SOML – Chapter 15: Venerable

 Chapter 15 – Venerable

…

Little Atasha stood in the half-crooked window. Her little mouth opened in shock as she stared at the enormous being in her eyes.

Everything around her was in ruins. Depressing dust and ashes plagued the entire area. Her mother was coughing, still disoriented while attempting to get to her.

The little girl quivered when she heard a noise in the distance. A cripple was crawling out from the rubble in pain. She turned around and ran towards her mother.

“Mama, let’s help the Brother over there.” Little Atasha rushed. Her mother coughed and looked where she pointing. A trace of pain appeared in her eyes, but she could only carry Atasha. She quickly lifted the little girl and ran in the opposite direction.

The distressed little girl could only stare as the distance grew further and further.

The cripple continued to crawl amidst the rubbles. He was suffering, but he gritted his teeth. But his hardship was cut short when he noticed a shadow gradually looming above him. He tried to turn around, but a voice interrupted him.

“Tom Horizon. We need you to come with us.”

…

“What is happening? Why is the formation not working?” A man hollered as he strode towards the center. It was a command post and there were many people busily operating machines.

“Deputy, Sir, two Beasts have been sighted. One of them is down, but the other is emitting powerful signals. As for the formation…” A man stepped forward. His face was awkward as he explained the situation while looking at his colleagues.

“Fools.” But the Deputy didn’t have that. He caught the man’s collar and barked at his face. “Do your job! You need to activate it now or you just wanted stare while that thing massacres our people.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“What ‘Yes, Sir’? Scram and do your work!” The Deputy slammed the door and left the room with large strides. There was a blue corridor before him. The heels of his boots made an intense sound with the ground. He thought. “Oh revelation.”

…

At the same time. A suspicious man strolled on the road undisturbed. He wore a black coat with a hood that completely hid his face. Nearing wouldn’t still see his face. Dark smoke dispersed outside his body. But in a closer inspection, he didn’t radiate any power, as if he was a normal human!

He walked until he was only a few buildings away from the academy. He chuckled. “I wonder what happens if I kill their seeds?” He laughed while waving his sleeves.

Six shadowy apparitions emerged from his sleeves before disappearing in a blur. But each shadow arrowed on different direction.

…

Boom! Shrapnel and splinters flung and blanketed the whole surroundings. An enormous centipede suddenly appeared and sneak attacked the Pendragon’s mansion. It had a long body with thousands of scaly and sharp legs. It wore a black tough carapace. On its head, a face of a woman wearing a painful expression stuck out.

On the top of the giant centipede stood an ape with eight legs. It wore a thick grey fur. Air huffed and puffed from its nostrils. Its chest and waist were burly while its arms were of the size of a log, bulging in strength. It surveyed the surroundings as if an experience general overlooking the whole battlefield.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several places also exploded in the distance; they assaulted several important places in the county.

“Animal! Drop dead!”

Suddenly, a miniature meteor shoots from below towards the centipede. Up close, it was a fist barreling upwards, wanting to punch a hole through the monster.

The ape saw the fist. It extended its right arm before also punching. It actually wanted to welcome it in exchange of fist!

However, the fist overwhelmed the ape, prompting it to step back. The person below saw what happened, so he scoffed before catapulting upwards, also unleashing a kick swinging to the ape’s face.

His foe pressed both his arms in front of its face in defense while the tail of centipede lashed in retaliation!

The person scoffed again before twisting his body, unleashing another kick. The kick and tail met before producing a loud boom.

When the dust and smoke cleared, a 1.8-meter-tall person stood on the top of a mansion. He had sword-like brows and his gaze penetrated everything. His long black hair was tied and a thin mustache crawled on his well-sculptured face.

His body as leaned as a tiger and ensued a confident presence. He wore a black jacket with colorful five-petal flower embroidered on its back and blue-colored tight-fitting pants.

He stared at the two arrogantly, like a peacock showing its beautiful tail. Below him were the Pendragon Clan members with the same set of clothes. They also radiated powerful auras, albeit weaker than Ryan.

When they saw the person, the two beasts were secretly alarmed. But they also sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. That old monster didn’t come. The news is true. Only his son, the current head of Pendragon Clan came.” The duo thought. But looking at the arrogant man, tens of Grandmaster Level and many Master Level individuals, their face twitched and darkened. “This was going to be a tough fight.” The duo thought.

