"[Order Lesser-Mid Demon: Infernal Protector]." The female voice, in a deadly grave tone, said, causing a pentagram to ignite in flames on the ground and summon forth a Demon, an Infernal Protector.
Dont-Say-My-Name grabbed the invocation by the face before it could even roar, and threw it forward, causing the creature to collide against the fist covered in a pure white gauntlet against the shield of the summoning.
The Demon screamed in furious agony as it died instantly, and Black Abyss•White Flower growled as she felt the percentage of damage reflected from her strike at full force.
Dont didn't waste the opportunity and used one of the abilities she always used. [Demonic Terrific Apparition]
A sense of terror invaded Black Abyss for a second, with her resistances quickly freeing her from the debuff, but not in time to avoid the shot to the back of her head with enhanced critical damage. The deliberately enhanced recoil of the shot sent Dont flying backwards.
She somersaulted in the air before landing softly on the ground, easily halting her acceleration as she adjusted herself.
Black Abyss turned around and saw Dont with her rifle in her hand, pulling a lever and causing the weapon to release a high-pressure black smoke for a moment, then changing its bright red light to black.
Dont's eyes stared intently, fervently seeking to apply debuffs on her while the demonic damage pressed against her resistances. It did nothing, but it annoyed her a little.
The pink petals of the flower in Dont's hair flowed endlessly, giving her a dark aura at the same time, making her bright red eyes gleam sinisterly in the darkness surrounding her.
Black Abyss cracked her neck, raising her shield high and holding her spear in hand.
Her divine aura surged powerfully, colliding against Dont's demonic aura in a true battle of good against evil.
The tension could be cut with a knife it was so thick...
And a bell rang.
Dont sighed as she deactivated her passive abilities, stowing her rifle in her inventory.
"Mm~ Buen calentamiento~ {That was a nice work up~}" Dont said with a smile as she stretched with a hint of sensuality.
"... Does this serve to warm you up...?" Black Abyss sighed as she also deactivated her abilities and stowed her weapons, then superficially arranging her impeccable hair as she approached Dont.
"Well~ If we really got into a serious fight, the whole arena would end up flying, hehe~ For now, let's stick to this to practice our combat skills a bit in this world~" Dont said amusedly, letting out a relieved sigh as she finished stretching.
"Still, you know it's not enough." Black Abyss stopped in front of her, a field extended from her and put a control effect on Dont, leaving her immobilized. Black Abyss then took her hand as she stretched and spun her around. "There may be beings like us, and you are very fragile. We need to know our full capacity in this world." Black Abyss explained, stopping Dont's spin once the CC ended. "And although it's true that I'm the tank here and will protect you in case of a fight, I won't always be there, as happened with that World Item..."
"... Don't paralyze me again or I'll 10th tier shoot you." Dont grumbled with a pout as she crossed her arms.
"Heh~ It's for you to realize~ Your damage is the highest in the guild, but you can't fight alone."
"... You specialize in CC besides tanking. And I have enough dexterity and agility capabilities, plus skills, to avoid most attacks even with reduced mobility... But you're right... Being overconfident isn't wise. Especially in this situation..." Dont sighed as she relaxed her posture.
"Just remember~ Out of the 22 PvP matches we had, I won 18~"
"SHUT UP. YOU HAVE 2 DIVINE SKILLS AND A CRAPPY CC." Dont growled gutturally, with her [Demon Eyes] unconsciously activating, gleaming sinisterly.
"But~ When we did the 2v2 PvP, no one beat us~ Although Jamon wrecked us..."
"... What a bastard... Ha... Anyway. At least we've established that damage value, defense, and various skills work the same as in Yggdrasil, although some skills clearly function differently being 'real'."
"Indeed. But what I mean is that the one who is most at risk when alone is you, while if we're together, only a World Champion can beat us. That's why we need to maintain a kind of... Plan, so to speak, where we can bring ourselves to each other's location in case of a danger as great as a Yggdrasil player, if more came."
"Hm... The problem is if they use something like [Dimensional Lock] or similar... Well. As always, we must have several high-level NPCs as bodyguards at least. Then I'll review skills, items, and spells among everything in Titania to plan something. Soy la mente maestra aquí después de todo~ {I'm the Mastermind here after all~} Fufu~" Dont said proudly at the end.
"Fu~ Of course~ Have you decided which Commanders to entrust with World Items?" Black Abyss asked after laughing a bit.
"Oh, yes... Superbia, Bachelory, and Achernar for now. Superbia is probably one of the most efficient protector and offensive NPCs overall due to her summoner and commander build on a large scale. Bachelory is vital to Titania's operation, and Achernar is basically our main source of information and anti-espionage. There's still one World Item left, but I'll decide later."
"Regardless, it's obvious that the Valentine's Card should stay in Titania. We can afford to lose a world item, just because we can recover it with the card. But if we were to lose the card, we could lose any world item in our possession. Bachelory should have it and we shouldn't take it to many places." Black Abyss added seriously.
The Valentine's Card, ironically, could be called one of the most broken World Items in a certain sense, although its effect didn't give buffs or debuffs or anything like that.
"Hm... The Trumpet of the End of the World might be better for him... Well... Speaking of Bachelory, I had a plan to use him in a little something with Re-Estize to improve our reputation as Nyx and Titania, and to obtain resources and sources of information..." Dont said, looking to the side, watching as the pair of maids on duty approached almost running due to the distance between where they were and the upper stands of the arena.
"... ¿Y eso de que va? {And what's that about?}" Black Abyss said, also giving a glance to the maids, then returning her gaze to Dont with curiosity.
