Chapter 217: To the Other Side of the World
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[First Person Point in View]
I've admitted this before, and I'll admit it again. The [Dragon Icon] was such a bullshit Icon out of this world. It's just way too broken.
Even as the White Tiger, I had to admit that Icon was something else. After all, I had experienced the back end of that Icon the most out of anyone else, having fought the Azure Dragon of the Eastern Cosmos for millennia.
Someone said, I fail to recall who, that Quetzalcoatl was the third strongest among the dragon gods in DxD, right after Great Red and Ouroboros. Yet perhaps the gap between her and those two wasn't as wide as I imagined if she could survive and claim victory against a clearly superior opponent.
She must have used some kind of trump card, I assumed. Overwhelming strength, that was how she won. I worried for a second if this was a trick by the jester like some form of body possession, but my senses didn't detect anything. Rather, I noticed very little threads of black hair on her, that vanished before I could even properly confirm.
Had she been hiding some kind of transformation all along? I doubted she'd share any information about them now if that's the case, so I decided to ask something more important.
"Can you continue fighting?" I canceled the hug and asked her, and she chose to push back and hug me tighter. "Uh," I've heard from her before that she took care of her Kukulan alter ego in isolation, but it seems somehow it came out again. In this form, accompanied by her tattered clothes, barely holding her breasts, she was quite something to the eyes.
[Image Here]
"Why? Do we need to fight more? The enemies are gone, though," she said, tilting her head curiously. "I can keep going on, although not at the same level as I've been going on so far," she said, smiling up at me, hand going through my hair.
The other girls had already reached us by then, and they could hear our conversation since we had lowered from the sky and now stood on the ground. I didn't miss the sharp gaze of Elara on us, but she didn't say anything for now.
"That's sad, but it's fine, I have another job for you anyway," I was planning to leave her back here anyway. Now that she was tired and couldn't exert her full powers, it was even better for her to stay here. I looked at the girls at the back, finding myself with a sight. Seraphina was healing Yuzuru with her divinity. "Girls, get ready. We'll be heading toward the Blood Tower, and through that, to the other side of the world."
Seraphina raised her head in surprise, and the others also looked at me. Elara crossed her arms and refused to speak, while Sieran asked, "Huh? How?"
"The Blood Towers are connected, teleportation from one tower to another should be possible," I said. Since I was familiar with these types of towers, I knew. "As proof, notice how the Phoenix and the Clown changed spots?"
"Ah."
"So we're going to aid the battle on the other side of the world," I said.
"No doubt they're fine since they have more numbers than us, so they should be having it easier there. But yes, going there to support them is smart," Seraphina said, meeting eyes with me for a bit. She revealed a smile for me, nodding at me.
Perhaps it was her way to thank me for saving this world, even if she had a hard time accepting I was the same man she had come to love back in the day. But she wasn't right, even if we saved half of the world in just a few hours, it's wrong to assume everything was alright before we deal with the other side of the world.
Assuming victory before confirming it was how things went wrong.
"Yuzuru, are you alright? Get up if you are, we're going to the Blood Tower," I began to float off the grounds, looking down at them. "Be fast."
Our group of eight blasted toward the blood tower. It took us some time, but soon barren ice lands that were painted red with monster blood, as well from the reflection of the tower, spread before us. It was a demonic sight.
As we flew towards the Blood Tower that reached above the clouds, the barren ice lands stretched out beneath us. It was like an endless ocean of white reflecting red. The once pristine snow and ice were now a grotesque landscape, littered with the corpses of demonic creatures and the charred remnants of their infernal attacks. The air itself seemed to shimmer with residual heat from the battles that had taken place, and the scent of sulfur and blood was almost overwhelming.
The Blood Tower loomed ahead, a grotesque monument that pierced the sky. It was impossibly tall, disappearing into the stormy, ash-filled clouds above. Fire sparks rained down from the tower, each one a tiny beacon of destruction that hissed and sizzled as they hit the icy ground, melting small craters into the frozen wasteland. The tower's surface was a patchwork of jagged, dark stones and pulsating, organic veins that seemed to pulse with a life of their own as if the tower itself was a living entity.
As we approached, the oppressive aura of the Blood Tower became more intense. The temperature dropped, and an unnatural chill seeped into our bones, a stark contrast to the fiery sparks falling from above. The land around the tower was scorched and barren, devoid of any life save for the occasional twitching body of a defeated demon.
"Stay close," I called out to the group, my voice barely audible over the howling wind and the crackling of falling sparks. "The tower's defenses might still be active."
I turned out to be right. Red lightning struck us, and we had to defend ourselves from a wave of monsters gushing out of the tower. It didn't take long to take care of them, since they had already lost the motivation to fight after their leaders perished.
The entrance to the tower was somewhat imposing, covered in intricate runes that glowed with a malevolent red light. "Follow behind," I said as we stepped inside, finding ourselves in a grand hall filled with the bodies of demons that had tried to escape until spells from Sieran had taken them out.
Elara spat on a few as we observed the demons. Their lifeless forms littered the floor, creating a gruesome path deeper into the tower. The walls were adorned with ghastly decorations: bones, skulls, and twisted metal forming grotesque murals that depicted scenes of torment and chaos. I could tell they weren't even put there by people, the tower bore such characteristics as it absorbed a world.
I led the group through the hallways, our footsteps echoing against the stone floor. The interior of the tower was a labyrinth of dark corridors and spiraling staircases, each turn revealing more horrors. The air was thick with the stench of death and decay, and the faint sound of distant wails echoed through the halls.
