The fully armored knight stepped out of the crater and turned to face me.
Moments later, three more landed near him.
The first had two swords crossed on his back. His wings were massive and had armored plates covering the tops of them.
Of the remaining three, one was female and the others were male.
"I am Savir The Tornado, number one of the Oracle's Faithful, prepare to-"
Savir fell over dead.
Blood oozed from his helmet and he lay limp.
"How dare you threaten his Majesty with your presence. Begone with you!" Cassandra hissed.
"By the gods, I love you so much, Cassandra," I said.
"Haaaaah! My darling! I love you too!" Cassandra said happily as she squirmed in place.
"C-captain...Savir!? CAPTAIN!!!" One of the men shouted.
"You seem to be under the impression that we are mere fodder... You are sorely mistaken," Vakra said.
Vakra stepped forward and stopped in place.
"Ugh...magic it is, then..." He said.
His voice had become raspy due to changing his form.
The remaining three readied their weapons.
"Vakra, are they resisting the Abyss Engine?" I asked.
"No. They are weakened significantly. Although, they might still be a threat," Vakra said.
"Doubtful. If that guy was their captain, the rest should be a joke. I'm not wasting the effort on them. Cassandra, take care of it," I said.
"Gladly! I'll end their lives quickly for my sweet darling Mizik!" She said.
Cassandra stepped forward and pointed her dagger at them.
"I am Cassandra Iratus, Mizik's slave-wife. If you dare to oppose the wielder of the Overseer, you will be eliminated," she said coldly.
"Slave...wife...?" One of the men said.
"She just killed the captain in a single attack! We didn't even see it! We have to retreat!" The other man said.
"Shut up! She will die like a dog once we-"
The woman fell over dead as well.
The two men froze in place and backed away.
"Huh? Are you scared yet? Have you realized the error of your ways? You fools could never hope to stand against the might of his Majesty, King Mizik Iratus The Destroyer "
"What the hell happened!? How did she die!?" One of the men said fearfully.
"D-destroyer!?" The other said fearfully.
"Ugh...you are all so boring," Cassandra said.
One of the men unsheathed a rapier and pointed it at her.
"PREPARE TO DIE, WITCH!" He shouted.
Cassandra smiled as he shot towards her.
He unleashed a flurry of rapid slashes and jabs, but she parried every single blow instantly.
And then...she stepped back as one of her clones began parrying attacks for her.
The knight jumped back as two more clones appeared.
"Wh-what the!? There are more of them!? Wait...she looks like Lady Rose!" He said.
"I am her twin sister, of course. That is why I resemble her. But unlike Rose, I am not a foolish false wielder that would dare to oppose the Overseer...my darling Mizik!" She said.
I knew for a fact that Cassandra was terrifyingly powerful.
Vengeance had a hierarchy for each of the swords and Intelligence was referred to as his General and Advisor.
His Adjutant.
Intelligence was well known as one of the most truly powerful of the Deus Arms.
Multiply, its second form, was not just limited to creating infinite copies of the dagger, itself.
It could also clone the wielder.
And combined with Cassandra's phantasm ability from The Illusionist, she was a goddess of death on the field of battle.
And that was before The Assassin was taken into account.
Realistically, the soldiers in front of us should have been a problem. I could tell based on the amount of magic coming off of them.
However, the Abyss Engine was operating at full capacity. Their power had been reduced by at least half.
Not that it mattered to the one and only Blade Witch.
"What kind of monster are you...?" One of the men said fearfully.
"That's not a monster. She's my Adjudant. My possession and my finest soldier. Cassandra, end their miserable lives. We've wasted enough time," I said.
Before they could protest, they both fell to the ground.
"That woman is truly terrifying... Much more than Isabella was..." Vakra mumbled.
"Ehehehehehe...my darling gave me an order! How did I do!?"
"Wonderfully," I said. Then I looked towards the Oracle's temple in the distance. "I hope you saw that, you vile old hag."
"Wow. I knew she was scary, but damn..." Michael said.
