Uriel sighed. Then he created two black wings and shot forward, plunging into the swarm. Taking advantage of the darkness, he extended his body, stretching and widening it.
He formed an enormous mouth that devoured hundreds of abominations, killing them instantly.
Immediately, hundreds threw themselves at him, but they couldn't harm him as they touched something as intangible as darkness.
But darkness could kill them.
Manipulating his form, he created dozens of tentacles which began to spin, cutting everything in their path. From the sky, an enormous flare pulverized thousands of insects while lightning bolts struck down thousands more. Elsewhere, devastating giants killed hundreds of thousands, yet it was negligible against the overwhelming numbers.
This isn't working. I need to find the Tyrant and kill it, he thought to himself, moving from side to side, killing hundreds of abominations.
Uriel considered his options. He couldn't bring Soul, as his presence was vital at the other end of Falcon Scott. He wouldn't call Skadi since he didn't have enough trust in her yet.
The Dark Knight was more for powerful enemies than for a swarm.
And the Winter Beast, though powerful and capable of eliminating the swarm in minutes, would turn Falcon Scott into a frozen wasteland.
The minutes continued to pass. Uriel clicked his tongue, opting for a different form. Instead of being an amorphous mass, he concentrated the darkness, creating a massive hundred-meter orb with a large mouth full of sharp teeth inside.
Let's play Pac-Man, he thought with a smile, moving the manifestation, devouring hundreds of abominations with each passing second as he moved toward the Tyrant leading the swarm.
Following his path, Uriel devoured everything in his way until, after nearly a minute, he reached where he wanted.
His manifestation stopped upon seeing the Tyrant. Its appearance was similar to the smaller ones—an insectoid body with chitinous legs, a saw-like mouth. Its buzzing was louder, of course. An entire swarm lunged at him, but a lightning bolt struck them down, courtesy of Sky Tide, while a sea of black flames burned a large part of them, further reducing their mass.
Changing his form, he adopted the shape of the Stone Saint with crow wings. Wielding the Wyvern's Fang, he lunged forward, unleashing a powerful slash toward the abomination. It moved, but wasn't fast enough to avoid having one of its legs instantly severed.
The Tyrant moved to guide the swarm against Uriel, but a bird of prey and a dragon interrupted the formation, annihilating the abominations.
"Handle the Tyrant," said Sky Tide.
Uriel nodded, flying toward the Tyrant, which opened its mouth. Despite its size, the Tyrant was fast. It devoured the arm of the dark manifestation.
Uriel didn't react. He used his other arm to cut off one of the Tyrant's wings.
At the same time, he regenerated his arm from the darkness, along with a spear that he used to pierce another wing, causing the Tyrant to fall from the sky.
Diving downward, he raised the Wyvern's Fang, impaling the abomination completely. Using the darkness, he created enormous spikes that pierced the abomination even further.
[You have killed a corrupt Tyrant, the Disturbing Devourer]
[You have obtained a memory]
Uriel sighed.
Like a receding wave, the swarm lost its organization after the Tyrant's death, allowing the army to gain the upper hand, rapidly reducing the abominations. In less than five minutes, the swarm was repelled. Its enormous mass, once millions, was now a few hundred thousand.
Releasing his manifestation, he fell to his knees. He had exhausted his remaining essence.
Uriel sat down on the corpse of the abomination.
Above his head flew a great bird of prey, continuing to incinerate the Devourer swarm until it disappeared into the distance.
Uriel watched as Gunlaug landed on the ground, letting out a great roar. In the distance, he saw a section of the wall that had collapsed due to an open nightmare gate.
Getting to his feet, he used the Wyvern's Fang as a cane and approached the area where the gate was. He saw a crowd looking at the Stone Saint, whispering about Lady Mongrel, which amused him.
Looking at Gunlaug, he dismissed him for now so he could rest.
Hearing footsteps, he turned and saw the members of his cohort, who were equally exhausted.
After talking with them for a while, they helped him return to the defensive barrier. There, gathered with the other Irregulars, he saw Master Winter, her eyes hidden behind her sunglasses.
"Master Uriel... your condition is terrible," said the Ascended.
"Yes. I have no essence left, so I'm useless," he said, sitting down, feeling the cold air as well as the smell of sulfur.
"What was at the center of the storm?"
"A corrupt Tyrant. I managed to kill it, but it's very likely another one will be born."
Winter nodded.
"And about your statement regarding the Winter Beast?"
"Oh, it no longer exists," he said simply.
Winter blinked.
