Ryuk voiced out, his words loud and clear.
"Now, if you will excuse me, I have things to do..." he said, turning his back and taking a step forward.
He didn’t know where Zaffree was, and couldn’t sense her aura anywhere close to him.
He needed to find her.
And since four months or so had already passed. How was the group doing on their travels?
He had quite a lot to catch up on.
But he had yet to land the second step when he watched tiny strands of golden light surround every corner of the space around him.
It formed a prism, with Ryuk locked at its center.
"Hmm?"
He forced out, turning a side glance to one of the three Angels.
One of them had his hands out towards him.
"As we already said, we can’t take no for an answer. You will come with us!"
They said, this time with words more authoritative, and he turned his back to them.
His hands reached out, only to be stopped halfway by a strand of light.
"Seems like you came prepared then, huh?" he asked.
"We did. Although it might be an overkill for a fortuitous ordinary Archguard like you," they added, but were silenced a moment later when from the side of the barrier a halo of purple light appeared.
A new being suddenly stepped out, and that being was none other than Ryuk.
"A clone!?" they muttered in shock, seeing the original Ryuk was still trapped in the prism, but that was only the beginning.
From behind them, another shimmer and another Ryuk.
And then from above, another shimmer appeared and another Ryuk.
And from below, another shimmer appeared and another Ryuk.
And then from the right side, another shimmer appeared and another Ryuk.
And then from the left side, another shimmer appeared and another Ryuk.
In the span of three seconds, there was one Ryuk trapped in the prism of light strands and six more surrounding their group in a circle.
"You came prepared? You? Against me? An overkill!?"
All seven Ryuk voiced out at the same time, and then—
KAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
A pillar of golden light surged outward, and the eight-winged Angels exploded forth, their aura so heavy the space itself shuddered under fallen power.
But then, all six Ryuk stretched out their right hands, and then,
SNAP!
A single echo of finger snapping
BURST!
Blood splashed into the air all of a sudden, almost as if a dam of blood had been released into the air.
Heads and intestines flattened into a gory paste, almost as if space itself suddenly crumbled onto the Angelic beings standing behind the trio.
"YOU WILL DIE!!!"
The tri-echoing voice rang out, eyes turning fully golden, as a feral will of anger erupted.
How could they not be?
The entire team of Angels they had brought forth had all been crushed into a paste!
The space before Ryuk rippled, as one of the Angels appeared right before him, two of its wings slashing at his neck from both sides.
It was fast.
Too fast.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP
The strike ripped through the golden barrier, slicing clean across his neck. His head flew into the air as the rest of his body exploded into nothingness.
But instead of blood splashing out, only motes of purple and pink dispersed through the air.
Emeris paused in his track, turning behind him to look at the dispersing Ryuk.
"His original body is now a clone?" he thought, shocked, but then,
RIPPLLLE
A faint ripple drew his gaze upward.
There, Ryuk stood suspended in the air, one leg raised higher than the other, and then,
CRUUUUUUUSSSSSH!
Space tightened, and the colossal phantom foot pressed down with crushing force upon his skull.
His eight wings flapped once, launching him aside with speed faster than thought. But his eyes whipped to the flank, and there, waiting: another clone, another phantom foot, slamming down toward his face.
"A...Anoth..."
BAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNG!
The foot hit like an atomic blast, slamming squarely onto his face.
CRRRACK!
His body was violently hurled through the air, crashing into the ground before vanishing into the depths of an abyssal crater.
If one could see from outside space, they would notice the whole of Ammamora tilt a few meters away from its gravitational course.
’His physical might is overwhelming. We can’t beat him directly...’
The duo immediately recognized, and one of them folded all eight wings into a pattern that left a thin gap, just enough for Ryuk to remain in sight.
Then, both his fingers interlocked and folded together, forming a seal in the shape of a helix.
"Eight-Winged Angel Helix: Karmic Realm of Angelic Judgement!"
The words rang out through the air, and in the next instant, Ryuk’s heart unconsciously sank in.
He turned backwards just in time to witness the other versions of himself shatter away, dissolving into motes of purple light.
The world darkened, and he felt the sensation of a pull, even though he remained unmoving.
FLICCCKKKERRRR
Tiny golden rays of light brushed against his skin, and slowly he turned to find something that froze his heart mid-beat
Behind him blazed a throne of golden fire, burning brighter than the sun itself.
Upon it sat an Angelic Being, its very presence radiating awe and might unlike anything Ryuk had ever felt.
"A...a god!?"
He murmured beneath his breath, watching as a palm, countless times bigger than he was, stretched towards him, and halfway through, an object appeared, grabbed by the large golden palm.
It was a justice scale, its bronze pans suspended on delicate chains, one side gleaming with pure white light, the other sunk in pitch-black shadow, currently held in perfect, unyielding balance.
"Your Good and Bad Will Now Be Judged."
"If Your Good Outweighs Your Bad, You Will Be Allowed To Live."
"If Your Bad Outweighs Your Good, You Will Die."
Each word was a divine decree, its mere utterance enough for Ryuk to feel his heartbeat spiral out of his control.
"NOW, YOU WILL BE JUDGED!"