10 Chapter 10 -> Awaken, Nemesis! DEI IRAE!!!
<< Notice. Good job. >> -> [Wisdom King: Raphael] or "Voice of the World" if specified.
<<< Hello master! How can I help you? >>> -> [Voice of Wisdom: Sophie]
' What?! ' -> used to symbolise thinking (used in convoluted sentences to help in understanding)
" Hello! " -> Speech.
<< Notice. Good job. >> -> [Wisdom King: Raphael]
<|< REDACTED >|> "Voice of the World".
<<< Hello master! How can I help you? >>> -> [Voice of Wisdom: Sophie]
' What?! ' -> used to symbolise thinking (used in convoluted sentences to help in understanding)
" Hello! " -> Speech.
* moments prior* -> Narrative use
< Greetings > -> TELEPATHY
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Hinata advanced at light speed towards the being, her entire body having shiny particles shooting out of her, her sword charged, aiming at the opponent's head.
*BOOM*
She connected.
...
...
That's a weird sensation. It still feels like I am hitting metal.. And…
The explosion dissipated.
WHAT?!
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*A fearsome foe OST starts playing*
The sword was perfectly still. Stopped by a mere pinky finger. The ambience being deathly quiet. She had the impression that some ominous music appeared out of nowhere, but it was for a few moments, she knew all the sound was gone. All her senses were focused on that single moment.
Monster…
no…
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*flashback*
"One week from now on, a person will arrive near our city. I want you to show him the city, and then lead him to me.", she orders.
"Meet you? Who is he...?", I responded shocked. Who is so worthy that even I must give him a tour, to the Demon Lord herself?
Luminus shivered a little bit, and answered:
"A true monster."
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This is impossible…
What are you?
The monster asserted pressure on the sword and Hinata was blown away multiple meters away.
Looking down at her sword, she can already see miniscule cracks forming. That is a Legendary sword…
Before she could further process what she had just witnessed, the monster started speaking.
"Why possess the assumption that I would stand there and just take it?", starts the monster off with a rhetorical question that immediately illuminated her naivety.
"Your behavior reeks of arrogance. Do you truly believe your monster hatred to be justified under the guise of god? A god that is simply a more powerful vampire, unironically a monster as well, one that is not impartial nor possesses notable attributes besides being an old hag in a young girl's skin?"
"What are you... ", I reply, immense shock seeping into my tone.
"Silence, paladin.", he says and I feel my body stiffen up and my voice chords refusing to cooperate due to sheer coercion.
"What you possess is a pathetic mask of bravado to hide your spineless beliefs that would crumble upon a single contact. So here's a question for you: do you think you understand the consequences of your actions?", he continues now with a sharp questioning tone, and I felt the ability to speak again.
"Yes. I am absolutely sure.", confused for a brief moment, continuing to calculate any way out, I answered with confidence in my tone. I know what I am doing, and I have arrived at it with countless calculations. My life wouldn't make sense otherwise.
"...
…
…
I see.
…"
The air got chilly for some reason. His eye sockets disappeared. Pure black. The void. Nothingness.
"T H E N W H Y ' D Y O U K I L L C O U N T L E S S I N N O C E N T S E N T I E N T M O N S T E R S Y O U H Y P O C R I T I C A L M O N G R E L ?"
An eerie, cold voice surfaces in a clear deep timbre that matches his current menacing appearance.
No aura. No pressure. There was nothing. Black and white. All time stopped.
Her heart ceased functioning for a moment and all she saw was DEATH.
She was stuck in this state for seemingly forever, whether it was seconds, days or years she wouldn't know. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death. Death.
Her eyes suddenly shot open and she only saw a massive white fist stopped in place just before her face. Insane wind pressure ruptured following his fist, ignoring Hinata herself, but disintegrating everything upon contact, erasing the entire room and the holy barrier whilst speeding towards the direction behind Hinata.
And while she was disoriented beyond reason, she felt something off-putting behind her and barely looked back very very slowly… The training ground was deep underground with nothing around it besides one entrance but… what appeared behind her was a stupidly humongous chasm that she couldn't see the end of.
