The Seraphim called, floating in midair before his eyes, the titan looking at her with interest... and yet with sensible hostility, as if part of him wanted to listen to her, and the other half wanted to slap her out of the way and just continue to destroy... But Ira had been expecting it. She only hoped she was speaking to the right half of him.

"Killer, it's over. They are all gone. Stop it now." The beautiful cobra said, gently, her hands hold up and outwards in a friendly gesture. "I know you do not want this destruction to continue. You can control it. Snap out of it, Killer."

"How do you know what I want?" The titan asked angrily, snarling at her... but when his hand shot upwards in a fist and Ira only gazed at him confidently, not moving, not dodging, only saying: "Because you are not a monster", his punch stopped, his fingers relaxing, his hand opening and falling back to his side, as he looked around himself uncertainly, as if waking up from a night of sleep tormented by nightmares, and his pupils re-appeared, the sapphire irises in them still glowing, but with their alive, if cold, natural look.

"What did I do...?" Killer murmured in horror, looking over the charred, devastated valley, before turning towards the Monolith, and letting out a sigh of relief as he saw it standing still... before his eyes closed, and he glowed with golden energy, sizing himself down quickly, until he stood at his "normal" height... and fell down, sitting on the blackened ground, repressing a shiver as he dropped his hands in his lap, staring over the devastation he had caused... and feeling in the distance the last ripples of a power just as tremendous, knowing that Alexis must have gone though the very same fury he had just experienced, her own rampage now over, but the tremendous power of the mighty female still shaking the world like a leaf.

He looked up quietly when he heard Ira landing to his side, the Seraphim standing back at her own usual height already and sheathing her long katana swords on her back... and he immediately asked: "Did I... did I hurt you...?"

"No, you never did lash out at me, even in the worst moments of it." The angel reassured him quietly, the male sighing in relief and dropping his head forwards, taking a deep breath as the angel held her hand up, Wyvern ripping itself out of the corpse and ground she had sunk into, and floating silently through the prairie to her hand, before she held this out to Killer.

He took this silently, looking briefly at his reflection in the blade, between the rivulets of blood covering most of it, before quietly laying the flat of the massive weapon over his lap... and realizing only in that moment that he still was entirely naked, the huge male grumbling a bit to himself as he wished for boxers and jeans identical to those he had been wearing, and they appeared on his legs, even if he winced and quickly reached down with a hand to shift his gigantic flaccid shaft around, letting it hung down a leg of his pants. For all the wonder of Heaven, the pants he wished for still had trouble fitting his enormous malehood comfortably.

Then again, even as he cursed under his breath a bit, he was well aware that he did not want it to be in any other way.

Ira looked at this with entertainment, a little smile playing over her beautiful features even as she

"It... it wasn't too bad, Killer." She said calmly, and he looked up at her with a grimace, like she was insane... but she sat heavily down at his side, and touched the back of his hand quietly, nodding wisely. "Seriously. It wasn't that bad. Such power... it was astounding, Killer. And it never looked like you were trying at all, to make it even scarier. But you... never felt entirely lost. I could feel you still there. And believe me..." She paused, nodding firmly and closing her other hand tightly in a fist. "I've seen gods and demons lose themselves with much less power than what you just displayed, crazy with lusts for the endless possibilities that their strength gave them. You held up surprisingly well."

"Last thing I would have said." Killer sighed, making a bit of a face, before he turned towards her and smiled gratefully nonetheless. "Thank you for... not lashing out at me. For talking to me instead of hitting me. For giving me a chance to prove that, no, I'm not a monster."

"I figured it would help." Ira replied gently, nodding wisely as she smiled a bit, before adding amusedly: "The fact that it felt like you could just slap me away like a fly did help choosing the line of action, too, admittedly."

Killer made a face at that, looking down at Wyvern's blade silently, before finally closing his eyes and thinking of a cleansing spell, for once managing to carry out the simple magic without any problem. The blood covering Wyvern's blade and handle vanished away with a sizzle, the sword smoking a bit as it glowed with heat for a moment.

"You really aren't a monster, Killer. Stop torturing yourself with thoughts and regrets." Ira said wisely after another long moment of silence, and the huge male sighed deeply, before looking at her with gratitude.

"Thank you for... stopping me. Without your help... well. It could have been real nasty."

"Don't you worry about that." The cobra said gently, smiling a bit as she made a dismissive gesture with a hand. "And anyway, I did not do much. You were the one who stopped yourself, and this is a very good sign, as I said." She nodded wisely, pausing for a moment as she looked up at the cloudy sky above them, before she made a grimace and said: "Be ready, anyway. They are certainly coming... I'm guessing they went Alexis's way first, but they will all arrive here soon. At any moment, indeed."

"Who...?" Killer asked dumbly after a moment, and Ira rolled her eyes impatiently, before saying firmly: "The Gods, the Metatrons, and who the hell knows who else! Holy fuck, did you feel your own power earlier...? It has rippled through Heaven whole. I'm sure it was felt everywhere, in Hell, on the Mortal plane, on the fucking moon, everywhere. Never felt anything like that... they are coming here for sure."

Killer groaned, dropping his face in his hands and then letting himself fall back to lay over the ground, looking up at the sky with a sigh, which Ira met with a grunt of agreement.

"Yeah, you got it." She muttered, before letting herself fall back as well, the huge male looking at her in surprise, as Ira herself blinked and blushed slightly, before pointedly crossing her huge, strong arms under her head, looking at a huge, dark cloud above them.

The sky still looked like it had been punched an hole into: above the point where the huge, godlike Killer had stood, the clouds had been blown away like dust, leaving a circle of clear sky in the otherwise cloudy day... and lightning of energy still crackled noisily in said circle, flashes of golden making the clouds glow.

"Was it... was it... well, you...? When you were all huge and destructive... were you in control...?" Ira asked curiously after a long moment of silence, and Killer closed his eyes with a sigh, thinking back at what it had been like, seeing Black Killer snapping the chain, feeling the sudden flood of power from the Seal being broken... seeing the immense, godlike and terrible creature that now was restrained by one chain less, making the other Seals even more strained.

"I don't know, honestly. I'm... not sure." Killer finally admitted, pausing for a long moment before adding: "During the battle, I... found myself standing inside my mind, like it was a physical place. A different dimension."

Ira nodded, and then, as he did not add anything else, she asked quietly: "Black Killer again...?"

"Yes." Killer admitted, taking a breath before telling her of the immense, chained beast, of the chains, of the Pyramids, and of how Black Killer had shattered one of them, as Ira listened with great attention.

"He asked me questions that now I can't get out of my mind... I've always assumed Black Killer was the source of my violence, of my most terrible lusts and cruelty. But... he said me that we might actually be the same. He said that holding him responsible for my dark hungers is an easy escape, that in reality my hungers are mine, and mine alone... And while I had lately been thinking that, somehow, we are two very different persons, living in different universes but somehow bound together, now I've got the suspect. The fear... that Black Killer might only be a justification I built for myself. For not feeling responsible of my sins." Killer sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing a hand tiredly over them, trying to chase the doubts away, and thankful that, for some reason, Black Killer was not around at the moment, leaving him alone. And at the same time, said absence made his doubts worse.

"The worst part is that... I think he's right. I don't know if we are the same person... but I know that, while his lusts are terrible, and destructive, and cruel... they are not my own. There are differences. There are dark lusts that, yes, I do realize it, are mine, not his. And holy hell, I can be worse than he is."

Ira looked at him quietly, gazing into his eyes when he turned towards her, and she carefully chose her words, taking his large hand in both of hers as she sat back up a bit.

"I think Black Killer really is a separate being. You say it yourself, you two are different... the differences in the physique, are not important. They could be false, images of your mind." She nodded wisely, closing her eyes for a moment and looking thoughtful before continuing: "But the lusts. The intentions... too many differences. Too great differences. You are made of Light and Darkness, Killer... and you two are different as Light is different from Darkness. It is a cohabitation that shapes the universe... but it never has been an easy cohabitation. Never will be. And hell, I don't think such cohabitation ever happened before in a person."

"You are Light, Killer." Ira finally said, looking at him firmly. "Black Killer is Darkness. Creation, and Destruction, brought together just as Azura said in her Prophecy, so long ago."

"But how can I be Light...? I'm far more suited for destruction than for creation. I lust for destruction, not the opposite." Killer asked, making a grimace as he shook his head from side to side. "I'm supposed to be good, and noble, and to give life, not to take it away."

"You are running way too fast, Killer." Ira replied gently, putting a hand on his thick, muscular chest and rubbing at it soothingly. "For a thing, as of now you are just a sparkle, an hint of who you really are. You've only broken one Seal, with six more left, which means that you've displayed a tiny fraction of your possibilities. And even those, you did not really use. And now, you've all but hidden them away again, like that power was a curse."

"Well, you know... I was kind of big. It is a very good thing I've receded from that... I struggle already more than enough fitting in most places without being as big as a mountain." Killer observed ironically, before admitting seriously: "And I honestly don't even know how I did shrink. Nor am I sure I'd be able to grow again at will, as of now." He paused, then muttered: "And holy hell, that will I do not have anyway."

"Good points." Ira said agreeably, before shrugging a bit. "Training will be necessary for you to learn to actually use the power you've now unleashed. You've just been toying with it today. And anyway, what I was going to add is that Light is never going to be without its Darkness, just as Darkness will never be totally without Light. Your lusts are your darkness. There's no other way it could ever be like. The darker your lusts and hungers... the brighter your inner Light."

Killer looked up at her for a long moment, still looking unconvinced, even if relieved... and Ira smiled affectively before squeezing one of his huge, mighty biceps in her strong hand. "Killer, listen to me. Even the most powerful of demon lords, even the primordial Terrors, even the High King of Hell himself, they would be no match for you, with the strength you just displayed. Yet, you were not even trying. You've just begun to unleash your true power... which means that you are actually even greater than this, far, far greater than this. I don't know, honestly, what's your limit... hell, I don't know if you have one at all! Today I've really understood the exact reason why Taranis and the other Gods fear you so much. Tomorrow, your power could eclipse them all... yet, you fear what you could do combining such power and your lusts, and you are ready to renounce to your might not to let your darkness destroy the universe." She paused, smiling at him softly for a moment as she let her words sink in, before adding firmly: "That, Killer, is not what a monster does."

