The concepts of a planet, a reality, a world even, bore no meaning to Moyo as the four abyssal lords came down on him like the start of the apocalypse. Their aspects, their authorities, the full brunt of the essence of the abyss in turn descended like the day of judgement, and with his forces far away from him, the burning purple and gold lights of both his champion and Valoris desperately cutting their way towards his position showed that he was all alone.
It was fine though, apart from the primordials who threw off the shackles of the elites that somehow held them down, Moyo realized that the next few seconds would either make or break him, something that thrilled him ironically. So, when the giant axe of Vusal came crashing down on him, even as he used Gegun to hold Araman at bay, his body trembled from the pure power, his legs sinking into the ground from the force like a hammer driving a pike into the earth.
He was out in a blink, lest the blade of Lesuth bisect him in two, twisting through the air as dominion tore at the face of the defiler, Moyo biting back a scream when Remhu's weapon, a sort of stinger poured literal agony into his body, seeking to drown him in pain. His body glowed with his aspect that flushed it out in rivers of black blood, his body sleek as he traded explosive blows with Araman who laughed in the process, his bones quaking from the effort.
Oshosi’s ferocity was constantly screaming, sage’s sight burned his very eyes with every use, oya's elixir was working overtime and Ogun’s step was restricted by the powers of the abyssal lords. All that was left to him was his titan’s might and Ashe, his veneration stream that was cut off but the reserves burning at a tremendous rate to keep the influence of the abyssal lords at bay. If he thought the elites wielding the aspects of the abyssal lords was bad enough, the very creatures who it belonged too were a hundred times worse.
Dodging a blow to the skull, he twisted and deflected a hit from Lesuth, fighting off the power of the lord that attempted to gain control of his body. Vusal’s axe crashed into his back as agony lanced through him, it tore into his mantle of protection, scarred his titan body, but worst of all, it sent his blood boiling. Like a fallen star he crashed to the ground, body instincts screaming at him to get up, to move lest he be cut down by Araman who was there in an instant.
He summoned his realm only to watch it shatter with a blow from Araman’s fist, the pain of such a move sending agony lancing through his skull as he fought on pure instincts alone, blade flashing in a blur as he traded blows with the lord of destruction. A mere five seconds had passed from the beginning of the battle to the current moment, but it had looked and felt like an eternity to him. Dodging another blow of Vusal, he threw a punch for the skull of the abyssal conqueror, might against might as his very bones cracked, the blow connected, the very skull of Vusal blown off his neck.
Knowing the lord would regenerate in a blink, Gegun was there, the blade infused with the prime aspect that got him bleeding blood from his eyes as he stabbed it through the body of the conqueror, leaving it there even as Vusal’s blade clashed with dominion and Araman’s punch cracked his mantle, blasting him backwards. Remhu came for him only for reality to twist and shatter, two beings landing together as Moyo felt hope bloom in his chest.
The great sage and the king of monsters spared him a glance before moving into action, the mythical arcane staff of Wukong tearing through the air towards Lesuth who parried but was pushed backwards,
“You despicable ape!” Lesuth screamed,
Wukong gave no reply as he glowed, his fur turning golden as his spiritual form manifested, giving a great roar, Kairos went straight for Araman, the lord of destruction clapping as he met the king of monsters in battle,
“Kairos!, good, I remember I owe you for killing the old lord of affliction!” he said,
“And so you’ll be my second tally” Kairos calmly replied,
The two began trading blows laced with pure aspect, literal authority crackling between them as Moyo realized with dawning horror that Araman had been going easy on him. He saw Remhu attempting to remove the Gegun imbedded in the body of the conqueror when he poured the entire Ashe he could summon in that moment,
“Da pa da!” he shouted, watching as the blade repulsed the afflicter with a hiss of pain,
Moyo stood up, shooting for the body of the conqueror as he grabbed Gegun, stabbing it further even as the body of the abyssal lord of bloodshed and war began hammering at him, one of his eyes bloodied so much that it simply became black, Oya's elixir trying its best to heal him on time but to no avail. He could feel his body breaking down slowly, the prime aspect burning through his channels even as he coaxed more and more of it into his blade, and with a command, infused with a healthy sum of veneration and Ashe, he spoke,
“DESTROY!”
