CHAPTER 579: NIGHTMARE AGAINST DARKNESS

The next day soon arrived, and with it came the last fight before Sera’s. Currently, other than the entire Angelic Order’s fighters, only two remained within the tournament, and today, hopefully one of these obstacles would disappear.

Lilith kissed her husband goodbye, then stepped into the elevator. She glanced down at herself just as the machine came to life, bringing her up into the arena.

She wore her usual dark robe, but this time the hood stayed down, revealing her braided, golden hair with dark roots. Below her robe, she wore special armor made by Sera and Agnes.

It supposedly enhanced her powers, not that it mattered. It was a gift from Sera, even if it had no enchantments, she would’ve still worn it!

A light chuckle echoed from her lips as she glanced at the dark purple armor. It matched her swirling purple eyes...

"I can’t believe she paid attention to the colors... She probably even remembered I like darker shades of purple!" she whispered to seemingly empty air, yet soon an answer echoed from the darkness...

"Our Goddess is truly thoughtful and perfect," said Faith, causing Lilith to nod with an even wider smile. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as one can be... I know most of his powers and fighting style. The only question is how much he knows about my abilities... We won’t have the element of surprise either, like against our previous enemies, meaning... we’ll need to outsmart him!"

Indeed, Lucifer, just like Castiel, had most likely learned about Faith and Bea’s existence. Which meant he made plans against them. The only question remained, did he know enough about Lilith and her power over dreams?

Sadly, she would only learn the answer to this question after their battle began.

The elevator rose higher until a platform opened above Lilith’s head. The sound of loud cheering echoed around the Colosseum as she found herself in the dark forest.

Soon, the female announcer’s voice pierced through the crowd...

"Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in-between! As the tournament draws close to its final day, we bring a magnificent match!"

The crowd burst into even louder cheers, but soon the male announcer’s voice drowned them out.

"In one corner stands a terrifying existence, who caused such fear to humanity, they deemed him the root of all evil! Which’s ironic, since his name suggests otherwise!"

"Morningstar! Light-Bringer! Son of Dawn! He has many names, yet his most famous title is... Satan! The Devil! Prince of Darkness!... Lucifer himself!"

The crowd—mostly the demons—screamed with such ferocity, it even drowned out the announcer’s overbearing voice.

However, James worked behind the scenes. He sent the feedback loop of the cheers through the speakers, creating a loud screeching noise, which silenced everyone.

The quiet lasted for a moment as the female announcer continued the introduction.

"And in the other corner! Someone who requires no introduction! A kind, powerful lady who dedicated her life to the Angelic Order! She has many names... Some call her Sister, others Priestess, but today she isn’t here as the quiet, gentle soul we all know!"

"Today she’s here to bring Our Goddess’s vengeance! The High-Priestess of the Angelic Order! The Angel’s Right Hand! The Nightmare of Athens! The Bringer of Purgatory!... The Dreamweaver!"

The crowd erupted yet again, much louder than the previous times. This time, even the feedback loop couldn’t silence them, so James simply decided to silence the arena, which marked the beginning of the match.

Neither fighter was in a hurry to begin the match. They walked towards each other with measured steps until their paths crossed in a small clearing.

Lilith stared at her enemy with a bored, emotionless expression, while a playful smirk stretched across Lucifer’s handsome face.

He wore a dark robe and kept his black feathered wings close to his body. A trickle of blood ran down his pale face from the crown of thorns on his head.

"What fancy titles you carry!" said Lucifer while tilting his head. Each slight movement drew even more blood. "I hope you can live up to these set expectations!"

The Dreamweaver didn’t rise to the provocation. Her face stayed absolutely still, as if deaf to Lucifer’s words.

The cunning grin froze on his face. Lilith’s lack of reaction seemed to bother him quite a bit. However, instead of taking the hint, he doubled down...

"So, High-Priestess eh? What’s that like? You go around and clean up after your ’Goddess’... Do you wipe her ass too?"

The shadows around the clearing seemed to move as Lucifer’s words angered Faith. She didn’t show nearly as much self-control as Lilith, who continued staring into Lucifer’s dark crimson eyes without care.

The Fallen Angel ground his teeth. He failed to anger or annoy Lilith, but her passivity did wonders to Lucifer’s emotional state.

"Fine!" shouted Lucifer, spite and hatred tinging his voice. "If you don’t engage in civilized conversation, then let’s cut to the chase!"

To further anger Lucifer, she just shrugged while continuing to stay silent.