Killer looked up at her quietly, before closing his eyes for a moment, squeezing one of her hands into his own, pushing her palm against his chest as she smiled down at him softly, and he breathed calmly for a while, letting her presence and words soothe him and his worries. Her other hand reached up to gently push a thick bang of his long mane out of his eyes, and he smiled as he felt her touch, his eyes opening to look at her with gratitude. "Thank you, Ira. I'll need all the help you can give me, to go through this... And I'm just so very glad that you're here with me."

"We're in this together." The Seraphim said gently, smiling and nodding at him... before they both looked up as a portal opened nearby, and another Seraphim in battle gear came running out of it, her eyes glowing a bright ruby and expressing her worry and relief both, even without pupils in them.

"Killer! Killer... are you ok...? Is... is it ok...?" The newcomer asked anxiously, hugging the huge male firmly as he pushed back up to sit on the ground, one strong, huge arm wrapping around the angel. Ira smiled a bit at this, and backstepped to leave them... but she blinked in surprise when Killer refused to let go of her hand, gently restraining her as he looked up from over the newcomer's shoulder, his eyes asking her to stay with them. It was enough to make the cobra feel warmth in her chest that so rarely she had experienced... and even as she blushed embarrassedly, she nodded, and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

He nodded with a smile at this, before kissing the long black hair of the newcomer female, saying quietly: "Don't worry, I'm fine."

It was true, physically speaking. Indeed, he was stronger than he had ever been, and even the wounds of the battle just over had already vanished... but of course, emotionally and psychologically, he wasn't exactly stable yet, still horrified by the way he had nearly lost himself, still tormented by questions about who Black Killer was, why he was in his mind, and what he did want. But he pushed this all aside as he looked over the simple diadem of polished, chiseled steel that the female in his arms wore. The golden armor framing the muscular base of her six large, white and glowing wings, with the ethereal crescent-shaped blades of sapphire light rising up from it. The shoulder-pads, bordered with gold and painted a bright red, with golden stars upon them. The chest armor, shaped closely over firm, large and beautiful breasts. The firm abdominals, not at all as powerful as Alexis's, or Vesta's or Ira's, but nonetheless strong, left bare and proudly showing through short, lucid black fur. The loincloth at her waist, with plates of red armor protecting her hips and back, and the combat boots of proud, polished steel, and the upper legs protected by armor plates colored white and with black tiger stripes that, he knew, represented him.

"Show me your eyes, proud Seraphim." He whispered gently, proud of the girl and of her achievements, told by her armor and wings, and by the two swords crossed in sheaths on her back, the two large broadsword glowing with their magic as the black-furred tigress straightened with a smile, before the glowing light in her eyes died down, showing again her bright, loving, ruby irises.

"Diana... I'm so proud of you..." He said gently, hugging her to his chest as she laughed a bit and squeezed him tightly in her toned arms, kissing his cheek, then the side of his neck, nuzzling him lovingly even as she let her wings vanish, his hands massaging up her back, pushing under the sheaths of her blades, and pulling her close. "I knew you would succeed. I always knew you would. And now, you are a fully fledged Seraphim. Warrior and Healer, excellent at both."

"I still like to heal more than I like to hurt, though." Diana said quietly, looking amused before kissing his lips lovingly, taking his cheeks in her hands... and he kissed her back with passion, before smiling as the kiss broke, and she rested her head on his shoulder, her face buried against his neck as she curled up in his lap.

"I wouldn't want that to ever change, Diana. I love you the way you are." Killer said quietly, and Ira smiled at his words as she knelt by them, still holding his hand.

They all looked up a moment later as another portal opened, and Vesta stepped out of it, looked at them, and for once was unable to come up with a sexual remark. She did not say a thing about Killer's vastly increased power, which she could feel burning in the air like an invisible but ferocious fire, sensing that he was still more than a tad worried about it, more than happy for it... She also did not formulate any questions about what had happened: Seraphims shared a mental link which extended all the way to God, so they knew almost everything... and as soon as one Seraphim learned about something, the others knew it as well, which meant that, through Ira's very own mind, both Vesta and Diana already knew all what had happened. But Vesta did step up to them, bending down to give a bone-breaking hug to Killer and Diana both.

"The gods are coming here." She warned, meeting Killer's eyes, before turning to Ira and trading a nod with her. "Don't worry, Killer. We are going to ensure nothing nasty happens, but don't expect it to be pretty. You've scared the crap out of a lot of people, gods included, and some of them will act severely butthurt over the matter."

"It seems to never be pretty when it regards me, anyway." Killer mumbled, before Vesta kissed his lips and pushed her tongue hungrily forwards, meeting his briefly... until the kiss broke a moment later, and she straightened with a grin and a wink. "Actually, plenty of things about you are not just pretty, but awesome." Killer snorted a bit at this, looking amused, and she smiled before he asked urgently: "What about Alexis...? I felt her energies in the air... hell, I feel them even now. Did she...?"

"Get all angry and shit?" Vesta asked, before nodding firmly. "Yes, she rampaged as well. But do not worry, she's perfectly fine, and stronger than ever." She added immediately when she saw him frowning in worry and anxiety. He relaxed a bit at that, listening as the queen of Seraphims added: "We felt your energies explode and suddenly grow and skyrocket, and the feeling was enough to get Alexis started as well... she snapped another one of her own Seals, became frigging huge and uber-awesome, and... like. Annihilated the guys we were fighting, out in the jungle. Seriously. One moment they were there, the moment after... puff!" Vesta flailed her arms a bit, before making a bit of a face. "Days and days of fighting, only to see her vaporizing them all with just a thought. Rather scary, among other things... she obliterated the jungle along with them, and we were worried it would get real nasty. But she never lost control at all... as soon as she felt you calming down, and even regretting your own rampage, she stopped as well. Even said sorry for the mess, and she's not one who says sorry that often."

Killer nodded a bit at that, before looking down to the ground for a moment, relieved and horrified at once. Alexis had always said it clearly to him: she pulled back his punches and restrained her dark lusts only because of him... As soon as it felt like I had changed my mind about things, she reacted as well.

"Did she hurt anyone of you...?" Killer asked quietly, feeling guilty for all what had happened, but thankfully Vesta shook her head slowly before bending down to hug him tightly around the neck.

"No. It was over before her attention could shift on us. As it is, she freed us of a big problem... of a whole demon horde that had been giving us Hell in the forth Heaven, she left behind nothing. She..." Vesta paused, searching for a term to use before grinning a bit despite herself as she said: "... she overdid it some, but. Nothing too nasty at least. Gaia can re-grow the jungle later on, when the area stops crackling with energy. Gods above, I tried walking in there, and I was blasted backwards like a fly. For some time, there'll be one moving in there, I can tell you that much."

Killer nodded, making a bit of a face and imagining how powerful Alexis had to be to do that, and repressing a shiver that carried both fear and, no matter how much he tried to deny it, lust and arousal. Mighty, beautiful Alexis, a goddess of immense power... it turned him on, useless to try and say it didn't. But he also scared him, especially when thinking of what could have happened had he totally lost his own restraints, freeing Alexis from her own in doing it.

Vesta guessed the anxious thoughts going on in his mind, and nuzzled him gently, kissing his cheek lovingly and then meeting his lips in a passionate, hungry kiss, their mouths wrestling for a little while, before hers submitted to him... and she licked his lips teasingly before cupping his cheeks in her hands with a grin. "No worries, ok...? And no sadness and guilt and shit. You two fucking kick asses. So frigging hard. And that's never something to be sad of, goddammit. You are a fucking God, try and fucking cheer for it!" She looked at him expectantly, smiling and winking at him as she grinned: "Come on...! What the fuck do you want more than that...?"

He shook his head slowly, snorting amusedly at that, and kissed her lips softly before nodding quietly. "I'll try and see the positive part of the deal, then."

"You better." Vesta grunted, grinning widely, before returning to seriousness a moment later as she looked up again towards the horizon, and she said calmly: "Excuse me one moment, there's a thing I would like to take care of."

Killer nodded, and he looked up at her curiously as she backstepped, looking coldly out to the distance, before quickly vanishing through a portal, even Ira looking confused.

Only Diana seemed unfazed, smiling quietly as she reluctantly left the comfort of his protective arms to slip around him to his back, her hands glowing with gentle white energy as she massaged over his strong body, checking for wounds or pains, or for anything at all wrong with the huge male, who shook his head in amused exasperation, observing quietly: "I said I'm fine...!"

"You say that even when you're covered in wounds and bleeding all over the place." Diana replied in a matter-of-fact voice, even as she smiled lovingly. "So I want to be sure. Besides, your body has had to bear a tremendous shock with the amount of energy you've unleashed. Breaking a Seal can be very, very dangerous, when such amounts of power are in the game."

Killer knew that arguing would have been useless, so he just relaxed, admittedly loving the expert way in which she checked over his body and soul, at the same time soothing his muscles and spirit, putting all her love and dedication in the massage, and using her own vital energy to strengthen and stabilize his own as she pulled him back gently, until his head rested back over her breasts, the huge male smiling invertedly up at her, one hand still holding Ira's own, the other resting on the ground at his side, Wyvern resting across his lap.

There was a quiet moment of silence, before a portal opened, and Vesta stepped out of this with a vicious grin, the powerful female easily holding up Alec by the neck, the bear's face swollen and bloody, his body covered in thick bruises as the muscular tigress's fingers nearly strangled him, the burly male pathetically reaching up for her wrist and hand but unable to pull her fingers loose at all as he chocked and coughed breathlessly. "I've found this sack of garbage crawling away like the vermin he is." Vesta said coldly, throwing the bear down to the ground before Killer, and pressing a foot wrapped in a combat boot of polished steel over his head, crushing the whimpering male face-down into the dirt. "I threw him around a little -"

It shows! Killer thought to himself, smirking a little.

