The Veritas Chapter 7: Humility

One of the heads of the $yndicate would stand at the appointed destination, waiting for the signal to regroup.

Because SIN's presence had already passed by from Temptation when the Fallen Angels were left to their doom, by the time the $yndicate member made it to one of the designated points, there was a Demon Lord already waiting.

The $yndicate Member that was stationed at this part of the West Gate of the mountain could see that there was a lot going on nearby in the areas that comrades that were further up had been stationed at. Figuring that the outcome would be favorable and that support was on the way, he was sure that he would be able to take down this Demon Lord with no problem. Whatever it was, with their strength combined, the $yndicate wouldn't lose.

Quote :

When Belial was finally completely destroyed, because none of his former subordinates came to assist him before his time of death, the very fact that he died and each of them was aware and abandoned him caused a detachment between them due to the degeneration of trustworthiness. In their hearts and minds, each of the remaining Demon Lords were divided by a decay of their own internal soundness. Each of them defecting from each other through the division via Envy brought them all now also suspicion of each other and therefore caused each to act and work independently of one another, even if feigned as though they weren't. Therefore, the new Belials, who were the Demon Lords being Corrupted from the inside out because of how they treated the former Belial before it died, were like him and also no longer concerned with each other due to the decay of the Corruption.

The Demon Lord of Pride, which was still the same Vanity that had been hovering over everyone and everything the entire time, descended from on high with the same smug smirk on his face and burning bodies gleaming in the interior of his jewel encrusted mirror, feeding his beauty internally and perpetually. The image of Belial could be seen inside, as well, among the other Burning Bodies in the reflection. His eyes were not the same as they were, yet filled with fire and pitch dark. They were still as haughty as ever, though, naturally, of course. "Surprised?!" He hissed, his sharp fangs now revealed with his gleaming beaming grin of anticipation, the spotlight now shining down upon the $yndicate member who was all by his lonesome. "If the others couldn't defeat me, then there's no way that you will." Vanity was no longer what it once was; a Sin and a Demon that had taken on its Image. Now, Vanity was, cumulatively, the Sin and the Demon combined as one to feed the one true Vanity, itself. "You look like the new star of my next show. Have you seen my work?" He extended his arms superlatively and spread them through the air across the scape of the land. "With everyone else out of the way and everything falling apart, losing is out of the question!" A wicked and distorted, twisted cackle came out of Vanity, along with the searing spotlight that shone down atop the $yndicate member's head, threatening to scorch him with the brightness of the light.

The $yndicate member was distressed to see a more powerful version of the same Demon and Sin that had been previously overcome by the ones who led the people up the mountain in the first place come back to life from whatever horrid fate he had suffered. If they hadn't killed him, it was clear that because of this, he'd come back to life. "I shouldn't look into that mirror or be anywhere near it..." he proclaimed to himself, ignoring the supercilious engagement of the Demon Lord of Pride. He looked around for some cover and quickly rushed out of the way of the spotlight.

Quote :

Cities lined up along the coast as Demon Lord Greed disappeared over the horizon with countless cities littering the way down the mountain.

Observing the area nearby, he could see that something had gone on with his comrades further up the mountain, and a large city had spread out over the barren land, which seemed to be a collection of cities all joint as one large city. Despite how it seemed to be something that could be harmful, it also served as a good cover that would shield him from the light of the mirror. Without engaging Vanity any further, the $yndicate member, in his own wisdom, took off toward the city that sprouted up to get lost in the buildings and navigate the tight places where the Demon Lord could not see, and also where he could get closer to his allies.

Before long, as the $yndicate member entered the rapidly spreading city, he would hear a voice from whatever method of communication he had speaking to him directly. It was one of his superiors who he was trying to maneuver to, giving him a synopsis of what happened in the city and how and why it was spreading. "Do You Read Me?" He asked. "This Is One Of Your Superiors. I Will Tell You What We've Gathered And How To Make Your Way Toward Us. We Will Be Making Out Way To You Shortly." All that had to be done was for him to survive until the team made their way to him, and not do anything that would get him put in a bad or worse situation. "Lay Low. We're About To Make A Path For You That Will Be Clear And Clean So That You Can Walk On It And Be Guided Toward Us. Be Careful Not To Stray From It, Because The City You See Here Is Actually The Decaying Body Of The Rotting Demon Lord Of Greed, Who Escapes From Us And Whom We Are Currently Destroying Now As We Clear Paths." In no time, when the setup with the group was completed, their comrade would be met up with at a rendezvous point once the path was clear. "Make Sure You Stay Out Of Harm's Way. Do Not Engage In Battle Unless Necessary, And Always Seek To Escape With Your Life Until You Can Regroup With Us." He was at a disadvantage as he was, especially alone, so fighting to win was futile at the time; fighting for his life would be his only necessity, if necessary at all. "We Won't Be Long."

