217 Roots

"You're strong Grim, I admit it. But as I am right now, you'll lose."

Standing opposite the smiling demon slayer himself, sweat dripped down the side Nacht's face. If he was going to do this, he couldn't afford to hold back.

"Lose?" Grim looked at him with an expression of utter confusion.

"Nah." He replied as a menacing grin slowly begun to spread across his face. "I'd win."

*BOOM!!*

Flashing forward with [Breath of Thunder] active, streams of lightning followed behind him as the world melted around him and Nacht's figure came into sight.

"GOTCHA!" He laughed swinging his sword forward.

!!!

Barely managing to register such speeds, Nacht vanished into his shadow as Grim's sword hit nothing but empty air.

At least it should of-

*GRINS*

[RAIKIRI]

Compressing a large amount of lightning in his sheath, the moment the sword was unleashed a flying arc of lightning burst onto the scene and slashed the space Nacht was re-emerging from.

"What!!"

[Devil Union: Eqqus - Characteristic: Toughness!!!]

Having all his senses scream "DANGER" the moment he emerged out from his shadow, Nacht didn't hesitate to unite with another one of his contracted devils.

Luckily enough for him, the devil he united with (Slotos) had an ability that enhanced his physical resistance otherwise he would of been cooked.

Hit dead on with the arc of lightning, a huge explosion rung out as he was pushed him back despite the [Toughness] characteristic boosting his physical resistance.

'This strength... Just how strong is he really?'

Bursting through the cloud of smoke like a motherf*cking demon, a thin layer of stone-like skin spread across Grim's body.

*BANG!!*

Smashing his fist straight into Nacht's tough body, he was curious to see just how his [Breath of Stone]'s toughness compared to Nacht's.

The result?

*BAAAANG!!!*

Nacht was sent flying through straight the brick walls.

*CRAAASH!!*

Crashing heavily into the snowy fields with enough force that his body actually slid forward for several metres, pain coursed through him as he lay on his stomach and coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

With a caved in chest and two numb arms, Grim really did a number on him.

But it was okay. He knew from the start that he never stood a chance. Everything he had said had been nothing more than provocation. As long as Grim's attention was focused solely on him, there was hope that Jack would get his shit together and finish off Dante before the ritual could be completed.

Yes, he just had to endure it for a little while longe-

*FWOOM!!*

Suddenly, strange and sickly mana began flowing out from the castle basement.

'This...'

Covering the inside of the castle's walls, strange runic symbols similar to that of the runes seen in Asta's grimoire and Megicula's Curse-Warding spells began appearing everywhere.

"Oho." Grim paused and looked back at the castle. "So its finally started."

Following the rising levels of negative mana, enormous black tree-like roots broke out from beneath the castle and began to spread to the outside. Climbing the castle walls and pointing towards the sky as if trying to grasp hold of some untold object, the roots caught the attention of the Spade kingdom citizens and the rest of the outside forces.

"No..." Nacht whispered seeing the roots of Qilphoth manifesting in his world.

"PLUMEDE!!" He yelled calling out the cat mask wearing devil.

Ignoing the bone breaking pain running rampant through his body, he didn't hesitate to unite with his third devil.

[Devil Union: Felis]

With shadows converging on the two, by the time they emerged Nacht's appearance had once again undertaken a drastic change. Unlike his previous transformations, his current appearance was very reminiscent of a ninja.

Wearing a black hoodie-like jacket with small cat ear protrusions on the hood, a scarf wrapped itself around his mouth and fell down his back while his hands took on a claw-like appearance.

[Shadow Magic: Heaven's Shadow Second Sight]

Refusing to waste any time, he concentrated his devil's power into his eyes and used a spell that allowed him to peer through shadows and see other locations.

Tearing through every floor in the castle, nothing could his sight as he ignored all the battles taking place and focused all his attention on finding the source of the Qilphoth manifestation.

'This shouldn't be happening. Something must have accelerated the Qilphoth's growth!'

Passing through several more floors, he finally saw the horrific truth.

***

With Yami and William at the centre of a huge magic circle, Moris stood in a smaller circular area that connected to the larger ritual circle as a whole.

"Hahhh..." He breathed out lightly and slowly removed his glasses. "To think there was such a way to accelerate the Qilphoth's growth. I truly must thank you Grim. Your desire for battle has solidified the fate of this world."

Focusing his attention on the area Moris was looking towards. Nacht's eyes passed over William and Yami motionless figures and settled on another small circle that was identical to the one Moris was standing in. The only difference with this one was that instead of Moris being in this one, it was one of Grim's sword.

Feeling the mana radiating off the blade, it didn't take a genius to understand what was going on. Grim's Demon Slaying Magic was being used to break down the walls between the Underworld and the living world! His magic was allowing the roots of Qilphoth to reach this world faster!

But what was Moris's purpose in the magic circle?

Completely removing his glasses and slicking his hair back, for the first time in forever, Moris revealed his naked face to the world.

"Who would have guessed." He spoke in a light voice. "In exchange for being born blind, I was blessed with the qualifications of becoming a devil host."

Spread across the entirety of his forehead, a devil mark identical to that of Dante's sat on his face.

If Yami and William were responsible for creating a connection between the Underworld and living world, Grim's sword broke down the barriers seperating the two. And Moris... his connection to Lucifero ushered all devils to ascend.

***

-Grim POV-

"You feel it don't you?" Grim spoke sensing the changes in the basement.

"The gates of the underworld, they're finally open."