Paladin 4: Chapter 36

“There he is! The cretin who attacked me! Now he’s attacking Lord Kalaziel,” Commander Thorn shouted as he pointed his sword at Darren.

Fury burned in his eyes, barely concealing his lust for vengeance. Darren had humiliated him in their last fight, and he planned to erase all memories of that battle by taking Darren’s life.

Gaviel flapped his wings, putting distance between himself and Commander Thorn. He’d lost to the commander once, and now the commander had a small army at his back. Meanwhile, Darren and Horon shot each other a look.

“Go!” Horon shouted. “I’ll hold them off.”

Horon’s true title flashed in Darren’s eyes. He was the Prime Saint of noble deaths and self-sacrifice. If Darren fled with Gaviel, this was the last he’d ever see of Horon. The man would no doubt hold his own, buying just enough time for Darren and Gaviel to escape. And then, after giving it his all, he would die.

“No,” Darren replied. “Go with Gaviel. I will fight Kalaziel.”

“This isn’t the time for shows of heroism!” Horon yelled. “Run!”

Darren placed a palm on Horon’s chest and shoved with all his might. The Prime Saint went soaring backward over the edge of the mountain. He steadied himself next to Gaviel, and the two seraphim cast Darren anxious looks over their shoulders.

[They’re leaving,] Ashe said. [I don’t know how you got through to him, but you did.]

Kalaziel looked at Commander Thorn, and his new followers then jerked his chin in Horon and Gaviel’s direction. “Follow him.”

“--But...” Commander Thorn protested but was silenced with a single glare.

“This one is mine.” Kalaziel declared as he faced Darren again.

“Yes, Lord Kalaziel,” Commander Thorn replied before flapping his wings. He and his followers took off after Horon and Gaviel.

[They’ll get away,] Ashe promised. [They already have a head start, and Horon is about as fast as they come.]

Darren smiled. He’d saved those two, at least.

“You know, I’ve never had to kill someone twice before.” Kalaziel hefted his Diamondrazor Mace. The cutting shards circled him before rejoining the shaft and forming the completed weapon once more.

“You haven’t killed me yet,” Darren replied.

The two warriors glared at one another for a moment. One was an ancient seraph who fashioned himself a king. The other, a young man raised in darkness, now a king who fashioned himself a warrior. As each met the other’s gaze, Darren sensed something he never would have expected from Kalaziel.

There was a sliver of respect in his eyes. That wasn’t something he’d shown Kothar’wa or Horon.

He sensed Darren’s gaze and smiled.

“You know, your father was the only man I ever truly respected.” Kalaziel shook his head with wistful admiration. “He was a good man.”

Darren’s grip tightened around Melancholy. “Then... why?”

A thousand questions bubbled up from those two words. Why had he attacked Darren and his mother? Why was he trying to destroy the heavens from within?

Kalaziel shook his head. “You’re just a child. Worse, a human child. I don’t expect you to understand when I couldn’t even make my kin realize the terrible danger we are in.”

“Explain,” Darren demanded.

Kalaziel chuckled. “This world is vast and full of terrors, the likes of which would shatter your mortal mind with a single glance. The might of the Lord of Light is all that stands between what you know and that darkness. With your father dead, we are more vulnerable than ever before. Someone must fill that void before the outside world senses weakness. You’ve seen the other Prime Saints, and not one of them is up for the job. And so I must claim it by any means necessary.”

“You killed nearly everyone in Whitegaurd,” Darren growled. While Kalaziel talked, he worked to undo the lighting cloud and the passive effects clinging to him. Giving the Prime Saint of Valor time to gloat gave Horon and Gaviel more time to get away and gave Darren more time to study and overcome his abilities.

Kalaziel shook his head. “No. They gave their lives willingly for a greater cause. I shared a glimpse of the terror that awaits us with your mortal priests, and their terror was great enough to drive so many mortals to give their lives in defense of the future and their way of life. Besides, I promised them a better life here in the heavens, and that is exactly what I will provide for them.”

“You are forcing their souls into unwilling seraphim and ophanim,” Darren accused.

