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A new and important chapter is complete and joins the lot. My gratitude goes, once more, to my great friend Zerrex Narrius who once more accepted, so kindly, to put his writing talent and knowdlege of english at my disposal, editing this long chapter. He is a better writter than i'll ever be, and his assistance made this chapter much better.

My thanks also go to all my readers. I've just overcome the amazing mark of 500.000 submission views, and i'm absolutely delighted. Thank you all.

_ Godhood is not omnipotence. Often, it is not a blessing, but a curse. _

Chapter 50 - The Laws of Godhood

Ira landed soundlessly, her six mighty wings flapping once as her feet graced the ground, as quiet as a feline on the hunt. She looked around with a slight smile, loving this quiet place of the Fourth Heaven's jungle: for thousands of years, she had come here whenever she could, to hide from the maliciousness of Heaven's people, to read in comfort, and train, and learn, and just... have some peace. They had been interminable years of loneliness, when only Vesta had been a friendly face, with the other Seraphims and angels treating her like an abomination, an unwanted intruder. And indeed, Ira had had to face such hostility, that the solitude of this remote corner of sacred jungle was always a welcome way to peace.

She walked forwards with her smile lingering, sad, and yet also nostalgic, if only a bit: she had spent so much time in here, and she so genuinely loved the place, that whenever she came here, she couldn't help but be filled up with memories, and a certain affection for what had long been her den, her safe haven. She could hear all sort of wildlife from the thick of the jungle, and birds cheerfully chirped somewhere high above her, between the huge branches supporting the luscious green roof of nature that cast a cool shadow over her, even as the sun glowed hot above the canopy. Loudest was the noise of falling water, however, as she walked along the shore of a huge river of clear water, bending slightly forwards to pass under a thick branch heavy with large leaves and overgrown with ivy... before smiling as her hand gently caressed the top of a huge, flat stone where she had been sitting or laying down so many times, so often with a huge, dusty book in her hands. Mostly, books of magic and history, but also, much as she would never admit it, novels and fantasy stories, where the heroes always had friends and always met a 'happy ever after', something that life had always denied to her.

But now, as she looked forth over the quiet, large lake, her eyes looking up along the roaring falling waters of an immense, miles-tall cascade straight ahead, she smiled. She had a friend, now.

She walked forwards quietly, past the stone that had been her favorite seat, and she held her hand up to touch an invisible barrier that she had created one full century earlier, her hand glowing a bit with emerald light, as runes of the same color shined in midair for a brief moment, before vanishing. And suddenly, something in the landscape changed, as the shape of a huge body standing under the roaring cascade appeared, the water crashing into his shoulders and arms with the force of running trains as the male stood on top of a large pillar rock jutting from the lake's bed, so that the water only reached his knees.

The barrier she had put in place had hidden the huge male for the whole century, keeping him safe from annoying, unwanted visits, such as those of an even angrier and more hostile Michael - the Arkangel's hate for Killer had skyrocketed due to the male liger getting far more favor in 5 minutes from Adrasthea than Michael had managed to gain from her in literal Eons - and even worse "visits" of enemies intent on killing him.

For one hundred years, Amon-Ra had simply vanished, his whereabouts a secret well kept, guarded by Ira, Vesta, and a few other absolutely trusted friends, such as Gaia and Diana. Even Gabriel had not been informed of the liger's exact position.

And luckily, it had worked well, keeping the male safe from all threats for all that time... But actually, one hundred years wasn't much, in Heaven, where time was measured by immortals on the endless timeline of eternity. A century was very little, for the Immortal plane. And he could have used more time alone like this, to deal with himself, meditate and establish a firm control over himself and his fearsome power, which had almost made him insane when the first Seal had snapped. But time was precious... And he only had some three thousand years to spend in Heaven, with several centuries by now already gone, with six Seals still tightly wrapped around his godlike power and with a huge amount of knowledge he still had to gain.

Ira hoped to find him ready. She hoped to find him better capable to freely use his own monstrous power, without losing control of his mind. Centuries ago now, he had broken the first of the Seven Seals... but despite all the training, he had been struggling with himself every time he had tried to use too much of his strength. When he unleashed his usually tightly-bottled-up power, and started pushing really hard, resisting to his dark lusts and to his inner dark self became incredibly challenging, bringing him on the verge of insanity more than once. Ira and Vesta had trained him in some of Heaven's large desert areas, where his destructive power couldn't do much damage due to lack of things to crumble, but he had still been a real menace, especially the few times in which he had spread mighty wings and shot towards crowded areas of Heaven, where his might could kill, crush and destroy. Luckily, they had always been able to bring him back in control in time, and there hadn't been many victims. Once things had gotten really hot, but Vesta had had the great idea of bringing Killer out for training on a desert beach facing the Middle Sea, the tremendous ocean of not-water that sat in the exact middle of Heaven and that hid, at its bottom, a passage leading into Hell... and everywhere else an enormous population of fearsome monsters that weren't demons nor angels, but simple abominations, often even more powerful and dangerous than the greatest of demon lords.

When Killer had unleashed his whole power, and rather quickly lost control, the Middle Sea had attracted him immediately with its promise of challenges, and he had charged into the smoke-like waters with a roar, starting to gleefully rip apart all the monsters that came to him with the illusion of capturing a huge, easy prey.

The two Seraphims that time had fatigued immensely to bring him back to quiet, their calls ignored for a long time as the titanic liger wrestled the Middle Sea's monsters in their own element, ripping apart all kinds of creatures, until the ocean had been riddled with floating pieces of ungodly, miles-long serpents, Krakens, and horrendous, frightening Cetuses, heavily-armored 'lobsters' as big as small mountains, with the back covered by a sort of immense, impenetrable spiked shell, an ungodly, devastating scorpion's tail with a mortal poisoned spike and pincers riddled with terrible bone spikes, each easily capable to cut a warship in two.

All monstrosities that no one missed at all, quite the opposite... but the terrible slaughter, that the two Seraphims managed to stop only after many attempts, had been the last barely-avoided tragedy, ultimately leading Killer himself to pray Vesta and Ira for a better training solution for improving his control, before it was too late.

That was how the plan to send him here had been born... Vesta, Gaia and Ira had spent a whole night with Killer, to think of the possibilities, and ultimately they suggested him to take a long time to himself, to fortify his mind, for once, more than his body. He needed to meditate, and to concentrate on his inner battles, to gain firm control of himself.

Vesta, Ira and Gaia made clear that this was highly likely to give results, but only after taking a long time, and moreover, with them being able to help only marginally: they could organize his "disappearance", hide him in a quiet place protected by powerful magic to keep enemies away from him, guide his meditation efforts, and keep an eye on him to intervene if they saw things going down the wrong way.

But the battle he had to fight with himself... well. They could not help him in that. He was alone in the dark, against his larger, stronger, evil self.

Ira looked at the huge male standing in the distance with fondness. He had accepted without any hesitation, and observed that, despite what they had said, "you are actually going to do a lot for me as it is." The cobra female smiled a bit to herself, remembering it as clearly as if it had happened only the day before, and not over one century in the past. The first while had been awkward; Killer was all about action and brashness and punches, and meditation was not exactly his thing. Ira had already trained him in the difficult art of strengthening the mind to better control and fortify the body, and had managed to make the impulsive male realize just how important it was to train the mind, and only later the muscles. Meditation, after all, was fundamental if he had to learn to use magic, his supernatural powers over Fire and Ice, and his definitely-mighty telekinesis as well. They thus hadn't started from nothing, but from a solid-enough base... yet, it had been complex for the male to enter in the right spirit, and maintain the concentration high enough to truly enter his mind and soul... And even when he managed to do so, for once seeking Black Killer out, his alter ego of darkness had not collaborated at all, avoiding him completely for a long time, hiding away from him and making fun of his efforts. Something that, of course, frustrated Killer, notoriously not the most patient of people, and made it further hard to meditate properly in consequence.

But after a while, things had changed in an unforeseen way, with Killer "meeting" Black Killer on almost-friendly terms. The two huge males had often sat down together and talked - Killer was still touchy about telling of these "meetings", weird as it was to think about them - of themselves, of philosophy, of why power, in Black Killer's vision, was the only true law of the universe.

It had not been at all like what Killer had expected, to say the least... He had been thinking about wars and battles and duels and brawls, so the sudden change in things had been incredible. Black Killer had all but taught him some about controlling his supernatural powers. He had been insufferable, arrogant and irritating as he always was, sure, but he had taught him.

Of course, it hadn't been all like that. Eventually, Killer and Black Killer had ended up fighting, as well... But it had not been catastrophic: Ira and Vesta had never been forced to intervene.

But Ira had to admit that the real awkwardness had been the separation from Killer, when he had finally retired to this hiding place to do the meditation on his own. The Seraphim had never realized how hard it would have been to not have him around, until he was gone.

She smiled a bit to herself, shaking her head slowly as she thought quietly that that was what always happened with all the precious, good things: it was almost like an unwritten law of the soul, that the true value of things would only become apparent when they were lost.

Thankfully, it was far from a permanent loss... and despite so many years having passed, technically, for Heaven's standards, for the eyes and minds of an immortal, it should have felt like nothing more than a blink. Time is so much different for someone who lives forever. Years become less than seconds. A sad process, often, but a reality for immortals.

And yet, those years without Killer had proven long and sad, far more than she had expected. The days in which she had been grumbling about being assigned to Amon Ra as mentor were long gone; Killer now was a friend.

More than that... The Passion closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, smirking to herself a bit. There still was... almost no physical affection between them, differently from what happened with Vesta, who was all too glad to enjoy Killer's body, and not just his company and personality. Not that I wouldn't like it... I'd love to...

The most they had enjoyed was a chaste kiss now and then, a hug... mostly, though, they only had playful antics at most. Killer, of course, teased her gently about it: for him, it was an all-time first, to have so little contact with a female with which, under all points of view, he had tied more than well. And for Ira it was weird, too, for a whole lot of reasons, mostly, of course, because she was a Passion, highest-ranking and most-powerful kind of Lust demon, second only to Incarnations, which however were absurdly rare. She was, by nature, ravenous and full of desires and needs... and even though she normally didn't show it at all, she felt them all.

A Passion not indulging in sex and so wary of physical contact, when they were supposed to have insatiable hungers and lust, felt like something coming out of a joke; a Passion not indulging in sex with someone as handsome and virile as Killer was flat-out unbelievable. In the Hell of Lust, Killer was revered and worshipped and dreamt of... And well. Not just down there, actually.

It wasn't easy for Ira to pull back from him. She did have all the hungers of a Passion, and more, even though no one could have said it by looking at how she behaved. Even for a Passion's standards, Ira was hungry and ravenous... but she had been restraining herself with almost savage cruelty for so many thousands of years now. Ever since she had entered Heaven, she had practically had no one to share affections with.

She smiled a bitter smile, more akin to a grimace than to anything else, thinking of the irony of it. The angels she had trained with, and the Seraphims she now technically commanded, behaved almost like Passions, generous as they were to themselves in indulging in their desires. But of course, they were pure and chaste to the eyes of everyone, while Ira, who with supreme disrespect of her own needs had always been chaste and professional, was the whore.

Heaven had never welcomed her. Never given her any gentle words, no matter what she did. She had thought, for millions of years that the situation would have changed, if she behaved irreproachably, if she excelled, if she showed all her qualities... but if possible, her excellence had only gained her more personal hate, coming from Heaven-born angels that had failed where she had succeeded, becoming a commander and a Crusader, the best of Heaven's fighting force.

And to all the rest, she still was the whore, the demoness, the outcast.

She now regretted her stupidity. She regretted pulling back from the little affection that she could have had, from the two persons that always had supported her, Azura and Vesta.

Gaia, she thought with an amused smile, was sweet and gentle with her, but was far too shy for anything to happen... But Azura would have gladly given her affection even at that level. And now, she was gone. Lost, and never to be forgotten.

With Vesta and Killer, things were improving with time. Years and years of discipline had become so ingrained into her that it now wasn't easy to say yes, even if she wanted to. But moreover, Heaven's coldness and hostility had instilled into her a horrible fear and distrust towards everyone, towards people that Ira couldn't help but see only as a new source of pain and disappointment.

Killer is different, though.

Ira had learned to know him. She had spent almost all of her time with him, and never had he shown any hostility. Never had he expressed anything less than gratitude, admiration, and esteem for her, even though he had to suffer a lot in the training that she imposed on him. He had always seen and accepted the reasons for the training, and never accused her, never held her responsible, never thought that she was just being cruel to him.

He had treated her with kindness... and more than that, affection. He had patiently waited for her to be ready to share the story of her past with him, but even before learning of it, he had tried to protect her, and to get Heaven to recognize her merit, and treat her decently. From when she had accepted to be his friend, realizing that he had acted as one all along, patiently waiting for her to be ready, Ira was happy like she had not been in an endless time.

And she had been realizing, more and more, that he honestly didn't lust just over her body. That he most clearly did ever since he saw me for the first time... She thought with a little smile, amused by the memory of how he shamelessly stared at her curves every few moments. He did like her, and he did give her sincere affection for who she was.

And in the same way, she wasn't attracted by him just because she was a lustful Passion. Not just because he was huge, masculine, virile and handsome. But because she liked him. The way he acted, the way he treated her... She liked him for who he was.

She had missed him terribly in the last years, she had to admit... and she was happy that the separation was now drawing to a conclusion.

Ira looked down at the water of the lake calmly, the water clear and pearly but the bed of the lake, invisible nonetheless, laying far below, hidden in the dark blue of the depths, away from the light of the sun that made the calm surface of the waters shine with silvery reflections. Large fishes slowly moved under the surface, and the Seraphim smiled a bit to herself before raising a strong arm, easily extending her palm over the waters, her fingers glowing with emerald energy, before large, circular platforms of stone quickly emerged from the depths, floating up to the surface of the lake and then past, breaking out of the calm water and floating in midair before her, forming a path leading across the lake, all the way to the immense cascade and the huge male standing under the falling mass of water, his arms out to either side, his eyes closed, powerful muscles tense and bulging with power.

She looked at him with interest, even from the distance, as she stepped onto the first stone platform and walked along the floating pathway, her eyes almost physically stroking his mighty, chiseled body as she swallowed and rubbed a hand nervously over her strong abdominals, feeling flames burning on her cheeks as even hotter ones burned in her loins, her thighs almost spasming as she felt arousal spreading inside her form, setting her body on fire and sending thrills zapping along each and every nerve as she panted quietly.

The cobra had tried hard to suffocate her demonic traits and nature, ever since she was hastily brought out of Hell to save her life. In Heaven, people were of course wary of demons, and Ira had done all she could to try and change... or at least, to not look and act like the demoness she was.

Killer could testify to it: hundreds of years together, and Ira had been extremely careful to avoid "shady" physical contact, the cobra blushing and looking embarrassed, almost scared, whenever sex was involved, even just in Vesta's cheerful, and often obnoxious remarks.

The male wasn't stupid, just as Ira wasn't, though: he was well aware of the desire that the cobra so stubbornly tried to hide. In a few occasions, there had been clear indications of it, as well... in several occasions, when Killer and Vesta had shared the male's bed and Ira had been "reading" in the nearby room, it had been evident that the cobra had actually been listening, and touching herself.

The flushed look and wet hand he had caught her with once, a moan just too loud coming in from the nearby room... Killer had enough experience to recognize easily even hints far, far less evident than those.

But Ira still refused to admit it, and refused to give her own Lusts any kind of satisfaction, other than the gazes that she gave him when, for a reason or another, he ended up being naked and in sight.

And Killer, in part because he was a friend and in part because he was a bastard, made sure to allow such occasions to pop up quite often.

Killer knew that for Ira nothing was easy. Living with him was a torture for her, just as it was a blessing. He was handsome, to say the very least. His powerful body, his cold gaze, with the scar over his left eye making his expression even more impressive, his huge, chiseled musculature, and the prodigious maleness hanging heavily between his legs made him tremendously tempting for any female, and for a Passion he was a dream come true... and after the first Seal had snapped, things had gotten more complex by far. Killer was a Hybrid Incarnation of Lust and Wrath, not at demon but at Godhood level, and with his power being unleashed, his natural magnetism over everyone who lived around him was getting stronger and stronger.

People literally found hard not to drool all over him when he passed by. A gaze from him was more than enough to melt down a female into a mighty orgasm, and without doing a thing at all, his sole presence could easily shove people around him on their knees, making them beg for him to take them, worshipping the very ground he walked upon, offering themselves up completely.

One day, during training, Killer had used Dominate, the peculiar mind-control power of Lust demons, over Vesta and Ira, and both of the powerful females had fallen to their knees in the space of a blink, drooling and crawling needingly towards him, hugging his legs and worshipping his power, their eyes glowing with desperate need and incontrollable Lust. Only his loyalty had saved Ira, as he had immediately put a stop to it... with the cobra female acutely aware of the fact that she had totally been bent to his will. Whatever he wanted, whatever at all, he could have done. There was not an order of his that she would have contested, not a thing that she wouldn't have done.

Had he wanted, Ira would have been nothing but a toy in his hands.

But Killer wasn't that kind of person. He had sincere and utmost respect and affection for Ira, and he never would force her, urge her, and less than ever he wanted to subdue her with force or supernatural abilities. He did all he could to repress his magnetism around her, and he did his best not to tease, not to make it harder on her, while still giving her a peek now and then, and some little affection that she so much desired and needed. Even if she scolded him for it, at times, they both knew that she was... saying thank you, just in a different way.

Ira had been scared, that afternoon when Dominate had so easily brought her down. But much more than that, she had been thrilled, in the depths of her heart. Even after he ceased using Dominate, his presence put her through an unbelievable arousal, her body burning for him... Somehow, in a supreme show of will, the demoness had once more resisted, much as she ignored how. Killer, in as much impressive demonstration of respect and self control, had done nothing to have it a different way. Vesta, instead, had put no restraint to her lusts, all but challenging him. It had been a suicidal challenge, and she had been aware of it all along... but probably, she hadn't quite been able to imagine the full proportions of the landslide win that Killer gained on her in the successive hours, when he almost made her fall into coma with an endless sequence of orgasm after orgasm which shook her body without him ever brushing her with a finger.

By the time he started touching her, Vesta was pretty much ecstatic, delirious with unknown, indescribable pleasure, as he mounted her and easily pounded her into the ground, grinning as he fucked her into a trembling, soaked mess, her own juices flowing and squirting out of her in rivers as he slammed himself deep into her again and again and again, and every thrust was met with a quivering orgasm that made her quake and howl in delight, her hands punching and ripping at the ground, her claws tearing trenches into the earth as he covered her, shadowing her body with his own huge form, his powerful arms out to either side of her head, looking like ancient, glorious redwoods as they bulged with muscle, enormous and powerful.

Ira panted hard, before closing her eyes with a deep, drawn-out breath, trying to calm down as she stopped for a moment, standing on one of the floating stones and repressing a hot, needy shiver as she awkwardly reached up with her hands, pulling on the straps of thick leather that crisscrossed over her huge, firm breasts, trying to denying the incredible hunger she felt.

Her emerald eyes re-opened after a long moment, the muscular female letting out a deep breath and looking down at the waters below for an instant... before she walked onwards, stepping onto the next stone plate, and then cursing under her breath as she realized that, as soon as she had looked up, her eyes had immediately gone back to the glorious, naked display of maleness ahead.

She huffed, quickly stomping forwards and rubbing the back of a hand pointedly over her eyes, growling a bit at herself, but there was nothing she could do about it... and as she walked closer, it only got harder to resist.

But even so, she smiled softly to herself, looking at him with affection and gratitude, because she by now knew well that she could trust him.

Finally, she reached him, the tremendous roar of the immense cascade hiding her panting, but not the gleam in her eyes, even though water drops and splatters covered her black, smooth scales, giving them their own pearly glow. Killer, naked and glorious in his masculinity, stood before her, eyes closed, head bowed slightly forwards, legs slightly spread, arms out to either side, breathing quietly even though hundreds of tons of water falling from miles above slammed into his head and shoulders and stretched-out arms with the violence of trains crashing against him at full speed. Water flowed down the profile of his bulging musculature, and made his short, luminous fur shine under the light of the sun, the sight taking away the little breath that Ira still had... before she let out a panted obscenity that nothing had of angelic when her eyes lingered on the monstrous mass of his colossal dangling shaft, the obsidian cock godlike in its prodigious proportions, and bulging with a thick ridge-ring that added a few inches to an already astounding girth, placed roughly at the first quarter of the huge length. The massive flared head dangled down well past his knees, and it was mind-blowing every time to think that she could have cupped her hands, and still take only the very tip of the head of the gigantic member.

Her eyes traced down the profile of a thick, bulging vein, before Ira realized that he was much bigger than usual, towering over her like a giant, his gargantuan testicles facing her at a height that made it even harder to pull her eyes away and look up at his face.

He had obviously sized-up without even noticing, absorbed as he was in his concentration. Perhaps he had grown because he had battled Black Killer in his mind, and the body had reacted as well. Perhaps he was just learning to control more and more of his power, and his body grew in consequence. It was probably a mix of both reasons and more, but that wasn't too important at the moment. She should have had noticed such evident size difference much earlier, but his magnetism, setting her body on fire with desire without him even being aware of it, made it really, really hard to notice much of anything at all.

And so, even the fact that he was almost twice as tall as normal, standing not just above thirty feet tall, but actually close to forty, had taken a long time to get into her mind, despite being, literally, a huge difference. He was also even more muscular in proportion to his body size, his form chiseled with bulging, powerful musculature, and even his maleness was larger in proportion as well as, obviously, in overall sizes.

Ira stared at this particular for a few moments, before snorting and shaking her head briskly, even as she slapped the back of a hand lightly against the monstrous dangling shaft, making the enormous member dangle heavily back and forth as she exclaimed: "Well, wake the hell up!"

Killer's eyes opened a moment later, the male blinking a few times before looking down at her, tilting his head a bit to the side as he gazed flatly into her eyes.

Ira stared back for a few moments, before breaking eye contact and grumbling a "sorry", which Killer met with an amused smile, shaking his head a bit, before walking forwards and onto the floating platform of stone she was standing upon, shaking himself a bit, sending drops of water flying in every direction, as he finally came out of the "shower", as he had started to call it.

He looked back over his shoulder, gazing up towards the top of the immense cascade, and he smiled a bit at the awareness that, very likely, on the mortal world there was no "shower" which could compare with this miles-tall wonder of nature.

He turned back to Ira after a moment, gazing down at her quietly, before he observed dumbly: "I remembered you being a bit taller."

Ira made a face at that, crossing her arms and looking up at him flatly as she tapped her fingers slowly on a strong bicep and the male soon let out a little sound realization, nodding slightly and saying quietly: "Of course, of course. I sized up."

Being able to grow at will was one of the new things he had had to accept, learn and keep in consideration, and just like so many other things about the supernatural, Heaven, Hell and everything, it still felt... new, weird, and flat-out impossible. He was well aware of the irony in the fact that he seemed to be a God... when he had been, for years, a pragmatic, cynical denier of anything related to religion, if not the supernatural as a whole. Indeed, he had long accepted the existence of those that most people called "super-powers" and regarded as comic-strip fantasy: hard not to, since even before meeting people as Alexis and Vera, even in his days of general of Kesteven, he had had to pit his monstrous strength against enemies gifted with incredible abilities, skills and powers.

Hell, I guess my strength always did count as a superpower, too, even though I would never admit it back then...

The ability of growing, though, he had very much welcomed. He couldn't deny it: he loved being huge and powerful, towering over things and people, and being able of sizing up at will had quite some fascination to play on him. He had only been worried at first, when it had appeared to be a permanent growth. After a few months in which he had stood at some 38 feet tall, he had grown frustrated by the difficulties connected with being bigger than pretty much anything else, meaning that he literally wouldn't fit in most places, save for those widely expanded by means of magic. The thought of being 38 feet tall back at home, in the Mortal World, had been more scary than enticing, as he would have been unable to ever again enter even his already-huge, already custom-built car, and far too big to use anything else or fit through doors. Moreover, one of the first things he had done after growing so huge was, of course, measuring himself up... and when he had stroked himself to erection, he had grinned at first at the sight of how immense he was... before wondering with something like horror about the very real fact that, at nearly 254 inches when erect, his cock was never going to hilt again inside a female without ripping her into small shreds.

Fortunately, he could shrink at will, back to his "normal" height of 20-foot-some, and perhaps even under that, even though he was pretty sure he would have never been doing that... but it had taken some attempts to learn that he could, and, more importantly, how to do it. It had been a great relief, though, to say the very least. And now, as Ira looked at him with interest, he closed his eyes and concentrated, his body glowing with golden energy for a few moments as it began to quickly shrink, until he was back to his usual, already godlike proportions, the huge male smiling a bit and rolling his shoulders slowly, cracking his back quietly after the long years spent meditating under the cascade.

The constant, monotonous roar of the waterfall at first did not seem to exactly belong in meditation... But Killer had found that the never ending noise helped more than silence did. And besides, standing for years and years under the hammering pressure of the cascade had literally strengthened his body even further, even while he focused solely on his mind and on his inner battles.

