Hidden amongst this Undead Legion, a small circle of blood was situated in the jaws of an Undead Bone Dragon as it sat next to a Skeleton Knight. One could see the appearance of the devilishly handsome Prince Cassius in this circle of blood as his nose wrinkled to the side, his voice coming out soon after.
"Your little pets have an uncomfortable stench."
…
"I can't change that."
A short reply came from the skeleton that Noah sent his words through as the Prince's gaze focused on it.
"When do you plan to reveal your real body?"
"You seem to be trigger happy with your blood bombs, so maybe later."
The Prince did not find that satisfactory as his silver hair shimmered, speaking in a slightly mocking tone as droplets of blood continued to leave him and explode on wide areas filled with rushing Infernals.
"Then I guess you must be one of those weak summoners who only rely on their powerful pets for power."
The words were intended to bring about a reaction, the bickering between the two continuing as they moved forward while mowing down the rushing Infernals. Noah replied curtly,
"No."
Prince Cassius put on an expression that seemed to have finally figured it out as he spoke while extenuating his sharp jawline.
"Ah, it must be because you've become ashamed of yourself after seeing my devilishly handsome appearance. Don't feel too down about that, we Vampyres are some of the very few naturally beautiful species in the Universe."
"..."
Noah didn't even know what to reply to the powerful Vampyre Prince as he kept half of his mental focus conversing with him while he continued to plan in the Spiritual Land. He held a glowing purple Dagger of Time in his hand, his sights set on something that had yet to even occur.
---
In the centermost location in the First Realm of Hell, a region which was hotter and more blazing than any of the locations in this Infernal Realm existed.
It was populated by some of the most powerful Infernals present in the First Hell, with the occasional appearance of Void Rank Infernals being a norm. Deep in the blazing earth at this centermost location, a unique Infernal was breathing with steady breaths, releasing a billowing stream of air that seemed to be fanning its own flames in this underground space.
It held a more humanoid appearance compared to the other infernals, with the major distinguishing features being the fiery horns blazing with flames growing on either side of its face, huge expansive wings shooting out from his back, and a long serrated tail still waving behind him.
It seemed to be consolidating its strength and power, something that many Infernals would never do as they would simply let their aura run free, using it to feed their bloodl.u.s.t as they searched for more things to destroy.
This particular Infernal had long since reigned in its destructive thoughts as it entered a critical juncture in its realm that would allow it to break through the shackles at the Void Rank as it entered something much greater, allowing for its smooth ascension to the Second Realm of Hell.
Only beings at the Void Rank or lower could remain in the First Realm of Hell, with those being in higher ranks rejected outright from entering, or in the case of Infernals, achieving ascension to the next Realm of Hell the moment they crossed that threshold.
One of the most powerful Infernals in the First Realm of Hell had stopped its ascension before it even neared as it billowed out hot breaths and released some of its power. It had sensed the many intruders that entered the Realm and began murdering its brethren, and it did not want to ascend before it killed as many of them as possible.
Its rank would only be propelled further upwards when it killed those beings, but it would use that inflow of strength only to reinforce its power before it ascended into the Second Realm of Hell.
What this Infernal did not know though, was that this technique was the same one that the most powerful Infernals that arose from the First Realm of Hell used!
The powerful Generals and Infernal Scions that served under the Infernal Lords, and even some of the recently risen Infernal Lords themselves, this was the pathway they had taken before they rose to the great lengths and power that they did in the future.
Unwittingly, an Infernal at the Peak of Void Rank had embarked on a similar path as it was provided a conduit that coincidentally came the moment it was ready for its ascension, the entrance of many beings that held origins completely opposite to it, and would only serve as fuel to make it reach unbelievable heights in the future.
Its billowing breaths stabilized as it spread its wings wide open, expanding its senses in the blazing Realm of Hell as it located numerous amounts of beings using colorful techniques to destroy its brethren.
The orange flames in the surroundings seemed to be getting sucked into its body as its figure moved like a streak of light, moving so fast that its body disappeared and reappeared miles later, soon reaching an unsuspecting Saint Realm disciple that was fighting against a group of Transcendent Infernals as its flaming clawed hands smoothly entered the chest of the disciple as softly as dipping one's knife through butter.
THUMP
A single last heartbeat, and that was all as the claw tightened and shattered the heart like a gr.a.p.e, a stream of blue energy leaking from the body of the disciple as it went into the body of the Infernal.
The blue energy circulated amongst the reddish skin of the Infernal as it was prevented from taking many of the normal paths, eventually settling in the horns of the Infernal as a small blue runic marking appeared on the right flaming horn. The aura of the Infernal became slightly stronger than it already was as it moved again, faster than the eyes could observe as only wisps of flames could be seen, its gaze already landing on other targets.
An Aberration had risen in the First Realm of Hell through coincidental circ.u.mstances, or one could even call it fate, as it moved rapidly towards unsuspecting trainees and disciples!
