The Guardian

Chapter 229: Like Everyone Else

On the map, Arminio moved around the city.

“We were keeping an eye on him since he’s suspicious, but I find it strange that he’s moving around,” Aurora said earnestly.

They were now in a small operating room where not only Liam, Aurora, and Alice were there but also Theodore, with several paladins.

“Are you sure it’s to do something illegal? If I was brought here and that man goes to a bar, I’ll be upset,” Theodore said with a serious look.

Although he seemed arrogant in reality, Aurora knew the reason he was upset.

He was leading the investigations and was in charge of keeping an eye on the authorities, investigating to find out the perpetrator of the demonic attack.

If he was brought in for something banal, then he would certainly be upset.

“Yes, through his holographic watch, we have picked up that he has received a mission. While I don’t have precise information about his objective, it’s possible that it’s something related to what happened,” Liam explained and, as if not wishing to explain further, he started a recording.

Everyone paid attention.

“I need you to pay me back for the previous job. I had to sacrifice a local, well, at least I’ll get insurance money. Those things are insured.”

That was Arminio’s voice, he sounded confident and calm, thinking that no one would hear him, feeling very relaxed.

Shouldn’t he have suspected he was being watched?

That was the question everyone would have upon hearing the recording for the first time.

“A new job? Oh, you want to take something out? Fine, I’ll lend you my yacht. No, worry, it has high security and stealth. I like to have fun sometimes and it’s also good for eliminating evidence, so you’ll leave right away.”

The voice in response was unheard, but that man was very talkative.

Was he too relaxed?

He didn’t know his holographic watch was recording their conversation, so he hadn’t tried to hide at home either.

That was the scary thing about a mechanic, holographic clocks were part of a person’s daily life and no one took them away.

After all, they would activate barriers to avoid being overheard, but they forgot that holographic clocks could record and then send it... That was the advantage of having taken total control and not just stealing information.

Maybe the barrier prevented immediate information from being sent, but once the conversation was over, the holographic watch would send information secretly.

That was why the conversations reached Liam.

“He has a private dock where his yacht is stored. In a few minutes, he will arrive,” Liam reported professionally.

Theodore tapped the table earnestly and then nodded.

“We are three S-Ranks, and my group of A-Rank paladins can step in immediately,” Theodore said and looking at his paladins standing at his back, he ordered. “Invite Dan Stolojan and Marius Posse, leader of the guild ‘The Custodians’... No, better just Dan, I don’t trust Marius.”

Pausing for a moment, he continued.

“I hope he doesn’t mind. He’s a healer and all, but I don’t trust him,” Theodore explained directly, and receiving the look, he detailed. “Romania is corrupt to the core. It’s best not to trust the guilds.”

The leader of the guild ‘The Custodians’, Marius Posse, was often Romania’s representative for the allied forces, but here Theodore let his distrust show so easily.

Direct as always, but at the same time, very cautious.

Aurora agreed about the guilds, as many of them were foreign guilds that settled in this country, so they didn’t care about their citizens, only wealth.

In that sense, very few guilds were trustworthy.

Liam looked at Aurora as if asking if she needed help.

He had counted the two of them and himself, but not Liam.

“He is an S-Rank mechanic and can also offer help.” Aurora pointed out in a simple tone.

Theodore frowned conspicuously.

“The mercenary group, the Protectors of Zerzura, have three A-Ranks officially, but all of them are Rank S. Quite peculiar,” Theodore muttered and while giving other orders to the paladins, he added. “Upgrade your ranks or else you will be treated as A-rank and that means that those who lead you will disregard your strength and good manpower will be lost.”

Aurora and Liam’s expression quivered at those words.

It was advice and a compliment, but it felt like criticism because of his tone.

It was noticeable that he had surely investigated them after the demonic attack and their strength had been recognized by moving up from ‘student’ status to ‘professionals’.

However...

