Chapter 115: Second Wave
The first wave of abominations had fallen to the combined assault of Wake of Ruin, the Daemon of Change.and the Soul Reaper.
However, the second wave did not take much longer to enter the waking world from the Gate and they were much more dreadful than the first one.
The first wave had around three hundred creatures, but this time, its numbers were ranging from four hundred to five hundreds.
What made it more dire, the ranks were reversed this time, with most of the Nightmare Creatures being of the Fallen rank while only a few were awakened. There were many Devils, but the majority were either Beasts or Demons.
Wake of Ruin had noticed this first, but he was not worried.
One of his crows had been left near the gates of the city, and from it, he was seeing hundreds of Awakened and a few Masters march towards here to protect their city.
He recognized some from the government, and other independent brave Awakeneds... There was even the Fire Keepers of Changing Star, but the lady herself was nowhere to be seen. She was likely in the Dream Realm right now and unaware of the gate opening, so it made sense.
To his surprise, some members of the great clans had come, but of course, there was no Saints among them.
'Those fools...'
Truly, Anvil and Ki Song... And the one that should not be named, were a dreadful and idiotic bunch.
The first to conquer the Fourth Nightmare, but instead of helping humanity properly, they ruled it with an iron fist, focusing on their own personal powers while clashing with the other.
Perhaps that was the nature of all supremes....but still, that did not justify their actions.
There was no way to stand up to them, as well, which meant the government had to remained in its place or else the soveirgnes would wipe them out personally.
Unless someone conquered the Fourth Nightmare, that is.
But that none of that mattered now, as Cor had to take on the full assault of the second wave himself.
Cor did not possess a True combat-based Aspect, as his Dormant Ability allowed him to bring 'disaster' to the world. It was a bizarre ability that influenced the world around him slightly and insidiously.
When he used it, His attacks would be more ferocious and much more destructive, and he could extend that boon to many other things as well such as his comrades.
He had granted that boon to Jet and Hugo, making them much more destructive.
Hugo specifically had benefited the most from this. The boy was already capable of bringing mass destruction without the boon, but now each of his attacks caused catastrophic results which even terrified wake of ruin for a moment.
Cor's Awakened and Ascended abilities, on the other hand, were not useful in battle. The Awakened made him able to peer into memories of objects to learn their history while his Ascended ability allowed him to create crow-like Echoes for various purposes.
His Transcendent Transformation was his biggest combative ability, and he was currently pushing it to the limit, drawing upon his Transcendent power.
[You have slain a Fallen Devil...]
[You have slain a Fallen...]
[You have slain a...]
The Nightmare Spell whispered in his mind as each of his crows spread further into the battlefield. They flew into the sky to gather momentum, then rushed down like missiles to pierce the skulls of the abominations.
Among the Saints of humanity, none could contend with Cor when it came to aerial combat.
The old Saint had taken it upon himself to create a Transcendent battle art the moment he had conquered the Third Nightmare, and after years of combat, he had finally done so.
He had fashioned a Transcendant battle art that relied heavily on his Transcendant transformation. Making him infinitely more deadly in the air. This particular combat style allowed him to be perfect against hordes of nightmare creatures as well, as cor had mastered the techniques of splitting his mind into multiple crows and controlling each crow individually.
One of his crows glanced to the side, seeing Jet fight in the bloodbath below...
He would not admit it, but he was proud of that girl. She was much like a daughter to him, after all.
The Paragon of Purity, on the other hand, did not have any such position in Cor's heart. If anything, the old Saint had thought of him as a tool.
That young man was one of the prodigies of this generation. No... He, Changing Star, and her cohort were prodigies of the century, being the youngest to ever conquer the Second Nightmare.
Cor had no doubt that they would become Saints one day... Perhaps even more, in the future.
So, He had specifically pressured his colleagues in the government about the Paragon of Purity, intending to make him join their ranks at all costs. In a sense, that boy was Cor's ultimate weapon.
But for now, the abominations seeping into the waking world were of more importance.
——————
Hugo was bleeding... Well, not really. His current form did not possess blood—instead there was only water inside, which served as the equivalent of blood.
He did not care much for that, as he continued moving through abominations like a hungry wraith. Hugo's sanity was still intact, despite the fact that his instincts had shifted.
It was a bizarre thing, to be truly non-human while retaining his sanity.
He could think, speak, and understand human concepts but he could also perceive things no human was meant to experience. He saw colors that didn't exist for human eyes. He heard sounds that no human ear could register—the groan of the ground, the whisper of the air, as if they had their own personalities and their own spirits. Even the Nightmare Gate had one, though that presence was far more oppressive and far more terrifying.