"Mm~ Something about an attack on the capital~ You 'saving' the day, while I support and take care of a criminal organization that I read about in the previous report from Doppel-Nyx, at the same time we can deal with any loose ends from my blunder where a gentleman slipped away from me..." The Demon inside Dont crossed his arms with a slight pout...
"... You want to stage an attack...?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dont made a contemplative expression.
"Mm~ Well, yes. In a nutshell~ But it will be for the good of Titania~ So you should be okay with that~" Dont dismissed the topic with a light laugh.
Black Abyss looked at Dont in silence for a long second, then sighed.
"... Very well, I'll try to see which part of the city is important but not frequented enough to cause unnecessary civilian casualties."
"Oh, well, the idea was precisely to have casualties. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fun... And it would be more heroic if you avenged the fallen from the evil Demon~" Dont said dramatically, noticing with a smile that the maids had finally arrived.
"... Why should it be fun...?" Black Abyss murmured with a sigh, also looking at the maids afterward.
She easily remembered their names. After all, she had participated in their creation with fervent emotion at the time, and she had to recall their names now that they were real out of courtesy and affection.
"Mm~ Forneus~ Sitri~" Dont greeted them, without responding to Black Abyss.
The two maids simply wiped away the nonexistent sweat as they composed themselves and gave a deep bow to the two Supreme Ladies.
Black Abyss glanced back at her companion.
"Right~ According to the mapping of the Tob Forest, there's a very large lake nearby, where various amphibious and aquatic races and creatures live~ So I wanted to test out some things with the Lizardmen, Frogs, etcetera that are around there~ I want to test Superbia's capabilities as a commander~ And also, to truly begin our conquest~ Muahaha!" Dont laughed evilly and exaggeratedly. "Also, trap constructions are being set up throughout the forest surrounding Titania. Wanda is restoring the felled trees so that no holes form from the sky~"
"... Any particular reason for wanting to throw our most broken summoner at some lizards? You're the Queen of Titania, unjustified genocides wouldn't be very well received by half the population and even the NPCs." Black Abyss emphasized quietly so the maids wouldn't overhear.
"Field practice. Experimentation. Expansion. Anyway, it might not necessarily kill ALL the Lizardmen and Frogs in the area. Just some initially~ So they can't argue against our dominion~" Dont explained calmly, trying not to annoy Black Abyss too much...
The Demon knew that the Angel was bothered by all this 'abuse' and unnecessary evil...
"I understand that the Demihumans respect strength, so let's show them strength so they won't complain. Plus, they could be useful to investigate things like Martial Arts and the races of this world. A Lizardman from Yggdrasil might not be exactly like a Lizardman from this world." Dont shrugged, extending a hand and patting Sitri's head, who was dressed in a very daring French maid outfit, worthy of a fetishist, with her skirt open on the sides, showing off fishnet stockings and accentuating her curves, large breasts in a tight white corset with ample cleavage, seemingly about to burst, the symbol of G.O.D.S. on the sides of the outfit's arms, silver hair in a short ponytail, silver eyes, and a white headband.
{Sitri PNG}
She let out a suppressed moan as she tensed up, trembling intensely under the touch of the Queen of Titania, her cheeks burning with intensity.
"Besides~ Anyway, they'll have to respect my decision even if I command a genocide for no reason~" Dont hummed, lightly stroking Sitri, who let out more suspicious sounds, making Dont slightly uncomfortable.
"Just because they follow your order doesn't mean they accept it. Don't launch a direct attack, send Superbia to try to negotiate the surrender of the Lizardmen and Frogs democratically... If you base all of Titania's expansion on this method, I doubt we'll last long." Black Abyss explained with a slight furrow of her brow.
"Uuuuugh. Fineeeeeee." Dont whined, withdrawing her hand from Sitri's head, eliciting a pained whimper from her. Forneus only watched the scene with a hint of jealousy.
"... Ha... How violent... You know, if we base everything on that method of battle, we'll end up like the history videos said about Nazi Germany... We'll expand too much, and we don't have the numbers to control the whole world." Black Abyss added, holding her temples, deciding to pat Forneus, who squealed a bit before purring shyly...
Her maid dress, compared to others, was completely black, with almost transparent areas in a somewhat daring fashion. She had short black hair, covering one of her eyes, paper-white skin, nice curves, and eyes as black as ink and lifeless.
{Forneus PNG}
"Don't lecture me about Nazi Germany!" Dont shouted at Black Abyss. "Anyway, I'm going to take a bath~ Let me know if you need anything, cariño~ {sweetie~}" Dont changed the subject as easily as one would breathe.
"... Ha... Well, I'll see what to do next." Black Abyss said, scratching her head.
Dont grabbed Sitri by the shoulder, earning a surprised and blushful squeal from her, and they both disappeared with the use of the guild medal.
"Hm... That woman can be quite troublesome..." Black Abyss muttered, walking to the side, heading towards the door, while behind her, the other maid hurriedly followed.
(Hm... What to do...?) And the memory that her Doppelgänger informed her of something relatively important came to her. And Black Abyss hummed to herself. She could handle it herself.
…
"Please, Titania, take a seat." A man of veteran appearance, with somewhat afro hair and a gray mustache due to age, spoke to Black Abyss.
Among the six individuals in the room besides her, there was only this man, a chubby one, and a skinny one, and about three others who appeared to be adventurers, armed even within the guild.
Titania approached a chair and sat down without greeting the others, being observed by everyone present, to which the standing man began to speak.
"Let me introduce myself then. I am the Leader of the Adventurers Guild in this city, Pluton Ainzach. And this is the mayor, Panasolei Gruze Day Rettenmaier."
The mayor greeted with a simple gesture. It wasn't even worth describing.
