" The Towering Worlds : Hell's Chalice. ™"
A Story written By @mohhdude.
(Be warned, there will be references from other series in this book!!)
Alternative Names -
"TTW : HC.™"
"Protocol — Hell's Chalice. ™"
"End of Earth, Beginning of Hell. ™"
Chapter VI:
"Violence breeds violence."
Act II:
Sasaki and Aleksandr.
"An eye for an eye will make the whole world go blind."
— Mahatma Gandhi.
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| CONCEALATION |
| 'Tis but a rumor, but concealing the Ten Rings of Solomon is said to be very common amongst nobles/rulers and Royans. In the past, Royans taught the second generation of rulers of the nations how to conceal their mana to hide suspicion or to hide how powerful their mana is, depending on why they use it in the first place. |
Leif's POV…
…I floated through my dreams, searching for something. I saw the ground beneath me go farther and farther from my two feet, then I saw him. Aleksandr.
Aleksandr was the only one who lent his hand to me when I was casted out as the weird kid, the only light shone on me whenever I'm shrouded in darkness.
I yearned for him. It hurt him badly, but he never let go of me no matter how sharp the thorns were. That's why I loved him, the only one who told me that "I matter".
And I saw him in front of my eyes, I approached him. I could almost cry and fall apart in his arms, just so that he could keep holding me together.
In my dreams, he told me only one word. "Ironia.", before he kept saying Leif, and for me to wake up.
…I woke up.
"Leif! Wake up! Taiyō said we have to go!" Victor shouted as I sat up, rubbing my hair. I noticed my eyes were puffy. I wipe my eyes with my thumb and see there's a tear droplet, I remember the dreams I've had, yearning for the gaze of Aleksandr just one more time.
I glance at Aurum and Victor packing their stuff, looking out the window with Taiyō standing there, impatiently tapping his foot. I blinked, but saw a small silhouette enter the golden portal behind the king.
I squinted as my vision cleared, I thought I was just seeing things… I got out of bed, walking to the bathroom. I washed my face, looking into the mirror. Seeing a white haired figure in the corner.
"AH!" I yelped, it was only Solomon in my point of view. I sigh in relief, startled by the sudden appearance of the Grand Benefactor. Solomon glanced at me, rolling his eyes.
"I saw your dreams once again. I see that you share a… deep 'friendship' with this Aleksandr person, Yamamoto." He said with a sarcastic tone, teasing me.
I sighed in irritation, "You couldn't appear before me just to mock me, Solomon… What is it?" He nodded his head as I wiped my face with a piece of cloth, I gurgle water as he spoke:
"You're going to the former nation of Babel, Yamamoto.", I nodded my head, wondering what's so wrong with it, speaking with water in my mouth. "Yeah, and what's wrong with it?"
I saw as Solomon's face darkens, he seems to have a past with the Babel. I spat out the water onto the floor, I turned around, leaning against the wall. "Well, I guess I'll keep careful." But as soon as I did, Solomon had vanished.
The silence was deafening, I sighed. I wiped my face with a towel, as I glanced at the pact symbol on my hand. I ran my hand through my wet hair as I walked out with a towel around my neck, I saw Aurum and Victor ready to go, Only I had to get ready.
And so, I did. I equipped my sheathed sword, along with my gear that I usually wear during expeditions. I arrived outside with the three; Aurum, Victor & Lord Taiyō waiting for me. We walked into the golden portal as Azaad waved us goodbye.
As the golden portal closes, the environment of the former nation of Babel was… Rather unwell. Aurum tapped the ground with his staff, as the lantern lit up the area. The clouds were dark, as though it had surpassed the height and mercilessness of the tower of Babel.
My gaze wandered across the landscape of Babel as we walked, how Gudo once told me the history of Babel and its destruction during the Great War. The blabbering with Sheri laying on the hospital bed as I get scolded for not knowing basic history. Though I am not from here.
… Not that I want Sheri to get burned again, of course. We traversed through the abandoned, decimated nation. I wondered how it was before the Great War… Filled with Glee? Sorrow? Or perhaps nothing…? The giant tower of Babel was many steps ahead of us.
