The Hundred Reigns 219: The World of Ruins (13) (Patreon)

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A ray of light surged at the Lord of Dark. 

The beam came from the heart of the shining star carrying Helel’s dominion afloat. It was a ruinous light of pure destruction, similar to the magic which had devastated Endymion’s fleet during that fateful battle over Cocagne’s waters. Simon had suffered a severe defeat back then, back when he was a mere man.

But a god could not fall.

Simon matched the beam with his own Hellfire Gaze. The flames of his will erupted from his three eyes like a solar flare that illuminated the dark night. The beams hit the incoming light and immobilized it, their clash warping space at the edges. 

His predecessors joined in, each firing more flames from their baleful eyes. Their malice combined steadily repelled the light back to its source in a fiery apocalypse. The soldiers brave enough not to die at the mere sight of him were instantly vaporized.

Their glares snapped the floating fortress in two. 

The floating continent shattered in half, its parts falling onto the earth into a shower of burning meteors. They collapsed onto Frightwall’s rising stone floor and exploded into a series of marvelous fireworks. 

Yet the false light at the heart of the collapsing continent continued to shine brighter. Pulses of power surged out of it, like tremors preceding the quake. 

“It appears we have accidentally cracked Helel’s prison,” Mardok noted. Not an impossible outcome considering they had destroyed the four elemental megaliths earlier. “This might be an issue, our successor. Your power in this form is proportional to your Overlord level. You’re not quite invincible ye—”

The Overlord within Simon burned with annoyance at the comment and his hand seized Mardok’s throat with an iron grip. He strangled the snake and left him gasping for breath. He could not control his own creation.

“My power knows no limits,” the Overlord replied through Simon’s lips as survivors remained to harass him. Dragonkin and undead flew at him like a swarm of bugs, carried by a familiar song shielding their minds from fear and death. Their scales and bones were covered in script which Simon recognized as suicide runes. 

Since they sought a worthy death so fervently, Simon allowed them to crash against him. They broke on his armor like waves on the eternal shore, exploding on contact and hurting him no more than ants slamming themselves on a mountain. 

Minor Fire damage! Minor Physical damage!

Any damage they inflicted healed easily enough, but they continued to attack relentlessly to the cursed song’s tune. Simon searched for its source and quickly located it, flying with Lotan: a pale woman with blue skin, fin-wings, and a fish tail. She wielded a familiar trident and a crystal glowed in her chest, empowering her voice with a song. 

Tiamut had found a new host. A familiar face, which Simon had only met once and yet still recognized easily enough. 

The mermaid queen. 

“You are making me rue the day I chose to spare you on my final reign, Melusine,” Balzam commented. “I cannot wait to taste your flesh again.”

“I found her too salty,” Gargauth replied dismissively. 

Simon welcomed them duly by pointing his finger at them. “My breath is the wind of ruin, my wrath is a storm, and all those that face me shall wither and die. Darkflare!” 

Shadows danced in the clouds and brought down the sky.

His spell could draw upon the limitless miasma from the comet, the mana furnace one called a dragon’s heart, and the might of Frightwall itself. Abyssal energies gathered in a sphere the size of a castle, space warping at its edges, then violently exploded in an apocalyptic blast of miasma. 

What remained of the Dominators’ army was swiftly annihilated, but Tiamut-Melusine flew back to Lotan’s side for protection. The crab unleashed a protective bubble keeping the devouring darkness away from the duo; not even Darkflare could pierce through that barrier of absolute space. 

“I tire of this nonsense,” Balzam commented dismissively. “Moonlight Mirage.”

Aspect of Balzam’s Teamcaster expanded Moonlight Mirage to you! Haste and Mirage status!

Each Overlord could act and spellcast independently, their self-buffs applying to them all thanks to Balzam’s Commander passives. Time slowed down to a crawl for Simon as he transformed his Overlord mace into a sheathed sword, waiting for the exact second Lotan dropped his shield to charge power in its mouth.

Quickdraw. 

