Life Hunter

Layla and the G.o.ds were looking at him with perplexed looks. They saw Karaskan disappear and the tomb appear in the same instant. When Arima turned back to face them, they realized it was already over.

Layla alternated between the tomb and Arima multiple times and then fixed her eyes on Arima"s figure "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yes" Arima answered shortly and jumped off the tomb. He looked around and scanned the land with his spirit. Everyone noticed that and frowned "I can"t feel their aura…no…" Arima flapped his wings and flew off.

He took an elevation of around two kilometers and squinted his eyes at the distance. In any direction he looked, there was stampede closing in "{He was saying the truth after all…well, there was no need to lie at that point}" Night said and Arima nodded.

"What is it…?" Layla went to him and asked. But instantly fell silent when she saw the Téra moving toward them. It was the same for the G.o.ds who joined them just after.

"It"s odd, I can"t feel any aura" Arima muttered as he stared in the distance "Is that a particularity of the Téra?" He wondered.

"Téra?" Azes frowned.

"Yeah, that"s how Karaskan called them" Arima responded and at the same moment, the entirety of h.e.l.l suddenly shook because of an unknown reason. Gabriel"s eyes widened and turned toward Arima with a great urgency filling her expression.

"Didn"t you stop him!?" When she shouted that, everyone realized what she was talking about. Arima smiled and shrugged.

"I was too late" He said and Gabriel was speechless "Heaven will collapse. That"s inevitable. That"s why I said to the G.o.ds there to go through the Gate"

"Then what about this plane"s worlds?" Layla hastily asked.

"Don"t worry about that. I already know how to save them" Arima declared and breathed in "But before that, we have to break through this horde and reach the Heaven Gate"

"That"s not possible…" Michael muttered with a tired expression "None of us have enough strength to fight again. We also need more time to recover from Pandora"s effects. And if I"m not wrong…" He peeked at the Téra "Those things are strong"

"They are" Arima immediately affirmed "Although, I can"t feel any aura coming from them, my instinct is telling me to flee right now" He said and Layla nodded. She was also undergoing the same kind of apprehension.

"I"m sure of one thing, if we charge in there, we may die quickly" Arima uttered and the G.o.ds groaned.

"What are we supposed to do then? Are we going to die here?" Zeus frowned deeply.

"Who said that?" Arima smirked and Zeus shuddered. Arima"s grin under his Kind Demon appearance was too scary.

"{Night, do you want to make a bet?}" Arima contacted Night who was in his soul.

"{…What? What do you mean?}" His confusion could be felt in his voice.

"{You know, we were not able to do that in the end. But there"s still a way to force it}" Arima responded while his smirk widened.

"{…Are you seriously going to use another Forbidden Art so early?}" He seemed to have understood what Arima meant.

"{Oh, come on, it"s the easiest one}"

"{But that"s also the most dangerous one!}" Night snapped and sighed "{Even more since your perfected it}"

"{Hum, what are you talking about?}" Karma had a bad feeling about all of this. Although she knew about the Forbidden Arts, she didn"t know for what Arima was going to use it.

Night snorted "{Something stupid}"

Arima could only laugh wryly "{Do you have a better idea?}" He retorted "{I can"t use my doppelganger again today. It"s the same for the First Blue Art. You perfectly know that I can"t use the upper Arts twice a day or I will damage my own body}"

"{I know that}" Night clicked his tongue.

"{And of course, I can"t use the First Destruction Art right now since I have to keep it. I don"t have enough mana to use it and then escape anyway. So that"s our best option right now}" Arima explained "{Asking Malum could also work but the Berserk"s path is an even worse choice}"

"{Fine! I got it!}" Night finally abandoned "{I understand. But if you die, I will seriously hate you}"

Arima snickered "{Don"t worry, I"ll make sure you survive if things turn bad}"

"{I never asked for that}" Night retorted and Arima noticed that his soul beast had already begun to merge his entire soul with his own "{Let"s do this already}"

At that exact moment, Layla panicked and glared at Arima. The latter escaped her eyes and looked away "What are you planning?"

When she asked that, even Arima felt some pressure "(The fusion worked too well…)" He complained in his mind "I"m just going to get us out of this situation" He answered and Layla scowled at him.

