"So you battled against X? Isn't she that Otherworldly Hero? Man they are just pulling all of the stops aren't they." Guinevere said and sighed.
"She isn't what she claims to be. As I fought her, I realized that her power is merely an illusion. Her power only works if you're weaker than her Elementally. In other words, you can only harm her if you counter her element. She can kill you in one hit unless you're stronger than her element." I said.
"So if she's at base an Ice Element...you'll need to be a Fire Element to beat her? That's interesting, but who would've known a hero of her caliber would be working with them..?" Meliae said and held her arms.
"Here's my plan, if I can convince her to join my army, we would literally be unstoppable. All we need is a definite plan. So let's start doing what we do best, strategizing." I said.
The others agreed and together we began to devise a plan to strike down the citadel and have X join us. I knew it wasn't going to be 100% foolproof, but it was a start we needed in this upcoming Dawn Ages.
.....
X appeared back in the church and grunted. She fell to her knees and looked at the floor. Karius and Ashliel noticed her then hurried over to X. Empyrean and the Reverend Mother looked worried as well. They all gathered around X.
"What happened..?" Ashliel asked.
"Raiyu...that Overlord. He...discovered my weakness. He knows how my power works...He countered me...he is too strong." X said.
Ashliel stood up straight and placed a hand on her hip. She scoffed then kicked X away and glared. "Worthless! You fail to kill the main target? Aren't you supposed to be able to kill ANY target in one hit?! What was so different about him?!"
X softly grunted and held her mouth then slowly got up. "...He has no weakness.."
"What? What do you mean he has no weakness? You're telling me you can't kill him in one strike because he has no weakness?" Karius asked.
"The Null Element...That's what I am. The Null Element is the strongest and the weakest element to exist for it has no advantages nor disadvantages. It is a middle ground element, but his Null Element is vastly different. He can combine that with other elements with an ability of his." X explained.
"What do you mean? Why can't you do the same thing he can with the Null Element?" Karius asked.
"His ability allows him to eliminate the weaknesses of ALL Elements he's currently using. My ability grants me immunity to any attack that doesn't have an advantage over me. His ability is vastly stronger because of the fact that I can only one shot him if I have an advantage over him." X said.
"I suspect he has a different variation of the Null Elemental...An Element called Void Element." X continued.
"Void Element. This is the first I'm ever hearing about it. Mother Ashliel, what is the plan?" Karius asked.
Ashliel crossed her arms and turned away. "They are traversing the city to the citadel. My troops are no longer strong enough to deal with them. Once they reach the citadel, we strike them with everything we have. You four will have to protect the Heavenly Temple while I gather enough energy to tap into my Godspeaker Form."
"Alright. I'll do what I can to hold them off until then." Karius said.
"Karius...do not be afraid to tap into your True Hero powers. You must go into your Radiant Hero Form. You must do what Ryu couldn't do and kill the Overlords. I understand that power is hard to control, but I have faith in you." Ashliel said.
Karius looked at Ashliel and noticed her sweet smile. He nodded and walked off. "Alright. Maria, Empyrean, X...Let's go defend Alsfield."
The three followed Karius out of the church and made their way toward the citadel.
.....
We made it to the citadel and I noticed a Goddess Statue appearing then stopped walking. Karius landed on the ground and his wings disappeared. He stood up and looked at us. X warped next to him and used her psychic abilities to have her weapon floating next to her. Empyrean walked forward and summoned her battle axe and twirled her hand cannon around her finger.
A fourth figure walked forward. She had clear skin, beautiful golden hair, shining blue eyes, and a figure that could make any man lust for her. She wore black nun attire with a silver breastplate, she carried a holy sword that was shaped like a cross in her right hand and a silver tower shield in her left hand.
[Warning: Boss Units Ahead]
[Scanning Target...]
{Target: Karius (LV. 65)}
Strength: C {310}
Endurance: C {300}
Dexterity: C {305}
Agility: C {294}
Magic: C {299}
Intelligence: C {300}
Power Level: C {301}
[Scanning Target...]
