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CHAPTER 2- Call to Arms

Present time

Alarms were blaring in the entirety of the Divintor capital, Mt Dalas. Upon the huge mountain, its tip covered in frost, was a huge castle, its outer walls crystal white, and a moat with water so clear that it could be mistaken for a mirror. Inside the castle’s inner walls, these alarms where as loud as ever.

3 commanding officers were lined up, in front of the current General, and they were exchanging series of information. Behind them, was lined multiple series of soldiers, ready to be deployed.

“General Moa, are they really sending the Celestials??!” One of the commanders asked, his voice slightly relieved.

“Hmm, that is indeed correct, commander. However I worry to when the reinforcements will arrive. As you can see, the lower sentries located in Divintor, are barely holding, and we have just found information regarding the whereabouts of the Divine Princess, daughter of Golden Titan. She is located in one of the outer walls, with only a few dozen guards located there. Commander Lee.” The general looked to the commander on the far right.

“Yes General?”

“Send your legion of Purifiers over to her location; join them in the raid.”

“Yes, sir!” The general saluted, and barked a series of commands to his underlings, before taking off with them. 

The General turned to the remaining two commanders in front of him.

“And what of our comrade Valnaheer, are they still attempting the foolish takeover of the conglomerate?”

“Yes General! My men have received information that our angel commander and Valnaheerian commander Frivilus had a run in, and a clash of agendas.”

The general clenched his fist.

“I can’t believe they would use the war as a chance to take over the weaker states! What cowards!” A series of curses followed the General’s rage.

“And Demonicus? How far are they into their operation?” He continued.

“We are not sure, general. Their multitude of soldiers is preoccupied in the rapid advancement towards Divintor, in the hopes they can eliminate all and any entering angels. All we know is that they sent their smallest squadron towards the Gate of Hell, using the Chains of Prosperity.”

“Only one squadron?! Are they insane?”

“*Cough* they are cooperating with the 12 demon lords, general.”

The general’s eyes lit up in fury and shock. If this was true, the realm of mortals was doomed in eternal war on three fronts…

*

The Alarms were loud in the commoner streets of Divintor. The angels, dirty and scared, were huddled in restaurants and small shops, whilst series of soldiers ran down the streets, their wings protruding out of their pure white armour plates.

A cloaked figure, its drapes dirty and brown, moved amongst the shadows, their frame feeble and thin, but their dexterity is one of a skilled person.

They stopped at the entrance of an alleyway, and brought up a . They spoke into it:

“They’ve set off the alarms, my liege. Have you to commence operation unchain?”

*

Demonicus, head war fotress.

A massive man, his age around his 40’s, but his eyes showed immortality, sat in a throne, a massive dark drape covering most of his body. Around his thick neck, was a wolf pelt, its fur pure white, contrasting against the rather dark complexity of his tanned skin. His head was balding, but he sported a thick, dark brown beard, who’s curls were starting to grey. His dark vigilant pupils, were like small feline splits; making him appear as if he was a demi-human.

An orc, his green forehead sweating profusely, held up the long range transmission device, for his leader to hear. The voice said:

 “They’ve set off the alarms, my liege. Have you to commence operation unchain?”

The figure paused slightly and responded in a booming voice, “Yes, we’ve already sent up our hidden force of , as well as our force. However, it seems that the damn winged rats have also sent their main force.”

The person on the other side of the line hesitated slightly;

“The Celestials?”

“Unfortunately. But our other squadron has been sent towards the Gates of Hell, and I’ve already contacted the Demon Lord, Vlagaar. He is ready for transmution.”

The figure turned his head and shouted towards the darkness, “Qour!!! Get your repulsive ass here!” The figure boomed, his face agrivated, and his mouth forming a snarl.

A few grunts, and the sound of heavy thuds echoed throughout the relatively empty hall.

Out of the darkness, first appeared two crimson eyes, their resonating pulse so powerful that it pierced the darkness that surrounded it. After the eyes, came the slow lumbering body, of massive stature and girth. Its nostrils flared, and a small cloud of condensation rose slowly into the air.

