The Guardian

Chapter 226: This Is The Only Freedom

Alice stepped forward in front of everyone and extended her shadow to the ground.

The shadow turned into something liquid, creating a hole into which a small rock fell and disappeared.

“We have to step into her shadow. Then she will advance to the other side.” Aurora reported in a simple tone.

Theodore gave a strange look, but as the moment required no explanation or meaningless words, he looked behind his back and ordered. “First team of paladins, follow me.”

A team of five A-ranked paladins, equipped with heavy armor, stepped forward beside him.

“I’ll go too. I don’t want you to ruin my business with your bullshit,” said the fighter, looking at the group as if they were trash.

“I’ll go with you too. I’ll be of help,” Adala communicated, pulling her earpiece out of her ear.

Her look was serious, and she seemed to have left her group of communicators, as the drone recording her was also deactivated.

“Fine, but follow my orders. I don’t need any hindrances in my way,” Theodore ordered, and gave Aurora and Alice a look.

“Jump, don’t move, don’t panic, and don’t force yourselves to escape,” Aurora informed, giving them a signal to move forward.

Theodore jumped first and was swallowed by that deep darkness, and the next instant the paladins followed.

The fighter went next, and the heroine went next, only for her to give Alice a look and jump last.

Passing through that shadow felt strange, as it had so many times before.

It was like stepping into a pool, but instead of water, it was something spongy that was slowly sinking her.

Her eyes only observed darkness since she entered and even waving her hand was like touching something solid and soft, as if hitting a jelly that prevented her from moving.

That state lasted a second until her senses began to have more freedom and that which she touched moved away.

In the darkness she could have some vision, being able to notice Theodore and his paladins totally immobile, being their leader who was frowning.

She could see that the mass of darkness surrounding them, as if it might crush or devour them at any moment, was moving away, but that was all she could observe.

Everything else was darkness, a tangible darkness that seemed to shake and tremble as if something wanted to come out.

This was the space tied to her sister’s shadow and only a second later, Alice emerged from the ground, appearing at her side.

Aurora’s other senses extended outside the shadow as if Alice was giving her ‘permission’ to act freely.

She could feel the black liquid that was the entrance to this place turn into an intangible darkness, like a shadow, and she stepped into the rubble of the tunnel.

The reason why Alice could go to two different positions in an instant, was because her shadow was connected to this space... And this space could connect two or more points of her shadow and in greater range the helpless shadow of another person or places where it is dark.

There were spells of darkness magic similar to what Alice was capable of, though they were all at the level of an archmage.

The shadow moved down the tunnel past the rubble and Aurora could sense the surroundings... Noticing those motionless ones that were buried.

She clenched her fist tightly and gripped the handle of her sword.

Her hand did not tremble, it remained motionless, but her emotions were going into a frenzy.

It was a frenzy of calm and coolness, of tranquility and patience... It was the calm before the storm.

She would not explode with anger now, on the contrary, her emotions were pushing her to be cooler.

The shadow was moving fast, but she felt that every second passed slowly and as they were about to arrive, they encountered a barrier.

Covering the entire commercial area, that barrier disconnected the technological signals and prevented the senses from perceiving what was happening clearly.

At the same time, it surely prevented the people inside from leaving or those with space magic from entering.

The shadow reached its limit, and Alice, instead of asking what to do, acted.

Her shadow returned to a liquid form and then something physical, causing more black mass to begin to spread outward from this space.

Like growing tentacles, they pointed to a point on the barrier and penetrated deeply, opening a point through which they passed.

That mass of tentacles spread across the ground rapidly.

“Let’s get out,” Aurora warned.

The senses of the others were limited so that they did not observe the surroundings, although they could hear her voice.

In the dark interior, no door or connection to the other side opened, instead Aurora was swallowed up by the floor feeling that gelatinous sensation, and then she was quickly lifted up, getting her vision changed instantly.

From darkness, they went to light... A light that revealed almost hundreds of creatures in the street.

They were four-legged beasts, but it was difficult to say it was an animal and it would be better to call them a ‘monster’.

Deformed dogs with grotesque protuberances, felines whose head was an aberrant mouth, and other kinds of repulsive creatures.

Already past the first limit of being ‘affected by chaos’, they had also passed being ‘mutated’, these creatures were at the last stage where they were completely ‘corrupted’.

