Point-of-View: Inoka Fonseka

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"Sorry, but I have no idea how I did that, my memories are all blurry, it’s hard to remember any of it...I think I was only half-conscious at best, I doubt I can pull that off again," Neo shook his head with a grimace.

"You don’t remember anything about it at all?" I asked him in response.

"Well, I’m getting bits and pieces, like out of context fragments or glimpses...but nothing concrete. Wait, I think I remember transporting the Deities somewhere. Yeah, that’s right, I...I sensed Satan, and I then sent the Elemental Deities to his location," His eyes widened in recollection.

"Okay, that’s a start...maybe you sent Aurora there too?" I suggested hopefully.

"I guess that’s possible...but I have this vague feeling that I didn’t sense her anywhere," He frowned uncertainly.

"Yeah, but like you said, you weren’t fully conscious of your actions," I pointed out objectively.

"Alright, let’s see...I’ve got an approximate recollection of the location where I sent the Deities...it should be somewhere right around...here!" He remarked, as he opened a portal, grimacing slightly as his expression strained.

Hm, if you’re in a weak physical state, using Skills can put additional strain on your body. Looks like that’s what’s happening to him right now, he’s clearly in discomfort at just opening one, single portal.

He probably can’t keep it open for too long, I should act fast. I walked over and poked my head through the portal cautiously, my eyes widening at the sight that I was met with.

The entire area was completely devastated, the scent of blood was in the air, along with dust...a whole lot of dust. Almost every building in sight was completely destroyed and collapsed.

"Inoka? I knew that was your scent!" Suddenly came Aurora’s voice from my left.

I turned in that direction, to see her bounding over this way while waving. Woah...her outfit was in absolute shreds, just barely covering her body...it’s kinda hard not to stare.

"Hey, I can feel the lust behind your gaze, you know," She frowned, moving her hands over her chest and below her waist, which were both covered by small scraps of fabric, literally hanging by threads.

Damn, her covering up with her arms like that makes it even more provocative...I then noticed several of the Deities, some of them staring this way, while one was heading over here...

"It is good to see that you’re okay," Lux greeted me, as she landed in front of the portal.

"Yeah, you too. So, I heard that Satan was here...did you guys defeat him?" I inquired, looking around and seeing no sign of the ruler of Hell.

"Well, not quite...he is dead, but the situation might have gotten even worse. But first things first...let me into the portal, I need to change," Said Aurora as she stared down at her tattered clothes with a sigh.

"Right, uh...come on in," I nodded, moving aside to make room for her, before turning back to Lux, "So, what will you do now?"

"We lost five Elemental Deities in the battle against Satan, but we have no time to mourn...the Demons are still running wild all over the world, we must eliminate them before they upset the balance of the worlds by killing too large a number of living creatures. They will all be aware of Satan’s demise, and it is likely that many of them have begun to lash out in response," She informed me.

Wait, five Elemental Deities were killed?

"I see...yeah, that doesn’t sound good. Well, good luck with it...we’ll probably rejoin the battle at some point, but it’ll likely be a while. A lot of us were badly injured or low on Aura, so if we tried to help now, it would probably do more harm than good," I replied with a wry smile.

"Very well, then...do what you must to recover your strength, perhaps we will have dealt with and subdued the invasion by then," She responded, as she spread out her wings and began to fly.

"By all means, please do," I sighed wistfully, before going back into the portal.

"Did you learn anything? Aurora went straight out of the room as soon as she showed up," Said Neo, before coughing slightly.

"Yeah, Satan’s dead, but apparently the situation is worse somehow...that’s what Aurora said, anyway, but she didn’t elaborate. She said that she would explain after she gets changed, and I’m guessing she’ll be taking a shower as well, given the state she was in. As for the Deities, they’re going after the remaining Demons, hopefully they can handle it on their own."

"I...I think I transported all the Demons and Devils to areas with no people around. Like at the bottom of the ocean, inside of volcanoes and deep underground in the middle of deserts. I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I can vaguely recall doing something like that...it probably won’t be enough to kill most of them, but it should be enough to at least kill a few Devils," He replied as he scrunched up his forehead, trying to remember more.

"Damn, if you really did that, that’s pretty freaking hardcore. At the very least, it should have bought us plenty of time," I nodded, as I took out my phone and scrolled through my newsfeed online.

Wow, there’s a lot of panicked posts from people thinking they’re gonna die. Ah, here we go...plenty of reports have begun coming in, reporting that all the Demons mysteriously disappeared after they were swallowed up by strange rifts.

Those must be referring to Neo’s portals. Regardless of the fact that he doesn’t remember much of it, it’s still incredibly impressive that he pulled it off at all, transporting thousands upon thousands of beings all over the world.

It must have been the influence of being trapped by Laplace for so long...was it just a temporary boost, or did he unlock his full potential while in that half-conscious state?

Either way, he’s not going to be able to do much right now. He’s in terrible physical condition, he’s lost a ton of weight, he’s badly dehydrated and starved, and he’s overall very, very weak right now.

He’s definitely not going to be able to do any fighting anytime soon, at best he can play a support role, but even that’s risky in his current state. We can’t rely on him much as he is now, and even my powers can’t fix this.

I could use my powers to build up his muscles and restrengthen his bones and whatnot, but as weak as he is right now, I don’t think he can handle such a drastic change. Using my power to augment another person makes use of their own physical energy, and they usually feel pretty tired and worn out after I make the change.

Best case scenario, he’d fall into a deep sleep that’ll last several days, as his body doesn’t have enough energy to sustain a drastic change. Worst case scenario, he could end up in a permanent coma. We’ll just have to do this without relying on him too much, all he can do for now is rest and recover his strength...he’s done his part by bringing all of us here, it’s our turn now.

"Get some rest, you seriously need it. Let us know if you need anything, there’s fruits next to the bed, along with plenty of bottles of water, make sure to eat or drink something regularly," I instructed him, as I stood up and began heading for the door, "I’ll check on you later, just give me or any of the others a call if something comes up."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks, doc. I got it," He replied with a wry smile, as he laid back down and his eyes fluttered shut, falling asleep almost right away.

He’s completely worn out and exhausted, best not to disturb him for a while. I then left the room and quietly shut the door, noticing the others hanging around outside.

"How is he?" Zoraiz asked me.

"Well, as good as he can be, all things considered. I’ve made sure that he’s stable, at least, but he’s quite a ways off from recovery," I responded with a sigh.

"What should we do now?" Inquired Fenris with a frown.

"Not sure why you’re asking me, hell if I know," I shrugged with a wry smile.

"We can’t reach the Harmony higher ups, it’s possible that they’re dead," Chimed in Kiyana.

"At least some good has come of this, I doubt they’d be useful at all even if they were still alive," I mused icily.

"I don’t know about you guys, but I say we get back out there as soon as we can. I refuse to let Hell have their way," Spoke up Alexis with a grimace.

"About that, Satan is dead, so there’s that-," I began.

"Wait, what!? You should’ve mentioned that first!" Responded Leonardo, as everyone stared at me.

"I thought Aurora might have mentioned it, but I guess not," I replied in bemusement.

"Actually, she just kinda zoomed away the instant she stepped out of the room," Remarked Adelmira in response.

"Yeah, she said she’d explain what happened after she changes. Guess we’ll have to wait till she’s done," I said with a wry smile...

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