Final Chapter

"Mrrrrggghhhh..." Nelius found himself coming back to consciousness. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring into some kind of abyss, the only light barely seen way above him. His gear was noticably absent, which already raised an alarm in the back of his mind.

Out of nowhere a gigantic set of claws swiped at him, forcing him to duck beneath them! As he clung to the ground to keep himself from being blown away by the backdraft, he quickly rolled to the side as another clawed foot made to crush him beneath it!

"The crispy shit is this!" Almost as if responding to him, multiple eyes opened in the darkness, their glowing munsell gaze on him. Within seconds they began firing laser beams at him, and this was the point where he'd decided that enough was enough. Gathering Fire mana in one hand, and Wind mana in another, he slapped his hands together to send a blazing cyclone right at the eyes.

The eyes were struck by the dual-element attack, and quickly shut themselves... only for a much, MUCH larger eye to open up, a jaw full of subtly serrated teeth opening above it.

Before he could verbalize his confusion, the eye and teeth closed in with alarming alacrity, forcing a dodge. Whatever this creature was, it gouged out the ground, collecting much of it in its mouth, which it then chose to toss away.

Having had enough, Nelius fired a blast of energy out of his left hand at the creature's eye-

Nelius' eye opened wide, taking in his surroundings.

"Hey Snoozing Beauty, how're you feeling?" Mita gave a cheerful wave from her seat across the room. It took him a second to realize that he was in the medbay.

"Har har, Mita. The hell happened?" He got up from the bed. His axe and gun were nearby, and so he took this moment to gear up.

"Took the question right outta my mouth. Everyone sees you get pushed down into a crevasse, some drop in to try and find you, and the next thing we know a friggin' draconic-looking thing pops up to lay a beating on those giants."

"Draconic-looking, huh? Fair guess to say it had a giant yellow eye, a set of teeth above it, and other eyes on its body?"

"Pretty good for a guess. You got psychic powers, too?"

"Very funny."

"I do my best." That said, her demeanor quickly took a turn for the serious. "Still, seeing you revert back from that has kinda got everyone on edge. Hope you don't mind too much that I did a quick exam on you while you were sawing logs."

"Verdict?"

"Check it for yourself." The Netherscientist tossed over a printed sheet which Nelius caught and began to look over.

The report on the sheet painted an interesting picture. From Epsilon's last-ditch attempt to save both her life and whatever information she had within her memory banks, the Magichange graft onto his wrecked arm had done more than merely restore his forearm- there was brand-new technological tissue growth growing beneath his skin, up his bicep and tricep, stopping just shy of his shoulder.

It seemed that getting his arm nearly chomped off by Revenant had another effect- the Ushi-Oni blood that had been attempting to affect him had been mostly ripped out alongside it. Combined with Epsilon's graft onto his arm replacing the wrecked tissue and bone, and pushing out the remains of the Ushi-Oni's blood from when he gouged its heart out, and it was like his arm was never affected at all.

However, it was the second half of the report that caught his eye- a check on his Mana had shown that a new source of energy was currently settled next to his soul. It looked as though there was a slight exchange between the two. Interestingly, some of this same energy was residing within his arm graft as well, no doubt affecting Epsilon in a similar manner.

"And what's with this?" He pointed out the other energy source.

"Betting it was due to that blast from those giants. As good as the stuff on the ship is, and even with Ada checking things over, we'd need some more tests to figure out whatever the hell this stuff is, and what it's capable of."

"Speaking of which, how's the Yoshitsuna holding up? She spaceworthy?"

"Gonna take a few days to make certain everything's ready for us to finally head home. There's still some other places on this planet to check as well, for anyone else from our end of the cosmos."

"Fair enough. Am I free to head out, O doctor?"

"For now, yeah. Do note you'll be returning here before we take off- gotta make sure that stuff isn't going to do anything weird."

"All right. Next time I'll make certain to bring my insurance card."

"Smartass."

"I do my best." With that, Nelius left the medbay. He had gotten about a third of the way towards the bridge when his vision flickered, causing him to stop. His hand went towards his axe...

'...seems it passed. Maybe it was the lighting?'

Inside the Demon Lord's Castle Town, repair efforts were swiftly underway as news of the Chaos Gods' resealing efforts swept through. For as much elation as there was upon hearing this report, there was still a level of tension hanging in the air.

The Demon Lord and her husband were still trying to recover from the immense beating Revenant had laid upon them. Even with several of their daughters lending their own power to assist them in getting back on their feet, it was barely enough. What kind of damage did Revenant do to make recovery such an ordeal?

As for the Demon Lord herself, her mind was a chaotic mix of emotions. Not once in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined the possibility of someone or something becoming strong enough to challenge her, much less drive her to this point. Revenant's words echoed repeatedly within her mind, taunting her over her plans to have humanity and monsterkind mix together.

Did Revenant have a point in all of this? Was her plan doomed to failure?

As best she could, she shook her head to rid herself of his taunts. What would he, the one that declared death to all, know about her grand plan to finally end the Chief God's pointless cycle of destruction? She attempted to push those thoughts out of her mind, but soon Mita's words came to the forefront.

As grateful as she could be for the foreign demons and angels' assistance in ending the current threat, she still couldn't be certain if they knew what they were talking about. To claim that she had doomed her plan by modeling the monsters after her own image... no, the problem couldn't be anything that simplistic.

Her body suddenly racked with pain, and she put the thoughts out of her mind. For now, it was best to focus on regaining her strength. She needed to get back into top condition if she wanted to carry out the next part of her plan.

Across the world, the various monsters could feel their lord's pain, and cursed their inability to contribute anything meaningful to her recovery. With her power waning dangerously, many were only keeping their conscious thoughts from reversion back to more violent ends by sheer willpower alone.

The humans that had been changed by the monsters' power found themselves in the midst of their own turmoil. As their minds and bodies had been purposefully changed to suit the needs of their new suitors, finding themselves flickering between their old and new existence was already horrifying enough, but now seeing the monsterwomen also internally battling this shift... they were torn.

Of those that had intentionally set out to seek a monster, having been rejected by their fellow humans for many a reason, ranging from petty to downright unreasonable, the prospect of seeing this violent and unstable shift made their blood freeze, and their souls tremble.

On the other hand, those that had been forcefully ripped away from their family and loved ones, and made to be an unwilling guest to the monsters, could admit to a level of elation, feeling the haze and mind-addling of the monsters' power lifting away and returning them to their original senses. With their minds finally their own once more, perhaps now was the time to seek asylum away from their erstwhile prisoners.

The next few days, as Mita had stated, were devoted to making damn well certain the Yoshitsuna was ready and able to leave the world and begin the trek back home. In order to ensure its travel, the otherworld denizens would need supplies and ample amounts of resources.

Zio took the practical method, launching multiple Item World dives to acquire resources and other necessities from within the gear that Kurosugi had left behind. Any healing supplies and food acquired in this manner was stored away... well, it was stored there after Mita finally cleaned out the fridge. The mold that had grown in there during that time had been affected by the Monster Lord's power, turning it half-sentient and causing it to go on a rampage. It had been with a strong Giga Fire launched by B and Atreya that the penicillin-person was taken down.

