Book 7, Chapter 87 - The Armor

Cloudhawk left two copies back in the Southern Capital to look after things . As for the original? He was off to Woodland Vale . Beneath its G.o.d Tree, in an area forbidden for others to enter, lay the Demon King’s Cuira.s.s . It was time for another try .

While he wasn’t confident in his chances, Cloudhawk was eager for progress . Even if he failed another attempt was necessary . He knew that the Cuira.s.s would be an important part of the coming war and he couldn’t afford to have it fall into divine hands .

Standing before the altar, Cloudhawk placed his hands beside the crystal-encased armor . Right away he felt the power within him resonating with the relic . If he could only put it on, then the latent power of the Demon King would fill him completely . He would finally complete his inheritance .

What did that mean? He would finally be able to unleash the power of Gehenna, which had lain dormant for over a thousand years .

“You are refused!”

Once again the bitter declaration was forced into Cloudhawk’s mind .

“Come on! The G.o.ds are beating down our door . Work with me here!” Cloudhawk was losing his temper . “Where am I not good enough? Tell me something! How am I supposed to change what I don’t know? … wait, something’s happening . ”

Cloudhawk pleaded with the armor . Although he knew there was some measure of will, there was no ability for it to think for itself much less understand Cloudhawk’s plight . It was like trying to argue with a stone .

So what could he do?

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He didn’t have the time to figure out what the armor was looking for . He had a broken civilization to rebuild and an army of G.o.ds on the way . Every second counted .

Fine! Simple methods are the best anyway . I’m not worthy? Well f.u.c.k you, I think I am .  Cloudhawk was not afraid to force things when necessary . The armor wouldn’t capitulate? Maybe it would after he smacked it around a little!

He reached out and grasped the crystal . Immediately he was filled with a jarring current of electricity . Before it would have been strong enough to blast him off his feet, but Cloudhawk had become much stronger . Like a thug forcing himself on a frail woman, resistance would hardly stop him .

Cracks began to appear . Muscles in Cloudhawk’s arms bulged and the ground cracked beneath his feet . Dirt was kicked up as a shock-wave blast through the mausoleum . All at once the crystal housing shattered, but as the armor was freed Cloudhawk witnessed something he did not expect . While it appeared to be in perfect condition locked inside the crystal, once released the armor crumbled into a dozen pieces .

The Cuira.s.s was… broken?

That fact wasn’t so surprising . The defensive relic had once been worn by the defeated Demon King . It would have been more strange for his armor to be unscathed after his death . After looking them over, Cloudhawk could see that the pieces still had some use .

Pieces of the armor scattered through the chamber . “Don’t try to escape! Get back here!” Cloudhawk yelled as he groped for them . His dimensional powers held them fast and then, with incredible force, gradually dragged them back to his feet .

It was a mighty struggle . But although the cuira.s.s was a mythical relic, It was in the end just a broken tool . The armor was nothing without a master to wield it . Certainly no match for Cloudhawk . Through sheer force of will he formed the pieces around his body .

“Now or never . ” He said through gritted teeth .

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Cloudhawk needed this armor . He needed the authority it represented . Paying no mind to the consequences he took a deep breath, and as he exhaled he released a flood of Castigation Fire . It spread all across him, burning his clothes away .

The pieces of the Demon King’s Cuira.s.s affixed themselves to his body .  

He felt in that instant like there were thousands of spikes digging into his flesh . Unspeakable agony poured through him like he’d been immersed in a sea of lightning . Veins burst, muscles spasmed .

But even in the face of this torture Cloudhawk would not yield . He raised his arms again and clenched his hands into fists . The fragments covered him from head to toe, like he was a shattered statue on the verge of falling to pieces .

The pain continued to grow . Every nerve was on fire . The Demon King’s Cuira.s.s was rejecting his body and the agony was nearly more than he could bear . If constant pain of this magnitude was the cost of donning the armor, Cloudhawk would not be able to do it .

But the G.o.ds were coming . This was just a piece of f.u.c.king armor and it was getting the better of him!

Just as he was about to succ.u.mb to defeat, a change began . Set within the breastplate was a cavity, and from that hole a light emerged . It coalesced into a stone with crimson veins running through it .

