“Well, how about we get your key first since I have my key and we have an archangel of Heaven?” I pointed at Jophiel.
“Ten holds Heaven’s key.” Jophiel shook her head. “Which is another reason why we must defeat him now.”
“Right, okay, that makes sense.” I turned my eyes from her to Dred. “Let’s do this.”
“Excellent.” Dred drew Excalibur from his sheath, and the darkness seemed to flow in the blade, turning it darker than it ever had before. “This way.”
He began walking away in a direction that seemed like every other one. I tossed a glance toward Jophiel who merely nodded at me.
Drawing Caliburn, I followed the Destroyer with Jophiel close at hand. As we moved, our feet seemed to sink in the sand, and for a moment, I worried we’d leave a trail behind. Only, as we moved the sand seemed to absorb our footprints, making it seem as if we’d never been there at all.
“Guess that’s better than leaving butt prints in the sands of time,” I mused.
“Butt prints?” Jophiel asked, glancing at me. Her face had gone a bit pale, and her eyes scanned the horizon furtively like she was expecting an attack. It was a bit strange since Dred didn’t seem at all worried, but then again, of the two of them, Jophiel was the smarter of the pair.
“You know, you walk along the sands of time, leaving your footprints. Well, as long as you move forward.” I smirked. “If you don’t move forward, you just sit there, leaving a solitary butt print.” I touched my chest with my thumb. “I aim to move forward.”
“You will, Arthur.” She gripped my free hand in hers. “I know you will do this. I believe it with all my being.”
“Right, so why do we need the Ark?” I nodded toward Dred. “He really seems to think it’s important.”
“Two keys to unlock. Wisdom’s Burden will be found. Power will ebb and flow. The throne will be unguarded.” She stared at the sky as she recited the words. “That’s the inscription upon the entrance to where the Ark was sealed away by the Darkness.” She smiled at me, her brow crinkled in pleasure.
“Don’t be fooled,” Dred called back over his shoulder. “She doesn’t actually know what that means, but I know if the Darkness has gone to such trouble to secure it, we definitely want it.”
“Makes sense.” I could get behind an idea like that. If the Darkness had gone to the trouble of securing the Ark, well, I wanted to know why. “So, this is a two birds, one stone thing?”
“Yes.” Jophiel nodded. “This is not just to kill Ten and get the key though. It is to increase Dred’s strength so he can help you in the battle for the Ark. It is not unprotected. It is guarded by Nine.”
“Oh.” I shrugged. “Well, how much stronger than Ten can Nine be?”
“Not enough for me to be worried,” Dred said, stopping at the edge of a dune and looking down. “Assuming we can kill Ten.” He pointed out into the darkness, and as I came to his side, I saw the sprawling camp down below. It was filled with a variety of Darkness creatures, but more than that, it was filled with people.
21
“Are those people?” I asked, staring at the scene. I could see men and women both bustling back and forth. It seemed so ordinary, so pedestrian. Hell, there was even a main avenue lined with merchant tents straight out of some kind of bazaar.
“Yes.” Jophiel looked at me. “Is that a problem?”
“No,” Dred answered, shaking his head. “It’s just more for me.” He gave me a grim smile I couldn’t interpret. Worse, his words concerned me because I had no idea what he meant by it.
“Yes, it’s a problem.” I shook my head. “Why are there people here?”
“When someone dies, their soul usually goes to the Otherside.” Jophiel nodded toward the sky as though that told me something. “Their souls typically reside there, but that is not always the case.” She pointed to the village. “Some of those souls are lost in transient, and an even smaller percentage of them wind up within the Darkness.”
“Wait, so those are dead people?” I squinted down below, my eyes settling on an old, hobbled woman as she adjusted her frock. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes sense.” Dred pointed past me toward the large building in the center. “Most of the Generals gain strength by how many worship them. They constantly fight amongst each other for territory, glory, and people. That is the only reason why Heaven and Hell have not fallen. They spend as much time squabbling as they do working to take Heaven and Hell, but now things have changed.” He pointed at me. “You made it change, made them fear your strength, Arthur.” He sighed. “That’s why they are so desperate to conquer Heaven and Hell.” He frowned. “Not for the angels and demons. In death, they will simply go to the void, but humans? If the Darkness can swallow humans, it will get to keep them all, and its power will grow.”
“You mean these people are slaves that the Darkness is using to grow stronger?” I asked, hoping I understood. It actually sort of made sense. I’d always know the Darkness wanted Earth, but now I knew why. If it took Earth, the people would be forced to serve the Darkness, and in so doing, the Darkness would become even more powerful, more unstoppable.
“Yes.” Dred nodded. “Which is why I will slaughter them all.” He touched the hilt of Excalibur. “It will be fitting. Instead of powering up Ten, they will empower me to kill him.”
“Why do you keep saying that?” I asked, confused.
The thing was, Dred gave me a look that was equally perplexed, and as we stared at one another, Jophiel laughed.
“You do not know each other’s powers, do you?” And, as she spoke, I realized she was correct. I had no idea what Dred’s actual powers as the Destroyer were.