{Target: Empyrean (LV. 60)}
Strength: C {300}
Endurance: C {239}
Dexterity: C {294}
Agility: C {267}
Magic: C {325}
Intelligence: C {340}
Power Level: C {294}
[Scanning Target...]
{Target: Maria (LV. 60)}
Strength: C {300}
Endurance: C {310}
Dexterity: C {245}
Agility: C {245}
Magic: C {350}
Intelligence: C {315}
Power Level: C {294}
"This is as far as you go, Overlords! There is no getting past us! Especially not with this Goddess Statue active!" Karius bellowed and raised his sword to the sky.
[Warning: Blessing of the Light Goddess active!]
[Notice: Your allies are weakened. Destroy the Goddess Statue to rid of the effect!]
"Kuragari.." I said and snapped my fingers.
"Foolish Mortals thinking they can use tactics like these to win! I shall prove them wrong once again!" Kuragari bellowed and corrupted the Goddess Statue into an Overlord Statue.
"What..?!" Karius said in disbelief.
"This is the Ancient Monster I reported! Kuragari, the Ancient Monster of Darkness! He swallows all Light!" Maria called out.
The Goddess Statue crumbled and the holy field disappeared. I stopped Kuragari from doing any more. I activated my ability, Gift of Null and made all disadvantages disappear.
"Leave Karius...to me!" I said and propelled myself toward him.
Karius readied his sword and blocked my slash. We clashed multiple times then I parried his next attack then kicked him away. I stuck my sword into the ground and caused bursts of dark energy to erupt from the ground. Karius dodged the eruptions then dashed toward me.
"This is your end!" Karius bellowed.
"I would love to see that happen!" I laughed and dashed toward him.
Maria slashed at Desdemona, but she dodged the attack. Desdemona palmed Maria's stomach then chopped her neck then struck her with a left hook. Maria twirled around and groaned as an Ancient Mummy kicked her away. Desdemona giggled and laughed then dashed toward Maria.
Maria grunted and blocked Desdemona's attack. 'I need to retreat..! I can't defeat her..!'
Desdemona kicked Maria's shield and broke through her guard then summoned her staff and swung it at Maria. She hit Maria then stomped on the ground, causing a force of darkness to launch Maria upwards. Maria grunted and spread her angel wings then awakened her Divine Form.
"Yes show me more of that light!" Desdemona bellowed and her aura surged powerfully around her body.
Guinevere dodged each of Empyrean's attacks and blocked her axe with her sword then flew backwards and commanded a Fallen Lancer to strike Empyrean. Empyrean dodged the attack and decapitated the head of the Fallen Lancer. She dashed toward Guinevere and slashed her.
Guinevere dodged the slash then grabbed the handle of the battle axe then kicked Empyrean away. Empyrean flipped backwards and fired five bullets at Guinevere. Guinevere dodged the bullets and twirled the battle axe in a circle and corrupted it into a Black Axe.
"Sinner...yet, I find it enjoyable to fight against the likes of your kind. You make being a hero worth the while! If only things could've been different...if you hadn't killed Ryu!" Empyrean bellowed and her Divine aura surged powerfully around her body. She transformed into her Inquisitor Form and angel wings emerged from her back.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I didn't kill him. I tried to marry him to create peace, but peace was never an option. Now I stand beside Raiyu lovingly. I now yearn for absolute destruction!" Guinevere laughed and transformed into her Awakened Form.
Empyrean smirked and her eyes shined. "I would love to destroy you!"
Terradrake flew around the bursts of fire energy that X fired at him. Meliae looked back as she rode on the back of Terradrake then pointed her staff at X then fired bursts of earth energy at her. The energy blasts only phased through her body and X scoffed.
"I can't attack her unless Raiyu changes my element...Terradrake, keep stalling!" Meliae commanded.
Terradrake roared and flew around at high speeds, avoiding X as she rode on the scabbard containing her weapon. She kept launching bolts of fire at Terradrake and he kept dodging until one of the fireballs struck his side. He roared in pain and groaned as more fireballs struck him then he crashed to the ground.
