บท 209: ''I can't believe this…''

When Ambrogio raised the question of Arima's integration, the Guardians fell silent.

"Well then, we'll start from the Tenth Guardian and go up until me," Ambrogio said and Gilgamesh trembled nervously.

He glanced at Arima and spent some time pondering on what he should say. After a few seconds of silence, he came to a decision. "…I support his integration," he said and Arima faintly smiled.

Ambrogio nodded before switching his attention to Flavio.

"I also support it," he said and it was now two votes out of nine.

Next was Victor. He stared at Arima for a moment then closed his eyes. "I'm against it," he gave his vote and didn't say anything else.

"It's my turn, huh?" Aergia muttered and sat up. It was evident that Raylein couldn't vote, so it was indeed her turn. She humorlessly observed Arima and shrugged. "I support it. I'm sure it will be funnier to have someone like him in our ranks for once. You're all so boring," she uttered and lied down again.

Arima snorted and the other Guardians didn't even know how to respond.

"It's my turn now… I also support it," Evangeline peeked at Arima and gave her approval.

"It's now four against one for his admission. If anyone says 'yes' again, it's decided," Ambrogio declared and turned his head toward Ganesha.

The latter smiled and shook his head. "I'm against," he said and it surprised everyone. They all thought that he would be for it.

"Keep in mind that we are not obliged to tell the reasoning behind our choice," Ambrogio stated then signaled Shakti to follow.

She lowered her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm also against it," she said and even apologized to Arima at the same time.

"Me too, I'm against," Shiva said and it wasn't really a surprise for anyone present in that room. The last vote was now in the hands of Ambrogio. Ultimately, he would be the one choosing if Arima should join them or not.

"This usually goes smoothly and almost no one ever refuses a new Guardian," he told and Arima's smile widened. "But in your case, there are too many unknown factors. We don't know who you are or what you are going to do after you gain the power of a Plane Guardian."

"It is a matter of fact we would not put our faith in you. Especially when you took my entire planet as your hostage," the vampire squinted his eyes. "I even wonder if you are actually interested in joining us. Your demeanor until now tells me that you are not here to become one of us. It looks like you are here for your benefits. This is the main reason why some of us refused to have you in."

Arima calmly listened. The more Ambrogio talked, the less he seemed to care. This indeed proved to everybody here that he wasn't particularly willing to be a Guardian.

Ambrogio scowled at him. "What will you do if I vote against your admission?"

Arima snickered and Layla suddenly got a bad premonition. "I guess things never go the best way possible… Initially, I just wanted to take advantage of this to locate the Creators. But now, I'm afraid I will have to kill you and take your memories to get what I want."

Layla groaned and Night slowly facepalmed. Karma smiled wryly and Raylein almost got a heart attack.

"Why do you always provoke them? No wonder they try to kill you after…" Night grumbled and his eyes caught Shiva who was already ready to attack Arima at any moment.

Ambrogio's look sharpened. "That would not be good for you. I cannot even imagine you getting out of here alive after attempting something of the sort."

"Can I take that statement as an answer?" Arima followed and Ambrogio's expression twitched.

"Do not be rash. You are putting me in a very bad position. If you ever assault a Guardian, I will have to eliminate you."

Arima smirked. "Don't act as if you weren't going to do that either way. I'll ask one last time; is that your final answer?"

Ambrogio's expression steeled. Half of the Guardians present in the room stood up instantly. The ones that were not moving were Ganesha, Flavio, Raylein, Gilgamesh, Aergia, and Evangeline.

Victor's eyes glowed and his body merged with the darkness of the room.

"I will announce my vote. Arimane Reigen Blade, I am against your integration," the First Vampire proclaimed and Arima grinned.

"That's fine by me. I wanted to destroy this organization anyway. A group under a selfish God's command can't possibly be good. I'll start this endeavor today."

"You cannot win by yourself. Surrender."

"By myself?" Arima laughed. "Let me tell you, I have many things hidden inside me and competent partners. Do you think I need the blessing of some worthless Creator to beat you?"

He cracked his knuckles. "It's time for a bit of fun. Your life force will be more than enough to bring me to the next realm. Malum, you��re ready?"

"{Of course,}" Malum responded and Arima nodded. His entire body started glowing as lightning was being generated around him.

"Tell me one thing before we begin, Ambrogio," he oriented his eyes so that they would match the vampire's and snorted. "Do you even realize the misfortune you brought upon yourself?"

Unbelievable killing intent filled the room and Ambrogio's eyes narrowed. It even escaped outside of the building and started spreading across the planet.

Every Guardian was shocked beyond words. This kind of killing intent was simply monstrous. This was the kind of intimidation that could even revive the fear of death in someone who had already discarded life.

"Let's go," Arima mumbled and Night could only sigh in resignation.

"I can't believe this…" He cackled before bursting out laughing. "I hope we don't die today," he kidded and resonated with his partner. The Guardians watched as a pillar of dark energy fell on Arima and altered his appearance.

His aura was rising exponentially and the entire planet started quaking. Time magic once again put the Guardians out the way. But the energy around Arima was also incredibly unstable and they didn't dare to move in case they would trigger some sort of uncontrollable chain reaction.

