Chapter 201 Meeting
'Perfect Body! Stay on!' Dorian kept the Ability on, trying to use it as sparingly as possible. He was already tired and his energy stores were less than 2/3rds full.
Dorian's first thought was that his physical body, even without being enhanced by the power of Law, was quite a bit stronger than he had thought.
Thud
Dorian knocked the towering golem back several meters, sending it stumbling. His arm didn't shake at all as he pulled back, his eyes focused.
It wasn't that the Golem was weak. In fact, compared to the physical strength of the members of the Demonic Council, it was at least 2-3 times stronger. It was simply that here, without the power of Law to enhance it further, Dorian was much, much stronger.
His Balance Demon form was arguably in the upper tier of all physical forms. It was a form that did not even exist before he created it, a freakishly powerful being that could rival dragons. While it might not be on the level of the truly powerful Divine Beasts, it was extremely strong, especially when boosted by his various Abilities.
The golem that was knocked back, however, got up almost immediately. Several large cracks could be seen in its metal armor, cracks that visibly healed in an instant, the damage Dorian had inflicted negated.
Dorian frowned. He leapt forward and punched the golem again, smashing it backwards with a backhanded blow.
The attack sent it slamming into one of the gold plated pillars, bouncing off it in a wide spin as it hit the wall. It didn't leave any markings or damage on the wall or pillar, unlike his own direct attack from before.
Once again, despite visible injuries, the golem got up. By the time it was fully standing, all the injuries had been completely restored, leaving it in a pristine state.
When he smacked it backwards, he had checked to see if he could absorb it. Unfortunately, he couldn't. The golems seemed to be part of the unique type of creations that were separate from regular Artifacts. They were closer to living beings than regular Artifacts.
"Great Demon Disciple! The Guardian Knights must be bound to Fifteen! If you can render him unconscious or kill him, they will automatically give up!" Baron Radishow's voice echoed loudly as his reedy form blocked a massive punch from one of the towering golems. The blow sent the defensive-minded Shade tumbling backwards, but left him otherwise uninjured.
"He is correct! Unless we can take out the controller, the Guardian Knights will keep on regenerating, no matter how much damage you do! He must have linked them up to some type of energy source he controls!" Kandor, the expert on souls, chimed in as he ducked and weaved under a powerful punch from one golem. His arms blurred as he grabbed the arm of that golem and then shifted his weight, sending it hurling in the air like a judo expert.
"We will hold them off while you take down Fifteen!" Baron Radishow's voice boomed out as he jumped forward again, standing stalwart.
Dorian quickly scanned the hall.
The Councilmembers had entered into a stalemate with the golems. The experience and skill of the Masters of the Council had given them a large upper hand, but the physique of the golems neutralized that.
If they could access their Laws or use Magic, or even use specialized Artifacts, they would've had a much easier time. As it was, they had fallen into a battle of attrition.
Despite that, they had faith in 'Lord Obelisk' and his Demonic prowess, willing to fight off the golems and make it so that he could charge through.
SHHKKKK
BOOM
A loud noise distracted everyone.
The doorway that they had all passed through had somehow slammed shut, a magical barrier of some sort appearing out of nowhere. This barrier looked like it was made of pure black stone, but also crackled slightly with energy.
"Hallow?! I thought you said there was nothing else here?!" The speaker this time was Priscilla, her outraged voice echoing in the air as she brought out a pair of steel fans, slicing into the golem that was attacking her.
"There was nothing when I checked… this trap looks to have appeared out of thin air." Hallow's voice was edged with anger as he whipped out the sword at his waist.
SHKKK
He directly cut the attacking golem in half, splitting it. Blue energy crackled off his gauntlets, his mask faintly glowing.
WHOOSH
The golem magically reformed itself, twisting to continue attacking the powerful Demonic Shade.
None of the Shades were able to move as freely as Dorian was. If they gave up more than a split second of their focus, the attacking golems would rip them apart.
"That's not possible! The Laws don't work here!"
"I bloody well know that! I don't know how it works, but it clearly does!"
The two bickered, the majority of their attention now focused simply on survival.
