Time seemed to have stopped as everything around him stood still, though strangely enough, he still found himself able to move his body without difficulty, as his eyes then moved about to see just what exactly had happened to his fog-ridden surroundings.
"... Could this be some form of attack from our enemies...?
Arnus knew that their entire operation had already become a lost cause: though he hadn't been able to fight any of the enemy soldiers who were currently wreaking havoc on their ranks, based on the multitudes of dead soldiers he found as he lurked around the mist-enveloped battlefield in search of his allies, he could easily tell that their forces had already suffered such immense casualties.
It was over, he thought silently to himself as a somber expression formed on his stern face... They had already lost so many men in such a short amount of time, all because they fell into the hidden trap that their enemies prepared for them in advance.
Though he was certain that he could at least take on some of the enemy forces before he were to perish like many of the soldiers, he already knew to himself that their defeat in this battle was already all but certain, and there was nothing much he could do to snatch their victory from the jaws of defeat.
"...?"
Suddenly however, a dark voice would whisper in an ethereal manner into his head, a malicious, overpowering voice that dripped with the very concept of wickedness as it spoke directly into Arnus' line of thought...
"You will lose this battle, human. How foolish of you to think that you and your forces could have easily marched inside this pathetic kingdom's capital..." it jeered with an incredibly mocking tone. "Worry not though, whether you like it or not, I shall allow you to seize victory from this impossible battle, though I require one thing from you in exchange..."
"Were you the one who caused this sudden halting of time?" "Indeed I am." it spoke of it quite proudly. "Now, as for my proposal..."
"... What is it that you require then, demon?"
The voice snickered, almost as if it was making a malevolent grin. "Your body, human. I cannot exist in the material world without a tether that will serve as my anchor in this pathetic reality."
"Allow me full access to your vessel, and I shall defeat all of your enemies for you with ease."
It was a tantalizing proposal, Arnus surmised to himself as he considered the voice's offer: victory was something he desperately wanted to obtain in this losing battle, as it was something that all warriors would always seek amidst the raging conflicts they would often take part in. Not only that however, but Arnus knew that it was his mission to keep the continent safe from the countless enemies that threatened its existence, and the old warrior found it difficult to accept their sudden, complete defeat with this one ambush that their enemies had suddenly trapped them in.
... However, Arnus also knew that creatures like these would often have a myriad of tricks up their sleeves, and he wasn't certain if this demon was truly willing to uphold its end of their little bargain...
"What do you say, then? Will you accept my proposal?"
"... I refuse..." Arnus stated firmly. "I will not allow an entity I don't even know to simply have control of my body in exchange for victory... And besides..."
"You are a demon, without a shadow of a doubt, and a demon's words can never be truly trusted."
A thick, permeating silence then ensued, as the voice refused to respond for a long moment that almost seemed to be an eternity's worth of time. Eventually however, it would finally respond to Arnus' answer... With a terrifyingly evil laughter that continuously grew louder within the thought chambers of Arnus' confused brain.
"... Hahahahahahaha..." the voice laughed madly, amazed with how foolhardy Arnus was being before its presence. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"I believe that you're mistaken, human..." the voice continued on, its tone instantly becoming more dark as its shrill laughs began to make Arnus' head began to feel a light, throbbing pain. "You actually had the audacity to refuse such a wonderful offer... How admirably brave, though recklessly foolish as well... However..."
"You don't have a choice in this matter, human. Your body will become the tool I need to accomplish my current goals, whether you like it or not."
"AARRGHHHHHH!!!!"
A maddening pain then seized Arnus' nerves, as his very flesh and bones began to morph and twist into a shape and figure that no longer appeared human...
________________________________________
Arnus von Arslan... It was originally a name whose existence was something that not many people knew about, as when he was young, Arnus had been born in the lowest, filthiest slums of a now-forgotten, fallen kingdom that had been annihilated amidst the chaos that once engulfed the Xathran continent.
The old man was originally known simply as Arnus, one of the many orphaned children who sought to survive the pitiful, desperate times they lived in, and despite being plagued with the toils of suffering for most of his childhood days, Arnus would manage to live through them all and reach the peak of adulthood, an accomplishment that not many of his long-dead fellow youth could manage to achieve...
Ever since he had been a child however, Arnus always had the desire to help others, a trait not often found in his poverty-stricken homeland due to the necessity of survival often heavily outweighing their moralities.
When Arnus reached the age of 19, he joined a mercenary band of warriors, a notably powerful bunch who served their contractors until their terms were finally finished, and this was where Arnus would obtain the skills he needed to become the eventual leader of the Arslan's Hand.
In truth however, the adventurers had already seen the great talent that lied within his body, and it was one of the main reasons why the decided to take him in as one of their own: of course, their expectations wouldn't disappoint, and only 5 years would pass since that day, and Arnus would eventually surpass all of them in power.