They were now monsters.

Some of these monsters were attacking the buildings, trying to climb up the walls, breaking them, while from inside screams or battle noises could be heard.

The number of adventurers, mercenaries, and heroes was high in this area, because many had come to this city to see if they could take advantage of the abyssal portal.

That was why, even though some monsters were B or A rank, they escaped into the buildings to protect themselves.

Even so, there were dead that was among the monsters being devoured by them.

“Paladins, bring order,” Theodore ordered, advancing instantly.

Not only were they stunned by the scene, but they were scanning the area and analyzing the enemies.

Aurora marched forward, drawing her sword from her sheath, throwing a slash that seemed to split reality.

It was a moment, but her vision felt as if the whole thing was a painting class and she was the artist, only this time she wasn’t using a brush, she was using a weapon to cut it.

Instantly that vision was shattered as she accelerated cutting off the heads of other creatures as the bodies of the monsters she had cut before fell to the ground, split in half.

Her sword filled with the blood of those monsters, but she did not stop and advanced at high speed, slashing, again and again.

Her speed was increasing, as if her uncontrolled emotions wished to be embodied in reality.

And so she did as she swung her sword, bringing the creatures in front of her down with a slash that cut them in half.

On the other hand, Theodore burned everything he encountered in an instantaneous combustion without leaving even ashes.

Unlike a fire mage, he was not destructive; he was methodical.

Without equipment and armor, these creatures were only totally corrupted, gaining increased strength.

It was possible that they were once dogs, cats, or other normal animals.

However, there was one question...

“Find out who did it,” Theodore ordered the arriving paladins.

Alice stayed to protect the paladins, who broke through the barrier and opened a portal to bring their companions in from outside.

That was the way those experts moved.

“Raise your barriers, don’t touch anything, and when you feel something dangerous, move away. There is a demonic aura... No, an evil aura. Do not be influenced,” Theodore warned solemnly.

Aurora concentrated her senses and felt it, it was subtle, but it was an aura that sought to cling to her body, without succeeding.

It was an aura of...

—An Evil God.

Her system finished its words, and Aurora’s wariness immediately rose.

“Are we safe now?”

“We’re finally safe... I almost died.”

“What took the authorities so long? Did they want to abandon us?”

The hidden people came out, some with pale complexions and others slightly injured, but among them there were some who were angry.

“Keep calm and stay in your place. The paladins will take care of you,” Theodore reported earnestly.

They were ahead of the paladins, who were at the entrance advancing as they cleared everything, spreading light with their swords.

Counteracting the ‘Chaos’ of the monsters, they were making everything impure disappear... That light was the representation of the Primordial Goddess of Order’s power of ‘Order’.

Returning everything to its natural state.

“What, why, do they think we did it?”

“Do they think we are to blame? Do they want to blame us to get off the hook that they were late?”

“I don’t want to die.”

Things got hectic fast and Aurora was stunned as she watched those adventurers increase the wariness to the point where she felt animosity.

Theodore frowned, but it wasn’t because he was annoyed, but because he felt it was unnatural.

—The aura of the Evil God has affected them. Corrupting their emotions and distorting their feelings.

Her system gave that little report and Aurora took a step forward, knowing that Theodore was not good with words.

“No one will die. We simply need to get everything organized fast and we don’t want the wounded to move. Also, there are still a lot of monsters and we need to stay on guard,” Aurora said, trying to redirect her emotions towards the monsters.

It went well, some looked at the creatures and the bodies of those who could not escape.

The pain of those wounded made her words have an effect, but not all of them were wounded.

Upon seeing her closely, one of them looked at her from head to toe and a vulgar smile appeared on his face as his eyes were swallowed by his darkest desires.

“They’re already going to blame us... Maybe... Maybe we should let go. Between a fake crime and a real one, I prefer the real one, but to have enjoyed doing it.” Said the man with his vulgar smile.

Aurora remained unperturbed and realizing that expression began to change as if a switch had been flipped.

It was freedom to let go of their dark desires... Those that every human being held deep within them.

To break free from the laws, from morality, and to be free.

It was Larzura, the Goddess of Hedonists, Licentiousness, and Freedom, the Evil Goddess who sought to release these dark desires.

Aurora was undisturbed, however, for she did enough.

“Oh, Great Lady of Order, put everything back in its place.”