"It's a 'pleasure' to meet you, Titania~" He said something unpleasant, as if he had his nose plugged.
Titania only nodded in response to the greeting, remaining silent as she looked at the man... More than chubby, actually.
Ainzach also introduced the leader of the Mage Guild, one Theo Rakesheer.
"Not a complaint, Ainzach, but I didn't know more people would be coming." The Paladin spoke to the leader.
"Well... You see, Titania... Like you, these three men were invited to the meeting. The three are representatives of the adventurer teams in E-Rantel of which we are proud. From right to left, the representative of 'Kurarugura,' Iguvaruji, the representative of 'Sky Wolf,' Belote, and the representative of 'Rainbow,' Moknach." Mithril medals hung from each of their necks. Their equipment was considered the best quality in the city... Although, of course, for Black Abyss, it was trash among trash.
"I see. So, they are important names for the Adventurers, my apologies." Titania said, slightly bowing her head, although the orichalcum medal around her neck caught their attention.
The so-called Iguvaruji gave Black Abyss a cold look.
"Before we begin, there's something I'd like to know, Guild Leader Ainzach. I've never heard the name Titania before. Since she's a orichalcum-class adventurer, she should have had several previous accomplishments, right? What are her achievements to be here?" The hooded woman remained silent, seeing that the question was not directed at her, but Ainzach happily responded to Iguvaruji's hostile tone.
"Her accomplishments include defeating the Virtuous King of the Forest and resolving the cemetery incident from a few days ago."
"The cemetery incident?"
Unlike Iguvaruji's confused reaction, the Rainbow team representative, Moknach, let out a gasp.
"Isn't that the incident that involved a large number of Undead and...? Wasn't it a Paladin?" He murmured, doubtful and surprised.
"Titania, yes. She's a paladin." Ainzach responded.
"Just because of that? Just because she resolved an incident? What about adventurers who have advanced by providing evidence of ascent step by step? Won't they hold a grudge?" The adventurer complained.
"If it's a demonstration they want, the guild has a combat arena." Titania exclaimed with a visible smile. "You may not have heard anything about me, or seen it, but Lord Ainzach has. My rank is not for anything other than my skills." The Paladin explained seriously, squinting slightly at these people who doubted her.
"Now, now. It's not time for fights." Ainzach interrupted. "First, a brief report. About two nights ago, a group of adventurers patrolling the outskirts of E-Rantel encountered a... We assume it's a high-level Demon. From this group of adventurers, only one girl survived. But based on what we could gather from the survivor, evidence, and some other things like detecting traces of demonic energy in the area with a priest, we were able to conclude that it was a Demon." And he went on to describe the Demon.
But Black Abyss paid minimal attention, only needing to hear some descriptions to confirm that it was indeed the form that Dont said she used at that time.
"Tch." Titania unintentionally let out.
At that tongue click, those present looked at Black Abyss with raised eyebrows, waiting to hear what she meant.
"... Ainzach, do you remember when I told you I come from very far away? Crossing seas even." She asked the guild leader.
"Yes... It's common knowledge about you." The guild leader nodded.
"... But I never said what my reason for coming here was. And it was for a cause, not to provoke public disorder. Because... I came here hunting a creature..." She explained almost dramatically.
A sigh escaped the mouths of several as they put 2 and 2 together in Titania's words.
"That means..." The mage guild leader murmured, clearly impacted enough to actually continue the sentence.
"My people called it the 'Komodo Demon'... In their language it would be 'Komodo Demon'... It's an evil creature from my homeland, Komodo... It escaped after our last battle." The hooded figure said, adding a serious tone and almost growling when saying 'Demon'. Naturally, Black Abyss, or rather, Titania, always said the word Demon with a special connotation, a mixture of repulsion and fascination.
"So... This Komodo Demon... How strong is it? If you can tell us, of course." The Sky Wolf representative asked.
"... Currently, I don't know... I only know that the more it takes hits, the more it learns from attacks, improving its power. In our initial battle, I was about to kill it, but suddenly it reached my own power level, ended up evading my powers with its ability to change forms and adapt to the battle. For now, I only know of one other besides me who can fight against it, Stronoff." Titania explained, clenching her fist tightly.
At the mention of the Warrior Captain, the room fell silent. The mayor didn't even dare to speak, understanding the kind of beast they were facing when using Stronoff as a comparison...
"Doesn't that mean this mission should be assigned to an Adamantite-ranked group?" the mayor finally asked.
"No." Titania quickly interrupted. "My power is Adamantite despite my current rank. But nobody has the experience and knowledge against the Komodo Demon like I do, sending another would be sending them to die." The hooded figure explained gently, as if it were the only possible truth.
A chair creaked. Looking towards the source of the sound... Needless to say, of course, it was the person who clearly had no friendly intentions towards Black Abyss, Iguvaruji.
"I'm sorry, but I can't fully trust you. It's not even certain that the Demon is actually that powerful! I also wish to go!"
"No... I say this for the common good, no one but me should face it..." Black Abyss also stood up, drawing their attention, and causing them to raise their eyebrows when she drew her white sword, which quickly began to glow. "This is the strongest weapon of my kingdom. It's the only known thing capable of cutting the skin of the Komodo Demon... And not even Adamantite could pierce it. But this can." She said seriously.
Ainzach, the adventurers, and the Mage Guild leader stared wide-eyed at the shining sword...
"That's why I'm the only one who can fight against it." She explained, sheathing her sword at the end and sitting back down.
There were some discussions about details after that, with Iguvaruji still objecting... And if she was honest, Black Abyss wanted to leave.
