He's a Mess of a Man

Upright ~ Three

The Devil's throne room awaited on the other side. Its blood-red walls vanished into the sky, and the polished floor reflected Leviathan's face in distorted fragments. The towering form of The Devil rose from its throne. Its smile would almost be friendly, if not for the menace in its voice, "You have grown clever. Even Lucio is no longer a complete fool." But Lucio didn't rise to the bait. He stayed at Leviathan's side, hand on the hilt of his sword. The Devil heaved a deep, theatric sigh, "Valdemar underestimated you, and you exploited that weakness. I will not be making the same mistake."

"Enough talk." Leviathan's voice rang through the cavernous hall.

Lucio glared, "You've been a pain in everyone's ass. We're gonna end it right here, right now."

"If you insist. I shall teach you a lesson you will never forget." The air crackled with tension as Lucio and Levithan advanced upon The Devil. Nadia and Asra guarded their left flank, Scout and the other dogs to their right. "Leviathan, I see you didn't take my advice to heart."

Leviathan didn't answer. "We've come to bind this bastard, not to exchange banter. We crossed realms, struggled through danger and despair... all for this one chance at salvation."

The Devil's lips curled in a cruel grin when it locked eyes with Leviathan, "Do you remember how weak you were in The World Turtle's spring? How easily I overpowered you, despite the presence of your little friends? Allow me to remind you." Chains materialized from nothing, writhing in The Devil's massive claws.

"Leviathan!" shouted Lucio.

"I've got this!" Leviathan shouted back before leaping in front of everyone, projecting his magic forward in a shield. The chains struck his shield with a blinding flash. One by one, they weakened, cracked, and broke.

"Impressive. But how long can you maintain such power?" The Devil asked with a smirk, "Let's find out together."

Leviathan grit his teeth. His heels slowly slid backward on the polished floor. Though the chains kept breaking, The Devil only summoned more. Air burned in Leviathan's lungs, and his hands started to tremble with the strain. "It's just gonna wear you down until you collapse!" yelped Lucio.

"Do you have a better idea?!" Leviathan shouted.

"Maybe! Scout, gimme a hand! Er- paw! Gimme a paw!" Lucio grabbed one of Leviathan's hands. Scout's paw closed around the other. Just like before, magic flowed between the three of them, a steady swirl of runes fortified Leviathan's shield. "We'll keep the chains away! Asra, Noddy-!"

"One step ahead of you." Amidst the storm of magic and breaking chains, Nadia drew her sword. Asra flicked his wrist, and glittering ice enveloped the blade.

"What's this? A paltry magic trick?" The Devil chuckled. Nadia stepped around the shield's edge, thrusting her sword at The Devil's heart. Though it barely dodged, a few curls of white goat fur drifted to the floor. "Very well, Leviathan. If you insist upon using others to fight your battles, I shall do the same." An earsplitting wail tore through the throne room.

Leviathan glared, "Everyone stay calm. It's just trying to intimidate us."

"Calm? CALM?!" Lucio yelped, "I'm completely calm!"

"Great, stay that way!" When Leviathan grinned back at Lucio, some of the panic left his face.

There was just the tiniest trace of his usual smirk. "Calm. Yup. Here we go."

The agonized noises only grew louder, and then they were visible. Tormented dead of all shapes and sizes, emerging from the shadows. Some were insubstantial wisps, some were hulking monstrosities. They closed in from all directions, bloody hands reaching for their throats. "What is this bullshit! This isn't even a fair fight!" yelled Asra.