THE SUMMONING: THE GLADIATOR OF ARSEGALL

CHAPTER 46

[THE DOMAIN OF THE DARR]

Far within the Northern Mountain Ranges, another manifestation of Lord Aerror of the Fallen remained engaged in combat with Agent Lynx and the Darr. The clearing had become a zone of extreme spatial instability. Distortions could be recorded throughout the surrounding area as the concentration of Divine Authority continued to interfere with the environment. Light appeared to bend across certain sections of the clearing, while the ground remained under constant seismic stress. The seismic activity had already reached tremendous levels.

At the center of the clearing stood the Unknown-Class. The Child continued advancing. Despite being subjected to the Domain Authority of a primordial being such as the Darr, the Unknown-Class had continued moving forward. With every step the Child took, the Darr continued reinforcing the overwhelming authority imposed upon its existence. The pressure continued increasing. The force being concentrated upon the Unknown-Class had eventually reached a level comparable to the mass of a celestial body concentrated at a single point. Yet the Child continued resisting.

Another step. The ground beneath its feet fractured. Then Another...The spatial distortions surrounding its body intensified. However, the Unknown-Class eventually began to slow. Its movements became increasingly difficult. The distance between each step continued increasing until the Child could no longer advance. It could not afford another step. Eventually, the Unknown-Class came to a complete halt. Its body remained upright, resisting the overwhelming pressure attempting to force it into the ground.

Agent Lynx immediately noticed the change. An opening had appeared. The Darr looked down upon the Child.

"So, you have finally reached your limit, mortal child?" Its deep voice reverberated throughout the clearing. "Didn't you say you would spare me the humiliation of my own defeat?" The Darr's tone became colder. "So, what's wrong? Did you really think you could physically overcome a Divine Authority through sheer will?" The primordial creature scoffed. "Pitiful. Only a Divine Authority can override another Divine Authority. I am not fond of taking lives. However, your existence has proven to be a far greater threat to humanity than I initially anticipated. And therefore, you must be put to sleep."

"I agree."

Agent Lynx stepped forward. He drew his blade and cautiously approached the Unknown-Class. As he advanced, he began reinforcing the weapon with the Ancient Art of Therion. Once a contract was established through Therion, the practitioner became capable of wielding an aspect of the abilities possessed by the creature they summoned. Through his contract with the Darr, Lynx could therefore utilize a portion of the primordial creature's power. Divine energy flowed through his body and into his blade. His movements remained cautious as he approached the Unknown-Class.

However, something began to bother him. The closer he got, the less resistance he experienced. The effects of the Darr's Domain Authority were overwhelming enough to restrict the Unknown-Class itself, yet Lynx could approach without experiencing the same level of pressure. The opportunity had appeared far too easily. Lynx's instincts immediately became suspicious.

"Something's wrong."

He abruptly halted. His suspicions were confirmed moments later. Above the clearing, large masses of dark clouds had begun spiraling through the atmosphere. The clouds formed an enormous vortex directly above them. Lynx recognized the phenomenon. It was almost identical to the atmospheric formation that had appeared during the Plague's confrontation with Aerror's headless manifestation. The Darr sensed the abnormality as well. Its golden eyes slowly shifted toward the heavens. The unnatural formation continued expanding. From the position of the Darr and Lynx, there was no obvious indication that the Unknown-Class had created it. The Child was already immobilized beneath the Domain Authority.

"What is this?"

The Darr's attention remained fixed on the spiraling mass. Before either of them could determine the origin of the phenomenon, several powerful streaks of lightning suddenly descended from the vortex. The strikes came without warning. The Darr's enormous body immediately became the easiest target. Several bolts struck the primordial creature in rapid succession. Thunder reverberated throughout the mountain range. Lynx, however, sensed the incoming strikes before they reached him. He immediately moved. One bolt struck the ground where he had been standing. Lynx shifted position. Another followed. Then another. He continued evading each descending strike with remarkable agility. The earth suffered the brunt of the attack. Each lightning strike left another crater across the clearing.

