Southern Veil - a demon god

Southern Veil – Where Heaven Splinters

The wind at the Southern Veil was not of this world.

It whispered like a dying star and howled like ancient grief—dry, vast, and unrelenting. Dust churned beneath a blood-colored sky, and the land stretched endlessly, cracked like dragonbone, lifeless as if breath itself had fled.

Takayoshi stood alone at the edge of this forsaken place.

His bare feet sank into the fractured stone, feeling the ancient pulse beneath. He wore no armor, only dark martial robes threaded with spiritual silk—fluttering gently despite the air's deathly stillness.

Above him, the horizon trembled.

"This… is not natural," he muttered.

The Southern Veil had always been a borderland, a forgotten scar where old powers slept—but now, something had stirred.

He raised his hand.

And the wind stopped.

Time itself recoiled as a ripple of pressure expanded from his core, cracking the stone around him in perfect concentric rings.

"You are late," came a voice—not spoken, but carved into reality itself.

A rift tore open ten meters ahead, jagged like a mouth mid-scream. From within, darkness churned, too deep, too absolute to be mere shadow.

And from that abyss…

A foot emerged.

Burning glyphs spiraled up the leg like chains of molten scripture. A hand followed—immense, clawed, bound with silver nails hammered into the bone.

Then the rest of it.

A Demon God stepped into the world.

Massive. Crowned with broken horns. Skin like obsidian carved by rage. Eyes twin galaxies collapsing.

"You… are the Monk of the Flame-Eating Path."

"You came to die."

Takayoshi said nothing.

He merely breathed.

The exhale was quiet—but the pressure of it flattened the landscape in a one-kilometer radius. Stones shattered. Dunes evaporated. Even the Veil itself flickered.

His right foot slid back.

Left hand rose like a coiled serpent.

Right hand hovered—loose, open, as if cradling the heartbeat of the world.

His voice, when it came, was soft:

"Your presence disturbs the balance."

"I will correct it."

The demon god laughed, a sound that shattered nearby mountains in echoes.

"Correct me? You will not even scratch my core."

Takayoshi's eyes slowly opened.

No emotion.

No hate.

Just a serene clarity honed over endless lifetimes.

He stepped forward once.

The world didn't shake.

It simply obeyed.

"Then I will start," he whispered,

"with one of the Eighteen."

He vanished.

And reappeared mid-air with his palm already crashing down—

"Demon God-Killing Martial Art – First Form: Sky-Breaking Descent."

The heavens shattered.

A ring of collapsed space rippled out from impact. Even the Southern Veil twisted, threads of corrupted sky unraveling as the demon reeled backward, one of his horns chipped clean off.

He snarled—wounded and furious.

Takayoshi landed in a crouch, foot sliding backward in the dust. A soft exhale.

"That was one."

He raised his hands again.

The demon charged.

Veil of Isolation – Two Against the Demon God

The first strike didn't come from the sky.

It came from the void between seconds, a clawed fist wrapped in scripture-fire crashing into the stone just inches from Takayoshi's face.

The impact tore through the Southern Veil like a divine hammer—ground split, hills erupted, and what remained of the horizon blinked out in a shockwave of unmaking.

But Takayoshi was already gone.

A breath. A pivot. A heel turn over the cracked stone as he slipped under the follow-up strike, weaving through chaos like he was born for it.

The Demon God Malzareth advanced with the weight of a falling continent. Fifteen percent of Creator Authority was still enough to warp reality, and in this corrupted state, every gesture of his body disrupted time's flow.

"You run well," Malzareth snarled, fangs curling from a molten jaw. "But running ends now."

🥋 Takayoshi's Counter – Demon God-Killing Martial Arts

Takayoshi spun low, momentum feeding his strike—

"Form Four – Vein Disruption Strike!"

His palm connected just under Malzareth's elbow. A ripple of energy shot up the demon's limb, forcing a recoil, but the flesh barely split.

He flipped back, using floating debris as a foothold, breathing through his nose—controlled, steady. His skin burned from proximity alone, but his eyes never wavered.

Strike. Move. Breathe. Adjust.

That was the rhythm.

But even he knew—this wasn't sustainable.

🧱 Retreat Cut Off – The Veil Seals

Takayoshi landed on an angled ledge and launched backward, ready to retreat—

Only to collide into a wall of lightless force.

THUNK.

