Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of chapter 128 of the story!
And sorry for being delivering this chapter (or rather two chapters) with a day of delay. I really tried my best to release it in time but wasn't able to. I'd like to speak more about the motives of the delay these recent chapters have been getting, but I'll save that for the end of the next chapter that was also released today.
With all that said, let's go.
DISCLAIMER: All of the Nasuverse characters belong to Nasu and are property of Type-Moon, with the exception of the OC's that belong to me, the author.
"Greetings, our humblest guest and friends. It is an honor to have all of thee reunited here today."
A dreadful chill run down on Ritsuka's spine as he saw the by now recognizable figure standing in front of the altar of the cathedral dome they where in, being the place of the seven and last Hall of Judgement. The master of humanity's mind had prepared for any kind of challenge, monster and enemies that could've had appeared here at the last level to barrier them away from escaping the hellish prison of Chateau d'If. But to actually be Man of Sin who ended up being the one showing up, was something he wasn't counting on, much less so after fighting against Mercédès and coming face to face with the small group of saint and christian Heroic Spirits. A surprise after another. "M-Man of Sin...is here?"
Ritsuka's heart quavered, his soul feeling threatened. And it wasn't just him that was at unease. All of the servants in the room were also sensing the nervousness and trepidation inside their bodies with the Beast's presence as he walked down the stairs of the altar.
"Fear not, for thoust hath a purpose in thy presence on this hellish chateau. A presence made as per our initiative."
As Man of Sin speaked ever-so eloquently and yet frighteningly at the same time, the shadows behind him moving meanderingly in the walls and collumns of the dome, occupying and covering huge part of it in short time. Their movement felt independent and deliberate, the ugly sensation that the shadows were all staring down at the party, having life of their own. Eventually, Man of Sin reached to the end of the stairs.
"Or at least, that should have been the case for all of the present here."
Man of Sin barely turned his head to gaze at Musashi, clearly having referred to her. The ronin's appearence wasn't on his plans. Musashi in return straitened her glare at him, her two hands already touching the hilts of the two swords, tensely attentive for any sort of more suspicious or abrupt movement from Man of Sin.
"Alas, there seems to yet be things to go beyond our scope of control even as mighty beings."
Molay immediatly pointed his sword at him. "We don't negotiate with the profane, much less so converse! I am going to let it clear from the get go that your words will not dissuade us, O ungodly creatue abandoned by the Lord!" He exclaimed, looking to have gained his more serious and capable composure back.
"What are you here for? Jeanne questioned him, being direct to the point. "What is your intention with us in particular?"
Despite the hood and shadow hiddening his face, a smirk could be presumed as he slightly tilted his head down.
"The emergence of a rebirth."
And in a blink of an eye as the sound of snapping fingers was made, the entire luminosity of the dome was expired by the darkness, Man of Sin dissapearing in shadows, putting all of them in high alert.
"W-Where did he go!?" Ritsuka's heart was beating by a thousand, the survival insticts kicking in as he couldn't see anything around him besides Avenger and Musashi who where near him.
"Don't distance yourself from us!" Avenger warned Ritsuka, advising him to keep close to the two servants. "Even if this is basically his and Solomon's territory, I wasn't accounting for him to appear at all at the last Hall!" Cautious, Avenger gave a brief glance to Musashi behind him. "How's that samurai senses? They better not slip at this instant!"
"They won't!" Musashi replied, not taking her eyes away from any possible attacks that could jump out from the veil of darkness around them.
"Get in a defensive formation everyone! Weapons brandished and ready!" Molay ordered to his small group, all of the Heroic Spirits doing as followed as they formed a small circle, staring at evey angle possible from where Man of Sin could appear to surprise them. "It is a Beast we are dealing with here. While none of us might be a Grand Servant, we all have holy attributes in order to be enough to just keep him at bay!" He stated, aware of the danger that it was in there with them now.
"May the blessed light of the Lord protect us!" Hitting with her flagpole on the ground, Jeanne released a golden light that served as a field shield to keep them away from the shadows, encompassing not only her group but Ritsuka, Avenger and Musashi as well, her compassion and empathy requesting to protect them as well despite the fight they were her enemies a few minutes ago.
"A path to begin anew through erasure."
A red light shone down on them, coming from an artistic imagery of hell in an high and round stained glass, Man of Sin graciously lying on its border.
"An absolute salvation from sin."
