The day continued to go by, the afternoon finally arriving and the Virgo Blessing became available once again for all to receive, but still no one has taken it yet. While classes were going on, I began making my way toward the Workshop inside the Sagittarius Department, hearing the sounds of mechanical whirring and wooden materials being broken down through the halls.
Entering inside the Workshop, a group of Orcs and High Orcs were within the room helping an older, gruff looking man build various prototypes of different facilities and rooms upon the large stone tables ahead. Around the room were small demos of various types of facilities, ranging from Traps to Battle Rooms.
"Well, it's not everyday I ever get a visitor... especially not from a newborn Dark Lord," The man began, looking up from his work and set down his hammer.
I looked at the man, adjusting Scarlet on my back then hummed softly in response, looking around the large workshop. "So this is where I come to get more rooms?"
"You're correct there, son. My name is Clive Campione, the Constructor of these rooms and also a Blacksmith of various weapons. You must be the new Dark Lord the others speak of, Noxius Exzodia," Clive answered, walking around from his desk and cleaning his hands with his towels.
"I am. Like Naju from yesterday, you must be just visiting to help me set up my Zone a bit easier? Honestly, I don't know what I would want to change since this zone was built with the help of Floria," I answered, glancing around at the Orcs and High Orcs working upon different prototypes.
Clive nodded in agreement, walking over to the large digital board resting near a prototype of my exact Dark Lord Zone, showing each of my rooms and their names. "Right now, your Zone is very barebones and needs adjusting for the better."
"You have the Four Courtyards as your Battle Rooms and the upper and lower rooms of each courtyard are facilities, which is smart. However, that one trap at the front of your Zone isn't getting any action," Clive said, placing an unlit cigarette in his mouth and looked at the layout of the Zone.
"So what do you expect me to do?" I asked, looking over at Clive, watching him light his cigarette.
"Remake your entire Zone. Your Dark Lord Ability is unique and you have no need to Facilities to boost your allies. What you need is a Zone that completely fits your style, a Zone that puts in fruition what you seek to reveal," Clive answered, ashing out his cigarette onto his gauntlet to keep it powered and walked back to his desk.
I stared at my Zone for a while and thought about what Clive said, letting his words settle into my mind as I planned out my new Zone. His statement about my ability was correct, as long as I remained connected to my Monsters, they would always scale to me no matter what.
After a bit of planning out my room, I made my way toward Clive to get to work with setting up my new Zone. Clive agreed to help set up my new Zone, walking toward the prototype of the current Zone and showed me the difference basic facilities I could install within my dungeon.
I began to work immediately, taking out the current facilities I had installed and either replacing them with new facilities or swapping them around. Now, I had Seven Battle Rooms, including my Boss Room and Six Battle Rooms surrounding it, Five Traps, including the Arrow Trap at the beginning of my Zone, Three Temples, and Two Main Facilities.
As the rooms began to be reconstructed, loud rumbling could be heard outside, the sounds of the Zone shifting to adjust with the changes I made to my Zone to fit the new Battle Rooms, Traps, and the two Main Facilities. Once everything was set, my eyes shimmered an amber light, the new trial now starting.
Scarlet's pointed ears began to wiggle, a sound capturing her attention and causing her to crawl off my back. She used her tiny wings to flutter to the ground, landing with a soft grunt and hurried off toward the sound.
"Scarlet?" I questioned, watching her run off then hurried after her.
Clive rose his brow, his pointed ear pointing toward the sound as well then he set down his wrench. "Hey, Hagu. Stop what you're doing and follow the Prince. There's something amiss happening.."
Hagu, the Leader High Orc, put down his hammer then picked up his great axe, a small pink minotaur charm dangling from the end of his axe. "Boss Clive...will Prince help us see Mother Emma again..?"
Clive looked up at Hagu from his blueprint, his gaze averting to the side with a soft exhale. He looked back down at his blueprints, a small grin forming on his lips. "Honestly, I don't know. But I have a good feeling he might...taken Floria is with him. Anyways, go on. The Prince needs you."
Hagu nodded, dashing out of the workshop and hurried after me and Scarlet. As he rushed down the vast halls of the Sagittarius Department, he heard the sounds of arrows whistling toward him, turning around to see golden arrows flying toward him.
Hagu let out his monstrous roar, ferocious red energy surging around his body and offering him a Fury Boost, a few swings of his large axe deflecting the arrows across the halls. He dashed toward the random archer, dodging each of her arrows with surprising agility then swung his axe down to cleave her in two.
"Not so fast, Beast!" Reinhart called out from the distance, appearing in front of Hagu with blazing speeds, parrying his attack with his twin swords, knocking Hagu off balance.
