Emopa came across the cathedral in all its glory. The outside was the only thing renovated in this desolate town. It seemed like they liked to keep their bases cleaned out.
The wood on the cathedral was snow white, while the roof remained brown. There were no windows aside from a circular in the front, and there were no telltale symbols or anything. "Looks like a Catholic design."
Emopa stepped inside, the floors being lined in red carpet. There were three 8-foot seats in each row, and there were 24 rows. This seemed impossible, as the inside was much bigger than the outside.
Emopa looked up; a crystal chandelier hung ominously over the ground. As Emopa walked, he expected to hear something from his system, but he didn't. He expected the Father to say something, but he didn't.
In front of him sat a small flight of stairs, leading to an organ, and in the middle, carved out in wood, was the symbol of Splatter.
"Interesting... Nothing seems to be going on here. Did that girl give me false information?" Emopa said, the atmosphere and hue suddenly shifting to a blood red.
In front of him stood a man with shackles on his feet, short white hair, brown skin, and his eyes were covered by a blindfold that was black in color. The man stood at 6'5 and had a lean build from under the white tarp that covered his body. He seemingly wore pants underneath, however.
"We have an unexpected and unwelcome visitor." The man spoke, extending his hand to the side and summoning a large blade that resembled a kitchen knife. It was about 7 feet long.
"And you're an Abomination? That makes your presence all the more disgusting."
Emopa drew out his odachi, sweat beginning to form.
"Vessels of Gods are known as Apostles. I'm surprised a god, pure or corrupt, would want to convene with an Abomination in the first place." This was the man blessed by blood, showered in it, and made clean.
This was Alric, The Apostle of Blood.
Emopa immediately summoned Skarlok for support, Skarlok summoning a few skeletal archers and mages for recon.
Emopa dashed forward, and his odachi lit up in fire. He swung it, aiming for a killing blow, but Alric stabbed his weapon into the ground and blocked the strike, not moving an inch.
"I thought an Abomination would be stronger than this." Alric said, gripping the handle and jumping in the air slightly, kicking Emopa right in the face and sending him back.
Emopa crashed into one of the seats, immediately getting up and dodging an incoming slash.
Skarlok sent out a large bolt of ice, but Arlic parried it with his bare hand. "Weak summons." He went for Skarlok, however, his blade was intercepted by Morgul, who was carrying a greatsword.
"Oh? It seems like your little summons are automatic, huh? This one has some strength to it." Alric said, clashing blows with Morgul for a few seconds before Emopa came in.
He dodged back, his free hand getting sliced off by Emopa, who seemed to have a shift in demeanor.
"Big mistake, pal!" The blood from his severed hand began to glow. Emopa's eyes widening in response.
The front half of the chapel exploded, sending Emopa and Morgul flying out. Thankfully, he recalled Skarlok. "This isn't good." Emopa said, his hand shaking a little as he gripped his odachi.
Suddenly, he felt someone land next to him, seeing it was Vatel. Following, a variety of weapons fell from the sky along with Yu, now holding an empty bag.
"Vatel? How did you?-" before Emopa could finish, the others began to appear one by one.
"We got a notification saying a friend of ours was in danger, and it gave us the exact location. It might be because we're developers, y'know?" Static said, staring at Alric.
Alric looked aroundand cracked his neck, chuckling as he regrew his hand. Just as he did so, the system appeared in front of everyone's faces. Not just the developers, every player.
[Warning: End of the world-class entity has breached its confines. Retreat to the towers to ascend to the new worlds that await you.]
"What..?" Sorra said, looking at Alric as he began to walk forward.
[Warning: Entity is currently impossible to kill. Are you sure you want to stick around?] That was what Sorra saw.
Emopa and Vatel however, stood their ground.
"Oh? A group of friends rallying together against a common enemy. How many times have I seen that?" Alric took off the blindfold, revealing black scleras and bloodshot eyes.
"Very well then, I'll entertain your demise. After all, I'm here to entertain the spread of blood." Alric said, snapping his fingers.
Instantly, it turned night, and a blood moon sat high in the sky. Monsters began to run rampant, and safe havens began to fall.
