Bastion and the party were waiting for the arrival of the supposed demon horde when the sound of shattering glass echoed from somewhere further north. A moment later, the Demon Lord's aura swept over them, thick and oppressive, threatening to send them fleeing in terror.
Acting on instinct alone, Aurelia unleashed her domain skill. A calming presence swept over the group like a protective veil, shielding their minds and bodies from the crushing pressure. The effect was immediate. Her domain not only cleansed the invading energy but also struck back, lashing out against the higher-ranked force.
The Demon Lord's overwhelming aura faltered before the divine strength of her domain. Empowered by its protection, the party withstood the pressure and held their ground.
Then, from atop the treeline, a hundred-meter-tall demon with black leathery wings stood up, gazing down at them with cold, calculating eyes. The group stood frozen, stunned by the terrifying fate they had been forced to confront.
The Demon Lord did not attack. At least not yet. He paused to assess the area, cautious and alert. Freshly unsealed, he remained wary of any potential threats. Even the faintest sign of a Rank 4 would force him to retreat immediately. In that case, he would vanish into the world's shadows, bide his time, and build an army to act in his place.
Finding none, his eyes settled on the party. He decided they would make a suitable snack before he called for his army to consume the world.
But as he closed the distance with earthshaking steps, he suddenly froze. The aura radiating from the girl pierced through his awareness, triggering a surge of bitter recognition. It was the unmistakable presence of that accursed Goddess, the very one whose lackey had sealed him away for ten thousand years.
He opened his mouth to speak, but before a single word escaped, divine light erupted from Aurelia, bathing everything in the Goddess's radiant aura.
Golden light wrapped around her form as wings of pure brilliance emerged from her back. She was taller, more graceful, and impossibly beautiful.
Without a word, she ascended into the sky to confront the Demon Lord face to face.
"It's been a while, Ballsack," the Goddess teased with a smile.
"It's Baslock, you conniving bitch!" the Demon Lord roared.
"Say that to my face, you insignificant worm!" she snapped, divine fury flaring in her eyes.
"Which is why I'm saying it here, in the mortal realm... whore," he retorted with a smirk.
The Goddess didn't respond. She only smiled, slow and knowing.
A tense silence followed before Baslock's expression twisted in alarm. His power was draining rapidly. Somehow, the Goddess's domain was eroding his energy, forcing him to spiral out of control and consume the surrounding mana in a desperate attempt to shield himself.
"What have you done?" he bellowed.
"I made good use of the ten thousand years you were sealed away," she said sweetly. "Do you like it? I made it just for you."
"It's not enough," he growled. "Your avatar doesn't have enough power to stop me."
"Maybe not," she said, eyes glowing, "but I planned for that as well. I even used up two quotas this time."
"Heroes?" Baslock sneered. "You think Apprentice Rank whelps could stop me if I ran, let alone any demigods your band of incompetent gods might send?"
"They're heroes, Ballsack. It doesn't matter if you run. Your fate is sealed."
"We'll see about that!" he roared as he surged with energy.
Sensing the mounting energy, Bastion didn't even try to defend himself. There was no point. Those preparing to fight were far beyond him in power. All he could do was hope to survive the clash to come.
Except, there was no violent battle.
Baslock and the Goddess simply stayed in place, radiating their energy. Between them, they formed a sphere of inviolable power, each trying to consume the other where their forces met and overlapped.
They shaped their energy with precision, occasionally flicking it at one another like children playing in a pool of water.
Bastion was stunned. He couldn't make sense of what was happening and could only guess they were being as efficient as possible with their energy.
Rather than unleashing some epic clash of overwhelming might, they kept their actions minimal, avoiding even the slightest waste. Every iota of power was measured and controlled.
Given their difference in size, it made sense. The Goddess could easily evade any blow the Demon Lord attempted while steadily draining his power.
The Goddess floated gracefully at the center of her sphere of radiant energy, palms open at her sides, facing the Demon Lord. Her hands would occasionally flick, releasing bursts of power strong enough to destroy the academy many times over.
Baslock responded in kind, countering each attack with a burst of his own. His energy would divide the incoming blasts and break them down into chunks before dispersing them. He retaliated as well, launching powerful streams of energy, but he was clearly outmatched.
The Goddess deflected his attacks effortlessly, redirecting them beyond the boundary of his sphere of influence. The resulting wave of power erupted into a titanic roar that would have obliterated an entire mountain range had it struck the ground.