To Tiamut and Lotan, it would have seemed that a mountain had crossed miles of land in an instant. Tiamut reacted surprisingly quickly and sang an orb of water into existence with a melodious aria. It exploded into a flurry of bubbles that exploded on contact with Simon’s armor. It was a powerful attack, which could have likely killed or heavily wounded his mortal self. 

But to a giant of his size, they were no more dangerous than a drizzle. 

Minor Water damage. 

Simon’s sword silenced her for good by cleaving her into a thousand pieces. The weight of his immense edge tore her asunder into bloody chunks falling onto the earth. 

Lotan himself attempted to repel the Overlord like he did before, but Gargauth and Mardok proved quicker on the draw. Their fangs bit into him from two different sides and then pulled back like two dogs fighting over a scrap of meat. They tore him in half while it shrieked for its miserable life. The screams and the feeling of cold crustacean blood dripping on his metal scales filled Simon with glee. 

Level 76 Overlord Perk: Devour Crestone VII (Active): You may consume a Crestone to absorb a Perk you have unlocked with its associated Class. The Devour Crestone VII Perk then permanently turns into the newly absorbed Perk.

More. The Overlord’s thirst for power and destruction would not be quenched so easily. More. More.

Gargauth swallowed his half of Lotan, Zodiac crystal included, and licked his fangs. “Bitter and crabby flavor. I like it.”

“This is too easy,” Balzam Magnos noted, his eyes glancing around in search of a hidden threat. “A diversion.”

“I sense a stinking presence,” Gargauth said, smelling the air. “A rat is scurrying nearby.”

“Valravn, no doubt.” Mardok threw away Lotan’s remains and then looked around. “Mithras would not be foolish enough to throw so many troops at us without a plan.” 

A rumbling noise echoed from the fading clouds above, and the Overlords looked up to see a massive triangle flying down at them with a rumbling roar.

Simon had seen many things during his many reigns, but the sight of the floating fortress coming down on him gave him pause. Over five hundred feet tall from its limestone floor to its golden crystal peak, the pyramid was built out of red limestone incorporating immensely complex runes and other enchantments. Hundreds of manalith rods built beneath its polished base arced with enough energy to keep it afloat like the Sanctuary’s islands. His Dark Visionary senses could see the raw power coursing through the entire structure.

Moreover, the entire surface of the device was lined with manalith cannons similar to those used by Alcyone’s airship; all of them ready to fire. Light coursed through its surface as it prepared to launch an attack. Simon briefly considered summoning his slave eidolons to dispose of the annoyance, but the Overlord spirit considered it beneath him. 

“Mithras,” Mardok noted, hellfire building up in his reptilian eyes. “How quaint—”

A bug stung the Overlord in the back, and sharp pain coursed through his spine.

Simon had become too great and dignified to scream in agony, but he did grunt. Something plugged up the flow of power he received from the great Abraxas and the stars above, then followed up with a familiar sensation of a thousand invisible blades flaying all of his buffs away. 

All buffs flayed away! Heavy Metal damage! Anti-Heal ailment applied!

Horoscopic Sword is disrupting your Serpent-Bearer Sign! Regeneration cancelled! 

The pain was one thing, but it was the loss of power that felt most crippling. The constant rush of pleasure and absolute might cut off abruptly, leaving Simon’s mind dizzy and wanting. He peeked over his shoulder and glared at those who would deny him his glory.

Two insects had crawled on his back while he was distracted with greater threats: Valravn, who had stabbed him in the back with the same sword Vouivre used against him in Valne; and a winged goatfish Simon recognized as Nodens’ normal form. He looked quite terrified at the sight of the Overlord’s Crown of Pain shining with his power, and he was already preparing another debuff spell. 

Simon would have blasted them with a Chaos Wave, but the flow of his disrupted miasma wavered before he could complete the spell. Worse, the pyramid’s cannons unleashed a volley at him while he was distracted. Hundreds of radiant projectiles struck him in the face, blasting off part of his armor with hateful light and causing miasmic smoke to pour out of his wounds. 

Massive Light damage!

