Anthony Alves
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Chapter 64
🕑 Added 2025-01-20 15:00:12 +0000 UTCXotl asked, “This is really exciting, isn’t it?”
“It is,” replied the prude.
“Here we are, after so long, summoning the champion.”
“We aren’t. We’re watching others do so.”
Xotl couldn’t disagree with that. He just felt like he was a part of this after spending so much time inside Dan.
Since the prude was being more talkative than usual, he asked, “What tier were you again? Was it Pontiff? What your side titles a Prime? Tier 16, right?”
“Yes.”
“Does it bother you that Dan ascended past you?”
The prude laughed and asked him, “Does it bother you that Dan ascended past you?”
“No. The good participants always do. I’ll get there one day. I just need some good treasures.”
The prude patted one of Xotl’s tentacles. He disliked that she could touch him, but he couldn’t touch anything but his chair.
The prude said, “My kind have a different array of powers we’re naturally born with, so it isn’t an even comparison. Even so, back when I stopped Dan from attacking you, he was tier 15. I had a tier on him, but I was certain he could take me.”
“Really,” asked Xotl, surprised.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He’s more like a Terror, though he doesn’t really know what he’s doing. Mystozagan is a normal devil. I’d have nothing to worry about even if he were my tier.”
Xotl scoffed. “You don’t think Dan knows what he’s doing? And what’s a Terror?”
After laughing, the prude said, “Dan knows the lower tiers well. His knowledge and control of advanced mana techniques at early tiers was certainly impressive, but it’s obvious he has no knowledge and has had no tutelage of mana, its functions, and all that’s possible at mid tiers, never mind mid-high tiers, especially tiers 16 and 17. He’s like a very powerful child.”
The prude turned to look at Xotl before asking, “You don’t know what a Terror is?”
“No. That’s why I asked.”
“They’re usually demons, but devils can be Terrors too, as well as other Hell creatures. Let’s say a demon shows a lot of promise, a Duke or Prince will take a personal hand in raising this demon. Much wealth and fell power are poured into them. They always turn out to be extremely powerful and very doughty fighters.
“They act as champions in the war. They’ll come forward and call us cowards and weaklings and challenge three of us of equal tier to face them. I’ve heard these matches are to the death and the Terror usually wins. Very few of us are willing to accept such a challenge.”
Xotl thought about that a moment before asking, “Your side doesn’t have Terrors?”
“No. Not made ones. I’d like to say that it’s not our way. I’m not too sure of that now. The fell power used to create Terrors is not available to us, and neither is the wealth required for such.
“The…we have a group that collects resources to help strengthen those fighting in the war, but now I think those resources go to fund these Games. I certainly haven’t received any of these resources, but I’m of low rank.
“We do have many tough and doughty fighters though. I’ve seen Samael, Michael, Gabriel, and Azrael each stand against two or more of your high pantheon and leave the field unscathed.”
The angel paused for a moment then added, “In fact, I’ll be surprised if this Asmodon isn’t a Terror. Why would the champions of this Game be different from your side’s champions in the war?”
“What tier will Asmodon be?”
The prude laughed again and said, “How would I know? I’ve never seen a Terror lower than tier 15. Maybe my own tier. He certainly won’t be higher than 17. If he was 18 or 19, you’d have heard his name before this.”
Xotl had never gotten so much information from the prude. He hoped it would continue. He asked, “What comes after tier 17?”
“Tier 18 is Duke or Archbishop. Tier 19 is Prince or Cardinal. Tier 20 has no real title for either side. Not that I’ve ever heard. It’s the tier of my boss, Samael. The tier of both sides’ high pantheon – Raphael, Michael, all of them. The tier of the Shining One when he conquered Hell. Or so I’ve been told.”
“What’s tier 21?”
“When I asked that question myself, I was told there’s nothing after tier 20, but there must be, so I don’t know.”
Xotl grunted. “I noticed you didn’t mention Kharahel.”
“I didn’t mention many archangels.”
“What about Metatron?”
“Metatron is a principality. Third Choir. That’s why you’ve never heard any stories about him in the war.”
“Oh,” replied Xotl. “Thanks for the info. You entered the war at tier 15, right?”
“Yes, but in the general reserves. I wasn’t assigned to Samael’s cohort until I ascended to Prime. He seldom takes on new angels. I’m the first to join his cohort in a very, very long time. I was happy to join him as he bears the brunt of the battle, and I wanted to make the biggest difference I could.”
“Is that why you were selected to come here? You were the new guy?”
“Yes,” said the angel. “As the lowest ranking member of his cohort, I’m the least useful to my boss in battle. All such duties fall to me.”
“Does the war suck as bad as I heard it does?”
