Chapter 209: Grand Temple

KRASH!!!

The stonework that serves as the temple's rooftop broke and crumbled as the two lunged themselves like a javelin to the area, with Zazel bouncing off of Publiq's body in order to save himself from the fall, thanks to Eligos still piloting his body while he is still blind and deaf. As he slid across the ground, however, the Demon recognized that something was off. The length it took from the body to his current location is pretty long, long enough for him to hit a wall and try to prepare himself.

There wasn't a wall to speak of to stop him from moving.

He could quickly infer that something happened in this temple. He can't tell what the difference is specifically, but he does know it at least has a drastic change. He'd have his demon, Eligos, rush forward to try and land another attack, with Publiq preparing his defenses by creating appendages around him and attempting to use the sigil of Asmodeus to ignite the area, keeping the Prince of Hell away from the Hat Man himself. Despite being unable to feel such heat, damage can still be carried through, yet Zazel could care less. Eligos would charge through anyway, trying to scale up the hands in order to get a higher ground to attack from above, putting the Demon in a position where he can strike him down with a spell directly. The effects of Shax began to wear off, and as it did, he would set up Sabnock to create a M72 LAW and took aim. Publiq's eyes widened as he'd try to create more hands to block the blast coming towards him.

KA-BOOM!!!

The launcher was fired, the explosion being enough to knock Zazel back, taking some collateral damage in both the blast and the recoil when grazing the ground. As he was trying to regain footing, he would set up another Sabnock seal to create some ammo for the LAW, a Rocket to insert into the launcher's chamber, and held his ground once more, taking aim and firing a second shot at Publiq's area.

KA-BOOOOM!!!

A Bigger explosion than before, ensuring that whatever recovery Publiq attempted to do would be futile, as it would be interrupted by the second blast. As he'd try to reload with another rocket, Zazel would finally be able to see the area, looking at how it is drastically changed for its final confrontation with the Hat Man. The temple was more vast, more open, with golden engravings to see the story better. A large pedestal to serve as an altar, standing at attention, with hieroglyphs on its sides, showcasing an extra part of the story: the Man that managed to conquer Carcosa would be free-falling, screaming as he made his descent, the world slowly shifting to a different setting. One of dragons, beasts, warriors with magic untold to anyone, and most importantly, the smiling sun itself. Zazel recognized all of this and understood what needed to be done. Their assumption was correct. This was the way back home. He just needs to survive this battle and meet up with others to provide that same information.

The Hat Man would waste no time, casting forth a combination of Inti, Quilla, and Apep, as well as brandishing it the Kimaris seal, making it an effective "corpse" that can ignore any damage it comes across. The serpent would be illuminated in yellow, the sun and the moon adorned in its body, what was once armor is now organically sewn into its structure. It lashed out almost immediately, shifting gravity so as to suspend the Demon in mid-air so it can lunge for an attack, to which Zazel responded with the Eligos sigil, acting as a shield to block the serpent's attacks. Publiq would flank on the side, creating appendages in order to swarm and grapple the Demon, yet Zazel would respond once more, taking aim at the incoming hands and firing his rocket.

KA-BOOOOM!!!!

A Third explosion, propelling the Prince of Hell far, far away from everyone else. He'd see the snake be repaired from such damages, yet Publiq was in a worse shape, no thanks to eating an explosive three times in a row, half of his body being burned clean off, regenerating his skin and muscles that were once charred to be back in its neutral state. For a split second, Zazel would remember his battle against Straum, how he had an answer for practically his entire arsenal, so much so that his own dupe was killed in the confrontation. However, he'd quickly smile as he remembered such an encounter, utilizing another Sigil away from his sight to do exactly that. Amidst the dust, Publiq would charge forward along with his serpent, preparing to copy and create another snake with the same properties. As he did, he would see Zazel charging ahead just as much, setting up another Sabnock to reload his LAW and to make a second one. A Key note that Publiq found was that something was different with its sigil.

It had a slight tinge of blue on the ring.

He'd focus his attempts on at least defeating the Demon, letting the two snakes swarm on both ends. Zazel, in response, would use one of his LAW's to serve as a vault, letting himself leap over the ground and face to face with the beasts. As he did, he would move his leg and arm to lower the rocket launcher and plant his foot at the LAW's barrel, lunging upwards in order to leap over both of the snakes. With the second launcher prepared, he took swift aim and struck at the monsters. Publiq attempted to try and create Inti in front of the Devil's face in order to interrupt the attack, but as he'd reach out his hands, he recognized quickly what he was truly aiming for: The already loaded LAW. He was attempting to create a bigger explosion, most likely at the cost of his own body to be hit in the process, while successfully killing off Publiq in one swift motion. "You clever bastard!! You were trying to make sure I fall with my children! You deceptively damned demon!!" He would compliment, before having a limb created to pull him back in order to dodge the attack altogether, as well as making more limbs to cover his body, akin to a suit of armor.

KA-BOOOOOM!!!!!