Chapter 182 Trap
'Blue Armed Demon Bloodline acquired.'
'Yellow Beak Demon Bloodline acquired.'
'Gorringer Tiger demon Bloodline acquired.'
Dorian smiled as he looked at the three notifications, and then out at the walls around him.
The scattered remains of a deathly army of Desiccated Demons could be seen, decorating the bulwarks and stone pathways. Faint reverberations of energy echoed in the normally still air, giving the battlefield an ominous hum.
Dorian's army had made short work of the Demons. Thanks to the Shades' tight coordination and teamwork, they suffered no casualties, though a few of the front line fighters were injured and currently resting as they recovered.
Dorian made sure to go from body to body, absorbing what he could. He disguised his movements, acting as if he was checking to be sure that all of the Demonic remnants were truly dead. A few of the bodies already had their Soul Spell Matrixes absorbed when he reached them.
While Mello couldn't reconstruct their Bloodlines, he could still absorb the latent energy from their remnant Soul Spell Matrix.
'Still, I managed to acquire all the Bloodlines I could here.' There were only three main types of Demons here.
Unlike actual blood, Dorian could only absorb the main Bloodline from a Soul Spell Matrix. Remnant Bloodlines that might exist in the original Demon's blood were nowhere to be seen. Still, the haul was a very decent one.
"Holy Highlord, should we begin to move in on the castle?" Fabian's familiar voice cut through the air as he walked up to Dorian, a long spear in his hands. An eager smile could be seen on the warrior's face as he respectfully nodded at Dorian.
Dorian had relied heavily on twisting Fate in the past battle. As a result of that, he had made some truly extraordinary and fantastic kills, some that looked as if they should've been impossible.
His maneuvers had not gone unnoticed. Every Shade in the army was taking time to glance at him with adoration in their eyes, even the ones brought here by Mello. Fabian seemed to be basking in 'Lord Inigo's' glory. He was quite an odd character.
"Hmm. Fabian, tell me more about these castles. You told me you'd gathered intelligence about them." Dorian took a moment to glance over at the castle.
The ominous feeling he got whenever he looked at the castle proper remained. He also felt an odd draw towards this castle, a desire to go inside and find something.
These two feelings were very conflicting and made him suspicious.
Of course, his most pressing need still existed.
He needed to find treasure so he could afford the medicine he needed to heal Helena and escape. He also needed to play the part of Lord Inigo to maintain his cover.
He couldn't exactly just turn around and leave now.
"This is one of the Seven Outer Castles that circles the surface of Moria. Several times one or more of these castles has been virtually destroyed, wiped from existence. They always seem to come back, however, through some strange, abstruse Magic that no one understands." Fabian began to point as he spoke, looking all around. The Captain had put himself in charge of information gathering before they left, talking to all the other Shades to merge all the information everyone knew about Moria together.
Seeing as everyone here was someone prepared to take on the glorious mission of cleansing Moria, quite a few people here knew several things about the Exotic World. When everything was combined together, a very full picture of what they were dealing with could be seen.
"There is one other castle. The Emperor's Castle, located within the center of the circle that the Seven Outer Castles form. It has never been destroyed, due to the odd, distorted field that surrounds it. Legend has it that the treasure store of the Emperor lies in this castle, untouched by Shade hand."
As Dorian heard this tidbit, he felt his heart stir.
A treasure store left behind by an Emperor… Surely that would be more than enough to get whatever he needed to heal and protect Helena… He nodded sharply at the idea.
"As you can no doubt feel, Holy Highlord, the Exotic World of Moria has almost no access to the Laws of the Universe. Casting Spells and using the power of Law is still possible, but the effects are greatly weakened." Fabian continued to explain as he saw Dorian nod.
"In range of the Emperor's Castle, however… It is impossible to access any of the Laws. Magic cannot be used, even powerful Artifacts are temporarily unable to be activated. It is as if energy itself is frozen there." Fabian's voice contained an edge of warning as he spoke here, alongside frustration as he continued,
"Only the power of one's physique matters there. And even for the strongest of Shades, those that can train their physique to an extremely powerful level are very rare. Even I, as a King Class Mystic Martial Artist, have middling physical strength at best. One and all, the vast majority of Shades, and most other Humanoids, depend on the power of Law." Fabian sighed and held his hands out to the side as if it couldn't be helped.
'Laws cannot be accessed at all while in there? Huh…' Dorian's eyes flashed.
'A place where only physique mattered, where Magic and Artifacts don't work… Is it some type of dead zone? Would Abilities work there?' As he thought it over, a thought struck him.
'My transformations come with some extremely powerful physiques. Even if I can't use the power of Law, I should still be able to handle myself. In fact, I am very well suited for a situation like this.' While the loss of his Perfect Body Ability, and various Laws, would impact his strength, it wouldn't' be as dire as it would be for the Shades.
