Chapter 44: Rebirth part 9 FINALE

Beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi.

My Broly fic has encountered some problems and I couldn't finish it in time. Sorry about the delay but I can't just post a half done chapter which I'm not satisfied with. But this week 100% guaranteed I'll post.

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-Kuoh, Mountainous region-

He was in pain.

"AAAAARRRGH!!!"

His chest felt like it would burst at any moment!

"Hang in there, Saji-kun!"

It started all of a sudden, without a warning, without a single sign; his chest and arm started to burn. The sensation started from a slight tingle to a full-blown feeling of having hot molten lava coursing through his veins. Worst of all, the pain kept increasing by the minute and Saji started to feel like he's going to burn alive.

Both Asia and Akeno were by his side, using every bit of magic to ease his pain but it barely helped. While his head was resting on his kaichou's lap her magic was cooling his head, trying to lessen the burden.

Normally he would have been in heaven with such a treatment, unfortunately now he felt like he was burning in the pits of hell.

It was rejecting him.

He could feel it, deep within him, the Sacred Gear of Vritra, was rejecting him and was trying to force itself out from his host. Not caring that it was dragging the soul it was attached to along, threatening to rip it apart.

The soothing light of [Twilight Healing] intensified with Asia giving it her all. They noticed his screaming lessened considerably from the calming aura.

"Her sacred gear is working!" Sona exclaimed out loud, doing her best to not hurt Saji as she kept him still on her lap. "Keep at it, Argento-san. Where is he!? Where is Azazel!?" Her anger was growing and desperation was growing by the minute, destroying her image of a calm and collected person. Her precious pawn, the secretary of the student council, and someone who was like family to her was at risk of dying in front of her.

"I just called him, he'll be right here!" Akeno said, continuing to concentrate on Saji while also worrying about Hachiman. For Saji to be having such a reaction, meant something was horribly wrong with him. 'Please be safe, Hachi-kun.'

The sound of thunder resonated in the sky as Azazel with all of his twelve wings out traveled so fast that it seemed like he had teleported to their side.

"Azazel-san, please save Gen!" Ruruko pleaded as she and the rest of the student council and Rias' group could only remain on the sidelines and hope for a solution.

"Rias, take Tsubaki with you and set up a barrier right now!" Azazel started shouting out orders and the others immediately complied, not wishing to waste any time. "Tomoe and Kiba, I need both of you to bring me the cross-like contraption from the basement, don't worry, you won't get burned." Both nodded and made haste using their knight powers to their advantage.

"Azazel, Asia's [Twilight Healing] is helping Saji to lessen the pain, do you think it will help with extracting [Absorption Line] as quickly as possible?"

Asia's sacred gear? That couldn't be possible as [Twilight Healing] had no correlation between having such an effect on an out-of-control sacred gear… 'Unless, it's her dragon maiden attributes?' That seemed plausible, since sacred gears, outside the Longinus classifications, have also been recorded to evolve along with their user. Asia's [Twilight Healing] is responding to her need of saving Saji Genshirou's life, thus it's borrowing her natural aura to calm the rampant dragon spirit inside.

This was all a theory for Azazel, for all he knew, the issue might be something else entirely and he was just spitting out bullshits. 'That's the beauty of being a researcher, the mystery never ends and there is always something new to learn in this world.'

"▅▅▅■■■■!!" Tiamat came as well while holding a battered Issei in her claw. "I sense Vritra's aura. The Prison Dragon, the Dragon King of Darkness and Curses, has once again reawakened; this time more whole than ever… I sense his aura growing stronger by the second. Azazel, you must make haste! The dragon maiden's aura will no longer be able to shield the devil from the pull of its master."

Azazel's grim face was all the answer she needed. The Fallen will do his best to save the devil.

"Saji!? Wha-what—happened to you!?" Issei came to his friend's side, panic visible in his eyes, even when looking like he went through a blender that was on fire. "Oi, oi, oi! Look at me man, everything's going to be okay! You hear me!?"

