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Chapter 460: The Second Seat. [Release Version] (Major Changes)
🕑 Added 2023-11-01 16:23:47 +0000 UTCEdit: Bit of a mistake. Yorshka shouldn't be here so I removed her interactions. (Obsolete)
Edit 2: Barely anything remained from the original 460. In fact, to those who remember the original 460 and 461 might realize what I did.
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“Ah, Yaldabaoth? Yeah, sure, I know about it.” As Ellaine’s scream reached my ears, my mind flashed back to the time when I asked Klea about the powers of the Prince of Envy. “Unlike Demiurge, which uses demonic energy to transform your body into the people you consume, Yaldaboath infuses your words with suggestive images that influence your mind. This affects your soul and results in the demon being able to read your memories, since memories are attached to your soul.”
In other words, [Original Sin: Yaldaboath] was a mental attack, created through both sound and mana. You had to block both activation triggers to prevent it from influencing you, which was hard as the ability could be activated almost instantly once the demonkin finished the chant for it. It was the perfect ambush tool, which was how the sin heir caught Vifi and Saori off-guard when we followed him in the underworld.
As it was a mental attack, [My Darkest Thoughts] was the perfect counter to it. It nullified all mental and psychological attacks, and it created an area where I could drown out other sounds, not to mention weakening seven sin powers in general. Sadly, I couldn’t be everywhere. We needed basic counter measures.
Therefore, a wind barrier was perfect for blocking the activation through speech, but the mana option was harder. Neill had an easy way, since she could manipulate mana with her dragon paths, to the point she could even block telepathic links by using her technique with her scales. It was a bit harder for the rest of us, but there actually was an “easy” way to gain such a protection—[Defensive Rune: Auracoil].
… Which still required precious seconds to set up, which was impossible during an ambush.
In any case, if the sin heir of envy was here, Ellaine should’ve known how to block them, yet, this letter I just read mentioned two sin heirs. Another from the one we knew about. What was that supposed to mean and who was the sender? Who laid this letter here?
“Dammit!” Ellaine’s voice echoed through the tunnel once again, followed by the wild cries of Shay and Beth.
I clicked my tongue and threw the injured Cardinal into my subspace, choosing my newly built prison for him to stay inside. I then dashed back out with [Gale Steps], only for me to come to a complete stop when I saw a brown tidal wave suddenly flood the entrance. It engulfed the entire area, leaving me literally no space to escape through it. I was trapped!
I was thinking of using my scale-barrier or an earth spell to block it, but I then remembered that was impossible if the water pressure was too high. I had to completely fortify the area, but it would only be a matter of time before it crashed through. After all, how did this tidal wave happen? It was unnatural, and an unnatural cause had to be accounted for.
<Mana Release activated. Aura used as control unit: [Draconic Aura Lv. 5]. Territory [Magmakammer] has been established. Territory Dispute engage>
Instead I activated my Territory and decided to dig left, trying to reach my allies. I built a [Terra Wall] and fortified it with the same spell, before blowing fire on the wall, melting it. As I swam through my magna, I could hear the [Terra Wall] break, following the loud sizzling from the extreme heat hitting water around me.
I hurried to the other side, creating a hole once I reached it, only for my heart to drop when I saw the brown tidal wave had completely covered up the sewer, nearly dragging me into it as it rushed through with the ferocity and speed of a stream made for white water rafting.
With all the water covering the place up, I instantly understood the methane gases couldn’t do anything and chose to unleash a full powered [Hellflame Breath], boiling away the water and narrowly avoiding being a victim of it. I then turned my head up, drilling myself back to the surface.
Like a geyser, magma and water sprouted out from the hole I had created after I confirmed nobody was above me with [Detection Sensor]. Like a ragdoll, I was shot into the air from the sheer pressure, feeling like my body was getting crushed by the wind pressure around me. I managed to quickly stop myself with [Aerokinesis] and my rocket boosters, stabilizing myself only to notice I had been launched almost high enough to touch the clouds.