The silence was deafening, until Victor decided to speak up for no reason; "Hey, Lei-", I cut him off, "Rien.", "Yeah, Rien… How come you were stuck with Lord Taiyō for so long?"
"... I can't really answer that question, Vick. Maybe another one?" I saw Victor smirk a little, "I'll give you another question alright, why'd a rat shed its fur all over your face?" It wasn't long before I had realized that Victor was talking about the stubble I've grown over the past four years.
"Is it that unpleasant that you describe it in that sense…?" I answered, Victor hadn't changed once over the course of four years. The talk had brought a sense of a good atmosphere as the group walked.
Taiyō looked at the two, "Keep your guard up, you two. You can't take risks in order to talk, this is a former nation. There can be people here camping."
As Aurum's lantern swung gently left and right, he turned his head to Taiyō, Victor and Rien. "Lord Taiyō, wasn't this country considered taboo to step foot by all five nations after the Great War?"
Taiyō nodded his head, the sounds of birds cawing as they flew, the skies of Babel were dark, even through day and night, no light seemed to pass through its clouds. "Seems you've done your homework, yes it is. I, fortunately, am the ruler of the glorious nation of Al'Adqas. Meaning I, and the other four rulers, have access to it."
"Ah… Alright…", Aurum responded… All of a sudden, a small cut appears on his finger as he drops the lantern staff. I quickly laid my hand on the handle of my sword, and kept one hand on Victor to keep coordination. "You okay, Aurum?"
Taiyō, ignoring the fact that it's completely dark, looks to his right as he summons a sword in his hand. He points to the sky, shooting a bright beam of mana to act as a false sun, before the assassin could strike Taiyō down.
Taiyō quickly stabs his shin and temporarily incapacitates the assassin, "URK-!" He grunted, Taiyō grabbed him by the back of his neck tightly and pulled back his hood.
"I wasn't expecting to meet you again, Rhodes Cone." Taiyō looked at his face, with a look of disgust. "How ironic, the man who made my father kneel to him now kneels to me. Speak, why are you on Babel?"
Rhodes quickly sent a ball of mana into the air as it vanished, Rhode's body quickly dismantled into parts of a puppet. I looked at the body parts, "Parts of a puppet… This could only mean…"
With many strings woven across the fields, Charles Greenday stood under the bright false sun, balancing on the threads he had created as he threw his arms open. "I sure hope you aren't too busy for a quick puppet show, dear friends.", Taiyō clicked his tongue in irritation, "A fake… I'll get him next time."
Many puppets descend from the threads Charles hung up, and camouflaged in those many puppets was Charlotte Greenday, pushing the hilt of her sword out of the sheathe, her blade glinting as she saw the reflection of the targeted group of four.
Charlotte formed arm guards around her forearms by creating a puppet of herself to enhance her durability, she jumped up into the air. Her silhouette in front of the false sun. She landed on the ground with a mana blast with her sword. Taiyō grabbed Aurum by the back of his cloak's hood as Me and Victor spread out.
"You two are from the Paradox Organization, I assume.", Taiyō still had his grip on Aurum's hood. He lets go of his grip as Charlotte nods her head. "I apologize, but we are going to claim the Sin of Heresy before you, Majesty of Al'Adqas."
Me, including the other two were shocked, looking at Taiyō because of him not explaining why they were at Babel in the first place. "The Sin of Heresy?! Why didn't you tell us?!" Victor exclaimed, he had formed stone gauntlets.
"Because we'd have to move fast before they had gotten here, but it seems we're too late. Is Rhodes Cone not with you, Paradox Girl?" Taiyō asked, Charlotte shaked her head left and right. "No, but I have no time for this, let's make this quick."
Charles was dealing with Me and Victor, Victor reels his arm back and punches a puppet with his stone gauntlet, causing it to scatter into tiny bits and pieces. I was slicing up clones with his sword heated up with fire magic, Charles simply descending between the two back to back fighters and touching their arms with his fingertips.
Charles whispered to himself, "And so, threads shall bind you.", and in an instant, threads formed around Me and Victor and bonded their body in place. Taiyō quickly shot a beam of mana to Charles whilst fighting Charlotte, making him lose control of the threads.
