The Aurelian people craned their necks towards the sky. Many pointed their fingers, some exclaimed in surprise, and other few fainted on the spot. In the blue sky there was a creature straight out of myths and legends, there was an Angel. She was radiant and bright, a blessing coming from the sky.
The crowd cheered even louder taking it as a divine sign. The Angel must have come down from the Sky Fortress to bless the Aurelian people and their ruler; there was no other plausible explanation. Indeed, this was the most joyous occasion.
The flying Angel, on her way towards the palace, fluttered her wings dropping white motes of light on the people. Like snow, the light melted on the skin upon contact, but unlike snow, it felt warm and refreshing. Soon she reached her destination, hovering right in front of the balcony. Obviously, she had something to say, but for some reason the people down below couldn't hear it. The Aurelian Horn of Resonance must have malfunctioned. A shame!
…
The Radiant Angel glared at the Duke Aurelius without uttering a single word. The animosity in her eyes was clear. It was only a matter of time before she or the Duke would say something uncouth, hence ruining the celebratory mood of the Aurelian people. The Spider King reached for a golden band on the horn and twisted it disabling the magical item. Then, and only then he too looked at the Angel with a tinge of anger.
She was supposed to be back in some imperial kingdom spreading division and discord, but here she was glaring at Aurelius. Maybe her coup d’état didn’t go as planned; well, no surprises there, she was just a person. To topple the Holy Inquisition would take more than just a woman, no matter how talented. But for her to come back so quickly… It was disappointing.
“Elisabeth,” He chose to address her by her name, “There’s no need for hostilities. Let’s talk this through. Why don’t you come inside?” He was desperate to placate her and take her away from the sight of the people.
The Angel fluttered her wings. “I see that Aurelius remains as a Corrupted Human. And here I thought that perhaps…” she didn’t finish and just landed in the balcony.
Her Radiant Sword, an extremely powerful item, was still sheathed by her side. It didn’t look like she wanted to use it yet, so maybe there was a way. However, the Duke Aurelius developed an aggressive posture, his fists were clenched tight, and he was roaring for a fight.
The Spider King stretched a stopping arm to prevent the Duke from overreacting. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure we can resolve it peacefully.” He looked at the two.
It was clear now that the Angel didn’t have ill will towards him, but only to Aurelius. There was some history perhaps, something he didn’t know.
“Please let’s go inside.” He urged everyone.
Surprisingly the Radiant Angel nodded in affirmation and went in. In such action she had lost her tactical advantage, she wouldn’t be able to fly inside, and she would be outnumbered, despite all that she went inside. This displayed that she was willing to trust him; a very good sign. Now, he was sure that everything could be resolved peacefully. After all, the Radiant Angel was an important pawn in the Spider Stratagem to undermine the Holy Empire; losing her here would be unwise.
Once inside, Duke Aurelius burst out unable to contain himself. “Coming here and spoiling everything! What do you want? Is it fight you seek?” He accused with anger.
The Spider King stepped between the Duke and the Angel.
“Aurelius, you be quiet for now!” He reprimanded sternly. “Elisabeth, you must have come here with a good reason. Why? What happened?”
Glaring at Aurelius she ignored the question.
“Yes, I’m here for a fight.” She provoked forcing the Spider King to hold Aurelius in place. “I can’t leave this place to be ruled by Corrupted Human. Can’t you see he’s evil?” She pointed the question at the Spider King.
“Did you forget what we talked about… No, never mind that. If he was evil the people wouldn’t love him so much. You can go in the streets and ask them. Everyone loves and adores Duke Aurelius. There is no doubt, I stand witness to that.”
“Duke?” She asked somewhat confused.
“Ah, you don’t know. Didn’t you get the message? The Aurelian Dutchy is now a part of Monster Realm.”
“So that’s what it meant… Monster Realm…” She said it as if she was struggling to accept the truth.
“Yes, Monster Realm.” He referred to it plainly. “A land of unity where monster races and humans can live in harmony. Did you forget that you too are a monster in the eyes of the system?”
“No! I know the truth! This is The Way.”
The Spider King wasn't too sure what she meant, but the Angel looked mollified. No, upon closer inspection she looked depressed, her wings were drooping as if something was weighing her down.
“So why don’t you tell me what happened?”
The question brought life back into the Angel’s eyes, but once again she ignored it.
“Even so, I can’t accept this!“ She unfurled her wings to stand more intimidating. ” Duke Aurelius the Corrupted, I challenge you to the Duel!”
“I accept.” He replied eagerly.
“Wait, wait, wait…” The Spider King tried to stop the two.
