Point-of-View: X

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Hm...? Where am I? What’s going on? Why does-...agh! Ow, what the...what’s this pain I’m feeling? Damn, this hurts! As I glanced down to the spot where I was feeling the pain from, my eyes widened as it all came flooding back to me, wincing as I stared at the steel pipe pierced through the left side of my stomach.

What’s more, it feels like I’ve fractured several bones, with my back having sustained an especially high degree of damage. But despite all this damage, I’m not surprised by the fact that I’m not dead yet.

After all, my body has been highly modified...the deranged Eden researcher who used me as a test subject, his goal was to forcibly create an ultimate Meta-Human. He wasn’t very satisfied with my Aberration Skill when it developed, and continued experimenting on my body to try and trigger a power boost.

It didn’t work, and he was found out by Eden and executed, so he never got to finish his experimentation on me. However, my body is definitely somewhat superhuman as a result of what he did do...I’m stronger, faster, more agile and more durable than any natural Meta-Humans, excluding when they use techniques like Accelerate or Reflex Shock, of course.

So, yeah, this much isn’t enough to kill me. Though if I moved and pulled my body off this metal rod, I’d probably die from blood loss. This sucks...I can’t do anything but just sit here and wait.

"Ah, you are awake. I thought you were dead, but it seems like you are quite sturdy despite your appearance," Suddenly came Satan’s voice, startling me.

I glanced in the direction that his voice came from, my eyes widening in surprise...he was by himself, seated on a pile of rubble with a bored look on his face. I don’t see any other Demons anywhere around here...has he sent them all away to attack the world?

"Yeah, well, don’t judge a book by its cover. On another note, you sure it’s wise for you to be out here all alone, without any protection?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Hm? What could you possibly mean? The only being in existence more powerful than I am is God, why in the world would I ever need protection?" He responded in confusion.

"Fair enough, I suppose," I replied, grimacing as the impaled spot on my stomach throbbed agonizingly, before glancing at him as I added, "So, why haven’t you just killed me already?"

"There is no need to. Even if you can block me from using my powers, I am still far more powerful than you are. Your nullifying ability only has worth as a support to a more powerful ally...you yourself are far too weak to make full use of such an ability yourself," He stated bluntly.

Ouch. But he’s not exactly wrong about that either...

"In that case, I guess I’ll count on an Elemental Deity or Aurora showing up and then support them while they fight you," I mused tauntingly.

"That won’t happen. I learnt something about the Deities during my previous invasions...they are far too short-sighted. I simply flooded the areas around where each awakened Deity currently is with thousands of Devils...that should keep them occupied for quite some time.

They are not so foolish they they do not understand that attacking me would be far more effective than killing the weakest pawns of my army, however, they way their minds work, when they see beings from Hell or the Mirror Dimension, they cannot help but attack.

I must admit, the minor Deity Bastet surprised me by coming here, that was unexpected. I suppose I’ve learnt something new...by spending extended periods of time with humans, the very nature of a Deity can be influenced and changed," He mused in fascination.

Yeah, now that I think about it, Bastet did change a bit compared to how he was when we first met him. I grimaced as I recalled what had happened to him...he’s gone now, killed by Satan.

If only I was strong enough to do something...but even if I wasn’t injured right now, I still wouldn’t be any threat to him. And as much as I hate to admit it, talking to him is helping distract from the immense pain I’m feeling right now and keeping me conscious.

I don’t think he knows that the Outliers have been trained by some of the Deities recently, so there’s a chance that one of them might show up here, if the Outliers they trained influenced them enough...I’m counting on that right now, I can’t afford to pass out...

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Point-of-View: Mike Barnes

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D...damn it, I...I can’t move.

"Oh, some of you are still alive? What a pain...this is why you should have lined up and let me kill you one by one, quickly and painlessly. But you attacked me instead, and because of that, you suffered before dying," Sighed Belphegor with a shake of his head.

