Asmodea, the dark goddess, stared at the barrier Zephyr had erected. She surveyed the barrier, walking around it. When she touched it, her hand was repelled by an electric force. "Interesting, so ancient magic like this still exists," she muttered to herself, staring at her hand. "Element: Thunder, Origin: Ancient dragon's tongue," Asmodea boasted her knowledge of ancient magic while staring at Zephyr, then continued, "Weakness: Earth Magic." She instantly transformed her scythe into gauntlets made of obsidian rocks. "I hate slugfests but I'm not entirely against them," she playfully declared, delivering a direct punch to the barrier. The barrier reacted, small cracks forming with each punch she gave. "What is the plan here? Just stay there until your mana gives out?" She teased Zephyr while relentlessly punching. But Zephyr was not a fool. "Let's see you break through this!" He erected multiple barriers, turning the barrier into a dome-shaped polygon. Asmodea stopped, looking annoyed. "Well, you certainly got my attention," she said as she returned her weapon to a scythe. "Let's see if THEY can get your attention." Asmodea flew upward, breaking the ceiling and heading towards the sky.
Asmodea examined the Capital. The chaos that ensued below seemed to amuse her. With a wave of her hand, portals opened in different locations in the capital. Like before, demons emerged once again, turning desperation into horror on the people's faces. Shouting, screaming, slashing, gashing could be heard in every which way, which made Asmodea feel ecstasy and joy. She listened to them like she was at an opera, very absorbed in a very malicious way.
"This is bad," Eredin declares, observing the situation from a nearby window. Zephyr sits down, leaving his staff standing upright on the ground to maintain the barrier. "We have one shot at this," Zephyr's face suddenly turns serious. "I am going to seal Asmodea, and I need all your help." The group listens attentively as he explains the plan. While Zephyr chants the sealing ritual, the others will distract Asmodea.
"How long is this going to take?" Elias inquires, worried he might not last.
"I just need fifteen - no, ten minutes," Zephyr, confident in his abilities, tries to ease Elias' mind. "We can't save the people in our current state. Sealing the dark goddess is the only way."
Eredin then asks Zephyr with great concern, "Are you certain you can seal her, Zephyr?"
Zephyr, with a determined look in his eyes, replies, "If it's the last thing I do." Eredin resigns and decides to believe in Zephyr's words. But he still has one more concern. "But are you sure we can trust this woman?" he asks, looking at Thalia with suspicion.
Thalia shrugs off Eredin's concern. "I understand your predicament on why you betrayed the hero, but this woman did it of her own will." Eredin gazes at Thalia with great disdain, then at Aria with great worry.
"I know, Master Eredin. Regardless of her reason, she is here to fight Asmodea as well," Zephyr tries to ease Eredin's concern. Elias remains speechless on the topic. He just gazes at Thalia, but she refuses to look at him, seemingly avoiding him on purpose.
"Hold on, Zephyr. I'm only here to save my father. If that's off the table, then I am as well," Thalia stubbornly declares.
"I am only going to seal her, not kill her. Even I cannot manage to kill a goddess," Zephyr reveals, even though it hurts his pride a bit as an Archmage. Thalia doesn't reply, but she doesn’t reject the plan either.
"Very well, let's prepare," Eredin takes out vials and pills from his belt pockets. He hands Thalia and Elias potions that would heal their current injuries, then he gives them one pill of each color: green, red, and blue. He then gives them a warning.
"This is the pill that I have spent my life developing. I have not given the kingdom the right to replicate it due to its deadly side effects," Eredin's eyes grow serious as he looks at the pills. "The green one gives you inexhaustible stamina, but you will need to rest for three days after ingesting it. It only works for 20 minutes, and its side effects will be felt the next day. The red one gives you hyperspeed regeneration. As long as it's not your head, you will continue to grow your limbs when you lose them. But it will significantly shorten your lifespan, and it only works for an hour. And lastly, the blue one doubles your reflexes and heightens your senses. But you-"
Before Eredin can finish his sentence, he senses Asmodea behind him. "Finally done with your family meeting?" she sarcastically expresses her discontent at having to wait, grinning wickedly. "I can hear everything you said, you know," she proclaims cheerfully. Asmodea then examines Zephyr, who seems to be studying her movements. Eredin and the others are wary of her next move. She gives a malicious smile and says, "So you want to seal me?" Her eyes fixed on Zephyr. "I'd like to see you try," seemingly mocking Zephyr with his own words.
