Shadow chains snapped, their once solid forms dissipating into nothing more than smokey wisps, as the Lightbringer swung his fist up, smashing it into the face hidden beneath the darkness of Seth's hood.

Spittle flew as the punch slammed into Seth's jaw, as did Seth himself. The sheer force of it sending him flying back, bouncing across the dirt like a stone skipping a lake, before he skidded to a halt. At some point, somewhere between the third and sixth bounce, he lost his Scythe.

Tearing the shadows from his body like he was ripping apart paper, the Lightbringer rose to his feet with a cocky smile plastered across his face. He glanced down at his hand, noticing the small beads of black blood lingering on his knuckles as his face twisted in disgusted.

"Disgusting... Who knew that your blood was so vile. Maybe you really are colluding with demons. Eugh..."

Letting out a grunt of disgust, he flicked his hand to the side to get rid of the blood droplets, before spreading his singular wing and flapping it.

In the rut that his body had created, far from the edge of the crater, Seth shook his head slightly to get rid of the constant ringing in his ears. His vision was doubled and was slowly bringing itself back together as he stumbled to his feet.

And that was when the One-Winged Angel appeared before him.

In a flash of light, Lucifer the Lightbringer appeared in front of him in an instant, already swinging his leg towards Seth's head.

He barely had time to raise his arms, his armour crumpling like tin foil as he skidded backwards. Seth steadied himself, keeping his arms raised like a boxer, but a searing beam of light carved into his leg, the force of it pushing it backwards.

Letting out a cry of pain, Seth dropped to one knee, as the Lightbringer appeared before him once more. His hand reached under Seth's hood, grabbing him by the head, and slammed his head down into the ground.

The Lightbringer kept his hand clamped there, holding Seth down, as the hand itself started to gradually grow. Blinding light filled the inside of the hand, outlining his bones in black and turning his flesh translucent.

Wisps of white smoke drifted up from beneath Seth's mask, bringing with it a soft sizzling noise and the smell of burning flesh. Not to mention, the pained cries of Seth as his flesh was burned by the Light.

"How do you like my special medicine? Just one dose and you get a temporary power boost. And Oooh, It gives you such a rush too~

Just a shame our supply is so limited. Still... I keep some just for myself, and use the rest for my most eager servants. Helps keep them loyal."

He laughed wickedly, pressing his hand into Seth's face harder and only increasing the sizzling sound as a sadistic smile. His other hand moved towards the edge of the hood, wanting to pull it down and see the look on this worthless 'Death God's face as he melted it to the bone.

However, before he could reach it a black blur passed in front of his face and a spray of crimson splattered across his chest.

The Lightbringer stumbled backwards, his hand remaining attached to Seth's face, even when he stumbled back a few steps. He let out a hysterical cry of pain as he clutched at the remaining half of his arm, the cleanly cut stump spraying blood with every beat of his own heart.

"YOU FUCKING... LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO ME! YOU-"

His rage filled screeching was interrupted as he had to quickly lean backwards, avoiding the floating Scythe as it came back on another attack. It swung wildly in the air as, behind it, Seth pulled the Lightbringers severed arm from his face and tossed it to the side.

With his own hand outstretched, and with laboured breathes, he conducted the Scythe as it waved through the air. But his attacks were often too shallow, or swung too wide.

They were desperate and all over the place, forcing the Lightbringer to focus on the weapon. When he tried to slip past it, it spun like a helicopter blade and shot towards him, opening a large gash in his chest and forcing the Lightbringer back.

Touching his chest with his remaining hand, the Lightbringer grit his teeth as he glanced between the floating weapon, the recovering Seth and his own blood lingering on his fingers.

Without hesitiation, he simply turned tail and shot into the air, soaring away on a singular wing of Light. The black Scythe tried to chase, swinging once last time, but its swing was no where near.

Watching him go, Seth stumbled to his feet and recalled his Scythe into his hand. He touched his hand to his face, wincing at the sharp jolt of pain even the gentlest touch caused, and held his hand in front of his face.