Kiba and Tomoe soon came back carrying a large metal device shaped like a cross, but it held no holy attributes that would harm the two. "Lay it on the ground! Quickly!" With the device ready, Azazel began the process of activating the Sacred Gear extractor. Issei carried Saji over the device and gently laid him on it. "Is there nothing I can do!?" He shouted in frustration, feeling helpless in this situation.

"Aaargh!" Saji screaming once again intensified, a black fog slowly seeping out of his hand and chest. His nose and mouth started bleeding from the stress and Saji didn't know how long he could hold on for before it finally ended.

'Asia's protection is getting overwhelmed!' Azazel took out a golden white sphere which he unlocked showing off a bundle of golden chains all wrapped around a single woven silk cloth. 'I hope this is enough…'

"Asia, how long can you hold on for?" He asked the girl.

"I–I'm not sure… I feel weaker, b-but I can still use [Twilight Healing] for a few more minutes." Her green light flickered as she spoke, growing dimmer by the second. "I-I won't give up!" She concentrated once more, putting all of her efforts into maintaining her sacred gear.

"You're running out of energy… you won't last long."

[Boost!]

"Wait, I can help!" Issei said as he called out the [Boosted Gear].

[Boost!]

"You said that I can double my power every ten seconds, right?"

Azazel hesitated, he knew what the boy was going for. "I'm not so sure, kid. You just unlocked your sacred gear's second form. The dragon isn't even awake ye—"

[Boost!]

"—I can at least try!" The green gem on his gauntlet grew increasingly brighter, storing more and more energy as everything doubled every 10 seconds.

He remembered what Azazel told him before. That in response to his feelings, the [Boosted Gear] could transform into its final state, letting him to transfer his accumulated power to other people or items, increasing their capabilities.

[Boost!]

Issei's inner battle was raging, feeling both hopeful at his possible ability and angered on why he hadn't unlocked it before. But it proved to be a boon as this emotional turmoil was just the thing he needed to push himself both emotionally and physically.

The Sacred Gear was responding to his emotions and was adapting to it.

"Please!"

[Boost!]

Watching the boy able to withstand the 5th [Boost]–something which he wasn't even close to accomplishing before–impressed both Azazel and Tiamat.

"Impressive will, boy." Tiamat praised him. "Use that to fuel your desire to save this devil, it will prove to be our desired solution."

Taking this as the only confirmation he needed, Issei placed his gauntlet on Asia's back and concentrated deeply.

'I don't know if you can hear me you shitty dragon, but I really fucking need your help right now! So stop playing dead and…'

"WAKE THE FUCK UP!" The green orb intensified even more, Issei nearly faltered in his steps but remained strong.

[Boosted Gear!]

[Transfer!]

Asia cried in shock as she felt the avalanche of energy entering her body. The green hue of the [Twilight Healing] turned yellow as red energy swirled around it. It soon expanded into an opaque dome that was strong enough to replace the barrier put in place by Rias and Tsubaki.

"It's… It's working! Gen doesn't look like he's in pain!" Ruruko exclaimed, tears of joy spilling down her face, happy that Saji is going to make it.

"No time to celebrate just yet!" Azazel as he began pouring more energy into the Sacred Gear extraction device. Saji no longer felt the intense heat and pain as before. A pulling motion came forth from his chest, with a dark sphere soon coming out.

'It's no longer resisting my attempts to remove it… now, time to replace it.' After carefully removing [Absorption Line], he replaced it with the golden chain wrapped around the small piece of cloth as the chains gave off an aura of strength. "I hope you'll like your new artificial Sacred Gear, Odin and especially Thor are quite eager to see its full potential in battle."

Saji started to become stable with the new addition replacing the previous hole left by [Absorption Line], no longer screaming and writhing in pain. He was now resting peacefully, having fallen asleep from exhaustion.

"It's okay now… you can stop now, Asia." He glanced at the equally tired nun who was also dozing off from the constant use of energy.

"Huuuu… everything is blurry…"

Akeno caught her before she would fall down. "Well done Asia-chan, Hachi-kun would've been proud of you."

"Really!? I-I mean, I-It was nothing, Himejima-san…"

"Ara, still so formal? Didn't I tell you to call me Akeno?"

"B-But—" She tried to protest but was too weak to do so, as the last of energy was used. The girl ended up falling asleep in Akeno's arms.