"Did you really kill it?"
"Yes. Why do you think Sky Tide was with us?" he asked, making Winter begin to laugh.
---
A few hours later, inside a massive warehouse, Uriel was gathered with Sky Tide, along with several masters and researchers, to find a use for the material that the Winter Beast was made of.
"Alright, Master Uriel," said Sky Tide.
"Yes."
Taking a step forward, his shadow stretched out. Moments later, it rippled, forming a large sphere. The next instant, the darkness dissipated, revealing first the severed head of Goliath, and then the demonic and imposing head of the Winter Beast, which began to emanate a deadly cold air.
Sky Tide looked at the severed head of the Winter Beast with indifferent eyes, then nodded with satisfaction.
"Good work."
Uriel nodded.
"Well, I have things to do. See you, Lady Sky Tide." With that, Uriel walked away from the large warehouse. His work was done, and of course, he was given many contribution points. At this point, it was easy to say he was one of the richest individuals in the world. His fortune was such that he could compete with any Legacy clan in monetary terms, and it would only grow further with his empire of inventions plagiarized from another world.
"...Soon I'll be able to retire and rot in money." Uriel smiled, continuing on his way.
---
In the blink of an eye, two full weeks passed.
Currently, Uriel was standing atop a large stake made of darkness. The wind moved his black hair, which he had to tie back to keep it out of his face.
"At this rate, I'll be on my path to immortality."
"Why do you say that?" asked Shade, floating beside Uriel with a curious look at what was beneath him.
"Well, I'm handsome, I wear robes, I have long hair, and I live a long time. Technically, I'm almost a full-fledged immortal."
"Right..." Shade narrowed his eyes.
"Hey, I'm the suspicious one. You're the relaxed one."
Shade blinked. "Uhm... let's swap roles. Now I'm the serious one."
"That's not how it works."
"Actually, it does."
"No."
"Yes."
"Yes."
"No."
Shade smiled in victory.
"Dammit, I fell for that trick."
"You still have a long way to go, young Padawan. But anyway, what did you kill?"
"Oh. Right." Uriel looked down, seeing the enormous twenty-meter-tall humanoid lizard standing upright due to the dark bar that pierced through it like a vertical skewer.
"I think its name was King of the Shipwrecked. A corrupt devil," he said with considerable disinterest.
"Do you realize that lately we've been killing corrupt things without much effort?" asked Shade.
"True. Though I suppose fighting so many corrupt things no longer poses any real threat to us. Sure, I receive dark fragments, but it doesn't feel the same anymore."
Uriel sat down cross-legged. At that moment, a sharp pain shot through his body. He gritted his teeth forcefully as the pain lasted nearly a minute, then finally let out a sigh.
"It seems we've become a Terror again."
"Yes. It took two weeks this time. Corrupt monsters and below barely give any fragments, and if we consume normal ones, nothing increases."
Class: Terror
Soul Cores: [6/7]
Dark Fragments: [1/7000]
"Well, it's almost time for us to change," Shade commented.
"I suppose. Soon it will be three months since I've been managing everything, and I need a good rest."
"You can do it. Just two more weeks until the evacuations are finished."
Uriel rolled his eyes.
Standing up, he jumped downward. Looking at the ground, he sank into the darkness and then emerged from a dark area, walking calmly as the black bar disappeared, causing the enormous body to collapse to the ground.
"Captain," said Lily, approaching.
"Lily, any news?"
"Yes, Master Dale contained Breach C. Master Sin Sol contained Breach D. And Soul Reaper contained the breach on the outer wall," she reported. "We have about twenty hours of rest."
"Good, gather the others. Tell them to take advantage and rest at the barracks to recover essence."
"Understood. But Captain, what will you do?"
"I'll join you in a while. I have something to do first."
Lily nodded, watching her captain disappear.
Uriel emerged on top of a roof in an area of Falcon Scott that was already devoid of inhabitants. From the darkness, the figure of the Dark Knight emerged.
Uriel summoned several memories, handing them to his dark creature. The Dark Knight grabbed them and crushed them, releasing black sparks.
"Good. I only need about two hundred more to raise you to supreme rank. Keep hunting the more distant abominations."
The Dark Knight nodded, turned around, and returned to the darkness, where it disappeared.
With that settled, Uriel looked at Soul.
"Soul, any news?"
"No, no changes. I'll inform you if something happens."
"Alright." Uriel stayed alone for a while longer, his face wearing a distant look full of complicated thoughts.
Shaking his head, he disappeared into the darkness.