It’d been a long time since Cloudhawk had seen the phase stone, so long it was almost unfamiliar . It was… it was the stone he’d taken from the sweepers so many years ago . It was one of the first things he’d absorbed with the power of Castigation Fire . So how was it appearing now?

With the stone’s appearance, the restless fragments of armor began to calm . Ominous red light pulsed within as though it were a beating heart . Scarlet light like rivulets of blood spread across the cuira.s.s .

He could feel it . When he first took hold of it, the armor was enormous – too large for him . But now it was shrinking . Little by little it was forming to his body . With every pa.s.sing second the pain eased as his body acclimated to the relic . It stopped fighting him .

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He felt… strange . It defied description, like his body was growing an extra muscle layer or a second skin . The armor fused perfectly with his form, so completely that his nerves even ran through it . He felt every inch, even the slightest breeze, as though he wore nothing at all .  

In fact he felt as though his sense of the outside world was even keener than his own skin . He could distinguish the slightest changes around him . With his feet planted on the ground it was like he was part of the earth .

And then there was the power! It filled every part of him . Cloudhawk felt like he could punch a mountain into rubble . Reflexes, const.i.tution, speed – every aspect of him soared to new heights .

Had he succeeded? It seemed too easy! Forcing the armor to accept him was an act of desperation, he hadn’t expected it to actually work .

He produced a mirror to see the result . The image that looked back at him was a creature encased in fierce black armor . The only piece of him that was exposed was his face . But… it didn’t have the commanding look that a Demon King’s armor should have!

It was dark and savage, yes, but it still looked like a hodgepodge of broken pieces . Each jagged crack was filled with a blood-like fluid, as though someone had tried to glue together a shattered mural . By the look of it, the armor would collapse at the first blow .

He was sure that the armor was different now, changed since it was worn by the previous King . After dwelling on it for a moment he discovered that his strength had not increased as he’d originally thought . The armor felt… inert . Like any normal piece of equipment .

He understood . Cloudhawk succeeded in wearing the armor by mistake . It was fused to him, but was still a broken thing . It did not submit to him and so would not convey its power . Only its physical aspects were given . The true essence of it was still locked away .

Naturally, he could not call on Gehenna while the armor still refused him . But at least there were some gains . He wore the armor now and could protect it from being stolen or destroyed .

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Cloudhawk ran his hands over his body . Although the armor was shattered it still covered him completely, all but his face . All that was missing was… a mask . He thought for a moment then produced the Mask of a Thousand Faces, an old relic from long ago, and slipped it on .

Once again, things began to change . Somehow the mask, helmet and neck plates all fused together perfectly . He found it strange . Was the mask a part of this armor? An odd possibility, but one he didn’t pay much mind to right now . It worked, that was enough .

He felt like a different person . He jumped backward experimentally and rocketed a hundred meters through the cavern, slamming into a wall . It all tumbled around him, but he felt nothing .

h.e.l.l yeah! Cloudhawk figured his physical attributes were now two or three times better than they had been . Not bad… not bad at all . For the time being it was an adequate improvement . If he had to compare it to something, he felt like he had the qualities of a Marshall . Who knew what levels he would reach once the armor was repaired .

Well, first he would have to take it off . He put his hands to his chest… but how was he supposed to remove it? The armor looked shattered but it was totally fused to his body .

This sort of armament was totally different from the sort humans used . It was one whole piece from head to toe . There were no hinges, plates or straps . From the moment he put it on, the Demon King’s Cuira.s.s had become a part of him . Like another organ . Teleporting wasn’t going to free him from it, either .

Well… s.h.i.+t . Was he just supposed to sleep in it?

He fused with it for a little while, but the only thing Cloudhawk could remove was the mask . Nothing else would give . So he used his Spare in the Southern Capital to tell Legion what happened .

The Elder demon was surprised to learn he’d put it on . “I am shocked to hear the armor could be forced to comply . You are wearing it, but it seems as though it still has not been activated . You won’t be able to activate and release it until it has awakened . ”

So if Cloudhawk wanted to escape this thing he had to conquer it completely . In other words this was his body, at least for the foreseeable future . It was his new skin, and he couldn’t just slip out of his own skin .

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