Ellaine! Everybody! I panicked, but calmed down when my parallel minds told me there had been only one signal inside the sewer when I dug myself up. This knowledge helped me calm down long enough to spot Ellaine, Shay, and Beth narrowly escaping through the house as it blew up, sending a stream of muddy-looking water out.
Mud? Hold on, that brown water was actually mud? I widened my eyes when the shimmer of the “water” revealed its true identity. At the same time, when the adrenaline died down, I finally registered the horrible sewer smell along with the fact I had accidentally destroyed my mask.
At the same time, two more geysers of mud appeared in the city — one of them even shot out Sis. With Ellaine’s and the twin’s safety assured, I blasted towards my sister and caught her, helping to stabilize her.
“Thanks, urrgha!” She gagged, grimacing as the sewage smell overwhelmed her nostrils. “Father’s horns, dammit, father’s horns! That bastard! That bastard!”
Rage filled her eyes as she covered her nose, glaring at the mud deluge happening below us. I didn’t know where her anger was directed at, as I was more worried about the people about to be harmed by the three jets of mud, showing this entire city in the most rancid smell ever.
While supporting Neill, I flew back to the ground, throwing her down at a spot she wanted, before dashing through the streets of the city. I grimaced but I couldn’t do anything when she was like this. Instead, it was time to play some songs.
Heir and Thoughts. Whatever this is, it isn’t good!
<[Shield of [The Light]] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
<Territory deactivated>
Barriers began to cover every single citizen who could hear me in a white-golden aura, protecting most from the falling mud. Still, the city was in danger of getting flooded by the extreme amount of mud.
Hold on. Mud? Mud? Wait, didn’t Fleindia mention something about mud before? Mud. Mud. Hey, girls, mu—
‘The Warbringer!’ Manager Mind shouted in response, finally having put the clues into place.
A place where the demonkin have full control, a warning from Vifi that another Warbringer would without a doubt threaten our party due to her betrayal, and the number two Warbringer who led the coup on Aurena’s blessed in the Empire being proficient with the mud element. It all made sense now.
“Everybody, to the church area! Now! Await the knights!” I shouted for everybody below me to hear. Using myself like a lighthouse, I then pointed towards the basilica, for all to see and obey.
Now, how do I deal with a mud swamp? How do I save the people already engulfed in it? I thought as I realized there had to be a source. Either a caster continuously creating all this mud or a magic circle kept active with [Continuous Cast].
Mana Eyes.
I confirmed there were five magic circles placed in the sewer, but grimaced as there were too many for me to deal with quickly. There was only one of me, and I didn’t know if my companions could deal with this sorta issue.
I could dig myself through and had the defensive skills to protect myself—I was overthinking this again. Even with accelerated thinking, I was losing precious seconds. As time passed, the mud level beneath me grew taller and taller, almost to the point they covered up the doors of the houses beneath me. A few citizens were even trapped inside their homes, with no way out but to jump.
[“Rajah!”] I called out but he didn’t answer. Was he still with Ellaine?
I still had to deliver this information to everybody, though. Well, if I was too far to speak telepathically, there was still the option to just shout really loud!
Taking a deep breath, I then amplified my voice with [Aerokinesis]. “Everybody! The mud is being created by five magic circles laid inside the sewers! The geysers are creating a large tsunami inside the city, to the point people might drown! Help them! I can dig myself through everything!”
With the information out, I transformed myself into a dragon. Once the mana mist dispersed, I flapped my wings, revealing my true form to everybody and immediately used [Telepathy] to speak to all the people underneath me. I couldn’t have people panic.
[“An announcement to all citizens of Aureolis! I am Champion Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor, Princess of the Dragon Empire of Kargryx and the granddaughter of the God of Dragons and Oath, Kargryxmor! In the name of him and Goddess Aurena, I declare all inside this city under my protection! Under my voice and Her blessing, preserve your life and move towards the basilica immediately! The Church of Aurena will protect you!”]
Now, Purple Flash! Prayer!
Our entire team needed the buffs since there was no need to stay conspicuous any longer, but if our enemies were within the circles, they would just receive the buff as well. That was just how [Prayer] worked.