York took to disassembling any unused gear obtained through the Item World dives so they could be retrofitted into the warship's systems. The materials gained in this manner helped to restore any cannibalized parts that went towards general life support aboard the ship. Any surplus materials would be kept on-hand to make emergency repairs.

Rebuilding efforts across the multiple towns that Revenant and Kurosugi's rampage had targeted were getting a much-needed push, thanks to the offworld bunch lending their considerable strength and talents to the repairs. Things got done a lot quicker when one person was able to carry the load of twenty or thirty at once. The fact that the monsterwomen had ceased their usual seduction tactics in favor of assisting with the reconstruction was an immense boon, not only in helping the destitute, but also subtly changing the opinions of many of the humans.

The Order found themselves at something of a crossroads regarding the otherworldly demons and angels. Perhaps it would've been seen as heretical, but a few found themselves wishing that the monsters and other assorted beings they'd had to deal with across history had taken a page from the offworld bunch. True, the powers and skills they wielded were beyond anyone's comprehension, but it was their reasonable attitude and lack of twisting others to suit their needs that endeared them to several of the humans. For that matter, their inability to corrupt and pervert the land just by existing nearby was already seen as a plus in their books. This line of thinking brought them to another avenue- if the current Demon Lord were to pass on due to the recent events, would the current monster population merely revert back to their killing ways, or if one of the Demon Lord's myriad children were to take her place, would they change the status quo?

During this time, the Yoshitsuna made several sweeps over the world, looking to locate any others from their side of the cosmos and help bring them home.

Nelius leaned back into a seat as he removed his jacket, idly flexing his new left arm.

'Hey, you awake?' Mentally, he tried reaching out to Epsilon. It had been about another minute before he got a response, feeling his mind connect with something.

'Hm? Wha- Mr. Raoul?'

'The one and only. How're you holding up?'

'Still getting used to this form.' The crimson eye on the back of his hand was pointed right at his face. 'Speaking of which... what happened back during that battle? I remember us getting hit by that force, but from there on it's a blank.'

'Seems that whatever that giant hit me with, it's been affecting us both in some manner. Mita's been running tests, but so far nothing's come back indicating any real issues.'

'...define "issues".'

'Basically if whatever this stuff is was like the Monster Lord's influence. Back before I got my arm ripped off, it got coated in Ushi-Oni blood.'

'So that's what that anomaly was. My systems had taken notice of some foreign presence trying to seep its way in.'

'Yeah. Seems getting my arm turned into a chewtoy had bled most of it out.'

'And then there's this new deal... this strange, almost random power I can feel within both of us.'

'From what we've learned so far, it's on a whole different level compared to whatever the Monster Lord could whip up... and in her current state, I sincerely doubt she could overpower this.'

'Suppose that we do manage to understand this stuff? What'll become of it?'

'Gonna cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess. Mita and Ada want to run a few more tests to see what this stuff is, and hopefully find that it's not contagious.' Epsilon disconnected from the link, leaving Nelius alone with his thoughts on this matter. His vision flickered once again, snapping him from his thoughts. 'The hell was that?'

Being unable to move around gives one a lot to think about. The Monster Lord's mind had been moving about nearly nonstop as she did her best to recover, and as she kept thinking back over the past few days and the events within, she slowly started to come to a realization.

Ever since she had teamed up with her husband to drive the Chief Goddess away, there had not been a single opposer that had challenged her in any fashion. Most of the monsters she had converted agreed with her worldview, even if some of them weren't fond of their new forms. Any humans that had managed to get close enough to catch sight of her had been converted on the spot. Any of the angels that tried desperately to subvert her power simply turned to her way of thinking, assuming the Fallen God hadn't claimed them first.

And so her power and influence only increased, with nothing remotely capable of posing a threat to her... but that all changed, starting with the first of these so-called demons from a place called The Netherworld. She had heard whisperings, tidings of these pointy-eared humanoids that proved more than capable of fending off her forces with ease. Strong, yes, but she had simply thought it only an inevitability that they'd soon align with her. After all, her power pervaded over all non-human species.

Then came this... Kurosugi, this human woman whom commanded those holy-consuming monstrosities. Her partnership with Revenant caused the senseless elimination of many of her beloved subjects, but how was she able to avoid the power that had converted many a human woman to her side? Was her soul somehow different than this world's human women? Had she crafted some kind of magical protection?

The next point was Revenant himself, he whom spoke with a level of familiarity about the Monster Lord's position, the one that taunted her over her supposed plan being a success in killing the human race. Even after his death, thanks to the assistance of the one called Belderiver, his words still echoed in her mind, mixing with the words of the one called Mita, the demon that had the nerve to call her out over her plan.

No matter how much she had tried to deny it, their words rang true- there still hadn't been any males born from the union of monster and man, even with her 30-odd years of trying to rewrite the laws of the world, and subvert the monsters' killing intents. Was crafting the monsters' new forms in her image one of the fatal flaws of her plan, as Mita had outlined during their conversation? It was this line of thinking that got her to begin reconsidering her old plan, and unknowingly kick-started a new plan... one that would need time and careful consideration before she would let it loose unto this unfortunate world.

With her mind set, she began outlining what she would do once her powers returned to her.

A week had passed since the resealing of the Chaos Gods, and now the day had finally come. The Yoshitsuna was in pristine condition, its engines and systems reporting no anomalies. The supplies were loaded up, there were materials set aside for any emergency repairs that might need to be made, everyone was comfortably set for the journey back...

Many of the humans were almost sad to see them go. Within their time upon this world they had provided a bevy of alternate ideas that neither side had ever conceptualized. Regardless, they had a home to return to, and return to it they shall. Perhaps they could make use of those new ideas, and forge a new future. The few monsters that had made friends with the offworld bunch, ranging from Yumi and Miesha in Zipangu to the few ghosts that resided in Akasha's old manor, had wished them safe travels in returning home.

The ship's engines flared to life as Mita and Zio ran the necessary programs to begin their trek home. The ship began to lift off... and suddenly the outer security alarms blared, warning of something incoming at amazing speeds!

"Shit!" Mita quickly took the helm, trying to get the ship out of the line of fire from whatever it was that was hurtling towards them. One loud crash signaled a strong quake that lasted for about five seconds.

"Everyone all right?" Zio queried as he ran a check for any damage sustained.

"The heck was that?!" Carl blurted as he regained his balance. Vash helped Ada to her feet as Brutus opened up a vid-feed to outside.

"Something crashed dangerously close to us." The feed showed an immense crater just meters away from the Yoshitsuna. Smoke rose from within.

"A meteor?"

"Couldn't have been." Mita looked over the alert. "We'd have seen it coming from much further away if that were the case."

"Y'think it might've been one last enemy assault?" Nelius chimed in. "I'm gonna go check it out." As he headed for the bridge door leading outside, Blindfire and Stonewall moved to accompany him.

