NOVEL NEXT 185. The [Angel] and the [Archon] pt. 5
Ethan slammed into Artorious like a comet, all the weight and fury of Revok behind him—massive, monstrous, molten. The impact tore through the bog in a cacophony of shattered earth and boiling swamp water. For a second, he expected to crush the angel beneath him—to pin him, break his guard, hammer his body into the muck and finally take back control.
Instead, Artorious didn't move.
He stood tall. Wings tucked. Swordless. Calm.
And then his gauntlet locked around Revok's upper snout.
Ethan's momentum came to a sudden, jarring halt as the angel's divine grip caught and held his entire forward charge—mid-air—and drove it down. Bogwater evaporated into choking clouds as [Storm of Revok] surged from Ethan's mouth in three molten jets, spraying flame and shadow and heat directly onto the angel's face and armor.
It hissed and bubbled. But Artorious didn't even blink.
"You still think this is strength?" he said, eyes blazing. "All of this—Revok, your stolen skills, that cursed crown of yours—and still, you can't put me down. Kaedmon's Light is eternal. And your tricks… are running dry."
The fires roared louder. Ethan poured more into them. He tried to push forward. But he couldn't move—the angel held him like a beast on a chain.
"You've learned nothing."
Ethan bared all his teeth at once.
"Maybe," he growled. "But I'm still full of surprises."
He reached up with one clawed hand, touched the angel's wrist—and activated it.
Grade S Upgrade: [Ethereal Contagion Unlocked! You may grant the [Ethereal Form] effect to friend or foe alike by touching them.
Suddenly, both beings lost solidity. Their forms flickered. Flame passed through them. The heat disappeared. All weight, all tension—gone.
And they dropped.
Straight down.
Bogwater passed through their bodies like mist as they plummeted beneath the swamp, falling through its half-rotted floor like phantoms.
…
In the decimated streets of Sanctum city, one young Hopla was bringing the light of hope to the battlefield.
Mara's healing magic was weak, yes, but her tenacity was just as miraculous as her Thaumaturgical abilities. First, she cleansed Fauna's wounds completely. And then she was about ready to move on to the others when Fauna gripped her arm.
"Mara," she said. "You're more incredible than I could have ever envisioned."
The little Hopla's eyes bulged. Fauna could see that she was trying not to cry. She was trying – she had been trying through all of this – to be strong.
"I – let me do the rest, Miss Fauna," she said. "You sit back. You – you si-"
She swayed, and Fauna summoned a little wind of magic to straighten her. The girl needed rest now more than ever. She'd pushed herself far too hard.
"We can do it together," she told her star student. "Now that you're here, we'll make it. I know we will."
Behind the little Hopla came here guardians – Malak and his Drytchlings appeared from beneath the ground itself, following the roots under the earth. And next came the three minotaur children that had elected to follow the little rabbit-girl to the ends of the earth and back.
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"Some 'guardians' you turned out to be," Fauna scoffed mockingly. "Tough to keep up with a little Hopla, huh?"
Malak bowed sheepishly, but his reply was curt and respectful.
"She has been taught well, Mistress Fauna."
Fauna turned from the human, and instead set to focusing on healing the rest of the team. With both her and Mara on the case, they could manage to get everyone up and back in the fight in no time.
And if what she'd seen so far was any indication, Ethan might just need their help.
She sat down beside Tara, rolling the bleeding Minixt over, and began stitching up her wounded torso with soft-spoken incantations.
She heard Mara proceed to do the same to Lamphrey. But, to her surprise, the Tialax batted the girl's hands away.
"Save your healing for those in need, child," she said.
Fauna thought this was odd, since the lizardwoman looked half-dead herself, but nonetheless she gave Mara the go-ahead to get started on Klax.
"Set up a defensive position," she ordered the Drytchlings and minotaur, nodding to Mara who backed her up with a Thaumaturgical command. "We still need to be mindful of Greycloak reinforcements."
Tara stirred dimly under her touch, her cat's paw slowly rising to grip Fauna's hand.
"We can do this," she said, telling both Tara and herself – making them both believe the words. Trying to force them both to ignore the suffering and desolation spread out all around them.
"We can still win this," she whispered. "Just hold on, Ethan. Just hold on…"
…
Branches. Webbing. Roots. Cavern stone. Ethan and Artorious fell through it all. Neither light nor physics could hold them now. They passed through walls of pulsating fungal veins and past the skeletal remains of long-dead Grums. This was the Festering Den's second layer—the one Ethan had clawed through at the start of his journey. Dark. Endless. Spiders waiting in the ceiling.
They weren't alone.
The second they phased through the final crust of stone and webbing and emerged into the massive hollowed-out cavern below, Ethan struck.
[Ethereal Form – One Hostile Action Permitted]
[Wing Buffet]
His wings unfurled and snapped downward in one devastating beat, sending a typhoon-force blast directly into the angel's still-intangible body. The air distorted from the force. The rock below fractured. And Artorious, unable to stop his trajectory, was launched straight into the ground.
He hit with divine weight—stone cratered outward beneath him in a sonic boom of debris and pressure. Dust erupted like a shockwave. Even intangible, the impact cracked the cavern floor open.
[Delve Challenge: HORDE]
Time until Activation: 01:00
The entire ceiling above them began to tremble.
And Ethan didn't need to Appraise it. He could feel them coming. Memories resurfaced of the spider army he'd faced the first time he came here. He'd thought he might have more time to smack the Lightborn around a little before they appeared. But it seemed that, perhaps out of a need to defend itself, the Delve was acting faster than usual.
Artorious, however, didn't wait.
He burst from the crater, no sword, no shields—just rage.
The angel's first punch collided with Revok's midsection, snapping Ethan back like a ragdoll. The second slammed into his side, and Ethan felt ribs crack even through the armor. The third was a hammer strike to the jaw that sent his heads reeling.
He didn't even have time to counter. Not until—
[Repulsor Shield] flared to life, just in time to deflect the fourth strike, sending a shuddering pulse through the cavern. Hexagonal plates shimmered and buckled under the pressure but held.
"Fucking hell," Ethan snarled, breathing hard.
He raised a clawed arm and retaliated.
[Thorn Whip]
A spike-wrapped vines lashed out, wrapping around Artorious' midsection. With a twist and snarl, Ethan yanked, sending the angel tumbling through the air.
But Artorious didn't let go.
He grabbed the whip with both hands, dug his heels in midair, and pulled.
Ethan barely had time to brace before he was flung off his perch and dragged toward the angel like a tethered projectile.
And then—crack—a roundhouse kick from Artorious caught him midflight. It landed flush against his side, sending both of them tumbling toward the ground like twin meteors. They hit the floor with enough force to rattle the entire arena.
He was already moving to lunge again—Artorious' fists raised, Ethan coiling to strike—
When they both heard it.
[HORDE CHALLENGE PHASE I COMMENCED]
Dozens—no, hundreds—of red eyes blinked open across the walls. The clicking started first. Then came the crawling.
Huge spiders.
Black, glistening, pulsing with venom and hunger.
Crawlers, Venomfangs, Widowlords.
Ethan recognized them all.
They didn't move. They didn't pounce. They didn't scream.
They just watched.
The two god-beasts who had torn their way into this layer… were being observed.
Every leg poised.
Every eye waiting.
"They know the true strength of Kaedmon when they see it," Artorious growled beneath Ethan's mass. "Was this your plan, Archon? Lure me into this den of filth and have these tiny creatures deal with me? They are spawn of Keadmon. They won't turn against their creator so easily."
Ethan's smile was uncanny. At this point, it evoked nothing but complete and utter scorn from the angel.
"Don't be so sure."