Kraboom!
"Took them longer than I thought." Commented with an amused smile the Doctor, he looked up into the darkness high above what was left of what could have been considered the ceiling, to the flashes of white lights that appeared from time to time.
The darkness that curved around the cavern became weaker, becoming only a river of shadows that was illuminated by a strong crimson light coming from the place where the pillar used to be.
BumpBump! BumpBump!
Ignoring the heartbeat, his crimson eyes turned to the crater where the blood lake he had worked so hard to make once stood and which was now almost empty.
His eyes twinkled with a hint of melancholy before he let out a light chuckle.
The lake had served its purpose with great marks, so there was no need to be sad.
His attention returned to the bottom of the crater and he couldn't help but let out an extremely pleased chuckle.
With the blood gone, it was much easier to see the bottom so one could see how easily the crater was over 100 meters deep.
"What do you think Mr. Kenway? Do you like the Anniversary?" The man asked accompanied by a soft chuckle.
Deep in the crater and face up was the body of Adryan Kenway. The great beauty that always seemed to accompany the man was gone being replaced by a horrible transformation that was hard to look at without wanting to vomit or frown in disgust and revulsion.
The man's pale skin had turned completely red and swollen, his fiery red hair was gone leaving only a head of swollen red skin that appeared to be peeling. The only thing that could point to the body being his was the chain still attached to the necklace around his neck.
Looking at the state of the body. The Doctor could only let out a long and extremely heavy sigh that carried a huge and brutal sadness as if he had just found out that he lost his mother.
"It always hurts to see something beautiful die..."
His sight then went down to the corpse's abdomen, unlike what he expected the stomach was only slightly swollen and boobly it was as if the man had ingested a large amount of liquid before he died. Something obvious considering he was drowning while being cooked alive.
The abdomen was not grotesquely swollen nor did it look like something was going to rip the inside out. His lips pursed followed by the clicking of his tongue but as soon as the annoyance showed itself it disappeared, his eyes gaining a disinterested glint.
Rolling his shoulders, the Doctor didn't think much of it.
"He's a Herald after all, if they were that easy to corrupt then..." he muttered barely above a sigh, his eyes gazed into the distance slightly clouded, lost in the horizon of memories, after a few seconds he sighed again.
Shaking his head, his eyes turned to look at Joseph who was looking at the body with an intense gaze.
"Do you want me to restore it?"
Shaking his head softly, Joseph licked his lips. His fingers trembling slightly.
"No, my lord. Now that I see it like this Mmm I can hardly contain myself. The swollen, red, juicy flesh...Mmm, I bet its skin will peel easily...The muscle underneath will be soft...Mmmm" Licking his lips that suddenly felt dry, while a moan or two escaped, Joseph felt a huge 'hunger' inside him.
He couldn't wait to deeply taste that delicious and juicy dish that he knew well had an exquisite flavor and now that it was cooking in the blood, what a majestic taste it would have now?
But he knew that the meat after slow cooking had to rest so swallowing his saliva, he looked away from the body.
Wraith Steve beside him gave him a bored and somewhat jaded look. Werewolf Tyre and Zombie Jason stood a few steps further away but were looking at the body in the crater with a big grin.
The satisfaction of seeing the bastard who buried them in rubble in such a state was huge and they couldn't help but let out a smile. The only reason they weren't laughing was because they didn't want to offend the Doctor.
And behind them were two people who had their heads down, madness barely contained in their eyes. A somewhat tall man and a shorter man, both looked to be in their 30s and had decent-looking and healthy bodies.
Smiling at Joseph's words, the aforementioned Doctor nodded and snapped his fingers.
The people behind Jason and Tyre moved and quickly descended the ladder deep into the crater where the only remaining body lay.
To place the first sacrifices those ladders were made to make it easier.
The taller one grabbed the arms while the shorter one grabbed the legs. Both lifted the body at the same time only letting out a small grunt.
As the men lifted the body, the Doctor returned his attention to the trio. More specifically to Joseph.
"The body will be upstairs in the storage room for better preservation. Tasha is guarding it for that reason so you don't have to worry about anything happening to it."
Giving a deep bow, the smile the Devil wore threatened to split his face in half.
"It is a true pleasure to work with you! My Lord!" The Devil turned to look at the duo who were hoisting their well-deserved prize, "If anything happens to him you will spend an afternoon with me!"
The ones carrying the body, who were still climbing the long and almost endless stairs, visibly trembled and the one carrying the legs, tightened his grip a little more, "Understood sir!"
Watching as he finished climbing the stairs and they ran towards the only exit of the cavern, Joseph snorted in annoyance.
The clear annoyance in the Devil caused much amusement to the Doctor who just rolled his eyes and crossing his legs placed his elbow on his knee and rested his cheek in his palm.
His eyes focused on the group in front of him. His smile disappeared and now his face was void of all emotion looking more like a mannequin than a human being.
"From now on no one can enter here. We will stay here protecting the womb for 20 minutes and then we will leave. Not a second more or less. Understood?"
The four in front of him nodded with serious faces.
The smile returned to the Doctor's face.
"Excellent."
Kraboom!
Hearing the sound of thunder, the smile on the Doctor's face grew again.
"Looks like Lady Saturna is having a good time~"
Joseph smiled at his master's words, standing behind him with his back straight. His excitement from before reduced to a simple elegant smile.
...
