Chapter 21: Into the Realm of Depravity.
Fallen Tower, Temple of Depravity.
...
Inside the temple of depravity, the three Dark Priests observed the event unfold itself in a battle between a Dark Priest and the Knight. Janice, Amana, Ivy, and Janeline could've sworn that both combatants fought with equal strength and skill; The Dark Priest keeps drawing her sword in speeds and thrusting the tip of her blade multiple times while Ash countered with defensive parries and riposte. The monsterized Priestess then jumps back to avoid his one deadly blow, and Sasha grits her teeth in frustration every time that her beloved Knight flawlessly deflected her blade swings until he thrust with a successful counter. Sasha immediately vanished in a thick black smoke before reappearing behind Ash.
The Dark Priest swung her sword down, yet Ash sensed her attack coming from the rear and successfully blocked her weapon with his straight sword and countered with the butt of his pommel, which sends her several feet away.
"Kuh! By the Gods, you're good at fighting than I expected!" Sasha grunts in admittance before wiping off the blood trail from her mouth. "Tsk, you have an overwhelming advantage over me in close-quarters."
"But the powers I received from the Fallen God would never let me down," Sasha continued as she maliciously grins and raised her hand. "I will pin you down like the last time!"
Ash heard unnatural sounds coming from everywhere and saw many dark-spots like portals before black vines shot out. The Knight immediately rolled away and strafed to the right to avoid being apprehended by her dark magic. Then one small black portal appeared right before him and then a vine sprang forth; Ash immediately swings his Astora Straight Sword to deflect the vine as well by slicing it apart. Sasha bit her lips bitterly once she realized he knew her tricks before she summons more vines in her attempts to catch him.
Janeline had admitted her opinions about the Silver-Blue Knight is unlike any ordinary human that is skilled in combat with none of God's blessings, not like the heroes themselves that she had witnessed from the past years and they fell to the temptations of her other sisters-in-arms or the seducing words of the Fallen God.
"This Knight hardly broke a sweat!" Amana spoke up in astonishment. "Sasha told us once he fought ugly monsters that are far worse than here!"
"Indeed, to think this man could fight against the heroes like they were nothing," Janeline said with a serious tone. "Even the divine adherents of the Fallen God helped little to stop this madman."
"But I wonder myself from where did he gain such powers to resist our mana?" Janice wondered before a fireball shot out and hits near the balcony with a fiery explosion. "By the Goddess! That nearly killed us!"
"A-Aren't we supposed to help Sasha?" Ivy asked with worry. "I think she's having trouble dealing with him."
"We can't..." Janeline spoke as her eyebrows furrowed. "It will be too dangerous, and he'll kill one of us if we dare to interfere."
Back to the fight between the Knight and the Priestess, Ash dodged the incoming vines from her Black Vines enchantment and as well slicing them off before strafing to the right to avoid an attack from the bigger ones that crashed into the ground, this time it has the diameter as that of a tree trunk.
"Ash! Just stay still~!" Dark Priest Sasha cried out while summoning more vines in her attempts to capture him. "Do you not love me? Am I still not good for you!?"
'Saying those words will make you more of a fool.' Ash's mind spoke. 'I'm not into someone who acts like Sulyvahn.'
"Please Ash, accept me..." Sasha's voice then trembled in desperation before her eyes broke a tear in vain. "I beg you! I won't strip off your Humanity! I promise!"
"Keep talking. You can tell words, but your tone speaks differently," Ash replied in a bitter tone, which caught the Dark Priest to reel back in dismay. "I've seen others begged like you, they could've made better lies than that."
"J-Just why... WHY!?" At that moment, Ash stood in a halt but still keep his guard up while the Dark Priest raised her pained voice. "Why... why couldn't you understand how I feel? Don't you know how much I loved you?"
"Sorry, but there is a reason I should not accept thee," Ash spoke starkly. "You are but a complete stranger to me."
"S-Stranger!? It... It hurts Ash... It hurts me when you say that..." Sasha spoke up with a broken heart, trying to tell her words to reason him with her understanding. "I fell in love with you the moment I saw your true face and I can't think for myself, but my desires grew for you."