"Ah~ she's so precious, sometimes I just want to gobble her up, fufufufu!" Akeno said, watching the young nun snuggle into her breast like a pillow

"Agreed." Now it was Koneko who came near her and began head patting the sleeping girl. "Cute." She wondered if this is how Hachiman felt when he was around her when he pats her head. Even Rias joined in and began pinching Asia's cheeks as she found the young woman to be adorable. The blonde looked like she was having a nightmare in her sleep from all the touching.

"Alright you three, knock it off and bring the girl to her room," Azazel said as he held on to the Sacred Gear he just removed. Taking the given opportunity to examine it closer. Its core formation was the same as the other 3 sibling gears, all housing a split soul of Vritra. For the longest time, he had wondered which one of them housed the core soul, where the dragon's consciousness was dwelling in.

"I can tell what you are thinking of, Azazel."

"Then tell me, oh mother of all dragons, how do you think my father accomplished such a feat? Was Hachiman the lucky one to have received the gear that held Vritra's core? Would he have reached such height if he had gotten [Absorption Line] instead?"

"The creations of Yahweh have always defied expectation and brought the basic law of reality into question, at least that's what everyone thinks. The question is not if the hatchling was born lucky with the consciouses of Vritra or not. It is who was going to be the first one to push the gear to their limits, he who possesses the biggest compatibility with the spirit is the one who would have been crowned as the Black Dragon King."

Azazel laughed, "So you're saying that Hachiman got Vritra's soul because of his compatibility?" Such a simple answer to such a complicated question.

"Indeed, I have known Vritra before he had become an Evil dragon. And I cannot describe in words how much the boy reminds me of that fossil back in the day. From the stories you have told me of the boy, I can tell that the hatchling sees Vritra with high regard, almost like a mentor, even as family if I'm being daring. The same could be said for Vritra, he always did care for own, and his sacrifice tells me all that I need on how he views the little one. Neither will abandon the other, even if they have to trade their lives in exchange."

"Heh, the boy really got lucky," Azazel smirked, still holding the Gear in his hands, feeling its pulse in his hands as if sensing its master.

"No, it is Vritra who is the lucky one here."

The leftover energy of [Twilight Healing] soon dispersed and the sphere in Azazel's hands started to react once again. The Fallen didn't try to stop it. Both he and Tiamat saw the gear fly through the air, smashing the barrier Rias and Tsubaki put in place like a piece of paper and disappear on the horizon; to merge with the rest.

{Break}

-Knockbridge-

If one were to describe the countryside of Knockbridge, they would tell stories of a beautiful and peaceful landscape, surrounded by verdant hills and unending grasslands. Rich with relics of the past, retelling a story of an era long passed to the newer generation.

Yet now that tranquil region, on the outskirts of the village had been turned into a raging hellscape, where not even the slightest trace of green could be spotted.

It was burning.

Not of regular fire, but black fire. Fire that can only be created by Vritra. Vritra flames were more intense than normal flames. True to his title, Vritra's fire had the property of restraining his enemies while inflicting an untold amount of damage for as long clings on to the target, capable of melting steel in a matter of seconds and injuring the very Gods themselves.

Another hidden property these flames had was the ability to curse the souls of others, even supernatural being's for eternity, thereby slowly killing them in the process.

This was the main property of [Blaze Black Flare], one of Vritra's main sacred gears, and [Shadow Prison] used in unison. But for the dragon who had been sealed for millennia; it was the freedom to soon become whole once again.

A body landed on the ground, creating another crater out of hundreds. He was all bloodied, burned with charred skin and exposed muscles; a position his enemy was in a few moments ago.

The hero got up to his feet, using his right hand of the spear as support and his other one to cast hundreds of different runes. Each holding enormous amounts of power and might, all hurtling against the fully armored individual, floating casually in the air with his arms folded with black flames.

"You are extremely proficient in the usage of runes, greater than myself in my prime." Vritra pointed a single finger at the incoming attacks and muttered…

"[Absolute Delete Field]" A dark sphere expanded in the middle of the field, reducing everything it touched into nothing. Not even leaving behind ashes or debris; similar to what happened in Paris years before. But this time, Vritra had better control of the attack and knew how to limit its range.