With the same sound of finger snapping again, the red light was sealed, Man of Sin dissapearing once more as the darkness returned, playing with the party. Soon, Jeanne would find out that her light shield would be of little to no use, as the shadows that encircled them easily begun to overpower it once they entered into contact, much to the maiden of Orleans dismay. "Gngh! It can't be!"
"C'mon Jeanne! Don't let it go down for anything in this world!" Ritsuka exclaimed, about to head torwards the saint in order to help her.
However, as soon as he tried, Man of Sin's shadows ended up breaking Jeanne's light barrier, destroying the party mean of defense.
"Earth transfigured into Heaven."
Amidst the flying and weakened light shards of the broken defense field, Man of Sin reappered right in the middle of the entire group, still speaking.
"!" Hearing his omnious voice so close by, made all of them stir up in a moment of shock as they all instictively threw their attacks at him by instinct. All failling as Man of Sin dissapeared as quick as he had appeared on the place.
"A reality where flaws and evilness cease to exist."
Man of Sin's voice speaked scattered around the dark veils, the entire group trying to figure out where he would appear next.
"All of this dark. It feels as thick as mud itself!" Georgios commented, unable to discern Man of Sin's presence in it.
"His Spirit Origin dissipated like thin air the moment we noticed his presence next to us!" Martha added, having as much trouble as the rest to sense the Beast's presence again. "It's as if Man of Sin spread his own essence within the darkness!"
"Not only that, but there are other things with him!" Musashi said, getting aware of more presences within the darkness.
"Hm? How come?" Martha asked, not sensing them.
"I can hear the sounds." Musashi responded, having quite the keen hearing to detect them. "They may be low and guttural like those of a predator in waiting, but I can still listen to them! This guy is definetly not alone in the shadows! There's more with him so stay with even higher attention!"
"Sharp senses I see. As expected from Miyamoto Musashi. Thank you for the warning!" Amakusa replied to the legendary ronin with a smile before his mind begun to think of the words Man of Sin was telling them, his stare turning pensative for a small moment. "A world without flaws and sin? Can that really..."
"Oi oi, what the hell are you doing here, Man of Sin? Care to explain yourself?" Avenger speaked to the endless darkness, wanting the Beast to give him some explenations about his presence.
"It shall be explained in its due time, Avenger. For now, we have nothing but felicitations to the master of Chaldea as he is about to reach the end of the trials. A plain soul like his to have persisted against all kinds of sin in such harrowing experience is no short of marvellous. Ritsuka Fujimaru..."
With his defense up and aware, Ritsuka was expecting for Man of Sin to reappear from anywhere, his eyes darting around, anxious. For even if Avenger and Musashi were guardin him alongside the other servants in the room, he felt that-
"Thou art admirably remarkable."
"!" Ritsuka's heart freezed, Man of Sin standing right next behind him out of nowhere, prompting the panic on everyone else, specially Avenger and Musashi.
"Crap!"
"Fujimaru!"
"But can thoust withstand the harshest of terrors?"
Not giving any time, Man of Sin reached out for the master of humanity's chest, his slight meager finger, corroded in darkness, touching him in the area where his heart was.
*Thump Thump*
"Gngh!?" After the heartbeat, Ritsuka felt an horrible feeling overloading throughout his entire body. Something pearceful, burning, aching his entire nerves. Not only that, but he also quickly begun to feel nauseous as an unberable pain formed in his head. His mind started being loaded with fast paced yet painful imageries of all kind of violence and attrocities at the hands of humans, almost psychedelic. Not only that, but all of the lament, anger, screams, weeping, request and pleading from all the sinful souls he witnessed on the previous Halls were now sounding at almost a deafening volume, hurting his mind to the point Ritsuka almost urged to wanting to split it open to alleviate all of it. The flash images of death and destruction not stoping.
