AGG: Devil Side Stories

Rizevim 1 (Note: CORE Epilogue.)

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Commissioned by Citino

Word Count: 2500

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Above all else, the weak must perish and the strong be given all.

That is the means of reality to ensure the world’s continuation. Those who fail and those who fall, are step stones for those who can shoulder the burden. Whether one is an Angel, a Devil, a Vampire, or whatever else, that is the law that they follow. Power and strength must be maintained, weaknesses exploited, and all who hope to live must fight for their existence. 

Peace is a foolish, boring affair, good only for luxuries and idle pleasures.

To truly live, one must fight, conquer challenges, and therefore know the fullness of life. 

So, if the weak become strong, the strong must become stronger, unless they wish to be the weak. That is simply the way of things. Every day and every moment is one that mustn’t be wasted, for the resting on one’s laurels is surely the best method of being felled by another. Those who have become the step stones for another cannot complain, as they have merely been ousted by those who are truly righteous. 

To live is to exist within a spiral of continuous struggle, pain, and suffering for both the strong and weak. The mighty must be always mighty, lest the weak rise up to destroy them, and the weak shall always bear their betters upon their backs, until they become strong and ascend to their most righteous state. 

So, Poseidon, why do you seem so cross with me?

“Don’t… don’t play games with me … Devil” 

Oh, but we’re not playing any games, oh Lord of the Oceans. Why would you think that? What sort of games have you played, hmmm? Truly, I worry for you and your kin. The centuries have left your bodies weak and infirm enough to be defeated by a mere Devil. Is your mind growing feeble as well, my friend? Can you no longer understand that I’m giving you a lecture, and not settling your idle fantasies?

“You… you swore an oath… to aid me and my fellows in combat. Yet… when we needed you… you did not come, Rizevim!”

Oh, but I did. I was there. I watched as Leviathan proved to be strong and you weak. 

“Y-you did not come to our aid!”

And, why would I do that, aspirant of the gods? Did you not wish to be a god amongst gods? To become a threat to Aspects themselves, by destroying all other gods? How could I let you down by coming to your aid? By making you, my beloved ally, weak? 

“That… that is madness!”

Is it? Hmmm, then why am I here, with a glass of wine in my hand, while you’re without limbs and chained to my mantle? Oh, and it’s an excellent glass of wine, too. From a vineyard from South America that’s now a smoldering, irradiated crater, if you’re wondering. It’s the last of its kind, did you know?”

“You disgusting… traitor! Your word meant nothing! We were fools for trusting you… for thinking that you’d come to our aid!”

Yes, yes. I’m a traitor, a madman, a killer, a murderer. However, all those words and more can be applied to both you and I, and whoever utters them would be correct. Truly, I don’t understand why you’d use such language. We’re one in the same, except for the fact you’ve lost, and here I am. 

The strong are strong, and the weak are weak, as I’ve said before and I’ll say again. Father had turned Hell into world all his own, with loyal subjects worshipping at his feet, from a waste filled with Demons and monsters. How is that any different from me turning you figments of humanity with delusions of grandeur as my own playthings for my own whims? I am, after all, using my power as you would use your own, if you’d had the same measure.

The god’s rage overcomes him. He utters a constant scream, thrashing in his chains upon my mantle, and I enjoy my wine. Indeed the evening has been pleasant so far, with me enjoying my new furnishings and conquests, but time halts for no one, the myriad of broken Dhamphir blades and timepieces in my possession is a clear symbol for that, so I must continue with my work.

Humanity, ever perplexing and changing, has become mighty.

Fools would say that humanity has always been strong, citing individuals such as heroes, but they are as their names might suggest. No. Humanity has always been weak, merely prey or slaves for all who come, but they have gone to great lengths to overcome that weakness. Now, they are thus on the cusp of victory over a force which even Heaven at its most glorious would have faltered against, even with their Creator. 

