Chapter 17: ARISE
"ARISE!"
As one of the goblins lay dead, a puff of smoke that looked like a black cloud rose from the earth and entered its corpse.
Gar'goth raced forward with his weapon drawn, heading straight towards Tenshi, who was still lying on the ground but gazing up.
Tenshi waved her hand and tossed Gar'goth far away just as he was about to approach, sending him crashing into many trees on the way.
Tenshi, who had only just awoken, felt an immense surge of power through his veins and was ready to destroy everything that stood in his path. Yet he knew that this momentary increase in strength and mana was fleeting. Instinctively, he knew that it would pass in a short time.
The squirming bodies of the slain goblins moaned, "Grrr..." as a shadowy mist rippled through them. One by one, they got to their feet, groveling at Tenshi's feet, ready to do anything he asked.
In contrast to their previous green coloration, these new shadows seemed to have a dark purple tone.
Tenshi shouted, "Kill them... and leave him," pointing to Ward, who was shivering and appearing dazed from fear.
A large black shadow that had formerly been a hobgoblin replied, "Yes, my king."
"Oh? You can speak?" Tenshi commented as he looked in the direction of the Shadow hobgoblin.
A voice from the Shadow said, "Yes... my king."
With a nod of his head, Tenshi signaled the beginning of the attack, the shadow goblins started their attack, and the hobgoblin attacked the two gargoyles.
Tenshi looked at his newly regenerated hand and then down at a pool of blood, where he saw that his whole body was coated with shadows that resembled threads and were effectively shielding him like armor.
Tenshi blinked his eyes and thought, "Liya."
Liya lay on the floor, injured and unconscious, her normally beautiful scales marred by black burnt marks.
As soon as he reappeared next to her, he put his hand over the scales and pumped his mana as hard as he could. Since Tenshi is unable to perform any kind of healing magic, all he can do is give her his infinite energy in the vain hope that it might help.
Using his clairvoyance, he was able to find out who had done this to her. He saw an image in his head of Liya screaming in agony and Turoth laughing crazily, after he had used lightning magic on her.
His gaze swiveled around fast, and he caught sight of Turoth fighting with his Shadow soldiers.
Tenshi issued the command, "Don't kill him," which caused the shadows who were engaged in combat to nod their heads in agreement.
Gar'goth shoved the sword that was being held back by Tenshi's hand, which had transformed into a gauntlet, and exclaimed, "Why do you have the power of darkness?"
"Why should I not?" Tenshi said with an attitude of superiority and an inexplicable feeling of pride.
"Tch… I will extract the information from you by whatever means necessary." The words came as Gar'goth kicked Tenshi, sending him flying backward.
Tenshi was able to restore his balance mid-air and land on his feet safely. Tenshi's strength increased, but it was still unable to block a direct hit from a High-ranking Demon.
When Tenshi raised his left hand, the dark threads coursing through his body converged at his left palm to create a shadow odachi.
A battle breaks out almost instantly as Gar'goth charges toward Tenshi.
Tenshi, who had previously possessed the benefit of having greater magical might than Gar'goth, was suddenly put in a worse position than his opponent due to the fact that he was hundreds of years younger than Gar'goth.
But he learned quickly, and with the freshly awakened talent of Lucifer, he was soon able to defend himself, even if he did sustain some bruises in the process.
Even though Tenshi had just received a boost to his abilities, he was unable to find a suitable moment to attack Gar'goth. Thus, he used a retreat strategy, conjuring a huge orb of flame.
When the ball struck Gar'goth, it generated a great explosion.
Before Tenshi could unleash another barrage of magical attacks, the demon stepped in to interrupt him.
"Fight like a man, Child!" Gar'goth muttered as he inspected the many cracks and splits in his armor.
Tenshi, looking directly at Gar'goth, said, "Very well!"
Tenshi reflected on the vow he'd made to 'Samael' and the promise he'd made to himself to never again bring shame to the name of Lucifer.
After calling his odachi back, using an explosive step, he arrived in front of Gar'goth and immediately began hitting him repeatedly.
When the battle restarted, Tenshi focused only on following his opponent's every move instead of making any savage attacks. His boundless mana meant that whatever injuries he sustained instantly healed, so he never had to worry about them.
"YES! COME ON! MORE!" Gar'goth screamed as his excitement at facing Tenshi grew more and stronger.
Hearing Gar'goth's savage yells caused Tenshi's blood to boil, and he started to put more force into his assaults.
In an instant, a huge cut appeared on Gar'goth's chest, knocking him off balance with a single *swish*.
Seizing the opportunity, Tenshi plunged the odachi into his opponent's chest, causing him to fall to his knees while still holding the blade in his hands.
"Hahah!" As he drew his last breath, Gar'goth chuckled, saying, "I would have delighted to fight at your side!"
