Uriel observed the nightmare creatures. There were hundreds of them, all aquatic, both awakened and corrupted. There were everything from beasts to corrupted tyrants with their minions following them.
Uriel checked his runes and read his ability.
Aspect Ability: [Domination]
Ability Description: [Darkness obeys you. The existent dissolves, and the nonexistent answers your will.]
'Alright, let's begin.'
Using his transformation as a Saint, he became an enormous mass of darkness that descended upon the great river.
The abominations lunged at the darkness, but they only bit empty air.
Then, less than an instant later, the abominations froze before their bodies turned black as tar.
The hundreds of abominations remained motionless on the surface of the great river. The mass of darkness rippled and concentrated back into Uriel.
"So that's how it works," he said, standing on the head of a fifty-meter sea serpent that was a corrupted tyrant.
Uriel smiled.
He could feel that his ability was quite simple but very powerful.
His Domination ability, as the name indicated, dominated other creatures under his will, similar to how a tyrant controlled and assimilated subjects under his command.
The best part was that the more creatures he had under his domain, the faster his essence replenished.
"I suppose I'm something like a supreme now. No, not quite. Certainly, I'm not just a Saint anymore, but I'm not strong enough to be a Supreme either. I suppose I'm in the middle ground," he said aloud.
Bringing a hand to his chin, he ordered the abominations to begin advancing. He was curious how large his army would become.
To make it more interesting, he shifted to his Saint form and adopted the shape of a enormous bipedal lizard with wide legs covered in scales, a large torso covered in incredibly hard plates with dorsal plates extending from his spine, plus two arms with claws.
Since he was literally darkness now, Uriel could change his biology to breathe underwater or even not breathe at all, simply using his will to survive.
Leading the charge of the abominations as a two-hundred-meter monster, he delved into the depths of the great river, traveling downstream toward the past.
Seeing an abomination that resembled a kind of octopus, he used his Domination, adding another subject to his domain.
He continued like this, adding more and more, expanding his army to thousands. When he couldn't find abominations, he used the corpse of the enormous turtle to attract them and dominate them.
After what he calculated to be his first week in Ariel's Pyramid, he had an army of about five thousand abominations that followed him faithfully after being completely dominated. Among them, the strongest was a great beast, an enormous shark nearly five hundred meters in diameter.
When he got bored of being a sea monster, Uriel used one of the abominations to continue advancing downstream toward the past. While on the shark's back, he took the opportunity to summon his latest dark creature.
He observed as a blurry figure emerged from the darkness, fully defining itself. It was large, easily exceeding ten meters in height.
It was a black wolf with a wild and dangerous appearance. Its fur was black as tar, with blood-red eyes. There were red marks on its forehead. Its front legs were strong and agile, with deadly claws that could pierce transcendent armor.
Name: Nyx
Dark Creature Rank: Terror
Dark Creature Class: Transcendent
Description: [A creature of darkness created by Lord of Darkness on the corpse of a dying deity]
Attributes: [Shadows] [Dark Follower] [Victorious] [Darkness] [Loyalty]
Uriel, reading the runes, looked at the attribute descriptions.
[Shadows] Attribute Description: [This creature is blessed by the shadows]
[Dark Follower] Attribute Description: [It is a faithful follower of the Dark Lord, receiving his blessing]
'Strange.'
[Victorious] Attribute Description: [This creature increases its chances of victory in combat]
[Darkness] Attribute Description: [Darkness recognizes this creature as one of its own]
[Loyalty] Attribute Description: [This creature's loyalty is unbreakable and firm, unaffected by mental attacks]
Dark Creature Abilities: [Curse] [Incorporeal] [Ruler]
[Curse] Ability Description: [When entering combat, this creature unleashes multiple curses upon its enemies. The curses can vary greatly.]
[Incorporeal] Ability Description: [When surrounded by darkness, this creature becomes intangible to physical attacks]
[Ruler] Ability Description: "This ability allows it to exert control over other life forms."
Uriel smiled as he saw the abilities.
"Well, you're really a well-made thing. Calm. I'll make sure you reach supremacy," he said, giving her several pats on the legs.
Surprisingly, the fur was soft, not rough as it seemed at first glance.
Uriel dismissed his wolf, which returned to his sea of souls.
"Hmm." Making a thoughtful noise, he raised his face, observing a black dot in the distance approaching where he was.
By the distance, he calculated it would take less than a minute to arrive.
Little by little, the figure drew closer until Uriel could distinguish its silhouette, and what he saw made him sigh.
"Damn it... another one of those things," he said, massaging his temples wearily.
It was undoubtedly a butterfly, a great monster with black wings. Its body and belly were bone-white. It possessed six long, seemingly fragile legs that ended in sharp points, and two faceted eyes that seemed like pure darkness. Two antennae rose from its head, pushed back by the wind current. All of this accompanied by a height of one hundred meters.
"Well, here we go again," he said as his body transformed into a sea of darkness, simultaneously contracting and taking the form of a powerful western dragon, about two hundred meters long. His body was covered in impenetrable black scales. His eyes were pure white. His draconic face was made of silent fury filled with arrogance.
Using his powerful wings, he rose into the sky.
His eyes landed on the black butterfly, which had stopped out of caution upon seeing another predator.
It wasn't the first time he had fought against a high-rank creature, much less a great monster. He had already fought another and won as a Master.
Now as a Transcendent, he was sure of his victory. That, combined with the fact that he now had about five thousand abominations controlled by his transcendent ability that gave him essence, meant he could afford to spend as much as he wanted.
The butterfly let out an indescribable sound that traveled hundreds of meters around and extended several kilometers, making the water churn.
Accepting the challenge, Uriel let out a powerful cry that transformed into the roar of an imposing beast.