1173 Waking Up To A Living Nightmare [Part 1]
Somewhere in Elysium, the Sovereign of the Divine Army looked at the countless Apostles that were currently inside cylindrical containers filled with a green liquid.
The Golden Scales in his hand glowed faintly, as the power of its Divinity seeped inside their bodies.
The hands of the scales slowly tipped to one side, signaling that the ceremony was over.
'How many must we sacrifice, for us to win this war,' the Sovereign of the Divine Army thought as he looked at the teenagers, who slept inside the containers.
They were young men and women who had made the choice to fight, knowing that what awaited them in the end was certain death.
The Sovereign sighed for the umpteenth time.
Thousands of Apostles joined the Founder of the Divine Army to fight against the war of the Abyss.
If given enough time, thousands more would follow them afterwards.
He had stayed behind in order to continue the Apostle Project. This was the Divine Army's strategy in order to win a fight of attrition against those that had decided to invade their world.
Memento Mori had chosen a similar path.
However, instead of sacrificing others, they chose to awaken the creatures that once threatened to destroy Elysium itself.
The Seven Stars of Calamity. The Seven Monsters, who, if fought side by side, could make Kingdoms and Empires fall one after the other.
Unfortunately, Memento Mori was unable to bring all seven of them onto the battlefield.
Two of them had to stay and protect the World Tree, as well as the non-combatants of the Alliance.
Currently, only five of these powerful beasts, including Teju Jagua and Ao Ao, had been deployed on the battlefield.
Nyarlathotep and the Alliance clashed many times since the Outer God had decided to retreat, pushing the Alliance to head further west.
"This is a good thing because as long as the Outer God is pushed back, it will have no time to set its sights on other matters… is what you stupid mortals thought, right?"
The expression of the Sovereign of the Divine Army turned grim as their Underground Headquarters started to shake.
He immediately activated the artifact that would allow him to talk to their Founder and ask for assistance.
Unfortunately, the artifact in his hand remained unresponsive, which made his eyes widen in shock.
"The Golden Scales of Eternity."
"A sacrifice to tip the balance."
"The weight of morality on one side, the scales of depravity on the other."
"A delicate balance. A miraculous chance. Holding the life and death of others, similar to an eternal dance."
The sound of thousands of crystals breaking reverberated in the surroundings as the barrier that protected the Underground Headquarters finally shattered.
The Sovereign of the Divine Army roared, and raised the scales in his hand, protecting himself, as well as the countless unsung heroes, who were sleeping inside their containers, waiting for the right time to open their eyes.
A loud explosion erupted, and a moment later, a crystal dome emerged from the ground and rose towards the sky.
The Sovereign of the Divine Army glared at the Outer God, who had miraculously found his hiding place, which was tens of thousands of miles away from the battlefield in the Western Region of the world.
"How?" the Sovereign asked.
"How?" Nyarlathotep asked in a teasing tone. "Such a silly thing to ask."
The Outer God then pointed at the Golden Scales that the old man was holding in his hands and smirked.
"As long as you hold the Pillar of Eternity in your hands, I will be able to find you," Nyarlathotep stated. "It doesn't matter if you hide in the deepest corner of this world. The moment you activated its power, your fate was already sealed."
"I see." The Sovereign then summoned a scepter in his hand. "This fight is inevitable then."
"Right." Nyarlathotep nodded. "Have you tried to ask for reinforcements?"
"Don't ask a question that you already know the answer to?" the Sovereign replied.
"Indeed. Such a waste of time. I guess this is where our little talk ends."
"…"
The Sovereign of the Divine Army then activated the power of the Pillar of Eternity, making his entire body turn golden.
A giant golden statue, holding a sword and shield, materialized behind the Old Man as he faced off against the Outer God, who had snuffed out his hiding place.
"Hah~ it's really annoying when old farts like you don't give up," Nyarlathotep said in a teasing tone. "It would save us a lot of time if you just offered your head, so I can give you a quick and painless death."
"The one who will be dying here is you, Outer God," the Sovereign replied. "You do not belong in our world."
"Very well." Nyarlathotep chuckled. "At least, don't bore me too much, okay?"
The Outer God then snapped its fingers.
A dark purple portal then appeared above his head and, from that portal, over aHundred Abyssal Lords emerged.
All of them sneered at the Old Man, who was left all alone to fend for himself.
The Golden Giant glowed faintly, and absorbed the Apostles inside his body. They were currently in a very fragile state, and a stray attack from the Demigods could annihilate all of them at the same time.
Despite being surrounded by the High-Ranking Forces of the Abyssal Army, the Sovereign of the Divine Army stood on the shoulder of the Golden Giant, with a resolute look in his eyes.
"Come, Outer God," the Sovereign stated. "I will send you and your cronies back to the Abyss."
An amused chuckle reverberated in the surroundings as Nyarlathotep gave the order to attack.
"What kind of delusional sweet dream are you having, Mortal?" Nyarlathotep asked. "I guess it's time for you to wake up into a living nightmare."
Raising the Golden Scales high over his head, the Sovereign commanded the Golden Giant to attack.
The Golden Scales was a very strong Divine Artifact. But, it wasn't meant for direct confrontations.
Its purpose was to create powerful soldiers, who would fight and overwhelm their enemies in a battle of attrition.
The Golden Giant was its only means of attack.
Although it was strong, it was alone, just like the Old Man, who was facing over a Hundred Demigods all at once.