'If it's like that… I have to give it a try.' He mentally came to a conclusion. If the opportunity arose, he would take on the final castle and actually try to cleanse the Demonic Ruins.
'But first…'
"Alright, let's take on this castle."
"Wooo!"
"Charge forward!"
The Shades in Dorian's army cheered, their enthusiasm as strong as ever. While some of them were still recovering from injuries and all had spent energy, they all had plenty of strength to spare. Every Shade here had come to Moria fully prepared, with either Pills or restorative medicine, or practice at using techniques that didn't wear them out fully.
"Scouts, go in first! Keep a coordinated entry and sound the alarm if you encounter any enemies or traps!" Fabian took command, his voice authoritative as he organized the invasion. Various Shades split off into groups as they leapt down from the castle walls, approaching the inner courtyard and front entrance of the foreboding castle.
Dorian's eyes flashed as he looked at it, looking deeper towards the dangerous Aura he could sense. Even though the other Shades couldn't sense it, they doubtless were aware that the castle itself would contain great danger.
Without hesitation, Dorian quickly joined the rest of the Shades, his face expressionless as he moved forward.
.. .. .. .. .. .. ..
On a planet not far from Moria, a very different scene was taking place…
A large red stone plateau stood upright in the middle of a vast ocean. This plateau was worn and weathered by the coarse weather of the sea, piercing more than 100 meters into the air from the tumultuous waves below. A stiff breeze blew across this plateau, rustling through the air.
On this plateau, if one looked closely, a small building could be seen, one that was carved directly from the plateau itself. This building blended into the rock, practically invisible unless one was right next to it. A few windows opened the single-story rocky building up to the outside air, allowing sunlight to waver in.
Inside the building, there was a large round table with 7 seats placed equally around it. The table, the seats, and everything in here was carved from the same red stone, worn by time and the ocean breeze.
At this exact moment, strange green light began to flicker in this abandoned, random building out in the middle of nowhere.
WHOOSH
Sparks of green light fluttered into the air. Gradually, energy began to fluctuate, the entire inside of the building starting to glow. This energy was powerful and vitriolic.
If a wise onlooker was to describe it in a single word, it would inevitably be…
Demonic.
As the energy flooded into the room, however, the powerful glow found itself unable to escape the confines of the building. Despite there being several open windows, not even a hint of energy could leave the stone chambers.
WHOOSH
WHOOSH
WHOOSH
A flurry of noise rang out as several figures abruptly appeared, out of nowhere.
Five separate, darkly robed and vaguely Humanoid figures, each sitting in one spot or another around the carved table. All of them wore blank, white masks, hiding their identity in case prying eyes could see them.
The Magic that was cast around this building made it impossible for any noise or light to escape, but certain powerful types of scrying Fate Magic would be capable of seeing through the protective barrier surrounding the stone structure. Even the strongest Fate Magic Spells would be limited to what was visible, however, unable to eavesdrop.
Two seats were conspicuously empty.
"Sigh. Why is Duke Orbit not here?" A robed and masked figure sitting on one side complained, a feminine voice full of irritation. Despite her annoyance, her every word drawled with a promise of seduction.
"When does he ever show up on time, Danielle? The oaf takes his Law of Sloth practice far too literally." A large, burly looking figure proclaimed from beneath his robes, shaking his head.
"Fifteen is absent as well? He has chosen to not report in? I still don't trust our newest member." An elderly, wavering voice broke in, motioning at one of the other empty seats.
"It is as I reported before, and Fifteen is in the same lot as us. He has a Demonic Inheritance of his own. I already said I was fine with continuing to use fake names when he's present, for now at least." The voice of Hallow, the warrior that was currently hunting for the Wrath Inheritor who just so happened to be Dorian, echoed out.
"He's engaged with the target I now believe to be an Inheritor of Wrath."
"Oh, so we have found the Inheritor?" The last of the five figures, a man with a sharp voice, hidden behind a black robe and blank mask, cut in.
"Yes, but there's trouble." Hallow responded with a sigh, looking over at the other members of the Council of Demons.
"The Inheritor has been found but… I no longer believe he has good intentions." Hallow began, and was then promptly interrupted.
"What do you mean, he doesn't have good intentions?" The sultry female voice was full of sharp intelligence as she cut in.
"Control yourself, Mistress of Lust. Let the man talk!" The elderly man of the group rebuked the female, his voice scathing.
"You dare to lecture me on control, Baron Radishow? You let your Gluttony control you more often than no-"
"Listen here, bitc-"
"EVERYONE! PLEASE!" Hallow's voice burst out across the room, full of anger as he broke in,
"This is vitally important to the success of our kind! Our plans to transform the Shade Race could falter here at the midway point if we do not act quickly!"
An abrupt silence coated the room as all the robed figures froze, turning to look at Hallow, shocked.
