Chapter 282: Chapter 280

Chapter 280

The stairway piercing through the darkness for miles down was lit aflame, with bodies of strange, black, carnivorous manta-ray-like void beasts each the size of a small whale called “Gliffards” covering the innumerable steps in all directions. The raging ball of hellfire Riven summoned overhead sprouted trails of liquid heat that washed over the enemies by the hundreds, and the spell would be on cooldown for another week because of it.

Surprisingly enough he’d actually ended up locking his blood lance spell by pushing it to the limit during the last swarm he’d fought, accidentally creating a cooldown that would last over 20 hours. He’d almost completely forgotten cooldowns existed, usually overriding them by pure force of will and the overwhelming mana that radiated through his channels. But nope, he was given a very stark reminder that even after having progressed so far - parts of his pillars could still lock up.

“The second and third levels of The Abyssal Descent are occupied just like the first, only that instead of there being a city - the second level is a sprawling set of mercenary camps that people often hire help from. You’ll find a lot of people harvesting natural treasures that grow there, but the treasures found on the second layer are far less valuable than deeper into the descent. They’re just far more common.” Lillith said, lifting a hand with a flash of dark claws that split the sky and scattered over a dozen gliffards at once. She didn’t bother looking up. “The third floor is where some of the more daring factions have founded compounds and fortresses to launch expeditions into the deeper levels from. It is the last stop concerning civilization, after that the only way you’ll find others is by accident. And oftentimes, doing so will not be a friendly encounter. Killing people in the lower floors, by design, grants you any insight they might have acquired.”

“So I assume there are groups just waiting in ambush down there?” Allie asked, clad in bone armor, black wings spread out behind her with an army of undead doing much of the butchery as she walked down the steps alongside the ancient demoness. “Or is that not the case?”

“That is certainly the case.” Lillith replied with a nod. “Though I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to try attacking our particular group if they have any identifiers worth a damn. Then again, many groups don’t have identifiers in their party - and identification treasures only go so far. It is highly likely that now after leaving the main city, many groups won’t be able to get a read on just who or what we are even without our disguising amulets.”

Retesh chuckled with a rattling of his exposed ribcage at the thought, using a large staff to balance himself while his boney feet clacked along the rune-inscribed black metal of the staircase they tread on.

“Azmoth wishes Genua were here.” Azmoth stated solemnly, looking up from underneath burning horns at the enormous inferno that was scouring the sky under Riven’s might. “I hungry. She make good snacks.”

“Catch!” Fay called back from beside Athela, jerking her hand out of Athela’s grasp and pulling out a bundle to toss to the young brutalisk.

Azmoth caught it, unwrapped it, and grinned when he saw it was a slab of meat. “Thanks Fay! Do have more?”

Fay happily waved it off. “Yup! But let’s not overeat, we have a long ways to go and don’t know how long we’re going to be here. It could be weeks!”

Nora let out a long groan at the thought, and her shoulders slumped as she too continued to trot down the steps in an endless spiral with her bone blades tucked into her belt. “This is a lot less exciting than I thought it would be. Riven’s killing everything and I just sit and watch.”

“Oh don’t worry, child. It certainly gets more exciting than this after the third floor.” Lillith winked back at the human woman, then began to pick up the pace for another session of sprinting now that the gliffard hive was either scattered or dead. “Come along now! Let’s not waste too much time here. These treks between floors are always long, but we should reach the second floor within the hour. I just…”

Lillith’s voice trailed off, and simultaneously Riven had an odd, stirring sensation from within his soul. Gluttony was agitated for some reason, and when Riven tried to mentally inquire about it - he only got a vague collection of images.

“Nothing to worry about now.” Lillith said after Riven gave her an inquiring look. She brushed off her shoulder with one hand and a frown. “It’s matters that don’t involve your universe or this realm. Let’s continue on towards the second floor, there we will have the opportunity to buy some good cultivation resources collected by the hordes of merchants and mercenaries present there, before descending even further.”

***

Purity, The Seventh Wing, had completely taken over the host body supplied to her by those who worshiped her. The angel she possessed was a nameless creature to her now, a subservient soul whose consciousness was pushed so far back into the depths of their shared mind that it might as well not have even been two - but rather, it was just one.