Despite his accomplishment though, they weren't enough for the young lad known as Arnus back then, as he still had a myriad of other desires that he wanted to fulfill...
Using his well-trained power and the connections he had already established with other adventurers during his time with his fellow mercenaries, Arnus founded the Arslan's Hand, which originally started out as a guild that recruited rookie adventurers into their fold and trained them to become fine warriors.
Eventually though, several decades would pass by, and this organization would eventually become the massive foundation that consisted of countless, powerful warriors that served the ultimate goal of what Arslan originally had in mind: to help others by protecting the continent from the threats that would endanger its existence, and to never again allow anyone to experience the same pain and suffering that they had once experienced...
Unfortunately however, such a noble origin would ultimately be meaningless in front of the fate-worse-than-death that had been forced unto him by a malevolently powerful creature...
...
...
T'was an intolerable pain that seized his body and soul, as the very flesh-matrix foundations that constituted his body were brutally torn apart, twisted, and replaced by new ones that never truly belonged to his body at all.
Muscles and ligaments snapped and tore while bones cracked and shattered within him as if they were nothing but paper: Arnus' muscles spasmed violently as his mind became assaulted by all sorts of sensations. He felt the destruction of his insides, replaced by unknown, writhing masses both hard and soft that squirmed forcibly inside him. Accompanied by such violent sensations, the mind-shattering pain only grew more insufferable, and Arnus was rendered completely helpless from the curse that befell him, as his body would forever belong to the demon who had forcefully taken it from him.
"Mercy... Mercy..." Arnus pleaded, though his voice would never reach the ears of any, nor would it even manage to escape his throat, as he no longer had any control of the body that once belonged to him.
It was a complete nightmare: he was still alive and conscious within his vessel that had now been warped and twisted beyond recognition, and the only sensation that the poor, old man could feel was a burning pain that burned him alive while never truly killing him.
"Help me... Help.... Help me..."
No act of mercy would spare Arnus from the nigh-infinite curse of pain he was feeling right now, as his anguished, writhing soul remained trapped inside his newly transformed body...
________________________________________
With the demon's appearance came the clearing of the mist, and chaos immediately ensued as it took control of Arnus' body and warped his flesh to his liking, turning its framework into a gigantic, inhuman mass of insectoid flesh and chitin that spread about disgustingly as it slowly began to grow even larger in size...
"W-what is that monster?!"
"Where the hell did that thing come from all of a sudden?!"
The scattered imperial soldiers stood unmovingly as their eyes remained fixated upon the loathsome, filthy creature that was now flying in the sky using its wings- the vile monstrosity had, by now, taken its complete form which seemed to be that of a dragon that possessed insectoid features, where instead of having reptilian scales and draconic eyes, the hideous draconian instead had chitin as its armor and bulbous, arthropodic eyes that clearly distinguished it from the rest of its fellow brethren.
"Hahaha... Free again, at last... Now it's time to let my plans unfold..." the massive insectoid uttered with its raspy, ear-piercing voice that echoed throughout the air. "For my first little trick... I'll be taking the souls of you worthless imperials for my own use..."
Initially, the dragon lord was planning to let things be and remain in the imperial capital and ensure that things would proceed as usual. However, the weary Beelzebub, after growing bored of watching after his pathetic host of a human king, had finally decided to descend into the battlefield and wipe out these supposedly dangerous threats that were going to kill his important puppet: he couldn't have that in this point of time after all, and so he had chosen to wipe out everything within the heart of this liberated kingdom in order to prevent that possibility of a setback from happening.
And as such, as soon as the lord of Gluttony materialized in the real world using Arnus' body, he quickly began unleashing his dreadfully powerful magick against every living and nonliving thing that existed within his range of sight.
"Be proud that you useless humans have finally obtained a useful purpose in life."
The immaterial folds that held reality in place would seemingly start to twist and warp in an impossible manner, producing ripples throughout the sky that made it seem like a fluid being struck by pebbles...
[Order of Gluttony: Predation - 3rd Degree]
"AAHHHHH!!!!"
"S-SAVE USSS!!!"
"MEERCCYYYY!!!!"
An orchestra of pleading, desperate voices would permeate throughout the battlefield, as the remaining imperial soldiers were stricken with an attack that targeted their very spirits- the magick that the dragon had casted would cause their very souls to separate from their bodies, dragging them away into the draconian's mouth for consumption, as their soulless corpses instantly shriveled up into dried-up corpses that no longer had any semblance of life in them.
Simultaneously however, the sky instantly turn into an ochre color, with the clouds and the sun themselves fading away into nonexistence as the demonic dragon's destined rampage was only just about to begin...
...
...
"Damn it! What the hell is that thing?!"
"I don't know Casimir, but whatever it is, I don't think it's something we can fight..."