"U79yG8G8XM8KILL28ygyz,yr39rhhhflwz,weryshfjkneiwakso2iwjidhsjajdj9nihG8gt8ivgRAPEib89382yDEVOUR8ygbionx bMERCYy8ybjhoh48308y3 p9rxyc84yxm,u34x8y94yxDESTROYry893ytc738y40 ,c7,qx8,xguhggxg38PLEASEyx3yr737xcvnyppÇPHº~GRGgEX82uuHPHºDIEHXVBOGXHUHRUURGXUGRUH3RHQ2STEAL892GRPGGPXMPXggqugqgugpr8GGp9gxSODOMYmqmpy8yY7YT27GLbvioihlxbxhlg8g7fTQCTvblanzSINsdlbdlzbzdbzlbddzluieUguguguegpgw3egegge3iuehu3egu3SAVEheuq3gheubrxnlxx,nuigcbclhir3g8pçheçhH83Y47GPÇAP48HUPÇHNRUIBXÇBvdhurhbrlbrblrbsbitbutgçzhbsçnDECEIVEbruiggrggepçzbçbur3g73q2p99q3yhºn3453489y4~hCONSUMEghplzygvwsy7839q00g=((/Igiugiu2gg7guiq2hipiqGENOCIDEguq8qhgoçbqalobauiguglagaolgao4g73y77/88hg82hggyugLIE907q272384945yth5huoindduigubdnhuhuihhug823nfugepwfegrhh2u3g59ug48u9qvubitgbukyrvieulghfuiayviusehfuiGFOIRRAGEHGUIqwbdçergewufreioghioewhfiorngewhebuqqppfioeuibuiUBFEHFfewuophhtbpnçhw4g83pç83u2gpçTREASONhnr kbihnaoroihhPHHW89RH3URPAHNEWÇFBEÇFHWGPGUG3WRUP3GPRbu3gru3wgurg389ggr93hrpfbçtbiroçtn bxlhxnhprçnwrbrbDESPAIRarbahroçhçrhçaoiPGDU9WGHRUPÇNLIHRRH00QQ'«''IG?UIBUIURL XVLYZMONSTERVXOGUdvuyqeiuqgblaibiwge"
"Ah...Aah..." And then, all of the nightmarish imagery went away as fast as it had appeared, leaving Ritsuka stunned in utterly shock.
"You!" Reacting with precision, Musashi swinged her sword right in Man of Sin's head. Avenger also attacked at the same time with one of his supersonic punches. Yet, both blows were unable to do anything as Man of Sin's body as he dissipated into shadows, dissapearing from view once again.
"Tsk! His reflexes are on point!" Avenger hissed as Ritsuka wasn't looking too well, breathing heavily, his body feeling like it had lost all its energy.
"What's wrong, Fujimaru? As he done something to you?" Musashi put a hand on his back as Ritsuka continued to pant uncomfortably, his face still in shock from all of what Man of Sin showed to him.
"..." At the edge of a revulsion as his stomach gave circles upon circles inside, Ritsuka's entire body felt that it could no longer keep it, the master of humanity urgently kneeling down.
"H-Hey!" Musashi reacted with great concern while the group of christian servants arrived near the trio, all of them seeing Ritsuka outright throw up in the ground, the images the Beast had shown him of humanity's sins being vomit inducing.
"Put yourself together, master of humanity!" Avenger shouted at him. "This is not the time to puke!"
"I-I know..." Ritsuka replied, coughing a bit. Thankfully, his body felt better and with a bit more energy. "All of those images...Was every single one of them real?"
Seeing the bit weakened master of Chaldea, Molay decided to give him some help, crouching dowm to get on his level. "Allow me to give you an hand." Putting his hand on Ritsuka's shoulder, the templar casted a spell of his.
"Vow of the Knightly Order!"
A white magecraft circle encompassed the ground the party was stepping on, not only healing Ritsuka and restoring his stamina, but also enhance everyone else.
"How...do you feel now? Better?"Molay asked to Ritsuka, having made a pause to think on how he should ask it.
Ritsuka could tell the nauseating or aching feeling of weakness wasn't anymore present within his body, Molay having completly healed any ill symptoms out. "I am. Thank you." Ritsuka responded with a grateful smile, with the servant of glasses nodding his head in response.
"Alas, not even thy soul can remain apathetic to such sheer savagery."
Speaking, Man of Sin had now appeared in front of the party, standing a few meters away from them and back to the end of the stairs of the altar. Instinctively, all the servants decided to protect Ritsuka, putting themselves in front of him.
"We're not going to let you touch him again!" Musashi told fiercely to the Beast.
Ritsuka stared to the figure, the tragic images still fresh on his mind. "All of those things you've just show to me...Is that the way you perceove the world?"
"They are the countless burdens. The burdens 'I' willingfuly choosed to carry."
Man of Sin responded, giving somewhat of an answer to Ritsuka. The master of humanity couldn't even bare to imagine having all of those grotesque scenes played over and over someone's head on a daily basis.