Putting my mana into my spells, I materialized a huge white magic circle around the disaster zone, only putting enough mana inside to cast it. Once white particles similar to snow descended down, I activated [Battle Frenzy].
<[Blessing of the Goddess of Light (Minor)] [Battle Frenzy (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
I then cast [Unheiliger Engel] and had the obsidian wings shot towards two locations close to the magic circles before igniting them. I then flew towards the ground and unleashed a [Hellflame Breath] and used [True Draconic Barrier] with my scales to create a shield around me. I dug through the ground and pierced through the mud waves, creating a large veil of steam and magma around myself, but my fire breath successfully destroyed the magic circle.
Oh gosh, aahhhhh! Air Shield! Now, now! I shouted in my head to cast the spell as the burned smell of sewage nearly caused me to black out.
My body jolted back, feeling numerous chills running down my body from that terrible smell, but I kept it together as my job wasn’t done yet. I then flew up in the sky, noting the jet of mud had shrunk in size. I then snapped my head around to the first aflame [Unheiliger Engel] before using [Flash Fire], “teleporting” over within two seconds, far faster than just using my rocket boosters.
Dammit, I need a better way to launch a long range fire attack for [Flash Fire]. Preferably large and tall. I noted my complaint in the back of my head before I destroyed the next circle with a flame breath.
I repeated the process with the last three circles, using [Flash Fire] to dash around at the cost of mana. Thankfully, the sun was up so there was literally no reason for me to worry about it. It got even better when the geysers stopped all together, causing me to mentally pat myself on the back for a job well done, only for my eyes to widen again when I saw the mud suddenly rise up, turning it into that tsunami I had feared.
It was impossible though. I had stopped every single magic circle in the area!
“Help!” Citizens cried out, trapped inside their homes, unable to leave with the mud covering everything. My inferno blaze had dried the muddy water up, drying and hardening anything in the surrounding.
I was about to rush over, but Quatre’s voice stopped me.
[“Alpha’s Master, her students were ambushed by a demonkin of wrath”] he shouted in my head. [“The Alpha is trapped inside the sewer, under all that mud, caused by the demonkin. Tasianna cannot contend against him alone.”]
Are you kidding me?
I snapped my head around, looking at the mud tsunami and then back to the people below. My priorities were completely fucked! I had to help my friends, but I just announced that I would help these people. That wasn’t a promise, but it was still a declaration that could be interpreted as one.
This revelation actually caused my chest to feel tight. Who should I choose? My friends were the most important people in my life, but the issue was that I couldn’t go back on a promise. The disappointment if I didn’t live up to either side’s expectation was causing my brain to work overtime, putting my parallel minds through the wringer as we tried to analyze what was the correct move.
What were my options?
“Kriiark klish garfinik!”
In that very moment where I urgently needed a plan, Neill’s voice rang out, giving me a moment of enlightenment, kind of like figuring out the answer for a difficult exam. I snapped my head up as her [Battle Frenzy] cry struck the city like a thunder before an explosion sent the remains of a house into the air, disintegrated by the dragon paths covering its walls. In the next moment, a mana beam large enough to envelop a bus shot into the air, drilling through the mud tsunami and leaving behind a large gap.
There, I also saw a man in white armor jump onto a nearby roof as his body was enveloped in holy magic. It coated the helmed man’s sword before he swung it, sending out an ephemeral slash that bisected the tsunami, stopping it in its track as the two pieces collided into each other.
The ensuing mud wave damaged some of the houses, but not to the degree the full wave could have done.
Who is that guy?
It wasn’t important. What mattered was that the imminent threat had been dealt with and it seemed Neill was fighting the unknown sin heir, allowing me to unleash a new [Hydra] and activate [Halo of Consecration]. Using [Hydra]’s malleable and fluid form, I dragged people out of their houses with the golem, while my halo fully dried the mud, making them crack through the slightest pressure.