It was only Purity.

For how could one so pure share a body with a lesser?

And after all, the angel had given up her body willingly so that Purity could live again.

She opened her vibrant gold eyes which showed with the radiance of stars, beautiful white wings stretched out behind her and flowing golden hair that burned with celestial fire in a tapestry that not even the greatest artists could capture.

The archdemons lurking outside this newfound cage cackled and sneered, even going as far as to directly try to talk to her - to goad her into a fit of rage. But she would not hear them. No, she did not need or want the insignificant jabs they had for her. One day she would purify them too, and they would be naught but cleansing ash.

No, she had opened her eyes in this abysmal place because of something else entirely. Slowly turning her head and gazing through the layers of oblivion, she saw a crack beginning to form on the outskirts of Elysium itself. Eyebrows raising in disbelief, she watched as the layers of the outer shell began to break down.

Specks of the ancient lattice that contained the multiverse began to wither, die, and burn away, and Purity couldn’t help but look on in approval. Was this a rebirth? An invasion from one of the outer realms? Or something else?

And how would Elysium react to such an infringement on its domain?

Did this have something to do with their recent release? Was it the reason why Elysium had let them out? Or did it have no correlation whatsoever?

Honestly she had no idea. On one hand, a rebirth would favor all of the sins and commandments equally after having been reset themselves, and would have significant ramifications for the entirety of the power structures currently resting in place after so much time had passed. But an invasion would bring an even greater bloodbath than the renewal of the eternal wars, and would set upon the multiverse a new era of carnage as two different titans of creation clashed. The last time Elysium battled another of its kind, entire universes had been wiped out - but the inhabitants of Elysium had received a significant amount of power from the influx of energy after the wars were done.

Regardless of which, the answer wouldn’t likely come for a couple of years, and she needed to get out of this blasted place to continue her cultivation. She wouldn’t let Greed keep her here forever, and the filthy stain upon the realms had another thing coming if it thought she would stay here under its boot.

Taking a final look through the cosmos into oblivion’s outer edge one final time, she closed her eyes once more - and went back to constructing a means of escape. But just as she did, she heard the sound of an explosion - and the rising roars of battle as an enemy force collided with the hidden fortress she was now contained in.

Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t a rescue party. Rather, it was just one captor being traded for another.

***

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

High Queen Nephridi watched Elder Thune drag his wretched, feeble body down the hall like a slug. Or at least that’s how she envisioned him. The ill-hidden sneer she had on her face whenever she saw the old man was commonplace, and it didn’t surprise any of the other elders whenever they exchanged jabs or insults hidden as pleasantries no matter what the situation.

Thralls and lesser vampire servants scattered at his approach in the enormous halls of the city-sized castle they found themselves in, and dozens of B and A-grade soldiers stood at intervals up and down the huge passageway in stoic silence as he passed.

“My queen.” Elder Thune stated sourly when he came to stand beside her. “What an… honor, to be in your presence… again.”

“MMmm. Have you eaten recently, Elder Thune?” She asked pointedly, glancing down at a blood spot on his otherwise pristine white robe. “Do you need a bib? Perhaps in your old age, you forget how to clean yourself. I hear it is commonplace in humans to lose their minds due to the years going by, perhaps you should look into some remedies.”

“Mature, as always.” He muttered, glaring back at her as the two of them turned in tandem to walk towards the inner sanctum, where a multitude of bishops, archbishops, deacons, priests, and even two prophets in service to the Blood God now lay waiting for their summons to be answered.

Silence overtook the two of them after that while their robes flowed out elegantly behind them, and the setting sun cast shadows through tinted windows in the upper reach of the stone walls where exquisite life-sized carvings of vampires lording over their slaves could be seen in various forms.

“Word has reached me that Kathrine Vonsilla Crushada the 9th, princess and 107th in line to the throne, heir to the Crushada House and betrothed to Riven Wraithtide - Reincarnation of Gluttony… has disappeared.” She didn’t take her gaze off the distant door where priests in red were gathered outside to greet them, and her posture remained firm, but her pace did slow. “Crendir No-Name has gone with her, and his recently betrothed fiance here in the capital has mysteriously vanished as well.”

