Make The Angel Scream and the Devil Cry! (Part 2)

"Die, Sloth!"

Wiping the blood off of his mouth, Deniel stared straight at the beast on the other side of the arena. Sloth let out an inhuman roar, and that's when Deniel saw him...him. A monstrous creature, but still human. In the presence of Sloth, Deniel saw the monster from his childhood: Senji. A man whose body seemed to be impossible to even have, and whose mercy didn't exist. Deniel could see the day when Senji, despite being much older, much stronger, much faster, much more than anything Deniel was at the time, snapped his limbs and mocked him. And in the face of Sloth, a creature who seemed similar to Senji, Deniel tapped into his rage. The Nephalem pushed himself off of the obsidian, Sloth had hit him into, and his body ignited in a fury of Unholy Energy. Almost instantly, Deniel's Magic Power flooded the arena, with so much force that even Sloth had to hold up one of his arms in front of him in defense.

On his throne, Diabolos raised his eyebrow upon seeing the Magic his son used, at long last. "Oooh? What's this? Deniel condensed all of his Unholy Energy that flooded the arena to his body, making it appear like it was on fire with his Magic. Instantly he appeared right in front of Sloth, and with an extra surge of Unholy Energy on his leg, kicked the mighty creature skyward. Following him up, Deniel activated two spells associated with his sword: Unholy Blade, and Summoned Swords. The very first strike he gave against Sloth was a powerful one, and as he cut Sloth several more times, each one was followed up by a sword of Armageddon. They appeared right beside Deniel, or above him, made out of Unholy Energy, and then impaled Sloth. Once Deniel gave him final attack, the Summoned Swords on Sloth detonated, sending him straight to the ground. And Deniel pointed his sword down, letting himself dive in for the kill. Just before his sword had stabbed Sloth, Diablos held out his hand, "Enough!" Deniel's blade stopped, just an inch away from Sloth's fur. "You have triumphed, Deniel. You may continue, or you can have an audience with me."

Covered up in blood and cuts, Sloth stood up, and jumped back up to the throne area surrounding Diabolos. The beast panted, and bowed before its master. "Forgive me, Diabolos. I could not defeat him." Diabolos gave a signal for Sloth to stand, and return to its throne. "No, Sloth. You have done well. And I hope you recover well." In the arena, Deniel stared up at his father interact with Sloth, and he was surprisingly....humane. Despite his warrior not succeeding in defeating him, Diabolos did not seem to be too concerned about it. Once Diabolos's attention was back down at Deniel, his son just glared at him, and held up his hand, "I choose to have an audience with you....your highness..." And with that, Deniel sheathed Armageddon on his back once more, and was getting read to de-activate his Take Over.

Notes

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"Make the Devil cry!"

"Very well then..." Diabolos snapped his fingers, and the gate on the end of the arena which was under Diabolos's throne was immediately opened up, allowing Deniel to proceed. Just as it did, Deniel was finally back to his normal state. Red eyes, normal ones, black hair, black clothing, and his katana rather than Armageddon. Diabolos witness Deniel's de-transformation, and that reassured him that his son's ability to assume his form was through Magic, and nothing more. Deniel proceeded forward, into the dark hallway that lead beneath the arena. As he did, Diabolos waved his hand to all of the demons sitting in the audience, "We shall continue once my son is ready. You are all free to do as you please now." And with that, Diabolos, followed by his seven Sin Lieutenants exited the arena. Beneath the arena, Deniel found himself arriving at a sort of waiting room. There were benches and chairs, along with tables, and racks of weapons and armor. As he looked around, Diabolos suddenly appeared right behind his son, placing his head on his shoulder. Alarmed, Deniel drew his katana as he stared back at his father, but Diabolos held up his hand in protest.

"Hold on there, son! I'm not here to kill you yet. You'll have to earn that." Deniel wasn't entirely convinced by his father's story, so he kept his sword drawn and pointed at him. "Why should I believe you? Old bastard." Diabolos wasn't that old, in fact. He looked not that much older than Deniel, despite the huge age difference between him. Diabolos shared Deniel's red eyes and black hair, except Diabolos's was in a different style, and his bangs were a dirty blonde color. Diabolos wore a crimson red coat with nothing underneath for his upper body, along with a pair of grey jeans and crimson red boots. He looked far different than Deniel, which contradicted the stories that Deniel heard about him being his spitting image. "Do you honestly think I would let you in that arena, nearly kill one of my Lieutenants, and then let you out just to kill you backstage? No. If I were to kill you, I want all of the world to see it!" The last part spoken from Diabolos was filled with malice and evil intent, and Deniel could feel it in the air. Regardless, he had no choice but to believe him. He lowered his sword, and sheathed it back in his scabbard.

"That's more like it. By the way, I loved the fight! Watching you kick Sloth's ass really got my blood going! That's my boy!" Diabolos smacked Deniel on the back, and then put his arm around his shoulder, almost like any father would. Diabolos was only an inch or so taller than Deniel, but he still felt small when in his presence. "Dad....what are you--" Before Deniel could finish his sentence, Diabolos started walking with him, cutting his son off, "Let's eat, yeah? You must be starving! Any warrior can't fight on an empty stomach. Not to worry! I already have a feast readied for us, so you can gorge yourself all you want!"

Notes

"Make the Devil cry!"

Diabolos lead Deniel out of the arena's waiting area, and into a hallway. Deniel noticed the walls were made of Obsidian, but regardless, the place was decorated nicely, almost like a lord's castle. The carpet beneath Deniel and Diabolos's feet was blood red, just like their eyes, with golden trimmings and designs. The hallways were lit up with torches, but there were no windows. Deniel remembered that there was nothing like this on the outside, which must have meant this entire place was built into the volcano. Diabolos noticed his son taking a look at his surroundings, and with his arm still around him, just gave him a nudge. "This is my palace, Deniel, the Obsidian Palace. Normally obsidian isn't that hard of a material, but combining it with my Demonic Unholy Energy, I am able to transform it into True Obsidian. Nearly indestructible." They turned a corner with the hallway and continued to head down. "True....Obsidian?" Diabolos gave a glance at his son, showing obvious disappointment in his eyes. "Yeah, True Obsidian."

Deniel frowned as the two of them turned another corner, and he saw the dinner table set up for them. It looked very similar to the one in Arianna's Icecrown Citadel, having enough seats for 5 entire families, but other than Diabolos and himself, there were no other demons that would partake in it. Diabolos took his hand off of his son, and sat at the seat that looked to be the mightiest and most aesthetic of them all. Of course. Deniel took a seat near his father, but not right next to him. He was curious to hear about this 'True Obsidian' Diabolos spoke of. The table itself was set with all kids of foods: fruits, vegetables, meats (rare, medium rare, and even raw), desserts, and drinks. Despite the fact that it was set for only two people, Diabolos had surely gone all-out. "What is this, True Obsidian?" Deniel asked his father as he placed several slices of meat on his plate, and poured himself some wine, unbeknownst to him about what it really was. Diabolos, on the other hand, had already poured himself some wine, as as Deniel asked his question, he drank from it. His father nearly choked on it once he asked the question, and took a few moments of gagging and coughing to recover himself. "What!? You don't know what True things are!?"

Deniel was secretly hoping that Diabolos simply choked and died on his wine. But since he didn't, he just shook his head and took a bite of his meat. Diabolos shook his head and sighed, "What a worthless son you are....don't know a goddamn thing about yourself." Diabolos drank his wine straight from the bottle, like an alcoholic father and began. "'True' things are objects that have attained measures and power beyond that which they were initially capable of. 'True' things are not easy to attain, naturally, but once they are, whomever obtains them will now great power. Naturally, True Obsidian does not give me that much power, but it does provide a badass place." Diabolos let out a brief laughter, and drunk from his wine again. Deniel only gorged himself as he was starving just as Diabolos speculated earlier, but still listened to what his father had to say. "And I'm guessing that's where a True Nephalem comes in."

Notes

"Make the Devil cry!"

"Yes....tell me, do you even know what that is, Deniel?" Diabolos scornfully spoke to his son on the topic of a True Nephalem. It was obvious the mere mention of it made Diabolos's blood boil and skin crawl. All Deniel did in response to his father was shake his head, and sip his wine. Diabolos sighed, chugging down more wine from the bottle, nearly finishing it. "A True Nephalem is born once the Nephalem has spilled and bathed in the blood of its mother and father. But at the same time, a Nephalem must also master its demonic and holy powers separately in order to master them together." Diabolos once again scowled at the topic. Deniel finally recognized exactly what Arianna meant about him earlier.