"I have reason to believe that the Inheritor of Wrath is currently heading to Moria. In fact, he may already be there now." Hallow held a hand up, cutting off replies before they could interrupt them as he continued,
"No, not to accept the Inheritance of Wrath there. Or at least, not just that. But instead… he is traveling there to destroy the Inheritances." Hallow's words boomed with force as he explained,
"The being I believe to be the Inheritor is a Shade known as Lord Inigo Montoya. He has currently gathered a sizable army, full of Lord and King Class experts, and has headed to Moria with the intent of cleansing it. His militant force has attracted considerable attention and indirectly received the support of the Church of Light." Hallow's eyes flashed underneath the blank white mask he wore as he continued,
"With his understanding of one of the Seven Great Laws, he will be able to get past the defenses that would stop non-believers. He has become an inside agent, one that brought an entire holy army with him. Something like this has never happened before and was never a part of our plans." Hallow finished with one more line, his words calm,
"And if we don't stop him and his army… then it is my belief that Moria, and the Inheritances on there, left by the Demon Emperor himself, will perish."
For a few moments, no one talked.
A moment after, pandemonium erupted.
"What?! An entire army?!"
"Inigo Montoya? I've heard of his tale. HE is the Inheritor of Wrath? The darling of the Church of Light?!"
"We must act immediately! We cannot risk the Inheritances being destroyed, not when we still have yet to convert enough Shades!"
"The Black Elder is right, if we lose the Inheritances, our plans to infiltrate and transform the Shade Race will falter. We will be forced to return to the ways of old, waiting for warriors to sense one of the Seven Great Laws without the assistance offered by the Ruins of Moria."
Everyone seemed to be speaking at once, voices bouncing back and forth as the rest of the Demon Council realized the seriousness of the situation.
"However. HOWEVER!" Hallow butted in, his voice booming as he drew everyone's attention.
"Fifteen is on Moria, trying to stop the false Inheritor. I, myself, am closing in as we speak, and will arrive on planet soon. Unfortunately, there are several King Class fighters, and a vast number of Lord Class warriors and Wizards, with the false Inheritor." Hallow waved at the other members of the Council.
"We have so little time left, the options are limited. By the time we gathered and sent any number of our subordinates over, everything would already be settled." Moria wasn't a world close to the home base of any of the members of the Demon Council.
"I'd like to suggest that all of you use the Castle Lodestone you obtained when you obtained part of an Inheritance to warp through Chaotic Space to Moria. The Council must act personally to preserve our place in the future." Hallow nodded slowly as he looked at them all.
"I am close enough that I don't need to shatter mine. I should arrive in the vicinity of the planet tomorrow."
Everyone sitting around the table exchanged glances.
"To shatter the Castle Lodestone for something like this… single-use items that are capable of instantly warping someone away are extremely rare. It's a bit of a waste to use it on this…" The burly figure spoke up, his voice hesitant.
"Damal, if the Ruins of the Emperor are destroyed, the Lodestone will fall to dust anyway. It will serve no use at all then, in addition to all our years of planning and effort coming to a dead end." Hallow sharply pointed out.
"How certain are you that this Lord Inigo is what you say he is?" Danielle, the Mistress of Lust, jumped in, her sultry voice tinged with a hint of worry.
Hallow sighed.
"The false Inheritor is a veritable savant, possessing a mind capable of the most delicate subterfuge. His intellect and foresight are incredible. He has played me, the Church, and everyone else all like a fiddle. I am certain he is what I say he is." Hallow shook his head,
"If it weren't for the overwhelming strength we possess as a group, I would fear to face up against him. His actions, his skill and manipulation… if I hadn't gotten lucky and happened upon his trail by chance, it's quite possible he would have remained completely undetected."
"All I can say is that we absolutely must face this threat down immediately." Hallow's voice grew cold.
"This 'Lord Inigo' is a genius whose depth of knowledge and confidence cannot be underestimated."
.. .. .. .. .. .. ..
'Oh god, I have no idea what I'm doing. This is all going to end horribly.' Dorian covered his face with his hands as he looked out at the ridiculous situation in front of him.
It had all happened so quickly after they entered the castle, he could scarcely believe the situation he was now in.
He was standing in a large bedroom, covered in silk carpets, a silken bed, fancy furniture and pillows, all coated with friendly colors. The mysterious Outer Castle on Moria that was filled with a foreboding Aura was nowhere to be seen.
Three gorgeous, scantily clad human women could be seen in this room alongside Dorian.
One girl lounging on a couch and wearing nothing but a pair of pink panties and a scarf. She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes that looked at Dorian with deep desire.
Another was resting on the silk bed, a redhead covered in freckles, wearing a dress that was so skimpy and transparent, Dorian wondered if it even qualified to be called a dress. Her voluptuous figure was visible through it, doing nothing to hide her charms.
The last girl was sitting down in a plush chair near him, a brunette wearing a pretty green bra, consciously spreading her legs open. Dorian resisted the urge to blush as he saw this, mentally cursing.
'I have to do WHAT to these girls to escape this Magical Array trap?!'
.