(16) Lull preceding Chaos
Cardinal World.
The whole world turned on the gears of war as the Demon Lords warned them about the incoming Tenma Great War. The incoming war was the largest and the most dangerous Tenma war according to the Demon Lords. Preparations were underway as the extremely heavy atmosphere drove everyone to not underestimate the incoming war. The humans were especially proactive since they can't rely on the Demon Lords for this incoming war, the previous Tenma wars were all resolved by the Demon Lords but the incoming war bought about unprecedented changes as the forces of all the Demon Lords were stretched thin.
During these preparatory stages, a human was lying weakly on the ground while a giant was standing with arms crossed and a Pixie is sitting on the broad shoulders of the Giant while sipping nectar juice.
"This is the stupid human that Lord Aldrich asked us to save?" The Pixie asked the giant in disdain as his eyes were mocking the unconscious human.
"It seems like he is the one." The Giant said in an extremely low voice.
The Pixie just sipped his nectar juice and gave a side glance to the giant and commented. "Although he's stupid, he has some ability."
The Giant did not reply and just nodded his head and said afterwards, "Let's hurry up and go home, Lord Aldrich is already waiting for this human."
"Okie Dokie!" The Pixie stood at attention on top of the Giant's broad shoulders and saluted like an idiot.
"Say, Capricorn. The Labyrinth of Demon Lord Ramiris has indeed lived up to its reputation, right? After all, you only managed to directly destroy 30 floors." The pixie said lightly as they dashed towards the ocean.
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-
The Empyrium.
The Black Haven.
"He really forced Ramiris to bestow him her blessings?" Aldrich asked the Giant and Pixie who saved the human.
"Yes, Milord. He forced Demon Lord Ramiris to grant him a Hero's blessing." The Giant answered while kneeling on one knee with his head hanging down low.
"Milord, this stup-, I mean this human is quite capable because he managed to do that under the nose of Veldora and several True Demon Lord subordinates of Demon Lord Rimuru." The Pixie discarded his playful demeanor and was kneeling seriously in front of Aldrich.
Aldrich listened to them and asked a very important manner.
"Rimuru should be in the Barren Lands setting up the teleportation gates... Why did Veldora and his other subordinates let you go so easily?" Aldrich caressed his chin as he pondered on this question
"I locked up the space around the dungeon, Milord... So, they can't teleport inside and outside the dungeon. Plus, with Capricorn's ability to permanently change the terrain and distort the coordinates, they can't use teleportation spells unless they knew the exact appearance of the Earth." The Pixie said while tilting his head.
"Gemini is correct, Milord. Aren't you overthinking things a little bit?" Capricorn asked quickly but immediately rebuked as he thought that he said something inappropriate.
"Milord, what I mean is, with Gemini locking up the space and me permanently changing the terrain and distorting the coordinates while escaping using teleportation, they should have an extremely difficult time to chase after us." He said in a pleading voice.
However, Aldrich never minded these small matters and he was still deep in thought.
'Strange, why would they let these guys go easily?'
'Unless they gained something more important?'
'But what could possibly be more important than the destruction of the Labyrinth?'
"Milord, this human will fall under the pursuit of both Demon Lord Guy and Demon Lord Milim after what he did to Demon Lord Ramiris." Gemini said in a solemn tone but still sounded a little childish.
Gemini broke Aldrich's train of thought as he mentioned something. He discarded these thoughts are he doesn't have any answers currently.
"It doesn't matter, our fallout with them is already set in stone... It won't make any difference either." He reminded the 2 Zodiac as he looked towards the unconscious human.
"Both of you can go. I'll take over from here." He said in a commanding voice filled with regality
With that, the 2 Zodiac immediately disappeared without a trace without even lifting their heads.
Aldrich approached the human and he can't help but want to tear the human into pieces. His hatred and disdain for humanity has reached unbelievable heights up to the point that he can't completely control it anymore.
[Notice. Emotions are permanently suppressed under the effects of the Ultimate Skill "King of Perfection, Astraea"]
Sigh!
"Fortunately, I possess such a useful skill." Aldrich felt relieved.
He then lifted the human and slapped him awake.
Slap!
Slap!
Slap!
"Urgh..." A slow moan escaped the mouth of the Human.
