The air became thick, and Asura's lungs began to burn as he stood behind the Paladin. It was a familiar feeling the ogre had experienced after encountering the humans for the first time in forever. A sensation brought forth from deep rage and anger towards an individual.
At the time, it was pointed at him, but now it was directed at the other monster. Lydia's rage swept through the room, and although Asura could not see her face, the ogre could tell she was biting her lip to try and contain it. The grotesque sight would not go unpunished.
"Lydia- Eeph!"
Suddenly, lightning struck near his foot, causing Asura to jump back to protect himself. The mana gathering within her soul started to surge, ejecting lightning in all directions from her body. Without warning, she dashed forward toward the Gorgon, leaving Asura behind.
"Hey, wait! I want to join in!"
To Asura's surprise, Lydia was three times faster than his expectations. "She was holding back too! That hypocrite!" Asura thought as he watched her cover the distance between her opponent and herself in mere seconds.
"You are definitely going to have to refight me after this! I want all the speed!"
The ground ripped open as the bolts of lightning erratically carved through it with ease. However, the Gorgon seemed to be unbothered by their approach. The monster's eyes were steady and unwavering as they watched the two draw near, but she remained still.
"Why was she just letting them get close? It would take a moment to remove her bandages, so if her plan was to petrify them, then she should have prepared earlier..." Asura thought as he raced after his comrade.
"Something is wrong..."
Lydia channeled holy mana into her fist, causing it to glow like molten metal. Her clenched fist pulsed with electricity as lightning wrapped around her arm. Standing two feet away from the Gorgon, Lydia threw everything into her punch. Taking a step forward with her left foot, Lydia twisted her entire body and sent her right fist toward the Gorgon with explosive speed. Before it could connect with her scaly body, the abrupt cries of humans around her made her hesitate for a split second. Asura roared to Lydia to retreat,
"LYDIA GET BACK!
"Save us! DON'T LEAVE ME!'
"Please, I have a family! Spare them! I'll give you everything!"
"Someone save my son! PLEASE TAKE HIM WITH YOU!"
"I don't want to die..."
"Dad!? DADDY!"
The lifeless corpses rose as if the breath of life was breathed back into their lungs. Their haunting appearance made Lydia hesitate. She understood the dead could not come back to life, but their voices were full of strong emotions, making her heart stop for a moment.
The desperation of trying to live and save their loved ones was still present in their agonizing screams. Their haunting appearance reminded Lydia of those she had lost long ago. The corpses had grey skin and were dried up from having their blood drained. The chunks of hair missing and rotting flesh reminded Asura of zombies from films he watched back home.
"They aren't alive, Lydia! Watch out!"
His warning was just a moment too late. Turning her head to look back at the Gorgon, Lydia watched as the Naga's massive tail swept towards her. Slamming into her chest. The tail sent Lydia flying into a nearby store and crashing through the glass.
"To think humanssss care ssso much for their kin. Only a fool rushes blindly at their opponent."
Asura tried to avenge Lydia, but the Gorgon slammed her tail against the ground as he approached. Unprepared for an attack from beneath, Asura watched as large, sharp rocks ripped through the floor instantly. The pillars of rocks shot forth from the ground, punching Asura in the chest.
Surprisingly, his landing was not as harsh as he expected it to be as he landed on a nearby pile of bodies. The corpses absorbed most of the impact, allowing Asura to swiftly get back on his feet.
"Sorry, sorry. My bad. I did not mean to. It was her fault, not mine."
The ogre sprinted toward the Gorgon to interrupt her plans. As he crossed the large room, leaping over corpses and furniture, he noticed Lydia emerge from the storefront. Lydia seemed unharmed from the attack but more enraged as more lightning ripped through the store behind her.
"Ssssadly I will take my leave now, but I will ssscertainly leave a gift."
From the large sphere of blood, she reached in and submerged her arm in the crimson liquid. Lydia and Asura rushed towards her, running as fast as they could to stop her before she finished her "gift".
