Chapter 139 - Properties Of The Underworld
Surrounded by a deep black dome, the three slaves of Hexarion could not help but feel flustered by the sudden change of event.
"Struggle as much as you wish" Gratiana grinned.
"Ana, Is this it...?" Shamac asked in a whisper.
"Y-Yes..." She responded cautiously.
"Okay, then... You all know what to do. We can't afford to pull our punches now!"
Take a and Ana nodded after hearing Shamac's words and made a formation, each backing the other. Doing this, they covered one another's blind spots.
"Useless!" Gratiana said, raising one of her hands above her head.
Suddenly, they felt a tremor around them, and the black surrounding began to shake. Ripples appeared on the dark curtains as they took the form of a semi-liquid substance. Distortions showed all around it, indicating something was protruding from within.
"Come forth... Hellhounds!"
Suddenly, hands came forth from the veil which covered the area, and slowly the whole bodies emerged.
Red creatures with horns on their heads and faces of jackals emerged. They possessed wings and a tail, having spikes around their elbow and knee area. They came forth in multitudes, holding Spears in their hand. Each of them was as tall as an adolescent, but their grotesque appearance and dangerous look made them seem to be much larger.
"[Realm Of Limbo] allows an Apostle to possess their own space, taking in and bringing out the contents within it... But this Grace... It connects directly to the Underworld itself... And these creatures are beings who dwell within it..." Ana muttered to herself.
"I will not sully my hands to deal with the likes of you. Hellhounds, finish them off!"
The massive wave of beings from the underworld snarled as they glared at Shamac and the others. They raised their spears and immediately lunged from the sky where they were suspended.
Gliding to the ground to pierce them with their weapons, the winged dogs charged in rage.
"Uoghhhhhh!!!" They growled.
"Here they come!" Shamac declared.
Having donned his entire shadow as his armor, Shamac had none left to create projections from below. In its stead, however, he received a phenomenal amount of power.
He stretched his hands toward the ones who lunged toward him, and immediately, shadow spikes proceeded from his arm, piercing then instantly.
After seeing this, the next wave avoided his black edges, dodging them with their airborne prowess, and closed the distance.
More shadows appeared from his back, transforming his cloak partially into more blades, as he tore them apart.
The waves kept overflowing, making Shamac get overwhelmed by their numbers. Realizing he was at a disadvantage on the ground, he created wings, using his shadow cloak, and flew from the ground.
"Tch!"
The little devils pursued him, racing through the air. He created more spikes and lunged them toward the hell hounds. Some hit successfully, however, most of the creatures evaded his attacks.
"If this doesn't work... Then it's time to switch up!" Shamac reasoned.
"Shape: Hydra"
He generated three heads from behind him, a miniature version of the Hydra construct he made previously. The three heads formed blasts of fire, acid, and poison, charging the three as he dodged the aerial assault of his opponents.
As soon as the attacks charged, Shamac ascended higher into the air and looked down on the hell hounds who followed him to his heights.
"Eat this!" He declared.
The triple bursts of devastation immediately launched toward the horde of monsters, exploding as they collided.
>BOOOOOM!!!!<
The blast killed many of them, and the shockwave caused the others to lose balance, sending them flying in the air. Shamac smiled as he used this opportunity to sweep through the disoriented monsters and cull them before they had any chance to regain control.
While Shamac fought his battle, Talia and Ana also fought off the wave of hellish beasts.
Talia's red fairy form, an effect of removing her fourth seal, gave her an immense aura, causing anyone who ventured close to her to experience automatic combustion.
The horde of hellhounds burst into flames as soon as they neared her, causing them to be in a confused state, allowing her to easily finish them off.
She also created many orbs of red light, firing off against the other hellhounds in a distance. Realizing her tactics, the beasts retreated from her vicinity and raised their spears in a counterattack. Hundreds of them lunged their weapons at her, sending them flying at ridiculous speeds.