'Although I can't kill it in one hit, they can't necessarily touch me. I'll just have to play the long game!' X thought to herself.
X dashed toward Meliae and grunted as I kicked her face, blowing her away. X recovered and slid backwards then dashed toward me. "It's time for that rematch!"
"You won't escape from me!" Karius bellowed.
I chuckled and my eyes shined brightly. I bellowed and transformed into my Awakened Form and my aura pushed them both away. I vanished and struck Karius at lightspeeds then knocked him away. I dodged X's slash and elbowed her stomach then hit her with a back kick. I pivoted into a roundhouse kick and knocked her away.
"Meliae!" I called out.
Meliae stuck her staff into the ground and a green mist formed around the battlefield. She bellowed and jumped backwards, turning her staff into a Devil Tree.
[Notice: All Allies have elemental absorption and high regeneration for as long as Meliae is on the battlefield.]
"It's set, Rai!" Meliae called out and groaned as she was blown away by one of X's energy blasts.
"Rest! You need to keep your energy!" I called out and dodged X's attacks.
"I'm not gonna let you fight a two on one!" Meliae called out and summoned her bow made from the wood of a Divine Tree. "Nature's Guardian! Lend me your strength!"
Karius felt powerful divine energy and looked back at Meliae. 'I forgot...she was a Demigod at one point in time..'
Meliae fired a large arrow to the sky. "Meteor Rain!"
'Now it's time to force X into the lightning element and lock her there!' I thought to myself.
I changed into the Water Element and went for the attack, but X changed into the Water Element as well. I phased through her body and turned around. She kicked me away and slashed at my neck. I moved out of the way and changed into the Lightning Element and slashed at her.
X changed her element into the Earth Element then I immediately changed into the Fire Element mid attack. She groaned as she was hit and slid backwards. The first wave of arrows rained down and dealt no damage to X.
"I hope you didn't forget about me!" Karius bellowed.
I sensed his attack and dodged, but X knocked me away. I recovered but Karius appeared behind me and kicked me to the ground into X. X sliced in a circle and launched me into the Devil Tree. I groaned and fell onto one knee. I grunted as X impaled me with her scissors and she had a sadistic smirk on her face.
"Yes...Yes! I did it! It's now time for you to die, Overlord!" X laughed and drove her scissors deeper into my body.
I grunted and coughed blood then chuckled. "You haven't...even seen anything just...Yet."
The illusion disappeared and X's eyes widened. She noticed the target she stabbed was an Ancient Mummy. The Ancient Mummy let out a taunting laugh and pointed upwards.
I hovered in the sky and gray energy particles floated around the sky. "Thank you, Nightmare."
Nightmare roared and disappeared. X noticed the gray energy particles turning into energy blades.
"Nothingness. The Absence of Everything. When you think of Null, you think of neutral. When I think of Null...I think of the absence of substance. You fell into my trap because if you look around you...You are in a Field Effect. It is called The Void. I came up with it myself." I chuckled.
"The Void is a mysterious field that negates all of your abilities. It took a lot to set up...it took some distraction away from me to complete. Now you can kiss your freedom goodbye." I laughed.
I sent the Null Energy Blades crashing down at them. Multiple explosion happened and I smirked at the destruction I caused to the citadel. The citizens of the citadel screamed and tried to escape, but none of them could make it out.
Empyrean and Maria noticed shackles appear on their wrists and grunted. Karius grabbed X and used what energy he had left to retreat.
"It's over...Once we kill the Maiden of Heaven, your precious world is destroyed.." I said and sent the two to Astarfall.
Desdemona smiled and placed a hand on her hip. "Raiyu..~ I am certainly impressed~ He is a true Overlord now..~"
"I agree, such destruction is only feasible by the best and he's certainly proving himself..~" Guinevere giggled and licked her lips.
With the citadel destroyed, there was only one location left to destroy and one being to kill. The Maiden of Heaven...The Godspeaker of Heaven. With my new found power of the Void Element, I went toward the Temple alone as planned.
{To Be Continued.}