บท 101: Locked in
I looked around the unknown yet familiar barren landscape surrounding us. Stale smoke was in the air making it somewhat difficult to see everything. It was obvious that something went horribly wrong during our teleportation. There was just no way this was a coincidence and even if it was, it would still be better to treat this as a worst-case scenario of having fallen into a trap. I glanced at the rapidly blinking Raven as she got used to suddenly being displaced.
Her figure had changed to her demon self and I could already guess where we had landed. It was why I found the landscape somewhat familiar. It had a bit of a hellscape vibe, something we were familiar with as it wouldn't be the first time we had entered hell.
Of course, that wasn't my guess. I spread my senses and found no life forces around us, which would have allowed for a more accurate guess. I looked at Raven, who, despite having red skin now, was getting somewhat pale.
"Trigon?" I inquired, already sure of the answer. Raven nodded at my question and despite having already guessed it, I couldn't help but sigh. "It's always when we teleport that we end up in his domain." The first time had been when Raven's siblings ambushed us as we picked up her stuff from her hideout and then when we were swept away by the wormhole during our trip back in time.
"Sorry." Raven apologized, looking at me with thinned lips. There was some anxiety in her eyes as she knew that we might encounter her father again.
"Don't be. You know I don't blame you for this." I looked around and wondered why there was no trace of any of his demons or him. If I was in his position and had successfully dragged us into my realm then I would have attacked as soon as they got here or at least teleported them directly to me, but then again I wasn't an ancient demon that thrived on suffering and torment. Maybe it was an elaborate ploy to torture us.
"Not sure..." She looked around as her eyes started glowing. "It seems to be at the edge of his realm."
"Huh. So, do you know where the exit is? Or maybe just use that teleportation spell of yours?" She shook her head at my suggestions.
"That won't be possible without a demonic power source... I could use the energy inside my claw, but I would destroy it in the process. I would rather have something that could permanently harm Trigon than waste it to escape." She summoned her claw which was shimmering with dangerous darkness mixed with a red that reminded me of how many demons of hell she had absorbed into it.
I tried to sense my anchor points and I could somewhat sense it, at least the general direction, but for some reason, I couldn't clearly get its position. It should have something to do with some interference or the amount of ki I used as an anchor point just wasn't enough.
Felicia's thin suit wasn't really a lot of space to store my ki inside. However, theoretically, that shouldn't be a problem. So that would mean the obvious was the case. Something was blocking my senses. Maybe some form of countermeasure since they knew Giblet used this technique?
My eyes wandered to the red pillar that seemed to extend into the dark stormy clouds that were covering the sky. Though it didn't attract my attention for long as I noticed the ground turning black and blips of energy being pulled into Raven's claw. "You good?"
She nodded thoughtfully. "There is so much potent energy here it is almost overwhelming. I feel like if I used my inherent control over this realm, I would jump several scales in terms of power." That sounded really concerning as that would mean Trigon would have at least as much access to that power scale.
"You don't think it will attract his attention?"
"Not more than our arrival would have." She said before staring at the pillar I had looked at before as well. "It's the connection point to our universe." She stated matter of fact, making me pay attention to it again.
I focused on it and tried to feel for any ki signature and could vaguely feel some familiar life forces, but they were too mushed together and layered with something, preventing me from focusing and locating it.
"It kind of looks like a spell that Constantine had mentioned once. Something demons used to trap something or lock away. I think Trigon had attached his realm to the outer edges of our universe. It's like a blanket covering our universe. Nothing can get in or out of our universe without traversing this realm."
Suspicion filled me as I heard that. "Wouldn't that mean that he would have noticed you when you traveled to me? And what about Felicia, shouldn't she be here as well? I can't sense her anywhere inside here. In fact, it feels like she is outside."
"Not sure. Perhaps it doesn't cover all types of teleportation types or the spell I used broke through it. As for Felicia, she might be back already. This realm seems to be here to trap me... I am guessing that it is just something to pull me inside and hold me until he arrives. Either way, we will have to get to that pillar and escape this realm. We will have a better time searching for a way to remove this realm when we get out. With Constantine and Zatara, I should be able to reverse engineer this spell."
I nodded. It seemed like it was our best shot to get out. I wasn't too keen on fighting Trigon on his turf. Something told me that there was more to this realm than we could see at the moment.
"Let me try something." Although the direction where I could sense their life force was vague, it would still be better to be stranded somewhere inside our universe than remain even a second in here. Of course, I was tempted to stay and wait for Trigon, but I wasn't sure how he scaled inside this universe.
