Chapter 225 Daughter of Order (1/2)
CHAPTER 225
DAUGHTER OF ORDER
Lino was currently 'hiding' on a small, floating island, the one nearest to where Umbra was. He was casually sitting on top of a tip-flattened rock, enjoying the view of the running critters. Grim sat lazily next to him, crying out from time to time and snuggling against Lino's side. The latter merely waited for the Devils to come to him so that Hannah can go and wreak some havoc.
He didn't exactly know how much he'd have to wait, but he didn't fret; he had enough booze to last him for decades stored inside his void world, and if he ever got bored, he mused, he'd just take a nap.
Looking on toward the distant skies, he once again thought about what lay at the Realm's very center; or, rather, who lay in wait there. Though the Writ had told him not to think too much about it, his curious nature got better of him in the end. Of all the Eras, save for perhaps the Origin Era, Lino was the most fascinated by the Titan Era.
Emerging from seemingly nowhere, the towering race conquered the entire world within a span of a few centuries, forcing all other races either into extinction or underground, before ruling with iron fist for over a billion years altogether, and disappearing just as quickly as they came without leaving any records behind. Though some parts of their culture had been deciphered due to the remnants they've left behind, largely ruins of their massive cities, a vast majority of information about them remains a mystery to this day.
What piqued Lino's curiosity the most was their origin -- and though he'd asked the Writ numerous times, he'd always gotten the same reply 'you are not authorized to know'. At the very least, however, Lino mused, it meant that the Writ knew of Titans' origins, and as long as Lino kept getting stronger, he'd eventually get the answers.
Pulling himself out of the deep thoughts, he curled his lips up into a faint smile, gazing forward. He quickly spotted a massive Hell Army emerging from the shadows out into the open, all their eyes focused onto him. The one leading them was none other than Rothar, the one Devil of those present Lino was familiar with. He had a rather complex expression, seemingly unwilling to do what they were about to do.
”Ow man,” Lino cried lowly. ”How?!”
”Nothing has to happen,” Rothar said. ”As long as you simply relax here for a little while longer, we can end this.”
”... to think you peeps thirsted after the Prime,” Lino chuckled, slowly getting on his feet. ”And to think you'd still have enough balls to come back.”
”Who the hell-”
”Shut the fuck up you imbecile,” Lino interrupted one of the remaining Devil Commanders, his tone growing heavy and dull, void of emotion. ”What do you think will happen now Rothar? You're gonna leave some of these cunts behind to stall me for as long as possible? Or do you think you can actually kill me? I genuinely want to cry over how almost innately moronic you lot are, a perfect reflection of what it means to be a brainless jackoff. Rather than people selling their souls to the devils for power, you idiots ought to sell yours for some intellect. You're embarrassing even me, and I'm at most a random stranger to you.”
”... if you consider intellect to be an ability to spout profanities like a child,” Rothar refuted, angered. ”Then I'm happy to be a moron.”
”... I'm tired, you know?” Lino smirked for a moment as he whipped out [Hell's Belittlement] from the void world. ”Tired of constantly bickering and moaning with you. Tired of having to eat my own words because not a single one of you has an iota of integrity... iota of dignity... iota of pride. You are just a bunch of miscreants, delusional narcissists who think that anything beyond the Hell's boundaries... isn't worth jack shit. I don't even know why I try, in the end,” sighing, he jumped off the rock as he withdrew Grim. ”I know it will always turn out the same; I'll cry over how naive I was to extend a hand, and you'll snicker over how 'smart' you were to bite my ass back. I've made a promise to your late-Commander,” he continued, taking a slow step forward while the Devils and Demons retreated. ”A promise I wasn't going to keep. But, time and again, you kept removing my reasons as to why I shouldn't. Now... I've got no more reasons to remove.”
”... you cannot win this war,” Rothar warned as he signaled the army behind him to get into a formation. ”Even if you were ten times as strong.”
”Heh, who said anything about winning the war?” Lino chuckled, glancing beyond the Hell's army causing Rothar to suddenly freeze. ”I said it already, haven't I? You... are just imbeciles. Nothing more. Maybe something less.”
”RETREAT!!!!” Rothar suddenly shouted as he unfurled his wings. ”BACK TO THE ISLAND!! HURRY UP!!”
”Stay and play for a while,” Lino said as he sent a sliver of Qi through the sole of his boots, activating the island-wide trapping formation. Though it was quite primitive, it can hold on for at least 5-6 seconds under the siege of everyone here. ”I promise you'll have fun.”
Meanwhile, several tens of miles away, Hannah felt a talisman vibrate within her void treasure, causing her lips to curl up. Glancing around, she met each Devil's gaze currently observing her squarely, causing the latter to also realize something was amiss.
”... I can finally go all out.” she mumbled faintly
”It's rather worrying that you're hiding so much from him.”
”... I don't want him to get dispirited.” she shrugged.
”Hannah... he's a kid who's known nothing but those bounding him since he began cultivating. Unless you can shit gold, I'm fairly certain he won't care.”
”Eh, all in due time...” she mumbled.
Her eyes suddenly flared in bright cyan, devouring the whole eyeball with a shine as similarly-dyed smoke billowed out of them. A range of arrays linked around her body lit up in concert, shimmering in stark coral like flames. Thunder woke around her, bolts dancing like tiny serpents as frigid winds chimed in, causing an elementally breathtaking scene to take place.