Chapter 191 Stand
After being rudely kicked out of the Wrath Inheritance, Dorian set about concentrating on the Sealing Tube. As he was walking towards it, he felt energy ripple out in the air.
WHOOSH
Two figures could be seen smoothly walking through a portal, clad in brown protective armor. Neither of the figures had so much as a scratch on their person, the gear they wore apparently protecting them fully.
"Baron Radishow, Mistress Priscilla." Dorian nodded at both of them and then continued, not giving them time to respond,
"I will now prepare to unleash the Sealing Tube here. Be on your guard!" He didn't want to give them much time to think and doubt his story. He was confident he could fake it, but if they found a hole or something he wasn't able to explain…
"Of course, Great Disciple!" The Baron's voice was respectful as he checked over the armor he was wearing, nodding.
"As you command, Lord Obelisk." Mistress Priscilla responded, bowing slightly. Her luscious figure was barely hidden by the full set of brown armor, Artifacts designed to protect against buffeting spatial waves.
Dorian reached the Sealing Tube and hovered his hand over it. Immediately, it began to react, energy particles fluttering in the air. He didn't waste any time as he went to town, latching his hand onto the Sealing Tube and preparing to pull it out.
In his mind, Dorian visualized the world around him, once again. He saw the same thing as before, mountain-sized chains, thousands of them, all bearing down and Sealing the world of Moria.
'Yep, once more, a noticeable decrease in chains.' Dorian ignored most of the awe-inspiring vision as he counted the massive chains, able to sense all of them. While there were still a huge number of chains Sealing Moria, many of the original ones were gone, snapped and shattered into dust by his actions.
"Hup!" He grunted as he began to pull the Sealing Tube out. Many of the chains began to tighten and grow taut, just like before. The energy in the real world fluctuated, setting the air to shaking.
As Mistress Priscilla and Baron Radishow saw all of this, the duo began a quiet conversation. When they spoke, they shielded their words with energy, keeping the conversation between the two of them. Doing so was rather strenuous in their current environment.
"Did he interact with the Wrath Inheritance?" Baron Radishow's eyes gleamed as he cast his senses into the air. The fluctuating energy of the world didn't startle him. He had just first hand witnessed Dorian do the same thing at his own Castle of Gluttony and was prepared for it.
"…"
"I can't tell…" He grunted, his voice calm. The fanatic look in his eyes was unfeigned, but a layer of cunning intelligence could now be seen, lurking within.
"The energy in the surroundings is too violent." He motioned at the world around him, his reedy arms shaking slightly.
"According to Hallow, Lord Inigo is a traitor that uses the Law of Wrath." Priscilla broke in, her words harsh. Her eyes were like diamonds, beautiful to behold but sharp and tough in essence.
"Yes… For these two to show up at the same time, it can only mean one thing." Radishow's entire face contorted as he looked at Dorian.
"The traitor must have broken whatever Seals were holding back the Great Demon Disciple, likely without knowing the consequences of his actions. When he learned of him, he returned here to hunt the Great Demon Disciple down, to stop him from freeing the Demon Emperor!" His voice was supremely confident as he reached a conclusion,
"He is likely a plant from the Church of Light! There's a reason the Church spread his name! He must be one of theirs!" Radishow wasn't entirely sure why the Church acted as it did, but if he assumed that 'Lord Inigo' was one of their agents, studying the Law of Wrath at their direction, everything made a lot more sense.
If Dorian had been able to hear, he would've internally praised the Light, Chaos, or whoever was available, for the logic the Demonic Shades used.
At its core, it made some sense. Dorian's physical form was undeniably Demonic, as was the Aura his Soul Spell Matrix gave off. Things like that could not be faked. The fact that Anomalies could transform so fully and perfectly, like Dorian had, was not a well-known fact.
Even more than that… Dorian had well and truly studied and used multiple Demonic Laws. The importance of such a thing to the various members of the Demonic Council could not be underestimated.
Only a single figure in history was known to have mastered multiple Demonic Laws. The Demon Emperor. Logically, it made perfect sense that a hidden or long lost disciple of the Demon Emperor from hundreds of years ago, a successor, would have mastered multiple Demonic Laws as well.
After all… why else would Dorian be here, if not for what he stated?
If the Demonic Shades knew that Dorian was merely here to grab some treasures and make some money, picking up a few powerful Inheritances on the way, they might have died directly from rage.
