Chapter 248 - Darkness Incarnate (6)

<Ha!>

Reygus laughed at the absurdity of it all.

"It is different."

Atein was firm with his words.

"I'm not trying to restrict human nature or their free will. I just want to push human made laws and institutions to the extreme."

"The important part is their potential, Reygus. It didn't directly messy with human nature, so I didn't kill their potential……."

Atein knew he couldn't convince Reygus. He shook his head at this unfortunate fact.

-Come Dragon Demon weapon! Dream's Apostle!

This particular Dragon Demon weapon had been the key to defeating the god of Rest. It had the ability of dominating the spirit world and mental world. It had delivered victory to Atein when he had faced the god of Rest.

Ahhhhhhh……!

After emerging onto the surface world, the god of Rest opened his mouth. The sound that emanated from him sounded like beautiful music. It was so beautiful that almost everyone became mesmerized by it.

In a flash, everyone on the battlefield became absorbed with the song. Their eyes became unfocused as if they were drunk.

The fierce battle stopped as the will to fight bled away. There were only a few that were capable of shielding their minds with their power. Everyone else stood still. They looked comfortable as if they were in the arms of their mother.

Koohng!

The one to break this effect was Atein. He brought down his staff called the Dream's Apostle. The head of the staff was decorated with the moon and the stars.

An unseen power reverberated outwards as it awoke his troops, who were drunk on the power of the song. Atein's clone shouted as he raised the Dream's Apostle.

"Do not be mesmerized by it. Suppress him. My power will protect you all."

Reygus charged towards Atein's clone. However, a darkness erupted in front of him.

Pah-ahhhhng!

Another clone appeared from within the Darkness. The clone was destroyed in the process of stopping Reygus, but another clone had rushed right behind the first one. The clone hit Reygus, and Reygus hit the ground.

<Koohk……!>

"I'll just kill you all here. There is no meaning to recovering the seal now."

The battle, which had come to a halt, raged again.

Kairen cursed.

"Shit! That bastard, Reygus!"

When Reygus decided to move, Kairen's plan blew up in his face.

Four days.

They just needed four days, and all their preparations would have been completed.

The selected members, who would be participating in the upcoming battle, had been moved to the northern border of the Yudusk kingdom. It was also the border of the Plain of Darkness. The only thing left was to set up a supply line, and they would be able to find a path that'll allow them to invade the Plain of Darkness in one fell swooop…..

However, Reygus' move had messed everything up.

This didn't mean they weren't going to do anything. Kairen kept cursing Reygus' name as he quickly readjusted his plan.

"The final battle will be fought today!"

It didn't matter if they didn't have all their supplies. It couldn't be helped if they were unable to mobilize all their troops. Since events had turned out like this, this was the moment they had to make their move.

Azell snickered.

"This reminds me of the old days."

"Something similar to this happened before?"

"Almost nothing turns out as planned. Above all else, you were the one that kept information back from Reygus. You didn't fully flesh out the plan."

Reygus' party held a big role in Kairen's plan. They were supposed to draw out Atein's Darkness Incarnate by attacking a seal. Basically, his plan was to spread out Atein's power.

Kieren had lost his Dragon Demon weapon, so Reygus' party could use Extreme Extinction only once more. After drawing out the Darkness Incarnate, Kairen didn't expect much from Reygus' group. In the end, they would lose a significant portion of their power through the loss of the Dragon Demon weapon.

This was why they had to act now even if their preparation wasn't complete. If not now, they would have to fight a much scarier version of Atein.

Kairen glared at Azell.

"If I explained it all to him, do you really think he wouldn't have caused an accident?"

"Mmm. Well… There's no guarantee that he wouldn't have caused an accident."

Azell scratched his cheek.

They were flying through the sky.

Azell was using the Storm Dragon's Wing to fly by himself. He also manifested his White Flame Phoenix. Kairen and ten other members were able to ride atop it. Moreover, nets were made through telekinesis by magicians, and they were hanging off the White Flame Phoenix. These nets carried supplies and men. There were over 50 men being carried within the net.

Everyone was hanging off of the White Flame Phoenix, but they couldn't complain. This was the only method that'll allow them to enter the Plain of Darkness in one fell swoop.

In fact, Arrieta was doing the same thing with the Crying Phoenix.

Kairen let out a sigh.

"Hoo-ooh. We have to hit the Plain of Darkness with only 100 men. We've lost our mind."

"You were the one that came up with this plan, so you shouldn't say such words. Moreover, you said 100 men, but that's a bit…."

There were a total of 87 members heading into the Plain of Darkness. This number included Azell's party. They were all elite members, but it was extremely foolhardy to attack the Plain of Darkness with their number.

However, all the remaining Guardian Shadows remaining on the surface of this world were heading towards a point determined by Kairen. They would all gather there.

A significant number of Guardian Shadows were destroyed in the ongoing fight, but there were over eight thousand of them left. It was thanks to the order given by Kairen when he had first gained command of the Guardian Shadows. He had turned half their numbers into observers.

"Now we……."

Azell looked at his surrounding as he spoke.

Rough terrain was below him, and he could see a white plain coming up ahead.

For a very long time, humans believed that all the evils of the world was sealed in this demonic land. It was the Plain of Darkness.

"We have to settle this fight."

Saibein groaned.

"This is a mess!"

It was as he said.

