Once Asura took his eyes off the centerpiece in the room, he noticed the walls were made from the same metal as the door. However, unlike the black metal, its color was a shining, pure white that felt blinding to gaze upon. The walls curved around, creating a circular area with protruding copper rods mounted near the closest surface to the black marble towers.
"You guys do love white, black, and gold."
Mel replied as she stood in the center of the pad, waiting for the two to stand beside her.
"Those are the colors of Judex and his angels, along with silver, brown, red, purple... Wait a minute, he's the God of everything. All of the colors are his."
She counted on her fingers mockingly as Asura shot her a glare.
"And you guys still use the same three everywhere. Change it up a little. It is painful to look at."
Rose walked onto the pad after writing the name Azrealia on the stone. She motioned for Asura to follow with a slight gesture with her hand.
"Unlike the other rooms, which are for show, the white metal with enchantments helps reflect mana. When teleporting, it has properties similar to light."
Asura followed her while throwing his arms behind his head to stretch.
"Hmmmm."
"Although the metal is only there because it might explode if unstable."
"... Like when we threw the pieces at Wormy?"
"Yes, just like that."
"I... this feels unsafe. Are these the same pieces? Did Mary remake them with her magical wizard powers?"
"No, we shipped in new ones because the old ones were destroyed. We had to rebuild this from scratch completely. It's also freshly filled."
Asura's grin wiped off his face as he stared at the two Paladins.
"We aren't the first ones to use this, right?"
"No... but we are like the third or so."
Mel snorted at Asura's panicked state.
"What? Is the big bad ogre afraid? You could live it. It only tore Jormungandr in half."
"Yeah... I'd live, but it would be fucking painful..."
Asura's mouth burst into flame, and on instinct, he prepared to spit. However, looking down at the black slab underneath, he found intricate designs carved into the surface with golden metal creating a circle around them. The symbols shined in the candlelight and radiated as mana started to seep into its crevices as the pylons released.
He puckered his lips, hesitating and debating the consequences of ruining such a design. "I think it's best to tough this one out..." he thought as he folded his hands, worried for his life. Asura tried to speak while keeping the fluid holy flames in his mouth from spilling out.
"And this is monster-proof, right? I won't die?"
Mel smiled deviously as she shifted the duffel bag on her shoulder.
"Hmmmmm. Probably. We've only ever teleported you with Wain's flower, so it should be fine. It's safe for us, at least."
It seemed that Rose stared with the same blank expression she had worn for her entire life. Her unimpressed, sleepy red eyes and unmoving posture sometimes made her look like a corpse. He might've mistaken her for a vampire when they first met if she weren't wielding holy mana—uninterested in her displaying emotions to the outside world.
Rose replied without looking at the ogre as she shifted the left side of her straight hair behind her ear.
"I pray that doesn't happen. I'd hate to report a splattered ogre to Mary and Lydia."
Asura laughed nervously, shifting as he stared at the golden metal growing brighter by the second.
"That's a funny joke."
"It's not a joke."
"I think I'll stay here... maybe I can catch a ride and be there in three to four business days."
"We hope to be finished in that time. Your death is a risk we are willing to take."
"Well, thanks. I'll remember that when we get attacked by an Apocalypse again. I'll let him eat you all before fighting it."
"That was a joke."
Before Asura could respond, the light from the metal illuminated the room in a sudden burst of golden rays. Rose took a deep breath as she prepared for what was to come.
"It's time to go."
"Uh, what happens now?"
Mana coursed into the angels from the towers, causing them to open their once-closed hands into open palms. Asura blurted out as he stared at the black statues.
"That's freaky."
Immediately after, their mouths opened in union, and grey smoke poured from within as the mana manifested. Smoke fell from the palms, pouring onto the ground and swirling around as if alive. At first, it spread entirely across the surface, covering the black marble while the golden light pierced through.
Asura looked around as the smoke covered his feet. To his surprise, the smoke never crossed the edge of the golden ring, as if an unseen force had held it inside.
"Let Judex guide and be our light in the darkness before us. We walk this path towards the King that rules all."
He tried to turn to ask Rose about her prayer. "Did that activate-" The smoke shot upward in a raging storm that scared Asura. The ogre jumped back, staggering slightly as it coursed upward violently.
"Holy shit... it's like a horror movie."
The raging storm of mana began to spin, sending bolts of golden lighting as the energy solidified. At first, Asura prepared to duck, but the bolts seemed to strike outward as if compelled to do so. Then he remembered the copper rods that protruded from the walls.
Through the storm, he found Rose staring at him with her dark red eyes and heavy eyelids. Maybe a human would take assurance from her unimpressed state as if the event occurring was normal and mundane. However, it made the words that left her mouth unnerving.
"Be safe, Asura."
It thickened, covering his sight completely as flashes of light began in the sea of mana.