For the first time since he achieved his current heights of power, Simon was forced to protect himself from the bombardment by raising his arms. Not only did the projectiles hurt, but his wounds failed to regenerate instantly. Acid and shadows dripped from the holes in his armor.

“Disable your cursed sword, lizard!” Balzam snapped at Gargauth. 

“You fools think you can use my own weapon against me?!” Gargauth growled with anger and malice. “Murakumo!”

The Horoscopic Sword shattered in Valravn’s arms. 

No sooner did it break that Simon’s magic returned to him. He cast Chaos Wave with a roar, repelling the current volley of projectiles and the Zodiac Fiends on his back. Gargauth breathed fire at them while in midflight, vaporizing Nodens and causing Valravn’s burning body to fall onto the earth below. Simon crushed the spot where he had landed underfoot for good measure, the impact shaking the ground with a small quake. 

He then turned his attention to the pyramid that kept blasting him, changing his sword to a mace again and striking it in midair with Underworld Hammer. His Technique’s power shattered the wards keeping the fortress afloat and smashed its surface. Large chunks of it went flying in the wake of his rising flames, the blow casting the insulting triangle to the ground. 

Two more creatures flew out of the pyramid to challenge Simon. One was a twenty-five-foot-tall creature Simon might have mistaken for a lion shifter at first, with his face and two hind legs belonging to a feline, a muscular torso coated in yellow fur, and a crimson mane. A bloody crown of swords grew out of his forehead with the Lion’s crystal for a core gemstone, a dragon’s tail grew out of his back, and a gladiator’s cuirasse covered his legs and arms. His eyes burned with the flames of war, and screaming ghosts swirled around his mighty claws. Mithras the War Lion, no doubt. 

The other assailant was more familiar to Simon, in that he recognized Chrom Cruak… with a few changes. His ram-helmet had melded with his mummified face, and he somehow looked more emaciated than before like a starved ghost. Tattered yellow robes covered a silvery crystal embedded in his chest which bore the Ram’s symbol. He pointed a copy of the Mana Sword at Simon, who found himself suddenly assaulted by hunger. 

Chrom-Hashtur’s Aura of Consumption affected you with Famine and Sap! All stats reduced! You will lose mana at an accelerated rate!

An enraged Simon welcomed their challenge with Hellfire Gaze, while Mardok and Gargauth’s heads both lunged independently at each of their opponents. Balzam himself simply recast their buffs. 

Chrom-Hasthur and Mithras both dodged the Hellfire Gazes, but the latter was swiftly caught by Mardok’s fangs. The War Lion grabbed both jaws with his claws and held back the immense snake with a giant’s might. Chrom-Hasthur flew out of Gargauth’s reach and sliced the dragon’s throat, leaving a trail of acid blood to rain down on the ground below. 

Simon’s wounds would not heal. His regeneration was still disrupted. 

“Below!” Balzam shouted a warning. 

Simon glanced down to see Asterion erupt from the earth and fire eyebeams into his face. The Overlord let out a snarl of pain and raged as hated light burned his face.

Medium Light damage!

“I can never allow you to become this thing again, Simon, and I will not let you consume me,” Asterion warned. His skin was cracked all over from their previous encounter, yet he would not slow down. “Hadean Signet, Chalice of Blood.”

Evil’s power flowed through the Minotaur. Armor of flowing black blood covered him, and a ring of floating abyssal runes appeared over his head to endow him with almighty strength. His crystal glowed like a dark sun ready to overshadow the horizon. 

“Allow? You dare claim dominion over me?” Scorn swelled within the Overlord spirit and ignited the flames of hatred in Simon’s heart. “A burning brand is all a cow deserves.”

“Invert,” Balzam’s visage cast on Asterion in an attempt to strip him of his buffs, to no avail. 

Asterion’s Essence Barrier shielded his soul!

Simon brought down his hand onto Asterion to place the Brand of Pride on him and teach him his place, but he was no longer the slow fighter he used to be. The Minotaur ripped space apart and reappeared in front of Simon before punching him with the weight of a star behind his fist. 