With those words, Asmodea changes her weapon of choice into a long black chain with a spiked ball at the end. She lets the weight of the spiked ball fall to the ground, cracking it, trying to intimidate Zephyr's group.
Zephyr looks at Thalia with her single dagger and then says, "Thalia, it wouldn't be fair for you to fight with one of your hands tied behind your back." He then conjures a spectral dagger for Thalia, which she begrudgingly accepts. Asmodea scoffs at this gesture, thinking it was meant to intimidate her.
Without hesitation, Thalia swallows both the green and blue pills simultaneously, catching Elias and Eredin off guard. In an instant, Thalia breaks free from the barrier and engages in a fierce battle with Asmodea, who stands just a few feet away. The clash of weapons marks the beginning of the intense fight. Meanwhile, Zephyr sits on the ground, placing his hands on the floor to initiate the sealing ritual.
Thalia and Asmodea's combat is beyond human capabilities. They move with such incredible speed that they disappear and reappear in the blink of an eye. Eredin readies his crossbow, prepared to provide assistance to Thalia whenever necessary. However, Elias is left in awe, painfully aware of the vast difference in strength between himself and Thalia. Despite feeling useless, he tries to shake off this feeling and searches for a way to contribute to the situation.
Elias's gaze shifts between the King, who watches the fight intently despite being unable to follow their movements, and Aria, who remains unconscious. But his attention is quickly drawn back to Thalia, who is struck by a spiked ball and crashes into a nearby wall. Without a moment's hesitation, Elias consumes all three pills and charges towards Asmodea, determined to attack her head-on.
As Elias locks weapons with Asmodea, a terrifying smile spreads across her face. Steam emanates from Elias's skin, turning it a fiery red. He launches a relentless assault, but Asmodea effortlessly deflects each strike, even yawning in mockery. With a flick of her finger, her chains slither like snakes, striking unpredictably from all directions. Asmodea gracefully maneuvers, altering the trajectory of each attack with ease.
Despite the boost from the pills, Elias struggles to defend himself, let alone mount a successful offense. Each strike pushes him backward, until finally, one blow lands in his stomach, creating a gaping hole. However, the chains continue their relentless assault, heading straight for the barrier where Zephyr stands. The accumulated force causes the spiked ball to heat up and crash into the barrier, causing it to crack. The staff wobbles slightly from the impact. Asmodea finds amusement in this turn of events and swiftly retrieves her chains, leaving Elias with a gaping wound in his stomach.
Elias slowly backs up, dropping to his knees and coughing up blood. He feels a surge of adrenaline and terror, but in just a few moments, his stomach is fully healed. Asmodea seizes this opportunity and swiftly whips her chain above, then pulls it down hard, aiming for Elias' head. A terrifying joy and ecstasy are vivid in her face as she smiles. The only sound that is heard is a loud crash on the ground as, in that split second before impact, smoke fills the entire area. As the smoke clears, Asmodea is disappointed to see Elias still in one piece. Eredin had saved him just in time. While Elias recovers, Eredin shoots his holy bolts at Asmodea. Asmodea appears bored by this attack, barely moving her head to dodge the bolt. But to her surprise, a sense of imbalance takes hold of her, and she feels sluggish. Before she knows it, the bolt explodes in front of her face, followed by three more bolts hitting her body. Thalia, who has recovered, seizes this chance and dashes with great speed to lunge at Asmodea. A silver streak is the only thing Elias and Eredin see as Thalia slashes the dark goddess across her belly. Blood splatters on the floor, and Asmodea falls to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Zephyr accelerates the speed of his chants, causing a ritual circle to form beneath the dark goddess. Chains of light emerge from the ground, binding Asmodea's arms and legs. Zephyr then shouts the final words, "Chains of the Ancient God!," and a barrier is erected, enclosing Asmodea and completing the ritual.
With the combined efforts of Elias, Eredin, Thalia, and Zephyr, Asmodea is now trapped and chained within the barrier, unable to escape. They have successfully sealed the threat and brought an end to Asmodea's terror, or so they thought.