“Get ready. We need to move. Arminio is an S-Rank and may be related to the perpetrators of the demonic attack. If so, we don’t know what awaits us,” Theodore said, and arranging his clothes, he mentioned. “This is an impromptu raid for which we are not prepared. Think before you act and don’t screw up the mission. I don’t want to have to fix your screw-ups.”

He was still as blunt as ever.

******

In the darkness of the night, Aurora scanned the surroundings.

They were at the private dock hidden where the moonlight couldn’t reach, near some warehouses.

The private dock was quite large, as one would expect from someone quite wealthy, and the yacht could be seen waiting.

It was already lit, and some people were on it... No; they were not people, they were corrupted demons.

Arminio had arrived first and his group secretly approached to get ready and see what was going on.

The idea was to start the operation when the employer arrived, as they needed to see who the other perpetrators were.

That it was related to corrupted demons was already notable, but the mastermind was prioritized.

Theodore and his paladins were hiding in some nearby warehouses using magic, for their part, Liam and Dan, who had joined, were acting as support from afar.

The two of them were close by to prepare for the attack.

As Theodore had said, this was an impromptu raid, and they didn’t have time to think through all the details, prepare for security, and do a strict check.

Measures had to be taken so as not to lose the opportunity.

“Two trucks are arriving,” Liam reported over the communication system.

Aurora calmly drew her sword and looked at the dock.

Alice was the one who was spreading her shadow, generating a cocoon of darkness that covered them, hiding them completely.

The smell, sound, and their presences were eliminated, but it left the connection with the network, and at the same time from the inside they could see the outside.

If someone watched from the outside, they would see a natural darkness without detecting them.

The noises of trucks approached and parked near the dock.

They were fairly large cargo trucks, and it was hard to detect what was inside because of the distance, but it didn’t matter too much.

The corrupted demons got out and opened the back of the truck as Arminio approached.

“Goblins?”

Arminio’s voice came through clearly, letting it be seen that he hadn’t put up any barriers or security measures, perhaps because of his confidence in not being detected.

Green creatures began to descend from the truck, causing Aurora’s expression to quiver.

A tall and large goblin, she was of the upper caste, wore some clothes covering her body, and in her arms was a small green creature.

Then, another appeared, and then another... Then they began to descend at the orders of the corrupted demons.

It was hard to pinpoint the number, but there were about thirty of these creatures and they were all medium to large goblins.

Without any little devils inside.

Men, women, and children of all ages.

Some were in their mothers’ arms and others were holding hands.

The male goblins tried to protect them, but the corrupted demons pushed them towards the yacht.

Malnutrition, exhaustion, and hopelessness.

It was hard to tell how they got here, but they looked like those who were abandoned as if they were the weakest.

There was no one who had any kind of strength being similar to normal humans.

The little creatures that were holding hands with their mothers looked around with the childlike curiosity of any human child and, upon seeing them, their mothers squeezed their hands tightly.

They felt pain, sorrow, and fear... Towards a future that seemed tragic.

“Come on, move!” commanded a powerful voice low at the end.

The voice was imbued with magical energy, which meant that it could be instantly understood by those green creatures.

The owner of that voice descended.

A tall and slender demon, his two red horns, rose from his head amidst his reddish hair.

His skin was completely red and gave off a dangerous feeling.

“It’s Demon Lord Pezak. A Pure Demon, Rank S. He uses demonic creatures and monsters as his weapon. He is also an adept of curse magic and is a fervent believer of Larzura. A member of her cult, so it’s possible he receives direct response from the goddess,” Theodore reported quickly.

As a member of the Executors of Order, knowing the identities of demons was a no-brainer for him, just as Aurora knew the warlords in Africa.

“We can’t allow the creatures to leave. We don’t know what things the yacht has, or if the demons have any powerful scrolls. It’s time to stop it now.” Theodore announced, leading directly.

The barrier that prevented spatial movement surrounded the city, and this place was included, but if the yacht left far enough away, then possibly space magic could be used.

A scroll that there would be a portal to the sea was easy and if that yacht had artifacts to hide, it was hard to detect it again.

No, once they disappeared it was possible they would never find it again... Space magic could connect far away places instantly and that meant they could flee far away in no time.