"This is fine. I'm fine. We're okay."
A thunderous boom erupted as a light flashed above.
"And it's exploding..."
At first, Asura thought the lightning was creating the light. However, as he stared more into the storm, he found flashes of images within. The images were distorted by the curves and shape of the smoke, but a few details could be perceived. "Hair... Eyes... lots of arms..." Asura studied the movement within. It seemed to be a hub or central location for people to move through.
"The cathedral, I hope."
Then, suddenly, two eyes pierced through it all and became the focus of Asura's attention. Their color shifted in dark hues from purple to red to green to blue and black. Their actual color of origin was uncertain, appearing to be a different color at any moment, like a shifting rainbow.
Asura found it intense to look into the chaotic dance of colors. The gaze pulled at his mind, bringing forth old dreams and nightmares he had once forgotten. The sight was perplexing as he realized it was the most vivid detail that pierced through the darkness. It felt as if the eyes could perceive him through it as if nothing could be hidden from their vigilant sight.
A storm brewed behind its exhausted stare, one from which dreams and nightmares were born. The ogre asked himself quietly, expecting no response.
"Who are you?"
The voice of the eyes responded with a hint of curiosity present in his voice.
"My name is Sandman."
Every particle of the smoke ripped away in the blink of an eye as the words left his lips. It evaporated as if it never existed, leaving no trace of its whisps ever being present. The curtain that hid away his surroundings was pulled away forcefully, revealing another room similar to the one that Asura had entered in cathedrals before.
"Did I make it?"
Asura blurted out as he studied the tan stone floor that stretched from wall to wall. Across the floor, a beautiful red carpet with woven patterns traveled from underneath the ogre to a large door before him. Large tan stone pillars with gold accents traveled upward into arches to his left and right, creating a curved ceiling.
The gold glimmered from the candlelight, causing a beautiful shimmer in the well lit room. Colors danced across the floor in gorgeous displays of moving rays of light. At first, he thought they came from Sandman after witnessing his eyes. However, as his eyes traveled upward, he stared at a large stained glass mosaic created with vibrant hues.
An image of a beautiful angel hung above. It was a woman wearing light blue with four wings that outstretched far and wide. Surrounding the woman was decayed, rotting land created by pieces of black glass. However, she reached down, touching the field, and from her touch came life and healing. The area near her bloomed beautifully, with flowers and animals cheerfully sticking by her side.
Asura had spent enough time understanding who the image was displaying. He whispered,
"Azrealia. Sister of Death."
A woman's scream broke out from behind the ogre.
"A DEMON!"
Another voice erupted right after, both filled with frantic urgency and disgust.
"A DEMON BROKE INSIDE! CALL ALIZA!"
"EVACUATE ALL CIVILLIANS!"
Suddenly, a group of voices joined in, causing Asura to snap out of his confusion. There were groups of people, all dressed in the same attire, representing their allegiance to Judex. Their cargo pants mixed with shirts or jackets with embroidered symbols of Judex Divnum on their shoulders affirmed to the ogre that he arrived where he needed.
However, the same mistake occurred once more as he looked for Rose and Mel. He was alone again, and another misunderstanding would begin.
"Are you kidding me? This is a joke."
Asura groaned as the people frantically pushed through the doors. Chaos broke loose as hurried screams and stomping echoed throughout the room. He counted at least a dozen who fled from his presence while four individuals remained to confront him.
One of them was a blonde woman with a grey shirt, black pants, and a mace standing defiantly across from him. Her eyes waivered with fear as her hands began to shake.
To her left and right, two men dressed similarly stood by her side. Their uneasy stance made it clear they were uncertain of their victory. One was taller, while the other was fairly short, shorter than Asura. The taller one had blonde hair like the woman's, and the other had black hair.
The taller one wielded a black hammer, and the shorter one stood with his hands raised. "Ready to cast an incantation, huh?" Asura thought as he watched the three nervously watch his movements with anticipation.
"Look. I'm more than happy to fight all of you. But yall are about to piss yourselves, it seems, and I have a job to do. Can we-"
The shorter one screamed out as if unable to control the volume of his voice.
"SHUT UP DEMON!"
Asura frowned as the word was spat with venom.
"Look-"
"Lord Judex-"
The words caught in the shorter man's throat, petrified by Asura's unamused, pissed-off stare. Instinctually, the ogre began to flex his forearms as the frustration started to set in. His fists clenched, and Asura took a step forward.
The woman's eyes widened, and she raised her mace to strike, but a hand grasped her shoulder from behind.
"Relax."
The tired voice sent shivers down Asura's spine. He stopped taking further steps as he looked into the haunting eyes again. His blood turned cold, sending shivers down his spine. Its eyes were full of mixed emotions as the colors warped around his iris while simultaneously void of them all from the dark hues that muted them.
