The Hundred Reigns 98: The Church of the Stars (10)

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The Zodiac Fiend of the Scales emerged from its prison in a wave of power. 

The elven pillars surrounding its icy tomb shattered all at once, crumbling with the seal. A cloud of miasma surrounded the platform like a raging storm of darkness, entrapping everyone inside. Simon sensed a shift in the air akin to a Dungeon taking form in reality. 

Exodeos, the Scales of Emptiness, has trapped you in his Abyssal Domain! All teleportation effects are negated! 

The Zodiac Fiend lurched out of its prison in the form of a ten-foot tall colossus of rusted steel, tarnished copper, and aged metal. Its heavy footsteps shook the ground with immense force to the tune of gears whirring and ticking. A tattered cloak fluttered from its heavy shoulders, while its knightly helmet opened to reveal a black, empty void rather than a face. The Scales crystal shone brightly on its chest. Miasma poured out of its mechanical joints hollowed by time, and it seemed like a small miracle that this creature didn’t crumble to dust on the spot. 

Escaping its seal had clearly taken its toll on the demon. He must have spent a lot of power to break out. 

“I am Exodeos, the Scales of Emptiness,” the archdemon introduced himself with all the warmth of an executioner about to complete their job. A curved saber the length of an adult man appeared in his hand. “Nihility beckons, mortals.”

On one hand, the Zodiac Fiend had clearly spent a lot of power to free itself, on top of wasting away for centuries inside its seal. There was no way it was at full power, and he was surrounded by a high-level group of warriors whose entire Class kit revolved around killing demons. This should be the worst possible matchup for it.

On the other hand, a weakened archdemon remained an archdemon. Simon could taste the sheer, overwhelming pressure in the air. 

“Simon, take cover!” Beatrice ordered as she charged forward without fear, her sword shining with light. “Everyone else, attack!” 

The Templars jumped into the fray from all sides. 

Taking cover behind a pile of rubble one of the elven pillars had turned into, Simon watched as Barbas rushed to lock blades with the demon while his allies moved to flank Exodeos. Silence reached the Zodiac Fiend first and stabbed him in the back with dazzling speed and claws of light. Exodeos grunted in pain as the holy weapons pierced through his metallic armor, miasma pouring out of the gashes rather than blood. 

A translucent wave of energy suddenly erupted from the demon before Beatrice and Cubirah could complete their pincer attack. It spread across the platform, fizzling out the holy light radiating from the Templars’ blades and slowing them down. Simon sensed all of his buffs being stripped away when it hit him, from his light-empowered sword to his Haste.  

Exodeos’ Grand Reset has negated all buffs and debuffs! Buffs and debuffs can no longer be applied!

Silence’s sudden loss of Haste-induced speed allowed Exodeos to backhand him across the platform with his free fist. The archdemon blocked a slash from Barbas one-handed, only for the knight’s remaining allies to strike from both sides. 

“Thunderslash!” Beatrice shouted, her sword crackling with lightning.

“Judgment Blade!” Cubirah followed through, her blade hitting with far more strength and weight than normal. 

Both blows struck Exodeos on the sides, cracking his metallic armor. Exodeos grunted and pushed them all back with a mighty swing, but the three Templars quickly regained the advantage by pushing forward with overwhelming offense. They surrounded Exodeos from all sides and targeted him with flurries of blades, forcing him to step back and remain on the defensive to keep blocking and parrying. Even then, three against one meant blades kept slipping past his guard and left cuts across his metal body. 

They’re holding their own, Simon observed. His guess was right, the weakened demon was facing a terrible match-up in spite of its power. He had wasted too much energy freeing himself. They might actually win this without my intervention.

Still, he was unwilling to leave things to chance and rushed to the dizzied Silence and cast a Megaheal on him. The mute Templar nodded in appreciation and then rejoined the fray, quickly positioning himself behind the archdemon while waiting for an opening. 

“Time diminishes all things,” Exodeos noted without any fear whatsoever between two clashes. “You and I both. Equalizer.”

A pressure fell upon the area, an invisible weight pressing on Simon’s very soul. 

Exodeos’ Equalizer temporarily reduced all levels to 50 inside the Abyssal Domain!

Simon himself was ‘lucky’ enough to avoid the effect by virtue of being below the level threshold, but the Templars all took a blow to their stats. Their movements grew a little slower and their blows weakened. Exodeos then raised his free hand. 

“Zero Gravity.”

Everyone except Exodeos began to float. 

Simon’s feet suddenly left the ground below as gravity itself lost its grip on him. Rocks, dust, and even the sealing box flew around him, as did the Templars. Their ascent was slow, yet unavoidable. Only Silence managed to avoid the effect by using his claws to anchor himself to the ground. He crawled towards Exodeos as if he were climbing up a vertical wall with surprising speed and slashed the demon at the heel, causing him to fall on his knee. 