The crater was several hundred feet across and easily just as deep. Blindfire kept watch at the crater's edge as Nelius and Stonewall hovered down to see what it was that nearly slammed into them. They found their item of interest about two-hundred feet down, and brought it to the surface for a better examination.

Slamming into the ground, combined with the heat generated from the air friction involved in moving at such speeds, had caked a good layer of dirt and other sediment onto the object. Time for a powerwash!

Carl and Tomoe prepared a strong Fire spell, whilst Atreya and Raphael prepared some Ice. Mixing the two spells created a stream of water, which was then launched at the object with one of B's Wind spells.

"Whoa! It's a chick!" Blindfire's rather apt outburst said it all- when the dirt was finally washed off, what beheld them was not an object, but a person of the female persuasion. She couldn't have stood any more than five feet eight inches tall. Her hair, once matted with sediment and hardened mud, was now something of a strawberry-blonde, her skin rough and bruised. Whatever clothing she had that survived the heat and impact was now shredded and scorched, only barely enough to keep her decency intact.

The one detail above all that caught everyones' eyes were the immense angelic wings spreading from her back- there had to have been about ten in total, and if the way some of them were bent were any indicator, she'd been on the losing end of a fight.

"Another of this world's Heavenly Host?" Aliya was cautiously worried- from what she had heard of this world's version of the angelic realm, it had been sealed off, so as to keep the Monster Lord from easily invading, given how badly the angels' leader had been defeated 30+ years ago. If someone or something had invaded and was able to give them a serious beating...

"Step away from the criminal." A new voice, flat and even, sounded out to those present. Looking over, they saw what appeared to be a human... no, perhaps it was one of the world's angels? Then again, the only angels known were female, and this individual was male... yet he radiated a power far beyond any known blessings that could've been bestowed upon the faithful. The second thing noticed was this character's armor, polished to an unnatural sheen, and yet it invoked the feeling of staring down something unnerving, something that merely imitated a person externally.

Lastly, it seemed he wasn't alone. There had to have been about 100 or so other members, each adorned in armor like his and hands at the ready to draw steel.

"I shall not ask a second time. Move away from the criminal."

"And what sort of crimes did this one commit?" Nelius shot back, his eye subtly flicking back and forth among the small group of beings. He sent a mental note to Epsilon, hoping to bounce an idea or two between themselves.

"Failure to uphold her duties. Failure to ensure a healthy world. It has been confirmed- failure is to be met with termination, just as the others whom have failed in their duties have been." Before the full implication of that statement was given time to sink in, the armor-clad one cast his gaze over everyone. "Correction- there is one other objective today. Termination of those that opposed our lord."

With that, the group of beings drew their weapons.

"Kill them."

The offworld group was far from the only ones being targeted in such a fashion. In the many towns still thriving with life, groups of these holy-infused humans appeared, and for some of the dwellers, they were shocked, for among the throngs of arrivals, they could see familiar faces, people whom had gone missing quite some time ago, yet had never been discovered among the monsters or other people. Sadly, this elation of finding friends and family that had seemingly disappeared into thin air gave way to horror and confusion, as the order to kill everyone present was given.

The monsterwomen, though still reeling from the punishing blows the Monster Lord had taken at Revenant's hands, quickly took up arms to defend the humans and themselves. The Order, thoroughly shaken by the sudden demand of their death at the hands of these holy beings, found themselves at first unwilling or able to fight back. The harshest of implications had set in... their God had truly abandoned them. It was only with the narrowest miss of a blade that they were snapped back to the current situation, and once again found themselves allying with the monsters in favor of self-preservation.

Even within the settlements where monsters were the ruling majority of its population, Zipangu being no exception, these infused humans came to raze it all to the ground. As defenses were quickly rallied to quell this sudden invasion, one question after another rose to the forefront of many people's minds.

Why was the Chief God doing this? What was there to be gained in wiping everyone out? How were these beings somehow getting around Ares' no-kill policy?

"No... what is this?" Looking out from her vantage point, one of the angels watched on, horrified at the sight.

"It's begun..." The child's voice answered back, but it sounded... deeper, more intelligent, more mature. As his ward turned to regard him, her eyes widened in shock. "There was another half to this story... a half the humans were never informed of, lest their faith dry up."

"Y-you-"

"I have regained it all, over these long days. This must be brought to an end, now, before their plans cause this pointless cycle to enact once again. Let us move!"

Though stunned, she quickly made to follow her ward, only for the two of them to find themselves cornered by a small group of these psudeo-angels.

"Capture the traitor. Kill the other one." Blades were drawn and they began to move in.

Nelius used his axe to deflect a sword slash aimed for his throat, and used the opening to deliver a gauntlet-covered fist to his opponent's face. The blow sent this psudeo-angel reeling, though he quickly recovered and went back on the attack. As a sword slash was narrowly dodged, the incubus used the underside hook of his axe to catch the blade, pulling the opponent in for a punishing knee to the chest.

Virgil and Tomoe worked in synch, their blades at the ready to drive their opponents back. The two samurai demons kept a wary eye on the other's flank, making certain that the other wouldn't be struck from behind.

Carl, Atreya and B pooled their magic together to mass-freeze several of these holy shock-troopers, giving Sif, Cordelia and Aliya ample time to line up their shots and let the arrows and bullets fly!

Stonewall stood guard against anyone that tried to get close to the multi-winged woman that had nearly crashed into the Yoshitsuna. His rocky hide proved more than capable of deflecting whatever blades the enemy possessed... though it was when some brought out enchanted maces, mauls and warhammers that he began to utilize his innate Star-elemental magic. Blindfire provided backup, his arm-cannon dishing out plenty of shots that dented the enemy's armor, assuming it didn't find any weakpoints and pierced through.

Several of these beings tried to board the Yoshitsuna, not only to eliminate those inside, but also to either claim or destroy anything inside that could be used against them. They were met with fierce resistance, as Michael let loose his sharpened feathers at the same time that Farris had her spear ready to knock the enemy asunder. Raphael and Hilde kept together, each one looking out for the other as they guarded the way to the bridge.

Mita made good use of the Yoshitsuna's internal camera system to direct those still inside the ship on where to go. Brutus and Zio took up defending the engines, their combined might of bullets and spells driving the enemy back. York and Shizuka kept the enemy away from the supplies, the kunoichi proving hard to target and the Prinny's machete-like blades finding weakpoints in the armor to exploit.

Uutyk had thrown himself into the thick of the fray, allowing the enemy's weaponry to draw his blood, and so draw out his power even further. Of course, Ada was on standby to make certain nobody on their side was overwhelmed, and Vash kept his vigil over his girlfriend.

The enemy's numbers were quickly starting to thin out- numerous they might've been, but the offworld group had been used to fighting for their lives. What also had put the odds in their favor was that Deruella had once before sent a much larger force back when the group was but a third of its current size. Against a smaller, more homogenized enemy, victory was assured.