"It is good to see you." Killer said gently, smiling to Ira and punching her strong shoulder playfully, and the female smiled back herself, reaching up with a hand to catch his fist, squeezing into it firmly, before they hugged each other tightly.

"I missed you, indeed... it is good to have you back." The Seraphim admitted, smiling up at him as the male looked surprised at her openness... But after their little talk in Kemuel, the wonderful "Town of Trees" in the Fourth Heaven, they really had become friends, and ever since they had been getting along a lot more naturally.

The truth was that they had become friends a lot earlier than that... very soon after they had met and started working together as Mentor and Pupil, probably. But they had kind of not admitted it to each other, since Ira had been looking at him with hesitation, through the transparent but solid walls of a cage of long-lasting isolation. She had always been an outcast in Heaven, and she had long lost her place in Hell. Killer had understood from the very first moment that Ira had not had an easy life... but when he had heard the whole story from her, well. That had been the revelation of just how complex things had been for her.

"So. Are you still going to pull back your punches after all this time, or do you have finally developed enough grip on your power not to go psycho when you start getting serious?" Ira asked mildly, arching an eyebrow as she looked up at him with curiosity when their embrace slowly broke, the male straightening before her and scratching at his temple with a bit of a half-smile.

"Well... I think things have improved quite a lot." Killer admitted quietly, before nodding a bit and asking hesitantly: "Do you want to see?"

Ira nodded firmly, gesturing with a hand to go right ahead... and Killer sighed a bit but backstepped slightly, closing his eyes for a moment, before the Seraphim blinked as golden energy glowed around his powerful body, muscles tensing as the air immediately seemed to become fire, the temperature rising absurdly fast as the cobra backstepped with a wince as the lake under them began to ripple violently, waves going out in circles from around where Killer was standing... And Ira gaped as she felt the male's immense energy level growing and growing, expanding massively under her eyes as the earth began to shake and crack apart noisily, birds and other wildlife running away in terror and launching cries of alarm, before a blast of tremendous force radiated from the huge male, and Ira looked on in awe as the water of the immense cascade was repealed upwards, the vertical cliff suddenly revealed as the cascade reverted itself, the water absurdly slapped upwards towards the sky.

The mountain loudly cracked apart before her eyes, a massive wound cutting it almost in half as it cracked down the middle, from top to bottom, and the water in the huge lake was also blown away, rising in a circular curtain around them as the bed of the lake was suddenly revealed, the Seraphim staring at this in amazement, before she urgently exclaimed: "Enough!"

Killer nodded, and his eyes opened immediately, energy still glowing around his form, but the incredible force she felt in the air quickly receding, as the water fell back down into place with a deafening rumble, waves of it slapping back and forth for a long time before quiet returned, the cascade back at feeding into the lake as it had done for Eons, the waters still rippling slowly, but quickly going back to their indifferent quiet, even as Ira straightened and cleared her throat awkwardly, looking at him and nodding.

"Holy Hell." She exclaimed, before adding: "That really does look like progress!" The cobra paused, then snorted and pointed towards the shore, howling over the roar of the cascade: "Let's get away from here anyway, I'm tired of shouting everything I have to say!"

Killer nodded, all too glad himself to follow her along the floating pathway of stone, until they stepped back on the shore of the huge lake and the flying platforms immediately dropped back down into the water, vanishing quickly under the surface as they sunk towards the lakebed. Here, the noise of the cascade was still tremendous, but they wouldn't have to shout every word in order to hear each other, and that was an improvement.

Killer shook his head firmly, long bangs of his mane flapping back and forth and sending water splattering all around him as Ira looked at him with amusement, grinning in entertainment until he gave her a flat look.

"What's so funny...?"

"Your hair, of course." The cobra replied easily, tilting her head up as she laughed a bit... and Killer gazed upwards, easily able to guess the ruffled mess that his mane had become, as he muttered something under his breath and reached his hands up to comb it back in a rough, fierce Mohawk shape. It was a hasty work, but quite successful: he was quickly back to his normal look, pretty much. After all, he never put that much more commitment than that in his hairstyle anyway.

"So, anything new that I should know...?" The huge male asked quietly, one hand still working to move the last few thick bangs of mane out of his eyes, as Ira looked at him with attention, not replying... until he eventually coughed slightly, gazing back at her questioningly, and the cobra blinked, shaking her head hastily and grunting in frustration.

"Can you... tune it down some...? And get dressed, too? It's hard for me to..." She hesitated, making a bit of a face as he grinned slightly, looking at her with amusement and all but challenging her to say how much arousal she felt being there with him, before she finished: "...talk to you... like... like this."

"I'm doing my best..." Killer answered honestly, making a bit of a face before trying to focus on his own still mostly-unknown powers, trying to put restraints over his magnetism, before easily wishing for his usual, simple and rather worn black jeans, so that they appeared on him. And he wished for a t-shirt as well, a sleeveless, simple black shirt that appeared in his hand and that he quickly put on. "Better...?"

"Yeah..." Ira agreed after a moment, nodding a bit as she felt the pressure on her senses and instincts easing some, making it easier to concentrate, feeling far more normal. The lust she still felt... well. That had nothing to do with his magnetism. That was plainly because she liked him. A lot. But she wasn't ready to talk openly about that, much as she wanted to. "Not much to say, really. Demons surging through Cracks and battles here and there, but nothing excessively out of the routine. Alexis is fine, and she continues to learn and improve... and she's not gone rampaging again, no." The Seraphim précised easily, smiling a bit as she caught the shadow of worry that crossed his eyes for a moment. "In fact, she's doing a lot better than you... She's got a total faith and firm dedication that allows her to control herself. And that faith and dedication, is all in you. She said it clearly to me and Vesta: she'll do whatever you want, and follow your decision, no matter which way it means following. And that scares me terribly... but at the same time, gives me hope. As long as you hold back and behave, she will hold back and behave too. And I've learned to know, by now, how much you struggle to always do the right thing, even if it means taking the most hostile of paths."

Killer nodded slowly at that, without adding a word. He knew well the dedication of Alexis: she had always pledged to follow him anywhere, everywhere, and to be instrument of his glory. No matter if it meant Darkness or Light. If he wanted to take over the world, or even to destroy it, she'd be his most powerful weapon... and she would have been all the same, in another way, to help him save the world. His decision was automatically hers as well. That she had always made crystal clear... and it touched Killer immensely, even though he was aware of the added responsibility that burdened his shoulders, coming from that.

"What about you...? How has it been?" Ira asked gently, touching his chest quietly with a hand which slowly smoothed a wrinkle in the black t-shirt he was now wearing, the fabric stretched by the thick, powerful muscle beneath it.

Killer hesitated for a moment, and then calmly said: "The truth...? It didn't go bad, all in all. I've been engaging with Black Killer again since you came here last time. But it always goes the same way. He knows a lot more than I do, he is stronger, faster, and he always seems to know what I'm about to do... I thought this would work both ways, assuming that we are the same person in the end... But no matter how I tried, I was unable to see into his mind."

The huge male paused, looking off to the side for a moment before grimacing. "He is... a fearsome opponent. The worst enemy to have... and I literally managed to land just a few blows on him, all of them ineffective. On the other hand, he seemed to be able to always easily take on me. But for some reason, he never did exactly hurt me, other than in my pride. Never wounded me in any really serious way. But this, anyway, is the bad part of the deal." He looked thoughtful for a moment, and Ira looked at him curiously, before listening with interest as he added: "He did teach me more, though. He says he wants me to snap the other Seals, and that if the only way to get me to do that is by teaching me, he will."

Of course, he was less kind and friendly in how he said it himself...

Ira nodded, scratching her forehead slowly and looking thoughtful for a few moments before turning to him and asking quietly: "So... Was it useful? Do you think you can... use all your power without losing control, now...?"

"Well, 'all' is a big word. But at least until a point, yes. You've seen it... that was a lot of energy, and I was totally in control. I'm pretty sure I can now do a hell of a lot more than before, without... issues coming up." The huge male nodded, making a bit of a face at the euphemism, but looking convinced and confident. It was pretty much what Ira had hoped to hear, since they really needed to continue with the training and move on, or the end of his time in Heaven would find them absolutely not ready. And there was the even worse possibility of the enemy revealing itself now, when Killer, even as strong as he was, would have been unable to properly respond.

"Well, you will show me just how much you can do, then. And immediately." The Seraphim stated clearly, easily flicking her wrist to open a portal in midair, across which Killer could already see the cruel sands and golden stone of the Sun's desert, a place which was as beautiful as it was deadly, and which had been one of their favorite areas to try out the most dangerous things. With nothing in sight for countless thousands of miles, it makes for a real safe area, after all. Even if I go on a rampage, I kind of have nothing to destroy... Killer sighed at this, but nodded silently, following as Ira walked into the white vortex.

They stepped out on top of a rocky cliff which jutted crudely from the sand dunes extending all around them, looking like an immense, natural tower guarding over the desert, topped by a roughly flat plateau with a tiny lake in the middle, where water had gathered in a small basin of impermeable stone. And unsurprisingly, around that small puddle, all kind of life had gathered up, several shrubs and even some grass and a bunch of palm trees having born near the 'oasis'. It was amazing that life could and would develop even here, where everything else was sand and stone burned by the Sun, which filled an ample part of the sky, looking as low and close to the ground that Killer felt like he could touch it just stretching up an arm and pointing his finger.

Located in the Seventh Heaven, the Holiest of skies and nominal "home of the Gods", the Sun's Desert was a forever-changing region, which the hot, dry wind constantly remodeled by blowing the sand around, cancelling dunes here and forming new ones in there. Some dunes could last centuries, other ones would not last a whole hour, making the whole desert a mirage in constant evolution.

Cliffs of golden stone such as the one they were standing on top of represented the sole and rare reliable benchmarks in the whole immense desert, and it made it evident why it was said that the Sun's region was impracticable. Many had ventured into the desert, but they had all been tricked, soon or later, by its ever-changing face. Worse than any labyrinth, the Sun's Desert, even without a single wall, even without a single restraint, could easily swallow forever any wanderer, and never again give a sign of him and of his existence.

It was a beautiful and fascinating region, and the sand looked like a sea of gold and lucid copper under the vicious, burning sunlight, but it also was the deadliest of traps.

Killer had learned, however, that the Desert was not exactly uninhabited. Ira had told him that one of the most important monasteries of the Order of Seraphims was located deep within the confines of the Desert, atop another huge cliff. One surmounted by a much larger oasis, though. Even more surprisingly, the region had become the home of an immense armada of demons which had been able to surge through a massive Crack in the dimensions of reality, and subsequently resisted all and every attempt that Heaven's forces made to kick them out.

The demons had all but built a formidable fortress for themselves, built around the Crack, which they had stabilized and made into a permanent Portal linking Heaven and Hell. It represented a terrible menace, and the Seraphims of the Monastery of the Sun were, ever since, pretty much tied in place, as they had to keep an eye on the entrenched demon army, and repeal every sortie that the Hell's forces tried to mount.

Killer had already been in the desert quite a few times for training, and as always when he came here, he turned off to gaze longingly in the distance, out to the horizon, which was dominated by the Moon, huge and imposing, feeling literally at hand reach with how low it looked in the sky... But as beautiful as that sight was, Killer was not interested in it, only longing to reach the Moon Monastery, another fortress which hosted a second Division of Seraphims. Alexis was training in there, so he was, effectively, the closest to her he had gotten in the last few centuries.

It made him furious and frustrated; thousands of miles away from her, not knowing how to get out of the desert, and even less knowing the exact location of the Monastery of the Moon. He would have all but jumped down from the mountain and ran across the desert anyway to reach her... but he knew all too well that the new favorite hobby of several Gods and many Metatrons of Heaven was to check what he was doing and where he was, so he wasn't going to get very far before apocalypse would break loose around him.

He gritted his fangs with an angry, repressed sigh, his powerful body tensing as he closed his hands into fists, almost ripping his claws into his own flesh, before he relaxed a bit as Ira gently put a hand on his shoulder, silently, yet soothingly.

"I know how much you miss her. She misses you just as much, if not even more... But, for now at least, you have no alternatives. You have to get much stronger, before you can charge out against the Gods' wishes." The cobra female said quietly, stepping to his side and looking over the horizon with her beautiful emerald eyes, before smiling gently at him as he turned towards her, nodding slowly.

"We can proceed. I'm ready." Killer said simply, relaxing a bit but still looking sour, even as Ira squeezed his powerful shoulder affectively before walking forwards a few steps, turning towards him from a safe distance and crossing her strong arms.

"We both are. But someone isn't." Ira said calmly, before snorting as she threw a small fireball towards a figure resting in the shadows of the huge palm trees around the small lake, Killer looking surprised as this as he stared and realized that someone was sleeping, sitting with her back against a tree... Before there was a small explosion as the fireball hit, and the figure immediately leapt up to her feet, shouting loudly: "Holy motherfucking fuck!"

Vesta slapped at her huge bicep with a snort, the fireball having barely bruised her powerful muscle, quickly putting out the weak flames, before she turned to Ira and glared at her, walking forwards easily and snorting: "Just calling wouldn't do it...?"

"Where would the amusement be in that...?" Ira replied teasingly, grinning a bit before wincing as Vesta punched her in the shoulder, sending her stumbling a few steps to the side as the queen of Seraphims charged towards Killer with a cackle, throwing herself into his arms as he grinned a bit and caught her easily, despite the female being a tall, proud giantess.

Vesta wrapped her arms around his frame, hugging him fiercely and making him grunt as his ribs creaked, the muscular female burying her face into his thick, strong chest before kissing lovingly at his throat, long, beautiful legs wrapping around his waist as her arms slid up and around his neck as she nuzzled him and then met his lips in a long, hungry kiss, the huge male seizing her by her firm, perfect buttocks and pushing forwards against her, her breasts pushing into his chest, muscle rubbing into muscle as they both flexed with power and tease, the tigress letting out a loud, purring groan of delight even as their tongues wrestled together with vicious affection until he established firm dominance, and Vesta obediently accepted his guidance and control.

The kiss broke only after several long moments, the male smiling at her amusedly as she pulled back a bit, hands on his shoulders as she grinned and licked her lips hungrily, looking at him with interest. "I want you to pull that big bad cock out, fuck me into the ground and split me open like a log, but this is how I always feel around you... I expected to... like... fall over dead with orgasms breaking me apart and rebuilding me anew whenever you looked at me. No changes...?"

Killer opened his mouth to answer, looking amused, but Ira steamrolled him, saying easily: "I asked him to restrain his magnetism... and he did it. Did not expect he would be able to, but when I met him, I can swear, it was not like this. He was nearly forty feet tall and... well..." The cobra blushed, rubbing a hand awkwardly over her hood as she looked down and away a bit, shifting nervously on the spot, before finally admitting: "I couldn't think straight and talk to him with how distracted I was. Good thing he can control it."

"Holy fuck!" Vesta exclaimed cheerfully, grinning gamely as she leaned in and kissed his check lovingly, asking eagerly: "How fucking gigaenormous your cock is when you are all big like that...?"

"Too much." Killer replied honestly, grinning widely as he squeezed at her buttock suggestively. "Even for you."

"Don't say it before we try." She replied teasingly, grinning widely as she pushed a finger against his lips, winking as he snorted in amusement... before she jumped down, and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you. A lot. It is great to finally have you back."

"I missed you, too." Killer said gently, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her forehead lovingly. "But at least, I think it worked. I think it was worth it."

"And that's what we want to verify." Ira said firmly, nodding firmly and looking impatient, and Vesta nodded as well, smiling to Killer before stepping backwards a bit, looking over him intently.

"What about Black Killer...?" She asked curiously, back to seriousness as she crossed her mighty arms and tilted her head slightly to the side, her eyes now looking at him not just with love, but with all her experience and competence in terms of supernatural and divine, undoubtedly seeing well past the look of his body, and directly into him...

It always made him feel... naked, but to a whole new, non physical level. He was perfectly fine having his body bare, but being scrutinized to the soul still creeped him out quite a lot.

"He says they have had some more battles." Ira said calmly, looking at him quietly. "Black Killer appears much stronger, but never does deliver any serious blows. Any idea why he would do that...?"

"He also taught me to use and control more power and skills, and for now he seems to have calmed down some." Killer added, looking nervously to Vesta as the muscular female looked at him thoughtfully.

"It is very hard to say. A case like yours has never before happened... we've had plenty of conflicting, split personalities. We've also had powerful Gods and Demons having multiple souls inside of them because they had absorbed them to increase their powers. There's been some real messy cases, too... But you make for an all-times first, Lord Killer." Vesta explained, smiling softly as she looked into his eyes. "There is... so much inside you. Mainly, of course, there are the two base Elements, Light and Darkness. The exact opposites that are the start and end of everything in the universe. The separation between you and Black Killer, even though he lives inside you, is very marked. We assumed that you are two very different manifestations, even though we cannot yet be sure of it..." Vesta paused, looking to Ira questioningly, and Ira nodded wisely before saying quietly: "While you were meditating, me, Gaia, Lemuel, Alcana and Vesta have worked together to try and understand a bit more about you. But we haven't had too much success, admittedly. We've come up with a theory, but we were unable to find any solid evidence to support our assumptions, so... well. Always keep in mind that this is a wild guess, more than anything else."

"I'm listening." Killer replied quietly, nodding slightly in acceptance. A theory was better than nothing, after all, and he was all too glad to be given an indication, even if uncertain and potentially wrong. The confusion in his mind was such, that any help and suggestion was only welcome.

"We've been thinking that, in the main folds of the fabric of Reality, there might be a firm, sharp separation that we've always ignored and missed: a separation between the plane of Light, and that of Darkness. A firm separation between Life and what makes it possible, and Death and its enabler forces. In practice, a separation into two identical but opposite dimensions that, together, in the middle area of contact, create the Reality we live into. When you told us of the way you had seen an Earth in ruin, with Black Killer ruling over it, and all but shattering it into place and piecing it back together to its will... well, we agreed on one thing: it felt too real to be an illusion."

"I fear I know where we are heading." Killer said quietly, and Ira looked at him supportively, giving him a reassuring smile even as Vesta continued: "We believe that Black Killer physically exists in the Dark dimension, and lives into the world through you... And this brings us to the point. I guess that the simplest answer might also be the right one, as often happens: he does not hurt you, because he needs you. To which degree, I don't know. Perhaps he needs you alive to take over both dimensions and control the whole universe. He might even need you alive to stay alive himself, potentially. We tried to detect signs that could make us understand the kind of bond that ties you two, but..."

"But Black Killer sealed us out of your mind, in a tremendously effective way. Not even Lemuel managed to get a clear glimpse, and believe me, he normally sees into minds with extreme ease." Ira completed, nodding firmly as she looked at him to see his reaction, as he slumped his shoulders a bit and shook his head slowly.

"I don't expect Blackie to let anyone gaze into my head freely." Killer muttered, looking down at the ground with a snort. "He doesn't talk straight to me, why should he be clear with anyone else...?"

"Indeed, we didn't put much hope into his collaboration. We knew it would be difficult to get an idea... what amazed us, was that there just was no fucking way to break the door and gaze inside. Lemuel tried hard, but in the end he only managed to get a wicked headache out of it." Vesta replied calmly, scratching under her chin with a single claw as she tilted her head upwards slightly. "I don't know anyone who can do better than Lemuel... so either he comes up with an idea, or we have to assume that Black Killer is able to set up defences which are just way too strong."

"And this, in itself, is worrisome." Ira added with a slow nod. "The only other way to get an idea might be to engage Black Killer in a battle, trying to overload his defences. But that..." She hesitated, frowning uneasily as she paused, and Killer immediately knew the implications, making a bit of a grimace before asking: "That might damage my mind in the process, isn't that right...?"

"It is a very real risk." Ira agreed quietly, nodding without hesitation.

"Wonderful." Killer grumbled, before cursing under his breath as ran a hand nervously into his mane. "But... thank you. You've done all you could, and... you've given me a good suggestion. I know it doesn't matter if I believe in it or not. I know that it might be a wrong assumption, and that I might be saying I believe to it just because I like the idea of... not being the same as Black Killer, after what I saw him doing." He paused, smiling to each of the two strong females as they looked at him with affection, and he nodded. "I believe in your vision of a two-layered reality. It reassures me, in a way... even though I then have to think about the parallel world that Black Killer enslaved and uses as a personal playground, and it is not pleasant to imagine a whole, parallel universe crying as he uses people like toys."

"Unfortunately, it is the most realistic guess we came up with." Vesta said quietly, nodding slightly as she recognized the horror connected to such a reality, and looking to Killer softly, her gaze trying to tell him that he wasn't responsible for the slaughter.

"I especially believe in the bit about Black Killer needing me for some reason." Killer observed thoughtfully, looking down at the ground for a moment as he added: "It's what I thought myself, indeed. He could have ripped me apart, but he never did, and I know that he must have a very good reason not to. But this makes me wonder. Whatever he needs me for, it can only be bad. He only lusts for power, control, dominance and destruction. Nothing's sweeter to him than agonizing screams... So, if he needs me as a contact point, as a way to spread his darkness onto this side of Reality... or better still, assuming he needs me to stay alive... Perhaps I should just... destroy myself. That would fix the problem, by denying him the one thing he desperately needs."

"Don't go and say stupid things like that!" Vesta scolded him firmly, putting her hands on her hips and glaring down at him. Ira shook her head slowly as well, looking impressed by his observation, but also horrified by the idea, gazing at him in a way that, perhaps for the first time, really made him realize how much she did care for him, how much she really treasured his company. How much he needed her.

"You have too many things to live for, to even fantasize about suicide in the wildest of dreams! You have your daughters and sons, you have Alexis, Mriya, Diana, me, Ira here..." Vesta wrapped a strong arm around the cobra's shoulders, pulling the fellow Seraphim close and squeezing her against her side as she lowered her voice and added: "Too many of us love you and want the best for you, to ever express such a thought... that would mean abandoning us, Killer. Even if you do it with the intention of saving us all, even if you do it for our good... know it. Losing you will not save us. It will kill us all. There is no salvation for us that involves losing you."

Killer fell silent at her words, surprised and speechless, moved almost to tears as he looked at her with affection, then gazed into Ira's eyes, the cobra nodding firmly, his mind showing him flashes of Mriya, his beloved daughter, his Dream, as he fondly called her, playing with the meaning of her name in Glacial's language... He saw Alexis, he felt the warmth of her touch and love, he saw Athena, Joy, Diana, Serene, Trine, and so many, many others that he loved and that made his life complete and wonderful, and he finally nodded, closing his eyes with a smile.

"Thank you. It is true, I said something terribly stupid." He said softly, before stepping forwards and hugging both females tightly to his chest, Vesta kissing his right cheek and Ira the left one, their arms wrapping around his thick frame and squeezing at him lovingly... before the hug slowly broke, and they traded a silent smile.

Ira looked at him softly for a moment, and then punched his shoulder firmly, snorting firmly: "Never say anything like that again. Also because, really... it is an assumption too far, to say the very least. It might only make things worse. And Black Killer is not at all the only problem we have to face."

"Ira is right..." Vesta observed quietly, taking his hand in her own and pulling it up, leaning his large palm against her cheek, looking at him lovingly as she rubbed her muzzle slowly against his fingers. "There are other enemies, other threats, and a Prophecy that says that you are our only hope of salvation. Even the ones that hate you, need you alive and well and strong... even if they refuse to admit it, or simply do not understand."

"Let the Prophecy and the world go to hell for a moment." Ira snorted, waving a hand dismissively as she made a grimace, Killer looking surprised before as the cobra took his other hand and gently pulled it up, to rest it over her chest, letting him feel the beat of her heart, even as her cheeks flushed lightly. "I... we, in fact... but me in first place, want you alive, and well, and strong, because I care for you. We are..." She hesitated, blushing a bit deeper as she caressed the back of his hand slowly with her palm, before she nodded and finished: "We are friends. I care for you deeply... and I only want the best for you. Whatever challenge is ahead, whatever Black Killer wants... I trust you. I know you'll do what's best, what's right. And we'll get over anything, together."

"We will, Ira." Killer replied gently, bending forwards to kiss her cheek gently, squeezing her hand in his own and pressing softly against her chest, feeling her tensing a bit, her heart beating faster. "I care about you immensely. And I won't ever let you alone again... And I'm just so lucky, and glad, having you at my side."

The cobra smiled at this, looking at him with affection and hugging him tightly for a moment, as Vesta glared a bit at him, until Killer smiled a wrapped a huge arm around her shoulders, pulling her close as well. "And you, too. You didn't think I would forget you, did you...?"

"I'll make sure you fuckin' remember." Vesta exclaimed firmly, punching his powerful abdominals lightly even as she pushed lovingly against his strong body. "Don't ever fucking forget."

"I won't." Killer promised, before the two mighty Seraphims finally pulled back and grinned, looking eager as Ira exclaimed: "Now, though, we get back to work. We have to make sure you are in perfect shape when the time comes."

