Chapter 129 - Hymn of the Soulless World (Part 1)

"What are you getting so nervous about?" The 25th Landgrave asked the 27th, eyes twitching in suspicion. Common sense wants a man to avoid revealing his mistrust to a psycho able to smash his skull open. Unfortunately, the 25th Landgrave did not know of such a basic survival tip—that slip would later cost him his life. For now, though, the 27th merely regained his composure, dismissing the probe with a headshake.

"Never mind that, we have guests to entertain. 20th, would you please set the mood?" The 27th Landgrave asked, and taking it as an inviolable order, the 20th crossed space to appear before Harun.

"Last time, you and I almost met. Unfortunately, Mother didn't want me to be at odds with her future mate. Respect the father-in-law and all that," the 20th started, and raised his shoulders in a helpless shrug. "But now…you're kind of asking for it," a formless suppression force crashed on Team Harun. No ripple or extraordinary phenomenon shook the land, yet Mukri and Birandar fell on their knees. Jiyan and Harun's eyes narrowed at the 20th Landgrave, who was pleasantly surprised to see that neither one floundered before his move. Still, the pair had a hard time processing the shock striking them both. 

Mukri shifted to minotaur form, and alongside Birandar, puked his entrails—so to speak. The youth had it worse. Blood trickled down his nostrils, eyes and lips. And as frustrating as it might have been, Birandar couldn't muster the strength to activate his Third Eye. Casting his disciple and subordinate a sidelong glance, Harun sent Jiyan a mental message—not expecting that she too had words on the way. 

"He's attempting to suppress our Paths. How?" They asked one another. Mukri's Elemental Fusion Bridge and Birandar's Mortal Bridge couldn't resist that suppression force, so the two collapsed. Harun and Jiyan, however, walked superior Bridges—giving them immunity to the bulk of the suppression's effects. Still, the energy that continuously flowed out of the 20th Landgrave's flesh, somewhat constricted their cultivation bases—making them lose a couple percentages of their strength. 

"According to Mother, the Holy One created Refiners to give the bravest among mortals and cultivators the strength to free themselves from the trapping of their worlds, and hunt down the Devils that feast on the world's chaos. To that end, he forged the first Refiners—three puppets—around three principles: liberation, immunity, and suppression. Those principles are the roots of Refiners' skills. Only by mastering them can we fully express the powers of our Lightning Bolt marks," the 20th Landgrave gave Harun a crash course, and lifted his right hand. The intensity of that formless strength rose to excessive heights, and though Harun and Jiyan still had nothing to fear, Birandar and Mukri would soon turn into meat pastes. 

Without a word, Harun released his Spiritual Incense, which billowed like tidal waves to challenge this Path Suppression. Summoning her long sword, Jiyan cleaved at the 20th Landgrave, unleashing a silver crescent moon that went straight for his forehead.

An inch away from the Landgrave's skull, the laws of space gathered around and stopped the crescent moon. Its size shrank till it could fit in a toddler's hand, and with a little squeeze, the 20th crushed it into light particles. 

Undeterred, Jiyan threw a succession of dozens of crescent moons at the 20th Landgrave, but with a wave of his hand, he created an imperceptible space portal that sent all the blows back whence they came. Whirling on herself, Jiyan turned into a twister of Withering Essence that clashed with and destroyed all crescent moons. Still, the Empyrean lady was forced to admit that everything that came within three meters of that doll confronted an alarming mastery of Space that made all moves pointless.

Sheltered by Harun's Spiritual Incense, Birandar and Mukri regained their senses. The former activated his Third Eye, but before he could use the Mystery of Truth to challenge the 20th Landgrave's Space mastery, Harun stopped him with a dismissive hand sign. "Don't be rash. This is only one of them," he cautioned, making Birandar realize that he'd omitted a critical fact. Amused, the Landgraves stepped forward, and with the 27th at the middle, all lined up before Team Harun. 

"Very true. This is only one out of nine. Second to last among us here. If you need to break your backs to take him down, how the hell do you take us all on?" The Landgraves chortled at the 27th's words. Blood mist seeped out of their pores, their porcelain skins gleamed in a reddish white light, and their golden lightning bolts flashed as they each sank into battle mode. 

With a courteous smile, the 27th Landgrave threw a casual palm strike. The clatter of shockwaves, cannon balls and cracking bones rang as Harun, Jiyan, Mukri and Birandar flew across the cavern's obsidian roads to crash into adamantine walls. 

"To say nothing that…I am here. Your Highness, I never wanted things to reach this point. But since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, what else can I do? I don't want to kill you. Okay I do…but I don't. And you're trying very hard…to make sure I succeed," the 27th inwardly said. 

…

Meanwhile, as Team Harun's confrontation with the Landgraves reached a crescendo, the other battle front didn't have it easier. Incensed by the barrier, the 10th, 11th and 12th Landgraves rammed into it with their strongest moves, attempting to use brute force to obliterate the divine walls separating the Dark Stone City from the First Range's nightmare. But while those behind the barrier had nothing to fear, potential refugees became a dying breed.

Out of spite and deliberate savagery, the trio targeted and slaughtered all potential refugees, making sure that every person that neared the barrier became blood and gore. 

Yet, many of the refugees didn't stop. With death at their back and a glimmer of hope in the horizon, even if they knew that the three Landgraves wouldn't let any one of them escape, they had to try their luck. So they did, and they died—didn't stop—and kept on trying. This persistence annoyed the three dolls, who now sought more victims to vent their frustration on. 

Seeing this, Mehran turned to two of his royal guards, who kneeled a step behind. "Are the preparations complete?" He asked, and the two nodded in approval. "As Your Majesty commanded, we've gathered 12,960 criminals from the execution halls, and are ready to put them to use. The Desolation Corpses have gathered as well," the royal guard replied. 

We must never forget that before Harun's friendly takeover, the Dark Stone City's residents were beating records of madness and destruction, daily. Afterward, there weren't enough places in jails to keep all the lunatics that needed to be disposed of, so in his grand generosity, Mehran donated large mansions to house them: the Execution Halls. And though the state beheaded hundreds, daily, tens of thousands still awaited judgment. 

"My scribes have prepared 12,960 such talismans. Gather and place them all on the convicts' c.h.e.s.ts, one for each—then send the citizens homes. They do not need to see what's about to happen," Mehran said, prompting the royal guards to carry out his orders. Unaware of Mehran's plans, the Door Goddess squinted her eyes at him, "What are you planning to accomplish?" 

"Open the gates of hell…I suppose," Mehran leisurely replied.