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 in their very eyes. A battle between a Dark Priest and the Knight. Janice, Amana, Ivy, and Janeline were shaken in awe and fear that both combatants fought with equal strength and extraordinary skills.
The Dark Priest lashed out a flurry of strikes with her sword and then thrust the tip of her blade multiple times while Ash countered with defensive parries and ripostes like a flow of a river stream. The monsterized priestess then jumps back to avoid his one deadly blow when Ash took his opportunity to strike the opening. Sasha grits her teeth in frustration that every strike she tries to hit her beloved Knight had been flawlessly deflected by his counter-parries as if was an easy feat for him. Then he thrust his sword after a successful counter.
Sasha immediately vanished in a cloud of thick black smoke and reappeared 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 against her face. The force sends the dark priest several feet away and harshly rolled her through the ground.
"Kuh! By the Gods, you're actually good at fighting than I expected!" Sasha growled in admittance while standing on her own feet and wiping off the blood trail from her lips. "Tsk, you may have an overwhelming advantage over me in close-quarters..."
"But the powers I received from the Fallen God will 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 until he saw many dark spots like portals appearing out of thin air, and black vines shot out. The Knight immediately rolled away and strafed to the right and left 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 attack while slicing the vine apart as well. Sasha bit her lips bitterly as he was aware that he knew her tricks.
Seeing how he swiftly sliced them up in quick sessions, she summons more vines in her attempts to catch him.
Janeline admitted that her previous opinions about the Silver-Blue Knight by judging his appearance alone are akin to a human warrior who has near hero-like abilities. But she was wrong, he was unlike any ordinary human warrior who's extremely skilled in combat with none of God's blessings, not like the heroes of the Order themselves that she had witnessed in the past years and they fell easily to the temptations of her other sisters-in-arms or the seducing words of the Fallen God.
"This knight hardly broke a sweat!" Amana said shakingly in fear. "Sasha told us once he fought ugly monsters, which were far worse than here!... I mean, she isn't wrong."
"I can't believe this man could fight against monsterized heroes like they were nothing," Janeline said in a serious tone. "Even the divine adherents of the Fallen God helped little to stop this madman."
"I was wondering myself... from where did he gain such powers to resist our mana?" Janice felt sweat pouring down her face while observing the battle before a fireball shot out and hits the balcony with a fiery explosion. "By the Goddess! That nearly killed us!"
"A-Aren't we supposed to help Sasha?" Ivy was shaken with worry. "I-I think she's having trouble dealing with him!"
"We can't... Just look at their state in battle!" Janeline spoke as her eyebrows furrowed as Ash and Sasha clashed their swords in inhuman speed and reflexes before breaking up and clashing in once more, releasing another powerful blast. "It's too dangerous to intervene, and he'll kill one of us if we dare to get caught in a crossfire."
Back to the fight between the Knight and the Dark Priestess, Ash dodged the incoming vines and sliced them off before strafing to the right to avoid another attack from the bigger ones which crashed into the ground, leaving behind craters. This time it has the diameter as that of a tree trunk.
"Ash! Please, I beg you to stop!" Sasha cried out while raising her finger and summoned a large orb filled with corrupted darkness. "Stay down and be a good boy!"
The Dark Priest hurled the orb in his direction. Ash saw the incoming attack and raised his crest shield. Upon the collision, the explosion erupted, and the shield held while absorbing most of the impact while his feet skidded back a few meters. Seeing how he withstood her magic, Sasha dashed towards the Knight, and Ash saw a blur coming straight towards him. Sasha stopped and raised her right fist which is coated with corrupted magic. She landed a hit on his shield, but it didn't budge slightly and Ash retaliates with a shield bash that pushed her back a few meters.
"Gah!... hah!... hah... Ash... Please... can you stay still~!" Dark Priest Sasha cried out while summoning more vines in her attempt 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... I do not want to delve this further!" Sasha's voice then trembled in desperation while 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!? WHY ARE YOU LOYAL TO MY OLD SELF!?" At that moment, Ash stood at a halt but keep his guard up while the Dark Priest begged. "Why... why could you not understand how I feel? You do not know how much I loved you?"