"- but you decide what to do with the coward, Master." Vesta bowed her head forwards with the last word, spoken with utmost dedication, and Killer smiled up at her, the two trading a grin briefly even as the Seraphim twisted her foot viciously over the bear's head, making him cry out loudly in pathetic agony, before she brought the boot away and slammed it down roughly onto the bear's ass, forcing him to look up with teary eyes at Killer, as Diana and Ira both looked down at him with distaste as well.

"Alec..." Killer said calmly, looking down at the male coldly... and the bear cried out loudly, reaching forwards with a hand for Killer's foot, begging for mercy, before Vesta stomped his hand hard into the ground, the serrated steel sole of her boot ripping flesh apart as easily as a meat grinder.

"Don't you dare touching him, maggot!" Vesta snarled, eyes glowing with rage as she nearly destroyed the bear's hand entirely under her foot, twisting it slowly and cruelly over the maimed flesh.

"Please... please... I... it was all Uther's idea... I... what could I do?" Alec babbled, his free hand pathetically pushing at the spiked steel of Vesta's boot, but accomplishing nothing as his eyes stared up at Killer imploringly, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"We can always say no." Killer replied simply, looking down at him coldly. "We can always take choices. But taking choices is hard... we have to assume responsibilities when we do. And we must accept the consequences, and fight for the choices we make. Cowards do not have the courage of taking hard choices. You knew that Uther and the others would have given you trouble, had you said no. And of course, you do not want trouble."

"But... but they were stronger than me...! What could have I done...?" Alec pleaded, sobbing dejectedly on the floor, but inspiring no pity in Killer as he made a grimace and said coldly: "Does every weak man do the most horrendous of things just because someone stronger than them tells them to? No. There's who's got the courage of saying no, the courage of holding faith to their beliefs. Cowards like you only do escape. At the crossroad, they only choose the easy way. Does that make stupid morons out of the few that do not?" Killer paused, shaking his head firmly even as he glared down at Alec, without mercy. "I don't ask everyone to be a hero. I don't ask to fight back and die. But there are many other ways not to bend like vermin without spine to the other's will. But you've shown to be of the worst kind of cowards."

"Don't kill me...! Please...! Do... don't kill me...!" Alec implored, dropping his face into the ashes as he sobbed hard, Vesta looking down at him with a grimace of distaste as Ira glared at him, leaning against Killer's side as even Diana looked at him coldly from behind Killer, her hands gently massaging his shoulders.

"You aren't even worth killing." Killer spat coldly. "Death, for a coward, is only another way to freedom. A freedom you do not deserve. Living will be your punishment... and when you'll again choose the easy path, I'll be there to beat you into pulp and turn you into a new bedside rug for my bedroom. You'll either die, or grow a spine, I can promise it." The huge male said firmly, before glaring at the crying bear and saying clearly: "Vanish from my sight, now."

"Thank you...! Thank you...! I... I will never, never again... make you angry... I promise, I swear it... Master...!" Alec babbled, bowing his head forwards again and again... before Vesta bent forwards and picked him up from the neck again, strangling his words and breath out of his throat as she snapped her fingers to open a portal in midair. She held him up in front of this, glaring at him in distaste, and she slammed a fist forwards into his stomach, knocking him flying through the air as blood and a gargling shriek erupted from his mouth, the bear crashing on the ground on the other side of the portal, skidding fifty feet backwards on the paving of Orion's most crowded street, every face turning towards him, even as the portal quickly closed and Vesta turned her back on it with a grimace.

"If he ever gets involved in something nasty again, I want to know it." Killer said simply, and Vesta nodded with a grin, clenching and unclenching her fist eagerly. "Sure. But even Alec is not stupid enough to piss you off again... whatever danger he might be facing, tempting him on the wrong path, you are worse by far."

Killer looked at her in amusement, and then he rubbed a hand in his mane slowly, looking at the ground awkwardly for a moment before he asked, to none in particular of the three females: "Do you think that Taranis himself ordered this mess...?"

"No." Ira replied easily, shaking her head slowly but firmly, in a very definitive way, as Vesta nodded.

"Ira's right. Taranis is brash, impatient, irritable and impulsive just as much as you, and he hates you for a whole range of reasons. He wouldn't have shed a tear if you had died, quite the opposite..." The Queen of Seraphims explained calmly, crossing her strong arms as she squatted down before him to look into his eyes with affection. "But he's not stupid, nor a coward. He'd gladly fight you directly, but he knows he has to avoid that until you've got the support of other gods... and he knows that he can't order an assassination either, at least not one as easily linked to him as this attempt was, because, again, there are other Gods at the table who would not like it at all."

"This time, we can be sure that it was Uther's plan, all along. Stupid ass was sure that he would have received who knows what kind of gratitude from Taranis if he removed you from the picture..." Ira said calmly, turning a bit towards him and squeezing his hand tightly in both of hers for a moment, before grinning in cruel amusement. "Poor moron did screw up a lot of assumptions, though. Worst fuck-up was to think he could take on you. Second worse illusion is that, had he succeeded, he would have been glorified." The cobra snorted amusedly, closing her eyes and shaking her head with a grimace of incredulity. "How could he be so stupid, I wonder. With several of the other Gods destined to be furious for your death, and with all of them blaming Taranis for it, well... The God of War loves wars, not the ones he risks losing control of. To avoid pissing off the other gods, and start a clash no one can really imagine the fate of, he would have killed Uther himself, and thrown the corpse to the dogs, as they say."

Killer listened to both with attention, and finally nodded in agreement, one hand stroking the flat of Wyvern's blade lightly as he said: "I see the problem, yes... I'm just glad to hear that, despite all, I'm not going to be attacked on sight by the God of War when he arrives. That would kind of suck."

Ira smiled amusedly at this, shaking her head slowly, while Vesta grinned widely, and just said that he would have kicked Taranis's ass one day anyway, and gentle Diana leaned quietly onto his muscular back, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing her muzzle against the side of his neck, kissing at his throat lovingly as he gave her an amused, affective look.

"So, what the hell did happen in here...?" A loud, deep voice asked, Vesta grimacing before straightening and turning away from Killer to face Taranis himself, the mighty, huge God walking out of a vortex of flames, his enormous circular shield on his back, his impenetrable armor covering his huge, powerful body. Seth walked in at his side, as always, the terrible whip curled up on itself and easily held in his hand as he looked towards Killer coldly... before Taranis pointed a finger at the liger as well, and asked angrily: "Is he in control...?"

"Yes, I am." Killer replied firmly, looking up at the god from where he was sitting, his eyes as icy as the God's voice had been, sparkles flying from their hostile gazes as Vesta shut her mouth with a frown, having been steamrolled before she could give a more diplomatic kind of answer.

Taranis looked both surprised and furious for the cold, unceremonious answer he had received... but before he could say anything, a vortex of blazing, clear solar light opened nearby, and Gaia ran out of this, followed by smiling Lemuel, the God carrying his enormous golden sledgehammer and his mighty, bulging biceps stained with soot from the forge the lion loved to spend most of his time in.

"You are in remarkably excellent shape, Lord Killer, if I may." The lion observed amusedly, smiling a bit as he rested a strong hand on a hip, the other easily thrown over the long, thick pole of the hammer balanced on his shoulder. "And in excellent company, too." The lion added gently, bowing a bit to Ira, Vesta and Diana... while Gaia quickly reached Killer and went down to her knees near him, gently putting her hands on his chest as she looked at his face with relief.

"Thanks Sky, you are safe and sound!" Was the first thing that the snow leopardess managed to say, before hugging Killer tightly, her arms sliding over Diana's own to wrap around his neck.

He smiled at this, surprised and touched... and he reached one arm up around her shoulders, softly pulling her closer, his hand gently pushing into her water-like hair... finding it amazing, as they literally flowed over his fingers like liquid, and yet his hand remained entirely dry, making for an awkward but delightful sensation as he quietly pushed her head forwards, meeting her forehead with his own for a brief moment.

"I'm fine, Gaia, don't worry."

He traded a smile with the Goddess, who kissed his cheek softly, and then he looked up to Lemuel, smiling to him and nodding. "Wonderful company indeed."

Alcana was the next one portaling in, charging out of a vortex and only stopping when he saw that he was perfectly fine, and actually cradling Gaia in his lap, Diana embracing him from behind, Vesta standing before him as a faithful guardian and Ira kneeling by his side, still hand in hand with him.

The Goddess of love's eyes flashed with a brief blast of jealousy, but they filled with joy nonetheless as she saw Killer safe... and she visibly beamed when he greeted her, her eyes already taking on the lustful glow they always took when he was around. She was wearing a tight black leather corset which looked spectacular on her awesome body, and tight, simple black jeans matching two high-heeled boots that could have well come out from Alexis's wardrobe back home. Killer looked at this with interest, his eyes betraying his approbation for her new look, and the goddess grinned to herself, even as her long, dexterous tail curled up around her legs in an impatient, eager gesture, before slowly uncoiling from around her thighs, flesh caressing flesh in a sensual way as she visibly shivered.

Killer saw her eyes closing, and he easily recognized the small, enigmatic smile on her features as she quietly but breathlessly panted, instead of breathing... And he looked around himself a bit, amazed and almost offended by the fact that no one other than him seemed to have noticed that Alcana had just experienced an orgasm, bare moments after seeing him. She struggled not to throw herself at him, not to touch herself openly... her breath was rough and quickened up, and her eyes darted hungrily all over him, and over the world around her: he radiated a masculine aura greater than ever, and his power burned through the air, the whole valley resounding with his strong energy, making her almost delirious as she tasted him on every breath.

Hell, with a finger I could make her come so many times she'd pass out. And without ever touching her sex.