Upon its head, sat two gigantic and symmetrical horns that curved upwards, so high, that it risked touching the tall ceiling. The colour of its pelt was a midnight black, all from its snout, which was a lighter and more subtle brown, that contrasted so well against the rest of its skin, that it looked like a floating head in the darkness. Connected to its hooves, were two oversized chains, roughly half a meter thick, and a tens of meters long, that run all the way back into the entrance of a dungeon.

Its chest heaved, as it inhaled another cloud of carbon dioxide.

A Minotaur.

“Quor, you are to hunt 50 angels, all on the brink of entering their mid-infant stage! They must be pure of blood, and young. Bring them here by midnight, in order for the blood sacrifice.”

Quor tilted his head slightly, and a small light flashed in his eyes.

“GO!” The man boomed, and he waved his hand.

The chains crumbled to dust, and the Minotaur roared.

*

Deep underground, in Demonicus controlled State-Vlalblorf

A petrifying roar, and the mangled body of a dead scientist flew into the wall, his spine shattering and his dismembered head exploding from the impact.

*Boom Boom*

Powerful blasts echoed throughout the small corridor, and the whaling of the sirens, and the deep flashes of red, and then momentary darkness was all that could be seen in the complex.

A lightly armoured soldier ran down the hallway, narrowly dodging a dislodged pillar, and quickly vaulted over a knocked over table. Quickly scanning the torn open entrance to the right of him, he was about to enter when he heard the scream of his fellow comrade.

“Argh!” A terrible screech, filled the soldier’s ears, and slightly panicked, he nearly stumbled, and the rifle fell from his hands, down at his knees, the rifle only hanging from the carbon fibre wire connected to the on his back. He looked onwards, and managed to glimpse a small shadow dart forward, and onto the fellow soldier. The flashing of the red lights, and the darkness that ensued, greatly impaired the soldier’s vision, and his eyes could only bulge open at the horrible sight of organs and flesh be torn out.

“Arhhhh!” The screams continued, and lingered onwards and onwards.

The soldier, his forehead sweating profusely, stumbled back slightly, and his pale hands fumbled for his rifle. He quickly brought it up to his arms, sticking the stock into his shoulder, and attempting to get a clear shot at the beast which was feasting on his comrade.

“EHHHHHHH!” another screech, and the struggling body of the soldier, stopped. The beast quickly turned towards the remaining soldier, who was breathing heavily, his heartrate uncontrollable.

The small creature bounded towards him, using its elongated hind legs to bounce from the wall and towards the man.

The man released the safety switch, and then pressed the trigger.

The creature’s right leg exploded, and it screeched in pain, writhing on the floor.

Panting, he swivelled around, and entered the newly made entrance of the room.

On the lab floors, was the strewn bodies of multiple scientists, and a multitude of different lab equipment and machinery, half destroyed. The siren still blared, and the emergency hydraulic doors had been shut.

“Why aren’t the fucking Comms working?!” He hissed at himself.

Holstering the bronze next to his , he ran over to the dead body of the scientist, and manhandled him, turning over the body, whilst also repeatedly checking behind him.

Another fury of horrible screeches. They were distant, but they were rapidly approaching.

He looked towards the floors and the walls, and looked at how quickly the was spreading. The once white lab walls had been plagued a repulsive dirty brown, and from the ceiling, sprouted a large array of different fungi, that created a mixture of disgusting fumes. In fact, it stunk so bad, that it became hard to breathe.

The soldier coughed, and his body lurched, as the sides of his vision became hazy. Nonetheless, he finally found the long range communication device and picked it from the Scientist’s belt. Wiping the accumulated from its microphone, he flicked a switch, and imbued a small amount of refined mana into the filter.

A small beeping light whirred to life.

“H-hello? Commanding Base Alpha? Is anyone there? T-the Filth- they’ve fucking overtook the whole research facility! If we don’t send reinforcements, they’ll spread-“

“*Zzz* this…we can’t send…it’s the…they’ve overtook part of the conglomerate due to the increasing conflict in…it’s the filth! They’re far too volatile! They’ve-“ The transmission was cut off.

“Shit,” the soldier whispered too himself.

He felt another roar, this time, only a few meters behind him.

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Whichever God is out there, please have mercy on my soul.