The 200 knights fortunately remained unaffected by the devastating magick that the dragon unleashed, though of course, the main reason for their survival was that they weren't the true targets of the spell in the first place.
However, as Malfor and Casimir continued to look at the bizarre, spectacle of a creature whose appearance immediately took the lives of all their enemies, a great sense of dread and fear began flooding into their lines of thought.
"... S-shit... Why is it making me feel like I want to run away?"
"Speak for yourself! I feel like I want to kill myself whenever I look at it!"
The insectoid dragon, even though it was merely hovering in the sky using its wings and was currently not doing anything at all... It felt like their very instincts were screaming for them to run away while never looking back, and the cowardly sensation only grew stronger the more that vile thing continued to soar above them in its disgusting glory...
"Remember my name well before I slaughter you, humans." its horrible voice proclaimed as the sound boomed throughout the air. "I am one of the 7 Dragon Lords of the Abyss, the one who represents the bottomless desire of consumption, and the one who shall also be dragging your souls into the netherworld I hail from... However..."
"You weaklings aren't even worthy of consumption. Accept your death, and I'll be sure to make it quick."
Multiple beams that consisted not of light or energy, but that of pure, green acidic waste, would emerge from the insectoid's gaping mouth, which would then strike devastatingly as it hit several of the knights who continued to watch the dragon's movements from afar, melting their bodies away into sludge in an instant, as the very ground it had impacted on turned into a corrosive pool of bile-like liquids that could kill a man with even the slightest touch.
"W-what are we going to do against that thing?!"
"R-retreat! There's no way we can stand a chance against that monstrosity!"
The dragon wouldn't relent with just one attack however, as it continued on with unleashing more of the devastating spells it could bring: jet-black thunder then emerged from the sunless, rust-colored skies, each of which landed heavily upon the scattered knights, disintegrating their existences with ease as it turned both their armor and bodies into dust and soot without delay.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"R-RETREAT! DON'T EVEN THINK OF STANDING YOUR GROUND OR YOU'LL DIE!"
"There's no point in fighting that thing, we'll only get annihilated at this rate!"
Alas, their 200-strong force had already been reduced to half of its men due to the powerful attacks that the dragon made, and the surviving knights couldn't help but feel a great sense of dread building up within them as the dragon continued to hurl more of its fatal magicks upon them.
A full on panic quickly took place amongst them all, as it immediately became obvious that they wouldn't be able to do anything against this massive, insectoid beast. The knights attempted to make an organized retreat as they made their way for the city gates, knowing that any form of resistance against this monster was pointless as they would only get slaughtered, and so they would instead rally their surviving forces and attempt to find a way to bring them down.
Despite the horrid situation they had all suddenly found themselves in however, one of them would still choose to fight the vile monstrosity that was destroying them from afar with its terrible arcane disasters, as her sense of duty far outweighed the screams of fear and despair that constantly urged her to run away as well...
________________________________________
A warrior never quits from his duties... A warrior never runs from his battles... And most importantly, a warrior must only admit defeat in the direst of circumstances...
While Altair was disappointed with how quickly her subordinates had chosen to retreat, she ultimately knew that the reasoning behind this decision of theirs was of a sound reason: after all, even she knew that none of them would be able to stand a chance against this vile monstrosity that had suddenly appeared, and they would have all died instantly if they were to instead choose to hold their ground and fight against it.
In truth, the only reason why Altair chose to fight this behemoth by herself was of a truly noble reason: her main goal was to delay this creature's rampage for as long as she can, in order to not only allow all of the surviving knights to retreat successfully, but to also buy enough time for their arrival...
She had already called the other 2 who served under her liege, the ones who were in charge of protecting the western borders of Polonia from the incoming, invading imperial army- fortunately for her though, according to the communication she had done with them, they were already finished dealing with the invading army they were meant to drive away, and now they were currently heading towards the capital as quickly as possible so that they could assist in slaying this monster that had materialized into reality all of a sudden.
[Rapid Mode Enhanced: Synaptic Cognition increased by 1000%... Warning, this mode will induce severe, internal damages to your body after its usage. Do you still wish to proceed?]
The assassin would hesitate there for a moment as she heard the automated voice's question: while she knew that she had no choice but to push forward for the sake of victory, the very fact that she wasn't going to come out of this unscathed made her mind second-guess the choices she had made that led up to this very moment.
... Even still though, she had already made her choice, and backing out at the last moment would only make her look like both a fool and a coward.
[Command Received... Parsing...]
SWOOOOSSHHH!!!
Altair propelled herself high into the open skies, destroying the ground her feet leapt up from as her power suit began crackling with immense, electrical energies that sparked continuously into the air, and it wouldn't take long for her to engage against the draconian using her newly-enhanced strength...
...
...
Who was this human? And why was it charging towards him with not a single regard for its own life?