…
"Entonces~ ¿Qué vamos a hacer~? {So~ What are we gonna do~?}" Asked a smiling Dont, followed by Achernar in the shadows and a couple of Knight NPCs.
"Transfórmate, vamos a pelear. {Transform, we're going to fight.}" Said Black Abyss, removing her hood, still in her Adventurer attire.
"Oh? Do you want to try one of my forms? Well then, which one? I hope you understand that I won't use the Demon Queen form!" Dont said excitedly and curiously.
"Use the form you used to attack the bandits in that cave. Apparently, one of the ones who escaped told the guild about it, so you've become known. So, I need training against that form of yours." Black Abyss explained, drawing her shining sword.
"Oh... right. That." Dont seemed to sweat nervously with a smile. "Um, okay. You two can leave. You'll be replaced by Hanzos to watch the area. Achernar, you do the same. Inform us of anything." She ordered the knights and the Commander.
The knights bowed, and after Dont sent a message to Eyesight, a [Gate] opened.
Dont ignored them after that and used her ability.
Her appearance changed within a second to the bestial and monstrous form she had used before.
"AQUÍ TIENES~ {HERE YOU HAVE~}" Although her words were sweet, her voice came out as thousands of screams in agony and in a hoarse voice.
Black Abyss put her blade on her elbow, aiming at Dont while taking a defensive stance. With her hand gripping her sword, she gestured with a finger. 'Come', she exclaimed with the same.
Dont twisted her neck, making it sound like bones breaking, and chuckled between her teeth.
"FUFU~" And with a leap, she was in front of Black Abyss. Her overall speed was superior to the Paladin's, and now she had the advantage of physical strength and brute force.
Her jaws were open towards her, with the light like infernal flames increasing, revealing she was going to use an Infernal Breath.
"Hmp!" A golden aura burst from Black Abyss, touching Dont in an instant and stopping her movements completely.
Black Abyss, with her fist, struck Dont's stomach, followed by a knee strike and another punch, pushing her away as the Demoness fell to the ground, breaking the rocks.
However, Dont's tail lashed out, coated in infernal fire, hitting Black Abyss's face, causing a scratch in addition to the infernal and fire damage. Black Abyss's HP value was significantly reduced, but it began to heal quickly. If Dont had given a simple punch, the damage would have been less, but with this form, even a normal punch would cause considerable damage.
Black Abyss's sword began to glow with power, aiming it towards Dont, who jumped before the energy blast hit her.
Such energy passed through the ground without any problem.
Black Abyss jumped towards Dont, standing in front of her in an instant, launching another punch aimed at her stomach.
"[ASPECT OF THE DEMON: HELL TENDRIL]"
From Dont's back, tendrils like black tentacles swiftly sprouted and whipped Black Abyss with force. Without her Divine equipment, the force threw her back, preventing Dont from taking damage, and the paladin receiving a decent amount of damage, but not as much as before.
She returned to her initial combat position, pointing her sword at Dont while resting it on her elbow. But this time, a scroll appeared in her empty hand, burning at Black Abyss's whisper, appearing instantly in front of Dont.
The Demoness hissed as Black Abyss grabbed her by the neck and headbutted her. She kicked Dont's legs when the tendrils attacked, causing them to hit her in the abdomen. The Paladin managed to grab one of them and pulled it to whip Dont against the ground.
"Now that we're real, we can do a lot more moves than before." Black Abyss murmured, releasing the tentacle-like appendage.
Dont's tail stabbed her in the stomach, piercing through the medium-level armor and causing direct piercing damage coated with infernal and fire damage. In addition to this, Dont growled a skill.
"[DAEMON RESURGE]"
Dont's body exploded into dark red flames, causing an explosion effect and backlash of demonic damage and fire to Black Abyss, freeing herself from her grip.
Dont quickly got up and opened her jaws towards the Paladin. A red flame burst like a large wave of flames from between her teeth forward in a cone.
The attack hit Black Abyss head-on, exploding with great force and uprooting trees despite the distance they were at.
But then, the burnt hand covered Dont's mouth.
Although she didn't have her CC immunity, she was still a tank after all, but she stopped thinking about that when the sword pierced her stomach.
She received a kick to the chest that sent her flying towards the trees, smashing them upon impact. And besides the pain, she felt other presences...
"OH~? AND THESE RATS~?" Dont chuckled maliciously.
After all, it didn't seem like it at first, as it was quite quick, but such 'rats' were the reason why Black Abyss and Dont started fighting with relative seriousness.
She had received a [Message] from Achernar that there were humans watching them. Obviously, they weren't of decent level, as Achernar detected them instantly, which prompted her to alert Black Abyss. And since the two Players knew each other so well, a slight glance was enough. After all, this counted as a training match, so the message was picked up between the two.
"Are you going to try to escape again? Komodo Demon." Black Abyss said seriously.
"KOMODO DEMON...?" Dont whispered, wanting to roll her eyes at the cheesy name she now had. "E-EJEM. FU~ NOW I'M STRONGER THAN BEFORE, WHITE RAT~ YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME! AND ONCE I GET RID OF YOU AND YOUR RAT FRIENDS~ I'LL MAKE THIS COUNTRY BURN!" She said dramatically, emphasizing her evilness as she laughed maliciously. "[ASPECT OF THE DEMON: RIPPER CLAWS]" Using the skill, Dont's already large claws lengthened as their sharpness increased, essentially turning them into swords.
"Do you think that will make you equal to a true Paladin?" Black Abyss asked sarcastically. "I'm Titania, the greatest warrior of Komodo, you'll never defeat me in my own area, Demon..." She exclaimed, frowning and clenching her fist towards her.
