Leon pierced Cromwell again. The mortal's flesh was in tatters, yet he still held and defended his city.

"Do you not yield? How strange."

Cromwell spat out blood, "Would you surrender if it meant failing your master?!"

"Touché" Leon's spear left his hand and moved on its own.

The beasts, without their tide to bring them forth, had to charge on foot. They were still a ways away, but that wouldn't stay for long.

Cromwell needed to do something, and soon.

"Shit shit shit..." The mortal bit his nails as Leon's spear moved for his heart. "Freeze!"

He bought a few seconds, but Cromwell wasn't a fighter. True, he gained strength and higher perception from killing his own family, but his skills and experience were in his words, controlling from the shadows and growing an organization.

This was the first fight he's ever had since he fought the Commissioner of the Bureau. He was rusty beyond belief, and the rust wouldn't come off in time to save his life.

Leon stepped into the air, walking toward Cromwell, picking up his spear frozen in midair along the way.

"I am my Lord's most trusted aid, I am his hand, his weapon. Through my achievements, although few, the Lord calls me his King of War, his Blooded Confine. I have and will cut down every enemy that I come across. Yet, that does not mean my enemies have to stay enemies."

Leon gave out his hand, "Join us, join our Lord. Eternal life will be gained as you see me, power beyond power will be at your fingertips. What say you?"

Cromwell's eyes became stormy, his thoughts rupturing like twisters. Leon's offer was abrupt was it was obvious he wasn't lying. Genuineness filled the ghost's eyes.

On one hand, the only reason he believed in the Gray Tongued Hysteria was no one else did, he took advantage of that to become a god's favorite. He was gifted much, and in return, he gave his loyalty.

However, his loyalty only began with benefits, he didn't end up like others because he used the Arbiter as the vessel. Cromwell knew well his place in his god's sight was only in the corner, he didn't hold much importance anymore.

Leon saw the conflict in the man's eyes, but he didn't speak further to try and convince him. To him, it didn't matter if one more meat shield joined his Lord.

...

"Speak! Stop attacking! Who are you crazy!" Trevor was overwhelmed, the silent knight before him had inhuman stamina, and they attacked with no end in sight.

But his words didn't reach his opponent, and a break in their fight didn't occur.

The milky white rapier gleamed as the world below burned, the dark knight silent to it all. Fires raged, lives bellowed. The city of Bells was being trampled by giant four-legged creatures, their legs long with moving sharp blades along the ankle. Anyone who got close was cut, and the beasts could only be stopped by climbing them.

Even then, the monsters had trunks, ones they used to eat those below and any brave soul that got past their knees.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"This is the end, isn't it...I failed god..." Trevor had a moment of understanding, he knew sound couldn't affect his opponent; their armor was strangely firm and resistant against vibrations.

"You didn't fail Trevor, we are here now!" From beyond the city walls, two old men flew into the city using the sound around them.

Trevor's whole world lit up, "Master?! Grandmaster?! You made it back from the summit?! I thought...I thought."

Nihil chose to invade at the most ideal time when the cities sent their delegations to meet and discuss in person instead of over the radio. Nihil didn't care for it much, but weakening the cities went in his favor.

He made no move against the summit itself, instead, let the members return to join in the defenses, to test his men.

"We made it back, but the outside is full of monsters now, it's a mess. The others should have made it back to their cities by now too." Good news spared Trevor from absolute despair.

The Master of Sound, Trevor's Grandmaster frowned looking at the black knight with the white rapier. "What do we do about this then?"

They all looked at the opponent, the three Lords of Bell, God's Thrones, the leaders of one of the strongest cults left in the world.

All of them laughed as their bells jingled.

...

"Get him Kain!" The Chancellor screamed as he held off an ocean of insects while the General chased a fleeing ghost.

"I still am not used to this body damn it. The mist was so much more comforting...." The Ruler was losing in skill, he had no way to close the gap between his opponents while he had no real experience in his current form. Ultimately, his only choice was to retreat.

After all, the ghosts were there to buy time while their master dealt with the gods, it didn't matter if they won or lost.

As fast as the wind, Kain rode magics that propelled him forward. He wasted tens of soul sacrifices to reach his opponent, his enemy.

"Die!" He went to grab the Ruler with his bionic arm.

"Away with you, trash!" The ghost tried to dodge, but it was too late, Kain got him.

"SOUL SIPHON!" The human's arm lit up.

"NO!"

There was nothing to be done, a force that dominated the Ruler's soul brought him in. It was grotesque, the soul screamed as it became contained, as it entered Kain's bionic arm and was trapped inside.

"The Lord won't stand for this, he won't allow you to hold me!"

"Oh?" Kain highly doubted that, but immediately the presence of the soul in his arm vanished.

"WHAT?!" Confusion and panic flushed his face.

...

Nihil stood before the gods, for a moment he paused. 'So he got captured? No big deal, I'll just dispel it.' He snapped his finger and felt his soldier return to him.

His actions didn't go unnoticed.

"What did you just do?" Bell was the most sensitive to any movement Nihil made.

Of course, Nihil dodged the question. "Me? Oh, nothing much. Are you ready to die now?"

Everyone got into readied stances, they all prepared for the worst. However, they didn't know it would be beyond the most terrible of nightmares.

To the gods, they were the scariest things, to the mortals, and each other. Yet, they did not know of Nihil, the places he'd been. They had no inspiration for true nightmares or horrors, how to truly give others a feeling of dread and despair. They were only gods, and they had power, but their skills in wielding such power were as backward as the place they existed.

Blood drained from Nihil's eyes, a black blood that seeped into the darkness around him. His body fiendishly shook as he molted off his "flesh", pieces falling to the ground and scurrying away like creatures beyond a door no one would wish to open.

All that was left of Nihil was a shadow, a horror of a being.

"What are you?!" The gods were paralyzed in horror. They each saw a personalized nightmare, a creature that went against their mind and understanding, and that strange unknown feeling is what sprouted fear in their hearts.

The flesh that long removed itself transfigured behind the gods, each becoming Nihil. Their eyes strange, red, and many. Their limbs crooked, broken in many places. Then there were their faces, mismatched parts with duplicates. It was all so bizarre it gave birth to horror.

"Get away!" Shadow was the first to crumble, as one who was used to being the one preying on others, he did not expect to be the one hunted. The change in status caused his mind to fracture. He didn't have good self-control, none of the gods did.

Kaiser had the best response, his stars dispatching the foul creature before looking at Nihil's main body with apprehension. What he saw was a woman, a woman he knew from his past, a woman he thought dead.

"This...how do you know of her."

Nihil said nothing and neared the gods as they calmed themselves and killed his flesh puppets.

'Now, while I have you here, let's search your cities!' Nihil's mind wandered as he activated his plan.