Half of his vision was gone, replaced by a blinding white, and as he moved his hand back and forth, his depth perception was struggling to keep up. His hand curled into a trembling fist as Seth grit his teeth so tight they might shatter.

"This needs to end, now."

Glancing towards the sky, he bent his legs and launched himself after the retreating ball of light.

***

Cauterising his bloodied stump, the Lightbringer glanced at the ring on his remaining hand with a sly smile.

'Good thing that he didn't take this hand... I knew a storage ring was the right choice for that transportation gift. I just need to get to my provider and she can rid me of this pest.'

Cackling to himself, the Lightbringer folded his singular wing and shot towards the ground as his blessed city came into view.

The exterior defensive wall still wasn't finished its construction, but he could see a few tiny black dots crawling across its surface, like little cockroaches. Those were his lowest class, the ones not worthy enough of his blessing.

Some of them had been tossed into some of the battles as cannon fodder, especially with the power disrupting boy. But the rest were kept at home, to keep working. The pretty women in the mansion were never even considered for combat.

They simply existed to please and service him. That's all they were good for.

As he watched those little cockroaches working, a devious idea snuck into his head, causing a sinister smile to spread across his lips.

Tilting his body, the Lightbringer dove further down, altering his course so that he would land in the middle of the cockroach district instead of heading straight to the manor.

That bastard Sephtis was not the only one who could use numbers on his side. And there was something special he was hoping to try.

The cockroaches gawked at his arrival, bowing their head and muttering their little prayers. When he landed amongst them, they eagerly gathered around him and quickly got down onto the ground, showing him the proper deference.

The Lightbringer couldn't help but smile at the sight, basking in that wonderful feeling for a few seconds, before one of them dared to look up. The sound of dripping blood had drawn their attention, and when their eyes trailed up to the large gash in his chest, they let out a gasp which alerted the others.

Like dominoes, a chorus of gasps and shrieks rung out as they each stumbled across the revelation that their precious God had been injured.

"Y-Your Divine Greatness... Wh-what happened to you? Who could have done this to you?"

The Lightbringer quickly wiped the smile from his face and puffed out his chest. He took a few deep breaths to prepare himself, before putting on a show of pain and distress. It was actually quite easy, since the black veins were already snaking their way across his torso from his chest wound and sapping away at his energy.

But he made it a little exaggerated so these worthless peons could understand the situation he was in.

"I heard the prayers of one of your brethren, far away in the battle of the fort. They were praying for assistance against these wicked beasts that the demon worshippers had unleashed. Horrible abominations created by human sacrifice and cannibalism.

But when I was graciously answering their prayers, the Demon known as Lord Corvus ambushed me using a wretched weapon from the depths of the hells..."

Like he was knitting an intricate tapestry, the Lightbringer wove lie and twisted truth together with absolute expertise that could only come from decades of practice. He made sure to mind his works, crafting the perfect tale to lead these sheep to the beliefs that he wanted them to have.

The entire time, he kept anxiously glancing towards the sky. Scanning it every few seconds, in desperate search of his pursuer. The fact that he had not appeared yet was not setting him at ease, but was only making his anxiety worse.

At the end of his tale, he took a goblet from his storage room with a flourish of his hand. He pressed it against his chest, letting his blood seep into the goblet. The crimson liquid, which had strange flakes and traces of gold in it, filled the cup to the brim before the Lightbringer held it out to one of his followers.

"It is your time to fight my lamb. Drink of my blood, receive my blessing. Feel your body fill with the strength of the divine, so that you may help me vanquish this wretched enemy. Do this, and you shall truly claim your place at my side in the afterlife."

Under the all-seeing, watchful eyes of his grandiose statue, the Lightbringer waited with baited breathe as the follower tentatively lifted the goblet to his lips and let the liquid inside slid down his throat.

He had tried this before, but it hadn't worked. He was hoping that the boost from his medicine would be enough to kick them over the threshold.

When the follower gulped it down, a smile spread across the Lightbringers lips as he felt a change in the aura of the cockroach. Watching on from above, the all-seeing grandiose statue narrowed its eyes.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.