Chapter 677: True Demonlord [8]

"To the room right away." Blood dripped on the floors until the upstairs. Guests were stumped about what happened, Éclair asked for Aceline to handle the rest. In the company of Igna, the injured were settled on beds beside one another, the door firmly locked. Kul's injuries were mortal, the blood lost sufficed to faint any with the remote fear of injuries. Asmodeus wasn't any better either. Tension rose, the mind shuddered, Origin's connection to the companions broke into stress, the confidence stood on eggshells. 'Can I save them; can I save them?' the question stacked atop the shaky mishap of cluelessness from the monster curse. The doubt and frustration carried over, in when all seemed lost, whereby his trusted companions bled, '-focus,' said a voice from deep inside, '-save them, heir to death, you've amassed knowledge far beyond the mortal realm. Bend reality to thy will, tis the privilege of he who has inherited of origin, death, and time. Set aside the fake limits, and parade thy true form.' 

'-My true self,' a firm inhale instantly shook the pressure of failure, '-my other self, all-knowing as thou art, human emotions have bested thee without argument,' red marred the right-pupil. 

*Knowledge known to only the watcher, I, master and inheritor of Origin, beckon thee; Mantia, Library of the all-knowing. Reality or fantasy, rules of the mortal realm, laws governing the all-encompassing universe, cower before he who holds the key to the truth, he who's able to unwind the very fabric of reality, what I summon is my to rule, and what is rule by I shall obey, god, demons, spirits, angels, thou art helpless. Realm Expansion – Aronot; World Breaker.* 

An outward orb grew to stick against the walls and door, the room harbored a realm different from what was real. Shockwaves of intense energy tunneled outwards the manor to the nearby forest, the weather – cloudy and woeful, worsened. Thunder and lightning struck, the very ground shook, electricity stumbled. 

"M-master?" turned Asmo.

"Say no word, my trusted companion," the appearance didn't change, "-I'll alter the rules of reality to suit my taste." The emotionless visage took one glance at the heavily injured Kul, *No injuries* the very image of the blood and wounds distorted to a colorless haze. *No pain,* the breathing softened. *Complete Restoration.* 

"What happened?" jumped Asmodeus, "-my injuries," he sat and stared about, '-where are we?'

"Master," said Kul, "-have you conjured Mantia?" she faced Asmo nonchalantly. 

"Yes," *snap,* the orb shrunk to hover above his opened palm. "-Good to have you two back," the oppressive aura released; lightning gave in favor of heavy rain. "-Tired," he buckled, blood ran down his nose, "-are you two, ok?" they watched horrified by his emotionless state.

"Master, you're bleeding."

"This, it's nothing," the handkerchief stained red, "-we need to talk," time seemed to slow, '-I know this feeling,' vision grew blurry, '-mana exhaustion and fatigue.' He dropped headfirst onto the door. 

"Sister Eira…" said Loftha blankly.

"You felt something?" she returned.

"Yeah, a power stronger than yours."

"I felt it too," she mumbled, "-I would be impressed, well, it feels unnatural – I strongly wish to refute the surge, something must have happened."

"Don't look at me," shrugged Aceline, "-from what I know, two housemates arrived with heavy wounds." 

"ACELINE!" echoed across the hall, the hurried step of two closed the gap, "-we need to get a doctor."

She rose from her seat, "-what happened?"

"The master passed out," cried Kul, "-we need to help him right away."

"I won't if I were you," said Eira.

"I agree with the princess," said a distant Éclair.

"Are you insane?" argued Asmodeus,"-he passed out after conjuring…"

"I get it," interjected Eira, "-let me see him, I should be able to help," a frozen crowd manifested from sprinkles of white-gems. A robe of majestic proportion went down her back, her eyelashes glazed in a light-blue hue. 

'Oh cousin,' left alone in her company, '-you activated Mantia without precautionary measures. Changing the fabric of reality is a feat deemed sacrilegious by even the gods. They who attempt such foolishness are repaid handsomely by the backlash.' 

Below, Éclair stared angrily at Asmo and Kul. Arms crossed, "-care to explain?"

"We were ambushed. After discussion, a stranger foe approached us for revenge. We won the initial fight and drove towards Carter Lake. There, a strange presence halted our car and teleported us onto a clear street. It showed no remorse and fought, Kul went all out and lost, I managed to injure whatever that was after grave risk. If I hadn't unleashed my aura, it would have ended Kul's life right there and then. I couldn't believe it overstepped my authority as a demon and drew blood. We barely escaped and ran for the manor."

"You were defeated?" narrowed Éclair, "-a prince of hell and a high-tier demon?"

"Don't say it like that," said Asmo, "-my specialty isn't in battle, you know?"

"No, I don't know," the arms crossed, "-Kul, care to explain how a lady of thy prowess lost?"

"Reflection," she mumbled, "-whatever it was had the cursed boon of the unlimited counter. I threw my best spell, it swallowed and returned with twice the strength." 

"And this being, was it affiliated to any parties?"

"I felt doubt," said Asmo, "-which means, whatever it was had the power to best a prince of hell. Far as I know, only a few members of Hades' entourage have such capabilities." 

"Should have known it. We'll be on guard for the next few days. Stay here, far as we know, whoever it was could be on the prowl. The manor's the safest place, I'll inform the goddesses of what has transpired. What was discussed stays in this room, do I make myself clear?" 

"Understood," replied the two. 

