Genetic Ascension - Chapter 823

Sylas didn’t even know how to reply to this.

A Gold Demerit? That was 10 Silver, 100 Bronze, 1,000 True, and 10,000 Hollow Merits. He would have to defeat 10,000 Quasi King Beasts to offset that one Demerit.

And obviously, that would be by the standards of the outside world. If Arcane Madness wasn’t lying about lowering the difficulty, this would obviously be a whole new can of worms.

If the weight of the F rankings was so different in the outside world, then it was only natural that the weight of what Quasi King meant was also heavier.

Right now, Sylas didn’t even fear a Quasi King Beast. He could probably kill any within the F-Grade in a few exchanges at most, if that.

But given these parameters…

Sylas opened his mouth to ask another question, but this time, Arcane Madness shook his head.

“Your time is running out, young one. As I’ve said, the Ancient System is far crueler. This is nothing more than an avatar of mine, a projection. It is not my real body.

“The Ancient System has already sensed your victory, and it has allowed you some leeway, but it will not last forever. It wants you to kill me to finish the job, otherwise your failure will be written into stone.

“At least half of the danger you’re feeling right this moment is a result of this looming punishment.”

Sylas’ eyes narrowed. Was that so? In that case, this matter truly was troublesome…

In that case…

“Just one more question, then. What do you know about this order?”

Sylas took out the badge Gralith had given him. It was the Scorpion Warlord Emblem.

He knew that Arcane Madness had already seen his Scorpion Warlord Armor. After all, he had yet to dismiss it. So it was a gamble to ask this question at all, as it might be a waste of his final attempt.

But Sylas felt that… he had to know the answer to this question. Even if it was for Arcane Madness to tell him that it didn’t know.

At the very least, that would be its own bit of information as well.

The creature stared at the emblem for a long while, not speaking. It seemed to forget that it had just mentioned that they didn’t have much time left.

“Hm… curious… A branch, maybe?”

The mumble shook the air.

“… I was wondering why you would have the aura of another creature on you, so it seems that it’s like this. Well, this isn’t bad, anyway. It will help you. In the future, when you grow strong enough that our enemies will certainly sense you, having this scent to mask things will help.”

“You do not know anything about the actual organization?”

“Hm… well, the emblem is forged from Will Steel of the D-Grade. Organizations of this level tend to have a handful of C-Grade existences in their charge at the very worst, and that puts them far beyond your current Galaxy.

“If they could leave an Inheritance here, or be asked to do so, they’re most likely somewhere in this Galaxy Cluster. If you showed this emblem to someone in the District, they wouldn’t recognize it. However, at the highest echelon of this Galaxy, they should.

“It’s a nice middle ground, if this is what you were asking. Though, you should be careful nonetheless. Even if they are in this Galaxy Cluster, there’s no guarantee that they are the ones overseeing your particular group of Galaxies. You might very well be in one of their enemy’s territories. You will have to figure that out for yourself first—though the odds they would leave such an Inheritance in the land of an enemy is low… Earth’s situation is special.”

“I understand.” n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“Alright. Kill me and claim your reward. You have three seconds.”

Sylas’ brows shot up, the world around him slowing considerably.

The pinging of his Luck had grown to a fever pitch, but now he was faced with another problem…

How?

From what he felt about this creature’s strength, even if it stood there and let him kill it, given its sheer size and enormity, there was simply no way that…

A solution came to Sylas’ mind instantly.

With a flash, Sylas appeared by the creature’s head. By the time his perception sped up, he was already roaring with all his might, his veins bulging and his body tensing to the nth degree.

And then… he wrapped his arms around its head, flexing his torso and twisting.

Arcane Madness was taken aback for a moment before it started laughing uproariously.

“Child, you are quite the cruel one.”

Sylas couldn’t respond, lifting with all of his might as Arcane Madness allowed its Will to flicker out.

As though performing a suplex in the middle of the skies, Sylas threw the enormous creature over his shoulder, slamming it down toward a mountain with every intention of smashing it to pieces.

And then it happened.

First, it was only small fissures racing across the creature’s body, but then they accelerated, growing larger, more imposing, almost like lava was bubbling up from beneath the surface of its skin.

And then…

BANG!

The skies turned dark. As though the soot of an ancient volcano had billowed into the clouds, darkness covered the land for several kilometers. Ash painted everything grey and black, and it certainly didn’t help Sylas that he was heaving for breath in its midst.

Sylas choked out several coughs as a flash of light appeared before him.

There was no system notification of the sort. It was just a bead of light.

The moment Sylas tried to touch it, it actually bypassed him and rushed into the body of the Madness Key, and a stream of words entered his mind.

—

[Arcane Telekinesis]

—

Sylas barely had time to register the name when a bursting pillar of bronze flames shot out from the distance…

The very same hole Professor Broussard’s corpse was in.

The bronze became brighter and brighter until it burned a furious gold.

And then…

This gold washed over the entire Territory.

Across Earth, countless slumbering eyes opened one after another.

At the same time, forgotten deep within a certain familiar Woodland Territory, a Demonic Gate stirred.