They peered at the towering building, the Academy of Hopes and Dreams. They also knew there was the teacher-cum-principal, acting as the last guardian.

Then, darkness pervaded the whole school grounds like a giant maw devouring it whole.

…

A man was traveling through narrow streets. He was clearly out of breath and agitated. He looked like he was hiding something. But he wasn’t out of place because of the people evacuating in the background. In his hands was a purple pot. When he arrived in his desired spot, he hurriedly threw the pot like a hot potato. The pot broke into pieces when it met the ground. A strange black mist floated before vanishing into thin air.

…

“This–.” One person stammered. Everyone around him also sweated as they look at the enormous being before them.

“Cerberus Emperor Cain…”

ROAR! A deafening roar sounded like multiple explosions. The terrifying roar encompassed the whole county and even the beyond. It sounded like gnarls of million ghosts. The wind it produced lifted everyone else hundred meters above ground. Even the ground was almost pulled out.

The being was beyond terrifying. Its three heads pierced the clouds. Faint Sulphur smell pervaded the air. Its aura alone made the space twisted. It was morning, but darkness engulfed the surroundings. After they landed, people were suppressed to the ground. A sense of dread captured their thoughts. An uncomfortable feeling appeared in their hearts. They sensed this was only a prologue.

“It’s starting.” The ape creature saw this.

Ryan and his clan members also saw the monster. They immediately readied themselves to help there, but the tail of centipede ruthlessly lashed towards them.

Boom. One mansion of Pendragon was ground to dust. Ryan jumped and hollered to the people beside him. “Go. I’m sure this is not the only one they had planned. There is someone who will take that thing.” He vanished and appeared beside the ape.

Bang. Ryan and the ape exchanged punches. The other Pendragon members scattered. They didn’t go towards the enormous being, but their eyes were ablaze.

Suddenly, explosions happened everywhere. Black clothed individual kept popping out and clashed with Pendragon members.

The enormous being took this time to let its wrath visible. Its blood eyes stared at people who murdered his child. It stretched one of its claws. The claw reached to the sky. The pervading darkness gathered into it and transformed into hellish flames.

Then it swiped.

Boom. A hundred meters was cut while at the same time burned everything around.

It was a scene of apocalypse. People became corpses and bodies became ashes.

The being readied another claw. The people took it as a cue to run for their lives. They may not be easily scared, but the being for them was something they needed to run from.

“A Venerable…”

BOOM!

This time the claws lacerated everything in the surroundings. The whole East Section collapsed, and even the nearby West and South Section became victims.

The being hadn’t enough. It still wanted to continue. Darkness in the sky became thicker. The Sulphur smell became more intense. “Humans, pay for your sins!” It roared as thunder and storm appeared.

“Concept of Darkness.”

Then the entire world became dark.

…

“What’s the army doing?!!”

“Sir, there’s no sign of them.” The man gulped.

“What are you talking about?”

“Sir, sir! I see them! It seems… they teleported to the west gate…” Sweat started falling down from his forehead.

“Teleported? How could that happen? What about the formation?!”

“Still doesn’t activate no matter how we try…”

“Then where’s the cannons?!!”

“Sir, only one of them is functional.”

“Then what are you waiting for?!! Fire, fire at it!” The man screamed. He was so furious. He was still feeling the grab of the Deputy earlier. And now these idiots were failing him.

“But Sir, one isn’t enough.”

“I don’t care! Just activate it!”

The command post was a mess. The buzzing noises irritated the commander. However, the sense of dread was greater. “County Lord, please come out of seclusion.” He was praying while the darkness colored everything in their sight. There was nothing but dark now. A sense of hopelessness weighted on their hearts.

Seconds turn into minutes. But everything felt a long time. They could only stare as the being slaughtered its way.

But then, an excited voice broke this. “Sir, its ready!”

It was like a single ray of hope that brightened the commander’s face. No matter how miniscule the light was.

“FIRE.” He didn’t hesitate. The uncomfortable feeling kept on scratching him inside, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was the downfall of that being.

Finally, the single cannon activated and become the only light post under the eerie darkness. The light traveled in breath-taking speed. It lighted up the way as it shoots towards the being.