"My apologies... there is a reason that I should not accept thee," Ash spoke starkly. "You... are but a complete stranger to me. Not the person I knew."
"S-stranger!? It... It hurts, Ash... It hurts me a lot when you say that! The Fallen God... has liberated me from my cold heart so that I can express my feelings for you." Sasha teared up with a broken heart as her words tried to reason with him with her understanding and hoped her voice can reach his heart. "I don't want this to end in tragedy... and hear me out... The reason why 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 arms 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. There is no purpose that we could achieve something from this violence... My only wish is I want you to live with me... we can live together in peace," Sasha replied with a warm smile that radiates a sensation of comfort. "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 be feeling uneasy than that while hearing the familiar tone of her 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 if we liberate them from their shackles of hardships~! 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."
"... Huh?... 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 efforts of hardships and suffering... without them, happiness no longer has a meaning. The burden I have in my past is far more than you can think of... just to imagine what it was like to offer the ultimate sacrifice to end a dying, decrepit world from the shackles of stagnation so a new one can usher." Ash said, making the Dark Priest widen her eyes in disbelief as she remembered his line during the day when Ash comforted Sasha before taking up the Oath. But she didn't get the hint of his last part as if he did something. Then he spoke up his reason. "I know you do not understand these words as a monster. For the world, they were important to many as a way of living. I've suffered enough and seen many tragedies throughout my journeys. I've bled with pain and witnessed my comrades die as they achieved their goals... Yet I'm still here, I'm standing because my Will did not see where I can give up and my goal will remain that I shall free her from you! For that is the purpose of my vow to her life."
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 knowing the Fate of the Undead and freeing an Undead named Ash Cyrus from the cell, died and went hollow in the Northern Asylum. A forsaken place where he started his journey.
Yet their lives and ambition remain in his memories. Despite their background and guilt, they all wanted their desired goal before embracing their deaths and the peace they deserved.
"But these tragedies were important for me and changed who I am. Despite my wounds being mended, my scars remain and I couldn't let them go because I cherished them the most." Ash continued as his eyes steeled with courage while holding tightly to his weapon. Memories flashed before his very eyes and saw where his actions did to end their tragedies and free them from their cursed fate. "All I want is Sasha to have her new purpose and forge her own path without the value of her desires. You are but a manifestation of her desire in its sickening form and claim yourself as liberated from your burden that remains unatoned, and fighting for an idea. An idea of a so-called, "Perfection" who brings out such foolish dreams under the name of greed and obsession, which can turn the world only for nought."
"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 smile behind his helmet. He thanked the important words of Patches, the Unbreakable Thief who told about the unforgivable desires of Greed. Greed can be anything other than unfathomable wealth. It holds many things that affect life. Whether it be power to a tyrant like Gwyn, it will also include Love that turns into greed and obsession with desires like the Demon Lord herself who wanted such goals to be enforced on others. Those were the real dangers.
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 an anguish sensation within her heart. She doesn't want to remain in such a place with unforeseen and unforgiving consequences. She hated that. The Dark Priest 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. Not everyone and the world itself."
When Gods can detect lies while humans can't, but if such a person can exist and know any lies behind their masks, then so can he. Sasha clenched her shaken fists while opening and closing. Her mind is lost in thoughts that it truly proved her wrong and that gaining his approval is far more difficult than she expected. Therefore, seducing Ash from his gloomy nature seems worthless.
"For a monster like you, don't shy yourself to express freely that you've taken a likening on me..." Ash stated bluntly. "But your eyes speak differently as if you saw me like I was just a mere toy."
Hearing those words made her heart on the verge of being shattered.
"To express love only requires courage and only the Sasha I knew can do it."
The Dark Priest grew silent until her eyebrows furrowed and seethe in frustration. Seeing herself and her previous self in comparison, the Dark Priest knew her beauty is unmatched. But the knight desired her old self, the life as a human where she used to be.
'This isn't fair... THIS ISN'T FAIR!'
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 toward Ash. The Knight rolled out until he saw her fade out in an instant from his sights and immediately reappeared on his left flank, then casts wind force spell that sends him rolling down the floor like a force. More vines sprouted out from the ground and caught his legs and arms.