“For demons of the lower layers, yes. Though many of my kind die, your side tries to capture and ransom us instead. There’s a lot of standing around waiting as well. Samael goes out and fights. Sometimes your side gives battle in earnest. Sometimes they don’t.
“When lower ranks are called forward to battle, it usually means a lot of Princes or Dukes took the field, or one of your high pantheon. Things get crazy for a while. Then it goes back to sitting around and waiting.”
“Huh. Well, I’m glad I don’t have to fight in it. Do you ever wish you didn’t have to?”
The prude frowned. “I never really thought about it. It’s the duty I was born to. I get orders and I follow them. Now I’m…never mind.”
As if to change topics, the prude turned to Xotl and asked, “Have you heard of Ultimate Orbments?”
“No. I want one though.”
The prude laughed and said, “I heard 18 is the first tier an Ultimate Orbment can be slotted. Three Crown Orbments are combined. Tier 18 is the entry tier for the second Choir, archangel. There’s a huge jump in power from tier 17 to 18. And again from 18 to 19. And the biggest jump when going from 19 to 20. I’m certain if I were tier 18, I could easily stand against Dan. To see those higher tiers battle is a thing of wonder.”
As Xotl was about to reply, the prude said, “Look. I believe they’re about to start the summoning.”
It did look like that, so Xotl stopped asking questions and began watching.
------
No one questioned the information Dan had given on the demon waves, or that he believed Asmodon would arrive with the third wave. They just accepted it.
He found that frustrating since no one accepted his advice on waiting a few more years before summoning the champion.
Since he had once felt the same way as they did now, he could understand their thinking.
It was called the Game and seemed like it followed game logic. All content had been cleared on the highest difficulty. Grinding the same Trials over and over on repeat had to mean they were ready for the last boss. Summoning the champion was the next logical step.
It’s not that they didn’t trust Dan. They just thought he was being way too cautious. They all said he was too afraid to risk anyone’s life but his own.
He just didn’t want anyone else to die. But they would.
He didn’t know if he was making the right calls. He hoped he was.
Maybe it was wrong to do, but Dan pulled some strings to get Nick assigned as a guard for the tutorial Becky was in.
Dotty was in command of guarding the tutorials. The fighters detailed to her would be the last line of defense for the non-combatants and kids packed in those areas.
He heard that Nick made a big stink about his assignment and only relented after Becky begged him to stay and protect her and Junior.
Other than Dotty, all those with 6-Star Souls were waiting in the three Crucible instances. Those with 5-Star Souls that wanted to fight were all packed in the Crucible and Court instances.
A camera was mounted on top of each of the five Trials of the Boss area, and each was pointed at the summoning circle in the center. The view wasn’t great since the area was very large, but it was good enough.
Leena, Chet, Valentin, Quiet, and Mandy would help with the summoning ritual, then book it south back to the Crucible.
Two strategies for deploying the triggers had been discussed the most. The first was to use both on Asmodon and the tougher demons and devils that appeared along with him. The second was to use one trigger on the first wave and the other on the second wave.
Dan knew if they went with the first option, the folks in the Crucible would run in to help fight as soon as the first wave portaled in. That meant all those folk would die fighting the first and second wave.
The last Dan had heard, there were over 400 people with 6-Star Souls. That blew his mind. He had no idea there were so many.
The fact that there were three different Crucible and nine different Court instances, when there was only one instance of those areas last time, highlighted how differently this time was playing out.
The biggest difference was that there were over 400 people with 6-Star souls. The last time, when the summoning circle was activated, there had been zero people with 6-Star Souls.
Thousands and thousands of people wanted in on this fight. They wanted to fight for their planet. They wanted to do their part to ensure the safety of their loved ones here or back on Earth.
Not one of them had any idea what was about to happen. No idea at all. They thought they were ready.
Dan couldn’t take seeing everyone die again, or seeing more friends die, so he put his foot down and said they’d use a trigger on the first and second wave. Period.
Seeing was believing. If everyone saw Asmodon and what a monster he was, he hoped they’d realize they couldn’t help, should stay as far away as possible, and leave all the fighting to him.
He doubted he’d be so lucky. For the people determined to fight, by the time they got there, if he could keep Asmodon focused on him and only him, he hoped, in the end, there’d be a lot fewer dead people.
Some party-wide buffs would be nice to have, but he’d need to be near the person invoking them to benefit, and that person wouldn’t live long enough for the buff to matter.
So, Dan refused to party with anyone. That would only encourage those he partied with to enter the battle instead of staying far away from it.
Leena had given Dan some consumables earlier, but all those buff items came with a significant negative, usually in the form of a debuff when the positive effect expired, also called a crash.
The more powerful the effect, the more powerful and longer lasting the crash would be after.
He couldn’t risk taking any items like that. The champion wouldn’t go down easily. If the fight went on for an extended period, Dan would crash during it. Eight billion people would pay the price for his mistake.
