City of Sin (Yanyu Jiangnan)

Another Encounter With The Reapers

Faust moved smoothly through the void, a portal materialising in its path and taking it millions of kilometres away. It jumped again and again as Richard forced himself to calm down and continue his analysis of the world’s laws, understanding that this was the best way to be prepared for an ambush.

They travelled through the void for nearly a month before he arrived at the location indicated by the coordinates, and surprisingly they weren’t attacked even once all the way to the end. A small landmass appeared at the edge of his perception, a lonely island floating in the void that was about the same size as Faust, but all around it was a blue barrier that kept the chaotic storms away.

Richard immediately recognised the astral energy that made up the barrier, but he didn’t rush over immediately and instead ordered Faust to slow down. As the city came to a halt, he floated out with a cold face, “Prepare for battle.”

The radiance of the Rainbow of the Moons multiplied, the top island entering orbit around the city as all of its kin started to circle around. A number of homunculi popped up all over the city, rapidly preparing its weapons as a few of the shrine buildings parted to give rise to giant crystals that were hundreds of metres tall and wide.

Floating in the control shrine, Nasia was currently cocooned in the light of seven different crystals. A faint smile formed on her mask as she whispered to herself, “One last time… I’ll help you one last time…”

Richard was stunned by the sight. Although he’d obtained control of Faust, he hadn’t gone through everything before handing things over to Nasia. He had already thought it to be a miracle that the city could move, suppress laws, and defend itself, and while he understood that a flying fortress needed some offensive might he had expected those capabilities to be lost when it first crashed into Norland. Offensive capabilities rarely outlasted defences, and his own might was at a level where he didn’t even need to consider this support.

Countless reaper warships appeared in the void, including enormous starships that were bigger than Faust itself. This fleet was far more powerful than the one that had ravaged Faelor, and it was accompanied by that excitable voice, “My adorable runemaster, you’ve finally arrived! You cannot begin to fathom just how long I’ve waited for you, how long I’ve journeyed through the sea of destiny to find this unrivalled road. It was such an arduous and uninteresting road of despair, but I’ve finally walked it to its end! You are the end, my beloved Richard!”

The shrill voice trembled and moaned, as though its owner had just climaxed. However, Richard frowned at what it revealed. How long had this person been plotting against him? “You sure look up to me. I don’t think a single grade 6 rune is that important, and there are multiple planes with more power than Norland. I definitely wasn’t the only one with the potential to become a pinnacle powerhouse.”

“You simply don’t understand your true worth!” the voice spoke melodically.

“My true worth, huh? And where’s that, my bloodline? Heh, neither side of me comes from a particularly strong race.”

“Of course it isn’t your bloodline, I know of a dozen races that are more powerful. Your value is in your ability to see the truth of the world. How about this, my beloved Richard, I’ve already given you an answer in advance as a reward for making it here. Now, it’s time for my side; work hard to resist your capture! That will maximise my joy, and the… climax!”

“You can rest assured, my resistance will surpass your expectations,” Richard sneered, playing with a small crystal in his hands, A red pillar on Faust suddenly lit up and shot a beam of energy towards one of the reaper starships, turning it translucent for a moment before it exploded into a giant fireball. His expression changed under the intense radiance, and he muttered slowly, “I guess mine as well.”

Another amber beam shot out right after, destroying a hundred different warships. The reapers finally started to move and shot countless energy beams towards Faust’s barrier, but as bullets screamed through the sky and battered the flickering barrier to the point that it started to fluctuate, a green crystal flashed and covered it in another layer of radiance that stabilised it.

Richard calmed down and continued to observe, confident that this wouldn’t be the end of things. As expected, hundreds of giant portals opened up all around and countless warships flooded out like a black tide. Three of the portals were even bigger than the rest, and they transmitted strange amalgamations of flesh and metal with no eyes, mouths, limbs, or teeth. They seemed like three piles of meat, but their presence alone exerted enormous pressure on everything in the vicinity.

“Looks like I’ll need to move out,” his gaze sharpened.

Nasia replied, “Go on, kill them like you mean it. Don’t be merciful like you normally are, we might die if you’re a second too slow.”

“I’m not that immature,” he muttered as he opened up a portal.

“Hard to say, my adorable runemaster!” she snorted in response. Rendered speechless, he dove through the portal and appeared on top of the nearest beast.

These strange beasts seemingly had no sensory organs, but they discovered Richard’s arrival immediately. They finally split open to reveal enormous mouths, the millions of sharp teeth within chomping down as a powerful suction drew him close. Even legends couldn’t withstand the force, likely to be torn to shreds before the teeth even clashed.

Muddy yellow eyes appeared around the mouths, their blank irises shooting out piss-yellow light towards Richard’s body. He immediately sensed his barriers weakening under the corrosion of mysterious energy, the laws here corroding his mana and astral energy in mere moments. A chill ran down his spine as he summoned his three faces, each roaring as a blue fireball was shot towards the mouths.

Drawn in by the suction force, the blue fireballs sped through the void like lightning and dived into the depths of the mouths, the giant beasts screeching eerily as flames burnt in their depths. The suction force vanished as they closed their mouths, giving him a moment to blink away and dodge the beam attacks. His finger then shot out a thin blue line of fire that burnt one of the eyes, burrowing a deep hole before exploding from within.

Chaotic energy was the best fuel for the flames of destruction, and these behemoths made of flesh and metal were inherently creations of chaos. Richard found his blue flames were far more effective than against most opponents, so he summoned it all around himself as he dove towards the closest beast like a meteor.