"Yeah. I was wondering how it could be possible that you weren't yet talking of training." Killer observed amusedly, shaking his head slowly before he straightened and took a deep breath, relaxing his body for an instant before nodding calmly. "I'm ready."

"First of all, I'd like to see if you have improved in more than just raw power. Your physical might and your inner energy continue to grow at a fearsome rate, but even so you remain vulnerable if you don't develop a better control over your supernatural skills and abilities." Vesta said wisely, looking over his body with attention before gazing into his eyes curiously. "I'd like you to show us some of your best tricks, today. The ones you hide."

"Yes, we know you hold back. Even when you say you don't. We know that you've been holding back even when it looked like you were in full out rampage and out of control. Even when you turned the Middle Sea in a dish of sea-monster soup, in fact, you weren't trying. You did little more than punching things into bits. But we know that's just a tiny percentage of your power." Ira said easily, looking at him flatly when he blinked in surprise and made a grimace. "All the meditation, the battles against Black Killer... even what he's been telling you... they have sense only if you develop enough confidence in yourself to unleash some more, and move on. You cannot fight Gods just with punches."

"On that I will respectfully disagree." Killer replied quietly, holding up a finger. But both Ira and Vesta looked at him not in scolding, not flatly, but almost imploringly. It was a new thing, and it did scare him, making terribly evident the fact that it really, really was important for them. And he trusted them entirely. It made him stare at them silently for a long moment, before he sighed and nodded. "Ok, ok. Let's play the God thing."

Killer rolled his shoulders slowly, letting out his breath in a sigh, before flexing lightly as Ira and Vesta both stared at him with curiosity, Vesta crossing her mighty arms and tilting her head a bit to the side as he closed his eyes and his back arched, his muscles bulging with tremendous power as he flexed... and the Seraphims gaped slightly as his hands and forearms suddenly glowed with golden energy, which took more and more on the bright, blinding white color of searing hot metal, his hands taking on the look of flames and magma, glowing and speckled with flames that were not liquid nor solid, seeming to show through his skin, the fur on his forearms becoming slowly-dancing flames as "veins" of magma showed through his musculature, all the way up to his enormous biceps.

His lower legs and feet underwent the same transformation, the stone under his feet melting and cracking apart as liquid fire, hotter and more deadly than magma surged up through the cracks. His cruel toe talons took on a blazing consistence, looking like molten gold, white hot and liquid, yet terribly solid and sharp, in an amazing, indescribable supernatural metamorphosis.

The tuft of black fur at the end of his tail also changed, the fur glowing with energy and turning into slowly-floating, dancing white hot flames, as his eyes opened, now bare of any expression, pits of icy sapphire light looking over the two females, sending a shiver down their spines at the frightening menaces of that emotionless death gaze, the power radiating off his form simply unbelievable, even as he snarled , gritting his fangs as two enormous, proud bull horns made of the same solid and yet white-hot gold pushed out just behind his ears, stretching outwards before curving forwards towards the end of his muzzle, framing his expression majestically, and making him twice as imposing and terrifying. A further pair of horns emerged a moment later, further back on his skull, these two curving to stand proudly skywards, as several pairs of smaller horns and spikes formed a row down the back of his thick neck.

The deadly spikes covering his joints lengthened, thickened, grew sharper, and also changed into glowing, white-hot molten gold natural weapons, as his leonine mane took on a faint white glow, the bangs of thick, long hair floating slowly as if moved by a wind that simply was not there, the huge male standing a few feet taller, his body looking more powerful and his muscles bulging even bigger and even more toned, even as his legs creaked a bit and bent forwards some, his digitigrade stance becoming more accentuated.

"Holy fuck!" Vesta exclaimed after a few moments of silent staring, her eyes darting all over his mighty form, his body feeling full of power, his energy burning in the air, his magnetism rapidly coming back to almost unbearable levels even as he hold back... And Ira stared at him and swallowed a bit before asking quietly: "Is it ok, Killer...?"

"Yes. I'm in full control. No problems at the moment." The huge male replied calmly, nodding slightly even as he rolled his powerful shoulders slowly, flexing his fingers, each now ending in a vicious, huge white-hot talons which encapsulated entirely the last section of each finger, and glowed with a crimson flash of fire every now and then, magma and flames seeming to flow into his veins, visible in his arms and lower legs.

"Holy fucking fuck!" Vesta repeated, before grinning widely. "You look even more awesome than usual. You are like... the ultimate badass male! You only need some chains wrapped tight around your arms, so you can snap them when you flex."

Killer snorted amusedly at her cheerful observation, grinning as he said teasingly: "I used to wear chains when I was younger and more arrogant."

"I know. I liked that." Vesta replied easily, nodding a bit and licking her lips slowly, before nodding wisely as she observed: "You know, you could wear chains whenever you wanted. It is not arrogance if you can do what you say on the tin. And you could snap steel chains like spiderweb's strings."

Killer shook his head slowly at that, looking entertained... before he tilted his head a bit to the side and raised a large foot, stomping it down onto the ground idly and looking down with interest as the stone of the mountain cracked apart like a biscuit, immediately half-melting as magma surged up, both Ira and Vesta looking at this with interest.

"This is... quite something." Ira observed stupidly, eyes wide open as she looked over his mighty body, trying to hide the way she frequently swallowed not to drool all over him. "I'm guessing it is harder to control your... magnetism, in this state...?" She asked after a moment, looking up to his eyes with a bit of a prayer in hers.

"It is... I'm holding back, but it just is too much stronger to turn it off entirely. I'll try, though." Killer replied quietly, closing his eyes for a moment and concentrating... he always felt a bit stupid, but he really had no idea how he was supposed to do to control his own strange, godlike powers.

"Don't worry, I will... we will resist." Ira replied, even if she smiled a bit as she felt some of the pressure being removed from her senses as he frowned and evidently struggled with himself, before she added: "Just don't use Dominate, or I'll kick you in the balls. Hard."

"If he uses Dominate now, the only thing you'll do will be slavering all over him and doing whatever he says." Vesta observed wisely, nodding widely as she grinned cheerfully, looking unperturbed by the idea, even as Ira rolled her eyes upwards and snorted.

"I guess I cannot hit you with fireballs anymore, can I...?" The cobra asked quietly, holding up a palm to form a large, glowing sphere of magma, which she threw at him immediately... But Killer only grinned, reaching up his own huge hand, the fireball vanishing through his palm and inside his body, before he held up a finger of his other hand, and a floating miniature sun appeared, glowing with such blazing intensity that Ira and Vesta turned away and shielded their faces with their hands, narrowing their eyes as they stared through their fingers to see the male flicking his wrist to send the sun shooting through the desert and into one of the huge bare mountains of ancient stone.

The rock melted like butter as the fireball made contact, drops of magma falling down onto the sands beneath as the miniature sun visibly flattened itself a bit against the mountain's side... before it exploded with fearsome power, a flash of hot white light making even Vesta wince as the shockwave slammed into them with ferocious strength, the trees of the oasis bending like grass blades and the water in the small lake boiling... And when the rumble died down and the blinding light died down, the mountain was gone, erased forever, leaving behind a smoldering, charred crater, several miles wide, in which crimson magma bubbled hungrily, melting sand and stone and everything else at reach.

"That looks like a no." Vesta observed seriously, nodding widely and nudging Ira teasingly, the cobra snorting and rolling her eyes upwards.

"I will still kick your ass when you deserve it." The Seraphim promised, grinning teasingly as she looked at him. "You still suck at magic, after all."

"Bitch." Killer replied easily, grinning amusedly himself as the black-scaled female winked at him and smiled amusedly. She hesitated for a moment, and then stretched a hand out towards him, and Killer reached his own up, spreading his palm and fingers.

"Is it safe, or are you pulling a sick joke on me...?" Ira asked pointedly, smirking a bit as she pushed palm to palm but hesitated to touch his glowing, fire-like hand and Killer shook his head calmly, smiling a bit as he said: "You have unmatched control over fire yourself. Hard to burn you."

Fire was a common element for Lust demons such as Ira. And Ira was a Passion, the demon on top of the Lust power list, second only to Incarnations. She was a born pyrokinetic, and an incredibly skilled one at that... using fire against her made absolutely no sense, other than for suicide, since she would have been easily able to not just survive unharmed, but to use fire to her own advantage in the most deadly and spectacular ways.

"You could, though. I might bathe into magma and use a volcano as a pool and only sigh in pleasure, but your fire... well. It is another thing. If you used just enough power, you could melt me like ice cream." Ira observed wisely, looking over him with interest as she studied the crimson glows that flowed in his forearms and hands. Killer looked at her in surprise, half-pulling back at that observation, suddenly worried that he might hurt her... But Black Killer snorted impatiently in his mind, looking at him from a gold-and-velvet chaise longue where he rested with Alexis curled up on a side, and Mriya on the other, both females beautiful, loving... but also grinning in the very same cruel, arrogant way as their lover, father and master.

You are a God, little brother. We have talked about it... the fact that crybabies like Taranis try and deny it because they are scared stiff by your power has no relevance at all. Ira is a strong and beautiful bitch, but that's it. She just cannot compete.

Killer made a grimace, closing his eyes briefly, and he snapped angrily towards his own mind: So why she can kick my ass all over the place?

Because you are stupid. Because you hold back. And because you're only starting to play the game now, while she is at her best, and with eons of experience to count on. BlackKiller replied easily, looking bored as he turned towards Killer briefly, before kissing Alexis hungrily.

Killer stared at this with envy and hate, feeling pain so intense that it was even physical, as he was forced to assist, and think that his Alexis was far away across the desert... before Black Killer gazed at him sideways from the corner of his eye, grinning and pushing his tongue out to play with Alexis's and Mriya's own, even as he said unceremoniously: Either way, you can touch her and everyone else all you want. If you don't want to, you are not going to burn them.

"It is safe." Killer said calmly after reopening his eyes, Ira frowning a bit as she looked up at him and probably guessed what had just happened... but she did not hesitate a second longer, pushing her palm against his, and locking her fingers with his own, in a show of total trust and confidence.

"It only incinerates stuff when I want it to." The male added quietly, as Vesta grinned and wrapped her own hand on top of their locked ones, squeezing over their fingers gently.

"This is more like it." The Queen of Seraphims observed, nodding slightly. "But this should not at all be the end of what you can do. Is there anything else you feel able to do...?"

Killer hesitated, looking thoughtful, before he tried to concentrate, closing his eyes briefly... and the long, deadly spikes on his shoulders, elbows and knees shrunk back into his flesh, until they vanished entirely, without leaving a sign at all.

Killer opened his eyes and looked at this curiously, Vesta staring for a moment before observing flatly: "Ok, this does not look like much on the godlike side of things."

"You talk that way because you haven't ripped apart countless pants and shirts in your life, and you've never had to be careful all the time not to elbow people, never, because if you do you tear them apart. And your desk has no savage gashes ruining its top, either." Killer replied easily, making a bit of a face as he thought about the many defects of his particular natural weapon. Excellent for both defence and offence in battle, his long, mortal bone spikes were more than a tad troublesome in everyday life, and even though he had had them all life long, he still caused damage quite frequently. "This might look like it is useless, but it can be actually quite handy... But holy hell. I feel naked without them." The male smiled slightly, amused by his unusual look, bare of his spikes... and he simply wished to have them back, only grunting a bit at the new, weird feeling of the long bone spikes growing back out of his flesh.

"Okay, I don't doubt that." She replied with a shrug, holding her hands up and grinning a bit. "But... you know. I was hoping for something a bit more epic." Vesta said finally, looking at him expectantly. "And this actually tells me that you have a quite ample control over your body. I'm sure you can change yourself in more impressive ways."

Killer sighed, but nodded slowly nonetheless, Ira urging him on with a gaze as he slumped his shoulders a bit and closed his eyes, concentrating on his own body... And the two Seraphims looked on with interest and appreciation as the huge male grunted and arched his back, as a second set of ribs pushed out of his musculature, wrapping tightly over his chest, golden and burning hot like his spikes, before they expanded and morphed in a full plate of thick, golden protection that covered his massive frame, shaped so to replicate the mighty profile of his muscles perfectly.

A massive shell of golden armour also pushed out of his lower abdominals, protecting his groin and stretching down in a lengthened shape, almost reaching down as far as his knees, as if to remember everyone how low his cock would dangle if it wasn't packed tightly into his jeans. Curved, massive and vicious spikes, just shark fins, pushed out of his powerful back as it grew covered by thick armor as well, and golden plates of white-hot solid magma pushed into being over his hips and down his legs, until he was clad in a solid armature replicating proudly the outline of his colossal muscles.

He held his hands up, and opened his palms, before energy raced down his forearms and onto his fingers, quickly shaping a massive, long cleaver sword of golden metal in one hand... and a matching weapon blacker than the darkest of nights appeared in the other, both blades crackling with fearsome energy, supercharged with the male's might.

"What about this...?" Killer asked mildly, looking flatly out to Vesta, who immediately grinned widely and nodded cheerfully.

"That's a lot more like what I had in mind." The queen of Seraphims easily said, Ira looking on with interest as the huge male spun the massive swords in his hands easily, before making them both vanish back into his own body.

Ira mumbled thoughtfully at this, then suddenly swung an arm out, and Killer winced and reached up with his own arm, protecting his chest as a beam of Holy energy shot towards him. Golden energy glowed over his forearm, quickly taking on the shape of a large, triangular shield, the beam of holy energy smashing into this with a massive explosion that sent him skidding backwards a couple of feet... But that was it, as he easily shook himself off and straightened, rolling his shoulder slowly.

"What the hell was that for...?"

"To test your vulnerability to Holy, of course." The cobra replied easily, before smiling slightly. "So far, honestly, you feel more like an absurdly-powerful demon than a God. And massively powerful demons, Incarnations such as yourself, can be nearly unstoppable, but all the same be ripped apart quite easily by holy magic."

Killer nodded slowly at this. Ira, of course, had told him a lot about the whole subject during her interminable lessons. Holy magic normally was good mostly for healing, more than to deal damage... against low level demons, it worked far less than well. But curiously, it had a massive edge over the most powerful demons, conversely.

The demon lords, the Terrors, the Incarnations: some of the most fearsome and powerful creatures in the universe, physically often almost invulnerable and astounding for their monstrous strength, were a lot more vulnerable to Holy than their low-value soldiers and minions. Their power, after all, was due to the sheer amount of Sin and corruption in their bodies: more corruption meant more strength. And the rare incarnations, literally Sins made physical, had tremendous power. But such concentrated corruption would make them vulnerable to holy weapons and spells, even unimpressive ones.

It was the one big edge that allowed Heaven to survive, indeed. Demons were generally stronger and more numerous than angels... but the balance, in the Eons, had so far been always maintained by the ability of Seraphims and Arkangels to stand up to even the mightiest of demons thanks to Holy magic.

Killer wasn't sure if he was offended, horrified, scared or pleased about being called a massively powerful demon. It wasn't exactly a nice thing to hear, but it wasn't too ugly either. And admittedly, he had never doubted, with what he had done in his life, that he would have leaned far more on the demonic side than on any angelic height, so he wasn't exactly surprised.

"You do not appear to be particularly vulnerable to Holy, luckily." Vesta observed calmly, drawing a finger down his thick shield, which had sustained no damage at all from the attack. "Merit of being half-Light, I'm sure. Try and use your Black energy to form the shield, if you can."

Killer nodded, closing his eyes for a moment and concentrating... and his shield turned from golden to black, growing thicker and cruelly spiked and rigged on the outside, feeling much stronger and more resistant. Yet, it did not impress Vesta at all, as she held a hand up and easily formed a knife of glowing white energy in her palm, fingers wrapping around the curved handle before she stabbed it forwards viciously...

And Killer's eyes widened in shock as the blade tore easily through the shield, smashing into his chest... but ricocheting off the thick golden armor covering him.

"See...?" Ira asked gently. "This is both an advantage and a disadvantage at once. Light and Darkness give you different capabilities and powers. Black energy is more powerful and incredibly destructive. Against most opponents, Black Energy is by far the best choice, as your power will reach its maximum with it, and you'll be able to crush any adversary into pulp... Yet, it will make you horribly vulnerable to some kinds of reactions, mainly Holy."

"Light is less deadly most of the time, but will protect you far better, and make you pretty much invulnerable to Holy attacks." Vesta completed wisely, nodding slowly and looking at him seriously. "Being made of so many conflicting essences, Lord Killer, gives you many edges. You are skilled and deadly in more fields than pretty much anyone else. But you also gain multiple weaknesses from the deal, and you have to be aware of it, to know how to act in a fight."

"Jack of all trades, master of none." Killer grumbled, but Vesta poked his enormous bicep teasingly and grinned, observing playfully: "Not quite. You seem set to be an absolute master in terms of physical power. Most gods do not like to use punches that much, since reality-warping powers look more cool and all that shit... But you can shake off most attacks like they were bugs stinging at you and nothing more, already now. Your strength is terrifying, and constantly growing... You'll reach one point in which, when you punch something in the face, that's a game over."

"With most enemies, that's already true." Ira observed mildly at that, grinning a bit herself as Killer smiled slightly, before the cobra tilted her head to the side slightly and asked curiously: "Anything else you want to show us...?"

Killer looked thoughtful for a moment, awkwardly rubbing a hand in his fire-like mane as he looked at the two Seraphims with something like hesitation... before he grinned widely, and Ira winced a bit, holding up a finger and reminding: "No Dominate, we said!"

"Oh, but this is not Dominate." Killer replied teasingly, smirking as he crossed his mighty arms on his chest, and suddenly four enormous, black-fleshed appendages pushed out of his muscular back, arching like gigantic snakes into the air, poising high above his head and seeming to look out for prey... before they shot forwards, lengthening easily before wrapping around Vesta's wrists and ankles, pulling her limbs outwards and lifting her effortlessly high into the air as the huge male's eyes glowed with entertainment.

Vesta first gaped for a moment, then laughed and arched her back with a thrill of pleasure as she realized that each monstrous, anaconda-like tentacle ended in a bulging, flared and massive cockhead, the body of each gigantic appendage crossed by thick veins, and the last few feet of their incredible lengths were lined with backwards-curved barbs.

Ira stared with something like horror as Vesta grinned in delight, looking with interest at the four massive tentacles as they grew even longer, coiling like snakes around her strong arms and legs, until the gigantic heads of the two around her legs were pushing shamelessly against her groin, pulling her legs open wide, while the other two wrapped all the way up her arms, then around her neck, to curve back down over her chest, each one wrapping tightly around a huge breast, squeezing her boobs with vicious dominance.

"Fucking hell, this is... like... fucking wonderawesome." Vesta cackled, resting back in midair as the powerful members effortlessly kept her up off the ground, and she grinned at Killer teasingly as she asked: "Can you feel through them...? Can you... do stuff with them...? Is this the most you can have...?"

"I can do stuff with them. And I can feel through them." Killer replied amusedly, grinning suggestively as his expressionless eyes glowed with cold sapphire light, and one of the gigantic tentacles lengthened even more, wrapping completely around one of Vesta's breasts and then arching up in the air to "stare" down at her face like it was a cobra... before the monstrous cock throbbed powerfully, and a thick splatter of hot, clear precum erupted forth, Vesta grinning and opening her mouth wide to catch most of it over her tongue and down her throat, letting out an enthralled murr. "I can do all the stuff I want with them, in fact." The male added with a grin, before arching his back with a low growl as four more tentacles, even thicker and even more menacing, arched up from his back, effortlessly stretching over sixty feet long as Vesta and Ira both stared at this in awe and, in the case of the cobra, a feeling of half-desire and half-apprehension. Killer spread his arms wide off to the sides, and two more tentacles, nearly as thick around as his mighty arms, shot forwards from his wrists, sailing past Ira, out to either side of her. She turned quickly around to look at them as they grew over one hundred feet long, swallowing a bit as the gigantic tentacles wrapped tightly around two of the biggest trees in the small oasis ahead, the massive wood creaking loudly under the tremendous pressure, before Killer pulled back lightly, and the two palms were bent like grass blades, then ripped entirely out of the ground, the roots either loudly ripping apart or coming out whole as the earth exploded upwards, leaving two huge craters as scars in the middle of the oasis as the 180-foot tall massive trees were easily lifted into the sky.

"I can also use them as weapons, though." Killer added calmly, grinning a bit as more thick, cruel barbs emerged down the whole length of the two tentacles, before the fleshy barbs mutated into fearsome, deadly golden, white-hot spikes and blades, which seemed to burn the very air and which easily sunk into the hard trunks of wood... before the tentacles coiled tighter around each palm, and with a loud explosion, the two trees literally crumbled in a hail of fragments and wooden shrapnel.

"Holy hell!" Vesta exclaimed, grinning in vicious amusement as she looked at this invertedly, her head dropped down as she was held resting up in midair. She seemed absolutely unperturbed, if not full out aroused, by the awareness that each of his tentacles could have wrapped around not a single one, but many, tens or even hundreds of people at once, to turn them all into bloody paste and gore with the lightest of flexes. Even Ira had to admit that the fearsome sight had something of sickly but undeniably arousing about it... but perhaps, her arousal was purely due to the thick tentacle-cocks wrapped sensually around Vesta's beautiful, powerful body, she couldn't quite decide.

Killer flicked his wrists absently, and the two terrible, spiked whips of flesh retreated quickly, their incredible length withdrawing back inside his body speedily... before Ira grinned gamely and her hand shot up for the handle of Arctica, Killer staring and wincing as she blade was drawn out of the light sheath with a glow of azure light, before he groaned in pain as the Seraphim slashed the sword down through one of the two enormous tentacles as they passed by, cutting it neatly in half with a splatter of blood.

The severed half fell to the ground, writhing as if alive, but it almost immediately vanished, while the half connected to Killer's body retreated hastily, arching as if pained... before the male grunted and focused, and the tentacle rebuilt itself quickly, ending in a new, enormous flared head leaking thick ropes of pre which fell to the ground and sizzled, eating into even the stone like terrible, deadly acid.

The male looked at this briefly, not entirely surprised but not having expected it either... before he looked up and asked flatly: "Why have you to always be such a bitch with your methods...?"

"They are fast and they work. Why change...?" Ira replied easily, grinning amusedly as she easily sheathed her long katana, looking over the already healed appendage.

"Did it hurt?"

"Quite." Killer replied, making a grimace. "But it is not grave damage. You could chop all the tentacles that you want... and I could still create more, or heal them, or do both things at once, and overwhelm you. So, be aware that I can tentacle-rape you when you deserve it."

"You can be my tentacle monster anytime you want!" Vesta exclaimed cheerfully, licking the head of the monstrous member rubbing into her muzzle, the flared cockhead pushing against her cheek as it blasted another thick load of clear, hot precum onto the queen's face and mouth. This pre was far from acid... and indeed, Vesta hungrily scoped a thick load of it up with her tongue, and murred happily as she gulped it down hungrily.

"Would you get a grip on yourself for five minutes!" Ira groaned incredulously, slapping her face and staring flatly at Vesta through a finger and another, even as the queen of Seraphims turned back to glare at her challengingly, slowly and ceremoniously giving her the finger.

Ira stared at this for a moment, then sighed, shaking her head slowly and looking upwards as if asking for patience, Killer looking amused even as he easily set Vesta back on her feet, his gigantic tentacles slowly letting her go and then retreating into his back and arms.

"Tentacles, again, aren't that divine a trait." Vesta finally said seriously, even as she scooped up a thick load of precum from her cheek with a finger, grinning widely as she traced said finger down one of Ira's scantily-clothed, enormous breasts, smearing a thick trail of sticky fluid across the firm slope, as Ira looked down incredulously. "They are pretty common for a Lust demon, and you are an Incarnation, so it is not much of a surprise that you have an excellent feeling with tentacles."

Ira snorted, even as her cheeks took on a red shade as the queen traced a circle with her finger over her cleavage, leaving thick pre smeared all over her front, and she shoved a hand against Vesta's muzzle, pushing the tigress away before clearing her throat.

"You already do seem to be able to do a lot of interesting things with your tentacles, though. More than most demons could do... And this is both a good and a bad thing, knowing you, and knowing her." The cobra said easily, jerking her thumb towards Vesta, who grinned cheerfully and nodded, looking at Killer with a wink, the huge male smiling in entertainment and winking back, even as he listened with attention to the actually very serious explanations.

"A lot of your skills must still be suppressed, since most of the Seals are still standing... But I wonder if you have some more godlike capability already. For example. Can you create... things... at will...?"

Killer looked at Ira silently for a moment, and then shook his head slowly, making a bit of a face. "No, I don't think I can. And I'm not sure I want to ever learn to. Honestly, the idea of being a God scares me."

"It is somewhat understandable." Vesta replied gently, reaching a hand up to squeeze at his shoulder softly. "You fear your own capabilities, because you are scared of what you could end up doing with such power. But, Killer... there is one thing that you do not understand. The very fact you worry, the very fact you fear your own lusts... it means that you care. That you only want to do what's right. That is the fundamental difference."