“Everyone switch to Starshot!” Beatrice ordered. Simon joined in too as he and his floating allies bombarded Exodeos with balls of light. The archfiend raised his arm to shield his miasma crystal and chest, each impact dispelling more of the miasma surrounding him and leaving impact cracks on his armor. 

“You are not strong,” Exodeos said coldly. “You are nothing.”

The demon brought down his hand, and gravity called them to the ground again at increased velocity. 

The shift was so quick and brutal that Simon barely had time to raise his arms to protect his face from a potentially fatal fall. Even then, the landing dispelled his Templar Class outfit and left him with a mild concussion. He saw Barbas and Cubirah crash nearby, with only Beatrice managing to land on her feet relatively gracefully. 

Silence immediately rose to strike at Exodeos’ crystal with a surprising dash of speed, slashing it with claws of light. The blow left no mark on the Zodiac Fiend’s heart, but it did infuriate him. Exodeos swiftly grabbed Silence by the throat and lifted him above the ground. 

Then the demon devoured him. 

He pushed Silence inside his black hole of a face headfirst, sucking him inside a dark void that swallowed the Templar. Silence kicked and thrashed in an attempt to escape, but his chest and legs swiftly vanished inside the darkness. 

“Silence!” Beatrice saw red and rushed at Exodeos in a dash of speed. “Shockwave!” 

Her sword rippled with power, the air vibrating around it. Exodeos parried with his own blade, but a shockwave erupted from Beatrice’s weapon on impact and propelled him backward near the platform’s edge. His sword shattered into pieces from the attack. 

Should I reveal myself? Simon wondered as he got back to his feet. One casualty was a bad sign, and using Overlord Perks or spells could turn the tide, but the Templars would likely either tell Mastemo the truth at best or try to capture him on the spot at worst. No… not yet. 

After putting his Templar outfit back on and casting a Megaheal on himself, which barely did anything—he cursed his weak Life affinity—Simon himself rushed to Cubirah and Barbas to heal them. “Megah–”

“Not me!” Barbas grunted angrily as he rose to his feet, more furious than hurt. He charged after Beatrice to assist her, leaving Simon to tend to Cubirah’s wounds. 

“Thank you, Simon,” Cubirah thanked him upon recovering. “Let’s stay at the back and cover them with Starshot.”

Simon nodded and proceeded to obey, moving to the side while incanting his prayer. Beatrice was slashing across Exodeos’ chest with her sword, her latest blow leaving a miasma-leaking gash a few inches beneath the miasma crystal. Perhaps she had hoped eviscerating the demon would cause him to spit out Silence, but if so, her hopes were swiftly dashed. 

“Banisher,” Exodeos cast, his finger pointed at Beatrice. 

A rift in the fabric of space suddenly opened right beneath Beatrice’s feet. She stumbled into a pit of cosmic darkness and starlight before she could realize what was going on, the rift closing behind her. 

The sudden loss of their leader caused Simon to clench his jaw, but neither Barbas nor Cubirah halted their assault. The large templar impaled Exodeos through the gash Beatrice opened earlier, skewering the archdemon on his greatsword and lifting him upwards. 

“Fire!” Cubirah ordered Simon. “Blast him!”

Simon clenched his jaw and fired a Starshot spell alongside Cubirah. Their projectiles blasted off parts of Exodeos, including his left arm and part of his shoulder. A droning noise echoed from inside the rusting husk of a demon and a light began to shine in his black hole of a face. 

“White Hole.”

The light of death poured out of Exodeos’ face.

A mighty beam incinerated Barbas, dispelling his Templar armor, vaporizing the flesh off his bones, and then atomizing those in turn. He then turned his baleful stare at the surviving Templars, his energy ray crossing the platform in an instant. 

Simon and Cubirah both ducked to the ground, but the latter was unfortunately closer to the beam’s origin point than Simon. The light pulverized everything above the waist, leaving smoking legs to kneel onto the stone. 

Well… Simon thought grimly, fists clenched in both anger and annoyance. At least there’s no witnesses left, I suppose… 

“Your allies fought well, child,” Exodeos said, the light in his helmet drowning into darkness again, “But the inevitable cannot be avoided.”

“I agree,” Simon conceded as he bolted to his feet, his free hand raised at the archdemon. “Devil’s Arm.”

His arm extended across the platform and his nails lengthened into shadow-infused claws. They grabbed and dug into a surprised Exodeos’ chest around his miasma crystal, drawing out a grunt of pain. 

