Chapter 232: A Final Beginning
Chapter 232: A Final Beginning
Two weeks later…
.. .. .. .. .. ..
A powerful, raging wind spread out across a wide, empty plain. Jagged rocks were smashed to the side, stiff trees forced to bend knee, powerful beasts flung off to the nethers.
This powerful wind raged without purpose, smashing through the troughs of Taprisha in a furious storm. They were the winds Taprisha was known for, and the reason all intelligent inhabitants chose to live on the various plateaus, raised up high above these dangerous windstorms.
In a certain empty region of one particular plain, a man could be seen floating several hundred meters in the air.
Rather than a man, a more appropriate description would be a…
Demon. An armored, powerful-looking demon that gave off a feeling of balance.
A fierce, raging wind blasted through the air towards this floating demon, shuddering with the mystical might of the world itself. This wind was full of energy from various fractured Laws, wrapped up in a cocoon of energy from the Law of Wind. It was similar to various Natural Phenomena in that it contained magical might and power that could not be understood using normal means.
The wind raced forward, unobstructed in its rage. Far down below, a small storm of rocks and other random debris were whipped into the air, cascading about in a myriad of twists and turns. The fog that obscured the lower levels of Taprisha had long-since been blown away by the approaching wind, opening up the world to the warm sunlight from above.
Just 3 seconds later, the fearsome wind slammed into the floating demon…
And was split in twain, unable to affect him in the slightest. The raging currents of haphazard air smashed against a type of invisible forcefield, cascading all about in a miniature cyclone, but unable to do the floating demon even the slightest bit of harm.
A half-hour passed as the storm raged futilely before finally moving on, leaving the floating demon alone.
Shortly after that…
The floating demon opened its eyes.
Immediately, an Aura of power burst out around it. A bright swarm of colors accompanied this Aura, flashing brightly in the air. Red, yellow, green, blue, purple, a vast number of colors fluctuated in a rainbow.
As this Aura burst free, the floating demon's body changed slightly. Its arms grew thicker, its skin tougher. Internally, its muscles grew stronger, its bones densifying. The changes were hard to notice from the outside, but to a particularly skilled eye, they were obvious. The demon had qualitatively transformed in terms of raw power.
Dorian smiled as he felt the changes in his body, nodding his head sharply.
"So this is why Leader is so strong. His Super State isn't too shabby at all." He held out a hand in the air and flexed it, his grin widening slightly. He could keenly sense the subtle, and not so subtle, changes his body experienced, and found himself rather pleased as a result.
He was currently within the full and complete, King Class Super State of the Law of Pride.
His breakthrough had been a rather casual one. It was based on his experience and memories of the Law of Pride, with the many examples and info that had been shared with him. The fact that he had lived with an expert that used the Law of Pride extensively had proven a huge boon, helping him in his understanding.
As he thought about Leader, he frowned. He wasn't displeased with his loyal subordinate, but rather…
He was thinking about the message he had received from Leader 4 days ago, as well as the information he had discovered a few days before that.
Over the past few weeks, he hadn't become a complete hermit.
He'd made several trips between Blizzaria and Taprisha. The World Phenomena on those two worlds helped him increase the power of all of his Laws at a substantial rate. Whenever he felt like he'd run into a block in his road on one planet, he'd switch to the other to focus on the other Laws.
His rate of comprehension could really only be described in a single word.
Abnormal.
Or, perhaps, if he took his true nature into consideration…
An anomaly.
His smiled reappeared, though this time a sardonic one.
'Zero… Mello… will they be enough to stop HIM?' The thought was a grim one, and for good reason.
Yukeli, himself, had returned.
He'd first heard the full news on Taprisha. He had visited Potor City, taking a small break from studying his Laws. He could go for days on end without rest, but occasionally, taking an hour to cool down and relax helped him regain his focus.
He'd heard legends of experts that could lock themselves away in places for hundreds of years, focusing solely on a single thing…
And he would let those legendary experts keep doing that, while he did things his own way. Taking a small break every once in a while proved to suit his spirit perfectly.
In the middle of one of those breaks, he had gone to a luxurious inn and was resting in the common room after eating a slew of delicious food. Grilled beef, roasted pork, and a number of tasty fruit dishes, his tongue had entered a paradise of its own.
While he was in the midst of tearing apart a rather delicate melon, he had overheard a conversation off to his side.
"-it really was the entire 2nd Division. The Golden Moon Mercenary Alliance released an entire public briefing about it."