Reinhart twirled his daggers in a circle then connected the ends together to form his Orion's Bow, a golden string of energy forming at the tips of the curved blades. He bellowed as he fired a large fiery arrow at Hagu's midsection at point blank range, causing a large fiery explosion within the halls.
I turned around at the sound of the explosion within the halls, my curiosity growing at the sudden chaos stirring up from the moment I adjusted my Zone. I continued to follow behind Scarlet, reaching outside into the garden of the Sagittarius Department and noticing Eden sitting in the middle of the garden singing a soft hymn.
Scarlet giggled as she hurried toward Eden due to her song, but I quickly warped toward her and picked her up, covering her ears from Eden's song. Scarlet looked at me with slight confusion, blinking cutely at me as I held her closely to me.
"That song...that's a Song of Lamentations, no one knows that accursed song other than one of the 12 Tribes of Eyica. That accursed song...only used to send people into grief. Why do you know that song?" I asked, glaring down at Eden with an amber lit stare.
Eden stopped singing her song and slowly stood up onto her feet and sighed softly, dusting herself off and turning around to face me with a smile. "Prince Nox, I must really apologize for this...but I am from one of the Four Families of the Eyican Tribe. Arcania, the Boshido Tribe of Death..."
I exhaled sharply through my nose, watching as she manifested a black wing from her right side of her back. She was the exact opposite of Luciel, not a Warden...but an Executioner. I took a step back from her as I noticed her glancing at Scarlet, holding her even tighter now.
"Squad XII took the Sagittarius Blessing, the Blessing of Cleansing Sight. We can not be affected by any trap's ailments and we can see the unseen thanks to having Clarity from Genesis," Eden said, summoning her scepter and manifesting dark purple butterflies around herself.
Without warning, Eden began rapid firing bolts of energy toward me, but I began Phasing through each bolt of energy then launched one of my butterflies across the garden, warping toward a few bushes then crouched down. Scarlet got off my back, watching me step forward and hid behind a tree for safety.
I rolled my neck slowly, grunting softly and looked at Eden with a serious expression, my chains of light emerging from my lower back. "So, what's your reasoning for hunting me?"
"Well, it's not as simple as you think...we aren't hunting you for you, but as Heroes it is our duty to defeat any Dark Lord that comes by. You happen to be a Dark Lord threatening our home, so it's our right to end your reign early," Eden answered, holding her scepter in front of her with a gentle smile on her face.
I noticed her glancing at Scarlet once again, stepping in front of her view and readied my chains to strike. "You keep looking at my daughter, yet your qualm is with me..."
Eden glanced back up toward me, her smirk widening before launching her butterflies toward me like bullets and dashing behind them. I used my chains to deflect each one then launched my single butterfly forward, warping toward Eden with a spinning kick.
Eden slid under my kick then rolled forward, dashing toward Scarlet and summoning an axe blade using her death energy upon the tip of her scepter. She swung down toward Scarlet with a executing might, her black blade aiming to slice my child in two.
"Papa!!" Scarlet screamed, flinching under Eden's death promising attack.
Before her blade could reach Scarlet, my chain wrapped around Eden's ankle, dragging her toward me viciously and causing her face to be dragged across the ground. Yanking her toward me, I struck her face with a Fury Boosted punch, letting out a bellow as I launched her across the garden.
"I knew you were aiming after her...I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget," I promised, my chains turning black and sticking into the ground. "Thorn Barrage..."
Pools of black energy formed around Eden, black thorns ripping through each pool with vicious authority to impale Eden. In the nick for time, Eden casted a barrier around herself, protecting herself from the protruding thorns and exhaled heavily with slight distress.
〘Battle Room: Iron Maiden〙
〘Battle Room Description: Beware of Hidden Thorns within the battlefield. All Allies are equipped with Hateful Thorns/Chains of Light, Thorns are hidden within the garden, not every Plant is safe.〙
〘Battle Room Location: Orion's Garden - Sagittarius Department〙
"This place used to be a Lounge area, where people could come to relax and find reprieve, but...now I've turned it into a facility that tests your very Perception. Let's see if your clarity is better than mine," I said, snapping my fingers and forming a dome of energy circles around Eden.
Eden found herself trapped inside my Iron Maiden attack, her eyes seeking for any way for her to escape. Soon, she found a small opening within the dome, quickly slipping through the opening before the thorns protruded to impale her. She panted heavily, falling onto her knees upon the grass to catch her breath.
Scarlet watched my power with glistening eyes, snapping her fingers like I did and forming a single circular pool of blood in front of her. She babbled as she pushed her arms forward, causing a thorn to protrude from the pool of blood. She giggled with glee as she successfully pulled off her first Thorn Strike.
Grisha hurried toward the garden, glancing around and noticing Eden on the ground and me standing menacing before her. She scoffed to herself, grabbing her gloves from her back pocket then dashed toward me. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
I glanced over at Grisha, blocking her wind strike with the back of my hand, a burst of wind flowing throughout the garden. "Hmph...what does it look like I'm doing? Casting judgement."