Lynx eventually stabilized himself. Then he realized something. The lightning was not intended to kill them. It was a distraction. But a distraction from what? His eyes widened. The answer suddenly became obvious. Lynx immediately shifted his gaze away from the spiraling mass above and toward the Unknown-Class. The instant he looked in the Child's direction, five fingers had already firmly gripped the front of his visored helm. Lynx barely had time to react. The Unknown-Class had moved. The Child had crossed the distance between them in an instant. Lynx's entire body was slammed into the ground with tremendous force. His visor remained firmly within the Child's grip. The Unknown-Class had deliberately allowed him to approach. It had been waiting for exactly this moment.

The Child tightened its grip. An aspect of the God Hand activated. A powerful force erupted from its hand. The visored helm shattered outward, leaving Lynx's face completely exposed. Lynx struggled to recover from the impact. His breathing became unstable as he attempted to regain his bearings. Then he remembered the Darr's warning. Do not meet his gaze. But in his vulnerable state, the warning did not cross his mind quickly enough. His eyes opened. For a brief moment, his gaze met the Unknown-Class. Lynx immediately forced his eyes shut. But it was already too late. The condition the Darr had warned him about had been fulfilled. The Unknown-Class prepared to end the confrontation.

The Darr suddenly turned. Its golden eyes immediately locked onto the scene. It saw Lynx's exposed face. It saw the Unknown-Class preparing to attack. The primordial creature reacted immediately. Its Domain Authority expanded. An invisible force struck the Unknown-Class with tremendous power. The Child was launched across the clearing at extreme velocity before crashing into the foot of the surrounding mountains. The impact destabilized the mountain slope. A massive avalanche of monolithic boulders descended from above, burying the Unknown-Class beneath the collapsed section of the mountain.

The Darr immediately turned its attention back toward Lynx. Agent Lynx slowly recovered. He pushed himself upright and began regulating his breathing. He reinforced his entire body through the Ancient Art of Therion while simultaneously attempting to stabilize his breathing through his art. His gaze remained fixed on the partially collapsed mountain. Then a faint ringing suddenly appeared inside his ears. Lynx's expression changed. A slight pain developed around his temple. Then a familiar voice entered his consciousness.

"Agent Lynx, are you there? Do you read me, Agent Lynx?"

He immediately recognized the voice. Sebastian Nero. Head of Operations Control. The S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S. neural-link system had failed to reconnect with Lynx's visor, but Sebastian had managed to establish direct telepathic communication through the Order of Translations.

"I can hear you loud and clear, Chief."

"Excellent. Tell me what's happening out there. I need a status report now!"

Lynx's breathing remained heavy. He continued reinforcing his body while attempting to stabilize himself.

"I'm currently engaging the Unknown-Class as we speak. And from what I can tell, it doesn't look like it's going down anytime soon. I've nearly exhausted what's left of my arsenal."

"I see." Sebastian's voice became more serious. "Where is the Unknown-Class now?"

"Currently buried at the foot of the mountain." Lynx replied.

"Good then, That should buy you some recovery time." He responded.

Sebastian paused. "What about the others? Are they nearby?"

"We were separated several hours ago during our encounter in the Eastern Woodland Sector."

"Interesting." Sebastian's voice became quieter. "Which proves our data was correct. Tell me something. Have you been able to establish communications with Agent Wraith and BrimJaws?"

"Not yet. Their neural-link receptors stopped working the moment we were separated. Hard to tell if they're even still alive." Lynx explained.

"Fortunately, they are. Our satellite readings show that their energy signatures are still active. They're simply located in different areas. But we've detected something else."

"What?"

"We detected additional Divine Energy signatures at the same locations as our two agents. The same energy signature as the Unknown-Class you're currently fighting."

Lynx's expression immediately changed. "But how is that even possible?"