“Alice and Liam stop the Demon Lord. Dan take out the corrupted demons. I and Aurora will take out Arminio while the paladins evade the call of a god. Don’t hold back. We need to finish this fast, so we don’t go for the extreme,” Theodore ordered sharply.

The extreme... Those words made Aurora shiver and clench her sword tightly.

What was the extreme for someone like Theodore?

Eliminating everything in his path.

Aurora looked at those creatures, who seemed lost in despair and her eyes filled with will.

She noticed Alice put the chips aside and activated the thick ‘monster’ voice that was installed on her holographic watch, which only served to give emphasis to her transformation.

She was about to enter her ‘warrior form’ and that meant she would focus on strength and power to finish the job.

Alice had sensed her tension.

“Notice will come when the light comes,” Theodore reported coolly.

Aurora braced herself with her sword in hand and looked at her target, taking a deep breath to steady her emotions.

Her fighter’s combat suit was focused on mobility, so Aurora didn’t change it, but her sword began to be surrounded by three colorful auras.

Green, light blue, and red, but there was also something else around it that was shapeless and colorless.

The green aura became predominant surrounding her sword.

Green in her eyes was the color of success, of that which achieved her goal, of that which always worked.

Her green aura represented that her attacks always worked, they would always reach her targets, and that was what she needed... A sword aura that would cut through everything in her path and reach her target quickly.

The goblins entered the yacht under the gaze of that Demon Lord and Arminio, but it was at that moment when the way was clear to attack that the change began.

“O Great Lady of Order, look upon us.”

A chant of different voices praying at the same time spread across the dock, and Aurora moved at once.

The cocoon disappeared, and she ran swiftly, giving the impression that she was blinking.

The light fell around her, illuminating the dark night.

“Ambush!” Pezak shouted with a vicious grin.

Aurora, without stopping her pace, waved her sword, extending two powerful green slashes that were even faster than her.

Without losing speed, she could see how her cut reached Arminio and the pure demon who managed to protect themselves.

The fighter looked at her immediately and reacted by releasing a punch, but Aurora kicked the ground and spun in the air to dodge it.

*BOOM*

The explosion of the punch echoed and Aurora as she landed continued, then when she reached the fighter she slid across the ground dodging another punch and when she was on the fighter’s back, she slashed again with all her might.

“Ugh...”

The cut went through Arminio’s barrier and left a mark on his back, but it wasn’t deep.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a corrupted demon near the dock being pierced by an arrow, and she, refocusing, jumped back.

*BOOM*

Arminio’s punch shattered the ground, creating a crater.

“Dirty hum...”

*BOOM*

The pure demon was about to insult preparing his spell, but a five-meter tall monster appeared, punching him with terrifying power.

The speed to move was high, and the punch was similar to that of an S-Rank fighter.

The creature practically attracted the attention of those around it.

Aurora didn’t focus on just her target. Her senses had to be on the yacht, the demon lord, and her opponent... This was a battle too close to each other, and it was common for them to attack each other.

“It’s you...” Arminio muttered as he looked at her and, giving a feral grin, announced. “You will die here.”

With those words, he donned his gear and charged forward with ferocity, and Aurora did the same.

Aurora’s speed was superior to her opponent’s, and she was confident in her mobility, confident enough to dare to dodge the S-ranked fighter’s punch.

*BOOM*

Where she had been was completely shattered by the extremely destructive, powerful punch and Aurora, who had escaped, was already attacking back.

Slashing the fighter’s barrier with her sword, her slash pierced Arminio’s stomach superficially and when she reached the other side; she made a complete turn, throwing dozens of green slashes towards her target.

Arminio tried to dodge them, but the green slashes chased him until they hit him, leaving shallow cuts all over the man’s body.

“That’s all you got?” Arminio asked with a laugh.

He was focused on destructive force, she on speed... Her cuts reached her target, but the damage wasn’t enough to defeat a powerful fighter.

Arminio’s body healed, while the arrows began to seek out the corrupted demons on the yacht.