He noticed that Diana's, Gaia's and Vesta's breathing were kind of irregular... and even Ira's own was heavy, filled with an excitement his expert senses easily guessed. But on Alcana, the effect was just incredible. Her eyes glowed with need every time he made the slightest of movement, or looked towards her at all, her body shivering in pleasure as if his sole gaze could give her electro-stimulation.

Not normal... is even this an effect of the Seal breaking...?

Killer thought about it for a moment, trying to decide if it was a blessing or a curse, before smiling a bit as Diana kissed the side of his neck gently, quickly so as not to get caught, but lovingly... before he looked up as another portal opened, and Adrasthea stepped out of it at an easy pace, even if she had a long, golden spear in one hand and her gold helmet on. Behind her, Michael followed, and Killer couldn't help but grimace at the sight of the Arkangel, Ira's fingers squeezing harder on his hand as the visibly hardened her stance and expression as well, looking as if intensely troubled by having to stay silent as she glared to the mighty ruling prince of the Fourth Heaven, the Arkangel grinning at her in a cold, arrogant tease.

Immediately, Michael looked over Killer as well, his eyes flashing with satisfaction as he saw Diana and Vesta as well, and immediately turning to Adrasthea as he said slyly: "As I suspected, Goddess. Ira, Vesta and Diana are all involved in this sad story. The Council should judge them all for the mass slaughter, and for the widespread damage -"

"Shut the fuck up, I said!" The Dragokkaren goddess snarled, turning to glare down at the bulky Arkangel, who immediately backed away a bit, looking hurt. It made Killer grin a bit to himself, and when he turned slightly towards Ira, he saw she was smirking as well.

"Lord Killer... I'm pleased to see that you are in control. I feared the worst when I felt your energies earlier. Was it particularly nasty...?" The uniquely black-haired reptile female asked, looking around herself calmly, her brimstone eyes betraying a curiosity which was surprisingly quiet and unconcerned, considering that all what could be seen for miles and miles around them was destruction and death.

"It was, yes." Killer answered quietly, before making a bit of a face as he said: "I'm not totally sure of what happened, either. But I'm really glad that it was over rapidly. I'm still... confused." He quieted, looking down at Wyvern and seeing his reflection in the blade as he thought to himself that "confused" actually didn't even begin to describe the anxiousness and the mess of questions buzzing painfully in his mind.

"It is not surprising. None of what happened is surprising... we always knew this risk existed, and breaking your Seals is going to be very dangerous. Releasing so much power at once, really can damage one's mind." Gaia said quietly, pushing her hands gently over his chest as she straightened a bit to gaze lovingly into his eyes. "All things considered, you did hold up surprisingly well."

"You sure did." Adrasthea remarked with a smile, before adding: "But we will try and make sure that the next Seal is broken in a more controlled way, and out of control, not out of rage and sheer power, and necessity."

"I very much would appreciate that." Killer said eagerly, nodding firmly, before he squeezed Ira's hand gently and looked into her eyes with affection as she looked back in surprise. "If things went... "well" - he still made a grimace of horror pronouncing such an assessment of the disaster than had just happened, and not wanting to know what it would have been like had it gone "bad" - we have to thank Ira. My mentor was here to help me, then to stop me. And she trained me well."

The Seraphim looked touched at this, Killer smiling at her widely as she gazed back at him in almost shock, as Vesta, Gaia, Diana, Adrasthea, Lemuel and even Alcana clapped at her warmly, smiling and nodding in agreement, making the cobra mumble a thank you even as she dropped her head and gazed embarrassedly down, blushing a bit as Lemuel boomed: "Good job!"

Michael, of course, looked at the Seraphim like she was a particularly ugly and dangerous bug, and Taranis and Seth just looked on coldly, and it made Killer's blood heat up in rage... but for once, at least, Ira had had some of her merits recognized, her hands squeezing on his own tightly even as she looked away with a blush.

"I'm still waiting for explanations." Taranis said coldly after a moment, one hand gesturing out over the burned once-prairie, now wasteland. "A huge number of my followers have been slaughtered here. I want to know how, and why."

"What the hell was I supposed to do...?" Killer asked incredulously, looking up at the God of War with disbelief. "They set up an ambush to kill me. I had to defend myself."

Vesta turned towards him and held up a hand, apologizing with her eyes and bowing her head a bit, but clearly begging him not to speak for the moment, and Killer sighed and fell silent, dropping his head down with a roll of his eyes, only smiling a bit as Diana hugged him gently from behind, squeezing him to her bosom reassuringly.

"It is an issue I'd like to cover at the presence of all Gods, Taranis." Vesta said quietly, bowing her head forwards a bit as the giant, armoured God snorted impatiently and tapped his gauntleted fingers tapping over a huge bicep as he crossed his arms.

"It won't be a long wait." A chilling voice hissed, and crimson eyes opened in midair, apparently out of nothing but thin air, before a confused, faded figure appeared, outlining a huge, powerful body wrapped in a cloak, but the figure almost transparent, and looking as immaterial as an hologram, and at the same time, absurdly, tangible and powerful. Thanathos, God of death, gave Killer a bored gaze, and the liger shifted a bit on the spot, always feeling unnerved by the dark, mysterious God and his terrible, all-seeing eyes.

Even the other Gods seemed to tense up a bit, probably all of them as displeased as Killer was by the fact that Thanathos might have well been there all along, invisible to all eyes, to all senses, even to supernatural powers, even to fellow deities, spying on them all without them ever knowing.

Last in was Sekhmet, the mighty, muscular black lioness coming in from a vortex of hellish, bloodred flames which seemed to burn a hole through reality to let her exit her own pocket dimension to reach them, a wide grin on her muzzle as she looked at Killer with lust as powerful as Alcana's own, but more ferocious. The lioness, goddess of Destruction, seemed genuinely delighted by the devastation of the valley around them, and her eyes glowed with desire and adoration as she looked over Killer's strong body, feeling his new, greatly increased power burning through the air as she walked up closer to him and winked at him teasingly, bringing a hand up to her chin and tilting her head to the side a bit as she studied him, looking thrilled. "You look absolutely awesome. And you feel so much more powerful now, too. You don't even feel like the same person again..." She grinned, squatting down before him as Gaia quietly slid off to the side, and the lioness immediately reached her hands forwards, one touching his thick chest, squeezing into the strong muscle with lust as she suffocated a moan of desire, her other hand raising up slower, and only by massaging along his potent, chiseled abdominals. "My, my... what a difference... And with only one Seal having been broken."

She leaned in closer, her enormous and barely clothed breasts pushing into his chest as she licked his cheek teasingly, her hand rapidly sliding down his powerful front to shamelessly rub at the huge bulge in the crotch of his pants as she and Killer traded a grin... before she touched his chest with a finger, and an image of chains wrapped tightly around his torso appeared immediately, Killer looking down at this and easily noticing himself that one was missing.

"Lemuel, your Seal is the one gone." Sekhmet said easily, tapping his thick chest again to make the image vanish as she straightened back up to her feet with a last hungry look over his body, before turning to the lion god as he shrugged and said easily: "Well, soon or later, one would have snapped. They all will, in time."

"The hope is that the next ones will be snapped thanks to Lord Killer developing a control over his powers, though." Vesta said wisely, looking firmly out towards all of the Gods as they turned to her. "We've run a tremendous risk today. Or better, more than one. Amon-Ra was assaulted while alone and chained down to several massive lodestone blocks as part of his training. He was almost incapable of fighting, in such conditions, and we risked seeing him killed."

"A risk we cannot run again." Adrasthea said agreeably, nodding wisely, even as Michael, standing merely a few feet behind her, looked horrified, shaking his head with barely contained anger before he objected: "Surely we cannot believe in the fairy tales of Azura, right...? He cannot be Amon-Ra... there probably is no Amon-Ra at all!"

"Seconded." Taranis said coldly, nodding slightly, but strangely, it did not seem to relieve Michael at all, as the Arkangel looked both bashed and furious when Adrasthea snorted in obvious, distasteful disagreement, trading a look with Gaia.

Killer smiled a bit to himself as he observed all movements of Michael, and noticed the way he followed every action of Adrasthea. The Goddess, quite clearly, wasn't at all pleased by the presence of the Arkangel, while he had an obvious interest in the white-scaled dragokkaren. The way he looked at her, and the way he reacted angrily wherever she favored Killer with a gaze or a word, went very far in telling just how much he cared for the goddess.

It gave Killer a wicked smile, but he also was well aware of the fact that, for every word Adrasthea spent to support him, Michael's hate for him grew tenfold, along with the angel's wish of making the liger's life as miserable as possible as long as he was in Heaven. It definitely did not make for good news. But whatever gives Michael a grudge, gets my approval.

"The second risk..." Vesta continued, carefully but firmly. "... was that of Lord Killer losing control and going into a rampage. Battling so many enemies in conditions of total disadvantage pushed him to the limit, and as he appealed to all of his power, he overloaded a Seal and snapped it." She paused, letting the concept sink into the minds of all people present as Killer traded a look with Ira and Gaia, the three standing up as well, one female out to each of his sides.

"We all felt his power very clearly. It rippled through Heaven whole, like an earthquake, so there's no need for me to tell you how great it was. For a little while, Lord Killer was out of control... and Lady Alexis felt it, and went into a rampage herself. Had they lost control for real, we would have been in very serious trouble."

"We would have killed them. It would have freed us from a lot of annoying issues." Taranis coldly objected, Seth nodding silently as Thanathos grinned a bit, giving a slow, ample nod of agreement.

"And promptly put us into worse ones." Adrasthea barked, Gaia nodding quietly but resolutely as Lemuel and Alcana both glared at Taranis for even suggesting such a move.

"We are asking of them a hell of a lot. For sure, I would never want to kill them. Even if they were to lose control, we'd have to restrain them and bring them back to reason. We are responsible for them. They have not asked for the training and responsibilities we are giving them." The lion said wisely, and Killer felt relieved by the fact that at least the "blacksmith" God was ready to formulate such a thought. He truly was grateful for it, and touched.