Although Uno was reluctant, he still helped me out after I argued Saori could handle herself, as well as Tasianna now that Neill was around. I was still a bit nervous, but [The Heir of Hope] and [My Darkest Thoughts] were loud enough to reach most of the city. They should be able to hear my songs and gain the buffs, including the additional healing from [Sanctified Blaze].
In [Battle Frenzy] mode, my [Soul Vision] also allowed me to track down any heavily injured people, and I made [Hydra] prioritize saving them. In fact, in my initial scans, I nearly missed a couple of people who were swept by the initial mud waves and were buried deep down. With all the signals inside the city, it was hard to differentiate them from others.
“Thank you so very much, Champion Hestia! Thank you!” A family cheered as they embraced their mud-covered children, sobbing loudly.
Yet, those who thanked me were a minority, as a large number of people still required my help.
“Champion Hestia, my father is coughing up mud. He isn’t responding either!”
“Arrgh, my leg! Please, somebody help me!”
“More people over here, Champion Hestia! Please, over here!”
I was personally happy that nobody really showed their fear of my dragon form, it did make me happy that action spoke louder than my appearance, but this was getting out of hand. I was a single person and I had larger issues than just helping these people. The noises in the back were only getting louder.
[“Master!”] And it only got worse when I heard Rajah. [“Tasianna and the others are having problems fighting the demonkin. Rajah heard him call himself the second seat Warbringer. More demonkin are appearing to help him as well, more wrath demonkin!”]
Dammit, where are the damn knights and priests? Where are they?
[“I can’t do this, any longer. Uno and Rajah, get the shadow pack over here. You have to take over for me with [Hydra], all right? I need to get over to the others,”] I commanded before pulling out holy fire bombs and potions from my storage.
Both quickly agreed with Rajah being sent to fetch the others, while I readied to blast off, only for me to hesitate when the citizens called out to me.
“Champion Hestia, please!”
Arrck, dammit!
[“You’ve seen the giant wolf help you. He is one of my faithful companion’s familiars. He will help you with my spell golem, so, please—There is a demonkin on the other side of the city. More people need me, so I have to go. I’m sorry!”]
Without hearing one more word, I flew up, using [Flash Fire] to teleport as far away as possible. I couldn’t let words weigh down my heart and decision making. I need to reach the real fight.
As I reached the area where I saw Neill’s [Arcane Pulse: Maxima], I jerked when I saw two shadowy figures being shot through the alleyway by a giant earth projecti—No, a giant mud fist! “Argk!” one of them groaned as he stood his ground, erecting a large solid shadow wall before trying to push the fist back, only for his attempts to be futile.
Kyouya! That was Kyouya’s shadow armor from his unique skill and the one behind him in his werewolf form was Tatsuya. As the former struggled, the latter dashed to the side and used [Gale Steps] to approach their foe, only to almost eat a new mud fist to the face if Kyouya hadn’t pivoted to protect him. This allowed Tatsuya to attempt the maneuver again, only for the same thing to happen once more.
A wind spell and arrow then flew from the direction of the mud fist, only for something to shake the ground as I heard the growling of a cougar-tiger mix. I then snapped my head to the side as I saw a green-furred virgacuga scale up the two buildings sandwiching the street as tentacles of mud tried to catch it. Utilizing [Air Walk] and its fur projectiles, it was able to keep things at bay, but for a single second, the tentacles’ speed surged like a predator seeing its moment, snatching the big cat by the hind legs.
Varya!
I caused a spark in my mouth and unleashed a fire breath, searing through the mud appendages to free Rajah’s mother. As she landed on the roof, I flew over to the boys and slashed at the mud fist with [Hellblade Edge], before finally stopping myself to assess what was going on.
“Oh?” A baritone man’s voice echoed through the street as if he was speaking through a microphone. “Has she finally come? The great hero of the light goddess’s crusade against us? The one dragon who actually follows the oath Kargryxmor gave to his Goddess?”
The voice emanated from a mud blob, looking all too similar to a slime with how it wobbled around. Yet, the mana core inside this “creature” was in the form of a humanoid, emoting around as if he was giggling like a highschool girl.