It was clear that the hero Dan was focusing on precise attacks so as not to affect the goblins there.

At her opponent’s question, Aurora just adjusted her sword, turning the green aura into a colorless aura.

The green aura was fast, it would go through any obstacle and would always reach its target, but it was not powerful.

Preparing her attack, Aurora noticed Arminio’s expression change.

*BOOM*

A huge blast hit his back, and then he jumped to dodge.

*BOOM*

Another fireball hit where Arminio had been and then the remaining flames turned into spears and shot out towards him.

Arminio met those spears with his body, taking quick swipes to shatter those attacks, and then jumped to the side again, dodging Aurora, who had moved at high speed to cut him down.

However, Aurora didn’t bother to miss and swung her sword in the direction of her target.

“Ugh...”

In her eyes, her entire vision was split by her slash and in it only Arminio was unscathed... No, he had used his arm and the barrier to protect himself.

While his barrier held until it broke, his arm that received the cut had a deep clean wound.

“DIE!”

At that moment, on the other side, the Demon Lord dodged the punch from the ‘creature’ Alice had transformed into and screamed at the top of his lungs.

From the second truck, monsters and all sorts of creatures began to come out, making it clear that he was prepared.

However, so were they.

*BOOM*

A powerful laser beam burned and cut a large part of those creatures, causing the truck to explode into pieces before the power of that attack.

Theodore descended on Arminio’s back as he created flames, preparing his next attack.

Arminio’s expression was horrible, he was extremely angry and knew he had been caught, but his savagery was remarkable.

The light of the prayer to the Goddess of Order was still around, making it evident that existence ‘looked’ at this place, and by that look, the corrupted creatures lost strength.

Aurora readied her sword again, ready for a fight against Arminio.

There were some corrupted demons on the yacht, but a large part of them had fallen to the archer attacking from a distance.

There were a few creatures left that had come out of the truck, but the pure demon was also bound by Liam acting as a ranged gunner and Alice in her warrior form.

That five-meter tall creature that looked like some kind of monster out of a horror movie had transformed its fingers into sharp claws.

One could tell that Alice would attack to kill.

They both stop their respective targets and Dan was taking care of the corrupted demons by securing the yacht, to prevent the worst outcome.

The paladins were maintaining this state of prayer, but others would surely move in to support from a distance.

That was Aurora’s goal, and that was what she wished for, but the pure demon laughed.

“Hahaha...”

A crazed laughter as if he wasn’t surrounded by enemies, as if he wasn’t in a difficult situation.

It was the laughter of a demon.

“Let it all begin.” Demon Lord Pezak declared in a deep, shadowy voice.

Arminio was stunned as if he had no idea what he was referring to, but from the yacht a barrier covered them, preventing Dan’s arrow from piercing him.

Hero Dan was an S-Rank archer and even though that arrow had a reduced strength to kill an individual target, it was still the arrow shot by an S-Rank.

However, now the barrier seemed to have enough strength to withstand attacks from an S-Rank and the yacht began to move, causing everyone’s expression to change.

“De...”

“Gahhh!”

Before Theodore’s command came, Demon Lord Pezak let his abilities show as he opened a rift in reality, bringing demonic creatures.

Those demonic dogs were Rank B or lower, but there were many of them and they attacked the five-meter creature, biting it all over.

“Hahaha...” Arminio laughed in amusement and attacked, immediately taking advantage.

Aurora knew that Liam couldn’t support Alice because of all the demonic beasts trying to bite that giant, but she focused on her opponent, wanting to finish him off as soon as possible.

*BOOM*

Dodging the powerful blast of Arminio’ punch, she slashed his arm, leaving a thick wound.

*BOOM*

Arminio threw another punch that destroyed the ground and she cut the man’s leg, creating a bleeding wound.

Turning and jumping to her surroundings, Theodore, whose expression was turning serious as he saw the situation, supported her.

The black mass creature had managed to spread barbs piercing through all those who bit its ‘flesh’, but the demonic beasts kept coming out and Demon Lord Pezak was attracting even more monsters.

