Rhian moved fast to remove all those tendrils that had lodged themselves into the child's body. Horror filled him as he began dreading one thing. 'What if her body was made a vessel?'
As he began removing more of them, he could feel the diabolic aura around him intensify. This was the 'balance'. The Fuzanglong would continue to keep the Temple alive despite the Fenghuang being gone because the surroundings were 'good' while the Fuzanglong could be labeled as 'evil '.
In this case, it seemed to be inverted.
'Dammit,' Rhian exhaled sharply.
[
[The 'balanced' evil is taking a viable form!]
[The Temple Lord, He Who Drinks the Blood of Ten Thousand Defeats is hoping for your doom!]
[Grade of the 'evil' cannot be assessed!]
Rhian frowned as he felt the 'evil' nature to be vaguely familiar. He turned around and drew Circe out. He couldn't risk using Executioner.
He recalled the trial. It didn't specify whether he had to kill or save the Temple's 'Monster'. He supposed it was up to interpretation, but that didn't mean he had to leave the evil spirit alive.
As dark purple wisps of diabolic energy began circling to form a humanoid creature, Rhian wished he could access the 'light' property of Circe. But there was another thing that was bothering him.
Evil often repulsed both the good and the 'neutral'. However, this evil felt familiar. He frowned. Where had he felt it?
Then he paused, because his eyes fell on the thing that had come to become the creature's 'heart'. The amulet! It wasn't complete, nor half, but it was a quarter piece that seemed to be hovering amidst the dark wisps.
Rhian immediately rushed forward.
[Personal skill, Hurtle Chase lvl 9 has been triggered!]
He swung the sword at the amulet, but the humanoid void raised its hand and blocked Rhian. The man parried immediately, charging another way, but it seemed as though the skin was becoming thicker.
[The Temple Lord, He Who Drinks the Blood of Ten Thousand Defeats is laughing at your predicament!]
[
[
'At what catch?' Rhian thought, but it seemed as though that wouldn't do as he was shoved back hard. "What is it?"
[You've been given a 'scroll'!]
[Contents: Unlock the first attribute of Executioner and absorb the 'evil']
[
'Yeah, no,' Rhian grumbled to himself as he swatted the screen away. 'If I did that, wouldn't an S-grade sword detest it?'
Rhian triggered his mana and let it fill Circe. But despite it, the sword didn't seem to respond. He gritted his teeth and kept fighting. But it seemed to be in vain, as the hard exterior of the creature wasn't giving way to his attacks all while the thing seemed to be gaining more and more conscience.
Tendrils shot out of its back and towards the girl. Without thinking, Rhian threw himself in front of the attack, blocking it from reaching her. The appendages wrapped around him instead, and he was pulled back and thrown to the side.
[Tasty] a voice said, and as Rhian pushed himself up, he realized it had come from that creature, who was steadily approaching the child.
Rhian cursed under his breath and charged forward again.
[You've triggered 8% of your mana!]
[The Legendary sword, Circe is faintly responding to your mana!]
'Even that much was enough!' Rhian raised the blade and brought it down against the creature's back, effectively landing a tear.
[Kreeee!]
Rhian stumbled backwards but refused to let up. He got in between the bed and the creature and pointed his sword at it. "Hand over the amulet."
[... Why?]
Rhian didn't bother explaining, he pushed more of his mana into the sword. His attacks were defended, but they ended up injuring the creature quite a bit. But then, the creature moved back, and the moment it did, a rod-like object formed in its arm.
It blocked Rhian's attack.
'Dammit!'
[
"You fucking coward!" Rhian yelled at him. Although he wasn't sure if watchers could choose to hear players out like that. "She will perish, and you dare to call yourself good?!"
Rhian grunted in pain as he was shoved onto the ground, the creature above him. It was looking more and more human as time passed, and Rhian realized in horror that those features…. They looked an awful lot like himself.
"Fuck!" he yelled, then turned sharply, only for a tendril to pierce through his arm and pin him into place.
[
[
"I refuse to be contaminated with something this evil without a nullifier!"
[I… I am evil?]
'Shit, the voice is starting to sound like mine too.' Did that seriously leave him no choice? So much for a sword of S grade. He summoned Executioner from the Clandestine Chest.