An invisible field had risen. The air distorted like oil poured through silk, sealing off the Veil. He turned quickly—every escape point was gone.

Malzareth grinned.

"This place is mine now. A prison carved between folds. No divine sight, no cries heard. No one will save you."

He raised a hand.

Symbols etched from the bones of forgotten gods spiraled outward.

"Now… suffer."

⚡ A Flicker in the Veil – Help Arrives

Before Malzareth could unleash the spell—

The air folded.

Not cracked.

Not burst.

Folded.

A single seam of warped space unraveled behind Takayoshi—and from it, a figure stepped through.

Not with divine light.

Not with thunder.

But with purpose.

Alter.

His armor was battered. His breathing, calm. He bore no glow. No divine radiance. But his presence alone made Malzareth pause.

"You—" the demon hissed.

Alter didn't glance at him. He looked at Takayoshi.

"You called."

Takayoshi exhaled, tension easing for a breath.

"You heard."

"Through the tether," Alter said, voice like flint on steel. "Before the Veil locked down. I followed the signal… just in time."

🛑 Divine Interference Disabled

A pulse resonated through the sealed dome.

Even Alter could feel it: no divine guidance, no external forces, no Still World, no system whispers. Everything above the mortal threshold was cut off.

"We're locked out," Takayoshi said grimly. "Even they can't reach us here."

"Good," Alter replied, drawing his blade. "Then no one gets in our way."

Malzareth snarled, wings unfurling.

"Do you think numbers will save you? Both of you are sealed. Weak. Trapped. I am still a god—"

"No," Alter interrupted coldly.

"You're a target."

Takayoshi stepped beside him.

Fists raised.

Breathing aligned.

Alter shifted into a low combat stance, blade forward.

And together, without a word more—

They charged.

Heaven and Fist – Severing the Fallen God

The dome of unreality held firm—distorting stars, muting time itself.

Malzareth spread his wings, each pulse of corrupted flesh dragging the battlefield into entropy. Gravity surged, then failed. His aura boiled with twisted Creator Authority.

But for the first time—

He roared in pain.

A shining arc cut across his chest, tearing through corrupted glyphs and splitting hardened scales like silk.

SHHRRRAAAAK—!!

The blade that struck him vibrated with celestial resonance—its edge humming against the seams of existence itself.

Alter stood at the end of the slash, sword extended, feet dug into the stone. His eyes burned—not with magic, but with clarity.

"Divine Heaven Sword Style – Fifth Form: Mirror Eclipse Severance."

The air behind the cut fractured. A rift spread across Malzareth's chest, reality unraveling at the wound's edge.

"What—!?" the demon staggered, swiping at his torso.

He bled real pain.

Not ichor, not soul fog—but deep, dimensional bleeding, where the attack had pierced both flesh and the barrier-layer he'd shaped around his divine core.

That sword… that form… it breaks through—?!

Malzareth didn't finish the thought.

Because Takayoshi was already in motion.

☯️ From Another Angle – Fist of Finality

Takayoshi launched himself from behind a jagged boulder, both fists trailing vapor from sheer speed.

His knees bent mid-air.

Twisted mid-flip.

And then—crashed down with divine-targeting force.

"Demon God-Killing Martial Art—Tenth Form: Heaven's Coil Destruction!"

He struck Malzareth's right shoulder socket, elbow-first.

A pulse rippled through the demon's joint—muscle snapped, bone dislocated, the limb dropped limp at his side.

"GAHHH—!" Malzareth shrieked, voice distorting three layers of air.

⚔️ Relentless Rhythm – Precision and Pressure

Before the Demon God could counter, Alter moved again—no hesitation.

He ducked under the flailing left wing, pivoted, and drove Starsever upward into the demon's side.

"Second Form – Skyline Crescent Fang!"

The strike was fast and fluid—but the pain was absolute.

Starsever wasn't just cutting—it was anchoring his agony, each slice sending a spike of resonance directly into Malzareth's essence.

The sword's edge shimmered faintly. Even without unleashed Authority, it was still forged by Alter's own divine soul. And it hurt.

Malzareth's tail lashed out.

Takayoshi caught it—his feet dragging backward along stone.

Then twisted.

"Seventh Form – Divine Root Shatter!"

He snapped the tail sideways, sending Malzareth stumbling into a floating monolith—smashing through it and coughing void-laced blood across the cracked field.

