Chapter 529 Treasures that complement each other (part 1)
To understand the current scene that Abaris was witnessing, we must rewind back in time around ten minutes, to the point when Sarah was busy giving mana crystals to the white orb.
Daimon grabbed the black cube which had earlier ripped off his flesh and absorbed his blood.
He has gotten to see a lot of new things ever since the mission at Neptune started, like the Stellar realm, the beast pouches, new lineages, magic technology that developed in a different way than the one at the four galaxies and the list goes on.
And yet most of the stuff that outstand from the rest, shares the same characteristic, they are incomplete and there are close to zero records of it in the history of Neptune, at first Daimon was in the dark about why it was like that.
But now he has obtained the first big piece of the puzzle after having gone to Kerrol and confirmed, that the history was altered by at least three different powers, first the ones which Daimon suspected from the very beginning, the system users that arrived at Neptune.
Still as much as they stirred up troubles and altered Neptune, they weren't the first ones to do so, the Nethereals had come much more before of them, at least according to the dreams that the black Sea Emblem has given to Daimon from time to time.
And that was what didn't match from Daimon's point of view, in those dreams those creatures that were similar but much more imposing than the current Nethereals, were being slaughtered in Like that giant severed head that was resting on the sea turning the water ink black, or the rain of corpses of what looked like deformed mass.
Like that giant severed head that was resting on the sea turning the water ink black, or the rain of corpses of what looked like deformed winged beasts, the scenes always involved the death of those things, the question is who or what killed them.
Something strong enough to deal with the Nethereals and even force them to go hide like rats, for the past hundreds of thousands of years, something strong enough to… grant a system user a second opportunity and curse an Administrator after whatever agreement they have attained was breached.
The third group from Daimon's point of view had to be the ones who gave the hero the Black Armored Shark's lineage, which he now knew were also the ones that created his emblem.
The problem is that all the ones that might still be around from those three groups, are most likely enemies, excluding Freya who accepted a contract with him, well, there might be an occasional ally in the form of the creator of his emblem, otherwise why would whatever it is behind of it, have helped him before, still it also seemed to have supported the hero, so it's not exactly a trustable backer.
Of course, when has Daimon allowed others to toy with him, well, besides a certain fox girl, but that's besides the point. Evangeline had already told Daimon eight years ago that system user's lives are filled with danger and opportunities, more than normal people are prompt to experience at least.
Which is why, Daimon is always on the look for things that can tilt the scale in his favor, regardless of realms, naturally, things that can have such impact are rare, but they exist, Core Synchrony and Disaster are good examples of it.
Daimon took a page from the classification that the system gave to Core Synchrony, and named those kind of things as "Irregular things", and he found a new one in Neptune, in the form of the Flying Citadel, a treasure that in its current state can resist against the strongest beings in Neptune.
And that is while the thing is obviously either damaged or incomplete, as it lacks in many aspects, anyway, Daimon heard from Aurora that the Flying Citadel is something left behind by the first Matriarch of the Light Palace, and yet Freya didn't mention it.
At first Daimon thought she was hiding that information, but then when he interrogated Karla, he got to know that, the Flying Citadel was supposedly destroyed, along with a treasure of the same level from the hero.
And here is where things get interesting, as there is a Flying Citadel present a few kilometers above Daimon's current location, it wouldn't make sense if not for the fact that there were two "first" Matriarchs, Freya's second host and then her friend who inherited her lineage, meaning that the current Flying Citadel is something that a "normal" person left behind, instead of a system user.
The hero was the one that orchestrated all of this, because he wanted to obtain the Flying Citadel, which is why he gave Karla the task to obtain the white orb that is now orbiting Sarah, in other words that orb is the core of the original citadel that was supposedly destroyed.
The truth is that the hero sealed it, using something of the same level but of an extremely opposite nature, and that is the black cube Daimon is holding right now.
The hero miscalculated, by setting up a complex way to retrieve it, which required a light affinity that was totally unrelated to the one of the Light Palace, the blood of someone with darkness affinity that descended from the friend of Freya's second host, and then… the Black Armored Shark's lineage.