Demon dogs, one after another, were starting to spread through the area and reached the paladins, who started a battle.

Liam eliminated them with his drones from the sky, but more and more were coming out.

Leaving evidence of the might of a Demon Lord.

“Hahaha...” Arminio laughed again as he protected his vital points and Aurora dodged an attack again.

Her aura had taken red form, ready to kill her opponent before the situation got any more out of control.

That was what she was looking for, but someone thought differently.

“Dan, destroy the ship,” Theodore ordered as he saw the ship was moving away.

That order rang in her ear as she dodged another attack, and her expression trembled.

That was the worst-case scenario, and it came faster than she had imagined and that was normal, after all...

“Kill them all. They must be eradicated and their existence must not be allowed to spread,” Theodore ordered, sending a powerful flare at Arminio, who stopped it with a punch and seeing that there was no response, added. “Never mind, I will do it.”

With those words, he rose into the air, leaving the fight.

Aurora’s expression quivered as she saw that Arminio now had time to focus on her without the need to attend to Theodore’s attacks.

Theodore prepared his long-range attack, his psionic energy could be felt from the dock and Aurora moved immediately.

Her red aura disappeared unused, and she turned light blue instantly.

“Liam, support!” Aurora ordered immediately.

Liam’s laser gunner drone switched from the demon dogs to Arminio and fired.

“HAHAHA!”

The fighter took the laser shot head-on, covering his body with his arm as he was burned... That he wasn’t cut in half let the strength of his body show.

Aurora, for her part, immediately rose up as her light blue aura covered her sword, ready to attack.

“Stop...”

Without giving her time to speak, Theodore released a powerful giant sphere that looked like a small sun towards the ship.

Aurora immediately waved her sword with a cold expression, preempting Theodore’s attack and leaving a trail of light blue.

*BOOM*

Both attacks collided with power, but the barrier achieved its goal as it shattered into pieces, disappearing along with the psionic attack.

“What the hell are you doing?” Theodore asked with a roar.

“Just shut up. Distract Arminio, I’ll go stop the ship.” Aurora said earnestly.

An S-Rank barrier was covering the ship as it left, but it was possible to stop it.

That was her thought.

The possibility existed... No, from the beginning it existed, but there were those who had no interest in that possibility.

A figure appeared in the sky as if it had always been there and, as his robe fluttered in the wind, he waved his hands wordlessly.

A crack spread across the yacht, overlapping the real and the unreal, the tangible and the intangible.

In that vision that revealed the power of an extremely powerful psionic, the yacht was shattered in an instant.

Aurora had not even moved a step before it happened... It was fast, too fast.

The speed of a powerful SS rank, terrifying psionic.

“This is over,” Cardinal Auguste declared, looking at Arminio.

That fighter’s eyes rolled back as howls and wails echoed in his ear at the mental onslaught of a powerful psionic.

Demon Lord Pezak laughed like a lunatic and his body exploded, causing his flesh and blood to fall on the demonic creatures, causing them to begin to mutate.

The paladins and the demonic creatures continued to fight to exterminate them, but Aurora looked at the totally shattered yacht, whose wreckage was sinking deep.

There was no one left alive.

“This was the right thing to do,” Theodore said earnestly, walking past her without bothering to be stopped.

Was this the right thing to do?

There were problems with stopping the yacht because they couldn’t return the creatures to the place of origin and it was the Church of Order who supported extermination... In the end, it was possible that this was the outcome no matter what the methods.

But she still kept moving against the tide and even then she would move to try to prevent it.

Was it the right thing to do?

In her eyes, it was not.

She didn’t argue; she didn’t shout, and she didn’t voice her ideals.

She just put her sword away and descended to where Alice was and then signaled for Liam to follow her.

She did not look back and continued forward, stepping into the darkness of the night.

Both companions were silent, not knowing what to say and in their own thoughts, but Aurora kept walking until she was far away.

Maybe for them, this path was the right thing to do, Aurora understood.