"I thought I'd be the only one taking care of guiding the master of Chaldea during the trials as per yours and Solomon's intentions with this micro-Singularity. What changed exactly for you to be here all of a sudden?" Avenger interrogated Man of Sin. "Am I smelling a possible backstabbing from your part on the King of Magecraft?"
"Thou art not precisely correct, Avenger. Our appearence to Chateau d'If amidst these trials was overtly consulted and discussed with the King of Mages himself. For he too consented on the planned vision of ours to the new future. Or almost all of it."
"What does he actually mean, Avenger?" Ritsuka asked to the servant in front of him, wanting to know what was his deal with Man of Sin and Solomon as well as the other two with one another. "How much did you knew of this plan of theirs?"
"Were you guiding us to a trap this whole time?" Musashi asked, beggining to suspect Avenger again.
"Didn't I already told you I wasn't working for this guy nor the other one?" Avenger responded a bit annoyed. "Besides, I am just as surprised with his presence as any of you. But if you want an extended explanation of what I know, I can give you that as some sort of reward for having reached this far." He said, willing to elaborate on what he said earlier when he had met Ritsuka and Musashi for the first time. "Once humanity was incinerated by Solomon, one of the first things he did was to grab and remove the location of Chateau d'If from the space and time axis. Being a vengeful spirit within a scorched planet, I naturally ended up here and was made an Heroic Spirit of an unusual class from the regular Servant-Class system: Avenger. Aware of my presence within the chateau, Solomon decided to keep me around, for he thought my nature and backstory to be 'amusing'. Originally, the King of Magecraft had only intention to make this micro-Singularity a prison for any of his enemies to suffer as well as a testing ground for his Demon Pillar familiars."
"But then things changed when Man of Sin showed up, didn't they?" Ritsuka asked, pondering about the Beast's part in this.
"More or less." Avenger responded. "Initially, Solomon did not paid attention to you as a considerate threat. However, as you and Chaldea begun to clear Singularity after Singularity, he decided that, as the leader of the group, you had to be dealt with immediatly altough in a subtle way. Possibly even convert you to his side." Avenger then turned his head to stare at Man of Sin. "That was when he showed up. Or at least Solomon became fully aware of his existence. Unlike Solomon, Man of Sin wanted you dead for reasons that might as well be know only between him and the King of Mages."
Before Avenger could continue, Man of Sin decided to continue speaking for him.
"Nevertheless, the King of Magecraft thought that if he could submit the master of Chaldea to his side, majority if not all of Chaldea could end up following in the same footsteps, sparing from having to fight in order to get rid from all of thee. Hence why Solomon ended up designing the vengeful residant of Chateau d'If, Edmond Dantés, to supervise thee on thy sleep, the moment when master of humanity was at the most vulnerable at our hands. Eventually, we ended up meeting and come to the conclusion that there was much more to analyze of thee rather than just simply killing thou now. In other words, interest is what is keeping thou alive, master of humanity."
"Interest?" Ritsuka replied, wanting Man of Sin to explain more.
"Solomon and Man of Sin wanted to test that resilience. Explore how much tragedy a human soul like yours can endure before it loses all hope in humanity." Avenger went back to being the one explaining to Ritsuka. "That is why you're here and the motive for those trials. They wanted to see if even the best of humans can stand optimistic after walking through 'hell'."
"So...all of this was a literal test designed for me?" Ritsuka said almost dumbfounded. "But there's something I still can't comprehend. How exactly did my soul ended up being transported to this micro-Singularity?"
"Because the mind and soul are one in the same."
Man of Sin responded.
"When one goes to sleep, so does the mind. And the default texture of sleep is naturally darkness, only revamped once the feelings of the soul, connected to the mind, are materialized into dreams one slumbers about. It is all a matter of spirituality where concepts are analogous to each other. Thus, it is through those dark spaces of the unconsciousness, that we invade and are able to interact with a person's mind and soul. Perceive it as a conjucture spell born out of the coexistence of our soul and dark magic that allows us to inhabit a person's dream and transform it in our own domain: Drzemka."
Ritsuka gasped upon hearing that explanation, his head beggining to connect the dots. "So those dreams that I had of being chased and of our encounter...It was you ceasing my soul in order to take to this place, wasn't it?" His voice raised, accusatory to the Beast who chuckled in response, opening up his arms.
