NABC Chapter 26: Eight Years Later (5)
Chapter 26: Eight Years Later (5)
Chapter 26: Eight Years Later (5)
Amon watched as the massive cultist dropped to the ground with relative disinterest. There was a tinge of disappointment in his ethereal golden eyes, seemingly unwilling to admit that he could not beat the cultist without the help of Aura. Nevertheless, Amon didn't beat himself too much over it. Wiping off the blood on his blade, the young slayer turned his attention to the last remaining member of the Demon Cult's secretive base.
"P-Please! S-Spare me! I-I'm just a mage they captured! I-I don't know anything about this place!!!"
The middle-aged scholarly man quivered in fright while shaking from his knees. His unkempt and unshaven beard would make one think that he indeed was a prisoner of the cult and he was nothing more than a man hoping to escape from this hell.
"I-I promise! I-I won't breathe a word about what happened here! J-Just let me walk, and..."
However, Amon wasn't going to fall for that ruse. Without even waiting for the man to finish his sentence, Amon's blade mercilessly sliced through the cultist's neck, completely severing his head. For good measure, the young Solaris sent out a surge of Solar mana, completely incinerating the cultist's body from head to toe.
It was a clean disposal of trash.
The work was done. Amon had annihilated an entire Demonic Cult base.
And yet... There was a deep, unsettling feeling stirring within Amon.
As someone who lived and died by the sword in his previous life, Amon was tuned into danger to a degree that no other human could compare to. Even though all of the cultists had perished, even though he had personally beheaded the last enemy and even though he had spread his senses to every corner of the base to check for enemies...
There was something amiss.
Amon could feel it in his bones.
And sure enough, after a brief moment's pause, sinister astral smoke broke free from the incinerated magician's corpse. The smoke billowed at a rate akin to a mini-tornado, forcing Amon to leap backwards in caution. However, the fog didn't endanger Amon; instead, it rushed towards the ziggurat made by human sacrifices, activating the sinister mana within.
Amon's golden eyes were instantly mystified by the gory scene of the idol melting into the offerings, all while the Demonic idol was greedily devouring the sinister fog.
[Boy... Who the hell are you?]
A face highly bearing the features of the deceased magician manifested itself within the billowing smoke, sending out a disturbing voice that resonated throughout the final chamber.
[You came into our hideout... killed our followers... all for what? How did you even know about our organisation?]
The remnant soul of the cultist wondered to himself while the Demonic presence within the chamber became all the more prominent. Amon would have obliterated the soul of the cultist if he had the means to do so, but unfortunately, he hadn't developed any abilities that could directly attack a soul. Hence, he was forced to wait and listen to the deceased magician's ramblings.
[No matter... You may have killed me, but I will bring you down with me... The offerings we'd gathered were initially meant for the Great Rapture, but you have left me no choice...]
Mana overflowed from the Demonic idol as the human offerings had fully been sucked into the whirlpool of Demonic energy. At the same time, the fog reached for the warrior cultist's dead body, pulling the corpse and its two-handed spiked war club in.
The symphony of Demon energy, human sacrifices, and finally, the magician's soul and the warrior's body concocted a potent soup of despairing power. Finally, a metaphysical 'door' opened, linking the Demon Realm to Hyades.
[Behold, arrogant Solaris... The summoning of a Greater Demon... You will pay for your sins in full...]
Those were the last words Amon would ever hear from the ghostly fog. Entirely falling into the abyss, the magician's soul fueled the final ritual, turning the idol and human sacrifices into a door that would summon the profane.
Demonic mana poured into the warrior cultist's corpse as a new soul was being inserted within. The corpse's physical appearance began changing. Firstly, it grew to twice its original size. The already defined muscles became more prominent, and the sinister energy turned its complexion blue. Tusks grew out of the elongated mouth while mystical beads wrapped around the corpse's neck, wrists and ankles.
Fortunately, Amon's technique, footwork, and aura prevented the Blue-skinned Oni from doing any real damage. But, should this pattern continue, Amon was bound to be injured. Therefore...
Amon gave up on holding back.
'Die, Demon...'
Closing his eyes, Amon utilised the Nine Suns Heart Mantra to trigger all six of his internal 'Suns' awake, creating a smooth flow of energy that ignited Amon's Aura tenfold. The mana that Amon emitted was so imposing that even the Greater Demon felt appalled. It held back its attack while cautiously observing Amon's power as it changed its assessment of what it thought was an easy meal.
In a battle between two combatants, mana wasn't everything.
Of course, having a deep pool of mana helped, but how someone uses the mana was far more critical. And the Solaris House knew that very well. The Solaris Founder wouldn't have been able to slay Dragons, entities with infinitely more mana than humans, if he had just relied on his mana.
Hence, throughout the years, the Solaris House has perfected and fine-tuned a signature combat style, combining the solar mana of the Golden Dragons with swordplay, footwork, and martial arts techniques.
They called it the Solaris Mystic Arts.
To this day, the Solaris Mystic Arts remain amongst the premier combat styles, powerful enough to allow a regular Solaris Knight to fight against multiple Knights on his or her own level and versatile enough to be used in any type of ordeal.
And against this Blue-skinned Oni...
Just one strike was enough.
'Solaris Mystic Arts...'
Mana filled the young Solaris' body as Aura seeped from his pores. The Aura started to heat up, instantly raising the chamber's temperature by multiple degrees. Fiery flames surrounded Amon as the Aura he unleashed was enough to create a furnace hot enough to melt metal.
Just like how the Blue-skinned Oni was able to convert his Aura into Aura Lightning, Amon was able to do much the same. Aura Fire congregates around the young Knight, forcing the Greater Demon to comprehend what it has gotten into.
Amon's Aura Fire was by no means weaker than the Blue-skinned Oni's Aura Lightning. In fact, in many ways, it was far denser and explosive. Just the pressure emitted from the Aura Fire was enough to bring the Greater Demon to its knees, let alone being hit directly by it.
Within a split second, the Greater Demon had made its decision.
It had to escape.
But alas, how could Amon let it simply run?
His eyes gleamed with a mesmerising hue of deep gold as if the Sun had been captured and melted into liquid amber. Vast amounts of mana that hid within Amon were unleashed at that moment, creating an explosion of despair and anxiety within the Blue-skinned Oni's soul.
The Six Suns within Amon simultaneously activated, creating a symphony of great golden fire that ignited around the Solaris youth. This was Amon unchained, free from the shackles that bound him into hiding his strength. Amon unleashed the power he'd obtained from the Solaris House in a righteous fury.
"Dawn..."
And with a point of his sword...
... the Sun appeared.