Dan kept the consumables stored. And he prayed again that everyone would be smart enough to stay far away from this battle.
I can’t fail, he thought. This is it, you piece of shit. It’s time to finally show your daughter you’re worth a damn.
------
Xotl got more comfortable in his chair as the ritual finished and the summoning circle lit up. Everyone but Dan took off running. They were supposed to run back to the Crucible and wait there with the others.
Ashen Ruin wasn’t summoned, so Dan stood alone facing the circle.
Once the outlines of 200 demons in a rectangular formation could be seen, Dan threw a trigger loaded with Epic Orbments into the center of the ritual circle, blinked away, sprinted behind the Trial of Anguish, and barely made it in time.
Even though Dan couldn’t see the circle, his vision still shook when the explosion went off. Xotl couldn’t help but let out a laugh. He loved explosions and he loved murder, even if it was demons being murdered by explosion.
Dan ran back to the circle. It was greatly damaged but that didn’t matter anymore. The ritual had been completed. The circle had served its purpose. There were tons of demon parts and chunks all over the place.
And loot. A lot of loot. It was driving Xotl nuts that Dan was ignoring it all. He just watched the circle, which was also driving Xotl nuts. It would take a while before the second wave began to be summoned in.
Get the loot, you stupid fool! Loot!
“Those were lesser demons of the fifth plane,” said the prude.
“Don’t you mean layer?”
“Plane, layer, same thing.”
Xotl didn’t know the specifics so kept his mouth shut about it and asked, “What tiers would the fifth layer demons be?”
“Rank 13 through 15. At least from what I’ve seen in the war.”
“Hrmm,” said Xotl. “What about the last two layers? The sixth and seventh?”
“There’s nine layers, not seven.”
“What? Everyone knows there’re seven layers.”
The prude laughed again and said, “Really? Everyone knows this? I assure you that Hell has nine layers. The sixth layer sends creatures of tier 15 through 17 to the war. The seventh, 17 to 18. The eighth layer contains those of tier 18 to 19. And the ninth layer is 19 to 20, including your high pantheon.”
While knowing the prude knew more about fancy stuff than he did, Xotl couldn’t help but think she was still wrong in this. It was well known there were seven layers of Hell. There just was.
He thought, no way a dumb angel broad knows more about the number of layers than a proper son of Hell such as the legendary Acesso LaBlacky.
The two sat in silence as they watched out of Dan’s eyes.
Dan carefully watched the circle. He didn’t move or make a noise. Xotl wished he was at his terminal and could also watch Leena and the others because this was boring and seeing all that loot not get looted was driving him crazy.
Finally, after what felt like eternity but was probably about an hour, more outlines began to appear.
Dan threw the last trigger into the center of the formation, blinked away, and sprinted behind the Trial of Anguish again, barely making it before the explosion rocked the whole area.
When Dan ran out from behind the building, there were about 40 or so demons and devils that had survived the blast. Xotl couldn’t tell what kind. They looked so big and strange.
“These are stronger entities of the fifth layer,” said the prude. “The demons are mostly Mammonites, Belphegites, and Berithites. A few Asmodites and others too.”
Since he had never seen any of these kinds of demons, he took her word for it. He knew Berithites and Asmodites well and tried figuring out which were these with no luck.
All the devils looked similar. Maybe they don’t have different kinds of devils?
Dan invoked Void Blast as he ran towards the remaining enemies. It blew apart the first devil that tried to fly away. His Eruption invocation exploded under the feet of three demons grouped together, killing all three.
Then Dan sent lava pellets at the other fliers as he continued to close the distance while trying to avoid all the long-range attacks directed at him.
To Xotl, it seemed that Dan’s heart wasn’t in this fight. He had seen this mortal fight a million times. He knew when Dan was trying, and when he wasn’t.
“He doesn’t seem to have his heart in this fight,” said Xotl.
“I believe he’s trying to make these enemies seem tougher, so his peers stay in the Crucible area. Notice he didn’t invoke STORM when he was near that big group.”
“Oh.”
About 20 demons and devils began to sprint or fly south. Dan blinked closer to them, cast Void Trap on the lead flier, lashed another in half with his whip, invoked Eruption under two others, and wrapped his whip around another to yank himself forward.
Now right in the middle of the group, STORM took all those around him out. A new cord of lava wrapped around a flier he used to swing to the next biggest group and stomped the ground as he landed.
A few of them survived Lava Stomp. The Crown Orbment Bonus for Inevitability of Magma reset it, and he stomped again, and then again at a different group, all while lashing his whip and sending out pellets of magma at fliers.
“There’s our boy,” shouted Xotl. “Now he’s trying!”
Dan casually sidestepped a beam attack and started sprinting back the way he came.