[The Great Blade, Executioner, wants to consume!]
[The 1st attribute of Executioner is blooming!]
[1st attribute, Pocket Lacuna lvl1 has been activated!]
[Executioner is consuming the surrounding diabolic energy!]
Rhian shoved the sword into the creature's body and managed to push it off him. However, the thing refused to die.
[
Rhian held Circe in his left hand and Executioner in his right. When the creature charged at him, he used both of the swords to deflect the blow. The Executioner's wide blade acted as a good shield, and now that it had consumed the surrounding diabolic energy, it seemed as though the creature was no longer evolving.
Rhian clashed his swords with the rod the other used, but despite not growing stronger, the resemblance of the creature to Rhian himself was growing. It had taken his silhouette already.
[You've spent 1000 species]
[Personal skill, 'Hymn of the Cursed Apostle' is activated for the next hour!]
A blue aura surrounded him as he attacked the creature with growing fervor.
.
.
.
Eventually, he had to stop. He was fatigued and injured and had suffered considerable blood loss due to the wound in his shoulder. Although Executioner had consumed all the diabolic energy that seeped out of the thing, it hadn't changed much.
He still held himself in between the child and the creature whose tendrils were moving towards her body yet again. Rhian cut down the slimy things each time they got close, but he was reaching a limit. The Executioner had taken far too much 'diabolic' energy, and he felt like a hypocrite when he'd warned Zane about using fire on fire.
He spit out blood and heaved.
[
[Veiled Trial: Appease the Watcher with a temporary item has ended!]
[
[
—
Zane stared at the items he had found. He had placed them on a small altar so he could think of what to do with them. Temple Dungeons often had nothing to offer other than the rewards of clearing it.
The items were as followed:
[Item: Vestige of ␣␣
Ranking: Uncommon
Grade: ␣␣
Type of Magic: NULL
Use: ??]
[Item: Tooth-Picking Spanner
Ranking: Common
Grade: D
Type of Magic: Pain Relief
Use: to remove one's own tooth]
[Item: Tear of the Second God of the semi-genesis tale
Ranking: Rare
Grade: B+
Type of Magic: Hydrus
Use: use on barren land to bring back life]
[Item: Piece of 'The Seamless Robe'
Ranking: Rare
Grade: ␣␣
Type of Magic: system-based
Use: ␣␣]
He sighed and picked up the spanner. What was he supposed to do with this? He summoned the Clandestine Chest and put the items into it. Even the vestige was 'uncommon', which didn't really reveal its worth, and Zane doubted it'd help in the next trial. There wasn't much he could do for now, and out of these, the only thing he had hoped for was for the 'Seamless Robe' and the 'Tear'.
Honestly, he wondered how the Seamless Robe had even ended up here, given that it was the tale told in Eastern Selvaris after the Church had burnt the remnants of the God's sons' belongings. It wasn't a huge story, but it was somewhat… interesting. Such relics grew divine.
He flicked his fingers and the chest vanished.
[
Zane stepped out of the dungeon, and the moment he did so, the same whirling was to be heard. He crouched down as the temple rearranged itself again. He hadn't gotten a good look from outside as to how 'big' or how tall this Temple really was.
Furthermore, he waited as the surrounding ground moved and shifted himself along with it. It continued leading him around until he was placed somewhere else. When his surroundings cleared, he was surprised to see himself surrounded by the dead bodies of the members of the Shu Clan.
[The 3rd Dungeon has been cleared]
He glanced around, then noticed that a blood trail was leading towards a door with intricate designs on it. 'Should I go this way?' Zane thought. He didn't want to die a puny death.
Zane thumbed over Wisteria and let out a sigh before deciding eventually to follow the trail of blood. He had consumed some elixirs, which had brought him back to a pretty stable state.
Zane paused in front of the door before he pushed it open. He walked inside and was surprised to find himself in a balcony-like area that overlooked a vast courtyard. He touched the vine-built railing and followed it until he reached the end of the blood trail.
He glanced into the courtyard and his eyes widened. The massive water fountain in the midst had hidden it, but now he could see a bloody body crumpled against lush bushes. He jumped off the railing and landed next to the body.