The LRU, CSG, and Templar, forged by the world’s challenges, are humanity’s first true weapons. Technology born of countless treasures is in their hands, victories won with tens of thousands of lives gird their belts, and they all wear crowns forged from their broken foes. Then, with rigid diligence, they turned to those who created them, and uplifted them as to serve as a foundation and fodder for their betters. The weak serve the strong, behind pretense of controlling them, as they know who their true masters are and are kept in control by trinkets and baubles.

Just as father said, strength for one begets strength for all, and reality will be better for it.

I suppose humanity deserved applause for their efforts, to finally abscond with the foolishness of freedom and believe in the truth of power, but that would be akin to spitting in their face. 

No, humanity was an opponent to be weighed, measured, and confronted with all possible strength. My agents amongst them have been done away with, their spies clamber amongst Ouroboros’s ranks, and the Fallen strike by their side, waylaying attempts to be rid of them. Indeed, indeed, what was once prey is now an enemy that cannot be trifled with. They are capable and must be treated as such, for only a foolish man would approach a worthy opponent carelessly. 

Not only that, but I couldn’t spoil myself.

It would be a travesty if I simply threw one of the Spheres upon the New World and tore the continent asunder. There would be no joy in manifesting before their leaders and summarily executing every, single one of them. Manifesting armies and armies within their budding palaces and structures would be the height of ecstasy for me, but I couldn’t as those would be the sites of climactic sieges, nexuses of grand battles that I dearly wished to be involved in. While their heroes and champions could be done away with by subterfuge or sufficient force, that would remove them from the playing field later, when I might see them fall due to the my own strength.

It would be the height of pettiness to indulge in a fruit that has yet to ripen. I don’t believe that I’ll be able to forgive myself if I’d sent my new, budding opponent into the abyss without toppling just before they reach the height of their power, when they could truly oppose me and my own, as the strong ought to do when others threaten to rise above them. 

That thought it mind, I finished my glass and left my study, to see the outcome of mankind’s unification beneath their new, almighty masters. 

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The battlefield was father’s dream come to life. 

Two forces, without anything to lose and at the pinnacle of their respective strengths, clashing in an open field for the fate of the whole world. Though, I doubted that it would cross my father’s mind that humanity would ever be mighty, or that another force would come from another dimension, I hoped I knew him well enough to believe he’d appreciate the sights recorded for me by my subordinates.

Machines thundered in every direction, fortifications spat fire, and explosives rained down from the sky or the horizon. Humanity prepared and prepared, investing thousands upon thousands of hours of their short lives to become equals to their foe, and they hold against their foe through bravery, sacrifice, and rage. One feeble human being, easily killed by a mere slap from a Devil’s child, fired his weapons into massive monstrosities deadly to unwary Devils and Angels. Once upon a time, such a man would only serve as flesh to be pulped or consumed by the Chimera, yet only one human died for every ten Chimera that came forward.

The humans, of course, were no longer the men who once marched to battle with blessed weapons and nothing else. Each man was clad in slabs of armor, armed with weapons designed to fire upon monsters and kill them with contempt, and trained in warfare. No more levies of frightened children easily dispersed through extravagance. Humanity had true soldiery now. Deadly, capable fodder to fill their armies and hold ground, while their champions fought true battles. 

Yet, those champions have yet to arise, save for the JSF headed by the True Longinus user. 

It would be a sordid affair indeed, if Ouroboros struck now. Azille would certainly slaw multitudes of my men, but once he fell, there would be no stopping my lesser subordinates from wreaking havoc on humanity’s forces. Their machines and tactics were certainly capable against the masses of flesh they now faced, but battles have been decided by the mightiest of either force, not the weakest. A weapon is only worthy if it can inflict injuries. Not one of the new weapons of mankind, save for their immense, new nuclear weapons, could harm the highest of my echelons. 

No, for now, humanity will have to struggle and grow, until they are worthy opponents. 

But, for my dream to come true, I couldn’t allow them to flee or grow complacent.

