Chapter 386 Selection
Needless to say, the assembled warriors didn't seem to fully grasp the suddenness of this situation.
And a few of them were less than pleased.
Darius : "Oi, I didn't prepare my body for an ass kicking today!"
Belphegor: "Is there some way for me to forfeit my right to participate...?"
Livyatan: "I also have questions about that."
Abaddon scowled at the the three of them and caused them to shrink back in fear.
"You most certainly do not have that right. I need only our best going forward and you lazy lot fall underneath that umbrella."
Walking forward, Abaddon placed his hands on top of the heads of Darius and Livyatan and started to squeeze until he heard cracking sounds. "You wouldn't want to dissapoint my expectations, would you?"
"H-Hey, get off of me!"
"Y-You brute!"
As Abaddon tried to imbue a sense of 'motivation' into the heads of the two shortest people assembled, he received a soft and feminine hand on his shoulder.
Looking back, his golden eyes met Erica's and she temporarily had her breath caught in her throat.
Somehow, every time that she saw this man he became more and more handsome, and she lost the ability to function normally around him.
"I... you... should... they... me.."
"...?"
Erica felt her face turn red as she bit down on her own tongue to focus.
"Gah! I-I mean don't worry about those unmotivated idiots! Select me as your sole representative!"
"Wait, Erica."
Asmodeus finally stepped forward and in a more serious mood than his son had ever seen him.
"This is only about honor for you and a chance to look good for my so-"
"S-Shut your mouth!"
"Right well, your motivations aside, this is a personal crusade for me. I won't allow you to deprive me of my chance at retribution."
"Enough squabbling."
Abaddon released the heads of Livyatan and Darius before moving to stand directly in the center of the colosseum.
"You will all have a chance to make a claim for yourselves, and for those that perform well in the coming battle, I will grant you one wish. Are the rest of you feeling sufficiently motivated?"
Immediately, Darius, Livyatan, and Belphegor all felt their eyes light up.
Darius: 'I can ask him for his sister's hand!'
Livyatan: 'I can make him give me all of the nice shit he has in his house!'
Belphegor : 'I can get him to never call me for anything like this ever again...!'
Once he noticed that they were motivated, Abaddon smiled under his breath as he clasped his hand behind his back.
"Your task is simple. You don't have to beat me, nor do you have to harm me. Just impress me."
Visible excitement could be seen on the faces of most of those assembled now.
The difficulty of this task was now drastically less than before since they didn't have to worry about incapacitating him.
"So? Who's going firs-"
BOOOOMMM!!!
A large fist made from coagulated tree roots erupted from the dirt and sailed towards Abaddon like a homing missile.
Abaddon watched the attack approach in what felt like slow motion, and he merely held out one of his palms to stop it when it came close enough.
"Points for expeditiousness, Belphegor, but I find this a bit boring and lacking in creativity."
The former demon lord of sloth grumbled under his breath and flexed his fingers.
Thick, powerful thorns the size of swords suddenly spouted from the wooden fist, but broke easily against Abaddon's near impenetrable skin.
"Eh, a bit better but not by much. Anyone else have anything?"
A whooshing sound passed over Abaddon's head and he looked up inquisitively.
There, he found Livyatan leaping in for the kill with one of her arms covered in a blade of water.
Before Abaddon could admonish her for her simple thinking, the attack changed.
Instead of being a simple sword, it changed into a high speed drill that looked more than strong enough to bore through steel.
CLANG!
Using his tail, Abaddon quickly used the bladed end to stop her momentum in the air.
Perhaps because Livyatan was in a child-like form, his next words fell out of his mouth easily.
"A very cute move, little one. But I need to see a little more, okay?"
"W-W-Who are you treating like a child?!" Livyatan yelled with a red face.
Abaddon furrowed a brow and realized that this was indeed a bit unlike him.
For some reason, he just felt a rather familial bond with her that was different from an aunt and her nephew.
"...My apologies, I'm not sure why I-"
"Don't get distracted!!"
Erica lunged at her unrequited love with a surprising choice of weapon in her hand.
It looked like a simple straight headed spear, but upon closer inspection one would realize that it was a yari.
'Odd... I would have expected her to use something a bit daintier and more feminine.'
"Even though you're handsome for some reason I really want to hurt you right now!"
Erica seemed to be quite adept in the use of her weapon, and she used the dangerously sharp point to stab, not slice at her would be husband.
Right now, Abaddon felt like he was in a bit of a pickle.
He was already holding back Livyatan and Belphegor using his arm and tail.
He was going to have to start moving soon, or else things were going to become really tight.
'Well... they're all adults. They should be fine if I am to play rough a bit.'
Suddenly, Abaddon snatched the young Livyatan out of the air and hurled her at the approaching Erica.