Noticing that his prey was returning to the darkness, Vanity scoffed chiefly and hovered behind him, dragging the intensely bright spotlight down behind him, it growing only more powerful and destructive as it drew closer. When he saw that the full design of Greed, which was also mandated by Vanity, -- who worked closely with Greed the entire time secretly -- he could not help but to chortle with thoughts of revenge, now that Vanity was back on top. "Oho, this is too rich." He could see the dollar signs in his own eyes with his hand mirror that reflected his Image, 'Chauncey Jr.' gazing back at him with his same face; literally through the reflection and engraved on the actual mirror, itself. In the reflection of the mirror was also the Image of what Vanity could see inside of himself through his own Eyes, which were also Mirrors the same as his stomach. This was how he inwardly monitored all the souls and Slaves he'd captured without batting an eye; internalizing them all and watching them suffer inside of his complexities. "Oh, Chauncey," he cooed, swooning at the sight of his 'Mini-Me,' so to speak, in the palm of his hand, as all 'Possessions' inclusive to 'Greed,' itself, eventually returned, "Let's go pay back all these ugly filthy Vermin all at once~!" He giggled gleefully at the thought, the light inside of his mirror becoming brighter as the souls inside were being burnt up for fuel like food.

Vanity suddenly raised his free hand, meant for his dog, up to his lips since it wasn't actively being used. He whistled a few times for Greed to come to him, now that he was no longer possessed by the Sin and the Demon Lord was too weak compared to the Demon Lord of Pride. "Here, boy! I found you a treat, Greed!" Even if Vanity couldn't exactly get the little rat running around the maze, he could at least let Greed know where it was, and no matter how he was treated, he would jump at the chance. Without having something to possess, it was as good as a slave -- exactly the same, at that, in fact. Greed would optimally seek out its own enemies at the more advantageous or opportune moments rather than to stubbornly resist, as the other ones would, and seek control later on. "This is what you get for what you did to me earlier, you little bitch..." There was a fiery glow with the light of a highly intense focused laser, searching for something and filled with pure malice and murderous intent. The light on his torso also grew brighter and more destructive, 'casually' tearing down many of the buildings in blind destruction simply because he was also trying to hit a different target, but attached some vengeance to his previous associate, of whom he bore a powerful grudge against. His sharp fangs gleamed in his own light, and a viperous tongue lashed out, licking Vanity's lips ambitiously, with a sexual ulterior pleasure or stimulant clear through the malice.

Things were escalating more quickly than anticipated completely, and the $yndicate member had no choice but to continue to retreat and wait out the flood. All that was going on was far too much for him to handle. He thought of running out to lead the giant laser astray, but also thought against it because it would detract from his already limited time of getting back to the target point, where his team was located. Priorities did come first, and he was instructed not to do anything that would get him put into danger. Running out into direct line of sight at the time could have been a serious hazard, even if the initial idea and impulse seemed good to do. He restrained himself from acting on his first thought and first impulse actively, choosing not to rather than blindly doing so because he felt or thought it spontaneously. In this calm and collected manner of rationality, he continued to slip through the cracks of the back alleys and whatever darkness there was, heeding the words of his superior all the way through to the end. He figured when it was time for him to move otherwise, he would be let know.

Quote :

the conceptual layout that was held together by Thanytoz and stretch out his roots that had gone through the clean path underneath the city out into a different route, of which the same roots would turn black and grow thorns. The 'Black Root,' as it was called, was a root that is made as a deficiency to incur a sort of famine through absorption of all of the nutrients in an area all at once and contain them in the vine, itself. It was essentially like high-speed leeching, with the intent to do so specifically for destruction, which is what made the 'Black Root' so potent, since none of the potential energy was actually being converted after consumption, but immediately destroyed for its specific intended purpose.

"Steer Clear!" the $yndicate member would hear through their means of communication as a signal from one of his superiors. "Come Into The Open When We Tell You, And We Will Greet You And Take You Back Into Our Mobile Camp." The setup -- as it was -- was meant to destroy the path as it was tread by the evil ones then repair it after they were destroyed properly. Then, they all could step on the land without worry and all of the land would be their up to this point.

Quote :

"Gridlocked." From that point on, all that was linked to the Black Root, caught in the thorns of the thornbush and seeking out any nutrients from it would be destroyed by fire along with the thornbush where the nutrients that had just been absorbed were contained.

Demon Lord Greed felt terrible pain and horrible grievance over the destruction of the just-now completed design from both his initial enemy and now an archenemy that was a former associate, of whom he now had no choice but to not only confront, but also to do the bidding of logically with no form of emotion involved. Part of the 'doing things emotionlessly' and yet also feeling upset about being used caused a chemical imbalance inside of Greed. Large bubbling blots like warts started sprouting from the parts of the city that hadn't been vaporized by both the fires, seeking to pave over the destruction immediately, just as everything had been done.

Simultaneously, the Head of Greed, which was the one controlling all of the city, would have no choice but to come and confront this terrible pain that was destroying all of the pleasure. When approaching, now as a large physical attachment sprouting up like goop from one of the largest buildings, instead of looming over as only an overbearing spirit that had been resurrected from the dead, Demon Lord Greed -- which was still a House, now like a Nation that spread over the land in the form of numerous Cities -- was a Tower over all the land, building up this specific height specifically for himself to be an overseer to his land. The bubbling warts, when popped, though they would be painful to him, would still cause enough calamity that would drown out the actual process that was happening that was making the advancements to its downfall more swift. Therefore, each of the greatest and largest of the spread coagulation would burst first; the wart pus glopping over the streets to spread Demon Lord Greed's control, at the very least, even if it was in a decomposed state.