“She is now 106th in line to the throne after Jalel was killed at the hand of your great grandson. And what of it?” Elder Thune snapped, feigning indifference - but despite millenia of training, Nephridi could tell there was a very slight stutter in his heart when it caught at the mention.

She did not let on that she had noticed. “We are investigating the circumstances as potential treason, perhaps coercion on behalf of Crendir No-Name’s part through his lover here on this world. We have not yet identified the party responsible for her disappearance, but the two are likely somehow connected. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that… Would you, Elder Thune?”

She turned her gaze ever so slightly in his direction, letting on a less than friendly smile as her eyes flashed red. “I’d hate it oh so much to see your withered little neck snapped and nailed to a burning pinwheel for the vultures to feed on.”

Elder Thune did not take the bait, and kept his demeanor calm. “If you are so eager to see me dead, High Queen Nephridi, perhaps you could do me the honor of attempting the act now so we can get this farce of cooperation over with. Then, perhaps, a real king would be able to take up the mantle of leadership for this great empire after I take your head.”

A genuine smile of amusement lit up Nephridi’s face as she let out a loud, wind-chime laugh with the fingers of her right hand caressing her red lips. Dark brown hair swaying from side to side as she chuckled, she gave him a sideways glance. “Ah dearest elder, I would like nothing more than to rip your black little heart out from your chest! Unfortunately the clergy would not appreciate such a thing as infighting amongst one such as us, for to them - we are both invaluable chess pieces in the ultimate goal of vampiric rule across the multiverse. Just as all the other S-class vampires in service to the blood god are, we are treasures. But… if it were found out that someone was attempting to subvert the Blood God’s authority by pursuing another path of the taboo arts… One, say, that could potentially be found in the blood of a fallen elder god on Panu?”

She slammed a hand into his chest to halt his advance with enough force to demolish a mountain, concentrated into her palm, and she felt one of his ribs shatter as she bared her fangs in his direction. A shockwave radiated down the hall, knocking over many of the servants and even some of the highly trained guards, and two of the weaker thralls were even ripped apart in sprays of blood despite the vast majority of her strike being focused into the elder’s chest.

To his credit, Elder Thune didn’t even wince, but glared with a raised lip in disgust.

“If something like that were to ever happen, dearest elder…” She whispered with malice dripping off her words, leaning in to brush her lips against his ear. “I do believe I would be doing the Blood God’s work by removing those who pursued such interests… I just merely have to prove that I am right. Then we will truly see which of us is more powerful, old man, and why it was I that was chosen so long ago to rule this empire instead of you.”

“Conjectures and wishful thinking.” Elder Thune scoffed, violently swatting her hand away and continuing in the walk without her. “Do not waste my time with your ill-conceived fantasies, hag. For I will not entertain them.”

***

The portal to the second layer of The Abyssal Descent was just as the first, a black circular pool that circled around like a vortex. Stepping through it had the same odd sensation as the last, and Riven’s body was caressed by the black liquid in a wave of abyssal energy for a solid few seconds before appearing on the edge of the pool on the other side.

And just as Lillith had said, this area was one big sprawling camp.

Riven could also see why that was.

Swarms of the same ‘gliffard’ creatures flew through the air and nested on jutting cliffs, with ashen skies and dust clouds billowing through huge trenches that reminded him very much of Daskus - the city of canyons he’d sacrificed to save Athela’s life.

Only it had a much darker, and more evil feel to it.

“Evil is subjective.” Gluttony whispered into his mind, only getting Riven to roll his eyes.

The gliffards would swoop down and attack people at random, of which there were likely tens of thousands, and fighting was breaking out at random intervals even between participants in the descent. Due to the nests up above limiting space and the constant attacks ongoing from the swarms above, the other big difference between Daskus and this place was that the second level of the descent was full of makeshift tents or canopies used to block out the dust storms. There weren’t any actual buildings, likely because building one here would quickly get it destroyed.

Frankly it was a madhouse, with bartering, trading, drinking, drugs, and fighting all in abundance.

“Which begs the question, why even camp here at all?” Riven mused thoughtfully while looking up and around at the massive amount of manta-ray gliffard creatures circling in the sky - bladed tails flashing with purple energy.

