How To Survive A Calamity-Chapter 181: Final Act [2]

—Ruler's Authority.

"Bow, Demon scum."

As the cold voice cut through, Nicodemus lost instinctive control over his body and crashed through the air, straight into the ground.

—BOOM!

'What——?'

The air felt significantly heavier and harder to breathe, almost intangible, as an indescribable force bore down on their shoulder and head, forcing Nicodemus to lower his head without control.

All of a sudden, Zets screamed internally.

'[This sensation!!]'

The Demon's voice ringing in Nicodemus's ears at that second betrayed a myriad of emotions and reactions.

—Fear.

Pressure.

Awe.

Trepidation

'[Has a 'Lord' come?!]'

Wh..at... Nicodemus pulsing thoughts were in fragments.

'Wh...at are yo...u...'

Nicodemus shuddered uncontrollably as deep cracks tore and spread open underneath his knees across the ground.

He found it hard to breathe and his body and bones quakend under intimidating pressure.

The flow of air suddenly shifted and all of a sudden, Nicodemus felt some of the crushing, intangible weight be lifted off his kowtowing body.

"Heiik——!"

Finally he could breathe again. He desperately inhaled a sharp, deep breath.

Then he froze once more on the spot——

Nicodemus's vision blurred as his consciousness hazed all of a sudden.

A new and completely different pressure spread through the air that made all of his instincts as a Demon, a contractor, an Awakened, and a human boy tingle and despair.

—DOOOOOOMMM~!!

An ancient and powerful presence that made his black blood turn solid in his veins, and his soul boil naturally subdued the entirety of the chamber and dominated the atmosphere.

'Wh...at...'

Perhaps his shuddering mind had been playing tricks on him, but Nicodemus's swaying vision twisted and was dyed in a dark, ominous red and purple as if the world had been shrouded in a veil.

He heard the voice in his head scream in alarm again —

'[This presence... There's no mistake!! What is a 'Lord' doing all the way here?!]'

'Shut the fuck up if you aren't going to speak properly!'

Nicodemus gritted his teeth and snapped back at Zets voice internally.

Then he clenched his fist and the red gem embedded in his left chest pulsed as it filled him with just barely enough power to struggle against the immense weight of the crushing presence.

"[Who dares?! Who is it? Show yourselves now!!]"

A powerful pulse of Miasma and Demonic energy exploded furiously from Nicodemus's figure, responding to his emotions and wrath.

The Chamber walls shuddered as a result — Nicodemus's stubborn persistence clashing furiously against the mysterious presence.

'[YOU FOOL!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!]"

Zets bellowed in a voice like never before.

Nicodemus faltered as his body swayed. He could feel Zet's influence begin to actively spread through his body and seizing control of it now.

'[When before a king, boy, YOU. LOWER. YOUR. HEAD!]'

With a wrathful voice befitting of a Demon, Nicodemus smashed his head into the ground under Zet's control of his body.

Shit...the boy cursed silently, feeling his mind and awareness sway even more.

'Da...mn....Demon.'

Right from the beginning, Nicodemus always already knew Zet's goal was his mind, soul, and body, and had even agreed to the contract.

In exchange, he would receive unimaginable power to achieve whatever he desired.

Power.

Obviously, Nicodemus could see how such a one-sided Contract was nothing but an inevitable loss in the end, but his greed for power and control was just as inevitable.

Nicodemus agreed; if the Demon gave him power, he would offer up his everything...

—Or so he had said.

'Who would be foolish enough to give it all up when you have made it all in the end?'

What he hadn't expected however, was that Zets would aggressively try to seize control of his body actively like this.

And in such a situation like now.

And even before then, he could already feel Zet's influence spread deeper and deeper into his soul and existence.

The more power of the Demon he grew accustomed to and drew out, the more parts of himself he felt he lost.

Nicodemus was already merged with the Demon of the House of Misery upon manifesting such a form, so it wasn't far off to say the two had become the halves of the same coin — one and the same.

But such balance was on the risk of being shattered as the two wills struggled for control of the wheel.

Wrestling for control while struggling against a profound influence proved to be a daunting task however.

"Stop."

Just then, Nicodemus heard a small voice whisper into his ears.

It was silent, hushed, and eerily soothing.

All of a sudden, he felt tired and exhausted.

Weak, and his thoughts gradually became sluggish along with his body.

His eyelid's felt heavy

'[It's a mental attack, wake up!]' Zet's voice quickly alerted amd warned.

