Allied forces prepared to defend, bracing each other and wishing those around them the best of luck. When Conqueror arrived to find empty streets, the lurking attackers let hellfire loose.
Demon and the Servant watched from afar, admiring the on-the-fly adjustment. While they watched warriors fall and attackers attacking with fierce stabs and pokes, they noticed another creature watching.
Nearly twenty Distorted manifested themselves from thin air, ready to harvest the bitter negative emotions. As one, they anchored down and consumed black mist.
Which were the emotions the desperate warriors felt. Conqueror was confused and provoked, lashing out as hard as they could to secure themselves.
In contrast, Infinus and Volatile knew exactly what they were there for. They continued to fight and pelt away at their defenses until they found the perfect opportunity to push back.
However, tension between the two Legions remained. The sight of Ether slaughtering Danitour was still fresh news to everyone, leading many to believe there were chances of the other Legion betraying the truce.
The Servant felt raindrops run down its forehead and into its eyes. "I can sense Yulfinmier among these creations... can you?"
Demon broadened his shoulders, preparing for a heated fight. "Yes, I can. Their appearance shouldn't have changed from the cloaked white mask, look for that."
After scanning the battlefield for twenty minutes, they caught the Seeker in their gaze. Like activated traps, they sprung to action.
One entity was eager to get revenge, the other was ambitiously planning what experiments it could host on it. Which made it even stranger to think a Servant sought the help of a half-Distorted.
The Servant focused the seams of reality around the Seeker. "Creature, you have caused enough mischief on Koroth. If you come with me, the Nine will be merciful."
"Is that a threat? Should I be afraid?" the Seeker taunted. "If the Nine sent. You should return. They are not themselves. If they were. I wouldn't exist."
Upon hearing the carelessness in its tone, the Servant approached. Stepping past the crumbling defenses and vigorous fighting.
It reached out to the Seeker, aiming to capture it with ease. Only for it to break free of its cage between reality and fiction.
Demon jumped back, manifesting a corrupted spear out of his gut. It erupted out, lodging itself against the Seeker.
"The Nine are fake. I do their work. Koroth is poisoned. I am the remedy. Please do not hide. I am just trying. So you can exist. Without this plague," the Seeker continued.
Cold and carelessness tainted the Seeker's tongue, making it obvious it thought highly of itself. High enough to the point it didn't realize it too was consumed by the Distorted Mind.
Regardless, Demon dashed closer. Spinning around before making impact, then driving the back of his fist against their mask. Demon then anchored himself, throwing a right-hook and staggering the Seeker.
Seeing it as an opportunity to deal more damage, Demon perked a foot up to kick it with. Only for the Seeker to grab his ankle and catch the Servant's first hit.
"Do not fight me. I am curing you," the Seeker spoke again.
A third arm emerged from its back, its edges were sharp enough to divide them. Reality flickered on contact, appearing like existence didn't know what to do next.
Gold particles spewed over the ruined town as the three struggled. The Servant forced itself free, then ducked beneath the arm. It then kicked the Seeker back.
"Quick!" it cried out as it focused reality around the Seeker, effectively rendering it frozen in time for a while. "Do your tricks."
Demon absorbed Syndicate Dust from the Seeker, causing its strength to drain tremendously. Nearly making it back into what it was before it transformed.
The Seeker broke out of the trap for the second time, it drove a dark spike right through Demon's gut and then attempted to pull on the Servant's hair. Only for it to realize reality wouldn't let that happen.
As expected, after losing so much power, the only ones capable of damaging the Servant were Demon and Valentine Primed. Everyone else didn't have enough Will power to do so.
"Why is it shiny? The world. Is it confused? Or is it corrupted?" the Seeker asked.
It witnessed the Servant manifest chains out of nowhere, the perfectly polished metals reflected off the corrupted skin of the creature. The Servant held the Seeker down, letting Demon continue draining.
He gritted his teeth as the spike continued to twist inside himself. Black mist danced to him, empowering Demon even more. He heard the world scream in confusion as reality itself tried to comprehend what was truly happening.
Shock waves rocked the entire battlefield, sending everyone off their feet. And pushing Demon back far enough to watch what came next.
The Servant remained untouched by the pulse, it simply was more important than Distorted antics. It hovered a fist over the Seeker's core. Then the Servant began pulling.
Powerful surges of energy washed over Hymo, nearly destroying the guardian that rested above. It even heard the Seeker crying out in utter pain as its powers drained from its being.
"NO! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!? ARE YOU A CLEANER?" it began to lose touch of what it was. "Wh - why is my... body failing me? Did I not cleanse Koroth of all distortion?"
"You have yet to learn what it means to be a cleanser. Because all you've done was hunt and kill Variants that even thought about experimenting with the Distorted," the Servant explained.
"So now, you're meeting the Nine. You will face judgement by their celestial bodies and feel whatever punishment they want," the Servant continued.
The Seeker slowly faded from this existence, being transported out to the one that housed the Nine. After taking a moment to gather itself, the Servant turned to Demon.
"You are safe to wonder Koroth as you please," it notified.
Demon clutched his gut. "Good. Let that thing rot away somewhere far away from all creation. It deserves it."
"We'll see," the Servant began to fade away. "Continue with your monitoring. We are thrilled to see the outcome."