Chapter 401: Chapter 363
Izanami POV
I usually kept a lid on my Divine Nature.
There were things that Gods simply could not avoid when presenting themselves in their true forms when Mortals gazed upon us. Something instinctual that pricked at the back of their minds that told them that we were not simple. It was easier for these Spirits to peek behind the curtain even if I didn't reveal myself.
And now, that lid had been taken off.
My Divinity swept out in every direction as I called upon the Spear.
I've kept it sealed at my side for many years now. And I'm sure many back home would be utterly terrified to know that I was in possession of it. It wasn't originally in my possession, no.... it was a peace offering from my former husband.
There would never be any reconciliation after his betrayal, but I was not completely without sin in our conflicts. And many centuries after the fact, he wished to bury the hatchet as the humans say.
At that point, my hatred had diminished greatly, and I accepted.
Perhaps it was the catalyst that allowed me to finally move on from my past.
I had never used it until this moment. If it was back home, I may have been more reserved, but in this particular moment, I was furious.
The world bent to accommodate this mighty weapon of creation.
The object by which both my former husband and I channeled our Godly powers to raise Japan out of the ocean in the days of old. It was no mere Divine Weapon the likes of Zeus's Master bolt or Odin's Gungnir despite the legendary prowess of such peerless devices.
No, it was forged from the Chaos before beginning. The same origins as my own progenitors.
As soon as it appeared, the thunder clouds that Wilhelm had called into being, intertwined with his own Divinity, were cowed into submission.
I could feel the earth fluctuate and the wind churn to welcome its arrival as if calling out to an old friend.
Amenonuhoko – the Heavenly Jeweled Spear.
It's funny, it's not overly adorned in jewels. If anything, by today's standards, it would be minimalistic. But in the time before civilization, it was considered extravagant and regal. Truthfully, it even appeared a bit weathered on the surface and the flashiness of any adornments were muted by its apparent age.
Yet, it merely took one gazing upon it to know its power.
I was not a particularly powerful Deity among those who could claim to be my peer in age. I was not worshiped, and even the Pantheon I was part of did not look at me favorably. My feats had mostly been regulated to assisting my former husband as opposed to being an equal. However, when holding this spear, even the likes of those old monsters would think twice before facing me.
It held the weight of an entire Cosmology behind it as the Origins of the land itself.
The moment it touched my hand, the world respectfully silenced itself.
The land that I tread was mine even if by other means and by another world. It awaited merely a call and it would respond to my orders.
"You." I looked down at the cowering form of this upstart mortal who thought to take my love away from the ones who I chose to give it to. The thought of the love I had for my children and the turbulent feelings I had for Wilhelm being replaced with this vile creature was utterly repulsive.
Oh he cowered, he stuttered and attempted to flee, crawling away on his stubby legs.
And I admit, the speed that these mortals can move at would be annoying.
Thus, I ever so slightly flicked my spear, and his legs were severed from his body.
"Death is too easy a punishment. You will spend an eternity in Yomi under my meticulous care." I raised my spear up, pointing it at him. My spear was one of Creation but that did not mean I could not do the opposite. Just as I held the opposite domains of Creation and Death, I used my spear to unmake this creature.
The sniveling and crying, the pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears as his body was unmade.
I twisted my wrist, removing his last physical remnants from existence, leaving behind a soul that flew into my grasp.
Looking at it, I frowned. Something familiar was pulling at it. "I do not care if you claim ownership over this soul." I sneered, dispelling an attempt to retrieve it from my hand. "If you truly want it so much, you can come crawling to Yomi and beg for it." I stated, putting it away for now.
Now that I dealt with the immediate source of my anger, I realized that everyone was looking at me and the fighting had more or less stopped.
I suppose I was not subtle with my declaration; my Divinity had seeped out at that point and everyone most likely heard me.
Well, except for a small handful.
"You bitch!" A feminine voice was directed my way.
I looked up to see a handful of these Quincy moving to attack me.
The one who spoke, a woman with long black hair held out her hands, and orbs formed of Reishi. She threw them at me, and her companions who shared similar sentiments unleashed their own attacks, mostly that of arrows.
I glanced behind myself to see the Children still there.
Holding my spear up, I slowly moved it through the air. The edge of the spear tip did not cut anything, rather, space began to bend and distort.
The attacks that were aimed in my direction were sent off course, wildly flinging far away from myself or those behind me.
"It's not fucking working."
"Use bigger bombs!"
"You think I don't know that!?"
"Why don't –"
"I do not enjoy being looked down on like this." My lips pressed into a thin line and grasped at the air. "Grovel in the dirt where you belong." They were forced to the ground, slamming into it at breakneck speeds.
"Quilge!" The woman with long black hair pushed herself up out of the ground and shouted towards one of her companions. "Do your thing, now!"
Another shot to the air, a man with glasses looked at me. "His Majesty bestowed onto me the Letter 'J'! No one can escape my Jail." He gathered his power into his hand and shot it towards me.