The Dark Priest slowly lowered her arm and dropped her weapon to the ground. She then stepped forward, which made Ash raise his left eyebrow in question; his senses found no malice nor dread emitting from her, and she's more likely... submitting herself to him in desperation? Just what happened?
"Ash Cyrus, Knight of Astora," Sasha spoke up softly. "As your maiden. I beg of you, please put down your weapon."
Ash remained unfazed. "...Why?"
"Because I love you, we do not need to fight. We can live together in peace," Sasha replied before making a warm smile. "No more bloodshed and suffering. I just want to see people smile and I want to see them happy. You and me together, we can make the world a happier place!"
Ash couldn't comprehend to hear a familiar tone of hospitality in a middle of a tense duel, as if he's seeing the old Sasha who used to be in her idealistic persona to say such words until he notices a sudden change in her tone. "We can make people smile~ As if they won't be sad forever! Fufufu~! Do you want to agree with me~?"
The Knight furrowed his eyebrows as his expression remained unchanged behind his helmet. "... No."
"Wh-What!?" At that moment, Sasha staggered back in shock. "How could you say that!?"
"Remember these old words I used to say... that Happiness couldn't exist without the Hardships and Suffering," Ash asked, making the Dark Priest widen her eyes in disbelief as she remembered his line during the day when Ash comforted Sasha. Then he spoke up. "I know you do not understand these words as a monster. They were important to many as a way of living. I've suffered enough and saw many tragedies throughout my journeys."
Indeed, he saw how many important individuals he met in his stay in Lordran and Lothric which they too, also fell on their own tragedies; The Crestfallen Warrior, the old unmotivated chap with whom he talked a lot, met his demise within New Londo. Rhea, a pious maiden of Thorolund who he met and saved her from the Tombs of Giants, couldn't save herself from the grasps of Seath's minions. Laurentius, his first teacher of Pyromancy, went hollow in his search to find Quelana. Siegemeyer of Catarina, the first Onion Knight he encountered near Sens Fortress, died in Ashen Lake upon the reunion of his daughter. Big Hat Logan, the most ingenious Sorceror in all of Vinheim, fell into madness. Sir Artorias, a knight who tried to save Oolacile, fell to the Abyss. Greirat, the most trustful thief, fell into his gruesome fate in Lothric Castle. Orbeck of Vinheim, who searches for ancient knowledge, died in the Grand Archives after completing his purpose. Anri and Horace, the two Knights that barely completed their goal to vanquish Aldrich with his help, went Hollow as nothing else could do for them. Eygon too, who he protected Maiden Irina to become a new Firekeeper, died that he as the Ashen One, completed his quest.
Then there is Solaire, a dedicated Knight who searches for his own sun, fell to the temptations of the Undead Curse, and started the cycle anew. Then Oscar, a Fateless Undead who dedicated himself to know the Fate of the Undead and free an Undead named Ash Cyrus from the cell, died and went hollow in the Northern Asylum. A forsaken place where he started his journey.
"But these tragedies were important for me and changed to who I am. Despite my wounds were mended, my scars remain and I couldn't let it go because I cherished them the most." Ash continued with eyes steeled with courage while tightly clenching his weapon, remembering those events where his actions did the most to end their tragedies and free them from their cursed fate. "All I want is Sasha to have her new purpose and forge her path without the value of her desires. You are but a manifestation of her desire in its sickening form, an idea for a so-called "Perfection" who brings out such foolish dreams under the name of greed and obsession which can turn the world only for naught."
"Every age, it seems, is tainted by the greed of men. Rubbish, to one such as I, devoid of all worldly wants! Hmmm, I dunno, maybe it's just the way we are. I'll stick you in my prayers. A fine dark soul, to you."
A familiar voice echoes through his memories and Ash couldn't help but made a slight smile behind his helmet. He thanked the important words of Patches, the Unbreakable Thief who told about the unforgivable desires of Greed.
Sasha faltered back while his words shuddered within her core. The Knight she desired preferred to live in a ruthless world they called "Reality". Hearing that word sends painful anguish in her heart, she doesn't want to remain in such a place with unforeseen and unforgiving consequences. She hated that. Sasha couldn't believe that not even her warm words would reach for him and her senses couldn't detect any hints of his vulnerable emotions as he is an empty husk, he might not have mana but a person such as him has an unfathomable resolve to deny her words.
