(TPD) Chapter 54: Katerea Leviathan

Chapter 54: Katerea Leviathan

Katera clenched her teeth in frustration, her nails digging into her palms as her anger surged. The sight of Avalon sedately looking at her as if she were a lost child annoyed her to no end. Replaced? Her? As if she could accept such a reality. She was a true Devil, someone destined to reclaim the throne that Serafall had stolen from her. 

Working under Ophis was all a means to no end, not just for her, but for the entire Old Satan Faction. They were supposed to be using her, not the other way around. 

“Well? Aren’t you going to attack?” Avalon urged her, noticing how fixated Katerea’s gaze on him had become. The result of her sensing the Infinity Dragon’s presence radiating off Avalon, which resonated with the fragment she had been given.

But there was something different about Avalon. 

This was because the power Ophis had given Katerea wasn’t the same as what he had been given. Katera, like most of the Old Devils, had been given an “Ophis Snake,” a manifestation of Ophis’ power that would give its user a tremendous boost to their existing power. 

In a way, they reminded Avalon of the King Piece Armaros had consumed when they had fought during the Supremacy War. However, the difference in the scale of their effect was similar to that of Heaven and Earth. 

What he had been given was an “Infinite Core.” Or more accurately, an “Incomplete Infinite Core.” A special organ similar to the “Mana Core” Magicians used to harness Mana was designed to hold Ophis’ energy on a much larger scale than someone like Katera ever could.

The power he wielded wasn’t designed just to allow him to boost his strength whenever he needed temporarily; it was intended to permanently increase his strength and elevate him beyond what even his Super Devil biology was capable of doing and pushing his gift of “control” to a point where it could even dominate a Malebranche. 

In other words, he was like a pseudo-Infinity Dragon. By the time he reclaimed all the Ophis Snakes and successfully refined his Infinite Core into a complete version of itself, he’d be a proper hybrid. That was the version of Avalon Ophis that she was counting on to help her defeat Great Red, one which she was confident would be strong enough to make an impactful difference in their eventual battle.

But before the clash between the Dragon of Dreams and Ouroboros Dragon could happen, the latter’s “Champion” had much work to do. 

“You seem tense.” Slowly, Avalon raised his hand and opened his palm. An instinctual dread shot up Katerea’s spine, causing her immense Demonic Power to finally flare to life. “There you go.” But much to her surprise, he didn’t launch an offensive.

“Insolent brat!” Katerea snapped.

‘Good grief, you’ve only just started using that abominable Dragon’s power, and you’re already picking up bad habits like playing with your food. Sniffle! Watching my Darling get corrupted like this makes me want to shed a tear.’ 

You say that as if you’re any better, Tomoe. 

‘How rude! I am better! That harlot was jealous of me, so she put that stupid core in you as if anyone would buy that Great Red crap. She just wants to get in my Darling’s pants!’ 

Sigh. Can we save this for another time? I’m kind of in the middle of something.

‘Hmph, fine. But I’m going to make you pay for cheating on me with another power source once you’re done!’ 

Swoosh! 

Out of the blue, a cross composed of light-purple fire hurled towards him, brimming with a certain power that caused the hairs on the back of Avalon’s neck to stand up. Warning him not to let himself be touched by them at all costs. 

But he showed no signs of panic, calmly summoning his two-meter-long tinted katana—Muramasa. His trusty weapon that had remained by his side since the war, and also one that cost him the added downside of having to put up with Tomoe. 

You win some, you lose some.

Let’s see what your power can do, Ophis. 

A dark, shadowy matter started to envelop the blade. Muramasa’s toughness proved utterly different, allowing him to deflect the flames with minimal effort as if Ophis’ power had reforged entirely into a more significant weapon than it already was. 

Not bad. Not bad at all. 

He approved inwardly while inspecting his weapon, looking up at the seated woman who had thrown the attack with a confident smirk. 

“Harmonia told us that we should be worried about Incinerate Anthem, but you don’t seem to be all that imposing close up.” He knew Walburga hardly used a fraction of Incerinate Anthem’s strength, but he attempted to provoke her beforehand.

She shrugged, “I was just getting bored watching you two have a stare off. If you’re going to dance in my castle, then I think it’s only proper for the owner to join in on the fun.” 

False confidence, she’s more interested in determining whether I’m someone she can beat before committing to fighting me. Fortunately for her, she doesn’t have anything I want. 

While doable, reading people with his blindfold on had been quite a challenge. He could keep it off for as long as he wanted, which made gauging his opponents a much easier task. 

Avalon looked at Eurus. “Go make yourself useful and deal with the Mage, I’ll handle the lesser Leviathan over here.” 

As one would imagine, that struck a sore spot in Katerea’s ego. 