Pillars of white light fell on each of those people... Returning everything to its place, bringing ‘Order’.

“Ugagg...”

Those who were most affected vomited black liquid.

The corruption of an Evil God could be mental, physical, or spiritual... The first two were the easiest to deal with and the most prevalent.

Distorting thoughts to give in to their desires and the deeper they fell into the abyss, the more contaminated they were by it... Until they became grotesque aberrations.

Now they were pulling all that corruption out completely, restoring everything to the state it was meant to be in, bringing ‘Order’.

“Just take a deep breath. Let it out,” Theodore said with a serious tone and, giving a signal to the paladins, he approached Aurora and commented. “Good job.”

His comment was sincere.

That kind of person was Theodore, someone who said what didn’t please him directly and gave compliments when he should.

“Let the paladins take care of helping the wounded and looking for the other people. I need you to help me look for the source of the ritual. We’re early, but the aura is still spreading and if the ritual isn’t found, we may be facing something worse.” Theodore reported quietly.

He did so quietly because of not wishing to be overheard by others.

The heroine Adala was helping people as a moral support and while the paladins were working, the fighter hadn’t helped once and was just walking around the area.

“I’ll handle it,” Aurora replied with a nod, and gave Alice a signal to check everything out.

In a matter of senses, Alice was more accurate, and in her case, she was someone instinctive, but she had her system.

“There must be people hiding, being affected, so if necessary just knock them out,” Theodore said before flying, checking ahead.

This place was a long street on both sides with buildings, but since no cars were needed, there were other decorations in the middle.

The paladins moved around looking for those affected, trying to help them by purifying them while moving forward with high caution.

Aurora continued forward, cleaning her sword and looking seriously at the surroundings while paying attention to the fighter.

As a fighter, she could feel the fighter’s muscles tensing with every moment, ready to exert great power.

She was someone instinctive, and her instincts told her that the fighter was her target here.

Her sword was still in her hand as they both walked and just like the fighter whose body revealed veins, her sword slowly revealed the aura.

Covering her sword, the colorless and translucent aura she was wearing was gaining color.

Green, light blue, and red were manifesting around her, with none being dominant.

Her aura was coating the sword with the ‘Concept’ she had picked up as she ascended to S Rank, shaping her next move.

The fighter moved, tensing his body, aiming at a building with all his strength, and she acted as well.

Her sword was surrounded by a light blue aura that covered it completely and when he waved his arm to release the blow, she waved her sword.

The light blue color in her mind was the color of barriers, that translucent light blue color of most magical barriers that served to protect.

And that was embodied in reality.

Like a painter, an artist who captured her emotions in reality, her court dyed everything in its path light blue in anticipation of the fighter’s powerful blow.

Leaving a light blue trail in her wake that stretched out to cover what she wished to protect, and she did.

*BOOM*

The powerful blow of an S-Rank fighter that would completely destroy a building and create a huge hole in the wall hit the light blue barrier.

Perhaps because she had not used her aura for a long time, this time it was weak, however, it was enough to absorb most of the attack.

Achieving that, only the remaining broke the wall of the building and not the whole building as expected.

The fighter glared at her with anger and hatred at her meddling in his business, but she walked forward with her sword in her hand.

Her light blue aura disappeared, and a red aura took hold, being the dominant one.

What did the color red represent to her?

That the S-rank aura became colder and more dangerous, as if ready to be stained with blood, gave a glimpse of what it held in store.

The fighter gave her one last glance and then turned his attention to the approaching group of paladins.

“I found the place you were looking for. It feels dangerous,” said the man.

His ‘it feels dangerous’ to Aurora’s ears sounded like an excuse why he attacked... Though his attack would surely destroy everything and disrupt the ritual.

The inside of the building, which she had tried to destroy and now that it had no wall, revealed a complex ritual that used the blood of several people who were no longer alive.

—Destroying it would remove the ritual that had failed to fully form, but it would also create a disturbance that would prevent the use of magic or praying to a god to analyze and search for the culprit.

Aurora understood, and it was certain the fighter did too, but he just looked at the time and, letting out a laugh, walked away.

“I hope the insurance covers all this damage, and I hope you find the bastards who caused it,” said the fighter, giving Aurora a smile before walking away.

His walk, his look, and his expression showed confidence... No, he was past the mark of confidence and it was arrogance.

