Chapter 200 - Upset Stomach (1/2)
Lucifer howled in fury when he saw the three children get sucked into the vortex. His rage triggered a sudden surge in mana causing Merlin's seal to break. The curse fed on Lucifer's mana and nourished the exhausted Rhinestone. Now that he managed to get the power sources he required to open the gate, he no longer needed to fight.
Conserving his power, the Arachne descendant went into a total defence mode. It didn't matter what kind of formation or attacks Michael and the Pegasus knights launched, Rhinestone remained safe inside the mirror.
Lucifer wasn't the only person who lost their rationality. Merlin and a certain son of the Charybdis followed suit and attacked the artificial gate without holding back. The Academy shook and trembled under the immense pressure. The only person who didn't look worried or angry was Uriel. The archangel seemed somewhat relieved at the turn of events. Still, there was something strange about how smoothly everything progressed for Rhinestone. Uriel couldn't shake off the foreboding feeling that something terrible was going to happen following Zero's disappearance.
The curse backfired badly and Lucifer was quickly put out of commission with the ex-archangel looking paler than Hades. Raphael was immediately by his side, keeping Lucifer away from the heat of the action.
Rayneld hasn't bothered to keep his true form or capabilities under wraps. His face contorted with rage at Rhinestone's manipulation of his lover to betray him. With Lucifer's weakening magic, the barrier around the Academy was lifted. If not for Olaf's barrier around the library, the damage would've been extensive. Still, that didn't mean the dragon demon wasn't unaffected from the mass explosions caused by violent spells form the duo. He struggled and swallowed a mouthful of blood as the Wizard God hurled another Godly-Tier fusion spell at the portal using his grimoire.
Merlin was livid and scared for Zero who'd been transported to a different dimension. Although powerful, the Sage God of Magic isn't infallible. He knew that nobody would be there to save him from the rage of the Great Gods should anything happen to Zero. Worse still, Merlin couldn't commit suicide even if he wanted to. That was the price of immortality and being a God over such a strong domain too. If he wanted to live a little longer, the magician would have to exhaust every trick in his book - literally.
Olaf didn't know how much longer he could hold on for. However, after glancing over to Raphael tending to the fallen headmaster, he knew that he would have to hold out until it eventually killed him. The strongest have fallen and now the abyss is without its protectors. Unlike Bob, Olaf's home was in the Academy. All his treasures were in this very library and Academy. He couldn't watch it all get destroyed with the plane without at least putting up a fight.
Raphael was at a loss. He could heal wounds and illnesses but not mana depletion or break curses. The only one capable of doing it was going all out on the unshaken portal with the child of Charybdis. Michael was forced to back away with the Pegasus riders. Although the two were powerful, the lack of coordination meant that some attacks were negated by each other's magic. Gabriel looked at the mess in front of them and at Uriel who seemed to be hopeful about something and felt anger take over him. How could they be so disorganised in times of crisis? It was unbecoming of them. No wonder the enemy had the upper hand!
With a flash of brilliant light that blinded both friend and foe, Gabriel successfully got everyone's attention in the messy brawl.
”Stand your ground! Throwing a bunch of powerful spells wouldn't work, look for blind spots! Heal the wounded and enclose of this area, why are we working against each other instead of together before the enemy?”
Uriel looked at Gabriel and was reminded of why he was chosen to be the voice of angels. While Michael was more famous as the leader after Lucifer's fall, nobody could replace Gabriel as the heart of the angels. With his soul brother giving him strength, the fragile angel picked himself off the ground and took a good look at the battle scene.
He looked at Michael once and decided that it might be time to bring that sword out again. The one sword that caused Lucifer's defeat will now bring about a change once more by cutting down the Arachne's spawn before them.
”Michael!”
The warrior caught it in both hands by reflex and blinked. In his entire life, he had only wielded this weapon once. The flaming sword brought back memories that were both pleasant and unpleasant. Looking at the enemy before them, Michael held the hilt firmly and the holy sword blazed in response to his determination.
”For Luci,” he whispered and closed his eyes for a short prayer.
When the proud archangel reopened his eyes, the entire library was shrouded in his blessing. The Pegasus riders were filled with courage and let out cries of indignation on behalf of the residents in the abyss. Raphael used Michael's blessing to boost his ability to suppress the curse. Merlin returned from the frontlines in shame and settled by the fallen Demon Lord's side. Rayneld was still furious but with Raphael's are healing blessing in effect, it allowed him to regain some of his rationality.
Rhinestone cursed. He still needed a little more time to fully seal the Demon Lords inside of him and use their powers to activate the gate. It wasn't easy with a certain doctor running rampant in his alternate dimension. Zero proved to be not completely useless in a magic-null area. With nothing physical in that space, mana cannot gather. Sadly, that didn't apply to the teenager who had the abilities to control the space within his dimension. It was tiring to have to continuously close the portals Zero opened. It was more tiring to keep Zero away from the two Demon Lords. If Zero got hold of them, Rhinestone knew that the sneaky young one would make his hasty escape to a different plane out of his current reach.