Chapter 121: Chapter 121 - Gathering of Demon Generals ( Part 5)
The Demon Continent held its breath.
Deep below the Citadel of Eternal Night...
Inside the Chamber of the Final Seal...
There was complete silence.
The massive black crystal loomed in the middle of the cavern like a mountain made of endless night.
The six divine chains still bound it.
All of them shone under the blessing of the ancient gods.
The golden runes were running down their length constantly, desperately keeping up the prison for the past thousand years.
The six Demon Generals remained silent.
Even Draven’s arrogant attitude disappeared.
Even Lokiar ceased to smile.
Even Grom’s mighty animals outside the cavern fell silent.
Not a single creature could make a noise.
As everybody felt.
Somebody was waking up.
The Demon Oracle slowly walked toward the crystal.
Its ancient staff touched the ground.
There was just one echo in the cavern.
"Balance shifted."
"The era of patience is over."
The stone tablet floated in the air again.
Its ancient runes blazed like miniature suns.
Oracle started chanting in the language of the ancient demons.
Each word was carrying incredible weight.
The walls were shaking.
The rivers of mana surrounding the chamber were reversing their flow.
The black mist escaped from the crystal.
It was floating in the air like living shadows.
Azrael quietly closed his eyes.
"...Commander."
Draven kneeled.
Perhaps for the first time in centuries...
The merciless Third Demon General kneeled with true respect.
Morgatha put down her staff.
Lokiar took off his silver mask.
Grom placed one hand above his heart.
All Demon Generals kneeled before the crystal.
And then...
A loud cracking sound echoed through the cavern.
CRACK!
One of the divine chains broke.
The golden shards fell down like stars.
Then the second...
CRACK!
Then the third.
One after another...
The remaining six chains began to break.
Not violently.
Not explosively.
Almost...
As if time itself finally accepted the fact that their job was over.
The blessing of the gods turned into thousands of tiny lights.
They floated upwards like fireflies before vanishing forever.
The huge black crystal started trembling.
The tiny cracks appeared on its smooth surface.
The darkness was escaping through all of the cracks.
Not just darkness.
Primordial darkness.
Oldest than kingdoms.
Oldest than dragons.
Oldest than any history.
The chamber shook violently.
The massive pillars cracked.
The ancient statues crumbled.
The mountain itself groaned under the pressure.
Far away...
Across the oceans...
The world reacted.
The ancient forests were swaying despite there was no wind.
The volcanoes were erupting unexpectedly.
The western ocean started turning into waves.
The dragons hidden in forgotten valleys were opening their eyes.
The Divine Beasts stopped moving.
Even the ancient World Tree was shedding glowing leaves.
Across all the kingdoms...
The people were looking towards the horizon for no apparent reason.
The children were suddenly falling silent.
The birds were abandoning the skies.
The animals were hiding in the forests.
The instinct older than thought was whispering the same warning.
Run.
In the Kingdom of Seraiya...
Princess Lilia KingHeart stood on the palace balcony.
The tea in her cup was rippling.
She frowned.
"...What was that?"
King Aldric KingHeart, talking with the royal advisors nearby, stopped as the palace was trembling.
"What is happening?"
The Royal Mages rushed into the chamber.
"Your Majesty!"
"The mana of the whole continent is becoming unstable!"
Before anyone managed to answer...
The shaking stopped.
The uneasy silence appeared.
On a distant mountain road...
Jennie suddenly stopped.
The Excalibur burst into golden light.
Leviathan was shining with deep sapphire colors.
The Divine Swords were trembling in her hands.
Snow’s ears were lying flat.
Each strand of his white fur was standing upright.
Roxy almost dropped the spellbook.
"...Jennie?"
Jennie looked towards the western horizon.
Her heart was racing.
"...Someone..."
"...woke up."
Excalibur, usually cheerful sword, suddenly became unusually quiet.
"This mana..."
"I’ve never forgotten it."
Leviathan was equally solemn.
"Neither have I."
Snow slowly transforming one of his claws into Divine Beast form without even realizing it.
