CHAPTER 468: CHAPTER 468- THE DEVIL’S SHADOW

The Throne Room was a cacophony of chaos and horror.

Those who had somehow regained themselves had already darted to the Iron doors while those who couldn’t remained stuck in the phase of dread that watched through them.

The Trial had escalated far beyond human control, and now, the matter could no longer be withheld through normal means.

This was the stage set for those above and beyond.

The Heads of the Households whose bravado was enough to face the Great Being with a straight face and steady arms.

Confidence or stupidity, they did not care, but their lives? Nothing was more important.

"The doors!"

A noble, a man of prestige and dignity in his attire, had tugged at the doors with the Guards’ assistance from the sides.

Something had gone amiss with their escape contingency... and it would stir the turn of events at a rather horrific pace.

"They aren’t opening?!"

"What’s going on?!"

"Move it, already!"

"Move! Move!"

Composed humans of high status and persona... people who lead Soldiers and govern commoners in their districts.

Men. Women. Elderlies... all reduced to sniffling puppies begging for milk.

Though, that milk was their escape. Their lives.

Though many had lost their sense of reasoning, a few could maintain their state of mind despite the bizarre occurrence.

Among them were the L.A.W., who seemed frozen in place.

Vividly uncontrolled by the Devil’s aura, yet unbothered to move.

’It would be futile.’

Thompfrey Logan thought as his frown only grew deeper.

A being on par with a 7th-tier Monarch had just invited itself to the Courtroom, where thousands of important figures occupied.

It was either a very unlucky coincidence or a diabolically planned assault to get at the people within the Throne room.

His thoughts collided with reasoning as he turned to his partners who stood with the same resilience as his.

Running was meaningless.

Escape, unlikely... but defeating it?

’Impossible, but with the Heads present–’

His thoughts lingered when a shudder broke through his line of thought.

"Ha! Ha!! Ha!!!"

A malevolent, sadistic, clown laugh pierced the air as the Devil’s head lifted upwards with a sickening snap of a bone.

His back contorted and shifted like clay as long spikes stretched out like a prickle of porcupines.

It stretched long and sharp, exuding a greenish substance that scattered into the air in a mist of doom.

Soon, the sharp spikes began to rattle. It caused a strange vibration in the air that sent a shudder through those around them.

"Do you fools think there would be a way out in my presence?"

The Devil’s lips twisted in a smile that dripped with evil.

Its head spun to the back as its arms, stretched, thin and tree-like– like cracked with a surge of Miasma

The moment it snapped its fingers, the air compressed with a metal slick, and a pressure descended upon the Throne room.

Movements from multiple locations forged into a blur of black as loud, sonic explosions erupted in a span of seconds.

The world turned dark, and the iron door was assaulted by a hundred spears of tree-like branches.

One after the other, it collided against the walls and the iron door, piercing through layers of mana-reinforced concrete and indestructible metal like cotton.

But the Devil’s gaze flinched for a second, before it twisted back to its hideous form.

"Hah... yes, there you were."

Before him, a dome of mana forged around the people he had aimed for, and standing in their midst, the Witch of the West and the Head of the Aquarius Household, Paulson Aquarius.

Kira groaned slightly while Paulson spun a silver Triton that exuded a rush of blue mana.

He swung it forward with a stern expression as his gaze darted to the sides.

"Detain him."

The authority in the voice of the Witch of the West could not be overstated, but she didn’t need to speak for the others to act their parts immediately.

The Devil’s gaze sparked a strange curiosity as it shifted its head to the side.

"An intruder with an unnecessary lust of pride."

Derrick Silvan smirked as he floated in the form with a grimoire opened before him.

"How disturbing."

And besides, Derrick was a man, much feared by many for his beast-like appearance.

But his aura could never be mistaken for uncivilised.

A 10th Star, Grand Beast Tamer, and one of the few who had reached this level with the Teras Household.

Unlike Derrick, the man did not float, and he didn’t need to.

He had rows of mounts to make up for that and right now, a drake served that purpose.

The beast let out a ferocious snarl that sparked flames to life at its side.

Two portals hovered beside Ben Teras, and the Heads of two powerful beasts stretched out into the open with a pressure that oozed into the air.