As his chortle died down, my eyes looked to the side to notice Ellaine and Misaki, both breathing heavily as they were holding onto Kohaku and Kazumi respectively. My eyes widened in terror as I saw the two girls, gurgling and throwing up what looked like an endless supply of mud. It oozed out of their mouth, noses, ears, and even from their eyes!
“Gurak!” Both coughed prompting Ellaine and Misaki to give them first aid, attempting to rid the mud out of their body.
The mana body inside the mud slime suddenly turned around as tentacles shot out of them, only for Varya to slam her spiked tail down. The mud tentacles were cut short but quickly grew back in length and were about to strike at the virgacuga, but before it could do that, I ground my teeth, causing my floating scale-dust to blow up around me and in front of Varya.
As the mud man expressed his surprise at how I did that, I shot a dragon breath at the mud blob, vaporizing it. Once I was done with my attack, nothing was left in the area my flames touched, but a chill ran down my spine as I hadn’t gotten a level nor did could I detect the signal of any person with [Detection Sensor], forcing me to resort to [Mana Eyes] to see him swiming through the ground to reappear from behind me.
“Ah, see, fire is quite powerful and all, but even God Danterno’s element can’t do much if it can’t reach me. Mud is pretty useful in that matter. The defensive value of earth but the fluidity of water! The best of both worlds, if you ask me,” the man said, almost as if bragging. “Wounds can be healed, trauma can be prevented, and poison can be cured … But you know what makes for an even better assassination method? Asphyxiation. No air, no living! Drown them! Choke them! Pretty hard to save somebody’s draining health when healing magic can’t outheal dying like that, right? … Then why not choke them to death with mud, since it’s like water but harder to get out of the lungs?”
I snapped my head to the girls then back to our enemy, before asking myself where Neill was. Didn’t Uno mention Saori being trapped in the sewer? Where were Shay and Beth if Ellaine was here. Where was Tasianna?
[“You!”]
“Not ‘You!’” The mud blob opened up to reveal a half-naked man with a muscular physique shaking his wet, brown hair dry. He then stopped and rested his arms on the blob, smiling widely with two muddy horns while playing with the large scar on his lips. “Me! The left-hand man of Lord Wrath of Bole’Taria, Sakrha, the Grave—Oh!”
Without letting this bastard end his monologue, I took flight before breathing down crimson fire, intending to majorly injure him before this fight could continue. Sadly, he managed to react just in time to swim elsewhere through the ground. I intended to guide my head towards him, only to stop when I realized I nearly hit Tatsuya and Kyouya.
When I stopped and adjusted my position, the man appeared from the ground again, only this time without his armor of mud. He raised his arms, T-posing with a tongue sticking out of his mouth.
“Sakrha the Gravemaker. An undertaker who is always on time for his mark! Hahahaha! That dragon form is amazing to look at, hahaha!” He grinned sadistically, ridiculing me without trying to hit me. “Maybe worry less about me, and more about your friends? Don’t want them to die in the worst way possible, right? Leeeader?”
This guy!
“Woah!”
I snapped my head around as I heard Ellaine’s and Misaki crying out, seeing their feets sinking into the ground as if it was quicksand.
“Good thing I don’t have to assassinate you,” the Warbringer ominously stated.
Varya cried out before jumping up, having noticed the ground was about to turn into a sink trap on her, contrasting the boys who failed to react to it. Standing on air, she shot four fur projectiles, each for the respective four trapped in the ground. Lodging into their armor and clothes, the virgarcuga then jumped up, pulling them out of it as I noticed she had mana threads attached to them!
Her quick thinking saved them from having to deal with the deathtrap, allowing my heart to rest for a moment only for it to drop again as I saw an orange-brown magic circle appear on the demonkin’s hands. “Rupture heaven and earth, Swamp Collasper!” he chanted as a whirlpool of mud erupted at Varya.
I dashed to the side, sending my scales out to protect her, only to notice that my mana was draining faster than I had expected. Mud was still a compound element of water! Even if it wasn’t as effective as normal water or ice, mud still was one of my natural weaknesses, able to deal extra damage to me.