Confronted by a wave of countless strong and pointed tools of carnage, Talia was cornered. The spears descended toward her from all directions, giving her no option of retreat.
"Nice try... But..." Talia grinned.
Stretching both her hands horizontally, she inhaled deeply and bulged her eyes. She built up a massive amount of energy, causing red lightning to snap around her in rapid surges.
"Rouge Burst!" She shouted.
Suddenly, a red force field surrounded her. The field expanded, quickly spanning across meters from her. The spears which approached her, collided with the red barrier which kept extending. They immediately exploded as they contacted the field.
This caused a spontaneous and simultaneous chain of small explosions to occur all around her in the air. The shock waves of hundreds of spears exploding all at once created a reverberating boom that spanned across the room.
"Kreughhh?!?!" The hellhounds looked at Talia in confusion and fear, marveling at her power.
"Oh, we're not done yet!" She grinned.
She summoned her mini orbs and shot out light beams from them, hitting the floating beasts with pinpoint accuracy, blasting their heads and hearts into nothing but shattered flesh and bones.
The hellhounds which attacked Ana experienced nothing but carnage and a one-sided slaughter. She used one of her treasures, a golden platform, to levitate. Gliding through the air, she summoned dozens of treasures to assault her opponents.
Being Sacred Grade, they easily tore through their targets like nothing, killing off dozens in a single blow. Within a moment, her Treasures of barely 50 laid waste to hundreds of hell hounds, the numbers still rising.
"Blast" She whispered.
Several bursts of energy came from the new set of Treasures she summoned, charging and releasing their contents within a second. The explosive power emanating from these caused thousands of the creatures to perish, disintegrating as the rays of pure destruction fried them.
None of the hellhounds could even get close to her, since her armor generated a shield preventing them from touching her, while at the same time electrocuting them if they touched it.
"Amazing... Lord Hexarion's treasures truly are magnificent!" Ana beamed as she watched her summons obliterate her opponents.
Gratiana watched the one-sided fight closely, surprised by the power displayed by Ana and the rest of them.
"I have to admit, they are better than I thought... In that case..." She muttered.
Suddenly, the Hellhounds vanished from sight, turning into particles as they faded, returning to the Black Dome where they came from.
"Is she finally letting up?" Talia wondered.
However, they all knew their opponent was not so merciful.
"You truly have grown stronger, you did not possess this kind of power as an Apostle... That much, I know... So this is why you decided to join the side of evil and pervert your ways? For power?! How repulsive." Gratiana said, glaring at Ana.
"Since you've shown that these ones are not a challenge for you, why don't you try more challenging opponents?"
Gratiana smiled as she raised her hand once again, her eyes glowing dark.
"For denizens of darkness such as yourselves, this will be most fitting… Come forth, Dark Riders!"
Immediately, a new set of creatures emerged from the dark murk that made up the walls surrounding them. Black horses with red eyes and fiery marks on their bodies came out. On top of them were red creatures, covered in black amour, with only a portion of their crimson faces showing. Their horns protruded from the holes in their gear and their eyes glowed yellow.
On their hands, they had a large sword each, some had bows instead, some had spears. They grinned widely, showing their discolored and sharp teeth, licking their lips with obsessive faces.
After hundreds of these came forth, a final one appeared above the rest. Its appearance was unique, and everyone could tell this one was built differently. Its dark horse was twice as large as the others and it was covered in armor plates. Smoke of fire proceeded from the nose and mouth of the steed as it neighed and glared at its target.
The rider had bulky armor, with its entire face covered with his helmet. Only the eyes of this strange new knight showed, glowing red. Its helmet had horns, and behind him were two large axes, warbling with shades of purple and crimson. It held the muzzle of its horse and floated in the air, similar to the other Riders.
"I am the One called the Executioner…" The deep voice of the dark knight came forth.
The sound of its intimidating voice sent chills down the spines of Talia, Shamac, and Ana. They raised their faces and looked at him with caution. He wasn't going to be an easy foe.
"…Humans… You die today…"