Shadow of the Abyss

Chapter 127: Athena IV (Final)

Lord Reese Thorvel had been grinning, crackling as he watched them approach, traversing the Southern Mountains of ash, flames, and sulfur. He'd heard the rumors of Altair's wrath through the Great Plateau. And it had been enough to have him retreat to his great lair, where he stored his cube. He'd barely returned in time to catch sight of them entering his domain.

"You and that sullen whore of yours will pay for this humiliation." He swore, clutching his shoulder where the sting of anguish stirred his every waking thought. He found himself breathless at the taste of what he would do.

"That's it there, Art," Reina said, pointing at Reese. "That's the Leather Surcoat I was talking about. Nice, isn't it? It's even fitted with fur to defend against the cold. Though I don't suppose you'd need that feature. But I'm sure it's comfy." she grinned and glanced at him.

"Well? What do you think? Is it nice?"

The Prince hummed in response, observing the black tunic beneath his black leather surcoat. "It's nice…" he supposed and glanced down at his bare chest and bloodied trousers. "But anything would be better than walking around half-naked."

Reina gave him a shrewd smile. " Now, I don't want you to have a coat."

He gave her a laugh when Vadi howled. " You think this is a laughing matter!" He bravely demanded, drawing his longsword. The sword trembled in his grip. "You're going to die today."

[Divine Sin, Archeon, tilts his head, unsure what to make of the situation.]

[Divine Fallen, 'Baleful Fire,' spits in disgust. ]

'More gods… Fallen this time around. Is it because of Ren?' The Prince asked himself. He looked at Vadi for a brief moment, and only for a moment, as his gaze fell upon Reese. "So you're the one who ordered the bounty. I'm curious what manner of cruelty befell you to order that she be raped and killed?"

Reese felt a dull ache race from his shoulder. "She harmed me." The boy said, red in the face, when Sam suddenly charged like a feral beast and thrust his blade towards Altair's throat. Altair ducked beneath his blade, cutting his sword from out its cage, catching Sam in his sword arm before he could retreat in a blinding flash of swordsmanship.

Iron shattered into shards as Altair watched with fascination as Sam retreated with a spring of blood swelling from his wrist, where he marked.

The Prince glanced down at his shattered sword, tossing it aside as moonlight dripped into a black blade of mana. He tossed another blade over to Ren lest her cracked blade shatter like his.

Ser Sam Raymar felt a cold sweat drip from his brow, and his heart lurched in his chest. He retreated two, three, four steps. "Do not hesitate to use your skills." He shouted. " He's skilled, my Lord. He—"

In a sudden dash, Altair was on him, his sword a blur of semi-arc whirling about, slashing through Sam's Iron Flesh with mild resistance. Blood swept through the air, staining the ground. Frantically, Sam parried, but Altair's sword seemed to curl as if it were alive, twisting around his sword, meeting flesh despite his best effort.

Sam cried a painful scream, trying his best to defend himself. When Rebbeca attacked, she conjured several Magic Missiles with her Tech Staff that amplified her magic and pointed towards Altair when a shriek of scarlet flashed. William pushed her away, barely dodging himself as Infernal Lightning shrieked through the stone, turning it to vaper in a hot flash.

So powerful the arc of lightning was magma shone and pooled from where her lightning faded.

Aurora snorted and darted out from behind her master to the fallen mage that had toppled to the ground. Willian unsheathed his blade in a quick draw, trying to keep his mage alive, and yet, Aurora's rapier seemed to weave like the blanket of night, meeting William's sword to his amazement.

A vicious slew of embers rang out from the cross of their blow that pushed Aurora back a few feet. Her sword arm was trembling from the blow. But with her off-hand, her fingers danced through the air, carving out a rune. Vines sprang out from the stone, splintering with needles, catching him off guard.

Ivy

William howled as the needles tore open his leg with their cruel grip ensnaring him where he stood.

Reina moved, racing to end Rebecca when an emerald ethereal beam shot for her head, nearly striking her as she felt her instincts scream. She pivoted off her feet in a seamless motion, dodging the emerald light. Her eyes slid to Reese, grinning cruelly.

