The foul tentacle crashed into her, spreading the rot through Azure's body.
"Come on, why are there four now?!" She shouted.
Every time she had killed one of the faceless horrors, more came to attack her. While her stamina was great, the rot was starting to sap her strength.
The horn resounded through the air and the savage horde retreated.
Yet Azure could not leave the monsters here. She melted into the shadows and launched the earthen spikes toward them.
Azure clicked her tongue, none of her new powers worked on the creatures. "No, I need to use Aqua's enchantment."
Her eyes fell onto her sword, her hands were taken by dark veins, and a foul liquid dripped from her very skin.
[Shadow Bind], she bound the shadow, which quickly turned into a silvery streak connecting to her sword's hilt.
She could not afford to get hit anymore, her hand landed on her hip, her skin already covered in rot.
"How dare you ruin my body like this?! It belongs to Aqua, you scum!" She shouted and guided the blackflame sword into the creature.
The black fire scratched the monster, yet it was enough for it to spread and instantly consume it.
She collapsed onto her knees. "Shit, I can't resist the rot much longer."
She tugged at the shadow and brought the sword into her hand.
"Just one more…" She said with a shaky voice, pushing herself up. Yet as soon as she stood up, her legs gave out, making her collapse to the ground.
I can't fall! I won't fall! She gritted her teeth, attempting to push herself up. The creatures seemed to play with her, merely standing and waiting to knock her down once she stood up.
Many more creatures erupted from the ground.
Her necklace shone brightly, a crack spreading over it, making Azure's eyes widen.
Host Sustained Critical Damage. The Judgment Commencing.
The voice, similar to what she had heard from Endurance, reached from the necklace.
Judgment Concluded. The Twilight Rot Present. Releasing the Judge.
The emerald within the necklace turned into dust and surrounded her body.
The rot that afflicted her retreated, and her stamina returned.
Offering Assistance To the Host.
Something caressed her mind.
Aqua saves me again, huh? She would not complain about it; it made her feel like a dainty maiden being protected by their beloved.
She relaxed her mind and something else nestled within.
She observed, yet her body was not in her control.
"I am, The Judge. I am the custodian of Purity. I am the Cleanser of Rot." Her voice was mixed with something primal.
"The sinners. Will. Be. Cleansed. Thus. Is. The. Will. Of. The. Creator."
The Judge was enveloped in a thin emerald veil, which obscured her face and her thin white dress fluttered in the wind, and the green glow of Azure's eyes turned purple.
Her right hand was surrounded by the black fire, and the other was in an emerald glow.
With speeds surpassing sight, The Judge appeared in front of the faceless monstrosity, and grabbed its faceless head.
The black fire spread from her hand and consumed it.
Who are you? Azure questioned inside her mind.
The Judge. Protector of purity by the decree of the Blackflame Twilight.
You mentioned the creator. Did you mean Aqua?
The Judge was silent, quickly and efficiently disposing of the creatures.
Blackflame Twilight, Named, Aqua. Yes.
Azure let out a mental sigh. If the creature that took over her body was Aqua's creation, then everything would be alright. She relaxed, letting the entity clean up the monsters.
Faceless after Faceless, they disappeared with extreme ease.
The Judge disposed of a dozen faceless monstrosities with such speed and efficiency that Azure could only remain silent.
"I am created to deal with the soldiers of the beast. Once the rot is cleansed, my duty will be completed, and I will disappear." The judge spoke softly, her voice melding harmoniously with Azure's.
Will you die? The feeling of sadness reached the judge, a familiar emotion that the creator often experienced.
"I am a mere construct built of equilibrium between Aether and Black Fire. Once my duty is fulfilled, I will crumble as the creator intended it to be. The blackflame corruption would take me otherwise, and that cannot be allowed."
I understand. Azure responded in her mind.
There was no point in arguing. While it was sad that Aqua's gift would disappear, it brought peace to her that Aqua would sacrifice one of her own constructs to save her life.
The judge grabbed the [Mortal Hope] and inspected it. "Creator's mark is upon this. Take care of it."
The judge grabbed its hilt and looked around. "Underground." She said, jumping high into the air and dodging many erupting tentacles. Ten faceless horrors struck at her, yet the emerald shield protected her.
The twilight rot would never be able to pierce her shields, nor would it be able to defend against the creator's black fire.
The blade was engulfed by the black fire, and the Judge slashed toward the rotten creatures.
Their tentacles fell, and their blood burned.
