"Ignis Ultima - modified: Quattuor Pyrae"
Throughout sector 2, every monster came to a sudden halt. Their senses marred with an uneasy feeling. As if shedding light to that premonition, ground started shaking violently, momentarily disorienting everyone.
And then, the ground cracked and from four different locations, torrents of raw mana erupted, purging all traces of demonic energy from the atmosphere. Monsters sensed their strength slowly waning as the demonic energy vanished. But that was not the end.
A crimson mana circle emerged in one of the zones.. It slowly linked with the other three zones, creating four interconnected magic circles. Infront of the central zone, a Youngman with blond hair and piercing blue eyes could be seen. Those blue eyes seemed to capture every moment in the battlefield, seeing through each and everyone.
His palms were making a shape of triangle. He gave a sinister smile that sent shivers across the battlefield. And then, mana burst ignited, creating a magnificent pillar of flames that seemed to reach all the way towards heaven. Before the monsters could even realize what happened or admire the spectacle, all who were within the zone or near it got incinerated.
Alongside that pillar, three more pillars appeared, incinerating all monsters within the vicinity. Pillars kept raging on. But the damage was already done. A huge portion of monsters lost their lives in a single attack, completely flipping the board upside down.
As the flames slowly started to die down due to mana veins stabilizing themselves, cheers started erupting all around the battlefield. Stage two was successfully completed. Now all that is left is to drive away the remaining monsters.
Although everyone was celebrating, Theon was making his way towards sector one, patiently waiting for the familiar feeling. While adventurers started to battle the remaining monsters, Bloodwolf party made their way toward sector one, to help Theon with stage 3 of their plan.
Despite all the cheering in the background, things went too smoothly. Theon started feeling uneasy. It was not supposed to be this easy. And if there's one thing he learned from his past experience, it's to trust his instincts.
Last time he felt like this was during his battle against Thalia, when he suddenly started getting injured out of nowhere. It was like someone stopped time and attacked him relentlessly. And then out of nowhere, Thalia stabbed him with a weird looking dagger, which killed Adrian.
The rest of the Bloodwolf party made their way towards the first wall. But Theon was not here. According to him, few seconds from now, A horseman will appear. And he was supposed to deal with it. Where the heck is that guy? Did something happen?
While Rod, Kleines and Elara were wondering, Veryn appeared behind them. I got words from Theon. He asked to buy him sometime with the horseman. Do anything to keep it from vanishing until he arrives.
What do you mean buy some time? Did something happen to hi-
Elara could not finish her sentence.
They felt as if world itself stilled. They felt severe pressure and blood lust clashing on them. Enough to make an ordinary soldier puke and pass out. They were momentarily disoriented, unable to realize what happened. All of their five senses got overwhelmed.
They started hearing noises, noises of weapons clashing against each other and tearing apart flesh. They smelled blood and flames. Burning flesh and rotting corpses. They started tasting blood and their skin crawled as if standing among dead corpses. It was like standing in a battlefield at the epitome of the war. They started taking deep breaths, not used to this kind of atmosphere. And then….
Near the crack to the demon realm, corpses of monsters started to disintegrate into small black particles, swirling and gathering on to a single place. And from the epicenter, a silhouette of a man appeared. Not, is it even a man?
The thing that emerged was standing on the top of a black horse with deep red eyes. Ride was wearing a red uniform underneath its light armor smeared with blood. Its face was covered with a helmet. The only thing visible was the deep red eyes among the darkness inside the helmet. Those deep red eyes bore in to them, as if realizing their intention.
..............................….
Meanwhile Theon was going through each and every scenario in his mind. He slowly made his way towards an isolated corner in sector 2. His instincts were raging. He felt like death itself was slowly approaching. Like an invisible noose was tightening around his neck.
Something big was coming. And it was coming for him. Did Zeroth make his move? No. It would've happened much earlier. Then what was it? A different demon general? That too seemed unlikely. If they got involved, it would be an insult to Zeroth.
Suddenly feeling a presence from his left side, Theon unleashed a flame spear. But when dust and flames settled there was nobody. Then he felt a presence from behind. But when he turned around, there was nothing.
Then he felt something from above, and he heard a familiar sound.
" Great instinct. Too bad your body can't keep up with it"
Theon suddenly jolted and created a distance between them.
The person who appeared was obviously a demon. White hair, horns, abyss like eyes with molten gold irises. He gave off a majestic feeling. The presence of an absolute being, one who had transcended the mortal plane and ventured even beyond.
With just one look Theon understood. This person was not Zeroth or any other demon general. He barely unleashed any pressure, but Theon was unable to move. His body was frozen rock solid. He was unable to look straight, forced to look at his feet. This was terror. Raw and unrestricted terror towards something he could not understand.
He bit his tongue. The pain helped him regain his senses. He tightened his grip sword and summoned all the white flames he could master, lessening the pressure. He could move a little bit now.
Then his unique skill kicked in, allowing him to look straight at his enemy's eyes.
" Oh? Not bad. But is that the extent of your abilities? Or did you come all the way by merely luck?"
He asked, looking a little bit amused.
Theon took a deep breath. It looks like the other party held little interest in the invasion. It was more like he was gauging Theon's abilities. Trying to compare him to someone. Rather than head on confronting, its better to let this slowly play out.
So Theon properly chose his words and replied,
"Isn't it rude to ask that from someone you met for the first time? You obviously know who I am. So would you mind introducing yourself?"
A flicker of amusement appeared in his face. Then he slowly stepped closer. Theon forced his instincts down and calmed his mind. To the outside he looked relaxed and confident. Maintaining his poker face, he looked the intruder in the eye, daring him to make a move. The intruder chuckled and replied….
"Theres no need for introductions between us. We have known each other for centuries. I want say, Its good to see you again old friend, but…"
He stepped even closer.
"You are not Adrian, are you?"
With that single question, Theon's composure completely cracked.
"Well, allow me to re-introduce myself."
He snapped his fingers and surroundings seized all movement. Then, a shattering sound could be heard. For Theon, it looked like the surroundings were shattering like a glass portrait. And then, pieces fell, revealing what's underneath.
He was standing on the ruins of a castle. It lacked any walls or a roof. But on a higher platform, a black throne could be seen. All around, broken pieces of structures and ruins could be seen floating in a starless midnight sky. Intruder sat on the throne with a kingly posture and looked down on Theon.
"I'm the one who rules the world forsaken by the sun"
"I'm the one who carries the hope, Hope for the beings who got lost within the darkness, abandon by the light"
"I carry the will of a god who was born from love, fought for love, and failed to save it."
The whole space reverberated with his voice.
"I am the last hope of the forsaken, the final chance for those abandoned by the light."
"I am Azrivel"
Then he leaned forward and looked Theon straight in the eye.
"I was Adrians best friend"
"And I'm also the being who will destroy all of humanity"
"Theon Rivenhart Ignisborn, I am your greatest enemy"