Chapter 157: The Difference In Power
Chapter 157: The Difference In Power
A few moments earlier, within the Palace of Horror's royal chamber, the mysterious Master of Horrors was still seated in his previous position. With his eyes closed, shrouding the upper portion of his face in the darkness, his arm moved left and right as his fingers played his dismal tune on the pipe organ in front of him as the bleak atmosphere only grew darker with each passing second.
The scarlet hue from the blood moon lit only a portion of the room, casting shadows of each of the erected pillars to the side.
Because of this, his features were now a bit more revealed, showing his dark red skin, angular shaped face with a pointed beard and mustache. He wore a high collar dark coat with many skulls that seemed more like that of humans neatly arranged on a neckless around his neck.
Carefully looking, one would realize that though he sat, he was more than seven feet tall, showing a clear height difference compared to any other man.
Suddenly, the hands that were moving halted, as the fingers that touched the instrument's keys seemed as if frozen still. In this instance, he opened his closed eyes, revealing two sets of cruel-looking red eyes that glowed in the dark, capable of giving a fright to the weakened will of many.
"Huhuhu... so, my little guests have finally arrived. Crooked, that foolish being, even if weak, you could have shown more use. Oh well, my current power should be sufficient, I should prepare to greet them, especially that boy."
As the Master of Horrors said those words, his eyes shone in an eerie light, causing the outside scenes to show directly before him. He noticed Nero and the others gathering energy to attack the door but paid no mind to it, as his eyes swept instantly towards Nero.
'Boy, I don't know how you've done it, but no matter, once I have you, I will discover what means you used to cultivate such a special soul in your consciousness, one that could even spy on these eyes of mine.'
A light chuckle left his mouth as he prepared to close off the screen, but before he could do so, his eyes narrowed when he saw Red Rain, or more precisely, her strange arts.
'Hmm, how peculiar? I didn't think I'd see this kind of skill in this realm; it's as the rumors say - the divine has roots in all surfaces.'
Following his final set of thoughts, the screen before his eyes vanished, he slowly started to pick himself up from around her pipe organ, but right as this happened, a shocking change occurred behind him.
With a loud boom, the door exploded into bits of pieces as a bright white light doused away the chamber's bleakness. In mere moments, that light had become the dominant light source for a few seconds before fading to reveal the scene within it.
A cluster of dust covered the forms of those who intruded, Nero, Red Rain, Elly, Crazy Blade, Thunder's Daughter, Ivy, Mikan, Lily, and Mia, now stood within this dust cloud which soon after revealed their features.
Looking at them, one would notice that their magic power was circulating in full as they each at peak condition, ready to challenge the unknown. They each gave off the presence akin to the mighty heroes of legend that stormed the devil's castle.
"Well, we're here. Where is he?" Crazy Blade asked with a tone of hurriedness; it seemed that Red Rain's words had scared him.
Elly, Ivy, Mikan, and the others also had a stern look on their faces, not daring to let their guard down for a moment. Still, unlike everyone else, only three persons managed to keep calm.
Mia had a clump of wavy, amber-colored flames floated around her as if it had life, two eyes opening on it as it flew around the misty room.
Red Rain also her eyes closed as her fingers drew the arcane symbol on the air, while Nero had a greenish glow in his eyes scanning the area, passing through the haze and bleak surroundings as if he was viewing a scene in the daytime.
Within a few seconds, Nero caught sight of an unfamiliar lifeforce, noticing a giant ball of dark red soul energies in the form of flames.
At the same time Nero found this energy, both Red Rain and Mia had discovered its existence, causing a pale expression to appear on their faces.
"Well now, to think that you children can discover my soul? That won't do; allow me to show you the difference between us..."
The Master of Horror's sinister voice resonated as the eyes stared at everyone with a mocking look. Moments after, they glowed in red lights before a formless ripple went outwards in all directions.
"He's over there; brace yourselves!" Nero said in alarm, feeling a dreadful amount of power behind the attack. He didn't even hesitate to use his Midnight Shield from the arm gauntlet. A blight light shone formed in a barrier around his body, looking very much like that of the Midnight Wall Bug's shell.
"Everyone, be careful!"
Mia and Red Rain shouted at the same time. They, too, could feel the terror of the ripple; as such, they didn't hesitate to conjure barrier techniques.
"Damn! Shark Barrier!" Crazy Blade cursed as he hurried channeled his energies, forming a semi-transparent shark over his body.
"Lightning Cage!" Thunder's Daughter similarly acted as a thunder field formed around her slim figure in the form of a cage.
"Ivy, Lily, get behind me! Mikan, you guard with me! Blossoming Sword Guard!"
Elly said as she hurriedly summoned a giant semi-transparent flower bud around her, Ivy, Lily, and Mikan.
Mikan also tossed a talisman in the air that exploded to form a multi-layered shield in all directions.
Observing each of their reactions, one could tell that if it were any other battle, they would have more or likely been able to withstand easily, but sadly, the power sent by the ripple was far more than they'd ever imagined.
Instantly, the ripple swept by everyone before vanishing with a buzzing sound, but as this happened, everyone felt as if an invisible shockwave had hit them, targeting their internal organs.
A few puking sounds of persons vomiting blood sounded as if one looked at each of them, they would find that they now had a pale look with blood at the corners of their chins.
'This... how? Shouldn't he be weakened?'
Nero and the others thought as a look of fear came into their eyes, but sadly, they couldn't find an answer.
They struggled to keep their balance standing, but it didn't take long for them to start collapsing onto their knees, feeling as if they suffered a critical injury. From this one attack, it was clear that they already lost this battle.
As if to cement their despair further, the mist slowly parted, once more revealing the figure of the Master of Horrors. However, this time, he was standing rather than sitting around his musical instrument, his height reaching as high as sixteen meters.
Looking down at the small life forms before him, the Master of Horrors showed a cruel grin as he chuckled before he spoke in a voice that beckoned the end.
"You foolish creatures, prepare yourselves, for you shall all experience true despair..."
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