"It is true." Ira added with a gentle smile, walking closer and quietly taking one of his hands in hers. "As I tell you every time, there's no one else that I'd trust, other than you, to handle the fearsome power you have." The cobra smiled, then squeezed at his fingers gently, looking down at the back of his hand and looking hesitating for a moment as Killer quietly caressed her cheek, before she finally said: "We are friends, Killer, and I... I must be honest. It... it scares me." She said firmly, nodding and closing her eyes for a moment as she admitted: "It scares me to think of just how powerful you are. We've only broken one Seal so far, and already you show such fearsome might that, you have to know it, normally would be considered a threat to existence itself. Incarnations far less powerful than you have been destroyed, urgently, in the past, due to the dangers they represented."

Killer looked at her silently, swallowing a bit and nodding, even as his body tensed and he felt an unpleasant shiver run down his spine, his guts seeming to contract painfully. He wasn't exactly surprised: he had been reading countless books during the centuries of his training, and with Ira he had discussed and learned of several past gods, godlings, monsters and demons of terrible power, who had been not just Sealed, but destroyed, before they could harness their full capabilities and become unstoppable, destructive forces out of any control. And all those stories had been terrible and shocking, and, in the deep, they had made him think and wonder. He knew well what he had done in the past. What he still did in the present, too, to a degree. Terrible slaughters and violence, which for seven years had thrown the world in chaos and fear, leaving not just a trail, but rivers of blood marking his path. He knew Black Killer, and he knew his lusts, and he certainly could see the hostility of several Gods and of most of the people of Heaven.

He had been thinking. He clearly was a danger to everything and everyone. Probably, a threat worse than any of the past monstrosities that had to be taken down and destroyed... and he had to wonder just why he still was alive. Worse, he had wondered if it was a good thing that he still was, and more than once concluded that no, it wasn't a sensible thing. Even during his training sessions, after all, he had lost control several times... he had quickly gotten back in control quickly thus far, yes. But it was far from sure that he always would be able to.

What if one day I lose it for real...?

Of course, on him, there was a Prophecy, that said that he was the ultimate savior, the great hero that would save the day, one day. _But a few issues remain. What will be the cost of the 'salvation'? Is the Prophecy correct at all...? And am I the Amon-Ra, or has the Prophecy just been plainly misinterpreted...? _

"I know that look of yours. I see it even though your eyes are all cool and expressionless and scary." Vesta observed flatly, but with gentle and even amused voice, as the muscular female reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "You are thinking too much again. And formulating dark and self-loathing thoughts, too. Remember what we said just minutes ago, will you...?"

"We care for you. We... love you." Ira added, hesitating a bit as her cheeks burned red, even as she looked up at him with a smile, hugging his huge arm to her body. "Regardless of the Prophecy, our salvation can only pass through you, now. We have known you, scolded you, taught you stuff, banged our heads into the wall over the nightmarish task of teaching you spells and shit, and rolled our eyes and huffed and..."

"We've learnt to trust you, and we've learned to love you." Vesta completed, kissing his cheek lovingly and smiling at him with a wink. "I call you Master for a good reason... and no, it is not your body, not even your cock, even though both make for good points." She punched his chest playfully, and Killer smiled, looking at her with soft amusement and affection, shaking her head slowly.

"I've told you my story... thrown some of my pain on your shoulders. And you listened, and you helped me. You helped me even since we met. You cared for me, you respected me, you even protected me and you've forced the others to see a little good in me, to try and breach their walls of diffidence and hate." Ira added quietly, smiling at him warmly. "Very few know my story, Killer. Only Vesta, Gaia and Azura heard it from me myself, in millions and millions of years. I hope this is enough to make you understand how much I trust you."

"I understand it. And I'm endlessly touched by it... But I just gave you credit for your merits. You are a merciless teacher, who always asks the most out of her students. But you do put all of your talent and energies into anything and everything you do. And I owe you a lot." Killer replied gently, pulling the muscular cobra against his side, as Vesta looked at them both with a smile.

"That's true. Yet, it is so hard for most people to recognize the merits of someone else. And by the way, you should also accept that we trust you so totally just because you show us, day after day, that we can trust you." The queen of Seraphims said wisely, nodding before kissing his lips affectively. "We understand your worries. And we know how difficult it is for you to control your power and your lusts. We are aware that power corrupts. And absolute power, like yours, can corrupt absolutely. But, Lord Killer, in the end it is not power that makes the person. It's the choices. Lack of power can corrupt even worse than power itself, with how disgusting and sick people can get on the quest for strength. Force can corrupt." Vesta said firmly, nodding emphatically. "A power like yours... hell. I know I couldn't resist to the temptations myself. It scares me, and allures me at the same time. A weak spirit would be crushed, warped and mutated by such power in the time of a blink. But not yours. Your will is strong, your resolve indestructible. You fear having to make choices, yes. Only the stupid do not fear choices. But you always have the courage and determination for making them, and choose the right path, even if it is the harsh and painful one, as so often happens."

"All the power you have, and all the lust for having even more... it will never corrupt you, because your will is so strong. We know that you strive to always do what's right, and that is what reassures us, and makes us love you, respect you, and trust you so entirely." Ira said quietly, nodding firmly as she gazed at him with affection, adding: "Remember? No one is born a monster. Even a demon like me can make choices... We are not monsters, until we choose to be one. And I know you will do all it takes, not to take such a path."

"I always will." Killer replied quietly, gazing down at the ground quietly, before he closed a huge hand into a fist, energy crackling around his fingers, a shiver of almost sexual delight running down his spine at the feeling of omnipotence he felt whenever he unleashed his power like this... And an even more arousing awareness came from knowing that, as incredible as his strength felt now, it was even less than a paltry 10 percent of his real might. It made him close his eyes for an instant, wondering lustfully if there was anything at all he would be unable to do once his full power was released... and it horrified him at the same time. "But... trying does not mean succeeding. I could fail. I fear that, one day, I'll be unable to resist. And I don't want it to happen."

"That's why we are here, though." Vesta observed gently, smiling at him reassuringly. "It is our task to help you establish control... The training you are enduring, Lord Killer, is not about making you stronger, is about control. Even assuming that lifting Lodestone makes you even stronger, it remains, really, a ridiculously irrelevant improvement. A drop in the ocean, literally. You have such power inside, that all this training cannot have any more effect than drinking a glass of water."

"But control is vital. That's why we want you to break your Seals gradually, and do it consciously, and with your own hands, so to speak. The first one snapped without you being ready, and it was my fault..." Ira observed, but Killer shook his head firmly, reaching up to squeeze her shoulder affectively.

"No. No, it wasn't. You had to leave and do your part in the war... and anyway, you came back to save me, as soon as you learned of the danger. You did all you could, and more. You've nothing to blame yourself for."

"Thank you." Ira murmured, looking relieved and smiling at him sincerely, her emerald eyes gleaming with affection and gratitude for his words, even though she still probably felt somewhat guilty; Killer could tell it from her expression. "The point remains, though. I'll be doing my best to ensure that it does not happen again."

"And I'll be doing the same, too." Vesta easily added, smiling at him with affection and giving him a little, encouraging nod.

"I trust the both of you, you know it. But, really, I don't think I can create anything... not yet, at least." Killer replied quietly, and Ira looked at him for a moment, until she decided that he was sincere, and asked: "Then let's try something else. You've shown us quite noticeable changes and improvements, and you seem to be completely in control. I think that, if you try, you could snap another Seal without any major risk. You seem ready for it."

Killer winced at this, making a grimace and looking away awkwardly, before shaking his head with a sigh as the cobra looked at him firmly. "Only if Vesta says it is safe, too. I don't doubt your judgment, but... I want to be as sure as I can be. Because if the decision was only mine, I would not try."

Ira smiled a bit at this, understanding his worries, but she did not abandon her position, only turning slightly towards Vesta as the queen of Seraphims looked at him briefly and thoughtfully, before shrugging a bit, grinning. "I think Ira's right, Killer. We can't ensure anything... for all my experience and knowledge, I've never dealt with anything like this. Saw and even fought some Incarnations and Gods, but... this is a whole new level. And ultimately, everything depends on you."

Killer nodded silently, still looking nervous, and Vesta softened, looking at him affectively as she added: "You've made great progress. I never thought you'd have so much to show, and with so full control of yourself... I really do believe you are ready. Just... be careful."

"I will be guarding you as well, Lord Killer. I'll help as I can, if it'll be necessary."

Killer turned back in surprise as he heard the unexpected voice, Ira and Vesta stepping forwards to his sides and all three bowing their heads forwards respectfully as Adrasthea walked out of a white rip in the fabric of reality, the mighty dragokkaren female smiling at him gently from under her golden helmet, her brimstone eyes looking over him with amusement.

"Don't bow, Amon Ra. If the prophecy is true, and ever since I've met you I've known it is, I'm the one who should be bowing whenever our paths met." The goddess said, before smiling as she bowed forwards quietly, one hand wrapped easily around the thick, long pole of her spear.

"Azura never made an error in her prophecies." Ira noted quietly, and the dragokkaren goddess nodded, closing her eyes briefly as she admitted: "Indeed, I never really doubted her last and most important prophecy. But for sure, meeting Lord Killer was a big confirmation."

"I'm... honored." Killer said sincerely, even if a little awkwardly, as he tried to find the right words, while bowing his head forwards slightly. He was not exactly happy at all of being addressed as Savior, and the reverence of those that did not hate him embarrassed him almost more than the hostility of his haters, so he was being both sincere and a liar at the same time.

Adrasthea, indeed, seemed to understand it easily, the goddess reaching her hand up to gently squeeze the huge male's shoulder as she laughed and noted: "Being Amon Ra is not so much a honor as it is a terrible curse. Who does not hate you, want you to save them all, their lives, comforts, houses... they want you to be infallible, omniscient and omnipresent, and almost no one, even between those that worship your name, is actually willing to help." She nodded wisely as Killer looked up at her in surprise that was clear even though his eyes glowed as expressionless pits of sapphire light, and the goddess shook her head slowly with a smile. "No need at all to use all that ceremony and sugar, Lord Killer. I'm well aware that all you've gotten out of being Amon Ra is hate, attempts to end your life, and sufferance. You've been effectively kidnapped in your sleep and separated from your family, then separated again, from your beloved Alexis. Indeed, I want to apologize for it all, since I did not have a chance to do it earlier. Unfortunately, the majority of the Gods Council has so far always voted to make things harder for you... but you are not without friends."

"I know." Killer replied calmly, wrapping an arm around the shoulders of Ira and the other around Vesta's own. "I'm most thankful for my mentor, and for Vesta, and Gaia, who's been incredibly supportive... and I know I have other friends too. Including you, lady Adrasthea. I'm very grateful for it."

"Please, no lady shit. Adrasthea will more than do." The dragokkaren female replied amusedly, before seizing her golden helm in a hand and easily removing it from over her head, before making it all but vanish, leaving behind, for an instant, floating motes of energy that quickly dissipated, as the black, long and loose scales that made up her "hair" were revealed, along with her beautiful features. "And you are right at being grateful to Vesta and Ira and Gaia. I know they've been of great help... me, so far, not much. You don't have many actual reasons to thank me, Lord Killer. But I hope this will change rapidly."

"You should quit the lord crap yourself, if I'm to lose the lady part." The huge male observed playfully, and the goddess looked at him with a smile, her obsidian eyes gleamed in entertainment before she nodded in agreement.

"I've long wished to come and be of support. Even more, I've wished for such a long time to know you better and more directly. Events did not allow me to do it earlier than today, despite how much I've wished for it... But finally, I've had my chance." The goddess smiled at him warmly, and Killer looked at her with gratitude, knowing all too well that she had been supporting him all the time, even from afar, by voting in his favor in the Council of the Gods and by trying to secure for him better treatment and, even more importantly, she had been battling Taranis and Thanathos to ensure that Diana was not punished too harshly for her many breaches of the law with her visits to Killer.

He was in debt with the goddess of Strategy, and he was very, very grateful for the fact that she was a friend and not an enemy: her help in the Council had been vital and he was sure that she could do even more for him now that she was present. She was powerful, smart, wise and beautiful, and a mighty, invaluable ally to have.

"I guess that the conflict is in a phase of stall, if you can honor me with your presence." The huge male observed calmly, smiling softly at the goddess before looking briefly from Vesta to Ira. The presence of Vesta was another tell-tale sign, since she was the first out on the battlefield when the battle raged across Heaven's lands. Adrasthea, unsurprisingly, nodded quietly.

"Things slowed down some as of late. We're being given a bit of a break, which was sorely needed, since most Divisions of angels are severely understrength due to the many casualties... We are exploiting the moment to allow the units in the worst conditions to pull their breath some, and insert the little reinforcements and replacements available. Raids of demons through Cracks are still common, but nothing major from a couple of months... the problem is that two months are, at the same time, a lot of time and an incredibly short one." The goddess paused, looking thoughtful for a moment as she put order in her thoughts before calmly explaining: "Two months are a long time, in which the enemy can prepare a lot of moves. At the same time, for Heaven, two months are nothing: we have Divisions that have been maimed so badly that the only way to bring some back to strength was to merge several together. We lack replacements, and many of the ones we have are not only inexpert, but flat-out weak."

It was not a new problem: for Heaven, it was common. Demons, even low-rank ones, were quite suited to the fight and to the slaughter. Benevolents, on the other hand, were not. Few souls, and indeed less and less as time moved on, made it into Heaven and of those few only a handful would become angels. Even less would become strong warriors. And the occasional, precious drop in the ocean would be suitable to become Arkangel or Seraphim.

Besides, it took time. Endless time, which could easily mean millions of years to prepare a Seraphim, but also many, many thousands of years for even a simple angelic warrior. In that time, Hell could instead mass up enormous hordes of low-tier demons, and quite a good number of high-rank ones. The greater demons took as long as Seraphims and Arkangels to develop, if not longer, but it wasn't much of a relief.

"Attrition warfare is far more suited to Hell than to us." Vesta admitted, nodding wisely. "Our capacity of facing the continual losses of equipment and, especially, of warriors is extremely limited and fragile, which means that if they keep it up long enough, eventually our resistance will cease."

"Quantity has a quality of its own, as they say." Killer agreed bitterly, before making a grimace as he looked off to the side, grumbling: "I hate being out of the frame. Everyone says I'm the Savior, yet I'm kept out of the fight. I've never been allowed into battle, and I'm kept out of the decision making, and kept in the dark about everything. The little I know, comes from Ira, Vesta, or Diana, or Gaia. And they technically aren't even allowed to tell me what they do share."

"A very embarrassing matter, again." Adrasthea admitted, bowing her head forwards shamefully and shaking it slowly. "I know you could be of great help, in the planning, in the fighting, in all aspects of the conflict. It's part of why I'm here, I will admit, Killer. I'm hoping to talk with you about what's going on, and hear your suggestions." She paused, looking at him with a question in her eyes, and the huge male nodded with a smile, saying easily: "I will be very glad to help as much as I can."

"Excellent." Adrasthea commented cheerfully, slamming the butt of her spear's pole into the ground with a smile. "I've been battling all this time to have you at the table and on the field, but, again, Taranis is an ass about the whole matter, and acts severely butthurt every time the proposal pops up. Technically, the Gods Council has voted for you to be involved, but Taranis and Thanathos bare their teeth every time the argument is even just brushed, and the Council of Heaven supports them."

"They will change their minds the first time that things start to really get ugly. When things will be severely fucked up, they'll ask louder than anyone else to have you around, and throw you into the cauldron to sort things out." Ira stated bitterly, making a grimace as she crossed her strong arms with a snort. "Better still, the Heavenly Council will also blame you for things going to hell in the first place. That's how it works."

"I've felt a great need to kick every council member out of their chairs and down the senate's tiers a lot of times in my life, but I've felt the need with especially alarming frequency in the last few years." Vesta added firmly, cracking the knuckles of one fist into the palm of her hand as she gritted her fangs with a low, bitter growl. "They are a major source of trouble and complications, instead of any kind of source for solutions."

"Excuse my insolence, but I must ask it. Isn't God the one who should sort these problems out? I cannot at all conceive a world in which my brothers mess things up in my kingdom without me smacking their heads together, hard, personally. I believe Elelyon places the same importance on the world he rules that I put on my empire, if not a greater one... So I cannot imagine him not doing a thing to sort the problems out. There's a point that separates being kind and loving and generous and forgiving from being suicidal, and Elelyon must have one as well." Killer observed calmly, his voice firm as he looked from a female to another, voicing a question that he had had for a long time, to which he had been unable to find an answer that sounded realistic. It had, indeed, been making him wonder about what kind of person God was, and it had made him bitter and angry, more often than not, especially when he looked at the way the Heavenly Council treated people like Ira and Vesta, who were nothing short of heroes for Heaven's survival, and yet were treated with coldness, contempt and fearful suspect.

He stared at the three females in surprise as they traded a nervous glance between themselves, before Vesta and Ira both nodded firmly to Adrasthea, the goddess smiling in agreement and giving a slight nod herself. She then turned to Killer, looking like she was putting her thoughts in order before she quietly talked, but with a sense of urgency in her tone: "Lord Killer, this is probably the best kept secret of our world, so I must recommend you to be very, very careful regarding this information. If people learned of this... well, it is impossible to imagine how bad the consequences could be."

Killer swallowed nervously, looking into her eyes for a long moment, but unable to get any idea about what he was going to hear, her brimstone-like black eyes looking at him with trust, but also with absolute firmness. It definitely was something that couldn't be messed with, and it made Killer nervous to see the way Adrasthea and the Seraphims had tensed up.

"I can keep secrets. I know things that put thousands, millions of lives potentially at risk, every day. I know the risks and responsibilities... and no one will ever be able to learn anything about it from me." The huge male said calmly, looking firmly into the goddess's eyes, letting her test his resolve and his sincerity, as he allowed his eyes to revert to their normal look, the glow dying down some as his pupils returned visible.

"We know that we can trust you." Vesta said tenderly, squeezing his shoulder lightly, and Ira nodded with a smile, as Adrasthea looked around them for a moment, the huge male knowing all too well that she was scanning the world around them not just with her eyes, not with her sole senses, but with her powers and with all the help that magic could give. Ira and Vesta, on their part, murmured a series of complex spells, and Killer stared at them with interest and admiration as they easily worked to surround their little spot of desert with all sorts of magical protections, as beautiful, and terribly complex, Enochian runes briefly glowed in the air and in concentric circles on the sand around them, before vanishing from sight as they added each a different layer of protection. Ira, just to be sure, tossed in some demonic runes as well.

In just a few moments, the three females had shielded them off from the world, ensuring that no one could spy on them in any way.

"Lord Killer, it does not surprise me that you have developed... doubts. Suspicions, and yes, I'm sure, also resentment against Elelyon. I do understand it. You're basically a prisoner in Heaven, thrown into a war that you are supposed to win for someone else, without being given help, gratitude, or at least some actual information. All this while God seems to be doing nothing to save and guide the world He has created. Anyone would be upset and disconcerted." Adrasthea leaned backwards slowly, until her back touched against a transparent, nearly invisible barrier of energy, that only crackled a bit with electricity at the contact, and easily sustained her as the Dragokkaren crossed her arms and dropped her head with a bit of a grimace. "Of this, you must believe me, Elelyon will be immensely sorry. He certainly did not expect the Heavenly Council and the Gods to treat you and Alexis the way you are being treated, you can believe me on this... But the fact is that Elelyon is not in Heaven."

The goddess paused, looking down at the ground quietly, and Killer gaped slightly, shaking his head in surprise, before looking towards Ira questioningly, and the Seraphim grimaced a bit before nodding, explaining: "He's not in this world at all, indeed. He's been missing for a quite long time now... and it is not the first time He is away. You know it, Killer. This war is not a world war, but a universal war... And Elelyon has formed a Council of Heaven he thought he could trust, and of course, left the Gods Council in charge as well, in order to be free to fight... in other worlds. To defend us all."

"The last time he came back..." Vesta hesitated, making a grimace before looking down at the ground sadly. "The last time he came back he was messed up... pretty frigging badly. Took Him a long time to recover from the wounds and injures he had sustained, and unfortunately he will never recover entirely, especially psychologically: He... wasn't successful. He couldn't save the planet he had tried to help, and He'll feel horribly guilty for it, I know, forever."

"But how can that be... He is... God, no...?" Killer asked, before making a grimace to himself as he realized how stupid that must have sounded. It was, of course, a dumb objection to move. Elelyon wasn't the only God in the Universe, of course, and especially he wasn't nearly as almighty as mortal religions depicted him, out of fear, out of sheer wish and craving for a benevolent superior force that would always keep the mortals safe, and solve all of their problems with a snap of fingers.

Adrasthea grinned ironically at his words, but looked at him with understanding, nodding a bit and not deriding him at all, or blaming him for his reaction, something that Killer was immensely glad and grateful for. "He sure is. He created this planet, put life on it, created Heaven and Hell, founded the very laws of the three planes, and crafted a space in the Universe in which we would fit and live under his protection and under his father-like gaze... But he is our God. One of many. He is a Creator God, a powerful and generous one, and ever since we met, I was all too glad to be His friend, and collaborate with Him on his... Creation, along with Gaia, Lemuel, and the others."

"There are many more Gods out there, and many more worlds, some strikingly resembling ours." Vesta added wisely, nodding a bit as she explained: "Elelyon has visited many other worlds, and he let me see them from his memories, from his eyes... I saw other Heavens, and other Hells. In particular, Elelyon, so many Eons ago, had a dear, dear friend, another Creator God, who influenced him immensely. They got along well together, and they did share a lot. Ideas, mainly, that Elelyon gladly adopted to create our world, to mechanics and conceptions very similar to those he had shaped discussing with his friend."

"But of course, for one kind soul He met, he was horrified by many others that He saw." Ira said firmly, one hand reaching up to rub at the edge of her cobra hood, the many piercings and earrings in it tinkling lightly as her fingers pushed them together, her eyes looking up into Killer's own. "Many other Gods, such as Sobek, have very different beliefs: they create life only to give themselves worshippers and slaves. The worlds they have created and populated are nothing more than sources of fresh meat for their lusts and for increasing their power by giving them armies of followers to order around. And there's even worse out there, Gods of Destruction that, unlike Sekhmet, really only Lust all the time for obliterating the creations of others."

"Of course, I understand it... it just... was quite a shock. All my life, without believing in gods at all, and... now this." He gestured at himself with a grimace, before looking out over the desert with an ironic grin on his muzzle, the expression in his eyes one of self-derision. "Look at me. I might be a God myself, which makes me horribly aware of the fact that I resemble mindless destroyers far more than I resemble Elelyon. I was totally and utterly wrong all along. And worse, even when I told myself I did not believe to a single word about gods and demons and angels, I still couldn't help but listen, and in the deep, assume that, if He existed, God would... you know. Solve everything with a blink or something."

Ira looked at him tenderly at that, shaking her head slowly before smiling gently, squeezing his shoulder lightly. "I've never been Mortal, but... you know how my life was. Whenever I suffered the misery that my father imposed on me, I've wondered if there really was a God. And if there was and if He was so generous and almighty, why wouldn't He help me when I was crying...?" She paused, looking down a bit as a faint blush covered her cheeks and Killer looked at her with affection, gently taking her cheek in a large hand, caressing her muzzle quietly.

Her emerald eyes thanked him silently, before she continued: "It is... understandable, I think, to... hope in someone almighty and always present, everywhere, every second. It comes from our wish of being loved, listened at, and helped when we need help." She smiled softly, then took his face gently in her hands, nodding as she gazed at him affectionately. "It is just like you told me. No one can fight alone forever. And that makes it delightful to think that there's a God who will remedy to all our problems, and keep us safe. But God is not almighty. For all His power, He can only do so much... and He of course can't help us all, and certainly He cannot listen to all our countless requests and wishes, so often stupid ones, so very often conflicting ones: how can He grant me my wish without making someone else suffer in a way or another? So many of our wishes are selfish ones, Lord Killer: we want something for us, and when someone gets what he wants, likely many more will stare at him enviously from the corner. It is part of why Elelyon protects us from the big threats, but allows us to live our lives according to our own choices."

"We are the makers of our Destiny." Killer said quietly, smiling down at her as he expressed the one thought he held dear as both his wish and as his only certainty about Life, and Ira smiled lovingly at him, nodding.

"All gods hear the prayers of their followers, Lord Killer. One day, you'll hear all the wishes and cries of your own people... And I must be sincere, it will not be pleasant. It will be cause of sadness, and it will make you feel impotent, since for all the power you might have, you never can make everyone happy, no matter how much you'd like to." Adrasthea added quietly, smiling a sad smile. "There are Gods who can easily ignore the prayers they hear. Taranis, for example, never did give a shit about anyone, and all the warriors that, in the history of the world, asked for his benevolence in battle wasted their words and devotion, as he only cares about the battle itself, not about who wins and who loses. For me, it's always been different. It still is. Elelyon, Lemuel, and Gaia, and Alcana, are other gods that, I know, still suffer terribly for all the prayers that they know they won't be able to satisfy."

