Two days passed, and the disappearances had stopped. No new disappearances had been recorded, and the headache Uriel had been feeling had lessened a bit. His eyes looked at the cloudy sky, then he summoned his Echo. If his suspicions were correct, they were royally screwed.
Uriel watched as sparks of light materialized and took the form of Skadi, who was wearing the Black Legion Armor. Despite the cold weather currently setting in, the Echo didn't seem to mind; her eyes moved and settled on Uriel.
"Use your will to remove any altered state I have," he ordered.
The Echo looked at Uriel for an instant.
Uriel felt an invisible pressure hit his entire body. The sensation was similar to submerging into a viscous, cold mass that lasted a few moments. The strange state of mild confusion, as well as the mental fog he had been under, dissipated like the wind, allowing the bonds of the Crown of Repose's enchantment to take effect on him, making him let out a sigh.
Taking out a peach, he began to eat it. When he finished, he took another and ate it. He continued doing this until his fatigue faded, the aching pain dissipated, and his body returned to its optimal state.
The reason he always ate the peaches, aside from their delicious flavor, was because of their effects.
In a way, the peaches were like sacred fruits that restored a portion of the essence of whoever ate them, while also reducing fatigue and stress, leaving you in an optimal state.
Standing up, he stretched a little, then inhaled the fresh air before looking at the cloudy sky with his arms crossed.
Without hesitation, Uriel shifted through the darkness, appearing next to the Rhino, startling his subordinates a bit when they saw him appear out of nowhere.
"Captain, stop appearing out of nowhere; you'll give us a heart attack," said Miranda.
"Hehehe. Sorry, but I'm in a good mood."
The cohort blinked before looking at him, clearly noticing the difference. Their captain seemed renewed, with no sign of the exhausting fatigue from the nearly three weeks since the disappearances had begun.
"Captain, what's going on with you now? Why are you in such a good mood despite the current situation?"
"Oh, I simply discovered the reason behind the disappearances, that's all. But first, eat these." Uriel handed his members three peaches each.
"Peaches?" asked Asher.
"Just eat them. They'll give you energy, and they're delicious."
The six looked at each other before taking their first bite. As they did, their eyes widened at the delicious flavor, as well as the revitalizing energy that dissipated some of their mental fatigue.
The six devoured the peaches within seconds.
"I feel full of energy!" said Lucien, jumping up and down. "I feel like I can win a fight against a Corrupted creature with just my fists."
"What did you give us, Captain? What were those fruits?" asked Miranda.
"Oh, peaches from my Echo. They restore part of your essence and eliminate physical and mental fatigue," he explained simply.
"Asher, you were right," said Uriel.
Asher raised an eyebrow before his eyes widened as he remembered.
Immediately, he froze, looking up at the sky. His expression turned deathly pale.
"C-captain." For the first time, his voice trembled.
"Yeah, I don't know why I didn't realize it before, considering they're the most annoying things of all, and it's not the first time I've faced one. Though I suppose I was arrogant," Uriel murmured, annoyed.
"Hey, tell us what's happening; don't leave us hanging," said Lily.
"I don't want you to panic..." Asher began. "But the reason for the disappearances is due to a powerful mental attack launched by a Corrupted Titan."
Uriel watched in surprise as the expressions of Lily, Tiffany, Miranda, Lucian, and Abel went through a wide range of emotions.
Disbelief, astonishment, nervousness, and finally fear—pure, raw fear. Their faces paled as they looked at the sky above them. Now that their minds were free from stress and their bodies without fatigue, combined with Soul's protection, they could see a massive dorsal fin cutting through the cloudy sky like a blade.
"C-corrupted Titan," Miranda stammered.
"Capi, tell me you have a plan."
"Yes," said Uriel, letting out a sigh. "I'm simply going to kill the Titan."
His subordinates looked at him as if he were insane.
However, their captain was the kind of person who followed through on what he said. If he said he was going to kill a Corrupted Titan, then he would kill a Corrupted Titan.
"Asher, meet with Master Dale and Master Randal to inform them of this," said Uriel.
"Alright."
Asher summoned his Transcendent Echo and ran off in the direction where he sensed the nearest captain to his location.
"You all prepare. We'll likely have an avalanche of abominations besieging Camp Erebus."
"Yes." Uriel disappeared, moving through the darkness.
It only took him a few seconds to reach the meeting building. After entering, he headed to the room where he knew Anders would be.
Entering the office, he saw Colonel Anders reading some documents with bags under his eyes.
The colonel looked up with a wrinkled face at the Irregular Division captain in front of him.
"Colonel Anders, before anything else, eat this," said Uriel, handing him several peaches.
"These fruits will restore your lost energy and clear your mind," Uriel said.
Anders looked at the fruit distrustfully. After smelling it a bit and catching the sweet, tempting aroma, he bit into it, feeling an indescribable flavor run across his tongue, while at the same time his body began to have more energy.
When he finished his second fruit, his face seemed to regain several years of life.