In the form of a fist.
...
Her legs gave way.
She passed out.
A golden aura surrounded her.
A heart levitated out of her.
Blue. Yellow.
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Jiren POV
Jiren was observing the SOUL with keen interest, until he concentrated & probed deeper and saw something that took no time at all to provoke his dissatisfaction. Black strings acting as blood vessels were present in the core of the SOUL, seemingly tainting it.
<<<Upon further analysis, this substance seems to be the same one found in Grand Elementals' core. There exists a possibility that Rimuru Tempest's SOUL is composed of the same essence. >>>
What is it?
<<< <|< REDACTED >|> It seems to be of the malevolent nature. The side-effects of hosting include passive increase of the Level of Violence and pushing towards the Evil axis. There may exist an unidentifiable power boost depending on the level of corruption. It acts as a parasite and is not noticable by the host housing it, unless they possess extraordinary perception or are a being of pure heart without any flaws for the corruption to take advantage of. >>>
There seems to be a conspiracy brewing here. Which shitstain is playing Plague Inc on a universal scale? Is it fixable?
<<< Your holy flames are the complete counter. Even a single contact may result in disintegration.>>>
You don't say? That is rather unfortunate.
The best medicine is prevention, but since that is off the grid…
I immediately teleport above the planet's atmosphere.
Current EP: 10,000,000
15,010,832
27,325,914
56,536,325
79,215, 988
93,621,128
*hmph*
100,000,000.
Sophie. Scan for SOULs who are affected by this phenomenon.
<<<Scanning… Scanning… >>>
<<<Approximately 70% of the population experience mild corruption. 10% experience medium corruption. 1% experience heavy corruption. 0.01% experience complete corruption. >>>
Hmph. Pestilent.
Sophie. Lock on everybody with corruption whose immediate absence would lead to natural recovery of the SOUL. Avoid all Million EP+ beings.
<<<Understand. Starting…>>>
My brain experienced faint heaviness. Uncountable data. SOULS of all colors. Sophie is not an Origin skill for nothing - her calculative skills are beyond imagination, only limited to the World she is in. Calculating the positions, utilizing soul manipulation, scanning, locking. A process that occurred in the span of seconds.
<<<80% of the population locked on. >>>
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Jiren brought all out of his power in the limited state, practically being a beacon for all to see. Two burning transparent golden flares were shooting out of his eyes, now with visible golden irises and black pupils.
Jiren's arm went up in the air and everyone's SOUL went out of their chest, them being oblivious due to them not being able to observe SOULs.
As he was about to initiate the purge, two individuals arrived.
The aura emanating from them made Jiren notice them, but not pay not much mind regardless and continue charging his attack. Until a fiery blast of insane magnitudes which can probably erase anything below the top 15 in the world, hit him head on.
While this wouldn't do much to the behemoth that is Jiren, he stopped his attack.
No one noticed the mild twitch of his eyes out of annoyance.
But nevertheless he went in to listen to what this absurd demon and the lizard next to him wanted to say. His aura receded, and his eyes returned to normal.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you.", says Guy Crimson with a serious for once expression.
"Why are you stopping me, Demon?", asks Jiren.
"What retarded question is that? You're about to exterminate the entire population, something I swore to keep in check, the hell do you mean why?", answers Guy angrily with a vein popping on his head.
"For a mediator you're awfully incompetent at spotting liabilities in the world. And the plague that is occuring.", states Jiren.
"What bullshit are you on about? Anyone with a modicum of strength is immune to that.", replies Guy, confused.
"Hmm.", Jiren says as he lifts his other hand and Hinata appears mid-air, unconscious. Her SOUL being present for all to see. "Observe."
"Hooo-oh. Let's seeee… ", Guy says as his eyes start to glow, "huh. huuuuuh. well that's bad.
but still, your plan was to nuke everyone? i like the idea g, but i would rather not have you do that."
"Incorrect. Obliterating the curse in medium quantity and less allows the SOUL to survive temporarily, which gives the opportunity to commit SOUL healing abilities without repercussions, which was the plan", states Jiren, "Now move."
