The people walking down to the subway seemed unfazed initially, believing that the two were lunatics yelling about the world's end in every other daily occurrence. However, it only took a moment to recognize Lydia.
The head Paladin of the cathedral often tried to avoid inciting panic amongst the people because it always led to chaos. Today, however, it was a must. If Jormungandr were released in the subway, everyone here would be dead.
"GO! GET OUT! THERE ARE MONSTERS DOWN HERE! RUN TO THE CATHE-... GET OUT OF THE CITY!"
Upon reaching the bottom stairs, Asura noticed more bystanders progressing through their daily routines as if their presence meant nothing. Asura tucked his arms to his sides, breathing in one long breath, then let out a roar that deafened the people. The people's faces flushed as they realized the strange cosplayer was a monster before them.
They stormed out of the staircase in a giant crowd with only one way to leave. Trampling over each other, the desperate people did everything they could to save themselves. The sight left Asura with a bitter taste as he watched the humans ignore their fellow kind in pursuit of their survival.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE YOU IDIOTS!"
"Mommy? MOMMY!"
Asura turned to his right, finding a small child huddled in the corner alone. Tears filled the tiny human's eyes as he desperately clutched a small action figure in his arms.
"You'll save me, right, American Man?"
The child wept as snot poured from his nose. It was a sight Asura could not ignore. Asura dashed to the child and grabbed hold of a large man attempting to escape. The bald man resembled a bodybuilder, with his stature matched by his gym attire. "The child would be safest with him," Asura thought.
"What the hell, man??!"
Asura pulled the man close and growled.
"You! You take this child and run. I swear to Judex Divinum that if I ever find out you abandoned him. I'll fucking kill you. You hear me?"
Asura grabbed the child and pushed him into his arms. The child's eyes went wide from being jerked around so abruptly.
"This man will save you. You'll find your mother, but it's not safe here. Find her when you get away."
Asura smiled at the child but knew he could not comfort the terrified child.
"I'll find your mom."
The ogre turned his attention back to the man. He pointed at the man with his top right hand.
"I'll find you. Just remember that."
The man nodded as sweat dripped from his head.
Lydia smiled at Asura as he returned to her side.
"We can't waste any more time, but thank you."
The two sprinted through the underground area, leaping over any obstacles hindering their path.
Finally, they reached the tracks to the tunnels they were looking for. Lydia whipped her head back and forth between the two tunnels.
"Left or right?"
She expected her mana to muster because of the quotidian presence, but there was nothing. "No demonic mana... Quotidian." Lydia turned to Asura, watching as he stepped onto the tracks without hesitation. As if he were a tracking hound, the ogre sniffed the air for the scent of monsters.
"Right!"
Asura darted down the right tunnel without another word. To Lydia's surprise, Asura disappeared before she could ask any further questions. His unexpected speed left her stunned for a moment before following after the monster.
"Hey! Wait up!"
Although Asura was fast, Lydia knew she was quicker. Catching up quickly, she relocated the ogre before he got too far.
"I am going to call Rose! Lead the way!"
Lydia called out as she whipped the phone out of her pocket and dialed her comrade's number.
"They're in the subway. They want to summon Jormungandr under the cathedral to destroy it from underneath, caving it in. Get your butts here now!"
The two put everything they could into their legs, sprinting as fast as they could due to desperation and adrenaline. "They needed to stop this ritual by any means necessary." Lydia was surprised by Asura's speed once again. Most monsters and even Paladins had difficulty keeping up with her. Although she managed to get ahead of him, he kept a steady pace behind her.
Running down the tracks, Asura mentally noted everything around him. Sometimes, a large opening emerged for the construction or maintenance of the tracks. "Where would they be? Where would the perfect place for this ritual be?" Without warning, Asura grabbed Lydia, shocking her.
"What?"
Digging his heels into the ground, Asura managed to slow their momentum down just enough to throw Lydia into a nearby wall. "Is she being betrayed right now?" She thought as she slammed into the wall. The Paladin closed her eyes as she braced for impact, "This is going to hurt a lot."
However, nothing happened. Instead, she felt the weird sensation of passing through an illusion like in the mall. Lydia quickly opened her eyes, managing to tuck herself into a roll to get back on her feet. Twisting herself around, she found she was on the other end of an illusion made to mirror the tunnel walls.
Asura emerged from the other side a few seconds behind her and entered the room. Declaring his entrance as if he were a gladiator, Asura shouted.
"I'm not falling for that crap twice."
"Welcome, Asura. You are just in time."
"Ah, man, it's you again. Lame... here I thought I would get to fight someone who isn't a coward who runs away like a crybaby."
