Chapter 562: Three Worlds: World 2 I
Hollora.
The Elf and Dragon-dominated world where the Gozonians fought more with strategy and schemes than they did with swords and magic.
Thanks to the Mimic Demon subspecies, infiltration was far too easy and the Hollorians had to watch their backs as well, as they could never know who was a Demon in Disguise.
Initially, divines were not prevalent in this world, but after the Demons came in, the Hollorians had to enlist the help of other worlds to gain divines to combat them.
Thanks to this, they could create barriers to keep demons out from certain places and exposed a lot of mimic demons, but nothing was without flaws and some slipped through the cracks.
In this world, Arthur and Evan decided to play around for a bit.
First, Arthur summoned Stelan and the other godslayers, sending them to the frontlines in his place. He urged Stelan to kill as many as he needed and try to become a Transcendent when the older godslayer gaped in shock at Arthur’s current level.
When Arthur and Stelan first met, Stelan was an entire realm higher than Arthur. He had grown stronger in the past year thanks to discovering his ability to absorb divinity to increase his strength, but Arthur’s growth speed was even faster.
Now they were both Semi-Transcendents and though Stelan was closer to Transcendence than Arthur was, the man would not be surprised if Arthur reached it before him.
After sending Stelan off, Arthur and Evan turned to face the strongest of this world’s Four-Star Generals, a Level 999 High-Rank Demon.
"So, my Hero friend here would use his skill to move you to the frontlines. Once that’s done, he’ll return to the capital using the waypoint set-up, and we can set our plan in motion."
Arthur spoke, patting Evan’s shoulder and the Rogue Hero just nodded before activating his concealment skill which allowed him to evade detection from even Alvey and McEnda.
’Lethe.’
When he activated it, Arthur could still perceive his presence as he was already aware of it beforehand, but when another High-Rank demon came into the area, they only saw and sensed Arthur.
The Four-Star General’s surprise was evident, though he masked it quickly. He didn’t expect that Evan’s skill was good enough that the other demons could not sense them despite standing mere inches away.
This confirmed its effectiveness and with it, Evan could get him to the frontlines without alerting the Hollorians.
And that’s precisely what Evan did. Around an hour after the fighting had begun, he returned to the capital to meet up with Arthur.
Now, it was time for the two boys to execute their plan.
◇ ◇ ◇
The sun hung low over the horizon of Hollora, casting long shadows across the once-majestic empire, now ravaged by Gozonian occupation.
It was once this planet’s strongest and largest nation, and that was why the Gozonians attacked it first.
Now, the Resistance Force of Elves and Dragons had finally launched their counteroffensive, determined to reclaim the land from the clutches of the demons.
At the northern border, the clash began with a ferocious intensity. Elven archers unleashed volleys of enchanted arrows, their tips glowing with holy magic, while dragonkin warriors roared into battle, pouring out breath attacks everywhere.
But the demons were ready for them.
Having anticipated the attack, they met the onslaught with equal ferocity.
Still, the true battle was not at the border. Unbeknownst to the majority of the resistance forces, this frontal assault was merely a diversion.
Far to the south, a small elite force moved under the cover of night, slipping past the demon lines.
This group, handpicked from the strongest Transcendents, elite soldiers, and a few of the world’s young heroes, had a singular goal: assassinate the High-Rank Demons who commanded the invasion.
Carrying the highest kill priority was the Level 999 Four-Star General Arthur and Evan had spoken to earlier.
Leading this mission was Orin, a dragon Transcendent, and beside him was Nylia, one of the Elven Heroes. Unlike the Superior Stage Orin, Nylia was only an Inferior Stage, a level she managed to reach after shedding blood, sweat and tears in this war.
The others followed, a mix of elves, dragons and dragonkin, each carrying the weight of their world’s hope on their shoulders.
"Stay sharp."
Orin whispered, his voice barely audible as they neared the capital. The once-vibrant Capital city of Illinor now held a dreary aura, the very air heavy with demonic energy.
Blood flowed through the human body via veins, and energy flowed through the planet in the same manner.