According to her, all Nephalem attempt to murder their parents as a second instinct, and based on what Diabolos just told him, Deniel figured that it was in order to become a True Nephalem. "Well that's not my goal, dad--" "THEN WHAT IS YOUR GOAL!? You think you're so different from the rest? Huh!? You think you're some kind of special little shit who isn't like my past sons and daughters? Well you're wrong you little asshole! Your desire to kill me is no different than any other Nephaelm's. You can make any excuse you want, but when it boils down, the only reason you want to kill me is so you can obtain power. JUST LIKE YOU KILLED MY WIFE!" There was a silence in the room. Diabolos stared at Deniel with hate in his eyes, obviously from the death of Arianna. Deniel felt no remorse or regret for doing it. She got what was coming to her. Diabolos grunted and chugged down the rest of his wine. "If all Nephalem want to kill you, why bother having them at all. Just to satisfy your sick, twisted pleasure? You're no better than they are, Dad."

Diabolos flung his bottle of wine at the nearest wall, shattering it in an instant. Then he angrily stood up from his chair, smashing his hands down on the table. 'You want your goddamn power, little shit!? Too bad! I'll make sure you never get it. I'll make sure this Obsidian Palace will be your grave! I hope you enjoy the last day of your life here, Deniel." Deniel calmly finished his meat, before grabbing on to a piece of pie and chewing down on it. Obviously, he was much more calm about this than Diabolos was, despite both of them having a lust for vengeance against one another. "Power is not my main desire from you, dad. But if it comes with killing you, I'll gladly take it. When I'm really after is avenging all of my fallen siblings, for dying at your sick hand. And I'm going to fulfill my promise I made all those years ago. I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU CRY!" There was dead silence in the room once more. The anger and hate between the two had quickly risen in just a few moments, but regardless, none made a move on the other. It would be settled in the arena, so long as Deniel had the ability to make it past Diabolos's Sin Lieutenants. He already did it once, and that wasn't too hard, he could do it six more times for sure.

Notes

"Make the Devil cry!"

The silence was short lived. Diabolos scoffed and sat back down. Despite finishing his wine, there was still plenty more on the table left for him. He lifted up yet another bottle, and brought it to his lips. He gave a very prolonged chug of the drink, before groaning a breath. "You can take a break in your temporary room. Once you're ready to fight the next one, just let the guard know." It was quite alright with Deniel. He was receiving much more hospitality from his father than he did his mother, in spite of Diabolos's burning desire to kill him. He was done eating anyway, but noticed all his father did was drink wine..."Well where's my room, anyway?" Diabolos set down his wine and stood up to his feet. Deniel did the same. "I'll show you." No longer walking down the hallways with his arm around his son, Diabolos was in front of Deniel, leading him down only two hallways before he stopped at a door. Deniel noticed the door wasn't made of obsidian, but rather wood. It almost appeared to be a door to a cell.

Diabolos made the way clear for Deniel, stepping aside and letting him enter. Deniel grabbed the door's handle, and opened it up, taking a glance inside. It was quite a simple room. The walls and floor were made of True Obsidian, although the floor had the same red carpet that the hallways contained. There was a bed already made for Deniel in the corner of the room. There wasn't anything else in the room, but it's not like Deniel needed anything else. Deniel gave a glance back at his father as he took two short steps into his room. Diabolos stood there with his arms crossed, wordless. "Thanks, Dad. That will be all." Diabolos rolled his eyes and closed the door behind Deniel. Deniel was left alone in his room. That is, he would be alone if it weren't for Nidhogg. Walking over to his bed, Deniel grabbed the sheathed sword, and held on to it with both hands. He laid himself down on to it, resting his upper body against the back of the bed. "Nidhogg, do you think we can trust him?" Deniel was still highly suspicious of his father. He had given him food, sure, but this could all very easily be one huge trick against Deniel.

"I believe him, Deniel. And I think you should as well." Nidhogg was very blunt about his answer, causing Deniel to get suspicious as to why. Nidhogg gave no reason for thinking that way, he just answered him. Diabolos said that it was no trick, and that ddin't convince him, but if Nidhogg was willing to, then perhaps he should. With a brief sigh, Deniel closed his eyes and laid back in his bed. "Alright, I believe him. I'll get some rest, and then I'll see how many I can battle tomorrow." Deniel planned on fighting more than one Lieutenant, perhaps three. The only reason he only fought one today is because he was eager to see what Diabolos said today, and he had fought a lot of demons earlier.

Notes

"Make the Devil cry!"

The Nephalem slowly but surely dozed himself off to sleep. He had no idea what time of the day it was anyway, as he was not only granted any vision of the outside world, but everything so far had happened in just one day. He walked to Iceberg, traversed the Icecrown Citadel, came all the way back to Fiore. came to Sin, and located the Obsidian Palace all in one day. A lot of strain was on his body, so in spite of his caution, sleep eventually deprived him of all alertness, and he succumbed sleep. An unknown amount of time passed before the Nephalem's eyes slowly folded open, before Deniel alarmingly looked at his surroundings. Sleep caused his memory to be jotted for several seconds, before recalling the events that took place before he decided to rest himself. Remembering what exactly happened, Deniel gave a brief sigh before pushing himself off of his bed. Immediately he opened the wooden, prison-like door of his room, and made his way out into the hall. Immediately, upon closing his door, Deniel almost ran into his father. Diabolos was on his way to see him, but Deniel managed to wake up at the perfect time.

"Oh. Look who is up." No longer alarmed to be in the presence of his father, but still feeling rather awkward, Deniel stood his ground and nearly demanded his next statement. "How long was I asleep for?" All Diabolos did was shrug in response, "Who knows? I don't know how long it took to to fall asleep. That's irrelevant, anyway. Are you ready to--" "Yes. I'm ready to kick the asses of the rest of your stupid lieutenants." Interrupted by his son before he could finish did not anger Diabolos, but rather entice him to appreciate the guts of his son further. Laughing, he slapped his son on the back and started to lead him down the other way they initially came before Deniel had fallen asleep. "Hahahah! Spoken like a warrior, and an arrogant bastard!" Diabolos lead Deniel through a bit of the Obsidian Palace, which Deniel noticed they were passing up large sections. Diabolos was only showing him the bare minimum of his palace. Only his room, hallways, and the dining room. Diabolos lead Deniel all the way to the waiting area that was on the other side of the arena that he exited the other day.

"Sorry about the mix-up, but you'll be here from now on. My Lieutenants will be on the other side. Now, then, let's go!" A sinister smirk on his face, and his son being lead by him, Diabolos walked out into the arena with Deniel following him. The crowd of demons had grown even more since the other day, and they gave roars of snarls, cheers, and actual roars upon seeing their king enter, followed by his son. Diabolos made his way to the center of the arena, before abruptly leaping up into the stand of his throne. Deniel noticed that there was someone missing from their throne up in the stands. He also noticed that Sloth was no longer shadowed. Just like Diabolos, he could see him clearly. Frowning, Deniel thought to himself: So they keep themselves concealed until it is time for me to defeat them. Hmph. On the other side of the arena, the door that had been sealed off was slowly opening up, leading the way for the next Sin Lieutenant to challenge Deniel.

Notes

"Kneel before me, Envy!"

As the True Obsidian gate opened itself up, and the crowd of demons hushed themselves, Deniel could hear the footsteps of the next Sin Lieutenant. They were relatively quiet, especially compared to the thundering ones made possible by Sloth. They were quite slow as well, and from the sounds of it, they were bare foot. Deniel saw a shadowy figure appear at the entrance way, before entering the arena and showing its face. This Sin Lieutenant had much more of a human-like appearance than Sloth did. His body was human, for the most part. His face appeared to be, as well as his upper body, save for his arms. His arms slowly shifted to dark green scales, different than the one's Deniel had on his Take Over. They looked to be like...dragon scales! Noticing his back, Deniel saw two folded green dragon wings, green scales on its outside, and yellow leathery material in the inside. The Lieutenant wore dark grey shorts with a green sash tied around his waist, and Deniel could see that even his lower body was covered in its dark green dragon scales. He also took notice that the scales matched the color of its eyes....exactly.