I warped into a right hook, causing Grisha to stagger backwards then I rushed toward her with a kick to her stomach, blowing her away into a large tree behind her. My butterfly resting upon the tree shifted into a floral yellow color, draining her energy with Nutrient Absorption and becoming a Nature Seed.
Grisha grunted in pain as she fell onto one knee, yellow static crackling around her body as she was temporarily paralyzed. She looked up at me slowly, huffing softly and noticed my chains shifted into Deep Roots. "So...you realized we were after you as well huh?"
"You all follow a binary code that doesn't exist anymore. This world only sees black and white, just as you do. Face it, you all believe in Merin's lies as well don't you? Prince Nox, Murderer of Prince Zachary, Murderer of the Fosters!" I retorted, holding my hand out and using the Nature Seed to summon an Ent Girl before me.
Another orb of energy shot out from Floria's Rebirth Rose, the orb crashing down onto the battlefield we stood in and forming into an Ent. The two Monsters' bodies began to shimmer into a green light, combining into one and forming a larger entity.
"Sephiroth, come before me," I commanded, snapping my fingers and bringing forth the Fusion Monster into my Zone.
Sephiroth appeared before everyone within the Iron Maiden, her lush green hair flowing out like calm waves. She landed upon the ground and opened her scarlet red eyes, prepared to strike down all of my enemies in my path. She looked down at me, awaiting my commands.
〘Monster: Sephiroth〙
〘Index No.: 31〙
〘Ranking: 6 Star〙
〘Ability: Nature's Wrath〙
〘Ability Desc.: Sephiroth gains control over Fire, Water, Earth, and Wind, when attacking an enemy it applies Chained to them, making it easier for Nox to follow up. Deep Roots boosted in the presence of Sephiroth in the Zone.〙
Eden and Grisha stared up at the floral titan before them, both of them seeing the true might of a Dark Lord displayed in real time. Eden shifted her gaze toward me, her heart skipping a beat as she noticed pure Rebirth Energy flowing around my body, my energy shifting between darker shades of iridescent hues.
"It's time for you all to put your blessings to use. This entire Campus, all areas of the Departments excluding the dormitories are Battle Rooms and Traps. Your only saving grace are the classrooms, safe havens, and the dorms. You all are free to hunt me as you please, if you dare," I challenged, summoning my Steel Buster in my hand.
From the distance, rushing steps approached me, Reinhart leaping toward me with a heroic slash. A pulse of yellow energy flashed around my body, allowing me to phase through his attack. I readied my sword, parrying each of his attacks then countered with a circular slash.
Reinhart blocked my attack with a grin, grunting behind the pressure of my strike and slid backwards. He stood up straight and unsheathed his second sword, dashing toward me once again with swift dual slices, each one aiming to slice me in various non-lethal areas.
"Hmph, you're just too slow," I taunted, phasing through each of his slices before parrying him and returning my own flurry.
Reinhart was now on the defensive, evading each of my swift slices with his near perfect vision, blocking and guarding against each of my strikes. "Heh, you are too!"
I nearly fell for his taunt, a smirk forming on my face as I feinted my next attack, causing him to raise his guard. Forcing an opening, I struck him with a sweeping kick, knocking him off his feet then grabbed his ankle, warping into the air.
Releasing him, Sephiroth began slinging a barrage of vine whips against Reinhart, generating Chained statuses upon him, streams of energy connecting upon his body. Reinhart grunted as he recovered in the air, blocking my first Chain Strike then noticed me air dancing around him.
Using a burst of flames to propel himself to the ground, he stood up and connected his swords into his Orion's Bow, taking aim in the sky and noticed I was missing. 'What...? Where did he go..?'
Searching around his surroundings, his eyes began to glow an orange light, using his Aura Sense to scan for the unseen around him. As he scanned, his eyes widened as he noticed circular pools of energy around him, each one waiting to be set off.
The first thorn protruded from the pool, but he barely dodged the attack, the thorn grazing and cutting the sleeve of his royal garments. He stumbled backwards into the next trap, quickly getting onto the ground to evade the second thorn.
"You're still Chained by seven...they call me the rabbit, but now I'm on the hunt," My voice sounded around him like a whisper in the wind.
Reinhart quickly got up from the ground, searching around for me but could not see me. "Show yourself and face me like a Prince! That's if you can even call yourself that! A Prince with no Kingdom—"
"And yet you still fall under my command. Solomon commanded the Twelve Zodiacs before anyone else did and he did it with grace before falling under your foolish games. Not I..." I said, appearing in front of him with my sword ready in hands and Scarlet on my back.