'Damn, what a unique trap. If it had only been the members of the Demonic Council in here, it probably would've worked with ease.' To hide something so effectively that it couldn't be detected by even the alert Masters of the Demonic Council, even without access to their Laws, was a notable achievement. Dorian's eyes flashed as he bashed aside his golem once again, yelling out loud,
"I'll go ahead! Stay strong while I'm gone!" He didn't quite know what to make of the Masters of the Demonic Council, but he didn't directly consider them enemies yet. He would at least try to save them, just for the help they had given him when it came to taking on Fifteen.
Without a second thought, he rushed forward towards the entrance of the throne room, leaving behind the members of the Demonic Council behind. The golem he had tossed away blazed after him, giving chase.
The moment he touched the door, something unexpected happened.
The door seemed to physically suck him into it. Instead of opening like he would expect a door to, the entire door itself shivered.
WHOOSH
Dorian blinked as he teleported, finding himself on the other side.
"Hello, brother." A familiar voice echoed in the air as Dorian gathered his bearings. Dorian's guard was up as he blinked again, scanning where he had arrived at.
'I made it to the throne room!'
The throne room, like the waiting room outside, had several large pillars supporting its roof, each one at least 3 meters wide and more than a dozen meters tall. These pillars were covered in black metal cages that looked vaguely familiar.
The room was sparsely decorated, save for a long, black carpet that led up to the slightly raised throne. White, crystalline torches lit up the walls, giving the room a well-lit appearance.
The throne itself was made of a harsh, black stone. It had a jagged, rough appearance, with little decoration. Dorian saw several long cracks and depressions in it, as if it had been handled rather roughly in the past.
Sitting atop this throne was a grey-skinned, unassuming humanoid.
"Fifteen." Dorian responded calmly, slightly surprised that he could make out the other Anomaly. Clearly, Fifteen had decided to allow Dorian to see him, instead of Phasing through reality and hiding.
"What do you really want? Why are you here?" He asked, not expecting much of an answer. He stepped forward as he spoke, his eyes alert as he walked towards the throne.
Fifteen surprised him, however, giving him a small smile as he responded,
"This is the Sealed Prison that our Father, the Thunder Saint, and the Wise Lady set up to help them kill the Demon Emperor, so many years ago. It's also the former throne room of the Demon Emperor."
Dorian blinked, his eyes widening.
"You already broke all of the Sealing Rods he left behind. I'm sure if you look around, you might feel some similarities."
Dorian stood still, taking a closer look at the world around him. Specifically, at the 6 pillars that were supporting the roof, covered in black cages.
'…He's right. They give off the same kind of feeling that the Sealing Tubes, or Rods, or whatever, did.' Dorian turned his attention back towards Fifteen.
"What is this all for? Why is it still active?" He asked slowly, surprised by Fifteen's attitude. The Anomaly seemed far more reasonable now than he had been before.
"I don't know, I'm not omnipotent. The Demon Emperor is indeed dead, though, if that is what you're wondering. Father is nothing if not thorough. I couldn't even find a trace of the fallen Emperor, his body would've proved quite useful."
Dorian took a few more steps forward. By this point, he had reached the end of the rug and was standing just a few meters away from the throne, in front of the raised platform. His entire body tensed up as he looked at the Grey Mantor.
Fifteen smiled,
"Thinking of attacking me, huh? It's useless." Fifteen's body shivered. It then began to distort. His voice transformed, becoming one that echoed in the room from overhead.
Dorian reacted by jumping forward, his body blurred as he smashed down where Fifteen's distorted body was. The image exploded into a cloud of steam, the Anomaly vanishing from his sight. He twisted his head to the left and right, trying to catch sight of him. He kept his Perfect Body Ability active, not letting himself miss anything.
"Brother, brother…" Fifteen's wavering voice echoed as he tutted,
"This is a room that is not only sealed off from the presence of Laws, but from space itself. The only entrance to it is a teleportation matrix set on the door you entered through, one that doesn't exist in this space. The throne, and the platform holding it, are merely connected to an Illusion Array where I am." His voice boomed,
"This was a trap that caught the Demon Emperor himself. While you may have weakened it by releasing the Sealing Rods, it is still more than enough to hold you and the foolish members of the Demonic Council." Fifteen sighed.