"It was already at our control. Sparing thee and teleporting thy soul to this hell of Chateau d'If was only after Solomon introduced the idea to put the master of Chaldea through all those trials first to us. With the King of Magecraft ability to pluck out locations from time and space, he was now only needing someone to twist and transform this already corrupted prison into a true hell of debauchery and depravity, where the sinful souls of thousands of millions of condemned would spent eternity in their own infinite cicles of torment."
Man of Sin elucidated Ritsuka on how he played a huge part to the plan he and Solomon had reserved for the master of humanity. And by the tone of his voice, it was clear that the Beast sounded pleased with what Ritsuka had demonstrated so far.
"And by all accounts, thoust were an enjoyment to observe, master of Chaldea."
Having listened so far to the conversation, Jeanne decided to step in and join. "If by your own words, you have the power to enter and mutate a person's dream into something akin to a Reality Marble, having what I assume complete control of it, then why are we and the other servants here? Certainly, you wouldn't let any possible unwanted participants to invade your domain and ruin your plans without noticing them at first, would you?" The saint gave a rough glance to the Beast who chuckled.
"Hm hm. Like we stated previously, there's a reason why thoust hath been called to this place. And thou who art saints ended up answering to the calling. Thy attendance was of fundamental importance in order to aid us in what will be the most crucial steps of our plan."
"Which is?" Amakusa speaked with his sword in hand.
Giving a brief and quiet laugh, Man of Sin stood in silence for a second before pointing upwards to the ceilling, all of the shadows and darkness moving away.
"The completion of the canvas."
"Hum?" Not understanding what Man of Sin was implying with those words, Ritsuka tilted his head upwards, looking at where Man of Sin was pointing at. And upon the sighting of it, his eyes enlarged in a shocking awe as he saw what it was. "What is..."
All of the servants ended up having the same reaction, their eyes feeling they were staring at something highly divine.
"No way that is a thing..." Musashi talked.
"But it's so...so..." Molay was having an hard task to find any proper adjectives that could describe the holiness of biblical proportions he was witnessing.
On the ceillings of the cathedral, a huge religious painting occupied its entirety. A full-on canvas of what appeared to be thousands upon thousands of humans in their purest and reedemed forms travessing through the cloudy skies with their angel wings, making their ascension to what could be assumed to be Heaven, represented by a large circular blank space that shinned brightly across the sanctuary the party was currently in.
"Behold! My most ambitious work! The vision torwards a paradisiacal beginning!"
Man of Sin exclaimed with fervor, selling the entire wonderment of it.
"This whole art, it's details..." Georgios muttered, so much in astonishment that it was almost enough to bring a tear to his eye. "It's as if God himself created it."
"Never before have I gazed such majestic iteration of Heaven." Martha also commented, her sight still mesmerized. "It almost makes me think we are staring right at it."
"Delighted with it? Because this is what a world without the flaw of sin can offer us."
Man of Sin stretched his arm cordially to the group, a visible smile appearing underneath the hood.
"To have such talent. Such sanctity." Amakusa lowered his head, staring at Man of Sin with amazement, his judgement getting clouded. "Could this man be God himself-"
"No, he's not!" Jeanne exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. Unlike the rest minus Avenger, her face was still defiant despite trying her hardest to not be impressed by the wonder of evangelical-like art above her. "The Lord would never dare to be corroded to the point of becoming a fallen Beast!"
Immediatly, Molay took the same stance as his fellow christian servant. "Exactly! Despite of having a similar presence to that of a god, never such sullied being that harvests on sin could ever be the Lord himself! Remember, my dear companions of Christ! Remember of the teachings of never letting be persuaded by the embellished promises, images or words that fake prophets may cast on you!" The leader shouted, wanting the rest of his group to stay focused and not be deceived by their enemy. "Our faith must always be of iron!"
Getting snapped out from their astonishment, the trio of saints begun to advert their sights on the heavenly canvas.
"Y-You're right." Georgios replied, able to come back to his senses. "One must not fall on the Devil's tricks!"
"We have to resist to the temptations after all!" Martha added, also being able to turn her look away from the painting.
Amakusa, whose eyes gave a hint of regret for having to stop looking at such magnificent piece of art, also reminded of his principles. "Right. We must keep loyal to our duties."
Seeing that Ritsuka was still contemplating the canvas, Avenger took him out of it by punching him in the stomach. "Oi! Daydreaming time is over!"