"It shouldn't be." Sebastian's voice became increasingly serious. "What's even more concerning is that each of those energy signatures is comparable in strength to the first Unknown-Class you encountered in the Eastern Woodland Sector. I strongly believe they are the same entity. Your two fellow agents are currently engaging separate manifestations of the same Unknown-Class at different locations. The failure of the neural-link receptors was deliberate. The Unknown-Class disabled your communications after separating the three of you. It isolated each S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S. agent individually. We are not dealing with an ordinary practitioner of the Arts. What we're dealing with is a Calamity-Class Existence. Or something even higher."

Lynx's eyes widened. Sebastian's voice became urgent.

"Listen carefully. I want y—"

He abruptly stopped. Lynx immediately noticed.

"Chief?"

No response. Then—

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

A deafening sound erupted from the foot of the partially collapsed mountain. Lynx's expression changed. The Darr immediately turned toward the source. Something was there. Something powerful. Something that should not have existed. The Darr's senses locked onto the presence emerging from beneath the mountain. Its golden eyes narrowed. This was not simply another manifestation. There was something fundamentally different about this presence.

Lynx felt it as well. His entire body began trembling. But it was not because of what he could see. It was because of what he could feel. The presence was overwhelming. It reached beyond the battlefield. At Operations Control, Sebastian Nero suddenly became silent. His body had begun trembling. His eyes widened as he sensed the same presence. Every member of Operations Control experienced the same reaction. The presence had reached them. Far away in Hendii, the Supreme Pontifex and many others high ranking order of the church sensed it as well. His eyes widened. However, unlike everyone else, his body did not tremble. A powerful Divine Authority surrounded him, stabilizing his physical state against the pressure. Elsewhere, Agent Wraith and Agent BrimJaws also felt the presence. Their bodies reacted immediately. Even members of the Mercenaries of the Iron Altar felt it. The presence continued spreading. It reached across Solaria. For a brief moment, an entire country became aware that something had entered the world.

The question was no longer whether another manifestation of the Unknown-Class had appeared. The question was what was emerging from beneath that mountain.

[THE GLADIATOR OF ARSEGALL...]

At the clearing, right at the foot of the partially collapsed mountain, thunderous footsteps began echoing through the dust.

BOOM!!

The earth shook. Another step followed.

BOOM!!

The surrounding debris shifted. Lynx remained completely still. A thick cloud of dust had spread throughout the clearing, severely limiting his visibility. He could barely distinguish the surrounding terrain. Then another step sounded.

BOOM!!

Something was approaching. Something enormous. Lynx tightened his grip around his blade. Then two red points appeared within the dust. Eyes. Two glowing crimson eyes pierced through the cloud of dust surrounding it. Lynx's breathing stopped momentarily. Then came another sound.

CLANG!!

Sounds of metal striking stone.

SCRAAAAAPE!!

Something heavy was being dragged across the ground. Then came the sound of chains.

Clank… Clank… Clank…

A large silhouette gradually emerged from the dust. The figure possessed a humanoid structure. It was enormous. Its ears were long and sharply pointed, resembling those of an elf. Its crimson eyes remained fixed upon the battlefield. A massive battle axe was being dragged across the ground behind it. Chains hung loosely from both wrists and around its neck. Several sections of the chains appeared to have been broken rather than deliberately removed. Whatever had once restrained this creature had failed.

The being continued walking. Step by step. The dust gradually began to settle. The silhouette became clearer. Then the creature finally emerged from the cloud of dust. Lynx stared. The Darr remained completely silent. The enormous being continued advancing, dragging its massive weapon across the ground as the broken chains followed behind it. Its presence alone was enough to place tremendous pressure upon the surrounding environment. This was not an ordinary practitioner of the Arts. This was not another S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S. agent. And whatever it was, it appeared to have been imprisoned for a very long time.

The creature stopped. Its crimson eyes stared forward. The clearing fell silent. Then came the declaration.

Behold!!! A Beast of Heathen. A Titan of Chaos and Carnage. A War God. The Gladiator of Arsegall.