Confusion ran deep within the dragon's mind as he witnessed the female warrior lunging into the air towards him: was she actually expecting that she could stand a chance against him and cut him down with that measly sword of hers?
How stupid, Beelzebub thought as he scoffed at this foolish woman's attempts- did she not just witness the destruction he unleashed upon those pitiful armored soldiers? Or was she perhaps too ignorant of the obvious gap of power between the both of them? Regardless of what the reason truly was however, the draconian ultimately didn't care, as he saw this woman as just another fly that he needed to swat down with his strength.
... Contrary to what he expected though, the lone warrior would pose more of a danger to him than what he initially expected...
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Several massive cuts were made throughout his body, easily piercing through his durable, chitinous armour as the attacks scattered his disgusting, green blood throughout the air in a wondrously chaotic fountain of ichor. The draconian bellowed in pain as he felt the weight and strength of these blows, though despite this, the strikes wouldn't be enough to put him down for good.
"You would dare?! You mewling worm!"
A swarm of protruding tentacles emerged from the insectoid's hide, each of which moved faster than the speeds of sound, and were all currently making their way towards Altair to rip her to pieces. To any other lesser warrior, they would have instantly been torn to shreds, but with the incredible speed that the assassin possessed, she would easily manage to deal with such an unorthodox manner of an attack made against her.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Her electrically-charged sword moved rapidly towards various directions with each swing she made, cutting through the fleshy appendages with relative ease as the electricity crackling from her blade scorched their very bodies, reducing them to useless black bodies of ash that quickly scattered into the wind.
"ARGHHHHH!!!!!"
[Breath of Decay.]
Multiple, insectoid heads immediately sprouted from his body, all of which would begin opening their mouths wide as they began to unleash the hideously corrosive attack that the dragon was about to unleash.
It would have already been a kill had she been a bit weaker than her current state, as not only was she currently high up in the air, but the acidic beams were already about to hit her body in only a few milliseconds' worth of time: fortunately though, Altair knew just what exactly she had to do in this dangerous predicament.
"... Too slow..."
Using the sky itself as a platform that would allow her to shift her body, the assassin kicked the air to change her the direction of her movements, allowing her to dodge each of the corrosive attacks that would have melted her into nothingness the moment they so much as even touched her.
To the draconian's point of view however, this woman was slowly starting become more of a nuisance to the goals he wanted to fulfill- for a human, she was incredibly fast, so much so that even a dragon as powerful as Beelzebub was having trouble in bringing her down at once with the incredible arcane might he possessed.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
As she came in close again, Altair would make several more cleaving strikes that tore through his hide, though as she pulled out and readied herself for more attacks, the wounds immediately began regenerating themselves into completion, eventually making it seem as if the dragon had never been wounded in the first place.
"You little shit! Forget about a merciful death, I will capture you and consume your worthless corpse alive!"
The environment itself that was surrounding them quickly began to change in appearance: a massive storm brewed above them, showering a rain of crimson blood upon the 2 combatants, while vast, raging tornadoes began manifesting throughout the battlefield as they unleashed their chaotic winds upon everything that remained within their vicinities.
If her speed was going to be that much of a nuisance, then Beelzebub was going to do the one thing that could easily mitigate such an annoying factor- he was going to influence the very nature of the world itself that surrounded him, and when he finally gets his hands on her... He was absolutely going to make sure that she will beg in vain for a mercy that would never come and save her from the untold agony that the dragon was planning to inflict on her.
"!!!"
With the precise, carefully considered movements she did mid-air as the dragon's attacks came close to her, Altair easily managed to dodge them all with a relative ease: the black thunder-strikes that wiped out several of her men, and the corrosive beams of all-melting liquids were things that were easy to avoid for her due to her faster-than-lightning agility, and not even the dreadfully powerful twisters of wind could hope to tear her fragile body apart thanks to her exceeding swiftness.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! More tenticular appendages sprouted out of the insectoid dragon's hide, as they all moved towards Altair with their teeming numbers in an attempt to rip her apart and render her lifeless: unfortunately however, no matter how many of them would be sent out, they would all immediately be sliced and diced into useless pieces of meat by the swiftness of Altair's sword movements before they could even come inches-close to her skin. Altair already had a rough idea of how this duel was going to end however, and a small sensation of fear sunk into her heart as she realized this- this wasn't going to end well if this battle were to be prolonged, or so did Altair analyze the situation she was stuck in. One way or another, the dragon was eventually going to kill her with the endless attacks he was throwing around, and the assassin already knew to herself that it was impossible to maintain the incredibly fast speeds she was displaying...
Altair had to find a way to end this battle as quickly as possible, because if this battle was to lengthen itself to the point where not even her stamina could keep up anymore, then she would immediately lose her life and get torn apart by the vile monstrosity she was currently fighting.