"Ugh! D-Did you had to do that?" Ritsuka said painfuly as he clutched to his stomach.
"In order to stop you from looking like a drooling idiot staring aimlessly to the ceilling? Yes I had!" Avenger replied, feeling particularly nothing but scorn for the canvas. "I can't even gasp at how something as obnoxious as this gets your attention. Hey, samurai lady, don't tell me you're also with your eyes obessed with it!" He called Musashi out, wanting to see if she wasn't equaly mesmerized as the rest were.
Thankfully, it didn't seemed to be the case. "Nope! While I can sense and tell the magnitude behind this painting, it doesn't resonate with me as much as it does with the others. Maybe is it because I grew up more accustomed to the more predominant religion in my country than the one this canvas tries to potray."
"Go figure. It might actually be that." Avenger responded.
"Can you stand up?" Jeanne asked to Ritsuka as she offered him her hand.
"Thanks." Ritsuka accepted the saint's hand, getting up. "It's a pleasure getting help from Jeanne D'arc."
Jeanne smiled sweetly to him. Despite not having any memories of the master of Chaldea, a part of her had the feeling he already knew her from somewhere. "Save those things for later if you will." She told him, looking back to Man of Sin in front of them. "We still have a problem at hands."
"We see that thy hearts are hesitant. O commendable saints, isn't this canvas a paradise thoust always dreamed of?"
"You'll have to do more than show your greatest painting to try and sell your deception to us, Man of Sin! You cannot corrupt a saint that easily!" Jeanne replied back to him, showing that she wasn't willing to let the imagery of his canvas get to her no matter how holy it looked.
"Ah. But it would seem that thou art mistaken about that aspect, Maiden of Orleans. We are not here to try and sell any 'deception'. Quite the contrary, 'I' myself fully believe it to the point of being more of a needful desire. Also, a saint cannot be corrupted that easily thoust says?"
Man of Sin chuckled a bit sinisterly, prompting Jeanne to get even more concentrated and serious. Same for the rest of the party. The Beast sighed lamentably, shaking his head.
"We are all conceptually corrupted from the very beggining."
Man of Sin responded seriously, the snap sounding again as the Beast dissapeared in a blink of an eye in front of them again, the darkness coming back.
"He dissapeared again!" Ritsuka exclaimed.
"This is already starting to get on my nerves!" Avenger commented, wondering if Man of Sin would even dare to enter in a fight with them instead of just teleporting his body around amongst the dark.
"If there is a thing that 'I' detest vehemently per say, is the ugliness that is 'flaw'. How much its presence stenches what is meant to be beautiful and idyllic with its putrid sins! How a single drop of it can ruin an entire piece of art! "
Noticing that Man of Sin was speaking in a more agressive tone, the party saw a single dot in the middle of the blank area of the canvas before it suddenly expanded like a black hole, its darkness swallowing the entire painting away, devouring its bright holiness.
"And unfortunately we are no different, as those same flaws reside within us."
Coming back to materialize himself physically for the group, Man of Sin grabbed the darkness behind him and pulled a part of it off as if it was a giant dark piece of cloth. And what it was revealed underneath that veil made Jeanne's eyes widden in shock, gasping in disbilief. For there was a person, a young woman of the same hair as hers except white and more pale skin, only having brown bandages covering her otherwise naked body. She had her entire arms wrapped and bound in those same bandages, cruelly held by chackles and chains that were attached to the two columns at each side. She was in a forced kneel, her legs and knees also chained and pinned to the ground. The image of a contained sinner.
"Hmm...Where...am I?" Waking up from slumber, Jeanne Alter soon became aware of her surroundings, finding her limbs unable to move, entirely restrained. "W-What the hell is this!? Why is my body-" Struggling and giving some tugs, the woman who was once the Dragon Witch, ended up spotting her natural self, Jeanne D'arc, staring at her in consternation. Immediatly, Alter's anger sky-rocketed. "IT'S YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DID THIS TO ME YOU FILTHY SAINT!" Jolting her body forwards, Jeanne Alter now trashed savagely in her restraints as they hold her back and in place, the chains jingling and tingling frenetically. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" The Alter shouted with pure hatred torwards her saint counterpart.
"Pay her no mind, Jeanne!" Molay told to his companion, seeing how slightly disturbed she looked. "Man of Sin is trying to play tricks on you!"
