Book 3: Chapter 23 – Divine Boon Of Darkness
As the princess of the Rohault Kingdom, Amira had been briefed on all of the movers and shakers on the continent, so even before he formally introduced himself, she had recognised the handsome man as the Emperor of Darkness and the commander of the Demoniacs.
"Emperor Gediah, my name is Amira Rohault," The light-skinned teen introduced calmly. "I have come because it has come to our attention that a member of my empire has been taken by one of your bishops."
'Looks like that brat really was a member of the Rohault Empire after all. How troublesome,' Gediah thought to himself whilst keeping a perfect poker face in front of Amira and her party. "Ooh, is that right? I haven't heard anything about that, but if you give me his name, I can ask around for you and get back to you immediately."
It was obvious that Gediah was playing games at this point, but knowing how sticky a situation this was, Amira knew she couldn't afford to be too demanding. "His name's Ace."
"Ace?" Gediah asked back with a raised eyebrow. 'So that's the boy's real name? Why does that name sound so familiar?'
Just as Gediah was going to continue speaking, his attention was grabbed by the gentle roars of a jet-black lion standing beside Amira. It wasn't a magical beast that he recognised, but it gave off an impressive aura, especially when it was clearly only at the fifth rank.
"Ace is his name," Carter said, his voice indifferent as his scarlet eyes remained trained on the peak saint in front of him. "But the name he gave to you should've been Luffy, and according to my son, he's currently being escorted to your main hall against his will."
When he heard that, Gediah instantly understood that the divine beast Garoa and his team had sensed earlier wasn't the Divine Dragon they had initially been assigned to recapture but this lion, who was Ace's true beast partner.
"Gediah, I suggest you not bother trying to lie anymore," Carter snorted coldly. "I'm sure you've already realised that my son here is a Divine Beast, which means that upon reaching adulthood, he will naturally reach the Deity realm, meaning that if anything were to happen to his human partner now, in the future, when he becomes a Deity, it would be simplicity in and of itself to come back and get revenge.
And before you even think about making a move now, you should know that you may be a peak saint, but the only person I fear in the Cult of Darkness is your wife, and not even she could make me stay if I wish to leave."
Upon hearing Carter's not-so-veiled threat, Gediah's calm expression receded as a frown took its place.
He originally believed that as the Azure Dragon wasn't here with them, he might be able to easily stall for time without them using the boy and the Dragon's connection to see through him, but things wouldn't be that easy now. Especially since everything that Carter said was true, when Leonel became a Demi-God in the future, if he wished to slaughter every single one of them, the Cult would be powerless to stop him unless they had a deity of their own…
.
.
.
On the castle's top floor, Ace had been tossed into the very centre of what appeared to be an octagonal magical formation of some sort.
Stood on each point of the octagon was one of the various saints of the Cult. Ace didn't know what they were planning to do, but he couldn't help but get a bad feeling. A hopeless smile suffused Ace's lips as he realised that whatever the cult had planned for him, they were determined to finish regardless of what happened outside.
"Leo," Ace sent mentally via their connection. "I know we didn't get to spend that long together, but I need you to do me a favour. Get your father to take you, Amira, and Julius out of here. It looks like there's no getting out of this one for me."
When he heard that, Leonel let out a heart-wrenching roar as he unhesitantly leapt from his father's back towards Ace.
Having grown up having to fend for himself since birth, Leonel had led a lonely life. But since meeting Ace and the others, he finally felt a sense of belonging. He would rather die than let anything or anyone take that away from him. Especially as the only reason Ace was in this predicament at all was to protect him.
He would never be able to live with himself if anything happened to his partner as a result.
"Leonel, no, come back!" Carter shouted hurriedly, but when he saw the vicious glint in Gediah's eyes as the man's hand reached for his sword, he couldn't help but be reminded of how he had been too weak to protect his son in the past. "DON'T YOU DARE!"
As soon as Gediah saw Leonel leap in his direction in an attempt to go after Ace, he saw it as a blessing. Carter was right earlier; if Leonel left with his life today, although there was a good chance that Leonel might join them after they had finished 'convincing' Ace to join them, there was still a chance that Leonel would reject knowing Ace wasn't acting of his own free will.
And as talented as Ace was, there was no guarantee he would become a deity. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Leonel, who was guaranteed to become one in the future unless he died prematurely.