"There was a very good reason for Killer to lose control here." Vesta said firmly, gaining the God's attention again. "He was assaulted. They tried to kill him. And he was vulnerable because of his training, and because he was desolately alone." The Seraphim avoided specifying that the attackers were all men of Taranis's following. No need to irk the War God even more, and anyway, everyone knew it well already. Even without making him any further angry, Vesta knew she was about to ask something that very hardly would have been granted.

"I think I know where you want to arrive, Vesta." Adrasthea observed gently, looking at her with interest, and the Seraphim traded a look with her before saying firmly: "Today's mess would have never happened, had Lord Killer had Disciples protecting him. He is a God, and like all gods he has many enemies. For all his power, he needs Disciples to serve and protect him when, for a reason or another, he's vulnerable."

"What...?" Michael loudly exclaimed, gaping at her before making a grimace as he spat: "He is not a God! Let's not speak heresy!"

Taranis, on his own, shook his head with a snarl, growling coldly: "No way. No way at all."

Thanathos looked towards Vesta with what looked like cold, sarcastic amusement, and he floated through the air easily, until he stood before Killer himself, glowing, soulless crimson eyes glaring down into the liger's own sapphire ones as the huge feline looked firmly back, standing coldly in place.

Killer didn't really know what to think or say, admittedly. He didn't really knew what Disciples were supposed to be, how many they should have been, nor did he want them at all, thinking of how many people already ran great, huge risks to help and support him, and how many people, back home in Kesteven, did already serve him as their Emperor, leader and savior. He already had power on far too many people. Far too many lives were in his hand already... But he trusted Vesta, and he had no intention of going against her judgment in such a delicate moment.

"A God...?" Thanathos asked quietly, teasingly, one cold, long finger touching Killer's cheek and tracing down it idly. "Last I knew, we were far from sure about his godhood."

It was Ira, this time, who stepped forwards, her voice firm as she stated clearly: "I was here when his power manifested. All the energy we've felt, rippling through the world... It was nothing. I saw it, I felt it: he didn't even begin to try. All he did was playing idly with his prey. And that's him after one single Seal broke down!"

"If he is not a God, it can only be because he is something beyond even godhood." Adrasthea stated calmly, and Killer looked at her in amazement, meeting her deep, jet black eyes, so beautiful and smart in their exotic, unique nature. Michael saw this, and his lower lip trembled as he barely managed to restrain his fury as he stepped forwards and exclaimed: "But Goddess! That cannot be! And even if he was a God, he cannot be possibly allowed to have Disciples! He's a constant cause of trouble on his own, giving him servants and Disciples is only going to make it all worse!"

"You are all talking bullshit." Taranis boomed angrily, even as Adrasthea turned to Michael with a glare, silencing him entirely as she knocked him sprawling backwards with a blast of psychic rage. "Nothing goes past Godhood. And as powerful as he might be, I say he is not, and never will be, one of us. He never will match us. And he will never have Disciples."

"We are not going anywhere like this." Gaia suddenly said, her voice quiet but firm and unusually forceful as she looked firmly over the circle of Gods. "We should just vote."

"Then I'll say yes. Lord Killer can and should take Disciples. He's the Amon-Ra, the Savior of the Prophecy. And he must have his following, his guards, protector and servants." Lemuel immediately said, nodding with a smile down at the liger as Killer smiled back uncertainly.

"No. It is heresy, pure and simple." Taranis boomed angrily, looking distasteful.

"Yes. He's just started to show how much of a God he is, and already his level is extremely high. A being of his power cannot be without Disciples." Adrasthea added immediately, glaring at Taranis a bit. "Disciples will keep him safe from the fuck-ups of people who cannot control his own followings."

The God of War looked at her furiously for this, but he did not say a thing, silenced by Thanathos, as he simply, coldly hissed a firm no, looking steadily into Killer's eyes for another long, endless minute before turning away from the liger.

"Yes. He needs and deserves a thick ring of Disciples around him." Gaia said without hesitations, before looking to Sekhmet, the lioness looking thoughtful before shaking her head slowly.

"No. Not yet, at least... he is powerful, and promises to be incredibly mighty one day. But for now, he is not ready for having Disciples."

Gaia looked disappointed at this, and Killer himself almost gaped in surprise, but Vesta and Ira, he noticed, did not look at all as caught unprepared as he was, as if they had been overall expecting it. But of course, Alcana was left, and Killer turned to her, sure that she would have supported him.

The beautiful goddess looked torn, biting her lower lip a bit and looking at him with an uncertainty that he had not been expecting at all, and which made him worried... before Alcana looked down as if ashamed and guilty, and said quietly: "No."

Michael looked so happy that Killer was amazed not to see him leaping up and down for the joy. Vesta, Ira, Diana and Adrasthea, instead, looked severely downcast and worried for a moment, before Vesta sighed and nodded, closing her eyes in painful acceptance.

"He shall not be allowed to make Disciples for himself."

As for Killer himself, well. He honestly didn't know if he was displeased, or happy. He was less than thrilled with the idea of taking even more people as servants, putting them in harm's way and giving himself even more commodities by exploiting others, but on the other hand, he figured that Disciples would have helped him greatly, and kept him safe even when he was in the worst of conditions, open to enemy attacks, such as had just happened. And whatever helps preventing other Seals breaking and making of me a destructive psycho, is welcome.

"Well, then. Enough of my time has been wasted." Thanathos said coldly, before simply vanishing from sight without another word... and immediately after, Alcana bowed deeply before Killer, her eyes looking up at him with a silent apology as she said gently: "Lord Killer, we shall meet again soon."

She straightened, and quickly turned away from him, looking ashamed of herself as he looked after her in confusion, wondering why she had voted the way she had, especially since it seemed to only make her feel guilty and miserable. But before he could ask anything, she opened a portal and quickly vanished through it. Adrasthea walked forwards instead, much to the horror of Michael, and hugged Killer tightly, kissing his cheek gently and saying softly: "I will be visiting you in Eaglenest, Lord Killer."

"I look forwards to it, then." The huge male replied gently, nodding a bit as he squeezed her teasingly around the waist, the tall, strong Dragokkaren grinning at him and looking amused as she licked her lips slowly, her obsidian eyes glowing with interest.

She walked back a couple of steps and bowed her head forwards at him, before turning and easily opening a portal, and when Michael attempted to follow her, she pointed a finger at him and made him vanish with a gape of surprise into a different portal. Killer looked at this in amazement, even Ira blinking in surprise, before they both grinned as Adrasthea muttered: "About time. The annoying little fuck has been following me everywhere all day long."

"Does he even have talent for annoying people, huh...?" Vesta asked amusedly, and Adrasthea nodded with a grimace before vanishing through her portal, waving her hand to Killer one last time, her mighty wings and long tail the last thing which vanished before the portal easily swung closed.

Sekhmet was the next one in, hugging him fiercely and effortlessly lifting him clear off the ground, the giant lioness grinning widely at him before locking her mouth over his, kissing him hungrily until his tongue wrestled hers back, the huge male reaching a hand forwards to roughly squeeze at one sumptuous, enormous breast, making her groan in delighted surprise into the kiss as her amber eyes opened and grinned into his gamely.

"Bold and handsome and strong." She whispered teasingly when their kiss broke, licking her lips slowly. "I like that. I'll be seeing you soon."

Killer was still surprised and somewhat irritated by the fact that she had said no during the vote, but he couldn't say he was annoyed by her interest at all. She was powerful and beautiful, and lustful. A strong, wonderful female that no male in the universe could have ignored... And as he cupped the side of her nearly-bare, enormous breasts in his hands, squeezing the mighty swells together and roughly seizing into her firm, soft flesh, he grinned back at her with a nod. "I'll be looking forwards to it."

The goddess purred playfully at that, putting him back on his feet with a hungry lick of her muzzle, the male looking up at her with amusement. 27 feet tall, Sekhmet was nothing short of a titan, and even Killer felt small around her, which never ceased to amaze him.

As Sekhmet vanished with a last grin and a wave to him in a tornado of flames that wrapped around her before quickly fading, Lemuel rubbed a hand in his mane and nodded a bit, opening his mouth probably to excuse himself as well... But he was steamrolled by Taranis, who pointed a finger at Diana and barked: "You! How many times do you need to be punished to understand it? You're not authorized around him!"

The black furred tigress shrunk a bit under the ferocious remark, dropping her head forwards meekly even as she wrapped her arms around Killer's strong arm, hugging it to her chest as the liger turned to her with a soft, sad smile... before glaring to Taranis and saying calmly: "There is no need to be that rude. She did nothing wrong coming here to visit."

"That's not for you to decide!" The God of War shouted angrily, turning to him briefly before looking back to Diana with a grimace of rage and distaste. "You've got clear orders. Clear restrictions. You must stay the hell away from him. And you will be punished until you learn to obey!"

"She is not your pet." Killer coldly objected, stepping forwards with a snarl even as Diana quietly tried to pull him backwards. He shielded her with his much larger frame as Seth stepped quickly ahead of Taranis, dropping the whip and letting the long weapon unroll and hang down to the ground in all its considerable, deadly length. "Come here and punish me, if you've got balls big enough for it!"

"You so do not want me doing that." Taranis coldly teased, grinning widely, before looking to the side with a grimace as Lemuel stepped forwards and said: "Stop it right now. Lady Diana was concerned for Killer's safety... she was right coming here to check, and there's no reason to scold here for it." He paused, looking at Taranis firmly as the massive, armored God looked annoyed, before turning to Killer with a gaze that begged him to stay calm as he gently added, directed to Diana: "She is now leaving, isn't she...?"

Diana nodded silently, looking bashed, but squeezing Killer's arm in her own one last time, kissing his huge bicep lovingly before reluctantly letting him go.