"Wake up." An emotionless yet majestic voice reverberated in his ears and it caused the human to awaken completely.
The human opened his groggy eyes and his blurred vision took time to stabilize as he was greeted with a pair of scarlet eyes that seems to burn his very soul. He tried his best to struggle free from the grip of the unknown being in front of him, alas, to his disappointment, no matter how powerful he became, he was nothing but an insect right now. Nevertheless, he never submitted to his circumstances and still tried his best to break free.
"What do you want in return of letting me go?" He asked the motionless being in front of him.
Deadly silence.
Aldrich did not bother responding to the human with even the slightest bit of movements. Right now, he felt a surge of surprise that he thought he would never feel again.
[Notice. Emotions are permanently suppressed under the effects of the Ultimate Skill "King of Perfection, Astraea"]
This was already the second time that his Ultimate Skill has been triggered. He already can't remember the last time he heard this skill, however, this time, his Ultimate Skill has been triggered twice. Even though it was under permanent suppression, several strands of powerful emotions are still leaking out.
This human is ridiculous!
Not only was he an Otherworlder that possesses a unique skill, he also gained the acknowledgement of a Spirit of Darkness then forcefully retrieve Ramiris' blessings. If that was the only thing interesting about this human, Aldrich would have long experimented on his body, but there was something about this human that even made Aldrich want to forcefully rope him in.
The human was not affected by the erosion of time!
In other words, the human was already an immortal despite being in the 'Enlightened Stage' and have yet to step foot in Divinity. This can only mean that the human in front of him was extremely talented in the element of time.
It had to be known that the Zodiac and 4 Horsemen took around 100 years, at the earliest, to comprehend the element of time and only the 4 Horsemen are capable of wielding the power of time and that after an arduous and deadly training supervised by Aldrich himself. However, one human appeared and surpassed all of them.
After several moments of contemplation, Aldrich blurted majestically without any room for negotiations.
"Kneel."
Bang!
The human was forced to kneel down and his consciousness is already on the verge of collapse!
While he was fighting to hold back his consciousness, he felt something touch his soul and his mind regained clarity. He then stood up like a soldier, bowed towards Aldrich then said powerfully, "Greetings, Milord!"
---
In the deepest part of The Neptune.
A figure was standing in front of an 8-meter tree with an extremely wide trunk that exudes a very strong breath of life.
"Aldrich was successful in recreating it... Although it took longer than expected, it was still a success." Her lovely voice seems to carry the waves of the ocean as her aquamarine long gown swayed along the deep waves of the Neptune.
This area is the closest to the 'Magicule Breeder Reactor' and the surrounding energies are solely composed of Stardust energy which caused the rapid growth of the tree.
The lovely lady slowly approached the trunk and touched it with her delicate hands and muttered, "Grow up quickly, little one... The Empyrium's future will be handed unto you."
As she lovingly caressed the tree trunk and watched the leaves dance gracefully, her 'Universal Perception' detected 3 auras that approached her and stopped within a respectable distance from her.
Swoosh!
She immediately teleported to their location as she activated her skill 'Material Creation'. A majestic battle armor that carries the hue of the ocean surrounded her voluptuous figure as the navy blue cape danced with the wind and a deep blue crown with 4 radiating stars appeared on her head along with a veil that perfectly covered her face. Along with the emergence of her battle suit, a god-grade trident also appeared and a terrifying coercive aura immediately spread with her at the center.
"How Impudent. Who gave you the guts to disturb me?" As soon as she appeared, her gentle aura immediately transformed into something destructive like a roaring tsunami, and she asked coldly that sent shivers to the 3 beings present. Her trident was emanating such powerful strength that the 3 beings felt that one wrong word or movement would cause their life to be forfeited instantly!
Breathing became difficult. Surrounding energies grew turbulent. Their control over their own skills was severed.
"Y-your Majesty, w-we were sent here to accompany and aid you r-regarding the growth of Yggdrasil." A stuttering gentle voice responded with difficulty.
"Your Majesty, p-please calm down your presence. Lord Aldrich sent us here and put us under your command." A soft voice that's on the verge of tears said while trying to persuade the lady.
"Lord Aldrich sent you here?" The terrifying presence cooled down but none of the 3 still raised their heads as the lady asked skeptically.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The Supreme Lord Aldrich said that it's about time to conclude our training and make preparations for the incoming war." A sophisticated voice said flatteringly.