"Despite your words filled with warmth." Ash declared coldly. "Are nothing more but lies behind your voice. You only desired me with obsession and not the world itself."
When Gods can detect lies while humans can't, but if such a person can exist and knew any lies behind their masks, so can he. Sasha clenched her fists before opening and closing while lost in thoughts that it truly proved her wrong that gaining his trust is far more difficult than she expected. Therefore, seducing Ash from his gloomy nature seems worthless.
The Dark Priest grew silent until her eyebrows furrowed and seethe in frustration. Then her powers grew to an unpreceded level, which made Ash prepare himself for the worst until she raised both of her arms. Several large vines sprout out and flung themselves towards Ash. The Knight rolled out until he saw her faded out in an instant from his sight and immediately reappeared on his left flank, then tackled him down. More vines sprouted out from the ground and caught his legs and arms until Ash rips out some of them in his struggle to break free, but more grew from the black spots to keep him down. Sasha walks up to the struggling Knight and sat on top of him before forcefully pushing Ash down with both of her hands on his chest onto the ground to keep him captive.
"I won't let you live like this," She uttered with a glare before tears streamed down from her eyes. "Your spirit is tainted by a guilt-ridden heart full of torment. So I shall free you from this blind violence of yours!"
The Dark Priest then pushed up his helmet visor of his Elite Knight Helmet and smiled upon seeing his face once more; his handsome face of her desires remains unscathed, but once she looks into his eyes; her heart fell as she can no longer see any hint of his innocence ever-present in his very soul.
"Oh, you poor, poor soul," Sasha spoke softly as she asserted her sadness. "Don't worry, I will give you happiness. I will show you the world of Monsters where love is the greatest force of all."
Sasha caressed his cheeks and leaned down to make a kiss. Once their lips made contact, her mind filled itself with lustful ideas she's going to do with him, and ecstasy now ran through her blood as her body grew in heat, ready to copulate with the Knight she badly desired for his seed. Then the Dark Priest expressed her excitement in her hard-won battle. In the Pandemonium, the Fallen God and her adherents who witnessed the entire scene; cheered in victory.
Until Ash felt his soul rummaged slightly in his very core like a beast that has awakened from its slumber.
'Ah~Hahahaha~! I got you now, Ash! Now you belonged to me~!'
"Mmm~ Mmmmhh~!" Sasha moaned happily as her tongue twists within their mouths with his. But then, of all a sudden; she stopped. "Mmmh~?... Hmm!?"
She felt every inch of her body stopped and her bodily heat suddenly rise and ravage itself to the point as if it cook her alive. Sasha widened her eyes in horror as if her body emits steam before trying to pry off her lips, but her body didn't respond. The Dark Priest let out a muffled scream and clenched her hands even further that tries to dig deep into his Armor and closed her eyes in pain while tears flowed out.
'Checkmate! Good thing I come up with Plan B.' Ash's mind spoke up in relief, due to his actions from the previous moments was a trick right after the purging stone broke into pieces. 'Looks like Siegward was right all along.'
...
"Wait, so in order to save her is to kiss her!?" Ash asked out loud incredulously. "It sounds ridiculous..."
"It does sound ridiculous, but it's true." Siegward raised up his hands. "Before I married Jennifer, she got turned into a monster; a Werewolf."
"She caught me off-guard and pinned me down to the ground." Siegward then paused for a moment before taking another sip of his ale. "But once she kissed me with her lips, she turns back to human again!"
Ash stared towards the Catarinian in disbelief before shaking his head off. "That... can't be right."
"Other mamonos kissed me out of surprise, including the ones who're monsterized; but it affected none of them," Siegward explained further with a wave of her hand. "Except for Jennifer, because the reason is... I grew more affectionate with her."
"Does it mean it only works when I'm affected with Sasha?" Ash asked while raising her eyebrow in doubt before shaking his head. "To think that's possible."
"Well, you do really care for the Maiden of Lescatie. You do it for the sake of her own safety from such cruel fate," Siegward remarked in wonder before laying down his eye to Ash once more. "You are her Knight, aren't you?"
"... Yes, I am." At that moment, Ash sat silently for a moment while his eyes gazed at the bonfire, and thus, he slowly nods. "If it works, then there is something deep within me which I truly cared for her."