Vines had begun covering part of the body already, as though ready to absorb the person's life source. Zane unsheathed Ember and used it to cut loose the vines which immediately moved away.
'This person…' Zane crouched down and brought his hand to the… man's neck, searching for a pulse. He found it moments later, weak and frail, but present.
Zane opened
[You've purchased
[You've purchased
[You've purchased
[A total of 3500 species have been spent]
Zane guided the man's head onto his lap and he had to blink a couple of times. While yes, there was dried blood on the man's nose and a nasty bruise on his jaw, but he did have a good 'unconscious' face. 'Were the Sect Leaders chosen because of looks too?' he wondered as he continued watching him.
The man looked familiar, oddly so, perhaps Zane had seen him in Hua Recesses. Zane summoned
[
'Do I, huh?' Zane thought. 'Being the middle child of two chaotic polar opposite children did that to you.'
The man did not shift and Zane decided to give him another vial. Just at the last bit, the man shifted his head on his lap and let out a soft groan. His eyes scrunched up for a couple of moments, and Zane immediately retracted his hands and raised them both up.
"Who…" the man's eyes finally opened. When he saw Zane, he immediately sat up and pressed a hand to his head. "Who are you?!"
Zane blinked. "I probably saved you from becoming the Temple's life supply."
The man blinked at him, then at his own arms. The injuries on them were covered with a golden sheen and were slowly being healed.
"Who are you?" the man asked, but his voice was less hostile.
"You can call me Zane," Zane told him. "I was asked by Sect Leader Hua to support the Hua Clan in the war in place of a sword."
The man narrowed his eyes.
"I should be asking you that. Who are you?" Zane asked.
The man hesitated and Zane already had an idea. While he was roaming the Sect Leader's room, he saw a painting of a leader. Between Sect Leader Xue and Sect Leader Hua stood a tall man with pearl-like white hair and a gentle expression. His eyes were almost akin to those of a tiger's gold, but also much deeper than Hua Huiliang's.
"I'm Lu Huan," the man said carefully.
Zane nodded. "And you are here… because?"
"There never existed a Jade Palace in Zhangwe village, I believe Huiliang told you as much."
'He did.' Zane shrugged. "And you ended up here?"
Lu Huan looked away then sighed to himself. "I drained my mana after trying to stop Shu Meiying from leaving with the entire amulet. I had the other half, but I was thrown into a dungeon by the temple. And now, as I wake, I realize that I don't have the other half."
"I believe I know what happened to those pieces."
[Someone has challenged the Temple's Spire!]
Zane had an inkling that it'd be Rhian. Rhian had always been the type to at least use the same strategy twice before he got bored with it. And if Rhian was there, then it could imply two things.
As much as Zane looked down on Rhian's actions, he was no idiot. He didn't do things on a whim. Even so, Zane believed Rhian would only pull such a stunt if there was something the Spire had.
[
And the only thing they were after was the Fei Resurrection.
But that didn't explain the temple's mere function. Thus, the Fei Resurrection seemed to have been split again. Zane clicked his tongue. So, killing the Temple Lord was a must, after all.
Compared to Ma Chao, the Lord of this temple seemed quite uncoordinated. And it seemed that he was a 'lower' being compared to a
"What are you thinking so much?" Lu Huan asked.
Zane glanced at him, then at his sword. If this was the man who was able to get at least half the amulet from being taken by Shu Meiying, he might as well be the person with enough power to defeat the Temple Lord.
"I have an idea."
—
Esmeray had noticed a pattern. Every fifteen minutes, other than the dungeons themselves, the temple would rearrange itself. She had stepped outside and had peered at the temple from one of the balconies. There were around twenty floors.
They had spent around three hours there easily, and the pattern was palpable. First, all the 'even' floors seemed to have changed locations, and then the 'odd' floors were following. Except, the fifth floor had been skipped.
[Some
She wasn't sure if it was an accident or what, but it was an anomaly. Which left a buffer of seven floors that hadn't been shifted, nine if you included the fifth floor and if there was anything hidden underground.
However, something odd had also happened. She simply hadn't been able to go to the 'fifth' floor. She'd be rearranged without the criteria of 'fifteen minutes'. Which could only imply one thing.
The Temple Lord should have set his makeshift throne on the fifth floor.