Ignatius called out to Seraphina and she responded, making her way over to him with Rolan by her side. His aura was strong and protective as he urged us to stay close to him.
"What's going on?" I asked, but before anyone could answer, a powerful aura swirled above the mansion in a dazzling display. In a flash of speed, destruction followed in its wake. As the figure passed overhead, they recognized it as Aric Thorne.
Meanwhile, Wolverio was preparing to unleash a powerful attack. But just as he was about to strike, Aric landed in front of him and stopped him in his tracks. "Wait, I know you," Ethan said to Aric.
"It has been a long time, Beast king," Aric replied firmly, standing between Ethan and Wolverio.
"I didn't anticipate you being here. Why are you defending this weakling?" Wolverio sneered at Aric.
"That is not your concern. I will warn you once: leave our territory or suffer the consequences," Aric commanded, staring directly at Wolverio.
"You have the nerve to tell a god what to do?" Wolverio scoffed, laughing as if it were a joke.
Aric's irritation grew, and he accidentally released a burst of his unknown power. A status bar briefly appeared, displaying Aric's stats before disappearing again.
- Name: Aric Thorne -
- Type: Universal portal -
- Level: 3500 -
"How can his level be so unbelievably high," I murmured in awe, my eyes fixed on the rapidly vanishing stat bar.
In a heartbeat, Wolverio lunged forward, launching a flurry of attacks at Aric with lightning speed and precision. Each strike was a spectacle of skill and ferocity, yet Aric stood like an unyielding bastion, his movements barely perceptible but flawlessly deflecting every blow.
As Wolverio attempted to retreat, a blur of motion ensued as Aric seized Wolverio by the ankle with uncanny swiftness, hurtling him towards a towering tree. Simultaneously, a blazing Fire blade materialized from a swirling vortex portal behind Aric, hurtling towards the airborne Wolverio with deadly intent.
The moment Wolverio crashed to the ground, the fiery blade grazed his cheek in a searing arc before embedding itself into the earth with explosive force. A deafening roar echoed as a cataclysmic blast erupted behind him, shattering everything in its path into oblivion.
"How can this be possible, how are you blocking everything," he gasped, struggling to rise. Aric's gaze bore down on Wolverio's attempts to stand, a silent threat in his eyes. "I offer you a chance at life. Leave now, and your end will not be by my hand," Aric declared with unwavering authority before turning his back on the Beast King, striding purposefully toward Ethan.
In a split second, as Wolverio regained his balance, a surge of malevolent energy crackled in his palm, coalescing into a dark orb of destruction. "As if I would heed your words," Wolverio sneered derisively. "Fool." Yet before he could advance further, four shimmering portals materialized above him, each releasing radiant blades that descended like divine judgment, ensnaring him in an ethereal prison that immobilized his every move.
"Be gone," Aric's voice echoed with chilling finality as a colossal pillar of blinding light erupted from above, piercing through the ground where Wolverio had stood mere moments ago—a gaping void left in its wake as testament to the Beast King's narrow escape.
"He vanished through teleportation just in time," Ignatius chuckled darkly as he strode confidently toward Ethan and Aric. Rolan and Seraphina trailed closely behind him, their expressions a mix of relief and apprehension as they surveyed the aftermath of the confrontation.
"Are you okay, Ethan?" Seraphina rushed to his side, her emerald eyes wide with concern. "I'm fine, Seraphina. Aric saved the day," Ethan reassured her, his voice tinged with a hint of sadness.
"Don't lose heart, Ethan. You'll get stronger with practice," Aric's calm voice offered support before turning his attention elsewhere.
"Let's go home; the sun is setting," Seraphina gently suggested, her hand briefly touching Ethan's arm before they set off back to the mansion. The sky was painted in twilight hues as they walked, an unspoken connection passing between them.
Even as darkness descended, Seraphina's gaze never wavered from Ethan, her worry evident in every glance she stole at him. It was as if her eyes whispered of care and affection that words couldn't express.
As they wandered through the fading light, Ethan couldn't help but steal glances at his mission status on his interface. The weight of unfinished tasks burdened him; twenty wolves awaited defeat for upgrades—a stark reminder of his limits and the hurdles ahead.