Avalon’s goal was to make her use the power Ophis had given her as much as possible, allowing him to study both his usage and hers with his eyes in order to learn more about how the Infinity Dragon’s power worked. Angering her seemed like a good way to motivate her to fight harder.

“You want me to fight the Incinerate Anthem? Are you insane? I’m a Devil now! That stuff’s dangerous to me!” 

“You’re only part-Devil, I’m sure you can handle it.” 

Eurus shook her head, “Nuh-uh. There’s no way I’m just going to walk head first into a death trap.” 

“I preferred you when you were more hot-blooded.” He sighed disapprovingly, tossing Muramasa towards her. “Take this, this should even the odds, since you insist on acting like a baby just because of a little Holy Fire.” 

Eurus caught the elongated weapon in her hands, shocked that he was actually willing to lend it to her. As a Demonic Sword, Muramasa was exceptional at countering Holy Power. And with it being enhanced by Ophis’ power, she was basically holding onto a Longinus of her own.

“Woah,” she ran her hand across the legendary weapon’s sleek alloy. Just holding it in her hands was nothing short of intoxicating, like a full-course mouth watering five-star Michelin meal had been placed in front of her, after she had starved herself for an entire month. “Are you sure you don’t need it?” 

“I’m sure,” he nodded firmly. 

He stretched his neck from side to side, and rolled his shoulders. His battle instincts had rusted a little since the Supremacy War, but after the recent fighting he had done in Naoetsu Town through sparring with Acerola and Rizevim. He could feel his old sharpness warming back up.

Crash! 

Before Katera could have a chance to react, she was met with a bone-shattering kick straight to the abdomen. Catapulting her across the air, and straight through the wall of Walburga’s throne room. Landing her face-first onto Hexennacht’s courtyard.

“You two have fun,” he smiled at Eurus and Walburga before flickering out of their sight.

He reappeared right beside Katerea’s aching body, sedately allowing her to recompose herself without making any attempt to follow up on his initial attack. More interested in observing the snake's passive effect on her, even while she wasn’t actively using it.

“Your regeneration is faster than normal, even taking the Leviathan blood you have in you into account. But the question is whether that boost results from your innate power being elevated to its theoretical peak, or if the snake simply pushes your strength above what you could ever hope to reach.” He circled her as she hauled herself to her feet, scratching his chin in deep contemplation. 

“Is this some kind of game to you?” Katera narrowed her eyes, attempting to glare a hole through him.

“No, it’s valuable research and training.” He considered using Pandorica to try to understand the intricacies of the Ophis Snake, but quickly realized that not even Ajuka’s creation had the ability to comprehend the Infinity Dragon’s power. Moreover, he was in the human world, so Pandorica couldn’t connect to its parent system to access its full processing ability.

Hurry up and show me what I want to see. Harmonia wants me to keep you alive to extract information, but I’m not sure how long my patience can last. 

Katerea spread her hands out from each other, conjuring up a sphere of water which rapidly began to spin in place as the force it was exuding compressed itself to a lethal degree. 

“Since your parents clearly failed, I’ll take up the responsibility of teaching you to respect your betters! Water Piercing Lance!” A hyper-compressed jetstream of water shot towards him, aimed directly at his heart in an attempt to skewer him in place.

“First of all, nobody calls out their attacks like that in this day and age. And secondly, an attack of that caliber just isn't going to cut it.” He shook his head like a disappointed parent, covering his hand in a warm blanket of Touki and swatting the stream away like an insect. Leaving Katera in a state of complete disbelief. “If you want actually to put up some resistance, I’d highly suggest you make use of the power Ophis loaned to you. Otherwise, this is just going to end up being a one-sided beat down.” 

It didn’t take him long to notice that his words weren’t getting through to her, the shock of her attack being deflected with such indifference still lingering. 

“Good grief, it’s no wonder you lost the Civil War.” He reached out with his hand, grabbing Katerea by the throat and hoisting her up. 

“Krrk! Let me go!” 

“I’d love to, but I really need you to use her power before I take it back.” He used his free hand to rub his face, clearly exasperated. “You know, Ajuka fought a descendant called Tsufaame Tereaku Leviathan during the Civil War. She was apparently capable of submerging an entire city in her water; maybe if you used her power, you’d be able to replicate some of that extinct glory.” 

Thud! 

He threw her across the courtyard, crossing his arms expectantly. “Come on, little Leviathan, I know you’ve got it in you.” 

At this point, it was obvious even to the astronomically dense Katerea. No matter how much she struggled in her current state, it wouldn’t amount to anything, the strength disparity between them was simply just too large. If she wanted a fighting chance, she’d have to do as he wished.

Avalon smirked, “Much better.” 

Dark currents swirled around Katerea’s voluptuous figure, the air around her cackling around them with fierce intensity, a long, black, serpentine creature  coiling around her waist and infusing her body with Ophis’ unique draconic energy. The core that had been implanted in Avalon’s abdomen reacting to the change in the Leviathan.

