As Leader drew his bow forward, he paused.
A group of figures had just arrived next to the figure of Lord Inigo, dressed in brown armor. They all leapt from the glowing portal, landing down on the ground.
Leader entered into his Super State, not wasting any time. A rainbow Aura colored the air around him as his physique jumped to become much stronger, enhancing in power by a great degree. The air around him set to storming, the energy around his body vibrating with power.
He pulled back on his bow in one smooth motion. A glowing arrow made of energy appeared on it, crackling with power as he concentrated.
"Hold on… are those the Masters of the Demonic Council? Why are they with Lord Inigo?!" Leader paused, confusion filling his voice as he stared at the figures that had just arrived. He recognized some of them. He had met several of them over the years, though never grew allied or close with any of them.
While he didn't feel particularly close to any of them, it was a fact that there were very few Demonic practitioners and that they were usually reviled, no matter their actions. He didn't hold any animosity against them as a result and would try to avoid clashing with them.
"I…" Leader was at a loss for words.
WHOOSH
The world around him jarringly shifted, an instant later. The magnificent city before him seemed to shake, bits and pieces of it crumbling off in a grand avalanche of stone and destruction.
His connection to the Law of Pride had continuously grown stronger and stronger as time went on. The world around him had begun to change, no doubt due to the nefarious effects of Lord Inigo.
As Leader saw the unfolding destruction the city was suffering, he instantly made a decision.
'I don't know if he tricked the Masters of the Council, or if they are allied with him… but I cannot allow him to destroy what is left of Moria. The Great Lord must have the chance to seek out those Inheritances!'
He made up his mind, his arms shaking as energy concentrated.
"Breaker Empyrean Shot!"
.. .. .. .. .. ..
Dorian landed upon a large, circular stone platform. In front of him, a huge, white stone castle could be seen, built into a towering, rocky cliff. Water flowed all around him, pouring out from several dams that blocked up a large lake. Towering white spires could be seen, dozens of buildings decorating the cliff.
The platform he had arrived upon appeared to be part of a mid-sized bridge, connecting to this cliffside castle. The cliff was set in the middle of the river like an island of sorts, an oasis of land breaking the rushing water.
'The Law of Original Sin…' Dorian felt the energy from this Law vibrate in his soul, full of deep, ancient power. At the same time, as he arrived, he felt his connection to the Laws of the Universe sever.
He had entered a dead zone, where the power of Law could not be reached. The energy he had taken within himself was still present, but once it was expended, there was no getting it back.
'Activate!'
Immediately that black energy was absorbed into his body. As it came within his full control, Dorian realized what the Law of Original Sin did.
Legends in the 30,000 Worlds held that reality was created by the natural Laws of the Universe. Everything in existence came to exist because of the unexplainable, natural existence of the Laws. There was no known godly creator or ruler on high.
How exactly the Laws came to be was unknown, a mystery of the highest order.
The creation of the Heavens was considered the origin of the creation of the 30,000 Worlds. The Heavens were a place one could visit only upon achieving Ascension, rising to an untold paradise where reality was fantastic and amazing, where perfection could be achieved.
It was said that there existed an entire world in the Heavens, separate from the 30,000 Worlds.
The concept of Original Sin centered around the immutable fact that no one was born perfect. In every being, everywhere, there was always some type of imperfection. This was the 'Original Sin' of reality. Everyone was born with some type of stain on their body or soul, something that proved them unworthy to be born in the Heavens.
The Demonic Laws could be seen as representations of these stains. Various faults that could plague a being, ideas that broke off from the concept of Original Sin.
For most, the biggest 'stain' was simply the level of their soul. They were born far too weak to be considered perfect.
Yukeli's obsession upon achieving perfection had led him to journey towards Ascension and the Heavens, though what happened after that even Dorian was unsure.
As the concept of the Law filled Dorian's mind, the energy thronging within him, he became fully aware of its purpose.
The Law of Original Sin was a Law that could affect reality itself. It changed reality, creating imperfections in whatever it touched.
'Incredible…' The concept was hard to understand, and Dorian could tell he had only grasped a fraction of its potential.
WHOOSH
Around Dorian, the various members of the Demonic Council began to arrive.
The first to arrive was the fanatic Baron Radishow, promptly followed by the Mistress of Lust Priscilla and Damal, the Master of Pride, and the others. They all landed down on the ground smoothly, quickly storing the armor they used to protect themselves while teleporting.
As they arrived, the castle in front of him began to shake, small bits of it breaking off. The ground beneath them trembled slightly, a few small cracks appearing. Their arrival seemed to have set off some type of chain reaction, damaging the nearby area slightly. It might also be related to his un-Sealing of the world, though he wasn't certain.