A wave of dizziness hit him as he was thrown off the exploding form of the conqueror, a loud roar shaking reality as the lord of bloodlust and battles lost his physical form, the rune of blood glowing from his body. Moyo stretched his hand out to obtain it when a shadow consumed it, Araman laughing from where he fought with Kairos, black and green blades clashing with each other,
“Good job titan blade, two more!” he shouted,
Moyo could only dodge an attack of the afflicter with horror etched on his gaze even as Remhu cursed at his fellow lord.
Ω
Josh clad in his promethean suit swung his hammer with fury, rage in his eyes and fear in his heart, the titan wasn’t close to him,
Rather, he was far from the titan,
Another swing and a trio of abyssal fiends disappeared in a spray of abyssal fluids and gore,
“To the lord!, push!” he roared even as the promethean clad Shieldbornes let loose with everything they had, pushing against both the tides of abyssal creatures seeking to overwhelm them,
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The elites stood as a wall between them and the abyssal lords battling, he could faintly feel Idris in front, his aegis burning the creatures around him even as he battled multiple abyssal lords at the same time, reinforced by ancients and masters alike. Explosions rang around, but it did little to no good, no matter how many creatures they slew or obliterated with pure aspect, a thousand more took their place, pouring through reality itself.
Countless lances of power burned from the ships above even as Urne had warned them that the carnage striders were back and with double their strengths. It meant the forces above would have to concentrate their firepower on the flying creatures that sought to unleash hell on the archailect forces below. And as if that wasn’t enough, a large bloody portal had opened up and a creature had stepped through, its hulking form stands over ten feet tall, its body a twisted amalgamation of sinewy muscle, pulsating veins, and jagged bone-like protrusions. Thick, coagulated blood courses through its veins, giving it an otherworldly crimson glow.
Its glowing black and red eyes bringing with it the full power of the conqueror himself,
“Servants of the great conqueror, behold, our lord’s might!” it roared,
A cavern opened up in the ground, thick blood filling it as the blood fiends began to glow with power,
“Erythros!” Josh heard Gorefang scream even as his body smoking, began to glow, being reinvigorated with pure power,
"Hold great chosen, I come!” the creature named Erythros replied as with each step, the ground quaked,
Grey and silver chains shot from the ground, wrapping the creature up and a giant spear made of vines and sharp thorns manifested in the air above, a man gripping its impossibly gigantic frame before hurling it at the creature. Erythros raised a bloodred great axe even as the fleeting thought passed through the mind of the Josh about how all the servants of the conqueror seemed to wield axes.
It clashed with the axe, an explosion tearing through the area, Josh gritting his teeth. It was hard to see within this battle, battle crazy as it was, but the claps of lightning and thunder resounded close to him as Annika dropped next to him with her battered but still fighting Stormwardens,
“STRIKE!” she commanded,
Bolts of pure white lightning imbued with her authority ran rampant across the battlefield close to them, tearing into abyssal creatures with a fury even as her wardens and the Shieldbornes left alive, eight, by Josh’s count began to make short work of the creatures around. A large sun and moon filled with lightning and elemental flames respectively took their places across the skies above.
Two masters by the looks of it, drawing the attention of Erythros who stood as a bulwark, shielding whatever that pit was that empowered the creatures of the conqueror. Together, both masters that looked to be swordsmen swung their blades, unleashing terrible power that clashed with the swing of Erythros’s axe, pushing back the creature Josh wasn’t too sure of if it was an elite too.
He tapped Annika, pointing to the creature as she nodded, they needed that thing down and fast, the Bloodfiends were propagating at a faster rate even among the abyssal creatures. A large bull-like creature with a poisonous whip-like tail, screaming the name Remhu like it would save it when a Shieldborne tore its head off its shoulders with precision, grabbing its tail and tearing the barb off while spraying the creatures around them with its venom.