Ash rips out some of them in his struggle to break free, but more grew from the black spots to keep him down.
The feeling of rejection is not her aim, and she will not allow it. 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... I refuse to be rejected!" She said in a shaken tone with a glare as tears streamed down 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 deep within his very soul. All of it, whatever horrors he had witnessed and struggled with it must have moulded him into something worse.
"Oh... you poor, poor soul," Sasha teared up 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 as Ash braced himself. Once their lips made contact, her mind heightens with lust and knows what she was going to do with him. Ecstasy now ran through her blood as her body grew in heat, ready to copulate with the knight she badly desired for his seed and free him from the world.
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 Ashen One 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 twisted within their lips with his. But then, of all a sudden... she stopped. "Mmmh~?... Hm?... 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 while 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, his actions from the previous moments were a trick right after the purging stone broke into pieces. 'Looks like Siegward was right all along.'
...
"Wait, if Plan A fails... another way in order to save her in Plan B is to kiss her!?" Ash said out loud incredulously. "It sounds ridiculous! How can that work!?"
"It does sound ridiculous, but it's true." Siegward raised up his hands in a worrying manner, but he did not falter in his words. "Before I married Jennifer, she was turned into a monster, a Werewolf."
"She caught me off-guard and pinned me down to the ground while I was mopping the floor in my new life!" 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 at the Catarinian in disbelief before shaking his head off. "That... can't be right."
"Other monster girls kissed me out of surprise, including the ones who're monsterized. But it affected none of them," Siegward explained further with a wave of his hand in dismissal. "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 his eyebrow in doubt until he let out a deep sigh. "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 a cruel fate," Siegward remarked with a smile and then let out a chuckle. "You are her Knight, aren't you?"
"... Yes, I am..." Ash said admittingly as he turned his gaze to the bonfire. The Ashen One remained silent for a while until he speaks up. "If it works and your words remain true... then there is something deep within me which I truly cared for her."
...
'S-Stop it! It hurts!' Her monsterized mind screamed in terror. 'No! Help Me! I'm burning!'
The four monsterized Priestesses on the balcony watched the scene in disbelief as they saw her entire body emitting sparks of light and radiating brightly as the sun itself. The Dark Priests shielded their eyes until 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 to their dismay.
The Fallen God then realises 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, which has been locked away, resurfaces.
She will not allow this impossibility and interferes with them. She raised her hand and contorts the fabric of time and space in the mortal realm. The Deity of Depravity smiled once a small orb forms within her hand, containing the human representation of Sasha Fullmoon so that no one could reawaken the maiden's old self.
After this, 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 distort itself and faded away from the mortal realm. Her adherents shared their glances with each other in confusion, but the Fallen God sensed that something landed in 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 within 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 and the deity grits her teeth. Seething uncontrollably as her eyes dilate.
'THIS CAN'T BE!' Her mind yelled out furiously in frustration. 'HOW DID HE ENTER PANDEMONIUM!?'
...
Fallen Tower, Between 45th and 46th Floor.
...
"Hey... I just felt something 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 my hunch is correct. I felt a strange disturbance..." Sif speaks up, catching their attention. "... My senses told me that the time had just come to a halt."
"Wait... the time just stopped?" Elen raised her head while looking up at Sif. "What do 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 is common for it to happen and it could send someone in a different timeline without being aware of it?" Elen questioned incredulously. "So then... his story about Oolacile wasn't that all exaggerated?"
"It never was... and such cases were exceedingly rare," Sif replied with a nod. "Sir Cyrus is one of the few who traversed through time without warning."
Once the group reached the 46th floor, Arcturus immediately unsheathed his sword once he saw a Cursed Sword that stood in the middle of an empty area. He raised his shield and cautiously stepped in. 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. Arcturus only sees her eyes were wide open in tears. Yet the strangest of all that he caught sight of droplets which consisted of her tears and blood was suspended in 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.