Massive Mythic and Physical damage! 

The blow was so strong, so almighty, that it actually caused Simon to stumble and fall onto his back. The impact caused a mighty earthquake and sent waves of debris flying in all directions, but the pain was swiftly drowned out by fury. 

Simon repelled them all again with Chaos Wave, throwing back all archfiends and allowing Mardok to blast Mithras across the horizon with a well-placed Hellfire Gaze, but their respite was short-lived. A mighty pulse of power arose from the ruins of Helel’s flying fortress, a light arising from its ashes.

The Maiden of Control was freed.

She looked not so different from how she did when wearing Anna as a host. She was still a humanoid parody of an angel, albeit with a more androgynous face, so symmetrical and perfect that it became unnerving to look at. 

“You have spun your betrayal like an intricate web, Deceiver,” she declared, her body radiant like the morning star. “But none of your tricks can stand up to the Light’s scrutiny.”

“There is no light that can pierce through true darkness, Helel.” Mardok stared at the angel with something akin to wariness as Simon rose back to his feet. “The night swallows even time itself.”

Balzam Magnos had no such respect for the Maiden. “Your place is in a harem, bird, not the battlefield.”

“They are too strong for us individually, Helel,” Asterion said plainly, his eyes looking up at the Crown of Pain glowing above Simon’s head. “That torment shall be our fate should we fail to work together.”  

“Fail?” Helel scoffed dismissively. “I do not fail, Asterion. Merciless Angel.”

Simon saw an illusion of red feathers fall upon him and shatter upon the wall of his will. 

Angels hold no sway over the Lord of Hell. 

Simon responded by dismissively slapping Chrom-Hasthur out of his way and seething in unholy rage. These rebellious slaves who dared challenge his might and deny his divinity, this land who refused to bend to his will… the Overlord spirit demanded that he annihilate them all, that he show them defiance’s price. 

The urge was too great to resist. It didn’t matter the cost, or if he had to perish with this world so long as it suffered. Tyrants did not retire gracefully into the night. 

Simon the Wicked God raised his palm to the sky and uttered a death sentence. “Soul Calling.”

The entire world shuddered at his spell.

It should only work on those he had branded, but all who died within Frightwall’s confines were his property; and so many had perished in the wake of its assimilation of Brimir. Countless screaming spirits answered his call to arms and floated into the palm of his hand. Simon compressed them all into a single point, drawing countless souls into an expanding sphere of soul energy. 

The very fabric of reality began to fray from the sheer sorcery involved, and Simon could see the fear in the archfiends’ eyes; even Helel, because she could tell her invincibility would not shield her from his divine power. 

The Maiden and the Minotaur immediately began to cast spells of their own, the former tearing space apart to summon her Great Convergence attack by calling forth planetoids from the depths of space, the other summoning dozens of black crow feathers imbued with death’s might. They coalesced into a single sphere of burning shadows, a chaotic star that heralded the end of all things. Each Zodiac Fiend’s crystal burned like otherworldly stars as they poured all of their remaining power into this final attack, and from the way they stood side by side, they had decided to perish fighting together.

Simon’s sphere of harvested souls had become as large as he was, at which point he cast it down upon his foes with a roar of tyrannical rage. Space frayed at the edges and the screams of thousands of murdered souls filled the cracks. 

“Great Filter!” Asterion roared as Helel cast, “Great Convergence!”

Falling planetoids and death’s fires clashed with the malice of countless spirits, engulfing all that was and would be into swirling magic. Power faced power in a final clash to determine who would rule Brimir’s ashes; and the Overlord was winning. 

But as the World-That-Was and the Frightwall-To-Be quaked beneath Simon’s feet, the ceiling-sky cleared from bright holy light. He looked up to see the Earthmoon shine above, its wood-veins pulsating with mana and gathering all of its power into a single point. The elven refuge glared at him like a baleful eye, and shed a tear of light. 

A pillar of magic fell from above and smote the Lord of Dark back to hell.

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