Chapter 170: Invasion (Part 2)
The threat hung in the air and welcomed oppressive silence.
However, it didn’t last very long.
Kael’s response was immediate. "Defensive formation alpha! All combat personnel engage! Protect the civilians at all costs!"
The Nephilim warriors attacked with coordinated precision born from centuries of defending against Labyrinth threats.
Hundreds of Techniques activated simultaneously—Spirit Art creating elemental bombardment, Soul Art targeting Valdris’s consciousness, Chaos Art attempting to corrupt the space he occupied, and even Null Art trying to disrupt his mystical capabilities.
The combined assault would have obliterated anything short of Category S classification instantly.
Valdris simply waved his hand.
Every attack inverted, the Techniques redirecting toward their casters with doubled force. Warriors who’d launched fire found themselves burning, those who’d attempted Soul Art attacks experienced consciousness assault, Chaos Art practitioners were consumed by their own corruption.
Dozens of defenders fell in the opening exchange, killed or incapacitated by their own reflected attacks.
"Chaos Art, Reversal Technique, Sequence #0: Universal Inversion," Valdris stated calmly. "Anything directed toward me becomes directed away from me. You cannot harm me through conventional assault."
He began walking toward the Sanctuary proper, his pace leisurely despite the hundreds of warriors attempting to stop him.
The defenders regrouped immediately, adapting their tactics. If direct attacks failed, they would use environmental manipulation and strategic positioning.
"Spirit Art, Construction Technique, Sequence #5: Earthen Prison!" Multiple practitioners coordinated to create a massive stone construct around Valdris, attempting to contain him through physical restraint rather than mystical assault.
The stone solidified, forming walls that would have imprisoned anything relying on physical movement.
Valdris simply walked through it as though it were air. The stone passed through his body without resistance, as effective as trying to cage shadow.
"Soul Art, Dominion Technique, Sequence #0: Ethereal Form," he explained conversationally. "My physical body is optional. Conventional containment is meaningless."
More defenders fell as Valdris continued his advance, not from his direct attacks but from the environmental effects his presence created. His mystical pressure was so intense that merely being near him caused physical strain—warriors found their Ether circulation disrupted, their enhanced bodies failing, their consciousness fragmenting under pressure that exceeded mortal tolerance.
Sera attempted a different approach, using Soul Art to communicate directly rather than attack.
"Soul Art, Communication Technique, Sequence #7: Thought Bridge! Lord Devil, we have children here! Civilians who’ve never harmed anyone! If you must investigate, we’ll cooperate, but please don’t slaughter innocents!"
Valdris considered her plea with visible calculation.
"Your cooperation would expedite matters," he admitted. "Direct me to the Divine-grade artifact’s location, and I’ll minimize collateral damage."
"We don’t know what you’re referring to!" Kael shouted. "We have no Divine-grade artifacts! Our greatest treasures are Grade 8 at best!"
"You’re either lying or ignorant," Valdris replied. "The artifact is present within your settlement. I will find it with or without your assistance."
He resumed his advance, and the defenders renewed their desperate attempts to stop him.
Kael coordinated a more sophisticated assault, combining multiple Art types in ways that the Nephilim had developed specifically for combating the Labyrinth’s most dangerous threats.
"Combined assault pattern seven! All Arts simultaneously! Overwhelming force!"
Three hundred warriors attacked in perfect synchronization, their Techniques weaving together into combinations that transcended individual capability.
Valdris responded with a technique that made several veteran defenders gasp in recognition.
"Null Art, Erasure Technique, Sequence #0: Conceptual Deletion!"
The entire combined assault simply ceased to exist.
Not reflected, not absorbed, not countered—deleted from reality at the conceptual level.
One moment, three hundred Techniques were converging on Valdris’s position; the next, they had never existed.
"Your coordination is admirable," Valdris stated. "But fundamentally inadequate. The gap between Category S and Devil classification is not bridged through numbers or tactics."
He was making progress, but slowly. The Nephilim defenders were numerous enough and coordinated enough that while they couldn’t harm him, they could slow his advance through sheer persistent obstacles.
Valdris decided to escalate.
He began deploying his Artifacts’ capabilities, the Divine-grade equipment he wore activating in concert to create effects that transcended normal mystical combat.
A pendant at his throat released an area-of-effect attack that paralyzed hundreds of defenders simultaneously, their bodies frozen in stasis that prevented movement or Technique activation.
Bracers on his wrists generated defensive barriers that rendered him completely immune to environmental effects, allowing him to walk through hazards the Nephilim created without slowing.
Even his belt activated, creating spatial distortions that teleported attacking warriors away from his position and scattered them throughout the Sanctuary.
The defenders were being systematically eliminated despite their numbers and desperation.
But they kept fighting, kept throwing themselves at the Devil who walked through their settlement like a force of nature, because surrender meant abandoning their homes and families to unknown fate.
Kael watched his warriors falling, his people dying, and made a desperate calculation.
"Everyone fall back to interior defensive positions! Evacuate civilians to the deepest shelters! We can’t stop him, but we can buy time for evacuation!"
The defenders began an organized retreat, maintaining combat while pulling back toward prepared fallback positions.
Valdris recognized the tactic and decided it had gone on long enough.
He needed to end this quickly so Amara could locate the artifact without interference.
The Devil stopped advancing, raised both hands, and began gathering mystical energy on a scale that made every defender’s enhanced perception scream warnings.
"You’ve demonstrated admirable courage and coordination," Valdris stated, his voice carrying across the entire Sanctuary. "But this ends now. I will not be delayed further by numerical superiority and desperate tactics."
Mystical energy condensed around him in patterns that suggested something far beyond normal Technique activation. Two separate Art types wove together in his hands—Chaos and Soul, combining into unified effect that transcended either Art individually.
"Joint Arts: Chaos-Soul Integration Technique—"
The defenders recognized what was coming—a combination attack that merged two complete Art systems into single devastating effect. Such techniques were legendary, requiring mastery over multiple Arts at the highest sequences and Ether pools that exceeded normal mortal limitations.
Kael screamed final orders, knowing they were futile but unable to simply surrender while any hope remained.
"Maximum defensive formation! Everything we have! Shield the civilians!"
Valdris completed his technique’s activation, the mystical energy reaching critical mass.
"—Soul Decay Apocalypse!"