The Fallen

I finally found the location of the Savior! His last seen location was supposedly in the northeast section of the Beast-kin Warped Lands. It was only a matter of time before I found him.

I soared through the sky with ease, the flapping of my ebony wings making enough noise to drive birds away in my vicinity. Even in heavy armor, I felt light as a feather in the air. After some time a woman appeared on my heads-up display inside my helmet.

“Destroyer.”

“Hello, Morgala. It's been a while since we have spoken. It’s nice to see you are looking well.”

The red-skinned demon in the realm of Dark Heaven curled her lips into a seductive smile. Her crisp black horns and stunning midnight wings captivated me with every move she made. She was relaxing in a reclining chair, her long slender body nicely fitted inside her sleeveless black dress. Her dark, deep sea eyes twinkled as if filled with boundless knowledge. “Your flattery is not needed, Destroyer. We have new matters to attend to.”

I raised an eyebrow at her statement. “'New matters' was it? I thought I only had a single objective?”

She put a fist to her cheek and purred. If I was a little older, I might have fallen for her coquettish grin and famine charm—and that body... However, I had more important things to do at the moment.

She craned her neck and sat up, her cleavage nearly spilling out after each change in position. Now her entire attention was focused on me and me alone. Even someone as composed as me had trouble maintaining eye contact with her for a prolonged period of time. When you gaze into a monster’s eyes like hers, you come upon a deep and treacherous abyss. And unlike your average whirlpool of death, the abyss always looks back. 

“Traitors from the Agnola continent have risen to defy the Lord of Calamity. He has requested that I send you to deal with them while his own creations hunt down the Savior.

I stopped myself in mid-air, wanting to divert all my focus to what she just said. “So you want me to kill these...rebels or whatever they are? They must be quite powerful if they worked under Eternal, yeah?”

She nodded, affirming my statement. “That is correct, but with your capabilities as well as your allies, you should be able to take on the head of the former Demon Generals and go from there.”

My lips curled upwards into a steep smile. “Well, of course, I will! With a new land comes new species for me to collect! I do have some questions, however.”

“Oh? I didn’t think you agree so easily. After all, you were so hellbent on torturing the Savior. Very well then—proceed.”

“First of all, how many of them are there?”

“Eight in total, though their strengths are very different from each other, especially the irksome Okaran.”

“Alright, seems doable. Now, question two: What are their names and specialties?”

“A cautious one, aren't we? Well, I don’t have their Skill information at the moment. I will have the Lord Eternal relay it to you in due time. For now, I'll tell you what I do know."

“Works for me.”

“The ruler of the menagerie—Beast Master Wiley. His real name is unknown, but he is a human with vast knowledge of beast-kin and monsters alike. He possesses ani numeral amount creatures at his disposal and an influence that spans multiple countries. While he is rather weak in strength, his servants and Skills are nothing to scoff at. I advise only going after him if you can reach his temple directly.``

“I'll keep that in mind.” Target number 1 already seemed like a pushover.

“The only other human is a strange and fickle man. He is known as Mad Scientist Okaran. While he is technically still human, he has augmented himself far past the natural limits of your race. He is also the founder of the Monster Girl Builder that you yourself made use of. His extensive knowledge of the beast-kin as well as nearly any creature on this planet has made him a fan favorite of the Lord of Calamity. He is the one you would want to apprehend if you desire more information."

“I want to talk to that man for sure. He seems interesting…”

“Indeed he is, but he is a man of no allegiance except to himself. He will swap sides at the flip of a hat. If you can bring him over to the Lord Eternal's side once more, he will reward you handsomely.”

“Well, I do like being handsome.”

“Humorous as always, I see. Now for time's sake, I will just give you the names of the others and provide the details later. Under the lead of Demon General Abaddon, you will have to face Chaos Ghost dragon Albeor, Gargoyle King Crentch, The leviathan of the deep called Shabraz, Spider Empress Elaira, and lastly, one of the toughest and smartest out of the group: Sand Emperor Muramora.”

“This is starting to sound like a fantasy novel now. Did they come up with these names on their own?”

Morgala took a sip from her small glass, crimson liquid sloshing around inside like a miniature red sea. Where did that come from?

“I have spent enough of your time as it is. Get prepared and I will be happy to hear about your progress. Have a safe flight ~<3.” 

She licked her lips as if I was an enticing meal. The way she phrased her last few words unnerved me, but that wasn't something to explore now.

“Good day, Dark Goddess.”

“Mmmmmhmmmmmm.” She purred.

With a crackle, her sublime form dissipated from my golden holographic screen. I had a new goal, now. I pulled up my Status display.