Performing a flip in the air, he landed on top of Belphegor's wooden fist and ran across it to get directly towards him.
The sheep-horned dragon let out an annoyed noise as he raised his hands to summon a large wall of thorns and wood.
"You won't impress me by hiding during this trial, Belphegor!"
"I won't do it if you knock my head off before I have an opening either..."
"Fair point."
Suddenly sensing danger, Abaddon stopped dead in his tracks and leapt out of the way just in time.
There was a sound like that of whistling wind before the entire structure he was standing on was cut finely into cubes.
'Cool..'
It didn't matter how many times Abaddon saw things like this in his new life, he would always be a fan.
Out of the corner of his eye, he found Kirina standing proudly with a dangerously long sword in her hand.
"My son in law will have to forgive me for this, but you did say we had to try our best to impress you!" Kirina said in a sing-song voice.
"I did indeed, but it will take more than that to-"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!
A shadow suddenly passed over the battlefield before a scaly bronze hand smashed Abaddon into the ground.
Looking up, everyone found a smallish dragon with radiant bronze scales and four tattered wings that held him up into the air.
"Ha! Might not have been the showiest, but I do like to think that my way is the most efficient one!"
"Tell me something, Darius..."
The dust finally started to clear, and Abaddon was revealed holding up the massive paw of Darius with a single hand.
"If this method failed to impress me the first time that you and I clashed, why on earth would it do anything this time?"
"...Because bigger is better?"
"That's not always true."
"Your wives don't seem to share that line of thinking!"
Abaddon looked over at Eris and Valerie in the stands and found both of them giving him slightly perverse and hungry looks.
Belloc on the other hand was still sitting in Valerie's lap, looking very uncomfortable.
'I have been born into a very, very sexually charged family.' he thought despairingly.
Abaddon couldn't muster up any kind of defense and merely decided to change the subject instead.
"That aside... This move still sucks."
Cocking back his fist, Abaddon punched Darius' palm while trying his best to control his newfound strength.
Since becoming a god, his power and strength was like none other.
It was no exaggeration to say that his punches now contained the force of a collapsing star.
Hence his current internal dialogue.
'Don't kill your subordinate even if it is Darius, don't kill your subordinate even if it is Darius, don't kill your subordinate even if it is Darius, don't kill your subordinate even if it is Darius...!'
BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!
"AGGHHH!! YOU BLOODY RED PRICK!"
"Nailed it." Abaddon gave himself a solitary fist bump as he applauded his own control.
His punch only obliterated Darius' left arm completely, and caused chunks of flesh and scales to rain down onto the battlefield.
If he would have had an accident, he would have blown his whole body to bits.
The dwarven dragon was wailing like a baby as he flew around in circles holding his stump, and Abaddon shook his head in disappointment.
"What are you whining for? You know that becoming a dragon made directly from my bloodline accelerates your healing."
To his point, Darius' wound had already stopped bleeding and it was beginning to scab over.
While his healing wasn't as fast as a transcendent dragon with a vampire lineage, within ten minutes he'd still have his arm back as good as new.
"It still hurt like a bitch you overgrown- W-What the hell is this?!"
"H-Hey!"
"What are you doing?!"
"Asmodeus!"
Suddenly, dark tendrils of shadow sprang up around the battlefield and restrained the other participants.
Even Darius had been hog tied and sent crashing down into the stands like a freshly wrapped present.
They became buried neck deep in a pool of literal darkness as Asmodeus walked towards his son with silent and steady steps.
Abaddon looked at his father casually as he clasped his hands behind his back.
"I always took you for someone who played well with others."
"Normally I do, but this time is different. I don't want anything or anyone to stand in the way of this moment and cheapen my victory."
Holding up his hand, Asmodeus clenched his fist so tightly that he broke the bones inside his palm.
"With this power you have given me, I am going to have my revenge against that damned angel for everything that he has taken from me! From us!"
Abaddon could feel the raw emotion coming off his father and he nearly buckled, but he held strong to his principles.
"I know how much this conflict means to you, but my decision is a firm one. I will not put you out into battle if I find you to be unprepared or lacking in power. It would be too dangerous."
With a smile that was dangerously similar to Abaddon's, Asmodeus laughed away his son's concern.
"What a cheeky son I've sired! I will show you clearly where you inherit your power and talent from."
A column of black light fell onto the silver haired man and engulfed him completely in it's darkness.
Looking up, Abaddon smiled as the column disappeared and he saw a snake-like silver dragon with nine pairs of wings and six horns.
The red light in the dragon's eyes was a challenge in itself, almost as if it was goading the one beneath him to face him as an equal.
Never one to shy away from challenges, Abaddon cracked his knuckles as scales started to cover his body.
'Who knew that testing others would be quite this fun?'
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