Its human face had spiked back blonde hair, and when it opened its mouth, Deniel could see sharp fangs inside of it. "Welcome, Nephalem....I am the Sin of Envy." His voice was quiet, yet Deniel was still able to hear him. It was as if the Lieutenant were whispering into his ear, despite the distance between him. "Let'ssssssssssss have sssssssome fun...." The way he used his s's were as if he were a snake. They were drawn out, and he could even see the flicker of its forked tongue from where he was standing. "Let's..." was the only word that came from Deniel as he drew Nidhogg from its scabbard. Immediately five red pentagrams appeared on various parts of his body. One appeared right at his neck, the other at his feet, another at his waist, and finally two of them at his fingertips, one for each hand. After a brief delay, each of the pentagrams moved up, causing his entire body to shift into his Black Devil Take Over. His sword, Nidhogg, also received a pentagram, in which it transformed into the monstrous broadsword, Armageddon.

Letting out a brief roar, which still sounded quite human, Deniel pointed Armageddon at Envy using both of his hands, and bending his elbows at a ninety degree angle and turning his body to the side, with only his face and his sword towards Envy. Envy snapped his dragon-like claws on both of his hands, and almost immediately two swords materialized into his palms. On the left was a sword whose hilt appeared to be made of bones, whilst the blade was attached on. The right one appeared to have dragon's skin on its hilt, while the blade was merely a beam of energy. "Come get me...." The scowl on Deniel's face deepened for a moment before he gave a brief nod, "You shall kneel before me, Envy."

Notes: All HP, Magic Power, Cool Downs, Duration, and everything else have been reset from the elapsed tiem.

Stats:

"Kneel before me, Envy!"

Hesitating for a moment, Deniel dashed to the other side of the arena swiftly, and swung from down to up with Armageddon. Envy blocked it using both of his swords, and shoved Deniel's blade away, but made no attempt to counter attack. Deniel brought the sword in again with a swift strike, only to have it parried, and struck again from the other side. On the first side, Envy used one sword, and when Deniel struck the other side, Envy used his other. Deniel brought his blade up so fast that almost nothing could keep up with it, and then back down at Envy's head. The Sin Lieutenant blocked it with ease using the blade that was made from bones and metal, and then pointed the other one at Deniel. Kekkekekek!" Envy let out a brief laughter before his blade began to glow, and then fired an enormous beam of Dark Green Energy at a point-blank range to Deniel. With his hands and blades preoccupied, Deniel was forced to take the blow. The crowd was unaffected by it, as Diabolos put up an invisible barrier so nothing else could be harmed. Once the beam faded, Deniel was on the other side of the arena, down on one knee while holding the ground with the other. His body was giving off a bit of smoke from the blast, and he was bleeding out of the corner of his lips.

"Look who isssssss kneeling now," Envy taunted Deniel, spinning one of his blades in his hand. Angered, Deniel brought himself to his feet, and then used his Shout of the Devil spell. He took in a deep breath, with a small bit of Unholy Energy spreading to the sides of his mouth, and then gave an obnoxious shout, spewing out a beam of Unholy Energy that was even larger than Envy's one. Diabolos's Sin Lieutenants shielded their eyes from the extreme light that was radiated from the large quantity of Unholy Energy, but the Black Devil Himself smirked. Deniel, you have much to learn... Once it all faded, Envy was left standing, completely unharmed, whilst his green blade was glowing brighter than ever. "I envy your power, Nephalem. Kekekekek!" Using his name as a pun, Envy completely mocked Deniel's power, and then proceeded to slash three times with its green sword. Each one produced a huge wave containing the powerful green Magic. Deniel was able to dodge the first and second, but given the size of the arena, the third one hit him straight-on.

A large gash was created at Deniel's shoulder going down to his waist, looking like a scar. Touching the massive wound in his chest, Deniel stared at Envy, who just gave him a sinister grin back. He noticed that Envy made no move to try and attack Deniel in spite of his condition, and that's when the Nephalem discovered how do defeat him. Deniel slowly stood up straight, and then began to walk to Envy. He sheathed Armageddon on his back, and looked up at Diabolos as he walked towards him. "Has he figured it out?" As if Deniel had heard him, he just gave his father a brief nod. As if saying: "Yes I have."

Notes

Stats:

"Kneel before me, Envy!"

Determining the strategy of Envy and how to counter it was not the hardest job Deniel had experienced, as he knew what kind of abilities Envy had. He had definitely seen these types before. The type that would sit back and counter their opponents, preying on their anger, rather than taking the offensive. He also found that the attacks of Envy, physical and magical, required his swords, and his double blades were more than enough to defend from Armageddon. So with the large sword at his back, Deniel started to walk towards Envy with a scowl on his face. The Sin Lieutenant stayed on guard, but Diabolos in his arena closed his eyes and sighed. In the eyes of his father, this match was already done and over with. At least he's not as dumb as I thought... When Deniel reached Envy, the dragon-like demon raised both of his swords at the same time, and brought them down on to Deniel's shoulders. Deniel made no effort to block them. They came down on his shoulders, but luckily for him, the bits of armor on them protect him. With Envy's arms distracted, he begun his killing.

Letting out a snarl, Deniel grabbed the demon by the neck with his sharp claws, digging them deep into it, and then flung him over his shoulder. With his blades still in his shoulders, Envy was flung towards the center of the arena, without his blades. The demon landed on his back, and then scrambled back up on to his feet. Once he did, he found the familiar grip of Deniel on his neck once more. The Black Devi lifted him up to eye-level, and then headbutted him once. Twice. Three times. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Twelve times Deniel bashed his head against Envy's, and with the protection on his head, Deniel was left unharmed, whilst Envy could feel his skull cracking. And then Deniel kneed him in the stomach twice, before lifting him up with both hands, and slamming him down on to the arena. He slowly drew his sword from his back, and brought it up to the sky with one hand. Diabolos had been too distracted, watching in awe, amazement, and entertainment with how brutal his son was. He realized that if he did not call it off now, one of his Lieutenants would die. "STOP!" Diabolos's voice boomed across the arena and through the halls of his palace. With his sword still raised, Deniel glanced back at his father.

"You have won, Deniel. You may either take another break, or continue." Sheathing his sword on his back, and grabbing Envy's swords to dig them out of his armor, Deniel spat a small bit of blood on the ground. "I choose to continue!" Envy stood up behind Deniel, staggering a bit as it did. His face was blooded, and he clenched his stomach in pain. "You fight well, Nephalem...perhapssssss you can make it passsst the resssst of usssss, after all." Envy picked up both of his swords, and limped out of the arena. Deniel waited in the arena for his next opponent, heading to his side of it. He saw Envy re-enter the throne spot of the arena, and someone else was missing. Envy took a seat beside Sloth, the two of them now revealed. Deniel was about to fight his third Sin Lieutenant.

Notes

Stats:

"I don't fall for Lust."

"COME ON, WHO IS THE NEXT ONE! I WILL RIP YOU APART!" Despite his words, he knew that he wouldn't be able to do it. As much as he would love to kill all of Diabolos's Lieutenants, he wouldn't let him. Any time he came close, he would call it off. As the gate on the other side of the arena opened up a third time, Deniel heard the footsteps of the next Sin Lieutenant. What was strange about this one is that he heard an irregular amount of footsteps, and they were not exactly normal ones. He heard footsteps in quick succession, but they were not loud enough to be considered running. Narrowing his red eyes, but retaining his anger, Deniel saw what came out for the next Sin Lieutenant. Emerging from the dark hallway came a woman with the upper body of a beautiful maiden, although her skin was a pale blue color, and the body of a spider. Being the only female Sin Lieutenant so far, Deniel could easily distinguish who she was. She spoke in a voice that was soothing and seductive, but not enough for lure in Deniel. "I...am the Maiden of Lust...and you...you take the form of my master. Such an appearance makes me---" Before she could continue, Deniel sprinted across the arena with heavy footsteps, and jumped on her upper body.