...
'S-Stop it! It hurts!' Her monsterized mind screamed in terror. 'N-No! Help Me!'
The four Monsterized Priests on the balcony watched the scene in disbelief before they saw her entire being emits sparks of light and shines brightly as the sun itself. The Dark Priests shielded their eyes before they felt a massive surge of mana whirling through the air like a ravage current. Ash closed his eyes while the light intensifies before the world turns black as the void itself.
In the Pandemonium, the Fallen God and her adherents immediately stopped their celebration and witnessed the scene in disbelief.
The Fallen God then realizes something went wrong and her eyes grew in horror; the new adherent of her faith is now turning back to her pre-transformation state and as well as her Human side that has been locked away, resurfaces. She will not allow this impossibility and interfere with them. But just as she raised her hand and contorts the fabric of time in the mortal realm, she smiled once a small orb forms in her hand so that no one could reawaken her old self. But then; she felt an ominous power that caught her act and contorts its ability in a more opposite approach. She saw their vision of the Silver-Blue Knight distorts itself and faded away from the mortal realm. Her adherents looked amongst each other in confusion, but the Fallen God sensed that something landed into her realm. It was not a God or any divine messengers.
Her senses caught a presence of a Mortal being who stood somewhere out there in the Pandemonium. The Deity of Depravity now caught a small glimpse in her inner vision of a Silver-Blue Knight, lying unconsciously out there in the outer ridge, somewhere at the edges of her realm before the vision faded away. Obscuring him from the eyes of gods before the deity grits her teeth and seethes uncontrollably as her eyes dilate.
'THIS CAN'T BE!' Her mind yelled out furiously in frustration. 'HOW DID HE ENDED UP IN PANDEMONIUM!?'
...
Fallen Tower, Between 45th and 46th Floor.
...
"Hey... I just felt something's isn't right." Reginald spoke up as he looked around. "Guys; isn't me or does it feel like the air just stood still."
"What are you talking about?" Elaine raised her eyebrow in confusion.
"It seems I felt a strange disturbance..." Sif speaks up, catching their attention. "...My senses told me that the time had just come into a halt."
"Wait... the time just stopped?" Elen raised her head while looking up to Sif. "What you mean the time has stopped?"
"This isn't the first time I've felt such unnatural phenomenons," Sif explained before climbing up the staircases while the others followed. "I've observed over Lordran for centuries, and it is a place where time is convoluted and very fabric wavers in strange ways."
"Hold on a second, you're telling me that place could send someone in a different timeline without knowing?" Elen questioned incredulously.
"Perhaps, it might. But such cases were rare." Sif replied with a nod. "Sir Cyrus is one of them who traversed through time without warning."
Once the group reached the 46th floor, Arcturus immediately unsheathed his sword once he saw a Cursed Sword who stood in the middle of an empty area. He raised his shield and cautiously stepped in; thus after a few seconds have passed, his eyes rose in confusion to see that a Mamono isn't reacting. Once he got close, she didn't budge in the slightest, and Arcturus saw her eyes were wide open in tears. Yet the strangest of all that he caught sight of droplets which consists of her tears and blood that are suspended on thin air.
The Knight of Sunlight curiously waved his hand in front of her eyes. But there is not a slight reaction, nor a single movement has made.
"Strange, it looks like she's frozen." Arcturus wondered in curiosity. "Then this must be magic at work that halts time."
Reginald, who stood by his left side; raised his eyebrow in question. "Wait... does that mean the world just stopped?"
...
Meanwhile, near the bridge entrance of the Fallen Tower.
"Well, looks like the world entered a jiffy." Siegward placed both of his hands on his hips while looking around horses that froze themselves like statues. "It seems like somebody is playing the rift of time here!"
...
In the Town of Gerth, Sieglinde just came out of her room and walked down the stairs. But to her utmost curiosity, her ears picked up eerie, as if the entire place went silent. The restaurant is completely silent and still. She walked through the hallways and went downstairs. Then, to her shock; she gasped in horror upon witnessing the customers and including her mother, froze like statues.
She looks around and saw several wooden mugs with liquids of ale are suspended in thin air. Then she heard footsteps coming from the Restaurant's entrance and saw Siegmeyer bursts through the door with Maughlin and Andre.