I raised an eyebrow as it didn't actually attack me, rather, it formed a sort of barrier around me. Or as his words implied, he imprisoned me.
"See? There's only one God in this world! His Majesty's power – "
"Adorable." I snorted, waiving my spear and destroyed the barrier around me. The resulting explosion of power sent a shockwave outwards in all directions. "I will be merciful." I took a casual step forward, appearing in front of him, making his body jerk back, but a twitch of my hand saw him get forced in place. "I will allow your soul to return to him." I stabbed him through the heart, watching the life die in his eyes before casting him off my weapon and letting his body hit the ground below.
Their eyes widened in shock and horror at the ease in which I dispatched their companion.
"R-retreat." One of them breathed out.
"Only his Majesty can order –"
The shadows around them all jerked wildly, grabbing hold of them the same way it did the first time I met one of their people.
I stepped back onto the ground. "Did I give you permission to leave?" I tapped my spear onto the ground and the shadows were dispersed.
As if some upstart could snatch away people in front of me on my land.
"O-objection!" A thin and rather mundane looking member of their retinue held up a shaking hand at me. "Y-you can't possibly exist. His Majesty gave me the Letter 'Q' and I 'Question' to your existence!"
A conceptual attack? How amusing, was he trying to bring my existence into flux and create a paradox?
"Your objection is noted." I walked towards him. "And it's subsequently ignored." I swung my spear downwards in his direction.
I didn't even have to do anything to counter his ability. The Spear in my hand was an absolute declaration of my existence.
He disappeared in a gouge that now split the large plateau we were standing on and continued into the distance, with several mountains missing their peaks.
"Foolish Mortal, my Existence is not something you can question." I snorted, flicking my spear back over my shoulder.
"You bitch, take this!"
I blinked, turning back towards the girl I had ignored. She held her fingers linked together up to the sky and a rather large blob of Reishi had gathered.
And based on what happened before with her hand-held ones, I believed it to be a bomb.
"Hah, I was gathering this the entire time! I'll just blow up the entire Soul Society!" She cackled.
I looked at her rather tiredly and raised my hand again. The Shadows answered my call, climbing up to the sky, the shadow hands grasping at each other until a column formed and enveloped the massive sphere of condensed and volatile spiritual matter. And it was visibly pulled downwards, disappearing into the shadows.
"I'm sure your people will appreciate your gift."
Her eyes widened at the implication. "I –"
"And it would be rude of me to not allow you to share. You may leave." I slammed my spear onto the ground once more, and the shadows that once receded at my command now returned, grabbing them forcibly. Every Quincy that had invaded this place was forced backwards into the shadows, back to their home.
They struggled, but it was pointless. It wasn't a matter of power; they were trespassing, and I was the landlord with absolute Authority.
Well, that hadn't taken very long, but there was one more objective to deal with. Those evil spirits, those Hollows that stood above in such vast numbers.
Oh, they had been mostly corralled by my renewed presence, but their existence was one that grated on me.
"Abominations that should not exist. Devouring the children of my Daughter's sun." I held my spear out once more, tilting it to the side so the flat of the spear faced the sky. I borrowed Wilhelm's storm, a single raindrop fell down from the sky. The droplet hit my spear, the miniscule sound that should have been drowned out instead echoed to the ears of everyone present. Creation in one of its purest forms shined along the bladed edge. I then swung my spear towards the sky, a droplet shooting off towards every single of the Hollows present. "Be purified." I commanded.
Not a single one of those Hollows escaped. A drop of water piercing through their cores, destroying the bonds around the 'soul' that held down and devoured all the others. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of souls emerged, spewing out from within the abominations, freed from their ceaseless hunger and rightfully returned to the proper cycle of life and death.
I then turned my attention to the other Hollows.
The ones that Wilhelm had been fighting.
The Humanoid ones that were significantly stronger than those beasts that I had just dealt with. It's strange, I could tell that they too had so many souls swirling around inside of them that they consumed, yet....there was something else there. A spark of humanity that barely flickered underneath their grotesque nature.
Should I deal with them in a similar manner? I certainly didn't like them, but they were somehow less repulsive than their brethren I had just slain, which seemed paradoxical.
There was also a Shinigami with them, one I recognized as being the one I put in time out from before.
I looked at him and our eyes met.
And there was something familiar in his gaze.
Fear.
He didn't hesitate, he fled immediately, and those Hollows followed while I contemplated the question. Those tears in reality that they used, they had quite easily tore them open and jumped through without a second thought once the Shinigami made the move.
Oh well, I suppose I didn't care that much. I would deal with any Hollows that I saw, but I didn't feel the need to seek them out. They were not my problem to bear.
"Wilhelm." I glanced at him as he came over.
"Well, that's one way to deal with the Quincy and Hollows." He chuckled.
And I couldn't help myself but smile slightly. I was worried he would be put off by my....anger, but there is nothing but warmth in his gaze. "Yes, now, what to do about these Shinigami?" The world shook as I hummed, looking at their stunned and confused faces.
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A/N Not very long, but Izzy didn't need long either :V.
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