Chapter 215: Get ready. (1/2)
Arima sat cross-legged on top of Melumnia's tallest building. The scenery was quiet and the suns were setting down. He was meditating under the orangish glow of the two stars orbiting around each other.
Night was leaning against the wall of a different building, looking at Arima from there with Karma sitting right next to him.
They were the only people remaining on that planet at the moment. Malum even had taken the animals with the Second White Art. Jorga had already left but his eyes never stopped looking over the world.
Arima was just waiting. Waiting for the Pillars to arrive and the army to invade. Meanwhile, he was thinking, wondering. Being told that there is someone out there who is meant to be the one who'll end his life… is not that shocking for him. It doesn't even bother him.
The only thing messing with his head was the fact that he is the reincarnation of an ancient power. He heard about it during his Life Judgement, Utain explicitly told him, even the old Jane back at the orphanage…
He heard 'Ahriman'. He was told he had had been birthed under that theory. Now, the wisest creature in this Reality defined him as a reincarnation; Angra Mainyu. An ancient evil spirit endowed with a human body and mind.
Then there was Ahura Mazda. Another high spirit, the creator and main god of the Zoroastrianism. He held both light and darkness in his hands, but the latter had been personified to become Angra Mainyu who then became a near equal to Ahura Mazda, thus his greatest enemy.
But in the end, Angra Mainyu lost. He was confined in his realm where the demons he had created would devour each other and make the existence of the Destructive Spirit fade away.
Arima smirked as he recalled that legend.
”What will happen I wonder?” He laughingly muttered. He slowly opened his blind eyes and stood up. For a second, his left iris split in two, glowing red and gold.
He was pleased. Arima had no other words for what he was feeling. Since he heard the name 'Ahura Mazda', something seemed to be resurfacing inside him. The more he thought about it, the more thrilled he would become.
”I would like to meet the person who lives to kill me,” he snorted and at the same time, spatial portals opened and several gates fell from the sky. Those gates seemed to be made out of simple dark wood but emitted a really strong presence.
When the doors opened, a loud horn resounded across Melumnia. Just after, a giant hand grabbed the frame of the gate closest to Arima. Then, a blue-skinned giant emerged. Arima observed him quickly.
'The same race as Errastas…'
Through the same gate, dozens of giants started coming out while countless ghouls, and soldiers of all races were coming out of the others.
Night and Karma landed silently beside Arima as if they had been here since the beginning. Soon after, the giants had surrounded them. They seemed to be very aware of their presence.
”Hey, the Crosses are not affecting them,” Night uttered and Arima squinted his eyes.
”Can you tell me if they have some sort of common sign or symbol on them?” He asked and Night complied as he knew that Arima couldn't see. He skimmed through a few hundred giants and a few thousand infantries then nodded.
”They have one. It's a sort of eagle insignia. There's pair of deployed wings with the silhouette of an old man coming out of the middle. The feathers of the bird's tail seem to depict the clothing of that same figure. The giants have it tattooed on their skin while the others have it on their clothes.”
Arima chuckled. ”That's Ahura's emblem. That explains why my Crosses are not affecting them.”
”What do you mean?” Karma inquired without taking her eyes out from the army surrounding them.
”Take this as a sort of religion. My Crosses, like any other creed, channels faith. But my authority obliges people to put their faith in me. That's what makes this spell powerful and cruel, befitting of the Black Arts. But, there's an easy way to protect oneself from it.”
”You merely need to expose another symbol in which you put your faith in. When your beliefs are already directed toward something or someone else, the Crosses won't affect you.”
Arima listened to the absurd number of footsteps while answering, the group of giants and the still-growing army. He sensed two figures standing in midair, a few miles away from them.
”I wonder who got this brilliant idea,” Arima smirked while facing Harion and Dracula.
The former laughed. ”So, you're that infamous Life Hunter, huh? I feel sorry for Raylein. I'm sure he could've never imagined that the human he had selected would kill three Guardians after coming to Melumnia,” he couldn't help but laugh at the situation. He was so engrossed and amused by the human who was standing on his way.
Next to him, Dracula was glaring at Arima. He, of course, was informed that Ambrogio had been killed. He didn't know if he should be pleased or if he should be angry for the death of his only kin in this Reality.
Arima cackled along with Harion. ”Yeah, I'm sure he didn't. But at least, now he gained an even better asset.”
Harion abruptly stopped laughing and gravely looked at Arima. ”So? Can you tell me where they are?” He asked with a dark tone. ”I cannot believe the Guardians deliberately abandoned Melumnia. Well, at least, I'm sure that Ambrogio would've never left it to the enemies.”
”I ordered them to leave,” Arima retorted and Harion grinned.
”Fascinating. So, I can assume that you're their new leader. Did you become the First Guardian?”
”No. I will never.”
”What?” Harion scowled. ”That means you still didn't meet the Original God to receive his blessing?”