"I can"t see your future anymore. It"s completely black. That"s not normal. I also feel ominous energy in that future. Furthermore…" She paused and revealed on her expression a mix of worry, anger and renouncement "That"s a fixed point" She muttered.

Arima"s eyes widened. He didn"t think that his decision had actually become an unchangeable fact "So, I really have to do it now, huh?"

"What are you going to do?" Chronos couldn"t help but inquire as he felt the same changes as Layla.

Arima glanced at him and ignored his question. He inhaled and closed his eyes "Let"s go, Night" He closed his eyes and sighed "Back off you all" He ordered to everyone and immediately released his aura.

The G.o.ds instantly felt lightheaded and retreated. Layla just stared at Arima"s back for a moment before leaving with Chulainn.

"[Qui vocat legem tuam] (I summon your law)"

"[Pondus verba mea et iudicia mea imperium] (Weight my words and execute my command)"

"[Ego relinquam omnia fati] (I will leave everything to you)"

"[Hic praecepta sunt] (Here are the rules)"

Arima started writing something on thin air at that point of the chant. When he finished, the runes glowed and he resumed the incantation.

"[Vigilate in statera] (Watch the balance)"

"[Fourth Forbidden Art, Quod Lex Libra] (Tha Law of Libra)"

The runes Arima had written moved on their own and "flowed" inside his body line after line. After that point, everything turned blank for Arima. His body shined with a blinding light.

The G.o.ds stopped moving. They could not move. The pressure they were inflicted with at the moment was not something powerful, big, dense or ominous. It was an irresistible, immense and boundless power. Something that you were not even allowed to go against.

For the G.o.ds, that unfathomable strength was something they experienced more than once. They lived with it. The Original World Laws.

"Libra!" Layla exclaimed. She recalled the time Arima gave his lecture on that magic "I understand now…it"s not a magic… it"s a "Law""

The truth was that Arima"s Forbidden Arts were not called so for nothing. They were techniques based on a particular theory. The theory of World Laws.

Arima thought hard about that. What is a World Law? It"s a concept defining the world. It"s an untouchable variable.

For example, when Arima fused Lanya and Lilis together, he used the concept of Life. The power to create and control Life. It"s a taboo and that"s why it"s forbidden. It"s also a dangerous magic since Arima could have lost the control or even transformed Lanya and Lilis into something far from a human or a G.o.d. Maybe they could have even turned into some sort of monster.

What Arima didn"t take into account that time was the common feeling Lilis and Lanya had for him. That simple fact was actually the reason why it worked so well.

In our case, the concept behind "Libra"s Law" was basically luck and fate. The way it works is actually really simple. It"s a gamble. Like Arima already explained in his cla.s.ses.

You can do anything with this magic as long as you have luck. Libra"s Law asks for two things; a wish and a tribute. The wish can be anything while the tribute is something quite different.

Imagine that you want to gain money with this Law. You would wish to become rich. Then what would you give as a tribute? To have your wish come true, your tribute needs to have the same value. In this particular situation, if you want to be rich, the tribute could be the entirety of the money you possess already.

Then, the die is tossed. The rest is only probabilities and luck. You have a 50% chance to be rich and at the same time, you have a 50% chance to lose everything. That"s the Law of Libra. Also, if the caster had decided to use a worthless tribute, the Law itself would not only take the tribute but also bring bad fortune to the caster.

And like that, each one of Arima"s Forbidden Arts contains the power of the World Laws.

Arima"s wish at the moment was not something like eliminating all Téra or anything. Arima decided to no go for such a gamble since killing millions of living beings would most likely need a tremendous tribute.

What Arima wrote during his chant were the rules of his gamble. Those runes described both the wish and tribute imposed.

The tribute was the simplest and yet the most valuable at the same time. It was nothing less than Arima"s life. With that kind of chip, almost any wish can be demanded. The only thing that will change would be the probabilities of winning.

So Arima had to choose well. He did not ask for something uncertain such as "make me stronger". In the first place, if he doesn"t give any details, Libra will decide by itself. If the power which is given then cannot be withstood by the caster, the latter will most likely die.

Arima had to have a detailed idea of how he wanted to become stronger. And there was something perfect for that opportunity. A technique that he and Night had tried to use but never managed to finish because it was too dangerous and difficult.

In the end, the rules Arima wrote during his incantation were these:

"My life will be the tribute/"

"My wish is the accomplishment of the Final Resonance/"