Chapter 1596 Guardian



Emery couldn't do anything when he felt a strong force tugging at his body. The next moment he realized, he had arrived in a dark cave-like room. Grasping the situation, he quickly took his stance while his eyes carefully surveyed his surroundings.

He had assumed that he would be facing another guardian like Killgragah, and his entire demeanor turned serious as he recalled that the voice heard seemed to be unhappy for him killing his champion.

An alarmed expression appeared on his face when he turned towards one corner of the dark cave and saw a humongous creature staring at him. At glance, its body looked like a mix of a dark green dragon that stood on four limbs, but with multiple octopus tentacles.

It slowly emerged from the shadows, revealing its gruesome figure to Emery's eyes. "Just a young weak boy.. How could you possibly kill my champion?" 

The deep voice of the unknown Khaos guardian was not heard verbally, but actually echoed directly in his mind. 

Since what the other party referred to as its champion had to be Zenonia and he didn't know how good its relationship was with the latter, so as not to bring about disaster upon himself, Emery decided to speak in a respectful tone.

"It wasn't easy, but yes i am the one who defeated her" Pausing for a second, he continued, "However, it is not without costs. I was seriously injured from that fight, and still haven't recovered until now."

Emery just waited silently when the creature didn't immediately respond to his words. Moments later, he felt a familiar sensation in his mind. The creature was trying to probe his mind just like what Killgragah did, but this time he was able to fight back.

[Emperor Focus]

His innate Rank 9 Wolf bloodline ability blocked the guardian's mind probe from doing what it wanted. Meanwhile, this response of his seemed to have caught the latter off guard, evidenced by its comment.

"Still so young yet such powerful mental strength."

While the creature was still in awe of his abnormal mental strength, Emery took advantage of the opportunity and said, "Elder, if you wish to know something, please just ask directly. That said, let me introduce myself."

Bowing slightly towards the creature, he spoke in a respectful tone. "My name is Emery. I am a simple half-blood hailing from a lower realm world, but I was fortunate enough to encounter a Khaos Gate, with a guardian named Killgragah–"

"Huh, that Arrogant dragon!"

Emery didn't manage to finish his words as the guardian reacted upon hearing Killgragah's name.

"I see… No wonder I can sense a bit of Khaos energy within you… However, you don't possess a darkness core." Staring at Emery, the creature's voice resounded in his mind. "How is this possible?"

Remaining calm as he had expected such a question, Emery swiftly said, "Like I said earlier, I am injured. My soul has broken apart and is separated from me."

He was about to go into details, but the guardian no longer seemed interested in his explanation as it said, "No matter what your situation is, you cannot become a Khaos Champion without a Darkness Soul. Now go away, you are of no use to me."

Upon hearing those words, Emery felt a burst of energy rushing towards him. But this time he was prepared and fought back using his full raw power as he transformed into his Twilight Wolf form.

"Elder, it's impolite of you to send me away without even telling me your name."

"You are not worthy to know my name!"

The creature's voice roared in his mind as the energy blast became stronger.

Emery knew that if he was knocked out of this space, he would most likely not be able to enter again. Because of that, he was ready to keep struggling no matter what, if that was what was needed so that the guardian would listen to him.

Of course, he could not begin to fathom the true power of a Khaos guardian. 

If he were to base it on his knowledge of Killgragah, then this unknown guardian had at least the power of a peak Full Moon magus, or probably a Grand Magus level. Even so, he was determined to not leave empty-handed.

"Please Elder, I am sure there is something that–"

Before Emery could finish his words, one of the guardian's tentacle arms swung towards him, forcing him out of the way to avoid it. Just as he stabilized himself, a second tentacle swiftly came from the opposite side.

Knowing that he had no time to dodge again, Emery mustered all the strength within his body and braced himself to take the attack.

BAMMMM!!!

Even with his almost 400 battle power, Emery still found himself sent flying through the air and crashed hard into the wall. An intense pain was felt throughout his body, indicating that few of his bones were broken.

But still, he gritted his teeth and got to his feet again.

"That hurts!! But they weren't enough to keep me away!!"

"I admit, you are indeed tough, kid! But still too far to impress me!!"

Forcing a smile to hide the excruciating pain, Emery chuckled while saying, "Elder, you have seen nothing yet!"

Immediately in response to his words, the guardian sent another tentacle at him. Understanding that he couldn't afford to sustain another hit, Emery increased his battle power even further by using his new technique [Paragon's Blessing] and [Bloodhound Steps] to enhance his mobility.

He leapt into the air at the last moment to avoid the tentacle that was coming for him. The moment he landed on top of it, he put energy into his feet and boldly dashed towards the guardian.

When he was halfway from reaching the guardian's head, the latter suddenly released a torrent of acid towards him, forcing him to stop and retreat. Alas, some of the acid still splashed onto his feet, tormenting him with searing pain.

Emery staggered and fell to the ground in pain. The guard sent another wave of tentacles, which this time he couldn't avoid. They grabbed all four of his limbs and restricted his body as they lifted him into the air.

"Now what kid? Giving up?!"

A smile still hanging on his face, Emery stared at the creature saying, "Let's be honest Elder, are you really not impressed or are you just angry that I killed your champion?"

"So Arrogant… You haven't even fully become a magus!! Now you will regret it!!"

The creature forcefully pulled all four limbs, and Emery answered the challenge by using a skill that had been stuck in his mind since his reunion with Yuria last week. 

All the pain that came from his muscle actually helped his body recall the skill and an explosion came bursting from within.

[Immortal Gate Stage 5]

[Battle power increased by 32]

It was the skill taught to him by the master of Terra Palace, Lord Izta the Gilgamesh.

Thanks to the increased battle power, Emery managed to hold on against the force that threatened to tear his body apart. However, it was still not enough. He knew that he still had more within him.

[Immortal Gate Stage 6]

[Battle power increased by 64]

His muscles were retracted to their maximum limit, allowing Emery to exert enough strength to counteract the pulling tentacles. However, he would need a lot more if he was to break free from his restraints.

"More!"

[Immortal Gate Stage 7]

Amidst desperation and wanting to prove himself, Emery managed to make a breakthrough – with his current halfblood body, he managed to pull it off naturally.

[Battle power increased by 128]

The moment the skill took effect, Emery's battle power broke through the previous limit and soared beyond 500, which was a power level on par with a peak Full Moon magus. He finally had the strength to rip the tentacles and break free.

Such an explosion of power was enough to make the guardian scream in agony, but Emery was not safe yet. While the four limbs he tore off were recovering, another four were coming towards him at breakneck speed.

Seeing that Emery immediately took out his [Blade Claw] and launched his counter attack. With his current strength and speed, none of the tentacles managed to catch his shadow as he relentlessly attacked and inflicted wounds on the creature.

In the midst of his series of onslaught, he noticed that like Killgragah, this Khaos guardian was chained to the wall. Hence with eight of its tentacles injured, now was actually the best chance for him to retaliate. 

However, Emery just stood still after dealing with the last tentacle, watching as the creature healed its wounds. He then spoke in a calm voice.

"Elder, you are indeed not wrong. I'm still not fully a magus, but imagine how strong I would be if you help me obtain my powers back!"

The reply Emery received was unexpected 

"My name is Cthulhu"