“You said justice was annihilation, demon?” Simon asked as he put on the Overlord, his Dreadful Aura radiating from him in waves of terror. “You’re wrong. In my land, justice is submission.”

And to punctuate his words, he forced Exodeos to the ground with his unnatural strength, slamming his knees against the cold, hard floor. He then followed that up with a Hellthunder and electrocuted the archdemon. Crimson lightning coursed through broken gears and steel plates. 

“Argh…” Exodeos grunted in pain and pointed a finger at Simon. “Banisher!” 

Simon immediately leapt to the side before a rift could open beneath his feet, though the sudden movement allowed Exodeos to wrench himself free from his Devil’s Arm. Simon’s limb regained its normal length and his enemy rose back up for a new round of battle. 

“Mardok?” A brief emotion tainted Exodeos’ voice for once: seething contempt. “I should have known you were behind this. Still using mortal pawns to do your dirty work, Deceiver?”

“I could have saved them, yes.” Simon wouldn’t deny it. He hadn’t known these people long enough to mourn them, but he would be sure to avenge them. “You will dearly regret their demise anyway. I can hear your gears creaking from over here.”

“A mere storm to weather on freedom’s path.” Exodeos raised his only remaining hand. “Zero Gravity.”

Simon began to float up in the air again as gravity lost its grasp on him. He immediately attempted to manifest a miasma crystal to hopefully strengthen himself, only for it to shatter in his hand. 

You cannot manifest a Dungeon inside an Abyssal Domain!

Not good. 

“Even your tricks and shadows yield to oblivion, brother.” Exodeos’ face glimmered with otherworldly light. “White Hole.”

Knowing he would suffer the same fate as the Templars if the attack hit, Simon quickly cast a Hellfire spell from his free hand. The flames propelled him across the air and out of the incoming beam’s path. Exodeos was thankfully impaired by his wounds and failed to rotate fast enough, which allowed Simon to position himself behind the archdemon and out of sight. 

“May the Lightstone of the ancients smite thee, Starshot!” Simon cast in midair to capitalize on Exodeos’ obvious weakness to holy light… only for the prayer spell to fizzle out in his fingers. His ‘god’ had denied his plea now that his true self was exposed for all to see. 

The light megalith would not bless the Overlord. 

Unfortunate, but not unexpected. Switching tactics, Simon cast Shadowchain to bind Exodeos’ knees, causing the archdemon to trip when he tried to turn. He then followed that up by using another Hellfire blast to propel himself at his enemy. 

Simon landed on the demon’s back, sword first. 

His Templar-gifted sword wasn’t as effective as his mace, but his immensely enhanced Strength stat more than compensated. He drove it through the archfiend and finished widening the gash that Barbas and Beatrice had already opened, splitting him in half and sending both parts floating with him into the air. 

“You should be delighted, Scales of Emptiness,” Simon said as he raised his blade to finish him off. “You are about to return to nothing.”

“You first, brother.” Exodeos’ hand grabbed his arm. “Annihilate.”

Simon unraveled. 

A vicious power seized hold of him, wrapping him in its embrace and then started disassembling him atom by atom, layer by layer, like an onion. His Overlord armor slowly returned to the miasma it sprung from while the skin beneath began to disappear. 

Instadeath negated by Unyielding essence! Massive Mythic damage!

I’m going to die if I do nothing! Simon thought in a fraction of a second, his instincts taking over. “Belzemine, Shabram, heal yourselves!”

“Your Majest–”

With not a second left to explain, Simon began to drain the life out of the Brands of Lust and Gluttony to regenerate. Lifeforce and mana flowed like a torrent in an attempt to douse the all-consuming fire devouring his existence. He heard telepathic screams echo in the back of his mind, drowned by adrenaline and panic. 

Level 50 Overlord Perk: Miasmic Archmage V (Passive): You can learn and cast spells up to Tier V, but only those fueled by miasma.

What the–

Exodeos then attempted to pull closer and into his black hole face to swallow him whole, but Simon reacted in a split second. 

“Chaos Wave!” Simon pushed Exodeos off him and blasted him to the ground with a pulse of power, then followed through with another spell. “Hellthunder!”

Lightning coursed from his fingers and shocked the Abyss out of Exodeus until his own magic fizzled out. Gravity called Simon back to the ground, but he had the Strength and Vitality to land on his feet relatively harmlessly this time. He continued to zap Exodeos again and again, until his smoking remains ceased to move at last. 

“Had enough?” Simon rasped, his Class outfit fuming from the damage. A few more seconds of that Annihilation attack might have totally unraveled it, killing him on the spot… and it would have atomized him without his allies’ assistance. 