"I see... The Tenma Great War is fast approaching, huh?. In that case, rise and introduce yourself." The lady said, in fact, she can peer unto their being through the soul corridor but she doesn't want to do something that disgusting.
Hearing the lady say those words along with the return of calmness.
The first one to stand up and introduce himself was a being shrouded in orange fog.
"It is my extreme pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty, Kailani. I have been bestowed by the name Scorpio and became the Demon Zodiac. I am looking forward to serving under you." Scorpio eloquently said and bowed and stood by the side as he finished his introduction.
Kailani nodded her head but no one can see her face due to her veil.
The second one was a magical beast with a lion's body and a head of an eagle. A magical beast of the Griffin race.
"Your Majesty, I carry the name Cancer and I am the Magical Beast Zodiac." Cancer introduced herself shyly.
Kailani stared at Cancer and thought to herself, 'A griffin doesn't exist in this world. This should be a race that propagated inside the Empyrium. Being born and bred here inside is indeed enough to make them the Royal Family of the magical beasts as their strength and potential far surpasses other magical beasts.'
"Your Majesty, I may be lacking compared to Scorpio and Pisces, but I'm willing to learn from you and become better." Cancer's shy voice broke Kailani's trance as she said.
"Don't put yourself down. Being a member of the Zodiac already speaks volume of your capability. Believe more on yourself." Kailani approached her and stroked her head as she encouraged her.
After stroking her head, Kailani was satisfied and turned her head towards the last kneeling 'human'.
"You must be Pisces, right? The first and Mother Zodiac... You've changed greatly." She said gently and affectionately.
Pisces stood up and bowed with her right hand over her left chest.
"I'm honored to know that Your Majesty remembered my name." Pisces said without any fluctuations on her voice.
"How can I forget you if I was the one who discovered and recommended you?" Kailani chuckled lightly and said.
Pisces was caught off guard as Kailani revealed some minor secrets. After the initial shock, Pisces regained her composure and said emotionlessly, "I see. Thank you for the opportunity and trust, Your Majesty."
"You took after Lord Aldrich, huh?..." She muttered in a low voice, but the 3 of them managed to hear it clearly.
Pisces stared at the ground with wide open eyes as Scorpio and Cancer eyed her with extreme jealousy and envy.
Clap!
"Alright, it's now official and since Lord Aldrich put you under my command, you're compatible living in my world." She clapped to attract their attention to her and spread her hand. No one noticed that she has already changed her clothes as she was now wearing her usual long gown.
As she spread her arms, a ripple in space occurred and a gate with white and blue turtle shells appeared.
Splash!
The scenery behind the gate mesmerized the 3 of them.
There was nothing but water.
No land, no earth, no living beings. It was nothing but a watery domain.
"Welcome to the Heavenly Mist!" Kailani was grinning from ear to ear as she introduced her subspace.
-----
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-
Several days later.
The Cardinal World.
A small island in the middle of the ocean.
Two humans were present here gazing the towards the main continent. A white-haired human was standing in front with his hands in his pocket while a black-haired human was half-step behind him and was in a servitude attitude.
After completely erasing the memories of the human using 'Star Wipe', a subskill of the Ultimate Skill 'King of Perfection, Astraea', Aldrich implanted new memories by using 'True Phantasmal' which is a subskill of the Ultimate Skill 'King of Contradictions, Shiva'. Thus, gaining another subordinate with extraordinary potential. Moreover, he wasn't the bit afraid whether this human regains his memories, his 2 Ultimate Skills are among the highest authority in their respective fields, so it was near impossible for the human to regain clarity and at most, he could just kill this ant.
"Kael." Aldrich said while still gazing at the horizon as the wind blew his white hair.
Bang!
"Milord." Kael powerfully kneeled down as he responded to Aldrich.
"Go--.."
Thud!
Before Aldrich could issue his order, a strong calling came from his soul! It told him something important regarding the True Dragons.
'Someone ascended to become a True Dragon!' He thought to himself and closed his eyes. He communicated more deeply with his soul as he fished out the information within it.
'Hoh... Interesting. Someone interfered with the information and I only managed to know this several days after he ascended.' After knowing who it was, Aldrich was not surprised too much about it. If he can do something like that, then it makes sense that others could also interfere with information. Delaying the flow of information does not make any difference to him.
