Chapter 235: 125. The Tomb’s Guardian -3 (Part One)
Chapter 235: 125. The Tomb’s Guardian -3 (Part One)
The very first Holy Emperor, Ordin Olfolse, who established the main religion of the empire over a lengthy span of time. And the ancient temple acting as his tomb, currently being guarded by the ‘archangel’.
I was planning to challenge that place once more.
Along with Alice, Hans, and Norman, I stood in front of the huge doorway.
The interior of the temple was brightly illuminated by hundreds and thousands of crystal spheres, and the mechanical archangel could be seen floating in the centre.
That existence was at least twenty metres high and used twelve wings to fly...
It was also equipped with divinity-laden weapons...
Metatron.
The archangel was looking down at us from the air.
“Are you really going to do it, sir?” Hans asked me while looking rather tense.
You’re asking me now if I was really going to do it?
Obviously. I had no intentions of backing down.
I’ve already made up my mind on this one.
I muttered out, “We will do it right this time.”
Since we were doing it, we might as well do it properly.
Metatron leisurely floated in the air and observed me. It probably didn’t perceive us as ‘invaders’ yet since we hadn’t crossed the doorway.
I couldn’t be sure whether or not that thing had any ego, but...
I swear, Imma smash that laid-back attitude of yours for good very soon.
After summoning Amon’s skull, I put it on my head.
“I am the legion.”
I roused up my divinity.
Ripples of aura made up of divinity spread out and shook the surroundings. Alice, who was standing next to me, had her eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. This would be her second time seeing me use one of Amon’s relics, wasn’t it?
Also...
“I am Gaia’s inheritor.”
Today should be her first time seeing the completed version up close like this.
Along with the waves of holy water spreading out from the tips of my feet, many bone pieces rose up from the surface of the water.
Bone pieces began enveloping my entire frame.
The heavy-looking bone armour enclosed me, and twelve bone hands spread open behind me like my own wings.
“...The angel.”
Alice’s dazed muttering brought a wry smile on my face. Tina also displayed a similar reaction back then, didn’t she?
The holy water lake continued to spread out like tsunami waves and crossed the threshold of the doorway. Even the passageways around us were completely filled up, and from the wavering water’s surface, all sorts of undead began rising up.
I raised my head and stared at Metatron.
Not yet.
The archangel hadn’t attacked us so far.
Which was rather satisfying, really. We’d fully utilise all the leeway it so generously granted us in this upcoming archangel raid.
“Alice, get ready.”
My voice went through the skull helm and became lower, heavier than how I usually sounded.
Alice jumped up in surprise and hurriedly nodded.
The girl kitted out in a lightweight Priestess robe and matching light armour brought her gauntlet-clad hands together. Her golden hair began dancing in the air as she offered a prayer.
A hymn with a beautiful melody soon left her lips and reverberated throughout the surroundings.
The resonance had begun.
The ripples of divinity were starting to seep into me.
And to follow up on that, skeleton mages quickly occupied their spots near us. While wielding their staves, they went down on their knees and bowed their heads, pressing their bony foreheads on their staves to offer their prayers alongside Alice.
Golden rune letters rapidly engraved themselves near our surroundings. It was at that moment that Metatron seemed to flinch just a little. The archangel that didn’t move an inch up until now had finally shown some reactions.
It must’ve felt that something was off by now. It sensed the aura of divinity, and also the power of the Aztal Rune now being activated along with the Saintess’s blessing.
“Declaration of sanctuary.”
When I said that, the glowing lights in the eye sockets of the skeleton mages seemed to burn even fiercer than before. They slammed their staves down.
The ground rumbled and the holy water lake’s surface undulated. The interior of this huge temple was soon blanketed by golden coloured-rune letters.
This location would turn into my sanctuary. Not only would being inside this place amplify our divinity, it’d also grant us immortal-like regenerative capabilities.
But still... Not yet.
I gripped Amon’s staff in my right hand, while my left extracted Amon’s grimoire.
Next up, I used my [Divine Aura] on these Amon’s relics – now items worthy of being called the sacred artefacts.