"Problem... the resistance here proves far greater than anticipated. The criminal cannot go free." Seeing that its forces were nearly depleted, it was time to retreat. Those conscious enough to flee did so, leaving the offworld group time to contemplate this turn of events.

"Figures- can't have a quiet trip home." Nelius groused as he convened with everyone. "Did the Chief God finally crack or something?"

"Search me. Any contact we've had with this world's Heavenly Host was quite limited." Tomoe replied, idly checking the unconscious opposition for any clues. "Though considering our mysterious gal pal over there..."

Stonewall was checking over the unconscious angelic woman, Ada and Aliya providing any needed medical attention. At least three of her wings were broken, and would need to be properly reset before they could truly heal. Her eyes were beginning to flutter, a noticable wince overtaking her facial features.

"Seems like she's coming to." At that, they backed away, to give her some space.

"Nnngh... ouch..." Slowly, painfully, she managed to get to a sitting position. As her eyes opened, grey-teal met an assortment of colors. It was after a minute of looking over the group that she finally spoke aloud. "Y...you are... you're the ones Millia told me of."

"Millia... wasn't that the angel woman that confronted us about the kid?" Atreya piped up.

"Indeed." Carl affirmed.

"That said... those wings indicate you are of the Heavenly Host, though I would surmise an incredibly high position." Raphael made his guess known. To that, she gave a dry, kind of broken chuckle.

"You're half-right. I... was in such a high position. They once called me... the Chief Goddess."

The Demon Lord's Castle Town was once again under siege. Just when it seemed like the danger had passed and the rebuilding could finally finish, these "psudeo-angels" appeared to attack. Some of the monsters groused about yet another attack, whilst others had wondered if the Chief Goddess had been building her power-base and merely feigning being injured all this time.

Francine kicked away one of the enemies as she used her own rapier to parry a blade aimed for her heart. However, she didn't see another blade coming at her from behind, its wielder intent on decapitating the Dhampir...

With one solid darkness bolt, the foe was blasted away. Akasha having been the one to deliver the shot.

"By no means does this make us friends." The Vampire turned to engage another foe. Francine bit back a laugh as she moved to take on another one.

Heather used the back end of her scythe to knock out about four or five different holy troopers all at once. At the same time, she was nursing a bit of a headache, due to the fluctuations of the Demon Lord's power, and was having to deal with her usually small frame having shot up several inches in the interim. Still she soldiered on, using her blade to trip up another two enemies as an Imp kicked them in the face, sending them to meet the ground.

Many of the Witches under Heather's command were busy launching spell after spell to stymie the enemy's assualt. Much like their leader, they too had grown in height, some of them developing a bustline that proved to be the antithesis to their coven.

Closer to the Demon Lord's personal quarters, a small legion of Dullahan were having the fight of their lives against these psudeo-angels. Several Succubi were providing backup, though limited, as they weren't quite used to fighting against someone that didn't fall prey to their charms.

"Wait a minute- the Chief Goddess? You?" Vash inquired, a touch skeptical of this whole situation.

"Was, at any rate..." She tried to get to her feet, but her body simply lacked the strength.

"The hell happened? A mutiny?" At that question, the ex-goddess bit back a snort of derision.

"That's far too nice of a term to describe it." Another wince crossed her face. "Put simply, it seems I was no longer needed."

Within the aforementioned chambers, the myriad daughters of the Demon Lord, the Lilim, were crowded around their mother and father, each one taking turns passing some of their power off to her to aid in recovery. Even with all this time and all this power being siphoned, the Demon Lord was barely any closer to full strength.

The raging sounds of battle right outside the chambers urged them to quickly continue with the power transfer. True, several of the Lilim could continue on in their mother's stead if she ever fell, but this had been something they never once considered would come to pass.

They could only hope that the Elite forces outside could hold off the enemy.

The Demon Lord's Husband, however, had gotten himself to a more upright position, and had both blade and crossbow at the ready for whomever might've gotten through the door.

"You got fired, basically?" Raphael asked the question that soon crossed everyone's minds.

"I'm certain you've heard of how this world was supposed to be?"

"Y'mean eternal bloodshed between both sides, one rising up when the other gets too numerous." Tomoe stated, getting an affirming nod.

"That is because the original Chief God had made this world so, and after so many cycles, was certain its system would continue with no abberations. I was assigned to watch over this, and continue everything as usual."

"Yeah, and look how that turned out." Vash snidely intoned.

"Any faith in me has been essentially non-existent these last few years..."

"You said 'original'." Nelius caught onto that. "Whatever happened to the first one, anyway?"

"After seeing that this system would continue on, the first Chief God had departed for parts unknown, leaving me to try and learn everything."

"Wow, there's a candidate for 'Worst Boss' of the year." The former godesss/figurehead was going to reply to this...

"There she is!" But was pre-empted by the approach of more psudeo-angels.

Back within the Heavenly Realm, the angel and child duo were forced to flee in the wake of the enemy, whom had better numbers and equipment. No matter which way they turned, it seemed as though they were already corraled off.

"This is troublesome..." The child responded. "Their influence must've been spreading whilst everyone's attentions were downward."

"Whose influence?" The angel, clearly frazzled by this situation, had her mind trying to go in several directions at once.

"...I'll likely kick myself for saying this, but we should jump."

"Jump?! Are you crazy?!"

"Would you like to be butchered by these forces?" He gestured to the oncoming wave of characters intent on harming them.

With a noise that sounded like a mix of an exhausted sigh and a whimper of mortifying confusion, she took the child into her arms, and leapt down.

"Let us hope we have a soft landing."

The Demon Lord's castle had gone unnervingly quiet. All sounds of battle had ceased, and while this would've normally been a sign of good things to come, the Demon Lord and her husband were thinking differently.

A force large enough to make their strongest guards put forth a monumental effort, and they simply disappear after some time? This had to be a feint, an attempt to make them lower their guard so they would be easily felled.

Not this time- not after the holy-consuming beasts, Revenant, and those Chaos Gods appearing in quick succession. No, they would be guarded, and continue to be vigilant until it was confirmed that the enemy was indeed gone.

One of the Lilim whom was resting after having done her attempt at helping to heal her mother cautiously looked out the door to her mother's chambers, her father keeping a wary eye as she did so...

Gone. The guards and other security detail were completely missing, and that was already cause for alarm. They couldn't have all been killed, could they? Then where did the enemy go, if their target was right here?

Nelius leaned back to avoid a sword swing, quickly twisting around to plant his foot squarely in his opponent's chin. The force of the kick sent the psudeo-angel skyward for several feet, only for gravity to take over and send them crashing down.

Tomoe and Shizuka were teamed up this time, and as they dealt with another pair of attackers, Virgil planted his blade into the ground, forming a thick sheet of ice that quickly raced towards the enemy. Those unfortunate enough to not get out of the way in time would find their feet frozen to the ground, letting Sif and Cordelia pick them off at their own leisure.

