Chapter 149

RMSBS – Episode 149 . Twisted (5)

Penen split up the soldiers that were part of the formation, assigning a portion of them to the Sword Grand Master’s unit .

“Techi, Kais, Soluna, you guys follow the Commander . ”

“Yes, sir!”

Kei, who was confirming the formation, momentarily stopped and looked at Desir .

“What are you guys going to do?”

“We will follow you as well . ”

If Desir’s group remained here and faced the enemies, Kei’s unit would be spared from annihilation .

There was a chance that Penen would be able to lead the remaining soldiers to join Kei after eliminating the enemies here . However, Desir was not about to gamble like that . He decided to join Kei without any hesitation .

‘We must not mix up our priorities here . ’

For Desir, the most important thing was the safety of his party members and clearing the quest .

Remaining here and blocking the enemies was too risky . Furthermore, in order to clear the quest, it was a better choice to stay with Kei and eliminate the Prophet .

Even if the other soldiers were sacrificed here, they were still virtual characters . There was no reason to put himself at a disadvantage out of concern for their well-being .

In the chaos of the hell-like battlefield, Desir motioned to Adjest, Pram, and Romantica to fall back and regroup with him . Adjest and Pram, who were holding their own in one of the frontlines, were drenched in blood .

When all of the members of the Kei detachment had gathered, Penen cried out .

“We will open a path temporarily in ten seconds!”

He gave the orders and the soldiers started to move .

Kei, the few soldiers assigned to accompany him, as well as Desir’s group, readied themselves behind the front line .

“Now!”

Kei shouted his final order to the group of soldiers . They used their shields to shove the nearby Chimeras to the side and create a momentary gap in their relentless assault . The magicians swiftly invoked spells and blasted the now clumped up groups of Chimeras .

*Boooom*

The path in front of them was clear . With the explosions acting as their starting shot, Kei and Desir’s groups seized the opportunity and booked it out of the Hall of Knowledge as quickly as possible . A few of the Chimeras broke off from the assault on Penen’s formation to attack Kei, but they were able to eliminate the Chimeras nimbly .

They ran . Once they got far enough away, the remaining Chimeras gave up their pursuit and turned back towards Penen .

The Hall of Knowledge served as the focal point of the palace, connecting each section of the inner bailey . Six different passageways branched out from the one room, giving the impromptu party five areas to explore . Kei motioned towards the third passage on the left, and the party followed .

Luckily for them, Kei seemed confident in where the Prophet could be found .

As they made their way down the curvy corridor, Desir took the opportunity to ask Kei about their situation .

“Does the end of this passageway connect to anywhere else?”

“Nope . If the Prophet wants to escape from the palace, he’ll need to pass through this passage . ”

Desir nodded after hearing his answer .

The Prophet was no different from a rat in a trap .

Desir deduced that they were currently headed towards the Prophet’s research lab, where all his Homunculus research material and notes would be gathered .

Desir wasn’t sure why, but the Prophet definitely had a new sense of urgency when it came to finishing his research . He had grown much more aggressive in gathering research materials, even with the risk of exposing himself . As this was the case, it was impossible for him to simply give up on his research and retreat; he had to be in his laboratory .

Upon nearing the end of the corridor, they came across an area that appeared to be a garden, once upon a time .

The atmosphere was sombre, dead . There wasn’t a single flower blooming .

All of the water seemed as though it had been forcibly dried out, and the greenery had been wilted and blackened . It was as though all of the vital force had been sucked dry .

It wasn’t just the appearance of the area that made it so unsettling .

“The mana here… It’s vile, Desir . ”

Romantica murmured .

Adjest and Desir also felt the mana in the area . It carried with it a foul sewer-like odor, just like Romantica described . As they ventured forward into the garden, the concentration of vile mana grew thicker and coated the area .

“I’ve felt this kind of mana before . Crow Mask used it against me in our fight . ”

A Sixth-Circle magician, something rare on the continent, and one of the leaders of the Outsiders .

“That is impossible . Crow Mask can’t be alive now if he existed here . ”

It was as Adjest pointed out .

The Shadow World that they were currently participating in was a place from over a hundred years ago . It was impossible for a man who exists at the present moment to be in this place .

“Right . But other than that, we know there’s a group who has access to this kind of mana . ”

“The Outsiders… ”

“Exactly . ”

Even though Desir answered her, he started to doubt his own conviction on this matter .

The Outsiders didn’t form until after the invention of the Magic Crystal .

Zod wouldn’t develop the [Enchant] spell for another fifty years . The Outsiders, along with their tainted mana, had no reason to exist now .