"GYAAAAH! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!" The screeches of Deniel echoed throughout the arena, causing both the audience and Diabolos go go silent. Using his fist, Deniel punched the Maiden of Lust over and over again repeatedly. Blood spewed from her on to his black scales, but not to his concern. His rage seemed mcuh more triggered than before, as if something out the Maiden of Lust triggered an inner core of anger within Deniel. Letting out another screech of blind rage, Deniel drew his sword Armageddon, and slashed the Maiden twice. Diabolos held his arm up for Deniel to stop. "Enough! You have--" Deniel stared up at Diabolos, nearly screaming, "SHUT UP YOU OLD BASTARD! I'LL KILL THIS BITCH!" Using his sword Armageddon, Deniel jumped on the maiden's back and almost instantly cut off the spider limbs that held her up. Falling down in pain and agony, the Maiden of Lust cried out as she felt her limbs be cut off and pain surge throughout her body. "L-Lord Diabolos....Help me!"

She cried out in pain for Diabolo's aid just as Deniel jumped off of her to the other side of the arena. He held Armageddon straight out in front of him, as Unholy Energy ignited on his body. "DIIIIIIIIIIIE!" As his voice boomed through the arena once more, Deniel charged at the Maiden of Lust. His thundering footsteps pounded the arena's True Obsidian floor, as rage and hate filled his eyes and soul. Armageddon was going in for the killing blow, only to have his vision completely obstructed, and forcefully fall to the ground in pain. One moment he was charging to kill the Maiden of Lust, the next, he was on the ground.

Notes

Stats:

"Greedy to die, I see."

The events that took place during Deniel's charge were so swift that he almost did not see them. As he closed the gap between him and the Maiden of Lust, Diabolos got up from his throne and went down into the arena himself. He leaped down from his throne almost right on to his son, grabbing him by his face and pushing him down to the ground. The force exerted on him was enough to cause Deniel to collapse, and also the hardness of the arena to temporarily knock him out. As Diabolos took his palm off of Deniel, he felt something tingle up inside of him, as if simply touching Deniel caused his body to react in some way. He stared down at the face of his son, with his eyes closed, and his body barely breathing. "What the Hell is wrong with this kid?" Diabolos turned towards his Lieutenant, who was writhing in pain and agony. Deniel's assault could have easily killed her, and it seemed like it did. She was barely clinging on to life. "Get her healed up. Leave Deniel here. He still has his options..."

Just as Diabolos commanded, Lust was carried out of the arena and tended to, while Deniel was left there in his knocked out condition. Diabolos could have easily gone in for the kill, but that was unlike the Black Devil. He had no interest in such cowardly ways. Nearly an hour later of waiting, Deniel finally showed signs of waking up. His pure red eyes lazily opened, and as the hazy gaze reminded him of where he was, he quickly stood up as if all deprivations of sleep and fatigue had vanished. He noted that Lust was no longer there, and that he was alone in the arena. Immediately his gaze turned towards Diabolos atop his throne. He saw that Lust was still alive and well, but she had taken a much less arachnid form. She now looked like a beautiful human woman, one that resembled his mother very closely, but still did not look exactly like her. Despite looking like his dead wife, Diabolos paid no heed to her, much to Lust's dismay. "Awake I see, Deniel." Despite being knocked out...he was alive. That could easily result in a lot more trust towards Diabolos, but Deniel was still skeptical. "You didn't kill me. Why!?"

Diabolos rolled his red eyes. Deniel was being excessively difficult and stubborn about all of those. "Because you won your fight, technically. And I interfered. You may still chose to move on, or take a break." He had been knocked out, but his strength was still very much there. And he was eager to get more action. The reason for his earlier outburst was that Lust looked a lot like a bug, one of Deniel's greatest fears, and her voice reminded him of someone he would rather forget. "I chose to continue. Bring on your next Lieutenant!" Deniel saw as one of the shadowy figures stood up, and exited the throne area. The next Sin Lieutenant.

Notes

Stats:

"Greedy to die, I see."

Staring into the dark void of the dark hallway that lead into the arena. He heard much softer footsteps coming out from the hallway, but also much faster ones. In addition, he also heard the sound of....shoes. Boots, more like. No....they weren't boots. But they weren't anything regular, either. When the Lieutenant showed his face, he was the most human of them all. In fact, that's what he looked like. Just a normal human. The Sin Lieutenant was dressed and presented very handsomely, wearing a business suit with a brief case and his hair neatly combed and slicked back. His eyes looked to be a dark shade of ocean blue, and his gaze seemed to pierce anything that it stared at. He stared at Deniel very sternly, with the brief case that he carried slung over his shoulder. "Good evening, Nephalem. I am the Master of Greed." Of course. Greed. That's what he was. It was no wonder that he seemed to be a man of business and...money. But Deniel was more so curious as to what a master of greed could attain in combat skills.

"Now...shall we?" Greed flung his suitcase over his shoulder, and opened it up. A blinding light radiated from it, causing Deniel to shield his eyes from the extreme amount of light. It lasted for only a few moments before fading away, leaving Greed standing in a huge suit of armor along with a giant broadsword. The armor it self was a jet-black color, showing absolutely no revealed part of greed, not even on his face. For his face was also a piece of armor, shaping itself to be that of a hound. It's jaws were shut tightly, and its eyes were glowing red. What could be made out to be eyes, anyway. A distinct feature was its lack of eyes, but instead a glowing red design on its helm where its eyes should be. Matching the armor was a giant black cloak that was worn by Greed, and a massive broadsword, even more massive than Deniel's Armageddon which he had on his back. Greed held his black broadsword across his shoulders, with only one hand at that. This was quite unexpected, as something as massive as this was the last expectation Deniel had for a Sin Lieutenant named Greed.

Greed swung his sword from his shoulder and placed it right in front of him. It was so large, that he held his arm above his shoulders just to hold on to it. "Are you ready, Nephalem? You have never faced a Demon as strong as I am." Drawing Armageddon from his back, Deniel gave a very low bellow from his throat. "I'm not just a Nephalem. I am the Black Devil." Underneath all of that armor, Greed's eyes furrows. "That title..." he began, picking up his sword with both hands and bringing it past his shoulders in preparation for a swing. "BELONGS TO MY MASTER!" His booming voice matched with his massive strength and the size of his sword was enough to make the entire Obsidian Palace tremble from his power.

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"Greedy to die, I see."

In an attempt to block the massive swing, even from a distance, Deniel held up Armageddon in front of him, using his other hand at the back of the blade to put more strength into his block. But regardless of how much he put in, he was overwhelmed and overpowered by the force of Greed's swing. The exerted force was enough to not only knock Deniel back, but also leave a huge gash across his chest. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself off of the wall that he was slammed into, and spat out some blood that had been caught in his mouth. Putting both hands on Armageddon's hilt, Deniel ran towards Greed, who raised his sword and brought it down at Deniel's direction. Deniel was no where near Greed, being at the other end of the arena, but regardless, he still felt the massive force of the blow crash on to him, bringing him to his knees and swiftly to the ground face-first.

Quickly pushing himself back up, he stared menacingly at Greed who just slung his massive blade over his shoulder once more. He held out his armored hand towards Deniel, and taunted him: "Come on! What's wrong?" Spitting blood out of his mouth, Deniel grunted as he stood up to his feet once more, struggling along the way. For once a Sin Lieutenant was giving him some trouble. Closing the gap between them as swiftly as he could, Deniel went in for his first attempt to an attack against Greed. However, instead of doing anything about it, Greedy merely stood there, letting Deniel's sword go straight for his armor...and merely skid it. Despite the power of Armageddon, all it could do was make a scratch across Greed's dark armor, instead of actually piercing through it. Deniel tried again, this time going for a much more vulnerable area such as the neck. And even though he poured every last ounce of strength into it, Greed's black armor just rebounded Deniel's attack, bouncing right off it without doing any harm. Not giving a chance for him to fall back, Greed stepped forward with a thundering footstep and bashed his hound-like head of his armor straight into Deniel's. The jewel atop Deniel's forehead and his crown shattered to pieces, as well as cracking the head of his crown.

Deniel flew all the way back to the other side of the arena, drops of blood trickling down his forehead and on to his face. He growled as he looked at Greed, who, again, simply remained there. He was behaving a lot like Envy, except that Greed was much more...invincible than Envy was. Even with his hardest attack Deniel couldn't pierce through his armor, and it seemed that no matter what he did, he could not block any of Greed's attacks. "It's not something to be ashamed of. Most Nephalem don't get past me." Deniel growled at him again, panting immediately afterwards. The fatigue of battle was starting to get to him, but he couldn't afford to get tired. Even after defeating Greed, he planned to proceed towards the next Sin Lieutenant.

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"Greedy to die, I see."

