Tower of Heaven

[Great Barrier Wall]

An influx of golden flame energy formed a division between the people and the battle. They had done their part by providing emotional support. The rest could be left up to Kaladyn.

[Golden Lion Flame Fist]

Bang!

Kaladyn grabbed the last of the officials by his throat and slammed a fist into his face. Considering that the fist was the same size as his face, the impact couldn't be ignored. He was unconscious in the same instant.

Kaladyn turned his attention away from the surrounding bodies and laid eyes on his son once more.

He used around half of his energy, but it was fine. He could fight more if he needed to.

"Come, all of you! Rise from the earth and slay my enemy!"

Klyde did not acknowledge his father even in this moment. Without a breath of resistance, he raised his arms and mobilized the dark qi in his body.

The ground rumbled. Hundreds of skeletal arms burst forth from the marble floor as if they were bodies that had been buried there. In reality, they were only a manifestation of qi. The dark forces used these manifestations to exert their power, so they could still be considered great enemies.

"I will find a way through to you. No matter what, you are my son, so you will not die. You must live to atone for your sins."

Kaladyn prepared himself for another fight, but there was no need for it. His energy drove more fear into the heart of the corrupted Klyde Von Ataraxia, but that was the end of his role for now.

The first step of the plan was already complete.

The stage could now be passed on to someone else.

Voom!

The darkness that filled the sky was blasted away by a great golden aura. From the wall of flames that segregated the stage from the rest of the capital emerged the figure of a man.

Atlas had returned, and he didn't come empty-handed.

He immediately assessed the situation and acted.

Whoosh!

The objects in his hand swept out, slashing at all of the skeletal beings rising from the ground. The golden energy that filled the sky filled the entire stage, and as if they never existed in the first place, the skeletons evaporated into mist.

The dark energy that the demonic followers carried disappeared. Under the Third Prince's terrified gaze, Kade arrived next to his father.

"These are far greater than you made them out to be," he said.

Kaladyn grinned.

"They are accepting you well. With those in hand, the rest of the situation should sort itself out."

Atlas already knew. Before he came to the stage, he used the opportunity to test them.

They were not called Sacred Chains without reason.

They were located underground, hidden in the Dark Forest in a place where nobody could ever expect. In order to find them, Atlas had to move through the Dark Cult's forces. He did so while concealed the first time, but as he rushed back, he made sure that the Sacred Chains were put to good use.

The scene he saw then was the same one he was seeing now.

The chains whipped about and grabbed four of the ministers who were collapsed on the ground.

They were raised into the air, and when the chains squeezed down on their bodies, all of the evil energy accumulated within them was dispersed.

The Dark Cult's qi could no longer display any power.

The entire environment was flooded with golden energy that was being provided by the chains. They themselves were also of a bright gold color that couldn't be ignored. As they moved through the energy they created, they looked like waves of heavenly splendor raining down on the world.

"How?! How do you have those?!" Klyde screeched in madness.

"How could you give them to him?! I tried so hard! Why couldn't I have them?!"

He roared at Kaladyn in what seemed to be indignation, but the Emperor only smirked.

"The Sacred Chains have always belonged to the next Emperor. If you wanted them, you should have earned them yourself instead of relying on outside powers."

While they conversed, Atlas approached Klyde, dragging the chains behind him. When he arrived in front of this body's brother, he wrapped the chains around his neck.

"Stop this! Stop this now! You don't understand what the Dark Cult can provide for us! Everything I did was for the empire!"

Klyde thrashed against the chains, bringing his arms up to try and pull them away from his neck. The contact he made was enough to amplify the chains' effects. Dark energy spewed out of him in droves. His eyes turned redder and redder, and his words became mad.

"You are all misguided! None of you know the truth! All of you are peons! Peons, I say! When the Demon God descends, I will make sure that you all become his first meal!"

He roared like an animal, grunting and growling.

However, despite the chains holding him…

'...is it really purifying him?'

BANG!

A huge impact suddenly landed where Atlas was standing. He moved back and barely avoided the force of it, but he was thrown back spitting blood by the shockwave.

"ALL OF YOU WILL LEARN!"

Klyde's voice layered upon itself to create a more demonic tone. His body grew several feet and gained muscles that simply didn't fit his physique. His skin turned red and his eyes turned purple. A pair of deep black bat wings sprouted from his back along with a tail.

"Demonification!" Kaladyn yelled in surprise.

"Kade, remove the chains! Your brother is dying!"

Atlas looked at the Emperor with gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that."

Bang!

The demonified Klyde attacked the first thing it saw, the persecutor who held the chains around his neck. His base instinct was to do everything possible to free himself from those chains, so he had to kill that person.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Atlas was forced to dance. He had to hold the chains and keep them from tangling into themselves while also dodging the rampant flurry of punches, slams, and stomps coming from the demonic being.

Despite being in a disadvantageous position, Atlas had to keep hold of the chains.

'It isn't that they aren't working. This is the product of them working.'

The seed of darkness inside Klyde had the time to sprout and take complete control. This was its true form, the form that hid within the shell known as Klyde. The Sacred Chains were forcing the seed of darkness out, which led to its manifestation here, however…

'...as long as I am able to keep hold of the chains, Klyde can be saved.'

Kaladyn seemed to realize it as well, but that didn't make it easier for either of them.

BANG! BANG!

The impacts of the demonified being were becoming more massive. The marble stage had been completely shattered by it, leaving the environment undesirable as well.

'It is becoming stronger, and we are still the same.'

All of the essence extracted from Klyde's body would first empower the demonic being before dispersing.

And if it was allowed to escape the Sacred Chains, then it would raze the entire capital to the ground.