Dont rolled her eyes, but in her new form, it seemed like she was staring intensely at her.
She considered giving the humans a near-death scare but dismissed it.
And she made a slash towards Titania. "[HELL SLASH]" Using the ability, her slash translated into cuts of infernal fire that shot out like flames towards Titania.
"[Shield of the Saint]" Black Abyss stopped, putting her hands in front of her, causing the flames to explode violently as they collided with the golden energy shield that appeared after reciting those words, breaking after the last attack received. Black Abyss appeared instantly in front of Dont passing through the smoke, grabbing her wrist tightly while attacking with her sword towards her.
It was obvious that the Shooter was deliberately ignoring her advantages against sensory obstruction. Even the densest smoke would be like clear glass to her, but well, she wanted to continue the act of being a simple powerful monster of this world.
Using her other claws, Dont blocked the sword, although it got stuck between the claws a bit. If it had been the normal Dont, her claws would have almost snapped against the weapon specialized in breaking things that Black Abyss grabbed, but in her current form, the damage was minimal.
Her tail lunged like a harpoon towards Titania's face, its tip coated with unholy energy.
The Angel pulled Dont's wrist, causing her tail to hit her own hand, piercing herself as she hit her legs again, sending her to the ground.
Of course, the damage was null since the Demoness wasn't really trying to harm Black Abyss, and the unholy energy was indifferent to Dont.
"It's over!" Black Abyss shouted, raising her sword.
"DON'T ACT LIKE YOU'RE INVINCIBLE!" Jumping with Black Abyss still with her, taking them away from the group of humans, Dont shouted again. "[VOLCANO RAGE]" At the roar, a massive explosion of fire and magma erupted from Dont.
A single-use ability per day that caused massive explosive and fire damage at tier 8.
Dont jumped back as she broke free from the Paladin's grip, looking towards Black Abyss amidst the flames, and audibly growling as she saw her completely frozen.
Although it was really useful that she was very lively when she sang abilities, she didn't know when she had used [Great Church Guardian], stopping all damage directed towards her of demonic nature, and incidentally, any attack, leaving a giant strip totally intact behind her while she was frozen.
The 'ice,' which was actually solid light vaguely shaped like an Angel, broke after one more second, and Black Abyss appeared intact, but...
"Gh..." She dropped to one knee. "Damn it... How many innocent people did you kill to become so strong!?" Very angry, she yelled at the Demoness, who grinned widely in a terrifying manner.
"FUAHAHAHAHA! WOULDN'T IT BE CRUELER JUST TO LEAVE YOU WONDERING!?" Dont laughed. In theory, considering the number of NPCs she would have eliminated in Yggdrasil, it could be true.
"¡Te maldigo, Linda Demonio! {Curse you, cute Devil!}" The Paladin said forcefully, to those who were spying terrified, it sounded like an insult, although in reality, it was a little cute joke that made Dont, to be honest, blush a bit. She didn't expect that script break after all.
Black Abyss quickly got up, began to glow, while gripping her sword with both hands and raising it towards the sky.
Dont growled, or acted annoyed again.
"The planet trembles at the sight of this divine and mighty power." Calmly exclaimed the Paladin, as a divine power emerged from her body, damaging Dont as she witnessed the tier 8 attack. "Cut through the Evil! [Sacred Sword of Punishment]!"
Black Abyss made a slash with her weapon, which lifted a huge amount of rocks as it extended up to 100 meters, releasing heaps of divine energy. But she looked up as she heard the Demoness's laughter from above.
She opened her jaws towards the ground. The divine damage was severe, but she was already healing. Fortunately, this form was optimized for physical combat and enhanced her regeneration enough. Of course, compared to a pure Warrior, it was a joke, but her regeneration was now better than her normal form.
"[HELLFIRE BREATH]" She roared. While before it was a minor ability, unnecessary to activate aloud, this was an advanced version that caused more damage but had daily uses.
If before it was a wave of infernal fire, now it was a tsunami. Practically the sky was not visible through the dark red fire raining down at once. Its area of effect was massive, but it was only equivalent to a tier 7 spell in terms of damage without modifiers, although its range was very large.
Unknown to the humans, they had shields granted by Black Abyss so they wouldn't die.
"Release maximum power!" The Paladin said, putting her sword forward, she was really getting into the role... "Heavenly Spear of Eternity!" She shouted, as from a bright white light, the sword turned into a large halberd, shining with exceptional divine power, an unmatched construct for those humans who saw it.
"Ha!" She made a cut with her lance, splitting the infernal fire while it caused enormous destruction on its sides.
Part of the attack headed towards the human group that was spying.
Black Abyss jumped towards them, cutting the trees with her lance, standing in front of them with her arms in an X, receiving the fiery shot head-on, which exploded with tremendous power, eliminating much of the forest.
The smoke rose, and the humans saw Black Abyss in front of them, they had been saved by the Paladin who turned towards them.
"What are you doing here!? I told you to stay!" More than being angry, she seemed to be giving them a scolding, but she looked back up into the heights, hearing the Demoness's laughter again.
"MAGNIFICENT! YOU COULD BLOCK THAT ATTACK AND SAVE YOUR RAT FRIENDS! BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER! I'LL SHATTER YOU, WHITE RAT! AND THEN YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS~!" She roared amusedly, as she spat out another ability. Literally. "[HELLFIRE BALL CHAIN BREATH]"
With the ability activated, Dont began to spit out a barrage of 10 balls of infernal fire. Individually, they were tier 5 spells, although the ability itself was tier 7, and it consumed the corresponding Mana of each individual fireball shot in the 'chain', however, maximizing its explosion range to match a tier 7 area-specialized spell.
