A-tier planets didn't fall easily. That's why Nidhogg opted to bring everything. For him, failure wasn't even considered to him as he finalized preparations. He ignored his hunger, with the thought of the device solely on his mind.
The Kumon opened like a bleeding wound in the sky above the planet. Thunderstorms danced across its peaks like divine serpents. Even before stepping through, Nidhogg could feel the rich flow of mana spilling out, exciting him. A clear contrast from the B tier planet they called their base.
Descending from the rift came Nidhogg, his excitement overjoyed as his hunger immediately began to be alleviated by his surroundings, keeping him from starving like he was, but it wasn't enough to satisfy him. His hollowed eyes fixated on the white-cloaked fortress nestled within the crystalline cliffs where he sensed the presence of many within. However, Nidhogg wasn't interested in the fodder. He sensed a power emanating from deep within the facility. Not just the soul-capture device Edmond had promised, but someone meant to guard it.
Behind him, the full force of the Midnight Covenant followed. Hundreds of black armored warriors, corrupted mages, and vengeful Knights wielding broken holy blades. At the front gallantly strode in the Fullbringers, gleaming with confidence, each a walking calamity.
Nidhogg emerged from the forest. "We're here for trophies, not prisoners. Leave none alive. Once the device is secure, we burn the rest of the planet." He commanded, and the troops behind him roared in acknowledgement.
The fortress's defenses activated instantly. Church sentries clad in blessed white armor, lined the ramparts. Mages formed formations, chanting in near-perfect harmony. A barrier of light shimmered around the fortress. Then they saw it, a tide of darkness marching with military precision. The Covenant army in all its unholy majesty, surging forth like a vengeful sea.
The first line of defense launched volleys of light spears and radiant arrows on the Midnight Covenant. On the frontlines, the Fullbringers didn't even move. Nidhogg spread his arms wide, "Beelzebub." His scales come loose, and swarms of bugs head out towards the attacks of the church.
The bugs intercept them mid-air, sacrificing themselves to stop the attacks. Each time they died, Nidhogg's swarm replenished itself, pulling mana from the battlefield like parasites. His bugs collide violently against the mana barrier absorbing the mana used to fuel it. The defenders can only stare in horror as their defenses flash trying to maintain itself before fizzing out.
"Shields up!" came the call from within the fortress.
Too late. With the fall of the barrier, the Midnight Covenant charged forward, Fullbringers taking the lead. Phoenix streaked ahead, hurling a blob of darkness that ripped a hole in their extensive stone walls. Achlys slipped in through the cracks, knives whispering through throats that she encountered. Tempo froze time in small circles, paralyzing artillery teams just long enough for Odin's rune blades to come along and silence them. Lenatti and her bear led the ground forces, easily taking down the main gate and rushing inside.
From above, Nidhogg floated down, bugs forming a swirling mass beneath him. The ground blackened. The mana-rich terrain shriveled, stolen by the bugs and fed to him in return. Inside the inner courtyard, the earth pulsed as light magic gathered into one point. The air thickened. A figure ascended from below the fortress.
Her radiant armor gleamed even through the smoke. "Hear me interlopers. I am Bishop Halria of the Aeskar Ward." She points her glaive of light towards Nidhogg. Behind her, the church army forms ranks.
"The blight comes," she said calmly. "Then let it choke on the sun. Let it choke on our might!"
"HURRAH!" Shouts the troops behind her.
The Midnight Covenant charged forward, shouting as they were unfazed by the appearance of a Bishop. They had their lord with them; they had nothing to fear. The Fullbringers ignored the bishop, knowing that Nidhogg would want her for himself and opted to taking out the Deacons. Same went on the churches side, however they didn't want to have to deal with such an fearsome looking foe, hoping their Bishop could take him down.
She launched forward. With no chant, her glaive ignited and extended with a beam of pure mana. Nidhogg raised a hand. His bugs surged forward, layering into a solid shield. The blade crashed into them, destroying hundreds, but each destroyed one absorbed her magic before it died. And then the mana they stole returned to him, sliding along insect trails into his waiting chest.
He said nothing, staring at her like prey.
Halria pivoted, spun, and unleashed her attack. "Crusader's Halo", a dome of light burst around her, vaporizing the bugs in her immediate radius. She advanced.
But Nidhogg remained passive, letting the bugs die, then sending more. They attacked her from every angle, trying to latch to skin, armor, even weapon. She danced between them, radiant and righteous, but slowing. Her strikes became duller.
"You feel it?" he said at last. "Even your sacred ground is dying beneath you."
She slammed her glaive into the ground.
"SILENCE HEATHEN!" She began chanting before the ground under Nidhogg began to glow.
"Beacon of Judgment!" A pillar of light rose where Nidhogg once was. He reappeared in the air and bugs blocked multiple blades of light aimed at him in the sky. Halria smiled as she thought she was getting the upper hand by finally applying pressure and putting him on the defensive.
But his bugs swarmed again, absorbing the mana before it reached him, then dispersing it like mist. The few that broke through struck his skin, burning him slightly, but he healed instantly as mana flowed back into him.
He sent his bugs directly to her, which collided into her dome of light around her. Halria blinked sweat from her eyes. In that moment, Nidhogg appeared before her, bugs coiling like a throne behind him. She swung her weapon...
But it struck his insect barrier, stopping her blade before it met him. He struck through his own bugs, delivering a clawed strike to her side, drawing blood.
She jumped back, gritting her teeth through the pain as she twirled her glaive. Still, she fought. Her movements were sharp, divine, but he didn't need to be better. He needed her to burn just a little longer.
"Your faith is strong, but it won't save you. Your precious god isn't here.
The bugs pulsed forward, draining her armor, eating away the embedded enchantments. Her strikes grew weaker. Her legs shook. Even her breathing slowed as they stole the mana from her lungs.
"I… am not done..." she choked. She raised her glaive in the air as she began chanting once again. Her body rose in the air, her expression hardening. He could feel her pooling all her remaining mana together and knew this was her final spell.
Six wings of light erupted behind her, forming an X above her head. The sky turned gold. Beams surged down toward Nidhogg from every direction. The ground melted. Even the Fullbringers paused their battles to witness the celestial fury.
But Nidhogg was already in front of her. He wouldn't be a fool to let her finish such an obviously powerful spell.
With one slow motion, he grabbed her by the throat, lifting her high. His bugs wrapped around her limbs. They didn't kill her. They fed on her, slowly and painfully, draining her of everything. Light magic sparked weakly in her eyes. Then vanished. He let the body fall as he roared in victory.
The fortress was in ruin. The Covenant's forces marched through like shadows in a dead garden, slaughtering the last defenders and torching every scroll, altar, and banner of Luminous they could find.
Behind him, Gerald and Montgomery stepped forward, carrying a thick glass case, covered in gold-etched runes, mana glowing inside like a captured aurora.
"The device," Gerald said. "Just like he said. Edmond was right."
Nidhogg stared into it. He no longer needed to scavenge the Demon Realm.
He would create his own Archdemons or even Demon Lords. Feed off manufactured souls, created in the shadows of a Church that thought it had erased its sins. What irony that the church would provide him the instrument that would supply him power.
"This planet is done," he said, his voice low and sharp. "Collect what's left as fuel for the device. Then prepare the ritual site."
The Fullbringers bowed.
Nidhogg stood in the middle of a forest while he waited for his cult to finish their part. The bugs returned to him, full of stolen mana, humming like a swarm awaiting its next feast.