Chapter 557: Can't Make Any Promises
Alystren felt his whole body go cold instantly. The Lieutenant's next words weren't much comfort.
"Well, I was an Ascendant then. I was young and arrogant. We had no Paragon in our team, and my arrogance caused the deaths of many. This one will not be like that."
'I was sure... I was sure I'd come back home alive,' Alystren thought, his mind already shattered, barely listening.
The Lieutenant glanced at him, his face contorting with irritation before looking away-just as his subordinates reappeared.
Their breaths were ragged, short, and heavy.
"My liege... this place... this place is Gehenna."
Lieutenant Dante, despite the grave looks on their faces and the weight of the news they delivered, didn't seem fazed at all.
"Tell me, word for word, what you saw," he said, focusing on Rafel, who was looking down with sweat pouring down his face.
"Sir, in the center of the rift, there's an uncountable number of hellion-rank monsters. They're four-legged with long, curved needle-like teeth, and they don't seem to have eyes, but their hollow sockets somehow still see. They saw us-I felt it. They saw us, but they didn't even care."
The Lieutenant tilted his head slightly. "They didn't care? Why?"
Shane continued, "Because of the statue situated in their middle." "Statue?"
"To be exact, sir, it wasn't a statue," Rafel clarified.
He was the primary scout, possessing the ability to peer into a monster's soul and gauge their ranks, among other skills.
"It was a Destroyer-rank monster. Specifically, a Catastrophic Destroyer."
The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow. "A Catastrophic Destroyer? That's impossible. There's no way a monster of that danger level should be in a tier seven rift."
"Unless the gate guardian is apex level."
The Lieutenant narrowed his eyes, a hint of unease reflecting in them. He eventually exhaled and composed his expression.
"I think I understand what's wrong with this rift. I've been in rifts more than a hundred times, and I can tell you one thing: not once has the rift guardian ever been apex level. A devil, in fact, has never appeared."
He paused, resting his hand lightly on his sword hilt as he continued.
"For monsters to advance in danger level, they have to consume each other or a lot of humans. But since humans aren't always available, the former is usually their go-to. And by doing this, they disrupt their own ecosystem and throw everything into chaos. However, this is typically impossible in a rift because rifts have order and a guardian who values the role of protecting the rift core more than ruling the monster ecosystem. Popular opinion is that this is why no rift guardian is as close as devil level. Because when that happens, the priority shifts from protecting the core to ruling the rift."
He took a slightly shaky breath. "And when that happens, this rift becomes a bloodhole. So... I'm telling you all now: I can't promise everyone will get out of this alive."
[Owned Talents]:
[Duplicate]
[Erasure]
[Nsair's Ember]
[Copied Talents]:
[Whispering Gale]
Attributes: [Formless], [Limitless Void], [Vestige of Chaos], [Chaos Eyes], [Chaos Thread],
[Flames of Chaos], [Seed of Void]
Soul Rank: [Vagrant]
Void Summons: [7/100]
Talent Fragments: [652/4000]
[Copied Talents]: [1/4]
[Owned Talents]: [3]
[Attribute Abilities (Active/Passive)]: [8/10]
[Owned Items]: [Mortal Blade], [Eternal Twilight], [Death Glare] and 13 others.
Name: [Flame of Chaos]
Rank: [Divine]
Description: [An ever-burning flame resides within your soul, capable of searing away
inconsistencies and irregularities. Due to these ceaseless flames, your soul can never be
harmed or consumed.]
Passive Abilities: [Soul Damage Resistance], [Mind Attack Resistance]
Active Abilities: [Black Flame], [Black Lance]
Northern pursed his lips as he stared at the part labeled [Black Lance] and delved into deep
thought.
Then he raised his eyebrows and took a breath.
"Oh well, I guess I'll try it with the next wave of monsters."
Ryan finally walked up to him, hesitating a moment before speaking.
"What do we do now?"
Northern wiped away all the panels with a glance and looked at Ryan for a beat before turning
his gaze forward.
"What else, boy? We move forward."
"Forward how? And can you please not call me that?"
"We find the gate guardian, kill him, and get the hell out of this place." He glanced one more
time at Ryan, then strode away.