The area was completely devastated in an instant by the 10 explosions on a massive scale... But Black Abyss remained unmoved in her place.
The Adventurers who had been spying on their journey not only had seen the extreme danger that the Komodo Demoness represented but also the power of Titania herself, although... They were in a bad, very bad position now... Titania wasn't counterattacking, she was defending them from the attacks, perhaps... Would she lose because of their interference...?
The Demoness's attacks stopped as the smoke began to dissipate, revealing the wounded Titania, still standing in front of them, with only her standing between them and the sea of fire ahead.
"Run..." The Paladin said with a weaker voice than before. "I-I don't know if I can win... At least... Run..." She said, tightening the lance in her hands.
"HAHAHA! WHAT'S WRONG, WHITE RAT!? AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE STRONG? HAHAHAHAHA!" Dont laughed. Although internally, she clicked her tongue at the thought of using up her Mana and daily abilities. Her paranoia made her consider the possibility of being suddenly attacked by a real enemy due to the massive amount of explosions and bright things they were releasing.
"Tch... I have no other choice... I'll have to unleash the power of all my equipment..." Black Abyss muttered with a tongue click at the end.
Her attire began to glow intensely as it changed slightly in shape.
A crown appeared on her head, with a halo of pure divine fire and complex circles floating above it, and her divine equipment made its presence known. Divine power surged from Black Abyss with pure intensity as she manifested a pair of wings of pure white fire that shone like pure energy, mimicking the feathered wings of a bird, while having halos and divine symbols along them. Of course, Black Abyss had another pair of wings, but they were unnecessary.
The onlookers couldn't say anything seeing this, it was practically the presence of something very close to a God... They would say she was a Goddess if they didn't know she was human, of course, from their perspective.
Titania looked towards the Komodo Demoness, who recoiled slightly in her flight, seeing her new form.
"Go." The Paladin said to the humans, who nodded at her, stunned, getting up and running together at full speed. They listened without turning around to the powerful blows they exchanged, feeling the earth tremble from the sheer power of both women.
They began to think it was unfair that Titania didn't have the Adamantite rank, or perhaps they should create a new rank just for her...
…
'Pum pum pum'...
Both women pounded the ground and threw powers at the trees as the adventurers ran in terror.
"That was awesome~" Black Abyss said, striking the ground again with her lance, causing a slight earthquake.
"JEJE~ LOOK LOOK~ ROAR~" Although she did it in jest, Dont's 'light' roar in her current form shook the ground, with its sound wave pushing several trees almost to the ground.
"The Holy Paladin came to defeat the Komodo Demon! Pfu~" With a swing of her lance, a large part of the forest was split in half with terrifying ease.
"JEJEJE~ OKAY, MY MANA IS ALREADY HALFWAY DOWN AND I USED SOME DAILY SKILLS... UGH, THE MANA CONSUMPTION WITH THIS FORM IS HIGHER." Dont complained as she shook herself like an animal shaking off water, causing heaps of embers, pieces of charcoal, and ashes to fly everywhere.
Black Abyss swung her lance and pointed it towards Dont with a playful smile, making her laugh as well, although it froze in an instant, and she jumped back.
Black Abyss saw the sword crash into the ground, causing enormous area damage, although due to her divine equipment, she didn't even flinch.
The duo of players looked at each other for a moment... There was pure concern in the Demoness's gaze. Black Abyss didn't like seeing the Shooter worried.
"WHO'S THERE!?" The Demoness shouted loudly, making the entire forest tremble.
Black Abyss looked up, in the opposite direction of Dont, seeing that person in a large platinum armor, the same height as her. The sword that had been aimed at Dont was a katana, but that armor had three more weapons spinning around it. A lance, a two-edged bastard sword with an almost serpentine handguard, and a large mace, its handle resembling an anchor, while the blades had a hammer-like midsection, not very suitable for cutting.
The armor had bright blue eyes, a long white ponytail, its shoulder pads resembling boar heads made of something like silver, but they had small horns and equally blue eyes. Beneath these shoulder pads were strips of fur that went down to the knees. On its chest was some sort of inscription, Black Abyss didn't really recognize the language but it must have been from some oriental country, some kind of kanji or something similar. The protective skirt it wore was entirely metallic, covering its legs which were also protected by the armor, ending in its feet, which had golden claws.
{Riku PNG}
Black Abyss understood that it was strange armor, but judging by the destruction caused by the katana, she could tell that it was at least Legendary Equipment...
She looked at the armored man and aimed her lance at him.
"Who are you?" She exclaimed, and the almost inquisitive gaze she had towards the Demon looked at him, without showing the same violence, returning to look at Dont.
And then he spoke to Black Abyss.
"Are you fighting this monster?" His voice was cold, deep, and serious.
Black Abyss looked towards Dont, seeing her wink at her for a moment, then she looked back at the armor.
"Yes. That's right..." She said cautiously.
"... The destruction you caused, Demon, and your power, are too much for me to allow you to live." He said to Dont.
The Demon growled and roared.
"AND WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HUH!? PLATINUM RAT~ NO MATTER HOW MANY COME! I'LL DESTROY THEM ALL!"
A strong light appeared from below, both looking towards Black Abyss, who was back with her adventurer gear, clicking her tongue.
"Tch! My maximum power is over! Hey! I don't know who you are, but we need to leave!" Titania said to the armor with a worried tone.
"You'd better leave, human. I'll take care of this monster." He said coldly.
"HUH!? YOU'LL TAKE CARE OF ME!? HA! DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH, PLATINUM RAT! [HELLFIRE BALL BREATH]" At this, she practically spat out the tier 5 ability in the form of a red fireball towards the armor. Unlike before, this didn't consume Mana if Dont didn't want to maximize the explosion, but still had daily uses.