'Tighter… tighter…' Dorian pulled the tube out, his senses tingling as the chains he envisioned stretched to lengths they weren't designed for. Creaking noises echoed out in his vision as they trembled.
The energy in the real world reached a fluctuating crescendo. Once again, nothing physically changed, but to anyone in the nearby area, it felt as if the apocalypse had come. The oscillating layers of energy made everything confusing.
Even the two Demonic Shades were shaken up by it, despite already witnessing it once before.
"Incredible…"
"He's at the focal point… the strain…"
The two members of the Demonic Council exchanged glances, their eyes wide and impressed once more.
SNAP
WHOOSH
Abruptly, everything returned to normal.
The abrupt change was as jarring as usual, the mental image of Moria and massive chains vanishing from his vision as he fully pulled the Sealing Tube out.
The full process actually took around 40-45 minutes, though when he fully concentrated, it felt like just a few seconds. The pushback from the Sealing Tube and the effort required made any progress at all extremely slow. Quite some time had already passed since the first Sealing Tube had been released, almost two hours.
"Ahh." Dorian let out a relieved breath as he stood up, feeling the energy of the world fluctuate. Once more, the Laws of the Universe became a bit stronger and more effective, slowly pushing back against the stagnant air.
RIP
At the same time, a rippling portal appeared, floating right above the sword that was pierced through the ground. This portal shimmered with light, glowing as energy moved within it.
"Three Seals down, Four to go." He said out loud, nodding at Priscilla and Baron Radishow,
"We grow closer to un-Sealing my Master."
"Excellent work, Great Demon Disciple!"
"We shall follow you and guard against any attacks! The Shade that's hunting you is bound to show up eventually." The two responded in kind, their voices eager. It seemed they had been completely won over by his act.
WHOOSH
Without hesitating, Dorian stepped into the portal.
This time, he activated the Law of Gluttony, feeling a cool wave of energy sweep across his body, forming a protective barrier. He activated his Perfect Body Ability at the same time, ready to defend himself as he vanished.
Energy buffeted him, smashing against his body as he teleported from one point to another.
This time around, he wasn't hit with any particularly damaging spatial waves, emerging from the portal unscathed.
"Hmm?" He looked around where he had just landed as he gathered his bearings. It appeared to be a large treasury, of all things, with several dozen large chests stacked against a wall. The room was large, with sweeping grey stone walls and an arched ceiling.
'Oh, the chests are all carved stone too, not real ones.' He noted, mildly surprised.
"Who are you?" A sharp voice cut through Dorian's thoughts, startling him as a figure seemed to appear out of thin air. A Shade covered in a veil of shadows, dressed in a set of black garments and wearing a blank, white mask that Dorian couldn't see past. A rippling, King Class Aura emerged off of him as his voice shook dangerously,
"How did you get here?!" The portal that had brought him here had vanished shortly after he arrived.
"I am Lord Obelisk, Disciple of the Demon Emperor, here on a mission to un-Seal and revive him." Dorian twisted on Fate as he spoke, giving his voice the most Demonic look possible. This, combined with his appearance and the multiple Auras he emitted as he flashed his Demonic Laws, was incredibly convincing.
His words boomed out, shaking the air itself.
"Huh?!" The masked figure stuttered, his King Class Aura freezing as he stared.
"It's all true, Kandor." The familiar voice of Priscilla, the Mistress of Lust, echoed out as she and Baron Radishow arrived, still clad in the brown, protective gear that allowed them to safely teleport.
Several minutes passed as the two explained everything to the third member of the Demonic Council, a Shade known as Kandor that studied the Law of Greed. When Dorian saw this, everything made a bit more sense. The reason he missed detecting the powerful Shade likely had to do with some type of power related to the soul. The Law of Greed greatly enhanced the strength of one's soul.
As they talked, Dorian scanned the treasury, eventually finding what he was looking for.
'Aha! The Greed Inheritance!' He saw a collection of symbols carved into the ground, one that resonated with his soul. As he saw it, however, he frowned slightly.
'…if I go in there, will the bubble kick me out because I already have that Law?' A sinking suspicion filled his heart.
He walked over to the array, his eyes narrowed. He knelt down by it while the members of the Demonic Council were still talking, hovering his hand over it.
He blinked.
WHOOSH
The world around him blurred and vanished. A moment later, he found himself in a-
'NOPE!'
Before he could even mentally process where he had been transported to, a loud, glee-filled shout echoed in his mind as he was instantly kicked out of the Inheritance Array.