Chapter 271 - A Deadly Team
In the hellish atmosphere of the First Realm of Hell, two figures had grouped together as they moved against a horde of Infernals with ease on their faces. They were powerful beings at the peak of Saint Rank, their identities being even more special as they occupied a position as disciples of the Celestials.
There were powerful rotating golden spears that let out a holy aura around one of them, each of these spears being more than five meters large as they went forward to crush the heads of all the Infernals they neared.
The other Celestial Disciple was controlling holy chains that sought their own enemies, wrapping around them tightly before the life was squeezed out of their bodies.
Every time that these Celestial Disciples killed the infernals a red light would be released from their dead bodies as it entered into the bodies of the disciples, bolstering their strengths little by little.
The two celestials had happened to teleport near each other when they first entered into the First Hell, and they grouped up as they began hunting down the infernals at high speeds.
They continued to traverse the first realm of hell as they soon came upon a new group of beings that they had not expected to find in this realm. The celestial disciple hoisting the golden spears in the air noticed them first, their gazes turning and watching as a group of what seemed to be undead beings traversed through the blazing atmosphere of the first hell, with their weapons cutting down any infernals that rushed towards them.
From what they could see, there were a handful of undead that reached the Saint Realm, with the majority of the ones moving being transcendent or lower. They didn't feel threatened by the appearance of the group as they simply wondered about this peculiarity.
If it was something peculiar, it meant it was something that the disciples of celestials would check out. They exchanged glances as the two disciples went towards the group of undead. They were sent into this infernal hunt not just to reduce the number of infernals, but also to monitor any changes or un
expected events that occurred. The appearance of thousands of undead in the realm of hell was not the norm, as Necromancers were not a group that was among the allies of the Celestials.
The celestial disciple controlling the golden spears commanded one to descend as she first wanted to test whether these new undead individuals were beings made from the first hell or if they were creatures that were being controlled by something else. The spear thundered down towards the undead group as the celestial disciples watched expectantly when something drastic occurred!
VOOM
At a speed invisible to the n.a.k.e.d eye, a bubble of red blood had spread out to cover everything in their surroundings!
"Blood World."
They heard the words soon after the bloody world had wrapped around their bodies, their gazes changing briefly as a golden light appeared on each of their bodies and they activated defensive abilities.
They had not sensed any enemies nearby, nor had they expected one to appear that made it impossible to perform spatial movements and heavily restricted their physical movements.
The two celestial disciples covered each other's backs as they glanced upon their newly appearing enemy. Their gaze was met with a devilishly handsome silver-haired Vampyre Prince that looked at them coldly while the blood world continued to expand around them.
Along with the expansion of the bloody world, undead similar to the ones they had seen before had began to appear en masse, although these ones were much more powerful than the ones who observed for.
OONG
Essence rumbled and roiled as multiple huge Bone Dragons and undead Blue Phoenixes appeared in the bloody air. This did not stop until six fully formed bone dragons and six fully formed blue phoenixes valiantly appeared, their bodies letting out terrifying levels of strength that seemed to be at the peak of the saint rank.
As if this was not enough, a new species of undead that very few would come across nowadays made their appearance for the first time. Their size was not as impressive as the dragons or the blue phoenixes, but it was their eerie aura that they released which made one feel a shiver down their spine.
It was the undead known as Specters! Becoming available for the Abhorred Lich Emperor to summon after Noah placed more points into the [Undead Legion] ability, these Specters were beings that weren't formed from physical matter, but spiritual. They were a rare species of undead to come across as those who did not specialize in spiritual attacks normally found themselves at wits ends when they faced such enemies.
The specters had an appearance white in color, their bodies holding a teardrop shape as a ghastly skeletal figure could be seen, two blank dark eyes and a wide crooked mouth being the only other things that appeared on their faces.
The crooked mouth released a ghastly air the moment it opened, six of these Specters appearing as they surrounded the Celestial Disciples along with multiple other High Tier Undead. The Celestial Disciples felt a foreboding feeling as multiple more golden spears appeared in their roundings, along with numerous golden chains being cast as they released even more abilities.
"Fate's Eye!"
"Fate's Eye!"
Golden light spread out as both of the disciples gained a golden third eye on their foreheads, their bodies releasing a domineering aura as an inviolable Law of Fate, something that very few could influence, surrounded their bodies.
One of them spoke.
"Friends, I do not know your purpose here, but are you sure you want to go through with this?"
The devilishly handsome Vampyre Prince listened to this, a cold smile covering his face as he replied.
"Oh, I most definitely want to go through with this."
Prince Cassius waved his hands in the wide Blood World as lines of blood began to move, sharp teeth growing visibly larger in his mouth as he licked his bloody lips and acted like a being conducting a grand symphony of blood. He had his own reasons for taking down Celestials, but he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the delectable blood that ran through their veins. He did not know if it was because the blood was drenched in the law of fate, or if the celestial disciples were uniquely chosen with high qualities. All he knew was that he would be draining every single bit of blood until their bodies faded away into nothingness.