Twilight Rot had been cleansed within the vicinity of the host. The mission is complete. Self-termination commencing.
The very moment that the creatures fell, the Judge retreated from her mind, returning Azure to the mortal world, not allowing her to even speak the words of goodbye.
Well, I can just think of this as Aqua mind controlling me. I wouldn't mind that at all. She blushed and squirmed.
The veil and dress that the Judge produced disappeared too, leaving her in the tattered uniform, yet the rot was nowhere to be found.
She touched her hips and neck, neither Argussian hide nor the rot was present, what was more, her skin felt softer to the touch than usual.
She then grabbed the rim of the emerald necklace that Aqua had gifted her. The emerald was gone, yet it was still as dear to her as if it were new. "Thank you, Judge. I won't forget you."
Her brows furrowed. The horde was gone, and the explosions still could be heard from the academy.
She looked toward her sword. It seemed that only the black fire could deal with the monsters permanently, if these monsters had attacked the academy, not even Sheira could deal with them for good.
"I need to go and help her!"
"You are not going anywhere, Blessed Child." A voice of a man reached from behind her. She snapped back, preparing to launch an attack.
The man's hood obscured his form, and in the darkness where his face was supposed to be was only a spectral eye. In his hands, he carried a large black box that gave away an unnatural aura.
"Who are you?!"
"My name matters not. You were able to kill many of the faceless, you are a great threat to our plans, thus you will die. It is nothing personal, of course."
The box shattered into countless pieces.
"The curse of twilight be upon you, blessed child." The shrouded man spoke and the dark pieces rushed toward Azure.
She jumped over it and dashed toward the man.
This is the mastermind. I have to defeat him as soon as possible! The Judge had fully healed her, she would not lose to anyone now. The sword erupted in black fire, which made the enemy take a step back.
Azure made a vertical slash, yet only twilight petals remained in his place.
"I see, that is how you defeated them. I might have overestimated you." He said, and the black dust formed a circle on the ground around the duo.
Azure sneered and carefully observed the man's movement. "Are you working for Red Dawn?"
"Interesting theory, blessed one, " He said, chuckling.
The circle erupted in the chains of rot. Azure moved swiftly and attempted to dodge.
The man nodded. "Even among the blessed children, you are rather powerful. I am impressed."
He raised his hand toward Azure, who was still busy dodging countless chains.
"[Twilight Star]," He stated, and a weight of a star crashed into her. Her hair and skin burned, and the pain was overwhelming.
Despite her divinity, she could not resist, the ground caved, and her breath grew shallow.
This is bad. Why is every enemy I encounter stronger than me?! She gritted her teeth and pushed her muscles to their maximum, then further enhanced them with Aether.
The black fire ate away at the spell until Azure was able to slap it away. However, that moment was all that the hooded man needed, the chains erupted from the ground, digging into Azure's flesh.
"Chains of twilight suppression. An invention of the great inquisitor. Not even a god would be able to break through them." He stated, as if he had already won.
The black box formed in his hand. "However, you are not what we need despite your power. So just die for me."
He approached, a blade of rot forming in his hand.
Shit, Shit. She struggled.
Her techniques refused to function, and her divinity was nonexistent. However, her Aether still responded to her.
She opened a sinkhole beneath the man.
For a moment, his focus was broken, yet she could not escape the chains.
Yet in response, he teleported a couple of steps forward, dodging Azure's spell.
"Interesting, you can still use mana while suppressed. You truly are powerful, perhaps more powerful than most inquisitors. Yet ultimately…" He whispered while leaning down. Azure attempted to lunge forward and bite the man. "Useless.[Final Death]"
Azure's heart stopped, and the chains retreated. The blessed child fell face-first into the ground. There was no struggle, only finality.
The shrouded man looked into the sky, and a roar echoed through the sky like a thunderstorm. Soon, the sky was filled with a swarm of dragons, ranging from lesser to even greater.
"Ah, Dragon Lord Zm'Aj decided to arrive. Good. Now onto the next part of the plan."
He approached Azure's corpse and inspected her weapon. "A secret artifact," He said, looking at the blade. "This weapon seems to be of Red Dawn's make."
The man quickly wrapped the powerful weapon in the cloth, and the box opened, pulling it inside the void.
Twilight petals swirled around him. "This will serve our purposes well," he said, his form disappearing, leaving only a twilight petal drifting onto Azure's corpse, which was slowly being enveloped in the orange glow.