“I will rise again when the stars align, whole and restored. Then you shall know fear, bro–” Exodeos’ tone grew quieter all of a sudden. He must have finally picked up on the fact that he wasn’t talking to a fellow archdemon. “Wait… you are not… What are you?”

“Me?” Simon raised his foot. “I am the Overlord.”

He crushed the archfiend’s chest under his boot, shattering its avatar. The body rusted away to dust in seconds while the barrier of miasma around the platform dissipated. 

Simon soon found himself back atop a mountain, surrounded by a shining crystal and corpses. 

He felt experience flowing into him, but a mere fraction of a much greater whole. The Zodiac Fiend had been heavily weakened and Beatrice’s group did the heavy lifting. He could tell he was on the verge of a level up, but just short of the threshold.

Simon hadn’t earned this victory. Not fully. 

That earlier level though… A chill traveled down Simon’s spine as he telepathically contacted the only two people in the world he had branded with Lust and Gluttony. “Shabram? Belzemine? Are you both alright?”

Belzemine’s faint, weak response came as a relief. “I… I am well, Your Majesty.”

And Shabram’s silence came as a damning condemnation. 

Simon searched for a presence that wasn’t there, then faced the wave of guilt rushing through him. 

He had killed Shabram. Drained her of every drop of her lifeforce. 

He… he didn’t think… it happened so quickly… he didn’t mean to drain her to death, just to take enough to survive that blow and salvage the reign… he had misjudged the amount of energy he stole and one of his closest allies paid the price for it. 

She was loyal to me, truly loyal, and she trusted me, Simon told himself, cursing his lack of control and foresight. I would have died if I hadn’t done it, and I didn’t mean it… but that doesn’t make it right. I betrayed her, I let her down.  

“I’m sorry,” he apologized to Belzemine and Shabram… and to poor Aegio most of all, whom he had unfairly robbed of his mother. 

“You need not apologize, Your Majesty. My life is yours to dispose of as you please.”

Simon closed his mouth. How many levels would he earn if he were to drain Belzemine to death by accident? The mere thought sickened him. 

I should have branded more creatures before joining Mastemo, Simon cursed himself. He would remember this lesson for future reigns. He glanced around himself, half-expecting ‘Silk’ to ambush him like her copy tried to steal his prize in the Halls of the Minotaur, then relaxed slightly when he realized he was indeed alone. This will not happen again, Shabram. I promise you that. 

Simon warily picked up the Scales miasma crystal. It was so much heavier than it looked, and so cold it seemed to suck the very warmth out of the air. Simon sensed no presence touching his mind, no whispers nor attempt at taking him over.  

The loss of its body had knocked Exodeus out cold. For now. 

If a weakened Exodeus could nearly kill a level 50 Overlord and an elite squad of Templars—the very kind of people specifically optimized to kill demons—then the Zodiac Fiend would have to be a terrifying foe at full power. He would have probably slaughtered his way through Bujan upon escaping naturally… and likely annihilated it when empowered by the black comet. 

This is just a temporary measure too, Simon thought as he picked up the sealing box and placed the crystal inside. I hope the Church of the Light’s vault can prevent Abraxas’ light from reaching it, or it will just be rebo—mm?

Simon spotted a figure near the crumbled remains of the sealing pillars; a hooded figure, crumbling under the weight of old years. His body shimmered in the fading sunlight like a mirage, pointed ears peeking beneath his hood. 

A dead elf. Probably the same Silence had glimpsed during their ascent. 

“You were trying to warn us the seal was about to break, weren’t you?” Simon guessed. This must have been one of the mages who created the Zodiac Fiend’s prison. “Your vigil comes to an end now, spirit.”

The ghost disappeared without answering him. An Overlord’s reassurance was bitter comfort. 

Simon considered what to do next. Neither Beatrice nor Silence had returned, which meant they were probably trapped in whatever void Exodeos cast them into… if they were still alive at all. Part of him wanted to offer a burial to Cubirah and Barbas for their help, but the High Confessor’s orders were clear: no traces of their presence could remain. Simon would teleport back with their remains. 

Otherwise… There was one mystery Simon finally had the opportunity to solve. He cancelled his Overlord outfit, used Anathemic Secrecy to wrap himself in an aura of false light, then cast Megaheal on himself. The light megalith granted him his prayer. 

So it is confirmed, it has to be deceived, Simon thought. So much for the ‘all-seeing’ Light. And now… let’s see if I’m right.

“Lightstone, burn that which offends thee!” Simon incanted a Tier V prayer spell, pointing at a pile of debris. “Kindling!”

And the heavens answered by burning Elvish stones with holy blue flame. 

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A/N: my, already level 50 (that EXP boosting perk is really showing there) and nearly to chapter 100! Quite the milestone we'll reach soon ;)