Asmodea, the dark goddess, stared at the barrier Zephyr had erected. She surveyed the barrier, walking around it. When she touched it, her hand was repelled by an electric force. "Interesting, so ancient magic like this still exists," she muttered to herself, staring at her hand. "Element: Thunder, Origin: Ancient dragon's tongue," Asmodea boasted her knowledge of ancient magic while staring at Zephyr, then continued, "Weakness: Earth Magic." She instantly transformed her scythe into gauntlets made of obsidian rocks. "I hate slugfests but I'm not entirely against them," she playfully declared, delivering a direct punch to the barrier. The barrier reacted, small cracks forming with each punch she gave. "What is the plan here? Just stay there until your mana gives out?" She teased Zephyr while relentlessly punching. But Zephyr was not a fool. "Let's see you break through this!" He erected multiple barriers, turning the barrier into a dome-shaped polygon. Asmodea stopped, looking annoyed. "Well, you certainly got my attention," she said as she returned her weapon to a scythe. "Let's see if THEY can get your attention." Asmodea flew upward, breaking the ceiling and heading towards the sky.
Asmodea examined the Capital. The chaos that ensued below seemed to amuse her. With a wave of her hand, portals opened in different locations in the capital. Like before, demons emerged once again, turning desperation into horror on the people's faces. Shouting, screaming, slashing, gashing could be heard in every which way, which made Asmodea feel ecstasy and joy. She listened to them like she was at an opera, very absorbed in a very malicious way.
"This is bad," Eredin declares, observing the situation from a nearby window. Zephyr sits down, leaving his staff standing upright on the ground to maintain the barrier. "We have one shot at this," Zephyr's face suddenly turns serious. "I am going to seal Asmodea, and I need all your help." The group listens attentively as he explains the plan. While Zephyr chants the sealing ritual, the others will distract Asmodea.
"How long is this going to take?" Elias inquires, worried he might not last.
"I just need fifteen - no, ten minutes," Zephyr, confident in his abilities, tries to ease Elias' mind. "We can't save the people in our current state. Sealing the dark goddess is the only way."
Eredin then asks Zephyr with great concern, "Are you certain you can seal her, Zephyr?"
Zephyr, with a determined look in his eyes, replies, "If it's the last thing I do." Eredin resigns and decides to believe in Zephyr's words. But he still has one more concern. "But are you sure we can trust this woman?" he asks, looking at Thalia with suspicion.
Thalia shrugs off Eredin's concern. "I understand your predicament on why you betrayed the hero, but this woman did it of her own will." Eredin gazes at Thalia with great disdain, then at Aria with great worry.
"I know, Master Eredin. Regardless of her reason, she is here to fight Asmodea as well," Zephyr tries to ease Eredin's concern. Elias remains speechless on the topic. He just gazes at Thalia, but she refuses to look at him, seemingly avoiding him on purpose.
"Hold on, Zephyr. I'm only here to save my father. If that's off the table, then I am as well," Thalia stubbornly declares.
"I am only going to seal her, not kill her. Even I cannot manage to kill a goddess," Zephyr reveals, even though it hurts his pride a bit as an Archmage. Thalia doesn't reply, but she doesn’t reject the plan either.
"Very well, let's prepare," Eredin takes out vials and pills from his belt pockets. He hands Thalia and Elias potions that would heal their current injuries, then he gives them one pill of each color: green, red, and blue. He then gives them a warning.
"This is the pill that I have spent my life developing. I have not given the kingdom the right to replicate it due to its deadly side effects," Eredin's eyes grow serious as he looks at the pills. "The green one gives you inexhaustible stamina, but you will need to rest for three days after ingesting it. It only works for 20 minutes, and its side effects will be felt the next day. The red one gives you hyperspeed regeneration. As long as it's not your head, you will continue to grow your limbs when you lose them. But it will significantly shorten your lifespan, and it only works for an hour. And lastly, the blue one doubles your reflexes and heightens your senses. But you-"
Before Eredin can finish his sentence, he senses Asmodea behind him. "Finally done with your family meeting?" she sarcastically expresses her discontent at having to wait, grinning wickedly. "I can hear everything you said, you know," she proclaims cheerfully. Asmodea then examines Zephyr, who seems to be studying her movements. Eredin and the others are wary of her next move. She gives a malicious smile and says, "So you want to seal me?" Her eyes fixed on Zephyr. "I'd like to see you try," seemingly mocking Zephyr with his own words.