The armor reacted, causing one of the weapons floating around him, the mace, to intervene in the attack. The demonic fire and damage explosion was easily interrupted by the hammer, causing Black Abyss and Dont to look at each other for a moment. Tier 5 was legendary and heroic material from what they saw in this world.
Black Abyss signaled a 7 with her fingers, prompting Dont to look at the armor with a growl, preparing a skill of such level.
"TAKE THIS! [MID FIRE BREATH]!" At this, Dont exhaled a massive flamethrower of pure fire.
Capable of melting steel in an instant, the fire traveled towards the armor. But he spoke.
"[Cloak of Light]" At this, his armor shone, as if the sun were reflecting off it.
Subsequently, the armor made its weapons intervene between it and the flame, spinning them like a fan.
Upon impact, an area lost power as the weapons reduced the efficiency of the breath before touching the armor, and by the time the fire ended, his armor was practically intact.
"OH~! YOU CAN TAKE THAT!? HAHAHA! GOOD, PLATINUM RAT! I'LL ALLOW YOU TO TELL ME YOUR NAME!" Dont laughed, keeping up the act.
"... I don't have to tell that to a monster like you..."
"FUHAHAHA! A NAMELESS FOOL THEN!? I'LL DELIGHT IN YOUR DEAD BODY AND WRITE 'IDIOT-KUN' TO REMEMBER YOU AS SUCH~ HAHAHA~" Dont mocked, seriously trying to provoke his opponent.
She didn't resort to that tactic much, especially because Dont was a Sniper, and used to one-shotting from stealth in Yggdrasil, but now... It was very useful.
"... Riku Aganeia..."
A sharp gleam appeared in Dont's eyes, figuratively speaking. She didn't know that name. She hadn't heard it before. And she didn't know who this guy was either. But he was strong and capable enough to withstand a tier 7 ability practically unscathed. He wasn't weak. And that ability... She didn't recognize it.
Then she saw Black Abyss in front of her in an instant, her hands together above her, delivering a powerful blow to the ground, sending her plummeting downwards at enormous speed, crashing into the ground with tremendous force.
But Dont blinked, receiving no damage. She guessed that Black Abyss had put a shield over her by being between Riku and her, preventing her from seeing beyond the attack. Was she trying to give her an escape route?
She couldn't risk using a [Message], and Achernar and two Hanzos were around, plus Eyesight was watching... If things got serious, Dont just had to give a premeditated 'signal' with Eyesight, and she would send NPCs and other entities to help.
"TCH! ANNOYING!" Dont swiped at Black Abyss slowly so she could jump away, which she did. She made a subtle gesture mixed with a hiss for Achernar not to do anything for now.
She fell quite far away, and glanced sideways when the armor descended, positioning herself to the side of her, looking at the dust where the Demon was.
"You still have time to leave. I'll take care of the Demon." The one called Riku said to Black Abyss.
Dont activated her [Demon Eyes] on the armor. She used its simple damage, causing the armor to go on the defensive against Dont.
She proceeded to use her [Demon Eyes] to employ an equivalent of [Life Essence], using the skill [Original Hellspawn: Devil], to convert her [Demon Eyes] into an equivalent of [Mana Essence].
She didn't have Mana, but she had a lot of HP, maybe around level 90 in terms of HP itself, which was quite remarkable, but her conversion to [Life Essence] with [Demon Eyes] was so inaccurate that the detected value was around 10 or 5 levels off the true HP in terms of HP.
"I don't know how strong you think I am, but I am stronger." Black Abyss said to Riku. "I was specifically tasked with ending that Demon, and I am the only one truly capable of doing so. Unless you have some divine weapon." Black Abyss said, drawing her sword again.
"... Fine. I won't stop your determination." He said with little interest. And he raised a hand. "[World-Isolating Barrier]."
A shockwave distorted space, causing no push and passing through Black Abyss and Dont, expanding for kilometers.
Dont hissed as black smoke emanated from between her teeth as a threat.
And she blinked when she noticed that, in using her [Life Essence], she noticed that this guy's HP was decreasing. She couldn't calculate how much, but she understood that it was decreasing after all.
She was distracted when Black Abyss appeared beside her, delivering a kick to her stomach with tremendous force, but she received no damage, mostly due to the golden shield that appeared on her abdomen. She smiled, seeing that Black Abyss was going to help her. The kick still pushed her back almost a hundred meters, demonstrating the strength of the blow.
Suddenly, her supersenses warned her of Riku appearing behind her. Teleportation? Or was he so fast that not even Dont could detect him?
Should she play along with someone weak, or end this? PPK strategies raced through her mind like a storm of ideas, and she used a skill sensing a weapon approaching.
[Jaldabaoth's Menace]
Dont roared powerfully thanks to the ability, causing Riku to be sent flying by the force of the skill. She saw the armor reassemble without any problem. He had resistance to paralysis and fear.
Black Abyss drove her sword into the ground, clinging to it to prevent herself from being launched as well. When the ability ended, she jumped towards Dont, delivering a blow to her. One playful, but seemingly with abyssal strength.
However, Dont had enough power to stop her. "I'll pretend you're evolving, go with the flow." She quickly whispered.
Dont only grunted in affirmation as she pretended to want to bite the Paladin's head off, although the latter only gave her a 'punch' to push her face away.
Riku's katana almost hit Dont if it weren't for the shield that Black Abyss instantly placed over her, while the Demon pushed both of them away from her.
"Tch! She's adapting... If she keeps this up, she'll surpass us." Black Abyss exclaimed with a slight growl.
