Defiance Of The Weak

I did it... I killed another devil...

Standing in the middle of the sky without saying a single word. White hair gently blew in the wind as the kitsune form slowly undid itself.

*Exhales*

Exhaling lightly and staring at the area that the fused devil's body had disappeared from, Grim's right hand trembled as the remnants of annihilation slowly took their time to vanish.

I knew it, this feeling... Its so FUCKING SATISFYING!

Standing with a wide grin on his face, Nacht felt a shiver run down his spine.

'Such destructive power... Grim... Just what kind of monster are you?'

"Ha...Ha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Unable to hold it back. Grim let loose a belly full of deranged sounding laughter.

'Not enough, not enough, NOT ENOUGH!!'

'More devils! I want to kill even more devils!'

With how strong the devils of the first layer were, he couldn't even begin to imagine just how much stronger the ones lower down were. No! Just how strong was Lucifero?

Trembling in anticipation at the thought of fighting against the king of devils, Grim's fighting spirit was growing dangerously fast.

Absorbing the surrounding mana and filling up his dried up reserves. His mana levels slowly reached their peak state once again.

Despite the flames of annihilation belonging to him, he had yet to truly master it. Just using it once was enough to completely empty out his mana pool and leave him barren. If it weren't for his ability to absorb the nature's mana and convert it into his own (effectively giving him an infinite supply of mana) he would of been in trouble.

With [Glamour World] barely being able to handle him transforming into his elven state let alone the power of his Kitsune form, he had to halt his training of the ninth tail and move on to something else.

!!!

What was that?

Feeling a weird fluctuation in Dante's mana, his head suddenly snapped in the direction of the castle.

'What the hell?'

Closing his eyes and covering the castle with his senses, he saw several scenes that caught his attention. But there was only one that truly shocked him.

'What the fuck?!'

'Is that MAGNA!'

***

-2 Minutes before the fused devil's death-

*Whistles*

"Goddamn Grim. Just how much stronger are you planning to get?"

Watching the descent of the freezing sun and feeling the dangerous nature in the nine flames Grim had just spawned, a smiling Magna and Zora headed towards the castle.

***

"MAGNIFICENT!" Dante laughed as he looked down on a kneeling Jack.

"You are truly unbelievable! Not only is your magic capable of changing its properties to cut through your opponent's magic! Your determination is truly awe inspiring!"

"Its just a shame that with 100% devil power, you no longer pose any sort of threat to m-

"Oi." A heavily panting Jack cut him off and raised his head up. "Would ya give a rest already you perverted freak?! I'm busy deciding what to slash off you next."

"Pffthahahahahahahaha! You Clover Kingdom knights really are the best!"

First it was Yami and that anti-magic kid who managed to defeat him, then it was Grim and his Demon Slaying magic abilities that overwhelmed him, and now Jack! A being capable of cutting through his regeneration. Just what the hell were they feeding the people in the Clover Kingdom?

'For so many talented arcane stage mages to come out of a single kingdom *Smiles* Once this is all over, I'll make sure to visit them.'

Not taking Jack's threat seriously, Dante's devil mana surged as he raised his right hand out.

"Ahh, while it's a shame to end things now, as thanks for entertaining me for this long I promise to make your end a spectacular on-

[Fire Magic: Exploding Fireball]

*BOOM!!*

Appearing out of nowhere and suddenly hitting him dead centre in the face, Dante's vision was obstructed by a small fireball that exploded upon impact. 

"...What?"

Momentarily taken aback by the sudden change in events, it took a moment for him to gather his bearings as everything slowly registered in his head. Not because it was strong. He was just surprised at how weak it was.

'Did I... Just get attacked?'

With how weak the fireball was, he honestly couldn't tell if it was serious or not.

"Yo, sorry we're late."

By the time his vision cleared, two figures possessing pitiful levels of mana had appeared in front of the struggling Jack.

'These guys... Aren't they Yami's peasants?'

Recognizing them and gritting his teeth, Jack tried to force his way back onto his feet.

'Damn it! Why are these guys here? In front of a guy like that, they'll get massacred!'

"Oi flunkies." He called out. "Can't you see that you're interrupting my fight? Screw off!"