"Sis! You're alright!" Siegmeyer spoke out in relief before hugging Sieglinde before looking to the bar and saw his mother. "Damn... her too. Listen Sieglinde, everyone around the town is frozen!"
"Th-The entire town!?" Sieglinde widened her eyes in shock.
"Aye, even the birds just stopped in mid-air," Andre stated with a nod. "Looks like the fabric of time seems to be out of control."
"Then it must've been Ash Cyrus and the others involved with this." Maughlin wondered while stroking his chin in deep convictions. "I have a feeling they must've struck something worse."
Sieglinde's face then expressed worry before hearing several footsteps rushing through the entrance and saw Gerome with heavy breathing.
"Thank the Lords, you all guys aren't affected," Gerome speaks out with exhaustion. "The children, everyone around the town, even in the outskirts just stopped."
"Then I suppose we just have to hope and pray that Ash and the others will be alright," Andre stated with a heartfelt voice while looking down in dread.
Pandemonium, Outer Ridge.
...
"...Ugh..." Ash groaned while opening his eyes before he sat up. The Knight finds himself lying on the ground in a middle of a dark void. "What... is this place...?"
The entire place reminds him back to the darkest pits of New Londo; where the Four Kings once lived the place known as the Abyss. But the place he's in is foggy, which obscures his vision while the overall temperature is currently... undoubtedly warm. But the stench he smells is unbearable, which reeks of human sweat. Thus then, a small glowing butterfly flew beside him.
"...Strange," Ash muttered in confusion while looking around. "Siegward didn't mention about... this."
The curious butterfly stared at the Knight and flew into the fog. Within a few moments later, Ash noticed that the small glowing butterfly seems to stop and waiting for him from a distance.
"So... should I be following you?" Ash asked, dumbfounded. Until the butterfly goes up and down in response. "I take that as a yes."
The Knight stepped in and followed the butterfly while the clanking sound of his Armour echoed through the empty void.
...
*Click* *Clack* *Click* *Clack*
...
It felt hours have passed, but Ash knew it was minutes ago. While following the butterfly's trail, he made it to the end of the fog and he could see another faint light in a distance under the lightless void. Judging by its shape, it is a portal; a doorway to gods know where it leads.
"Alright... let's go." Ash declared with a deep sigh before stepping in along with the butterfly and disappears without a single trace
Within the tunnel, Ash could see a whirling vortex full of mana while most have distinguished humanoid faces ranging from humans and mamono; they all moaned and scream in pleasure. The Knight shuddered to witness actual spirits are enjoying the pleasures of depravity in the afterlife. After a few minutes of walking through, the tunnel opened itself at the end and Ash stepped out from the transport.
His boot stepped on the dusty soil and saw a land of distorted ruins made of the existing kingdoms while covered in vibrant purple. Then he looks up to the skies and saw millions of stars that glittered in the dark void beyond this realm. Ash then turns around and saw a stone sign written in the world's native language and reads it out loud.
"Pan-de-monium." Ash reads out slowly before his eyes widen in surprise. "Pandemonium."
The Silver-Blue couldn't fathom himself to witness his view filled with rocky terrains before looking up to the nearest city of the fallen realm. The Astoran remembered the description of such a place that exists beyond the mortal realm of humans and monster girls. A world where time flows strangely and monsters such as the Dark Priests themselves would go in this place with their husbands to suspend their aging, thirst, and hunger for the sake of copulation.
After all, copulation with love and depravity is the most sacred thing in the Order of the Fallen Faith than anything else. Ash knew such similar cults exists back in his previous world, but they all died out quickly because of the Undead Curse which ravaged humans. The Knight shakes off his head from such thoughts before taking his first steps into the depraved realm.
Ash walks up to a nearby cliff and looks down to a place where he saw over hundreds of monster couples having sex from all over the place like a massive orgy. Humans and mamono's copulated endlessly, and he even saw children were taking part in their sexual festivities without shame. Even doing so in front of their parents while having sex with a man they've caught from the mortal realm makes his stomach churned in disgust. They had an entire life ahead of them, but they will take it for the sake of finding a husband instead. But if these men have close connections with their families, they will soon follow while in their attempts to search for their missing relatives.