[Warning: Earth has become unsustainable for life and has been infested with monsters. Estimated time until it becomes a monster world...]
[Calculating...]
[24 hours.]
This instilled a sense of urgency in the group, their eyes wide with horror.
"Shit!" Vatel yelled, dashing forward and running toward Alric with a spear and dagger in his hand whilst Mareth tossed gems in the air, them shooting down lasers.
Alric grinned, parrying the blows from Vatel and watching as his weapons shattered. Shadows beneath him formed jaws, snapping around him and encasing him.
Vatel dodged back, watching as the lasers circled the encasing and shot down a concentrated beam. He hoped that would've at least done something, but it only seemed to have left a few burns.
Emopa and Mareth appeared in front of him, ready to attack. However, Alric exploded, leaving blood splattered everywhere.
Static had swung an enlarged yoyo at him that had destroyed his body completely.
"See! Wasn't that hard-"
The blood began to coalesce on Mareth, forming an arm and the same blade Alric held, but made of blood.
Mareth blocked what he could, a gash appearing on his chest as the blood fell off of him and began to reform Alric. "Young Verger... You have SO much to learn. You didn't even learn basic defense?"
Alric said mockingly as he dashed for Vatel, him moving back in response.
"We have to retreat here! We can't win this!" Sorra yelled, making a tight rope of caramel form around Alric, binding him for a moment.
A bunch of swords fell from the sky, impaling him. "I-I've got your back, master!" Yu yelled, panting slightly from throwing the weapons that were on the ground.
Everyone began to fall back, "The closest tower is in the city! We'll be safe there!" Enopa yelled, recalling Morgul.
Meanwhile, King Gaiho backed up against the wall, Sam standing in front of him, her cheek splattered with blood as her purple eyes glowed in the dim, crimson moonlight.
"Seems like my plan worked out after all..." She chuckled, holding the head of Gaius as she stared down at the king.
"W-why are you doing this?! We trusted you!" He yelled, Sam stepping on his arm and breaking it. "It was always my plan to kill all of you and send this world into disarray."
"Who are you?!" Gaiho said, groaning as Sam pressed harder.
"Sam Abomination." The words that came out of her mouth made his eyes widen.
"I... If you're an Abomination... Then that means..." Gaiho said, a grin forming over Sam's face.
"Bingo! Gods HATE Abominations, so why should we love them? We have Emopa now... I think he'll bring some decent change." She said, giggling. "Soon, there will be no gods."
Her eyes began to glow brighter as she leaned over the king. "Then, only then can existence itself TRULY be free."
"Where are the rest..?" The king asked, his voice shaking with fear.
"I spared Mara and the little cat boy. He seemed a bit cute, so I let him go. Too bad I traumatized him though."
The king looked to the side. "The saints..."
"Don't worry about them!" Sam said, giggling. "I already told them that you've sent them on a mission to explore what lies beyond these towers. Will they come back? Dunno!"
The king's eyes filled with dread as Sam raised her foot in the air. "See ya!" She then crushed his head.
The group ran from Alric, the burning city coming within view as the tower's bright blue beam shot into the sky with pulsing energy.
Emopa was in the front, his book open as he cut through the variety of monsters that stood in their way. Wolves, demonic beasts, goblins, and high orcs—all of these monsters were buffed significantly due to the blood moon.
As they kept running, they soon made it to the entrance of the city, Alric nowhere to be found.
The group panted, out of breath as they weren't too far from the tower, the streets crowded with people trying to get in all while defending monsters.
"Emopa, duck!" The Father yelled, Alice urging the same thing among the others.
They ducked. A massive, bloody slash wave ripped through the area, slicing the various civilians and adventurers in half. Screams soon fell silent as Alric walked through the pile of corpses, blood beginning to form into a sphere in the air.
"Shame... Such a shame. That Abomination and that Kagehara are both Apostles as well, yet you guys are a recent pair." Alric said, spinning the bloody blade.
"Well, guess it's time for you guys to die." He said, grinning. However, loud screams could be heard as a small cat boy crashed on top of Fox, Mara as well.
"Ugh..." Fox groaned, laying on the ground with the two on top of her. "Where did you guys come from?!"