[Name: Ivorn]—[Class: Destroyer]—[Level: 46]

[Skills: Blessing of the Dark God (MAX), Skill Negation (RANK 5), Demon Lord Metamorphosis (RANK 6)]

[Status: Intrigued]—[Attack: 15,000 + Weapon ( 5,000)]—[Defense: 24,000 + Armor (10,000)]—[Magic: 25,550]

“I think I should pay that Beast Master a little visit.”

———————————————————————————————————————————

My boar was fast as fuck as it galloped across the rocky terrain. We were now heading to The Super Mega Cannon which the scorpion said we could reach any destination with. Speaking of scorpion, she sat in the caboose of the hulking red boar. Her balance was damn perfect as she held her hands in her lap. 

Meanwhile, Komoria put her arms around my waist and held me tight like a pillow. She said it was to not fall off, but that made the chances of both of us falling off a lot higher. The only way to steer this behemoth was a rope that snaked in and around its mouth, forming a U-shape. As I held these badass reins, I felt two squishy things press into my back for the fifth time in a few minutes. I knew what they were, but I needed to keep my eyes on this bumpy road that we were now on.

“Take this straight path for a few more hours and we should reach the cannon without strife.”

“Whatever scorpion hoe, just tell me when to stop.”

I was expecting Komoria to bash me for my words, but she was too busy clinging to me for dear life to get a word out. Pretty funny.

Our conversations were small and full of nothing for the next hour. We passed into a large jungle area. Long trees and weird-looking plants stretched past us as we stampeded by. The ground was very moist as if it had rained recently and would likely do so again. It wasn't long before we reached a clearing with a large lake engulfing our field of view. 

With a snort, I commanded the boar to stop.

“There's a fork in the road, ” Komoria said as she reared her head up, taking in our surroundings.

“Dumbass. They both end up at the same exit on the other side of the lake.” I pointed to the small clearing directly on the other side.

“Oh yeah... You are right…” She seemed absent-minded. I followed her gaze to see what was up.

“Oh...that.” The scorpion followed where we both were looking. A small flower bed bloomed beautifully verdant in the middle of the lake. However, inside of it lay a skinny ginger man with bushy eyebrows and a long mustache. He looked like he was taking a nap. The minute we started looking at him, though, his eyes flashed open and he poofed into thin air.

“So yall can see me? That's great! You must have tangled with a god or goddess then. I'm so happy, I could cry! HOOO-RAAAAH!”

We all leaped off the back of the boar in astonishment. “Who the hell is this guy?” His speed was incredible, but his form seemed so malnourished that he would have been equivalent to a homeless man or a child from Africa back in my world.

“He's kinda creepy,” Komoria hissed, stepping between the scorpion and me. Was it my turn to be the human shield? That would not fly. 

“Ohoho. My bad, my bad. I haven’t introduced myself yet. Oh, how rude of me! You see it has been quite some time since I have spoken to anyone; three….no maybe four…”

I raised an eyebrow. “four days?”

“Four months?” Komoria followed, her curiosity peeking out as she moved ahead of us once more.

“Four years?” The scorpion finished with.

His cloudy gaze cleared up and he grinned. “Right! It’s been around four hundred dang years since I have spoken to anybody with feet. I’m so, so happy!” His friendly aura was starting to suffocate me.

“Four hundred?! But you look like a human!” Komoria gestured by pointing at his dark green worn-out tunic and orange faded pants with way too many holes in them. His sunken eyes also made him look like a hobo who lost his job as a lumberjack.

He patted his stomach. “I may not look like it now, but I used to be a rather strong fella back in my hay day. Around a thousand years ago I was in the top five most beloved gods. Was even featured in Forever Time Magazine once. Or was it The Rolling Boulder? Ah, snap. My memory is gettin' fuzzy again. At least I still got these puppies.” He flexed his non-existent biceps as if to prove a point.

I can almost see his bones. Eck!

"How interesting! I never knew there were gods like you!"

Komoria seemed to take more interest in him once he claimed to be a god. Her eyes were full of excitement and wonder, like a child at the candy store. She probably had enough energy to power a town for a year. “So? What’s your specialty?! Do you know other gods? Why were you laying in the middle of a lake for 400 years? Or did you move around and end up here as a new home?”

“Woah there, Lassy. That’s too many questions for this old man to handle in one sittin'. You seem really infatuated with me so I shall tell you a few things to quell that thirst.”

Did this skinny ginger call himself old? He seemed no more than 30… Then again, I saw younger-looking people claiming to be older a lot in the media and whatnot...

He pointed to himself with a smug look painted all across his face. “There's a pretty low chance you youngers have heard of me but lemme tell ya. The name's Atrius, god of the sacred Soul Duel. Man does it feel fantastic to say my name again! I felt like I might forget it soon.”

“Soul Duel? What's that.” It sounded sick as hell.

