429. Clone Team Up

Gula rasped, coughing out a mouthful of black blood. She raised her head as she gasped and looked around. She was alive. Somehow, she survived.

It had happened so quickly. The Archdemon of Gluttony didn’t know what changed. One second, the [Hero] was on the back foot, then the next, he blasted her with a deluge of Divine Essence. She didn’t know how he did that, but he managed to unlock the true power of the Sword of Alexander. And with it, he’d nearly killed her.

The only reason Gula was still alive was because of her quick reactions. Time slowed around her right before the beam of white aura impacted her. She knew she couldn’t teleport away quickly enough, so instead, she created a [Sevenfold Shield of Spacetime]. Her greatest barrier. Even still, it crumbled under the weight of the divine attack. But it held out long enough to keep her alive as she could finally teleport away.

Now, she lay at the top of a hill, overseeing Alyras in the distance. The sun rose behind her, casting its brilliant orange light over her bleeding body. She was in so much pain. Groaning, she sat up and stared at the battlefield. She saw Libid’s flames spreading, but didn’t immediately return fighting. For a moment, she considered fleeing— simply abandoning the plan as a lost cause. But she shook her head.

“We can’t leave until Iivor and the others return.”

She reminded herself of her duties. Any time now, she was expecting the [Helllord] to be leaving the palace of Alyras with the Crown of Alexander. There was no way he’d fail at his job— Iivor was methodical, and he wasn’t alone. He had the best of the Dukes and Duchesses of the Netherworld with him. On their own, Gloria, Desidia, and Avaritia weren’t the most reliable. They each had their own hubris, but with Iivor keeping them in check, they were a force to be reckoned with.

Gula lay in her own blood, staring past the walls of the city. Soon, she had to tell herself. Any minute now… The [Fiend] got to her feet and waited. She scanned the battlefield, hoping to see her allies making a triumphant return.

And that was when her jaw went slack.

“No…”

Even amidst the fighting, she saw it. She could sense its Divine Essence. No— it wasn’t the [Hero] wielding the Sword of Alexander, rallying the defenders of Alyras to hold the walls. It was something else. A silver-haired girl stood atop the city’s wall, facing down Libid’s Grand Skill, wreathed in an iridescent flame.

Gula blinked a few times. That couldn’t be right. That was clearly an aura of Divine Essence. Perhaps the [Fiend] was hallucinating— she was still quite badly hurt, after all. But… while Humans having Divine Essence was rather rare— to say the least— that didn’t mean they lacked the capacity to reach divinity.

So while Gula was surprised by it, that wasn’t what she was fixated on. Instead, her eyes went wide as she saw what the silver-haired girl was wearing.

A glimmering crown. An ornate set of greaves. And… the Boots of Alexander.

The very same Boots of Alexander that Gula had entrusted— well, been forced to entrust— to Avaritia. One of the Treasures of Alexanders. Which meant that the crown and the greaves that exuded the same aura were… also the Treasures of Alexander. The very same ones that the Dukes and Duchesses had come to Alyras to find.

All three of the Mythical Grade artifacts were with the silver-haired girl. Yet, she was left alone, staring down Libid, not hounded by any of the Dukes or Duchesses.

Slowly, Gula’s mind worked together the pieces. What did this imply? What did this mean? Well, clearly it only meant one thing: Iivor, Desidia, Gloria, and Avaritia were dead.

“Oh.”

The Archdemon of Gluttony stood there for a moment, in complete silence. Then the question came— how?

And she would soon get her answer as the silver-haired girl leapt off the wall and challenged Libid.

I heard the roaring flames. I stared into the heart of the inferno. A black firestorm that expanded with each passing second— that threatened to consume everything and anything it touched. It was a Demon. A [Jinn].

“Aren’t you in pain?”

I asked simply. In response, the flames whipped at me, accompanied by a shrill chittering. I sliced through the fiery tendril with my Divine Nebular Scythe as I listened. I could almost hear his voice amidst his cries of pain. But even with [Universal Language Comprehension], the words were lost to me. I shook my head.

“You don’t have to do this. You can just leave right now, you know?”

He didn’t answer this time. Instead, the face in the flames vanished as he continued his expansion. I looked down towards a collapsed part of the wall, seeing Daniel and Edithe standing there, fighting off this firestorm. I sighed as I revealed the Treasures of Alexander to him. They flashed, shimmering as I drew from their power.

“I guess you leave me now choice, huh? If you’re going to hurt my companions, I will have to kill you.”

With that, another tendril of flame struck down at me. But I vanished. I dove straight into the fire, unleashing my own iridescent flames back into this dark inferno. I sped around the perimeter of the expanding black flames once, twice— three times. I left behind a trail of rainbow-colored flames— a ring that marked where I’d been. And as I passed the [Jinn] over and over again, I unleashed a cone of divine flames to contain this Demon.

“How’s that?”

I grinned as I slowed down. But my eyes flickered. I watched as a spurt of black flames shot out, eating through even my deluge of rainbow-colored fire.

“What?”