Killer nodded, looking at the goddess quietly, and seeing the sadness in her beautiful obsidian eyes. It was something he had never really thought of, but he was now starting to see the full extent of that reality, and to say the very least, it wasn't another reason why he did not look at all forwards to godhood.

"The life of the God is way overrated, isn't it...?" Killer asked calmly, a bitter smile on his face. "After all, I bet a God feels the need for someone to look up to, as well as everyone else. Feels the need for affection, protection, and for guidance, even... But a God like Elelyon... who can he look up to? It must be... a life of solitude, with everyone looking at you for answers, for solutions."

"The life of the leader is always like that. A leader is alone in the moment in which the fatal decision has to be taken. Alone with the weight of responsibility burdening his shoulders. For a God, it is the same thing, just much worse because on a far greater scale." Vesta admitted, smiling at him in understanding, as Adrasthea grimaced a bit, nodding in agreement and a bit of exasperated amusement at how the tigress had said the truth even too well, making her words actually not so comforting.

"What? It's true!" Vesta barked after a moment, frowning at the Goddess and crossing her huge arms under her glorious breasts.

"It sure is." Adrasthea agreed with an entertained smile, holding her hands up and trading an amused gaze with Killer as he laughed a bit and nodded wisely, Vesta glaring a bit towards each.

"I really do not look forwards to starting to hear voices in my mind. Black Killer makes my mind a too crowded place as it is... And he also is more than enough talented at making me hate myself without the addition of prayers I won't be able to answer to." Killer said quietly after a moment of thinking, looking down at the ground and grimacing.

"In time, you will learn to... shut the voices out of your mind, and live on with them." Ira reassured, touching his arm and squeezing at his enormous bicep quietly, smiling affectionately when he looked down at her with gratitude.

"I hope so. But anyway, that's a problem for the future." Killer said firmly, shaking his head a bit and then sighing, scratching at his chin idly as he looked thoughtful for a few moments before turning to Adrasthea. "So, this war is truly universal. Spread all over the place... And we don't know the full extent of the plot beneath the events, so that we have not even a clear idea of who our enemy is. We always see the many henchmen, but never the boss."

The goddess of strategy looked at him with a smile, her eyes looking at him with renewed and expanded interest as she listened to his reasoning, adding calmly: "Of course, that is partially due to the fact that we are actually facing... many enemies at once. Everyone has an objective that goes against our interests, but that may have little to no direct connection to the major event."

"Exactly..." Killer agreed, nodding a bit and grimacing inwardly at the awareness of just how complicated everything was. Riaku, with his own dreams, which had been dreams of a better future, but had been exploited by the RA. The RA itself, that incredibly powerful organization that seemed to pop out of nowhere, and of which Killer still didn't know the composition and exact final targets. And then the NWOA, which sat somewhere in the middle, constituting an additional issue, separate, and yet linked to the RA somehow, via Vera. The Suicide-Maker, a "friendly enemy" that flirted with him lustfully and yet worked against him, staying at once in an unclear balance of interests, for the RA and for the NWOA.

And then the ancient Demon Lords, like Regina, who wanted to spread their dominion into Heaven and throughout the Mortal plane, and who had found allies in the RA and in some of the Gods. And then Anubis and Sobek, intent on pursuing their own objectives and dangerous as shrapnel, and then again, on a whole different level, the Gods that Elelyon had been battling.

It was enough to cause headache to anyone, and Killer snorted, shaking his head irritably before he observed: "Even if we don't know our enemy yet, we should at least be able to understand what objectives it has, though. If Elelyon is fighting in other worlds, and risking so much, even while his own planet is in such a bad moment, it means that there is... something that sits above all else, in the rank of importance and urgency, that exists in those worlds, and that he needs to defend."

"That is correct, Killer." Adrasthea nodded, smiling warmly. "You did get the point as rapidly as I expected you would."

"He is helping to protect a series of... magic devices. I really don't know how they look or where they are, God never did tell us that, deeming more careful to keep the secret only to himself. But I know that these mythical devices were first conceived by the First Gods, the six original deities that created the universe, and several more Anchors have been built by Gods as Elelyon, on many different planets, in many different dimensions." Vesta explained quietly, hugging herself nervously and rubbing a hand slowly over one of her huge biceps. "These anchors literally keep the universe together. They can link and connect whole dimensions, and they are what keeps things... the way they are. I know there must be a few Anchors in our world, for example, ensuring that Hell and Heaven do not literally crash into the Mortal Plane and destroy everything. And somewhere, perhaps on the Mortal Plane, there's also one of the Original Anchors, built by the First Gods, which is part of a network of 'safety joints', if you want to call them so, that keep the universe together in one piece."

"And someone is... trying to destroy these things...?" Killer asked in shock, briefly trying to picture in his mind the sudden appearance of Heaven in the sky of the Mortal Planet, and its immediate collapse the moment later... shivering at the awareness that it would have been, in one word, apocalyptic.

"Yes. Some Anchors have actually already been destroyed all over the Universe. Others are being attacked. And here in Heaven, somewhere, there's at least one, perhaps more anchors that the enemy wants to destroy." Ira replied quietly, looking apprehensively out over the horizon and visibly terrified by the horrendous awareness.

"And so, basically, the long-lasting rivalry between Heaven and Hell is being used to send the demon lords up here, with their armies, to laid waste over the whole plane... in the hope of finding, and destroying, the Anchors." Killer realized, looking towards Adrasthea seeking a confirmation, which promptly arrived as she nodded.

"We have tried to warn Hell. We have tried to advise them that we are all being used like cogs in the wheels, part of a game that can only end in our destruction. Ours and theirs. Some of them listened and laughed of the suggestion, saying that we were only trying to make them stop their attacks before they defeat Heaven. Some others didn't even listen at all. But some of them understood the dangers, and now collaborates with us, at least." Vesta explained, before Ira snorted bitterly and observed coldly: "We weren't exactly aided by the Heavenly Council in our negotiations with Hell. Firstly, because the Council is a band of assholes who wanted to exploit the moment and have Hell surrendering and groveling before mighty, shiny Heaven. You can figure what kind of answer such a request received.

Secondarily, because the Council itself does not really believe to the story."

Killer groaned, making a grimace and rubbing a hand over his eyes, before sighing tiredly, even as Adrasthea reasonably observed: "We have to understand them, at least a little bit, on this particular point. It is hard for everyone to believe that such a story could be real: after all, destroying the anchors means bringing the universe towards chaos, and towards a total collapse. Which would kill us all, no exceptions. It is hard to accept that anyone would ever want to do something like this, as it only looks like a spectacular, utter suicide bare of any other gain or aim."

"Indeed." Killer agreed, looking thoughtful for a few long moments before he shook his head slowly: "But there is some kind of gain for someone in this, even if we don't see it yet, isn't there? This is not about a big and spectacular mass suicide. Somehow, somewhere, someone will benefit from it." He made a grimace, looking at his hand for a moment and flexing his fingers slowly. Not even Black Killer would destroy everything like that, it would bring nothing.

"That feeling we share, Killer." Adrasthea replied quietly, nodding wisely. "But who, and how, I really don't know. Elelyon is trying to find it out, and he has come up with a hypothesis that is as convincing as it scary. But I'm sure He wants to share it with you personally, when he finally will be able to meet you."

"Another reason to look forwards to that day." Killer said softly, before pausing and taking a deep breath as he thought for a moment of where exactly he did sit in the order of things, the Prophecy that Ira had shared with him making him feel heavy and horrified.

"And so, predicting these days of tragedy, Azura made her Prophecy, and saw that the Universe will fall, but that Amon Ra will rebuild it in the very same epic day." He finally grumbled, before wincing as Ira glared at him a bit at the bitter irony of his tone, grinning to her dumbly in apologize as he remembered how important Azura had been for the cobra, and how totally Ira trusted the now long-lost Goddess of Death.

"Sorry, Ira. Sorry. But... it is quite frigging hard for me to accept it. Especially when people say that Amon Ra is me." He said softly after a moment, shaking his head slowly.

"Well, you are." The black-scaled Seraphim replied matter-of-factly, nodding firmly. "If you really trust me, you have to accept that. And accept that Azura was right. Because I have no doubts that Azura was talking of this war and of you. And I'm absolutely convinced that she saw correctly, as she always did."

Killer looked at her for a few long moments, as the muscular female crossed her huge, muscular arms and waited, looking at him flatly, until he smiled and shook his head slowly, looking amused as he punched her shoulder gently. "You are not a Mentor, you are a dictator." He paused and gazed into her eyes, nodding as he said clearly: "But I trust you. And I trust your words... And I trust Azura, too, because of it."

"You better." Ira replied with a wide grin, punching his thick chest playfully, before returning to seriousness almost immediately as she added softly: "You would have liked Azura... And I know she would have adored you. Just... Do not take the prophecy's words as certainties, however. A prophecy is more of a glimpse into the future than a proper image of exactly what will happen. Focus on the main message of it, and only on that: you are the only one who can save us. How it will happen, it will depend on you and on your choices. The future changes constantly, Killer. Every choice we make shapes a bit of the future."

Killer nodded, closing his eyes for a moment as he said calmly: "I'll keep it in mind."

"Elelyon is, believe me, sorry for all what you've had to bear ever since you entered Heaven. Sorry for the Prophecy, for the mystery, for how you are being treated. He will seek a meeting with you as soon as possible, the very first time he comes back, and I'm sure that he'll provide you with as many answers as possible... But until then, Killer, please, be patient. He is absent for a good reason." Adrasthea said gently, walking forwards to hug him quietly, squeezing his enormous frame against her chest and easily surprising him with the strength he felt in her arms.

"I understand, now. And I won't blame Him for anything... I do wish Him good luck, instead. And I'll keep the secret... gods know that this is the kind of thing that you really don't want the people on the street to hear." The huge male replied calmly, nodding a bit before he grimaced to himself as he thought of the panic, rage and shock that would have exploded if people heard of God's absence. It was something that he himself, a nonbeliever - how ironic... -, still struggled to accept and found scary. There was no telling how bad it could have been for the big crowds. Heaven was already in trouble more than enough as it was. Religious hysteria, panic, and total chaos in the street would have been the final blow to Heaven's survival. Which makes it very clear that all the care and prudence in the universe is still not quite enough on the subject.

Adrasthea nodded and smiled at him with gratitude, stepping back slightly even as her hands stroked gently down his strong sides, her eyes roving over his powerful form for a moment, as Ira looked at them briefly before easily removing the many barriers and spells that had been raised around them. Vesta, on the other hand, looked over Adrasthea with a grin, studying with amusement all the interest that glowed in the goddess's eyes as the dragokkaren female gazed all over Killer's huge body.

"You've wanted to meet Lord Killer like this for quite some time, haven't you...?" Vesta finally asked, nudging the goddess teasingly and grinning widely. The beautiful white-scaled dragokkaren did not deny at all, saying quietly: "I would have come much earlier, had I had a chance too. Again, Lord Killer, I apologize, for all the time that has passed without me seeming to care for you. You were in my thoughts, always, all this time, and even earlier."

"Don't say sorry. I know that everyone has been more than busy in these testing times. And I know that you've helped me a lot, even from afar." The huge male replied gently, touching her cheek delicately with a finger, making the goddess smile as her obsidian eyes sparkled with entertainment.

"I'll tell you a thing. Coming here today was for me a pleasure for many reasons... I'd long been wishing to come, for once. And to come here, I escaped my most boring daily tasks. And, again, I also escaped the annoying, nagging Michael." She grinned, nodding cheerfully and looking at him with a wink as she added easily: "He follows me everywhere as of late, and I can't quite kick him out, much as I'd like to... But I was sure that if I came to you, he would not follow."

"He better not." The huge male grumbled, closing a hand into a huge fist. "He knows that, unless I'm chained up and unable to move and under the watch of all the Metatrons of Heaven, I'm going to smash his face into pulp, no matter how many fancy spells he throws at me. It is a lesson he learned very rapidly, and he knows when he can pop up and torment me, and when he absolutely cannot."

It had happened now a long time ago now, when Michael had come to harass Killer during a training session. Killer had been chained to an ungodly, gigantic column of black lodestone he had to haul all the way up to the top of the Monolith, and he could barely move. But Vesta and Ira were around, and neither of the two females had any sympathy for the Prince of the Fourth Heaven: after a little while, the two muscular females had lost their temper - interestingly, even earlier than Killer, even though he had suffered the most of the teasing and harassing - and, under the shocked eyes of Michael, Vesta had put up an obscuring barrier that would hide them from the Metatrons' all seeing eyes at least for a while.

Ira, in the same moment, had grinned and snapped her fingers, causing the collar around Killer's neck to snap open, freeing him... And what had followed was a very pleasant memory of revenge.

Adrasthea grinned knowingly, licking her lips a bit and laughing with a nod, which told Killer that the story had probably reached her ears, even though, of course, the official inquest put up by the Heaven Council had been sunk by the firm denial of both Ira and Vesta. "Nothing at all happened." Had been their version, and there was no one who could prove that it was a lie. Not even a very angry, very humiliated, very beaten up Monarch. Vesta was high enough in the ranks that, even if not liked at all by the Heavenly Council, she could get away with quite a lot, after all.

"I just wish you'd actually learn a little bit of magic, so you could defend yourself the smart way instead of charging through the spells to prove how tough you are." Ira said flatly, rolling her eyes upwards in search of patience, even as Killer looked hurt.

"Hey, I try my best. I just suck at it. And anyway, charging through things is my way to deal with... like... everything." The huge male replied, shoving her lightly to the side, as Vesta grinned and said wisely: "It works, too."

"By the way, you are aware that Michael has a total crush on you, yes...?" Killer asked teasingly, grinning amusedly and tilting his head slightly to the side as he crossed his huge arms over his chest, looking at Adrasthea and laughing when she made a grimace and nodded firmly, confirming, with great fatigue, a truth that she obviously considered particularly awful, before she laughed herself, along with Ira and Vesta.

"Why does he matter so much around Heaven when he is such an asshole, again...?" Killer asked curiously when the laughter finally died down, and Vesta shrugged, answering easily: "He wasn't this bad, once. He was a pretty good guy, actually. Excellent warrior, always doing his share, and very honest. Yeah, he always was a bit arrogant, and he comes from a family that sits in the Council ever since... the very first days, which means that he is one of those firm believers in the total superiority of Heaven over everything, so that angels are, of course, above everyone as consequence. But he could still be a good friend, and he got along very well with Elelyon."

"Becoming Monarch of the Fourth Heaven changed him a lot. Elelyon made him ruling prince, and of one of the most important skies, the Throne's one, the sky of the Jungle, a true paradise... It did not help at all in making him humble." Adrasthea completed, grimacing a bit as she added: "It kind of inflated his ego like hot air pumped into a balloon. Ever since, each day that passes makes him even more ambitious and arrogant. But Elelyon, again, is not here most of the time; when he is around he is usually injured, busy, worried and exhausted all at the same time, and so the Council rules in his place, and assholes like Michael reach the top, while precious elements are hidden in the background and treated like dirt." At that, the goddess turned towards Ira, giving the cobra a sad, apologetic smile, which made the Passion blush and look not just surprised, but shocked, before she could gather her thoughts and put them back in order, mumbling a sincere thank you.

"A bad case of power corrupting someone's mind, then." Killer noted quietly, making a bit of a face as he wondered on how arrogant he could be at times, and how much he lusted for power and control, shaking his head softly before he looked up at Adrasthea with a smile. "I'm glad, though, that you are here. And I must admit I'm glad you dislike the asshole almost as much as I do... because that gives me the luck of having you here."

"It's a choice that really makes itself." Adrasthea replied amusedly, winking at him as she traced her hands down his thick, powerful chest, rubbing down his mighty abdominals all the way to scratch teasingly into the luscious fur of his happy highway, making him grin down at her gamely. "You are handsome, hot and muscular, and far more pleasant too..." The goddess listed, smiling playfully before she nodded and said: "I'm very, very happy to be here. As I said, I would have come earlier, had I had a chance to. But I must say that, in being forced to wait, I've kind of been lucky in the end: I see you today in a most impressive shape."

"He's epic." Vesta exclaimed cheerfully, grinning widely and nodding quickly, even as Ira rolled her eyes upwards a bit... her lips nonetheless cresting in a smile, which Adrasthea herself mirrored, nodding quietly.

"He made great progress in the last century." Ira recognized, looking at the male with an entertained smile. "We were about to try and see some more from him, and I suspect he might be able to snap another Seal, by now, so big is the progress. Although I'm amazed that he can control all these changes, so extensive, and yet he did not learn to bring his wings out, which should be a lot easier."

"Are you sure I have wings...?" Killer asked eagerly, his eyes glowing with interest and eagerness as he shifted a bit on the spot and turned to the cobra with urgent curiosity.

Ira looked at him in surprise, blinking as if shocked of his question, which for her had no reasons to exist... And Vesta calmly observed: "I'd be surprised if you did not have them, or at least the ability to fly. And anyway, we do know for sure that you have wings: you pulled them out more than once in your..." She hesitated, rubbing a hand awkwardly into her long blond hair as she looked at him with a hesitant grin, uncertain about how to call the occurrences in which he had lost control of himself. "... in your moments. Evidently you don't remember."

"Awesome!" Killer exclaimed cheerfully, for once unfazed even by the stinging memory of his failures, so good was the news. He immediately closed his eyes and concentrated, not really knowing at all what he had to do, but trying nonetheless, urged on by the dream of his whole life, to fly high. He had always dreamed to be a fighter jet pilot... but having wings of his own sounded even better, and he was incredibly willing to feel what it was like to fly to the beat of his own wings.

"So, you are basically saying that you never did try before...?" Ira asked mildly, rubbing a hand slowly over her forehead and sighing, looking down at the ground and seeking for patience, while Vesta only crossed her strong arms with a grin, looking at him expectantly.

Adrasthea smiled in amusement, leaning onto her spear as she looked at him with interest, just as his body began to change.

At first, it looked like he was growing an extra two pair of arms out of his strong back: powerful, black furred arms bulging with mighty, enormous muscles. But what would have been the forearms lengthened into the structure of four gigantic, glorious wings, spanning over 80 feet as they opened entirely, before glowing, angry flames erupted into being and extended from the new "arms", forming angelic wings terminating in long, enormous feathers shaped like curved blades. The flames solidified a moment later, turning into flesh and muscle and feathers, all of lucid obsidian, giving him wings as obscure as the darkest of nights, while vicious golden spikes pushed out of the joints, before the mighty wings easily folded behind him, and his eyes opened.

"It wasn't hard, knowing that I could do it." Killer admitted dumbly, grinning widely as she opened his eyes, which now had once again turned into emotionless pits of glowing sapphire light, and he immediately turned to look back over his shoulder, admiring the majestic glory of his dark, angelic wings... before he licked his lips slowly, and turned on the spot, charging forth towards the edge of the tall monolith of stone they were standing upon.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ira screamed, eyes going wide as she saw him running towards the abyss, the cobra charging after him as her own six wings spread from her back with a glow of white energy, even though her feathers were just as black as his own. "You have to learn to use them first, you idiot!"

Vesta winced at that as well, running forwards and flapping her mighty wings once to soar into the air as soon as they emerged from her strong back, as Adrasthea easily spread her own dragokkaren wings, easily shooting forwards as well, even as she smiled to herself.

But Killer did not stop, jumping eagerly off the edge of the mountain and into the nothingness, letting out a shout of joy even as he fell like a meteor towards the ground far below, wings folded tightly on his back, as he shot like a bullet through the air, the sand of the desert beneath drawing close at unbelievable speed, just as the two Seraphims and the Goddess dived down towards him, their arms stretched towards him...

And Killer grinned widely, spreading his immense wings at the last moment and easily stopping his fall, the shockwave digging a huge crater in the dunes of fine sand and throwing up a cloud of dust and dirt, which only grew tenfold as his powerful wings flapped once, and propelled him vertically up into the sky, the huge male spinning on himself to grin and wave teasingly at Ira and Vesta, who both looked at him with shock as he sailed past them, moving with unbelievable speed and grace, especially considering the huge size and mass of his body.

He cackled loudly, delighted, as another single, mighty flap of his wings sent him skyrocketing, the huge male spinning on himself even as he soared higher and higher, easily shooting through a first layer of cold, wet clouds, and higher still, before he made a full loop and let out a roar of amazement and ecstasy as he saw, through an opening in the clouds, just how high he already was, the desert below looking like a flat table dotted here and there by spikes that, he knew, were actually huge cliffs and mountains of solid stone.

He didn't stop, grinning widely as he easily controlled his wings and flapped them once again, the single blow rippling the very air and sending a shockwave exploding in all directions as he soared even higher, moving at unbelievable speed and with derisory ease, his wings feeling powerful and deadly, as motes of dark energy and flames burned through the air briefly with each flap, looking almost like feathers falling off.

He felt powerful. Tremendously powerful. He felt capable of any kind of astonishing feat. And now he felt happy too, as he soared even higher, the sky already getting darker here, even if the Sun looked even closer... and he did not feel at all the icy coldness of the altitude. It was there, he knew it, but his fire, his energies, burned with a vigor that was almost arrogant, as if to challenge the universe to put a stop to his ascent.

He thought with a grin of his dreams, as a little boy, of becoming a fighter jet pilot. To be part of that narrow elite of flying warriors, with their invincible jets, faster than sound and loaded with weapons... and his grin grew wider at the awareness that, now, he could have taken head-on the war to any member of that elite, and he could have flown faster than any jet, higher. Maneuver more aggressively, too, as he easily spun in a series of twisting turns and loops, before lashing out a huge fist with all of his strength, grinning as the very sky seemed to ripple with the power of his blow, as if his punch could rip reality itself apart. And he thought of how easy it would have been to rip a fighter jet apart like it was a mere paper plane. How weak and vulnerable those advanced machines would have been... and he grinned cruelly, wishing for enemies, for targets to be there around him, for victims to unleash his terrible power upon.

"Killer... enough." A voice called gently, and the huge male stopped, his eyes bulging for a moment, before he closed them instead, and shook his head slowly, horrified by the awareness that he had been beginning to lose control, his lust for destruction and for power having already begun to take quickly over.

Ira looked at him gently as she hovered near him, the male now slowing down his ascent, as he turned towards her with a smile: "I felt... delirious with power, for a moment. I know the wings on their own didn't make me that much stronger, in reality... but I feel so much more complete and deadly, now..."

"I know. I saw it, you reckless... you." The Seraphim said gently, without adding anything about the painful subject, but instead calmly but urgently saying: "Stop now, Killer. Didn't you ever hear of Icarus? You will meet an end too, if you keep rising. We are almost out of the atmosphere already."

Killer made a bit of a face at that, but he nodded, and flapped his mighty wings slowly, easily slowing down to hover, high above the clouds, Heaven little more than a paintwork of confused colors beneath them, so far below, as the male closed his eyes and savored the moment and feelings for a moment.

When he opened them, he saw that Vesta and Adrasthea had also followed him, and were keeping them under control from a distance... and he waved to them reassuringly, before looking towards Ira and nodding quietly. "Let's... go back down, then."

The cobra smiled, then flapped her wings once, soaring a little big higher, and grinning as she dived down towards the earth, shooting past him with a teasing grin.

It made the male grin gamely, and shot forwards in pursue, his potent, muscular wings blowing a shockwave through the sky as they propelled him forth, wind blowing viciously in his face as he gained speed with an explosive acceleration, and easily reached Ira, putting her in the darkness of his shadow as he grinned down at her challengingly, the cobra looking upwards with a snort, before suddenly smirking and spreading her wings, stopping her descent as Killer shot past with a wince, and the Seraphim chased after him from an advantageous point, slightly behind him, and above, grinning down at him teasingly.

Killer did not refuse the challenge, smirking to himself as he flapped his mighty wings and shot out to the side, vanishing into a white, enormous cloud and spinning on himself easily before shooting upwards, sailing across the wet mist almost entirely blindly until he emerged in full sunlight, hovering high over the cloud and looking down for targets.

Ira, Vesta and Adrasthea had accepted his game, but not taken his bait: he quickly spotted all three, Vesta and the Goddess flying high and a mile or so away from the borders of the huge cloud, from where they could have easily spotted him had he tried to exit from below or from a flank, while Ira flew high above the cloud, her eyes already fixed on him as she dived like a bird of prey towards the huge male.

"Not so easy, tiger. I've been flying for Eons." The cobra teased, shouting towards him as she came at range, and Killer grinned, waiting the last second before letting himself fall backwards, wings folding easily and his huge body rushing down towards the earth like a heavy stone.

Ira snorted in amusement at that, easily diving after him with a flap of her own beautiful, strong wings, just as Vesta and Adrasthea made large sweeping turns and shot towards them from both sides, even as Killer and the cobra vanished into the whipped cream-like cloud, vanishing from sight.

Killer looked upwards as he continued to fall, rushing towards the ground at terrifying speed, but only grinning as he met Ira's eyes, the female chasing him from ever decreasing distance, and his eyes darted from a side to the other as Vesta appeared as well, Adrasthea following at the opposite side, her obsidian eyes alive with entertainment.