Giving a glance at Greed once more, he noticed something with his armor. Narrowing his eyes, it was a little tough to see it from here, but there was no doubt about it. There were gaps at some of his limbs, patched up with cloth to hold the armor together, but colored black to try and blend in with the rest of it. Obviously Greed did not want anyone to notice it, but Deniel had. Everything has a weakness. Even that armor. The real question for him now was how to get past his attacks. They hurt like Hell, and he oculdn't afford to take too many even if it meant risking victory, because he would also be risking defeat. Only one idea came to his head, and it was a risky one, but he had no other choice. Sheathing Armageddon on his back, Deniel dropped on to all-fours like a feral beast, and skid his hind legs several times. A snarl escaped his nose as he darted to Greed on all four of his limbs, using each and every one of them to give him a boost. Despite looking silly, it did work to make him go a bit faster than he was normally capable of. Greed, on the other hand, was quite unimpressed with Deniel's efforts. He did not know of Deniel's true intentions, and thus underestimated him. Pulling his sword from his shoulder and gripping it with both hands, Greed raised it high in the air, and brought it down vertically at Deniel's direction, creating a shock wave out of the sheer force exerted on the blade.

Deniel, on all-fours, tumbled to the side, dodging the massive swing and running further. Greed scowled underneath his helmet. Deniel figured out the secret to his attacks. You're not supposed to parry or block them, you must dodge them. Gripping his sword again, Greed sent out a horizontal one this time, before spinning himself around and leaping into the air to bring his blade down in a diagonal swing. Deniel dropped on to his stomach briefly to dodge the horizontal one, and for the diagonal one, he made a very weird motion, leaping up very briefly and spinning himself around. He was now close enough to Greed to where he could do his finishing blows. He put one hand on Armageddon, and jumped up right above him. Greed held up his sword with both hands to block Deniel's attack, but Deniel wasn't coming from above to attack. Faking him out, once he landed on the ground, he brought his sword below him, and swung upwards, right at the joint location between Greed's arm and elbow. The attack was powerful enough to sever Greed's right arm, his dominant one. And the one that happened to carry his sword. Widening his eyes underneath his helmet, Greed let out a howl of pain as his arm dropped to the ground, along with his sword.

The metal clanged against the True Obsidian, before silencing itself as it stayed on the ground. Deniel was far from finished with Greed, but Diabolos saw this as enough to call off the match. Rising from his throne, he let his voice thunder through the arena once more: "Enough! You are the victor, Deniel!" Deniel already had his sword ready for the next attack, but with a grunt, he lowered it, but not without giving Greed a kick at his stomach. "You're one lucky bastard." Greed recovered from Deniel's attack, and with the match over, his armor glowed and moved off of him to his left hand, forming back into the brief case. Greed stared at Deniel with his dark blue eyes, filled with hate. "You...you disgust me, Nephalem." He said before turning away from Deniel and exiting the arena. Before Diabolos could even ask him, Deniel glared up at his father and stated: "I chose to continue! Bring on the next one!"

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"Taste defeat, Gluttony."

Making his way to the other side of the arena, Deniel heard the footsteps of the next Sin Lieutenant approach the arena. These ones sounded heavy, just like Sloth's had, but something about these ones seemed much...bigger. No, not bigger. They sounded heavier. And he heard the sound of multiple feet on this beast. The shadow of the massive beast approached the entrance of the arena, and that's when Deniel saw it. Perhaps the most grotesque and monstrous looking of all the Sin Lieutenants...he was truly an abomination. He was a large bag of flesh, oddly shaped, with an immense amount of fat on its body. It possessed four very tiny legs that held up its massive body. At its stomach was a huge, gaping mouth with bloodied fangs and crooked teeth. Its shoulders were also mouths, almost like an animal's one, stretched out with skulls atop them. It wore a helmet concealing his face, but Deniel could not imagine the horror behind it. There chains on its body, two connecting from its pierced nipples to its back, joining together with another two that clung to its stomach area with claw-like ends. It was almost painful to watch. "Nephalem! I....I am the Lord of Gluttony." Of course...it was Gluttony. The way the monster spoke seemed as if it were struggling to speak, and it was barely audible as well. It was a mixture of shifting saliva sounds as well as low grunts.

Deniel's face appeared disgusted, as well as his thoughts. Now that's just gross... Gluttony sealed its front mouth shut, and seemed to struggle for a brief moment. And then, in a sudden burst, spew fourth a large quantity of green acidic bile. It splashed all over the arena, but luckily for the crowd, they were spared of it. The only one who was not was Deniel, who took a full blast of the green acid. It seared on his skin, and burned his black scales more than anything he had felt before. In addition to that, it completely grossed him out. He felt like vomiting, but needed to keep himself strong in the presence of his enemy. With a growl, Deniel opened his mouth, and let out something from his own. He used his Shout of the Devil spell, sending out an enormous beam of Unholy Energy straight at Gluttony. The monster opened up its gaping mouth, and practically swallowed Deniel's spell whole. To Deniel's surprise, he saw the whole thing happen, but that's not all that happened. Gluttony turned its back to Deniel, and from out its rear end released a gas, a toxic one.

The damage that the poison could do was no Deniel's concern. His body was naturally resistant to it, and he felt almost nothing from the toxic material. It was the stench...its horrible stench that caused Deniel to stick two of his claws up his nostrils to try and block it. He gagged and coughed, trying not to breathe it in, but it was no use. "YOU'RE FUCKING DISGUSTING!" He couldn't hold his rage in anymore. This creature was...vile. The most vile and unmannerly being he had ever met. Gluttony only bellowed a deep laughter, spilling its acidic material once more from its stomach mouth as it turned around. "I thank you, Nephalem! Guaghaaghagahghah!"

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"Taste defeat, Gluttony."

Deniel was in no mood to tolerate the response given by Gluttony. He felt his dignity and pride getting worse and worse as he was brought to his knees by the stench. "NO! I'M SERIOUS! HOW CAN SOMETHING SO DISGUSTING AND VILE LIKE YOURSELF LIVE!? HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED IN THE MIRROR!?" Almost forgetting that was intended to be a battle, Deniel seemed to be taking this more as a way of humiliating him rather than defeating him. The poison emitted by Gluttony did not hurt him, nor did the gas, but the only thing that seemed to be happening was grossing him out. Glancing up at the thrones, Deniel could see his father, and some of the other Sin Lieutenants, getting a good laugh out of this. He heard their differentiated laughter, but the one that stood out the most to him was Diabolos. It suited his age and how he looked very well, and out of all of them, he seemed to be getting the biggest gag out of it. "Hahahahah! Could this mighty warrior meet his end from humiliation! Huahahahahaha!" Giving a very harsh growl, Deniel picked himself up and unplugged his nose. There was no use trying to hide from the scent, and if Magic attacks didn't work, then Physical attacks would.

Growling once more, he drew Armageddon from his back, and seemingly vanished from where he was standing. He moved as fast as he could, appearing right behind Gluttony. All Deniel did was cut off the small harness of chains that linked together Gluttony's body, and watched what happened from there. Gluttony's obese body suddenly began to gurgle and boil on the inside, showing on the outside that something was wrong. Deniel flew over Gluttony and landed at the center of the arena, watching as the scene unfolded. To his surprise, Gluttony suddenly exploded in a mass of his green bile, along with his blood, guts, and insides. Deniel shelded himself using his hand and sword from the vile material, but was surprised. This was far too easy to defeat, and Diabolos did not stop him. Gluttony appeared to be dead, and Diabolos surely would have called the match off if his Lieutenant was in danger. Then suddenly, a shadowed figure made its way to Deniel in a flash, grabbing hold of his face with clawed, gloved hands, and smashing him into the ground. Shortly after, the figure placed its boot right on Deniel's chest, and Deniel's red eyes peered into the blackness of a double barreled shotgun.

Looking up at the hand that held it, Deniel saw who Gluttony truly was. He didn't know how or why that beast there earlier even existed, but Gluttony looked much different than the monster. He had a much more humanoid figure, looking almost like one save for the pale blue skin on his face. His body was covered from head to toe, with spiked biker books, leather clothing, gloves with armor plates on the back of them, and a mask that covered from his pointed nose up to his forehead, showing only his mouth. His mask did not shield his hair, only the front part of his face, but his blonde hair was forced to be spiked backwards due to the mask. Its eyes were red, and a long tail came from behind it, extending several feet. "Hnhnhnhnhn! Surprise! This is what I really look like!"