“It was–.” Trembling, all hopes rested on that shot. The people stopped in their tracks, hoping it will do something.

Whoosh.

Alas, it was like a mosquito bite for the being. It punctured a small hole in its body. Smoke scattered as blood dripped slowly. However, the very wound started regenerating before their despairing eyes.

The uncomfortable feeling heightened. They felt miniscule as the dark clouds continued to churn with itself. Light flashed, but they weren’t beautiful. Instead, it all provoked their sense of dread.

“Vanish.” A melodic voice burst out. The terrifying darkness dimmed. A patch of blue sky peered once again.

As if hope beacon them or as if rainbow appearing after the rain, colorful lights appeared and painted the sky like a canvas. The voice sounded from the direction of multicolor lights.

“Cerberus Emperor!” Said coolly by the voice.

The fragrance of orchids accompanied it and pervaded the atmosphere. It assuaged their hearts and worries, albeit for short while.

“You are slow, Jade Hands. Consider this as the price of killing my cub!” Cain roared.

“Then, I must bring retribution for my people!” The sky collapsed, and the clouds parted. It was like arrival of something.

Suddenly, an enormous shadow appeared. It was a gigantic hand loomed above the earth as it went towards the enormous being.

A crushing force immediately affected the ground. But it mostly affected Cain.

Roar. All of his bones, muscles, and nerves trembled. A creaking sound emerged as worm-like veins protruded on his skin. Cain endured the crushing force and jumped towards the sky. He swiped one of his claws and severed one finger!

And the moment he landed, he jumped once again. All of his movements happened in a split second. And by the time everyone recovered, the gigantic hand was already dismembered!

“Just a little rough. Not enough!”

He wasn’t done speaking when another gigantic hand appeared. Cain scoffed. This is too easy, no? However, his thought was cut short when two more hands appeared.

Suddenly, Cain’s three pair of eyes narrowed when he saw tens of giant hands looming above.

“So, what about these?”

All the hands descended upon Cain with seemingly with no interval.

Bam, bam, bam! All the people felt the land crumbling. The hands fell like heavenly pillars toppling. Even the gravity appeared reverse and the space screamed.

Gradually, everything was back to normal. The smoke gradually lifted as they see the enormous figure being painted with red. But they felt that it looked too calm instead of being furious. Also, there was a glint in its eyes.

“Got you, woman!” Cain broke into a sprint and jumped. He was colossal, and this jump passed through the atmosphere. Then, he twirled around until he became a spinning disc.

Zoom. All people have an illusion that the world was cut in half. A fresh blood scattered like flowers in the sky. Then, an otherworldly female appeared and sent flying backwards. On her shoulder was a horrifying wound. It was regenerating, but it was far from Cain’s speed of regeneration.

“You are still a brat.”

Cain landed on the ground and licked the blood on his lips. He was feeling bloodthirsty. It has been awhile since he’d gotten a good fight.

It was just there was a law that prevented him. But right now, he could fight all he wanted because he had reason to do so.

Unfortunately for him, just when he readied himself for another attack, a droning sound echoed on the horizon.

A touch of green painted the blue sky. He peered at the distance, squinted and said. “Let’s call it quits, Jade Hands.”

Jade Hands used this moment to disappear in the background. “What’s the rush? You can’t leave even if you want to!” Her cool voice emerged.

“Don’t think I’m afraid of you, crazy mortals! You only know how to bully with numbers!” Cain hollered.

“I must say, how shameless of you, an Emperor! Your clan is too few in numbers. How hard it is to protect them?  Don’t worry, I alone will fight you!” The cool voice sounded like scraping metal, punching nail. It was full of conviction.

Everyone felt fired up hearing this. Even though she appeared about to be beaten, there was no harm for her. She could be reckless because she had backup. Everybody imagined it was the County Lord and became calm.

“Damn you.” Cain gritted his teeth. Suddenly, the enormous being become visible to everyone else. Earlier, no matter what they do, they couldn’t seem to see him. But now, they could behold one of the Emperors of the Beast Race!

There was a crown on its head. But looking closer, it was incredibly long horns that formed like a crown. Ghostly apparitions creeped on his skin. Its three heads were larger and more terrifying than the previous one.

One fang was as large as a house. Its fur resembled spears than hair. And from its massive frame, they knew that one stomp could destroy anything.