Seeing a path, Josh roared,
“Shieldborne!, on me!”
With one force generating move, he became a one-man train, tearing through the creatures in front of him as he made a beeline for Erythros, hammer swinging as he trusted his Shieldborne to defend his back. Annika thundered above with her wardens, blasting flying creatures out of the skies to protect Josh from the air. The moment he was within the vicinity of Erythros, the creature flicked its hand, the blood within the pit boiling as power seemed to flow through its frame, blasting the two masters of the sun and moon backwards.
It turned its gaze to Josh with a fury as its eyes lit up,
“I sense the aspect of a guardian within you, you stink of the anathema, are you supposed to be his protector?” it said as it bellowed with laughter,
Josh gave a sign and his Shieldborne stepped backwards, turning their backs to him as they sought to defend him from any creature that would attempt to mess with their battle. Josh stepped forwards even as a realm of blood seemed to encapsule them, pushing down on the Valoris who didn’t budge an inch,
“I am Josh, regent of the titan’s sentinels, lord Valoris of his Shieldborne” he said,
“Erythros, high sentinel of the carnage striders, to me is the abyssal maw, lifeblood of the fiends of blood, and I bring my fury down on this battlefield” Erythros replied,
No other words needed to be said between both guardians, great axe and Warhammer rising together as they clashed, explosive force blowing between the both of them. Josh grunted as the force of the attack rippled through his frame, his feet didn’t budge though, even with the size difference between the both of them he held his own. And then they became a blur with their weapons, clashing and parrying even as Josh took blows powerful enough to crush a master five times over, his mantle and duo aspects of both the warden and the titan enhancing his durability.
Replying with devastating hits as well, he watched as the pit empowered the high sentinel, the aspect of the conqueror getting stronger and stronger, still, Josh shouldered it on, even as his mantle cracked, he moved with blistering speed even for a master, continually breaking the sound barrier with every hit. Erythros roared in anger as Josh blew one of his arms away, his other hand grabbing the greataxe as his bones cracked, fury burning in his eyes, he channeled titan’s wrath,
* Titan's Wrath: You channels the raw power of the Titan aspect, enhancing his physical strength and striking force. His attacks become infused with energy, allowing him to cleave through enemies and break through defenses.
Feeling the overwhelming power of the titan blade fill his body, he wondered why he didn’t infuse it in the first place, and the answer came to him like enlightenment,
To prove himself,
He was the Valoris of the Shieldborne, the commander of the guardians of the titan, and even though his unwavering faith in his lord manifested in the shape of skills, he wanted to prove that he was strong enough to crush the foes of his lord and house in general. Eyes glowing silver he spoke the first edict of his evolved path,
The path of the mithril warden, the protector,
“CAPTURE” he rumbled,
Silver runic circles appeared above Erythros who slammed his axe into the side of Josh, his mantle resounding like a gong as he deflected the axe, he was channeling the titan’s wrath, Erythros could as well slammed a mountain with a stick. From the runic circle above came a giant silver coffin, etched with runes of sealing and banishment, of pure undiluted strength, and from it emanated but the aspects of the warden and the titan.
To a normal ascender, not only would it be impossible for anyone less than a ruler to even attempt to escape its clutches, for an abyssal creature, it meant obliteration. Erythros knew that, Josh knew that, even Gorefang who roared as he directed the Bloodfiends to break through the line of Shieldborne and Stormwardens that ringed the realm of blood which was collapsing.
Josh bent his entire willpower and authority into it, this was what he had been training for, this was his chance to prove his worth to the titan, and with one final earth-shattering shout, the coffin sealed Erythros, a resounding boom coming from within as the high sentinel was obliterated from reality.
In that same instant, the command of the titan blade filled the air, the word destroy as the very presence of the conqueror was obliterated from reality. Josh landed within the pit as it burned out of existence, the creatures of the conqueror screaming as they began to disintegrate. Even with all this, Josh raised his hammer skywards, and let loose a roar of great victory,
“One step at a time” he thought to himself,
One bloody, gore-filled step at a time.