“They are opening the eyes of the blind. Besides, a single mortal soul does not contain the power to remain stable here in the Heavens. I will give the power and bodies of the ignorant over to those who deserve it. Never let it be said that I don’t do right by those loyal to me.” His eyes darted up to meet Darren’s. “As for attacking you and your mother, after the Lord of Light’s death, you were a variable I couldn’t allow to continue. There was no telling what chaos someone like you could wreak upon my plans. And it seems I was right. I had to pull all of my assets from the mortal world thanks to your actions.”

Darren shook his head. “You made me your enemy. Not the other way around.”

He wasn’t going to let Kalaziel claim Darren was the one picking this fight.

Kalaziel chuckled. “That’s the trouble with prophecies, isn’t it? They so often become self-fulfilling. Perhaps I would have been better off just ignoring you. Or maybe you’d have become a thorn in my side even then. Between you and me, I think you were destined to oppose me, no matter what.”

Darren felt his grip tighten on his sword again as he sensed a slight change in Kalaziel’s stance. There were more questions he wanted to ask, but Kalaziel was done talking.

And from the racing of his own heart, Darren realized he was as well.

A moment later, he charged. He led with Melancholy, though he wouldn’t keep Ashe with him much longer. He couldn’t risk losing her to Kalaziel if the fight ended before he had time to return her to his Inventory.

Kalaziel was ready for him. Melancholy met Kalaziel’s Diamond Razor mace. Before, that weapon had been too strong for Darren to touch, but Melancholy had grown just as much as Darren had, and it cut a deep notch against the handle of Kalaziel’s mace. A few more slices like that, and he’d cut the top off the weapon entirely. Not that it mattered much when the deadliness of that weapon had more to do with its razorblade-like gemstones whirring through the air.

They circled around Darren, worming through his defenses. But that was what Inevitability was for. While it would have been nice to cut Kalaziel’s weapon in two with his new legendary sword, it was more important to disable it. And that was just what Darren planned to do.

He swept Inevitability straight through three flying gemstones. The glowing blue light that animated them winked out as he cleaved them in half, and the broken shells dropped to the ground, utterly useless.

Kalaziel grimaced at the sight. The mace looked to be a favorite weapon of his, but if he used it to fight Darren, it likely wouldn’t survive the battle.

“You’re a troublesome one...” Kalaziel muttered as he jumped back. He released the mace, and it flew to his belt and attached itself of its own accord. Two new objects flew into his empty hands, one a sword as large as Melancholy and the other a shield that glowed with brilliant golden light.

Darren had seen neither weapon before, but he suspected Kalaziel might have some new toys if Commander Thorn had Inevitability. If they cracked open the Lord of Light’s personal armory, Kalaziel had no doubt taken the best weapons for himself.

And he hadn’t seen fit to draw them yet, even against Horon and Kothar’wa. Only now that he was facing Darren did he unleash them.

Sword of the Setting Sun (Legendary)

• From the Lord of Light’s personal armory, this sword was obtained during his adventures to distant lands. It was forged by a pantheon of ancient mountain gods as a reward for a favor the Lord of Light did for them.
• Each swing of its sword severs fate itself, defying prophecy and reality manipulation skills. Wounds dealt with by the Sword of the Setting Sun can not be healed except by death, and at its touch, all bindings come undone. The sword’s effects grow more powerful the greater blows its partner shield absorbs.

Shield of the New Dawn (Legendary)

• Also, from the Lord of Light’s personal armory and forged by a pantheon of ancient mountain gods, this shield defends against all attacks by altering fate itself so that each blow is perfectly deflected.
• Each blow blocked turns the universe and charges the shield to greater levels of power. This power can be utilized to reinforce the shield or to empower the Sword of the Setting Sun.

Darren grimaced when he saw the power of the items. Both of them were Legendary, and the two were a set. He’d never even known such a thing was possible before.

But he had two legendary swords, so Kalaziel’s new weapons wouldn’t win this battle on their own.

They clashed again, using nothing but pure swordplay. Darren was wary of charging that new sword and shield set with anything too powerful while he was probing Kalaziel’s defenses, and Kalaziel wasn’t pushing to end the fight quickly.

Melancholy’s edge met the Sword of the Setting Sun three times as quick as a blink. The earth cracked beneath them, and the sound of their clash was less like ringing metal and more like a song sung by fairies of silver and glass.

There was an unseen melody to the legendary weapons striking one another, made all the greater by the deadly dance of the master warriors who wielded them.