They traded a sad look, but she shook her head softly, and he gave her a little nod after a moment, as Gaia, Lemuel and Vesta walked towards the female, the queen of Seraphims putting a hand on Diana's shoulder and looking to Killer with eyes begging him for patience and prudence. "We are all going. I will accompany her back to the monastery right now."

"Try and ensure that she does not come to him again, too." Taranis coldly hissed, looking on as Vesta bowed her head to him... then gave Killer an apologetic look, as she opened a portal and followed Diana through it, Gaia and Lemuel both quickly following after Nature kissed Killer's cheek gently, telling him not to worry, as they were going to ensure that Diana got out of it without consequences.

Taranis looked over this silently, and then made a sharp gesture to Seth, and the smaller God easily opened a portal in midair, rolling his whip back up on itself easily. "This is not over, Lord Killer." The God of War calmly stated, looking back at the liger from over his shoulder, and then he finally stepped through the portal, Seth following in tow.

Killer looked at the portal as it closed, and staring idly at the air where it had been for a long moment as Ira, the only one left around him, looked at him with soft concern... before he gritted his fangs angrily, hands tightly closed into fists as he tensed up with fury, repressing a howl of frustration that he felt a great need to voice.

Ira waited patiently for him to calm down, looking surprised when he finally sighed tiredly and relaxed, making a bit of a grimace, but turning to her calmly. "What?" He asked with a blink, seeing her expression.

"You've... calmed down surprisingly rapidly." The cobra answered, feeling a bit embarrassed now as she rubbed a hand awkwardly on her hood, the many rings and piercings in the edge of it tinkling a bit.

"Rage is a state of mind." Killer replied easily, grinning a bit as he quoted the words she had so often used, and she grunted with a bit of a smirk, nodding wisely.

"Fuckin' everything's state of mind, for you." Killer added teasingly, crossing his arms with an entertained smile, poking one of her huge breasts with a finger.

"Well, it is true." She replied firmly, slapping his finger away lightly. "Mind controls our perceptions of the world and our very feelings. Control the mind, and you'll be able to control the rest."

"And that's why combat psychics like Alexis are apocalypse incarnate, yeah." Killer added easily, shaking his head a bit in amusement, before he looked at her with a soft smile and asked: "Can I have a question time?"

Ira did not look exactly surprised at his request, even as she rolled her eyes upwards a bit before saying gently: "Shoot. I'll answer."

"What the hell was all that fuss about Disciples...? Was Uther a Disciple of Taranis?" Killer made a grimace at his own hypothesis, before looking at her flatly as he added: "Please tell me he wasn't. I don't want Disciples, never, if that's what it is like."

"It is not bad at all if you pick up smart Disciples and not morons." Ira replied firmly, crossing her strong arms easily and looking at him flatly. "But anyway, no. Uther's most definitely not a Disciple, and he would never be one, especially not for a God as powerful as Taranis. He is merely a follower, like so many others are throughout the universe. The cult of the God of War is still extremely common and widespread, after all... and that's part of why Taranis is so mighty: he can call in a huge force." She paused, looking thoughtful for a moment before gazing at him questioningly, and he nodded quietly to confirm he understood.

"Followers are all those cultists that do worship you and follow your orders. You might not be aware of it, but you do have a large following already."

"I think I saw signs of that, yes." Killer said quietly, rubbing a hand awkwardly into his mane as he thought back to his very first moments in Heaven, when in Orion he had meet Vicky, the angel girl leading a group of... fans of him, at least so he had considered them back then, in a pacific crusade around town. They had been putting up posters of 'propaganda' in his favor, and to this day he wasn't sure if he was happy for it, or embarrassed. But at least, it was relieving to know that not everyone hated him: several other groups, after all, had also been putting up posters all over Heaven, depicting him and Alexis as monsters, and lots of people hated him as one all over the Seven Skies.

Ira nodded in acceptance of this, before adding: "But Disciples are much more than followers. You've seen Seth, how he follows Taranis everywhere. Well, Seth, despite being a God himself, is a Disciple of Taranis. A bit of a limit case, yes... it is not that often that you see a God serving as Disciple for another, but some of Taranis's servants are war gods themselves. Seth is the commander of the circle, Mars and Ares are his best warriors, and that makes it three Gods, over some thirty-eight accurately chosen disciples that he took so far for himself."

Killer made a bit of a grimace at this, but he nodded in understanding, wondering just how powerful Taranis had to be if he had been able to force his strongest rivals into servitude. And of course, there was no need for Ira to even add details about the other disciples... 'accurately chosen' more than gave the idea that none of them was low on the power scale. And that makes it clear just why Uther would never be a Disciple himself. He's definitely not up to such a job. "So, what does a Disciple exactly do?"

"Well... whatever their God orders, I guess we could say. But this of course is not a good answer." Ira paused, rubbing a hand under her chin as she looked down thoughtfully, before nodding as she explained: "Some might be on task for their God in all corners of the universe. Some might even be running whole planets or dimensions on behalf of their Master... others will live in very close contact with their God, instead, almost like a family, serving and protecting their Master in all and every way. I guess that, for you, the most fitting example is to say that they are like your Praetorians."

"Not entirely sure." Killer replied mildly, holding up a finger. "I believe I was screwed when they told me that Praetorians are supposed to serve their Master even sexually. The original tradition did not exactly contain this... it was an addition that Nikita and the others put in themselves, with Alexis's collaboration."

"Whatever." Ira mumbled, waving her hand dismissively and rolling her eyes upwards a bit. "You do get the picture anyway. Now, most Gods only take around twenty Disciples or so, and often less... but Taranis is power hungry, and having many and powerful Disciples of course make you stronger."

Killer nodded, looking interested, and Ira added calmly: "Disciples are subordinates. But not slaves or fresh meat to sacrifice, unless you really want so... But even if you had no feeling at all for your Disciples, chances are that you wouldn't risk losing them without a very good reason, as they are powerful and precious."

"But I'm lucky, already as it is. There's you, and Vesta, and Diana... so many that already do help me and protect me at the very best of their possibilities. Why should I even have Disciples...?" Killer asked, looking to the side for a moment, feeling guilt biting him once more when he thought of all the suffering he had caused to Diana, above all, and feeling rage boiling in his blood still when he reminded how vicious Taranis had been to her... More and more, he was learning the full extent of the dangers that Diana faced in order to help him, and stay by his side, and it terrified him. The risks were terrible, and he did not want anything bad to happen to her, and certainly not because of him.

Ira gazed at him softly at this, seeming to read his very thoughts and see the source of his concerns, as she stroked a hand gently over the back of his own larger one and smiled gently: "We do our best, Lord Killer, but it is not the same thing. Disciples really do bond their fate to their God's one... when a God accepts a Disciple, he reshapes him. Part of the God's power is infused into the servant, making him or her stronger, inducing changes in body and strength, giving the Disciple new abilities and greater skills in exchange for his service. If you had Disciples, you could see in their minds at any moment, and call them to yourself with a mere blink of an eye if you needed them... So, it is a whole different level."

"I see..." Killer nodded quietly, before rubbing his hands together slowly as he looked down hesitatingly, until he asked curiously: "You didn't seem surprised when Alcana voted no... Why? I had not been expecting that from her."

"That's because you are dumb." Ira teased, grinning widely as she punched his shoulder playfully, the huge male snorting in entertainment before he replied: "Fuck you too, then."

Ira laughed a bit at that, before shaking her head slowly. "Seriously. It did not surprise me because she... wants to have you all for herself." She paused, seeing the surprise in Killer's eyes, and she nodded firmly, grinning a bit. "Yes, I am aware of how she's been chasing you. I'm not blind, deaf and stupid, you know... I was expecting that she'd be torn over the matter, but that eventually she would have chosen to vote no. She fears that it would be much harder to get to you if you started forming a circle of Disciples... And well. Don't hate her for it, but for the same reason, her "no" was determinant in the vote that separated you from Alexis."

Killer grimaced at this, one hand closing into a tight fist despite himself. He couldn't avoid it... whatever her intentions and justifications, she had hurt him terribly separating him from Alexis, and there was no changing that. "And Sekhmet, too..." He added calmly, Ira nodding wisely, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Her reasons are different, but she voted no in both cases as well." The Seraphim paused, and then looked to the side quietly, gazing off in the distance as she added: "I must suggest prudence with her, Killer. She might like you, she might be all smiles and lust around you... But she's dangerous, and not as much concerned about your well being as she is concerned for her own, or even for your body and cock. Literally."

The Seraphim gazed sideways now, looking at him from the corner of her eye, as she continued carefully: "Sekhmet... craves you. But not for the person you are. More for the power, the body, the strength. But... I don't want to sound like I'm being malicious, or envious, or trying to shape your own thoughts and actions."

She stopped, rubbing a hand slowly over a huge bicep as she looked down quietly, before looking up in surprise as he said gently: "Please. Tell me your thoughts about it... I treasure your suggestions."

She looked touched by this, tilting her head to the side a bit and smiling warmly before nodding a bit as she explained: "If I have to guess what her ambition is, I say that she wants you on her side, more than she wants to be on yours. She wants you, and wants you as powerful as you can be... and craves to have you as a Disciple to her, or perhaps even wishes to possess you in an ever more total way."

"That does not sound nice, does it...?" Killer observed, rubbing a hand slowly into his mane before finally sheathing Wyvern on his back, wishing for a leather strap with the suitable holds, which immediately appeared, strapped across his chest, the blade of his sword finding magnetic locks on his back to bond with. "I'll keep my eyes open, and watch out for that."

"Better." Ira said agreeably. "So, is the question time over? Can I do something else to help you...?"

"Yes, you could help me greatly indeed... If you allowed me to help you." Killer said gently, looking at her softly but firmly, even as she shook her head a bit and frowned slightly.

"What...?"

"We've been together for a long while now, Ira... and living together, I've grown to admire you, like you, and know you. And I fear..." He paused, looking up at the sky for a moment before looking back into her eyes. "I fear that you've felt lonely, all life long. I fear that you've been betrayed and disappointed too many times to believe in something else one more time... and I'd like that to change."