Once again, one of the $yndicate superiors was heard on the communication device of the other member. "Do You Read Me?" he asked, testing the connection. "If So, Then Here Is Your Signal To Come Out Into The Open. Be Sure Not To Touch Any Of The Parts Of The City That Have Giant Festering Warts Or Blemishes On Them." Afterward, the voice fell silent.

The $yndicate member spoken to obediently heeded the command of his superior and began walking toward the open to a designated point that they would rendezvous at.

Lord Patience, the Magnus Ignis -- one of the $yndicate superiors -- appeared before the $yndicate member who was bid into the open hovering along the path that was purified in the flame and claimed in the territory of the Veritas. "Here He Is, Lord Father," he spake, summoning the Lord Father from on high once the task that was given was complete, "He Is Within Our Territory."

Simultaneously, the radiant light that was the Magnus Ignis hovering in the midst of the street with his body aglow, yet still in a meditative position blotted out by the brightness of the light, would also emanate infernal intensity that lit ablaze the edges of the boundaries that were established presently. Whatever goop or glop that would attempt to touch the clean area would be burnt up as anything that touched fire would, and be used to further extend the burning streets of which the corrupt entities were unable to touch without being harmed -- a toxic environment altogether.

"Mmm..." Vanity moaned sensually, licking his teeth as he gazed into the reflection of his mirror and down at the first spots of decay on Greed, "... Do I see weakness...?" Demon Lord Pride could only touch himself at the very glimpse of it. "I think I ALMOST need to look away..." he laughed, reddening his cheeks.

"No, but seriously," he said with a cut of his gaze to the right, shifting his mirror altogether to a completely different point parallel and opposite his initial viewing point, "The bitch must die." The single sliver of a laser beam shot from his pupils from the concentration of light that had been being stored up in his mirror-like eyes the entire time and becoming more destructive the longer it was held. The shot into the mirror magnified the thin, but powerful laser several times over into the direction of the exact spot where the next largest giant wart was on Demon Lord Greed's massive body, ready to boil over. Instead of it popping, it was simply be completely evaporated on the spot -- pus et alia.

"When I say 'Never' in the phrase 'Never Cross Me Again,' I mean, 'Never-Ever.'" He continued to laugh aloud, yet there was mixed malice visible in the sneer on his face able to be seen from the angle of the mirror in reverse, which was the only way his face could be seen. Fortunately for Greed, it was in his direction with actual intent. Then Vanity smiled and winked cutely, smugly grinning. Then he turned his mirror away from Greed and acted like he were having a conversation, having the back of it toward him at an angle as he gazed into it, now completely and totally ignoring the rival enemy Demon Lord whilst also actually literally having no eye contact whatsoever in any mannerism. There was laughter heard on the other end of the mirror.

The other $yndicate members who knew what to do had gone off as they were bid, knowing their place in the entire operation. Feeling left out, the ignorant one, who had only just recently met up with them, was unsettled by his misplaced feelings because of feeling out of place. "W-wait, well what about me?" he stammered, somewhat lost and confused. He, too, wished to be of some assistance at the time, but wasn't exactly certain if he should be moving or not, or if it were just that he should be awaiting a command. "Should I go with them, or do something else?" With no previous instruction, the $yndicate member closed his eyes and started to think about what the next course of action would be silently to himself, as if praying or meditating deeply over various judgments.

Demon Lord Greed remained in perpetual generation at all times, never ceasing for a moment. With so much being destroyed, yet also still attempting to be generated from a different source, many paths were becoming backed up and clogged like arteries. Vanity's high-powered highlights on all of Greed's not-so-pretty points and also their destruction without any form of advancement on Greed's end at all was beginning to have its wear on Greed's large body, which was caving in around him in several different locations all at once, yet all in different points across the map.

Still, Demon Lord Greed was a tower over the area; a mountain over the village. With his more limited territory and vision, he didn't need to worry much about what was beyond his own borders and right before him. All of the backed up energy was focused as pollution toward Vanity to taint its image, since touching the actual pavement that was lit aflame was ineffective entirely. "You little shit!" Greed lashed at Vanity just as viperously as he, only with a tongue long and sticky snapping out at the jewel on his mirror's handle, either to snatch he or it from out of the sky and into Greed's possession. At the very least, he could serve to throw off their trajectory so that he could continue to perpetually generate more energy to hurl at him and bury them under.

The man, the $yndicate member who rejoined his troop, he knew the voice that was in his head and resonating in his heart and all throughout his body. He furrowed his brow and focused on it, meditating on his thoughts and the ones of the other presence. "Yes..." he muttered lowly, "... I will do what I must." He stilled himself and awaited orders, but kept his eyes sharp and his ears open for when his commander was ready to give him an order.