?869 Mere minutes of chaos
As someone very new to using a wide array of fighting techniques, Lex was testing out things as ideas came to him. Besides Impervious Hands, his most commonly used technique, Evisceration, and now most recently Domination, Lex did not have many ways of attacking.
As a result, much of what he was doing was based solely off of his theoretical knowledge of his skills and affinities. Ordinarily, it would be impossible for someone to take pure theory and implement it flawlessly. But nothing about Lex was ordinary.
As he swung the blade made of space, he used his affinity to his absolute limit as he tried to manipulate space with it. As if he were dragging a blade over glass, cracks started to form in air that began to rapidly spread.
Moving even faster than the descending Lex, the cracks traveled in a straight line across the path Lex had swung in, and descended down to the planet, and then through it, forming an artificial wall of cracked space.
The wall was so massive that all stopped their movements. Whether it was the demons, the devils, the Marzu or the battalion, they all froze as they tried to comprehend what had just happened.
No one dared to move, as the wall of cracks was toomassive. If this wall were to crumble, and open up a tear in space, let alone the entire planet, this entire star system may be compromised by the tear.
Moreover, a tear of this size would not heal on its own either, and would instead continue to grow bigger! This could literally destroy a massive chunk of space forever!
Even the zealot, who was observing everything secretly as he prepared his ritual, felt fear. Immediately he decided to forgo his original plan and proceed even as unprepared as he was. He was not afraid of dying, but dying a stupid, worthless death was not what he wanted either.
But Lex was not suicidal, and would not kill everyone before he rescued the battalion. What the observers did not know was that this wall of cracked space was actually quite sturdy under the influence of Lex's affinity.
But as a result, Lex, who hardly ever suffered from a deficiency of spiritual energy due to his massive reserves, suddenly used up half his energy!
A reduction by half did not mean that he still had the same amount of energy left. He was a human, not a machine. The prowess he could show at 100% energy was much greater than that when he was at 90%. The energy reserves did not just reflect how much energy he had left to use, but a drop in his performance as well.
Lex clicked his lips in annoyance but moved past it. His suit, although not designed for it, would somewhat aid in his energy recovery. Meanwhile, he would focus on the task at hand.
As Lex fell from the sky like a flaming comet, the Silent Wanderer had already shot past him and landed right beside the battalion, caring little for the lack of a landing zone. The beautiful ship took some damage on the landing, and crushed a few demons as well, before it instantly disappeared.
Lex had given Cirk the Silent Wanderer's spatial container, so the pilot transferred the ship the moment he landed and fell to the ground. Since he landed near the battalion to begin with, it took him but a couple of moments to arrive next to them.
Before any from the battalion could welcome him, or rather question him on the escape plan, Cirk took out a pair of angel wings made of clay and broke them in two.
The item had been given to him by Lex and was called Botlam's Grace. Since Lex's priority would be dealing with any nearby enemies and then stabilizing space for their escape, he left it up to Cirk to heal the battalion.
He did not even consider saving the item for later in case the battalion wasn't truly hurt. They did not have the time to assess how hurt the individuals from the battalion were. Even if the potency of the item had to be wasted just to refresh them in case they weren't hurt, Lex did not mind. Better that than allowing the situation to become more precarious because they were conservative with their resources.
A gust of wind, as if trapped within the clay, swept across the battlefield and touched everyone with its presence. The battalion members, who were closest to it, instantly felt completely refreshed and filled with energy, as if someone had made them chug a dozen energy drinks.
Their minds regained all the potency and drive that sleep deprivation and exhaustion had taken from them. The world became crystal clear in their eyes, as if they had all been wearing dirty glasses that had just been replaced. Their aching muscles and somewhat strained meridians were rejuvenated, as if they had just walked out of a hot spring made from spiritual liquid!
Z, who had been unconscious on the floor, immediately opened his eyes and jumped up, as if expecting to find himself mid-
fight, yet all he saw were the sturdy backs of his comrades defending him.
Even the Marzu, who were at somewhat of a distance, let out roars of exhilarated fury as they felt their energy return, allowing them to once again fight at full force.
Heck, even the Void Dwellers seemed more energetic, though that lot usually lacked the intelligence to even determine whether their state had improved or worsened. It was usually their pack leaders, who were responsible for thinking for the whole lot, who could tell such things.
The demons, though… they did not respond so well to the healing winds that came from within the clay. Though a majority of them were on the other side of the spatial wall, protected from the winds that seemed to be unable to cross the barrier, a good few thousand of them were on the same side.
They felt an instinctual fear and dread take hold of them when the clay was broken, but while there were some enemies they could fight, they had not yet learned to fight the wind. They found themselves defenseless against the winds that carried the Grace of Botlam, and were akin to mortals before the might of nature.
The winds did not waft across them, but hit them like a natural calamity! The unlucky ones lived long enough to groan and scream as their flesh burned and turned to ash. The lucky ones were dead before they even knew what happened.
In mere seconds, a massive army was erased from existence, not even their armors surviving as a testament of their existence. Anything and everything which contained the aura of demons vanished under the effects of the wind.
Cirk did not really pay attention to the spectacle he had released, instead he quickly found Gerard, as Luthor was fighting far away from the battalion so as to not hurt them.
"Recall everyone and stay ready. Leo will stabilize this space and give everyone an opportunity to use their keys to return to the Inn. We cannot waste a single second."
"It might not be so easy…" Gerard began to say, as his thoughts quickly wandered to the zealot, and their allies who were waiting for them back at the fort. He did not think the former would let them leave so easily, while he did not want to abandon the latter.
"I'm just the messenger," Cirk quickly interrupted Gerard, as he drew out a weapon of his own from his spatial ring. "If you have any concerns, tell Leo. He's the one running this operation. Until he arrives, just get ready!"
Gerard did not hesitate and immediately gave out orders. Luthor was far away from them, and was fighting demons on the other side of the space crack wall. Instead of asking him to come, it would be easier if they just went to him.
With renewed vigor and might, the battalion took their positions and prepared themselves to march. They could see their comrade tearing through the sky in a ball of fire and heading towards them. As soon as he landed, they would immediately surround him.
Hardly a couple of minutes had passed since Lex's arrival, but the situation had changed drastically. Even the figures watching from the dark room were on the edge of their seats, as if watching for the crescendo of this grand finale.
But the situation was much more chaotic than it seemed. In a dark corner of this planet, the zealot plunged his sword into Feyore's skull as he initiated the ceremony prematurely.
Up in space, the cloud of light reached its critical point, and suddenly started to contract in on itself. Instead of disappearing, the fragmented law trapped within that missile seemed to be growing stronger, and was instead taking on an elven shape!