Lucifer pulled off his robe, revealing dark crimson armor made of Profane Metal. He also summoned his sword and then spread his wings wide.

Lilith stared at the wings, yet she couldn’t see the shadowy darkness from which those arms attacked Yuhuang. Instead, he used those wings to propel himself towards Lilith, attempting to stab through her heart.

His handsome face twisted into something inhumane. A scary grin combined with a pair of eyes burning with hatred and rage.

The Profane sword flew faster than a mere Transcended like Lilith could react. Even then, Lucifer assumed she would at least try evading his blow, yet the blade moved through her robe, then armor, skin, muscles and bones.

A shower of blood shot out from Lilith’s back as Lucifer’s blade went hilt deep into her chest.

Confused, Lucifer glanced at Lilith’s face. His dark crimson eyes went wide in shock, as the bored, emotionless expression twisted into a confident smile.

A light chuckle echoed from the Dreamweaver’s lips as her bleeding body fell to the grassy ground, then exploded into sparks of light.

"You didn’t think it would be that easy? Did you?" said a twisted feminine voice, unlike anything Lucifer had heard before.

Lucifer spun around, looking for the voice’s owner. However, what he saw definitely wasn’t something he expected...

A four meters tall, with dark gray skin and a faceless head. She had large hands with half meter long claws and a feminine, disturbing, voluptuous body.

She could be considered attractive if one ignored the ten spider-like legs growing out of the empty space behind her.

The feminine creature had no mouth, yet her voice echoed through the surrounding reality...

"What? Did I scare you? No need to fear! This is just the beginning!" Her lighthearted laughter echoed as she rushed towards Lucifer with surprising speed.

Lilith’s giant form created gray afterimages as she swiped her hands, attempting to behead Lucifer.

The Fallen Angel moved just as quickly. After recognizing the threat, his wings beat once, pushing him to the side, just out of Lilith’s reach.

His feet soon landed on the ground, then with another wingbeat, he propelled himself back towards his assailant. He raised his Profane blade this time, aiming for the terrifying creature’s neck.

The Dreamweaver stood to the side and didn’t even attempt to face Lucifer. The floating spider-like legs behind her back moved and parried the sword. They then tried impaling Lucifer, but he backed away in time.

For a moment, Lucifer stayed still, observing Lilith’s form much more thoroughly. He saw a silvery glint in the spider-like legs and the massive claws, meaning they were created from some metal... Divine Metal!

As the realization hit Lucifer, he quickly realized he wouldn’t win this fight without using powers... It was time to commit and show his own ability!

The pair of abyss black wings spread as more blood dripped down Lucifer’s serious face. A layer of shadowy darkness spread over the wings’ surface, and from its depths a couple of destructive black eyes stared out.

Two massive hands grabbed the edges of darkness as a gigantic figure pulled himself out from the shadows. The monstrous figure had a dozen arms and three heads, each staring at Lilith with mad hatred.

Each hand held a unique Profane weapon, unlike ones from Earth. Some resembled swords, others hammers or spears, but all were horrifying in nature.

The monstrosity roared and took a step forward, shaking the entire arena. However, as he rushed towards Lilith, she suddenly jumped away, into the thick foliage above.

She recognized the monster Lucifer summoned. He was the supposed King of Hell before Lucifer dethroned him... Abaddon...

"Who’s scared now, huh?" shouted Lucifer upon seeing Lilith’s retreat.

However, the wide grin slowly disappeared from his face as he glanced above at the trees. At some point, the green leaves seemingly disappeared behind a thick layer of cobwebs.

Neither Lucifer nor Abaddon could pierce through the foliage, and somehow Lilith could move within silently.

It took barely a second to move above Abaddon and attempt to take him out before the fight really began.

Slowly, she slid down a line of cobweb without making a single noise. She was only a few meters from Abaddon’s head when she realized... He had three!

The momentary hesitation forced her hand as one of the monstrosity’s heads glanced in her direction.

Lilith dropped down just as Abaddon swung his twelve arms, all trying to smash her, like a bug. She used all ten spider-like arms to block ten arms, then used her own two hands to stop the last two.

Finally, she reached Abaddon’s right head, but with all arms used for blocking, she couldn’t possibly attack... at least that’s what Lucifer believed.

The Dreamweaver’s faceless head split open, revealing a head-size maw, which gobbled up Abaddon’s head whole.

The monstrosity roared and pushed Lilith away with enough power to send her to the arena’s opposite end...