Tenshi whispered, "If that is what you desire... ARISE," and the shadow tendrils that had emerged from his body moved towards the dead Gar'goth, transforming him into a knight-like shadow with a hole in his chest.
"I name you Kargoth, my sword and my first Death Knight," Tenshi stated.
Gar'goth experienced a second metamorphosis into the shape of a knight like shadow soon after his transformation into a shadow with a purple glow, at the same time that he transformed his previous equipment and sword into his shadow armor. And his color changed from purple to green, giving him a sinister appearance.
"Of course, my king. I would serve you dutifully for the rest of... Eternity," Kargoth stated.
As Tenshi looked around, he noticed something.
"What happened to Ward?" The shadow soldier serving under Tenshi seemed confused by his questioning.
"It seems that you can only say "my king,"" Tenshi remarked as he took in the strange circumstances.
Tenshi gazed at the new, huge Shadow who was kneeling over and said, "I will name you... The mighty Aegis, my shield in battle."
The purple light in Aegis' Shadow turned into a bright gold glow as he grew much bigger, reaching roughly 8 feet in height and becoming his largest shadow warrior, while Kargoth was only 7 feet tall. Furthermore, several golden tendrils started to emerge on Aegis.
His previous gestures of Hobgoblin were changed to more beastly features, now he looked like… like an Ogre.
[A/N: Ogre race from Tenshi Anime]
With a glint in his newly acquired golden eyes, Aegis pledged his allegiance to his new king. "Thank you for naming me, my king. I will serve you loyally... I will guard you... But alas, my king, I was unable to locate him. Evidently, he was able to escape. And this is all my fault, and I accept full responsibility for any consequences that may result."
Tenshi felt his body weaken, and the shadow-like markings that had appeared on his body started to disappear. He crouched down, his legs trembling such that he crooked as the power inside him drained away.
"MY KING!" When they saw Tenshi on his knees, his shadow warriors were taken aback when they saw Tenshi kneeling there in weakness.
"Haaa… I'm OK." Tenshi replied, "Bring that monster with you, and bring Liya safely back to the cave," as he gingerly made his way back to the cave they had been resting in.
As soon as he entered the cavern, the first thing he did was lie down on his thatch bed and examine the new arm he had grown, which had a distinctive golden marking on it.
After discovering something that was trying to tell him something on the inside, he attempted to move the marking. The golden insignia morphed into tentacles and emerged from his arm in a writhing motion.
Next, Tenshi pointed at the cut-winged-imp beside the door, curious as to its capabilities.
The tendrils unexpectedly adhered to the body and started sucking, making it seem as though the dead body had been mummified.
In an instant, Tenshi was hit with the familiar, addictive feeling of mana flooding his body.
"Well... now I don't need to suck blood like a vampire or eat hearts like a werewolf," Tenshi mused to himself, reflecting on his newfound ability.
Tenshi then attempted to create weapons similar to those he used while battling Gar'goth. However, he sensed his abilities were not reacting, and the shadow tendrils did not form.
"Gawww…" Tenshi then embraced Liya, and his vision darkened.
…
"Hahaha," Tenshi was startled out of his sleep as he became aware of a rough and moist tongue tickling the side of his face.
When he saw that Liya had returned to her regular self, he gave her another embrace as a sign of his joy. Tenshi felt a chill go down his spine as he recalled how dangerously near he had come to losing Liya. It doesn't bother him that he is so close to death; what terrifies him is the prospect of losing Liya.
"I won't let anything happen to you," Tenshi mumbled as he tightened his arms around Liya. His freshly acquired wings unfolded and wrapped themselves around Liya unconsciously.
Liya felt a warm, fluffy, and light presence around her. When she saw Tenshi's newly expanded, wonderfully silvery wings, she let out a sharp shriek of joy.
"Oh? Do you want to fly together?" Tenshi murmured this as he felt Liya's anticipation via his bond.
He then remarked, "Well... let me get accustomed to them." as he saw Liya nod her head. "Even basic motions are beyond my capabilities... ...and it appears like something inside you has changed as well."
The dull blue color of Liya's scales has been replaced with a brilliant blue with golden stripes and dark blue patterns. It looked as if Liya had evolved with Tenshi, whose bloodline may now be activated.
Although it took him some time, Tenshi ultimately learned how to fold his wings and make them disappear.
Looking around, he saw a few shadow soldiers in addition to his two shadow warriors, the Mighty Aegis and Kargoth the Death Knight.
A fat demon was bound in ropes, writhing about like a pig before it was slaughtered.
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Sorry for not uploading for a whole; I am traveling, so I have no access to my computer where it will be easy for me to edit and write.
I am on a family vacation, which means fewer electronics, so sorry if my chapter has more spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. We are on a long vacation, so buckle up.
Don't forget if you enjoyed it, give them power stones... they greatly motivate me.
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