WHOOSH
Dorian blinked, finding himself exactly where he had been just a moment ago, kneeling down by the Greed Inheritance.
'That son of a bi-'
"Lord Obelisk?" Dorian stood up smoothly as he heard a voice call out.
Baron Radishow had finished talking to the other Council member and had waved at him.
"Yes, I was just looking over Master's Inheritance. Where is the Sealing Tube? We must begin immediately, stand watch for the vile Lord Inigo. He is likely to attack, if not here, then somewhere during the process!" Dorian called out, his eyes full of murderous passion.
As the three Council members heard and felt this, they all looked at Dorian with a new sense of appreciation.
'He clearly wants to annihilate that evil Lord Inigo just as much as we do!'
Dorian, in the meanwhile, made a mental vow, his eyes sending out an evil light, befitting a Demon,
'Just you wait, you damned bubble. Let me see if I have any Porcupine Bloodlines, then we will see who gets the last laugh…'
.. .. .. .. .. ..
"By the orders of Duke Barmo, the woman known as Helena is hereby under arrest for questioning! Step aside!"
Outside of the Royal House Inn, a confrontation was currently happening. Hundreds of civilians, travelers, hunters, and experts could be seen in the streets, all watching with eager eyes as the drama before them unfolded.
Several dozen Shades dressed in stately blue armor could be seen, standing outside near the front of the inn. They wore the colors of the Duke of Shadow, giving off powerful, Lord Class Auras. A veritable army that had been prepared ahead of time.
The Royal House Inn was a resplendent inn, a large multi-storey building made from fine wood and stone, magically enhanced. It had several large sections and took up several lots of space in the inner city.
Behind these armored Shades, a Shade wearing a long green robe could be seen, watching everything. That Shade was none other than the speaker that had announced Helena's alleged crimes to the city, the Shadow Captain Kanto Ren.
Standing opposite the Shadow Captain was a small army of Shades, all with their arms crossed as they stared back. The Moria Liberation Force that had just recently returned.
At the head of this force, Captain Fabian stood with his arms crossed. Flanking him were Captain Horvold and Captain Ayra.
"You are asking me to step aside?" Fabian's elderly body shivered slightly as a powerful King Class Aura of Might burst from him, shaking the air.
"Fabian of the Spear. I know of you." A ragged and dark, malicious King Class Aura blasted out from Kanto Ren in return, powerful and mighty. This Aura was powerful, stronger than the Aura of Might that Fabian had released by at least half its power. The Aura of a powerful expert, at Late or close to Late King Class.
"If you do not step aside, you, and all the Shades behind you, will die." His voice was cool,
"You are harboring the wife of a traitor, a fugitive. That man has given up what it means to be a member of the Shade Commune, wedding a vile Vampire while we are at war, misleading the innocent. No deeds he attempts can make up for his betrayal." Kanto continued,
"By standing by him and his traitor wife, you are forsaking the Commune! You will all be labelled traitors and hunted as dogs, the honor of your families stained and torn down." His voice echoed out, rippling across the city,
"Is that the future you want?" He continued, speaking several lines,
"Are all of you content to that end?"
"For your children to grow up without fathers or mothers? To leave behind a legacy stained with dishonor?"
Kanto's gaze blistered as it ran across the Shades that just returned from Moria. His eyes and words were extremely impactful. Many of the Shades that had joined the Moria Liberation Force were experts with families they had left back home.
While none of them were from any powerful organizations or famous families, they all had their own loved ones to consider. The knife Kanto had thrown cut deep as the expressions on many of the stalwart Shades sank.
Fabian stepped forward, his Aura of Might trembling, as he faced the Shadow Captain. The other Shades remained back, even the other two Captains. Whether it was from a sense of respect for Fabian, or for other reasons, only they knew.
"While that man risks his life, fighting against Demons and cleansing Moria itself, the Blighted Land of Demons, he entrusted me with a simple task." Fabian's hands trembled,
" 'Protect my wife.' "
Fabian tapped his Spatial Ring, bringing out a long, gleaming spear, one he held aloft in his hands. His hands no longer trembled in the face of the pressure he was facing. Instead, they were perfectly calm.
"I cannot speak for everyone. I can only speak for myself." His voice was peaceful,
"My name is Fabian Altraz Bourdan." He looked Kanto Ren dead in the eye,
"I will die before you touch even a strand of her hair."
.