Finally, I summoned ‘it’, the lifeform from various legends, an existence of terror in many myths in existence.
“Bone Dragon.”
The golden-coloured runes reacted to my call.
The interior of the temple began crumbling. The ground split open and the holy water filling up the floor violently undulated.
A large front paw made out of bones braced itself on the ground.
A solidly-built spine emerged from the water’s surface like a rising snake.
The dragon’s head, which boasted sturdy horns, provided secure footing for me while lifting me up in the air.
The dragon heart surrounded by the ribcage pulsated powerfully as the Bone Dragon spread open its wings wide.
-Ku-ooooooooooh!
The dragon’s loud roar caused Metatron’s glowing eye to grow bigger.
Finally, the huge ‘golem’ had shown some tangible reaction.
Without a doubt, we hadn’t crossed the doorway yet. Even then, Metatron began making its moves after we displayed our ‘intentions to attack’ just now.
The cogwheels around Metatron were spinning away. Spears and arrows attached to them began flying in our direction.
“Let’s go.”
I grabbed onto the dragon’s horn and rode on the Bone Dragon’s skull as it powerfully beat its wings.
This would be my first time flying in the air.
The air pressure from the stunning acceleration ruthlessly pushed down on my whole body. I barely managed to catch myself before I got flung away.
I glared at Metatron with sharp light gleaming in my eyes.
Hundreds and thousands of spears and arrows flew towards my way.
I slammed my staff down and fixed it to the Bone Dragon’s skull. The twelve bone hands attached to my back were used as shields to cover my front.
Spears and arrows collided against the Bone Dragon. They also crashed into my bone armour and sparks flew off everywhere.
The weapons containing powerful divinity caused cracks across my armour.
However, I simply had to endure this.
I still needed to summon one more.
The Bone Dragon roared out and beat its wings. The glare from its eyes sharpened as it flew up high to rush towards Metatron.
The giant undead dragon that was about half the overall size of Metatron finally got close enough to take a swipe with its sharp front claws.
Only then did the archangel golem move its huge body.
Metatron, which had been faithfully guarding its spot for the past several thousands of years, began raising up its heavy-looking arms.
It crossed those heavy hands and defended against the dragon’s claws. The loud metallic screech rang out as more sparks danced in the air.
Metatron powerfully swung its arm and shoved the Bone Dragon away, but almost at the same time, a flood of flames poured out from the dragon’s open maw – it unleashed a powerful Breath attack.
However, the barrier made out of divinity blocked off the dragon’s Breath.
I could only grit my teeth at that. Not even the dragon’s Breath can break through that damn barrier?
Metatron raised its weighty arm and smashed down on the Bone Dragon’s head.
BOOM-!
The air exploded.
Along with an ear-deafening explosion noise, the dragon’s body crashed down to the ground and got buried there. The lake of holy water surged even more as debris from the crash flew out everywhere.
I was still on top of the Bone Dragon’s head. Even though I was staggering from the impact, I still focused my attention on the grimoire.
Just a little bit more.
The metallic noise resounded out again.
While making an eardrum-rupturing noise, Metatron brought both of its hands in one place, then interlocked its fingers to smash down on the dragon once more.
The impact force was transmitted to me in full.
I was feeling quite queasy deep inside my belly. In other words, the backlash had begun in earnest.
Despite having already summoned the Bone Dragon, I was now trying to summon something else even more powerful in tandem. Even a moron should be able to tell that enduring the resulting backlash would not be a cakewalk.
However...
“Oh, dear Goddess Gaia...”
Alice was supporting me on that front.
She continued to offer her prayers. The divinity about to run amok grew calmer, quieter. However, that wasn’t all.
Thanks to the sacred power of the Saintess, the divinity in the surroundings fell under ‘control’ as well. The undead matched her voice singing the sacred hymn and made their moves.
Divinity resonated and the undead’s actions became much faster. Each and every undead dashed forward while relying on nimble movements.
Banshees fired their arrows, while Bone Golems closed the distance to confront Metatron in close-quarter melee.