Apparently, somehow Abaris's family branch knew about the existence of this place, and they have been trying to cross that door for who knows how many years, hence the smell of blood that lingered in the air, and the traces of constant huge discharges of mana.
But the hero screwed them over, they needed the Black Armored Shark's lineage, which was lost through the history, the answer lied in Karla who was trapped in Kerrol, so there is no way they obtained the last part of the key they needed.
And in an even worse strike of bad luck, Daimon had the three parts of the key needed, his light affinity was completely different than the one of the Light Palace, he had a descendant of the Matriarch with darkness affinity at his side in the form of Sarah, and lastly, he stole the Black Armored Shark's lineage from Adam.
'So. you are the "legacy", left behind by the hero, that has been avoiding me', thought Daimon, as if to support that idea, a notification appeared the moment he grabbed the cube.
[Ding]
[Black Fortress Core X1 obtained, processing…]
[The host's lineage (Drakolevia) has successfully overwhelmed the genetic seal, do you wish to claim it as your property Y/N (A source of energy will be required for the appropriation process]
Of course, Daimon accepted and then an ethereal 3D map with a marker appeared floating in front of him.
[Please, select the initial territory to turn into your Fortress (Warning, the amount of energy needed will vary, depending on the extension of the land selected)]
Daimon smirked, if one is going to do something, then isn't it better to make it as big as possible, with a mental command he saw the marker circling everything that will be turned into the Black Fortress, and then nodded.
'This place has been radiated by the black cube for a really long time, there is no better choice for the core of the Fortress to be placed', he thought as he walked towards the wall that was covered in that black material to then shove it in it.
[Please insert High Grade Darkness Mana Crystal 0/50,000,000 or High Grade Neutral Mana Crystal 0/100,000,000 to start the process]
Daion inhaled a breath of cold air, those were MILLIONS of high grade mana crystals, let alone having them, if it wasn't for his visit to Kerrol, it would have taken him a really long time to even see that quantity with his own eyes, not to mention be able to spend them at will.
'Damn, now I understand why Erin insisted on always taking as much as possible from enemies, luckily I obtained the mine core and also made that other deal with that old man…', he thought as he clicked the neutral mana crystal counter.
After having squeezed both the Adjudicators and the church, he obtained 200 million of mana crystals, is not that there wasn't more in the mines, but since it wasn't a strategic resource, not much manpower was invested into it, so he nearly took every crystal they had in their treasuries.
And now in the blink of an eye he spent half of it, it really made one think about the vastness of the world.
Leaving the huge hit Daimon's wallet just took, it was time to reap the benefits of plundering others, the black cube dissolved and fused with the wall, and the next thing both Daimon and the crazy girl saw was that a pitch black viscous material extended all over the walls.
With Rita's linked senses, Daimon saw the wave of that unknown black material surge from within the underground cave, covering everything in its way, until it reached the surface, before another notification was triggered.
[Unclassified entities have been discovered within the territory of the Host's property, please choose the next course of action (Different choices come with a different price in terms of energy, once the Fortress has been properly created, new options of energy obtention will be added)]
[Scan]
[Communicate]
[Expel]
[Limit]
[Imprison]
[Eliminate]
The same 3D map that Daimon saw before appeared in front of him once again, but this time, there were humanoid figures on it, they had different colors, which as far a he understood where due to their affinities.
Naturally, Daimon couldn't just throw out everyone, because the territory he selected included the area of the Light Palace, and most of Aurora's subordinates, Underwood and the other Patriarchs included, were there too, so he first went for "Scan".
The map updated, and now the figures reflected their affiliation, name, realm, affinity and even their overall stand towards Daimon, the personal data that couldn't be evaluated normally, was based on his knowledge by the way, meaning that for example, if he didn't know the name of someone then that would be left in blank, in comparison their realms, affinities and overall stand was there for him to see.
Daimon couldn't help but grin at the potential he saw in this interface that he could access thanks to the Fortress, but right now it wasn't the time for that, after finding certain targets, he gave his orders, communicating with some, expelling some, limiting some and finally imprisoning some, he didn't use the option to eliminate, and still it costed him around three hundred thousand high grade mana crystals.
