Chapter 59: Location and Destination

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Location and Destination

Elian stepped toward the grandest building in the miserable square. His heavy, ash gray feet sank deep into the muddy earth.

​Thud! Thud! Thud!

​Every step radiated an invisible pressure that suffocated the surrounding peasants. He remembered this building well. For 40 years, he had been forced to bring a portion of his hard earned potato harvest to these very steps, bowing like a beaten dog to the local tax collectors.

Now, he felt absolutely nothing but overwhelming superiority.

​The thick wooden doors of the large hall suddenly burst open, revealing an overweight man adorned in cheap silk and iron jewelry.

This was Mayor Gorm, the village chief.

Flanking him were four imposing men clad in rusty chainmail, tightly gripping heavy iron spears.

​Elian stopped a few paces away. The golden coins in his eyes locked onto the arrogant chief.

​"Mortal, My master requires a map of the world. Speak the name of the continent we currently stand upon. Hand over your best maps, and you might survive the morning." Elian declared.

​Mayor Gorm puffed out his chest, completely misjudging the situation. He saw a lone gray monster and foolishly assumed his armed guards could handle it.

The cowardly chief had been hiding indoors during the dragon fight and had absolutely no idea about the godlike entities standing in his village.

​"You dare threaten me in my own village?" the chief spat, his face turning red with indignation. "I do not know what kind of foul beast you are, but you will not extort Mayor Gorm! We have no maps for wandering demons. Get out of my sight before I have my men mount your ugly head on a pike!"

​Elian did not blink. His jagged, ash colored teeth parted into a chilling, sinister smile. He found the ignorance of the fat man incredibly amusing.

​"Refusal... How wonderfully foolish." Elian whispered sinisterly.

​The village chief raised a fat, trembling finger and pointed it directly at the towering monster.

​"Kill it!" Gorm screamed to his guards at the top of his lungs. "Pierce its heart!"

​"Yes, sir!" the four armored guards shouted in unison.

​Swoosh! Swoosh!

​The men charged forward without hesitation, thrusting their heavy iron spears directly at the broad chest of the towering humanoid.

They fully expected the sharp metal to easily slice through flesh and end the confrontation.

But—

​Clang! Crack!

​The iron spearheads struck Elian’s ash gray skin and instantly shattered into dozens of useless metallic fragments.

"What—!"

The guards stumbled backward, their eyes widening in pure horror as they stared down at their broken wooden shafts.

​Elian slowly raised his massive, clawed hands. The dark golden aura of Greed flared violently around his muscular body.

​"My turn," the monster hissed.

​Whoosh!

​Elian vanished from his spot with terrifying speed. He reappeared instantly in front of the closest guard. Before the terrified man could even open his mouth to scream, Elian wrapped his enormous gray hand entirely around the guard’s throat.

​Crunch!

​With a casual, effortless squeeze, the guard’s neck snapped like a dry twig. Elian tossed the lifeless body aside like a discarded piece of trash. The remaining three guards dropped their broken weapons and immediately turned to flee for their lives.

​"You cannot escape my Greed," Elian growled.

​He opened his monstrous jaws and inhaled sharply.

A terrifying gravitational pull erupted from his mouth.

The three fleeing guards were suddenly frozen in place.

​Buzz!

​Golden strings of raw life force ripped violently out of the guards’ bodies. The pure, glowing energy flowed directly into Elian’s mouth. The men shrieked in absolute agony as their muscles withered away and their skin rapidly turned gray.

​Thump! Thump! Thump!

​Within seconds, three dried, mummified husks collapsed onto the muddy ground, entirely drained of their vitality.

​Elian licked his lips, savoring the meager taste of mortal energy. It was intoxicating. He slowly turned his glowing eyes back to the village chief.

​Mayor Gorm fell hard to his knees, while a warm yellow puddle rapidly formed beneath his expensive silk robes.

All of his previous arrogance had completely evaporated into sheer, unfiltered terror.

​Thud!

​Elian stepped closer, his massive shadow completely engulfing the weeping chief.

​"I will ask you one final time. Where is the map?"

Mayor Gorm frantically dug into his ruined silk robes. He produced a crumpled parchment map and held it up with shaking hands. Elian snatched the delicate paper with his massive gray claws. He brought it directly to his master.

​Krono unfolded the map in silence. He scanned the crude ink drawings of the Human Partition. A cold smile appeared on his pale face. They had landed on the Eastern Continent of Valoria. This was exactly where his birthplace was located.