This is the first time where the Silver-Blue Knight witnessed such a depraving sight of orgies from far and wide, which made the mamono camps he eradicated earlier in Lescatie look more like small cartels. Ash took a deep sigh before stepping down a nearby staircase that leads to a city of the Realm. Several mamono couples got caught off-guard by surprise to see a human warrior coming out of nowhere and resemble that of an Order Knight who is walking freely around the Fallen realm, and it confused them to see how a mortal gets into Pandemonium without being affected by the surrounding energy until the real dangers that he might get attacked by any suspicious mamono's he comes across.
Ash barely ignored their dumbfounded stares and keep walking down the road while following the butterfly until he noticed a shadow flew overhead. He looks up and saw a group of Dark Valkyries flying in the skies and heading in a direction from where he started. The Silver-Blue Knight knew he is lucky that his lack of essence prevented him from being detected. He's aware of the divine adherents of the Gods, such as the Angels types are experts to detect mana in an instant like the Demons. Well, in fact. The Mamono's are highly sensitive to detect mana.
The butterfly flies in the next corner to the right, which he followed through until it led him through a tight pathway that stood by the edge of the cliffs. Ash carefully dragged his feet across and a few rocks tumbled down and fall into the endless clouds below the lands.
"At least this is some shortcut." Ash breathes behind his visor. "A better route to take rather than the major roads. Hopefully, they won't notice that I'm here."
The Knight reached the end of the corner and climbed up the rocks until he reached the top before he looked up and spotted another group of Valkyries. He sprinted for the nearest cover behind the rock to avoid their watchful eyes. Once they flew over without being seen, Ash carefully peeks out and made his way to the City.
...
Pandemonium; City of the Fallen.
...
A couple of hours passed, and Ash reached the capital of the distorted realm. From there, he saw many mamono couples standing in line in front of the city's entrance. Ash exhaled deeply in disappointment when he caught some couples doing intimate things while waiting in line. The Knight looks up to the walls and opted for an idea to sneak across the walls. He deiced to equip his Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring and cast a Hidden Body Spell. When a mamono couple entered through the door with the Dark Valkyrie's permission, little did they know that a third guest went along and sneaked through the gates.
Thus there he saw the city's activities behind those enormous walls. Most of the residents were the Succubus Dark Priests strolled around together with their husbands. Ash quickly went to the nearest dark corner before the spell faded out to reveal his appearance. The Knight walked down the dark path while looking up to a seemingly important building from a distance that lies on top of a rocky mountain, a large temple that is built even bigger than any constructs of the city.
However, his sightseeing on the temple was interrupted as soon as he felt a pair of hands stroke his shoulder and arms before he heard a voice slurred with a malicious chuckle behind him.
"Ara~? What is a lonely human doing here?" Ash slightly turned his eyes around and saw a Dark Priest with brown hair tied in a braid, trying to seduce him. "How did you end up in Pandemonium? Did you got lost~? Hoh~ You look single as if you're untainted-"
Ash didn't have time to hear her words and smashed her face with his elbow, caving the skull that completely killed her. He needs to move quickly and hid her corpse under the shadows of the alleyway, continued his way down the path before her corpse will bring the attention of the Fallen God and her adherents nearby. To avoid some unnecessary attention; he put down his bottomless box and raised his Fallen Knights Armor before ripping off its cloak and wore it over his Elite Knight Armor.
"I hope this disguise won't notice my identity." Ash curiously wondered himself before moving into another area.
The next area he stepped into was quite a crowded place filled with Dark Priests, Incubi's, and Dark Angels walking around. Talking among each other while their wives sought to buy Corruption Fruits, aphrodisiacs, sex toys, and many more that feeds for their insatiable lust.
"This entire place is a brothel." Ash sighed with a deadpanned look. "I can't believe Sasha would bring me here in this debauched world."
Ash gazed his eyes to the glowing bitterly he's been following. Strange, not one person except him is unaware that the glowing bitterly is flying right in front of their faces. He couldn't help but snicker silently while passing by nearby concerned mamono couples who caught to see a hulking cloaked figure. After minutes have passed, he heard a scream coming from a direction where he left off before a group of Valkyries ran in a hurry while not noticing the cloaked intruder hid behind a nearby corner.
