Chapter 411 - Nemesis

"Your Imperial Majesty, you can go ahead and bring the princess to where the Black God is. We'll take care of things here!"

"Right!" Ivan ran towards Alinea, taking down dark elementals on the way. 

"Leave your elementals here to help. Aurel will take us for now," Alinea yelled as soon as Ivan reached her and she held out her hand. 

Ivan took her hand and she hoisted him on Aurel's back. As soon as they were settled, the giant crow flew up in the air towards the deeper part of the cavern. The distance from the floor to the ceiling of this underground space was around two hundred meters high. But upon reaching the latter part, Aurel had to fly lower as the passageway got smaller, although it could still accommodate giants. It was the very same passageway where the four generals appeared. 

"Ali, did you like Ritz's present?" Ivan asked as they flew. 

Alinea shifted on Aurel's back so she could see Ivan's face and grinned. "What do you think?"

She was more than elated! 

"I thought I lost them forever," she said wistfully and Ivan grinned back. 

"When we found your bodies in the cavern, Ritz called all the available soul callers to call you all back. But only those five returned," Ivan relayed, relieving that time. "He condensed their souls to the gems they had in their possession and created the bangle using those. But they had already been revived and granted the status of divinity and were only waiting for you to call them."

So, it was like that… 

Alinea sighed. Back then she had been eaten with hatred. But now… 

She turned her face back to the front towards the deeper part of the cavern. Soon she would finally come face to face with her nemesis. 

Czernobog…

Her silver-gray eyes flashed as the aura around her changed. 

"Looks like the little princess is all fired up," Ivan commented having felt the pure determination emanating from her. 

"Of course," she answered with firmness. "We'll end this final battle and have a proper reunion afterwards!"

A few seconds after, Ivan placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Ali let's switch. We're near."

Alinea pushed against Aurel's back to propel herself up and backflipped and sat behind Ivan. She could feel the space after the passage was another huge underground area. But she could feel a huge swarm of dark elementals at a distance. Aside from that…

The dark part of her soul suddenly became active as if it was excited. Czernobog was there.

"Ali, step a bit back. Aurel wouldn't mind if I stand, no?" Ivan asked and Aurel opened his beak. 

AAAAAAAAAAWRK!

Ivan stood up on Aurel's back and retrieved his fist as he pivoted his foot on its ball and pushed his body forward for momentum. A red blaze enveloped his hand as he concentrated his power there. 

"Here we go!" he yelled and he pushed off his foot again and turned his hɨps as he extended his arm straight towards the front, releasing the fire. 

WHOOOOOSH!

The red flames shot straight, burning all the dark elementals that blocked its path. The fireball from Ivan burned bright and furiously but the moment it reached a certain space in the middle it suddenly stopped and started slowly vanishing as if suċkėd in the black hole. 

Aurel landed on the ground just before the entrance. Ali and Ivan got off the lightning elemental and scanned the space. Dark elementals with harpies, smaller grade chimeras, blood salamanders, and others filled the room except for the area Ivan had scorched. Unlike the other aggressive ones they encountered in the previous parts of the cavern, these creatures seemed to have an ounce of intelligence in them. 

"Ali…"Ivan spoke in a low, warning tone, and she nodded. 

Ivan could take care of them, yes. But with their numbers, he'd have his hands full. He waved his hand and flames appeared in them. 

"I've summoned back my elementals," Ivan told her and she nodded. "Don't mind the pipsqueaks. Focus on that nasty one in the middle," he said as the two of them watched the fire he shot earlier dispersed, casting illumination to the darkened area in the middle for a while before it was drowned by darkness once more. 

In this place, the light crystals had been removed as if the one basking in the shadows at the far front of the area deliberately got rid of them. Only the ones at the entrance remained. 

Several seconds passed and none of them moved. Nonetheless, the tension was very high and they could clearly sense the murderous intent of the predators surrounding them. The dark elementals glared at them, on high alert, but remained unmoving as if waiting for their leader to give the command. 

"I was wondering where all those commotions were coming from outside. As it turned out, I have visitors," a melodious voice sounded from the shadows giving an illusion of a gentle and timid owner.

However, both Alinea and Ivan were not fooled. As one saying from Earth about the evildoers, be careful of who to trust despite a gentle and kind façade as the devil was once an angel. Czernobog was a devil through and through— the personification of the fallen celestial in the legends. 

"Pardon us for coming uninvited," Ivan said mockingly as he narrowed his eyes at the minions. 

The battle outside might have come closer as the scent of blood was getting stronger. Due to this even the intelligent once were starting to feel excited, seduced by the aroma of death. Among the most agitated ones were the harpies. They had started to shift on their feet as if they were fighting their urge to murder but losing.

"Oh?" the melodious voice sounded again. "I do not really mind," the voice continued lazily as moon crystals suddenly lit up from everywhere illuminating the whole place. As it turned out, they were not removed but blocked by dark mist. Now, they could clearly see the entire space including the man sitting on a rocky throne in the middle. "After all, it's not every day my child came to visit me…"