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"Taste defeat, Gluttony."

"What the Hell!? How!?" Deniel wasn't left completely helpless down on the ground. He still had Armageddon in his right hand, and Gluttony made no attempt to secure that. So despite the shotgun pointed right at his face, he was more concerned as to what just happened. He also noticed that another shotgun was held in Gluttony's other hand, slung over his shoulder. "That thing you destroyed was just a puppet. I love to see how warriors like you react when faced with it. And it's hilarious! Hahahahah!" Gluttony suddenly took the shotgun away from Deniel's head, and his boot off of his chest. "Get up! I don't like finishing off opponents with surprises." Practically obeying him, Deniel stood up from the ground and spat a few drops of blood on the ground. "It's not like that toy gun could kill me, anyways." Gluttony gave no response to Deniel at first. Standing where he was, Glutton was at the center of the arena, and he instantly pointed his shotgun up to the volcano's eruption hole, and pulled the trigger on his shotgun. A wide, powerful beam of pure black Magic Energy was released from the shotgun, going skyward and beyond. The shot lasted for several seconds, and even from where he was standing, Deniel could feel its massive power.

Gluttony finished his shot, and took a glance back at Deniel. "We'll see about that. Hnhnhnhnhnhn!" The laughter of Gluttony was quite unusual. It was always with a smirk, but he never completely opened his mouth. It was as if he were laughing with his mouth closed. Very odd. He reached his side of the arena, where the guts and pieces of his puppet's corpse remained. He kicked one piece aside, and swiftly turned around and pointed both of his shotguns at Deniel. "Let's dance." Immediately he fired the two of them at the same time, sending that same beam of pure blackness at Deniel. Deniel managed to avoid it by jumping out of the way to the right, and he started to spring for Gluttony. He expected him to be yet another one that tried to keep his distance, but was a complete joke when it came to close quarters combat. Gluttony remained in place, and fired at Deniel once more. The Nephalem jumped over Gluttony's shot, narrowly avoiding it. Surprisingly it did not last as long as the first one, and even though he was coming straight for him, Gluttony made no attempt to move out of the way.

Just as Deniel got in close enough, he pulled back Armageddon, and then unleashed it in a devastating blow to Gluttony's neck. "This is it!" The broadsword collided not with Gluttony's neck, but rather the backside of his shotgun. Despite the effort he put in, Gluttony perfectly blocked Deniel's attack with the backside of his shotgun. Gluttony pointed his other shotgun at Deniel's face, and pulled the trigger. Ducking underneath his attack, Deniel cam back up with a more devastating swing, going above his head and going down on Gluttony's. The demon blocked with two shotguns this time, with one beneath the other, and angled one to be pointed at Deniel once again. He pulled the trigger, forcing Deniel to back off and away from him. He backflipped to the center of the arena, but as soon as he recovered, Gluttony was once again right in front of him, shotgun pointed at his face, and trigger pulled.

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"Taste defeat, Gluttony!"

Once again, a powerful beam of Black Energy shot straight out of both barrels of his shotgun, consuming the entire body of Deniel. He held down the trigger for several seconds, and released it. Deniel was still standing there, almost completely unharmed, much to Gluttony's shock. Once he pulled the trigger, Deniel activated his Shield of the Black Devil smell, covering up his entire body in Unholy Energy and negating most of the damage from the attack. With Gluttony caught surprised and off guard, Deniel seized the opportunity, and thrust Armageddon right into Gluttony's stomach. It was a spot that he chose specifically; since he represented Gluttony, why not go for the stomach? The massive sword impaled Gluttony's stomach, but very quickly did the demon dig it out by backing away, and go to recover his position. Coughing blood heavily, he dropped down to one knee, clenching his stomach. "Impressive, Nephalem." In spite of his attack's power, Gluttony was back on his feet very shortly, and no longer clutching his wound. Once again he pointed both shotguns at Deniel, with one of them overlapping the other. "Let's see how you do against this! Rapid fire!" Based on the name, Deniel knew exactly what was coming. Pulling both triggers at the same time and holding them down, Gluttony's shotguns released a torrent of beams, one firing almost immediately after the other.

The very small arena was practically consumed with the amount of beams that he had been firing. It seemed that after every 1 he fired, 5 more came out. Deniel did his best to dodge the first ones, but quickly found himself very overwhelmed. He dodged them, one after the other, with almost no time to think or react, just on pure instinct. Left with no choice, the Nephalem swiftly clapped both hands of Unholy Energy together, and swung them down. A nova of Unholy Energy consumed the blackness of Gluttony's rapid fire, and overpowered him. An insane amount of Deniel's Unholy Energy assaulted him, knocking him off of his feet and down on the ground. "GAAAAAAAAH!" Through all of it, Deniel could still hear Gluttony's cry of pain. Out of pure survival instincts, Deniel managed to dodge his Rapid Fire, and live through it without a scratch. Gluttony, on the other hand, was unable to dodge Deniel's attack, and once all of the Unholy Energy faded, he was there, on the ground, but already pushing himself up. He was bruised heavily, and the pain didn't stop from there, but he was still going. Deniel glanced up at Diabolos, as if to inquire him that Gluttony was finished fighting, and that Deniel had one. Diabolos gave no response, however, indicating that Gluttony wasn't finished with Deniel yet.

"Well played, Nephalem. Truly you are strong!" Gluttony stated as he struggled to stand up. Both shotguns were still in his hands, as if he wasn't going to let go of them no matter what. He put one of them underneath his armpit to hold on to it, and from out of his pockets, he pulled out four black crystals. He opened up his shotguns as if to reload, and loaded the crystals inside of each shotgun, two crystals for each one. He pointed one shotgun at Deniel, and had his clawed finger in the trigger. "If you manage to best me once again like this...you win. GO!" Pulling the trigger, Gluttony's shotgun shot not just one beam, but 16.

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"Taste defeat, Gluttony!"

Due to the range that Deniel was at, despite the amount of beams, he was left with room to dodge, but not a whole lot. He found a very narrow gap between two of them, and used that. Just as soon as he came out of it, Gluttony pulled the trigger once more on the other shotgun to fire sixteen beams once again. He was just toying with Deniel, since he could have easily shot more times than that. It was a mere demonstration of his power. Dodging by just a hair once more, Deniel needed to act fast, so he gave no time for Gluttony to fire another shot. He needed to end this here. Fast! FAST! I need a spell that's fast! Acting purely on instinct once more, Deniel's foot collided with the True Obsidian floor, and he dashed, faster than he had ever gone as the Black Devil straight at Gluttony, and just before the Sin Lieutenant could fire another shot, Deniel was right in front of him for a brief moment, and then the next moment, he cut Gluttony's chest, appearing right behind him once it was complete. On Gluttony's chest, five cuts in the shape of a pentagram formed, and blood gushed out of it like a waterfall. Diabolos held up his hand in the stands, and called out: "The victor is Deniel!" Deniel was still in shock from the amount of power Gluttony had. If he was this strong, then what about the last two? He managed to get through the Sin Lieutenants now, he wasn't going to give up.

Gluttony stood up, clenching on to his chest and stomach, and walked past Deniel. "You're good, Nephalem. Perhaps you will be able to make it to Lord Diabolos after all..." Gluttony's sentence struck a bit of fear into Deniel's mind. He only managed to win that fight based on instincts and sheer will, he barely did anything to outwit him, and he certainly wasn't that much stronger than he was. What about the other, last 2 Sin Lieutenants. What were they like? As Gluttony exited the arena and Deniel made his way over to the other side, Deniel noticed something that had begun to happen. The audience and the throne seats began to move back...the arena was getting bigger. Almost five times bigger than it was before. Now it seemed like Deniel was a long ways away from the other side of the arena, and he wondered how the audience would be able to see him and the fight. Then he noticed the Lacrima Visions in front of the throne seat, as well as the audience stands. "What's the meaning of this?!?" Deniel had to shout so that his words could reach Diabolos.

"These next two fights will require a lot more room than usual..." Deniel scowled at his father. "THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN USEFUL LAST FIGHT, YOU KNOW!" Even from where he was standing Deniel could hear the booming laughter of Diabolos. "That's why I didn't do it, dumbass! But these next two, and myself, require as much room as possible." There wasn't really anything Deniel could do about it. So he just growled and looked at the other side of the arena, awaiting his next opponent.