*

A dozen enormous ships materialised, thousands of feet in the air, immediately vaporising the surrounding cloud formation. Immense flashes of light completely filled the lower-atmosphere, as deep, low rumbles of engines ruptured the ears of many of the spectators down below.

Each ship was hundreds of feet long, and was shaped like a U shape, the central command points located at the joining point of the two parallel protruding points. Thousands of small dots, were active, signifying the successful power up of the engines. Another deafening rumble, and the ships began their descent.

In the largest of the 12, sat a 13 foot tall being, so vibrant and bright, that all the others around him appeared dull. His face, like all the others, was expressionless, and the perfectness of his face resembled a statue. He sat in a throne that was the size of a large beast, and in his right hand was an 8 meter long spear, whose blade was silver.

Around him, was a semicircle of similar looking people, all expressionless, intently inputting various calculated algorithms into their .

A series of short beeping and whizzes, and a suddenly a call was patched through.

“What the hell is the meaning of this, C.12?! I strictly told you to begin invasion, at my command! Not go off on your own goddamn own accord!” It was the angered voice of Deity of Creation.

[…]

“C.12” was silent. He ushered a fellow celestial to quickly retrieve some intel.

“Answer me, you goddamn fool!”

C.12, ended the call with a wave of his hand, and turned over to the Celestial who had just brought over a rectangular silver plate, with a hologram projecting off it.

[Enemy numbers?] He spoke, his voice so powerful that the whole ship reverberated slightly.

“Over 12 million directly underneath us, whilst 5 million located in the capital castle of Demonicus. It seems that the humans have also carried out their plan of cooperating with the Demon Lords to open the gates.”

[A futile attempt.]

“Of course. However, it seems that this millennia, the organic lifeform frequency has topped all time records.”

[Purification will continue, as planned.]

The Celestial nodded, his jet black wings bobbing.

[By the time we reach those who have gone to the lower realm, it will be too late. The demons will have escaped. So instead we will start the now.]

“Yes, Supreme Vitruval Celes.”

*

Upper realm, Location Unknown

“Shit!” The Deity of creation slammed his fist into the table so hard, that it shattered an immense shockwave split from the epicentre. His normal calm composition was gone, and instead was replaced with a face of pure anger.

The two other Deities behind him recoiled slightly. Deity of War stepped forward, his heavy armour clinking as he did so.

“What the hell is happening?”

“Look for yourself.” Deity of Creation said in response.

He waved his hands, and a hologram showing the slow descent of the 12 appeared. All Deities’ eyes opened in shock.

“What is this…?” The Deity of Longevity asked, his voice neutral, but his eyes showing something different.

“It’s the worst case scenario…” Deity of Creation spoke, his voice in awe.

“Don’t tell me…” Deity of Destruction began.

“The .” Deity of Creation began.

“A process whereby, every millennium the Celestials are set to destroy 99% of life in all three realms, in order to see which of the “purest” races survive. A method of extreme purification. They will stop at nothing.” Deity of Longevity said, his voice too shocked.

It was the beginning of the End.

*

Demonicus Castle

The figure, his eyes blazing with sadistic pleasure, grinned uncontrollably at the heap of dead infants on the floor, their bodies lit aflame, and the depiction of the star drawn underneath.

He looked over to his subordinate who was quivering in fear, staring at the bodies of dead angels.

“Tell squadron A and squadron B to begin.”

*

Thousands of feet above, Chains of Prosperity

A group of men, their bodies cloaked only by the thickest of available leathers, climbed forth, upon the chains of Prosperity. Each and every one of them, had their drapes covered with a thick layer of frost, and their fingers had been chipped and bruised by the sub-zero temperatures.

A scream, and another man fell of the slowly swaying chains.

When the mission had started, they had 320 men. Now they have 64.

The man in lead, his face covered by a thick balaclava and scarf, stuck his ice-pick into the frost that had completely covered the shell of the swaying chains. The immense winds howled, and the gales of ice-cold water bit and chewed at the mens limbs. Some stopped to stare at the horrifying sight of ships materialising, but stopping for a rest would mean being abandoned. They had only 12 more minutes before they froze to death.