"Ara Ara, aren't you eager?", finally enters the second individual in the form of Velzard. The Ice Empress. The oldest living True Dragon. Guy Crimson's friend and "equal".
Her aura was deathly chilling, and the main reason why the Frozen Continent is, well, frozen.
"The job must be done, Dragon", says Jiren, not really surprised by the entrance.
"Indeed. I see how you handled my little shitbrother so easily. And I wholeheartedly agree with your take on "education", although I believe you are still too soft on the approach", replies Velzard amusedly.
"Forcing him to reincarnate will do nothing about his inner beliefs and only simply mask it under fear and terror.", retorts Jiren.
"Ah, how sweet, but don't worry, Veldora will eventually learn :)", says Velzard with a sinister SISTERLY chuckle.
"Is that the excuse you tell yourself to explain your sadistic tendencies?", asks Jiren, not buying the polite exterior.
"Ara, what do you mean? It's just an older sister educating her misbehaving little brother", responds Velzard with an even more polite smile.
"I have no interest in your education methods, Dragon, so why do you persist on goading me?", says Jiren with an impatient tone.
"Hah. You really are cold. But I am curious… How did you get this strong? A being that is equal to True Dragons shouldn't exist, yet you are here… ", Velzard drops the pretenses and asks what was bugging her mind all this time.
The True Dragon is the ultimate spiritual lifeform, the apex, and nothing is above it. So how does a random monster humanoid appear to have the same power as the race that housed the Creator?
Jiren's eye sockets disappeared. But they returned very shortly afterwards.
"I trained.", curtly answers Jiren.
Guy perked up at the answer, clearly wanting to hear more of it so he could shove it up Jiren's ass later.
"Training? What an amusing joke. There exists no training in existence that gets you to this level. What are you hiding, Reticulan~?", presses Velzard onwards with a more sultry tone.
"Consider this conversation over.", declares Jiren coldly as he raises his hand.
Velzard was certainly motivated to get to the end of the mystery, sooner or later…
Another aura pops out, this one being much much much weaker than the two present but still in the milions range. Jiren's vein faintly popped on his head.
Luminus Valentine is practically burning out of annoyance for having a huge explosion under her city and now feeling insane amounts of energy up in the air, disturbing the inhabitants.
"Oi, Guy! What's with the ruckus OVER my city?!", screams Luminus, flying towards the scene.
"Haha, we're just having a chat over here, no worries.", answers Guy who starts cackling at the angry face she's displaying.
"A CHAT?!", her face contorts to a very angry look as she shouts.
Then she notices Hinata unconscious in the air and her eyes harden even more as incomprehensible fury starts to surface.
"WHEN I MEANT INSTRUCT, I DID NOT MEAN BEAT HALF TO DEATH YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!!!!", exploded Luminus and was about to throw hands.
Jiren sends a frigid glance towards the 99th loli he pissed off in this world and commanded:
"Be quiet, pest. "
As the words were charged with Jiren's aura whose existence value was over 30 times hers, she just froze in place like a puppet with cut strings.
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*Jiren the Gray OST starts to play*
Red aura surfaced upon Jiren's exterior as his iconic golden flares shined through once again. His arm started to glow, now filling with spiraling golden lines that stretched all the way towards his hand. A golden ball of energy started to form at the top of the outstretched palm.
The audience watched the display in silence and did not interfere.
A solemn chant started to rumble like thunder.
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"I, who stand at the cusp of all reality, walk the forsaken path of reckoning…
Everything that exists or will exist shall face the verdict.
Come forth, I shalt judge the true worth of thy SOUL.
Heed my decree, judgment is upon thee.
The flames of heaven shall cleanse the filth of this world!
Awaken, Nemesis!!
DEI IRAE!!!"
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The incomprehensibly dense burning golden ball of energy reached its maximum capacity and burst into the air. Before it could leave the atmosphere entirely, it started to split infinitely. Uncountable amounts of individual fiery bolts split and homed into their targets at beyond light speed, immediately disintegrating the curse upon contact. The entire sky was dyed golden.