Upon their return, a collective gasp escaped our lips. "Hold your enchanted cheese! What in the name of magical cheddar has happened here?" Lo and behold: the grand mansion's once-sturdy wall now resembled a tango with an ill-tempered giant chicken, sporting a skylight roomy enough for a clumsy griffin to glide through.
The household staff scuttled about in a frenzy - some twirling buckets like they were auditioning for a chaotic ballet, while others played an intense round of brick Jenga to salvage what was left of our pride and joy.
Amidst the chaos, Aric found himself seized by amusement. "Well, butter my biscuit! I might have gotten carried away with my blade skills," he chuckled, looking as innocent as a troll caught with crumbs on its chin. And faster than you could say "abracadabra," he vanished into thin air before anyone could point fingers.
"Oh my dear beleaguered mansion..." I bemoaned, as if I had just discovered that dragons preferred tea parties over treasure hoarding, and dramatically sank to the ground like a minstrel who had lost his lute.
Gaia flashed a mischievous grin, her eyes glinting with the promise of trouble. "Looks like we're about to make a dent in the ol' Gilla stash," she chirped, barely containing her excitement. "Time to carve out my secret lair where I can tinker away undisturbed." With a skip in her step, she sauntered inside, already envisioning her grand design and crunching numbers like a mathematician on a caffeine high.
"Hold it right there, Gaia! No blueprints without my say-so," I protested, but my words fell on empty air as she vanished into a whirlwind of schematics and scribbles. Left standing there dumbfounded, all I could do was brace myself for whatever wild project she had brewing for my humble abode.
Seraphina reached out a hand to help me up, her words a mix of comfort and unintended chaos. "No need to fret, I highly doubt she'll turn your mansion into a bonfire," she chirped optimistically, though her mischievous smile hinted at trouble rather than solace.
As she tried to assist me to stand, she playfully added with a twinkle in her eye, "But if she did, it might just spruce things up around here." Her attempt at humor unintentionally steered us further into the realm of disaster relief.
"Maybe silence would be more soothing," I quipped dryly, as we made our way indoors to assess the situation. The idea of my mansion being compared favorably to a potential inferno was definitely not the morale boost I had expected for the day.
Yet, with Seraphina's well-meaning but comically misguided attempts at comfort, it seemed that dealing with this predicament might involve more laughter than anticipated—albeit mostly at our own expense.
———
"Damn it," Wolverio cursed under his breath, struggling to rise in the dimly lit dungeon-like room within the grand castle's depths. His gaze fixed on a distant light at the end of a foreboding hallway, and with determined steps, he advanced towards it.
The room beyond loomed vast, dominated by a colossal round table with six vacant seats encircling it, culminating in a throne-like chair at its head where a man of imposing presence sat regally.
"So, I suppose things did not go as planned," the mysterious man addressed Wolverio with an air of calculated intrigue. "Indeed not. Aric's interference thwarted my efforts," Wolverio admitted curtly as he claimed his seat at the far end of the table.
"Aric, huh? Delios' formidable Lieutenant makes an unexpected appearance," remarked the man with a subtle smirk playing on his lips.
A pregnant pause lingered between them before the mysterious man rose to his feet abruptly. "It seems time has come to convene all the demon gods for a crucial meeting," he announced decisively, dispatching a messenger to summon these powerful beings.
Perplexed by this sudden turn of events, Wolverio ventured cautiously, "What is your intention?" His confusion palpable as he sought clarity amidst the veils of secrecy shrouding their exchange.
With an imperious air, the mysterious man dismissed Wolverio's concerns disdainfully. "You need not concern yourself, fool. Your comprehension falls short of grasping the scope of my designs." With that final cutting remark hanging in the air like an unspoken threat, he settled back into his oversized seat with chilling authority.
"It's time for me to make my move," the enigmatic figure declared, a twisted grin curling on his lips. With a chilling resolve in his eyes, he prepared to unleash a plan that would shake the very foundations of fate itself, leaving the world teetering on the edge of an abyss.
———
*Year: 18900, Month: 15 February, Day: Thursday Evening*