Those that had dodged tried to fly above the ground, but that made them open to more spells from Atreya and B. Aliya and Ada gave their assistance via archery.

Much like the previous strike force, this group began to fall. Seeing that this was indeed a losing endeavor, they quickly retreated. Mita engaged the ship's arrays to ensure there wouldn't be any more surprise attacks.

"OK, getting back to our prior conversation..." Aliya kept a cautious eye as she turned her attention back to the cast-out Goddess. "You said he left? Then what's this all about?"

As the former Goddess was about to speak, something could be heard hurtling through the air.

"Hey guys!" Mita brought the external speakers on. "We got something else incoming! It's about to make a crash landing!"

Everyone's attention quickly went skyward, and indeed they could see something hurtling towards the ground. About two minutes later it impacted the planet, creating a much smaller crater compared to when the ex-Goddess had been tossed out.

All was silent for a few minutes as the offworld bunch kept to one side of the crater, wondering what else could've landed. Then the sounds of movement could be heard from within the crash site...

Something was undoubtedly wrong with this situation. An entire castle's worth of inhabitants, workers, and enemies does not simply vanish into the great beyond on a whim.

Cautiously, the Lilim that had already transferred some of their strength to their mother ventured forth to try and find out what had transpired. Those that still had some magical potency remained with their parents, to act as the line of defense in-case this was a setup.

Had the Chief Goddess truly lost it, and was now going for broke?

The Lilim spread out through the castle, looking for any clues that could provide insight as to what was going on. Given that there were easily 600+ of them now spread throughout this castle, hunting down the cause should've been an easy task...

Every chamber and hallway was searched through, from the tallest spire to their deepest basement.

"Ugh... ow..."

"My sentiments exactly. Knew I was going to be kicking myself for that suggestion."

From within the second crater, two figures emerged. One of them was a woman, one of the angels if the wings upon her back were an indication, but in her arms...

"Hey, is that the kid?!"

"So one of the heavenly forces found him after all." Shizuka responded. "Picked a hell of a time to reappear, though."

The ex-Goddess looked over to the angelic woman, recognizing her. "! Winifred?"

"Hm... ah!" The now-identified Winifred found herself shocked. "Lady Goddess! You're alive!"

"Only barely..." Having managed to recover some of her strength, the former Goddess got to her feet. "Where have you been?"

"Apologies, but it was me she was looking after." The child spoke, catching everyone's attention.

"Did the kid just..."

"Speak? Of course. Though I suppose some context would be in order..."

The Demon Lord's Castle was truly empty. No sounds or sounds of fighting could be located within its halls. The Lilim were immediately on alert, spreading out to cover more ground.

One took a look outside the castle, and saw that the town was far too quiet. Might something have happened to the other dwellers as well? Alongside three of her sisters, she went to investigate.

Back in the Demon Lord's chambers, the remaining daughters of the Demon Lord took their turns passing some power back to their mother, their father keeping his blade and crossbow ready.

"So, this is how the failure meets her end..." A new voice startled everyone present, and as they tried to look around to see who or what had invaded the chambers...

"Who the-"

"Pitiful. Even with your attempts at making changes, you still can't escape your original role. Now perish."

The chamber flooded with light, spilling out the windows and racing up and down the corridors...

The child took a breath, before explaining his story.

"Roughly 60 years before the Chief God left, he was but one among the many angels that roamed the heavens. Palani was his name then. He stood only about five feet, nine inches tall, but had a countenance of strength and calm, the kind of face that assuaged any fears."

"As he saw the lives of the humans in their never-ending struggle to do battle against the Demon Lord's forces, he had given aid to them in their times of need, sometimes being the one to arrive bearing news of the Hero's blessings. Never had he suspected that he was but a cog in the wheel."

"So it had been for many cycles..."

"Yet something changed that." Tomoe had cottoned on.

"Indeed. He had borne witness to something that was never meant to be seen."

Nelius took this moment to keep an eye out for when those psudeo-angels might make a reappearance, Vash and Sif taking high positions.

"It had been a few years since the defeat of a prior Demon Lord. Much as he was overjoyed to see the humans prevail against such odds, somewhere in the back of his mind he knew something didn't feel right about this victory. Uneasy about this feeling, he had gone to ask the Chief God about this... and what he saw froze the blood in his body."

"The Chief God, their holy and beloved Chief God, was talking to a soul... the soul of the defeated Demon Lord. He was telling it things, instructing it to find a newer, stronger body before sending it down to the human world."

"Lemme get this straight- his boss was instigating the whole thing?" Michael summed it up.

"It gets worse from there. As the years went on and the battles raged down below, his conscience ate away at his mind. He had to inform someone, anyone, of what had been seen, yet feared whatever ramifications would come about from this confession... so he then made the decision to write down what had been witnessed."

"And that's when everything went to hell, didn't it?" Vergil inquired.

"That would be an understatement. Time after time his mind kept going back to that scene, and sooner or later something would slip... it was sooner. Someone had found his writings and brought it to the Chief God's attention."

"...the way you speak so intimately of those details..." Ada was catching on fast.

"That is correct. I was that angel, and my punishment for having seen something along those lines... was to endlessly reincarnate, only to have my existence cut short by unforseen circumstances. Whether it was at the fangs of a monster or a random act of nature, my end would not be a pleasant one."

The ex-Goddess could hardly believe her ears. She had thought it odd that her superior had already had a system in place for the world before departing, but to think it ran this deep...

"Uhm, I apologize for breaking up this conversation..." Winifred finally spoke up, "...but might more of those strange angel-like humans be on their way here?"

"Speaking of those things, why are they trying to kill everyone?" Nelius brought up a fair point. "We just want to head home."

"That's what I want to know!" She spat back. "They suddenly show up and try to kill me and I just want to go home myself!"

Suddenly, it felt as if the entire world shifted, moving off-kilter in just the correct kind of noticeable manner.

Across the world, both in and out of the areas currently under siege by the psudeo-angels, the many monsterwomen and humans affected by their power suddenly felt the sharpest of pangs across their entire body, giving those around them in the non-combat zones serious pause. As for those in the combat zones... well, their enemy wasn't bothering with anything considering fair play, and so sought to capitalize on the moment. To their credit, many did attempt to fight back, but aside from the new wracking pain, the realization of why this was happening now was dawning on them all.

Something had to have happened to the Demon Lord again. Was it another attack?

In fact, if one were to look at the Demon Lord's Castle Town, what would await them would come as a monumentous shock. Its many inhabitants found themselves reverting back to their pre-Demon Lord states, and those across the world were also facing such a crisis.

The humans, both male and female, that had been affected by the Demon Lord's power found themselves beginning to revert back as well. Those that had been forced to stay with their abductors found their minds clearing and their wills to leave surging back. Those that had willingly sought out such partners or transformations felt their blood turn ice cold as the reversions swept across the world.

Within the Castle itself, the many Lilim that had spread out to find out where the enemy had gone ran back to the castle as the glow died down... only to be left in total silence, a thousand-mile stare frozen on their faces.