The arrogance of someone powerful who believed he could do anything he wanted and no one would stop him.

She let him go, he had suspicious things, but there was nothing she could do to stop him.

After all, it was best to take advantage of that arrogance to find out everything they knew.

“Liam, I’ll leave it to you,” Aurora muttered under her breath.

Her battle suit was equipped with a communications system, so Liam was still connected.

“I understand,” Liam replied calmly.

Aurora looked at the destruction of the place and then at the ritual.

They had arrived early, and this ritual was in the previous stage.

The stage where it affected people with the aura of an evil god, then gave way to the madness of freedom, hedonism, and debauchery, giving strength to the ritual to end... What was it that could happen when the ritual ended?

It was better not to know.

Seeing so much death and destruction today, Aurora knew it was better not to think about what might have happened.

******

Demon Lord Pezak looked at his holographic clock that projected the view of the street and tunnel to the center of the Mamaia-Sat city’s entertainment area.

So calm, so quiet, the demon smiled and activated the signal.

*BOOM!

Explosions began to happen, managing to injure several people and kill others, while the cameras were completely deactivated.

Letting out a laugh at the destruction, he stepped out from where he was and looked down the tunnel.

It was what humans called a subway and while it had high security; he had managed to get through without anyone noticing.

As a Demon, he was good at hiding even among the SS ranks that kept watch.

He moved quickly through the tunnel and deep into the inner part of the city Constanta.

On the other side, he noticed several figures approaching, bringing a sphere that extended a barrier and prevented surveillance.

Pezak revealed himself in front of those goblins.

“Creature of evil. Do you have what you promised?” asked the shaman, speaking for the one who seemed to be the leader.

Being four goblins, they revealed quite a bit of confidence when negotiating, but Pezak didn’t mind and pulled out three space rings, tossing it gently.

“I think this would be just like your ‘magic bags’. There you have supplies,” Pezak reported with a smile.

The shaman used the ring and pulled out a large piece of red meat.

It looked common and simple, but there was a slight strange aura around it.

Whoever ate such a meal would begin to release his desires and his nature until he became free... Just as everyone was meant to be.

That was their Great Lady’s blessing towards the food.

They noticed it, but another took out a golden rod and spread a light, purifying all that evil aura.

They did it in front of him to show that they were not so helpless when facing a creature of evil.

Pezak watched them unpleasantly as he saw that the ‘blessing’ of his ‘Great Lady’ was removed.

In his eyes, those creatures became ignorant fools, but all those who did not understand how liberating it was to be under such a deity were.

However, he now remained calm.

“Pray to our ‘Great Lady’ you will be completely freed from your restraints. You will be free to let go of your dark desires. Pray to her and you will be free,” Pezak preached in a devout tone.

The smallest goblin among them, who had the wildest look, was drawn to his words, but it was the leader who gave him a look.

“Do you only promise that kind of freedom?” the leader asked in a simple tone.

It made him look as if the ‘freedom’ he was proposing was simple and insignificant... As if it was the freedom of a beast, one that was caged by its desires.

“That’s the only freedom you need,” Pezak replied, and with a vicious smile, he added. “And the only freedom you can get.”

“We will be completely free or die trying,” announced the shaman in a high and loud tone.

The leader only gave him a glance and retreated with his group, not looking back or looking disturbed.

Pezak again erected a barrier tightly around them and didn’t bother about them leaving.

Walking along the tracks, he came to an open area and noticed several stares at him.

Green creatures hugging other small creatures, while others were trying to protect them.

Women, children, and adult males... Big, medium, and small.

They seemed to be those who were weak and could be ‘disposed of’ and abandoned, but Pezak didn’t mind.

They would all make good gift material for his Great Lady.

It was at that moment that he felt several barriers being erected, it wasn’t towards him; it was in the whole area.

Probably, the allied forces activated the machines to prevent space movement and since they overlapped, it had surely spread throughout Constanta City and the surrounding area.

Maybe it had also overlapped with the city Mamaia-Sat, where it had all started.

Glancing at his holographic watch, Pezak gave an annoyed look as he saw that everything was over faster than he had expected, but looking at those green creatures, he gave a smile.

His momentary distraction was working, and now only something was missing...

“I think it’s going to be a problem taking them all away,” He muttered with a grin.

He had a long journey to his lands, and it was going to be difficult with so much surveillance.