The hundreds of rune attacks from Sétante were destroyed in seconds.

But one manages to pierce through the black field.

Bzzzt!

The Fehu rune ᚠ, taking the forming of lightning and thunder to vaporize its enemies.

"I digress," Vritra said as he casually caught the attack in both hands, the lightning attack pushing him back; until he crushed it to pieces. "You are better than Cu Chulainn in rune-crafting." He clenched his armored hand, watching the cracked armor mend back together.

"I wouldn't bet on that!" Sétante was relentless in his attacks. He closed the distance once again and engaged into an intense mid ranged battle with his spear and rune attacks. Each stab and swipe of the spear would be followed by a rune elemental attack coating the spear point.

Vritra managed to dodge most of them, but the Irishman was getting faster and more proficient with his moves; causing more cracks and chips on the armor. On the last attack, the dragon didn't manage to move away in time and was hit right in the helmet and sent down below a burning forest.

Crash!

"Hurgh, even though I missed the sensation of pain; I am already starting to get sick of it." He wasn't a masochistic degenerate like Baraquiel.

'I am still not used to moving around in a human's body. Worst of all, while in this body I do not possess the same physical strength as I did in my Dragon body. But magic wise... I am nearly there.' Unlike Tiamat who was familiar with possessing a humanoid body and even a master in several forms of martial arts, Vritra barely had any experience on it. Even if he did, it had been so long that he would have forgotten the feeling long ago.

It was like a muscle that needed to be trained continuously and if left still, it would degrade over time.

Fortunately, his magical prowess and memories of several fighting styles kept him in the game. Experience was indeed a powerful weapon in itself.

But he couldn't stay in this state for long.

Vritra gathered more magical energy and formed a large magic circle from his palm which shot a concentrated energy bullet. Another circle layered on top of it and it rapidly fired more bullets.

While Sétante defended himself against the onslaught, Vritra escaped further inside the burning woods, using the fire and smoke as cover to disappear from view and recuperate for a bit. He sighed in relief when he checked if the tracking rune was still on the body.

"Let's see, do I know of a spell which can help me recover faster without depleting my reserves? Senjutsu is out of the question when I still don't know the effect it might have on Hachiman's body. Touki as well, as this relies on the host's body rather than the spirit." He continued to move around and not stay idle in a single place for long, fearing that he might be discovered. "I know of Tiamat's methods but that spell requires a large body of water. Not to mention she doesn't know that I stole her technique in secret and might come after me if she senses it."

Boom!

In the distance, a coiling dragon made of fire exploded, turning that part of the forest into dust.

"You can't hide forever!" Sétante shouted as he continued casting more runes and destroying the landscape.

"If I can get close to him and immobilize the man, I can temporarily substitute my only missing Sacred Gear with one of Bia's techniques to siphon some energy for my recovery. But the problem is that I'll lose the energy as soon as he's broken free."

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"I will have to borrow some of Hachiman's techniques after all."

…

Crash!

Multiple explosions ensued as Sétante continued to wreck the entire forest to cinders, trying to find Vritra and kill him before he had time to prepare anything else. That dragon was a crafty one, the longer he was left alone, the greater danger he would pose later on. Calling a snake was a more accurate description he felt.

"—?" He heard the high pitched noise of an incoming projectile coming from behind. Turning around, he was prepared to block another energy shot. But that wasn't what was coming for him. "What the—Argh!" He was hit head first by a tree trunk thrown at him like a spear!

That wasn't the end of it, suddenly, multiple tentacle-like whips burst forward from the trunk and it was shown to be Vritra who was hiding behind the tree all along. They caught Sétante and began stealing his energy by harnessing the raw power and anger that was coming off of him; though Vritra was only getting a tiny amount. The later tried to break them free, until Vritra should, "[Restrict!]" And Sétante was rendered immobile for a bit.

"This won't hold me for long!"

"I know." The dragon said, his cracks visibly mending once again as he revitalized by the stolen energy. He leaped off the tree trunk which was quickly falling off the sky.

The bound man did a double take when he noticed the trunk starting to glow with the lines that were holding him becoming red hot.

