novelraw Chapter 170: The calamity 2
Chapter 170: The calamity 2
Much like the four races, the heretics also followed a social hierarchy construct, albeit theirs was a bit cult- like.
However, unlike the four races, their society was based on power. So, in a sense, their titles were also a symbol of the strength they possessed.
For example, Common disciples were the least feared and less powerful, generally of the Kappa, Eta, and Theta rank. Above them were the Sinners, mostly of the Zeta and Gamma rank. And then there were the Apostles, those of the Delta rank. Above them were the Dark lords, who were beings of the Beta rank.
Most of the Sinners were elite soldiers of the Dark cult. These abominable fiends were seen as the Harbingers Of Death and for a very good reason. After all, they were the second most numerous army the dark cult had at their disposal after a the common disciples.
So, naturally, seeing around thirty or so of these harrowing heretics surging into the stage and appearing before them along with countless disciples was a dreadful sight for the young men and women present on the first floor.
Before some poor souls could even summon their weapons or ungracefully run away, the heretics clad in lusterless black armor jumped at them in furious frenzy.
But the youngsters in the room weren’t the elites of the high society for nothing. In mere moments, they summoned their weapons, and armors, and activated their various abilities.
Alistair, however, seemed to be frozen in place, oblivious of Elsa’s shoutings. He tried to move, but his body just refused to register his command.
His eyes widened and his shocked gaze was fixed on the massacre happening all around him on the first floor
"Wh-What the...?!"
Before he could even process anything, Alistair saw around eight to ten gaunt figures who were giving off some dark baleful aura reminiscent of the heretics they had came across back in Spira city turn to him.
They moved with breakneck speed and appeared before him like bullets shot from a gun. Slowly their harrowing figures became clear and the feral grin on their faces gleamed with a murderous zeal under the dim glow of the moonlight.
Alistair tried to move, but he couldn’t. He was stuck in place. All he could do was stare at the incoming horde of heretics. He frowned, something seemed to be holding him in place, or rather, froze him in place.
Nearing him, one of the abominations swung its crimson sword at Alistair’s neck, intending to sever his head like dropping the blade of a guillotine on him while his head was locked in stock.
Clang!!
However, before the crimson blade of the heretic’s sword could bite into his neck, a radiant azure arrow whistled past Alistair and deflected the attack.
Without stopping, several more heretics lunged at Alistair and attacked with the intention of reducing him to nothing right then and there.
But before they could even touch him, a stream of water rose from the ground, and in the next second, the water molded into a shell and encompassed Alistair in a protective embrace.
The heretics stopped, but only for a split second. One of them jumped forward and immediately unleashed a devastating slash of his sword.
The blade of the heretic’s sword traveled in an arc and broke through the water shell protecting Alistair, dispersing the water in a splash of rain.
A blonde woman appeared next to Alistair almost instantly, and delivered a crushing kick to the heretic before his sword could reach Alistair. The heretic’s head exploded in blood and gore, before his body got sent flying into the others.
The blond woman was a member of House Drake, and was the one who had encased him the water sphere. The first person who had disrupted the first attack meanwhile, was Delilah, her bow still raised in the direction.
"Young master, are you okay?" The woman asked, her face contorting into a grim visage.
Alistair tried to nod his head, but once again, he found himself unable to move. After a bit of struggle, he managed to force out a few words, "I’m fine but I can’t move!"
"W...what?" Elsa, who had been uselessly standing beside him despite the attacks stammered.
The blond woman didn’t pay any attention to Elsa’s stammers, and placed a finger on Alistair’s forehead. In a second, she managed to figure out the cause.
"A mind hex," she muttered to herself.
A mind sorcery was a sort of attack that couldn’t be stopped since it affected the mind rather than the physical shell. Mind sorcery was related to hexes like hypnotism, compulsion, and so on.
However, a mind hex could be dispelled rather easily, especially for aetherials with years of experience in combat and sorcery provided the strength between the caster and the target wasn’t too vast.
Luckily for Alistair, the blond woman has extensive study in the sorcery arts, and was able to lift the mind hex off him with another tap to his head. And with that, Alistair able to move again.
He drew a heavy gasp and swayed a little before regaining his balance. He wanted to ask the blond woman what has just happened, but stopped himself, they had pressing matters to attend to.
Besides, the grim look on the blond’s face did not exactly sit right with Alistair. Aside from the incoming horde of heretics who were rushing at them with bloodlust, Alistair had a gut feeling that something more deadly was coming.
He was right. The blond woman did not scowl earlier because of the mind hex. She was worried for some other reason. The mind hex that petrified the young master was a high-level sorcery. A hex that couldn’t be cast on another person without at least coming in contact with them.
However, the heretics just appeared not even half a minute ago. That only meant one thing: The caster of that spell placed that mind hex on Alistair from a distance which just proves to show the difference in strength between the two.
A being like that who could defy common sense so easily must either have an ability that was geared towards the mind, or must be exceptionally powerful. Either way, this being was targeting Alistair specifically, and the blond woman could guess they were probably far beyond her ability to handle.
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Meanwhile, with Damon.
The moment the heretics surged into the first floor, Ariel appeared positioning herself in front of Anastasia and Damon. Unfortunately however, Ariel was a Gamma neutral ranked aetherial, so she couldn’t fight next to them.
Plus, She had to fight the elite warriors, or rather, the Sinners, along with the others capable of doing so.
So, Ariel left the two as quickly as she had shielded them. However, Rose’s figure soon joined their side just as a bunch of disciples jumped on them.
BOOM!!
A violent explosion of concentrated golden flames incinerated the lot of the heretics to dust in a blinding flash and a searing heatwave.
"Tsk, show off." Damon scoffed from the side, before five reflections appeared around him, then advanced forward and ruthlessly slaughtered most of the disciples through nothing but sheer skill. Anastasia also didn’t stay idle.
’This is going to be a very long night.’ Damon thought as he surveyed the first floor, or at least the stretch of it he could see from behind the protection of his prime reflections.
Almost everyone was engaged with the heretics. The stench of both blood and death had begun to permeate the surroundings, both that of the humans, and that of the heretics.
If it helped though, the humans seemed to be holding the edge over the heretics, even though the battle between the Sinners, and the others fighting them couldn’t quite be observed from Damon’s current position.
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Meanwhile, Outside the majestic castle, numerous figures stood in the air in opposing formation. The heretics floated on one side, while the humans floated on the other.
Within the human ranks, numerous figures could be seen, like Yvonne, Fiona, Devon, Alastor von Drake, and various Beta ranked powerhouses. And then there were younger figures like, Aldrich Darkfell, Kamden Ashton, Jasmine Necron, and Raizel Whetstone, All crown princes/ princess of their respective empires, and also Delta ranked aetherials.
It stood to reason with this line up, after all, the heretics had attacked in full force. The lot of the heretics here were comprised of Apostle’s and Dark lords, meaning, they were Delta and Beta ranked powerhouses.
One of the figures at the forefront, a merwoman, spoke with a fervent and fanatical expression.
"We will make your blood a sacrifice for Lord Jin!!!" She said addressing the humans.
"These vile heretics are getting bolder and bolder." One of the humans scoffed.
"Maybe it’s a blessing they decided to attack with the whole of their forces. It would do well if we wiped them all in one fell swoop." Another smirked.
"You humans are as arrogant as ever!!" One of the heretics snapped. "CULT MEMBERS ATTACK!!! DESTROY THEM ALL!!"
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