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"Taste my Wrath."

Heavy footsteps. The footsteps of the next Sin Lieutenant were heavy just like the last one, and Sloth. Unlike the last few Sin Lieutenants, this one didn't take his sweet time getting out. He showed himself to Deniel almost immediately. He was a massively built red-skinned demon. Perhaps what most would expect a demon to look like. His body was heavily muscular, there were two massive red demonic wings on his back, he wore armor with molten lava inside of them on his shoulders, two horns atop his head moved backwards, as well as red tentacles going from his chin down near his chest. Although he wasn't gigantic, his sheer proportions and body shape made him seem like a very intimidating foe. He walked on two goat-like legs, with hooves on the back of them, and they went backwards instead of forward. There was also an armored kilt around his waist to cover up...whatever was down there. His eyes glowed orange, radiating hatred and anger. "And what Sin Lieutenant might you be?" Despite being faced with a heavy opponent, and the odds not being necessarily even, he remained calm. Deniel's body felt like it was on fire. It stung in so many places, and the pain never ceased. But regardless, he had come this far, and he was going to prove to Diabolos that he could handle all of his Sin Lieutenants consecutively, proving his strength and worth to his father.

Deniel glanced up at Diabolos for a moment, before looking back down at the Sin Lieutenant. Despite the question, he didn't seem to respond. "I'll ask you again. What Sin might you--" Deniel was suddenly faced with an enormous red palm right in front of his eyes. The demon made its way over to him without being tracked, grabbing on to his face and smashing him on to the ground with the back of his head going first, while shouting the word: "WRATH!" Shortly after being forcefully pummeled to the ground, Wrath lifted his hove up, and brought it down towards Deniel's chest. Reacting just in time, Deniel used Armageddon, gripping it by the handle with one hand and supporting the back of the blade with the other, to block the stomp. Deniel struggled heavily to keep up Wrath's foot. The red demon started vengefully down upon Deniel. Wrath put more force into his foot, slowly gaining the advantage over Deniel. The Nephalem, thinking fast, put as much strength as he could to one push, putting Wrath off balance. Deniel scrambled up, and gave a quick jab at the demon's side. His sword cut through its flesh and into its rib cage, but Deniel took his sword out almost right away, and it was a good move by him too.

Very shortly after being impaled by the blade, Wrath swung his enormous fist in the direction of Deniel, barely missing the Nephalem thanks to his quick reflexes. Just as Deniel finished jumping away, he soon found himself face-to-face with the red demon once more. Reacting based on pure instinct once more, he bent his spine backwards as far as he possibly could, narrowly avoiding a direct hit to the face. Using his bend as momentum, Deniel performed a full backwards somersault to dodge another hit coming from Wrath, one that he predicted rather than actually knew was coming.

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"Taste my Wrath!"

Just as Deniel finished his somersault to dodge one of Wrath's attacks, he found another one coming straight at him. Wrath was surely relentless, and Deniel didn't want any of these attacks hitting him. Based on the demon's sheer size it looked like it could hurt, and he couldn't imagine what kind of true strength lay dormant within him. Trying something that wasn't dodging, Deniel held Armageddon right in front of him to take the blow for him. Wrath's fist was impaled right in the sword's tip, and went quite deep. He did not seem fazed, however, and with minimal effort did he dig his own fist out. Let me give you a word of advice, Deniel. As Deniel dodged another relentless assault by Wrath, he could hear his father speak to him in his head...just like Nidhogg was capable of. You will never outmatch Wrath in brutality. It's best you find an alternative to defeating him. As much as he didn't like having to take advice from his father, Deniel had a feeling he was right. So far Wrath wasn't able to hit him, but he didn't want to be hit. He couldn't imagine how much damage a single blow would do to him. Wrath suddenly stopped assaulting Deniel, giving him a little more room to catch his breath.

The one who seemed to be catching his breath the most, though, was Wrath. The beast panted heavily, taking one deep breath after the other as smoke emitted from its nostrils. "YOU...ARE...ANNOYING!" The beast shouted at almost the top of its lungs, taking have breaths between each word. And once Wrath had finished the last word, he smashed both arms into the ground, creating a shock wave powerful enough to send Deniel flying high above the arena. "HOLD! STILL!" As Wrath flew up to catch up with Deniel, holding still was the last thing Deniel could do. Carefully and quickly avoiding Wrath's attack, Deniel maneuvered his way behind Wrath using his wings, and transformed Armageddon into its scythe form. Wrapping the scythe around Wrath, Deniel swung his body in a spiral motion, causing his scythe to first cut deep into Wrath's flesh, before flinging him back down to the arena. Deniel himself slowly descended down to the ground, and just as he did, he knew what was going to happen. Preparing himself, he held out Armageddon in its sword form right in front of himself, and concentrated. The moment he saw Wrath move from where he landed, he extended Armageddon. Sure enough, he impaled Wrath right in its stomach area as the monstrous demon was going in for another blow.

Having the advantage, Deniel held Wrath up like a harpooned whale, and extended Armageddon further. Then he smashed Wrath down on the arena several times, swinging him around, before ultimately finishing it off with one last crash to the ground. And then there was...silence. As Deniel pulled Armageddon back to its initial position, there was complete silence in the arena. He was surprised that the crowd gave no reaction, and Wrath hadn't done anything yet. You have made a grave mistake, Deniel.

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"TASTE! MY! WRATH!"

"What?" His father's voice catching him off guard once again, Wrath almost exploded out of the cloud of smoke and debris created by his impact. His fist, for the first time, made contact with Deniel's stomach, and it was unlike anything that had ever hit Deniel before. Humans would describe it as, "Getting hit by a train." As the massive fist pounded his scales, even if it was just once, he felt several rib bones crack, shatter, and impale in his own lungs. His abdominal muscles ached, and his stomach made it feel like he was going to vomit. One punch was all Wrath did to demonstrate his power, letting Deniel fly across the arena into one of the walls. The impact of the wall made everything worse. He felt his spine crack, as well as some of his back rib bones, and although there was no damage to his skull, his crown atop his head had begun to crack, both in the front and the back. Deniel could hear Diabolos laughing more so than usual. "I warned you, Deniel! You piss off Wrath too much, and you will die!" Deniel saw Wrath standing there in the center of the arena, breathing harder than it ever did before. Smoke came out of its nostrils like chimneys, and it felt as though Wrath was on fire from its rage.

"Guess what, dad?" Deniel gagged as he pushed himself off of the arena's wall. He fell down to the ground, on both of his knees with his insides on fire. Blood leaked from his mouth, and he coughed up a great amount of stomach acid. He clenched on to his stomach, and stood up. "The same goes for me!" Transforming Armageddon into a scythe once again, Deniel sprinted straight to Wrath with rage slowly filling his heart as well. As Wrath went into attack Deniel once again, Deniel performed yet another somersault, this time over Wrath's head. When Deniel reached his shoulder area, he straightened himself out, and gripped Wrath by the neck using his sword. It was enough to cut through the flesh, but not enough to decapitate him. However, that is not what Deniel was going for. Carefully slamming Wrath down, Deniel used Armageddon's scythe as a way to hold Wrath by his neck on the ground. A seemingly foolish idea, Diabolos wondered exactly what Deniel was up to. Wrath could have easily escaped that...and it seemed like Wrath was about to.

Placing his firm hands on Armageddon when he hit the ground, Deniel attempted to lift the scythe...but could not. Trying again, with much more strength, Wrath still was not able to. Deniel stood there, watching as Wrath attempted to lift up Armageddon to no avail. Every time it seemed Wrath would be able to successfully lift it, it just got heavier. Suddenly Wrath felt something strike it across the face. Looking up in complete rage, Deniel saw the face of Deniel, sharing the same face as his master...and he looked pissed. Hitting him once more, this time much harder, Deniel practically roared in rage right into Wrath's face. "You're finished!"

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"Take Pride in defeat."