“I know the Builder’s power. He gains strength by acquiring allies.” He nodded to me. “The more people under your care, the more powerful you become.”
“Um … that’s not at all my power.” I shook my head. “Why would you even think that?” I stared at him for a moment. “Actually, that’s Gabriella’s power, which was a Heavenly power, a Destroyer power.” I touched the gemstone embedded in the crown on my head.
“I know that is Gabriella’s power.” He looked at me for a long time before waving his hand. “I assumed it was mimicking you.”
“But why would you think that?” I asked, trying to sort it out and coming up empty.
“Because my power is based on destruction. The more people I kill, the more buildings I raze, the stronger I become. Yes, the marks and armaments provide a boost to that, but …” he rubbed his chin like he was trying to come up with the right words. “Okay, the best I can do is to say that when I kill something, a certain portion of its power is transferred to me, and I can use that power to make myself stronger.”
“Holy shit, seriously?” I asked, swallowing hard. “That’s your power? You get experience from killing mobs and can use it to level up?”
“I don’t know what any of that means.” Dred looked at me before shrugging. “Anyway, this is why I assumed your power was the opposite. Builders always acquire teams of people, always make stuff. I assumed that increased your strength. It’s why I always sought to destroy them before their teams grew too powerful, before they built too much.”
“Okay.” I swallowed. That made a certain amount of sense, but it was basically backward. “You know how you can make yourself stronger by killing stuff? My power is almost the exact opposite of that.”
“I don’t follow.” Dred looked me up and down. “You are quite powerful.”
“My power, the Builder’s power, is to make those around him stronger.” I pointed at Jophiel. “Like I could make her stronger. I could take all the experience she has from killing monsters and whatever, and use it to buy skills, increase her strength, all those sorts of things.” I moved my finger from the Archangel to myself. “But I can’t do that for myself.”
“Interesting.” He laughed. “I had always assumed Builder’s needed others for their strength, but in fact, other
s were drawn to them so they could become stronger.” His eyes widened. “Does that mean you could make me stronger?”
“Perhaps.” I rubbed my chin. “But you said you already have that ability. That you can do what I do, just to yourself.”
“Yes. You make an excellent point.” He turned his eyes from me to Jophiel. “If you can make her stronger, you should do it now because we will need her to be as strong as possible if we hope to defeat Ten.” He unsheathed Excalibur. “Do it while I slaughter these people. Individually, they aren’t worth much, but a whole town might give me enough to do something.”
“Okay, that’s a terrible plan for a number of reasons.” I sighed. “Secondly, what happens when they die? Do they respawn?”
“No. They will join the void as though they are angels or demons. Doomed to sleep for eternity.” Jophiel wasn’t looking at us. Instead, she was staring at the town. “It is not a fate I’d wish on anyone, but Dred has a point. Their deaths will strengthen him.”
“Marginally, it sounds like.” I was getting annoyed. “Look, if you said it’d help a lot, I might be okay with it, but it sounds like that is not the case.” Dred opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, I kept on going. “Wouldn’t it be better to take them ourselves, turn them into a weapon?”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Jophiel asked, and I got the impression she was curious. “There is no boss to defeat, no altar to destroy to return it from the grasp of the Darkness.”
“We don’t need any of those things. We just need to take the town from that asshole and, I think I know just how to do that.” I smiled at Jophiel as I recalled the power the General had used when he’d come into Heaven.
Debuff- Unrelenting Aura – Causes all beings within the presence of the user to be overcome with fear. Can be defeated upon successful intelligence check. Each enemy affected causes the user’s strength to increase by ten percent. (Additive)
What if Dred was wrong? What if the reason the General acquired people was because they were scared of him, and that fear fueled his power? If that were the case, he’d lose all his power if they stopped fearing him.
“And if it fails?” Dred asked, Excalibur gripped tightly in one hand. “What then, Builder?”
“Then we go with your plan.” I shrugged as my plan solidified in my brain. It’d be risky, but it also just might work. “Kill them all, and then kill Ten. Because you’re right. At the end of the day, we can’t leave them to be absorbed by another General.” I turned away from them and began walking back toward the exit. “But I have an idea, so let’s go talk to Lucifer.”
22
“Hello, Arthur. I did not expect to see you back so soon,” Lucifer said, turning to look at me as I stepped into the gym. She was wearing only a sleek black bodysuit that hugged her curves and was busy proving she was super bendy.
“I didn’t know you did yoga,” I said, watching her for a moment.
“It helps me hate you less.”
“The way you said that makes it hard to tell if you’re joking,” I replied as she proceeded to shift her hips backward while leaving her palms flat against the mat.
“Does it?” she purred, turning to look at me and arching a delicate eyebrow before she lifted one leg, rotating her hips so she had one foot pointed heavenward.
“Yes.” I waved my hand dismissing the statement before I could go off on a tangent. It was already hard enough to concentrate, and Lucifer wasn’t making it easy.
“Why have you come here, Arthur? Is it just to watch me?” She dropped her leg and stood, wiping her brow with the back of one hand. “I somehow doubt that because something tells me you’re not ready to ride with the Devil.”
“I am, but not in that way.” I nodded at her thin waist. “I’d break you in two, anyway.”
