Way of the Knights

Chapter 657 - Contact

---

"...oh? I guess we're going this way then."

*Swoosh!*

"Eh? Okay, so this way?"

*Swoosh!*

"Ah, okay so it's this way then..."

*Swoosh!*

"...make up your mind damn it!" Raven complained as he sat on his seat and felt his body swaying in opposing directions again and again. 

He was a bit annoyed by the constant changes in the trajectory causing his body to loose its balance even when sitting down, it was mostly because he was trying to drink his warm tea but the movement was causing the tea to spill on the ground, it was a waste since this tea was pretty expensive too. 

Anyone who hears about Raven current worries would probably shot him a deadpanned look or would seriously question his priorities. How can he be worrying about his 'expensive tea' when the world around him is in serious mayhem? 

For the sake of establishing the severity of the situation, Raven is currently sitting on a small island protected with a rune which formed a dome-like shield. The entire world was shaking as if it was the exodus due to the titanic sized meatballs falling from the sky - which was caused by Raven by the way. 

The sea churned and waves roared. The world lost its color and numerous screams of panic and terror filled his surroundings. The sea was dyed with black blood, the devils lurking at the depths were doing their best to ensure their survival but it was proving difficult to do just that since the meteors falling from above doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon. 

The only thing that remained intact was the island Raven was in thanks to the barrier he erected. However, thanks to the chaotic movement of the sea, it was currently being swept away by the enormous waves, causing Raven to be slightly inconvenienced as he tried to drink his tea.

Looking at the current situation, it was somewhat difficult to believe that this is the 79th floor. Normally, this is the part where a lot of people who are participating in the crusade will either fight to death or sacrifice their lived for the greater good. There are some times when the Crusade will be forcefully stopped here. 

The 79th floor is a terror since this place is just a step closer towards the Devil Emperor's True Domain. The floors 80th and above will be the floors where the Devil Emperor's presence could truly be felt but it doesn't mean that the presence of the big prisoner couldn't seep out on the 79th floor. It could, and Raven felt it from the moment he stepped in this stage. 

Did he care though? Obviously not...

Raven has nothing to fear so far. He doesn't plan on rubbing the Devil Emperor's fur backwards just yet, even though he already attempted to do that before unconsciously. He's not ready for a full-blown confrontation just yet. 

Additionally, he's not yet under the influence of the Devil Emperor, just at the edge of it. Meaning that even if the deranged prisoner was pissed, there's nothing it could do to him at this distance. Furthermore, Raven won't step on the 80th floor anytime soon. He's not ready for that just yet so this is the end of his modifications on the pagoda for now. Therefore, there's nothing to fear. 

"...okay, that should be enough. Anymore and I might just actually destroy this whole damn floor." Raven looked up and snapped his fingers, causing the gigantic rune above him - the one responsible for spitting out large flaming meatballs, to dissipate. 

When the last batch of meteors descended, the trembling of the 79th floor gradually subsided. With time, the waves too gently subsided and the movement of the island he was in slowed down as well. Raven was finally able to leisurely enjoy his tea without it spilling all over him. 

"Whew...that was a nice cup of tea." Raven smiled as he kept the tea set on his spatial ring. He then stood up from his seat, stretched his body a bit and chuckled: "Break time's over then, let's see if there are any survivors."

*Weng!*

Raven's Domain exploded out from his body, the world changed color once more as every inch of it was drowned by Raven's killing intent. Raven used his domain in order to sense if there are any devils left that survived the Meteor Shower. If there were then he'd just kill them, if there weren't then he'd just wrap up his things here and return. 

Well...it was no surprise that weren't any survivors this time. Even the remains of the devils that are swept by the waves are being consumed by his Cleansing Flames. It's not like the devils on the 79th floor were weak, Raven's method was just incredibly effective that its unfair. 

Since there were no survivors left, Raven retracted his domain and walked outside of the island. He was now headed towards the black beam of light that will transport him to the 80th floor, walking on the surface of water.

Even from this distance, Raven could feel the disgusting presence of the Devil Emperor. He could feel a gaze on him, if felt heavy and malicious. He wasn't surprised that their dearest prisoner was observing what's happening here despite this place being literally the edge of its domain. 

He could see several tendrils of nothing but pure evil and rot wrapped around the beam of light. Still, Raven approached it fearlessly with a calm smile on his face. He wasn't afraid nor confident. He's just focused on one task left for him to do and that is to modify the 79th floor to his advantage. 

When he was less than fifteen meters away from the beam of light, he saw the black tendrils shivering but not from fear, out of anger. These tendrils were like mother snakes, hissing at him threateningly and telling him not to approach any further. 

Raven shrugged and the Brush of Wisdom appeared on his hand. He began weaving lines filled with Golden and Silver energies. They twisted together and form runes that glowed and released a powerful might. 

The hissing turned louder, it was if the tendrils were giving him an ultimatum. Raven didn't care. He continued his work when all of a sudden, several tendrils were launched, slithering towards his direction. 

Raven showed no signs of stopping or surprise. He continued his work even with the threat of the tendrils attacking him. 

When the black tendrils were mere inches away from him and was about to bite his head off, Raven's body suddenly blazed with white flames. Scorching the black tendrils and causing them to screech in pain and agony. 

It didn't stop there, the white flames swiftly spread, burning the other tendrils and crept up to the source and burned it as well. The screeching noises filled the entire 79th floor, yet it did nothing to distract Raven from his work. 

As the Cleansing Flames burned away the edges of the Devil Emperor creeping through the 79th floor, Raven eventually finished his runes. He looked up and saw that the flames were burning the remains of the prisoner's domain. 

Raven felt the gaze and started back at it. He got this impression that he's looking at the whatever's shrouded behind the darkness. He could feel a large influence trying to dye him in black but Raven's brilliant Soul and unshakable Will held on without even budging. 

He could feel that the entity was shocked, prompting Raven to chuckle. 

Had Raven wanted to, he could modified the pagoda all the way up here back then. It's guaranteed that he'll be able to do just that and still remain unscathed. However, knowing that there's a chance that he will have contact with the Devil Emperor here, caused him to feel slightly threatened. 

Raven has no idea just how strong the Devil Emperor was even at its weakened state. Additionally, he's at a disadvantage since his soul was injured back then and the chances of the Devil Emperor attempting to paint him in its colors will be high. He had read records of this being the case and the worst of them, resulted in the birth of the Allfather - who embraced the Devil Emperor's Will. 

Now that his soul had fully recovered, this possibility was of course shattered. Even if the maniacal and demented Will of the Devil Emperor was strong, it could never hope to influence Raven at all due to his experiences before. 

"Who...are...you...?"

A disembodied voice echoed on Raven's ears. Raven didn't reply, he merely smirked and pointed at the beam of light causing the runes to fly towards the beam of black light. 

"...!"

Even as the runes he created did their work, Raven never broke his eye-contact with the prisoner. His spirit remained serene. He could feel the Devil Emperor trying to do something to prevent whatever's happening to occur but Raven wasn't worried. He smirked and said:

"Behave." 

One word was all he needed in order to piss-off the Devil Emperor, he could feel it thrashing around it's cell but Raven couldn't care less. 

And as the Cleansing Flame burned the last specks, the runes Raven created also finished materializing and the 79th floor was successfully modified.