With those words, Asmodea changes her weapon of choice into a long black chain with a spiked ball at the end. She lets the weight of the spiked ball fall to the ground, cracking it, trying to intimidate Zephyr's group.
Zephyr looks at Thalia with her single dagger and then says, "Thalia, it wouldn't be fair for you to fight with one of your hands tied behind your back." He then conjures a spectral dagger for Thalia, which she begrudgingly accepts. Asmodea scoffs at this gesture, thinking it was meant to intimidate her.
Without hesitation, Thalia swallows both the green and blue pills simultaneously, catching Elias and Eredin off guard. In an instant, Thalia breaks free from the barrier and engages in a fierce battle with Asmodea, who stands just a few feet away. The clash of weapons marks the beginning of the intense fight. Meanwhile, Zephyr sits on the ground, placing his hands on the floor to initiate the sealing ritual.
Thalia and Asmodea's combat is beyond human capabilities. They move with such incredible speed that they disappear and reappear in the blink of an eye. Eredin readies his crossbow, prepared to provide assistance to Thalia whenever necessary. However, Elias is left in awe, painfully aware of the vast difference in strength between himself and Thalia. Despite feeling useless, he tries to shake off this feeling and searches for a way to contribute to the situation.
Elias's gaze shifts between the King, who watches the fight intently despite being unable to follow their movements, and Aria, who remains unconscious. But his attention is quickly drawn back to Thalia, who is struck by a spiked ball and crashes into a nearby wall. Without a moment's hesitation, Elias consumes all three pills and charges towards Asmodea, determined to attack her head-on.
As Elias locks weapons with Asmodea, a terrifying smile spreads across her face. Steam emanates from Elias's skin, turning it a fiery red. He launches a relentless assault, but Asmodea effortlessly deflects each strike, even yawning in mockery. With a flick of her finger, her chains slither like snakes, striking unpredictably from all directions. Asmodea gracefully maneuvers, altering the trajectory of each attack with ease.
Despite the boost from the pills, Elias struggles to defend himself, let alone mount a successful offense. Each strike pushes him backward, until finally, one blow lands in his stomach, creating a gaping hole. However, the chains continue their relentless assault, heading straight for the barrier where Zephyr stands. The accumulated force causes the spiked ball to heat up and crash into the barrier, causing it to crack. The staff wobbles slightly from the impact. Asmodea finds amusement in this turn of events and swiftly retrieves her chains, leaving Elias with a gaping wound in his stomach.
Elias slowly backs up, dropping to his knees and coughing up blood. He feels a surge of adrenaline and terror, but in just a few moments, his stomach is fully healed. Asmodea seizes this opportunity and swiftly whips her chain above, then pulls it down hard, aiming for Elias' head. A terrifying joy and ecstasy are vivid in her face as she smiles. The only sound that is heard is a loud crash on the ground as, in that split second before impact, smoke fills the entire area. As the smoke clears, Asmodea is disappointed to see Elias still in one piece. Eredin had saved him just in time. While Elias recovers, Eredin shoots his holy bolts at Asmodea. Asmodea appears bored by this attack, barely moving her head to dodge the bolt. But to her surprise, a sense of imbalance takes hold of her, and she feels sluggish. Before she knows it, the bolt explodes in front of her face, followed by three more bolts hitting her body. Thalia, who has recovered, seizes this chance and dashes with great speed to lunge at Asmodea. A silver streak is the only thing Elias and Eredin see as Thalia slashes the dark goddess across her belly. Blood splatters on the floor, and Asmodea falls to the ground.
Seizing the opportunity, Zephyr accelerates the speed of his chants, causing a ritual circle to form beneath the dark goddess. Chains of light emerge from the ground, binding Asmodea's arms and legs. Zephyr then shouts the final words, "Chains of the Ancient God!," and a barrier is erected, enclosing Asmodea and completing the ritual.
With the combined efforts of Elias, Eredin, Thalia, and Zephyr, Asmodea is now trapped and chained within the barrier, unable to escape. They have successfully sealed the threat and brought an end to Asmodea's terror, or so they thought.
