CHAPTER 421

AGAINST THE WORLD (III)

The cyan dome collapsed suddenly unto itself; but for a breath, the fortress stood defenseless, though no one managed to capitalize on it as nobody quite expected it. Just as they realized it, nearly four thousand silver-cast vanguard shields appeared out of nowhere, spread around the fortress evenly, connected by thin threads, forming a similar dome of protection.

Shadows suddenly slipped past the thin openings, warping through the empty space like invisible darts, quickly reaching the ever-diminishing army. Lucky led the charge fearlessly, a pair of daggers bloodily glistening within her hands. She had an empty expression, eyes void of emotion, entirely doused in thick smoke.

Like the billowing carpet, she dashed around through the small formation of Devils, stabbing away at their vital points at speeds they could not process. Following right after her were the other members of Shadows, a small segment of the fortress that largely remained unknown to the world.

Thousands of bodies began raining into the sea down below per second, blood accompanying them in a macabre shower of crimson gore.

Lucky dug her fangs into unarmed necks repeatedly, her body flickering about frequently, never staying put for longer than a breath. Bending her body unnaturally, nearly touching her heel with the top of her head, she evaded a blade light before vaulting sideways, extending her left leg and wrapping it around the Devil she had just killed, using the corpse as a propeller to shuffle herself over to the next group where the attack came from.

She suddenly stuffed the daggers into her belt as the shadows surrounding her expanded, temporarily reaching nearly a whole mile across. Right after, countless needle-sized blades shot out of the smoked curtain of darkness, causing one agonizing cry after another to adjoin each other in the symphony of pain.

Pillars of rainbow-colored lights shot up from each of the fortress' towers, slithering like pieces of cloth under wind before bending into a spiral and joining together above Ella. A sphere the size of a small mansion turned pure white, blasting off heated rays omnidirectionally for a moment before cracking open like an eggshell. From within, an ear-shattering roar suffocated all other sounds momentarily before a shapeless beast emerged, as dark as the obsidian.

The fortress abruptly shook as Ella cried out, quickly channeling Qi to the eastbound side where Hannah currently sat floating midair, ensconced inside her Avatar form. Opposite of her was a swarm of Void and Fiend Titulars, the frontline composed entirely of Aeonians.

Her breaths were rapid and shallow, her complexion daftly pale; the shimmer of her green eyes dulled slightly as blood trickled down the corners of her lips. Crying out lowly, she clasped her hands together in front of her chest, the majestic mirage of her above quickly following suit.

Elements beyond measure splintered at their cores, causing thousands of explosions to encase her surroundings, shaking the world at its heart. The sky split open as a pillar of golden light descended upon her, a bejeweled Crown suddenly appearing both above hers and mirage’s heads. It shone starkly golden, emitting heart-wrenching Will of Command. What it touched bowed, shaking on their knees. Light wrestled away from her, combing into a barrage of a thousand blades that spread into a halo-like formation behind her. Her emerald eyes lost their green luster, replaced by brilliant silver, her dress transforming into a silver-cast armor.

“DON’T LET HER COMPLETE THE TRANSFORMATION!!!!” a voice suddenly broke out beyond the realm of reality as Two managed to break out thousands of people from mind paralysis.

“CHARGE!!!!!”

Though she watched thousands of souls charge right at her, with thousands more firing off one art after another from behind them, Hannah appeared calm and tranquil. She swiftly took out an unassuming object reminiscent of a handle of a broken sword, extending her right arm forward. The space around it rippled, giving way to the overbearing nature.

She shuffled her Will directly into it, elongating the small, ordinary object into a six-miles wide cannon-like article that rested above her. Silver-cast and breathtaking, it shuddered and shook as light lit up like the sun at the far front, causing the reality around it to bend due to the sheer quantity of Qi.

“Banishment.” though a whisper, her voice echoed out through the vestiges of space, reaching every soul currently facing her.

Suddenly, the cannon of light shook, a faint hum blasting off into the world before a beam of light surged from within, consuming everything in front of it in a singular sweep. There was nothing left in front of her, not the arts, not the people charging, nor those well behind them. There was only a gaping hole, slowly coming together at the seams.

She staggered midair, a hand reaching behind her suddenly and holding her back from falling as the mirage above collapsed, the crown shattered, the silver-cast armor vanishing in lieu of a dress she originally wore. Amadeel held her gently, sucking in a cold breath as he glanced at the destruction in front of him.

“… almost…” he mumbled, spotting a small density of energy in the distance that vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

The shapeless beast roared once more, moving northward where Alison was currently facing an army of God-devils. Alex, Myveen, and Ivon stood in front of her, all donning somber expressions.

“… Hannah has really grown up…” Myveen mumbled with a faint smile, glancing at the distant spot that had just closed up.

“She really has,” Alex nodded. “But, admire her later.” he quickly added, swiping sideways whereupon a sound of clashing metals echoed, a faint spark flashing for but a second as a bladed edge bounced off his fist.