"Eldritch blast," Reese cried with a gesture of a rune. A beam pierced out from his palm like a speeding bullet. Reina didn't dodge but slashed her blade with the graceful arc of the moon, gripping Altair's Dark Moon Blade. Embers of emerald mana danced, flashing into nodes that faded.

She grinned mischievously. "Is that all?" she said, twirling her blade through the air. "I'd have thought you'd be stronger. But your mana isn't even in the mid-twenties. I wouldn't be surprised to know if it only just reached twenty. " She vanished, allowing her afterimage to fade into nothing.

Broken Moon

Pushing forth with her movement art, Reina emerged a foot away from Reese, cutting her blade up to carve him in half. But her blade met with the ripples followed by echoes of shattering glass. Reese had managed a barrier in time, giving him enough to barely dodge her slowed sword.

'Monster!' he screamed inwardly and pointed at her. It had only been their second exchange, and yet he was on the defensive. He cursed beneath his breath when he caught sight of Sam on his knee, in a pool of blood covered in an array of gashes.

"That defensive skin of yours is as strong as the flesh of a Third Rank Beast." Altair had praised, cleaving down his blade with all his strength over Sam's sword arm, taking it off in a single stroke.

The knight screamed, falling over limp with a thud.

"Sam!" His brother howled, screaming as he desperately tried to unbind his leg. "Sam! Get up, Sam!"

Altair turned to survey the battlefield. No more than twenty seconds had passed, but Sam was down, and Willian insnared while Aurora raced towards Rebecca.

"Die!" Vadi screamed, jabbing his blade toward Altair in the hopes of running him through. A little unsure where he came out from, Altair sidestepped the poorly executed blade. When a whisper of warning came about him, he lept back, startled for a change.

Distantly, Ren noticed this and retreated to his side with a flash of Broken Moon. "What's wrong?" she hastily asked, noticing the sheen of sweat on her beloved. "You—"

"ALTAIR!!!!" Vadi roared, with tears of blood swelling in his eyes. "YOU CAN'T HAVE HER!!!"

"What the…" The Prince began when he noticed a strange glow piercing through Vadi's tunic. He frowned, watching him clutch his chest as if it ached. Deranged, he stood, spewing curses, blinded by a rage that festered like rot in his mind.

Vadi tore off his tunic, revealing a large crystal embedded in his chest that shimmered a brilliant radiance.

The light made the Prince's blood run cold, and soon, he began to notice dozens of drones filling the skies, gathering together. And he knew something was wrong.

The Kistume arched its head from within Ren's chest, its beady eyes glistering with a peculiar light. It stared curiously at the ground, tilting its head.

"You can't have her… Aurora is mine. She's mine…" Vadi screamed, breathless, "She's mine. Mine! DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE!"

And from his chest, a violet light erupted into a vast array of destruction. Vadi exploded into a fine mist of red with the throbbing of the crystal that hovered where he once stood.

"Brother! Brother!" William cried out, clutching an emerald crystal in his hand. "You must—"

The strange Crystal light folded into an arch and exploded.

Altair clutched Reina, and from his palm, a ghastly wisp of mana emerged heavy and deep as night; it folded around them before that horrid light caught them. Ren did the same, cloaking her beloved with the golden light of her Sacred Flame. And yet nothing seemed to matter as the air turned to fire, and then an eldritch of light, liquefying into a vast expanse of ions.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

For nearly fifty miles, the earth folded and ruptured, reeling by an unfathomable force. The Great Plateau reeled like a living creature in agony, blanketed by a shockwave that came like a cruel storm. And soon, like an endless blackhole, the shockwave inverted, pulling everyone and everything in.

The great plateau trembled, unfolding into a great many pieces as hundreds of recruits, soldiers, knights, diplomats, and offworlders howled with panic. The earth broke apart, fractured into clusters of stone by the throbbing power.

And yet, as they cried out, plunging down to the waters below, golden light erupted from within the heart of the explosion. Catching stones, trees, men, soldiers, knights, saints, and animals caught up in the beam of energy.

She appeared, smiling with amber-colored eyes that shone like endless flames. Her body, while ethereal, blazed with golden light, streaming endlessly from the Golden Medallion given to him by the Lady of the Skies.

"Hello, Altair," The Golden Woman smiled. " My name is Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War, and One of the Twelve Olympian Gods."