The Demon Lord and her husband... reduced to less than dust in a holy firestorm. Several of their sisters were also horrifically charred by the incident, and those that had managed to survive were in agonizing pain.

Deruella was left beyond speechless. Seeing your parents and idols get effortlessly wiped off the face of existence itself would do that to anyone. In fact, it had taken her several minutes to even begin consciously processing what just happened. Her mother, the Succubus Lord whose power presided over all monsterkind, was now gone... with her gone, the other monsters around the world were already changing back into their old forms, the forms meant to kill and consume humans.

With the feeling of a lead weight in her heart, she did everything she could to try and rally her sisters. With their mother gone, it was now on one of them to become the new Demon Lord, and keep the monsters from turning back into mindless killers. Yet at the same time, this was a rather frightening prospect for some of them- not only had the idea never crossed their minds that one day their parents would be gone, most of them had been so simply used to things going their way they had no proper plan of what to do in a situation like this.

After some amount of deliberation, they finally settled on a temporary agreement. All of them would put their powers together to try and stabilize the transformations. At the same time, someone needed to figure out just who or what had that kind of power to be able to kill their parents. That individual needed to be conclusively ended, before things got any worse.

Across the world, the psudeo-angels quickly stopped, their eyes and ears going to the sky, as if hearing some silent command. Their would-be victims saw this as a moment to retaliate, and inflict unto them that which had been done unto themselves.

"...the Demon Lord's power is receding... but it's far too fast to be merely due to her injuries." The ex-Goddess muttered.

"...could... could the Demon Lord's power be failing?" The one formerly known as Palani asked.

"Say, what'll happen if she does kick the bucket?" Nelius asked. "Will the monsters suddenly have an immediate snap back to their murdery days?"

"That assumes one of her daughters doesn't take up the throne and attempt to continue their mother's legacy... and she's got a lot of 'em, so it's a bit up in the air right now." Winifred filled in.

"But that is a secondary concern right now." The child responded. "The final strike is approaching, I know it."

"What, more of those angelic knock-offs?" Vash grumbled.

"Worse... what created those knock-offs and sent them to kill everyone."

A loud CRACK was heard as the blue skies above literally parted to reveal a view into a realm unseen by any mortal eyes, the realm of the heavens. In fact, the sight proved to be such a show-stopper that all fighting had effectively ceased around the world, as everyone's eyes were glued to the rift appearing way above them.

Something was emerging through the rift... whatever it was, it was humanoid in stature, and wrapped in a glowing light. This individual had to be as big as the Chaos Gods were, if not slightly taller.

"...Origin..." The child only managed to croak out.

The immense figure soon touched down onto the ground, the very foilage around it seemingly alighting with energy... before wilting away as the glow surrounding this being faded out.

"It has been too long... for too long was I away, learning..." A voice reverberated, one that drew attention to it and seemed to permeate throughout the world.

As the glow faded from the being, many of those whom had been embroiled in the fighting found themselves at a complete loss for words as they tried to comprehend whomever or whatever this being was. Unfortunately, this was soon followed by a complete lack of comprehension as they found themselves violently convulsing, only to collapse a moment later, the very life stricken from their bodies.

The psudeo-angels had ceased moving altogether, as if fearing to disobey a silent order. The large figure soon began to shrink down, taking a height of at least eight feet tall.

"And now I see where I have erred..."

"Who is this?" Nelius had leaned over to address the child.

"...Origin... the original Chief God."

"I see that the cycle was not enough. I gave them reason to band together... but of course that succubus saw fit to pervert my designs whilst I was away. Perhaps it was a mistake to leave so soon."

"Or, y'know, you could've come up with something else that didn't involve constant fighting and rebuilding." Raphael intoned.

"Were it not for our designs, they would not exist...and even they chose to side with that monster."

"Looks like it was a Catch-22 for them- either side with endless bloodshed or endless copulating." Vash shrugged. "Doubt anyone sane would want that."

"I see now what needs to be done. Everything needs to reset... but this time, I will not make the same mistakes twice."

"...I get the feeling the lights are on, but nobody's home." Nelius muttered.

"Old traitors dead, usurpers less than ash... now, let this world be remade as I see fit."

"Wait... was that an implication of-" The child didn't get a chance to try and puzzle out Origin's ramblings, as with a mere gesture the very land began to warp around them.

The world was underoing a shift at Origin's command. The Lilim back in the Demon Lord's Castle were doing their damnest to keep everything together, but with Origin's appearance having caused many humans and monsters to collapse over dead, any residual power they could've used was fading fast.

"Guess we're not getting that quiet trip back home." Nelius took hold of his axe. "Let's make this the last dance."

"You intend to fight?" Winifred looked horrified to even think of such coming to pass. "B-but that-"

"So we just roll over and let that thing kill us?"

"W-well no... but to even raise a hand against the Chief God... it's nigh-unthinkable."

"Then you stick back and cover those two." He gestured with his head over to the Ex-Goddess and the kid. "This ain't the first time many of us have had to fight someone intending to reset everything."

With another gesture, Origin summoned every angelic being under his command.

Back well over at the former Castle Town of the Demon Lord, the Lilim were having a hard time of trying to keep the monsters and humans from simply reverting back to their prior days. Many of them had a newfound appreciation for what their mother had managed to accomplish on her own, but that was something for another time.

They found themselves having to put forth an actual effort of trying to keep the transformations from fading out, but whatever was causing them to revert back was equally as strong. The usual tinting of the sky and foilage common to the Demon Realm was fading out.

Deruella decided to try and reach out to the other parallel pocket dimensions that were allied with the Demon Lord.

Wonderland was in utter disarray. Their sister in charge of that realm was at her wits' end trying to stabilize things. Humpties were solidifying, Chesire Cats had zoned out- what about the Fallen God?

Things were even worse in Pandemonium. The demonic energy that usually pervaded that realm was holding for the time being - well, time was something of a non-entity there - but it too was fading out. Several of the Fallen Angels were finding themselves beginning to revert back, and it was causing tensions between the other denizens.

Poseidon wasn't answering at all, and Eros was equally silent. This had gone beyond disturbing and straight into horrifying.

She quickly asked for a report on the homefront- who or what was out there causing this? It was about three minutes later that a reply came back...

An immense angelic being was laying waste to the world, commanding those angel-wannabes. The offworld bunch were actively engaging this being and its troops.

"Sisters, hold things here. I'm taking my heroes with me."

"What?! But-"

"If those offworlders can do battle against something like that, then what does that say about us? I'm not going to sit here and let this thing try to choose how I live or die."

Her sisters tried to ask her to reconsider, but it fell on deaf ears. Some finally chose to go after her.

The psudeo-angels amassed, and began to descend upon the offworld group, whom were more than prepared to defend themselves. Weapons were drawn, spells were ready, guns and bows were loaded...

Out of nowhere, a mass of arrows and magic rained down upon the enemy, sending them into disarray.