So, even as they continued to fight the Chimera, honing themselves into fine opponents in the future, I will have to see them remain firmly in place. 

Had Ophis remained, it would have been child’s play to have her grant power, run rampant, and ensure humanity’s burgeoning steps into space and other dimensions would be crushed. However, the challenge of disrupting an entire species’ attempt to run and hide was one I was more than willing to undertake. No, in fact, I would be overjoyed to see them cornered, lose more and more of their ground, until they have no choice besides to fight and win. After all, those with nowhere to go fought the hardest. Like animals herded into a corner by the Chimera, they will fight, innovate, and sacrifice all that they can to burst through the front, and they will be mightier for it. 

Yes, indeed, all I needed to do, while everyone fought and struggled, was ensure that they had no choice but to keep doing so. 

I couldn’t help but be overjoyed by the sudden change in situation.

Once, I’d fretted in my castle, brooding over runaway grandchildren, incompetent subordinates, and Hell’s slipping into complacency. Now, the whole of reality was at war due to what I’d considered mere curiosities. Heaven, Hell, and Earth now all fought against a common foe, while I and my swelling companions could watch everything burn. It was more magnificent than the third world war I’d envisioned, which would have surely only involved humanity. Circumstances may have seen my former plan fail, but there was more joy to be had in what I was presented now, than what I’d envisioned. 

Without lifting a finger to cause it, I now had the perfect situation to cultivate, tend to, and bring to fruition.

What was I to do to stop whatever plans there might be to escape from the Chimera?

Perhaps, I could cause a fourfold increase in the world’s distance? That would surely utterly destroy all of humanity’s logistical efforts, making it so they had to invest more on Earth, rather than the stars so much higher before. Hmmm, no. That would utilize far too many of the Infinity Spheres left behind. 

It would be better if they did attempt to leave, and I merely swatted down all those weaklings. 

Ah, what a delicious tragedy that would be! 

A moment of triumph turned into hideous, absolute despair!

One moment, their victory is in the cusp of their hands, the stars themselves in their hands, only for them to fall to their demise upon those left behind to hold treasures that could not be lost! How many would die if I were to have to have this grand plan in place? Would it be a fleet of ships launching in synch all over the world that I struck down? Or, perhaps, a whole station built over decades and decades holding thousands within? Was I to simply destroy the engines for their salvation, destroy the systems which protected their fragile bodies, or cast down the wreckages onto the onlookers before as my declaration of war?

Not only that, but how little would I have to risk! Hordes of Homunculi teleported into the confines of their fragile escape craft would inflict grievous wounds. Singular blasts of power from my subordinates would surely cause any spacecraft to fall! If I took to the field myself, I could turn a fraction of the mundane sphere’s sky into a wall of destruction which would simply turn to nothing all those who tried to reach the stars. 

Words failed to describe how grand the plan was! Not only would I have to wait, merely ensuring my forces remained strong or become stronger, but the reward itself would inflict righteous suffering upon humanity’s collective consciousness! 

Their history shall become the periods before and after I smote them from the heavens. 

All I needed to do to was wait. 

To be the very definition of patience.

To shore up my strengths, ensure my power, and await the perfect opportunity. 

How many years would it take, before such an opportunity arose?

A decade? 

A century? 

A millennium?

Hmmm, regardless, I have waited several centuries already. What is the point of one or two more, before my triumph? Indeed, the world was a vision that I could relish to look upon and have my fill of for all the coming years. To say that I would be exuding virtue in my patience would be a gross overstatement to the highest degree. Before me was the burning inferno I’d already wished to witness, and ahead of me was a scant few years of waiting for the opportune moment, as I’d already done for centuries. 

No.

I can wait. 

My patience was not in question.

To inflict such great violence upon a whole species, to destroy humanity the moment their dreams of peace and salvation would become realized, I could happily wait while they merely peacefully existed.

Doing so while they fought interdimensional horrors, fighting for the very existence of their newly-birthed conglomerate, would be a pleasure. 

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