"Oh? So that's it? All it does is hold us?" Dorian stepped off from the throne, his eyes peering around the room as he continued to scan for Fifteen.
"Doesn't sound that scary." He maintained a cavalier attitude as his heart pounded, ready to react to even the slightest hint of movement.
"The Seals will drain your energy over time. You will be unconscious in just a few hours, dead in half a day." Fifteen returned, his voice supremely unconcerned.
Dorian narrowed his eyes. Indeed, he could feel his energy stores being sapped, deep within his soul. He was roughly down to half energy already from all the combat he had been in.
'Think, Dorian. If this is a trap, there has to be a way to break out.' As he realized all of this, he looked around the room for anything of note. All he could find were the six pillars that stood out in the open and the throne he was standing next to.
"I was never supposed to catch you up in this, brother. It was supposed to be a trap for the Demonic Council, but you just had to butt in. I had no choice but to act like I did. It would go against the persona I made to do otherwise." Fifteen's voice contained a hint of genuine regret.
"Is that so? A persona?" Despite the dire situation, Dorian smiled slightly, paying little attention to Fifteen's words.
The feeling of familiarity he sensed from those pillars… an idea formed in his mind. One that he grew more and more certain of as he began to walk towards them.
"Ah, brother. This was a trap that Sealed the Demon Emperor himself at one point! Do you really think you stand a chance at breaking it? Even if you could affect those Sealing Rods, this is something on an entirely different level."
Fifteen appeared to have some way to observe him, watching from afar. He sounded interested in Dorian's actions, watching him carefully.
'Hmm… it doesn't sound like he can do anything to me while I'm in here.'
Dorian merely smiled and ignored Fifteen as he walked up to one of the pillars, slowly resting his hand on it. A small tidbit of energy shot off from his soul, interacting with it.
This energy vibrated as it came into contact with the pillar. His soul itself then shook, his eyes faintly glowing.
The pillar seemed to recognize several of the energy sources in his soul, the various imprints many of the Demonic Laws had left behind. In particular, Dorian could feel it resonate with the Law of Original Sin.
However, as it did all of this, Dorian's unique soul make up interacted with the pillar as well. Just like with the Sealing Tubes, Dorian could also feel a sensation of familiarity. The pillar seemed to inherently recognize him and his soul.
He was able to gain access to the pillar itself due to its recognition of the Laws he used. His unique soul, one that was formed from part of Yukeli himself, changed that access, morphing it into something more direct…
Something more controlled.
WHOOSH
Dorian blinked.
He found himself looking at a rather recognizable sight.
The world of Moria, covered in thousands of mountain-sized chains, peeling off into space.
This time, however, Dorian was no longer a random onlooker from the ground.
Instead, he was standing atop a floating yellow platform, hovering thousands of meters high in the air. Wind brushed against him lightly, but he didn't feel short on breath like he might expect so high up.
"Woah." Dorian muttered as he saw this, feeling faintly disoriented. This view was jarringly different from what he expected, but the sensations were still close to the same. He couldn't pull on the pillar, but he felt that if he concentrated, he could cause hundreds of the chains to grow taut.
"Oh? A visitor? It's been quite some time since I had one of those." Dorian spun around as he heard someone speak, a voice that was quiet and peaceful, like that of a calm river.
The speaker was a young man with spiky, bright blonde hair, dressed in an orange monk robe that was left open at the chest. His ears were pierced with two black studded diamonds, twinkling with light. A long, jagged tattoo of a lightning bolt marked his face, going from his forehead all the way across his right eye, down to his chin.
"You…" Dorian's words failed him as he stared at the figure. The man's appearance... it was identical to that of someone else, someone he had read up on, long ago.
Someone famed throughout the 30,000 Worlds.
One of the Great Heroes that had mysteriously vanished, long ago.
"Hi, my name is Kaladin." The man spoke up cheerfully, holding out a hand,
"But you might know me as the Thunder Saint." He grinned cheekily,
"Nice to meet you!"
.