That being said he knew it will be worth it, so Daimon didn't stop in the ceremony, the whole process didn't take even fifteen minutes, before that unknown material had covered every piece of non-organic material within a certain range, only then one last notification appeared in front of Daimon.
[Ding]
[The process was successful, congratulations, the Basic Energy Conversion Array and Basic Elemental Conversion Array had been granted as a welcoming gift, the control will be transferred to the host, good luck]
And with that, Daimon saw a black bracelet with a triangular shield emblem on it, appear on his right wrist, which was previously free, at the same time he felt a link forming between him and everything within a twenty-meter range, it was as if he could control that part of the cave as he pleased.
But right now, he didn't focus on that, but on the fact that lines started appearing on the walls of the cave, and then a glove made of runes formed on his right hand starting where the black bracelet was.
"Nice", with a single word, the crazy girl approached Daimon and then held onto his arm, as the giant piece of continental mass which Daimon had selected to be used as the initial form of the Fortress, started trembling and separating from the rest of ground.
And that's how we reached the current scene of a giant island floating in the sky, despite the huge boulders that just detached a moment ago, the structures and the area that was now covered by a thing black layer of some kind of metal, was firm and solid, those were just remains of the continental mass that stuck to the borders of the land that now formed part of the Black Fortress, and fell due to the movement.
Abaris who was flying as if his ass was on fire, towards the floating piece of continental mass, frowned as he saw black light surging from the thing before an ethereal giant fortress covered it.
"T-That is…", before Abaris could finish speaking, Daimon's voice could be heard coming from everywhere within that black ethereal fortress that was covering the piece of continental mass.
"You are now trespassing the aerial territory of my Demon Fortress, get lost or I'll open fire".
Abaris's body trembled due to anger, how could he not recognize that voice, it was the voice of the masked brat that not only destroyed his number one disciple, but also took away his granddaughter.
But that's not what was angering him right now, not even the fact that some of his subordinates had suffered serious wounds, due to the previous explosion and wave of energy.
No, what was making his lungs filled with anger, where the words "My Demon Fortress", as the current patriarch of the Black Fortress sect, he has been trying to regain the glory of which the records of his family spoke about.
And the first step in the plan, was to obtain the treasure that supposedly lied below the castle of the Shaman, one that was on par with the Flying Citadel that has given him so many headaches, the Black Fortress that inspired Abaris's ancestors to give that name to their force.
The same treasure that has now fallen on the hands of the last person he wanted it to.
"Brat, how dare you, I will rip your head with my own hands…"
"Boooom!", as Abaris was about to threaten Daimon, a part of the ethereal black fortress moved and a giant cannon appeared, the next thing Abaris knew was that a certain island a few thousands of kilometers from this current position, was engulfed in a huge explosion, that was followed by a thunder-like sound.
Abaris's eyes widened in shock, he slowly turned around in the direction where the explosion was still ongoing, recognizing what used to be there until a second ago, he then flashed and waved his hand using an insane amount of mana to blow the explosion away, revealing the result.
Which was Skyfire's castle, being half demolished and Skyfire who was floating on the sky, falling the next second as his body was half
charred to a crisp, a single attack decimated the defensive formations of the Sky Flare sect temporarily and there was still enough energy left to force Skyfire to take the hit, unless he wanted his castle to fully disappear, nearly killing him on the spot.
The range and side effects weren't as strong as what a Maximum Stellar rank could do, by letting loose and going full attack mode, but the resulting strength of the attack in the concentrated area of the explosion wasn't that far from it.
And to Abaris's displease, he saw other gates appear on the ethereal fortress, before more similar cannons were deployed, all of them pointed at the sects that were subordinated to the Black Fortress sect, which had already activated their strongest defensive methods, including their respective Patriarchs and elders be on the look, to reinforce the barriers.
"Sure, these attacks will have it hard to hit you, but do you think I won't be able to decimate all the nearby territories under your management before I run out of energy".