‘But it must be connected to the Outsiders in some way . ’

No matter how many questions they had, they wouldn’t get any answers until they met the Prophet .

They kept moving forward diligently . They had no time to rest; to do so was a waste of the time bought by the soldiers currently holding out against the Chimeras for them .

When they finally reached the center of the garden, they came across a small dome . From it, bursts of mana were flaring out, the concentration so intense it was difficult to breath .

When Kei made a gesture, his subordinates hurriedly got into formation . Desir followed his command as well .

‘Three Rook Class swordsmen . ’

The three soldiers Kei brought with them had attained mastery in materializing aura .

Including Desir’s group, all of the people present had outstanding individual ability, but due to extreme exhaustion, their actual fighting strength had been greatly diminished . Between the fights on the way here, along with the constant assault of the mana tainted air around them, it was a wonder that they were all still standing .

‘Still, we have no choice but to do something, one way or the other . ’

While they contemplated over their next action, something began to emerge from the dome .

They quickly realized that that something was actually someone .

His hair was pure white and his face was filled with stitches here and there . His eye bags were sagging well below his eyes and his lifeless form was reminiscent of a corpse .

He was sitting nonchalantly next to a glass tube, appearing to contain a Homunculus .

“Really . This timing couldn’t be worse . ”

His voice slightly quivered . Yet he didn’t seem weak . If anything, the combined effect of his voice and appearance, made him seem all the more monstrous .

“So you are the Prophet . ”

“And you are the Sword Grand Master . You really managed to make it this far . This is as unpleasant as when I encountered the descendants of the Great Man . ”

Kei lifted his sword .

“After you came to this country, everything started to crumble . ”

“And I accomplished something remarkable . ”

“I have no interest in what dastardly creature you’ve created . What I do know, is that a large number of people have suffered because of you . ”

“You are holding onto insignificant things . You only look at what’s in front of you . ”

“For me, that is everything . ”

There was no need for words . This kind of confrontation would only result in both parties talking in parallel to each other .

“So what exactly are you going to do? You’re the one with the most exceptional swordsmanship in this era, yet you are a mere soldier of the Magic Kingdom . A kingdom where ironically, magic is the only standard of judgement for everything . ”

Kei ignored his taunting and started to pour his strength into his sword . When his King Class aura was fully materialized, the air around his blade began to vibrate .

“You will be executed under the crime of manipulating this country and the crime of assassinating His Majesty . ”

“Executed?”

He spoke with a hint of a smile . He responded as though trash had gained sentience and told him how to live his life . .

“Don’t get in over your head . Even if you’re a Sword Grand Master, you’re merely one human being . ”

The Prophet got out of his seat . At the same time, he took out a skull-shaped mask from his chest .

As soon as the Prophet began to move, Kei shifted his stance so that his sword strike would be within reach of the Prophet .

Kei drew his sword in a flash .

No one was able to follow the trajectory his sword made .

However, the sword never made contact with the Prophet . It was as if there was an invisible barrier blocking Kei’s blade .

*Crack*

The brooch hanging from the Prophet’s clothes cracked in response to Kei’s blade .

Desir realized that it was an Artifact .

“Quite impatient . Right . Don’t think you’re the only one in a hurry . ”

The Prophet held his hand out into the air, and something began to take shape within it . Within a moment, the Prophet had generated a spear out of thin air .

It was not an ordinary spear, either . The shaft and the spearhead were all made up of Blankšum .

[Brionac Offensive]

*Crack*

At that moment, a bright, blinding light suddenly poured out of it . The spear shattered into dozens of thinner blades, which began to circle around the Prophet .

Desir was caught completely off guard .

Despite having cleared several Shadow Dungeons and having lived within the Shadow Labyrinth for a long time, he had never heard of an artifact like this one .

Not only did he have an artifact this powerful, but he also had the artifact that he used to block Kei’s attack .

Desir judged that he may have more artifacts and started to take precautions against this fact .

Kei raised the intensity of his aura and spoke towards Desir’s group .

“My subordinates and I will attack him head-on . Please work together to surround him and attack from the sides . . ”

“Did you think it would be that easy?”

One of the spear fragments pierced the glass tube that was containing the Homunculus .

*Crack*

Shards of glass sprayed outwards .

“I’ll give you a choice . ”

The Homunculus that was inside the glass tube fell to the floor, but it raised itself up soon after .

“The eternal truth that alchemy seeks or the mythical weapon that has murdered countless heroes of humankind . Choose one of these two . Whatever you choose, it will be an honorable death for you . ”

—-

Chapter brought to you by the Patrons .

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ED2: Purplemen101

TLC: N/A (this could be you!)

QC: Dr Lock