In the sky above the Crimson Tree, a mighty torrential rain covered the entire top of the leafless tree, accompanied by powerful lightning that roared with fury and power that tried to strike the tree but could not touch it. Powerful winds collided with each other making a movement like an explosion. And a barely controlled hurricane that was attacking with power an enemy that was dodging everything.
Floating in the midst of these and wearing his black robe with the symbol of the Lord of Storms baked into it. Spellsinger of God, Ace Snake clicked his tongue in great annoyance. His mere presence caused his surroundings to feel oppressed.
His soft hat swayed aggressively in the wind that surrounded him like a chapel.
In front of him, floating and wearing a simple gothic dance dress and a hat of exaggerated size was a woman. This woman had fine features and icy blue eyes, a small smile on her blue lips. She had a cold and wicked air about her, her desires easy to see as her Machiavellian smile left nothing to the imagination.
Discipline of Silence Saturna cut Sea King Ace Snake.
...
Elsewhere and a little further away from the tree, a gentle-faced old man who wore a white robe with the symbol of the God of Steam and Machinery on his chest found himself stopped by someone similar but much more sinister and evil.
"This is unfortunate." The man muttered as he scratched his somewhat bushy white beard. His target was only a few streets ahead, the huge smoking crater from where the explosion occurred which subsequently gave birth to the tree, point 0. He was so close but yet so far away, and the reason for that had horns.
In front of him and holding a sword of burning magma was a black-skinned demon, with huge bat wings on his back and black eyes. Eyes that let out a huge mockery as light black smoke emitting pestilence, filth, and curse came out of his mouth.
"Oh come on Father. We're just getting started~" The demon sneered in a deep, inhuman voice. A dark chuckle gurgled in his throat.
Quite a bit further away from them, Father's team was cut off by undead, Werewolves, Zombies, and even more of those transformed humans. They found themselves unable to help him.
The Archbishop only let out a slight sigh as he raised his left hand with an outstretched palm towards the demon. With metallic sounds, his palm 'opened' revealing a dark metal cannon. Deep within it, a golden light appeared.
The Demon's smile remained on his face as he placed the magma sword in front of him and blocked the beam of holy light that made his feet sink into the pavement and dragged him back several meters.
Without wasting a second, the robe that covered the Archbishop's back moved and from it came out more cannons that fired golden missiles towards the demon.
The fight between Demon Tuclero and Alchemist Horamick Haydn began.
...
Saint Samuel Cathedral.
The preparations were finished. The process to activate the Sealed Artifact was finished, the only thing left was for him to make the final move.
No sooner had the earthquake passed and that Tree had risen deep in East Borough than Anthony Stevenson had already begun preparations.
He could sense that the situation could not ask for anything else, with reports coming in shortly after receiving the Red Gloves couriers standing by in East Borough he knew this was an emergency. Every second it took meant hundreds more lives lost.
The already dim light behind Chains Gate became practically non-existent in his presence, which seemed to bring the night itself.
He would use that terrifying artifact to deal with the Tree. He knew that the forces the Church currently had would not be enough. Mostly focusing on dealing with the monsters that appeared along with the Tree and the supposed sightings of Rose School members that were driving everyone away from the Tree's base.
He planned to use the only Grade 0 artifact that was kept outside the Holy Cathedral. One that only two of the Upper echelons Church knew was kept in the Backlund diocese.
This artifact carried a Grade 0. The most dangerous grade there is. An artifact so dangerous that when the Archbishop in charge had to transfer out of Bakclund diocese, his memory of it would be erased by Artifact 1-29.
Name classified.
Number: 17
Grade: 0. Extremely dangerous.
Warning: This artifact is not an object. It is a living angel!
She has the appearance of a beautiful black-haired woman who despite her beauty her face showed no emotion, her eyes of the same black as her hair were the same. Despite her youthful appearance, her true age could not be estimated.
She did not have the wings described in the canon. From her appearance alone, she looked like an ordinary woman.
She doesn't have the ability to think and lost all sentience.
Anything that comes close to her will be erased from existence. Through divination and other methods, it is known that they are still alive but their location is unknown. Currently, 1,806 methods have been tried, all failing.
Her area of effect varies constantly, 70 researchers have disappeared because of her...
Warning: She cannot be used!
This artifact first appeared in the Pale Era of the Fourth Epoch. The date, place, and exact location are unknown.
Based on the information, She has been used 5 times...
The information on artifact 0-17 flashed through his head and Anthony Stevenson let out only a faint sigh.
With a wave of his hand, the black candles that lit the hallway where 0-17 was standing went out. The activation process was complete and Ella would awaken for the sixth time in history.
"..."
But even though the ritual was completed successfully and completely normally, and the artifact should have activated and gone out to deal with the Tree...
0-17 drought in its previous position, without moving a single inch. An aura of tranquility and serenity was coming from 'Her' body.
The Grounded Angel, 0-17 was still asleep.
"..."
Anthony Stevenson, someone with an already considerably advanced age of 130 years. Someone who has been through a lot, including a war and a near affair with a church sister that almost caused him to break his vow of chastity. Someone who anyone who knew him would say was a gentleman and whose mouth was full of wisdom...
Someone like that could only say one thing at that moment.
"Shit."
...
On the way to the warehouse...
"This bastard is seriously heavy!" The taller man growled at his companion as they continued on their way to the warehouse, with a considerably accelerated pace while being careful not to let go of the body.
Gritting his teeth. The shorter one clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Shut up Samuel, and do something! I'm carrying everything here!"
The one now known as Samuel gritted his teeth and he lifted the body a little more.
"Yeah yeah baby girl."