When they had started the mission, all of them had spell cast on them- a spell in which the hypothalamus was tricked into regulating the body’s temperature at 62 degrees. However after 22 minutes the spell and even the seal pigments had worn off. Only 12 seconds after the spell had worn off, 38 men immediately froze to death, their stone-cold bodies falling of the chains. The once joyous mood at the start of the journey, where the view was beautiful and the weather warm, had worn off and was replaced with the dreaded fear of death.

Another two men had fallen.

“For my country, huh?” One man chuckled too himself, as his fingers, eventually gave way to the frost.

“Stop!” The one in the lead shouted. At first the command was spread around, from man to man, telling each other.

“We… We have to begin the unchaining process…” It was hard to breathe at such a high altitude, but nonetheless he continued.

“T…Take out your explosives!”

With trembling hands, the remaining men, reached for their packs and took out a small cylindrical object.

“P-put it… put it… o-o” The leading man’s eyes rolled over, and his body lost grip, out of consciousness. He fell down.

A few men gasped, and a few continued unwrapping their bags, oblivious to the fact that their commander had just died. They all took out the machine with trembling hands, and attached the object at different intervals, all at different links of the humungous chains.

These were the illegal weapon, a weapon declared illegal due to its incredible power.

The was a weapon that would siphon out the power of the object it was connected to, and convert that power into raw mana, essentially converting refined mana which was in the form of a magical enchantment, into its much more unstable and frequent form, raw mana. Using this mana, it would use science, to complete ionic fusion on the atom, essentially making each and every mana particle unstable, by overloading them with electrons, increasing instability and also heat. This would continue to a point where every single particle in the close vicinity had been overloaded. At this point, all the machine would do was destroy one single electron; setting of a chain reaction so powerful, that one 100,000 cubic meters of air would be compressed into one smaller than 1 cm. The destruction of one single electron would be the catalyst to spark the explosion, one so powerful that it vaporised atoms.

*

Thousands of feet in the lower realm, entrance point: unknown

A squadron, mostly composed of non-human species, due to the unstable temperatures of the lower realm.

There was only 2 humans, and they had both assumed the position of Squad leader. Apart from the two heavily armoured humans, there was 7 orcs, 2 ogres, 1 vampire and a Viili- a species of semi-intelligent flying drone support.

The group moved slowly, navigating the massive corridor what seemed to made of moving flesh, bones, and organic materials. The temperature was so volatile, that some of the cheaper armours that the soldiers wore, started to melt and corrode away. Screams of sorrow and agony were heard from openings in the flesh walls.

Suddenly, a dark red tentacle, laced with serrated white blades burst out from a newly made tear in the wall, and shot towards an unsuspecting orc. Without even realising what had happened, the tentacle pierced straight through his chest plate, and tore apart his insides. The dead body of the orc was lifted up by the tentacle, and thrown forwards, against the side of the wall.

“Shit,” one of the human commanders swore, his brown hair soaked with sweat. Quickly swivelling around on one heel he barked orders for half of the squad to continue, and the other to stay.

He brought out his right arm, protected by a silver gauntlet, and whispered something under his breath. Suddenly, his entire body quivered under extreme pressure, and an invisible force rippled up to his fingertips. He pointed his arm towards the tentacle which had now wrapped itself around the leg of another orc, easily separating it from his body, in a howl of pain. The orc, still writhing, fell to the ground and dragged his body out the way, as a massive invisible propulsion impacted into the side of the tentacle, immediately vaporising it.

However, behind him, another three tentacles burst out, wriggling and trembling in excitement, ready to reap its rewards.

*

Lower Realm, Gates of Hell

The female human commander grunted, as she struck her foot so hard into the head of a gigantic spider, that its head collapsed in on itself. Adjusting her helmet visor, she turned around and quickly drew her rifle, as she that the sheer number of massive arachnids had over run her side of the squad. Including her, there was only 3 orcs, the vampire and a troll.

The troll grunted, and slammed his massive fist into the leg of a spider, splitting it from its body, and stamped on the screeching creature.

She quickly brought up the gas rifle, and took a clean shot at a spider that pounced at her, quickly decapitating its head.