"Thank you for the valuable fruit, but I didn't order any meeting to talk about the disappearances."
"That's what I'm here for, sir. I found the origin of the disappearances."
Anders frowned.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. It turns out our assumptions—at least the vast majority—were wrong. We thought the disappearances were people awakening from the city or that there was some serial killer loose, but the truth was simpler." Uriel paused.
"The origin of everything is a Corrupted Titan that has been playing with our minds this entire time."
Anders' eyes widened as he looked at Uriel with cold eyes.
"A Corrupted Titan."
"Yes, one of the most insidious. Mental powers—abominations with mental powers have a pattern. They don't like their prey to know their presence or their nature, so they use their powers to keep them ignorant or focus their attention on something else, preventing them from noticing."
Anders frowned.
"The attacks and the disappearances."
"Exactly. Being attacked by abominations, combined with the stress of the disappearances and the frustration, we never stopped to think that we were already under mental influence."
"How did you discover this?"
"Recently, thanks to my Echo." Of course, Uriel didn't reveal Skadi's existence, so he left it to Anders' interpretation which Echo he meant.
"Upon realizing this, deducing the rest was simple," he expressed calmly.
At that moment, the door to the room burst open, and Randal and Dale entered. The two veterans had somewhat shocked faces at what they had heard.
"What your subordinate said is true, kid?"
"Yes. A Corrupted Titan is above our heads right now."
Randal massaged his temples. If that was true, he felt like an idiot for not realizing that his mind was being controlled by an abomination.
"Here, eat this." Uriel gave them peaches, which they devoured, feeling their strength and essence return to them.
"What will we do?" asked Randal. "We can't mobilize tens of millions to escape from a Corrupted Titan."
"No. But we can kill it. Correction—I will kill the Titan."
The three looked at Uriel.
"Then we entrust it to you," said Dale, surprising Uriel, who was already prepared to answer their questions.
"You're just accepting it that easily?"
"Yes. You killed a Great Creature, a Corrupted Terror, and various Corrupted beings. If anyone can kill something that only a group of Saints can eliminate, it's you. Dark Hero."
Uriel grimaced, remembering a certain movie.
"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, I suppose."
"And how will you kill it?"
"With a terrifying Devil," he replied with a malicious smile.
Randal looked at the young Ascended in front of him, feeling a shiver.
Uriel looked at the Ascended.
"I currently have a few thousand fruits left. Give them to the soldiers, Awakened, and Sleepers. We'll need every single one for what's coming," Uriel said.
After a few minutes of formulating a plan, Uriel distributed all the peaches from his Dark Storage, and civilians began handing them out to the warriors who would defend them. Everything was ready in less than two hours.
Over a hundred Awakened, 2,300 Sleepers, three Masters, and several Transcendent Echoes were ready for an unprecedented battle.
The entire army gathered. Camp Erebus was a natural fortress, which meant the abominations would gather in one place for the attack.
The mundane soldiers took their positions in the siege turrets on the wall, while the Sleepers were tense.
Until recently, they were just normal people, but they had survived their Nightmares, gained Aspects, and been trained.
Their eyes settled on a single figure. Not just them—the entire army looked at the one who would save them, the one who would guide the battle to victory.
The Lord of Darkness. The Dark Hero. The Human Monster. The strongest Master in the world. He whom the world favors. Uriel.
Their hearts, flooded with courage thanks to Soul, crushed their fear.
They watched as the Lord of Darkness summoned his powerful Echoes.
A massive dragon seventy meters tall. An imposing knight in black armor. A titanic butterfly a hundred meters wide, with wings that extended three times its size. A beautiful woman with scarlet hair. And finally, the imposing tree that had kept the abominations at bay for nearly two full months without suffering casualties.
The only thing stopping the abominations was them. They would protect all the civilians.
Uriel smiled. Beside him, Asher informed him.
"Captain, I can sense a massive mass of abominations approaching. Among them are Corrupted and Fallen beings, led by something big—a Corrupted Terror," Asher reported.
"Excellent," said Uriel, sighing. In his hand, White Flower appeared.
Looking at Gunlaug and the Dark Butterfly, the two Dark creatures shot up into the sky, diving into the sea of gray clouds.
A few seconds passed until an enormous roar shook the sky.
Looking toward the front, toward the mountains, he saw the endless sea of abominations running in his direction, drawn by the scent of the souls of countless humans.
Molding the darkness, Uriel created countless spears, spending his first core completely, and hurled the spears at the army of abominations, killing the Awakened and Fallen whose rank was below Tyrant.
The Spell's voice resonated in his mind, giving him several Memories.
[Note: Oh, you weren't expecting that. Honestly, it was kind of fun to give you the impression that I was going to make a LO49 2.0. But no, it's totally different, slightly inspired but different nonetheless.
Well, as I said before, he already suffered shade, now Uriel will suffer, and this will be fun, at least for me. I've written enough, let the battle begin.]