"Whoa... completely frozen like a statue." Arcturus wondered in curiosity. "Then this must be the power of magic at work, which 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 in a jiffy." Siegward placed both of his hands on his hips while looking around, and sees the horses freeze 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 sounds, as if the entire place went silent. The restaurant is completely silent and, to her confusion, this hour is supposed to be filled with rowdy customers. She went through the hallways and went downstairs. Then, to her shock, her mouth fell and gasped in horror upon witnessing the customers, including her own mother, frozen like statues.
She looks around and saw several frozen men who raised their wooden mugs in a celebrating manner as the liquid of ale was suspended in thin air. Then she heard footsteps coming from outside the Restaurant's entrance and saw Siegmeyer burst through the door with Maughlin and Andre.
"Sis! You're alright!" Siegmeyer spoke out in relief while hugging his older sister before turning his gaze at the bar. Seeing the state of 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 is 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 until they heard the sounds of 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 on the outskirts!... They just stopped!"
"Then I suppose we just have to wait and hope. I shall give my prayers that Ash and the others will be alright," Andre stated worryingly, to make sure his hopes ensure that Ash and the company will return to the world once it was.
...
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 in 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 smelled 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 like hours have passed, but Ash knew it was minutes ago. While following the butterfly's direction, he made it to the end of the fog where he could see another faint light in a distance under the lightless void. Judging by its shape and unnatural aura, it's a portal. Some magic passage that only the gods know where it leads.
"Alright... let's go." Ash declared with a deep breath before stepping into the unknown with the small butterfly and disappearing without a single trace
Within the tunnel, Ash could see a whirling vortex full of wandering, transcendent naked spirits. Their faces were clear to be seen, and they all ranged from humans and monsters alike. The tunnel made him feel uneasy as the spirits all moaned and screamed out in pleasure. The Knight shuddered to witness actual spirits enjoying the pleasures of depravity in the afterlife. He'd wonder if some of the dead are resting peacefully in their slumber... perhaps not.
After a few minutes of traversing the pathway, the spirit tunnel opened itself at the end of the path and Ash wastes no time before going out.
His boot stepped on the dusty soil and saw a land of distorted ruins made of the existing kingdoms while the landscapes were covered in a mix of vibrant purple and green. Then he looks up to the skies and saw millions of stars that glittered in the void beyond this realm. Ash then turns around and saw a stone sign written in the world's native language and read it out loud.
"Pan-de-monium." Ash reads out slowly before his eyes widen in surprise. "Pandemonium."
The Silver-Blue then realises that he finds himself in the Fallen Realm. He scanned around to witness his sightseeing view filled with rocky terrains until he turns his gaze at the nearest
civilization, the main capital of Pandemonium. The Astoran remembered the description from the Encyclopedia that a place exists beyond the reaches of the mortal realm of humans and monster girls. It is a world where time flows strangely. Monsters such as the Dark Priests and the fallen adherents themselves would go to this place with their husbands to suspend their ageing, 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 existed back in his previous world, but they all died out quickly because of the Undead Curse, which had ravaged the humans and other great civilisations. The knight shakes off his head from such thoughts and takes his first steps into the depraved realm.
The knight wasn't sure that he's whether to be the first human who traversed this place.
Ash walks up to a nearby cliff and looks down to a place where he saw over thousands of monster couples having sex from all over the place like a massive orgy. Humans and Monster Girls copulated endlessly, and he even saw children 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 churn 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 trying 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 during his time in Lescatie were akin to smaller cartels. Ash took another deep sigh while stepping down a nearby staircase that leads to the capital city of the Fallen Realm. Several mamono couples got caught off-guard by surprise to see a human warrior coming out of nowhere and resembling 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 its surrounding energy. Ash knew the real dangers that he might get attacked by any suspicious mamonos he comes across such as the divine adherents of the Gods.
Ash barely ignored their dumbfounded stares and keep walking down the road while following the butterfly.
Then he noticed a shadow that flew overhead.
He looks up and saw a group of Dark Valkyries flying in the skies and heading in their direction from where he started. The Silver-Blue Knight knew he was lucky that his lack of essence prevented him from being detected. He's aware of the information about divine adherents of the Gods, such as the Angels types who are experts to detect an individual's mana in an instant and accurately know where the person stood. Well, in fact... the Mamonos in general were highly sensitive to detecting mana.