Yang Ru, who was watching form the Department balcony, stared at me and hummed quietly then felt a pat on her back, looking over to see Laneret walking toward her with a smile. She turned back to the battle, her gaze fixated upon me with curiosity.
"It's still so strange to me...he's been a Dark Lord this whole time. What if Gallet or the others figure out or even worse the Holy Resistance?" Yang Ru asked, looking back over at Laneret.
Laneret hummed with amusement at Yang Ru's concern, sipping on her high caffeine energy drink. "You don't think I thought about that? Plus, we know he's the perfect Messiah, the one who's gonna bring the world back to the Kingdom of God, but you think it's gonna come with peace?"
"The Book of Prophecy said the true Messiah will come back not with peace but with a Sword. 13 of them... He's holding the first one in his hand without even knowing," Laneret chuckled softly, taking another sip of her drink.
Yang Ru exhaled softly at Laneret's response, her gaze shifting over to Scarlet on my back. 'He's gonna fight with a little girl on his back..? What is he planning..?'
"Grisha...we need to be careful. Nox...there's something really different about him now," Eden said with high caution, pointing her scepter toward Reinhart and the streams of energy around him. "If he gets hit at least once, Reinhart's done..."
Grisha nodded and turned her attention toward me, wind energy flowing around her body. "Then we make sure he doesn't get that hit!"
"Wait—" Eden called out then grunted as Grisha's dash picked up heavy winds, causing her to cast a barrier to protect herself.
Grisha bellowed as she rushed past Reinhart toward me with a rushing kick, but a circular pool of blood formed in front of me protecting me from her attack. She grunted softly at the blood defense, her gaze shifting over to Scarlet, noticing her blood red eyes glowing with a predator's gaze.
I lowered the blood shield and used a burst of wind to knock Grisha back then got into my stance. "Scarlet, are you ready?"
Scarlet nodded excitedly, wrapping her arms around my neck and held on tightly. "Mmm!!"
I smirked, my body becoming a floral yellow silhouette and warping in front of Grisha, catching her off guard with a powerful slice and knocking her away. Sephiroth swung one of her arms, striking Grisha with her roots and Chaining her as well, sending Grisha flying into the Sagittarius Department.
I turned my gaze toward Eden, pointing my sword at her and Scarlet held her arms out toward Eden, firing blood projectiles toward her at bullet speeds. Eden quickly went into defense mode, deflecting each of the blood bullets with her scepter before taking flight into the air.
I smirked and closed my eyes, my hidden butterfly in the large tree flying above Eden and quietly sticking onto her back. "Aah, I forgot even One Winged Angels can take flight. I don't have wings like you do, so I can't go up to you..."
Reinhart glanced at me, wondering what I was planning and looking up at Eden, questions appearing in his head all the more. "Eden! Just attack from the sky! He can't reach you!"
Eden nodded at Reinhart's command, pointing her scepter toward me and prepared to attack. She stared down at me, a cold feeling crawling down her spine. Hesitation. Hesitation had taken her, she knew something was off, but couldn't find what.
"Prophecy 1:8-9, And so the Beloved Disciple asked to Ascea, 'What were you tasked to do from The Father, Lord?', thus Ascea answered to John the Beloved...'Bring the Kingdom of God to Earth,'" I recited, snapping my fingers and causing Eden's body to become a yellow silhouette.
Eden groaned heavily as she was warped toward me, getting caught into my heavy spinning slash. Eden grunted as she was blown away once again, her body warping toward me again to be wrapped inside my Deep Root and binded in place.
Scarlet leaped off my back toward Eden, latching onto her and biting her neck, causing Eden to scream out in pain as Scarlet began to drain her life force. Scarlet got off Eden and flew back toward my back, leaving Eden slightly paralyzed in place.
I shifted from my Dark Lord Form into my Prince Form, my butterflies becoming a light blue hue as I marched toward Eden with my sword in both hands. "Behold my Kingscleave!"
Slashing down toward Eden, my blade began crashing down toward her with a heavenly force, preparing to cleave her in half. Reinhart called out her name in distress, dashing toward her to save her, but I stopped my attack millimeters away from her head, sparing her life.
The silver aura around my blade vanished, my butterflies returning to normal and the hidden butterfly on Eden's back fluttering off her and back to the large tree. "Now you see what you're truly up against."
Reinhart looked over at me with slight disbelief, a cold sweat rolling down his cheek as he watched me walk away. "What..?"
"Your Chained status can be healed at your Safe Havens, but retreating back means you accept defeat. However, I know your pride wouldn't be able to handle it," I said, disappearing back into the department.
Reinhart's eye twitched with slight annoyance at my statement, but deep down he knew there were truths to my passive aggressive comment. He turned back to Eden, noticing her sitting on the ground with the face of pure defeat, as if she had seen the glispe of something beyond her comprehension.