Battle of the demigods 5, For his will had freed him

Outside, on the rooftop of a tall floating building, Saginus couldn't help but be shocked in front of the abominations that were pulullating down below. They were all inform creatures, covered in irregular rotten teeth and moving, salivating tongues. These creatures were emitting messy, ethereal shriek and cries, that seemed to surge straight from hell itself. Instead of a face, or even a head, they had masks expressing the entire spectrum of humans emotions. Long, hook-like limbs were spreading from their entire bodies

"What the fuck is this..." Saginus swore.

"You're asking? Yet, it's your own creation" Cain replied as he appeared on the rooftop. "These creatures are the same as the ones that Londris' inhabitants see instead of other people. I was curious to know what they looked like, so while were having this nice conversation in this little Cifer's base, I used my Authority to wish them into reality"

"Why..."

"Indeed, why the surprise? I would really be an awful magician if I could only grant my own wish, wouldn't I?" Cain retorted. "Of course, recreating living beings, especially from other people's minds, proved a bit difficult. But happily, our pleasant conversation earlier left me enough time to do it"

"No... why would you even do that? You're an Angel, and you obviously have no interest to destroy others people dreams, so why?"

Cain sighed, as if this question had annoyed him:

"Tssk tssk, destroying others' dreams, evil, do you only have these words in your mouth? As one could expect, you're blinded, by your own greed to destroy everything" he said. "I'm doing this for the same reason as you: to reach my goal. Your goal is to crush everyone's lives, so naturally you'll act evilly to do so, that's a necessity. Similarily, my goal right now is to cause the most infamous genocide the galaxy ever witnessed, so I can get as much attention as possible to myself, so just as naturally, I'll also act evilly to do so, it's that simple.

As for the victims? Tell me, why would I be feeling guilt? You dont feel guilt when you step on a line of ants, no matter how long it is. And my love for humans is not anywhere higher than my love for bugs, therefore I treat both of their lives equally. It's not evil, it's pure fairness"

"I see... now, I understand why you're called the 'fallen' angel" Saginus said. "I should've really focused more on the first part of this title"

"Haha, you're right, dear friend, you definitely should have. But don't get it wrong, even the other Angels aren't as 'evil' as me, they're not any better than me. You couldn't notice this because you only saw them during battle, but all of my siblings are just as twisted as I am, if not even more. Power corrupts people, it's te reality of things. So naturally, be they Gods or Angels, who are born with true absolute powers, are the worst out of all. You thought you were the worst? Just because you blindly kill people out of pure impulsion? No, Saginus, you are just a beast, a beast forced to destroy other to compensate the void inside of itself. You're nothing but an empty shell"

"No, I... I am the Sin of Greed... I... I am a deity..."

"A deity? I see no deity in front of me. Only a dying beast"

Without any more world, he summoned another anti-matter ray into existence, piercing Saginus' heart while the latter was apparently too disturbed to react. Rendered unable to make his injuries by Cain, the Sin of Greed dropped on the floor, motionless.

Cain ignored his bodyas he walked to the edge of the building, and watched what was happening below: the nightmare abominations he had made real were now ripping off people's limbs, crushing their bones, making their blood spill everywhere. Because now, some of the monsters were actually real monsters and not humans they perceived as such, the few chances that Londris' inhabitants had to realize what was happening and stop fighting each other disappeared.

Cain watched without blinking as a young girl, trying to protect her pregnant mother, get rippen in half, and then teared to pieces by one of the creatures. He watched without blnkng as this same pregnant mother had her throat rippen out. He watched without blinking as, even in this chaos and despite all their despair, people kept fighting, fighting against each other too. As their lives were all disappearing one by one, in the most total indifference from the world.

He didn't even blink when the mother's belly got crushed, taking another life before it could even bloom. Not crushed by a monster, but by a man who was uselessly trying to escape his fate.

All along, his heart didn't waver a single time, as calm as a still lake. Not the slightest change was visible in his expression, as he kept looking. What was death, if not a natural composant of humanity? Death was what forced them to advance, the fear that forced them to live. What did he change if that baby had managed to see the light of the day, and had had the opportunity to grow up?

In the end, he would still die in a few decades. For humans, it might seem long, but what was a century to a being that lived for millenials? Nothing, it was absolutely nothing, but dust about to be carried by the wind. Across the centuries, how many times had the friends he made along the way taken a place in his heart, just so he would lose them at the next crossroad? The world hadn't given him any reason to create any more ties, and he was tired to try finding new ones.

Hence why, as he watched the genocide he himself orchestrated unfold in front of his eyes, his only thought was that the scene of butchery under the light of the sunset truly was beautiful. It truly orchestrated what the true nature of humanity was: even faced with the worst predicament of their existence, humans would still keep fighting each other, simply because that was their natures.

And it the end, it was also the nature of society: no matter how good someone was, there would still be a moment when they'd have to act out of their way.

If one acted kindly in the shadow, they were a fool for not taking credit. If one acted evily in the light, they were a beast for going against society under its very own eyes, the people that composed it. If one acted evily in the shadow, they were a leader, as they were able to take harsh decisions for the greater good. If one acted kindly, in the light then they'd be a hero, as people would feel forced to reward them, only to convince themselves that acts of kindness were actually rewarded fairly.

But he didn't care in the slightest about these categories, nor would he let himself be imprisoned by any of them. He wasn't a fool, he wasn't a beast, he wasn't a leader, he wasn't a hero. He was a fallen angel, above good and evil, he was a magician whose trick was to dance in-between light and shadow.

He was Cain Aquillion Genova, the one who turned dreams and nightmares to reality, the one that granted other people's wishes to turn his own into realities, he was the Angel of Will, for his will had freed him from the barrier of the society.

Suddenly, as he noticed a slight movement on his left, he swiftly lifted his hand in the trajectory of the small object that had been flying at him at a high speed. The knife pierced his hand, barely stopping before reaching his blue and golden eyes.

"Of course you felt obligated to get up and ruin the moment for me, you're the embodiment of Greed after all" Cain sighed as blood was dripping from his hand

"Tssk, of course you were on your guard" Saginus complained. "I was sure my acting skills were perfect, how did you know I was faking it all?"

Indeed, not even a single second had he felt despair due to Cain. Shock and a hint of fear in front of his cunningness, sure, but despair? Because Cain was more evil and twisted than him? Even admitting it was true, being the number one villain of the galaxy had never been his goal. All he wanted was to crush other people's dreams and lives so he could feel alive. Nothing else mattered.

"I didn't, your acting skills truly were perfect" Cain replied. "I'm just too paranoic - or mentally sane - to lower my guard during a genocide. Now, mind explaining how you're alive?"

In fact, even if his arm didn't appear back out of nowhere, the injury looked a lot better, and the bleeding had completely stopped. And more importantly, there wasn't any trace left in his chest, despite the anti-matter ray that had pierced it less than five minutes ago.

"Don't you know? A true magician never fully reveals all of his tricks, you'll have to try and guess it yourself" Saginus replied. "It's a friend of mine who told me that"

Cain smirked with genuine amusement:

"Hehe, this friend must really be a little rascal, huh?"

"A rascal, an annoying magician, and an overall walking corpse waiting to be sent with the dead"

"Really? Let's verify this last point"

And thus, the battle resumed.