"Wow. An entire Division?!"
"Yeah, and it's even worse. The Death Wall herself was leading it! And they STILL lost!"
His ears perked up at the time, causing him to glance at the speakers.
A heavyset man wearing a fine silk suit and pants was talking eagerly to a muscular woman, dressed in a set of plain leather clothes. Despite the obvious status gap between the two, the duo seemed to treat each other as equals. Dorian guessed the heavy man was a noble, while the muscular woman was a powerful warrior of some sort.
He didn't need Ausra, anymore, to tell how powerful people were. He could tell at a glance that the woman was Grandmaster Class, and the man Master Class. Powerful compared to mortals, but mere ants before him.
"Who in the 30,000 Worlds could do that?!" The overweight man replied, rocking back in his chair in shock.
"Well… the rumors say a number of things. But I've heard word from the Shades AND from a few sources in the Graal Alliance that have been saying similar stuff."
"Yeah? All I've heard from the Shades is about their new treaty with the Aurelius Family. What are they saying about all this?"
"They say… they say that the Great Lord of the Absolute has returned."
When Dorian heard that sentence, his entire body seemed to freeze. His senses had expanded to an incredible degree as his body tried to shut down, an odd, paradoxical sensation that left him feeling disoriented.
Only one man was known as the Great Lord of the Absolute. Only one person.
Yukeli Shorn. A man that Ascended to the Heavens and became a Godking, only to return to the 30,000 Worlds after cutting his soul into 88 pieces.
At first, Dorian wasn't certain it was truly Yukeli. After all, the 88 Anomalies he knew existed should all contain some of Yukeli's memories. It was possible that one of them was just impersonating the fearsome man.
He could vividly remember how his body had been possessed by Yukeli's memories, but how he was also able to fight that off and take control back. Maybe it was something like that, a partial fragment gaining control, but not the man itself.
However, the letter he received from Leader in Potor City a few days later killed that hope.
According to Leader, the Council has discovered the location of the Destroyer. This was not a claim the Council would make lightly, nor was it one they would make without being absolutely certain.
The Council was preparing to strike against Yukeli when the time was ripe, biding their time in vengeful silence. They had been preparing for this moment for hundreds of years, storing up power all in the hopes of a situation like this.
Leader claimed members of the Council would be able to briefly gain the power of Angelic Class experts, turning their fighting forces into a leviathan that could not be ignored. If it was like that, Dorian felt like they could be a very real threat to anyone.
With multiple sources confirming Yukeli's existence, even if Dorian wasn't 100% certain, he decided to treat things like this was 100% confirmed. No longer was he just growing strong to defend himself against Zero, he also needed to grow strong to defend himself against Yukeli.
Zero wanted to kill Yukeli. Mello wanted to kill Yukeli. Arthur Telmon, the Wizard King, wanted to kill Yukeli. Sun Wukong, the Almighty Ruler of the Graal Alliance, wanted to kill Yukeli. The powerful Council of Demons wanted to kill Yukeli. It seemed like everyone in existence wanted to kill Yukeli.
And yet, despite all of that…
Dorian felt nervous.
Logically, it felt ridiculous to think that a single man could face down the entire world and come out victorious. And yet…
Dorian felt that if it was Yukeli, well… anything was possible.
He sighed again, rubbing his forehead slightly. He shifted his thoughts to something else, to the second letter he had received alongside Leader's.
Leader hadn't found him by chance. A close friend and ally of his had pointed Leader in the right direction, recognizing the man as Dorian's subordinate.
The letter was from none other than Helena.
That letter appeared in his hand right now, withdrawn from his Spatial Ring. Dorian smiled as he read over the lines, warm feelings flooding his heart.
It was a simple letter, expressing Helena's care for him. She wished him well, hoped he was making great progress, and talked a lot about what she had been doing back home. She was focused on her own meditation as she practiced her Law of Might, regulating her newfound breakthrough.
She also talked about Leader and why she had allowed him to know where Dorian was. All in all, Dorian approved of her actions. She truly was a smart woman, taking the initiative and helping him out.
In particular, he zeroed in on the last line.
'Sincerely, with all of my love and affection,'
'Helena Aurelius.'
This line was a standard line to use in the 30,000 Worlds for those that were close. It didn't necessarily mean someone was completely in love with someone else. But the sentence couldn't help but warm his heart considerably, bringing a large smile to his face.