"Shit!"

Both he and the tree exploded in the sky.

On the ground where Vritra landed, he carefully observed the sky where the explosion happened and waited for Sétante's body to fall from the smoke.

"..."

The next few seconds were tense as he waited for smoke to clear. He didn't see him fall, meaning the man was still fine after that. And true to his suspicions, after the smoke got cleared, Sétante was floating there with a broken runic barrier around his being; the same barrier he first used against Aife and her poison attack. But his attack worked, the man had many cuts and burns around the places the barrier broke with one side of his face charred a bit from the heat of the explosion.

Vritra was immensely Impressed.

"You disagree with my claim of your runic prowess being superior to your ancestor, but at this moment in time you might be one of the strongest runecraft master alive."

"Haa… Haa… th—thanks for tha compliment! A worked on my skills for a long time." Sétante said cheerfully while breathing heavily, his accent coming back for a bit, not at all bothered by the fact that he was losing here. "Though I would like to know how you found out about the beast part at the beginning of the fight…" Twirling his around, an arc of crystal blue water swirled around him, healing his injuries in an instant and extinguishing some of the normal fire down below. But even then, he couldn't hide the traces of exhaustion in his eyes.

"Haaa!" Sétante called forth a tsunami of water that flooded the field, trying to put out the cursed burning fire on the other side of the battlefield.

Shhhhhh!

It didn't work, the fire was far too strong, it was impossible for normal water to douse it down. In fact, the soil didn't even get wet as the water would evaporate in an instant.

"I have no recollection of either Cu Chulainn or any of his descendants being so gifted in water magic. Not even the Sitri clan or the fae have shown such mastery over the element. Instant healing? That is far from anything a human can accomplish. I only know of one beast in ancient times who held similar power. A sea creature whose very bone was turned into a spear… the same spear you are using against me."

He said just in time to dodge a red streak by tilting his head. On the shaft of the spear, dozens of runes shined. Vritra recognized the spell; teleportation. The spear teleported Sétante behind him, the latter preparing to use the technique that Aife stopped before.

"[Curruid's Avatar!]" A giant ethereal figure of a beast with blue scales, looking like a mix between a creature of a sea serpent and a dragon. Its full size potentially surpasses Vritra's true form.

Majestic and beautiful, it held the same kind of splendor as Tiamat. But it wasn't the real beast, merely just a projection.

"I knew it." That was all that Vritra could say before the Curruid avatar tried to devour him. Fortunately, Vritra called forth more of his tentacles to restrain his enemies, giving him enough time to dodge the attack. "Did you possess the body of Cu Chulainn's descendant? How cunning of you."

"Wrong!" Vritra dodged another barrage rune attack from Sétante. He felt Sétante's power swell, in a few moments catching up to him and becoming the equivalent of an Ultimate class devil!

"It can't be…" The Black Dragon King immediately knew that he was wrong in his previous assumption as he witnessed the boy's current form.

Sétante had bulked up considerably, now looking like a mountain of muscles compared to his previous lithe physique. Two extra fingers grew on both of his hands with six more irises showing from his eyes. His hair was waving in the air like fire, giving him the appearance of a truly dangerous foe.

"I am neither Cu Chulainn nor just another one of his descendants. I am not the Curruid nor will I ever become it." The memories that were not his own kept coming back. He remembers having battles he never participated in, he remembered fighting against a blood-haired woman who butchered him like a fish and he remembered having his bones ripped out of his corpse and turned into God-killing weapons. But these memories were not HIS, but rather of his past life as the Curruid. "I am just Sétante, a guy with a twisted past life who was mocked by fate and reborn as one of Cu's descendants!"

With power rivaling Vritra, the Irishman soon turned on the offense and started the battle again.

"And I will get that hag to hand me over the beast's skeleton, even if I have to force myself inside her Castle!"

"-!?" Unlike before, Vritra didn't have the time to react in time and felt a spear strike his armor, drawing blood in the process.

"Kwaaa!"

The balance had tipped, this time they fought on equal grounds. Sétante now oozing of divine energy and water magic healing his wounds instantly. Though the Irishman couldn't compete against the Dragon in terms of strength, he more than made it up in speed and defense.