"Whatever this gift is, I don't want it! I want the receipt for returns."
Mere feet away from the Gorgon, they both tried to strike her with an attack. Asura ripped a large rock from the ground and tossed it in her direction while Lydia channeled more mana into her fists. However, before they could interrupt the Gorgon, she ripped her arm from the sphere, opening a hole in the large ball.
Asura's eyes widened as he watched a portal to another realm open within. Erupting from the portal, a large black snake punched through. Its lengthy, black, liquid body let out a deep thud as it struck the ground upon crossing from the other realm. In its entirety, the snake could fill an entire store with its monstrously enormous body.
"Damn... I feel short... I swear I shrunk or something 'cause it's at least two or three of me in height. I used to look over these shits."
Slithering across the floor, the large snake blocked their path to the Gorgon. Unlike its mother, this snake had no scales. Instead, its body seemed to be made from a black liquid that warped and shifted as it moved.
Within the body, streaks of green liquid created a vivid line throughout the monster's long body. Its green eyes shone brilliantly against the dark contrast of the body. Its piercing slit eyes were filled with desire and a deep hunger that needed to be sated as if it were starved for decades.
Encircling its prey, the large snake surrounded the two with its body, which continuously entered through the portal. It wasn't until the snake was able to coil three times that its tail became visible. The portal closed immediately behind the liquid snake as if waiting for everything to cross through.
Asura was the first to respond by rushing forward towards the body. Pulling two of his fists back, the ogre threw his body weight into the blow. However, his efforts were wasted as his fists sunk into the liquid body. The ogre looked up at the monster's face, finding a wicked smile on its serpent lips.
"What the hell?"
Its body absorbed the blow completely, leaving Asura defenseless as it began to pull him inside. Fighting against the supernatural force, Asura dug his feet into the ground to try to pry himself from its grasp.
"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit."
Fear gripped Asura's heart, causing his chest to feel tight. He hopelessly threw his body back but instead of freeing him, the body seemed to have pulled him in deeper. Now, up to his shoulder, his two arms were completely submerged in the black, oily liquid.
"A little help?"
Asura called out to Lydia desperately as he waved his free arms around. Lydia remained silent as she studied the monster encircling them.
"Hey? You can hear me, right?"
Lydia remained silent as she focused on the monster's mana.
"What are you looking for?"
Lydia began to lightly punch the side of the snake repeatedly. Asura was speechless as he watched the Paladin strike its liquid body. He expected Lydia to have a plan, but as he witnessed the body jiggling from her weightless punches, any hope he had left disappeared. Even the snake seemed surprised by her actions as it watched with a puzzled look. Tilting its head to the side, the snake hissed at her as it prepared to strike.
"Ah fuck it, man. I don't want to watch you die."
Asura relaxed and let the monster's body consume him. The sensation felt as if he were being pulled into mud. Giving one final shrug before his possible death, Asura gave his final words.
"Meh, let's see what happens."
Once inside, everything went dark. The liquid was too thick to see the outside world from within. It was like being in one of those sensory deprivation tanks he saw on WeVlog, a video-sharing service he visited quite often.
He expected a foul stench to overwhelm him, but the monster's insides were odorless. If he did not physically feel the liquid moving around him, Asura would have believed he was dead. The empty void stripped him of every sense except touch.
There was no pain, no tingling or excruciating pain that swept over his body. "Wouldn't the snake be trying to digest me by now? Weird-"
An abrupt wave of electricity interrupted his thoughts as it swept through the liquid around him. His body tensed up as it coursed into his body, electrocuting him. "There's the pain!" Asura thought as he bit down on his lip. The intense pain spread through his body.
"GAHHHGHUDJSHDGJSDJ!!"
