I observed from a distance the High Heaven war armada still trying to eliminate the giant monsters that kept coming. Smaller monsters were still emerging from that giant portal. The Graendall troops both on land and in the air were helping High Heaven in eliminating those monsters.
"W-When will Sir Hellraider and His Majesty Geriel return here? H-hopefully it won't take long there..." said Gruzhnil starting to worry.
"Do you know what they are doing there, Mendicore?" asked Grishal.
"My apologies, Your Reverence. I actually can no longer access High Heaven due to certain reasons..."
I actually knew that this meeting was related to one of the most crucial lores in the game, namely Hellraider being given divine power to face Azkerath. Of course I would not say this to them because they would consider me a know-it-all.
The Emperor then walked closer to Mendicore and stared at it sharply.
"Why can't you? Aren't you part of them??? His Majesty Geriel and his entire battle armada were able to reach our planet because of you!"
"A-alright... I will briefly explain why it can be like that..."
Mendicore then briefly told his origin, revealing that Ruchipar was once an archangel as well as their brother, the conflict between Ruchipar and his siblings and the reason Mendicore was "discarded" by High Heaven.
Everyone who heard it except me was once again very shocked by the truth conveyed by Mendicore.
"I hope you all, sir, don't think badly of me... That was only my view in the past... Now Ruchipar and the realm of terror he created are invading and destroying other worlds. He must be responsible for all of this!"
"S-So... all the chaos in this universe... is because of the conflict between those three siblings..." said Glynpatra with a face still in disbelief.
I remembered the storyline of The Mayhem final series where before Hellraider fights the final boss, he would face Ruciphar first. Before the battle begins, Ruciphar says that the universe in that game's story has been truly cursed from the beginning.
Before I could think further about that scene in the game, suddenly we were all shocked by a strong tremor that knocked us to the ground. Not only that, a loud growling sound echoed throughout the battlefield.
I who was still sitting on the ground, suddenly my body froze, my eyes widened, my breath came out fast and heavy...
N-nooo... Impossible... this sound... the same sound I heard in my nightmare...!!!
I looked toward the horde of monsters from afar. One of the giant portals that seemed ancient reacted violently with red flashes and thick black smoke that kept bursting out. After that, the black smoke and red flashes shot rapidly into the air and floated there.
Then something emerged from that smoke. A giant demon with its massive black sword pointed toward the ground and immediately it launched itself quickly down to the land. When it struck the ground, another heavy tremor occurred causing us to fall for the second time.
That demon was exactly like what I saw in my nightmare...
Azkerath had arrived in Grivendal...
"Ooohhh nooo...!!! Our worst nightmare has arrived on this land...!!!" shouted Grishal.
Some of the frontline troops both on land and in the air immediately fired at Azkerath continuously with various weapons.
"Don't do that...!!! Those who attack Azkerath from afar will be affected by his curse...!!! If at any moment he casts his deadly spell, all marked by Azkerath will instantly explode into ashes...!!!" shouted Mendicore.
The Emperor immediately panicked greatly and took a radio from his waist and spoke loudly apparently to the command center about Mendicore's warning.
"Your Majesty...!!! Tell all troops who have fired at Azkerath to move as far away as possible so they are not within the radius of his curse effect! The High Heaven armada has its own way to restrain Azkerath's movement until Lord Geriel and Sir Hellraider arrive here!"
The Emperor nodded and conveyed Mendicore's message again through his radio. He also told them to only attack the other monsters.
"How far must they go to avoid that demon king, Mendicore?!" asked Gruzhnil just as panicked.
"I don't know exactly. Based on my previous analysis it is around 1 kilometer. But that is not the main concern. Azkerath can teleport anywhere he wants. So areas outside the radius are not truly safe as long as he can teleport."
I saw in the air more than half of the High Heaven armada ships heading toward Azkerath who was still standing there. They all immediately fired searing light ropes at him and his entire body was covered in light threads.
"Will that restrain Azkerath's teleportation ability?!" I asked.
"Yes... This is all we can do for now..." said Mendicore.
"I will return to the base bringing Grishal. I actually want to see his action later, but I prioritize Grishal's safety first..." said the Emperor who immediately guided Grishal to the shuttle.
"I... I hope you all remain safe after the peak of this disaster ends..." said Grishal still in shock.
After the shuttle took off, I observed from afar Azkerath standing still due to that High Heaven net weapon. But occasionally he could move and try to step while growling loudly. The armada ships then increased the intensity of their light ropes.
"If those ships use that much energy to restrain Azkerath, soon the net will not last long and will be destroyed." said Mendicore worried.
"Can't you contact the angels inside those ships?! They are among us, right?! If possible ask them to make Hellraider come here faster through Geriel!" I said starting to panic.