“I accept!” He repeated.
The Angel reached for her sword, and the Duke for his tome.
“Wait-wait-wait!” Once again, he stepped in between the two. “Duke Aurelius, I’m sorry, but you would lose. This is not a fair fight.” The two of them kept glaring at each other. “I’m not going to stop you. But, at least, let’s make this fair. Duke Aurelius, shall I Evolve you?”
“I’ve almost forgotten. Yes, my King!” This was likely the outcome he was aiming for from the very start. That conniving duke!
“You want to evolve him?!” She shouted in protest. “He doesn’t deserve that honour.”
“It’s entirely up to me to decide,” the Spider King touched the shoulder of the Duke, “[Evolve]!”
[Royal Lineage requirements have been met (Monster King, Aurelian Bloodline)]
[Aurelius the Great received Royal Evolution option]
With the standard fanfare, Duke Aurelius exploded into purple light. Once the light subsided there was a heavily armoured boulder of a man just standing there, in other words, he didn’t change that much. However, to be sure…
“[Inspect].”, “[Inspect]!”, “[Status].” The free of them invoked at once.
Monster Race:
Corrupted Human
Variant: Monster Duke
Magic Affinity: Dark
🕸️📜 🕸️
📜👑📜
🕸️📜 🕸️
HP:400
MP:100
STA:400
Active Perks
[Unstoppable], [Bestow Rank], [Corrupt]
Passive Perks
[Dark Empowered], [Scroll King], [Super Bulky]
Resistances
[Light Weakness: Medium], [Physical Resistance: Lesser]
Alright, this was quite a change. But first, the table displayed only the racial perks, or otherwise prominent perks. Things like temporary perks granted by equipment or jobs were not shown, also it was the same for the arsenal of known spells. However, the displayed perks were enviable just on their own.
Unstoppable: At the cost of 100STA, become immune to stun, silence, and immobilization effects. This perk grants the ability to shrug off debuffs and negative status effects. As a bonus, the user has unwavering determination, empowering them to fight with unbreakable resolve. It’s no longer possible to interrupt the spell-casting; the spells and perks will not fail. The user can keep fighting even at 0HP until the effect of the perk runs out.
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Bestow Rank: At the cost of 100MP, bestow a minion with a title granting them a random perk and increased status points. The hierarchy of ranks can have subbranches and the title holders can be bestowed with their own minions to command. The more minions you have the stronger the buffs and status increases become.
Corrupt: At the cost of 1MP, corrupt the old and boring System of the Aurelian Human and bring them into the glorious fold of the chaotic Monster System. Warning: only humans can be affected, the results can be unpredictable.
Dark Empowered: your body resonates at the Dark mana. The use of Dark spells empowers your body making it stronger with each spell cast. The effect is active regardless of who is casting the spells. Areas with a high concentration of Dark ambient mana will have similar effects. As a bonus, you can cast Dark spells at a reduced cost, and items with Dark affinity will be more powerful in your hands.
Scroll King: Your mastery in using Magic Scrolls is unparalleled allowing the scrolls in your hands to be more powerful. You have a perfect memory of the scrolls surrounding you and will never need to look for a particular spell; the scroll will find you! Also, you can bind separate scrolls together into a tome which will follow your command.
Super Bulky: You’re bigger and sturdier than others. You take less damage from physical attacks and you can use your body as a weapon by itself. Also, you can accumulate even more Toxicity before it becomes detrimental to your health.
Needless to say, the Spider King was jealous of some of the perks. Duke Aurelius was bestowed with the ability to amass an army of his own monster minions; so unfair! But most importantly, he could bring humans into the monster system on a permanent basis. Strangely that perk, Corrupt, or the description of it, sounded rather opinionated. He had to wonder if certain Chaos entity had to do anything with it.
But, let's go back to the pressing issue…
“Yeah!” The Duke Aurelius cheered at the newly obtained power. “I’m ready! Bring it on!”
The Radiant Angel unsheathed her sword.
“Wait!” As before the Spider King tried to be the voice of reason. “Maybe not inside the palace. It’s already crumbling.”
“Right… Let's go to the Battle Arena!” Aurelius proposed.
“Battle Arena?” Was there such a building in the Aurelian Capital?
…
The answer to that was both yes and no. The Battle Arena was still under construction, it was that massive building rivalling the Royal Palace. Despite its unfinished state, in the open field, right in the middle, there stood two challengers: Monster Duke and Radiant Angel.