Kalaziel had by far the most experience, but Darren had fought seraphim with experience before. What made Kalaziel different was he had just as much talent as Darren did.

He stood as imperious as a mountain fortress. His defenses were impregnable, and he could lash out with impunity. Both of them knew it, and so Darren had to dance around his swings.

He could cut through Kalaziel’s defenses with his attacks, and he wasn’t willing to unleash his skills quite yet. But perhaps, like a clever thief in the night, he could slip through the fortress gates unnoticed.

So he focused his efforts on getting around that shield. It wasn’t a large thing. The golden plate barely covered half of Kalaziel’s body, and it was a far cry from the massive towering things Sasha often fought with.

But somehow, it was always just where it needed to be, no matter what angel Darren attacked it from. When he attacked from above, the natural motion of Kalaziel’s arm carried it into the perfect position for his sword to glance off its side. When he attacked from below, the shield dropped off of its own accord to catch his incoming attack.

Only by striking with both swords at once did he have any chance of getting by. For all its powers, the Sword of the New Dawn couldn’t be in two places at once.

But that was easier said than done, for the Sword of the Setting Sun was always moments away from taking Darren’s life. Only his years of experience kept him alive.

Each time he dodged Kalaziel’s sword, he did so by only a hair. Each time he blocked it, he had but a moment to breathe before he had another attack coming for him.

Darren’s passive skills came to his rescue. He activated those that weren’t active already. They kept him superhumanly quick, and his Oracle Sight, in particular, helped mitigate the fate-altering effects of Kalaizel’s sword and shield.

Unfortunately, their abilities also meant that his Oracle Sight was useless, and he nearly lost an arm when his skill told him Kalaziel was going to pull back, but instead, he lunged forward. If Darren had ever grown too dependent on his Oracle Sight skill, he would have lost the fight then and there. But he’d never put all of his trust in it, and the moment his senses deceived him, he changed course and rolled out of the way.

They clashed again, and again Darren tried to pierce Kalaziel’s defenses. But try as he might, he couldn’t get through. He couldn’t blame the legendary sword and shield either, for against any lesser opponent, Darren would have been able to slip past anyway. But from start to finish, no matter how Darren tested his defenses, Kalaziel didn’t make so much as a single mistake. He was a true master, and Darren hadn’t been pressed so hard in a fight in years. Not the Archdemons in the Fifth Hell, not the armies of demons at Salsroth, and certainly not Gaimon in Limedeep.

His blood pounded in his veins, and sweat beaded on his brow. The lingering testaments to his humanity were distractions Kalaziel didn’t have, but they didn’t slow Darren in the slightest. On the contrary, with every blow exchanged, he began to grow all the more viscous. He wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline or the new experience, but felt like he was a markedly better fighter than he’d been when he and Kalaziel had first crossed swords moments ago.

But Kalaziel kept pace with him all the while, no matter what Darren tried. Swordsmanship alone would never win him this fight.

It was time to stop holding back. Darren had never expected to be able to fight this ancient seraph with nothing but his swordsmanship. They weren’t guardsmen with nothing but their swords to battle with. Each of them was just as much of a master of Divine Aura as they were of traditional weapons.

Their passive skills were already active, but now Darren started bringing the rest of his abilities to bear to break open Kalaziel’s impenetrable defenses.

He activated Fists of Peace as a distraction. The phantom hands of light reached up to grab at Kalaziel’s arms and legs. Divine Energy constructs formed in the air, taking the shape of thousands of arrows all hurtling toward Kalaziel. He used Soul Weaving to disrupt Kalaziel’s control over his own aura, and he swept his sword through the air using Dimensional Rift.

Every attack landed at once, and every attack failed as Kalaziel countered them. Darren had memorized most of the abilities from their last fight. Starlight Phantom turned Kalaziel into pure light for a moment, letting him move and reappear elsewhere.

Darren’s Dimensional Rift tore open a rip in space leading down to one of the lower heavens where Kalaziel had been standing moments ago, and he barely had time to divert his Divine Energy arrows before they flew through the rift and struck the helpless seraphim below.

Kalaziel used Blinding Radience again, and Darren was blinded once more. He felt something hot and bright draw a searing line across his chest. That was likely Blinding Radience. His bare skin sizzled under the effect, as Kalaziel’s sword ability to sever all bonds had long since tattered his armor and shirt to shreds.