Meanwhile, after her evaluation, the Empress took the lift down, "-lady Eira, how's the master?"

"He should be fine," said she drenched in sweat, "-I might strain a little. Pardon me, tell Loftha I'm headed to sleep. You'll handle the rest, I trust?"

"Yes, my lady, I'll arrange for the safe return." Stressed piled onto the butler, hours elapsed till lights out, the lively manor slept, with one exception. '-Two strong fighters were defeated and nearly killed. The attacker doesn't necessarily need to be strong; the boon is enough. The Rogue Hero's will, an ability inherited by the Godslayer, Scifer Rethem. I should council with lady Miira,' he slipped into bed, the consciousness reawakened in another body inside the Shadow Realm. Here, the sun shone brightly, the news broadcasted over the radio. A pull of the curtain gave into a lively Rosespire, '-the castle, I need an audience.' 

Outlines of dragons and a griffin posited on the idyllic blue sky. Questions about what happened completely blocked the outside world. A long walk up the noble district arrived at the castle, "-name and reason," said a guard.

"Éclair, the butler of the watcher. Relay this to lady Miira, our lord needs assistance."

"Hold a moment," said the beastman.

'The lost souls of Arda sure have mingled into a peaceful town. The visages voice their mind loudly, who'd knew an alternate world would be birthed from his will.'

"Enter," said the guard, "-the general said to meet at the chapel."

A sloped roof building opened to arches, seats, and a venerated empty tapestry. Under it, stood a lonesome figure, blond hair in a befitting attire waited patiently. "Éclair," she called. An exchange of glances turned to her promptly asking what brought on the visit.

"Lady Miira, I know not if this is known to you, Prince Asmodeus and lady Kul were ambushed and nearly killed," her expression somewhat deterred from curious to involved, "-the master risked his life and aided in the rescue of the two, he sustained injures himself while conjuring the power required to heal such strong entities. The Librarian of Nexsolium said the master altered the fabric of reality without precautionary measures."

"He did what?" escaped, "-sorry, continue."

"They were saved and gave crucial information," the tone deepened, "-the attacker had the boon of reflection."

"I see," her expression wrote what he wanted to know, "-Alter any life-threatening outcome into one that is advantageous for the user, that's the boon of reflection. It helped Scifer more than once, no matter how strong the opposition is, the passive ability would always twist the very fate of the user unjustly."

"There's my point, tis a passive ability. What Kul said, a vortex was summoned from which it doubled the attack." 

"The skill has an affinity to be passive and active. When the latter is toggled, the host is invisible, though, the drawback comes in heavy stamina and mana drainage. In a time of crisis, or before a strong attack is to be fired, the moment said skill is used, tis over, no turning back." 

"And, where could such skill be acquired from?"

"I can figure a guess, I'd say Lucifer's doing, or one with the ability to steal another's power. There's one lesser-known to the godly realm, Perfect Recreation, an ability similar to Creation whereby the user can create and modify his abilities at will. I've heard of it in olden tales. Aside from what I've said, I can't help anymore." 

"Guess I expected very little," he pivoted for the door, "-have a great day, goddess. I'll see what can be done about the situation. Do relay the information to the other gods."

"Wait, Perfect Recreation shouldn't matter, even if one has the ability, they can't hurt or injure a god."

"Tis the quandary, whoever it was bypassed the Prince of Hell and Lady Kul's authority and demonic beings. If they were hurt, bet angels and gods aren't far." Trouble rose beyond the horizon, without a name and status to the attackers, Éclair faced the foe blindly. The breach of security was soon explained by Loftha's involvement, she utilized her authority over the state-level programmers in attempts to find Igna. Transportation, coordinated with a private arms company, handled the trip from Odgawoan to Melmark. 

Out to the battlefield, heroes from the AHA were stationed on guard duty. The death count reflected poorly on the organization's reputation. The vigilantes were granted their due in financial support. Meza, integral in the survival efforts, was promoted to leader of the Vigilante, and no, the AHA didn't grant the title of hero. 

"I don't get why they didn't…"

"Don't push your luck," added Meza in a way to say, '-mind thy tongue.'

"Come on, leader, we know, and so do they about the reason why…"

"Aptha, don't push your luck," added Jonl, "-I know what you mean. Look around, we're surrounded by vigilantes, the atmosphere doesn't seem right."

"No, why should I remain silent?"

"Because I said so. Keep your head down and eat, we have a rough day ahead."

Far from the happenings of the world, Igna's consciousness fell into a world of pure bliss. Memories of the past collided against the present. 'I unleashed more than I could handle without the acknowledgment from Origin. Whoever said those words felt familiar and foreign.'

'You broke the barrier of reality.'

'Huh?'

'Don't act clueless. The reason you're here is to pay the price of changing what was never meant to be changed. Kul was destined to die, and you saved her life, Asmodeus was destined to fall prey to a subjugation spell. Destiny has been thwarted by the will of a strong entity.' 

'Speak peacefully to my other self,' the body separated, '-watcher of destiny, my will overshadows yours. Bow to I wish to happen, cause no more harm for reality is but part of me.' 

'Origin, fake victim of reality refusal. Have thee sided to the boy's side in attempts to avenge our refusal of thy will?'

'No, the boy accepted me for who I am, nothing will ever sway my decision. Therefore, on the grounds of my authority, I order Igna to be released without penalty. The incident plays different from what the world dictates, and tis because his actions were to save companions, and not by my intervention.' 

'If thee says so.'