His instincts were screaming.
Danger.
Ancient danger.
Such which appeared once in an era.
Back inside the Chamber of the Final Seal...
The cracks were spreading across the crystal.
Bigger.
Deeper.
Until—
BOOM!
The crystal exploded.
Not outward.
It turned into billions of black particles which slowly were floating through the cavern like falling snow.
The six Demon Generals bowed heads.
The black mist was gradually disappearing.
In the middle of the chamber...
The throne of obsidian still stood.
On it...
The lone figure was sitting absolutely motionless.
The long silver hair reached the ground.
The black armor which was untouched by time didn’t reflect anything.
The featureless ebony mask covered the face.
The ancient crimson runes were glowing faintly across the armor.
The hands were resting calmly on the armrests.
It wasn’t moving.
It wasn’t speaking.
However its very presence was distorting the mana in the chamber.
It was bending the whole world around it.
Some seconds were passing.
Nobody dared breathing.
And then...
The finger slowly was moving.
The heartbeat echoed.
THUMP.
The cavern was shaking.
Across the whole continent...
The mountains were splitting.
The rivers were changing their courses.
The sea was rising several meters and then falling down again.
The ancient ruins buried under the deserts were waking up.
The hidden temples were lighting their torches.
All the Divine Swords scattered across the world were simultaneously reacting.
Excalibur.
Leviathan.
And the five which were still sleeping.
All were answering the same presence.
The figure slowly raised its head.
The featureless mask was reflecting the faint blue light of the cavern.
And then...
The two crimson lights appeared behind the mask.
The eyes.
Slowly...
They were opening.
There was no rage.
There was no madness.
Only the abyssal calm.
The eyes which witnessed the rise and fall of countless civilizations.
The eyes which witnessed how heroes were becoming legends.
The eyes which didn’t open for thousand years.
The moment they were opened...
The whole continent was shaken with the violent earthquake.
The cities were trembling.
The castle walls were cracking.
The ancient bells were ringing despite nobody touched them.
Across the skies...
The dark clouds were swallowing the sun.
The world was instinctively feeling that some ancient was back.
The Demon Oracle slowly kneeled.
Its voice was trembling for the first time in centuries.
"The Lord of Destruction..."
"...woke up."
The six Demon Generals fell to the ground.
Nobody dared looking into these crimson eyes.
As in front of them was the warrior who couldn’t be killed even by Leonis.
The one who used to command all the Demon Legions.
The nightmare history was trying to forget.
And now...
After thousand years of silence...
He has opened his eyes again.
The earth tremor slowly faded out.
Nevertheless, the overwhelming presence remained inside the Chamber of the Final Seal.
It was not mana.
Nor it was divine power.
Nor demonic energy.
It was pure...
Presence.
The Lord of Destruction sat quietly upon the obsidian throne.
His silver hair gently waved in the motionless air.
His black armor was not rusted after a thousand-year sleep.
Ancient crimson runes were glowing faintly on its surface.
His featureless ebony mask concealed any feelings.
Except for the crimson eyes.
They looked calm.
Too calm.
They did not belong to a monster whose heart was burning with hate.
Or the ruler whose thoughts were full of ambitions.
It was like an endless abyss.
Ancient.
Patient.
Observing.
Six Demon Generals still kneeled.
Nobody dared to raise his head.
Not because of the mere fear...
But from the respect gained during thousands of years.
The Demon Oracle slowly lowered its ancient staff.
"My Lord..."
"The seal of one thousand years has been broken."
There was no answer.
The Lord of Destruction slowly looked around the cave.
His glance was sliding along the broken divine chains.
Over the remnants of the black crystal.
Along the ancient runes which had been engraved by gods themselves.
At last...
His crimson eyes focused on the six kneeling Demon Generals.
He recognized each of them.
Azrael.
Draven.
Morgatha.
Lokiar.
Grom.
It was quiet in the chamber.
Then...
For the first time in a thousand years...
He spoke.
His voice was low.