Ritsuka was also a bit in shock while staring to Jeanne Alter struggle. It had been quite the time since he last saw the Dragon Witch that tormented France. Seeing someone who once was a menace in her smug and sadistic superiority now reduced to an helpless and rabid prisoner on her impetuous struggle was something that the master of humanity couldn't exactly know how to feel about it. "She looks so desperate."
Avenger also stared to Jeanne Alter struggle, silently examining how rageful she burned for the maiden of Orleans. It was more than hate that resided within her and Avenger knew of it well. Another vengeful spirit, just like him.
"See how I suffer! See how I suffer because of you!" Ferociously trashing her body, Jeanne Alter's fury ended up being way too animalistic to be contained, breaking away from the chains that kept her in place. Free and with her whole hate centered to Jeanne, Jeanne Alter dashes torwards her saint counterpart, only having her death in mind. "I'M GOING TO DRAG YOU TO HELL WITH ME!"
Watching Jeanne Alter quickly approach her, Jeanne snapped out from her perturbance and positioned her flagpole to defend herself.
But that ended up not being needed as once Jeanne Alter was about to attack her other true self, Man of Sin appeared suddenly in front of the Dragon Witch. In the space of a second, the Beast moved his hand torwards her, the tip of the index and middle finger touching Alter's forhead, stopping on her tracks. And then, with the same smoothness and softness of his movement, Man of Sin moved his hand down, touching Alter on the area of her heart. Or rather, her 'soul'. A single word muttured by the Beast's lips as time itself flowed slowly.
"Repent."
Having made contact with both her mind and soul, Jeanne Alter could barely even let out a scream of anger and frustration as her entire body frozed instantly with a large, shadowy and disfigured demon sprouting out from Jeanne Alter's back, desperatly trying to escape before having its whole body frozened as well, still attached to its vessel. Now both Jeanne Alter and the demon stood there, as paralyzed as horrifying statues, their shadows reflected on the cathedral's walls.
"Tenebrous, is it not?"
Man of Sin speaked with some melancholy as majority of the group stared at the petrified Jeanne Alter and demon in stupefaction.
"Unfortunately, we as sapient beings are conducive to commit evil acts as much as we are to commit good ones. Everyone has their own personal demon inside. A darkness within the soul, whispering, stirring, inciting us to sin at any given opportunity, like a parasite looking to infect our own thoughts and souls. And that is our most deplorable flawed. Were it not for 'Evil' to exist, a true peaceful and harmonious paradise could have been our reality."
The Beast approached to Jeanne Alter, gently passing his hand on her still hair and face.
"This alter of thee is prove that darkness resides in all of us, Maiden of Orleans. No matter how many times 'I' tried to exorcise it out of the peoples soul, due to being a core part of it, it is simply a sinful flaw that cannot get eradicated."
Closing his hand into a fist, Man of Sin smashed Jeanne Alter's head, breaking and crumbling in a dark liquid substance, her body and the demon also fading away in the same substance.
"At last, that is about to change. Soon all of this ugliness that we call sin and evil will come to an end, allowing us to finally achieve true purity!"
"Your ultimate goal is to vanquish all flaws, or in other words, evil, from existing then?" Molay questioned the Beast, wondering of that was his overall goal in all of this.
"It couldn't have been any clearer."
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Avenger speaked. "You yourself stated that it is a core part of the soul unable to get rid off. Was all that prattling sermon of yours now just wishful thinking or are you counting on Solomon to do majority of the work?" He sneered, taking Man of Sin for a bit of a fool if that was the case.
Man of Sin in return didn't took the insult badly, his posture maintaining the same. For he had the answer to that.
"Armageddon."
The Beast responded shortly.
Shadow of the Colossus OST- Demise of the Ritual
"What?" Avenger said, thinking he misheard it.
"Armaggeddon?" The name wasn't that sttange to Ritsuka. He definetly heard about it before.
"The event where it is foretold that the last battle between the forces of good and evil shall clash before Judgement Day on the New Testement." Jeanne speaked, clarifying it to Ritsuka. Being religious, she was well aware of its meaning. "What do you pretend to do with it, Man of Sin?"
"To create it."
Man of Sin responded, straight to the point.
Jeanne looked appalled. "Create it?"
Opening up his hand and moving his arm to the front, a somber purple light beggining to emmanate from the dark ceilling, revealing a medium sized black hole in the center of what was once the holy canvas, gathering all the party's attention.