The walls seemed to close in on us, the shadows dancing menacingly as if alive. It was this ominous with its controller dead, one could only imagine how hard it'd have been to step in here when the Outer Gods actively controlled them.
After navigating the maze-like passages, we reached a large, ornate door guarded by a demonic lock. I retrieved the ID card of a demon we had killed earlier, a goblin in office attire, and held it up to the lock. The runes on the door glowed briefly before it creaked open, revealing a demonic elevator.
"Why is everything themed like this?" Mem-Cho raised an eyebrow. "Edgy."
The elevator was a cage of black metal, its interior lined with spikes and chains. We squeezed inside, and I used the ID card once more to activate it. The elevator jolted to life, ascending rapidly through the tower.
The ascent was accompanied by the grinding of gears and the faint screams of tormented souls, the walls of the elevator pulsing with an eerie red glow. We finally reached the highest floor, the doors sliding open to reveal a grand chamber. Usually, there would have been a lot more procedure to reach here, I imagine, but since the master of the tower was dead, it was a straight way up.
The center room was vast and circular, its high ceiling supported by twisted columns of black stone. Some sunlight filtered through the glass part of the ceiling. The walls were lined with demonic runes, each one pulsing with a sickly red light. The air was heavy with a sense of dread, the very atmosphere charged with dark energy.
It felt like stepping into the heart of darkness itself.
"Eek," The recovering Yuzuru shivered in disgusting goosebumps.
At the center of the room stood a massive red obelisk, its surface covered in glowing runes. The obelisk was active, sucking the essence of the world through a swirling vortex of dark energy as we breathed. That… it was the core of the tower, the thing that was devouring my world.
The sight was both awe-inspiring and terrifying, a call out to the power of the Outer Gods and their ruthless ambition.
"That is…"
"Seems like it."
The girls talked among each other while I approached the obelisk, placing a hand on its cold surface. The energy pulsing through it was overwhelming, a tangible force that seemed to drain the very life from the world.
"This is it," I said, my voice echoing through the chamber. "This is what's been draining the world's essence."
The others gathered around, their faces etched with a mix of anger and irritation. Elara's eyes narrowed as she examined the obelisk. "It's monstrous," she muttered. "How much damage has this thing caused?"
"Too much," Seraphina replied, her voice tinged with sadness. "We've lost so much because of this... abomination."
Sieran's eyes glowed with determination. "Then let's put an end to it. How do we stop it, Ser?"
I focused my willpower, channeling it into the obelisk. The runes on its surface flared brightly. I called upon my full Sage's authority, slamming my willpower into the thing like a dam breaking with a tsunami. Before long, the runes began to dim, the swirling vortex of energy slowing to a halt.
"I've stopped it, for now," I said, turning to the group. "But to actually remove this thing from the leylines of the planet and return the essence to the world, we need to stop the other tower too. We need to command the two towers at once, with two people controlling it, to actually end it."
"Mhm, is that what you meant when you said you have a job for me?" Quetzalcoatl stepped forward, her eyes still shimmering. Should I call her Kukulan now that she's in this state?
I nodded. "Yes. Along with that, we need to make sure this tower stays inactive. If the other tower master gets desperate, he might cause a self-destruct of both towers. That's another reason why you, Kululan, need to stay back here. Your divine will should be able to cancel out such a command if the situation comes down to that."
She looked at me, smiling. "Me? Sure, I'll stay back then. I wanna fight more though, but I'll listen to you. I'll make sure nothing happens here."
"Thank you."
Mem-Cho chimed in, eyes filled with concern. "But what if something goes wrong? Is it alright to leave her here alone?"
I looked at Mem, "She's not alone, who said that? You stay here too. You, Shoko, and Yuzuru too," I said. "In the meantime, I will take the others to the North Pole."
"H-huh?! But-"
"It's okay, I wouldn't leave you in a possible time bomb if it wasn't less dangerous than there," I told her. "Shoko looks tired, especially Yuzuru. Take care of them."
In the end, Mem could only sigh and nod. I'd have given her a parting kiss, but there were some eyes around us that might not appreciate that.
Mem-Cho stepped forward, her eyes filled with concern. "Be careful, Aqua. I know it's not likely, but the other tower might be even more dangerous."
I gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. We'll be fine. Just take care of each other and stay safe."
Shoko nodded, worry evident in her eyes. "We'll do our best to support Sensei if it comes down to that. Be safe."
Seraphina looked at me, her expression serious. "Are you sure about this? Leaving them behind?"
I nodded firmly. "It's the best course of action. As I said, we need to ensure this tower remains inactive and doesn't blow up, and we can't afford to take everyone with us. Trust in Quetzalcoatl and the others. They'll be fine."
"And what about us? What's our plan once we reach the North Pole?" Elara said.
I met her gaze, smiling instead of answering with words. Sieran didn't ask anything, she stuck to my side. After some final words, I placed my hand on the obelisk again. The runes flared to life, and red energy blocks surrounded me and the girls.
The energy pulsed, our surroundings grew red, and in an instant, we were teleported away.
The scene of Kukulan, Mem-Cho, Shoko, and Yuzuru looking at us worriedly faded to black as we disappeared, leaving the Southern Blood Tower and its ominous red glow behind. Only to be replaced by a background identical to it.
Only three bastards remained before my world would be freed. Me and my group moved to obliterate all three of them.
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Author Note: Next chapter is likely on Friday, since I'm leaving my city for a bit. Don't forget to vote though, if we're like Top 15 still by tomorrow or thursday, I'll post anyway since we are going through fight chapters.