The butterfly flies in the next corner to the right, and he followed it until the little creature led him through a tight pathway that stood by the edge of the cliffs. Ash carefully dragged his feet across until a few rocks tumbled down and fall into the endless clouds below the lands.
"At least this shortcut is better than taking the main roads." Ash breathed out heavily in adrenaline behind his visor. "If I take the main road, they'll easily spot me. 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 furrowed his eyebrows in disgust when he caught some couples doing intimate things while in the waiting line. The knight turns his gaze at the city over the walls and opted for the idea to sneak through the gates. He equipped his Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring and cast a Hidden Body Spell before infiltrating the waiting line. When a monster couple entered through the gates with the Dark Valkyrie's permission, who granted them entry, little did they know that a third guest went along and the valkyries stood unaware of his presence.
Thus, he came to view the city's activity. Almost every resident in this place consists of Succubus Dark Priests strolling around together with their husbands. Ash quickly went to the nearest dark corner as he realised the spell fades out to reveal his appearance. The knight walked down the dark alleyway while locking his gaze on a seemingly important building that stood from a distance that lies on top of a rocky mountain, a large temple that is built even bigger than any construct of the city.
However, his sightseeing over the temple was interrupted as soon as he felt a pair of hands stroke his right shoulder and his left arm until he heard a voice slurred with a malicious giggle behind him.
"Ara~? What's a lonely human doing here?" Ash slightly turned his eyes around and saw a Dark Priest with brown hair tied in a braid. This mamono seems to take a liking to him. "How did you end up in Pandemonium? Did you got lost~? Hoh~ An untainted human shouldn't be here alone... unless~"
The Dark Priest then smiled in a twisting manner. "Fufufu~! Dear me, would you like to have fun with me~?"
"No, thank you."
"Wha-!?"
*SMASH!*
Ash didn't have time to hear her words and smashed her face with his elbow, caving the skull that completely killed her. He quickly hid her corpse under the shadows of the alleyway and placed her behind the pottery, then process to continue 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 to rip off its ragged 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 crowded. Filled with Dark Priests, Incubi, and Dark Angels strolling around. The men were casually chatting among each other while their wives, regardless of any age whether they could be adult women or little girls, sought to buy Corruption Fruits, aphrodisiacs, sex toys, and many more that fed their insatiable lust.
"This entire place will make any brothel back home to shame." Ash sighed with a look of disgust before shaking his head. "I can't believe that Dark Priest being Sasha would bring me here in this debauched world."
Ash turns his gaze at the glowing butterfly that he's been following. Strange, not one person except him knows that the glowing butterfly is flying right in front of their faces. He couldn't help but let out a silent snicker while passing through the concerned mamono couples who caught their sights to see a hulking cloaked figure. Once he took a sharp turn to the right path, he heard a scream coming from the direction where he left off the corpse until a group of Valkyries ran in a hurry, while not noticing the cloaked intruder hid behind a nearby corner.
'They're still sending their soldiers to the place where I left off.' His mind spoke. 'This makes it easy... 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 yelled 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!"
"I-I apologise for our incompetence! We didn't know he entered through!" The Dark Valkyrie behind the magic mirror made an apologetic 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 rose. "No one should enter or leave the city!"
"At your 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 was already in her beloved fallen paradise in a short amount of time! The Deity then groaned in displease about the sudden incompetence of her Valkyries and her Dark Angels after finding out that they 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.
... or perhaps these anomalies are something else.
'To Hel's Damnation! Damnit all! Why has fate abandoned me!?' 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 open themselves apart and saw Daria rush into her throne room in a hurry before kneeling down with a frightened mood on her face.
"Y-Your Unholiness... h-he's here!" Daria uttered frantically before looking up. "The Silver-Blue made his way through the defence perimeters!"
"... WHAT!?" The Fallen God widened her eyes in disbelief. "Th-... that fast!?"
"Y-Yes! He's somewhere around the sacred temple!" Daria responded. "We found one guard was murdered recently!"
"...G-... GRRR! SCOUR THE ENTIRE TEMPLE! RIGHT NOW!"
...
"This way!"
Ash hid behind the dark corners as he let a group of Dark Valkyries pass by. He peeks out to see the coast was clear and then turned his heels to a new hallway until another Dark Valkyrie suddenly came around the corner.