It said.

'[Channel your Energy!]'

Nicodemus, struggled to do as he was told.

The world that suddenly seemed faint, fake, and listless and illusionary around him slowly began to revert to it's original state as he managed to build up a slight mental resistance to the insidious effects of the mysterious Mental attack.

It was ironic.

'To think that i, of all people, would actually almost succumb to an influence of the mind.'

As Nicodemus signed a contract with a Demon of Miseria, he became a somewhat Authority on the mind and emotions.

In fact, it was a major part of the reason he was able to recognize he was mentally under attack and even managed to fight against it, with the help of Zets — the same Demon trying to steal his body.

Nicodemus gritted his teeth again, and the red gem in his chest pulsed as a wave of power exploded from his body again and the darkness in the chamber seemed to surge alive and deepen.

"[I said, show yourself!]"

Zet's might have been scared or warning of something, but Nicodemus didn't care for the Demon's incomprehensible babbling or warning.

He was the one weilding the fragment of an 'Ancient' after all.

—Step step.

The darkness from the corners undulated as the soundles echoes of light footsteps pressed forward.

The unfamiliar presence of the un-welcomed stranger rippled as a figure slowly stepped out of the darkness — clad fully in shadows.

Nicodemus forced his body and turned to look.

It was a mysterious person — a man perhaps — with swept back messy white hair framing the sides of their face and neck, and a fearsome black mask depicting a carved wailing demon with fangs and a twisting crown of horns covered their face.

They seemed tall and imposing, strangely it was hard to tell just how tall and imposing, and if even at all — and fully clothed in black from head to toe.

As they emerged calmly, Nicodemus's eyes widened under the influence of Zet's in Partial control.

Then the Demon loudly said.

"[You... you're no 'Lord'!]

The Masked Stranger, merely stood quietly, unresponsive and unperturbed.

The spaces for the eyes in the masks were, deep, dark, black and empty.

Something about the fearsome mask made Nicodemus's skin crawl unwillingly the longer he steered.

The world seemed to go silent, and in it's quiteness, he could almost hear... voices.

Whispers.

—mumurs.

"!!"

Nicodemus forcefully snapped himself out of his reverie and back to reality.

Now that the mysterious attacker had revealed themself, they didn't appear to be much in person.

Certainly, the Stranger was still, taciturn, mysterious, and exuded a boundless amount of dark grace. His mere presence was also unfathomable and all-encompassing, making it harder for anyone to ignore, almost as if something ancient, dark, and mysterious stood amongst many.

But...that was mostly it.

Their strength was... uncertain. But at a glance, they didn't appear to be much.

Usually, this would be even more cause for alarm, but Nicodemus was already deeply impatient by all the whole inconveniences that kept popping up.

The dark Stranger just stood there, surrounded in the darkness, without a word. A cold, taciturn and mysterious aura emanated from his being.

He casually looked away from Nicodemus, almost as if disregarding the Demon's presence, and swept the chamber with a silent, dark gaze.

—or at least, Nicodemus assumed he looked around.

It was difficult to tell since the fearsome demon mask hid away their expression, and betrayed nothing of their gaze.

The stranger swept a cold and aloof dark glance over Alexander and the other two young girls binded down by dark chains, and for a moment, they lingered longer on the boy with white hair.

Meanwhile, Nicodemus felt his irritation rise at the stranger's blatant display of disregard and nonchalance. He gathered enough to power and forced himself to rise up — all the while, continuing to restrain the spreading influence of Zets.

Eventually, his lips parted warily.

"[Who are you?]" Nicodemus said.

The Stranger's head moved — the lightless, dark gaze nestled on the Demon as a form of reaction.

A calm voice responded deeply.

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"Guess."

The Stranger aloofly said vaguely, without offering a proper response.

Nicodemus's face contorted, then Zet's prompted him to say with a slight sly smile.

"[You're a strange one, aren't you? have the smell of a Demon — the aura of one.] He said and tilted his head with a crooked smile, taking a step forward.

"[A Demon Contractor? No...you don't seem like just any Contractor. So where does one like you come all the way from?]" Zet's asked and was met yet with another stretch of silence.

But only for two seconds.

The masked stranger stretched out one hand to the side, and molten silver liquid flowed into his arm, forming a long silver bastard sword.

Then the stranger took a step forward and coldy uttered.

"Guess."

And he lunged forward.