So as Leonel jumped in his direction, he saw it as the best opportunity to protect the Cult. But, unfortunately, with Carter so close, he'd never be allowed to kill the young Divine Beast so easily.
As soon as Leonel had jumped off, Amira, understanding what was about to happen, quickly grabbed Julius and hopped off Carter's back, but she wasn't done. As soon as Leonel had made his move, she had guessed the reason.
Whilst in mid-air, with a flick of her wrist, she summoned a crystal-like cannon and a giant purple magicite core almost twice the size of her head. Without a second thought, she hurriedly injected the core into the cannon and watched as the cannon began to glow furiously.
As the cannon crashed into the ground, Amira quickly and calmly aimed its tip at the top of the castle in the direction where Leonel had tried to chase after Ace.
The magicite cannon was like a miniature weapon of mass destruction. The higher the level of magicite core used to fuel it, the more power it would be able to output. With her having just used a saint-level core, the force of the blast would be no weaker than the forbidden spell of a saint.
Gediah's face darkened as soon as he noticed what Amira was planning. His sword was just inches from piercing the skull of the young divine lion. Still, if he did, he would be too slow to block the inevitable violent retaliation of Carter, who, despite being one sub-rank beneath him, wasn't much weaker than him being a saint-level magical beast.
Ordinarily, such a risk would've been worth it if it meant taking out a potential future threat like Leonel. Still, from the sudden emergence of the black light hovering over the castle, he knew the ritual his wife and the others wanted to use on Ace had begun, and the backlash of failing would be disastrous for them.
As such, Gediah suddenly disappeared from his original position, only to reappear in the way of the purple beam tearing through the air. His blade, coated in a pitch-black battle-qi, easily tore through the lightning elemental beam as he glared at the young princess, a hint of killing intent arising.
Unfortunately for him, Amira wasn't the slightest bit phased by his presence. The time for talking had passed, now was the time for action. She quickly loaded another saint-level magicite core into the cannon, aiming straight through the man and at the top of the castle.
The Demoniac's commander wanted to hurry down and kill the nuisance, but after catching his son before he got himself killed, Carter appeared above Gediah's head, his colossal paw slapping down at the man's head as he let out a furious roar signalling the beasts on the outskirts of the city to begin their attack.
Unable to dodge for fear of the harm it would cause to his wife, he was forced to grit his teeth and block both blows simultaneously.
In the hall on the castle's top floor, Ace and his captors could hear the blasts of the battle going on outside, but it only spurred Shelia to hurry up. "As your humble servant, Lord Sovereign, I call upon you here today to do your bidding."
As she said that, a black aura appeared above the grimoire in her hand. An energy so dark in colour that it seemed to want to devour the light of the world around it.
But as Ace felt the fear and unwillingness from not only Leonel but also Amira and Julius with his [Observation], he stared at the Dark Empress, his face void of any emotion, but it was that same emotionless glare that made her shudder.
"You had better kill me," Ace said, his tone just as emotionless as his face. "If you don't, in the future, I will slaughter every single one of you!"
Although the skirmish outside was far smaller, knowing that there were those outside risking their lives to rescue him… Ace couldn't help but think back to the 'War of the Best'. It was something he never wanted to experience again, and yet, here he was… again!
Shelia didn't understand how she had just been intimidated by a child, but when her eyes fell on the black energy hovering before her, her heart was filled with awe and worship. 'Unfortunately, you won't have that chance after being hit by the Divine Boon of Darkness!'
It may have just been a hint of divine power, but it was still the power of a sovereign. As the energy manifested, even the fighting outside seemed to come to a standstill. The power of a sovereign was inviolable.
Still, even as the light shot penetrated his insides, causing his body to glow with a dark radiance and float in the air, Ace's emotionless eyes remained trained on the Empress.
As the black ball of divine power entered him, all the fatigue and injuries he'd suffered over the last few days seemed to be washed away almost instantly, but that was just the side effect. The energy's real target was Ace's soul.
Theoretically, once this energy merged with one's soul, they would forever be a loyal follower of the sovereigns of darkness, but Ace's soul was anything but normal.
As soon as the sovereign's power neared his soul, the barrier that protected it acted like it had a will of its own, taking the initiative to meet the divine energy.
As the two incomparably powerful energies met, Ace's 'soul body' once again opened its eyes.
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Book 4 - Chapter 38 (Book 4 Finale)