The Goddess was clearly winning their subtle game of control, much to Baslock's growing rage. Still, he had one advantage. His reserves far outmatched those of the Goddess, whose avatar would not last much longer.
All he needed to do was endure, devour the so-called heroes, and resume his campaign.
He couldn't run. The Goddess was right. As long as the heroes existed and he remained in Gaia, fate would hunt him down. But if he could devour the heroes and win the battle of fate, not only would he escape pursuit, he would grow stronger while remaining on Gaia.
It was a risk worth taking. Killing the heroes was better than constantly fending off swarms of Rank 4s, as he had barely managed before.
So, he would endure the humiliation and crush a group of Apprentice Rank children to get his way.
Unfortunately, he was vastly outmaneuvered by the Goddess, who had managed to multiply the effectiveness of her energy several times over while simultaneously reducing his own efficiency. This was due to the cursed upgrade she had made to her energy, which completely triumphed over his own.
If this continued, he would be forced to abandon his current form and revert to a smaller, more efficient body. It would make him weaker, possibly enough for the domain of a saintess to affect him, but even then he would still be strong enough to slaughter a group of weaklings.
Baslock and the Goddess continued their battle until a turning point came, marked by Baslock's anguished wails.
"Impossible. You cannot be this powerful!"
His calculations had been completely wrong. Not only had the Goddess forced him to revert to his more efficient form, but her special domain also weakened his powers. At this rate, even a group of Apprentice Rank children would be able to finish him off.
"Little worm, you overestimate yourself," the Goddess said. "You were a nice project, but I have grown bored with you. Now, play with the children. My new Saintess could use the experience."
Fate had ensured that every step led to Baslock's current downfall. Even so, it had not abandoned him entirely. If he could overturn the battle and receive fate's blessing, he could still thrive rather than merely survive.
The energy radiating from Baslock collapsed inward, concentrating at his core as his body began to shrink.
But before the transformation could even begin, a brilliant blue beam of condensed magical energy shot from the direction of the academy and struck Baslock square in the chest. The impact was devastating. The sheer density of mana bored a hole through his massive frame, punching all the way through to his back.
The beam continued to fire, but its aim grew unstable. The searing energy swept erratically, slicing through the base of Baslock's wings and carving jagged lines across his chest.
Baslock was weakening rapidly from the severe loss of energy. He might not even survive the transformation.
Fortunately, the beam was cut short, leaving him with just enough energy to stay alive.
Still, he overworked his remaining strength to close the wounds while continuing to shrink. By the end, he was even weaker than an average human.
The Goddess was surprised by the turn of events. She had expected to come up short, given the limited amount of energy she could channel through an avatar without breaking the rules.
Even so, this was a pleasant surprise. She had managed to save up a considerable reserve of power. It seemed that using her second quota had not been a mistake after all.
She descended to the miniature demon, now struggling to even stand, and flicked her finger one final time. A beam of divine light shot forth, swallowing Baslock whole before continuing its path deep into the earth.
Nothing remained of the legendary Demon Lord who had once decimated the northern lands of the continent.
The Goddess smiled as her gaze shifted toward the academy, where the beam that had sealed Baslock's fate had originated. Kurogane Ayame had done well. She had minimized the damage and even saved her some energy. She deserved a fitting reward.
Her eyes shifted toward Bastion, and her smile faded into a slight frown. She still couldn't read his fate the way she had with Kurogane Ayame.
Hero Summoning is a type of godly ritual that solves a problem by pulling a soul capable of resolving it from the infinite universes and delivering them to the summoner. It is a standard spell for all gods and comes with usage restrictions in the form of quotas.
One quota is acquired every ten thousand years, and over the past ten thousand years, she had used three. She considered herself fortunate to have had a stockpile.
In addition to the summoning, gods also had the ability to tap into the tapestry of fate, which allows them to determine if the summoned would ultimately succeed. For Kurogane Ayame, it was immediately obvious that she would, with a significant percentage.
Bastion, on the other hand, was different. Such individuals were rare during Hero Summonings and were known as duds. They were people whose fate could not be seen, measured, or predicted.
As a result, their summoning was often seen as a failure. Without any assurance that the purpose of the summoning would be fulfilled, the gods who received them were forced to seek alternative solutions to their problems.
But with Bastion, it wasn't just that. Something else about him gnawed at the back of her mind, something she could not quite place.
It frustrated her deeply, but there was nothing she could do except watch and wait. In time, she would see where fate would lead him.
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