"If this is the type of woman you keep as company, I have to wonder what goes through your mind..." Leiso said.
"Don't judge me, Leiso. I didn't ask for this, it just happened. Still, I won't deny that she is a wonderful companion," I said.
"Mizik said I'm wonderful! I'm so happy!!!" Cassandra said.
"Good. Now then, ALL TROOPS, ADVANCE! WE HAVE AN ORACLE TO MURDER!" I shouted.
At once, all of us began moving again.
* * *
As Iris stayed back, she was in awe of the ferocity of Johann's movements in battle.
Since the two knights were comparable to Abbadon, Iris was outmatched. She could only provide support with her offensive balance magic from the rear.
Johann, however, was managing to hold off both of them in his human form.
Mazok and Lillith both tried to strike at the same time. Both of their weapons were parried by Johann's staff.
Fire exploded all around him and forced them both back.
At the same time, they had to focus on dodging the random strikes of exploding black lightning made by Mizik. The storm he conjured was a terrifying piece of work...
Iris let loose with a barrage of dark alignment streams from her divine scales.
Both of these knights had semi-dark alignments. This wasn't surprising, of course. They did serve the Oracle, after all, as her elite fighting force.
Unfortunately, they weren't as stupid as Iris had hoped.
They could immediately see that Iris was a problem.
Mazok charged straight at her and was blocked by Johann.
"Oh? Is this one important to you? Who is he? Some kind of effemenite boy with long hair?" Mazok said.
Iris felt her eye twitch.
Before Johann could respond, Iris fired a rapid barrage of dark streams at Mazok.
He had quickly flew back to dodge Iris' attack, but Johann lunged forward and punched him in the jaw.
"SHE IS NOT A BOY! THAT'S IRIS, GODDESS OF BALANCE! HOW DARE YOU!!! SHE'S MORE OF A WOMAN THAN ANY OTHER GIRL I KNOW!!!" Johann roared.
"Umm...th-thank you...Johann... Ugh...I need to calm down... That made me SO DAMN ANGRY!!!" Iris said.
She teleported beside Johann as Lillith lunged at him.
Lilith immediately turned her attention to Iris.
Iris planned for this.
Johann parried the attack as Iris grabbed Lillith by her helmet and blasted her face through her visor.
"I'M A GIRL!!! JUST BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE BOOBS, DOESN'T MAKE ME ANY LESS OF A WOMAN!!!" Iris screamed.
"Iris, please be careful, these two are actually fairly strong," Johann said.
Lilith drew back to recover herself and Mazok's sword burst into electricity.
"Tch...who cares what you are? You're still just a weak goddess about to perish by our might!" Mazok said angrily.
Lillith's lance burst into flames and Johann smiled.
"Fire, is it? Good luck with that," he said.
"I'm not stupid enough to think my fire will work on you! This is for her!" Lilith shouted.
"As if I'd let you try?" Johann said in a low tone.
Then Johann shot forward and slammed his staff directly into her helmet, denting it.
She recoiled from the attack and Mazok turned to Iris.
"BRING IT ON, YOU BASTARD!" Iris roared.
She grabbed hold of his moral alignment and twisted it.
Mazok froze in place as Iris' scales tipped slightly further to the left.
Just before Mazok could attack, he was slammed with fireballs from all directions.
Then Iris took her chance.
She teleported in front of Mazok and blasted him point blank, just like she had for Lillith.
Mazok recoiled and Johann punched him in the side of the head just before slamming his chest with his staff.
Mazok fell to the ground as Lillith lunged forward to hit Iris.
Luckily, Iris dodged it easily thanks to the speed of her supreme form.
Then Johann grabbed the flaming lance and tore it from Lillith's hands.
Lilith reached for it, but...
Found the lance had impaled her hand.
"GAAAAHHHHH!!! YOU BASTARD!!!" She screamed.
"LILLITH!!!" Mazok yelled.
After that, Johann melted the lance and blasted Lillith with a barrage of exploding fireballs.