It didn't seem that this realm was affected by the universe's limitation law for maximum power. Since even Raven could instantly get more powerful if she took it all in, there was a possibility that Trigon would arrive here with his full power, meaning I would have to face someone that was at the very least universal and most likely multiversal.
A being that could fall onto universes and crush them with his power. Either way, I knew that I wouldn't be able to fight freely if there was the possibility of getting Raven involved in the fight and having her die on me. That was just unacceptable. She wasn't weak, but she just wasn't at that level yet. I had to bring her to safety first and then I could wreck Trigon.
I pulled Raven closer to me by her waist and started to 'pull', for the lack of a better word, towards the vague direction where I could feel my anchor point. For just a moment, we stood there silently waiting for something to happen. Raven looked at me silently asking what was happening.
My jaw clenched as I tried to exert my pull, but it seemed to reject my command as if nothing happened. The surroundings stayed the same, which confused me greatly before another sneaking suspicion appeared in my mind. Without hesitation, I rose my hand and willed my ki to move towards the surface, to my skin before it actualized in the outside world- At least, that was supposed to happen.
"I can't teleport. My ki is trapped inside my body." I declared as my ki bristled just underneath the surface of my skin, wanting to break out and affect the outside world to no avail. "Something is blocking my ki from exiting my body." The implication of this was massive. It reduced a lot of my capabilities as it wasn't like it was on the Warworld or even the suppression of the universes.
At least on the Warworld and the other universes, I could release my ki even if it wasted a lot of energy as it was being absorbed by the atmosphere or reduced in power, but here I was completely cut off from the outside world and with no outlet for my ki...
Let's just say, ki wasn't harmless, the opposite in fact and that meant transforming into a Legendary Super Saiyan or just a Saiyan was off the table. Just flexing my ki would be a problem. If I roused it too much, it would turn into a creative suicide.
"Don't worry, I will protect you." Raven joked to ease the situation and the nervousness she was feeling about what this meant for me. For us. "I can analyze what is blocking your ki-"
"Let's not waste any more time." I interrupted her as I knew every second counted. "We have to get moving. Now."
She clearly wasn't a supporter of my decision to leave instantaneously, but if it was something she was sure she could fix within a few seconds then she would have stopped me. There was just no way it was a coincidence.
It had to be part of Trigon's trap, which meant breaking it, wasn't something we could figure out in a few seconds, minutes, or even hours. I knew Raven learned a lot about magic already, but she wasn't quite there yet to compete with an ancient demon that had practically lived since forever.
So, despite her disapproval, she nodded and hugged me closer as if to protect me from unknown harm at a moment's notice. Her black ink-like magic powers pooled underneath our feet, but besides that, nothing changed.
She shook her head frustrated. "This realm is too dense with energy to teleport through the space here."
"Then old school it is," I stated unperturbed as I had already suspected something like that before lifting off the ground with Raven following me. It was clear that it was some elaborate trap, purposefully created to slow us down. After banishing unnecessary thoughts, I focused on navigating through this barren realm with my telekinesis, keeping me in the air. It wasn't a problem to fly like this albeit it was just too slow for my taste.
As we flew over the barren land, I took stock of what I could do. I could still keep my body at normal levels like normal Saiyans, who didn't suppress their power level. Of course, just the mere fact that their power level was being picked up by scouters meant that they leaked some ki to the outside. However, there was a difference between having to exert one's ki to empower themselves and having one's ki infuse naturally into their body.
I was still stronger than most beings my universe had to offer, but compared to a full-powered Trigon? I was just a bigger ant. Raven could probably crush me now as well, seeing that she was thriving in this atmosphere, I would bet that she might be able to contend against me when I wasn't going full out.
The advantage of this realm would make her stronger as well. A glance at the expanding darkness below our feet proved that point. It made me look at Raven with concern. Fortunately, she looked fine. This time she didn't seem too influenced as she had been the last time. She, of course, noticed my stare.
"Don't worry. This time I filter it through my claw. It won't be able to influence me." I took her word for it, though I made sure to keep an eye on her just in case. After all, she had already assumed her demon appearance. I clenched my fist, trying to get a feel for what and how something was blocking my ki with the hope of breaking it. Whatever it was.
"So, we will try to do the same as last time in case we meet Trigon?" I asked as I felt that the encounter was almost inevitable.
"No." She flat out stated with no room for discussion, confusing me for a moment as that would probably be our best shot against someone like Trigon. "You won't be able to hold him off long enough. I want to absorb this entire realm to have assurance in case we need some power. It seems quite nourishing for my claw, perhaps because the energy is very similar to what the claw is made of. With all of it gathering in my claw, I will detonate it in his face and we book it to somewhere you have access to your full power." I just nodded, deciding to trust her.