Each person had a different path, different ideals, and different opinions.

It was similar to her and just as for them, extermination was right, now she would do the right thing.

“Does your proposal still stand?” Aurora asked Liam.

Liam, who wore a cold expression, nodded.

She had to do what she thought was right... Like everyone else.

******

In a warehouse filled with blackish-colored slimy flesh, something writhed inside the masses of meat.

As if it was slowly growing in the stomach of a strange creature, a hand reached out from inside, wanting to come out, and then horns broke through the thin flesh.

Black, strange liquid was released from within, leaving a creature in sight, who crawled on the ground.

The creature was a red demon, thin and tall... It was Demon Lord Pezak.

“Thank you, Lady, for allowing me to be delivered from death...” Pezak muttered, silently praying even though his body was weakened.

He had gone through a ritual known as the ‘flesh and blood clone’, which was a ritual that allowed an individual to possess another identical body created from a mass of flesh and blood from various sacrifices.

Theoretically, his ‘soul’ would pass into the other body for a time and then return to his real body, but it was dangerous.

A barrier that isolated the space could make such a ritual not work, or some other kind of interference from individuals who were knowledgeable about the ‘soul’ could also do the same.

However, everything changed with the support of the Evil Goddess.

Larzura, Goddess of Hedonists, Licentiousness, and Freedom, blessed him with the freedom to free himself from bondage and that made his ‘soul’ able to return to his original body.

That ‘Authority’ prevented worldly barriers from being able to stop him.

After praying with his body extremely exhausted from the ritual, Pezak wiped off the black goo with an artifact and then put on clothes.

With another artifact he cleaned the place and went outside, feeling that there was no spatial barrier impeding his movements.

That meant he was far away from the Mamaia-Sat city and could leave using space magic or a scroll.

Outside that small room, there was a warehouse where several goblins were present.

They were the smallest among them, the ‘little devils’ those who seemed not to have as much intelligence, had a high birth rate and their darker desires were easier to release.

“Too bad I have to sacrifice the others, but it worked,” Pezak commented with an animated laugh.

The others were strong, no doubt, but their birth rate and development time stretched too long and that meant he would have to put in the time.

However, with these individuals that were not the case, and if one added the blessing of their ‘Great Lady’, they could become what the so-called ‘players’ did not desire.

“Sure, it was all thanks to you,” Pezak said, looking into the darkness where a figure was cloaked using all sorts of artifacts.

He did not wish to be recorded or identified... He was smart to try to hide.

After all, a mind mage or mind-focused psionic could check his memory if caught, and that meant identifying him through memories.

To put it another way, it was paranoid.

“I hope we never meet again.” Growled that individual.

As he had changed his voice with another artifact, it sounded thick and vile, like a demonic creature.

Pezak laughed in amusement as he sensed the other party’s emotions of animosity.

“Arminio was a perfect distraction. He was arrogant, confident, and seemed to want to swallow the world. You, on the other hand, are smarter. Your predecessors would be proud.” Pezak praised with a laugh.

Seeking out Arminio Petra to participate in the demonic attack he prepared and then to help him with the yacht was not because he was desperate, it was simply that it was part of his plan.

Cardinal Auguste was a terrifying man, and it was likely that he had been at the dock since everything had started without informing anyone.

Waiting patiently, he hid in plain sight.

Arminio and all those goblins that were slaughtered were a great distraction, and that was why he had to risk it by performing that ritual.

All the while a quieter ally accepted the task of leading the remaining goblins away.

“Don’t call me and never communicate with me again. From now on, we have no connection,” snarled the individual in a cold voice and used a scroll to leave.

Pezak watched him go with a big smile.

The little ‘little devils’ weren’t his biggest reward, that was...

“Brrrahhh!”

Guttural cries echoed in this place, and Pezak smiled at the sight of the little creatures of the other ‘castes’ he had forcibly taken.

Adults were troublesome to raise, but if he made an effort with the little ones by giving them the great values his ‘Great Lady’ preached, then they would become perfect individuals.

A great risk could bring a great reward.