Even if there were no proper seats the Aurelian people climbed on stacked stone blocks and half-built walls to watch what was happening. Obviously, not everyone could fit in because there was no way to fit a million people, but there were still a lot of spectators.
So why was the heavenly Angel fighting the great Duke? If you asked the Aurelian people they would tell you that the Angel was just testing the strength of their ruler, after all, he was the protector of the Aurelian Dutchy. They knew that at the end of this test, the Angel would grant a divine item to the Duke based on his performance. If he lacked at defence it would be a shield and if he lacked power it would be a sword; or so told the fairy tales.
The crowd looked at three distant figures with baited breaths of anticipation.
“You may begin the Duel!” The Spider King announced with a wave of his hand.
The arena crackled with cheers and shouts as Duke Aurelius, clad in black heavy armour, and Radiant Angel, adorned in a pristine white tunic faced each other. One came from the heavens to bless the Dutchy, the other was their beloved Duke.
Duke Aurelius stretched his hand, channelling Dark mana into one of his tomes to empower it. The tome lit in purple fire ready to unleash a spell. Meanwhile, the Radiant Angel clasped her hands together, a radiant glow emanated from her body forming a shield of light.
A barrage of Shadow Bolts rained upon the Angel. The bolts crackled with dark energy, seeking to destroy their target. The Angel stood still despite the threat, she had trust in her Divine Shield. The projectiles crashed onto the shield exploding into dark motes of light.
Undeterred, Duke Aurelius unleashed yet another barrage of spells. Despite the incoming threat, the Angel jumped up and outside the magic shield. The magic missiles hit the shield like they did before, but not the Angel who was now outside. She used that moment to counterattack with Holy Smite.
A pillar of radiant light slammed into Duke Aurelius forcing him to roar in pain. Despite the obvious critical damage he didn’t waver. The tome burned brighter, turning page after page into ash. Duke Aurelius was visibly enraged.
The mist of darkness descended upon the arena unleashing an army of stray shadows. His bulky form became blurry blending into the shadowy mass. The Angel kept her distance flying above the shadow-infested ground with caution. Now and then a pillar of light would pierce a hole in the shadowy mist, disrupting the shadows, but revealing nothing more than empty ground.
As if to respond to the attacks, angry dark tendrils shot up into the air aiming to ensnare the Angel. She flapped her wings trying to escape higher up, but she was too late in that decision. Dark Tendrill coiled around the leg of the Angel threatening to pull her down, but her Celestial Wings were strong enough to keep her in the air. More tendrils were shooting from the shadows. She used her Radiant Sword to cut the tendril binding her leg, no sooner than she was free two more latched onto her.
As soon as she would cut a tendril a new one would take its place. The Angel was slowly sinking down towards the ground. Worse still, the tendrils coiled around her body deviously and pushed under her tunic into the most obscene places. The attack was more than just physical, she could feel her vitality slowly leaving her body forcing her to pant for breath.
“Enough!” The red-faced Angel roared. “[Holy Retribution]!”
An extreme amount of mana must have been consumed. The entirety of the arena was basked in bright light. The tendrils shrunk and shrivelled; the shadow mass drained into the ground to seek escape from the overwhelming light. And the shape of the Duke was expelled from the shadows. He stood there with his mouth wide open and his tome nothing more than a pile of ash.
Now firm on the ground, the Angel spurred her wings to give her that extra boost in her sprint. She charged towards Duke Aurelius, her sword glowing Radiant with righteous fury. Duke Aurelius fumbled for yet another tome, but he was too slow. The clash of metal echoed through the arena as the Angel struck his black armour again and again forcing Duke Aurelius to his knees. The attacks were so relentless there was no chance for him to even flinch.
“[Unstoppable]!” With those words, Duke Aurelius stood back on his feet. His body was ravished by sword strikes but he shrugged the incoming damage as if it was nothing. “[Empower], [Mace Strike]” He raised his right arm high and pushed his stamina into it to swing it like a mace.
The Angel countered the arm with her sword, she even made a nasty gash into the armour and the Duke's hand, but the mace-like limb indeed was unstoppable. The fist crashed into her face sending a fountain of blood.
Yes, she got hit rather badly, but it was of no issue because, “[Angelic Heal]”, she healed back to pristine state.
Duke Aurelius, however, had no such luxuries to heal his almost severed hand. He reached for the potion in his pocket.
“No, you don’t.”
She swung her sword, the sword never connected with the potion, but the after image of the radiant light did. The magical damage smashed the potion sending crystalline shards into the air like shrapnel and cutting the lips which wanted to drink it.
“You!” The Duke wasn’t all too pleased.