Deniel continuously hit Wrath in his demonic face without mercy or stopping. It seemed as if his punches weren't doing anything at all, until he began to go faster, and harder. Soon he could feel the shattering of Wrath's skull at his fist's impact, and he knew he was dealing some real damage. He could do this all day, until he managed do kill Wrath by pounding his skull in, but Diabolos would not allow then. Hearing his father's voice once more, Deniel stopped punching Wrath: "You are victorious, Deniel!" Blood was oozing out of Wrath's nose, and even from its eyes and mouth. Deniel reached for his scythe, and removed Wrath from its restraints. The monstrous creature stood up with its clawed hand over its nose, and gave Deniel a look in his eyes. "You...are strong." It said calmly before exiting the arena. Sheathing Armageddon on his back, Deniel felt battle fatigue and exhaustion consume his body. He dropped down on one of his knees, and the pain from Wrath's earlier blow entered him once more. He temporarily ignored it from his rage, but now that he had calmed down, he felt miserable. His stomach was on fire, and so were the rest of his muscles. He had a massive headache, and felt like he was going to collapse any second now. Choking on breaths, Deniel gave a sudden vomit on the arena floor, and the sight of it caused him to vomit again.

"Judging by your condition, I think it's best you take a--" Deniel's voice cut off Diabolos's, almost as loud as he could. "NO! I WILL FIGHT! I WILL CONTINUE!" Deniel drew Armageddon once more and used the massive broadsword as a way to help himself stand up. He struggled heavily, with his legs shaking from fatigue. His vision was blurry and hazy, and he could barely see anything but darkness. Diabolos narrowed his eyes, hesitant on letting the last Sin Lieutenant enter the arena. Without his master's approval, and only on Deniel's answer, the last of them stood up from his throne, and exited to the arena. Diabolos became worried for Deniel's condition. The Nephalem was struggling to stand up, how did he expect to take on his strongest Sin Lieutenant? Although he wanted to kill Deniel himself, if it was his son's choice to die by Pride's hand, then so be it. Or maybe I'll just step in for the kill at the last second. Hahahah! Diabolos sat himself back down on his throne seat just as soon as his last Lieutenant entered the arena.

Deniel was no longer concerned with footsteps or being able to tell how big the new Lieutenant was or...whatever. All he could think about now was staying alive and kicking this last one's ass. He could have very easily have taken a break or asked to be given the opportunity to heal himself, but he had something to prove. He wanted to prove to Diabolos just how strong he was. He was strong enough to consecutively defeat all of his Lieutenants. Deniel nearly collapsed from exhaustion again, using Armageddon to hold himself up. Deniel, are you sure about this? There's still time to call off the match. If you don't, you'll die! Nidhogg, too, was worried for his master's well being. He took a serious beating earlier, even if it was just one punch, and Deniel seemed to be in no condition to fight. "Positive, buddy."

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"Take Pride in defeat!"

Glancing up at the arena's other entrance, Deniel saw that the last Sin Lieutenant didn't take his sweet time getting out. He was already there, standing tall and proud. He appeared to be a normal human, except for some assets. He wore black and white clothing with golden designs on them, as well as red cuffs on his sleeves. His hair was golden blonde, and long just like a woman...like Arianna. On his back were both angelic and demonic wings, five for each. On the right side of his body were five feathered white wings, and on the left side were leathery bat demonic wings, five in total. On the back of his head were two smaller wings of each kind, totaling up to six. There was a purple marking on the left side of his eye, looking almost like a lightning bolt. His sky-blue eyes, similar to Deniel, seemed to stare down at him in pity. "Greetings, brother." The Sin Lieutenant said very briefly. Deniel fell down to one knee again, but struggled his way back up. "Brother...?" Deniel panted through heavy breaths. The Lieutenant nodded. "I am Pride. The last of the Sin Lieutenants and...a Nephalem. I am one of your brothers, but I chose to serve my father rather than die." Deniel gave a brief laughter, only to have it interrupted by a gag of blood. He let the liquid flow out of his mouth and on to the arena floor, mixed up with his stomach acid vomit, and then said: "Oh yeah? Why? You take pride in killing your own kin? Seeing them die at the hands of your daddy?"

Pride spread both of his wings out wide, and slowly started to ascend into the air, "Your insults mean nothing. Soon you shall be dead like the rest. I survived because I am not a fool." Gagging once more, Deniel laughed at Pride as he struggled to stand, but pointed Armageddon straight at him anyway. "Bring it on, brother! You'll fall like the rest!" Frowning, Pride gave a wave of his hand, and instantly there were five orbs of Chaos Energy surrounding Deniel. Chaos Energy...Deniel recognized the substance, having used it before. Attempt to flee from the five orbs, Pride snapped his fingers, and instantly there was a massive explosion of Chaos Energy throughout the entire arena, even coming to Pride. The Nephalem used a Chaos Energy shield that surrounded his body so he could protect himself from the explosion. "Pathetic..." The purple explosion quickly faded away, but Pride did not expect to see Deniel as a vaporized corpse. That spell was hardly a B rank one, and did not expect too much damage. Once everything was cleared, Pride could see Deniel. His body was smoking with the intense damage that had been done to it, and there were many more bruises on him. "IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT!?" Deniel taunted pride. He made no move to counter attack his brother, but still tried to retain his image of strength.

Pride was not fooled by the faulty behavior. He knew his brother was on the last strings of his life, and was more than happy to see it come to an end. The purple Chaos Energy surrounded Pride's arm as he raised it up, "Vanish." He bluntly stated before swinging his arm. A large cut of Chaos Energy made its way straight towards Deniel, and the Black Devil stared up at it with his red eyes. "DENIEL! If that attack hits you, it's over!"

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"TAKE PRIDE IN DEFEAT!"

Lifting up Armageddon with both hands, Deniel mustered up every last bit of his remaining strength, and used one of his spells, Strike of the Black Devil, to cut Pride's slash of Chaos Energy in half right down the center, narrowly avoiding it.  Just as he did, Deniel's Black Devil Take Over de-activated itself for a fraction of a second before turning back on, and he could feel himself weaken a little bit. "What's going on?" Deniel coughed and gripped Armageddon with both hands, as if ready to strike. "Your Full Body Take Over is about to expire. Unless you win now, you're dead, Deniel!" Dead...that word flashed into Deniel's mind, and before his very eyes. It was as if he didn't realize it until now. He was almost dead. His Full Body Take Over was fading, his strength was dwindling, his fake heart was racing, his body was in a miserable condition. Unless he did something now. He was going to die. "No!" Deniel's voice echoed throughout the arena like thunder, and as he refused to die, an inferno of Unholy Energy surrounded Deniel, fueled by his rage and instinct to survive. He transcended his limits. As if he were completely healed and reborn, Deniel raised Armageddon with both hands, and jumped high into the air, going after Pride.

"A futile attempt..." Pride merely said as he opened his palm in Deniel's direction. But as if he couldn't keep up with him, Pride suddenly felt the blade of Armageddon sink into the flesh of his stomach. He looked to see Deniel was already at his location, with Armageddon impaled in Pride. Quickly digging the blade out of him, Deniel slashed Pride as hard as he could, sending him darting towards the ground. Just before Pride reached the ground, Deniel did before him, holding up Armageddon for pride to be impaled on, along with the force of Deniel's previous attack. The Black Devil then threw Pride off of his blade, and but not before cutting his backside just before he reached the ground with a thud. With his inferno still burning, Deniel quickly went over to Pride, grabbing him by his long hair, and holding Armageddon to his neck. "STOP!" Deniel heard Diabolos's voice once more, and he looked to see his father standing up from his throne, with the rest of his Sin Lieutenants at his side. "You are victorious, Deniel. Let him go." Staring at his father with anger, Deniel reluctantly let go of Pride's hair, and then suddenly dropped to his knees. The inferno that fueled Deniel suddenly faded, and he could barely keep himself up. He fell to the ground, just as Pride stood up with his body bleeding and wounded.

"Right now, dad! I can kill him right now if you please!" Pride charged up his index finger with Chaos Energy, and pointed it at Deniel's head. Deniel could feel rage enter his body once again, but it quickly died off. He was now powerless. "You...bastard..." Deniel assumed Diabolos would let Pride do it. Pride stared down at Deniel, with his blue eyes filled with pure insanity. Deniel stared back at him with his rage-filled red eyes, and awaited his end. But just as Deniel thought the end of his life would arrive, Diabolos grabbed on to Pride's wrist, and lifted his son's arm up and away from Deniel. "You will do no such thing." And without hesitation, Diabolos slammed his fist into Pride's gut, knocking his son out. He then stared down at Deniel, whose vision just started to fade as his eyes closed. And his Black Devil Take Over disappeared from his body, leaving him as a bloodied passed out body...and then everything faded, with only his last memory being Diabolos smirking at him.

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