It was as if he truly was peering into the eyes of a demon, a devil. "A well-dressed devil prepared to make a deal," Asura thought as he stared at the young man behind her, who appeared to be in his late twenties. He wore a dark brown vest with a dark green long-sleeve button-up complemented by a black tie. The man's dress pants matched the vest, and his outfit was well-fitted, displaying his toned body behind.
His messy dark brown hair hung across his forehead without a care, as if he had just woken from a deep sleep. However, the dark, deep eye bags underneath his eyes contradicted that notion. The bags and dead stare left Asura feeling like he was looking at a tired deity, forever tormented by lack of sleep. The man's eyelids hung low as he stared at the ogre with an unimpressed look.
Asura dared speak the name given earlier by the eyes.
"Sandman."
Sandman patted the woman's shoulder three times. On the third pat, her body collapsed. It appeared as if she dissolved as she fell to the floor. A large pile was created, and a rustling sound erupted from grains rolling across one another. As Asura stared in horror at the body, he realized she had turned to colorful sand.
Asura looked up, finding the man a foot closer than before. However, there was no sound of a step. The man waved his hand, and the other two collapsed. Before the sand could fall, the piles lifted into the air and shifted as if blown by the wind in a swirling breeze behind him.
From his right cuff, a large black centipede with a purple swirling design along its back crept its head into the man's palm. From its head alone, Asura realized the size of the creature. The head filled the entirety of his hand. Its large mandibles opened as its antennae wiggled around. To Asura's surprise, the sand swirled into a point that fed directly into the centipede's mouth.
It devoured the sand, consuming every last grain before returning inside his cuff.
"One... that's fucking wicked. Two... did you kill them?"
The man turned to face Asura as the door opened behind him.
"No. They never existed."
"What?"
Asura looked behind Sandman to see who opened the door. He eagerly wished to see Mel or Rose on the other side. Hoping to end the misunderstanding before it ever begins. Although the man before him resembled a demon, Asura could tell he wielded holy mana as he approached closer.
The intensity of the mana shocked Asura, finding its quantity to be on par with Mary or the Old Man's. Unlike the controlled amount within their bodies, the Sandman felt like a raging storm fed into a controlled funnel. His body felt like a vessel for a never-ending power feeding into him.
"How unique. An ogre that wields Uriel's holy mana."
Asura froze, his eyes slightly widened, but he quickly tried to control his emotions. Mary's words raced in his head. "If you are caught with holy mana, The Temple will stop at nothing to eradicate you. I can't help you after that." He clenched his jaw, ready to smite the man before him with a single blow. He'd infuse all his mana like he did with Jormungandr, one spear to pierce through it all.
"Titus. I don't think either of us has ever seen a monster wielding holy mana before, have we?"
"Not that I can remember. It's a blasphemous act against Judex. A crime that cannot be forgiven."
Asura watched as a tall, bulky young man entered through the open door. His tan complexion glowed from the candlelight as he walked towards the two. Although the man was tall and large, Asura figured he was younger than Sandman present before him.
The man stood nearly the same height as the old man but had incredible amounts of muscle, displaying his indomitable strength. If the two engaged in an arm wrestling competition, Asura had no doubt that this man would win.
He wore a gray sleeveless undershirt with brown cargo pants, tucked into black boots neatly tied. His arms were covered in every type of scar, traveling from his collarbone to his palms. Everything about him screamed military to Asura, like an action film stereotype of the perfect soldier.
"Hmmmm. Bald head. Aggressive and stern brown eyes. Probably Drill Sergeant if I had to guess." The ogre thought as he studied the man. "He probably wrestles alligators with his bare hands and tells stories about how weak you are."
However, the large halberd he carried upon his shoulder told another story as he approached. It was crafted from metal he had seen used by Brontes in his past. "Black Rock..." Asura thought as he stared at the weapon. Its handle was a long, dark grey wood that extended up into an axe and spike.
The black blade had a jagged, segmented axe head with serrated teeth. On the side of the axe head, red swirls created patterns that resembled multiple reptile eyes spread across metallic surface. Behind the head of the axe, which protruded upward from the handle, was a refined and twisted black metal spike ready to skewer its foes with ease.
Sandman spoke as he yawned, asking.
"Then, I'll leave it to you to deal with the mess."
Asura smiled as Titus approached.
"Oh. Hell yeah. This is about to be one fuckin awesome fight."
Titus's mouth twisted into a frown at Asura's choice of words.
"I hope you do not hate me. For I know you were created by the same God as I. However, your existence is a stain upon his name. So I ask of you to die without disgracing him any further."
Asura laughed at his words, eagerly awaiting what came next. He bounced on his toes and clenched his fists.
"Nah. I think I'll resist a bit. Let's see what that weapon can do."