Her bat-like demonic wings sprawled out from the back of her waist, almost tripling in size as her Demonic Power grew dramatically more violent and unconstrained. This caused Avalon to let out a thoughtful hum, and his pupils carefully observed the change.

I see… It’s unlocking something, isn’t it? It’s bringing out part of her Leviathan bloodline she couldn’t obtain on her own. This ought to be good. 

Like a ruptured container, Katerea’s strength exploded tenfold. The Ophis Snake proved incapable of pushing her strength any further, lest she run the risk of literally exploding. 

“Leviathan Sea Domain!” 

An ocean had descended upon them, suspended in the air by some invisible force and trapping him in some kind of isolated space from the castle.

Is she trying to drown me? I can probably just use the Infinite Core to sustain my oxygen, but I highly doubt that is all she has to offer. 

Like the ocean had a will of its own, sharp lances composed of water appeared all around Avalon. Lunging towards him one after the other as he prepared to evade them, creating small circles under his feet with the spatial properties of the Infinity Dragon’s power, which probably resulted from her being born of the Dimensional Gap, in order to give himself a platform to move on. 

“Hahaha! Now that’s what a Leviathan’s power should look like!” He plastered on a manic grin, his voice muffled by the water, but he reached Katerea’s ears nonetheless, pestering her even further. 

Whoosh! 

Whoosh!

Whoosh! 

As if Katerea’s reserves were now limitless, the onslaught of lances just never seemed to cease, but the same could be said for Avalon’s efforts to dodge. The fact that Ophis had removed the limit on his ocular usage made a day and night difference to his strength and his fighting style.

He didn’t have to rush a fight to its conclusion if he didn’t want to; he could now sit back and thoroughly enjoy a battle if he wished. A newfound ability he was going to let himself indulge in from now on, what use was there in possessing a God’s power if you weren’t able to relish in it? 

“Hehe. Someone could use a little aim training, couldn't they?” He stuck his tongue out, taunting Katerea. 

Even if her power had achieved a whole different level, her control was still sorely lacking, even in her base form. She was nowhere near prepared to fully command a spell of this magnitude. The only thing preventing her domain from collapsing was the binding power of the Ophis Snake.

Avalon was well aware that Katerea wouldn’t be able to maintain this domain indefinitely, which meant sitting there and fruitlessly trying to hit him with her lances would only result in her gassing out and losing. 

If you want to make an impact, little Leviathan, you’ll need something far more destructive than a few watery toothpicks. 

“Roooooooaaaaaaaaaaaar!” 

“Well done!” He praised her. 

His eyes shimmered like a kid in a toy factory as a swarm of gargantuan sea snakes, sharks, and a wide assortment of other sea beasts charged towards him, their maws filled with rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth capable of tearing through titanium. 

He didn’t have Muramasa with him, nor could he effectively use Tomoe’s Fox Fire while surrounded by the Leviathan’s water, but even so, his confidence didn’t waver. 

Ever since birth, Avalon’s Demonic Power had lacked destructive power. The polar opposite of the properties of Adaloth’s Demonic Power. 

But now, he could change that. 

He had the Infinite Core. A completely different power source that eclipsed the raw strength of Demonic Power a hundredfold, and could be used in order to elevate his bloodline ability—the Power of Destruction.

If you’re going to combine your lineage with Ophis’ strength, then it’s only fair that I do the same! 

Radiant, violet particles of Demonic Power illuminated his pupils like fireflies as fierce currents of crimson energy with black currents whirling around them, a burning sensation stirring within his stomach as he used his gift of control to maximize the incomplete core’s efficiency. 

And at that moment, Katerea encountered a strange phenomenon. 

For a brief. No. For just a split second, the entire world turned red.

OUROBOROS X EXTINCTION! 

The beasts were reduced to ashes, and all the water stored within the domain rushed towards the barrier's walls like someone had detonated a nuclear bomb inside them. 

Shatter! 

Avalon was now back in the real world. He was unfocused on whether Katerea had survived the attack and was more interested in observing the miraculous sight above him. 

The sky over the Isle of Skye had been stained red, crimson waves of residual energy running through the clouds like he was looking at the Northern Lights. 

“So that’s what that feels like,” he chuckled. “Well, I think I can confidently say I do it far more elegantly than her.” 

He looked down, using his senses to search for any signs of Katerea, but eventually came up empty-handed. All that remained was a floating mass of black energy where she had once stood. 

Katerea was dead.

“Ah, I wasn’t supposed to do that, was I?” He shrugged. “Oh well, you win some, you lose some. At least I got the fragment back, which means I’ve appeased at least one boss—and the scarier one at that.” 

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Fragment obtained! And I actually wrote a full scene for TPD without leaving it on a cliffhanger, good job me!