Ira looked completely taken aback by this, gaping at him a bit and looking confused and hesitant, even as she didn't overreact in any way, something that Killer had feared could happen.

"I... would you grant me the pleasure of bringing you out for dinner, somewhere nice...?" Killer asked gently, smiling at her with affection... before grinning as the Seraphim replied with a little snort: "We already went through this. There's no actual need for food in Heaven. And anyway, hunger is -"

"- a state of mind, yeah." Killer completed, looking amused as he nodded a few times. "To hell with that for this evening, ok...? If you don't want to have a dinner, we can have just an ice cream. You do have ice cream in Heaven, yes...?" He paused, before making a bit of a face and blinking as he realized that he honestly did not know. "Like, you have to. Heaven without ice cream... that would suck. Everyone likes ice cream!"

Ira looked at him in amusement, a smile gaining her features as she shook her head slowly, before admitting: "An ice cream would be nice."

"Good." Killer said, nodding with a smile before holding up a hand to open a portal... and he stopped, looking thoughtful as Ira crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side, looking at him with entertainment. "I... I just realized that I do not know a single place here in Heaven I could bring you to." Killer admitted, rubbing a hand awkwardly into his mane before he smiled at her dumbly. "I guess you'll have to be the one bringing me out, and not the other way around."

"It'll be a pleasure, then." Ira said easily, and she made an easy gesture with a hand, opening a portal in midair and stepping to the side to invite him to step in first. He looked at the portal for a moment, frowning a bit... and he grinned as he asked playfully: "No tricks, right...? You are not portaling me to some kind of supernatural gym or something for training, are you?"

"No." Ira replied amusedly, shaking her head a bit, before following him through the vortex, smiling widely as they stepped out in a whole different zone of Heaven, and Killer gaped in amazement, quickly jogging forwards to reach a rope parapet facing over an immense, sprawling jungle, the huge male looking around himself with a wide smile on his muzzle.

"It's... incredible." He admitted, seizing the thick rope in his hands as a warm breeze blew long bangs of his mane back as he leaned out over the abyss to look down at the jungle beneath, an endless carpet of lucid, alive green, in all its shades, spread all over the world as far as the eye could see, only broken here and there by huge rivers of clear water, forming lakes and bends and branches that often had small islands covered with trees in them.

The trees were not at all normal, though... they looked literally miles tall, and they formed a green, fresh roof that hid the ground far below. And the most impressive thing was that, as tall as those trees were, they looked almost small from where Killer was standing. He turned back, looking up towards the sky, and he was amazed to see he was on a wooden terrace built around the immense trunk of a colossal tree. Looking up, Killer could see several other terraces, stretching out from the thick, dark brown bark of the gargantuan plant, each terrace literally as big as a town, or at least as big as a district, and covered in small, nice homes and buildings, mostly built out of wood.

A multitude of suspension bridges built out of ropes and wood slabs connected the various terraces, and from this tree stretched miles over the surrounding jungle, reaching out for a few other gigantic trees... and Killer realized with amazement that, despite being near the top of one the largest, there was a titanic redwood towering over them, in the middle of the forest, rising miles and miles into the sky, before its branches expanded upwards and outwards for many more miles, forming a gigantic green roof projecting a soft shade over an area as big as a continent.

"Wow... it's unbelievable..." Killer whispered to himself, looking at the massive tree with awe, before looking down to see Ira smiling amusedly at him, entertained by his reactions. "Where are we...?"

"This is the Fourth Heaven." The Seraphim answered gently, walking to his side and quietly wrapping an arm around his own, guiding him along the parapet as they walked across the terrace, Benevolents and Angels passing by and most of them pointing and staring at the two, little groups of locals chatting here and there and darting gazes towards them every few words, making it clear that they were already the center of the attention.

Killer tried to ignore this, looking out over the jungle around them even as he continued to hear and sense all the unwanted and often hostile attention of the people around them. Ultimately, he met the angry gaze of a muscular, huge bull with an evident Taranis symbol tattooed on his shoulder, and saw the gladiator trading some harsh, urgent words with a couple of comrades, and a smaller fox wearing a sort of monk robe made of brown, uncomfortably rough fabric.

"Oh, gods. Just what we needed." Killer muttered, and Ira turned to the side as well, following his gaze to look out over the small group of hostiles... before she grinned and shook her head amusedly, nudging him teasingly.

"There's no reason to worry about them for now." She said calmly, nodding slightly. "They know for sure what's just happened, and not even they can be stupid enough to try it again so soon. Besides, you are not chained up, alone and unarmed, now." She shrugged, before grinning widely as the turned to the group of Gladiators and Righteous to give them the finger, Killer looking at her with a grin and adding his own teasing wave of a hand.

"At most, they'll call reinforces in, and their summed brains will be smart enough to realize they need more reinforces... and when those were to arrive, enough brains should be available for them to realize that we are just bones too hard for them to chew."

Killer snorted in amusement at her words, before reaching his arm up to wrap it around her waist, pulling her a little bit closer. Ira blushed a bit, and looked up at him for a moment, but did not protest, smiling a bit instead as she guided him past the curve of the gigantic, miles-wide tree trunk, reaching another terrace... But here, Killer noticed immediately, the sight was far less pretty.

Once, it had had to be absolutely fantastic, but now it was mostly a desolating sight: a massive, circular wasteland stretching over uncountable miles was still burning here and there with bright flames and crackling with bolts of sapphire energy, the ground charred and burned into black ashes, leaving no sign at all of the jungle that, no doubts, had once covered that whole area as well. Killer didn't need to ask Ira for explanations, as he recognized the energy burning through the air all too well: that wasteland was the scar that Alexis's own rampage had left behind. And it wasn't the only one, since all around that, the jungle was riddled with blackened, burnt-down areas, where the black stumps of once-majestic trees still stood as silent testimonies of the past beauty of the forest. There were even the ruins of a couple of towns, blackened and abandoned, and several violent conflagrations still raging here and there, hungry flames roaring over the jungle as column of dark smoke rose towards the sky.

It was, pretty evidently, the area where the harshest battles of the latest period had been fought, the ones bad enough to force the Council to call even Ira in to battle the demons back, and Killer noticed easily how the battleground formed a sort of circle around a massive rocky mountain rising up from the jungle.

Impossible to miss it, for a number of reasons: it was the only major mountain in the whole region, first of all. It was totally bare of any green splotch, a massive block of lucid, simple granite that the sprawling jungle had been unable to colonize at all. And last, even more evidently, the mountain was clearly, neatly throne-shaped, meant to be the godlike seat of a King of Kings.

"What's that mountain...?" Killer asked curiously, pointing a finger at it as Ira looked at it absently, already knowing it all too well.

"God's Throne." She replied easily, before adding quietly: "He never uses it, but that does not make it any less holy and important. Also because it is charged with Elelyon's immense energies."

Killer nodded, staring at the mountain intently and trying to figure out just how immense God could be, and how great his powers, if that was the throne he had chosen for himself... but a moment later, he reminded that Michael was the ruling Prince of the Fourth Sky, and he couldn't help but mutter: "This place is far too beautiful for an ass like Michael."

"You have no idea how many times I've thought the exact same thing." Ira grunted agreeably, before smiling softly as she headed him for a small shop window almost hidden literally into a fold of the huge tree's bark, the drawing of a massive ice cream cone exposed in the simple window, as a group of mothers and children sat at two of the three circular tables arranged just out of the ice cream parlor.

Killer looked at this amusedly, loving the little, quiet place already, and unsurprised that Ira would choose it... before he glared a bit at her as she reached for the small sack of golden coins hanging from her leather belt.

"Do not dare, or I'll have to punch you in the eye." He said firmly, reaching for his own money reserve as they traded glares for a moment, even as she entered the parlor and Killer followed, squeezing his huge frame through the small door. The inside was as simple and humble as the outside, with just the bench with the refrigerated section containing the various kinds of ice creams... and all tastes looked awesome, as an ancient-looking ferret looked at them with a kind, welcoming smile from behind the bench, ready to serve them, and wearing a simple white apron with the same ice-cream cone of the sign outside drawn upon his chest.

Ira did not need to check over the large exposition of different tastes, gently asking for a cone filled with hazelnut and sour black cherry ice cream, which the old ferret quickly prepared, handing it to her with a knowing smile, like she always asked the same all the times. And probably, she does.

"What can I serve you, gentle giant...?" The ferret asked kindly, smiling amusedly at Killer as the huge liger snorted in entertainment at his words, before nodding a bit as he said easily: "I'll have the same as her, thank you."

"My pleasure." The old ferret replied, easily preparing a new cone, and handing it to him with a smile. Ira again attempted to reach for her money, but Killer quickly put down on top of the bench the three small silver coins needed, and a little extra, before grinning victoriously to her as she shook her head slowly, amused despite herself.

The ferret looked at them with a smile as they walked out and took a seat at one of the tables, both eating their large ice creams silently for a moment, Killer loving how delicious it was, and enjoying every slow lick as he realized that, in all the time spent in Heaven, he had never had an ice cream before.

But when the two young mothers and their five children at the nearby tables walked away, Killer finally asked: "So, will you ever tell me something about yourself...? I really do want you to be able to trust me... as much as I trust you."

Ira sighed a bit at that, looking down at the table for a moment, one finger drawing little circles on its surface as she thought about what she should do... before looking up with a soft smile, observing quietly: "It is true, you do trust me... One of so very few persons who ever did. You've told me a lot about you, and even about your fears and worries, and I know that not many ever get to see that side of you..." She paused, taking a lick at her ice cream cone and looking into his eyes as he waited patiently for her decision, only smiling at her quietly, and then she finally nodded. "Yes, I trust you too... I've learned to know you in all this time together, and for all the blood I've made you spit, you've never protested, never doubted. And you've been..." She paused again, awkwardly, before smiling as she admitted: "You've been kind to me. And now I owe it to you, I guess."