As she said that, Sam also fell from the sky, landing in front of Alric.
"Two?" Alric said, his eyes widening as he dodged back. His jaw, however, was already missing as Sam kicked him back, sending him flying through multiple layers of debris and monsters.
"You guys get on out of here! I'll hold him off!" Sam sounded excited, the bloodlust almost feeling tangible.
"What?" Emopa said, Sam turning to him.
"Go leave with your friends, Emopa. Survive the best you can." She said, smiling as she began to walk toward Alric, who had multiple giant bloody orbs floating in the air.
"Come on then!" Ulrich yelled, everyone followed, Fox holding a shaking Kyr, the cat boy, over her shoulders as he turned into a cat.
They entered the tower, the gates to its entrance closing.
Everything was silent; the group was now taking their time to catch their breath.
"Okay... WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?" Mara yelled, holding her head. "Sam... That bitch betrayed the kingdom! She planned all of this!"
Sorra and Fox's eyes widened in shock. "What?!" They both said it in unison.
Kyr hopped off of Fox's shoulders, turning back into his normal form. "She's not lying... She stated that she had someone she knew go to the location."
Everyone's heads shifted to Emopa, who stared at the ground, looking at the variety of creatures that his book had attained. "Huh?" He said, looking up.
"What happened, Emopa? What did she say to you?" Sorra asked, walking over to Emopa.
"She said that she would give me info on where the Apostle was; in exchange, I tell her some stuff about my past, which I have no idea about." He said, sheathing his odachi.
"So Emopa didn't know about the full thing." Kyr said, shrugging. "Oh well, what's done is done. We have a new place where we could start over."
"Why are you treating this so casually? Our homes were just practically destroyed!" Static said, Mareth agreeing.
"Master, you have a bit of blood on your cheek." Yu said, reaching up to wipe it off. However, it began to bubble slightly, a thin, bloody spike shooting out and impaling Yu in the head.
The spike soon liquefied and dissolved as Vatel's eyes widened, everyone staring in shock. "Yu!" Vatel yelled, shaking him.
"YU!" Vatel yelled louder, immediately looking toward Emopa. "Do something, dude!"
He said, his voice cracking a little.
Emopa panicked a little, but before he did anything stupid, The Father took control of his body, Emopa's eyes glowing green.
"Calm down." He said, stabbing Yu in the chest and taking out his soul, which came out in the form of a white orb. He then grabbed a greatsword from Vatel, shoving the soul in there and dropping it.
"There we go. A fresh Anima weapon." The Father said, relinquishing control as Emopa looked around confused. "What?"
"So much is going on," Mareth said, sighing as a holographic figure formed from the bright blue pedestal.
"Hello? Hello! Hi guys!! Name's Neolia, Neo or Lia for short. If you're seeing this, you're probably inside of a tower right now waiting to be brought to to the next world!"
A woman with short hair, a hoodie, and brown skin waved enthusiastically. The colors of her clothes weren't discernible due it being a holograph, but they seemed to be dark colors.
"So! You must be wondering, what's going on? Why did my suddenly normal life flip upside down? Simple! I may, or may not, have created this universe." She giggled, taking a seat.
"It's a bit complicated, but to put it shortly, neither universes were game universes. I just got one of my REALLYYY smart friends to tell me the future a bit!" She said excitedly.
"So, I created a universe similar to a random game I found interesting! One called Magical Heritage! It featured various time periods, from ancients all the way to modernity!" She twirled some strands of her hair.
"I'm boring ya, aren't I? Let's cut to the chase then. There are a lot of universes. You guys are one of many infinite possibilities. There are gods; they do exist." She said, tilting her head a little.
"I simply made things interesting. So! From here on out, if you've had a system, like levels and all that stuff, it's gone now! No cheating in the real worlds!" She laughed, the holograph starting to distort a little.
"Oh, by the way... This world is MUCH bigger. No need to worry about gravity, though. Buh bye!" She waved, the holograph disappearing.
Everyone sat in silence as the room began to glow a little.
[Transferring all stats into physical attributes. Magical achievements and magic will be retained. Now entering the new world. Thank you for playing Magical Heritage, Good luck.
Everyone was then engulfed in light, disappearing.