"It will be a sort of eschatological phenomenon of never seen universal proportions. But instead of leading existence to a definitive finality, from its dark void shall a new, better life spring. For all natural things arise and return to darkness and that process shall be repeated. The very true definition of rebirth."
"So you want to erase everything and create a new universe befitting of your ideals?" Musashi said, trying to see if that was the Beast of the Void's plans.
"Yes. And it shall be through Armageddon that the path to rebirth will be conceived. Humanity and all the other life forms will be back to the Root's womb and born anew, except without the concepts of corruption and evilness embedded. Of these details, the King of Mages is aware not."
"Great. So you are backstabbing Solomon after all." Avenger commented with a grin, seeing that the alliance between Man of Sin and Solomon wasn't as stable as it looked.
"Call it more different points of view. While both of us envision to reformulate the planet, the King of Magecraft has a divergent method from ours. Whereas he judges that the root of all tragedies and sins steams from an unimaginable human fear of death and the vulnerability of life, we think that is rather the flawed evil burgeoned on the people's souls. While we could come to a polite dialogue about whether of these two is the true cause to all misery and suffering on Earth, we fear that it would never lead us to a possible consensus and partnership. And at this moment, the King of Mages serves of great help and the same goes the other way."
"It doesn't seem that it will be an alliance that will last for long then. " Ritsuka commented. "Can't say I wasn't expecting it."
"An alliance's duration is insignificant if both sides end up benefitting from it and getting their own goals. Anyways, all of the set pieces that we need are all almost in place. We just need to know if the ones in here will comply."
"You expect us, devoted servants of the Lord, to side with a Beast? The idea of it in itself is profane enough to make me puke!" Molay exclaimed, the thought of serving what was essentialy a demon, be absurd to him. "I was already accused of being a satanist once! Don't expect me to make those false accusations true now, you fiend!"
"We would never brandish our weapons to help you." Jeanne added with the same unfriendliness.
"Eh, a pity."
Man of Sin replied as the shadows covered the ground beneath his feet, forming a dark circle with the Beast in the middle.
"For I already got the help of saintly people that lended me their power."
"Who are you talking abo-!" Martha was about to ask but stopped in sudden shock when Man of Sin made the dark circle he was stepping on dissapear, showing them the unsettling sight of eleven corpses alligned around Man of Sin, all covered in white blankets with dark unknown and ancient letters written in the blankets. Martha looked in dread, seeming to recognize the corpses. "T-Those faces...!"
"Upon the aid of each Unholy Demon that their sacred souls were sealing away, I shall liberate Armageddon on this frail existence! Twelve blest souls that preached the Messiah's learnings to the twelve ancient demons that inhabited them plus the vessel! That is the amalgamation that makes us who we are: Beast 0/XIII!"
To be continued...
And that was it for chapter 128, or if we want to be more honest about the way my chapters normally surpass their lenghts, the first half of chapter 128.
Since it is another situation of a chapter devided in half, I'll talk about it and the next one in the Author Note's section of chapter 129.
So yeah, that's all I wanted to say and see you right around the corner of chapter 129! Peace!
P.S:
(Koyanskaya and Kiara are teasingly bullying Nala as the three walk down the hall)
Koyanskaya (Poking Nala's hair): What's the matter little bunny? Don't have anything snarky to say this time?
Kiara (Giggling): I think she really is all bark and no bite. Poor thing, trying to act strong for others to hide her own insecurities.
Nala (Tired): Leave me alone...Please...
Kama (Appears): Oi, you two cows! Airhead is MINE to ridicule and humiliate, not yours!
Nala: Kama...
Koyanskaya: Oh oh, do you see this? The nugget is getting upset that someone is with her toy.
Kiara: What not being put in the right place does to such promising young girl. No good at all.
Kama (Goes straight to her 3rd Ascension): It was an order. I won't say it twice.
(Koyanskaya and Kiara also go into their Ascensions)
Koyanskaya: I see. Looks like we're gonna have to duke it out then.
Kiara: It seems you're in need to be corrected again, Kama-chan.
(As the battle is about to erupt between the three Beasts, Goredolf pops in out of nowhere)
Goredolf: PLEASE GOD NO! DON'T GIVE ME THAT HEADACHE! IF YOU WANT TO RESOLVE THIS THEN DO IT INSIDE A SINGULARITY!