The only change everyone noticed was a flash of gold before they got hit.
The stronger individuals felt themselves suddenly experiencing temporary sharp pain, their energy levels decreasing by a sizable amount, however feeling their mind clear itself as if finally seeing through the haze. The fire that destroyed the curse persisted for a little longer and initiated the healing that brought the SOUL to its original capacity as if the curse wasn't there. Fair to assume, the confusion was palpable at this moment.
In fact, one slime was having a metaphorical heart attack over half of his citizens screaming for a second in unison, whilst grabbing the place where their heart is. Raphael informed him of the possible cause and Rimuru's patience was immediately breached. "Why can't you leave me alone you scoundrel?!". Raphael, however, informed him of the consequences, that they have been "released". One side of Rimuru calmed down, and assessed it logically, but unbeknownst to even him, his eyes turned black for a fraction of a second and he felt untold hatred towards Jiren. The situation did not allow Rimuru to notice the oddity of such a change, as it was expected he would be on the edge with the whole situation.
The other weaker individuals merely attributed the change to various excuses, not focusing on it much. They felt pain, but then they felt better. Must be the wind or something.
Jiren's eyes started to contain 0's and 1's again, courtesy of Sophie, who confirmed his conjecture.
<<<All selected corruption eliminated.>>>
The reactions from the audience differed. Guy Crimson was in awe, but also had his pride set him off on a new goal to create an even bigger lightshow. Velzard was merely enjoying the fireworks, a little impressed by the control he's exhibiting, all of that aura and not blowing up the planet…
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Luminus POV
Luminus was pretty much floored. She sobered real quick after that one.
She did intuit one of the bolts going straight to Hinata, but she was way too slow to react to it, so she checked Hinata's status, and Hinata was… fine? In fact, even better than before. Her skin got a healthier pink hue, and her expression turned peaceful. Her imperceptible but still present aura received a slight qualitative change that was left unnoticed.
*snap*
Luminus heard Jiren snap his fingers and Hinata immediately woke up, still frightened like a rabbit, but seeing herself in Luminus arms, relaxed a little bit. Then suddenly she stood up like a stiff rod, acting as if that never happened. Pft. Tsundere.
But when she saw Jiren, her eyes almost popped out of her skull and she was imperceptibly shaking, but nothing would escape my eyes. Just what did he do with her? Was it the humongous fist mark I've found?
"You have potential, and have been given a chance. Comprehend and defeat your inner demons, and you will soar. Do not make me regret ignoring your transgressions, Hinata Sakaguchi.", asserts Jiren with his arms crossed across his chest, "Also. Watch your back.", before just disappearing…?
what?
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Guy Crimson POV
"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha", Guy Crimson just started to laugh maniacally, first Rimuru, now this guy - looks like he has a new challenger! I never managed to surpass Veldanava, but this guy! Oh, this guy!
I am going to beat the living shit out of him! It's gonna be so fun! Rudra was an equal, but this guy is something fresh and new, he's actually stronger! And if someone can do something, so can I!
His pride is basically flaring at this point, and he's reeling out of excitement!
His arm suddenly started to have spiraling shadowy energy lines, replicating Jiren's attack, albeit much weaker due to the much less energy poured into it.
"Excellent! Excellent! I didn't have enough time to copy his entire Ultimate skill, but this will do! What was it again?
Ah, yes.
DEI IRAE!"
The purplish black blast burst outwards and homed into some random schmucks on the street, immediately obliterating them.
Hoh, rather pitiful. The control is much more difficult without that long ass chant, just wanted to take a leg or two, oh well. Happens.
"Sigh. You and your nonsensical skill", chimes in Velzard.
"What, you jealous?", says Guy seductively.
"Not at all", retorts Velzard, clearly used to his antics.
"Was that really necessary?", asks Luminus powerlessly, but still with some sass behind it.
"no!", shouts Guy cheerfully and dips.
Velzard sighs and follows after him.
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