The Villain's Story

Chapter 848: Pillar.

The last, and perhaps most vital, piece within the gallery stood directly before him. Like the others, it was a painting, and like the one that depicted Elvenheim and the World Tree, it shared the same towering dimensions. Yet where that piece radiated life and reverence, this one was steeped in something much more horrific.

At its center was a solitary pillar of white, the main focus of the painting.

Countless species were etched into the lower portion of the canvas, locked in brutal conflict. Elves loosed golden arrows while Dark Elves lunged at their throats with black daggers. A dwarf swung a colossal axe against a duergar’s reinforced hammer. An orc and a demi-human clashed barehanded, teeth bared, muscles straining. A lamia drove a spear through the chest of a merman. And beyond them, countless other battles raged. There were some species Alan failed to recognize as well.

It was war, unmistakably so.

Every intelligent species was present. Every single one. Alan’s breath caught when he spotted a human figure among them. All races capable of wielding mana or aura filled the lower half of the painting, not united, but tearing each other apart, all striving toward the same impossible goal.

The right to ascend. The right to climb the pillar and stand at the very top.

Alan’s gaze slowly climbed the pillar itself. About halfway up, a thin, deliberate line divided it into two opposing halves. Upon each side was carved a face.

To the left, a demon.

Its expression was twisted into a knowing grin, eyes alight with cruelty and scorn. Horns curved backward from its skull, it had fangs that reached down to it’s neck, merging with the pillar. It’s gaze followed not the cruel war underneath, but at it’s enemy at the other side.

To the right, a Celestial being, an Angel as most called them.

Small wings rose from their foreheads, their eyes were hidden by a blindfold. A gentle smile lay upon the face, but it was clear, even though the eyes were obscured, the angel was looking down on the demon.

A demon and an Angel, paying no heed to the war below them, but locked in a contest of power against each other, since the very start of their species.

Tens of thousands of years of war between the Divine and the Profane, the true enemy of the Abyss was not the Alliance, but the realm of the Celestials. The realm of Angels.

Unlike the abyss, which was split into thousands upon thousands of layers, Celestia was a singular realm the size of a galaxy. And also unlike the Abyss, which was split into many factions constantly at war with one another, Celestia was a united force.

But even then, the Abyss had yet to fall. A demon must never be underestimated, after all.

And finally, Alan looked at the three that stood at the very top of the pillar, interlocked in eternal combat with one another. The three that stood at the top of it all, everything was below them, without a doubt.

A man with a physique that made Alan and Victor look like twigs stood in the middle, both of his hands outstretched to combat his eternal foes. He was without a doubt, a God Beast, the strongest in terms of Physical Prowess, the masters of Aura.

To his right was a man with a moderate physique, something Alan surpassed, horns arose from his forehead and formed a solitary crown, bat like wings stretched out from his back, and a spiked tail, like those of many dragons, was embroiled in combat with the tail of the God Beast.

Countless magic circles swirled around the man, some even engraved on his body. His right hand held off the God beast, and his left prepared a spell to fight his other foe...

’Other foe...?’

And it was then, when Alan looked to the left, that he realized.

"Three?"

He muttered, shocked as he focused on the third person standing at the very top of this pillar. He knew of the Dragons, Masters of Mana and the one of the two Prime Species of the Universe, He knew of the God Beasts, Masters Of Aura and the other prime species, those that opposed the dragons...

But that was it, there were only two. Never was a third species mentioned that could stand on equal footing with the Dragons and God beasts, not even in his dreams, his memories of the different iterations was such a species ever mentioned.

There were the Dragons, There were the God Beasts... so who did this man represent?

A man with webbed feet and hands, a slimmer body than the other two but boasting a powerful tail the size of a his entire body. This appendage kept the God Beast at Bay, and the two antennae that arose from his head prepared an attack to combat the Dragon’s magic.

Each of them were equal to one another, not one overpowered the other from what Alan could see, but he was still confused. He was curious about the identity of the third one.

After all, there was another Prime Species... but why didn’t he know of them? Had they been wiped out? It could be.

He didn’t think such a powerful race would remain idle during Aranus’s reign of terror... unless they didn’t exist at all. But if they didn’t... why was something like this here?

"Ariel, do you know who the third guy is?"

He asked the old dragon, there was simply no way she would be unaware of their existence. She had been there since the very start, after all. She should know of this mysterious third race.

But there was no answer.

"Ariel?"

Alan took a deep sigh, and closed his fist. He almost smashed the painting in his frustration, but he managed to hold himself back and cursed.

"Fucking hell, of course she’s gone. The timing!"

Unfortunately, he would have to wait a while until he knew the identity of the third race. Either Ariel was keeping silent on purpose, or something had happened. Alan thought it was probably the first, and scoured the room for anything else.

He didn’t manage to find anything, however. Therefore, he left.