The huge male closed his eyes on instinct as he broke out of the bottom of the cloud, a shining layer of wetness covering his body but almost instantaneously evaporating with the heat of the magma and energy that pulsed through his veins, as his wings spread wide and braked his descent violently, allowing him to flip backwards elegantly before he shot upwards with a mighty wing-beat, grinning teasingly just as Ira emerged from the cloud, her eyes bulging in shock as she winced and veered to the side, letting him soar past her and barely avoiding the impact, the shockwave of his wing beat throwing her off like a rag doll and sending her spinning wildly for a brief moment, until she steadied herself with a snort, chasing after him immediately.

The huge male sailed at full speed through the sky, however, and Killer grinned widely as Vesta emerged from the cloud, immediately shooting towards her, the Seraphim looking at him in shocked surprise and throwing herself off to the side as he sailed past, winking at her teasingly before he repeated his assault against Adrasthea too, only to flap his enormous, mighty wings once more to gain even greater speed, turning upwards in a full, wide loop, and finally diving towards the earth with a loud laughter, the three powerful females all following in pursuit.

Killer closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the delight of a dream come true, and savoring the power he felt in his wings, mighty muscles bulging with every blow, the wind screaming in a loud, deafening hiss into his ears as he sailed through the sky at incredible speed, diving straight down towards the desert below, falling like a bomb.

He only pulled up from the dive at the very last moment, a huge dune of fine sand exploding upwards in a cloud of dust as his enormous wings flapped, and he flew low over the desert, grinning and looking around himself in amazement as the shockwave and air blast of his speed of his wing-beat all but ripped the ground apart beneath him and threw the sand up into a storm, ripping a straight, deep and large trench in the earth.

He turned on himself, flying for a few moments with his back down towards the earth, allowing him to easily look back and all around himself, spotting Ira following him like an hawk, Vesta and Adrasthea keeping the flanks covered to impede him any "escape"... And when Ira charged forwards, Killer turned again, smiling to himself and flying forwards even faster, aiming for two enormous, tower-like cliffs of ancient stone and shooting between them like a missile.

For an instant, it seemed like nothing would happen... but then, a loud rumble, like a massive explosion, followed as the shockwave impacted hard into the two mountains, and they cracked apart like biscuits, enormous boulders failing down into the sea of sand below as both colossal monoliths collapsed on themselves in a hail of rock and dust.

Ira had to slow down and soar higher into the sky, to pass over the collapsing mountains and avoid the falling boulders and the immense cloud of dark dust, and Killer exploited the brief advantages to fly straight into a maze of bare, cruel cliffs and monoliths of reddish stone, slowing down not to rip the valley apart, and grinning as he flew low over a flat surface of solid rock, causing little to no dust to mount up, making him virtually invisible as he zigzagged between the hills and mountains, using the tall cliffs to hide.

"Know what, I've flown for an even longer time than Ira!" A voice suddenly cheerfully announced, and Killer winced, turning back in shock to see Vesta shooting up from under a beautiful, natural arch of stone that had made her invisible, allowing her to get close. The muscular female grinned gamely, and literally jumped on his back, between his enormous, mighty wings, her strong arms wrapping tightly around his neck.

"I love our games, and I adore a good chase. But it looks like I've won this round." Vesta teasingly said in his ear, pulling him backwards teasingly and letting him feel the power of her muscles as they bulged against his neck, squeezing at his throat as she playfully nipped at his ear, while pushing her beautiful, warm and strong body down into his back.

"Get off, babe. I'm not letting you win." Killer teasingly replied, grinning at her from over his shoulder as he turned and flew back towards the stony arch she had come from. "I'm gonna ram back-fist into the rock. Get off, Vesta."

"No, you aren't gonna do that." The muscular female replied with a confident grin... but her expression changed as he reiterated his warning, and spun in midair, shooting backwards towards the mountain's flank.

"It's a bluff!" Vesta exclaimed, but Killer just shook his head with an amused smirk, his powerful body tensing and readying for the tremendous impact as the queen of Seraphims finally winced, turning back towards the mountain as her eyes bulged. "Oh, fuck!"

Even so, she did not let go of him, one arm wrapping firmly around his throat as her other swung out backwards, the female roaring as she smashed a punch into the mountain, and Killer looked backwards in shock as the colossal, ancient monolith of stone exploded outwards violently, crumbling in thousands of small fragments, the biggest of which wasn't larger than a city car, most being even smaller. They hailed violently into the desert and against other rocky cliffs all around, a cloud of dust and dirt rising to the sky, and Vesta cackled loudly and punched his solid, muscular chest now, making him cough and his eyes bulge as she exclaimed cheerfully: "You can fucking take that, asshole, and see how fucking awesome I am!"

"Point taken." Killer replied amusedly, finally touching down in the sand as Vesta jumped down to her feet with a wide grin, both folding their huge, strong wings and trading a smirk as they clapped their hands together, trading a high five. They smirked at each other, and they seized firm hold of each other's hand, pushing at one another for a brief moment, enormous, mighty biceps bulging as they wrestled their titanic strengths playfully, testing their supernatural might. "You are totally giving me an arm wrestling match when we get back home, though." The huge male finally added, and Vesta's eyes glowed with entertainment as she struck a bodybuilder pose, flexing her arm in front of herself and letting him see her huge bicep tensing and bulging with power.

"Sure thing, if you want to lose. No one beats me at it."

"Funnily enough, no one ever beat me either." Killer replied easily, grinning gamely down at her, accepting her challenge and moving his own, the strong female licking her lips slowly and kissing lovingly at his throat.

Ira and Adrasthea had no difficulty locating the enormous cloud of dust that the wind was still lazily pushing towards the horizon, the echo of the rumble of the mountain collapsing still resounding down the valley, as if screaming the position of Killer and Vesta.

The cobra female easily touched down a few steps away, snorting as she glared at Killer and Vesta, but the queen of Seraphims only grinned cheerfully, rubbing a hand leisurely down her strong abdominals as she arched her back a bit. "You lose. I win. I'm awesome."

"You reckless, brash moron!" The cobra shouted, glaring at Killer as she stomped up closer and punched him hard squarely in the middle of his chest, making him grunt and sway backwards a bit, but with relief all the same since she had chosen not to aim for his face. "The moment before he didn't even think he could have wings, and then he jumps straight into the sky and acts like a five year old overjoyed child."

"I'm totally forever young. It really is a good thing." Killer replied playfully, holding up a finger as Ira stared at him incredulously, before slumping a bit and shaking her head with a deep, drawn-out sigh.

"At least it looks like I won't have to teach you anything about flying. You are a natural." She admitted quietly, looking back up at him with an affectionate smile, just as Adrasthea touched down near them, laughing.

"Lord Killer is an unlimited chest of surprises." The goddess said, trading a smile with him, as Vesta wrapped a strong arm around the huge male's waist and squeezed him close to her side, grinning widely.

"You can't really say that until he fucks you into Heaven. That's when the best surprises are revealed."

"Really, huh...?" Adrasthea asked quietly, gazing at him with an entertained grin. "I never did doubt it, somehow."

"Your trust in my skills honors me." The huge male replied easily, bowing to her a bit and grinning in amusement, before Ira cleared her throat and urged them to pay attention.

"Back to seriousness. I wanted you to try and snap another Seal, since you seem ready for it. We should be far ahead in the training already, and..." The cobra paused, frowning a bit as someone tapped her gently on the shoulder, and she turned away from Killer to look to the side... before gaping a bit and blinking as she found herself facing a thick, enormous tentacle-cock. Her eyes rolled down this and followed the thick, snake-like body of the appendage, which stretched out of the wrist of the male.

"Can you be serious for five minutes...?" The cobra groaned, grabbing the thick tentacle in a hand and squeezing at it savagely, making Killer wince as she threw the anaconda-like black-fleshed monstrosity back towards him.

"Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist." Killer apologized, smiling a bit despite all as he let the huge appendage vanish back inside his body, as Vesta grinned and looked at the tentacle with mischievous interest in her eyes, Adrasthea shaking her head with a quiet smile on her features.

"We are late on schedule, Killer, even after the latest improvements. We really have to try and move to the next level." Ira urged, and the male nodded, cracking his neck leisurely and rolling his enormous shoulders slowly.

"I know, I know. I'll try right now, but I can't promise a thing. And... And please, be careful. If I lose it, do whatever is necessary to stop me."

"We will." The three females promised without hesitation, standing before him and nodding... and he smiled at them before closing his eyes and delving into the darkness.

Killer's eyes opened, and he blinked briefly, looking around himself quietly and still feeling amazed every time that he so literally entered in his own mind, even though he had been doing it for many years now.

He was, once more, in the immense, dark world where the gigantic, fearsome monster version of him stood, planet-sized and godlike in power and appearance, the only noise in the air being an occasional, low and thunderous growl coming from the sleepy titan towering in the middle of the strange dimension.

Killer swallowed nervously, feeling the usual euphoria pulsing in his veins, a mix of fear, craving, horror and awe, as frightening waves of power washed over him like a raging ocean, the energy in the air burning his skin and almost physically battering him backwards like a giant hand swatting a fly.

He was walking down what had once been a street, in the middle of what had once been a town. He thought with horror that it felt a lot like Newbury, but, back then, even he hadn't been capable to deliver a so total and horrifying level of destruction.

Nothing at all here was left intact or standing. The buildings out to either side had been crumbled like biscuits, and they were now reduced to messy mountains of ruins, chunk of walls, and steel beams and girders that had been bent out of shape and ripped apart like paper.

The ground itself was blackened, burnt, dead and rippled, enormous cracks forming a thick web of canyons of which he couldn't see the bottom at all. What had once been a road, now was a rollercoaster, the ground having rippled upwards here and there, pushing up enormous slabs of asphalt to form overturned Vs that he had to climb, each separated from the others by the ungodly cracks in the terrain, as even the earth itself had surrendered and collapsed and shattered under the power of the terrifying titan standing, miles away, in the middle of it all.

Killer repressed a shiver as he stumbled over a pile of ruined, crushed cars, now turned into unrecognizable wrecks of molten, blackened metal. At least twenty cars, thrown there like toys, shattered and crushed with horrendous force, and nearly entirely melted, creating a disgusting sculpture of death and destruction, reeking of carbonized flesh and rotten, squished meat. To either side of the metallic mountain that he climbed slowly, were the two ruined halves of a bus, which had been ripped in half like a bread stick, the two parts then thrown away easily.

And Killer knew that this was the nice part. Further ahead, the devastation was far worse, far more total than even so. This area was merely the margin of ground zero, a stretch of land with thousands of miles of radius, that surrounded many more thousands of square miles of cities, towns, villages, and people that had been crushed flat or burned to ashes in a cruel, ferocious extermination.

The area ahead was a black wasteland. Even the rubble and ruins had been destroyed, melted all the way into vapor, so that there was literally nothing left to be seen, other than total annihilation of everything and everyone.

That, and craters that stretched over uncountable miles, also literally miles deep, and shaped like enormous feet.

Killer made a grimace, remembering it all too well. He had wondered the wasteland for days in the last century, when he had been meditating and living most of the time inside himself, to try and gain control and awareness of his own power and skills. But there was nothing to see, other than destruction, and the destroyer himself, godlike and immense, standing in the middle of the carnage.

Killer looked around himself moodily, before gritting his fangs angrily, snarling as he slammed a vicious kick in the rusty, crumpled wreck of what had once been a large van, the metal denting inwards and ripping like paper even as the vehicle was thrown into the air, smashing into a huge pile of rubble and ending up squished by a large slab of cracked concrete that once been part of a long-collapsed building.

Killer breathed harshly for a moment, standing in the middle of the wreckage and closing his eyes briefly, trying to calm down, but it was difficult to keep under control and detached. He wasn't sure if this place was real, or an image of a real world, or just a fantasy made solid. He was supposed to be inside himself, after all, in his own mind, even though it still felt hard to believe and his doubts about it grew every time, instead of decreasing.

Real or not, however, the sight was terrifying, and the energy in the air, the corruption squeezing at his body almost like a huge, godlike and invisible hand, was fearsome. It gave him the chills, as he took in the sight of ungodly splatters of blood here and there, as he almost heard the shrieks echoing between the mountains of ruins, the terror that had been shortly but violently lived still seeming to float in the air, filling his nose and his senses as he walked onwards.

But what really horrified him, the real worse part of it all, was that he couldn't help but like the horrendous spectacle. It aroused him, it made him breathe heavily as he looked around himself, taking in all that destruction with undeniable lust. It horrified him. It made him feel like the worst of monsters, but he just couldn't avoid it. It made his heart beat a little faster, it made him roll his powerful shoulders quietly every now and then, his mighty muscles flexing and bulging with power and vigor as bloodlust cursed through his body with almost electric thrills of delighted hunger.

He tried hard not to look up, towards the godlike, titanic beast towering in the middle of the immense wasteland, but he could feel its presence all the same, in the fearsome energy in the air, which literally caused the temperature to be unnaturally high, so much so that looking over the distance Killer could see the rippling effect of the heat, confusing the outline of things, hiding the horizon. Every other noise was covered by the low, sleepy growls coming from the behemoth, and everything else seemed unimportant, insignificant and pathetic, crushed into irrelevance by the tremendous force ahead.

Killer snarled again, stopping for a moment and closing his eyes, shaking his head slowly before looking at the cracked, burnt and molten asphalt under his feet, taking a deep breath... But it was useless. The temptation to look up was too strong to chase or wish it away. He felt horribly eager. Hungry. Envious of such limitless power.

He slowly looked up, out in the distance, licking his lips slowly without even realizing it.

Just the toeclaws of the titan were enough to make him feel an ant. Bigger than mountains, they filled the horizon with their unforgiving, cruel shape.

The immense pyramids, with their huge steps of stone, were still standing in a circle around the titan, the colossal glowing chains of the remaining Seals stretching from each supernatural construction towards the thick collar around the neck of the monster... But of course, Killer easily spotted the missing chain, and the pyramid laying in ruin, that had once been the Seal that had already been destroyed.

He sighed, shaking his head again and looking away from the dark god, grumbling a curse under his breath before easily letting his wings out of his back, walking forwards a few steps before he rose into the air with a powerful beat that stirred up dust storms and blew bones and debris away, as he soared high into the sky and shot towards the nearer standing pyramid, looking obstinately down at the desolated wasteland that passed under him at astonishing speed, until the steps of the pyramid filled his eyesight, and he landed on top of it with a sigh.

His wings neatly folded on his back, the huge male walking forwards quietly over the square-sized roof, until he touched the first colossal chain link with a hand, grimacing as he leaned his forehead against it, hesitating for a few long moments, closing his eyes and telling himself that, no matter what, it had to be done.

I don't want to. But I must.

He paused, then scowled and snarled angrily, slamming a ferocious punch into the chain, cracking the enormous metallic link as he spat: "Lies! I want it! I fucking crave it!" Killer gritted his fangs almost painfully, shaking his head in denial as he closed his hands into fists with enough ferocity to make his own palms bleed heavily as his claws ripped into his flesh... Before he felt a presence that he had been expecting, without any eagerness or joy, and he straightened, tensing up as he venomously said: "Leave me the fuck alone. You are the last person I want to see at the moment."

"How rude." Black Killer replied mildly, before walking up to him with a grin, many feet taller, more muscular and more powerful by far, but otherwise all-but identical to him, wings included, save of course for the jet black fur without any stripe. "I did teach you a lot in the last while... I thought you'd show some gratitude."

"I'd be so much more grateful if I didn't have to put up with you. If I didn't have anything to learn from you. If I didn't have this whole story to worry about." Killer replied darkly, leaning onto the gigantic chain and squeezing into it hard enough that his fingers pierced into the Godblood, the energy of the powerful spells charmed onto the Seal dancing in flames all over the gigantic links.

"That's a lie, and one that makes you sound like a little, scared pussy, little bro." Black Killer replied softly, his voice derisively gentle and falsely affectionate. "The truth is that you crave this ultimate power even more than I do... the truth is that you have fantasies and lusts and desires that make even mine feel and look tame. And for this I do almost admire you." The gigantic black-furred male paused, grinning as he squeezed Killer's shoulder playfully, and then he bent down to said teasingly in his ear: "The issue is that you have this soft, merciful side about you, that makes you dream to be a knight in shining armour, not a dark master, destroyer and owner of worlds."

"How thankful I am for that issue." Killer replied coldly, glaring at him with fury, but Black Killer only smiled ironically down at him.

"Really...? I do not think you are that thankful. It makes everything more complicated for you. It makes you pull back your punches all the time, and it makes you hide your true self and deny your true desires. And all that, just to be all generous and fair to bugs that you could squish under the tip of one finger."

"People, you bastard. Not bugs. People." Killer roared angrily, snarling towards his larger, cruel dark self, who looked unimpressed, only shaking his head slowly, with a patronizing grin on his face.

"Doesn't power give you rights?" The huge black male asked simply, flexing his thick fingers idly before closing a hand into a powerful fist. "They can't do anything about it anyway."

"For every right, there's a responsibility." Killer answered calmly, shaking his head slowly. "But I don't expect you to accept it, or even just understand it."

"Better. That will save me time. I really don't want to listen to you today." Black Killer replied idly, scratching under his chin with a bored look.

"Why did you even pop out, then? I wouldn't have missed you at all." Killer grumbled coldly, as he looked around himself for a weak point to exploit to break the Seal. There were many, actually, so he was effectively only stalling, nervous about even touching the divine chain now that his dark self was around.

"And miss this spectacle...? No way." Black Killer replied calmly, shaking his head with a grin. "I know why you are here."

"Nothing will happen if you try and interfere. I won't let you touch that chain. Don't even try." Killer hissed, turning towards the larger male with a glare. Black Killer, however, only shook his head slowly, smiling amusedly to himself before saying softly: "Little bro, I'm not stupid. Impulsive, yes. But not stupid. I'm not going to kick your ass without a reason... you are doing exactly what I want, in the end. Slowly, but you are doing it. The war will force you to do it, if you want to protect your loved ones, or even just survive. So, interfering would only needlessly complicate things. Go right ahead, bro. I'm here just to cheer you on."

Killer fell silent, looking at him in surprise at that unexpected development, his eyes suspicious and focused as he stared at Black Killer, trying to read his intentions from his expression, from his body language... And the huge, dark male stood calmly before him, staring back down with a grin, arms crossed on his chest, relaxed and without any hurry.

Overall, sure, it made sense. The first thing that Black Killer wanted was to see the Seals snapped. He wanted Killer to unleash all his power and possibilities and skills... and for years now, the obscure giant had given him lessons, and trained him in the control of the powers that he had just been sharing with Vesta, Ira and Adrasthea. This could be just the next step in his new strategy... And while it seemed to work in Killer's favor, it represented a greater danger, not at all a smaller one.

Killer gritted his fangs, his body tensing as he looked angrily towards his alter-ego, fully aware of the implications and risks of what he was going to do... But knowing, at the same time, that there really wasn't an alternative. He needed Black Killer alive, for many reasons - he wasn't even sure if they could live without each other - and at the same time he needed him dead, to remove the tremendous, mortal menace that a monster like Black Killer represented.

It was a dead end. Worse, as it stands, he's stronger by far. I don't even know if I'd be able to kill him.

"You are going to stay back and watch, no interferences?" Killer finally asked, looking coldly up to the fellow male's eyes, surveying them for any glint, any hint of a plan, of mischief-making, but Black Killer nodded easily, without any hesitation, without any sign of a second plan.

"You are not going to take over, are you...?"

"Are you even sure that when you lost control, it passed to me, little bro?" The giant male asked easily, grinning down at him teasingly. "You like to think it did... but you are well aware that you can be worse than even me. Maybe you were just lost in your own lusts. It already happened in the past... Unless you want to say I'm responsible for Newbury too."

"Answer my question." Killer snarled, even as he did his best to repress a shiver of horrendous doubt, which made his spine tremble, a stinging feeling of coldness making his body tense almost painfully.

"I already said I'll stay back, and cheer you on." Black Killer replied, bowing forwards with a teasing grin and making a welcoming gesture with his arms, making Killer turn away from him with a snort and a curse grumbled under his breath.

He looked down at his feet, his eyes tracing a long, wide snaking crack that seemed to break the pyramid in half, vertically. He couldn't see the bottom of the crack looking into it, so far it stretched deep down in the insides of the gigantic structure, so it was potentially the perfect spot to hit. He sighed, closing his eyes with a grimace for a moment, before he closed a hand into a powerful, tight fist and pulled it back, hesitating for a moment... before lashing it out with all of his fearsome strength, the stone shattering under his fingers and the pyramid cracking in half like a hollow, dead egg, Killer wincing as the immense chain came free and snapped like a whip through the air, hanging loosely from the collar at the neck of the titan looming over them, miles and miles tall.

He was slammed backwards by a fearsome wave of energy that crushed him down into the cracked stone like he was a bug, before the solid rock shattered and crumbled into dust and pebbles, and he fell down towards the wasteland, miles beneath...

But he wasn't scared. He was grinning, feeling his power increase tenfold, his muscles expanding and growing even more toned, bulkier and yet faster, harder, stronger, even more divinely chiseled, as a surge of force of incredible proportions burned through his veins, his wings beating once and easily keeping him hovering in midair even as the colossal pyramid collapsed all around him, and he flexed mightily, his body bulging with frightening physical power as he laughed, throwing his head backwards with a roar of lustful delight... before wincing in horror as two of grinning crimson eyes flashed in his mind.

Ira and Vesta both ran forwards as Killer fell to his knees before them, grabbing the sides of his head and letting out a roar that was loaded with fury, lust and anguish at the same time, as flames of golden energy wrapped around his powerful form, erupting upwards to form a column, a swirling, furious tornado of flames that connected the earth to the sky high above, the clouds bending and spinning with rising speed around the hurricane of fire, as the desert trembled violently, shaken by a furious earthquake.

Adrasthea reached forwards for the two Seraphims, seizing the arms of both and restraining them, pulling them backwards and screaming over the roar of the flames: "Don't move! You can't stop it now, it'll kill you just to get close to him!"

Ira and Vesta looked at her briefly, unable to find anything to counter, knowing all too well that she was right... but struggling all the same, turning towards Killer as Ira stretched her free arm towards him, clawing at the air in a hopeless attempt to touch him.

But the goddess kept both females back, as Killer sunk into the ground, the stone under him cracking and crumbling and collapsing to form a circular crater, which expanded rapidly, as the monoliths of stone around them cracked apart like biscuits, collapsing to the ground to form huge piles of rubble.

But the ruins didn't stay still for long, as the tremendous energy in the air, crackling in lightnings of golden and black, shattered them in even smaller parts, even as the huge slabs of stone floated upwards and began to circle in the air, swirling along with the tornado of flames.

Killer's eyes glowed sapphire, the huge male's back arching as he roared towards the sky, his golden horns expanding and lengthening, as his enormous wings spread wide, his whole body expanding and growing in power and sizes as the giant male slowly stood back on his feet, muscles bulging with explosive vigor, the flames in his arms raging hungrily and his mane floating around his head. In barely moments, he more than tripled in size, standing well over sixty feet tall, his body filled with terrible physical power, energy crackling around him violently, his pants all but vaporized, leaving him naked and mighty before them, even as Adrasthea groaned as the three females were slammed backwards by the waves of force radiating from the giant male.

Ira stared at him in shock, horrified at the thought that she had been the one urging him on, shaking her head in denial as she feared to see him losing control, but both Vesta and Adrasthea restrained her again when she tried to charge towards the huge male, his roar feeling full of agony as his back arched again.

Then, suddenly, the hurricane of golden fire slowed, quieted down, and then vanished, a rain of enormous stones hailing back down into the ground as flames of energy continued to burn out of the male's strong body, his growth stopping at around one hundred feet, as energy crackled loudly around him in electrical discharges of obscene violence.

Ira, though, relaxed as Killer slowly looked down at them, wincing as electricity zapped around his enormous body... and he said quietly, almost whispering not to rattle them like leaves with his deep, potent voice: "It's me. I'm... fine enough."

"Holy hell, that was scary." Vesta exclaimed, looking up at him with relief, as Ira walked towards his huge feet, looking over him with relief, even as she tried, without much success, to ignore the naked, astounding glory of the male's titanic shaft and the immense, impossible testicles that came with it, hanging heavily above her and so huge that she could have easily crouched into any of the two godlike orbs.

She gently leaned one hand over one colossal, cruel toeclaw, but a discharge of energy immediately zapped her, throwing her backwards a step and making her stumble as she groaned in pain, Killer looking down at this in horror before Adrasthea shook her head slowly and said firmly: "You have restrained yourself and bottled your energy up, haven't you...? You stopped your growth and tried to put a stop to it."

"Yes... I did." Killer admitted, looking embarrassed as Adrasthea shook her head again, and Vesta looked at him with concern as well.