When these veins intersected, the spot they intersected became known as an energy hotspot, and the Capital was built atop a hotspot where 15 veins intersected.
As they drew closer, a chill ran down Nylia’s spine. Even if this was where the strongest demons resided, and there were ongoing battles all across the borders, for there to be no patrols whatsoever felt unnatural.
"?!"
Just then, she sensed a gaze coming from a collapsed building, and immediately, her hand went to the hilt of her blade.
"We’re being watched."
The moment she said that, two elves in their group suddenly drew their swords and beheaded the nearest two soldiers, much to the shock of everyone.
These two ’elves’ then revealed themselves, their bodies shifting from the forms of trusted allies into the shapes of unknown demons.
’Mimics!!’
These two weren’t the only ones, but their reveal drew all eyes to them, so the other two mimics attacked the backs of another set of elves and killed them.
"Ambush!"
Orin roared, unleashing a torrent of flame that incinerated the two demons. But it was too late.
They felt the terrifying pressures of Transcendental Demonic energies lock onto them and the sounds of sonic booms reached their ears.
The element of surprise was gone, and the High-Rank Demons were already moving to intercept them.
’For me to hear the sound...!’
Orin turned around and immediately polymorphed into his dragon form, conjuring over a dozen magic circles to form a giant dome barrier that protected them.
Why did he do this? It was simple.
For him to hear the sound of the sonic booms from afar, meant that the entity who caused it—
**KAABOOOOM!!!!
—was already here.
A giant sword of black flames descended from above and exploded on contact with his dome barrier, causing cracks to spiderweb all around it.
Looking through the flames, Orin caught sight of over a dozen High-Rank Demons. The other Hollorian Transcendents released their auras and geared up for a fight, while Orin turned towards the young heroes and shouted.
"Go!!! I’ll hold them here. You must reach the heart of the capital. The future of Hollora depends on it!"
Nylia hesitated, but only for a moment. With a determined nod, she led the remaining heroes and soldiers deeper into the city, leaving Orin and the other Transcendents to face the might of the High-Rank Demons.
The Hollorians had developed a special ritual magic that could be used by connecting with the power of the planet’s energy veins below the surface and with this magic, they planned to kill the Level 999 Four-Star General.
Illinor was built atop 15 energy veins, and only Heroes could use their Hero Authority to easily tap into the energy of these veins without lengthy preparations, hence why their presences were crucial for this.
The magic was designed in such a way that even though not all the casters were Transcendents, the spell would still succeed in taking out their target, though it would cost more of the planet’s energy.
But it was necessary.
In this party of Six Heroes, only one was a Transcendent and she was an Inferior Stage. The others were all Inferior and Intermediate Stage Sovereigns and they were very young, with not a single one in their 30s.
The plan was for Nylia—the Transcendent to hold off the Four-Star General while the other five heroes used the special magic.
Nylia revised this plan over and over in her head, hardening her resolve. They’d planned this for months now, prepared and readied themselves to face whatever waited for them at the demon stronghold.
But nothing could have prepared them for what they found.
After a fierce battle that cost the lives of several of their foot soldiers, the heroes burst into the throne room of the castle, their weapons drawn and hearts steeled for the fight ahead.
The room was vast, its walls lined with the banners of Gozon’s Interstellar Army. But at the far end, seated upon the thrones that had once belonged to Hollora’s rulers, was not the High-Rank Demon they had come to kill.
It was Arthur and Evan.
Finding not the Level 999 they came for, but a pair of unknown teenage boys, the heroes were stunned into a deafening silence, broken only by the distant sounds of battle outside the castle walls.
Arthur’s posture was relaxed, one leg crossed over the other as if he were lounging in a garden rather than the heart of a conquered city.
Despite just sitting there, Arthur radiated an intimidating aura mixed with destruction energy, causing them to feel instinctive fear for the soul-destroying power of the crimson energy law.
The dim light from the flickering torches cast long shadows across the room, the air heavy with the scent of blood and charred stone.
At Arthur’s left side was another throne and there sat Evan. His white dragon horns caught in the light and the golden glow of his mystic eyes unnerved the Heroes even more.
