Chapter 576 - 522: The Last Moment (1/2)
”That's a relief. I, too, am not going to participate in their battle, my role was only to stop you.”
As he listened to her, Arthur looked straight into her eyes and asked:
”Why did you accept his offer in the first place?”
”If I hadn't, you would have defended your brother and that would've made things easier for Sol'khin. Forne said that the enemy can travel from one host to another so it's not impossible for him to control you. All I wanted is to keep you away from this big mess.”
*****
The thief who was part of Maxine's group was currently shaking from head to toe, obviously from fear. When he appeared on the third floor, the first thing he saw was a beast at least five times his size, its skin was purple and its appearance was the definition of fear. Fortunately, it didn't attack him, however, he soon discovered that it was actually his partner.
For an experienced player such as him, he recognized this monster, which purposely made itself smaller as its real size was burdensome in the Red Tower. As luck would have it, Patio, the thief, had the Void Behemoth as his temporary companion.
Communication was impossible… heck! The thought of leading the way never crossed his mind. He became a mute as he obediently walked behind the large beast, afraid to anger it in any way. The tattoo on the back of his hand depicted a purple hexagon-like object. It was the first time Patio saw such an object so he didn't know where to search, which frustrated the dread-stricken man even more.
At that time, the thief didn't know that what he'll witness on the 3rd floor will almost make him piss his pants. His adventure with the Void Behemoth was neither brief nor absurdly long as, in just two hours, they arrived at a large area filled with all kinds of ruins.
Guided by the Behemoth, they marched toward the biggest ruin and when they tried entering it, the large, motionless statue at the entrance reacted. It stood up from its kneeling position, its two emotionless eyes locking onto the two invaders.
”H-hey… why don't we-”
Patio couldn't even finish as the Void Behemoth loudly roared and leapt at the statue, pushing it on the ground and spitting Void blasts from its mouth, turning the enemy into nothingness. The blasts were made from Void Magic, which devoured everything in its way, whether it's solid, liquid, or gas.
Just like that, in a matter of seconds, the strong guardian protecting the main ruin was defeated, allowing the two to roam the place without any hindrance. The thief didn't know much about this place and felt rather insecure so he maintained a safe distance from the Behemoth while still following him, hoping for some sort of protection, after all, if something happens to him, his partner should be disqualified too.
A few minutes later, a golden light sprung from the ground and enveloped both the beast and the man, taking them to an underground city, where they came face to face with two other contestants.
This city, which was luminous and very majestic, was a nest for countless types of machines. Some meant to do labor work and others to protect the safety of this eternal settlement.
In more than a way, this underground hidden city resembled the place Zodiak visited to retrieve Anduril, which was created by the same race that invented everything here.
Hach'ara was busy dealing with the hundreds of buzzing and flying machines trying to capture both him and his partner so when the Void Behemoth appeared along with the thief, he didn't show any reaction. He had heard of the ancient beast living the Underworld but never personally saw him so he didn't recognize it.
Zodiak, however, was totally the opposite. The aura of Void oozing off the behemoth was enough of a sign to know the beast, even if its appearance was slightly different. He paid no heed to the unremarkable thief and, instead, glared at the growling beast.
”What? Do you want to fight here too?”
The hostility emanating from the behemoth could not be faked, nevertheless, apart from its deep growling, it didn't anything reckless. After a few moments of intense glaring, it turned his head, focusing its attention on an open area a few hundred meters north of its location.
It was an enormous circular fountain with a shiny, transparent water and jet black floor. At its top, there was a purple gem that was very similar to the hexagon from earlier, however, the problem was the tight security around the fountain.
There were countless golden pipes pumping water from the eternal fountain to the rest of the city… as if it was a power supply. What made it rather confusing was why would a power-supply be in the open and, a fountain, at that.
”F.u.c.k.i.n.g hell…”
The thief cursed with a low voice as he saw titan-like robots rising from their slumber and circled around the four of them. In addition, the number of minuscule yet fast flying machines reached the thousands and despite Hach'ara destructive retaliation, the numbers weren't dwindling.
*****
”Damn! I really couldn't recognize her… it must be something the rock scientist… or whatever he is, invented.”
Fortunately, Saly was asleep when Arthur self-injured himself. Though, Wolfram and Leiu witnessed the whole event, from start to finish. They were spectators but apart from seeing, they can't really do anything else… even the sound was cut off.
”Sister-in-law is really something, don't you think?”
He jokingly said while sneakily glancing at the stone-faced and silent Youth calmly sitting next to him.
”Why do you think she did that?”
In response, Leiu snorted and retorted:
”You already know why, stop with the oblivious act.”
”Ehh, come on, at least pretend not to notice.”
The two brothers were aware of Forne's plan but neither of them commented. The Joker already stated his non-interference, as for Leiu, he maintained his silence, as usual.