He wasn’t healed, but another tome flew out from his armour. She used her sword trying to cut the tome in half. A single page burned out from the tome and magically the Duke Aurelius and his tome turned into smoke. Her sword found no purchase cutting the smoke. The smoke condensed further away revealing the Duke Aurelius back in the corporeal form, once again he was attempting a potion.
“[Holy Smite]!” She chanted without hesitation.
Once again he tried to turn to smoke, but the spell reached him before he could do that shattering the potion and dealing great damage to someone who had Light Weakness: Medium. She didn’t idle and flapped her wings to close the distance so that her sword could deal the killing blow.
“You b…” Duke Aurelius attempted a curse but instead, “[Entropy Explosion]!”
A wave of foul and extremely powerful magic exploded from his body. She did cast a shield just in time, but even then it just shattered into pieces. The foul magic touched her skin trying to boil and peel it off.
“[Last Stand]!” She had no choice but to use it.
Her pristine white tunic turned grey then black, and then it crumbled into dust leaving her completely naked. She stood otherwise unharmed, but her face was flushed red out of the embarrassment. Embarrassment quickly turned into uninhibited rage.
The Duke didn’t come out unscathed either. He was kneeling taking heavy breaths and his amour too appeared rusty and crumpling at the seams.
The Angel overtaken by fury charged to smite the Duke with her sword. The Duke couldn’t stand, not just yet, but he could cast spells and he did. The pages in the tome burned one after the other sending various projectiles at the Angel. Some projectiles were swatted by the sword, but others did hit her exposed body.
Finally, she was close enough to strike him and she did. “[Armour Rend], [Behead].” She added for good measure.
But once again, the Duke used some strange magic to turn into dark liquid and slip right under her blade.
“You won’t get away!” She launched herself in pursuit weathering another barrage of Dark spells.
The scene repeated time and time again. Sometimes she would strike successfully at the Duke making him bleed and squeal like a boar. But despite the indignant cries the Moster Duke would take the damage in earnest, cast some spell to make distance and then continue to attack her with his Dark spells. If the spells were powerful she deflected them with Divine Shield, if not she tanked them healing herself with Angelic Heal. Thus, this became a battle of attrition.
The armour of Duke Aurelius was no better than scrap, it was tinted in crimson blood all over and his face was beyond pale. However, the Angel didn’t fare much better. She was out of MP and STA, Last Stand was the only thing keeping her going.
“[Dark Arrow], *Cough!” Duke Aurelius burned a scroll to unleash an incredibly puny spell. It was obvious that he had burned all of his more powerful scrolls.
However, there was no magic shield to stop the projectile and the Angel had no more stamina to swat it with her sword. The puny spell hit her right in the midsection peeling skin and flesh alike to reveal the whites of ribs.
Without even releasing a single cry the Angel collapsed backwards. Her body hit the ground with a thud and her sword lost that iconic radiance.
“Enough!” The Spider King ran to the Angel pouring a potion over her wound. “She’ll be alright.” He whispered.
Incidentally, Duke Aurelius also collapsed to the ground, but with his face down. For a while now, he too was left without even a single speck of STA to move, it was only the Magic Scrolls which kept him going.
“Please!” He cried still face down. “I’m at 0HP, if my Unstoppable runs out, I’ll die.”
The Spider King rushed to the Duke Aurelius pouring a potion into his mouth. The colour returned to the Duke’s face, but even then he could not move.
Well, even so, the winner of the Duel was still clear. The Spider King grabbed the Duke’s hand raising it slightly in the air.
“Aurelius the Great had won this Duel!”
The crowd cheered and clapped. They cheered and cheered seemingly without respite.
This was the sight of a century. A battle between a human and an Angel. Those who witnessed it were extremely humbled. For a human to win against an Angel was unimaginable, no one really expected that outcome! Of course, the oblivious people didn’t know at that time that Duke Aurelius wasn’t exactly human, not anymore. Instead, they saw a human winning despite all odds. They saw him use his overwhelming magic like an expert magus, and his body was as sturdy as a fortress. Indeed, many were struck with awe and pride to have such a ruler.
…
The Spider King had carried the Radiant Angel back to the Galleon Whale and put her into his cabin bed to recover. He was looking at her battered body with worry, and the Lamia Queen was glaring at him from the sidelines. He ignored the hostile glare concentrating on the unresolved mystery which still bugged him deeply.
One thing remained unclear: what exactly did spur this crazy Angel to come here and challenge the Duke?
“And why Johny didn’t inform me?”
That mystery will be unravelled once Elizabeth, the Radiant Angel, regains her consciousness.