FVN Chapter 37: Ancient Greater Demon (2)
Chapter 37: Ancient Greater Demon (2)
Chapter 37: Ancient Greater Demon (2)
Malgathor, the Ebon Mist.
Its true identity was a man-faced centipede—a classical depiction of horror and dread. During the Great Demon War, it terrorised humanity with its grotesque appearance and army-annihilating abilities. The black mist it emitted was enough to blind an entire battlefield or render a city useless. Following that, the Demons, immune to Malgathor's powers, would wreak havoc upon the populace.
The Ebon Mist may not be the most powerful Demon, but it was one of the most dangerous by far.
Even the heroes of the Great Demon War couldn't finish it, so they sealed the menace deep underground in a vacuum chamber so that it could not escape. Given the state of the seal, Malgathor could have remained sleeping for thousands of years to come.
However, Yue and Amon knew the Greater Demon was better off dead than sealed.
"Hold on, let me seal the room."
Yue raised her hands and carefully closed the massive door behind them. Runic seals were placed onto the airtight door, and the exit was again sealed back into its vacuum state. Now, there was no chance of Malgathor's mist from leaving the arena, giving Amon the perfect execution ground to end the dreadful beast once and for all.
"Ready?"
"Do it."
Those three words were enough for Yue and Amon to convey their intentions. The regressor moved her fingers towards the untouched seal of Malgathor while the transmigrator jumped into the air and hovered against all the rules of gravity.
Brilliant silver light trickled down from Yue's fingers onto the crystal pool while a golden Aura surged from Amon's veins and erupted into a coat of golden light.
Cracks formed on the glass seal, which barred Malgathor's escape. The slumbering Demon sensed that something was changing, and its nearly hundred-metre-long body, which had been unmoving for centuries, twitched.
Meanwhile, Amon's Six Suns churned out outrageous amounts of mana, so much so that the temperature of the vacuum chamber rose drastically. The stale and chilly air was replaced with an updraft of intense solar winds. Bane had to stab his dagger onto the floor just to prevent himself from flying, while Yue had the help of Yaru, the Monarch Spider Spirit, to keep her in place.
The cracks were proliferating wildly, and the ancient seal holding the monster back was now on the verge of breaking. In mere moments, the ancient terror would be unleashed back into the world, and the damage it could do if it got out would be incalculable.
Alas, Amon wasn't going to let it reach that stage.
Right before the cracks shattered the seal, Amon's sword struck violently.
Vast amounts of Solar mana gushed into stale air, creating an illusion that the Sun had risen within the depths of this dungeon. Gravity seemed to work in the opposite direction as everything in the chamber was now magically drawn to Amon and the massive phantom Sun. Heat and energy was condensed into a singular point, and the mana that the young Solaris Knight had been holding back so delicately was now being unleashed in all of its righteous fury.
And in less than a second...
The Sun fell.
BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!
The entire dungeon shook wildly. As if a nuclear explosion had been detonated underneath the soil, an earthquake reverberated through the entire forest, sending unsuspecting animals into a panic. Birds flew from the nests while deer leapt in fear, unaware of the destruction happening dozens of kilometres beneath their feet.
Even the ones present at the scene couldn't believe their eyes.
Bane, a Spymaster with decades of experience, could only drop his jaw in awe at the pure carnage one Knight could create. The mana Amon unleashed was unreal, and few on the planet could ever match his vast reserves. But the actual phenomenon that mystified Bane wasn't the mana Amon released.
"Solaris Mystic Arts... Heaven's Fall... To think that I would have finally gotten to see it with my own eyes."
Once again, Bane was reminded of how talented his patrons were. Not that he had ever forgotten it, but seeing Amon's abilities reignited the wariness of the duo.
The Solaris Mystic Arts was the trump card of the Solaris House, and only the cream of the crop could hope to master the difficult technique. Even with the dragon-blessed bloodline, few could handle the physical stress one had to go through to even use the simplest Solaris Mystic Arts.
A palatial phantom of a golden sanctuary enveloped the entire dungeon. The Greater Demon, which had become black mist, mysteriously formed back into its centipede form and screamed in agony once more. Flaming tongues seared the black exoskeleton of the monster and melted down its hard exterior within seconds.
Bane dropped his jaw at the stunning turn of events and continued his commentary with a renewed zeal.
"Solstice Sanctuary... Yet another Solaris Mystic art. I'm truly blessed today."
Much like its name suggests, the Solstice Sanctuary changes the area where the caster fights into a Sanctuary blessed with Solar mana. It greatly increased the effectiveness of the user's powers while, at the same time, diminishing their opponent's.
It was one of the more difficult Solaris Mystic arts to learn, but if one could master the technique, it was a tool that could even slay Dragons.
Malgathor writhed in pain, slamming its serpentine body around like a fish suffering out of water. But Amon was merciless. He continued to strike at the monster's body, cleaving its scales with each incremental strike.
Golden Aura sparkled through the chamber and overcame the black mist which spewed from Malgathor.
It was a one-sided slaughter. Even Bane felt bad for the monster, given how effortlessly and ruthlessly Amon was carving the Greater Demon like a birthday cake. However, his sympathies didn't last long as the beast finally gathered its wits and retaliated with a visceral roar.
Once again, it split into a black mist and spread across the sealed dungeon. The smoke congregated into minor astral beings with humanoid faces and blades for arms. Some mist turned into a thundercloud, filling the entire arena with a heavy, dark atmosphere.
The darkness instantly overwhelmed what little light the trio had, effectively blinding them. That was the danger of Malgathor. For humans, who relied heavily on their eyes, the lack of vision made them sitting ducks.
Fortunately, the darkness wasn't going to be there for long.
"Dawn."
Amon's mana rose to unprecedented heights as the Sun began to rise. Yue and Bane unconsciously squinted and held their palms over their eyes to block the light. But the Sun that Amon created was blinding. It continued to grow and burn the thundercloud above their heads. Light was restored to Yue and Bane in no time, giving them a clear view of the aftermath.
The man-faced centipede was convulsing on the floor, its human face snarling like a wild beast. Its black scales were now all charred and its superior body was in tatters. It glared at the person responsible for its sorry state and growled:
"Riadle!!! Jeaoll!!! Liasmen!!!"
It began speaking words that none of them could understand. It could have been the Demon language or a lost language used by the ancient humans, but it didn't matter. Everyone could feel the intent behind Malgahtor's words.
Hate.
It hated Amon for inflicting so much pain upon it.
And it was hell-bent on getting revenge.
Malgathor once again turned itself into a billowing black mist. However, it was far more concentrated than before, as if the monster was burning its own life force to strengthen its power. Thick miasma, which melted stone and metal, was now flowing endlessly from its dissipating body, and that wasn't all.
The black mist turned into heavy thunderclouds above Amon's head. Humanoid creatures with blades for arms all rushed towards Amon like an army sieging a fort. And the most terrifying of all...
Malgathor's human face had increased a hundredfold, becoming a flying colossal face amid the thick Ebon Mist.
"I knew it wasn't going to be that easy."
Amon sighed heavily while shaking his head. Needless to say, he didn't underestimate the Greater Demon, but the fact that it was still alive after taking so many of his hits did put a damper on his mood.
Nevertheless...
"Let's just kill it."