Less than 10 enemies were left. He went back to making the fight look harder than it was, like he was struggling.
Xotl wondered if Dan was fooling the other participants. Probably. They’re all idiots.
After the last devil died and the field was empty, Dan went to his previous waiting spot, summoned Ashen Ruin, and sat to meditate with an XP core in one hand, a beast core in the other.
Xotl loved how Ashen Ruin looked now. He looked insanely awesome at level 551, tier 18. “Hey, angel, doesn’t Ashen Ruin look super cool now?”
“Let’s just focus on this battle,” she replied.
Since watching Dan meditate was boring, Xotl’s mind pondered how strange his situation was. Strange, but not so bad.
Dan had ruined Xotl’s life, sure, but he couldn’t help but be appreciative of how much he had learned and how much knowledge he now had, and it was all because of this mortal.
Becoming friends with a fancy schmancy angel broad wasn’t so bad either, even with how greedy she was with her holes.
By the time outlines began glowing on the summoning circle, one of which was an outline of something huge, Dan was back on his feet, and the cores were stored.
Once the outlines were solidified, Ashen Ruin immediately cast Incinerate and charged the giant monster that was clearly the champion.
Seeing Asmodon made Xotl very proud to be a demon. He doubted anything but an Asmodite would take Asmodeus as a namesake, but he didn’t hold it against the champion too much since it looked so frighteningly cool.
Compared to all the other demons and devils on the field, Asmodon was huge. He had massive horns growing out of his grotesque head, overly large fangs that forced his mouth into a permanent grin, beady eyes glowing blood-red, a massive torso that looked like it was made of bone, and long legs and arms both ending in large and deadly looking claws.
And, to Xotl, the coolest thing about Asmodon was that he had giant bat wings too.
Awesome! This guy is going to tear Dan apart.
Xotl didn’t expect Ashen Ruin’s Incinerate, being Hellfire, to cause much damage. He smiled as Asmodon dismissively waved the fire out. Then it looked like the demon tried to fly away. Tried, but couldn’t.
Dan wasn’t just standing there doing nothing. As soon as Asmodon materialized, Dan cast Void Trap. A second later, Void Blast.
Asmodon formed a dark circle of mana to block the invocation. Void Blast blew through it like it was made of paper. Some of the strange bones covering the Terror flew away in shards and the champion grunted out in anger.
A circle of darkness appeared on the ground where Dan had stood a moment before. Skeletal and demonic hands reached out of it and grabbed at nothing.
Dan was charging the demons and devils to the left side of Asmodon. He had a two-handed sword made of lava in his hands, and he swung the massive blade forward with a grunt of effort as he sprinted.
An orangish light extended from the blade and flew into the ranks of Hell creatures, biting deeply into all the demons and devils it hit. A moment later, torsos slid away from their bodies and fell to the ground.
Xotl had never seen anything like that attack before. It killed about ten opponents and injured a lot more.
As Dan continued to sprint at his enemies, he lifted his left hand high in the air and closed the fingers into a fist.
Far in front of him, a huge explosion of lava erupted from the ground, sending deadly debris shooting in all directions. Demons and devils near the explosion were sent tumbling through the air.
All the devils and most of the demons would be immune to the heat effects of lava, but not the force of the explosion or the physical damage the debris caused.
Xotl was impressed. So much had happened and only a handful of seconds had elapsed since the fight began.
Dan turned his head towards the champion just in time to see Ashen Ruin arrived at its target, and just as Asmodon finished an invocation that sent thousands of dark meteorites showering down at Dan and the champion turned to face Ashen Ruin.
Dan blinked away from the meteorites and into a mass of demons and devils.
“Maybe Dan knows a little more about mana techniques than I assumed,” stated the prude.
Comments
Tony
Thank you
Oponette
tftc!
Tony
Good point. I'll do another pass. Thank you.
Jason Hornbuckle
Nothing major, just a few things like how would they know everyone but Dan sprinted south. For all they know they're just standing behind Dan, right? Unless Dan turned to watch them go. I mean if they can see out his ear holes too that's fine with me, I was just asking
Tony
Thank you. I tried to be careful and only add what could be seen with normal sight or peripheral vision. I quickly read through again and couldn't find anything obvious. If there's something, please let me know. For instance, I'm editing the next chapter and Xotl had a few comments about stuff he couldn't have seen - the expression on Dan's face and things like that. EDIT: I fixed some parts that seemed like they could use clarification.
Tony
Thank you
Tony
Thank you
Actually
I love the back and forth and lore information he seems to be doing well fighting the champion Tyftc!
Eric Kellar
Really loving this chapter.
Jason Hornbuckle
if they're still only looking out of Dan's eyes how are they seeing the stuff off to the sides of him
