CHAPTER 127: | WRATH OF THE SILENT KEEPER

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  Present. Now back to the present, where everyone in the group was fascinated by the ancient murals depicting a woman who seemed to be an emperor, no, more like the god-king of the past era of this world that I had reincarnated into, like the supreme god Ashin Sae Acoustine or that unpleasant supreme goddess Skaira herself, who Solia had spoken greatly of, to have become one with the earth.

  It was fascinating that this world held so much mystery that is left for me to uncover.

  It was becoming too much, the more I existed in this world, that I felt like paying no heed to these so-called great figures.

  But I shouldn't underestimate them greatly, since Ashin Sae Acoustine proved to be a disaster that I wouldn't be able to handle.

  But unfortunately, what I had faced in this place was merely a poor construct of her.

  It was a part of her that was left behind to foster someone to become an existence of immense strength.

  But why would she need to cultivate someone when she alone should stand at the very top of this world?

  It was too suspicious, so much that I could tell that she was cultivating my beloved to become a pill based on the fragment that she had passed on to her, or, on the less cruel side, she was helping Samantha to become an invincible existence that would aid her in her conquest to escape from an inescapable prison that only someone of Skaira's caliber would be able to construct.

  So if I deduce this properly, then... Ashin Sae Acoustine herself had become an obstacle to Skaira's grand plan in creating a champion, a zenith of the zenith, an emperor endowed with the title of 'Zenith.'

  That is not possible unless that person is me, a monster beyond words, or just like that guy... who's enthusiastically jotting down in his notes of the murals etched in the walls, along with the golden-laden words inscribed just below it, to decode their meaning when he had time.

  I squinted at this sight, then glanced at Solia, who's standing right beside me, faithfully waiting for my command, as Ishtar and Samantha's interest lay in the murals drawn in the walls.

  I sighed, then glanced at the floor, then smiled softly, as I couldn't help but be amused that the earth was refusing my command, me, the possessor of the Sacred Earth attribute.

  "How dare these inanimate objects refuse my command?"

  I couldn't help but sigh again, then lifted my head up above as I glanced at the ceiling with disbelief.

  'This motherfucking earth is refusing my command?'

  I clenched my fist, then closed my eyes shut as I sighed, then lifted my foot to the same level as my knee before I pummeled it down into the ground.

  Crash!

  The ground that was solid marble cried in agony at the first contact of my skin.

  Then came my foot, pummeling the ground into a massive crater, with fragments flying everywhere.

  I flickered my finger, and those same fragments stilled in the currents, unable to move an inch.

  It was as if they were constrained by an unknown force that couldn't be called magic nor telekinesis, since what stopped them was the will of a single person, and it was me, the will of the one who possesses the affinity of Sacred Earth, commanding the earth to halt their movements into stillness.

  I smiled, then glanced at the sky and saw a massive shadow looming above my head.

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  I clenched my hand, and the fragments floating in the currents were compressed into paper-thin needles.

  With a single command, those paper-thin needles flew towards the looming shadow, and before they could collide, those same needles stopped completely as they then formed into a dome with tens of thousands of gaps within them.

  I smiled with satisfaction, then glanced at the sky as I saw the visage of the looming shadow becoming clearer the closer it got.

  It was intriguing that the tendrils of an octopus could get this impressively massive, to the point that it put the tendrils of Amara to shame.

  But it was entirely useless, however big they were or how much force this single strike would equate, since I could now easily deflect this level of attack with the amount of mana that I currently have.

  I smiled, then watched the tendrils flicker in and out of reality as it reappeared just meters away from my shield, but I merely laughed it out as I muttered softly.

  "Sacred Earth Shield."

  BOOOOOM!

  The colors of the reality seemed to seep out in an instant, as fragments of the shield were sent flying everywhere, followed by an earth-shattering force breaking through the sound barrier.

  The tendril of this unknown entity sent my 'Sacred Earth Shield' spiraling into the currents in disarray.

  It was amusing that this unknown entity could unleash a force equivalent to 'ten zen' effortlessly.

  I smiled, then flicked my hands, as the tens of thousands of paper-thin needles that were broken from its single strike reassembled themselves into another set of shields, blocking its tendrils yet again.

  But soon it crumbled just like before.

  But I could see that the speed of its attack was slowing down, as did the amount of force carried by its tendrils.

  So I flicked my hand, and the broken shards of the previous shield reformed into a new set of shields, before another set appeared, stacking up to seven shields, taking the attacks of its tendrils, completely stopping it.

  And I then smiled softly, then flicked my finger as the fragments of the seven shields reconstructed into chains that were directly anchored into the ground, and I then called out.

  "Lumicor... you, do your job."

  He sighed from some random corner of the chamber, observing the murals etched in the room, as he snapped his notepad, then stored it into his inventory along with his eyeglasses and pen.

  He then took a step forward.

  Thousands of moths of embers rose from the ground, then flared brightly, like the rays of the sun, as they became radiance that formed into regal armaments with a halo seated on his head. He muttered coldly.

  "Advent of the Starborn Leviathan."

  Then he slowly pointed his index finger on the tendril as thousands of moths of flames burned into radiance.

  Then they shone brighter into starlight as they coagulated into thousands of needles, and those needles burned brighter as they joined together to form into a single greatsword that was akin to 'THE SECOND ZEN OF DISTORTION: FALLEN AUTHORITY: SWORD OF THE FALLEN,' the technique that Alister von Fai greatly favors.

  But his greatsword, while similar to his, since the reference of this technique's improvements were based on the sword that he traded for that accursed crown, still... it was different, since this sword had the concepts of starlight added into it, making it more destructive and more powerful than his.

  So he glanced at the greatsword that resembled starlight as he muttered softly.

  "STARLIGHT."

  In the instance that his words were declared, the world came to a standstill.

  Then, in the next, the greatsword vanished without leaving any trace, as its form that was traveling in a blur had already far surpassed the speed of sound, nearing the speed of light, with it carrying a force that had far surpassed his previous limits by a large margin.

  It was now capable of piercing a defense that amounted to 'five zen' with relative ease.

  It was unbelievable that the rate of his improvements had far surpassed his past self, leaving it collecting dust, since he now possesses the strength of tens of him from a few months back, when he was still getting the hang of this form of his.

  It was such a pity that he still couldn't defeat Alister von Fai, even in this state, since he now possesses a new armament or an artifact, whatever he calls it.

  He knows it.

  That the existence of 'Mercy' wouldn't allow him to surpass this man unless he powered up in an unconventional way, like awakening a bloodline, or getting a bloodline from a rare artifact.

  Or perhaps he reached the next stage, which was the most natural way for him to gain power, but if he only reached that threshold, he knows that Alister would soon surpass him.

  So he flicked his hand in annoyance, and the greatsword that took the form of starlight flashed in front of him, as it then settled behind him like a constellation.

  The tendrils that it passed by now went still.

  Then lines flashed through its skin, then in the next moment, it exploded into gore.

  It all happened in less than a second, and he, Lumicor, muttered softly.

  "I am curious as to why you've let me finish this thing, since you could easily eliminate this threat with a swing of 'Mercy'?"

  His words were sharp and demanding, but I merely shook my head, then pointed into the darkness as more shadows loomed above our heads.

  Lumicor nodded in understanding that it would be a waste of mana to cut these things with 'Mercy' when he himself possessed just enough power to cut these things.

  So he pointed his index finger at the shadows looming over our heads as tens of greatswords flashed in and out of reality, with the goal to intercept all of Bthe tendrils.

  "Starlight: x10"