?876 The sudden change
An unusual situation came about as Z sat cross legged on the ground, wearing a blazer that practically caused him to bend until his face was almost touching the book he was reading. Around them stood the formidable demon army that had been created specifically to hunt them down, yet they did nothing except stand still.
Lex stood beside him cross armed, waiting for something to happen. Realistically, it was impossible for Z to master space well enough in a short enough time that he would be able to open a door to the place he felt a connection.
What Lex was hoping for, instead, was that he would be able to resonate with that place, somehow triggering a door or invitation of some kind. Of course, it would not do to tell his own employee that he had no faith in him, so instead he waited in silence.
The seconds ticked by, each seeming to extend forever before giving way to the next. Slowly, those seconds turned to minutes. Z was focusing his utmost and reading as quickly as possible, in a rush. He had no idea when death and destruction would rain down on them, so it would be best if could leave before then.
For a short while, nothing happened. Their presence remained undetected to the devils fighting far off and so there was no one to bother them. But, ultimately, a change did come, and it came abruptly and on a massive scale.
Without forewarning, the red statue erupted in a cataclysmic explosion of light that blinded all, and it was followed by an unearthly wail filled with both anger and anguish!
"I CAN SMELL THAT PLACE ON YOU!" a voice roared filled with a lust for vengeance.
The previous blinding light was so strong even Lex was forced to close his eyes, but pure instinct guided him to use Impervious Hands and bring his right hand in front of his face. His timing was perfect as a fist seemingly made of light landing right in his hand, packed with all the strength it could muster.
The force of the impact caused a minor shockwave to blow heavy gusts of wind around Lex, and pushed away many of the nearby demons. But, for all its bluster, could not move Lex, or even his hand, by a single inch.
Lex opened his eyes to see a being made of pure light, identical in shape to that of the red statue. Even so, with its body made of light and the face of a hawk, Lex could clearly tell that its expression was contorted into one of absolute, uncontrollable rage.
"Why are you so weak?" Lex could not help but ask. He had not even moved from his spot. If the entire purpose of the ritual was to summon this being of light, shouldn't it be strong?
It had thought it impossible, but Lex's question enraged the being of light even more! It tried to pull back its hand to launch another attack, but as if to emphasize what Lex had said, was unable to free itself from Lex's grasp!
Lex, unwilling to let the mystery continue, used his left eye to peer into the beings body, and discovered the issue.
All the divine energy that had been gathered so far was used up entirely to make the body of light, sustaining the beings existence. The same amount of energy wielded by the zealot afforded him many abilities, but for this being, it was only enough to sustain itself.
But that fact on its own was a testament to how powerful this being was. It was just that… before it could gather more strength it had attacked Lex, giving him an irreplaceable opportunity!
He could clearly see, even now, more and more divine energy was filling its body, thereby increasing its strength. His mind clicked, and Lex understood that if he allowed this being to gather enough divine energy, it really would become a powerful foe!
"Let me guess… Do you by any chance go by the name Ra?"
Although Lex had merely said the name, he felt a sense of rejection from the entire world! Every speck of space that had been encompassed by the divine energy seemed to gain a semblance of intelligence, and was using it to reject Lex's presence! It was trying to kick him out. Fortunately, the sensation lasted just the very duration he said the deity's name, and not longer, or he may really have encountered a problem.
"MY NAME IS NOT FOR YOU TO UTTER, VERMIN! I WILL ANNIHILATE-"
Before Ra could continue screaming, Lex used his left hand, still empowered by Impervious Hands, and grabbed his beak, shutting it.
"What was lesson number 1, Z?" Lex asked without looking back.
"Never let the enemy complete their monologue!" Z responded promptly, as if he was ready for a quiz.
For the first time in days, Lex smiled.
"Good."
Lex freed his right hand and stepped forward to deliver a punch right in the deity's stomach causing it to lurch backwards. But with his grip on Ra's beak, it could neither grunt, nor escape from him.
"You should have learned the first time, Ra," Lex whispered in his ear, more than happy to tolerate the momentary rejection from the world. "Don't mess with the Midnight Inn!"
He did not know how to kill a deity, or more likely a projection or perhaps clone of a deity, but with his left eye he could see the weakness of this body of light it was inhabiting, so he did not hesitate.
He pressed his fingers against Ra's chest, and slowly yet forcefully, pushed his hand inside the deity's body.
"UNHAND MY LORD!" came a yell from a distance as the zealot flew towards Lex at its fastest speed, 17 devils on its trail, but Lex did not break eye contact with Ra for even a moment.
He finally felt like he was punishing those, or at least some of those, who had targeted the Inn. The anger he had been nestling for so long did not allow him to look away.