"Still as childish as ever..."
"Yeah, well, at least I can back my words up with my skills, unlike crybaby man who relies on his henchman."
An expansive room carved out of the rock stood before Asura and Lydia. Right in the middle of everything stood Malachi, the Gorgon, and the Beastman, with three large spheres of blood hovering in the air. Due to its size, they must have prepared this long ago. "It certainly would fit Jormungandr... for like half a second, then the rest of his body would come through and squish them all," Asura thought.
"So, what's the plan? Summon the dude, then die?"
Malachi smiled,
"I will give one final offer, Asura. Join us. Watch as the revelations begin. A new hope will be born for the world, one without human taint. A place where the sins of man will no longer exist. Free from the existence of God. A-"
Lydia's jaw dropped as a rock smashed into Malachi's jaw, interrupting his speech. Blood poured through the cracks between his fingers as he held his ruptured jaw. Furious, Malachi turned to Asura, who had another rock in his hand.
"I didn't come here to listen to your supervillain speech. Fight me like a man this time!"
Malachi's blood boiled from having his pride damaged in such a manner.
"You two complete the ritual. I will deal with our uninvited visitors."
Stheno bowed, accepting his command.
"Asssss you wish."
On the other hand, the Beastman seemed eager to fight but resisted the urge to join in.
"Okay, Master."
Behind Malachi, the two began to chant in a language that was even foreign to Asura. Whatever their words were, Asura understood he needed to stop them from proceeding.
Suddenly, the large spheres merged, conjoining into one massive sphere. Malachi walked towards the Paladin and Ogre, intercepting their paths to the large sphere behind him. With the wave of a hand, he revealed several red ritual circles on the ground surrounding the henchmen and the ritual.
Lydia counted four circles as the last one appeared.
There were three circles around the henchman, and the last one stood right before Malachi. Asura and Lydia dashed towards the cultist leader, trying to stop his plans before he could complete them.
"Too late."
Malachi called out with a smile on his face. From the large circles around, the henchman erupted crimson barriers that shot up to the ceiling. Then, as they were just about to reach Malachi, the last one completed. He stood on the other side with a smirk on his face that made Asura's rage fester. Unlike Lydia, who slowed down in front of the barrier, Asura put everything he could into his charge, ready to smash through it.
The ogre braced for impact as he put his right shoulder forward. Slamming into the side of the barrier, Asura put his entire body into the blow. He expected it to shatter like Ash's wall, but that did not happen this time. Instead, Asura groaned from the pain as he smacked against the undamaged barrier.
Bouncing off the large wall before him, he fell backward, groaning from the pain. On the other side, Malachi laughed at Asura's pathetic attempt to break through.
"To think you were once respected. Now look at you, a fool, nothing. You could be great once more. Asura, do not aid humans. Have they not betrayed you in the past? Forgotten you?"
Before Asura could throw out his insult, he watched Lydia snap her fingers. From thin air, an Angel emerged above Lydia.
Malachi's eyes widened from the shock of seeing an Angel. She laughed back at the overconfident cultist.
"You forgot about me!"
The angel slammed its front right foot onto the ground, throwing its left arm forward with all its might. Its clenched fist punched straight through the barrier, shattering the red crimson mana that formed the wall like glass. A large boom erupted from the spell being broken, shaking the dust free from the ceiling of the room.
Although this was surprising, Malachi knew they would break through sooner or later. He didn't expect it to be so soon.
After one hit, the angel erupted into flames, burning away. Witnessing this, Malachi realized it was not a real Angel but an imitation of one.
"I see now... it's your blessing."
However, Lydia did not respond with words; instead, she used her fist. Throwing her right fist forward, she tried to connect with Malachi's face. However, his violet eyes stared directly into hers. The unsettling feeling that she needed to look away filled every inch of her body. His eyes shifted slightly to a different color... "Were they emerald now?"
She turned away as quickly as she could as the sudden burst of mana shot forth from his eyes. The explosive force shot her a few feet backward as it poured out from his gaze into the room.
"Shit... So that's what the book does. Lydia!"
The book copied the monster's unique quotidian mana, which allows him to use their powers. He copied Stheno's gaze just like he did with Jormungandr's breath. "How can a human wield such power like this? The quotidian mana should be devouring his body from the inside..." Asura, up on his feet again, jumped towards Malachi, prepared to strike him. At the same time, Lydia ran towards Malachi on his right.
A sudden crimson glow filled the room around them. Looking up, Asura found the sphere was now emitting a bright red light like molten metal. He turned his attention back to Malachi and saw a smile plastered on his face once again. "Shit..." Asura thought as he struck with his fist, desperate to hit Malachi and stop this madness. Both Lydia's and his fist were only inches away from his face, as the cultist declared.