An attack that was faster than the combat speeds she was displaying right now... One that possessed a swiftness that could transcend even the speeds of the fastest existing things in the world....
Her mind could visualize such an attack being performed, and she knew to herself that it was capable of completely cutting through the dragon's body and making a mess of his internal systems, perhaps finally slaying it and taking away its life, or, at the very least, gravely injuring it enough so that it would allow the others to deal the finishing blow upon it.
However, before Altair could make such an overwhelmingly powerful attack upon her enemy...
...
...
BLAM!
A powerful, punching force from an unknown figure would send the draconic being hurtling towards the ground, making its vile, insectoid body collide violently with the dirt and rock below as the earth itself would quiver and quake from the sheer force of its landing.
"... Hmm... I know I shouldn't be straining myself right now since I just recovered, but... I can't let these people die when I can clearly do something for them, right?"
A lone figure hovered above the air, looking down below the dragon that had crashed to the ground with a disdainful look on her face- it had been nothing short of simple for her to deliver that terrifying blow to the draconian's body, a shocking display of strength that made Altair not only wonder about the identity of this newly-appeared individual, but it also made her begin to question just how powerful this being truly was when she had easily dealt a significant blow to the powerful draconian with only her fists?
"You over there... Your name is... Altair, correct?" the faraway figure would then somehow manage to speak directly to the assassin's line-of-thought, as if she were a telepath who could read her thoughts so easily. "Do not fear my presence. I'm on your side after all... And besides..."
Bewilderment... And eventually, anxiety... That was all that Altair could feel as she heard her voice speaking directly into her mind, as if the very act of doing it had been nothing more than a simple task to her. The same questions repeated in her mind again: who exactly was this woman, and just how powerful was she exactly?
In the end though, Altair quickly realized that she had to answer the question that the woman made to her, as she didn't want to risk provoking any form of negative response from such a powerful monster...
"Y-yes, my name is Altair... Although..." the assassin spoke nervously in response. "... Could you continue what you were about to say...?"
"... Ah, sorry. That disgusting thing beneath distracted me for a moment. What I meant to say was..."
The woman paused for a moment, as if she was choosing the words she was about to say with a careful regard. "You can't handle this demon by yourself. Retreat with all of your men, I'll make sure to deal with this... Trash, and get rid of it after
I'm done."
Well, she did say that she was on her side after all, and the recent action she made against her enemy did support such such a statement. And besides, what hope could Altair have in resisting her orders, when speaking to her mind directly even from faraway and punching that monstrosity were but simple things that she could do without any difficulties?
"I-I'll do so immediately..."
"Good. Now, since you're being so compliant, I'll do you a small favour. It's quite a monumental task though, so be sure to thank me afterwards, alright?"
An orange radiance began emanating from the eyes of her faraway figure, a pair of radiant lights that seemed visible to Altair even though they were quite faraway...
[Resurrect.]
The next sceneries that happened before her would immediately prove to be a shocking turn of events- all the men who had lost their lives from the dragon's previous attacks, the hundreds of lives that were supposed to have already been lost and completely unrecoverable beyond hope... Each of them would regain the lives they had lost so suddenly amidst the battle, and Altair couldn't help but remain shocked as her mouth ran agape from the impossibility in front of her.
"... W-what.... What just happened to me...?"
"Didn't we all just... Die, like... A while ago?"
"Y-yeah... How come we're all alive again? And why is the instructor with us right now?"
The once-dead knights who were previously slain by the draconic being, re-materialized their disintegrated bodies before her, each of them lying down on the ground naked as a breath of new life coursed through their very flesh and blood: it wasn't something that was supposed to have happened, as not even the likes of magick could allow the complete resurrection of those who had already died, and yet despite that, the mysterious woman managed to defy such a natural law and did what was supposed to be impossible.
This woman... She was indeed such a powerful being that Altair would never attempt to antagonize. And besides, after the beautiful deed she had done for her and the people she had lost, the blonde-haired assassin would never find it in her heart to offend the gesture of reality-warping kindness she made.
"I'll be doing what I came here for then. Make your retreat immediately after they're done recollecting their thoughts."
"... W-wait... Please... Before you leave... May I at least know your name? If it's alright with you?"
A momentary pause, and then a weak laughter would come from her telepathic voice before she responded to Altair's query.
"My name is Anastasia, dear. My, it seems my son hasn't told you who I am exactly, hm? Then again, he's been quite busy as of late, so I suppose it does make a bit of sense."
"Anyway, I'll be halting our connection for the moment. I'll be dealing with this draconic filth in a few minutes, so farewell for now... Miss Altair."
The mysterious woman's voice finally cut off from her mind, and no ethereal words would be spoken to Altair once more as their communication would finally cease to be. Admiration, as we as awe... These were the new feelings that the assassin felt for her kind benefactor, and knowing that she was supposed to be on their side brought Altair a great sense of relief, as it would have been terrifying if that powerful woman had instead been an enemy that needed to be dealt with...