Several monsterwomen and their human allies had appeared from multiple angles, ready to fight for their existence. In all honesty, they did not look like they were ready to battle... some were already half-transformed back into their old states, whilst others were desperately doing their best to remain conscious.

Origin didn't care. With another gesture, the monsters began to revert back even further, fighting to keep their minds focused on the foe before them. However, the reversion began to slow down...

"Fire!" Deruella's voice rang out of nowhere as several bolts of magic and arrows flew into the enemy ranks. Lescatie's heroes had finally arrived, and the mixed group of monsters and humans waded into the thick of battle, ready to fight for their lives.

"Ah, one of the failure's children..." Origin focused on Deruella, whom was soon accompanied by a few of her sisters. "Make that many of her children. Perhaps you should join her."

"You first!" Deruella practically roared as she fired her own magic at the Chief God, whom deflected it with but a gesture.

"...so the Demon Lord is indeed dead." The child noted as Deruella kept firing at Origin. As the Lescatie heroes and her sisters joined, Origin continued to merely deflect the bolts as if they meant less than nothing to him.

"Well, standing here talking won't accomplish much. C'mon." With that, the offworld bunch made their way into the battle.

Nelius leapt over two of the enemy, landing a heel-drop to the head of one that was harassing a half-transformed Grizzly. He drew his axe as he landed a diagonal slash on another two.

Virgil and Tomoe took to watching each others' back as they engaged a group, Shizuka and Sif running interference thanks to their superior speed. Cordelia and Aliya laid down covering fire, assisting the native denizens whenever they could.

Carl and Atreya worked with B to create an immense storm that targeted the psudeo-angels.

Winifred felt her heart dropping as she watched this go on. Was this the Chief God's true nature, an amoral being that saw all as mere tools?

As Michael let loose some sharpened feathers to help unpin Raphael and Hilde, a number of arrows and other feathers joined his.

"Even they have turned traitor?" A few of this world's Heavenly Host had appeared, alongside the several angels and other beings that had aligned with Eros. Origin was less than pleased by this.

The psudeo-angels were starting to become overwhelmed by the combined forces. The natives quickly pressed the advantage, working alongside the Heavenly Host and offworlders to rout the last of them.

"Very well, then..." Origin rumbled. "I see I have been too lenient up to this point. This world is no longer fit to exist." A hand went to point towards the planet's core. "Perhaps when this mistake is erased, I can have more loyal subjects."

"Not happening!" Deruella fired another shot of magic at Origin, but it simply faded away before it could make contact. Undeterred by this, she swiped a blade from Wilmarina and charged the Chief God.

Origin merely lifted a finger to stop the attack cold... but to its surprise, the blade actually nicked its finger.

"?!" So great was its surprise that Deruella tried for another swipe, this time aimed at its face. However, it had recovered in time to not only catch the blade, but deliver such a blow to the Lilim that she was sent flying, requiring three of her sisters to catch her.

"Hey... that attack actually hurt him." Winifred seemed stunned by this.

"Not by much...!" The ex-Goddess cottoned on as to why it had happened. "Everyone! Press your attacks now!"

"Ain't gotta tell us twice!"

Now, how was it that Deruella's sword swing had managed to nick Origin's finger when everything else hadn't? Well, that's simple.

Across the world at the various Order outposts, churches and various other gathering points, the most faithful had found their faith severely tested during the recent attacks.

Kurosugi... Revenant... the Holy-Eaters... the Chaos Gods...

Each attack only served to further test the humans that had clung to the teachings... but this... this was, as some would say, the final straw.

Their Chief God... their beloved creator had said they were to be killed off and replaced with subjects whom wouldn't defy it. Even those that had never laid with a monster, and did everything in their power to keep their faith alive, were to be nothing more than disposable toys, to be replaced at a moment's notice.

Some couldn't believe such. Others refused to believe such - this had to be another trick, another test of their faith.

Still, the effect was undeniable... as many of the humans were losing their faith in the Chief God, the power he relied upon to restore himself after his long excursion was beginning to trickle away. As more began to see that this was no trick, more and more faith began to evaporate.

People left these areas in droves, their voices of support no longer going to this being.

Arrows and bullets mixed in the air, hurtling towards Origin, whom again deflected them, but this time it had to use both hands.

Magical spells flew in from all angles, and whichever ones couldn't be dodged via movement had to be blocked with one of its wings. The spells bounced off, as expected, but some left marks.

"This is-" Origin got cut off by several of the natives swinging a spiked mace at its torso. The head of the weapon connected, and shattered... but not before Origin felt it. "No... no!"

Raising its right hand, it made to begin mass-undoing the opposing forces, only for chains of black metal to suddenly wrap around it, pulling it away from the group. More chains appeared, tying down its left arm, and then its legs. It thrashed about, pulling the chains tight.

Said chains were appearing from what looked like dark inkwells in the ground.

"I must have it!" Origin tried its damnest to break free, but all that accomplished was attracting more chains, these ones of a white metal. "Where are my faithful?! Pray to me!"

"They won't... not anymore, not after what you have and haven't done." The ex-Goddess managed to get to her feet. "Your faithful have seen what you really are... they won't pray to a monster such as you."

"Could you hurry the speech up?" Deruella coughed. "Those chains likely won't hold forever..." Indeed, the Lilim were struggling to keep the chains going, some of the metal starting to show fractures.

"Attack!" One of the former Order soldiers gave the cry, and together, all natives to the world joined with the Heavenly Host and offworld group to launch a final strike.

"NO! YOU WILL NOT-" Origin's voice was drowned out by the sounds of everyone launching successive attacks, one after the other. Even as their weapons broke and they spent their magic, they continued attacking.

Origin twisted about, trying to break free, but each attack, regardless of where it came from, slowly depleted its divine energy.

"ENOUGH OF THIS FARCE." It began to glow with an unsettling light. "ALL SHALL PERISH."

"Is he about to execute the Sore Loser protocol?!" Sif noticed the glow.

"What's that?" One of the Lilim had to ask.

"If he's gonna die, then he's gonna try and take everything with him."

"A suicide attack?!" The kid looked alarmed, and with good reason.

"Not happening." Everyone redoubled their attacks on the chained up deity, but the glow only intensified as the attacks came in. "Guys- all at once!"

Everyone quickly seperated into their own groups... and from three separate directions, the final strikes were coordinated.

From the Order, they aligned with the remnants of the Heavenly Host. The intermixed group of monsters and men stood with the remaining daughters of the Demon Lord. The offworld group had aligned themselves to another side.

Power was gathered, weapons and spells were readied... and as the glow reached its peak, they were launched simultaneously. From three different directions the attacks were released.

The Order, alongside the Heavenly Host, had focused their attack into an immense arrow brimming with holy power, ready to pierce into Origin.

The monsters, alongside the Lilim, had made an immense black orb of demonic power, ready to crash into Origin.

The offworld bunch had channeled their power into creating an immense Dimension Slash, ready to cut Origin up.

All three attacks struck at once, and it had been at this time that Origin was about to unleash its last-ditch attempt to end the fight. They collided with the sphere of power, and something had to give.