Lilith fell limp towards the ground and crashed into a burning building.
"Tch...my flames are hotter, anyway..." Johann said.
Immediately, Mazok flew into the sky and slashed at Johann.
However, a set of scales appeared in front of him to shield Johann from the attack.
"I've got you, Johann!" Iris said.
"DAMN YOU, GODDESS OF BALANCE!!!" Mazok roared.
He tried to attack Iris at that point, but Johann managed to pull him back.
Suddenly...
Everyone stopped as they heard a loud noise and saw something in the distance.
And then the very sky began to tear itself asunder.
* * *
As Rose kneeled before the throne of the Oracle, she could see her master shaking with rage.
"That...BASTARD!!! HOW DARE HE ORDER THAT WITCH TO SLAY MY FAITHFUL!!! HOW DARE HE INVADE MY REALM!!!" The Oracle roared.
"Shall I go and deal with them?" Rose asked without emotion.
"No. You are my last line of defense. Besides...I have a plan for dealing with Mizik if he makes it this far. And you will stay here mainly due to your failures in the past! You are worthless against him when fighting on your own! I know that now!" The Oracle said angrily.
"Of course, Oracle. I will eagerly await the time where I can avenge my own innocence. I will pay back Mizik in kind for what he did to me," Rose said.
Her eyes had lost their light. She resembled a doll without expressions.
Then Abbadon entered the throne room and kneeled.
He glanced at Rose with a look of disgust and returned his eyes to the Oracle.
"Oracle...my soldiers are being massacred. Same with the people of Excelsis. They have some sort of device that nullifies our power!" Abbadon said.
"Of course they do...I've seen it before numerous times. The Abyss Engine. Somehow, the paradox has managed to replicate it and turn that blasted machine against us," the Oracle said.
"How do we fight such a thing!? If our power is nullified when facing the Chosen Hero, then-"
"DO NOT USE THAT NAME! MIZIK IRATUS IS NO LONGER WORTHY OF SUCH A TITLE!" The Oracle yelled.
"Fine then... Mizik Iratus is invincible as long as that cursed machine remains in effect. Even my power would be nullified, regrettably...and your Faithful aren't spared, either," Abbadon said.
"As much as it worries me, the truth is that it is irrelevant. You may perish, but the Abyss Engine will not work on me. I have already seen it. My power is different from the energy that it nullifies because I am not a goddess. I am a Guardian. Besides, the same goes for Rose. Even if everyone else dies, they will be restored once Mizik Iratus perishes and I initiate the reset."
"O-of course...Oracle... But have you managed to get an accurate reading on Mizik's power?" Abbadon asked.
"I have, unfortunately. Needless to say, you won't be able to handle him at this point. Rose and I will deal with him. You will focus on killing Cassandra," the Oracle said.
"B-but...Oracle! The dragon god is here! Please, let me deal with-"
"SILENCE!!! Johann managed to nearly kill you last time. Currently, he has already killed Lillith The Inferno and is fighting Mazok The Storm. Iris is backing him up as well. You would die if you fought him. But, I believe you possess just enough power to slay Cassandra."
"Yes...I will obey, Oracle..." Abbadon said.
"Of course you will. I have commanded it. Now then Rose, tell me...how did the inspection of the barrier generator go?" The Oracle said.
"It went well. The men and women who surveyed it found no traces of anything. Although, they remarked that the normal cleaning crew had not been doing their jobs very well. The underside is filthy," Rose said.
"Ugh...lazy workers, the lot of them. I'll ensure that they do a better job keeping the generator clean after the reset. And no one saw anything? Not even on the cameras?" The Oracle said.
"No, Oracle. Nothing was seen by anyone. The only thing reported was an incident of one of the soldiers being extremely fearful of Johann's attack," Rose said.
"I'll have that coward reassigned. Is that truly everything?" The Oracle asked.
"Yes, Oracle, that is-"
Suddenly, there was a low rumble nearby.
And then...the ground began shaking violently as a loud explosion occurred.