His golden, cat-like eyes shimmered under the weight of the pressure as his aura mingled with the two beasts.

One, a Phoenix and the other, a Kraken.

The world stilled as their presences cast a shadow over the Throne room, before an ear-struck screech tore through the air.

The Devil’s smirk remained unfazed.

"You think you flies could stop me?!"

Its voice struck a storm of malevolent energy as it prepared its assault, but it stopped mid-way.

A shift occurred by his side. Subtle movements that sent a wave of danger at its spikes.

It whipped its head in that direction, and its smile wavered into a frown.

Before him, three figures stood.

Locked and loaded.

Gloria Jun had her eyes sparked with great intent as focus stretched thin before her grasp.

Her great sword hung in the air as a ghastly wave of aura shot out of her body.

Vines sprouted from the ground and coiled around the rest of her, pulsing with a glow of life while she focused the flow of aura to the blade of her Great sword.

Next, Bryne Son Goku maintained a dangerous smirk as his golden staff hummed with a Heavenly hue.

Golden aura stormed out of his body as he aimed his staff at the Ghastly creature, restricted only by the go-ahead.

And lastly was Isaac Techna, youngest of the Heads and Patriarch of the Techna Households.

Seven beams of light sparked to life on his limbs and abdomen, and his arms, once human, had undergone a transformation of futuristic endeavours.

Wrapped tightly together to form a blaster with metallic, glowing rims, his energy was merely contained and poured into the attack at hand.

The Devil’s gaze grew serious for a moment, and so did the rest of its body as it began to undergo multiple mutations of unnatural levels.

Spikes and gusts of green surged into the air as miasma rushed to its limbs.

"No matter."

It said with hesitation, clear as day in its voice, but a diabolical confidence in the power it held.

"You can not detain me."

It swung its arms through the air as the Throne room compressed, and its limbs tightened.

That was their cue.

The plan concocted under the pressure of a 7th tier Monarch Devil’s presence.

And the Head of the Household’s attempt to control the situation.

"NOW!"

Kira screamed as the world around them slowed to mere trinkets, before a void of black and white consumed the space.

Derrick smirked as a surge of mana erupted out of his body and the grimoire flipped page by page in a rush of adrenaline.

It stopped at a point and a glow exuded from it.

"Spirit Elf Magic; Chapter 200; Gaia’s Oblivion."

Ben’s expression hardened as he stretched his arms forward.

"Use Phoenix Overheat, Hydra Storm."

Gloria’s sword descended.

"Chapter 12 OF THE JUN SWORDSMANSHIP! NUCLEAR SURGE!"

"MIÈ SHÌ JĪN BÀNG!"

Bryne’s staff erupted in a mystical flow of golden aura as it surged forward with increasing size and weight.

It grew in proportion to the Devil and continuously pooled in a golden aura as it never stopped increasing.

"LOCK 20."

A rush of blue fumes exuded from the seven holes, sealed tightly in the iron form of his body as the blaster sprang to life.

BOOM!

The collision of attacks caused an unholy mixture of sounds and energy that clashed, swirled, mixed and vibrated in a chain of destruction.

The Castle thundered under the weight of spells that were not meant to be restrained and it immediately gave in to the power of devastation.

Its walls quaked and broke.

Giving way to light to perceive through the chaos within.

The glass roofing cracked and shattered as a terrible sonic boom erupted in concentric circles.

The ground shuddered and broke.

Screams broke out in waves and died as quickly as they came.

And a thick, blanket of debris and energy rose into the air.

The entire compound of the Royal Household, Swanstorm quaked under the weight of power at the transcendent level unleashed without restraint.

And it’s shudder spread through the streets of Lumbrica as the gust of smoke rose into the shape of a mushroom that stretched endlessly in the sky.

All around the city, people froze and stared. Awed by the sight before them.

Frightened by the remnants of transcendence that stretched like smoke from the aftermath of a forest fire.

Only this let a sickening oppression that made their stomachs churn.

The silence that followed would be heavy, and the nightmares left behind would be eternal.

The day would be forever marked.

Not in rememberance of a trial, but the day a Devil’s shadow fell upon Lumbrica.