“Good training ground with a steady supply of monsters that aren’t too dangerous, and the tunnels and cliff faces are primed for growing various low grade abyssal treasures meant for cultivating as stated before.” Lillith said while putting her hands on her hips and stretching from side to side. “Eons past when I first came here, it was the same. Elysium keeps it like this on purpose so that, even if you don’t want to chance going into the more dangerous, deeper levels of the descent - there is still some value to coming here with a more minimal risk.”

“HEY, DEMON SHADOW-BITCH! THOSE ARE SOME NICE, MUSCULAR LEGS YOU’VE GOT THERE!” A drunk, bearded, human necromancer sitting atop a bone platform called out while laughing with his buddies amidst the madhouse that was the portal’s perimeter. “WHY DON’T YOU WALK THEM OVER THIS WAY, HOW ABOUT IT!?”

Riven snorted a laugh when he saw Lillith go rigid. “Hey, I think he’s talking to you. Probably didn’t bother identifying you yet, or you’re too high up for him to do so.”

Others, unlike the necromancer, were already staring wide-eyed and backing up to give the oncoming group room - and soon Athela, Azmoth, Nora, Fay, Retesh, and Allie had joined them with the oncoming horde of undead demons pouring out of the black portal one after another.

“DEMON BITCH!” The necromancer crowed to the laughter of his colleagues, taking a sip out of a large wine jug and belching loudly while skeletal servants brought his fellows various foodstuffs from a crate to their side. “GET THAT FINE ASS OVER HERE AND TALK TO ME!”

“YEAH, COME TALK TO US!” Another, younger drunk necromancer called out while stroking the head of a zombie wolf. “WE PLACE NICE, WE PROMISE! MAYBE A LITTLE ROUGH, BUT IT’LL FEEL GREAT!”

More guffaws followed, but the hushed silence from other onlookers giving either group side-eyes and quickly backing up was becoming more noticeable.

“Ah… Natural selection at its finest.” Allie muttered, watching Lillith put on a wide, bloodthirsty smile before the archdemoness began stomping over to where the hooting men continued to catcall her. Allie folded her arms and began to chuckle when the screams and explosions started, and shook her head with a sigh. “Things really aren’t all that different from Earth, even here in the abyss. Not sure what to think about that.”

“Fifty gold says Lillith makes a crystal cross formation out of the five of them.” Athela mused, absentmindedly putting her hand into a pouch and drawing out a snack to chomp on while staring at the explosive carnage not far off.

Fay nodded sagely. “Oh it’s coming alright.”

More screams.

Riven turned to look at the three conversing women with folded arms. “What’s a crystal cross forma-”

“OOOOOOoooooohhhh…..” A collective wince from the gathered crowd echoed out with a squeal and a snap, and Riven’s eyes went wide as his jaw dropped at the sight before them.

Athela pointed. “That’s a crystal cross formation.”

Still gaping, Riven leaned his head left, and then right, to get a better look at just what Lillith had done. “How does that make anatomic sense?”

“It doesn’t.” Athela replied, reaching into her pouch again and pulling out another morsel. Hesitating, she offered it to Riven over the continued screams of Lillith’s victims. “Want a chocolate covered raisin?”

“Is that what that is?” Riven asked, amused. Picking it up and popping it into his mouth, he chewed and nodded in satisfaction. “Where did you get these?”

“Nora brought them.” Athela replied, hiking a finger back at the Asian woman who was staring horror-struck at what Lillith was doing to the poor idiots who’d catcalled her moments before. “I traded some crackers and a hand-stitched pouch made of my bloodsilk for them. Nora’s kind of a snackie, or… what was it you called yourself?”

Nora didn’t reply, but Fay did in her stead.

“A foodie, I believe.” Fay stated, tapping her fingers along the grimoire held against her chest. “Just how long do you think she’ll be at it?”

“Knowing Lillith’s training regimes? They’re akin to torture, so probably a long while.” Allie sighed. Hoisting her claymore up over her shoulder, she began to move towards a stall not far off from where Lillith was now torturing her victims. “Come on everyone, let’s go shopping for a bit while Lillith finishes up. Unless of course, you want to interrupt her. But I certainly won't be the one that tries. Oh, and Fimrindle - if you want something just say so. You’ve been awfully quiet, so speak up if you do.”