"You are overloaded with energy. Bottling it up only makes it all worse... you'll eventually reach the limit, and lose control by doing so. You need to vent, and take all that vigor out on something." Vesta said wisely, crossing her arms on her chest before looking briefly around over the desert, before grinning. "We are many thousands of miles away from... pretty much anyone and anything, so this is probably the best place of all to vent some of that power without causing catastrophes."

"I'm not sure it is a good idea." Killer mumbled, looking around himself nervously, feeling a horrendous need to let loose and rampage and destroy anything at hand. I have this horrible feeling that thousands of miles might just not be enough.

"Perhaps we should head to the Middle Sea... in here there is... literally nothing. The Middle Sea is full of monsters and raging beasts dumb enough to charge at you. It would give you better targets." Ira suggested, looking up at him with a question in her eyes, but he shook his head slowly. The Middle Sea was an attractive option, supercharged as he felt: the monsters of the mysterious ocean were terribly strong and powerful, and a horde of powerful enemies to annihilate was exactly what he craved... but despite his hunger, Killer was still sane enough to be aware that the coasts of the Middle Sea weren't far away from the Wall.

With the power he felt in his body now, he felt like the Middle Sea wouldn't have been enough... what would have happened if he had suddenly turned his attention on the Wall and the divisions of angels guarding it...? It would have been a slaughter. He was pretty sure that he could turn an army of angels into pulp with little more than a flex.

"No, no... Here... here will work better." He mumbled, repressing a shiver of eager hunger as Vesta and Ira looked at him with understanding.

"Size up, Lord Killer..." Adrasthea calmly instructed. "Grow as much as you can. Let it all go."

"Yeah, show us what you truly can do." Ira added, walking away from him to give him free space, but smiling reassuringly at him when she finally stopped, looking up with a quiet nod.

"Give us a show of force. Make us stare at your power... let us see the God that you are, and we will be witnesses to your strength!" Vesta cheerfully teased, pumping a strong fist into the air as she looked up at him with adoration.

Killer smiled back down at them, but he hesitated for a moment longer, at the same time scared, horrified of what could happen, and eager like he had rarely been in life. He felt incredibly powerful. Truly godlike. Unstoppable. And he loved the feeling... and he craved all of the energy that crackled in and out of his body, as he struggled to restrain it. He felt invincible... and at the same time, he knew that it was just a fraction of his power. He repressed a shiver at that awareness, once more nervous and hesitant, but the three females looked at him adoringly, and with eyes that implored him to go ahead, urging him on, and telling him that they trusted him.

"Ok... Stay back. And be careful." Killer said softly, finally nodding slowly before taking a step backwards, his long legs making him cover a huge distance in no time, before he closed his eyes and focused briefly. It was holding back that was difficult: unleashing felt like liberation. Easy, and so thrilling, so delightful, to be arousing.

When he opened his eyes, they glowed sapphire with endless energy and vigor, his body feeling overflowed with power, his musculature bulging with godlike, terrible physical might... And it took him a moment to realize with shock that the pebbles around his feet had, until moments earlier, been tall, imposing cliffs of stone around him, even though now they looked like hills on a model set, on a western-style miniature train scenario.

He was thousands of feet tall, ten thousand at least, and probably even more... and he could barely see, down between his cruel toe talons, the three mighty, muscular females, awestruck as they stared upwards at him as reality itself rippled around him, energy crackling around him still, in booming lightnings that seemed to want to tear the sky itself apart, an immense stretch of desert fallen into a dark, starless night as his gigantic wings spread wide and obscured the sun, casting his shadow over the world.

He flexed, grinning to himself and licking his lips at the endless power he felt thrumming in his body, feeling like anything was not just possible, but easily done... and he felt, strong and urgent, the need for a challenge... the need for a powerful rival to annihilate.

He slowly pulled up a gigantic foot, and he lifted it above a huge cliff of stone, slowly extending his sole and wiggling his taloned toes with a grin above the mountain, which now looked pitiful to his eyes, before slowly setting his foot atop it, loving how the solid, ancient stone cracked and shattered under his sole weight... And his grin widened as he tensed the immense muscles of his thigh, slowly crushing down with the strength of his musculature and laughing between closed fangs at the ease with which he felt the stone giving in like flour, the mountain crumbling into a cloud of dust as his foot sunk into the earth, cracked open the crust of ancient rock that formed the bed of the desert, deep under the fine sand, a web of large canyons and deep cracks the bottom of which couldn't be seen opening for miles and miles around him, burning magma erupting and overflowing from the shattered earth, geysers of fire and lava rising towards the sky.

He felt invincible, truly godlike, and he looked around himself with contempt and amazement at the same time, realizing that, whatever he looked at, anything that he saw he could easily change, warp, destroy, move around... even the mountains, he knew he could have literally moved them to another place, as easily as moving a chair around a table.

"Gods..." A well known voice gasped, and Killer turned slightly to see a tiny Ira flying just above his shoulder. It was amazing to see her so small and apparently powerless... and it became even more amazing when Killer realized that she actually sized up, and she was a few hundred feet tall. Adrasthea and Vesta, equally gigantic and yet tiny in comparison to him, entered his eyesight a moment later, the three females landing and standing on their feet upon his shoulder, Ira leaning against a golden, immense spike with a hand as she gazed around herself in awe. "This is... fearsome."

"It is fucking awesome, that's what it is!" Vesta cackled, rubbing her hands together before pointing at the glowing, burning net of rivers of magma at Killer's feet. "Did you see that? He just fucking stepped on a skyscraper-tall cliff and flattened it like a fucking chip on a sidewalk! But he shattered the goddamn sidewalk as well! We are going to need a larger desert; this one won't last for long!"

"Is this your maximum, Lord Killer?" Adrasthea asked quietly, looking up at his eye calmly. "Is it your all?"

"Wait!" Ira howled, wincing as he opened his mouth to reply, holding her hands up to stop him as she said firmly and clearly: "Whisper. And keep your voice real low. At this size, you'd blow up our heads like balloons just with your voice."

"Fuck-yeah, babe, he kills shit with that deep big-balls voice of his alone!" Vesta cheerfully shouted, slamming a fist towards the sky and looking at him with hunger and lust that dripped with adoration.

"Is it good this way...?" Killer carefully asked, whispering as he turned towards them quietly. They still winced a bit, but Ira nodded, and Vesta held her thumb up.

"So, is this your all or not?" Ira asked impatiently, crossing her huge arms on her chest and tilting her head to the side with silent curiosity, as Killer made a bit of a face, looking down at his hand calmly as he slowly closed his fingers in a fist.

"I don't know, honestly. But... I really don't feel like I'm overexerting myself, or giving my all. I'm pretty sure I could do more." He paused, looking thoughtful for a moment. It was true, the growth had vented a lot of his energy, brought most of his power to the surface... but he definitely hadn't tried hard at all. He was sure that there was still a vast reserve he could have drawn from. How vast, he didn't dare guessing. "It would not be safe to go past this level, though, at least for now. Let's call this my maximum for the moment, because I find it hard already not to go and find a crowded area where to have fun."

"Got the message." Ira agreed, making a bit of a face herself as she thought of a town, while looking down at the lake of magma that had devoured the desert under Killer's foot, repressing a shiver.

"Do you feel like you can... do something new, now?" Adrasthea asked wisely, looking at him with attention as if trying to read his soul through his eye.

"I feel like I can do anything, at the moment." Killer replied sincerely, before shaking his head slightly as he returned serious, knowing full well what she truly meant. "I don't know, honestly."

"Try, then." Ira said simply, shrugging a bit and looking impatient. "See if you can create something. Anything at all."

"All you need to do is wishing for it to happen. And it will." Vesta said encouragingly, and Killer looked at them silently for a long moment before nodding.

He wished for a target, a fight, something to use for venting some of his vigor, and tried to believe in his wish, instead of telling himself that it would not happen... And immediately, the sand of desert shifted, floated into the air in waves, and quickly formed several immense shapes, as gigantic as Killer was, in an ordered line before him.

The shapes solidified immediately, the sand becoming white stone, and the immense, muscular bodies gained definition, taking on the appearance of gigantic Gigataurs, far, far bigger than the real ones.

Each gigantic monster was sexless, but their muscular bodies, powerful and enormous, still gave them a clear masculine feel, their bull-features warped by long, terrible fangs and their eyes empty, soulless pits of white light as they looked up to Killer, and deeply bowed.

"Wow." Vesta mumbled stupidly, staring in amazement at the incredible sight as Killer himself gazed over the six monstrous creations with shock. Adrasthea, instead, only smiled a bit, nodding wisely as she observed: "Well, this really settles it. If there was any doubt on your Godhood, it is now gone."

"Can you destroy them too...?" Ira asked calmly, looking over the constructs, before turning to glare at Killer as he grinned widely. "Not with your fist. I know you can smash them with that. You've proved that you have the power of creating... but you should have, uniquely, the power of destroying, too."

Killer sighed, and then mumbled: "Ok, understood. I'm trying right now."

He glared at the first gigantic monster of stone, and it exploded into dust immediately, a tremendous blast of force shooting through it with obscene violence and ripping open an immense crater in the middle of the desert, enormous clouds of dust obscuring the horizon as Killer winced and rubbed a hand over his bicep slowly. "Sorry. I don't have exactly an idea of measures yet."

"That was telekinesis." Ira observed idly, shaking her head slowly. "Incredibly powerful, but telekinesis. It's not this that I meant. You should be able to warp their very own genetics, their DNA, their very essence, from the molecular structure upwards. Try again. Destroy them from within."

Killer made a grimace, looking at the remaining giants of stone, which all looked unperturbed even if one of them had just been crumbled and annihilated under their eyes. He wondered for a moment if they could feel anything at all, if they had a conscience of themselves... and hoped sincerely that they didn't. He had thought of them as living constructs of stone, so they shouldn't have had any hint of soul, but he still had some doubt... and anyway, what Ira was asking him to do did unnerve him more than a bit. Tampering with genetics and molecules to cause complete obliteration of things and persons and... beings... was a horrifying thought.

Yet, it also was horribly appealing in its way, because it was easy to see the kind of power and possibilities that such capability would give.

He silently thought of a terrible genetic disease that would destroy anyone from within, horrified and yet somehow curious, and even eager in a way, much as he tried to deny it... and he stared with a wince as he saw blood drip and streak down from the construct's eyes, ears, mouth and nostrils, the gigantic monstrosities letting out a silent howl of emotionless agony as they crashed down on their knees, spasming terribly, their muscular tone decreasing with horrendous rapidity as they turned from bulky and massive to skinny and bare-boned, until they cracked apart and fell away in pieces. Pieces that crumbled into dust in the wind even before they could fall down into the sands beneath.

"It's... horrible." Killer commented, shaking his head slowly and trying to angrily suffocate the undeniable excitement he felt somewhere deep within himself, as Ira only nodded quietly, observing: "Abilities of a God of Destruction. You are everything we expected you to be, Killer."

"I honestly hoped I would not be." Killer replied mildly, making a grimace, but Adrasthea stroked a hand gently down his cheek, shaking her head before softly remind him: "Remember, Lord Killer. You are who you decide to be. The power gives you the blessing of possibilities and the curse of responsibilities. But it does not condemn you. Only your choices can condemn you."

"I know." Killer agreed, but he couldn't help adding mildly: "It still scares me a lot all the same."

Ira looked at him with affection at that, until he turned slightly towards her, grinning as he teased playfully: "You know, this thing looks a lot like you are a little wise fairy sitting on my shoulder."

She snorted at that, glaring at him and smashing her fist forwards into his nose, making him wince as she grumbled: "Say another stupid thing and I'll teach you a couple of things you won't like."

"Ok, ok, got the message." Killer replied, before licking his lips as Ira straightened and looked over the desert idly, telling him to have his fun. "See what you can do to vent up some, you are overloaded with energy, and that's not good. Creating some more constructs like earlier might be a good solution. Could make for good training, as well. They didn't look weak at all."

"Good idea. But couldn't we call Taranis instead...? I'd love to... talk... with him." Killer said teasingly, grinning widely and nodding a bit as he slammed a gigantic fist into his palm, before he grunted in pain as Ira threw a large sphere of energy against his cheek, the explosion bruising him and rocking him to the side as the Seraphim hissed: "Don't get arrogant just yet. For all your extraordinary power, you've still worlds to learn and much to improve, before you can seek a fight with a God the caliber of Taranis."

"You take my words too seriously and literally." Killer muttered. "I wasn't serious."

"I hope so, because you are not ready for a fight like that, while you are more than impulsive enough to run straight into it, given the chance." Ira countered wisely, before her expression slowly turned in a smile as she stroked her hand gently on his cheek. "Go on, have your little rampage."

"And enjoy it." Vesta added, grinning as she crackled her knuckles, huge muscles bulging with power.

"Because after that..." Adrasthea added calmly, grinning at him as she tapped one of his spikes with the pole of her spear.

"... we will hit you with all we can think of, to find your weaknesses and vulnerabilities." Ira completed, grinning gamely as she looked up towards his eye, the male making a grimace and knowing full well that no, it wasn't a joke.

It was a real serious thing.

Just how serious it was, he learned it a few hours later, after having changed forever the face of the 7th Heaven's immense desert to vent some of his overabundant energy and vigor and adrenaline.

Or "to relieve his overdose of testosterone" as Ira put it with a grin after he morphed several huge mountains into ugly, monstrous constructs that provided him with the powerful enemies he craved. The battle that had followed had turned the desert in a wasteland of fire and destruction, but at least it had provided Killer with the vent he needed.

After that, Ira had assumed her Personification, grown bigger, and pulled out all her power, along with Vesta and Adrasthea, who amazed him by easily turning every foot as tall and immense as he was. Together, the three females had given him a beating for hours and hours on end, trying all they could think of, in order to measure his resistance and find his eventual peculiar elemental weaknesses.

They hadn't discovered anything specific, at least for now, but by the end of it, Killer had still felt far less awesome and invincible, and he had been bleeding from multiple wounds. And no matter how fast he healed, it had still been harsh.

"It was fucking awesome!" Vesta cheerfully exclaimed for the hundredth time, grinning widely and slamming a fist into her palm as she almost bounced in her steps. "You are... like... uber-cool and uber-powerful!"

Killer traded an amused look with Ira, the cobra shaking her head in entertainment before smiling at him with affection, caressing the back of his hand briefly as they walked across the huge yard of Eaglenest, the lights in Killer's home already on, the trembling shine of candles coming through the small, simple windows.

Adrasthea, walking a stop or so behind Ira, also smiled softly, giving the huge male a gentle look.

"You've been beating on me all day. Hard." Killer reminded, and Vesta grinned widely even as she threw her strong arm around his shoulders, squeezing him against her side.

"We did, but with surprisingly little effect. Dude, you are... like... invincible." The queen of Seraphims exclaimed, grinning widely and tilting her head to lean her temple against his, even as she punched his thick, solid abdominals playfully. "Besides, what's wrong in beating the shit out of each other, between friends...?"

"Nothing." Killer replied agreeably, smiling in amusement at Vesta's logic, before adding mildly: "But I was practically ordered not to reply, so I was beaten up by you three, in team."

"Well, you are the one we have to find the weaknesses and the limits of, if you even have any." Vesta replied wisely, closing her eyes and nodding easily, in a matter-of-fact way.

"I'm full of limits. Put me in front of a book of math, and you'll see how much I suck." Killer mumbled, pushing the simple wooden door of his home open and then stepping to the side, playfully bowing Ira in, and laughing as the cobra snorted and punched his thick chest teasingly as she passed by. Adrasthea smiled at him as she walked inside, and Vesta instead hesitated, tapping her lips with a finger and tilting her head to the side, looking at him curiously. "What's your problem with math? It's the key to most researches, and the code behind the workings of the world."

"I suck at it, and it frightens me." Killer replied easily, biting his lips a bit as a stupid but exhilarating thought of a Vesta wearing nerdy glasses and outfit, squeezed into a school desk and bent over an algebra book floated around in his mind, making him want to laugh loudly. It was always hard to imagine, but he was well aware that Vesta, no matter how she behaved, really was a genius, formidable in pretty much all fields of knowledge. The number of books she had written, on any kind of subject, many of which he had had to study and many of which he was going to deal with in the near future, was there to remind him of it.

"You are again thinking of me in a schoolgirl skirt, aren't you...?" Vesta asked teasingly, grinning at him as she stepped inside, winking at him as she brushed her fingers under his chin with love, before her long, soft tail caressed his chest playfully.

"Hit and sunk." Killer answered easily, following her in and slapping her firm buttock playfully as he pulled the door closed behind himself with the other hand, before sniffing at the air, staring stupidly at Vesta as she did the same... before matching, huge grins gained their muzzles as they both exclaimed: "Pizza!"

They turned towards the table in the middle of the room at the very same time, and saw huge dishes already in place, with Gaia walking forwards from the large fireplace with a ridiculously-enormous pizza on a baking tin in her hands, a quiet, loving smile on her face as she looked at Killer and said softly: "Welcome back, Killer. We all missed you."

"Gaia, you are such a wonderful angel." Killer said gently, walking up to her and taking the baking tin from her hands, putting it down in the middle of the laid table before hugging her tightly to his chest, the slender snow leopardess embracing his waist with a loving squeeze.

"I just talked to Alexis, and she... suggested me that you would have liked to find pizza on the table." The goddess said softly, smiling affectionately before kissing his lips lightly. "She is in perfect shape, Killer. In better-than-ever shape, in fact... just like you. Of course, she suffers just as much as you from your separation, but she looks forwards to meeting... the new you." She said, pre-empting him easily as soon as she saw the urgent question surfacing in his eyes.

"Thank you, Gaia." He whispered softly, kissing her cheek lovingly and squeezing her warm, beautiful body against his much larger and bulky one. "I really don't know how I'd do without you."

"I did nothing special." The leopardess said shyly, shaking her head slowly as she blushed softly, but smiling happily as he shushed her and kissed her forehead. "Diana wanted to come as well, but she's still under surveillance, and couldn't move. She's happy to know that you are safe and in good shape, and she wanted me to remind you that she loves you."

"How could I ever forget...?" Killer asked quietly, smiling as he nodded a bit to himself. "I will go and meet her myself in the next days."

"That would be very imprudent, Lord Killer. The Metatrons will know, and Taranis will also be warned immediately. She's under guard; you won't be able to reach her without a fight." Adrasthea said quietly, looking at him with concern as she stood behind a chair at the table, her hands gripping lightly into the chair back, her helm resting on the table and the long spear leaning against the wall.

"I did not say it would be easy, smart or painless, just that I'd do it." Killer replied easily, his tone agreeable as he slowly straightened, turning slightly to look at the goddess from above Gaia's floating, water-like hair, holding a hand up quickly to silence the protest that he saw coming from Adrasthea and Ira.

"It is not negotiable." Killer said, softly but with absolute firmness, as Gaia squeezed him around the waist in quiet, affectionate understanding. Ira glared at him a bit, but did not say a thing, while Adrasthea dropped head forwards quietly. "I'm aware of the risks. But she's faced her own share of risks many times already, to come to me and help me. She's paid and she's paying the price... the very least I can do for Diana is go and visit her myself."

Ira glared at him for a few long moments, but when she tried to open her mouth to tell him just how foolish and dangerous it was, Adrasthea smiled and said simply: "I didn't expect anything less from you... And yes. It is demented, it is stupid, and it will get you in trouble. But it is right. Moreover, I know that nothing we can say will ever change your mind. So, good luck, Lord Killer... we will do what we can to ensure that it does not get too nasty."

"Thank you for understanding." Killer replied gratefully, nodding towards the wise goddess before turning towards Ira, tilting his head to the side slightly and smiling as he asked: "Will you help too?"

"Sure." Ira replied, closing her eyes with a nod and a little sigh, but smiling knowingly nonetheless. "You need my help desperately, after all."

"I'll do my part too!" Vesta exclaimed, even if she nearly suffocated on the huge piece of pizza she was hungrily devouring, Killer glaring at her a bit as he turned her way and saw the queen of Seraphims leaning over the table, a knife in her hand and a fork in the other as she greedily claimed a large share of the pizza, eating it as quickly as she could, as if fearing that it would vanish at any moment.

"There is more of it, you know..." Gaia observed amusedly, as she followed Killer towards the table, the male pulling the chair out for her and for Adrasthea, standing behind his own and snorting in entertainment as Vesta blurted out: "Excellent!"

The two goddesses sat down quietly, and almost hesitatingly reached forwards to cut off two slices of pizza, as Vesta chewed noisily and glared a bit from one to the other, as if to intimidate both females. Ira, instead, walked towards the nearby sofa and sat down in it, picking up the huge book resting on the cushion: it was another essay written by Adrasthea, a follow-up to the one that Alcana had given to Killer in the Library. On this second volume, more of Killer's great victories were analyzed and treated, and the Cobra had taken a sincere interest in the subject.

Killer, however, glared at her a bit as he saw her walking away. "You offend me if you don't sit with us, Ira."

The cobra looked up from the already open book, her eyes surprised as she gazed up at his face, closing her book and saying quietly: "We've already been through this, Killer... Immortals do not need to eat."

"Oh, what the hell!" Killer groaned, before holding up his fingers as he said: "First, I don't care. They can still enjoy good food. Second, it is not so much about eating as it is about the company. I want you to stay with me... with us. Third, Gaia here was very kind at cooking pizza for us. You owe it to her to sit at the table."

Ira looked embarrassed at that, putting down the book and blushing as she turned towards Gaia with an apology in her eyes, the leopardess smiling and shaking her head softly, reassuring her even as the Cobra stood up and walked towards the table, sitting down at it.

"Sorry. I didn't think of that." She said quietly, and Killer smiled as he finally sat down himself, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand affectively.

"No worries, I know you had no intention to hurt any of us. And you didn't. We just all want the pleasure of your company." He nodded, smiling at her lovingly until as she looked at him with gratitude, before he grinned cheerfully and said conclusively, rubbing his hands together: "Now, let's eat already. I'm starving."

Gaia smiled and easily picked up the large piece of pizza left in the large dish, putting it down in his plate for him as he thanked her with a gentle gaze, just as Vesta burped happily, and turned towards Ira to say teasingly: "You are the least fun Passion ever. You shouldn't give a fuck about Heaven's stupid rules, and be more like me. That would make you cool."

"Oh, sure. Solution to all my problems, I'm sure." Ira replied ironically, before returning her eyes onto the large slice of pizza already in her plate, looking at it curiously for a brief moment as Killer looked at her with interest.

"Have you... never had pizza before...?" Killer asked quietly after a moment, and Ira looked up in surprise, before nodding hesitatingly.

Vesta coughed violently, nearly killing herself on a too large chew of pizza and beating a fist into her chest as she stared at Ira in something that wasn't at all short of being called horror, as the huge male felt a stinging of sadness in his chest for an instant. Ira... sweet, strong Ira. Just how much of life and of its pleasures did you miss...? "It's more than time for you to try, then. Enjoy."

"You so fucking gotta be kidding me." Vesta groaned, massaging her chest a bit even as she picked up another slice of pizza with the other hand and hungrily bit a large chunk out of it, while Gaia and Adrasthea preferred to stay silent, not to embarrass Ira any more, as the Cobra took her first taste, chewing slowly, a smile spreading on her face.

Killer smiled back amusedly, even as he finally picked up his own slice, eating with a low murr of delight. "Tuna. Love tuna."

"As I said, I asked Alexis to give me indications." Gaia said easily, looking entertained. "So it's tuna, ham, anchovies, and all the rest."

"Awesome." Killer commented cheerfully, nodding to her with a smile of gratitude, the shy goddess beaming up with joy at his clear happiness.

"I hope we will have chances to talk a bit, Killer." Adrasthea said calmly after a little while, pointing at the book on the couch with a smile when he looked up with curiosity. "There are many things I'd like to ask you, and I'd also want to... go through your memories with you. Talk of strategy, see how you think, how you took the decision you took in the past."

"Sure. It'll be my pleasure." Killer replied easily, smiling to Gaia as she stood up from the chair, taking with her the huge, now-empty dish in the middle of the table and walking to the fireplace to get the second pizza she had prepared.

"I'd also like to... talk to you about religion. I know you've always denied it, and even hated it. And I'd love to better understand why." Adrasthea added softly, smiling at him across the table even as he gazed with amusement at Ira, who, this time around, was the first one who cut a large slice of the new pizza that Gaia brought on the table.

"Well, we can go over that too." Killer said simply, and Vesta looked up briefly from her food.

"I'd love to hear that myself. Fucking priests are nuts, and I want to hear what you think of 'em yourself."

"Well... priests are what I never could bear, quite simply." Killer said agreeably, nodding a bit. "I've always seen merchants of power in the priests. In all of them. Think about it: there's not a religion without priests. Not a single religion that grants to the people the dignity and freedom of their choices, of their relationship with the Gods. No matter which God a religion worships: to an extent or another, said religion will teach its people that they cannot dialogue with God without the intercession of priests."