"Johann... They have been ordered by Lord Geriel not to speak to me anymore! So I cannot speak to anyone to ask them to come immediately!"
I felt very annoyed with Geriel who could hinder such a critical situation.
Then I recalled Mendicore's explanation about Azkerath. Indeed his special ability was terrifying. But if he attacked indirectly enemies who were marked, it meant the only way to defeat him was someone brave enough to fight at close range, possessing physical strength and ability equal to Azkerath, namely teleportation as well.
However I never found Hellraider who had been given divine power having teleportation ability in the game. As a player I had to constantly watch and avoid Azkerath's sudden attacks. He was the second hardest boss after Turgash.
Before I could think of other possibilities, suddenly Azkerath who was still bound by the light net raised his sword with difficulty and its tip pointed to the ground. The sword emitted deep black and bright red burning energy. Suddenly when it was stabbed, the ground around Azkerath released that energy intensely causing slight tremors.
The ropes and light net immediately broke and disappeared. Azkerath was free again and ready to strike at any moment.
I immediately approached Gruzhnil who was still frozen in shock seeing Azkerath's terror.
"Commander...!!! We cannot stand still seeing Azkerath who can reach the capital at any moment. Sir Hellraider also is unknown how long until he arrives! My suggestion is the Graganthurion troops must fight him directly. Mendicore has warned not to shoot him from afar!"
"Johann...!!! Have you lost your mind...?!?!?! I will not sacrifice my troops for that...!!! Just leave everything to the High Heaven armada! I'm sure they still have a way to restrain him!"
I could not believe a supreme commander on this battlefield could think like that! This cannot continue! I must find another way...
Suddenly I recalled Ruciphar's words in my nightmare. I froze and just realized the hidden message he tried to convey to me.
I immediately ran to the back while Gruzhnil was busy communicating with other troops via radio. Mendicore was still floating silently observing there. Without realizing, I immediately grabbed it and brought to a quieter place.
"Johann! W-what are you doing?!"
I held its disk body with both my hands and stared at Mendicore sharply.
"Create a portal to the Graganthurion storage warehouse at the southern military base!"
"W-wait Johann, calm your mind..."
"NOOOOWWW...!!! They no longer know what to do...!!!"
Mendicore immediately fell silent. I turned its face forward away from me. Instantly a portal appeared before it.
I immediately entered the portal and arrived at the top floor of one of the Graganthurion stations. I released Mendicore from my grip.
"Now go back to where you were! Thank you for fulfilling this request of mine! Convey my apology to the others..."
"No Johann! I will come with you! I already understand your intention. You don't want to fight him but to face him directly, according to your nightmare, right?"
I was stunned again hearing its statement. Mendicore truly understood my thoughts right now.
"But I will not guarantee your survival. Escape as soon as possible with your portal if we are cornered..."
We immediately entered the main control room. I still remembered how to activate and operate this giant robot. When the machine and system were active, I immediately moved out of the storage warehouse, left the base and ran slightly toward the battlefield earlier. I saw in the ground many people shocked and ran away to side.
"JOOOHAAANNN...!!! YOU REALLY WANT TO KILL YOURSELF...!!!!!! STOOOP NOOOOWWW...!!!"
I immediately turned off the communication channel from Gruzhnil. How could he still talk like that...
When I arrived, I immediately accelerated my robot and charged through the horde of monsters. As much as possible I avoided the giant monsters to reach Azkerath as quickly as possible.
From the front visor glass, I could see Azkerath from afar still standing there. He had almost same height with Arch-Judgementor but because his blazing wings rose upward and his posture was very hunched, it seemed Azkerath was the second largest hell entity after Turgash.
Has he already known that I am approaching him?
Suddenly his left hand raised, a blaze of deep black and bright red fire appeared again.
"This is bad...!!! He will cast his destructive spell...!!! I hope the troops who shot him earlier have already moved far away!" said Mendicore beside me.
Azkerath's head tilted upward and his left hand moved to his mouth as if to inhale that blaze. Suddenly he slammed his left hand down and the blaze exploded on the ground creating a red energy wave spreading fastly and briefly hit me.
At that very moment, I saw in the sky flashes of red light followed by booming sounds like continuous massive explosions. Then from above fell burning wreckage of aircraft, likely belonging to The Graendall. My robot almost got hit by debris that suddenly fell in front while running.
"Many combat equipment behind us also exploded violently! I didn't know the curse effect could be this wide! I hope our comrades are still alive there and not affected!" said Mendicore again.
I accelerated my robot again and soon I saw Azkerath very clearly. My robot immediately stopped and stared at him. His position had not changed at all. The monsters around us continued moving forward and ignored my presence. It seemed they had been commanded by Azkerath.
"FINALLY YOU COME TO FACE ME... THE GREAT DISRUPTOR..."
Azkerath spoke to me for the first time with the booming tone of a demon king.