Galaxy's First Ruler

"Thoughts are a thread, Emotions are a knot; The Way to unraveling this knot is DEVIL."

*

From the way the Devil took pride in Aldrich, it seemed that he thought highly of the previous owner of his body. But it may not truly be the case.

When the Devil's Oldest Change attracted the unwanted attention of the Will of a True Devil, the mask had started Aldrich's corruption. And what it had corrupted were Aldrich's thoughts. The only issue was Aldrich's body wasn't suitable for the entire Will to descend, so the thing that possessed Aldrich was only a trace of that Will.

The Devil not only had taken over Aldrich's body, but all his understandings, insight, and memories. So, to a certain extent, the Devil considered Aldrich an inherent part of himself. Aldrich's strength had become the Devil's strength. Aldrich's achievements had become the Devil's achievements. And even Aldrich's goals had become part of the Devil's goals.

For the Devil, the name Aldrich had become like a most valuable Item.

But in the face of Sha, the Devil had got a buy one, get one gift when he possessed Aldrich. And that was the reason for him being able to dodge the mimicry of One Step Shunpo.

*

"… BANISH!!!"

The Devil didn't know why and how Aldrich had these deep insights related to many low-grade Laws. But this was the thing about Devils; They rarely cared for the reasons.

As the Banish Skill was activated, the Law of Fire from Tizona and the Law of Ice from Colada vanished. Both swords became visibly dull, and it felt like they were getting petrified by the seconds.

"This… is impossible…"

The Devil heard El Cid's broken words and savored the emotions coming out of the Boss. He tightened the grip and with every ounce of his strength the heart-wrenching sound of cracks came out of the swords.

Crrr-unchhh!!!

Like shards of mirrors, the swords got broken and their pieces fell tens of feet down to earth. The Devil knew their absence was temporary until he dealt with the Boss' Skill related to the resurrection, but he had other plans in mind. The Boss, now holding only the cross hilts of the greatswords, fell. But what awaited him wasn't the ground, but the Devil's kick.

BANG!!

El Cid's entire head almost got ripped off from his torso as the humongous Devil's leg hit his chin. And the Boss got sent flying miles high in the sky, rotating and turning, like the rolls of a bowling ball.

There was no sun in the plaza, but the sky was full of light, making the towering pillar cast hundreds of shadows into the slopes of the crater. At the top of the pillar, which was spotless moments ago, a black spot appeared. But the tiny figure of the Boss wasn't enough to cast this shadow on the pillar. Above El Cid, the 30 ft tall Devil was hovering with the bat-like wings on his back, and there was a heavy sword in his hand.

As the Boss became motionless at the top position, the Devil raised the enormous Stone Splitter high and brought it down like a bolt of lightning.

MEGATON CRUSHER!

There was hardly any sound of impact when the Buster Sword hit the Boss. The black armor on his chest got blasted apart, and his chest caved in. Bones came breaking out of his back, and like a black comet, he got sent towards the pillar, leaving a blurry trail.

BOOM!

El Cid's entire body rebounded like a ball as he hit the pillar's top. The bones that were protruding out of his back, got smashed into his body again.

Arghhhh!!!

Cough!!!

The Boss Crawler coughed a mouthful of blackish-red blood that half came seeping out from the eye-slits of his helmet. Alas, this wasn't the end of his thrashing. The Devil again appeared by El Cid's side as if he had come out of the air. The Devil extended the sword out, and narrowed his eyes, as he poured half of his strength into the sword.

MEGATON CRUSHER!!!

KA-BOOM!!!

A mushroom cloud appeared in the Plaza, covering the distant soldiers and the entire crater. It was like a nuclear bomb had exploded, decimating everything around it. Not even ashes had remained of any Crawler in the miles area surrounding the pillar. The Devil sat at the edge of the pillar, with his feet dangling down, as he saw the last traces of the smoke and dust vanish. For a moment, he was the only living being in the Plaza.

"Ra ru ra ra la la…

Thou art King of Kings,

…

For my Cid the Champion!!!"

Tens of thousands of soldiers came bursting out of the ground and the world sang the praises of their champion.

The Devil saw the Boss El Cid, with the two greatswords intact, rising from the blackened glossy earth and let out a peal of a crazed laugh.

He He HaHaHAHA!!!

"Out of my memories, El Cid?! I am getting bored by all this, tch!"

A mass of ghastly red and black vapors surrounded the Boss Crawler. As the Devil's words full of mockery resounded in the Plaza, El Cid growled like a beast.

"As you wish! From the Ashes of Memories…

… ARISE!!!"

AHHHHHHHH!

Hooooooo!!!

The undead armored army that hadn't moved an inch let out a deafening shout and dashed towards the pillar. Along with them came the same sounds of explosions, as hundreds of hollow-eyed beings came bursting out of the earth. Among them were the Crawlers and even Dreamers.

The Devil recognized Sugaar, Basajaun, Trifon, and Tomislav among many of them. But his eyes seemed in search of something as they didn't linger on any being for long.

Thumm!

The Sky quaked as a big hole appeared and there was an image of a golden trident in it. But the Devil didn't care. El Cid's hands again went to the two swords at his waist, but the Devil still didn't move. As a massive ball of condensed thunder materialized above Sugaar's raised hands, the Devil finally saw what he had been waiting for.

It was a Crawler with a detached head and a whip in his hand. The Stats above its head made the Devil's heart throbbed in pleasure.

"What luck! Got him on the first try, huh!"

[…

Undead Dullahan

Rank: Viscount

…]

Shuuuu!

Time seemed to stagnate as the two swords in El Cid's hands were about to cut off the Devil's neck. But instead of helplessness, there was an evil grin on the Devil's face. His entire body turned into countless blobs of shadows and a ghostly mutter came out of his mouth.

"Sha's Original…

… Law of Shadows; SHADOW BLINK!!!"

Here the Boss El Cid had activated One Step Shunpo using the greatswords