All abound, Arts flashed back and forth, thousands dying and falling every second. In a relative safety from the chaos, Primul was rapidly drawing over the already-existing threads, sweat pouring down his forehead and back, his shirt as wet as though he’d just doused himself in the ocean waters down below.

“HURRY UP!!!” Ella’s alarmed voice shook his heart as he gritted his teeth, managing to speed up his already cramping hand slightly.

"…" he didn't have the strength to answer her, merely resuming the dance around the core, roughly drawing a thread every two seconds. Had Lino been here to see it, he would have most-likely believed he was dreaming it, as he needed over thirty seconds to draw a single thread on the weapon arrays, to say nothing of the massive formation.

The seconds ticked by both rapidly and lethargically, his mind overcast in the sensation of exhaustion. He had to fight back the sleepiness, the tiredness, while at the same time concentrating on the fact that a single misaligned line would cause the entire thing to collapse, perhaps even preventing the activation of the Defensive Layers completely. He didn't know the state of the battle, but the symposium of roars, cries, and curses let him know it was all but steady.

Ella altered her focus between Primul, maintaining the formation, each of the sides of the fortress, as well as Lino. Though she was exhausted, she didn’t allow herself a single breath of respite; after all, a single mishap could potentially result in the breach of the fortress walls, which would effectively doom them all.

Glancing toward one of the streets, she spotted kneeling Eggor holding his arms up in the air, channeling what little Qi he had in maintaining the shield formation that was the last bastion of defense for the fortress at the moment. Gritting her teeth, she glanced at Lino only to suddenly have her heart freeze over as though doused in ice. In the very moment that her eyes landed on the distant figure, thousands of swords of light skewered him all throughout as blood burst out of every inch of his being.

“GODDAMIT PRIMUL, HURRY UP ALREADY!!” she cried out once more, her voice cracking slightly. Her heart screamed at her to abandon post and rush after him, but she managed to hold back.

“I’M DONE!! I’M DONE!! ACTIVATE IT!!” the man screamed from down below, barely managing to get out the last word before falling back and passing out on the floor right there, breathing heavily.

Without even waiting for a second, she reactivated the defensive layers, freeing Eggor who also collapsed right after as the shields vanished. Cyan dome once again encompassed the entire fortress, her eyes quickly darting over to Lino.

Had he a whole mouth right now, Lino would most-likely end up cursing all lines of ancestry the Six and Two had. Though it was temporary, the explicit feeling that came with being skewered by a thousand swords could not be quite put into words. It was a sensation that needed to be experienced, yet Lino would adamantly instruct everyone not to seek it.

Just as he barely managed to recover, he saw Three closing in with a gilded blade of gold and fire blazing away behind her, increasing in size each passing moment. However massive his Vitality was, it wasn’t infinite. Letting go of his inhibitions for a moment, a roar bellowed out of his lungs as the [Dragon Slayer] cried out in concert, the black shadows suddenly replaced by milky-white streams of light. Rather than retreating, he advanced toward Three, his whole being shrouded in shadows. However, there was a change deep within; streams of white light, akin to those emitting off the sword, appeared in the visage of his.

They seemed inconspicuous to the point that even Two didn't pick up anything odd about them, merely thinking it was just another one of the boosting Arts he possessed. After all, Three's attack was mainly for distraction as she and Six prepared for something bigger. Even at the point of impact, neither of the two realized something was off. It was only during the aftermath.

Lino swung the Slayer at an angle, meeting the Three’s scorching blade the size of a massive tower by now squarely. The space around the impact ripped open immediately, explosion following right after that rippled out for tens of miles in an ear-deafening shockwave. However, there was no standoff; no ensuing explosions or struggle. Rather, Three immediately realized something was wrong as she felt the Qi within her blade seep away. It wasn't a gradual decrease, but an immediate one – from a hundred to a zero – until the blade vanished completely.

A pair of grimdark eyes bore down upon her soul as she came face to face with a nightmare-fueling abomination. It wasn’t Lino, it wasn’t Ataxia, it was that which both of them heeded – Chaos. Like two stars, black and white, his eyes danced in the midst of shadows, beholding the truths and lies of the creation and reality. Streams of shadowed black and illuminated white combed together at the edge of the blade as it descended upon her, cleaving through her skull without any resistance.

“—what…” she barely managed to mumble in the end as she came face to face with the reality.

In that split second of awareness before death, she was pulled into his soul. There, two blazing stars burned and scorched, one entirely white, the other perpetually black. They orbited one another in an eternal dance, pulling at each other yet never coming in contact. In-between them, at the stark center, a figure hovered cradled in their flares. Cape of black and white draped around him, fluttering in the hazy winds of fire. He opened his eyes and met hers for a moment, a smile creeping up.

“—my Will… be done." a lethargic voice of infinity was the last thing she heard before her consciousness ceased. Right then, her body was halved, split right across, and scorched right after into the fading ash. At that moment, a star of splendor that survived ceaseless wars fell… yet her greatest regret was not failing to survive, but failing to tell the others to hide and cower until the end of eternity.