Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 957: Humanity’s grudge Part 4

Despite the numerous soldiers that showed up to back up Ares, it was actually him who took a step back as if he was the one being cornered. It was strange, considering the circumstances, but it became clear when Aphrodite showed up and scolded him like a child.

"I told you not to face them directly, is there nothing inside that big head of yours?"

"I was just trying..."

"To get us killed! What were you planning to do once you reached their boss? Did you forget what I told you about his abilities? Harming him in any way will only give him power, especially now that he’s able to regenerate from any injury."

"I’m sorry I just..." Ares apologized dryly, but Aphrodite cut him short with a huff and addressed the invaders.

"I will be generous today and let you go, but if you insist on fighting I’ll have no other choice but to protect my followers with all I have."

"So generous." Uriel yawned without bothering to cover his mouth, then Medusa took a step forward.

"I will also be generous today. I’ll give you... yes, ten seconds should be enough. I’ll give you ten seconds to vacate this city and we won’t come after you."

"What a joke," Aphrodite scoffed with an ugly expression on her face, not that anyone could ever call her ugly though. Even if she was a scheming coward that used people and gods to her advantage, she was undeniably the most beautiful woman in the world. "I don’t know whether to laugh or cry." With a gesture of her hand the TVs in the surroundings went off and the few people that remained nearby after the soldiers showed up started shifting the expression on their faces.

"I don’t like this." Said Sam, the first one to notice the sudden change in the crowd, in a whisper barely audible to his team mates.

"Shush, you’ll ruin everything." Medusa scolded, then adjusted the earpiece in her ear to focus on the incoming message.

"There’s too many to name them individually, but we were already expecting this much. Other than the naked lady and the man with dark face and dark eyes that you already know, the strongest is a large creature with blue skin and many arms." Alonso spoke through the radio, reaching all the members of the team.

"Uhm... did you seriously bring vishnu?" Luna shook her head as if disappointed making the gods who had just possessed random people to seriously ponder about their life choices.

They had assumed that the mortals who faced them had anticipated what gods had possessed the members of the Defenders and had prepared the exorcisms beforehand. Never did it cross their divine minds that in that small group of hunters would be someone who could identify them on the spot.

Needless to say, Alonso was the only person capable of seeing the entire spectrum of light which allowed him to see not just the hunters, but also the gods that possessed them. He could see their true forms as clear as day, something that was not possible even with a Kirlian camera. Getting him to cooperate with the mission was one of the most important parts of the preparations, but thanks to his fondness for Uriel it was not difficult.

It was also thanks to his ability, that the rest of the Dungeon Raiders were certain that Uriel was no longer among them as even though Alonso was supposed to be on friendly terms with Uriel, he barely acknowledged his presence and only said ’hello’ in the shyest possible voice he could muster.

What did he see when he looked at Uriel, no one could tell, but judging from his reaction it had to be something that could turn one of the strongest hunters in the world. Someone who did not hesitate to put his life at risk to save his men, into a

"Don’t worry! Even if they know our names, the best they can do is exorcise us if we’re defeated."

"Are you sure about about? That we can’t kill gods? Why don’t you try speaking to your fallen comrades then?" Uriel said with a cunning spark in his eyes that didn’t manifest any light, but rather a deep shadow.

"That’s just sad, bluffing like that when you’re cornered. There’s no way a human can kill any god. Not even a minor deity." Aphrodite said in a mocking tone, yet something about the situation fell off. From the moment she saw Uriel bare chested without a single piece of armor she knew he was now possessed by some unknown being that allowed him to regenerate from the most horrifying injuries. The only possible explanation to Uriel’s confidence was that somehow he regained his connection with that being which Aphrodite had schemed for so long to sever.

Mark, Tina and others had willingly shared information about his abilities in detail. She knew that Uriel could store artifacts and take them out and she also knew most of the artifacts Uriel ever had in his possession, thanks to Pangeotis’ stealing his inventory list when Alice asked for help. She also knew that Uriel could accelerate his movements as she had seen it with her own two eyes and she also felt the power behind his fist, but she was left wondering if there truly could be more and she reached the conclusion that she needed to confirm his words and attempted to communicate with Veritas.

She briefly closed her eyes in a gesture that didn’t seem any different to blinking her eyes, yet at that moment true horror possessed the goddess of beauty as she confirmed her worst fear. It wasn’t that she wasn’t listening or her words couldn’t reach her, it was that praying to her was impossible and that could only mean the goddess of truth was actually dead.

"Now you know, right?" Uriel said in a cocky grin.

"You’re right," Aphrodite lifted her hands in apparent surrender. "then you’re leaving us with no choice. Kill them." She finished with a cold voice that brought shivers even to the gods besides her, yet they still moved towards the Dungeon Raiders without hesitation because at that moment it became clear that disobedience meant dying to her hands.

The newly possessed people moved in an avalanche towards the Dungeon Raiders along with Ares followers that were now being controlled like puppets and in response, both Luna and Medusa attempted to hold the first line of defense failing miserably at that.

The first one to fall was Medusa who received a devastating blow to the stomach that caused her to bend forward and lose her breath after taking just two soldiers down. Then Luna on her lycanthrope form was swarmed and defeated within seconds, leaving her on the verge of death due to many stab wounds that slowly healed in a sizzling sound.

Uriel did not move from his spot and kept a defiant expression on his face without ever taking his eyes from Aphrodite which caused even those who were behind his back to doubt whether to attack him or not. This brief pause on the attack was enough for Aphrodite to notice something.

"Where’s the winged idiot?" She asked, but the question came too late as Sam was already hovering above the gods beneath holding a strange artifact in his hand.

"Ready for plan B." He announced before blowing on the death whistle he previously stole from Jon. Carved out of human bone, the whistle sounded like the agonizing last cry of a person before dying which spread an eerie sensation all over the battlefield causing everyone to stop fighting and silence was made. The whistle was activated at the precise moment to prevent Luna and Medusa from dying at the hands of their opponents, but its effects went far beyond gaining time.

It had the effect of summoning the souls of the dead similar to Uriel’s book of the dead which was the precise reason why Sam stole it in the first place. He did it out of envy, since Uriel possessed the book of the dead and he wanted a similar power, but the shadows of the dead refused to listen to his commands and he had given up on it.

Shadows came from the ground and covered the sky. They didn’t obstruct the already scarce sunlight, yet the visibility was reduced due to their sheer numbers, but that was all. They caused no damage and took no action other than moaning in a pitiful chorus.

"Is that all? Do you think we are scared of those flimsy things?" Aphrodite laughed, inwardly thanking whoever it was that took Dana away from the city. Had she been present, she could have controlled the souls and the story would be different, but no one else had authority over the dead, or so she thought.

"Do it now, Soulfire." Uriel said, his voice charged with enough flux to reverberate amidst the moans of those who passed away.

Raphael Soulfire released all the flux he had been channeling from the moment the fight broke out and arose in the sky with ethereal weapons that seemed to be transparent. Then the shadows converged on his position forming a dense black sphere that lasted for about three seconds before condensing even further and revealing the shadow of a single person.

It was a hunter who found his demise in the lost city and had his soul summoned for a second time, Atomic.

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