Chapter 200: Dark ; (Spoiler) ; Unleashed

Unexpectedly, the gateway didn't directly transport me to the Lost Continent. Instead, it cleared the uncomfortable feeling I've had ever since I arrived in Sorcerers' Lair.

{Restrictions on parameters cleared.}

Hearing this, a sense of anxiety washes over as I begin to consider the reasons for my restrictions to get removed.

Such thoughts don't last long, as, a few seconds later, I find myself standing somewhere completely unlike anything I've seen before.

Sensing no danger nearby, I cancel my deification.

"What is this place?" Krul's voice reaches my ears.

"I don't know," I absentmindedly respond while inspecting the sky and earth.

The whole sky is covered in dark clouds that are swirling at an extreme speed along with lightning of myriad colors striking the earth here and there.

As for the earth itself, it's bereft of colors. The trees, the grass, and even the peculiar tiny organisms - they're all black.

It's almost as if the place is under a curse of darkness.

"What is this place?" a timid voice reaches my ears.

Turning my head to look at the source of the voice, I find Tiffa shivering with fear apparent in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" I worriedly ask.

"I-" she says before pausing, "I-I don't know."

My brows furrow as I look behind Tiffa to see if it's possible to send her back, only to be disappointed by the sight of a large circular stone that isn't exuding any energy.

As if sensing my thoughts, Gabriel swiftly moves in front of the circular stone and presses her hand against it before turning around and shaking her head.

Letting out a sigh, I glance over at everyone before asking, "How do you all feel?"

"Stronger," Gabriel and Krul immediately respond in unison.

"Strange," Siesta says while examining her body, "It feels… unnatural."

"I feel stronger too," Aruru says while clenching her tiny fists.

As for Yuno, she has been silent this whole time while glaring into the distance. Before I can ask her what's wrong, AI's voice resounds within my head.

{Code Waves detected.}

Code Waves? Are they the ones emitted by the friendly Code?

{Affirmative.}

So, it's here? Are you able to identify it?

{Negative. Closer contact is necessary.}

Nodding my head, I begin to make use of my sense to check our surroundings for any unusual creatures.

Fortunately, I don't find any, so I say, "It seems like we won't be able to leave this place unless we activate that gateway behind us."

"To do that, we need to find someone or something capable of doing so."

Agreeing with me, everyone apart from Tiffania nods their head.

"We should get going," I say while using Paladin's Aura in hopes of calming everyone down, particularly Tiffa.

Due to our surroundings being nothing more than black trees, I haven't been able to see what this place looks like properly.

As such, I inform the others of my intentions before using Flight to launch into the air.

Floating in the air, I observe the Lost Continent, only to be baffled by the sight of four gigantic statues.

One of the four statues is missing its upper half, so I'm unable to tell who it is, however, I can recognize two of the three other statues.

To the far left, there is a statue that resembles Siesta a lot, with the only difference being that the statue has humongous wings protruding from the back and a pair of wings near the ears.

The statue is holding its arm up as if chanting some spell, which greatly resembles the time Siesta lost control over her Code.

To the far right, there is a statue that resembles Infi in her 'true' form. In the statue, Infi is standing in a prideful manner while seemingly looking down on the world itself.

As for the other two statues, the one missing the upper part is at the far back, while the final one is right at the center of the land.

Unlike the two other complete statues, the one at the center shows no pride or power, but compassion instead.

The statue is that of an aesthetic mature woman with pointy ears. Her attire seems to be closely resembling what the elves I've met so far wore. On the woman's lips is a smile that seems like it could cure depression once and for all.

All of a sudden, a sense of dread overwhelms me as my senses seem to get enhanced several-fold.

Absolute Evasion?

I swiftly make use of Blink to appear quite a distance away, just to see three dark figures slash at where I previously was.

The next moment, all three figures turn their head to look in my direction, revealing emerald-green eyes that are glowing eerily.