'They're heading to the place where I left off.' His mind spoke. 'I'd better make haste to reach the temple.'
Ash went out from his cover and continued down the path to the Temple while avoiding the Dark Valkyries nearby.
...
Pandemonium, Temple of the Fallen God.
"HE'S HERE IN THIS VERY CITY!?" The Fallen God cried out in disbelief before slamming the armrest of her throne. "How can that be!? No mortal could bypass the entrance, and I know that you as well can sense his essence without failure!"
"P-Pardon us, we didn't know that he entered through!" The Dark Valkyrie behind the magic mirror made an immediate apologizing bow. "W-We'll make sure that we will find him!"
"Then tell every guard to patrol the city," The Deity seethed as anger slowly rising. "No one should enter or leave the city."
"At you command, your Unholiness!" The Dark Valkyrie acknowledges with a salute before her image disappears from the mirror.
The Fallen God sulks down while massaging her temples in frustration. She couldn't believe that the Silver-Blue is already in her beloved fallen paradise in a short amount of time! The Deity then thought about the sudden incompetence of her Valkyries and her Dark Angels that could not detect him. Sure, humans can be easily spotted because of their Spirit Energy, but the Silver-Blue is an exception, including his companions, who have some powerful magic to cover their essence without fail.
'To Hel's Damnation! Is this what my fate supposed to be!?' The Fallen God bit her thumb out of anger and ignorance. 'Just why!? I am a God and how could fate tells a Mortal can beat me!? This is impossible!'
Then of a sudden, she heard the large doors opened and saw Daria rushed into her throne room in a hurry before kneeling down with a frightened expression.
"Y-Your Unholiness... h-he's here!" Daria uttered frantically before looking up. "The Silver-Blue made his way through the defense perimeters!"
"...WHAT!?" The Fallen God widened her eyes in disbelief. "Th-... that fast!
...
"This way!"
Ash hid behind the dark corners as he let a group of Dark Valkyries passed by. He peeks out to see the coast is clear before heading to a new hallway until another Dark Valkyrie suddenly came around the corner.
"Wh-What the-!? Intruder!"
The Valkyrie drew her sword in surprise, but Ash reacted fast and grappled her arm and dislocated her elbow. The Mamono attempted to scream out in pain to call the others, but the Knight covered her mouth and twisted her neck to end her life before heading straight into a nearby entrance and ended up in a distorted area filled with stairs and doors that are positioned up, down and reversed.
"Damn... where should I go...?" Ash then looks down to the butterfly and leads the way. "Huh, it seems you know the way after all."
Then Knight followed the butterfly through the distorted stairways by going through the right doors and staircases. While walking through the hazy labyrinth, Ash came to recognize that he's walking up-side-down on every corner. Yet it seems gravity is distorted as well, where he cannot fall while his feet stick on a ceiling before heading to a stone door with a lever mechanism to the right side, the butterfly convinced him to open the entrance to the next area from what it seems to be a massive hallway.
From there, he could see a couple of Dark Valkyries caught their sights on the Silver-Blue Knight. The Unholy Adherents of the Fallen God summoned their spears and pulled down their helmet visors before dashing to the intruding Knight.
Ash immediately rolled to the left to avoid their thrusting blows, and then he countered by slicing off one of the Dark Valkyrie's right leg before thrusting his claymore's blade through her abdomen. The second Dark Valkyries reeled back in disgust and horror until Ash pushed his claymore against the corpse into his next target, thrusting his blade through the dead body into another before crashing against the floor.
The Knight then stood as he pulled up his claymore before he whipped off their blood from the weapon and ran past through the hallway until he reached a throne room of the Fallen Deity. And there, he saw a giant throne made of marble that lies at the end of the massive area. Alina and Daria peeked out while hiding behind stone pillars as if they observed the Silver-Blue Knight taking eerie steps.
Daria shivered in fear once she senses his aura was completely out of place while Alina grits her teeth as she clenched her sword tightly. The Knight may be a human, but her senses could've been wrong that he emits danger which a single move to interfere with him might cause death.
'D-Damnit! To think he came this far,' Alina felt a sweat trailing down from her forehead. 'Without being detected, no less!'