The savage instincts he felt made him more ferocious in combat but not in human terms. No, it was the ferocity of a creature, no different from Nightmare Creatures.
He wondered if this was what Sunny felt when he practiced Shadow Dance.
What was truly strange was that Hugo had never felt these things before, despite having been a Noble Creature numerous times.
Now, he understood one thing: the more he ascended, the more he would understand what it meant to be non-human. After all, ever since his Aspect evolved, he had ceased to be human. He was the Omnitrix now, simply assuming this human form as one of his many shapes.
What that truly entailed, Hugo still did not fully know but he would find out in the future.
Hugo unleashed a myriad of ice arrows from his body, shaping them before launching them at the abominations the moment they got out of the Gate.
His essence was not drained, as he had been using it carefully. Mixing melee combat with his ice abilities was one of the best decisions he had made.
He was showcasing superior skills to the Nightmare Creatures, using a savage battle style while retaining his sanity.
Hugo had wanted to use [Nothing], but the Transcendent Memory was not needed in this situation, considering that Hugo's arms were a weapon in and of themselves.
'There's too many of them... What to do...'
He could gather a large amount of ice and freeze all of them, but that would take long and there were many abominations that could reach him while he did that... Not to mention, Soul Reaper and Zed were not that far away from him which meant they would be caught in a wide area attack...
'...If I can't freeze them, then drowning them should do the trick.'
Hugo became intangible and phased through the horde, looking around the battlefield. It was still a bloodbath, but he was no longer searching for somebody.
Wake of Ruin and Zed were high in the sky, battling the abominations. Jet, however, was jumping between the ground and the sky, and even then she wasn't getting high up, so he only needed to get her out of the way before attempting his audacious plan.
"Soul Reaper!" Hugo shouted, warning her of his arrival so that she didn't accidentally kill him.
The government Master turned to him briefly but couldn't respond, looking at him as if he has lost his mind.
"Grab my arm!" Hugo shouted, stretching his arm while flying towards her.
She seemed unsure at first, but she ended up taking his arm. As she did, Hugo flew high into the sky, causing a massive wave of dragons to fly up, chasing after them.
"What are you doing?!" Jet said with a grim expression on her face.
"Just trust me." Hugo responded in a raspy voice.
Not yet... Not yet...
Then, just as he found himself high enough, Hugo turned around and aimed his arms downward.
BOOM!
A shockwave spread through the sky as water suddenly poured from Hugo's hands, shoulders, and mouth. It was aimed with such high velocity that it completely evaporated the bodies of the creatures that took it head-on.
The water kept going, reaching into the ground and killing hundreds of abominations at once.
He aimed it around, filling the entire Gate area with water, literally turning it into a river.
Hugo was burning through his soul essence rapidly, but then, he suddenly stopped.
By now, nearly all of the Nightmare Creatures were submerged in water, and those that weren't were wet from the attack.
To this, He smiled chillingly.
" How about a free shower, you dirty bastards."
All the water that had been produced from him suddenly begun to move, as Hugo controlled it himself, and then, it suddenly transformed into ice.
The abominations that were on the floor suddenly froze, finding themselves trapped under the ice. At the same time, the flying abominations who had gotten wet from the water were engulfed in a terrifying carcass of ice and crashed to the ground.
In the span of a moment, the terrain changed, as a massive icy area—a frozen lake—surrounded the Gate area, sticking it out like a sore thumb compared to the wasteland they were in.
Hugo breathed heavily, nearly exhausted.
He flew down to the ground, nearly crashing.
It worked. His plan was audacious and insane, but it had worked. Controlling the battlefield was something possible for skilled Awakened, but changing the battlefield itself was something only Saints and above were capable of...
Hugo might not possess the skill, but he definitely possessed the power.
One of the dragons that was falling over was about to slam right into him, but then Soul Reaper, who had been on his back, dashed forward like a bullet, slicing the abomination in half and stopping its descent.
She looked back at Hugo with a calm expression.
"...Monstrous brat." Then, Soul Reaper moved once again, going to deal with the surviving abominations, which were relatively small.
Hugo sprawled himself on the now icy ground, as his omnitrix glowed red, detransforming him.
The abominations were dead... But it was not over yet.
The two waves of Nightmare Creatures were simply a warm-up for the real deal.
The Nightmare Gate rippled violently, its darkness becoming more imposing and far more profane.
Hugo scowled, feeling a presence wash over the landscape despite the fact that his Titan sense was not activated.
A massive dark wing appeared from the Gate, nearly the size of an entire building.
Hugo knew what that was, despite never seeing it before.
It was the Gate Guardian.