Now he pointed to Komoria. “I’m very glad you asked, Batygirl. Back in the golden age of the gods, the Soul Duel was a common way to settle wars, disputes, bets, or even divorces. One person would activate it while the other would either reject it or say nothing to seal the pact. If they do not reject it, then the Field of Infinity will appear and remain until a victor is determined.”

I cracked a smile. “So this is like some elite 1v1 shit? Tell me more.” I gathered my focus and decided to listen to what this man had to say. There was a lot of potential for fun from where he was going with this. 

“I am not sure what '1v1' means, but if you want to settle a grudge or win a war without mass bloodshed, the Soul Duel was the way to go. After the Field is deployed, the two inside will fight with the intent to kill, incapacitate, or push their opponent out of the Field of Infinity. When a duel begins, anyone inside is pushed out if they are not the chosen target. After all, this is meant to be a one-on-one battle.”

He was taking too long so I tried to rush him. “So what happens to the loser and the winner?”

He crossed his arms and sat down on a rock that appeared out of nowhere, and used it like a beanbag cushion. Three other rocks appeared for us to take a seat as well.

“Thanks, I guess.” What was I saying?! I don’t thank people. They thank me.

“The loser, after either being slain, pushed out, or knocked unconscious will have their soul absorbed by the winner and half their stats and level transferred to them.”

I was taken aback by the high rewards of such a simple concept. All I had to do was kick a boss out of this field to absorb their very soul. I was taught in school that the soul was the essence of a human. It seemed like that really was the case in this world if what he said was legit. This sounds way too good to be true.

“That’s a pretty crazy upside. I’m surprised I have never heard of this before.” Komoria took a seat as she talked. “I’m sorry, Atrius.”

His shoulders slumped when her words reached his ears, but he still acted gingery and full of passion. “It's not your fault, Batygirl. When I was at the height of my power and nearly ninety percent of this world used the Soul Duel, the King of the Gods decreed that it was too dangerous for this many people of all races to be fighting each other for their sole benefit. He made my friend, Jeremiah, erase the Soul Duel from the minds, books, and scriptures of nearly one hundred percent of the population. He did leave a few so I could still survive as a god, but that was...it.”

His tone had turned serious after acting like a dumb redneck for so long.

“What do you mean, survive?” The scorpion had her gaze locked on him with knit eyebrows. She had been silent throughout the whole interaction. Was she calling his bluff? Or was it something else?

Atrius met her with sadness in his eyes. It seemed he didn’t want to delve into this topic and yet he opened his mouth after taking a deep breath. “For us gods, we only exist because of the mortals that fervently worship us. When there is no one left to think about you, you slowly fade away into nothingness. I was grateful that some of my offspring as well as some priests were able to uphold the duel in its entirety. If not... Well, let's just say I wouldn’t be talking to you today. Now though….all my followers have died off and for hundreds of years, I have not been able to leave this jungle. It had a lot of mana flowing in it which has allowed me to hold on for so long, but now not even that will save me. Just look at my shriveled form.”

“Being forgotten sounds awful. I’ll never forget you, Lord Atrius. Is there anything I can do to help?” Komoria smiled at him and closed her eyes to show her sincerity.

Atrius brought a hand to his chin. “Hmmmmm, well my Soul Duel has gotten a lot weaker since the golden age. Only someone with an affinity to danger and combat as well as a decent amount of magic would be able to pull it off now.”

“Oh…” Komoria’s shoulders drooped with her wings and ears following.

“I see…” Lyra frowned as well.

“So that leaves you!” He pointed to me. “You are the one that needs to carry on my legacy.”

Usually, I would reject someone flat out, but this seemed too good of an opportunity to pass up. It could help with boss battles or troublesome girls in the future. I cannot pass this up.

“Sure, teach me. It better not take long, though.”

Atrius patted off the dust from his pants and jumped off his rock. “Great! It should only take an hour at most. I must warn you though, it puts a lot of strain on the body to use and can only be used once a day.”

“That doesn’t matter, just teach me—ginger.” I didn’t sit before, but this time I did and waited to hear what I would need to do. Atrius nearly had tears in his eyes.

“I didn’t really think someone would agree for real! Now I can finally go back to Heaven!”

“What's stopping you now?”

“Tsk tsk tsk, silly batygirl. With no followers, I am no more than a rogue spirit, cursed with immortality until I finally kick the bucket. Heaven doesn’t want a bad name so they kick any forgotten gods out. It has been quite some time since I have been there. I wonder how Ms. Kronika is doing?”

“Can we start already….” My patience was running thin. I didn’t want to hear the ramblings of someone that has been forgotten, but I would use him to my advantage.

He excitedly clapped his hands together. “Yes, let’s get started.”