Ash gazed aimlessly around the before he senses a malevolent aura coming from all sides and the glowing Butterfly sticks itself on his shoulder out of fear. Then the Knight heard a voice coming from the marble throne.
"I found you, Silver-Blue Knight!"
Then time froze before darkness took over the throne hall. Ash stood cautiously with his weapons ready until a massive voluptuous humanoid emerged from the darkness. She flashed a menacing smile before leaning over to the Knight, which she sees as nothing more but a toy figure compared to her size.
"So we've finally met," The Fallen God spoke with an evil smile while her gaze looks down upon him. "Although, it's even unexpected that you, a mortal, would've been the first one to come this far."
Ash then steeled his eyes while looking up to the deity. "Where is Sasha?"
"Oh, her?... Hmm, ah! Right here~!" Ash then widened his eyes as he saw the Fallen Deity held up a giant glass-like orb and the Knight could clearly see Sasha inside and she's in a state of deep slumber. "I do not know why do you strive to free her from her true ascended state, are you not satisfied with her newly found beauty?"
At this moment, Ash then opened his mouth. "... Ascended state?"
"Indeed! I have awakened her desire to fulfill her wishes. Her true form!" The Fallen God then made an even crooked smile before dismissing the slumbering Priestess back into her palms. "So she accepted my words to become one of us! But you; you don't accept your Maiden's wishes to strive for peaceful coexistence between humans and monsters?"
"No... I can't accept such a fate for the world. All I wanted for Sasha to forge her new path." Ash replied which the Deity still stood unamused by hearing his words. "She didn't wish for the world to be happy is such a pipe dream."
"Oh, she didn't? Then why couldn't you just accept the new Maiden I made for you?" The Fallen God snickered a mockery towards the Knight. "After all~ You can't change her fate because you, Ash Cyrus, are a mortal. You can't undo the works of the Gods."
"The maiden you gave me is nothing, but a debauched being," Ash spoke in a tone filled with rage as he clenched his fist. "And I'll make sure you don't get such consequences in the afterlife."
"Hah! HAHAHAHAHAHA~! How cute~!" The Deity laughed out loud. "Then how can such a pitiful being such as thee can harm me?"
"...This."
Ash then drew his talisman and casts a Lightning Spear before aiming to the right shoulder of the Fallen God. The Deity just stood there with a smirk of overconfidence until he hurled the Lightning Spear and hit its mark with a powerful impact. Then the Fallen Deity widened her eyes in shock as she reeled back while feeling a surge of electric pain coursing through her arms.
"AAARGH!" The Fallen God screamed before clenching her right shoulder, then she glared at the mortal with a hiss. "Y-Y-YOU DARE HARM A DEITY!"
The Fallen God raised her left arm and summoned a gigantic purple orb filled with demonic energy. "YOUR EXISTENCE SHALL CEASE FROM THIS WORLD!"
Ash picked up his danger senses and looks up. He saw the massive orb hurled towards him before he rolled away to avoid getting hit, then he returned fire with another lightning spear. But the Fallen God caught the incoming spear and creates a shield to block the attack, yet unfortunately, her barrier shattered into millions of fragments by his Lightning Spear. She widened her eyes in horror.
"Th-This can't be!"The Fallen God cried out in disbelief. "How is it possible that your powers can harm me!?"
"These powers don't belong to me," Ash spoke with an indifferent tone. "Beings who utilized the Power of Lords made them, to destroy the everlasting creatures... and Gods."
"Wh-What..." The Fallen God uttered before she saw small glitters of embers and ashes billowed underneath his feet once he stepped forth. "J-Just what are you!"
"... I am a Knight who you just messed with... and all I want is to get her back." The Fallen Deity then faltered back as fear swept over her core before Ash swung his Claymore, pointing up to the Goddess. "Then you can't stop me from doing it."
...
Chapter 21: Ends.
Author's notes: OOooooofffff, now this chapter is done. I'll just take a rest and check some errors to deal with before writing down the next Showdown. (I think I got sleepy while writing this chapter and got lazy about it.)
Oh, and by the way; What Battle Music would you prefer to listen for Dark Lord Ash vs Dark Priest Sasha in this chapter and then for the upcoming chapter?
AN 2: Hearing Persona Ost does make me some motivation.
