Cedar Lake, New York state
Terra,
Gaea Solar system
Milky way Galaxy
Neutral Free Zone
March 8th 2019
"So he was able to defeat the patchwork Abomination," Geb, the pig face Abomination muttered. Leonard Haravok was no ordinary Awakened Ascendant. The boy had strongly inherited the blood of Sol, which made him a threat to his Majesty's plan. Geb knew that he must annihilate the young man here and now. He spoke in an unknown language, pushing the lesser abominations within the building he was on, to go out and reduce the enemies out there. He watched as numerous Beast-like monsters poured out of the building to go after the intruders. "First, I'll let them use up their mana. Then I'll push them to the brink of exhaustion, and then I'll annihilate them one by one, starting with Haravok,"
Across the block, two streets from Geb, Leon, and the others were fighting their way through the streets. They were no closer to getting to Sam's home. Cedar Lake Town was divided into two parts, the Residential area where the home buildings could be found, and then the Business district which also contained the Shopping centers. The residential area would normally take ten minutes to get there from the business district by car, but since they were walking and fighting Abominations at the same time, the time it was taking for them to reach Sam's home was a lot. Leon was in the lead, jumping from one group of Abominations and slicing them apart like they were a meat buffet. Emily was supporting him from behind, weaving and casting her attack spells with Henry providing support spells. Sam stayed close to Emily as she went about striking the abominations with her shield vambrace. She was still suffering from the resonance but she was doing her best to ignore it while asking herself questions that would prove to be the base of her convictions for years to come. As she used the pointy end of her shield to kill the Abominations, ignoring the emotional backlash she was getting, questions were raised in Sam's mind. Why do they have to suffer? What was the point of their existence? The point of life itself? Why.?....Why?....Why?...
[Blizzard Fall]
A surge of white light fell on a couple of Abominations, freezing them solid, which was then followed by Leon cutting them apart. Emily followed her spell by weaving more spells, her mana was within the tips of her fingers as she used it to weave runic inscriptions into a Magic circle, getting her next spell ready. While she was finishing her spell, Emily could sense a swarm of Abominations heading towards them. She turned to Leon who had a devious grin on his face.
"It looks like the enemy is trying to tire us out," Leon said. "Before we go to Sam's home, we should get rid of whoever's in charge of this corrupted land," Emily tried to use her senses to locate the Greater Abomination that was in charge of this land's defense but with the dense concentration of Infernal energy, she couldn't locate the enemies energy signature. Emily contracted her senses as she sighed in disappointment. She could sense the energy signature of those close to her, but further down her sense was tied down by the fog of miasma.
"I can't pick out its location," Emily said. "The Miasma is too dense for my senses,"
"I figured as much," Leon said. He closed his eyes and for a moment, the other's stared at him and then he opened his eyes. The luscious sky blue eyes were gone, replaced by luminous glowing yellow eyes. As the yellow light intensity decreased, Sam could see the transformation that Leon's eyes had taken. The sclera was colored golden, his iris painted black followed by the pupil taking the shape of a Sun cross. Sam felt an eeriness from the look in Leon's eyes like he could peer deep into the core of her being and see all the truth about herself, things that even she didn't know.
"Do you have to go that far," Emily said. She out of all the others knew the most about Leon's ability factor, unique techniques, and the cost it had on his body. Even now, his eyes had already started bleeding, the strain of using that technique plaguing his body. Leon moved forward, summoning the crystal broadsword that he had used before.
"There's no better time than for me to go far," Leon said. "Luckily the sun's out for now, so the conditions are set. I'll leave those lesser to you guys and the Infernal engine. I'll deal with the Greater one." Leon moved so fast that even Emily lost sight of him.
"What...What was that?" Sam asked.
"That was one of the aspects of Leon's ability factor," Emily said. "The Unique technique: Hyperion eyes. It's believed that the Sun serves as an eye in which the gods watch over the land. They observe and judge all who walk upon the green earth." The technique was not on the same level as the Heavenly pupil, the ability granted to those who were blessed by Fate, but its visual powers were as close to it as a mortal could get. "Come on. Let's deal with them once and for all."
While the others tackled the Abominations that were rushing towards them, Leon flew towards the building where Geb stood guard, his sword pulsating with an intense brightness amid the dark twisted miasma that stuck to the sky. He landed on the roof as Geb moved away from the infernal engine, approaching Leon. Geb had his silver round shield, a butcher knife in his right hand, and his dark armor infused with his Infernal energy. The Beast was ready for battle, although he felt annoyed at the fact that the Haravok man had seen through his intentions.