"Wonderful!" Vritra exclaimed in glee. He was having fun, more fun than he ever did. A black sheep among the Dragon Kings he may be, choosing wisdom over strength; he was still a dragon in the end and his species thrived in battle. "It has come to my attention..." The spear struck, he blocked it with his gauntlet which cracked on impact. "Many of those who have descended from the lines of Heroes have always tried to reach their ancestors' might; yet fail to do so." A rune attack hit his helmet destroying the visor, showing off the glowing red eyes. "The lass Jeanne D'Arc tried to imitate Joan of Arc, but she turned out to be nothing more than a mockery." Sétante roared and smashed his fists onto Vritra's armored stomach, making the dragon spit out blood. "But you…" The Irishman's many eyes glowed as more energy was absorbed inside his being, growing taller and bulkier each second.

He went for another attack.

Only for a black sphere to smash his face.

Bam!

"Wh-what?" He was disoriented.

"[Absorption Line] had indeed taken its time."

Finally, after so many years of living as a broken-up soul, divided into many different pieces, never complete. He was whole for once again.

'Hmmm, I sense Tiamat's presence on it, so she decides to leave her little garden then… must be because of Ddraig.' Vritra already pitied the current Red Dragon Emperor. Nothing worse than an angry female dragon.

"You have already exceeded your ancestor, be proud Sétante, for you have done something that very few–if any–have achieved."

[BALANCE BREAKER!]

[MALEBOLGE VRITRA ASCENSION!]

It finally happened, all of the gears were reunited and the armor was whole once again!

"▅▅▅■■■■!!" Vritra roared as his power soared for a final time. Breaking through his previous power and reaching the level of might he used to wield when he was alive. A being capable of battling high end Ultimate-class powerhouses.

Brrrrrr!

From the ground thousands of tentacles came to restrain the man, each looking vastly different from their previous form. Some even pierced his opponent's body.

"Absorb…" And just like that, all the power Sétante had accumulated was being drained away at a rapid rate. The ones that had pierced his body were absorbing the blood. "...and lastly." With a quick pull, he snatched Gae Bolga.

"My spear!"

Holding the legendary spear in his hand, being the equivalent of the Longinus in Celtic lore, Vritra could feel the raw power inside the weapon. His palms were bleeding, just like what happened to Raynare; the weapon was rejecting him.

"I am an honorable dragon, that is true. But when it comes to life and death, wisdom has taught me to never fight fairly and to use every trick up my sleeve to cut down my enemies. Because, in the end, it is the victor who tells the story and those defeated are scattered to the winds. Not to mention, an Asura will never stop fighting until they win or die."

[Absorb!] Tiny tentacles came out of his gauntlet and wrapped around the weapon.

"What are you doing!?" Sétante screamed, trying to break free from his restraints. "Come on man, give me back ma spear!" Even while being drained continuously by thousands of [Absorption Lines], Sétante showed his legendary tenacity by summoning enough strength and power to slowly break away from his restraints.

'At this rate, he will soon be equal to that sleepyhead, Miðgarðsormr, someone I can't contend against.' Vritra's admiration for this person didn't seem to end. He was beginning to feel regret about what he was about to do next.

"Did you know, Sacred Gears like the [Boosted Gear] and [Divine Dividing], have the capability to fuse weapons to themselves? Calling them forwards during fierce battles. One of my previous hosts had fought against the White Dragon Emperor. My host tried to gain an advantage by trying to fuse with a mace she had stolen from the Mesopotamian pantheon; Sharur. Unfortunately, she failed due to the weapon being sentient… or most likely, I was too weak to handle it."

Vritra willed the spear to fuse with the armor, but it kept rejecting him. His armor was beginning to melt off as he held the handle, the spear having turned hostile towards him.

"Unfortunately for you, I have changed much since back then."

[Absorb!]

[Absorb!]

[Absorb!]

[Absorb!]

[Delete Field!]

Slowly, the weapon became too weak to resist him and was forcefully fused with the armor.

"Vritraaaaa!!!" Sétante was livid by his action, to say the least.