"Wh-What the-!? Intruder!"
The Valkyrie drew out her sword in surprise, but Ash reacted fast and grappled her arm, thus dislocating her elbow. The Mamono attempted to scream out in pain to call the others, yet the Knight covered her mouth and twisted the 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 were positioned up, down and reversed.
"Damn... where should I go...?" Ash then looks down at the butterfly and leads the way. "Huh, it seems you know the way, after all."
The knight followed the butterfly through the distorted stairways and entered the right doors and staircases. While walking through the hazy labyrinth, Ash came to recognise that he was walking up-side-down on every corner. But his hunch recalls correctly. It seems gravity is distorted as well and he cannot fall while his feet were glued to the 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 catching 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 legs beneath her horizontal swing before thrusting his claymore's blade through her abdomen. The second Dark Valkyrie reeled back in horror until Ash heaved his claymore with the corpse into the next target. The Dark Valkyrie tries to retaliate to smite him to avenge her sister-in-arms, but the Ashen One thrusts his blade through the dead body into another and then crashing against the wall.
The second one was being ridden off by the knight. Ash stood as he pulled up his claymore before he whipped off their blood from the blade 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 stepping in.
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 hall until his senses caught a malevolent aura coming from all sides and the glowing butterfly stuck itself on his left shoulder out of fear. Then the Ashen One heard a voice coming from the marble throne.
"I found you... Silver-Blue Knight!"
Then time froze, and darkness took over the throne hall within a blink of an eye. Ash stood cautiously with his weapons ready until a massive, voluptuous humanoid emerged from the darkness. Her lips flashed a menacing smile while leaning over to the Knight, which she sees him as nothing more but a toy figure compared to her size.
"So we've finally met~!" The Fallen God said seductively while her gaze looks down upon him. "I have never expected that you, mortal, will be 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 glared once he saw the Fallen Deity holding up a glass-like orb the Knight could clearly see Sasha's human form and she appears to be in a state of deep slumber. "I do not know why do you strive to free her from her true ascended human state. Are you not satisfied with her new beauty?"
"... Ascended State...?" Ash raised his brow in question and speaks. "You call her transformation into a monster... considered an ascended human?"
"Indeed! Precisely it is! I have awakened her real identity to fulfil her wishes. Her true form!" The Fallen God then made an even crooked smile while 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 will not accept such a fate, an existence that you gave her... and I knew Sasha's desire to forge her new path as I guide her... but you took away her chances in life and call it helpful?" Ash replied with determination and the Deity still stood unamused in arrogance. "I knew deep within her she didn't choose the world to be happy. She knew it was a pipe dream. But yet... you still came for her. Giving her the debauchery as an atonement for her burdens and her sins? Do you consider that as her true wish?"
"Oh, she didn't? That's too bad~! 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 more but a debauched being filled with an obsession of depravity," Ash spoke in a tone filled with rage as he clenched his fist. "And I'll make sure you shall rest eternally within the afterlife and never rise again."
"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 Saints Talisman and casts a Great Lightning Spear while aiming at the right shoulder of the Fallen God. The Deity just stood there with a smirk of overconfidence until he hurled the Lightning Spear within a flash and hit its mark with a powerful impact after piercing through the divine shield like a nail punching through a glass. Then the Fallen Deity widened her eyes in shock as she reeled back while the sensation of electric pain coursed through her arms.
"AAARGH!" The Fallen God screamed as she clenched 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 noticed the massive orb hurled at 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 repaired and magic barrier and strengthen it to block the attack, yet unfortunately, her barrier shattered into millions of fragments upon collision with 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!? Your magic... it possesses the powers to harm me!?"
"These powers didn't belong to me..." Ash spoke with an indifferent tone. "Beings who utilised the Power of Lords made them, to destroy the everlasting creatures... and Gods like you."
"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 return Sasha to who she was." The Fallen Deity then faltered back as fear swept over her core before Ash swung his Claymore, pointing up to the Goddess in defiance. "It doesn't matter to me whether you are a man or a god who wanted me to be shackled under your chains... and 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.