The stronger the potential bomb she carried around, the better our chances of escape. There wasn't much else we could do anyway. We were a bit in a pinch with me just being around multi-solar system level right now.
"There truly isn't any other high life force around," I noted a bit skeptical. Of course, that didn't mean much.
"Given the fact that he had to cover our entire universe, meant he had to stretch his realm quite a bit. Maybe he didn't have enough demons around to occupy every corner of it." Raven mused as we flew closer to the red demonic pillar that seemed to hold up the sky. It became increasingly daunting the closer we got to it.
It didn't take us too long to arrive in front of it. It was staggeringly tall. I had to look straight up and I still couldn't see the end of it as it disappeared into the gloomy dark clouds that seemed ever-present in these hellish realms.
"Can you get us out?" I asked Raven, who frowned slightly before closing her eyes and stretching out her arms towards the pillar.
"Just a moment. I need to find the exact connection." I nodded slightly as I felt for a better feel for the anchor point, while simultaneously looking out for an ambush. At this location, I could sense my anchor point as clearly as day, but as frustrating as it was, it didn't help me as I couldn't teleport us out of there.
With every second, I tried to mobilize my ki, and the ruptured cells in response to that, pissed me off, making me almost want to go out just blasting ki around to destroy this already barren land, which in turn only made me more frustrated as I couldn't even do anything to vent.
My ki stirred, bristling angrily underneath my skin, destroying my cells, running rampant as there was no outlet for its potent energy. With nowhere to go, it destroyed my inside, injuring me further before it was healed by the same energy that inflicted these wounds.
It didn't help that I was spiraling into anger as I felt the chaotic energy making more and more damage with the regenerative properties of the legendary ki hardly being able to catch up. The tipping point was already in sight. It wouldn't take long until the injuries grew to such a scale that my ki wouldn't be able to heal it fast enough and I simply died from inner bleeding.
It reminded me of Giblet's words of my transformation being too chaotic, that I had no control over it. The fact that his words rang true only frustrated me more as I watched the chaotic energy going berserk as if it had a mind of its own, only to be agitated further by my rising emotions. It was almost like something was stirring my ki on purpose. Was my mind influenced?
"Calm down." Raven's voice suddenly called out inside my mind. "I will get us out in just a moment." Her voice was comforting and calm even if I sensed the anxiety hiding beneath her telepathic message, though it reminded me of something that I previously didn't have, something that might help me control this ki.
My godly ki moved instantly as soon as I willed it. Obedient and swift. This transcended energy hiding inside my bloodline acted upon my call. It surrounded my chaotic legendary ki and contained it to prevent more damage from inflicting upon me.
A strange scene played out in front of my inner eye. A red sea of energy pushed the green waves of an unruly ocean together. Slowly the red sea compacted this unruly energy to the degree that it had barely any place to move, since this all happened inside my body with no way out, my legendary ki got increasingly chaotic, bashing against the godly ki surrounding it until it didn't look that much different to my godly ki, a sea of pure but chaotic energy.
The only other difference was that my cells didn't absorb this energy as willingly as they did with the gentle godly ki. Legendary ki ruptured all the cells it came across and rebuild them to accommodate its nature.
Though I sensed some change happening. The legendary ki was changing. Whatever the change was, it increased its power and gave it the chance to burst through the godly ki that was compacting it.
A jet burst from the middle and impacted the outer godly ki sea before punching through it only to rupture several cells that were protected and saturated by the godly ki. The legendary ki rebuilt the destroyed cells that were previously saturated with godly ki and occupied them, turning them into new factories for more legendary ki.
With this, a bloody, devastating war erupted inside me. A war of two imposing and incompatible ki that fought on the ground that favored the godly ki to the point that it was able to contain it to a small portion inside my body, at the base of my tail.
However, the more I tried to push the godly ki into containing the unruly legendary ki, the containment would break. So, I left it at a certain size. The intensity of the inside war had calmed down a bit as I figured out a certain balance to take a breather. As if nothing had happened, my legendary ki calmed down and burrowed inside my body without a trace. Most of it went inside my tail, but a lot just settled everywhere like normal ki.
I had the feeling once the legendary ki erupted in rage again, I would have to contain it again or let it run amok and kill me. With nowhere to vent this energy, I would die before my body could transform unless my body accepted the energy as seamlessly as the godly ki-
...
"I can sense it!" Raven suddenly exclaimed, jolting Nathan out of his deep thoughts. He turned to her before a sudden red light beam of raw magic power blasted into his back and buried him in the seemingly barren land. A land that was dense with pure demonic energy forming something incomparably resilient that Raven knew wouldn't give way like normal stones or steel.