"So you're a Fallen Beast," Leon said as he studied Geb with his eyes. All races were susceptible to the corrupting influence of Infernal energy, being able to become a defiled being known as Fallens. Such beings were thought to be the antithesis of what Ascendants were. There were also different kinds of Abominations of each race. The Fallen Beasts originated from the Beastmen race, the Infernal Demons and Devils belonged to the Daemon race, the Darklings came from the Fae and Elven race, the Asuras from the Pleiadian race, the Dark Tyrants stemmed from the human race, the Centimanes originated from the Gigantes race, and the Ravenous trolls from the Dwarven race. For some reason, there was no case of an Automaton ever falling into depravity. It was one of the mysteries of the universe. This Fallen Beast before Leon possessed a vast amount of Infernal energy, more than the Ape Abomination Leon had killed months ago. Leon took a few steps towards it, looking up at its black fur face, a pair of tusks jutting from its upper jaw. Leon was tall, around 190 cm but the Beast was taller, bigger, and was bulging with extreme muscles even with the armor it wore.
"In the name of his Majesty, King Sirius, I, Geb shall eliminate you," Geb snarled at Leon. He swung the butcher knife in a diagonal line but Leon raised his arms to block it, strengthening his body with the mystical technique, Validus. His body was pumped with mana skin, the aura protecting him from the blade though the force of the swing still pushed him to the roof's edge. Leon lowered his left arm as blood dripped down from it. He glanced at it barely, seeing the small gash on his arm from the butcher knife. He shook his hand as the gash began to heal. He could have used his blade to block it or dodged it, but Leon wanted to judge the practical strength of the Abomination instead of relying on his visual cues.
"That was reckless of you," Geb said. "Just a bit more, I could have cleaved your arm and head,"
"Urgh, barely," Leon scoffed as he executed an attack technique of his Sword art.
[Heavenly Radiance- Divine Armament] Hundreds of various shapes of golden weapons were conjured from the space around Leon, and then they blasted off, flying at Geb with full force. Geb raised his shield to repel the blades that tried to slice him apart. An invisible wall emitted out of the shield blocking the trajectory of all the weapons, even the ones that tried to pierce the Infernal engine behind Geb.
"Tskk!" Leon muttered. He had used that attack to test the defense of the Abomination and it turned out his eyes had been right. That shield of his was a problem.
"Hahaha! What's the matter Pleiadian, can't destroy the Infernal Engine," Geb yelled out. The aura around him surged up, the amount of his Infernal energy increased as he channeled energy from the engine. Leon ignored the taunt of the beast as he raised his left arm up, both his left thumb and index finger were placed together as red light gathered around the tip of both fingers.
[Hyperion: Chaotic Field-Crimson Pressure] The ball of red light shot straight for Geb, as it moved, the spatial structure around it began to tremble, a spatial quake generating enough pressure to crush all forms of matter as it passed by. The floor of the ceiling began to give way, the red light made contact with Geb's shield, the force of the pressure pushing against the shield of the Abomination. Leon watched as his Unique technique blasted the Abomination through multiple buildings before it crashed on the ground. The dust cleared away revealing the unharmed Beast, his hulking figure radiating an ominous aura. Leon appeared above the Beast, his sword slashing and thrusting against the shield. Geb was forced on the defense as Leon unleashed dozens of slices, impressed with the sheer durability of the Shield. His Sword clashed against the Shield's surface, sparks pouring out of it as Leon exerted more effort into trying to cut through the shield.
"Give up," Geb said. "His Majesty granted me this Unholy shield, none of your attacks can reach me. I am the Shield that guards His Majesty..."
"Is that so," Leon said with a delighted crazy smile. "I guess I have to put it to the test. Whether I can cut you apart or not. It's been a long time since I had some bacon so forgive me if I take my time to try to make it extra crispy"
"You fool" Geb shouted. [Devouring Rot]
Six dark brownish snake-shaped projectiles rushed from the aura around Geb, their mouth filled with fangs, blasting the spot where Leon stood. Beyond the debris, Leon appeared, taking a deep breath as his eyes focused on the effect the attack had on the ground. That spot had become filled with corrosive acid, strong enough to have burnt through his mana skin protection.
"Come on, Solus. How long are you going to stay in Dusk mode," Leon said to his Divine sword. But there was no answer from the weapon as Leon unleashed an aura technique.
[Flying crescent Moon slash]. A projectile of white slash formed as a crescent moon attacked Geb who easily used his shield to parry it.
"Do you think that a simple mystic technique would work on me," Geb growled. He sent his Knife at Leon who used his sword to change the trajectory of the knife further away from his left side, then sent a thrusting attack for Geb's face. But the Abomination blocked it with his shield again. Leon was getting frustrated as he kept on thrusting his blades, forcing the Abomination into a deadly dance. Solus was a lazy weapon that needed to enter a certain phase for Leon to draw out its power. Right now it was leaving Dusk mode, entering Dawn state, and soon it would reach the Morning phase, but for what Leon needed, he would need the sword to reach the Noon phase.
