Chapter 419 Against the World I (1/2)
CHAPTER 419
AGAINST THE WORLD (I)
The sky shook in repeated tremors, the fortress itself soon after quaking as though rising above the epicenter of a world-shaking quake. Cries billowed out like smoke as people fell on their sides and backs, worried expressions filling their faces.
Lino merely took a second to hold back Hannah before his expression of worry was overtaken by anger. Growling like a threatened beast, he ripped open space in front of him and rammed through, leaving Hannah, Lucky and Alison back in the chamber despite their protests.
He soon found himself on the outside of the fortress, gazing at the ever-ephemeral surroundings. Usually just half-cleaved clouds and occasional thundering ones, now his horizon was filled with souls beyond count. Devils alone numbered in daft millions, to say nothing of others. All around, above and beneath, the horizon was blocked by the sea of crucibles all staring at him as though he were already dead.
He spotted Two, Three and Six rather quickly among the crowd, floating in slight elevation over the others. No matter where he looked, he couldn't see a potential exit – every avenue of retreat was blocked, every path but direct confrontation impossible. Space next to him ripped open as Ella, in addition to Eggor, Val and Amadeel walked over, standing by his side. The latter three found themselves in abject shock over the sea of souls awaiting them, while the former merely glanced at Lino with a tinge of worry.
”… I can open up a path for you,” she whispered softly into his ear. ”And buy you enough time to escape.”
”—you jest, mom,” he glanced at her, smiling meekly. ”Don't worry too much about it. Just ensure they don't break into the fortress.”
”What will you do?” she asked.
”…” Lino didn't reply, merely whipping out a talisman and burning it as the screen lit up, soon after condensing into Seya's somewhat frustrated face.
Following the short conversation, he re-focused back onto the masses who merely waited in their spots, as though entirely uninterested in fighting him. Suddenly, Two stepped out and floated slowly over to Lino and others, stopping roughly ten meters in front of them. Frigid eyes stared at his with a tinge of cold wrath, causing some trepidation to awake inside his heart.
”—your victory certainly was short-lived, no?” she said, smiling faintly.
”Victory?” he smiled back. ”I don't recall winning much of anything… just losing quite a few people I cared for and getting my ass beaten black and blue.”
”Then you know the end-result of today… so you may as well surrender, Lino. If nothing, I promise to not touch anyone in the entire fortress so long as you comply.”
”… a tempting offer,” he said. ”But…”
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”… it wouldn't be you if you bent a knee at least once in your life, huh?” Six suddenly appeared next to Two, startling Ella as she quickly recognized the unmasked face.
”G-grandfather?!” she exclaimed as the old man glanced at her.
”… you've reached above and beyond what I thought you ever would, Elanor,” he sighed faintly. ”But, not enough. Please… Lino, Ella… think this through. There is no way out today. Even if you put up a fight, and even if you carve out your names from our bones across the sky, you'll be overwhelmed. Be smart about this.”
”… today won't be the day of our deaths, that much I promise,” Lino said, glancing at Six. ”It's high-time, it seems…” he added, shaking his head as he took out a small, ordinary-looking cube from his void world, twirling it through his fingers.
”… so, this is who you are? Someone who doesn't care if he puts people he supposedly cares for in danger? Humph, what a jo—” before Two was able to complete her sentence, she felt her heart freeze over as though in winter. She rapidly channeled Qi through every inch of her body and put up a barrier in front of her; less than a breath later, it cracked like meek glass, shattered like the binds of reality around her as she felt Will well beyond hers overwhelm every part of her being.
Barely defending, she was flung nearly ten miles backward like a cannonball, crushing through over a thousand souls during her journey, ending their lives immediately. Six remained in the same place, shellshocked, his hair and beard fluttering as the wind finally caught up, his lips trembling and quivering. Right next to him, a gash the size of a massive tower wriggled like a worm through the space, a man drawing back his sword from it.
”Tsk, bitch never puts her guard down?” Lino clicked his tongue in slight disappointment. ”Heed me!!” he suddenly shouted toward the fortress as the quivering hearts of everyone calmed.
Despite the fact that they were facing an uncountable number of souls, all trepidation and fear that had consumed them vanished within that single moment as the familiar voice cascaded through the cores of their beings. It was like a wave that washed away all they felt, leaving behind only peace and calm they would otherwise spend lifetimes searching for.
”Arm the Formations!!” he shouted. ”Man the Orbiter!! Defend our home!!”
There wasn't even a moment of silence for them to process the words, as thousands of footsteps soon consumed the nothingness, every soul running toward their post. The dark fortress suddenly lit up like the sun, layers upon layers of formations firing off rainbow-range of lights, spinning in circles rapidly as they began generating low hums that stirred the surrounding stillness into the wind.
The reality surrounding the fortress bent and wrung over itself, sliced away by mere stray energy generated within a few moments. Eggor, Val, and Amadeel withdrew back into the fortress, only Lino and Ella remaining outside.