🩸 Damage Registers – Breaking the Shell

Malzareth pulled himself up, body twitching.

One arm dislocated.

Chest bleeding from dual wounds.

Tail fractured.

Divine shield fractured—barely regenerating.

"You… bastards."

"Not gods," Alter said coldly, walking forward.

"Just better."

Takayoshi dropped into stance beside him.

They advanced together.

The Demon God's next move would be desperate.

They could feel it.

And they were ready.

The Fall of Ground and God

The ground screamed.

Not from pressure. Not from magic.

But from rejection.

Beneath the weight of divine wounds and clashing wills, the very bedrock of the Southern Veil began to shudder. Cracks formed beneath Malzareth's feet—dozens, then hundreds—stretching outward like spiderwebs etched into the fabric of space itself.

Alter paused mid-approach.

Takayoshi's stance shifted.

"...Wait," Alter muttered.

The next second—

Everything gave out.

🌌 Collapse – The Pit Opens

With a deafening, seismic groan, the entire battlefield collapsed inward, the land tearing away as if the world had been flipped inside out.

A void opened below—bottomless, shifting, dark—not a pit of earth, but a chasm of unraveling space.

Stone platforms, broken monoliths, shattered mountain fragments—they all rose, spinning wildly as gravity twisted in every direction.

The three combatants fell—but not together.

Malzareth twisted mid-air, wings damaged but functional, his body bleeding divine fire as he snarled—

"You will die without footing."

He dove toward Alter like a meteor of black flame.

☄️ Mid-Air Combat – Chaos in Descent

Alter responded instantly.

He kicked off a floating shard of cliff-face, flipping backward in zero gravity. His armor clanged against his chest as he twisted mid-air, blade pulled free.

Starsever howled as it met Malzareth's claw.

CLANG—SSHHHHRRAAAK—!

The clash spun both of them sideways, tumbling down through the chasm. Sparks rained from the impact like falling stars, illuminating broken fragments of ancient ruins suspended mid-descent.

Below them, Takayoshi shot forward, running across falling boulders like stepping stones.

He leapt and drop-kicked Malzareth's spine, sending the demon hurtling downward faster.

"Don't let him recover!" he shouted, flipping onto a flat stone and bouncing again.

Alter adjusted his rotation mid-air—feet planting on a slab long enough for one breath—

"Fourth Form – Heaven's Spiral Rip!"

A powerful horizontal slash forced Malzareth to block mid-tumble, further destabilizing him.

🌪️ The World Falls With Them

Everything was falling.

Stone. Sky. Light.

Even gravity itself.

Down wasn't down anymore.

Takayoshi spun along a curved piece of debris, launching fists at Malzareth's flanks.

Alter flowed between falling pillars, using them as aerial footholds to strike again and again.

Malzareth flailed in fury, conjuring black flames and void spears—most of which missed in the chaos.

The light above shrank.

The pit narrowed.

The battle had become a freefall, a hurricane of collapsing terrain and clashing silhouettes.

Malzareth lashed out—

A whip of black fire coiled through the void and struck Takayoshi mid-air, sending him crashing into a floating ruin.

Alter called out—

But the demon was already on him.

Claws wide. Eyes glowing.

"ENOUGH!"

The Forgotten Tomb – Ground of Judgment

The sky vanished.

A final shockwave flared in the void as the three plummeted downward—locked in motion, locked in fate.

And then—

Impact.

🕳️ Descent Ends – Tomb Unsealed

They crashed through a layer of glasslike crystal, ancient and unblemished until now. As it shattered, a blinding wave of blue-gold energy pulsed outward like a heartbeat long forgotten.

Stone gave way beneath them.

Columns snapped.

Spires collapsed.

And the three figures were swallowed by dust and divine silence.

🏛️ New Battlefield – The Divine Tomb

When the light faded… they found themselves standing upon smooth obsidian floor, veined with pale celestial markings that pulsed with dormant power.

Above, a fractured ceiling of crystalline architecture held back the chaos of the falling world. Hovering ruins drifted through shafts of pale light like stars floating underwater.

And ahead—

A monumental mural of twelve winged warriors, etched into the wall. Their weapons were raised. Their faces lost to time.

At the center of the chamber lay a circular dais inscribed in forgotten language—a divine dueling ground.

The entire place radiated judgment.

Stillness.

Resentment.