“It’s hilarious that you think you’d be on top.” She touched her lips with one finger, her eyes like flickers of sunfire as she looked me over. “So, what is it you’ve come to see me about? I find it hard to believe you’ve already defeated the Darkness or whatever.” She made an offhand gesture. “That sounds like I don’t care, but I didn’t mean it that way.”
“I’ve got a new plan, but I wanted to check your stats first.” I tried to smile as she narrowed her eyes at me.
“You know I dislike when you do that.” She touched her chest with one hand. “I am Most High. I do not need your help.” She spun, gesturing to the room. “That is why I train because something earned cannot be taken. What you do is not earned.”
“Now, you sound like all those assholes in the guilds.” I shrugged. “And we both know the truth. You’re just too prideful to accept my help even though you know it will be better for all of us.”
I let my words hang there while she watched me, and as time seemed to stretch on into infinity, I merely waited, letting the silence do its job.
“Perhaps,” she said finally. “You may proceed, but if you change anything without asking, I will …” She looked at the floor. “My threats are also worthless to you.”
“I’ll tell you what I’m doing.” I put a hand on her shoulder. “Okay?”
“Thank you, Arthur.” She met my eyes. “I appreciate that.”
The weird thing was, I believed her.
“Okay, just give me a second, all right? I’m looking for something specific.” I smiled at the Devil, and she nodded once.
“Carry on.” As she spoke, I brought up her stats.
Name: Lucifer
Experience: 435,500,877,654
Health: 195/195*
Mana: 192/192*
Primary Power: None selected
Secondary Power: None selected
Strength: 97/200*
Agility: 98/200*
Charisma: 100/200*
Intelligence: 100/200*
Special: 92/200*
Unique Ability: Archangel of Pride
Perk: Leader of Hell
“Excellent,” I said, rubbing my hands together. “It did what I thought it would.”
“What are you talking about?” Lucifer asked, both confusion and embarrassment filling her voice.
“Oh, it’s just that when I got the Mark of Gluttony, I got an achievement that said it doubled the stat caps for my hell-based allies.” I smirked. “I can literally make you twice as strong and smart as you are.”
“What do you mean, twice as strong?” Lucifer actually seemed interested, which was surprising.
“You know what it means.” I shrugged. “And why do you suddenly care?”
“Think about what you just told me, Arthur. You could make all of your allies twice as powerful.” She shook her head. “No matter how much I work, I have not felt myself get much stronger since I’ve been freed, and now you say that with a stroke of your sword you could make Gwen able to lift double what I could?” She spat. “You will do this to me as well. I will not be the worst fighter in your entourage because of my pride.”
“Ah, it all comes full circle,” I muttered. “I’ll do it in a second, but that wasn’t actually why I wanted to see you specifically. I remember something from Gwen’s skill tree, and I wondered if you had something similar.”
With that, I began to look through her skill trees until I found the one I’d been looking for.
Perk Skill Tree: Leader of Hell*
Please note: Skills learned in this tree will not be effective if this perk is lost.
I smiled. Gwen had a similar tree when she had been the leader of Lustnor, but I’d never really looked into it mostly because she’d never had the experience to make much use of it when she could learn more useful abilities. Lucifer, on the other hand, had half a billion experience, and thanks to lifting the cap on her stats, well, it was time to see what it could really do.
Like in Gwen’s leadership tree, none of the first three skills were learned, and I quickly looked over them.
Enhanced Building
Skill: Unlearned
Increase the effectiveness
of those working within a building in the leader’s territory, giving a 10% (additive) increase to skills and abilities performed within for every skill level.
Enhanced Offense
Skill: Unlearned
Increase the effectiveness of offensive abilities within the leader’s territory, giving a 1% (additive) increase to skills and abilities performed by the leader’s subjects for every skill level.
Enhanced Defense
Skill: Unlearned
Increase the effectiveness of defensive abilities within the leader’s territory, giving a 1% (additive) increase to defensive skills and abilities performed by the leader’s subjects for every skill level.
I studied the three abilities for a moment, trying to figure out what their linked abilities would be further down. Only, I had no idea. Selecting Enhanced Defense, I opened the ability to see how much it’d cost.
Do you want to learn Enhanced Defense? Base cost: 400,000 Experience.
“Wow, that’s super expensive.” I took a deep breath and met Lucifer’s eyes. “We have a problem. I don’t see the skill I wanted readily available. However, it might be there, but to find it, I might have to spend a lot of your experience.” I gave her a small smile. “On one hand, you also have a ton of experience. However, this skill costs more than any other I’ve seen, and it’s only level one so …”
“So, you may waste a bunch of my experience for no reason.” Lucifer bit her lip for a moment as she thought. “Tell me your plan, Arthur.”
“I’m hoping there are abilities that will make it so that when we stand against the General, his fear debuff doesn’t affect anyone. Then, we can bring our entire army to his stupid little town.” I touched Gabriella’s armament, the Endearing Gaze of Love, that had been mounted in my crown. “This will cause all my allies to increase my strength. When we fought the General here, the fear debuff he had negated the buff I got.”
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