'If I can sense his ascension, the other True Dragons should be able to sense it as well... If that's the case, then they should have sensed me a long time ago. But why did let me off? Are they looking down on me as well? If that's the case, then so be it, I don't want any attention anyways.' Aldrich smiled at his unexpected good luck this time as the True Dragons never paid major attention to him. After all, he used on being looked down and it didn't bother him in the slightest.
'Another True Dragon in the ranks of the enemies. Bring it on!' He shouted in his mind as battle intent starts rising within him.
"Kael, go and hatch your Hero's egg. Destroy Humanity to your hearts content." He ordered in a high spirited way.
"At once, Milord." Kael Blakely went on to became the Scourge of the entire human race and will become one of the Grand Protectors of Yggdrasil.
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Cardinal World.
Jura Tempest Federation.
A yellow-haired Pixie was flying around in circles as she continued to rant her feelings out.
"Argh!.. If I was not chained down, I would have shown that ignorant human my 48 attack skills and pulverized him to dust!!" She said as punched and kicked the air in frustration
However, no one around her paid any heed to her as they minded a greater threat than the human who forced Ramiris.
"Tell me, what happened when I was not around?" Rimuru asked in an uncharacteristic cold voice.
Zegion and the 10 Lords of the Labyrinths all kneeled down in shame.
"Forgive me, Milord. I failed as an Overseer and did not protect Lady Ramiris and the Dungeon." Zegion said in a reverent manner while shame and frustration was evident on his voice.
Rimuru frowned and released his True Dragon Haki and said in an angry voice, "That's not what I asked!"
All others present felt the anger of Rimuru and none dared to speak up until Veldora was the one who calmed the raging scene.
"After that human gained the Hero's Blessing, a Giant and a Pixie came, destroyed the 30 floors of the Labyrinth and saved that human." Veldora said casually while still reading his favorite sacred texts
"You didn't chase them?" Rimuru directed his question to Veldora in which the True Dragon just shrugged his shoulders and said.
"Kuhahahaha! Who do you think I am? A Dungeon Boss does not go around chasing invaders! That's the duty of the minions!" He said while boasting shamelessly.
Rimuru felt helpless at the attitude of his friend. Indeed, what Veldora said was true, he won't waste his time if there's someone else present that could take care of the problem. However, the issue this time was too severe that he was needed to take action personally as all the powerful and strongest 12 patrons were divided and sent to assist other Demon Lords as a preparation for the Tenma Great War. Zegion was the only one present that could stabilize the situation but fighting against 2 Zodiac was extremely difficult even for him. Benimaru was training the Tempest army when the attack happened and when he rushed to the scene, the labyrinth was already in shambles. Diablo is in El Dorado, Leon's domain. Shion and Adalmann are in Holy Empire Ruberios, Luminous' Domain. Carrera, Gabiru and Geld are at the City of Forgotten Dragon, Milim's Domain. Ultima is in the Barren Lands, Dagruel's Domain, while Testarossa in charge of the Western Nation's safety. Ranga and Souei are escorting Rimuru as their bodyguards. Anyone below the 12 Patrons doesn't even qualify to make up the numbers.
Sigh!
Rimuru restrained his Haki and sighed deeply. "The timing is just perfect... I can't help but think that this is a premeditated attack."
<<It is most likely. There is also the possibility of gaining the Human's favor after saving him. In any case, this was an elaborate and meticulous plan.>> Ciel responded, giving her own thoughts on the situation.
Ciel then pulled up a recording of the Zodiac attack.
An awe-inspiring Giant that carries himself like Dagruel was walking imposingly towards the deeper parts of the Labyrinth with a luminous blue-gray haired male Pixie was sitting on his shoulders while sipping a some kind of juice leisurely. All around them were the rumbles of the destroyed floors of the Labyrinth. They strode forward calmly as if they own the place.
"Capricorn, is that stupid human worth sending us here?" Gemini asked while still sipping his pleasure juice.
"Keep your mouth shut, Gemini! We don't know how many ears are here. Just focus on the mission at hand." Capricorn sternly warned the playful Pixie
Bleh!
Pixie stuck out his tongue and said angrily, "You're too strict!"