Soon enough, a giant bipedal black dragon sporting two pairs of wings emerged along with the roar of thunder. The two-hundred-meter tall dragon just had to stand up for the walls to break and the roof to collapse. The light of the two suns entered the room and illuminated the dragon's scales. His silver mane shone and the red patterns on his body pulsated more than ever.

At the same time, Victor who was approaching Arima within the shadows was forcefully pulled out by the light. He clicked his tongue and retreated toward the other Guardians.

Arima huffed and fire came out of his nostrils. "{Layla,}" he uttered and Layla immediately dragonized herself before flying toward him. She became a beam of light that fused with his chest.

Another transformation occurred as they resonated together. A blinding light was discharged and tremendous waves of energy broke apart everything around.

Ambrogio finally revealed a different expression as this happened. His neutral face faded away to leave the place to one radiating bloodlust and ire. He waved his hand and giant sphere of mirrors confined Arima. The light immediately disappeared and the waves of energy were restrained.

But that didn't last long as two dragons shattered it together. One was silver and purple while the other was black and red. They both roared and their aura crushed the surroundings.

"Oi, oi… seriously? Is this power really coming from a transcendental?" Ganesha was astounded and even Aergia had her eyes completely opened.

"{My turn,}" Night said and chanted two magics from Arima's mouth. "[Agnitio Vultus Unus Mille Et Terminus Confractus] (One Thousand Parade -and- Limit Break)."

Countless crimson runes were drawn in midair around Arima and then merged with his body. His scales gained a brilliant luster and his aura soared. Layla was also getting an incredible boost of power in consequence. At that point, even Ambrogio was beginning to feel the threat.

It wasn't the end though, Arima extended his hand toward Karma who was casually waiting. Every Guardian looked at her as they suddenly remembered her. It was also a fact that they had questioned the nature of her existence when they saw her.

Karma smiled and waved her hand at them when she was called by Arima. She promptly transformed into a sphere of light that flew in Arima's hand and exploded. When the light faded away, the dragon was wielding a katana fitting his size.

"[Primum, Secundum, Tertium, Gaudete] (First, Second, Third, Break)," Arima released all of the seals and augmented his aura even more with Karma's influence.

"No fucking way…" Ganesha gaped and laughed wryly. "How can a weapon like that exist?" He muttered. Gilgamesh also wore the most shocked expression he has ever made. He owned countless artifacts but he knew at first glance that none could be compared to that sword.

"[Third White Art, Exercitum, Doppelganger] (Host)," Arima chanted, and a copy of himself literally fell from the sky and landed beside him and Layla. A third dragon had been added to the fray. But the latter was completely still and wasn't producing any spiritual force. It was merely standing there with its eyes closed like a puppet detached from its strings.

"Hahaha! Finally!" A voice suddenly echoed and the Guardians shivered involuntarily.

The lifeless dragon suddenly opened its eyes and they shined with a crimson color. Right after, its scales lost their color and turned grayish. Then, its eyes followed the example before dispersing like ashes. The flesh on the rest of the dragon scattered into particles until the whole dragon was merely a skeleton.

Oddly, the scales were still there although they had no flesh to stick to. They were hovering around the skeletal dragon as if they were a shield guarding him. Behind that wall of ashen scales, one could see the bones vibrating.

The dragon finally moved and roared. Two purple flames were ignited inside its skull and the roar quickly turned into a laugh. The undead stepped forward and the scales around him circled him at great speed before attaching themselves to it like an armor.

"[Berserker Scriptor Semita] (Berserker's Path)," Malum, who now resided inside, intoned. His deadly aura was elevated to heights which even surpassed the current Arima.

Shakti took a step back. "This is… pure madness," she muttered. The aura she felt from that new dragon was almost as strong as the two others combined.

Malum stood proudly with his new body while Arima and Layla were landed at his right and left respectively. Arima snickered. "There you go. A brand-new body for you. Those scales are your own transcendence. I hope you won't do anything too stupid with it."

"What?" Malum laughed. "I'll be sure to make use of it. It's not like I'll use it to attack you or anything."

"He's telling you to not break it without even making full use of it," Layla retorted and he groaned.

Meanwhile, Ambrogio stared at the three massive dragons casting a shadow over him. His face gradually turned more savage and a pair of bat wings grew on his back.

"I will personally kill you," Ambrogio uttered. "[Resurrection]," he used his Soul Manifestation without any delay. The ground below him was instantly crushed to nothing by his aura which was already almost as strong as the three dragons combined.

His entire body suddenly became covered in blood. He pointed at the three dragons with his finger and a drop of blood was launched at them. Arima raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to dodge it. It went past him and touched the ground a few seconds later. At first, a weird sound came out of it, as if it was boiling, then it burst. A mushroom cloud raised and a dreadful shockwave was produced.

The three dragons didn't even flinch or turned around to look at it. They solemnly faced Ambrogio and the three other Guardians preparing to engage them.

Arima grunted. "Let's do this."

The Kind Demon's Crosses all over the planet immediately came out of the ground. The chains hanging from the skull's mouth wriggled like snakes and were propelled toward the sky before rooting themselves in the ground.

"Let's start with the deserving ones," Arima stated and the eyes of the crosses' skulls blazed.

A specific selection of people all over Melumnia saw their life force and soul being sucked out from their bodies. Arima collected all of it and extended his arms forward. Two different magic formations were formed.

A hooded skeleton faded into existence and a fireball made of azure flames raged.