Chapter 12 - Operation Begone Devil(2)

Reve whispered as Ren left his sight, "Don't die."

He faced Calen quickly and asked, "Let's begin. Tell me everything."

Calen smiled. "Good. I am actually excited about this. Especially when you mentioned the titan not being physically present. I got another idea."

Reve looked at him, asking him to go on, which he did.

"For a phantasmal entity to exist, it needs a tether, an anchor to a physical reality. Now, I do not know anything about the titan's homeworld–"

Reve interrupted, explaining, "They were trapped in Sheol with ancient magic. They shouldn't be able to manifest outside Sheol spiritually or even physically."

Calen went into thinking mode. He carefully said, "So, let's imagine the titan Ravriel is able to do this through unknown means. He is able to bypass the magic seal. It would need an anchor to stay in a strong physical body, which the Crimson Creed provided obviously."

Reve's eyes brightened as he realized. "The shards of Sheol! No wonder it looked familiar. On Ravriel's head is one of the few physical vestiges of Sheol."

He had come across the shards many years ago. During the Annihilation wars, the resistance force committed the greatest sin ever possible. To permanently seal the titan, they banished the titans to a familiar plane and destroyed its physical structure, sealing various shards into different items.

"However, the shards require a soul-wavering ritual to function. I suspect it might need other rites."

Calen said, "But that is just to free the titans' physically. What if they wanted to open the tiniest gasp for just one spirit to squeeze through?"

"It wouldn't need an extremely powerful ritual for that. I see, if that was achieved, the titan's spirit would be free. But it would need a physical body and anchor to survive."

Calen smirked, "As you said, the shard is acting as an anchor and the physical fulfills the requirement; it limits the strength of the titan. If that is the case, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Reve gripped the prima in his hand and gulped it quickly.

He smiled, "Surely…"

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Ren stood face to face with the titan.

She finally realized why it frightened Reve. Its appearance was not the most disgusting, but the sheer aura it radiated made her fear grow rapidly.

The titan Ravriel gazed at her and said, "A human? Why do you stop my path?"

Ren forced a smile on her face as she said, "You seem to have lost track of time, buddy. No one speaks like that anymore. It's almost too cringy. Does thou understood mine words?"

While she spoke, she slowly reached for her ray gun but later changed her mind. The ray gun couldn't help at all. Its energy bullets would merely tickle Ravriel.

She needed something destructive… explosive. So, she grabbed the graviton grenade on her belt while she kept her composure.

"You were the one that interrupted me. I now know your scent, Gaeryn–"

"Are you a pervert? Do you just like smelling others? I'm sorry but I'm not into furry?"

Ravriel crawled closer. His monstrous eyes stared into her, not even bothered by her remarks.

"You are as human as they come, always trying to deceive with words. You think that object you hide behind you can help you. Did it help you the last time, human?"

Ren thought, 'So, he knows what I'm doing! Ahh fuck, here goes the element of surprise!'

She kept her composure and smiled, "It seemed to have kept you asleep for a while."

"Let's find out."

Before Ren could blink, Ravriel disappeared from her sight. As she watched a golden blur draw closer to her, she quickly unpinned the graviton grenade and threw it into the distance.

The golden blur vanished, instantly appearing behind her. Ren went for her ray gun but Ravriel snatched her hand and scratched it with his claws.

He whispered into her ear, "When I move, your eyes get lost in time. But take pride in the fact that you have come far enough."

"Oh, yeah? How bout this?"

Ren revealed her left hand which snuck a graviton grenade on his mane. With a boom, it catapulted Ravriel far away, but the side effect of being so close to the grenade threw Ren off the ground.

As she was about to get up, her ears picked up on a strange vibration in the air. Her instinct took over and she rolled another grenade in the left direction.

In less than a few seconds, it exploded and Ravriel was sent hurtling further away.

'What was that sensation?' Ren was confused.

Ever since she survived Val's dagger, her ears had reached new heights. And sometimes, she picked up on things she shouldn't be able to, like the breaths of people miles away or the mere wavelength of radios.

She shook her head. 'Ren, this is not the time to be confused.'

Right now, she had to leave everything to her instinct.

Suddenly, she dashed away as a crimson beam of destructive energy fell on her previous spot, devastating it until nothing was left in its place, only a twenty feet crater as wide as five cars.

Ravriel appeared behind her and gutted her stomach with his claws.

He jeered, "As expected from a gaeryn. You have such perceptive abilities, but you seem to forget you are human. You could never serve as a distraction for even a second."

Ren was shocked. "You knew why I came here."

"I'm not a mindless creature. I have far more intelligence than you can comprehend. Reve Amethyst shouldn't have sent you. There is only one outcome for you, death!"

Suddenly, Ravriel dropped Ren to the ground and looked into the distance.

He said as an unknown figure appeared, "You came finally. Are you prepared for your death? After all, you are already halfway into the realm of the unliving."

Reve stared at Ravriel with a menacing expression. He looked at Ren and his face became darker.

He replied snarkily, "You sure have an inflated ego, even for a titan. Since you want to see the Beast, I will show you the Beast!"

Reve struck his chest cruelly as he coughed out blood. He whispered to the unknown, "I release you!"