Unfortunately though, after the end of the enhanced mode she had used to maximize her abilities previously, Altair slowly began to feel the strain it took on her body, and the first of its symptoms came in the form of slow, yet unpreventable coughs that came out of her mouth with bits of blood.
"... What are you all... Cough... Cough... looking at? You're alive and well now... Cough... Be thankful and put on some clothes, you dolts. Are you not ashamed with how naked all of you are right now... Cough.. in front of me?" as the newly-resurrected men stood up from the ground they previously laid down on, Altair couldn't help but feel irritated with how they were choosing to just stand there and remain bewildered.
"Just because you all recently died... Cough... doesn't mean you can act this brave in front of me... Cough... Or maybe you want your trainings to become more difficult?"
________________________________________
"I can see that you've been quite... Busy with many things... My child..."
"... Well, the good thing is that you're alright now. Do you actually feel alright though, or are you feeling some form of pain right now?"
Both Novus and Anastasia were sitting across each other as they indulged themselves with the tea that was provided to them by Whitlea, who was standing near them silently as she carried the tray that held the cups and the teakettle.
By now, Anastasia had completely recovered from what was once-supposed to be her end- not only had she been resurrected from a death that she shouldn't have managed to defy, but the age-old injury to her chest that was left on her by the man she once loved no longer plagued her body... Meaning that she had been fully restored to her prime right now, and that she was currently fully alive and well without any underlying conditions.
"Hmph... There is this one pain that I'm feeling right now..." she answered with a gentle tone of voice.
"... A-and that is?"
"... It hurts a bit that you still haven't greeted me properly after I came back to life~ Do you not love the mother who practically raised and cared for you all this time?" Anastasia teased a bit. "Then again... If we count the years you lived in your past life... Then theoretically, you're actually older than me... I suppose you shouldn't be calling me your 'mother' in the first place..."
A sigh would come out of Novus' mouth, to which his 'mother' would respond with a light chuckle.
"... I meant physical pain... And haven't I literally just greeted you with a hug a while ago?!" Novus argued, which only made Anastasia giggle even more. "Besides... I don't mind calling you my 'mother'... With how well you took care of me, I know you would have made a good mom... Especially for that child you lost back then..."
"... T-that's... Good to hear..." she said as a somber expression formed on her face: she took a sip on the cup of tea she was drinking once again, though she did this to hide the fact that she was nearly about to shed a tear from what her 'son' had just said. "I was lucky to have met you, you know? Everyone who had once been important in my life eventually died or betrayed me... But not you~"
"Y-yeah... By the way..." Novus would suddenly interrupt as a light guilty expression formed on his face. "I'm sorry for... You know... Lying to you... For not telling you the fact that I actually lived a previous life... besides the one I'm currently-"
"Don't worry, I understand~" a gentle smile quickly became her expression as she expressed a deep understanding for his reasoning. "You didn't know how I would react during that time, and you were nearly killed when we first met back then... Of course you'd want to keep it to yourself..."
"Although, if you really do want to apologize to me... Just promise me one thing, alright?"
"... Sure.. Whatever you want, just say it."
"Then..." Anastasia paused for a moment, as her eyes then stared deeply into his own with the usual gentleness she always displayed towards him. "From now on... I want you to be honest with me regarding everything, okay? You don't need to lie to your own mother..."
"No matter how ridiculous or humiliating it may be... You're always going to have to tell me what it is that's bothering you from this point forward..."
That was quite the simple promise to fulfill: after all, Novus had a great amount of trust in her by this point, and he knew that this woman absolutely loved him unconditionally and would never betray him through thick and thin, which was why he had no reason or will to refuse this request she was making of him.
... Most importantly though, he already had one ridiculous thing to confess to her the moment she said that she wanted him to be honest to her.
"... I'll promise to be honest from now on then..." Novus answered after a while. "... I-In fact... I actually have... Er, a ridiculous thing to confess to you right now..."
"Oh? What is it then, hm?"
"... I've been making some plans to... Um..." Novus hesitated for a moment, as he could somewhat see how intense her laughter would be the moment those words came out of his mouth: nevertheless though, he would of course, eventually say it in order to fulfill the promise he made to her.
"... I've been making some plans... To conquer the world..."
"..."
A temporary silence would then ensue, as Anastasia would remain somewhat surprised and unable to respond for a moment due to the absurdity of Novus' statement: it would take her a full, 10 seconds for her to finally recollect her thoughts, as she then gave off her second response to his ridiculous words...
And of course, the reaction that came after her silence would be that of a lighthearted laughter.
"Ahahahaha.... So that's why Thurien was so busy with building those things in her home when I visited her a while ago... Ahahaha... Who could have thought that this would be the actual reason..." Anastasia giggled rather loudly as she covered her mouth. "... I appreciate your honesty, my child... It actually warms my heart that you're willing to follow through with this simple promise..."