"And so, it begins. The final hour."
Their fists slammed into Malachi's face from both sides, causing it to smash under pressure. Erupting like a volcano, blood splattered all around as his head exploded. Malachi's body dropped to the floor, melting into a pool of blood. Before they could respond to such a sight, they watched as the massive sphere slammed into the ground.
The blood shot across the floor, breaking through the barriers with ease. As if the liquid had a mind of its own, it rolled across the ground, covering every inch of the room. Lydia held her breath as she watched it take shape. The two of them desperately tried to break the floor under them.
She struck at the ground, repeatedly summoning several Angels to slam their fist into the floor. The floor remained intact after each blow, showing no signs of even cracking. Asura took a different approach, digging his hands deep into the ground to try and rip it apart.
Nothing; their desperate attempts to stop this ritual were worthless. A large summoning circle formed beneath them, stretching from one end of the room to the other. However, this time, something new remained in the middle.
A large tree with branches so long they pierced the heavens and roots that traveled down to the depths of hell emerged. Upon the tree was a snake coiled around it, strangling the tree as if it resented the large tree's existence. The molten liquid ignited brighter than ever, revealing a purple flame that consumed the room around them. Lydia shouted at Asura while grabbing his shirt and pulling him towards the exit.
"Shit! We need to leave!"
"What are we going to do?!?"
"Find Rose and Mel. Regroup and... I guess we fight Jormungandr... That's all we can do."
-------------------------------------------------------------
Rose watched as large ravines opened all around her in the middle of the city. It was as if the apocalypse had come. Large buildings began to collapse, crushing thousands under the falling debris. The group tried to mitigate as much damage and save as many as they could, but there were too many to save...
For every life they saved, it felt as if a hundred more died. Running across the streets, they grabbed people falling into massive sinkholes that were ripped open. Kane used his metal dogs to grab children and bring them to safety. They managed to join up with Mel, Ash, and Wain, but even with their help, it felt like hope was lost. Wain shouted,
"COME TO ME! IF YOU WANT TO LIVE COME OVER HERE! I CAN SAVE YOU!"
Hundreds of people poured around Wain as the chaos unfolded.
Inhaling the smoke from a cigar, he blew out a large cloud around the people huddled up, desperate to live. Mel was thankful Wain provided an opportunity to save the people with his gift. She did not know how they would save them if it were not for him. Mel watched as the smoke settled, revealing the people were no longer within the large cloud.
"Where did you send them?"
"Outside the city. They should be safe there. Only the middle of the city is in danger, but still... Who knows if anything will be safe after this."
Suddenly, it went dark all around them. A large shadow cast over the group as a nearby tower collapsed.
"Shit!"
The group pulled everyone they could close as the building fell over them. Rose, Mel, Kane, and Ash all spoke an incantation.
"Judex Divinum is my protector and my shield. Through Michael, the walls of heaven will not fall."
The group formed four walls that formed a triangle around them, with one resting on top of the others. Everyone braced for impact as the building crashed into the makeshift bunker.
Wain held his breath as large cracks were created due to the stress on the walls. However, they managed to hold... for now. The citizens within the bunker began to weep, confident that death would come to collect their lives today.
Wain quickly exhaled more smoke as the walls around him buckled under the weight. Thankfully, the area was small enough for him to fill soon, allowing him to transport people immediately.
Rose watched as the smoke dispersed around her. Suddenly, the group was down the street from the cathedral.
"Where are the citizens?"
"Out of town again. I put us here, though. Figured we could help more."
Rose nodded in agreement with his statement. There were still thousands more to save. Then, just as they came, the earthquakes stopped. The ravines ceased to open. Everything became quiet for a terrifying moment.
"What's-"
Wain received his answer in a way he could have never guessed. A giant snake's head and body erupted from the cathedral before them. The once mighty fortress, which stood as a beacon of protection, exploded as the giant monster rose from the ground.
The giant serpent towered like a skyscraper above the city and opened its jaws, revealing rows of sharp teeth the size of long swords as it began to bellow a deep guttural noise.
Standing hundreds of feet away from the cathedral, the presence of its mana caused the human's skin to feel as if it were burning.
The giant serpent let out a roar that shook the ground beneath them. Its monstrous cry rippled through the air, declaring its dominance over the living nearby. Mel would never admit it, but her legs began to tremble from the sound alone. Terror and awe swept over the group as they witnessed the serpent shake the remnants of the building off its behemoth of a head.
Wain, paralyzed by fear, managed to let out a whisper just loud enough for everyone to hear.
"How are we supposed to fight that..."