"Only if you really do trust me, Ira. Only if you want to. Only if you are ready to." Killer said gently, reaching across the table to softly seize the back of her hand in his own. "But I really would love to know about you. And be of help."

Ira looked touched by his words, tilting her head to the side a bit as she smiled softly... before grinning a bit as she remembered: "You've seen my Personification anyway. I've used Dominate on you, even... I'm sure your suspects have more than taken shape in all this time, and I gave you better hints than my wings having black feathers." She nodded wisely, and Killer nodded a bit himself, but did not speak, only listening quietly as she said: "Yes, I'm a demoness. I was born in Hell, never intended to be an angel, never expected to live in Heaven. I'm a Passion, technically..."

"The most powerful and high rank kind of Lust demoness, second only to Incarnation." Killer completed for her, remembering what Ira herself had taught him in their lessons, the Seraphim smiling with a soft smile, which turned into an amused grin as he sulked and added incredulously: "I've been, like. Turned down all this time by a Passion. A Lust Demoness! Aren't you supposed to be all hungry and ravenous and shit...?"

"It wasn't easy to turn you down, but it kind of was worth it, to see your face now." Ira laughed, before coughing a bit over the ice cream as she saw him grinning, eyes looking at her with hungry, predatory amusement as she felt her cheeks turning deep scarlet and realizing that she had said too much, turning to the side with a loud cough.

Killer did not insist on that path, however, only waiting for her to tell him more as silence stretched for a long moment, before she sighed and continued: "I was a princess, actually... Son of one of the Thrones of Hell, since my father, a Wrath incarnation, was a monarch. A power-hungry one, indeed, who probably aimed to one day take the place of High King in place of Satan himself." She made a grimace at this, the memories obviously unpleasant, but she continued after a moment as Killer listened with attention. "My mother was a Dius, one of his many wives... and I was not welcome. "Daddy", of course, wanted a powerful male to grow up as a prince and warrior that would have eventually aided his take-over dreams over Hell, not "another slut". I tried, hard... I studied and trained all the time, to try and make my father proud. I grew stronger than all of my sisters and brothers, but that never changed the way he saw me... eventually, it made it worse, when one day he decided that I wasn't that useless, after all. I could be used as a concubine, and give him pleasure and sons and daughters to use as warriors and breeders, to increase his forces."

Ira paused, making a grimace and nodding as Killer looked at her sadly. "Yeah, that was dad." She ironically observed, nodding before she finished her ice cream and pushed her chair back, crossing her strong arms on the table and dropping her chin atop them, looking at him quietly. "Eventually, my greatest usefulness could have been in a marriage with the son of some of Hell's most influent warlords... that would have expanded my father's alliances. But while 'daddy' planned my marriage, I made my first friend." She smiled a bit, sadly, but clearly reminding someone that once had been a great friend, someone she had cared for. "He was a Daius, and a young demon... he had been mortal until shortly before, so he was 'a nobody', for dad."

Killer nodded at that. Daius, the male variant of Dius, was the next step in Lust's power rank, just above Incubi and Succubi.

"My father did not tolerate my friendship with him. I don't even know if I ever loved him... I knew it for too short a time to even just understand that. But I liked him, and I treasured his company. He was the only real friend I had ever had, since even my brothers and sisters were obsessed with power and wealth, and never made for a real family." Ira paused, taking a deep breath before smiling at Killer quietly as she straightened and stood up, asking gently: "Can we... move over there, please...?"

She tilted her head towards the rope parapet of the terrace, and Killer nodded easily, standing up himself as he nodded. "Sure."

They walked across the ample, square-like terrace, and Ira easily climbed over the rope parapet, sitting on the thick rope with her legs hanging in the air, over the abyss separating them from the treetops so far below.

Killer did the same easily, grunting and shoving at her a bit when she grinned teasingly and observed playfully: "Careful there, I've got wings. You don't."

"Fuck you too." Killer snorted, sitting down on the rope near her and smiling a bit at her, making her sigh as she nodded and continued. "My father was made of Wrath. He knew no patience or understanding... so he didn't waste much time warning me. He just went after my friend, and ripped him apart."

Ira paused, looking over the distance, and Killer let her take her time, feeling horrified by what he was hearing, and saddened by seeing not just the flames of the arsons in the jungle reflecting into Ira's emerald eyes, but also the flames of a painful past still biting at her very soul.

"I... I had enough when I found out. I assaulted my father, and battled him... and killed him." She snorted, making a grimace of bitter irony as she added: "He was surprised I could take on him. As he died, I believe he was proud of me... for the first and last time ever. That tells you a lot about him."

"But of course, I was over by then. I had killed a Throne. The whole family, and Hell itself, turned on me. I was hunted down, captured, tortured, and... and they even chopped my horns off." She stopped, looking horrified as she shut her eyes for a moment, gritting her fangs even as she gently took Killer's wrist and guided his hand to stroke over her Cobra hull, guiding him, until he felt under his palm the root of horns that had been viciously cut at the base, a terrible punishment for a demon.

"It's only thanks to Azura that I'm still alive. She came down in Hell, and saved me... I don't even know why, she never wanted to tell me. Or better, she said she had been touched by my sad adventure, but I think there was something more. She brought me in Heaven, and she and Vesta were my family since that moment. It was..." She paused, smiling as she looked up at the sky. "Yes, it was the best period of my life. You know Vesta... she's weird, but special. She was always good to me, and we are friends, much as we bicker at times. And Azura, she was like a mother I had never had, since my own had never had much interest in me. I had not gained my father's favor, so I had not brought her the wealth she had dreamed of, and that meant that I only was a failure. But Azura loved me, and I loved her. She taught me a lot, and she protected me, and put me on the path for becoming a Seraphim."

"And then..." Killer hesitatingly said, looking down sadly at his own hands, impressed by the past that Ira had had to face. "Then Thanathos came."

"Yeah." Ira muttered, nodding slowly as she coldly gazed over the burning horizon. "The bastard assassinated Azura. It wasn't a fight, a duel, she was not given that chance and honor. It was betrayal and a homicide... And again, I lost the person I cared the most for."

Killer nodded quietly, and Ira shut her eyes for a moment, rubbing the back of one fist roughly over her eyes, almost snarling at herself as she forced her tears back, the huge male hating himself for forcing her to revive that memory, and wanting to be of help without having a clue about what he could have said or done of concrete. He hesitated a moment, uncertain about how she could have interpreted the gesture, but he finally wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and gently pulled her against his side, squeezing her softly close.

Ira trembled a bit, he felt it... but she did not chase him away. Instead, she seemed to curl up a bit against him, leaning closer as she rested her head against his shoulder, and touched his chest gently with a hand, her eyes closed as she breathed quietly for a few moments, the male squeezing her lovingly to reassure and comfort her, but choosing the silence instead of words that, he knew, would only feel empty and meaningless.

"Vesta continued to take care of me... She still does, in a way. She's a friend, and she's the one who completed my instruction, making of me a Seraphim, and giving me my wings." Ira nodded, her eyes opening as Killer looked down at her softly. "I know that she's faced hate, opposition, discrimination and skepticism in order to do so. I was never welcome here in Heaven... in Hell, they only wanted me dead. In Heaven, they did not want me at all." She paused, then bitterly added: "They still do not want me at all, I know you've noticed. In Hell, my horns were chopped off: I was told I was not a demon anymore. In Heaven, they tell me that I'm a demoness, that I'm out of place, that I never will be a Seraphim. They call me a lie. I've no homeland, Killer. No identity. No family. Only Vesta and Gaia, I can call friends. Gabriel respects me as a Seraphim and as someone who can do the job. But that's pretty much it."

"But you have me, too, now." Killer gently said, taking her muzzle gently in his hand and pushing her head up quietly, so that their eyes met. "Ira, you asked me if you did horrify me when your Personification showed. And I said it already back then... I loved it. I respect you, Ira. And gods know, I respect you more than ever now that I know why everyone treats you so coldly." He paused, looking over the jungle before them, and then back over his shoulder, at the people and angels passing by, many looking at their backs with contempt. "Paradise, they say... What a lie. This place is wonderful, but most people here are ugly inside. Terribly ugly inside. All they do is hating and drawing separation lines and looking at the others with suspect and hostility." He turned back towards her, smiling lovingly at the cobra, before he bent forwards and kissed her lips, gently and chastely, the cobra blushing and looking at him in surprise, but her eyes shining with gratitude.

"To me, things are clear, Ira. You do have an identity: you are Ira, and you should be proud of it. Not many can be as proud as you of who they are. But you are every reason to remember it every second of your life. Never forget the beautiful person that you are. Demoness, Seraphim... you are both things. In both, you do excel. And yet, none of the two is you. You are you... only shaped by your own decisions." He smiled affectionately at her, squeezing her closer as she silently stared at him, gratefully, her hand slowly stroking over his potent chest, as he added gently: "I love you the way you are, Ira. I do respect you, and admire you, and do not want you to ever change, even when you set my ass on fire in training because I suck so much at memorizing stupid spells."

She grinned amusedly at this, nodding a bit as he smiled widely himself, before she said gently: "Thank you, Killer... it... it means a lot to hear that."

"I'm glad to hear it... All I've wanted, for all this time, for you, is only the best. And I hope you can trust me, as I trust you." The huge male said softly, squeezing her a bit against his strong form... And Ira nodded, kissing his lips chastely herself now, as she smiled and said clearly: "I do trust you. You've shown me I can trust you."

"Let me be your friend, Ira. Everyone needs someone... no one can fight alone forever, and you've been struggling for a long time now." Killer gently said, smiling at her warmly, before he offered her his large, strong right hand. "We are Mentor and Student. Are we also Friends...?"

Ira looked at him for a moment, touched and surprised... and she finally nodded with a smile, taking his hand in her own and squeezing it tightly, the two trading a grin as they almost arm-wrestled for a moment, before she kissed his hand softly.

"We are friends. And I'm very glad of it."