"Ah... And you may be wondering... What I'm currently thinking about your overly-ambitious goal, am I right?"
"... Yeah... What do you think of it? Is it too outrageous? Or is it..."
"... No, I actually like it~" to Novus' shock, like the rest of his companions who supported his cause, even his own 'mother', who he initially expected would be against his plans, was actually currently agreeing with it right now. "Just to remind you... You're the beloved, adopted son of an ancient superweapon who can easily level this entire planet if she wished... More importantly though..."
"You're MY child, after all... And this much of an ambition should be the bare minimum~" a smile formed on her face again as Anastasia said this. "In fact... If you want... No... If you NEED my help with this plan of yours, then I'll gladly help you, as long as you ask me properly~"
... What a surprise... To think that she was that willing to do this much for her own 'son'. While he expected her to be a bit more against to his newly-formed ideals, Novus definitely wasn't expecting that even Anastasia would be willing to support this seemingly ridiculous goal of his.
Even still though, this definitely wasn't an opportunity that he would refuse: she was incredible powerful, and having a trustworthy ally who cared about him so much was an advantage that Novus was absolutely not going to waste...
"... I'll ask you right now then..." Novus said as he stood up from his chair, where he would then kneel before his mother as a sign of respect. "... Will you please help me with this... Ambition I wish to fulfill?"
"... H-hold on... When I told you to 'ask me properly'... I meant giving me a hug or a kiss... Not something like this..." Anastasia uttered with a somewhat baffled expression. "... Hm, well, if you're this desperate to have my assistance though..."
"Of course I'll gladly help you... You sweet, foolish child of mine~"
And this time, I'll make sure that I won't be leaving you behind... Not again... Not anymore...
...
...
[Imprison.]
The 2 draconians immediately found themselves in another place that belonged not in the real world- it was a realm of absolute blankness, with only the color white being spread all over its space as its main feature. In truth, it was made from the excessive powers that came from Anastasia's ability, a place where she could quickly finish the work she had sought to fulfill.
"I must admit... I learned quite a lot of things after dying to that powerful pawn of yours... I even learned how to make a pocket dimension for myself, you see~"
"Y-you! You bitch! How are you alive?! You're supposed to be dead by now!!!"
Beelzebub could only curse as the the massive threat that had already been dealt with by one of his puppets remained alive and healthy- Anastasia, that synthetic false-kin made by the ancient humans, one of the major reasons why they had lost that war all those centuries ago... It was her power that nearly devastated their ranks, reducing their once 144-strong dragonkin to half of its numbers, losses that were permanent and so unsustainable, that they would forever be set back by the losses they'd incur due to her existence.
"... I had a little help. You and your disgusting brethren must have been overjoyed when I 'died' back then, hm?" Anastasia mocked with an insulting grin. "Unfortunately for you, I'm currently very much alive... And I'm here to deal with you right now for the sake of my son's safety~"
"SHUT UP, YOU FALSE-BLOODED MONGREL! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"
An overwhelming mass of flesh, fangs, and tentacles emerged from the insectoid dragon's body, while a red mist enveloped these disgusting bodily parts as they rapidly closed in on Anastasia's location- unfortunately enough though, they would ultimately be no match for the overpowering ability that the dragoness had that allowed her to triumph over them all those decades ago.
[Disintegrate.]
The rapidly approaching attacks were quickly reduced to nothingness, with their fleshy matrixes instantly turning into black ash which began fading away into nonexistence.
"Y-YOU BASTAARRDDD!!!!"
While he was now trapped in this false world with one of the few beings he feared the most, Beelzebub was finally able to unleash the full potential of his powers in this place- the real world was constantly putting limitations on him after all, and the human body he took and morphed for his own purposes only made such penalties even harsher.
[Order of Gluttony: 9th Degree]
The dimension's environment drastically changed in appearance: a terrible, dark-orange light began surrounding both of them from almost everywhere, with impossibly massive eyes and mouths forming in the skies as they continued to grow in both size and number.
Without delay did they unleash their attacks, as a rain of acid, accompanied by several tendrils and barbs of hardened flesh that emerged from the ochre light, each of which had the mass and size of entire mountains as they immediately proceeded with striking at the dragoness from nearly every angle and direction.
"Hahaha... You're still as disgusting as ever, you hideous, fly-eating bug."
Had it been unleashed in the real world, It would have been an attack that was enough to destroy the entire planet of Earth ten times over: not only that though, but he had also slain countless, other powerful entities with this attack, consuming every ounce of their existences as he then eventually turned their strengths into his own.
Such was the sheer power that this attack contained, that Beelzebub was almost certain that this attack would at least deal some damage to her...
Unfortunately...