A strong current shot through the snake, making it screech in agony. The large snake opened its jaws wide, convulsing rapidly due to the lightning being pumped into its body. To Lydia's horror, she watched as it vomited Asura out onto the floor. Covered in black goo, the ogre slid across the floor past her while shaking violently. His involuntary actions, caused by the electricity paralyzing him, made his body twitch as he skated along the floor, resembling a fish out of water.
It only took a few seconds to recover, but it was enough to free Asura. The large serpent shook its head as it became infuriated. Its rage-filled eyes flicked to Lydia, and the large serpent exposed fangs as it tried to devour her. The serpent's large head struck swiftly at Lydia.
Thankfully, Lydia was prepared for the strike and leaped to the side as its fierce bite struck the floor where she once stood. As the snake lifted its head back off the ground, Lydia punched the liquid body lightly five times. The light taps did nothing more than cause the liquid to jiggle from the impact once again.
"That should be around fifty hits."
"What was that? Are you just giving it love taps? You-"
Asura was lying on the ground, watching Lydia walk over to help him up. Reaching down, she offered him a hand, but Asura froze as the large snake's head rose behind her. Enraged by its thwarted attempts to devour them, its vicious eyes glared hungrily at the two. Asura began to open his mouth to warn Lydia, but before he could say anything, she snapped her fingers.
A golden light filled the room as a large armored Angel burst into existence. Its golden presence radiated holy mana throughout the room, declaring its arrival. Asura never thought he would see an Angel with his own eyes... but "Why was it translucent like Ash's wall? What was an Angel doing here?"
The snake was three times Asura's height, making him feel small, but the Angel made it worse. It towered over the snake, and in one swift movement, the Angel brought his fist down upon the snake's head. The head exploded in an instant, sending its head juice everywhere. Black liquid covered Lydia and Asura, and the gooey remains sprayed in all directions. Just as quickly as it came, the Angel vanished, leaving no traces of its presence behind.
"Gross..."
Wiping the liquid from his face, Asura turned to look at Lydia, who seemed unfazed by the liquid covering her.
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"The giant golden Angel dude? Where the hell did he come from?"
"Oh, that. That is my blessing."
"Your blessing?"
"Yeah, like my power?"
"Is to summon an Angel?"
"Well, a replica, but yeah."
"A replica?"
"So basically, when I punch, I mark the thing I punched. It builds up as I continue punching like a video game combo. After so many marks, I can summon a replica of an Angel to attack once. A bigger number means a bigger angel, and that Angel was about fifty marks to create."
"That... that is rad. Why didn't you use it when we fought?"
"Cause I didn't want to kill you silly. Now let's focus on dealing with the Gorgon."
Lydia walked away from the ogre, filled with awe, and turned her attention to the center of the room where the Gorgon once stood. However, her presence was no longer detectable in the area. The large sphere of blood was taken as well. Lydia sighed deeply, concluding they must have escaped during the fight with the large snake.
"Damn it. She escaped."
"Stheno."
Lydia turned to look at Asura again after his comment.
"The Gorgon's name is Stheno. Medusa's sister."
"Medusa?"
"You have never heard of Medusa?"
"The mythological snake lady?"
"Every myth comes from something. Medusa's story is based on a real Naga named Medusa. Her sister is the one we just met. I realized it after the snake came through, out of the three Gorgons only she creates those pet snake things. It's like her shtick."
"Huh... Interesting."
"Yup. I recommend you never look into her eyes, either. Learned the hard way."
"I will take your word for it."
Opening his arms wide, Asura gestured at the surrounding area,
"What now?"
"I am going to make a quick call to see if the others found anything."
Pulling out her phone from her boot, Lydia dialed Rose's number while Asura walked around the surrounding area. The grim scenery made Asura lose his appetite. He could not help but become more depressed as he started to collect the bodies. Laying them neatly next to each other, he lined them up. Asura wanted to make the process easier for the poor families who had to search for their loved ones in this horrific place.