The fight between Reygus and Atein was altering the terrain around them. As Atein fought Reygus, the fight with the god of Rest was going on in parallel.

It was a problem, because both sides were split into fighting two battles.

While the Dragon Demon King worshippers fought the god of Rest, they were also fighting Saibein, Niberis and Kieren. From the perspective of the Dragon Demon King worshippers, they had to stop Reygus' party from using the Extreme Extinction at all cost..

Despite fighting battles at two fronts, the Dragon Demon King worshippers were holding up pretty well.

It was all thanks to Atein. While Atein fought Reygus, he used the Dream's Apostle to assist the Dragon Demon King worshippers.

'I can't believe he's capable of blocking most of our curses so easily…..'

Saibein and Niberis used black magic, and they were specialized in using curses. Most of the curses affected the mind or the spirit. Even if their curses could manifest different effects, most of their curses started out by affecting the mind or the spirit. This was why their effectiveness was significantly reduced when facing foes, who were under the protection of the Dream's Apostle.

As a result, they were no longer able to dominate the Dragon Demon King worshippers. It devolved into a very difficult fight.

It really brought home the fact that they were fighting the Dragon Demon King Atein. He was the first Dragon Demon, and he was the founder of magic.

As always, Atein had an immense godlike presence.

Could they really win against his father?

'It would have been better if the god of Rest was a bit stronger!'

Saibein was so frustrated that he had such thoughts.

The god of Rest was being worked over by the Dragon Demon King worshippers.

It couldn't be helped.

The god of Rest was one of the oldest pillars within the Great Darkness. His power mainly dealt with messing with the mind of living beings, and that ability was greatly reduced by the Dream's Apostle.

If he wanted to try something else, he had to fall back on using magic. However, his magic was woefully outdated compared to the magic of this era. He possessed more magical energy than Atein and Reygus. However, he didn't have the technique to be able to properly utilize his magical energy. From the perspective of the god of Rest, he wanted to scream out in frustration.

'This is the worst.'

At that moment, a middle aged Dragon Majin warrior broke through Saibein's magic.

Saibein moved his Dragon Soul to attack the warrior, but the warrior didn't go down easily. He turned away the fierce attack of the Dragon Soul, and he kicked out towards Saibein.

Too-oong……!

"Ooohk!"

Saibein swayed on his feet. An invisible power shot out from the warrior's kick, and it had hit Saibein's body.

"I'll be taking your head, prince Saiben!"

The warrior turned away the Dragon Soul once again as he swung his sword. However, his sword let out sparks as it clashed against a magical barrier quickly erected by Saibein.

Pah-jee-jee-jeek!

Moreover, a thunderbolt detonated on the warrior's head before he could retreat.

Kwahng!

The middle aged Dragon Majin warrior was sent flying.

Niberis had saved Saibein. Despite suffering under the surprise attack, the Dragon Majin warrior wasn't instantly killed. He blocked the next salvo of spells as he retreated. The magicians, who followed him in support, concentrated their attack on Niberis.

"…they are quite relentless."

After he escaped the immediate danger, Saibein calmed his breathing.

From the beginning, this was a tough fight. Even if Saibein, Niberis and Kieren were powerful magicians, they were fighting the elites of the Plain of Darkness.

There were a good number of troops that had gone through the Dragon Slayer's Ritual, and there were those that possesed Dragon Demon weapons. The fact that the three of them were trying to face several hundred elite troops was an arrogant act in itself. The only reason why they were able to hold out against so many was the fact that they were unusually strong, and they had decent tactics.

However, the tide of battle had turned when Atein entered the fight.

"Hah-ah, hah-ah……."

Niberis and Kieren were also breathing hard. They didn't suffer any life threatening wounds, but there were minor wounds all over their bodies.

Since they had sublime control over their magic, they still had enough Dragon Demon magic in reserve. However, their Energy Pulse was under stress, and their bodies were screaming out in pain.

The situation was getting worse by the minute.

As the god of Rest was pushed back, the Dragon Demon King worshippers continued to gain respite. They were slowly diveriting troops towards Saibein's party.

Above all else, the problem was the fight between Atein and Reygus.

'Sir Reygus isn't able to gain an upper hand.'

Since the Great Darkness was stronger than ever, the Darkness Incarnate was also at the height of its power.

Atein had created four clones through Incarnation, and the four clones were able to make five clones each. Moreover, a good number of them possessed Dragon Demon weapons, so Reygus could barely pressure Atein with his attacks. He destroyed the clones several times, but he was having a difficult time getting close to the real body.

It was as if they were struggling to get out of quicksand. Saibein came to the conclusion that their situation was slowly getting worse.

At that moment, Niberis spoke.

"Father."

"Mmm?"

"We'll have to end this before it is too late."

Saibein knew she had made the same assessment as him.

At this rate, they were slowly inching towards defeat. They had to make a gambit for victory when there was still a sliver of a chance.

"I see, but……."

The problem remained that there were too many enemies. There were over 300 enemy troops remaining.

'It would have been great if Kieren still had his Dragon Demon weapon. I never expected to miss that thing.'

The situation was bad enough that Saibein was having such thoughts.

It wasn't as if it was impossible to defeat all the enemies in front of them. Kieren had lost his Dragon Demon weapon, but the combined power of the three of them was still formidable.

The problem was what they were running into right now.

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