"Where… are we?" Takayoshi muttered, pulling himself to his feet, blood smeared on his knuckles.

Alter's eyes narrowed. "This isn't just underground."

"This is a tomb."

Malzareth rose from the rubble with a hiss, aura flickering.

"The gods buried this place… because even they feared what was sealed here."

"But now… it will serve me."

He stepped forward onto the dais.

The ground lit up beneath him in warning runes.

A challenge. An invitation.

A divine battleground that recognizes only true combat.

"Come, then," he sneered. "Let us see whose resolve is stronger."

⚔️ Re-engagement – The Duel Begins Anew

Alter tightened his grip on Starsever, stepping forward. The blade vibrated faintly—responding to the energy here. Its celestial core knew this place.

Takayoshi stood beside him, fists trembling not from fear, but anticipation.

"Then we fight," Alter said.

"No more falling. No more running."

"Only judgment," Takayoshi added.

And together—

They stepped onto the dais.

The divine tomb accepted them.

Final Rite – The Eighteen Strikes of Ending 🏛️ Phase One – Circle of Judgment

The tomb trembled as the duel began.

From the moment Alter and Takayoshi stepped into the circle, the divine tomb responded. The ancient runes ignited beneath their feet. No healing. No escape. No time distortion.

Malzareth moved first—fast, impossibly so for his massive form. Wings wide, claws forward, his body twisted into a low spiral charge, aiming to break the duo's formation instantly.

"SEVERANCE WILL DIE WITH YOU!"

Alter met him head-on.

Steel and claw clashed with the thunder of a falling star. Sparks burst. Starsever scraped along Malzareth's shoulder, drawing black ichor.

Takayoshi followed from the side—a low hook to the hip, then a rising elbow. The demon grunted as his stance broke.

They moved like they were one.

"Flank left," Alter called.

"Already there," Takayoshi answered, breath sharp.

Malzareth retaliated with a chain whip conjured from his back—Takayoshi ducked, Alter blocked with his forearm, sliding back with scorched armor.

⚔️ Phase Two – Will Against Authority

Malzareth screamed.

His remaining Creator Authority pulsed outward, bathing the arena in shadowfire. The murals cracked. The divine containment seals pulsed in warning.

"YOU CANNOT WIN! YOU ARE FRAGMENTS! SHADOWS OF WHAT YOU ONCE WERE!"

Alter's response was quiet.

"Then let fragments become blades."

He switched stances—shoulders relaxed, blade low.

Takayoshi mirrored him.

This was not just survival.

This was technique.

For every claw, they countered with joint strikes.

For every sweep, they rolled, redirected, retaliated.

Blood sprayed.

Bones cracked.

But the rhythm never broke.

🩸 Phase Three – The Stalemate Breaks

Malzareth stumbled.

Heavily wounded. Breathing ragged. Still alive.

He glared at the walls—the divine core of the tomb pulsing in the back chamber, thrumming with locked power.

He realized it then.

"If I absorb the tomb… I become the tomb."

He turned and ran.

Massive limbs pounded toward the mural altar.

"NO—!" Takayoshi shouted, dashing after him.

But Alter stopped.

He sheathed Starsever.

shhhkt—

The tomb itself shivered.

Takayoshi paused mid-stride.

Alter's voice was calm. Cold. Final.

"No sword is needed."

"It ends now."

Takayoshi knew what that meant.

He nodded once.

Then both stepped forward.

Together.

🔥 Final Technique – Dual Eighteen-Strike Execution

They flanked Malzareth as he neared the altar.

"You dare approach that which even gods buried?" Alter whispered.

"Then you'll be buried beside it."

They moved.

One from the right. One from the left.

Bodies like flowing iron.

Eyes locked. Breath steady.

"Demon God-Killing Martial Art—Full Execution: Eighteen Strikes of Ending."

Strike One – Palm to the jaw.

Strike Two – Elbow to the floating ribs.

Strike Three – Spinning heel to the sternum.

Strike Four – Uppercut into the second heart.

Strike Five – Hook through the glyphs.

Strike Six – Pressure pulse to the divine nerve.

Strike Seven – Knee under the floating ribcage.

Strike Eight – Sweep and slam.

They moved in perfect unison. Each blow targeted soullines, anatomical weaknesses of divine kin.

"YOU—CAN'T—" Malzareth coughed ichor.