Alongside him, eerie Undead Spectors released spiritual attacks as Bone Dragons and Phoenixes sent out devilish attacks towards the powerfully glowing Celestial Disciples surrounded by a golden aura of fate!
Chapter 272 - A Grandmaster Makes a Move
"Constrain."
OONG!
Multiple bloody lines began to chase the celestial disciples in the bloody world as the undead also made their move. Vigorously poisonous draconic breaths left the jaws of the Bone Dragons while blazing blue fire was released from the undead phoenixes. Most terrifying of all were the Specters, which released an engulfing eerie ghastly light that went on to attach onto the bodies of the celestial disciples.
Their mobility was heavily impaired by the lines of blood chasing them down, and now to their horror, they found their bodies attached in what felt like a sticky substance that continued to sap the life out of their bodies. This was the eerie ghastly light that the Abhorred Lich Emperor's Specters released, the Lich itself standing on top of one undead phoenix as it continued to wave its Skull Staff and directed the forces around them.
The golden spears, nor the golden chains could block these spiritual attacks from the Specters, the celestial disciples finding themselves cornered in just a matter of seconds.
"Fates protection!"
"Fates protection!"
They powerfully spoke as a golden light went on to cover their bodies, the ghastly light from the Specters momentarily breaking contact, but the golden light did not last long enough as it was quickly broken through, and the sticky feeling of life being sapped out of their bodies returned.
Even the Vampyre Prince was looking at these newly appeared Specters with slight apprehension as even he himself was not confident in fully dealing with spiritual beings.
He would have to unleash some of his ultimate abilities just to survive or injure them. His mind changed even more when he thought about the being behind this legion of undead that he had been traveling with.
His strong confidence in his own power still reigned supreme as he observed the faces of the Celestial Disciples visibly aging as their life force continued to be drained helplessly, his gaze turning sour as he felt the strong smell of blood coming off of them reducing as time passed. He turned towards the undead Skeleton Knight near him as he spoke.
"Hey, your little pets are draining all of their life force."
"...Isn't that the goal?"
Noah, who was safely hidden a distance away in the Spiritual Land replied quizzically to the Vampyre Prince as he heard the voice ringing out once more.
"Leave one for me to take care of."
The Skeleton Knight which Noah was looking through looked at the Vampyre that was licking his lips as if he was looking at the most perfect meal ever made as he shook his head and sent a command for his undead to focus their attacks on only one celestial disciple.
The disciples wanted to get more words out as they found their lives actually hanging by a thread, their gazes were that of confusion and fear as nothing in their training prepared them for a situation like this.
Nothing in their teachings of fate had allowed them to foresee this catastrophic event occurring to them. The bloody world they were in continued to constrict them tighter and tighter as the attacks from bone dragons and the undead Phoenixes rained down. For one of the Celestial Disciples, their lifeforce continued to be sapped away by the terrifying Specters that they could not defend against.
It was a terrifying and hopeless sight as in only a matter of minutes the golden light that the disciples were releasing had all but faded away, their body looking aged and ancient as gray hairs could be seen on their head. The disciple looked like they had aged more than a hundred years in
a matter of minutes as immense fear crept in.
The other disciple felt even more suffocated as countless bloody lines tied up their limbs, making them immobile as a devilishly handsome Vampyre neared. His cold hands touched the neck of the immobile celestial disciple as he felt the fearfully pumping blood through the major veins and arteries, his eyes being clouded by a layer of bloody light as he opened his jaws widely and sank his teeth in.
Noah observed the wildy joyful expression on the Vampyre Prince's face as he felt goosebumps in the Spiritual Land, with his attention quickly being taken away as he noticed something above the blood world.
Invisible to the n.a.k.e.d eye, a golden aura had descended into the First Realm of Hell as it looked to be searching for something. It stayed in the air above the blood world briefly as it began fading soon after, having not found what it was looking for and not being able to remain there any longer.
Unsuccessfully the golden light could only fade away once more. At the same time, another 2 celestial disciples had fallen in the First Hell.
Far in the distance across multiple planets, in a Celestial Star where a powerful Grandmaster was watching golden circles floating on a board, an expression of great disappointment and slight fury had appeared in his face as he had lost two more pieces.
Two pieces were lost, and yet he wasn't any closer to finding out exactly who was responsible for the recent events. His gaze was one of pondering as he raised his powerful hands and made a few calculations, standing from the calm monastery he was in as he gazed far off into the distance.
The Grandmaster was an old schemer and monster, having gone through a great deal of things and being very experienced. He was thinking of the best way to quickly nip a problem in the bud as he thought of the being trying to unravel fate. He was still indecisive as the choice he made now would actively go towards the plot of this being.
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