When the light finally faded, Kalaziel’s entire body was cloaked in shining golden light. That was his Radiant Armor skill. The cloud over Darren’s head formed again, meaning Kalaziel had activated Smite once more.

The air turned hot enough to boil the sweat off Darren’s brow, and the earth turned against his feet. He was forced into the air when it tried to wrap around his feet.

He flew upward, burned and blinded. That had to have been his Blinding Radiance skill. When Kalaziel’s Blinding Radiance skill finally faded, he began his attack anew.

The ring of legendary weapons was joined by the cacophonous blasts of skills, each more devastating than the next. The sacred hall of the seraphim, which Prime Saints had gathered and met in for countless millennia, shattered into pieces and toppled down the mountainside chunk by chunk.

The three neutral Prime Saints had long since fled to put some distance between themselves and this fight. Each of them was no doubt focused on securing their own assets and subordinates. Change was coming to the heavens. After the events of this day, there was no stopping it.

“You know, if I just had a little longer, I could have done this peacefully!” Kalaziel shouted at Darren from the mountaintop below. “I wouldn’t have had to kill Kothar’wa! That’s your fault.”

“You made this bed,” Darren growled. He slashed down at Kalaziel from above. “Not me. You will lie in it.”

A Dimensional Rift opened up beneath Kalaziel’s feet, and after a brief look, Kalaziel ducked through to the other side. He unhitched his mace from his belt and started attacking Darren with the flying diamonds attached to it. If Darren wanted to retaliate, he had to follow Kalaziel through the rift. He emerged on the other side and was promptly ambushed by a sudden swing thrust right for his heart, but Darren had expected the attack and had already crafted a dozen Divine Energy constructs to make stabbing him a little harder.

Their attacks met, and Darren used Dimensional Rift again. Their fight took them to one of the wild regions of the Fourth Layer of the Heavens, where their fighting caused even more devastation. Wild beasts scattered in all directions as trees, earth, and stones all shattered in the aftermath of the battle.

When some of the local Protectors were headed their way to investigate, Darren opened another Dimensional Rift and dove through it. This one took them to the Third Layer of the Heavens, where Darren and Kalaziel battled again. Once more, Darren fled, and once more, Kalaziel followed him. The Prime Saint would neither take a blow nor let Darren land one of his own. At this rate, the fight would last days.

Was Darren willing to risk his own power reserves against Kalaziel? He had no shortage of Divine Aura, but Kalaziel’s well of power seemed just as bottomless.

Their fight lasted hours, and to Darren’s continued surprise, Kalaziel didn’t show the slightest sign of slowing. If Darren let up for even a moment, Kalaziel would be on top of him, ready to deal the first and final blow.

Darren had to jump, dodge, duck, and weave constantly. His body was covered in a thousand tiny cuts from narrow dodges and close escapes. Against an ordinary sword, these cuts would have long since healed. But that Sword of the Setting Sun would not be so easily foiled.

But for all his many cuts, Darren didn’t have a single blow against Kalaziel to show for it. He didn’t understand how the Prime Saint of Valor had such deep reserves. Not when Darren had skills meant explicitly to enhance his Divine Aura capacity and efficiency. Kalaziel was one higher realm higher than him, but that was his only advantage.

Unless...

Darren put distance between himself and Kalaziel, eyes focused as he activated Absolute Analysis again.

Absolute Analysis: Identity Analysis

Kalaziel, Prime Saint of Valor. (Sixth Order, Heavenly Throne Candidate)

The addendum to Kalaziel’s order was something Darren had never seen before. What did it mean?

Absolute Analysis didn’t leave him wondering for long. Focusing on it for but a moment had Absolute Analysis offering an explanation.

Heavenly Throne Candidate Kalaziel

Prime Saint Kalaziel has begun the process of bonding to the Heavenly Throne. His power had reached a new level, and when the bonding is complete, he will have reached the Seventh Order. The Seven Heavens can currently support one entity at the Seventh Order, currently reserved by the Heavenly Throne.

By forming a connection to the Heavenly Throne, Kalaizel may access all the Divine Aura of the Seven Heavens. Upon fully bonding the Heavenly Throne, his power will be dramatically enhanced whenever within the domain of the Sacred Seas or its associated pocket dimensions.