Victor punched Charles in the gut, Charles caught his fist. His eyes glaring up to see Victor, glowing purple. "Gluttony." Charles consumed the stone gauntlet with a mini red vortex in his hand, I quickly pulled Victor away, horizontally slashing the air as many sparks followed the trail of the slash.
"This isn't anything like the Charles we fought at Ironia nor at the Paradox Base in Putresc..! He's got the contract with the Sin of Gluttony!" I then grit my teeth. Suddenly, Aurum grabs me and Victor from the fight. Taiyō shouts "I ORDER YOU TO CAPTURE THE SIN OF HERESY! I WILL HOLD THEM OFF!"
Victor shouted back "SIR YES SIR!" I nodded my head, Taiyō fought both Charlotte and the now Vessel of Gluttony Charles. Sparks were everywhere, they ran to the entrance of the Tower. Victor and I try to pry the gate open as Aurum lightly touches the gate, making the moss that blocks the gears of the gates rot into nothing.
They successfully get into the tower of Babel, the gates shut as Aurum makes the doors rot shut. "That'll hold them off for now, let's go and qui-", As Aurum was about to finish, they saw a hooded figure approach them. Me and Victor stood on guard.
"Show yourself! Who are you?!" The hooded figure said nothing, but signalled us to follow them… We approached with caution. As the hooded figure walked through the halls of the tower, with drawings and paintings on the walls. I touched the paintings lightly, causing the contract seal on my hand to sting.
"Ow!" But then, I saw paintings of a king with ten rings on his fingers. The contract seal was throbbing at the sight of it, so then I put two and two together, why Solomon was displeased with going to Babel. "...Back on Earth, you weren't the one who reigned over Babel at all, Solomon."
The throbbing stopped, I sighed. As they keep walking until they see a giant library filled to the brim with old, dusted books. The hooded figure proceeds to keep leading them down, to the lowest level of Babel.
In a tight space, shackled to the floor, sat the Sin of Heresy himself. In the form of a malnourished human, his hair descended past his back heels. The hooded figure sees as the three approach the malnourished, unconscious Sin of Heresy.
"Holy… This is my first time actually seeing a demon up close…" Victor said, the hooded figure nodded his head. "They say that he awakens when splashed with the blood of a Royan." He took off his hood, as white hair flowed out with horns growing from his head. His smile was wide, and with a sudden and quick movement, Victor was stabbed in his hand.
Blood splashed on the body behind the three, the white haired demon cackled, "And so, the Sin of Heresy awakens under the dark skies of Babel! The Anger of a Father!" The black tear lines on the white haired man's face made it obvious to Aurum who this was.
"You're no guide… You are Ahriman…" The white haired man nodded to Aurum's words with a wide grin, the body twitched behind them. "In the flesh…" Ahriman answered, the three backed away from the body. "...RUN!!" And again, the three had to run from certain death.
With the body now splashed with blood, the shackles faded away. The skies flickered red, centuries of hatred built up for the Goddess that gave him life, and took away his daughter and wife.
Aurum, Victor and Rien run back to the doors of the Tower, Ahriman had already disappeared. Aurum without hesitation uses rot magic and melts the door away completely "Listen Aurum, I-". "Vick, we'll talk about you being a Royan later!" Me and the other two ran outside, Taiyō had already taken care of Charlotte and Charles.
"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Taiyō yelled, Aurum ran to him as he grabbed his collar tightly. "OPEN THE DAMNED PORTAL OR ELSE WE'RE ALL ARE GOING TO DIE!" Taiyō listened, opening the golden portal as we all ran in.
Charles was picked up by Charlotte, disappearing.
A giant crimson beam of mana cleared the dark skies of Babel, and the false sun made by Taiyō bursted from the sheer presence. And he marched forwards from the destroyed Tower of Babel.
All five nations could see the giant crimson beam that shall scorch Redlocnse, the awakening of one who shall rip those who follow Aria asunder with no hesitation.
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— CHAPTER VI, FIN.
— NEXT CHAPTER: "Your Delusions."
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