Riku didn't respond and approached Dont with great speed.
His mace shot towards the Shooter, and she used one of the few Rogue skills she had, [Counter Projectile].
In response, the mace was unaffected. It didn't count as a projectile. Dont clicked her tongue.
With a twist, she used her tail to deflect the mace. It stopped its momentum, but in mid-air, it moved remotely and struck Dont on the side, making her growl.
That was real damage. Not much damage, after all, now her Physical Defense stat was higher, but both the blunt damage and that slight light damage took some HP off. She began to regenerate rapidly.
"FUAHAHAHA! PLATINUM RAT! YOU'RE AMUSING!" He laughed, then used another ability. "[ASPECT OF THE DEMON: BLACK SPIKES]" Dont's entire body was covered in spikes, like a porcupine, but without altering her mobility, and with a bit of pressure from herself, the spikes shot out like bullets in all directions.
Black Abyss crouched on one knee, pulling a shield from under her black cloak, protecting herself from the attacks.
Riku skillfully blocked the spikes with his weapons, although a couple pierced through the openings in his armor. Dont noticed a minimal decrease in his HP, but it didn't regenerate. Why wasn't it regenerating? Even if HP regeneration value was minimized, one would heal unless it was a certain type of race, like Golem or Automaton in certain branches...
Was Riku something like that?... Could he be remotely controlled? Why was she seeing approximate HP values on his weapons? Were they individual entities or did they count as parts of Riku? He wasn't using skills either...
A divine white light appeared again, and Black Abyss's sword transformed into her main halberd. She positioned herself for combat as Riku glanced momentarily at the Paladin.
"FU~ I SEE! I GUESS THE WEAK AND COWARDLY NEED TO UNITE TO DEAL WITH TRUE POWER! FUHAHAHA! WELL THEN! I'LL BE GOING FOR NOW, WHITE RAT, PLATINUM RAT! WE'LL MEET AGAIN! AND REMEMBER, WHITE RAT! I WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU IF IT WEREN'T FOR THIS MEDDLESOME RAT!" The Demon roared. Her wings extended from her back and fluttered to lift her up.
"You won't escape." He said as he disappeared. Black Abyss concluded it was teleportation.
Riku appeared above Dont, with his weapons pointed towards her. The Demon frowned seeing her HP reduced. Did his skills cost HP instead of Mana? At least that explained why he wasn't using many abilities...
She used [Jaldabaoth's Menace] again, causing her powerful roar to push Riku backwards. She looked down and selected an animal she detected within sufficient range to affect it. It seemed it hadn't escaped the fight.
She used the skill, and while she felt some resistance to instantaneous movement due to an external reason, she appeared over a wounded rat on the ground, falling onto it and ending its life.
Instantly, the Demon Queen changed shape, into her stealth-specialized form, or what was the 'Snake' in her mind.
Time to flee with the data~ Although she regretted not being able to overwhelm the target alongside Black Abyss and Achernar, it could have been risky.
Plus, it seemed to leave Black Abyss in a good position, she could gather more information from that guy~
…
The Paladin drove her lance into the ground, looking towards where the Demoness had been, sighing. She glanced back, seeing the armor descend.
"What was your name? I didn't catch it during the battle."
"...That thing managed to pierce through my barrier..." He muttered to himself, ignoring the Angel's question. Then he looked at Black Abyss. "Give me your name, human."
"...Titania..." She said with a drop of sweat falling from her forehead. "Why do you refer to me as human? Aren't you one?" Her lance turned into a sword as she asked that, sheathing it.
He remained silent, as if he had realized what he said. But as if resigning to the fact that he had already said it, he spoke again.
"What is that Demon?"
Titania looked at him and sighed.
"It's... Complicated, I don't know its real origin. I only know that one day it attacked my village, razed everything... I became strong to defeat it but I still haven't succeeded, so I pursue that Demon to prevent it from causing more catastrophes like it did with me." Titania explained sentimentally. It would bring tears to anyone who saw her, although the armor remained unmoved.
"I see..." He seemed to reflect. "...We'll meet again. If that Demon could cross my barrier... Then it's worse than I thought."
Titania then stared at him. "You're not real. Are you? I mean... From the blows that thing gave you, the armor sounded hollow. That armor is empty. How do I know you're not something similar to that thing?" Titania asked, raising an eyebrow, looking quite doubtful of him.
One wouldn't normally notice it, but Black Abyss was ready to unsheathe her sword. In reality, that too was a facade, as the Angel was ready to burst into a release of divine and luminous energy while equipping her true equipment and getting serious if things turned dangerously.
"... This is armor that I control remotely with my magic. At the moment, I don't trust you enough to reveal more." He said indifferently, but thoughtfully.
Titania looked at him somewhat hesitantly, but smiled and let out a sigh.
"Well~ Personally, you don't seem like a bad guy, so I'll trust that~ If you need to find me, I'm usually at the Adventurer's Guild in E-Rantel~" Titania explained, as the armor looked at the plate on its chest.
"Mm." He replied before his barrier disappeared, and the armor vanished in some teleportation.
Black Abyss looked around, unable to sense anything really. And after a few long seconds, she spoke.
"Achernar." She called the Commander who must still be in the shadows.
"Yes, Lady Black Abyss?" Her NPC responded with more seriousness than usual.
"Where is Dont?" She asked him.
"Lady Dont is not far. She's hidden and protected by the 2 Hanzos and watched by Eyesight."
"Alright, let's go."
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Name: Eyesight
Creators: ¥Crucified¥
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Name: Amasu
Creators: State-Your-Business, (Dont-Say-My-Name, Black Abyss•White Flower)
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