Abaris had a hatred filled expression as he saw another of those giant cannons gathering mana, as a stream of black light was shot towards the main land of the Purple Haze sect.
"Shit!", Abaris became a flash of black light and then appeared in front of the castle of the Purple Haze sect, a black haze gathered around him as he deployed his Domain to block the attack.
"Boooom!", the explosion still happened, but Abaris's Domain was able to take the hit without suffering too much damage, that being said a trace of blood came out of Abaris's mouth due to the impact.
He was about to return the attack when Purpleclous who was pale as a piece of paper, approached him in a rush.
"My Lord, please remain calm, with our forces dispersed, we can't return the fire, that crazy bastard will blow away our headquarters, think on little Haze and also brother Skyfire, he needs medical attention", said Purplecloud as he bowed towards the Shaman.
Abaris observed the nearby destruction that happened in his own backyard and he gritted his teeth, his forces were indeed spread through the whole Elemental Sea, while his elites were being led by one of his two direct disciples to encircle the Flying Citadel, he could fight against the masked youth if he used the scimitar passed down in his family, for sure, but his subordinates will suffer.
"Aurora, from now and onwards, you are an enemy of my Black Fortress, just like that brat, I will hunt you two down no matter where you go!!!", the angered voice of the Shaman echoed through the whole area.
While he was in the middle of his tantrum, the Shaman saw another cannon gathering mana and he cursed as he prepared for the impact, just to see the giant ethereal fortress moving away in the direction of the Flying Citadel.
'He dares to threat me!', inwardly screamed Abaris, but he still didn't attack as he had to focus on defending, instead of that he took out his communication device and sent a message to three different contacts, out of which only one answered, which just made his eyes get even more bloodshot.
"Master, I'm rushing back with the others, don't worry we'll get our revenge on those bastards!".
Abaris wasn't pleased by the positive answer, he instead frowned as he thought.
'Why aren't those two answering… could it be!', he immediately spread his mana sense in his surroundings to look up for some specific people.
…
Back at the underground cave where the black cube was placed, which has turned into the heart of the Demon Fortress, Daimon gazed at the crazy girl who was all smiles right now.
The first shot of the cannon was free, unlike the Flying Citadel whose specialty was defense, the Fortress focused on offensive, the problem is that he just obtained the Fortress, there are no reserves of energy and the arrays can barely produce enough energy to fly, as of current.
So, he had to literally burn mana crystals for the second shot, and when Abaris seemed to still be doubting on whether to attack or not, Sarah who was now stuck to Daimon like bubblegum, asked him to attack the Purple Haze sect a second time, just for "fun".
Still, that third discharge which was ready to be launched from one of the cannons of the Fortress, was what made Abaris desist in his idea to start a fight, well, more accurately, it put enough fear in Purplecloud's heart to make him beg at the Shaman to not do anything.
"That was fun, can't we just completely explode them to smithereens right now~", playfully said the crazy girl, to which Daimon sighed.
"You know that one single blast of the main cannon would consume fifty million of mana crystals, right… that's why I used one of the secondary ones, otherwise a piece of that old bastard's Domain would have been blown away by the impact, for sure, instead of just damaging it like that", he said.
It's not like Daimon was a cheapskate, in fact if he was sure that using all the mana crystals he had, was enough to kill Abaris, he would have done it without a second of hesitation, the problem is that he was sure that wasn't going to be the case, for a variety of reasons, which include the fact that the Shaman is not a stationary target, he will move and dodge, and the cannons won't be able to follow his speed as of current.
Also, if he used all the mana crystals he had were used and Abaris didn't die, then he would lose the way he had to suppress the Shaman, the chance will come for sure, especially once he tells Aurora the truth, and shows her the "evidences" he just obtained.
"Are you going to let go of me, or…", said Daimon, the crazy girl was taking advantage of the situation to cling to him, and while she wasn't trying anything, she was still too close.
"I'm comforting you, I saw the disappointment in your eyes earlier~", she said, making Daimon chuckle.
'I can't believe that even the core of the Fortress isn't the stupid legacy left behind by that bastard', he thought as he piloted the floating island towards the Flying Citadel.
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