"Heh." Hearing that, Magna couldn't help but grin as his arm was to the side and his thumb pointed towards the sky.

"Sorry bout this capt'n, but until we've done kicking this guy's teeth in and rescuing captain Yami, we're not going anywhere."

'Kick my teeth in?'

*Sigh*

Looking at Magna and Zora like they were bugs, Dante couldn't help but sigh and shake his head.

"In this world, there are individuals who are able to entertain me despite possessing magic power weaker than my own. That guy behind you is a good example. You two however... It wouldn't even be a fight. With your miniscule amount of mana, you couldn't even hope to scratch me let alone beat me. And since it appears that neither of you possess anti-magic or any unique form of arcane stage magic, even if you both come at me together it would be pointles-

"Hey." Magna cut him off and took a step forward. "Don't get it twisted pal. The one who's gonna beat you, *smiles* its gonna me!"

Brimming with confidence and possessing eyes filled with hardened resolve. Magna looked at him without a shred of fear.

"Hahh? Since when did ants like you start getting the confidence to stand in front of me? Know your place and KNEEL."

!!!

"Hyaaak!"

'S-SO HEAVY!'

Hit with a small taste of the crushing weight of Dante's gravity magic, every bone in Magna's body was screaming at him to run.

In front of this magic, he stood no chance.

'So this what Asta and Captain Yami had to deal with?'

Barely stopping himself from falling to the ground and kneeling, it took everything he had to even raise his head.

'T-This magic... Its even greater than I thought... But *grits teeth* I can't give up now...'

Clenching his teeth tightly and glaring at Dante in defiance, memories of his past with the Black Bulls started flooding his mind.

'I know that I'm weak dammit!.. I know that better than anyone else. Grim... Luck... Asta... Being surrounded by so many talented and amazing mages... Its frustrating... And I can't pretend that it doesn't bother me... Someone like you probably wouldn't even be able to understand my feelings.'

"Tch, lowly peasant, you've ruined my mood."

Opening his arms up, Dante gave Magna a freeshot.

"C'mon then, attack me to your hearts content and then get lost. I won't waste my magic on trash like you."

"Is that so?" Hearing that, a smile suddenly appeared on his face as the pressure on Magna's body dissipated and he was able to move freely again.

Making another fireball, he cocked his arm back and hurled it at Dante while yelling "DON'T REGRET YOUR WORDS!!"

*BOOM*

Hit by the second fireball, not a shred of emotion could be seen on his face. It was like he couldn't even feel it.

"Seriously? Is that all you ha-

Before he was able to finish that sentence, something sprouted out of his chest from the area that the fireball had hit.

'What the?'

Seeing a small magic circle on his chest and a fiery chain growing out of it. A look of confusion settled on Dante's face.

"A chain? What is this?"

*ZZWISSH*

Less than a second later, the form that represented his access to 100% of devil power vanished as he was brought down to 50%.

"W-What just happened?"

"WHOAHOHO!!" Magna's voice cut through his surprise.

"Are you kidding me?!! This is only half? No wonder the royals are so arrogant." Running at Dante like an enraged bull, the smile on his face just grew wider and wider.

"Yeah... There's no way a peasant like me could ever compete with mages like you. Your too bloody strong!" With a magic circle on his chest, identical to the one on Dante's. The chain sprouting out of Dante's magic circle connect to the magic circle on Magna.

"That's why I created something like this"

Reaching Dante and using fire creation magic, he materialized two form fitting knuckledusters.

"SOMETHING TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD."

*SWOOSH!!*

Swinging his arm and hitting Dante with a nasty right hook, he yelled out the name of the spell that connected their two souls.

[Secret Fire Magic: Soul Chain Deathmatch]

*BAAANG!!!*

'Whaaaaat!!'

Hit by that right hook, Dante was actually shaken up as his body was thrown back.

'That attack... I ACTUALLY FELT IT!!'

Seeing the dazed expression on Dante's face, the smirk on Magna's face continued to persist.

"You still don't get it do you?"

Staggering back and regaining his balance, a bruised Dante looked at Magna with evident confusion.

"This chain, it puts your magic power and mine together, then splits it amongst us equally."

"You mean-

*Grins*

"Yeah. Since I'm unable to reach the levels of you strong types, I simply brought you down to mine."