Calm.
Neither loud nor threatening.
However, every word echoed in the mountain as if said by the whole world.
"...One thousand years..."
A long silence followed.
He slowly closed his eyes.
"I slept..."
"...for a long time."
Nobody replied.
Draven’s forehead was pressed against the stone floor.
The mighty Third Demon General did not dare to interrupt.
The Lord of Destruction slowly stood up.
The moment his feet touched the floor...
The whole chamber trembled.
Ancient pillars crumbled.
Mana rivers surrounding the chamber suddenly changed the direction.
His presence was not overflowing.
It was just there.
And the world struggled to survive it.
He slowly approached the broken divine chains.
One of his gloved hands gently touched a piece of golden metal.
His crimson eyes reflected the dimmed divine light.
"...Leonis."
His voice was almost whisper.
Thoughtful.
Not filled with hatred or anger.
With remembrance.
"I remember."
Azrael slowly raised his head enough to talk.
"My Lord..."
"The Sword King has long passed away."
The Lord of Destruction was silent.
"I know."
"The man who sealed me..."
"...is gone."
His fingers released the chain fragment.
Golden dust was floating in the darkness.
It was quiet in the chamber.
The Demon Oracle approached.
"My Lord..."
"The world has changed."
"Kingdoms were born."
"Gods are silent."
"The Demon Emperor is still in the prison."
"Our preparations have started."
The Lord of Destruction listened silently.
He did not ask about armies.
He did not ask about kingdoms.
He did not ask about the Demon Emperor.
Instead...
His glance slowly turned toward the west.
As if he could look beyond the mountains...
Beyond the oceans...
Beyond the whole world.
Far away...
Jennie was walking side by side with Snow and Roxy.
She laughed softly when Roxy complained about yet another failed cooking spell.
Snow stealthily took a piece of dried meat from Roxy’s pack.
Neither of them noticed.
Jennie smiled.
"...You two never change."
At that precise moment...
The Lord of Destruction’s crimson eyes slightly narrowed.
He sensed it.
A familiar presence.
Not Leonis.
But...
Something made connection.
A soul which he had once fought with.
A light which he had never forgot.
The chamber was holding its breath.
Then...
He asked just a single question.
"...Where..."
A pause.
"...is the child..."
Another pause.
"...who carries Excalibur?"
These words echoed in the endless cave.
Without any anger.
Without any excitement.
With quiet confidence.
The six Demon Generals lowered themselves even deeper.
Draven immediately answered.
"My Lord."
"She walks the eastern continent."
"She calls herself Jennie."
"Markless Maiden."
"The present bearer of Excalibur and Leviathan."
Silence.
The Lord of Destruction looked toward the distant east.
His crimson eyes stayed incomprehensible.
"The Markless Maiden..."
He repeated the words slowly.
"As Miasa planned."
Azrael’s eyes widened slightly.
He was not expecting that the Lord of Destruction knew about the Goddess’s plans.
The Lord of Destruction continued,
"So..."
"History has taken the different path."
He turned away from the destroyed prison.
His black cloak behind was flowing like the liquid night.
Without any hatred in his voice.
Without any thirst for revenge.
With quiet curiosity.
"I wish..."
"...to see her."
Draven immediately bowed down.
"I will gather an army."
"I will bring her before you alive."
The Lord of Destruction shook his head.
"No."
This word silenced the chamber.
"I did not say..."
"...capture her."
Draven froze.
"My Lord?"
The crimson eyes under the ebony mask were looking at him.
"I asked..."
"...where she is."
Nothing else.
Nothing more.
No command to kill.
No order to invade.
No demand for war.
Just a question.
Azrael silently lowered his head once again.
For the first time since the awakening...
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
The future was not as certain as everybody believed.
Far away...
Unknowingly, Jennie was looking toward the western sky.
For a moment...
She felt as if somebody was watching her.
Without any malice.
Without any hate.
With the quiet eyes of the ancient warrior who wanted to see how became the soul which once fought with him a thousand years ago on the battle field.