Capricorn stared at the Pixie without any change on his expressions. Currently, he was sensing several powerful auras inside and outside the Labyrinth. They had to save that human as soon as possible.
"Stop playing around and focus. We are in enemy territory." Capricorn said in a solemn tone
Rimuru watched this recording solemnly because he sensed that these two are a huge threat. Naturally, they don't pose a threat to him, but that wasn't necessarily the case for his friends.
"Hey, Ciel-sensei. How about their existence values? Did you retrieve it." Rimuru asked hopefully
<<Yes, but I advise that you refrain from showing it to your subordinates to not burden them further. The imminent threat is the Tenma Great War.>>
Rimuru was shocked as he felt the seriousness from Ciel-sensei's tone. The only time this skill of his was this serious was during the Walpurgis when he met Guy Crimson and during his confrontation against the 2 True Dragons during the Eastern Empire Invasion.
"Ciel-sensei, I'll heed your advice in that case." Rimuru then replied affirmatively. After all, Ciel was the one who accompanied him the longest.
Ciel seemed to have sighed in relief after hearing the affirmative response of her master. She then transmitted the information to Rimuru.
Name : Gemini [EP: 29, 387, 900 (??)]
Race: ??
Blessings: ??
Title: ??
Magic: <<Space Magic>>
Skill: ??
Resistances: ??
---
Name: Capricorn [25, 140, 980 (??)]
Race: ??
Blessings: ??
Title: ??
Magic: <<Earth Magic>>
Skill: ??
Resistances: ??
Rimuru was gobsmacked!
Where did these terrifying beings pop out from?!
They pose an extreme threat!
They may not threaten him, but his friends may not stand a chance against them!
"Gemini? Capricorn? Aren't these the constellations back home?" Rimuru asked particularly no one but he still received an answer from his ever-reliable Manas partner, Ciel-sensei. As for knowing their names, these 2 are proud enough that they used their real names without any regards. The same is true for the type of magic they used. Although, they only managed to gauze the magic they used, this is already a huge gain.
<<Yes, it is. There is also a high possibility that there are other beings named after constellations from Master's former world. It is more likely that they are named after the Zodiac signs.>>
"Then are you saying that there are 12 beings with such power level in this world?" Rimuru asked and he certainly hoped that his conjecture would be denied by Ciel-sensei
<<Yes. We can't count out that possibility.>>
Rimuru shuddered!
<<If we were to infer from Gemini and Capricorn, the others should also have been awakened into True Demon Lords.>>
Rimuru has yet to recover from shock when Ciel dropped yet another bomb.
Rimuru took a long time to calmed down and analyzed everything he could squeeze from the information at hand. That seemingly weak Pixie, that gave the same vibes as Ramiris, actually possessed greater energy levels than the destructive Giant that destroyed 30 floors of the Labyrinth.
"This is troublesome." Rimuru muttered while frowning heavily.
"Hey, Ciel-sensei, the magic they used does not indicate any type of Spirit Magic. What's the difference between them?" Rimuru asked in a heavy voice, having a very bad premonition.
<<Based on how they used their magic. It seems like they possessed magic that's higher levelled than Spirit Magic. Gemini forcefully altered the space laws in the Labyrinth like he's the True Spirit of space. Their control over magic is more sophisticated than the Demon Race.>>
Rimuru was again shocked. He can't helped it, these 2 invaders bought something unprecedented.
"Then, how come we didn't knew anything about them before? We have already encroached Argos in the whole world, so we have at least known something about them?" Rimuru asked a question that's been bothering him.
<<...>>
Rimuru closed his eyes with the silence of Ciel. If even a Manas is at a loss, then he as well is extremely confused.
Why did they save that human?
Where did they come from?
Where are they hiding?
What is their goal?
There are too many questions and very few answers. Unfortunately, these questions were never meant to be answered.
Sigh!
Rimuru sighed deeply and voiced out his concerns.
"Hey, Ciel-sensei, do you think the one who named them came from Earth just like me?" He asked hopefully.
<<...Yes, I think so too because such names can't be such a coincidence.>>
Rimuru's eyes lit up and ignored the uncertainty in Ciel's tone and he said excitedly
"Then, we need to find him and ask for his help against the Tenma Great War. After all, we both came from Earth and were once humans. We could be considered comrade in arms!"