Realizing that I will be at a disadvantage in an aerial battle, I hurriedly dive to where the girls are while muttering, "Gabriel, Aruru, protect Tiffania."

[Understood!] [Yes!]

Hearing their response, I swiftly turn midair, ready to make use of Vector Manipulation. To my surprise, the figures have already followed me to an extent, only to stop near some thin layer of energy that I hadn't noticed before.

"What are those things?" Krul asks while standing in a battle-ready stance.

"No idea," I respond, "I wasn't able to sense their presence at all before they were close enough to slash me."

"I can hear them," Siesta mutters, startling me a little.

"Siesta?" I question while looking at her, only to find her staring at the dark figures with a dazed expression, "They're crying…"

Crying? What, do these things need to be saved or something?

Taking a moment to clear my head, I begin to think of our current situation before a horrendous notion appears in my head. What if these figures were people who lived in this continent before it turned into what it is now?

If that's the case, then there is a chance that it might happen to us as well, which is more than a little worrisome.

For now, the one I am most concerned about is Tiffania. Unlike the rest of us, she isn't capable of fighting, so she's in the most danger at the moment.

If only there was a way to send her away from this place… Ah, right! The Arena!

Despite the Arena being an unsafe place in and of itself, it's still better than this accursed place. All I have to do is check on Tiffania now and then to see if she's doing well.

Having resolved my mind, I turn to face Tiffa before sharing my thoughts with her.

---

"How far is this statue that you speak of?" Yuno exasperatedly asks as we walk through the dark forest.

"Not so far," I reply, "I believe that we're halfway there."

Hearing my words, Yuno lets out a deep sigh before saying, "Why is this place so empty? I want to kill something."

Before I can comment on her way of dealing with boredom, a strange sound reaches my ears.

Alarmed, I motion for the others to stop walking before using my senses to examine our surroundings.

Finding nothing, I say, "Keep your guards up."

"Hey," Krul says, "Wha-"

Before Krul can say what's on her mind, the ground below us trembles as the dark trees around us begin to sway to the side. What's strange is that they sway in a way that forms a direct path to the statue ahead of us.

"A trap?" Yuno says with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"No…" I mutter while looking up ahead.

{The Code waves are clearer now.}

I thought so. Our mysterious friend has formed a path for us.

"Let's pick up the pace," I say before beginning to jog forward.

With the rest of the girls following me, we soon find ourselves standing right below the gigantic statue.

"Is that…" Krul says while looking at a big white crystal that's floating between the statue's legs.

"A Code," Yuno says in a not-so-pleasant tone.

Examining the white crystal, I find a mature woman resembling the statue curled up within it. Everything about her is similar, including the pointy ears and elven attire.

Curious, I step forward, only to be surprised by the sight of the dark grass beneath me getting taller before forming a staircase leading to the crystal.

Yeah, this is suspicious as heck. This Code could have been helping us out for this moment.

I take a moment to deliberate over the matter before concluding that it's worth it to free the Code. Despite having no idea why it's in such a state, I'm not sensing any danger or discomfort around her, so there is a high chance that I will get a new ally instead of an enemy.

Besides, including me, there are four Codes present, so it shouldn't be that hard to fight her even if she is an enemy.

Taking in a deep breath, I climb the stairs until I'm right in front of the crystal.

Then, I slowly lift my arm before placing my palm against the cold surface of the crystal.

The next moment, cracks form all over the crystal as the surrounding darkness gradually dissipates. A few seconds later, the crystal shatters, resulting in the body of the mature woman to fall.

Before I can attempt to catch her, the woman's eyes open, revealing solid green eyes full of compassion and wonder.

{Code identified: Gaia.}

No wonder. Every-

My thoughts are suddenly interrupted by the ground trembling much harder than before as the sound of numerous roars reaches my ears.

{2nd Rank Unknown detected.}

"Verethragna!" an earth-shaking voice resounds all over the place, "You will pay!"

~~~~~

Full Title: Dark ; Gaia ; Unleashed