[Heavenly Radiance- Apollo's net] A golden slash in the shape of a pound key was conjured by Leon's sword art but it did not affect the shield. [Heavenly Radiance-Divine Armament] Three large golden Greatsword was constructed and with a swing of Leon's sword, the three weapons flew at Geb from different angles. As Geb concentrated on the projectiles, Leon used the chance to try and stab the abomination. But Geb was able to see through his plan, activating his other ability.
[Eat] A section of the space where the projectiles were flying through got crushed, and the attack disappeared instantaneously.
"Huh," Leon said. He felt and saw something creeping up on him, so he reacted quickly, moving his body to the side as the ground he was on got crushed and devoured. Leon somersaulted backward as more of the invisible attack devoured the ground he was stepping on. Leon's eyes focused on the mouth-like construct that appeared to eat and consume whatever it set its mouth on. It attacked him again, trying to bite a chunk out of him but thanks to Leon's superior vision, he was able to see the invisible mouth and its trajectory, making him able to dodge it. The wall of a building got devoured leaving a massive hole in the building while Leon leapt through the air landing behind Geb. He delivered a horizontal slash, aiming for the beasts' head but Geb used his Butcher knife to repel the slash.
"Nice ability," Leon said. "That's the Eat ability that belongs to the Were-warthogs species. A racial ability that allows you to project a mouth-like construct that can devour anything. A dangerous ability if it weren't for my eyes."
That Bastard's eyes can infer the nature of my ability. Geb thought. Leon felt Solus leave Dawn mode for the Morning phase, and he couldn't help but grin as his sword began to glow with an intense bright yellow light. Leon unleashed a barrage of flying crescent moon slashes at Geb, this time they were golden crescent moon-shaped slashes, each deflected by Geb's shield. As Leon sent the slashes, he aimed another thrust for the Beast core. The Shield got in the way again, both sword and shield clashing against each other. Leon tried to push hard against the shield, but the invisible barrier that the shield projected was truly durable. Geb felt the Pleiadian's strength pushing against him but only snorted as he used his shield to push the pointy end of the sword vertically up. As he did so, he followed up by swinging his Knife right on the left shoulder of Leon, intending to cut through to his heart. But then there was a flash of yellow light, and Leon was a few feet away from Geb. This time he was breathing heavily, his left shoulder was bleeding from the large gash. Geb's knife had some of Leon's blood on it around the edge of the blade.
"You were slower than I expected. You should have dodged that with that super kinetic visual acuity and movement speed of yours." Geb said. "That eyes of yours must consume a lot more mana than I expected," Geb studied Leon's face as his eyes kept bleeding from the strain that his body was going through. Leon was breathing heavily, the pain in his eyes and body making it hard for him to concentrate. After a while, he dismissed the Hyperion eye, the pain receding a little bit. Leon checked his reserve, noting how much mana he had used up. He had ended up using eighty percent of the mana he came into this cursed land with. Now he only had twenty percent left of his reserve.
"Getting rid of your eyes is not a smart move, Pleiadian," Geb snarled.
"Don't need it anymore," Leon said.
[Hyperion-Chaotic field: Yellow Flash] Leon vanished in a flash of yellow light, zooming through the space around Geb as a beam of yellow light. The Abomination was on guard watching as the light dashed around him, pinging from building to building, the movement of the light so fast that he couldn't make out the shape of the Pleiadian. But Geb still managed to pay attention to how close the light would get to him, knowing that the Pleiadian was trying to find his weak spot where his shield couldn't protect him. He was beginning to understand how the fast movement speed technique of Leon worked. Thanks to his analysis, Geb had concluded that Leon was indeed warping in and out of a special subspace. The yellow light that he produced by moving was an effect of him conjuring a transdimensional pathway, allowing him to move from one location to another incredibly fast without the need to move within any occupied area. He would drop in and out of the real space and the subspace, making it difficult to read or predict his movement. There was also the fact that while he was inside the transdimensional path, Leon became intangible, making it impossible for physical attacks to touch him. All this observation made the technique feel like it was powerful, but in truth, there were also disadvantages to it. The first one is that Leon could only conjure the pathways through his visual perception. The pathways were set through his sight, and once they were set, there was no changing the set path as he was forced to continue on that path and reach his destination. That was the second disadvantage. The third one was that being within the subspace for a long time put a lot of strain on his body, as it was burning through his vitality. Leon could also only use this ability to traverse short to mid-distance according to what his eyes could see, and traversing long distances was impossible without the aid of his Hyperion eyes. It was also why he needed to use his Hyperion eyes alongside this technique for him to be able to efficiently use it without wasting his mana and vitality. But Leon didn't care for that right now. Besides, he had already seen the path to his victory. All that mattered was him reaching that point. He increased his speed, sending multiple slashes at the Abomination who was able to use his shield to protect himself.
