Strength... What is strength? Naturally, people would talk about overcoming obstacles and moving forward. They'd say it's about how much you can endure and keep going, like in a historical romance or an adventure novel.
But... What is true strength? A cultivation stage? A deity? For Valentina, it was her very essence.
She was absolute, a path she had cultivated over the years, perhaps in the wrong way? Probably yes. Cultivation had only recently been discovered in this sector. Although Morgana had somehow created this system, it was still chaotic, and many who attempted cultivation faced severe reconstruction issues with their bodies, like Lyrianna, who became much weaker in exchange for creating her own path.
But Valentina?
Valentina always followed a single path, a single destiny, a straight line from beginning to end.
She knew completely who she was, what her goal was, what her world was, who she had been, who she was, and who she would be in the future.
Valentina understood herself and her impact, and for that reason...
"Run..." one of the demons murmured, seeing the relentless wave of blood cutting through everything in its path, an enormous whirlpool of flesh spreading across the arid desert.
The dunes began to turn into craters, sand flew into the air as everything was shredded by the woman who only smiled like a madwoman.
Fire, Blood, Madness...
The demons trying to stop her were not just lowly demons. On the contrary, they were all Named Demons, demons who had been given names over millennia.
What did that mean? Nothing... Only that they had lived long enough for Hell to bestow a name upon them, something that happened rarely per "Demonic Year," the passage of time in Hell, which is completely different from the world of the living.
All these demons with names, weapons, and objectives were merely being erased from existence and sent back to Hell with their souls obliterated. "Come! Come!" Valentina...
"That's why I fight!" she roared, her scream so powerful that it sent several demons flying from the force of her vocal cords, she really did seem like a monster... "That's why I fight! To see disgusting worms crawling at my feet, to feel supreme above all!" she roared again, even louder.
In the distance, more demons emerged from a magical cycle, and the moment they stepped into the reality of the living... They went insane from the screams, the noise was so deafening that many of them, with humanoid bodies, had their eardrums burst just from hearing her voice.
"This woman... This woman is crazy!" one of the demons shouted. He seemed a bit different... He wore armor and carried a sword, unlike the others who fought purely by instinct. He appeared more noble, with a more refined air. "How are we supposed to eliminate her?
It's impossible!" he shouted, standing at a considerable distance between Valentina and the Demonic Army.
"We're not here to eliminate her," another demon emerged from a blue portal behind him. "Verall," he murmured. "Fethy, it's been a while, how is Baal?" Verall analyzed the words of the newly arrived demon. "He's well, missing an arm, but well," Fethy said, continuing to watch the enormous whirlpool of flesh and demon pieces flying, painting the Golden Desert pure red.
Fethy and Verall observed the devastation. "Our task is simple," Fethy continued, keeping his voice low so only Verall could hear. "Lucifer gave clear orders. He wants Valentina distracted. Keep her busy while he executes his plan."
"And what exactly does Lucifer intend to do?" Verall asked, genuinely interested. "What's his plan that requires so much effort to distract this... Abomination?"
"I don't know all the details," Fethy admitted. "But the goal is to create an opening in the veil between worlds. Valentina is one of the great obstacles, something that can interfere with the rituals. She needs to be kept here, fighting, so she doesn't get involved in other matters. Her presence could alter the balance of what's to come."
"So, we just need to ensure she stays entertained with these lesser demons," Verall concluded, watching the whirlwind of destruction Valentina was causing. "And what do we do if she starts advancing in our direction?"
Fethy laughed darkly. "In that case, we need to be ready to sacrifice ourselves. We can come back to life when Lucifer takes control of Hell. Keep Valentina occupied at all costs. Her fury can be her weakness if used correctly. She loses herself in battle, in chaos.
Let's give her the chaos she so desires."
As the two demons schemed, Valentina continued her slaughter with an insane smile. The ground trembled beneath her feet, and the air was saturated with demonic energy that she channeled into her overwhelming fury. The sands around her had already begun to turn to glass due to the exorbitant heat her body was emitting.
Valentina roared again, causing small tremors, her spear cutting through the air and tearing demonic flesh. "Do you think you can stop me?" she shouted, her voice echoing across the battlefield. "I am true strength, the essence of destruction!" She was truly lost in the battle...
More demons advanced, emerging from magical portals that opened around her. Each brought new weapons, new powers, desperately trying to find a weakness in the woman who seemed unbeatable.
Fethy and Verall stepped back slightly, observing Valentina's every move closely, looking for an opening to keep the fight going without exposing themselves to immediate danger. Fortunately, as long as the Tree kept generating energy, they could bring demons to the Desert infinitely.
"Get ready," Fethy murmured to Verall. "This is just the beginning. We need to hold the line until Lucifer is ready on the other side. The battle here will escalate, and we must ensure she remains confined to this location."
"Understood," Verall replied, readying his sword and glancing at the demons appearing around him. "Let's give her the war she wants so badly."
As the Arid Climate continued to intensify with this skirmish against Valentina...
*ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAR*
A dragon roared in the sky. Dante quickly looked up and saw Voralith soaring, destroying various branches of the tree that held demons and other strange entities.
"I told you to protect them!" Dante shouted, perhaps a bit harshly. But the Dragon looked at him and said, "And leave you at the mercy of this? Shut your damn mouth and keep moving; there's too much demonic energy here. If you stay watching this, you'll die!" she yelled, clearly furious with Dante. "Stop trying to do things alone!
You idiot!" she screamed, and at that moment, another smaller dragon, completely black, let out a roar followed by a breath of purple energy.
*ROOOIAAARRR*
"Damn it, I don't want you here!" Dante shouted as his body began returning to normal; his demon transformation had expired after continuous use. "Damn it," he murmured.
"You should just sit and wait, darling." Vex appeared, hugging him from behind. "You're way too excited, you know? Calm down and leave it to us for a while," she said, seeing various hordes of demons emerging from the tree.
"They're so ugly," Vex commented with a malicious smile. She released the hug, her eyes glowing with a sinister light. Dante just watched her head towards the demons. She turned her back, and her tail, now much larger than Dante remembered... Her tail, now sharp as a blade, slashed through the ranks of demons with a devastating strike.
SMASH!! SMASH!! SMASH!!
"Darling, look!" Vex smiled, still facing away from the demons as her tail delivered a deadly blow, turning them into a formless mass of flesh and bones. "I've gotten so strong!" She exclaimed, blowing a kiss towards Dante, who watched in astonishment as Vex created an enormous massacre.
The impact was visceral. Over a thousand demons were obliterated in a single attack, turned into a puree of flesh that stained the ground, creating piles of bodies. Vex smiled with wild satisfaction, her eyes gleaming with cruel malice.
Dante just... stood there, watching the carnage these women were causing. He had become a mere spectator... watching Voralith and Eldrax pulverize demons and branches...
Vex returned to his side, her gentle smile hiding a ferocity known only to those who truly knew her. "You need to rest, my love," she said, her voice soft but firm. "Leave this to us. You've done enough." Dante realized he could no longer fight against their will... He could hardly go against their wishes naturally, and now even more so...
"Tsk, you forgot about me..." Aaralyn said, appearing with Simon and Akiko, who visibly had recovered, at least enough to walk normally again. "I didn't forget you; I knew you were coming," Dante said with a smile. "But, you have to get out of here," Dante said firmly. If he couldn't oppose their will, he could at least manipulate them to get each one out of this mess.
"Yes, yes, the overprotective one will send me after Aldria, right? Yes, I'm already going, annoying husband." Aaralyn responded as if reading Dante's mind.