The red light beam ripped through this land, punching Nathan's body along it as it created a deep fissure into the ground. She looked in shock as she tried to feel for him. A bit of relief washed over her when her connection proved that he was still alive if barely.
She gritted her teeth as she looked at the perpetrator that had attacked her boyfriend. She glared at her father that was enveloped in a demonic aura and fire. The daunting fiery glow inside his six eyes and his burning horns made for an intimidating sight. However, she was more angry than scared.
"Don't worry. He is not dead, yet. I am going to enjoy this. After all, I don't want to turn you just yet." Trigon bemusedly stated as he took joy in her worry about the well-being of her lover. Raven wasn't surprised that Trigon knew of her bond with Nathan, the fact that she put her love, her humanity into him.
As long as he was there, she would always be able to come back from her demon side. It was something she figured out the last time when she absorbed Trigon's energy. Despite having almost fully turned into a demon, she was still seeking his touch, his love, and could revert to her human self once they were somewhere less saturated with demonic energy.
If he died then her humanity would die and as a result, her demon side would take over and go berserk. She had some discussions with her demon side, who had seen all the things she had done with Nathan and grew to like it a tad bit too much.
It looked like even her demon side learned to love this insatiable man, perhaps exactly because of that. It was the reason why she had played the fool when Nathan once again admitted that she was his type. Her demon side jumped on it and they quickly made him promise to fulfill her naughty.
Of course, he didn't know that he agreed to a threesome with her and her demon side, but she was sure he would enjoy it. Now she just had to kill Trigon to make this true.
This bitch who hurt her man had to die!
Trigon's eyes widened a smidgen as he watched her.
"I am going to gut you like a fish." Her normal and demonic voice overlayed as she spoke to her 'father'. The realm seemed to tremble as she unleashed her entire power. It was rarely the case, but at this moment her body, her mind, and her demonic side worked in unison.
Potential, she didn't know she possessed surfaced and transformed into a mighty raven that covered her before pouncing at Trigon.
A fiery light beam shot out of his eyes, tearing through the head of the soulself before it transformed into a shadow to creep around Trigon only to reform behind him. Several threads of darkness shot out of her soulself and bound his arms pulling them behind his back before the raven tried to devour him as more and more covered his body.
Trigon struggled mightily, shaking the realm with his thrashing and his attempt to mobilize the energy of his realm, but she wouldn't let him. A large part of the realm's energy that was stored inside her claw counteracted his attempt. She waved her claw at Trigon, causing three sharp slashes to rip into his torso.
Suddenly, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she immediately levitated away just fast enough before the ground she was standing on to explode. The moment of lapse in focus gave Trigon enough time to rip a portion of her threads of darkness off his eyes to shoot at her.
She raised a dark barrier around her, scattering the beam into several. With another distraction, Trigon freed his other arm, clawing and ripping at threads that were binding him. The realm was falling apart around them as they fought. The red pillar connecting to their universe shattered due to Trigon's thrashing.
Just after evading yet another beam, a white spiky energy ball appeared in the sky before exploding into a brilliant white light, blinding them for a moment. Her eyes snapped towards the growing creature that she quickly identified as an Oozaru. She had seen Nathan take on this form, but the emotional signature she was reading right now and the attempt at a telepathic connection showed her that he lost his mind.
Perhaps it had something to do with the green fur that he was covered in, unlike the previous times in which he always had brown fur. The aura he gave off was savage and hungry for destruction. Even Trigon seemed to be put off at the sudden appearance and presence Nathan suddenly occupied among them.
His rising strength was palpable to the point that she couldn't even bring herself to laugh at the primitive chest thumbing Nathan did as he roared. The roar shattered the rocks in his immediate surroundings like they were normal rocks and not created through pure demonic energy.
Trigon's stupor didn't hold for long as he looked wrathfully at the Oozaru's challenge for dominance. Unfortunately, for him, he was still bound by Raven's bindings, so when Nathan fired a ki beam out of his mouth, Trigon had to contend it with a beam as well. The two beams clashed in a mighty fashion, forcing her to raise another barrier to block stray energy.
Trigon's attack was slowly but surely overpowered by Nathan's ki beam before it exploded in his face, giving her more leeway. With her claw in hand, she ripped off a bit of his flesh before absorbing it. However, Trigon had bigger problems and made no effort to defend against her attacks. A different pressure appeared from Nathan.
An aura of which she had seen an ever-present shadow when they had reunited earlier this day. A red ki aura appeared around the Oozaru and as if magically aided the giant form suddenly shrank into a glowing white ball, obscuring the view from her. However, she could see Nathan regaining a human form inside with a tail swishing around behind it.
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