I quickly disengaged as I heard a howl. A blast of black flames shot out my way— forming a massive spike that jutted out of the side of the inferno. I easily escaped it, but it continued on, reaching out for a section of the city’s wall. I saw guards scrambling away from the battlements. They would’ve been incinerated in an instant. But a figure leapt in front of the walls, raising a shield.

I blinked as this knight took the blast of black flames head-on. Her shield held up against the overwhelming heat, deflecting the bulk of it so it wouldn’t even reach the city. I stared on as the knight lowered her shield and leapt straight into the fire with no hesitation, shearing off sections of the inferno with her sword.

“Woah…”

There was no hesitation on her part. I looked on as she drew the [Jinn]’s attention, and tendrils of black flames whipped down at her.

“Who is she…?”

I asked, but didn’t get an answer. Instead, my head snapped up. I saw a stray tendril of black flame streak my way, but a voice cut me off.

“Look out!”

A shadowed figure leapt in between me and the tendril, slicing it in half. I blinked as I saw the [Rogue] landed before me.

“Orgaf? You’re fully healed!”

I exclaimed. The [Nightcrawler Shadower] looked up at me as I descended next to him. He studied the artifacts I was wearing.

“I am. And by the looks of it, you’ve been rather busy.”

“Yep! I beat up those Demons in the city! Now there’s only the three out here left.”

I nodded at him. He frowned.

“So I take it Helena Warshade won’t be joining us anytime soon?”

“She’s still busy with that [Cambion] or something. He’s really strong.”

“That’s unfortunate. We could really use her help here against this magic.”

Orgaf looked towards the inferno as it raged on. I didn’t focus on that. Instead, I stared at the knight ripping apart the flames.

“I mean, maybe we won’t need Helena’s help. We’ve already got that [Warrior] there. She’s pretty strong.”

I gestured at the sight. Orgaf agreed.

“She’s Kaitlin Darkhelm. Commander of the Vaun Qieur Empire’s Swordsguard Forces. Supposedly, she once beat Mori Gladius in a duel.”

“Seriously?”

I gaped. He continued.

“It is only a rumor. I am not sure how—”

But I cut him off, speaking excitedly.

“She’s part of the Vain Qieur Empire Swordsguard Forces? Do you think she knows Alex Cromerth? Should I ask her?”

I faced Orgaf, eyes sparkling. The Thief of the Golden Scales hesitated.

“Who?”

Orgaf peered at me. I waved a hand off.

“Nevermind.”

“But even with Kaitlin Darkhelm here, I doubt we’ll be able to win against this thing.”

He pursed his lips. I cocked my head.

“Why not?”

“This Demon… whatever it did, it no longer has a physical form. The only way to defeat it is to destroy the firestorm itself. And to do that, we’ll need grand magic that only the likes of Helena Warshade or Clayton Skyshredder can cast.”

He spoke grimly as the black flames whipped out, keeping the surrounding armies back. Only the highest-leveled here dared to draw close, but even Kaitlin Darkhelm had difficulties closing too close into the inferno.

I raised a brow.

“Wait, what do you mean the Demon doesn’t have a physical form?”

“That Demon. It has become a purely magical being. It won’t be easy to kill with physical attacks. We just have to—”

“But I can see the Demon right there.”

I spoke over Orgaf, pointing into the heart of the firestorm. He blinked at me.

“What?”

I hesitated.

“Um, do you… not see that face right there?”

I gestured towards the [Jinn]. Towards the darkness. Orgaf leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. Then he stepped back.

“I don’t see this, Salvos.”

“Huh.”

It must’ve been [Manifestation of the Old Gods] at work, then. I didn’t expect it to work this way, but I could quite literally see the Demon here, even when Orgaf couldn’t. But that meant the [Jinn] still had a physical body. It was just… slightly fragmented.

It lay at the center of the face of the firestorm. It shifted with each movement the inferno made, with bits of the Demon’s body burning away, fueling the black flames.

I stepped forward as Orgaf watched me spread my wings wide.

“Well, that [Jinn] has a body, alright. And I think if we destroy it, we can put a stop to his Grand Skill.”

He furrowed his brows.

“Do you think you’ll be able to withstand the intensity of its flames?”

“I don’t exactly have to dive in there myself.”

I grinned back at him. And as I said that, a pair of silver-gold figures flew past me. My clones circled around the inferno as I floated back into the air.

“Now, the question is: can you keep up?”

Orgaf stared at me for a moment, then he chuckled.

“I would if you didn’t have those damn Boots of Alexander on. But—”

He placed a hand on the ground as the shadows moved around him, forming figures from the darkness. They moved around him, passing him like they weren’t even there, yet I knew they were real.

“[Darkfriend].”

Orgaf stood straight as he looked up at me. He smirked.

“You’re not the only one who can create clones.”

“Huh.”

I gave him an approving look. With that, we both turned our attentions to the black firestorm.

“Let’s take this Demon down!”

As the battle continued, a [Will O’ Wisp] watched from afar. Willy sight as Salvos charged into the black flames.

“Idiot.”

And, finally, he moved to join the fighting.