​Krono rolled up the map. He had his coordinates. He turned his back on the weeping mayor and prepared to leave.

​The villagers watched from the muddy square. The initial panic began to shift into shocked recognition. An old woman pointed a trembling finger at the towering gray monster. She noticed a very specific, faded burn scar on the monster’s left wrist. It was the exact same scar Elian the farmer had gotten from a cooking fire ten years ago.

​Whispers spread rapidly through the terrified crowd.

​"That is Elian," a local blacksmith muttered in disbelief.

​"He sold his soul to the pale devil," another woman gasped.

​"He traded his humanity for a monster’s body. He brought these demons to our homes."

​Elian heard every single word. His golden eyes locked onto his former neighbors. He felt absolutely no pity for them. He only felt an overwhelming urge to consume their life force and add their meager energy to his newly awakened core. But Krono did not give the order to kill. Elian obeyed his new master. He simply turned away and walked out of the square.

​Krono, Nova, Garth, and Elian departed the ruined village. The small team walked toward the eastern mountain range. Garth resumed his massive dragon form once they reached the open valley. They climbed onto his broad back and took to the sky, leaving the terrified farmers far behind.

​Hundreds of miles away, the bronze bells of the Holy Cathedral rang violently.

​The Cathedral stood in the absolute center of the Valorian capital. It was a massive fortress built from white stone and gold. Inside the highest tower, the Grand Bishop stared in absolute horror at the central scrying orb.

​The magical crystal orb normally glowed with a gentle blue light to monitor the continent. Now, it was completely black.

​A terrifying, pitch black aura bled from the crystal. The overwhelming pressure actually cracked the stone pedestal beneath it.

​Dozens of armored knights rushed into the chamber. They drew their blessed swords. The junior priests fell to their knees in panic and began praying aloud.

​"What is happening?" the Captain of the Guard shouted over the ringing bells.

​The Grand Bishop pointed a trembling hand at the cracked orb.

​"A demonic aura of unprecedented scale has entered the eastern borders. It is not a standard monster. This aura is concentrated dark magic. It is literally swallowing the light inside this room."

​

Grand Bishop Othomar staggered back from the stone pedestal. The pitch black mist poured over the polished marble floor. Captain Thalric shouted urgent orders to his armored knights, aggressively pushing the junior priests out of the chamber. The freezing energy felt like ice against their skin.

​Othomar raised his golden staff. He chanted a rapid purification spell. Blinding white light flared from the heavy staff and struck the black mist. The dark energy hissed loudly but did not dissipate. Instead, it crawled directly up the wooden shaft. Othomar dropped the holy weapon before the corruption could touch his bare hands.

​Paladin Commander Kaelith rushed into the chaotic room. His heavy silver armor clanked loudly with every step. He saw the cracked scrying orb and immediately drew his broadsword. The protective runes on his blade glowed bright yellow.

​"Hold your weapon, Kaelith. Physical strikes will not harm pure void magic. We must completely seal this room."

​Kaelith ignored the guard captain. He stepped directly into the creeping black fog. His own holy aura pushed the darkness back just enough to reach the shattered pedestal.

With a heavy grunt, he slammed his metal gauntlet over the cracked crystal. The yellow runes flared violently against the darkness. The dark mist stopped pouring out, but the suffocating pressure remained suspended in the air.

​"My seal will not hold for long. The source of this demonic energy is moving rapidly. It is heading straight toward the capital."

​Othomar wiped cold sweat from his wrinkled forehead. He turned to High Scholar Maelis, who had just entered the chamber carrying an armful of ancient leather scrolls.

​"Find their exact coordinates," Othomar ordered her. "Thalric, take your fastest riders directly to King Zaelen. Tell him the eastern farmlands are already lost. We need the Royal Army mobilized immediately."

​Thalric saluted quickly and sprinted out the heavy wooden doors.

​Maelis unrolled a massive parchment map on a nearby stone table. She placed a glowing tracking crystal over it. The crystal swung wildly in circles before slamming down hard on the eastern mountain range. The parchment instantly burned to black ash at that exact spot.

​"They have crossed the Wyvern Peaks. The demon is not traveling alone. I sense a massive draconic presence flying with him."

​Othomar closed his eyes in absolute despair. A primordial demon and an ancient dragon working together meant absolute doom for Valoria.

​"Ring the Bell of Judgment. Awaken the sleeping saints. We are going to war."