“Stop hiding then.” Cain said as his eyes glinted with blood red intent. A disastrous power surrounded everything.

The onlookers felt it was the end of the world. The feeling of dread earlier reared again.

“Concept of Darkness.”

“Hell Ashes.”

BOOM.

The whole East Section vanished from the map.

…

“Damn, what’s that dog doing?” Ryan roared as he kicked the ape on the chin. He looked at the destruction before him with aghast.

The ape was in bloodied state and kept on backing. His comrade, the centipede on the ground, had its back beaten black and blue. Both of them stared at the monstrous Ryan. They certainly heard of him, but his popularity was smaller compared to the Three Prodigy, thus they underestimated him.

“A monster in human form.” The ape wiped his mouth as his spider legs moved faster. The centipede also fixed itself and stared warily at Ryan. It seemed that he was much stronger than Meteor.

“Just get down already.” However, Ryan didn’t want to waste time. He kept sensing an unknown feeling of dread. He glimpsed at the academy with worry.

…

With unhurried steps, the black-robed man walked through the school grounds as if walking in his own backyard.

He went around until he came across a room. The door was open. Inside, the teacher was sitting, as if he was already waiting for him.

The two men faced each other, silent.

Or it just they had nothing to say to each other. Their robes fluttered even with absence of wind.

From the visible lighting, the black-robed man was smirking. The black-robed man didn’t fear the teacher, he was more inclined to beat the old foggy. After all, he was the 7th seat, Grimo. However, he couldn’t deny the rumors about the County Lord.

“But even that old man is Venerable, he will still lose with my trump card.”

Nonetheless, the plan was to delay Von. He could not divert from the plan lest he suffered from the wrath of Senior Clown. Thinking of him, Grimo trembled ever so slightly. From his perspective, that guy was a true Demon.

Exhaling, he erased all the thought in his mind and focus on his opponent. Grimo flung his sleeves and two shadows emerged from it before dashing towards Von.

Von measured the distance and sidestepped. Then he kicked in leisure manner.

Peng. Like a cannon ball, one shadow crashed across the room.

Von vanished and appeared behind the other shadow in the blink of an eye. A palm akin to a jade slap towards the shadow. The shadow crossed his arms in defense. But the expected attack didn’t come. Instead, the palm diverted six inches below his arms. The shadow flew straight to another wall.

With placid countenance, Von took measured steps towards Grimo.

Prior to this encounter, he had already a foreboding premonition that something would happen. Von didn’t know why, but he felt suffocated.  He felt that he was sandwiched between two mountains or as if layers upon layers of web were being spun around him.

Von frowned at his own trembling orb. He wanted to check the orb, but he had to focus on his enemy. Looking at Grimo, he was wary and felt the danger. He was not a Combatant, but the situation forced him.

“I can’t waste my spells and can only use them when necessary. No matter how large the commotion outside, it will eventually subside. I have to delay him as long as possible.”

Thinking about the children, he wanted to release them, but it also worried him that these guys were the target. He could only get the already exited children inside a temporary space.

As for those inside the realm, he hoped that there was no anomaly so it could transport the kids to the temporary space.

He could only hope for the best.

…

Back inside the realm, the situation outside didn’t affect Jigen and his group. They are running from the gorilla. They determined that they wouldn’t be spared by this monster, contrary to what their teacher promised.

As they run, the wind gradually sped up. It was to the point where it was hard to move forward. Luckily, the gorilla was clumsy. It slipped backward and kept trying to rush again, but the winds had gotten stronger.

Awkward, the animal could only roar in anger. But a radiance shot from its eyes and stopped.

Jigen looked back and saw the intelligence in its eyes. It spooked the boy and hurried to shout towards his companions.

The gorilla planted its feet steady. It crouched down with its bow. Suddenly, bulges appeared on its legs akin to pumping blood.

Boom.

The creature catapulted towards the trio. Mimosa gasped. The fast-approaching creature targeted him. A feeling of death drowned his heart. He wanted to resist, but his body couldn’t respond.

He hated it. The feeling of being weak.

The figure enlarged in his eyes. He wanted to close his eyes, but even it wasn’t fast enough.

Suddenly, a petite body emerged in front of him.

…

Chapter 14 | Chapter 16