The red shaft had changed with black vein-like patterns running all along with the spear. A red gem formed on the spearhead, releasing a familiar dark-colored aura.

[Malebolge Vritra Ascension]

[Gae Bolga!]

"This is the end, Sétante… this fight I shall remember for the rest of my life. You were a worthy opponent."

"You will regret this, the Gods will betray you and cut your soul into pieces once again. Why can't anyone see that I'm just trying to save them!? I'm getting rid of the source of all our problems, they are nothing more than a plague!"

Vritra sighed, knowing where this man was coming from, remembering his time during the war against the gods.

"I know you mean well, Sétante. But you should have realized that your methods would have hurt more innocent people than anything the gods have done in the past. You are condemning the fault of a few to the whole Supernatural world."

He just snorted. "Then what would you have me do? Just sit around and watch as my home gets slowly corrupted and destroyed by that goddess and her followers? Talking is useless, asking for help didn't help and I am but one man."

"..."

"You have nothing to say, do you? I should have expected, you're nothing more than a puppet to the gods." He laughed, sounding hollow to anyone that hears it, "That is why I can't give up! If I fall then no one will stand up and take my place!!" Another pressure burst from his being, he was getting stronger but his injuries no longer kept healing.

"You are using your life force as fuel, by sacrificing yourself?" Just how far was this man willing to go for his village? Though in the end, it wouldn't help him.

Taking the same stance as Sétante, Vritra burst forward—Shrk! And threw the spear right into Sétante's heart.

The blade pierced his chest and came out his back with blood trailing down the shaft. The spear's special ability came into effect and his insides were completely crushed by the consecutive stabs.

He felt the spear's remorse in some way. Sétante didn't know if the weapon was sentient or not, it never talked to him if it was. It was just a slight feeling, maybe he was becoming delusional with the pain, but… Gae Bolga was crying.

The man felt his life draining away from him, he couldn't summon any more energy to heal himself again. It was said that when faced with death, an individual would see their entire life flash before then. Ironic for him since he had technically died one in his past life. He saw flashes of the beast's past life, growing up as a little fish to a being equalling dragons, then his current life… Being born to a dead mother, taken in by a cult who used him as a weapon, wandering around trying to find a home, and then finally finding it in this village. That old hag did warn him that his endeavor would lead to his death, but he didn't listen and if given the chance to restart… he would do it again. He just needed more time, more power.

'I'm sorry pa, guess I won't be helping in the bakery today after all.'

Sétante's body was falling, but before it touched the ground; Vritra swooped down and carefully caught his body. The dragon laid the body gently on the ground, noticing how all signs of life left the man.

'I may have won, but this victory feels numb.' He thought as he noticed how Sétante's body was breaking apart and crumbling into dust.

This long arduous battle had finally come to an end.

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"-!?"

A dark aura descended on the area and Vritra felt the presence of death upon him.

"Finally, the barrier grew weak. I never would have thought that I could stand on this soil once again." A woman dressed in a dark dress and with long hair appeared near the crumbled body of Sétante. If Hachiman would have seen her face then he would have immediately recognized her, as none other than Badb.

"In both life, you die pierced by a spear. You died even more pathetically this time, killed by your own bones." With a simple wave of her finger, the dead body dispersed into a cloud of dust, leaving behind a floating burning orb; his soul. Probably kept in place instead of moving to the underworld by this woman's doing. "For all the troubles you have caused me, for your defiance over my rule, you shall continue to reap for your sins even after death." She looked at Vritra who hadn't moved since the beginning. "I greet your return, Black Dragon King, it is truly a miracle how you have achieved the impossible. As a Goddess of Death, I should be offended but I am turning s blind eye to this matter. Just this once."

She extended her hand and Sétante's soul slowly drifted towards her. "This is where we part ways, your duty is done, return to Azazel and may we meet aga—!?" She removed her hand just in time to avoid Gae Bolga cutting her hand.

"What is the meaning of this!?"

The woman watched in shock as a black gauntlet held on to the spear and pointed the spearhead at her, getting in between her and the soul.

"Don't you dare touch this man's soul, impostor."

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu are already available on my Patreon. With 3 more Broly and 5 fate chapters at /NimtheWriter.