'Hmm…' Dorian looked around the world around him, staring down at the ground below as he focused his thoughts on the present.
No matter what happened, he still had time, it seemed. No one had come to attack him over the past 2 weeks, giving him ample time to heal and meditate on his Laws.
With the Law of Lust already at 100%, Dorian found it extremely easy to move his other Laws through the various stages of progression. It was like the Law of Lust acted as a support, his experience in breaking through with it rapidly accelerating the process for all Laws.
In what felt like no time at all, he made breakthrough after breakthrough, his understanding of how to use his various Laws increasing at a ridiculous rate.
After a full 2 weeks of effort, he successfully managed to bring his other Demonic Laws to 90% comprehension or higher, as well as reach Completion and 100% comprehension for his Law of Pride, breaking it into King Class. He didn't make any progress on his Virtuous Laws yet, but instead focused purely on his Demonic Laws to first raise them as high as he could.
With 2 Demonic Laws at King Class, and 5 other Demonic Laws at above 90% comprehension, his power had jumped considerably once more. The him of now was a completely different beast compared to the him that fought against Zero.
And that wasn't even considering his Origin Law of Original Sin. That Law rose in power alongside his other Demonic Laws, albeit rather slowly. He had reached roughly 50% comprehension for this particular Law, and was still increasing it, bit by bit.
If the two Anomalies fought again today, Dorian was confident the battle would turn out very differently. Zero achieving a victory would be in no way guaranteed.
As a result of his progression into King Class, Dorian gained a few other unique perks.
One of those was that he learned how to fly.
His current floating wasn't because he was using an Artifact to levitate, but rather because he was using the energy of his soul to interact with the environment, allowing him to manipulate his Laws in a way to fly in mid-air.
This was a power certain experienced King Class experts could use. It required a powerful strength of will and a strong soul, both things Dorian had in excess.
Dorian had to admit, being able to float in mid-air freely, or zoom in any direction, was a pretty cool perk. It was also rather useful, increasing his mobility.
It wasn't a perfect power, however. When it came to his Speedy State from the Law of Lust, he moved much faster on the ground. Even when it came to normal movement, he could only fly at a rather middling speed.
Still, the utility of this new power was situationally helpful and, in general, fun, so he wasn't complaining. Just taking note of its effectiveness.
Dorian had had ample time to heal from his injuries in these 2 weeks. The same also applied for Sun Wukong.
The injured monkey had taken only a single day to recover consciousness after the brutal battle with Zero and the attack from Mello. After he came awake and spent a few hours in focused regeneration, Sun Wukong had promptly left.
The monkey had been insistent on leaving after he thanked Dorian for his care. The gruesome injuries the creature had suffered didn't seem to have dissuaded the Monkey King from his plans. If anything, Sun Wukong seemed to be in rather high spirits, as if he hadn't expected to be alive at all.
When Dorian asked where he was going, Sun Wukong had told him that he was headed back to the Graal Alliance, a place that Dorian was always welcome to visit.
Specifically, Sun Wukong was returning to the world that hosted the World Tree. This planet was known by many names, so many that it didn't have a singular name of its own, but rather was referred to by most people as 'the planet that hosts the World Tree.'
For its own name to be superseded by what existed on it, it could be seen how grand the World Tree was.
Dorian had briefly considered visiting Sun Wukong after he made his breakthrough into King Class for the Law of Pride. After all of his Laws achieved at least 90% comprehension, Dorian had run into a few snags in his journey to power.
While he'd managed to get 2 of his Laws to King Class, he was struggling to advance the other ones. He'd found that he couldn't just increase their power through meditation alone anymore, not within a few weeks or months. He felt like he'd need to use them actively in a real scenario, like he had with the Law of Lust against Zero, if he wanted to advance them quickly.
If he didn't visit Sun Wukong, he thought about visiting Helena instead. The time they had spent together felt all too brief, and their separation painful. After spending weeks in training, and after the fierce battle with Zero, he wouldn't at all mind seeing the woman that had captured his heart, even if just for a few days.
However… He had no time to waste. He could not afford to let himself be unprepared for anything. His near-death encounter with Zero had taught him that lesson very strongly.
If he can't protect himself, how can he claim to protect Helena?
With that thought in mind, he had finalized on where he was going to go.
It wasn't to visit Sun Wukong, nor was it to visit Helena.
Instead, he was going to travel to the Greater World of Monta.
And when he arrived there, he was going to visit the Main Academy of the Free School of Thunder.