The collision began generating multicolored sparks that seemingly shifted at completely random intervals, a collage of colors that had little to no overlap. Everyone involved in launching the attacks had already begun to fall back, figuring that if this was going to cause some kind of explosion, they further away they were, the better.

Suddenly, Nelius' vision began to flicker once more.

'?!' For a brief second, his visible eye could be seen turing yellow once more, before his grip tightened on his axe and he surged forward.

"Nelius?!"

"The hell's he doing?"

Axe raised, Nelius soared over the Dimensional Slash and struck at Origin from above, bringing his weapon down right where the Chief God's cranium would supposedly be.

It proved the straw that broke the camel's back. The axehead at first met resistance from the barrier, but slowly, the barrier began to fall and his axe began to sink in, cleaving Origin's head in two. Origin gave one final pained scream before its larynx also proved to be cleaved by the weapon, the axehead sinking all the way down to the hip.

The Chief God had been cleaved in half, but before anyone could properly react, the rest of the attacks then converged, meeting with the Chief God's severed body... and remember that Origin had been attempting a last-ditch effort to erase those present.

The utter mess that was the collusion of attacks and defensive measures ended up ripping a tattered hole into existence, a tear that looked to be a portal into the space that lay between realities. The tear was highly unstable, and within seconds it was beginning to draw in anything that was close to it, meaning the two halves of Origin alongside Nelius.

It was here that Nelius' eye returned to its normal color, and he had a grimace upon his face, as if recovering from some kind of migraine. He realized a little too late about where he was situated, and before he had the chance to try and tether himself to the ground, he was drawn into the tear.

"Shit!"

"Nelius!"

"Oh shit oh shit oh shit!"

The halves of Origin were soon sucked into the tear as well, and for a moment, it looked as though the tear was going to continue expanding and drawing in more.

"..." With resolution upon her face, the ex-Goddess strode forward towards it.

"Hey, what're you-"

"A Goddess I may no longer be, but I can still act as such." Squaring her shoulders and planting her feet firmly on the ground, the former leader of Heaven focused what remaining power she had. A barrier began to form over the tear, halting the suction process.

"No! You'll die if you keep that up!"

"I've already caused enough damage with my existence... Palani."

"...yes?"

"I leave the rest in your hands. Guide them." Her wings were already beginning to fade away, and with one final shout the barrier solidified, the entire area glowing a brilliant white and forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

"Goddess!" Winifred cried out.

When the glow died down after what felt like an agonizing amount of time, those present found themselves surprised. The tear was gone, the only proof of its existence being a gouge in the ground.

"Goddess?" Winifred tentatively stepped out into the area, looking for any signs of her leader. "...is...is she..."

"...?!" The child noticed something nearby, and quickly ran over, Winifred following.

"!" It was the ex-Goddess laying face down on the ground, and now such a title truly befit her. Gone were her angelic wings, leaving nothing but faint scars down her back where they once were. "S-she... she..."

"She lives, but only just. No longer is she a goddess, but a mortal woman."

Meanwhile, the offworld bunch were having a discussion all their own.

"What the hell was he thinking!" Mita looked a bit beyond livid. "Was he suicidal or something?"

"I don't think so." Cordelia piped up. "Ain't his eye usually orange?"

"What does that have to do with his actions?" Carl asked.

"Well, right before he went all deicidal on that Origin thing, I saw his eye go yellow."

"How'd you see that?"

"I'm a sniper, kiddo. You gotta have good eyesight for that kinda thing."

"So, what exactly happened to him?" Farris spoke up.

"No clue. We're gonna have to track him down to get that answer... though if I had to guess, it had to be because of that attack he took when we were fighting those weird giants."

"Either way, I think we've overstayed our welcome." Vash said. "Let's get off this rock and go home already. I got some bullets with those Senators' names carved into 'em."

"I may not have had the chance to know your names... but I do now know there is another way." The one formerly called Palani addressed the offworld bunch. "Might be a bit redundant at this point, but thank you all for what you've done, even if most of it wasn't something you looked forward to doing."

"We just kinda did what we did." Sif shrugged. "Either way, we're gonna get going. Make this place awesome!"

With that, everyone piled aboard the Yoshitsuna Warship. Lift engines were checked, all systems were without anomalies... this time, the warship lifted off without incident, and within seconds had breached the upper atmosphere and left the planet.

"What happens now? The Chief God is gone, and the Heavens are in disarray without a successor..." Winifred turned her thoughts towards what would happen to this world. "The Demon Lord is also gone, and her influence ebbs by the second..."

With the battle concluded, most of the monsterwomen found themselves utterly exhausted, their forms wavering even further between reverting back and retaining their current stature. Deruella had been knocked completely unconscious by Origin's attack, and even with the Lilim trying to pull power from the other realms that supported their mother, that power was fading away. The psudeo-angels had collapsed over, the power granted to them now leaving their bodies, revealing the mass of humans that had gone missing during Kurosugi and Revenant's attack.

"Well, I did say there was another way to go." The child looked over to Winifred. "But first... I need to reclaim my old form. If there is to be a new Chief God, and thus a new order of the world, we need to look over what all didn't work before, and seek to implement new changes."

"And how will we give you your old form back?"

"I need to return to Heaven. Will you help me?"

Far in the outer reaches of space, the Yoshitsuna Warship was blazing a trail back towards the Netherworld.

"Let's see here..." Mita was using the warship's main console to access the coordinates that Kurosugi had left with Epsilon. "All right, got a lock on one of the locations." She entered in the commands to send the ship towards that location. Time to go raid Kurosugi's stock!

"I'm just glad to finally be outta there, dood." York flopped back on a seat. "No more crazy goat girls trying to make me into a pincushion!"

"Place wasn't that bad." Sif piped up. "For a world that was kinda old-fashioned, they had some neat stuff."

"Please tell me you didn't bring any of it with us." Carl groaned.

Vash was off in another part of the bridge, loading up his guns with several bullets that had names carved into them. 'Oh how I am gonna enjoy this!' He had a grin on his face that promised fresh pain for those whose names were carved into said bullets.

B's eyes were glowing as she attempted to make use of her Zone sight to figure out what had happened to Nelius. 'Even with my sight restored, it's still up in the air...' Closing her eyes so she could rub them with her left hand, she continued trying to scry out where in the cosmos he had landed.

"Any luck?" Aliya asked the Mage Knight.

"Not much. Still looking pretty murky."

"I see. Still, I know we'll find him sooner or later. It'd take a lot more than a tear in reality to undo beings like us."

The Yoshitsuna Warship continued its trek towards the first of the coordinates.

One must be wondering at this point... whatever became of Nelius Raoul? Some say he landed in a world of bloody evolution, becoming the catalyst for change as he had done here.

Other tales tell of him landing in a dimensional crossroad, working his way into becoming an Overlord.

Either way, one detail was for certain... he had once again eluded death and erasure. Who knows where he'll end up after this.

Dimensional Gate Screwover

Story - Concluded