Fortunately, this wasn’t [Draconic Barrier] any longer. This was [True Draconic Barrier] and it wouldn’t break this easily!
With me tanking it, Varya managed to drag everybody onto her back and was now attempting to flee the situation. She made the correct move even without my commands. Sadly, the demonkin didn’t plan on letting her go easily, as tendrils of mud erupted from the mud-covered earth.
[“Get out! Follow your son!”] I gave my order before preparing my counter. Nobody else was around me, so it was time to blow this person up!
Then it happened. [Foresight] and [Danger Perception] warned me to get out of the area with haste. It didn’t come from the demonkin but from the ground, and from the looks of it, the sin heir had noticed it as well.
We both stopped out attacks and attempted to run, only for the attack to go off before we could make our next move. A blinding purple-black laser shot through the area like a pressurized water beam, cutting through anything that stood in its way. That included my scale barrier and the sin heir’s left foot.
He groaned as used his mud to create a replacement, and jumped away. He then caught it with a mud tendril before attaching it back on his foot, using mud like glue to keep them together.
Freikugel. That was Neill, I concluded before preparing my spells as I noticed the mud turning paler.
Ice began to seep out from it, freezing it up before blue lines appeared. With a single crack, the mud splintered into a million brown snowflakes, littering the area in it before two wyverns shot up, immediately assaulting the demonkin with breaths of ice.
It was the twins! While I was glad they survived, my eyes noticed mana lines appearing underneath the demonkin. They crackled before releasing purple electricity, stunning him, allowing the wyverns to freeze him up.
“Attempting to suffocate us again while you’re fighting against a wind mage? Foolish.” A familiar voice came from the hole where the twins flew out from. Tasianna, it was Tasianna, and she was slowly flapping her fairy wings as she ascended from the ground.
She was holding her Zerphira-blessed catalyst, smiling at me as she saw me. Her face was dirted and bloodied, but she still showed me an expression that told me she wasn’t done fighting yet. So much spirit was left in this tiny fairy’s body that I felt in awe as the sunlight shone down on her figure, casting a shadow on me.
“We’re all okay. So is your sister! Princess Fargryneill!” she shouted, perfectly timed with a [Pulse Arcane: Maxima] shooting up from the frozen demonkin, creating a large light pillar.
As it faded, Neill’s kirin figure appeared from the hole, galloping like a majestic horse before she brandished her purple-black scaled wings and tail, flaunting them proudly for everybody to see. She stared down with her neon-lit up mane, growling as she squinted.
“Got caught?”
You gotta be kidding me.
The demonkin survived as he borrowed himself out from the ground. I was sure he was frozen and I even saw his figure in the ice. My question was answered when Tasianna clicked her tongue, mumbling, “Another mud clone.”
“Correct!” The man declared before looking around the area. “My order was to prevent vital information from getting into your hands. I don’t know if we lost or it was a tie, but I guess you are an otherworlder, huh, princess? Teleported our prisoner out? Too bad, really wished I could have killed one of you … So, how about this. You let me leave and we fight at a more fitting time?”
[“Shut up!”]
[“Hell no!”]
“You wish!”
All five of us rebuked him in our own way, causing him to let out a small chuckle and smack his leg.
“This is great and so on, but I should probably leave before the reinforcements come. Five on one is pretty hard with so many mages and even a pure mana-user.” He grinned. “Next time, give the human girl who has Klea’Hatma. We know, and we want one of our ancestors back if you would be so kind. Also, bring along that little traitor with you, then we can have a real battle to the death!”
[“Once again, you aren’t leaving!”] I growled, mouth readying a fire breath.
“Not taking orders from you, dragon. Although, ask yourself this, do you really have the luxury to fight an explosive, city-destroying battle with me once I release my Original Sin and Territory? When so many people are around that could die? Die right now?” He then pointed at the other side of the city and the basilica, before flame pillars erupted in their directions. “Take the loss. Save some people, make them like you, before we topple your entire cause down … because you finally lost the element of surprise, Aurena’s dog.”
Comments
brunoid
Thanks for the chapter!