'Huh. This really is a dead zone. I can feel nothing.' Only the leftover energy from the Law of Original Sin, and that of his other Laws, could be sensed. Everything else was gone, as if the Laws themselves had vanished.
It felt rather surreal and unnerving. He had been able to feel the presence of the Laws for so long, to lose that so abruptly was jarring.
Just as he was thinking this, and taking in his surroundings, Dorian's eyes widened. His entire body tingled, his Balance Demon body shivering as a huge feeling of danger filled him.
He was about to be attacked.
The sensation was unnatural, something that came as if a wave in Fate had slammed against his soul, warning him. As an Anomaly that was extremely sensitive to Fate, the feeling was inescapable.
He was about to die, in less than 2 seconds.
And he was going to die from something familiar. Something he had sensed before.
An attack just like the one that had launched the Warrior-Alchemist Bayron flying. He couldn't explain how he knew this, attributing the feeling to Fate.
He couldn't access any of his Laws. The defensive Abilities he had were already active, but Dorian was well aware that they wouldn't be enough.
He might be able to shift forms to something small to dodge from whatever attack was going to hit him in a split second, but he wasn't confident the transformation would move him out of the way of the shot. It was too late for him to twist Fate using his soul, there wasn't enough time.
In the instant just before he felt he was going to die, as all of these thoughts raced through him in a split moment, he did the only thing he could think of.
He used the energy from the Law of Original Sin.
WHOOSH
The pure black energy from the Law of Original Sin moved instantaneously. When Dorian made the conscious decision to use it, the energy shivered. Throughout his entire body, it seemed to meld with his physique… and fully activated.
A tiny speck of darkness drifted across Dorian's eyes.
Abruptly, Dorian's entire outlook on reality changed.
The world around him seemed to coalesce, everything becoming clear. Dorian could make out the fine details on the blazing arrow of energy that was barreling towards him, able to sense the rippling power of the Law of Pride emanating off of it. Everything seemed to slow down.
'Power… I can feel it in me. Incredible, burgeoning power! Power the likes of which I have never felt!' Emotion soared in Dorian's heart as he felt a sense of complete might fill him, as if the world around him would bow to his command. As if he could control reality itself.
At that exact moment, an arrow of light blurred into existence, melting through the air towards Dorian. Even with his perception of reality enhanced to an incredibly powerful level, such that the members of the Demonic Council were all frozen still, falling stone debris stuck in the air, unmoving, the beam of light shot across his vision at a visible pace.
The arrow of light was only a few meters from his chest as he saw it. The world around Dorian seemed frozen in this brief instant, his thoughts moving so quickly it defied reason.
'An arrow made of pure energy, condensed with power from the Law of Pride and a King Class Soul Spell Matrix… if it hits me, I will almost certainly die.'
'Is this from… Leader?' As the thought crossed his mind, it didn't perturb him. Instead, he accepted it calmly, his eyes flashing. In this odd mental state, nothing seemed able to shock him.
'This arrow is powerful, an attack that I cannot feasibly block, even in my Balance Demon form…' He frowned as he watched the arrow move forward in slow motion, now only a single meter out. If it hit him, it would obliterate his chest and pierce through without problem.
Even in this all-powerful state, he couldn't dodge it. His movement was restricted to his normal speed, the black energy from the Law of Original Sin only seemed to have enhanced his mental perception of time, unlike the Law of Lust.
As he thought this, Dorian felt the energy from the Law of Original Sin become almost completely used up. He could only remain in this state for a fraction of a second at his current mastery of the Law, especially when he couldn't access the Laws to draw more energy.
'I can reshape reality.' Dorian looked at the arrow, his eyes cold.
Dorian could instinctively tell that it was beyond his means to directly affect Leader's arrow attack. The Law of Original Sin was something he had just barely obtained. Affecting something as high powered and full of Law energy as Leader's arrow wasn't possible.
However… the space between the arrow and his chest, on the other hand…
He was standing in a dead zone, where the Laws of the Universe essentially functioned at so low a level that he couldn't draw upon them. This also happened to greatly weaken the fabric of reality. The air in front of him was practically unprotected, defenseless in the clearest way.
Without hesitating further… Dorian commanded reality to change.
A glaring imperfection appeared.
An imperfection in space itself, between him and the arrow.
SHKKKK
Space ruptured.
Dozens of cracks appeared, in reality itself, as space twisted in on itself, fluctuating. This distorted area was incredibly sickening to look at, light changing wildly as it passed through it.
WHOOSH
The energy from the Law of Original Sin was completely used up, the black energy burning into nothingness. Time returned back to normal, Dorian's vastly enhanced senses falling to their standard state.
