Chapter 25: The Great Shift Part 11

To his right was a woman based on her silhouette and hands, on her back was a man with white hair and green eyes who was lightly bleeding profusely. It was Yves Cassian! To the right of the tarot holder was another man, his arms were scarred and bandaged with embers of fire forming around the man. He was like a well-trained pup ready to attack on his owner's command.

Smirking, the Lord of the Fiery Abyss could feel like his presence here was truly welcomed by the masses. And now, after his little move with his dear child—the true dance was ready to happen!

"Let the dance begin!" Yelling loudly, the Lord of the Abyss disappeared and reappeared in front of Daemon. He held his head down with his fist held back, before Daemon could move, he struck. The fist hit Daemon who flew away, this time in the literal sense as he flew with his four wings.

The Lord of the Abyss didn't bother with him as he disappeared once again and reappeared behind the tarot card holder. The leader of the 7 Riders jumped from his horse as the Lord of the Abyss punched the horse which killed it. To his right, the arsonist made his move with extreme fire releasing from his hands with the woman to the right forming a barrier, enclosing her and Yves, who gradually stopped bleeding.

The smoke and fire didn't stop from the arsonist's hands, but he was stopped when the Lord of the Abyss came from the still burning flames—completely unscathed and slapped the arsonist's check which sent him flying into a tree.

Chortling, he yelled in a proud and joyous tone—"I am the Lord of the Abyss, the Lord of Fire, the Lord of Blood—please do not threaten me with a good time with fire, children!"

"So it's true…you are the Lord of the Abyss?"

A calm and chilling force echoed through the forest as the Lord of the Abyss could only smirk as he looked up towards the floating leader of the seven riders.

"And I presume you're that little bastard's descendent? The bloodline of Captain Leonard Smith?" The leader of the seven riders raised an eyebrow, "You know my ancestor, demon?" The calmest never left his tone as the Lord of the Abyss chuckled.

"When you have as much power and influence as I have, you learn to remember the names of those who stop your plans." The leader smirked, "You seem to be confused, demon. Everyone in this era does that."

"Ah, my apologies. I forgot that we've entered the Era of pitiful politics, it's a shame you and your descendants won't leave the Era," immediately, the leader of the seven riders pulled out another card.

However, it disappeared from his hands and reappeared in the hands of the Lord of the Abyss. He read the card: "The Lovers!"

—••••••••••—

BEYOND THE VEIL:

THE GREAT SHIFT

CHAPTER 25:

THE GREAT SHIFT PART 11

—••••••••••—

Suddenly, four hands came from the tarot card that the Lord of the Abyss took. Thief? I assume if this was his true body, he could've stolen more than the card. Probably something abstract, like my thoughts or everything belonging to me.

While thinking to himself, the leader of the seven riders watched 'the lovers' leave the tarot card and show themselves. It was two males, the taller one had short hair with a massive hole in his waist. The smaller man had the top half of his head split open with chunks of his brain missing.

These were 'The Lovers' that he came across when dealing with matters, he personally saw the tragedy of their relationship unfold and their untimely demise.

The taller man with a massive hole in his waist ran towards the Lord of the Abyss and struck him, however, the Lord of the Fiery Abyss blocked the man and smirked.

"How interesting? This is a genetic technique, but I don't remember Leonard Smith having this, but that woman did. Ah, yes…a technique from recent generations, with strong characteristics against thieves and the Abyss. Don't tell me your family is still hurt about the tragedy of your ancestor, boy!?" The leader of the seven riders didn't bugle at the jabs at him and muttered softly.

"You can refer to me as Lucius, it's best to know the name of the man who will kill you!" Smirking, the Lord of the Abyss made sure to remember the name. Suddenly, he felt two punches connect as he looked down.

It was 'The Lovers'! Lucius watched as the man stabbed them with the Sword of Emanation, he muttered to them softly as their blank eyes became normal before rolling to the back of their heads in pure pain.

Breathing in softly, Lucius weighed in his options. Eggers is flying with some type of Essence power around him, he is too unstable and uncontrollable to be considered to help much. Cassian is in deep slumber, almost like he's in some Rebirth Phase. This leaves my team alone. Ashborne is useless with fire being his only special, he should take Cassian and Eggers to the other group we encounter on the outskirts of the city.

Caelum, Einhorn, Storm, Nocturne, and Crescent should be able to help. This still leaves us heavily vulnerable, I might have to use 'The Magician' to even the odds. Right now, that's our best hope!

"ASHBORNE, OFF YOUR ASS AND TAKE EGGERS AND CASSIAN OUT OF HERE TOWARDS THAT GROUP. REPORT TO HIS HIGHNESS DIRECTLY!!" Such powerful forces ringed through the empty streets with Ashborne, the arsonist—moving instantly at the command of his leader and grabbing the unconscious, but no longer bleeding Cassian.

Before he could run, his very shadow bound him to the ground. Daemon instantly flew down with his wings, however, the high winds proved to be a lot of the newly winged Eggers male. While this process was amusing, to say the least, the Lord of the Abyss knew that what he was about to say was going to be the highlight of the night.

"Sorry to ruin your plan, Lucius, but… his Royal Highness had been assassinated a few hours ago!" Everyone besides the Lord of the Abyss had their mouths agape with their eyes open. Immediately, Elena Crescent, the one who previously treated Cassian, looked toward the direction of the Royal Palace with her eyes enhanced with spirituality.

Usually, she would've been blocked from sight by roaming Envoys of the Royal Family—however, they were either dead, dying, or leaving the city to care about the Royal Palace. Because of this, Elena Crescent saw in full view the king.

He sat on the Royal Throne with a massive solid blood spear pierced within his body, his surroundings completely leveled. It was a brutal sight to witness. Gulping, she muttered in a grave tone—"I can confirm it, Captain!"

Lucius nodded and immediately blinked out of sight and reappeared in front of the Lord of the Abyss, striking him in the head. Spinning midair, the Lord of the Abyss regained his balance landed on the ground, and immediately rushed Captain Lucius.

This was so sudden that not even Einhorn and Ashborne, the two who had been with Captain Lucius the longest—had seen this side of the Captain before!

During this battle, the Sword of Emanation floated idly behind the Lord of the Abyss—it was occasionally used with some attack only to be redirected back to the Lord of the Abyss.

In the end, Captain Lucius had very scratches while his fists were only briefly cut, it wasn't much, but on the other hand—the Lord of the Abyss had nothing on his body, completely untouched.

"You're bold to fight a martial artist like me, I'll give you that much, Lucius! But you know as well as I, that battles in this age are fought with abilities that go beyond human comprehension!"

The Lord of the Abyss extended his right hand and it immediately regenerated, he grabbed the idle Sword of Emanation and held it with both hands.

"You damn right I do!" A light smirk poured from Captain Lucius' lips and he held 3 cards. "The World", "The Magician", and "The Sun!" Suddenly, a figure crashed from the sky and landed right next to Lucius.

It was 'The Fool!'