100 AC / 55 HA
Third Person POV
"Lemegeton"
The pitch-black sphere materialized and spun rapidly over Hadrian's head, seemingly basking in the palpable terror of its prey. The towering demons shrieked, their layered, high-pitched voices cursing the artifact as if it were the true abomination in the ruined city.
Hadrian paid their cries no mind. He channelled his mana directly into the sphere, charging it with blinding power. Lemegeton whirled faster, the very air around the dead temple thickening and groaning under its sudden gravitational weight. Without warning, the sphere shot past Hadrian like a cannonball. It hovered directly over the nearest horned demon. The sheer, oppressive force of its presence slammed the towering beast into the mud, violently pressing it downward until deep webbed cracks splintered the bedrock beneath it.
Then, the harvest began.
The thick, viscous black liquid that formed the demon's body was forcefully drawn upward. It tore away from the creature's humanoid shape in thick, agonizing ribbons, spiralling into the endless void of Lemegeton. The demon screeched, thrashing wildly against the dirt, but it was entirely pinned. As the life-giving Taint was siphoned away, the demon's physical form began to desiccate. Its pitch-black weapons crumbled into ash, and its massive body rapidly shrank, withering like a dying leaf in a fire. Within seconds, the final drop of corruption was consumed, and the beast dissolved entirely, erased from existence as if it had never been more than a bad memory.
Lemegeton did not pause to rest. It darted toward the rest of the horde.
The remaining demons were helplessly tethered to the oozing black stones; traversing too far would completely cut them off from their dark source. Hadrian ruthlessly exploited this weakness. They could do nothing but watch in horror as the sphere pinned them to the earth. The plaza echoed with their dying shrieks as their dark essence was mercilessly ripped away. Lemegeton gorged itself on the horde, effortlessly refining their essence into energy.
Lemegeton then hovered back to Hadrian. He plucked the black sphere from the air, channelling mana into it while observing the changes.
Hermione came closer. "Father, what shall we do with the black stones?" she asked.
Hadrian did not answer, continuing to observe the black sphere. After some time, Lemegeton vanished from within his hands as he raised his eyes to focus on his daughter.
"For now, the Taint that the stones had collected has been purified. It will take time for more to be created; until then, the stone is merely a stone. I am more concerned by how Lemegeton purified the Taint." Hadrian spoke more to himself than to answer Hermione.
"Was it not like any other demonic energy? Lemegeton can easily purify it," Hermione stated rhetorically.
"It was different. It would seem Lemegeton is not able to completely remove the Taint's influence from the mana it purified by culling the demons. I need to understand this phenomenon more in order to make modifications to Lemegeton," Hadrian answered.
Hermione had an intrigued look at that. "That is likely the first time I have heard Lemegeton fail to do its intended task," she spoke, a little anxious but amused.
Hadrian gave a wry smile. "It took me ten years to bind Lemegeton to myself before I could refine energy through it. I had to make endless improvements and modifications to it after that for it to become what it is today. There were plenty of times where it failed me—even times where its failure could have led to my end. Even so, it is the greatest tool to fight beings made of aether."
"I hope I can craft an artifact like it someday," Hermione said hopefully.
"You will," Hadrian answered firmly. "We will scour the world for the finest of materials for it."
Hermione smiled, nodding at his words.
Hadrian then turned around to look at the temple ruins. The Death Stick rested in his palm as he raised his arm. With a mere flick of his wand, large piles of stone were hefted and thrown away into the surroundings, forming a clear path in front of them. Through the cleared debris, they saw statues of gods—some crumbled, others blackened—yet all still reminiscent of the formation Hermione had seen in the forest temple.
Chief among them, the largest statue—which should have stood at the centre—was missing.
In its place, a golden light was being emitted. As the final piece of debris floated into the air, the shining gold light intensified, revealing a figure in blue. She had black hair so thick and long that it fell off her shoulders in waves, touching the ground itself. Her face was pure, free of any blemish; her eyes were blue as the sky, and her cheeks were flushed with red.
Yet, as one let their gaze travel downwards, they would find nothing so noble.
She sat on the ground on her knees, her arms outstretched and bound by heavy golden chains. Her lower body was entirely covered in a pitch-black corruption up to her bosom. There, a radiant golden aura fought off the darkness, sending flakes of dark and gold vanishing into the damp air as the two magics violently clashed. The redness of her cheeks was not from health, but from the immense pain and effort she was exerting to hold the Taint at bay.
Mother Rhoyne looked miserable, quite unlike the divine goddess the Rhoynar pictured her to be. She stared at Hadrian endlessly without blinking, before her lips finally parted.
"You have come... Destroyer."