[Disappear.]
The attacks vanished without a trace, as the entire realm would return to its original state of white blankness: almost instantly, a terribly great sensation of fear, panic, and dread would form within Beelzebub's line of thought, as his mind desperately searched for an idea to deal with the great enemy that was in front of him right now.
Gluttony... Beelzebub's powers consisted mainly of the ability to consume and steal the abilities of those he had digested, and due to the endless numbers of the countless enemies and opponents he had slain, the dragon lord had garnered a power that could allow him to end the entire foundations of reality if he wanted to.
Predation... At its maximum effect, he could consume entire stars at whim and convert them into energies which he could use- it was an incredibly overwhelming power that had earned him many victories, but right now, its power didn't mean much compared to the monster in front of him that held a vastly superior ability when compared to his...
Well, even if his conceptual power was inferior, he still had to try in order to survive. He wasn't going to give up completely right now just because their great enemy had suddenly appeared before him.
... However, before he could even make his final gambit...
[Entrap.]
His very body would begin to warp into a form that was no longer his own, as his once impressive, though vile vessel began to shrink and develop inferior features that he was all too familiar with: his chitin was reduced to an elastic skin that seemed completely soft and fragile, as his organs noticeably grew smaller in size, with their functions greatly reduced to such a minuscule value that only worthless creatures would have.
As Beelzebub looked at his body after the transformation had been finished, he could feel as if the karmaic retribution for all the great evils he did, had finally come back to bite him in the rear- his vessel was no longer that of a massive, insectoid dragon, but rather, it was now a normal human of weak flesh and blood, a form that he despised and hatred without end due to its incredible weakness.
Just the thought of being entrapped in a normal, human body made him sick to his core- he considered them as inferior after all, and now that he had been trapped inside one... He couldn't help but feel completely helpless before the dreadful predicament he was in right now.
"Ah, I'm already feeling quite tired... I really shouldn't be straining myself too much after I've just recovered..." Anastasia suddenly muttered about. "... I guess I should leave your fate to her now~ she's been wanting to see some action after all..."
"W-What do you mean?! And what the hell are you talking about, you filthy half-breed-"
A powerful kick struck his now-humanized chest, as Anastasia's right foot would then force his head to the ground and stomp it in place, making the dragon lord wince and whimper in pain from the sheer force of her blows.
"Well, right now, I'm not supposed to be using my powers to this extent. I wouldn't want to worry my child after all, so I'll let my good friend handle the rest, if you don't mind... Oh wait, I don't really care if you do, ahahaha~"
"I'll be sending you to a place that's worse than hell then... May we never see each other again, you filthy scum."
[Teleport.]
...
...
Cold... The sharp, prickling senses of both cold and pain made his human body uncomfortable, which made Beelzebub only further despise the weakness that human bodies often had.
The dragon lord found himself in a dark realm where not even a single particle of light existed- for some reason, the temperatures here were also exceedingly low, even lower than the coldest reaches of the netherworld he hailed from, and as a result, Beelzebub's body began shivering violently from the hypothermia that had started to plague his body.
"Ah, there you are. I was expecting you~"
A woman suddenly appeared before him- a gravely beautiful and elegant lady with long, black hair, fair skin, and a set of purple, mesmerizing eyes that seemed to contain a terrible insanity within them: such were the qualities of the figure that had suddenly revealed herself in front of him, that Beelzebub couldn't help but become further confused with what sort of fate that his enemy had forced him in.
"... Who are you?"
"I am the embodiment of all things infinite... The deathless avatar representing the cycle of life and death that never ends... And more importantly..."
"Your doom."
Words couldn't even begin to describe the terrible sensations that began to plague his body afterwards: an infinite pain, if the word 'infinite' could even describe the sheer scale of its magnitude, began eating away at his entire body, making him sweat continuously as his muscles twitched and spasmed violently without relief, only for an invisible, powerful force to hold Beelzebub in place and prevent him from moving even an inch.
"I would have pitied you if you weren't a demon~ you see..." the woman began to explain amidst the humanized dragon's loud, endless screams of pain. "Since my powers involve the concept of infinity, one of the drawbacks to it is that I can't truly inflict death upon my enemies... So..."
"Unfortunately for you, you're going to have to feel this sensation for the rest of your miserable life... Which means..."
Even though Beelzebub was trapped in an eternally endless pain right now, his mind could still somewhat understand the implications of the woman's words- as soon as he heard it, tears began streaming down from his eyes, as pleadings for a mercy that would never save him came out of his mouth in a complete and utter desperation.
"You're going to have to suffer that unlimited pain in your body for eternity... And you'll never be able to truly die! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! "
Her insane laughter would continue to ring endlessly in his ears even after it had finally stopped, as the gnawing pain that ate away at his senses while never truly killing him would slowly begin to break down his sanity until nothing was left of it...