WHIISSH
Instead of a large explosion or impact, an odd sound whistled out as the arrow of light cut right towards the ruptured space and then twisted along its path. From the perspective of the arrow, it was flying in a straight line. However, because space was ruptured and twisted, the path of the arrow twisted.
Instead of colliding with Dorian, the arrow shot off through part of the cliff in the background, boring a long tunnel in the rocky earth before flying off towards the sky.
This all took place in a split fraction of a second, far too fast to be reacted to by anyone, Dorian included.
The resulting shriek from the ruptured space caught everyone's attention, however.
What happened right after that was even more eye-catching.
Dozens of Demonic remnants appeared, pouring out from various buildings and structures.
–
Species – Igloo Demon (Desiccated)
Class: Lord Class (Late)
Maximum Energy Level: 79,283
–
Species – Gazelle Hoofed Fire Demon (Desiccated)
Class: Lord Class (Middle)
Maximum Energy Level: 57,883
–
Species – Iron Wasp Demon (Desiccated)
Class: Lord Class (Pseudo-King)
Maximum Energy Level: 102,883
–
'A Lord Class Igloo Demon, a Lord Class Gazelle Hoofed Fire Demon, a Pseudo-King Class Iron Wasp Demon…' Dorian's eyes widened as a veritable army of freakish, undead Demons appeared.
The Igloo Demons were great towering brutes that looked like a mix between an elephant and a large ape, with huge tusks and arms, but thick grey fur. The Gazelle Hoofed Fire Demon looked like an abnormally large deer with hooves of fire and a demonic, many-teethed face. The Iron Wasp Demons were huge wasps easily as tall as a man, covered in dark black lines.
At least 100 Demons had appeared, of various types. All of them were currently charging right at Dorian and the Councilmembers, howling into the air.
"It's an ambush set by Fifteen! He's trying to stop us! Quick! To the Central Castle before they take us down!" Dorian took full advantage of the shock Leader's attack and the ruptured space had formed, causing all of the Demonic Councilmembers to charge forwards with him.
Despite being unable to access any Laws, they all still had a large amount of energy that they had previously drawn within them. All of them were powerful King Class warriors, and even when limited to lesser amounts of energy, they were still capable fighters.
A mass melee broke out as they desperately scrambled forward, dodging and ducking to avoid becoming an easy target.
Dorian's eyes flashed as he ripped the head off one Demon, blood spattering the air as he took a single glance up at the central castle. In his Balance Demon form, even without the power of Law, he was a veritable monster. He absorbed what he could from each dead Demonic remnant, not letting their Soul Spell Matrixes go to waste. His heart pounded as he moved, jumping erratically to avoid being hit by another one of Leader's arrows.
'I'm almost there!'
.. .. .. .. .. ..
In the depths of the large white castle that was built into the cliff, the former castle of the Demon Emperor himself, a large throne room could be seen. Several pillars supported the roof of the throne room, shooting up to the grand, arching ceiling.
A long, black carpet led up to the slightly raised throne. White, crystalline torches lit up the walls, giving the room a well-lit appearance.
The throne itself was made of a harsh, black stone. It had a jagged, rough appearance, with little decoration. Sharp cracks could be seen at its base and arms, as if it had been damaged in a grand battle, long ago.
Sitting atop this throne was a grey-skinned, unassuming humanoid.
Fifteen, in his Grey Mantor form.
"You've arrived, brother…" Fifteen sighed,
"And you've managed to break more than half the chains that Seal Moria, something even I couldn't manage."
If Dorian saw Fifteen right now, he would've been shocked. The Anomaly, Fifteen, had undergone an enormous, jarring change.
No longer was he a violent killer, rampaging and cackling with insanity. The chaotic emotions he had shown before were nowhere to be seen. The mental instability, the fast-paced manner of talking, the entire personality of the Anomaly seemed to have changed.
Instead, he appeared cool, calculating, his eyes full of wisdom.
"I never expected things to end quite this way. Still, it's within the bounds of reason." Fifteen tapped on one of the arms of the throne he rested on.
WHOOSH
Bright lights flared up as a visual image of the castle and the nearby river, waterfalls, and bridge appeared, floating in the air in front of Fifteen. On this visual representation, tiny figures of Dorian and the Demonic Councilmembers could be seen, charging their way across the bridge towards the castle.
"You and the Masters of the Demonic Council… if I include you, it should be more than enough. You all will be the catalyst I need." He muttered, opening his hand,
"I will break free from the chains HE set on our souls." He closed his fist, as if he was crushing something,
Fifteen waved his hand, zooming the image in till he saw a clear image of Dorian, smashing aside Demons like a brutal warrior-beast of legend.
"Come… brother…"
"Let's end this."
.
