It had been a long time since I ever had to worry about emptying my tank, but… with the tarnishing of Beleth's blessed attack, two-thirds of my being was drained.
"We are in a bad spot Lilith," I quickly said into her mind knowing my lips were too slow to speak what I needed to.
But Lilith only snorted. " You underestimate the Abyssal Fiends. And you underestimate yourself."
Sensing her Abyssal Qi entering my meridians, my eyes went wide for an instant, but we both knew we were at a disadvantage. We were in enemy territory. We needed to get back to the Bridge of the Damned.
Zantar seems wounded. I don't know what the hell is on his face, but something is wrong.
"HOW!!!" Shouted Beleth furiously as he battled Victoria and the little Reaper of Death. "NO, I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS!!!!"
Taken back by the sudden outburst as the power of whatever the Fallen of the Principalities meant or did. My eyes narrowed as Zantar appeared, forcing Victoria and Ava back with a gruesome outburst of qi. They fell to our sides with cold expressions.
Zantar grimly smiled as the charred burns over his face began bleeding nodes of scarlet light. "Lord of the Principalities, given power by the One! Grant they thy blessing."
"What the hell are the principalities?"
"You know how we abyssal fiends can take the knowledge of our fellow brethren?" Lilith answered. " Well, the Fallen take the 'power' of the Principalities. So other Fallen, an all that follow the doctrine of sin. They are able to share their insane cosmic power but not their knowledge. Principalities are, in a way, the connection between principle and sin. Fallen are there to spread sin, and those that suck it up fall into their principalities. It's a concept that none escape form, not even you."
"... What the fuck! He's taking my power?"
"He's mirroring it… A blessing of God. But since you're only partly part of the Myriad Heavens, he can only take five percent. But everyone else, he's taking ten percent. But Zantar is just a low-grade fallen. Other Fallens like the Lords of Hell can take Eighty percent of all being in the Principalities."
"She's right!" Said Lily hastily. "This is a Godly Blessing that puts Fallen at the peak. And don't forget that Lucifer was once an angel… He can call upon the righteous principalities. He can call upon all the power of the Angels, and they are powerless to stop his actions."
"Fucking Hell. And here I thought. I was broken. That's an insane hax."
Glaring at Zantar as his power continued to rise, causing the realm of Avenos to bleed a supreme force to mend the torn laws. Sweat dotted my brow.
"Holy shit… I'd always wondered why Angels and Fallen were the strongest when devils and demons have such power. But now I understand. This is insane."
"Angels and Fallen have been the two beings that have been at war since the beginning. Same as Abyssal Fiends. And this is just one of their haxs. There is more to come." Said Lily grimly.
'But how can Devil call upon the principalities? Can I—"
"Don't even think about it." Said, Lilith. " Beleth is connected to the inner circle of the Hells. Even if he's in a low-level realm, he holds the title of beleth. And listen to what he said. He only called upon the principalities of Samyaza. While Zantar called upon the direct link between each Angel and Fallen."
Holding my ground as the laws began to die out within the Hells, I glanced at Lilith, who held a grim expression.
"Elsa, get here." She whispered.
The void shook, and my heart dipped as she appeared behind us with a cold look. Gripping an ice sword.
"That serious."
"He went easy on us last time but not this time," said Lilith.
"I'll be bait," I said, stepping forward into the whirlwind of hell and chaos, spiraling into a world of dead laws. "You four handle the rest; I'll give you all a chance to get a clean hit."
"You sure?" Said Victoira grimly. "A single hit can kill a Paragon."
I grinned. " I got it."
Activating all my abilities, the laws around me all receded as abyssal runes lit up around me.
"You've no chance Arsene," Beleth remarked, shooting me an icy glare.
Watching even while Zantar held the principalities at his beckoned call, I saw his faded attunement to hell awaken within his eyes. Glowing with the fiendish aura of the nines, I knew, Zantar was on a mission to kill me.
His attunement was low… it wasn't even five percent, but he was the only one I've met aside from lords like Mephisto and Lucifer who can call upon attunement. The Orginal Bael could, but he was from a higher realm.
A knot formed in the depths of my stomach that only grew in irritation as he opened his palm, creating a spear… a spear formed with utter sin. The Sin of Wrath.
"Belphegor is controlling him." Lily grimly said. " That marking… it's faded over his burnt flesh, but it's his. Be careful."
I chuckled. " I was a human a few cycles ago. Who would have thought I'd be fighting Kings of Hell and Fallen Angels." I said to myself and stared dead towards the cold, lifeless eyes of Zantar. " You still in there? Or has Belphegor mind fucked you?"
Zantar held me in his sight and nodded. " I'm here."
A little surprise. I pointed Noctem towards him. " Do you think you can win; this is a losing battle Zantar."
"If I die, I will become a teleth, and my power will surely soar. But… I don't think you can win. The Abyssal Fiends are powerful, but when my power far surpasses anything they can do, what does it matter if their technique is leagues above mine?"
"Are you lying to yourself?" I mocked, snickering. " Just as you can kill them in a single hit, they can do the same to you. But in a million different ways. They still have the advantage. You lack the knowledge to use all that power."
He nodded. " Then why are you leading the charge?"