"So many are now dead because of greed and lust..." Asura thought as he picked up a lifeless child. However, sadly, this was not a new experience. His realm was no different, and neither were the others. "For most, selfish desires always trump morality." Lost in thought, Asura was oblivious to the fact that Lydia now stood behind him.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh... just lining them up for their families... Do priests not care about the ones they are supposed to protect? Even at the other cathedral, I have never seen them do anything about the bodies left behind."
"We do care, well at least we do here. I can't speak for Mark's cathedral. However, I think he does. I know he collects the bodies personally and cares for their families. However, the city is massive here, and we don't always have time to do it ourselves. With the sudden increase in demonic activity, the Paladins and their teams here are forced to go from one attack to another. Usually, we have a team of priests who deliver the bodies to the families, and we pay for the funerals. I know it doesn't make up for their deaths... we can try, but we can't save everyone."
"So why live in a city? It sounds miserable."
"As sad as it is to say, it is still safer than anywhere outside of city borders. Mark's town is in bad shape because of its location. Many are left to die outside the cities as monsters break into the realm. It's a fate everyone has accepted... Even the children know at any point a monster gate or ritual could allow their killer into their house..."
Asura turned to look up at Lydia. Guilt plagued her face as if she were responsible for not getting here sooner. Her eyes drifted away from the bodies, unable to look at them any longer. She turned her attention to the illusion still lingering at the path's entrance. The whole situation baffled her. "How come they couldn't detect the presence of something like this earlier?" The cathedral had a team of people designated always to monitor the city.
Her powers also didn't drastically increase until she passed through the illusion. "What was preventing the demonic mana from leaking through?" Before she could walk up to the shifting image, the illusion dispersed.
Like a curtain being opened, it revealed the atrocities that took place here to the world around them. Immediately, people took notice and began to flee. Screams of people filled the mall as they fled to find safety elsewhere. Lydia turned to Asura, who continued to move the bodies,
"We need to leave. Rose had a similar encounter with a female Beastman."
"Did she have a hammer?"
"Yes? How-"
"Malachi's henchman."'
"The two of them collected a ton of blood. I believe it's only a matter of time before they try and summon Jormungandr. We need to find them quickly."
Asura sighed, his shoulders slumped,
"Alright..."
Asura didn't understand it, but for some reason, the corpses were beginning to eat away at his conscience. Although witnessing piles of corpses and horrific scenes of massacres in previous fights, it all started to take a toll on him as he stood before the seven corpses he managed to line up. The voices from the corpses earlier echoed in his ears.
"DADDY!"
Lydia and Asura dashed out of the mall, leaving through the same doors they came from. Lydia decided it was best to return to the cathedral. With no leads on where the summoning was taking place, she figured the monitors would be able to detect the massive surge of quotidian activity.
"There was no way they could hide such a ritual of this magnitude for long. The monitors should have informed them of this long ago..." The most recent encounter left a bitter taste in her mouth as well. She had questions for the monitors that needed answers.
Next to her, Asura came to a sudden halt.
"Why?-"
She turned to find the ogre staring off into the distance. Lydia tried to find what he was looking at, but the only distinguishable feature of the street was the subway station stairs leading down to the entrance.
"What's up? We need to hurry."
Asura pointed at the stairs and asked,
"If I wanted to destroy a massive castle quickly. How would you do it?"
Baffled by the question, Lydia asked,
"I don't know. I guess an explosive from the inside would do it."
Asura's eyes locked with hers. His eyes were filled with dread as he looked at her.
"What about underneath it."
Lydia's eyes went wide as she remembered the subway system traveling underneath the cathedral. They were going to blow it up from underneath... Without saying a word, the two sprinted towards the stairs. In a hurry, the two leaped dozens of steps at a time. Lydia shouted at the top of her lungs as she raced down, warning the people around them.
"GET OUT OF THE SUBWAY! THIS IS AN ORDER FROM THE TEMPLE! IF YOU WANT TO LIVE RUN!"