Adrasthea nodded slowly, agreeing to his point, and she waited a moment, savoring her food before observing: "And that is the root of their power, right? Priests accept the sacrifices of the faithful, and shape their minds and beliefs on the basis of their own wishes and aims... and so they always have their hand stretched out, to ask for sacrifices and money, or to condemn."

"Exactly. That is what I hate." Killer agreed, tapping his fingers on the table and nodding, before taking a bite of his food and taking his time to chew before adding: "There are good priests here and there. Real believers, who do their best to bring salvation and comfort to the people. But they are an exception, not the rule."

"It's true. I know that Elelyon himself is horrified of what religion has become on the Mortal Plane... He does not have any more sympathy than you have, for the priests. He never asked for priests to exist, to start with, and not at all priests like today's ones anyway." Vesta observed wisely, before stuffing her mouth full again, and nonetheless burbling: "They suck out the dignity out of people's lives."

"That sums it." Killer agreed, even if he glared at her a bit, her cheeks bulging and a few pieces of pizza flying out of her mouth as she talked. She glared back in a perfect eat-me expression, however, and he shook his head in quiet amusement as he explained: "You know me already. I like to think I'm the maker of my Destiny. I cannot accept the concept that I've not the brain and the conscience for seeing what is right and what is wrong without a priest telling it to me. That is a mortification of the person, and a comfortable justification for the sinners at the same time. The power of controlling people's mind is the greatest and most terrible power of all, and priests, through religion, control this power."

The huge male paused, meeting the gaze of Ira, who looked at him with gentle, affectionate interest, smiling his way as she chewed her pizza with gusto, and he looked softly down at Gaia as she squeezed his hand gently under her own.

"I think that people, every person, any and everyone, is born with the dignity and ability of making choices. We can find the Right and the Good on our own, and our choices can bring us to Heaven, to God, or to Hell. I like to think this, because it gives hope. Hope in ourselves, dignity, and awareness of the merit in one's choices. But priests deny this. We are born sinners, condemned to make the wrong choices all the time, already condemned to our Destiny, unless we redeem ourselves by submitting to their methods, their teachings, unless we beg for their forgiveness, for their intercession to God, to ask him for our Salvation."

He paused, then Gaia smiled at him and observed quietly: "The irony is that, even in the vision of the world that the priests have, there is still room for choice, isn't so...?"

"Yes. And that is the glitch that, more than anything else, tells me that they are wrong. You can still choose to follow them, or ignore them. The original sin condemns us to do the wrong choices, in their words... yet, we can choose to aim to salvation, following them and their religion. How can we take such an important choice, if we are unable to see what's right...?" Killer snorted, then added: "If we are doomed to our destiny, we shouldn't be able to see any way out by definition. And if all mortals are doomed, how can priests be excluded? There are many, many things that just do not work in the story."

Adrasthea nodded, looking at him with a little smile playing on her lips, before she traded a knowing look with Ira and said: "I'm learning more and more about you, Lord Killer, and it's easy to see why so many people love you so much. God Himself will like you, when you two will finally meet... He thinks much the same. Mortal religions give Him the chills... but he has the same belief that you have, so he does not intervene."

Killer nodded, finishing eating another large slice of pizza before he quietly observed: "If he believes, like me, that a person is shaped only by the choices made, he will look at the world, suffer for how it turns, but wait for people to understand their errors, and recognize that they can choose."

"That's exactly it." Vesta softly confirmed, nodding wisely, before looking hopefully past the empty dish and towards the fireplace, dreaming of more food... But there wasn't anymore, and Killer was the only one left with a share yet to eat.

Ira, leaning back in her chair, was looking at him with new affection in her eyes, new respect... But as he picked up the last slice of pizza, already savoring its delightful taste in his mouth, he crossed her gaze, and spotted in it a wish. Well hidden, but present in the way the female looked at the food in his hand. He snorted amusedly, making her look up at him in confusion, before she blushed a bit and stared as he reached across the table, offering her his last slice.

She opened her mouth to protest, but he shushed her gently, shaking his head quietly. "Shut up and enjoy. This is your first pizza time, not mine."

"Thank you." She whispered, her cheeks flushing red even as she quietly bit at the slice of pizza from his hand, eating it slowly, savoring each bite and looking at him softly every now and then as he smiled at her, Vesta glaring a bit at them and looking envious, but beaming up immediately when Killer noticed it and winked to her, taking her hand in his own.

"Charismatic bastard." The queen playfully scolded, squeezing his hand lovingly, and he laughed softly, shaking his head slowly as Ira took the last bite from his fingers. He pulled his hand quietly back, but the Cobra gently caught his hand in hers, holding it in place until she finished eating, licking her lips with a murr, and leaning in to kiss his fingers lovingly.

"Thank you. It was delicious."

"See? You totally have to trust me." The huge male replied easily, winking at her and caressing her cheek before looking to the side as Adrasthea grinned and snapped her fingers: the dish, the empty plates, the cruet of crystal containing the water and all the glasses and cutlery vanishing from the table, along with any and all crumbles.

Immediately after, something appeared in midair, a weird sphere of black and white at first, before it morphed under his eyes to become a large, perfect chessboard, of ivory and brimstone, the two armies already lined up and ready as the board spun idly through the air and quietly landed on the table, finally stopping in place.

"Will you grant me the honor of a match...?" Adrasthea asked, smiling at him as she offered him the white, ivory pieces, and the privilege of the first move. He looked at the board briefly, smiling a bit to himself as he leaned forwards on his crossed, huge arms on the table, and he shook his head slowly as he said: "You perhaps think I'm great at this game, but I'm honestly not."

"Let me judge that." The goddess replied quietly, and Killer smiled at her, finally nodding and picking up a pawn in his fingers, moving it forwards two squares, as Gaia looked at them with a soft smile and Vesta pushed her chair back, crossing her powerful arms on the table and leaning her chin upon them, her eyes darting from one side to the other as she followed every move.

Ira looked at them for a while, too, before she stood up with a quiet smile and went to add a new large piece of wood into the fireplace, before walking over to the couch, sitting comfortably in it and picking up the huge book, delving into the reading. She gazed up from the pages every now and then, when Killer cursed when he got his Queen captured, then more frequently when he started losing pieces on a quite regular basis.

The match lasted perhaps thirty minutes, before Adrasthea moved her Queen one last time, and said gently: "Checkmate."

Killer frowned, looked down at the board for a moment, and then he let out a little sound realization, snorting and observing quietly: "Told you so."

"For the first time, I'm a bit disappointed, Killer." The goddess said softly, even as she calmly put the pieces back in the starting positions: she could have done it with a thought, literally, but she did use her hands instead, before smiling as she curiously asked: "This is considered a game for strategists, and you are an excellent one. Why, then...?

"... you suck so much at it?" Vesta concluded, grinning teasingly up at him before squeaking as he shoved her face lightly into the table, grabbing the back of her skull with a hand and smacking her forehead into the wood.

"Well, I think you will agree that it is not quite the same thing, regardless of what they say." Killer said easily, even as he kept Vesta pinned down to the table as she struggled to free herself.

"Of course." The goddess agreed. "But in a way, there's resemblance. The way every piece moves could be considered, for example, an imitation of the real mobility problems that any kind of warfighting unit has. The Rock could be a simplified tank regiment, for example. The Knight, with its ability of leaping other pieces, could represent airmobile infantry with helicopters, or paratroops."

"It could." Killer agreed, finally letting Vesta go as he added: "But for some reason, I don't get into it as much as I do with the real thing. I actually like to look at a map and put together plans for an army... but chess just does not feel real enough, and I've not enough patience to focus on it and be good at it for real."

"A shame... but I hope we'll play again." Adrasthea said softly, smiling at him affectively. "It'll please me... and who knows, you might get more into it too."

"Sure, why not...?" Killer answered easily, before Vesta grinned widely and shoved the chessboard out of the way, cackling as she exclaimed: "My turn now, my turn!"

She leaned over the table gamely, slamming her elbow down into it and readying herself for an arm-wrestling challenge, grinning at him teasingly from over her hand as she tensed her huge, mighty bicep and moved her fingers idly in the air. "Show me if you are male enough to handle me, babe."

"He totally did handle you already. More than once. And he had you squealing like a little girl every time." Ira said mildly, without even looking up from the large book in her hands even as Vesta's eyes bulged in surprise and she squeaked: "That's a totally different thing!"

Gaia and Adrasthea sat back and looked on with entertainment, the goddess of Nature moving her chair closer to Killer and lightly massaging his broad, potent shoulders as he grinned and crackled his knuckles gamely, before letting the long, deadly spikes on his right elbow retreat inside his arm, and getting into his own ready position, flexing his enormous bicep lightly and smirking challengingly at her.

"Ira is right, you know. I'll make you squeal once more."

"Fuck you, I'm gonna teach you a fuckin' lesson." Vesta replied firmly, grinning widely as she seized his hand eagerly, roughly twirling his fingers with his thick ones and cackling as she immediately forced all of her tremendous power against his, her huge bicep bulging with frightening strength, veins showing through it and another bulging in her neck as the gritted her fangs and shoved furiously.

Killer was taken aback at first, and amazed by the power of the muscular female, wondering honestly to himself if he would have been able to stand up to such a force before snapping the second Seal, barely hours before.

He didn't move, though. Perhaps that very same morning he would have been defeated, but now he found horribly easy to stand up to her effort, even if she had crumbled a cliff of stone under his eyes just that afternoon, and using only a small fraction of her astounding might.

For all her supernatural strength, his arm didn't even budge, his bicep bulging with power and working up against her strength as the sturdy wooden table groaned and cracked.

Vesta snarled at his astonishing resistance, and seized the edge of the table with the other hand, the wood cracking apart under her fingers like a biscuit as she bent forwards and pushed with all her might, her face growing scarlet. "Come the fuck on, fucking hell!"

Ira looked up from the huge book, closing it in her lap and smiling slightly as she stared at the scene, Vesta's mighty back in front of her, every muscle of the tigress's powerful body bulging and flexing with power, even as Killer tilted his head to the side with a grin, resting his cheek in his palm and suggesting: "Perhaps you might want to drop out."

"Eat me." Vesta replied, before standing up to add her body-weight to the equation, shoving to the side with even greater power as Killer grinned and teased: "Suck me off."

"Later!" Vesta countered, grinning at him for a brief moment even through her gritted fangs and fierce concentration.

"Continue. I think I saw him moving a little bit." Ira mildly said, and Vesta's eyes glowed as she looked at his hand and arm with a grin of vicious victory, hoping to see him losing terrain, but quickly realizing that he hadn't budged at all and sulking, darting a flat look over her shoulder at the black-scaled female.

"Your sense of humor is cruel." Vesta muttered, and the Cobra grinned amusedly to herself, nodding in agreement, before adding seriously: "You are challenging him at the one thing you just will never be able to beat him at." She paused, musing for a moment and looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling overgrown with ivy and flowers before nodding. "Well, this and a sexual contest. Two things you just can't beat him at."

"Screw you, that's the two things I do best!" Vesta snarled, grabbing Killer's hand with both of hers now, and shoving at him ferociously as Gaia and Adrasthea traded an amused look, before turning to look in surprise as Killer made a shocked face and his arm began to fall to the side.

"Ah-Ah, big bad fucker, who's on top now?" Vesta teased, grinning widely as she put all of her strength and weight into the push, nodding in wild satisfaction as the male grunted and looked at this in surprise... before his expression changed in a grin as he flexed and easily forced back against her, bringing his arm back up before it could touch the table, easily gaining back the start position as Vesta gaped and stared at him in shock.

"Try again...?" Killer teased with a smirk, Gaia and Adrasthea laughing softly as Ira snorted and shook her head quietly, dropping her gaze back down on the pages of the enormous book.

"Bastard. Seriously, you are an ass. That was so not cool." Vesta said sulkily, even as she shoved at him with renewed effort, snarling as she squared her shoulder and rammed it into their joined hands as well... before her eyes bulged and she squeaked as Killer grinned and easily pushed against her, bending her arm and slamming the back of her hand into the table hard enough to break it in half.

Killer winced as the large, solid wooden table collapsed, the legs falling away as the two broken halves crashed onto the floor, Gaia and Adrasthea wincing backwards away from it as Vesta fell onto the floor as well, the muscular female panting harshly for a few long moments before pushing herself back up and punching him hard in the shoulder as he grinned stupidly in apologize.

"Fucker." The queen of Seraphims muttered, crossing her arms moodily and snorting: "There goes my invincibility."

"You don't call me Master for nothing." Killer observed wisely, holding up a finger pointedly, before wincing as Vesta looked at him flatly, and then shoved him, slamming her hands into his chest and knocking his chair falling backwards.

He laughed even as he landed on his back, calmly standing back up as Vesta snorted in amusement and grinned, shaking her head slowly and rolling her eyes upwards before laughing a bit herself as he hugged her tightly, rocking her gently on the spot.

"Technically, you lost your invincibility already." Ira observed idly from the couch, looking up briefly as she turned a page. "You just conveniently avoid admitting it, but you got your ass handed to you thrice by Alexis already."

"Will you shut the hell up already?" Vesta howled, turning towards her and flailing her arms as Killer laughed heartily, Ira ignoring her entirely.

Gaia and Adrasthea chuckled a bit, the leopardess hiding her amusement shyly by bringing a hand to her mouth, while the dragokkaren leaned forwards to repair the destroyed table, before pausing as Killer held up a hand silently, and closed his eyes, concentrating.

Ira looked up in interest at this, pushing Vesta aside as the queen continued to yell profanities at her, and she nodded in appreciation as the pieces of broken wood floated in the air and pieced themselves back together, forming a new table that was larger, new, thicker and more resistant, and definitely real.

"Good job." Ira said, smiling sincerely at him as he brushed his finger on the top of the solid, regal table, and he smiled back, ridiculously proud of receiving one of her so very rare praises. "It's been a day of huge progresses."

"It has..." Killer agreed quietly, nodding slowly before smiling as he looked over all of them. "Will you stay with me for the night? I've been awake - or at least meditating - for hundreds of years now, and I'd love to lie down a few hours in a bed."

"I would have staid even without you asking." Vesta replied with a grin, rubbing her hands together eagerly, while Ira only nodded with a smile, quietly putting her book down and standing up without hurry.

"I wish for nothing more than I wish for your company." Gaia said lovingly, even as her cheeks burned red, the snow leopardess wrinkling her hands shyly in her lap even as she moved a step forwards, taking the hand he offered her and kidding his fingers.

"I hoped you would ask." Adrasthea gently said, smiling at him with affection, her obsidian eyes gleaming with teasing mischief. "I've not yet had this pleasure... but I've long dreamed it."

"Thank you all, then..." Killer said softly, smiling as Gaia threw a last, large piece of wood into the fireplace before walking up to him, hugging his huge, strong arm and following them easily into the nearby bedroom, a very simple space where the only noticeable accessory was an absurdly-large bed. Exactly what they needed.

Vesta was quick, reaching eagerly backwards to easily undo the solid steel chains that held her golden armour-bra in place, throwing the precious garment away and grinning widely as she arched her back a bit and squeezed the sides of her glorious breasts in her hands, flaunting her sumptuous bosom and offering it to Killer's eyes as he walked in.

Adrasthea looked at this with a smirk, then nudged Ira teasingly and winked at her, the cobra gazing up curiously... before a grin slowly spread on her face as she nodded and both reptilian females immediately reached up to push away their own garments.

"This is a game we can play equally well." Ira teasingly observed, undoing the steel clasp in the back of her leathers, pulling open the thick metallic ring in the middle of her back that she also used to fix the crossed sheaths of her Katanas when she moved out for war.

Killer turned to look at her, leaning his back against the wall and licking his lips slowly, winking at her as she gazed at him hungrily, her hands slowly pushing the thick bands of her leathers down her shoulders, revealing her huge, firm breasts in all their glory and perfection, the thick, large black nipples proud on her sumptuous swells.

Vesta stared at this in shock, before exclaiming: "Where did you hide the true Ira, liar? Where is she?"

"Real funny." Ira muttered after an ironic laughter, sticking her tongue out towards the queen and tracing a finger slowly and teasingly down the slope of an enormous breast, turning her gaze back to Killer with a grin. "The real Ira, in fact, might be about to return to life."

Killer smiled at her lovingly, opening his mouth to tell her how happy he was to hear it, and see her finally letting go a bit, but he was steamrolled by Vesta as she exclaimed cheerfully: "Would be about fucking time!"

Adrasthea, in the meanwhile, met Killer's eyes and locked her gaze with his, her obsidian eyes gleaming playfully as she undid the clasp of her own golden chest-armour, letting the two heavy, metallic cups slide slowly away and bending forwards sensually, pushing her huge breasts together with a grin as she guided his gaze with her own, almost physically bringing his attention down to her wonderful, proud cleavage, as she finally dropped the armour onto the floor and straightened with torturing, carefully-studied slowness.

Killer looked at her hungrily, enchanted and awed by the sight as Ira and Adrasthea stood proudly before him, side to side... and Vesta, hugging him from behind, her own formidable bosom pushing teasingly into his back, firm and soft, huge and sumptuous.

There's more boobs-flesh in this small room than in most countries.

"Beautiful, beautiful girls that you all are..." Killer said softly, smiling lovingly at them all, before staring in surprise and awe as Gaia stepped forwards and smirked despite the flush in her cheeks, snapping her fingers once and putting her hands in her hair as the ivy and flowers making up her bikini retreated into her flesh, vanishing progressively and revealing her slender, toned body, leaving her naked before him as all the others stared at her in surprise.

Gaia smiled, her gaze fixed on Killer, ignoring the others for the moment... and he nodded at her with a loving gaze, drinking of all of her beauty, and feeling his desire at the sight of her. She was less impressive, in many ways, than the other three females in the room, but that didn't make her any less beautiful. Her breasts were smaller, but still round and full and firm, her own black nipples topping the perfect-shaped swells, her abdomen bare and toned, not rippling with potent abdominals like with the other three females, but still showing muscle and tone, health and beauty. Her feminine hips, the long, slender legs, the breath-catching thighs... she was beautiful, and had nothing to envy to anyone, her own beauty unique and shining.

He kissed her lips lovingly, the female licking at his lips gently when he drew back... and he looked up with an hungry smirk as he saw Adrasthea, Ira and Vesta all standing before him, all three females getting rid of their bottom pieces as well, as Ira sensually stepped out of her thick, sturdy leathers, while Vesta and Adrasthea undid the clasps holding up their groin armor, throwing it away to the two opposite sides of the room, all of them standing naked and beautiful before him.

He grinned at them, eyeing each female from head to toe and back, slowly gazing over their perfect, mighty beauty, the immortal, eternal youth, and the pride of bodies strong and feminine, divine in their fascination. No words could have properly described them, but luckily, there was no need for words, his eyes telling them all they wanted to hear, before he turned, giving his broad, strong back to them to admire, as he undid his black jeans and pushed it slowly down his strong, muscular legs, revealing his tight, overtaxed black boxers to their hungry gazes, Adrasthea letting out a hot breath as she saw the glorious spectacle for the first time... Before he snorted as Vesta leaped forwards with a cackle and seized the waistband of his boxers, dragging them down his legs all the way as she exclaimed cheerfully: "Stare and drool, pussies! Here comes the mighty scepter!"

The females behind him breathed hotly at the sight, staring hungrily down between his legs as his pendulous, gigantic testicles were revealed in all their heavy, astounding glory, four pair of eyes caressing the large, imposing slope of each immense ball, before he felt their stares moving down the thick, massive length of his flaccid, dangling shaft.

He didn't complain, grinning a bit to himself as he easily stepped out of his boxers and kicked his clothes aside, leisurely pulling a leg up to rest a taloned foot atop the bed, giving them complete view of his immense monster, their eyes rolling down each thick vein, every inch of mighty, strong obsidian flesh, down all the way to the colossal flared head, dangling down past his knees.

"How can you not worship this cock...?" Vesta mused, grinning as she let herself fall down on her knees, crawling forwards between his legs and cupping the monstrous cock-head reverently in her hands. Both hands. Her thumbs rubbed gently down the lateral edges of the huge head, as she pushed the gigantic organ up a little bit, and nuzzled into the strong flesh, inhaling his scent hungrily, and planting a worshipful kiss on the thick, protruding cum channel, then another, just a little bit higher up the immense length, and another, and another, before she lapped at the mighty member hungrily, dragging her tongue from the head up to the middle of the enormous shaft. "You are so big and strong, my Master... my God. My powerful, invincible God."

Killer grinned, reaching backwards with a large hand, to seize her skull in his fingers, arching his back a bit and establishing calm but firm dominance, before he looked down with a smirk as Adrasthea went to her knees as well, humbly crawling forwards and looking up at him with a prayer in her eyes, waiting for him to nod before kissing the side of the gigantic shaft, wrapping her trembling hands around the mighty, thick tree and kissing his flesh sloppily for a few long moments, before her muzzle brushed against Vesta's own, and the two females twirled their tongues together for a moment.

"It tastes so regal... so powerful..." Adrasthea observed softly, panting her breath out, and Vesta nodded, smiling with a heavenly sight as she squeezed a titanic testicle adoringly, cupping the mighty orb in both hands.

"It tastes so good... it has such a strong scent... it is so fucking strong, so big and mighty..." Vesta agreed, rubbing her face into the gigantic member, before Ira walked forwards and dropped to her knees as well, nuzzling the black shaft and letting out a hot breath as her eyes closed, her head tilting to the side as she mouthed the thick side of the immense member, pushing her tongue ravenously against his flesh, lapping at it hungrily and letting out a deep, long murr of delight, her eyes opening to meet his as he gazed down at her... after a brief moment, she winked, and kissed his member adoringly, her hands reaching up to massage down the sides of the great penis, as Gaia went down to her knees on the other side, and nuzzled his member gently, planting little kisses down its great, vast side.

"Holy fuck, you weren't exaggerating!" Ira exclaimed, nudging Vesta teasingly as she licked her lips, pumping the enormous member slowly, and the queen grinned widely, her lips still mouthing the side of his shaft. "It's so fucking huge... it tastes so powerful..."

"Don't sex me up too much. There are consequences to that." Killer said quietly, grinning down at the four females suggestively, and they all kissed his huge cock one last time before slowly standing up, as Vesta cheerfully exclaimed: "Yay! Consequences galore!" She pumped her fist in the air, even as Gaia quietly pulled up the sheets of the bed and slid under them, patting the mattress softly and smiling to Killer as the huge male sat down and snuggled into the bed, close to her, one huge arm wrapping protectively around her shoulders. Vesta and Adrasthea followed, curling up at his side and massaging his broad chest and powerful shoulders, while Ira hesitated a bit, climbing onto the bed with a knee, but looking at them silently for a moment... before smiling widely as Killer took her hand and pulled her in.

"Come here, you..." The huge male playfully called, guiding the cobra down so that she rested with her head on his chest, his arms wrapping around her waist and squeezing her close as she pulled the sheets up over them all, smiling up at him lovingly.

Gaia looked towards the torch on the wall, and the fire nearly died, leaving only the faintest of light in the room, as they reveled in the physical contact, in the affection, in the sound of each other's breath and heartbeat... before Killer stared as Gaia pointed a finger out of the small window, and snow began immediately to fall heavily outside.

He looked down at her curiously, and she snuggled closer with a smile, saying softly: "Alexis also told me how much pleasure you take from resting in a warm bed, with loving company, crackling flames in the fireplace, and cold, windy weather outside."

"The poor bastards out on the walls on guard will be real happy." Ira observed teasingly, grinning widely as everyone chuckled softly...

And then Vesta coughed lightly, and Killer felt a hand wrapping around his huge shaft, pumping at it slowly and teasingly. "I've been naughty, and you talked of consequences."

The huge male snorted amusedly at that, squeezing her against his side as he said easily: "You've challenged me twice today already, and lost both times. You are going to lose a third time."

"Your fucking fault." Vesta replied teasingly, her hand squeezing at his strong flesh needingly. "I find it so much sweeter to lose than to win, when you are the rival."

Moments later, Gaia, Ira and Adrasthea looked on in awe as Vesta laid on her belly, biting the pillow and clawing trenches in the wooden headboard as her hips bucked hard and hungrily against Killer, the huge male covering her entirely as he mounted her and traded slow kisses with the other three females as he pounded, slowly but powerfully, down deep into Vesta. Again. And again. And again. Over and over. Making her quiver with orgasm after orgasm, her juices squirting out of her almost constantly as he easily sawed in and out of her, her legs spread wide, her back arched, her thighs spasming delightfully and her buttocks parted wide as his hard, gigantic shaft thrust in and out at a controlled, powerful and yet relaxed pace, the obsidian cock streaked with small rivulets of blood and soaked and gleaming with her pleasure as it speared deep into her, stretching the soft black-fleshed lips of her greedy sex beyond limits, her tight passage clenching around him hungrily and seeming to collapse on itself every time he shoved in, a moan and a shiver accompanying his immense shaft every time it drew backwards, making her feel hollow and empty until he crammed her again, making her muscular belly bulge with the outline of his masculine power.

She lost again, but in the balance of things, it really felt like a delightful victory.