Kalaziel noticed Darren staring at him and smiled.

“So, you finally see? You’re wiser than the other Prime Saints, I’ll give you that. But I suppose that’s to be expected from the son of the Lord of Light. I’ll have to keep an eye on your soul after you die. There are ways to wipe away all mortal memories. When I come into my true power as the next Lord of Light, perhaps I’ll make you useful to me at last.”

Darren stared silently at Kalaziel in reply. He’d been growing more powerful with every passing day since he’d last crossed blades with Kalaziel. But it had never occurred to him that Kalaziel might be doing the same.

“This fight has done a lot to help me adjust to this new power, and for that, you have my thanks,” Kalaziel chuckled. “It isn’t enough to compensate for all the damage you’ve done, but I’ll make your mortal death swift when the time comes. My spies tell me you’ve mastered a peculiar series of skills that make you remarkably difficult to kill. For now, though, I’ll leave you with this parting gift. You will be the first of my new domain to experience the true power of the second Lord of Light!”

Darren braced, expecting the worst. But after his bold declaration, Kalaziel did nothing. He just stood there with his arms crossed as he glared imperiously at Darren.

Just when Darren was about to shrug and wipe that smug smile off Kalazie’s face with his sword, he felt it. A tingle ran up his spine, and soon that tingle flowed through his entire body. Everything felt wrong, as though the very air itself was rejecting him.

He pulled Melancholy into his Inventory, not wanting to risk Ashe in the face of whatever this attack was.

The clouds parted high above him like there was some unseen explosion high above. They flew outward, joining together in seven concentric rings, all circled right above Darren.

The sun shone down through the hole in the center of the clouds, though Darren was certain it had been in another location moments ago. The light was blinding, but glancing up at it, he realized there was a figure standing within it. It was Kalaziel, gazing down at him with the same imperious expression his real body wore.

A beam of golden light shot down from the sun, wide enough to engulf the entire city of Limedeep in a single blast. Darren’s heart pounded at the sight of the incoming blast. There was no elegance or skill in that attack, just overwhelming energy.

Absolute Analysis: Skill Analysis

Heavenly Purification

The Beam of Heavenly Purification, channeled through the Heavenly Throne, purges all entities not aligned with the caster. When used against seraphim, it will remove all negatively aligned souls, weakening the seraph struck proportional to their hatred for the caster and creating a new positively aligned entity.

Darren wasn’t sure what that beam would do when it struck a human, but he was certain he didn’t want to find out. He needed to move.

Then the earth rumbled. The mountain beneath them shattered, and from the broken cracks, two enormous hands rose up from the earth, each a copy of Kalaziel’s. They were sculpted from a patchwork of earth and stone, mimicking the pose his true body made on the ground below. The enormous hands blotted out the sky as the beam of golden light shot down from above, and the combination of attacks closed in around him from all directions. There would be no dodging this through normal means.

Darren sliced the air. This was exactly the reason he’d picked up the Dimensional Rift skill. If he couldn’t dodge this attack through normal means, he’d simply sidestep it by slipping into an alternate dimension.

But the rift didn’t open to one of the lower heavens like he expected. Instead, he was once again greeted by Kalaziel’s smug, smiling face and yet another beam of golden light. Darren cut another Dimensional Rift open again and then another, each time being greeted by the same thing.

His mind went back to what he’d learned. So long as Kalaziel controlled the Heavenly Throne, it would be his domain. He needed to cut a path to the Sacred Seas or to the Seven Hells, then he would be safe.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on his side, and all three of the rifts Darren cut open led to other regions in the Seven Heavens, all of which let in more light from the beam in the sky. Grimacing, Darren braced himself. It looked like he was going to take this attack head-on, after all. He created construct after construct of Divine Aura, pulling everything that wasn’t of immediate use to him into his Inventory.

He didn’t think this body would survive the incoming attack, but Darren had never been one to lie down and die. But there was one thing he was certain of. This was going to hurt.

<Note>

So, we finally got to hear about the Lord of Light/Darren’s dad’s death straight from Kalaziel himself. We also learned a bit about why Kalaziel is doing what he’s doing (he’s not just taking over the heavens for megalomania, ego, and for the evilz.)