She turned towards the large gates, where the enemy guard’s keeper was at the brink of defeating two orcs and the vampire.

The black, cloak wearing vampire nimbly dodged the swipe of the enraged giant, whilst also executing a perfectly aimed kick at the Giant’s shin. Despite the large size of the giant, the impressive power of the superhuman kick, sent coils of pain throughout the giant’s body, and his knees buckled.

Momentarily phased, the Giant kneeled there, his entire body swaying. Using this chance, one of the Orc’s grunted, and leaped forward whilst also slamming his sword into the chin of the Giant.

“Arghhh!” The Giant screamed in pain as the blade pierced his skin, and into his mouth.

Suddenly, something flashed in the Giant’s white, pearl-like eyes, and he bellowed, as he crushed the orc with one hand, and shoulder-barged the vampire, sending him flying into the wall.

“Shit!” She swore. She would never be able to open the gates, for her empire, if this Giant would reach his stage.

Then, suddenly, the Giant’s head exploded and three people materialised behind her.

*

Outer-states of the Conglomerate

Commander Frivilus nimbly ducked, avoiding the swipe of a Mortalius soldier. He quickly swivelled around the back of the enemy soldier, planted his foot at the nape of his neck and pushed him forward, sending him face-down into the dirt. Without even looking behind, he felt the presence of two enemy soldiers.

*Thump, Thump*

The clinking of their amour stopped, as he heard them both drop to the ground dead.

He slammed the blade of his sword through the helmet of his downed enemy, and into his skull. He took out the blade, sighed, and looked over to the fellow Valnaheerian soldier, equipped with a bow and arrow. He silently nodded towards him, and he ran off, to help a comrade engaged in a fight with a dual-bladed orc.

Panting for breath, the commander took of his silver helmet, and held it with his right arm, and gazed momentarily at his tattered and dirtied robe. He then looked yonder, at the destroyed farmlands around him. The advancement of the Mortalius soldiers was frightening; and the arrival of the Celestials could only bring more fear into the equation.

Frivilus had never seen the Celestials before, only heard of them in tales.

But the reason for his worries was much more frightening.

Why, if in the tales, the Celestials arrive on horseback, do these Celestials arrive in flying ships?

And then, an earth-shattering explosion occurred that rocked the entire realm.

*

Thousands of feet above, C.12 Celestial Purification Ship

The ship’s force field faltered slightly, as all 12 ships rocked slightly from the immense explosion

[…]

The Vitruval, still sat there, his gaze indifferent, as he looked at the monitors displaying the upper chains of Prosperity, snapping apart, and whipping backwards, caused by the immense whiplash. A shockwave erupted outwards from the devastating explosion, one which was so powerful that it momentarily disabled the ships’ shields.

Momentary darkness. And then the lights of the ship bleeped back to life, quickly recovering from the electromagnetic blast caused by the explosion.

An angel hastily approached the leisurely Vitruval, who was still gazing at the footage.

“Supreme Vitruval, it seems that the Demonicus soldiers have successfully completed their plan of separating the Upper realm and the mortal realm, by destroying the chains of prosperity.”

[Fools. This is exactly why they must be eradicated. Do they not know of the implications of such a ridiculous act?] Despite the severity of the situation, and the Vitruval’s face, his voice did not contain any anger.

He could comprehend why the Demonicus did such a thing. They wanted no more Celestials or back up for the angels located in Divintor to aid the other sides in their petty war. But now, it was far beyond the levels of war. They do not understand what they have brought this to now. In order for the Celestials to purify the realm, they need the realm to be stable. The Demonicus Dictator thought that, by destroying the possibility of reinforcements, he would be able to freely control the surplus amount of demons entering the mortal realm. He wanted to control the uncontrollable. But what will follow is Armageddon- destruction of all three realms because of the counter-balance being destroyed.

Without all three realms being connected, there is too much weight on one realm, meaning they have to suffer the weight that is lost. An essential anchor.

[No matter. The humans will find a suitable anchor. Send me, Dictator Ulkenshield of Demonicus and Demon Lord Faal to the Gates of Hell- I know of a suitable proposition regarding the anchor.

Begin Purification.]

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