[Heavenly radiance- Helios Sun wheel] A surge of yellow energy gushed out of Leon's Divine sword, the Morning phase of Solus strengthening the technique. The attack was released, moving so fast that Geb didn't have time to use his shield against it, as he was getting rid of a slash attack. He was forced to use his butcher knife to parry it but upon contact with the yellow wheel energy projectile, the space around his arm got distorted, and the space around the elbow of the arm got warped, snapping from the rest of the arm due to the nature of the technique. Geb grunted in pain as his lower arm appeared in the air, black blood gushing out of it. Leon jumped out of his yellow pathway, getting into a stance as he pointed both his left thumb and index finger at Geb.
Is he using that red technique again? Geb thought. He put his shield in front of himself ready for the attack but was caught off guard when it was a different technique that Leon used. Rays of blue light gathered instead of the red, the mass of the blue light was denser and heavier than the red, causing an imbalance around the spatial structure within Leon's fingers.
[Hyperion-Chaotic field: Azure sky] As Leon fired the ball of blue light, Geb was caught off guard by the trajectory of the attack. Instead of going straight for him, the ball of blue light flew to the sky messing with the gravitational force and generating an attractive force so strong that the buildings around Leon began to be pulled towards the light. Even Geb's lower arm that was falling began to be pulled back up in the sky towards the light. Geb was able to instantly activate the special ability of his shield, the invisible barrier surrounded him, preventing the suction force of the blue light from pulling him. Leon on the other hand, resigned himself to the attraction, using the great force to reinforce his speed as he used the Yellow flash technique again. This time Leon was so fast that Geb could hardly see any movement nor even a speck of a yellow light. Leon came out of the subspace, landing on the pile of debris that had been crushed and meshed together by the blue ball of light. His legs got into a stance, Solus finally reaching the peak of Noon, the golden light within the crystal translucent blade got darker, shades of darkness tinting the golden light as Leon unleashed a deadly attack.
[Divine sword-Heavenly severing slash] As Leon released his technique, a veil of silence befell the surroundings. It was like time slowed down, a line of darkish yellow slash moved through space going through Geb's shield and his body. The silence lasted for nearly a full two seconds and then cracks began to form within the space around Geb's left arm that held the shield. Like glass breaking, the shield broke apart, one part falling while the other part of the shield, the one with Geb's arm holding it flew through the sky. His left arm was gone, and part of his upper body on his left side had been severed from the rest of the body, black blood rained down as Leon appeared in a yellow flash behind Geb. The Beast spat out blood as he feared his end come to a close.
"That attack...How..." Geb muttered. "If you could do that all along....why...Why didn't you use it sooner,"
"Sorry, but Solus is a lazy girl," Leon said with a smile as he admired the Divine sword that had been passed down through the Haravok family. "She likes to take her time, waking up and getting in the mood only when I put enough effort. I can only use her innate ability when the condition is right." And that condition was for the Sword to reach the Peak of the Noon phase. Once reached, Leon was able to use Solus to cut through anything in existence. That was the Sword's innate ability. The power to sever space itself. It didn't matter how strong one's defense was, nor how invulnerable they were. Solus could cut the space an object occupied, bypassing one's defense like it was never there in the first place. Leon had fully analyzed Geb's invisible barrier with his Hyperion eyes and he knew the only way to beat his defense was to rely on Solus's ability. "I have to say you were strong, Abomination. If it was anyone, you could have easily won against them. Unfortunately for you, I was your enemy. But don't despair. You were more fun than I figured you would be. It was a pleasure to fight you."
"Liar! You could have ended this fight long ago by using that explosive technique you displayed back then," Geb said. He was referring to the supernova technique that Leon had used. Geb knew that his shield would not have been strong enough to protect him from that. The fact that he didn't bother to use it...."You take more risk than I expected Leonard Haravok," Geb couldn't believe that Leon would put his life on the line just to find pleasure in a fight.
"Are you crazy! I can't use Supernova when my companions are here with me," Leon said as he dismissed Solus back inside his Dimensional storage.
"I suppose so," Geb threw up more blood as he looked at his chest that was bleeding badly. His core was gone, pierced through by Leon before he had appeared behind him. His body was disintegrating from the severed part, his time had come to an end. Forgive me, your Majesty. It looks like I failed you. It didn't take long before Geb turned into dust, leaving behind a large Essence stone. As Leon tried to pick the stone, his body was hit with a bit of spasm. He spat out a lot of blood from his mouth. His body racked with an intense pain that nearly drove him mad. He pulled out his flask, and began to drink from it. The beverage did it's work as it numbed the pain through out his body. Leon picked up the essence stone just as the ground shook with so much force. Behind Leon, in the direction of where the infernal engine was, a beam of white light cut through the miasma in the air, the purification process had begun.