After he killed Kechik, that barrier he formed sapped all of us of our alertness and motivation, dulling our senses and making us feel lethargic. And in the next instant, Carmen, Osiris, Richard and Maeve were dead.

The rest of us managed to snap out of the effect of the barrier just in time to react, but we didn’t stand a chance of blocking or evading, let alone countering, his attacks.

First, he targeted Leonardo, who managed to avoid a fatal blow, but the right side of his chest is caved in and he’s struggling to breathe, having narrowly avoided sustaining damage to his heart.

The Demon of Sin then targeted Elise, while in the meantime, Serafine suddenly retreated along with Kiyana, who she grabbed by the shoulders and then flew off with.

Belphegor severed Elise’s right arm and some of her shoulder along with it, before backing away before Elise could freeze him. She’s frozen the stump of her right shoulder to stop the bleeding, but she’s barely on her feet anymore.

I was the last to be targeted, Belphegor aiming to pierce my stomach with his hand, but I managed to evade enough that his attack instead left a deep gash on my left side...it’s bleeding profusely and I can feel myself getting weaker and weaker, but I’m still alive.

I’m not very good with ice techniques, but I can at least form a little bit of...I grimaced as I placed my hand over the wound and then formed ice over it to stop the bleeding.

"Why bother? You are going to die anyway," Remarked Belphegor, who had taken a seat on the ground.

"Wanna bet?" I countered weakly, as I shakily got back onto my feet.

Even at my maximum output with my Physical Skill, I’m not match for him, despite the fact that we’ve already set off four light energy bombs. Unfortunately, by the time we weakened him, he’d already killed more than half of us and severely injured the rest.

"Very well, then...I shall kill you first," He responded, as he suddenly appeared right in front of me, my eyes widening in alarm.

And in the next split second, a blinding pain burst through my chest, as he drove his hand straight through it, breaking through my ribcage and tearing through my flesh agonizingly.

I gritted my teeth as my vision blurred and darkened, a stifled gasp of pain escaping my lips before I reached out and grabbed the forearm of the arm that was pierced through my body, using my Physical Skill to max out my grip as much as possible.

"Got...you...," I uttered weakly, my body starting to feel cold...no, wait, it feels hot.

"Hm? This is futile. What are you hoping to accomplish?" He inquired with a raised eyebrow.

C-come on...I have to do this, I need to muster what’s left of my Aura into one, final attack...

"Take this, you bastard!" Suddenly came Kiyana’s voice, as dozens of light energy bombs plummeted down and hit the ground all around us.

"Uh-oh," Muttered Belphegor in alarm, as he began to reach for my hand that was tightly gripping his forearm.

Suddenly, sand wrapped around his right foot as ice froze his left foot, right before I let out a gutteral, animalistic roar as I channeled all the Aura I had left into my Terra Skill, several narrow, needle-like spikes bursting out and piercing into the Demon’s body, a number of them first going through my body from behind.

"S-so...how do you like...them apples?" I strained to speak, blood pouring out of my wounds and trickling down the sides of my mouth as my consciousness began to fade.

"I do not know what that means. However...this truly sucks," He sighed, as he stared as his arm turning to ash, his core damaged in my last attack as he began to disintegrate, "I do not like this pain. I suppose I’ll use this on myself...as you are in direct contact with me, you will be affected to. Unique Technique...Cloud Nine."

Huh? What the-...all around me, there’s nothing but things that make me feel relaxed. It feels nice and cool, there’s beanbags and blankets, plenty of snacks, booze and weed...not bad.

I see, Cloud Nine, huh? An ability that puts its target in some kind of trance that makes them feel nice and relaxed. All the pain from my injuries is gone...not bad, this is pretty convincing. But, I...I can feel it, my sense of self fading, slowly but surely...

"Well...I suppose there’s worse ways to go," I sighed wryly, my eyelids starting to shut as everything went dark...

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