Strike Nine to Fifteen – Body broken. Wings shattered. Knees collapsed. Joints dislocated.

"STOP—"

Strike Sixteen – Fist through the throat.

Strike Seventeen – Palm against the skull.

They stood side by side for the last.

Strike Eighteen – Simultaneous dual punches into the demon's core.

"Eighteen."

💀 The End of Malzareth

Malzareth's body froze.

His form cracked from within.

Not burned.

Not torn.

But collapsed.

From heart, to mind, to soul—unwritten from existence.

He didn't scream.

He simply ceased.

Ash spiraled upward, drifting like stars.

The divine tomb sealed the remains in silence.

🕊️ Aftermath – Silence of the Tomb

The battle was over.

Only Alter and Takayoshi remained, standing in a circle lit by fading runes.

Neither spoke for a moment.

Then Takayoshi exhaled, wiping blood from his lip.

"That was the last of them."

Alter sheathed his hands behind his back.

"For now."

The ceiling above trembled once more—but held.

The gods above could not see.

But somewhere in the heart of the world—

A new echo had been carved into fate.

The Echo of Ascension

Dust fell like ash through the cold air.

The final echo of Malzareth's unmaking still lingered, a fading pulse in the foundation of the divine tomb. What had once held a god now stood quiet, reverent—even the sealed murals along the walls dimmed, acknowledging the end.

And in the center of the broken arena—

Alter and Takayoshi stood panting, bodies trembling beneath the weight of what they had just accomplished.

Not a word passed between them.

Only the ragged rise and fall of lungs, the creak of stressed armor, and the quiet drip of sweat on fractured stone.

Then—

⟢ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⟣

You have slain a Divine-Class Entity: [Malzareth – Demon God of Broken Law]

+12,850,000,000 EXP

+9,000,000 bonus EXP (Sealed State Multiplier)

Level Up! … Level Up! … Level Up! …

[Alter] → LEVEL 510 → 511 → 512 → … → 538 → 539

Alter staggered slightly.

His head dipped forward. His arms hung loosely.

Then he opened his eyes—slowly.

They burned, not with power, but with clarity.

"What…"

The system window expanded before him—massive, sprawling.

🧾 SYSTEM REWARDS

• Title Gained: Godslayer – First Seal Broken

(You have defeated a god-class entity while under sealed conditions.)

• Skills Unlocked:

– Dimensional Slash

– Still World

– Phase Walk (Lv 1)

– Eidetic Combat Recall

• Creator Authority Increased → 19% (⚠️ Locked)

• Celestial Materials Obtained:

– Crystallized Heart of Malzareth (Mythic-Grade Essence Core)

– Voidsteel Filaments (Reality-Bound)

– Fragmented Sovereign Glyph

– Chains of Unyielding Will (Broken)

• Storage Allocation: Rewards preserved. Divine tribute bypassed due to realm-lock condition.

(All rewards are yours.)

Alter's fingers trembled as he scrolled the interface.

"Nineteen percent," he whispered, voice rough with disbelief.

He tapped it—

The display lit up briefly, but the progress bar shimmered grey.

[LOCKED]

"Still locked… but it rose," he muttered. "Even sealed… killing a god pushed it higher."

A moment of realization hit.

So I can still grow… even like this.

He looked down at his hands.

Then his eyes widened.

"Dimensional Slash…"

A soft breath left his lips.

"Still World…"

They were back.

Two of his most critical techniques—finally unsealed.

For the first time in so long, he felt it:

Not hope. Not vengeance.

But momentum.

The tide had turned.

He turned slightly.

Takayoshi was seated cross-legged a short distance away, recovering his breath, eyes closed, knuckles bruised beyond recognition. But he opened one eye as Alter approached.

"You're quiet," Takayoshi said. "That usually means something ridiculous just happened."

Alter stopped beside him, shadows falling across his face.

"Level five-thirty-nine."

Takayoshi blinked once.

"…Of course it is."

Alter glanced at the pile of divine ash where Malzareth had once stood.

The core materials shimmered faintly, humming with world-breaking energy. No priest. No god. No system voice came to demand tribute.

They were his.

All of it was his.

And he would forge with it.

He looked to the upper corner of his interface, the Creator Authority bar still grey, but now reading:

[19% – LOCKED]

Even if I can't use it…

I can still feed it.

And one day, when the lock shatters—

He would reclaim everything.