Chapter 1618. First Tunnel.
Chapter 1618: Chapter 1618. First Tunnel.
Andrea looked at the nine paths around them and asked. "Do we divide ourselves into groups? Or is it better to explore everything one by one?"
Yasenia tilted her head, somewhat conflicted. While she wanted to return to Aster’s side quickly, placing her lovers in danger would be unforgivable. Therefore, she spoke up with not much hesitation.
"Let’s go together, just in case."
Tatyana asked. "What if the other paths close when we enter once?"
Yasenia shrugged. "It is what it is. Losing treasures is not a problem as long as we are all safe and sound."
If this was a Secret Realm instead of a Forbidden Zone, Yasenia might’ve trusted her dear’s strengths. However, in a place where even she could become threatened, Yasenia didn’t want to bet when it wasn’t necessary.
Tatyana smiled. "Alright, since that’s the case, sniff around and tell us what path to take."
Yasenia laughed and nodded. Then, she closed her eyes and began sniffing around for treasures.
***
Meanwhile, deep inside the palace, a group of eight robed people opened their eyes. One of them spoke, their tone low. "It is too soon..."
"It’s... 35,000 years too soon compared to the prophecy."
A woman spoke lightly. "Over two million years have passed. Errors of that level are plausible."
A woman with a more ethereal voice shook her head lightly. "No... If it were one or two thousand years, I would agree. However, over 30,000 is far too much."
The calm woman asked. "What are you suggesting, then?"
The woman hesitated and spoke... "Fate Breakers."
Everyone in the room became silent. The calm woman furrowed her hidden brows. "...Are you saying that someone that has broken free from their innate Fate has reached here with their own strength?"
"Yes."
"That’s absurd. This Heavenly Layer is far too low for someone to overcome the threats. Only he or she who was prophesied should be able to do so."
The man who spoke first spoke with a faint sigh. "This is why Fate Breakers are the source of all Chaos. Heavenly Order is not something that should be challenged."
The ethereal voice asked, hesitant. "So... what do we do?"
"Test them."
The ethereal voice shook her head. "You know that using Fate skills on Fate Breakers is tantamount to suicide."
"Something simple will only cause a small backlash. Try to see what they will eat next, or what clothes they will wear next. Insignificant things like that won’t cause much backlash even if you try to divine them."
The ethereal voice refused again. "I won’t leave it up to chance."
"Then, what do we do? If they have entered, that means that they have defeated the Bronze Guardians with the strength of their group. That qualifies them to fight the threat our ancestors sealed together with us."
The calm woman sighed. "What are we compared to our ancestors? Hidden away here, with nothing but time, we could only reach the peak of this Heavenly Layer."
A man who had been silent spoke as if sighing. "We’ve stayed here for so long... Isn’t it best to just meet them and deal with it? Even with the mental exercises and cultivation our ancestors left, I can feel that my mental health is eroding away."
Everyone became silent at that. They were born in this palace and never left. After so many years, they knew each crevice and defect so well that they could point them out with their eyes closed.
"Let’s test them, at least. Their character should meet a bare minimum."
***
Tatyana suddenly sneezed.
Yasenia blinked. "What’s wrong, Mom?"
Tatyana rubbed her chin, confused. "Someone must be speaking of me or referring to me about something."
Evelyn answered, speechless. "Aren’t millions speaking about you constantly, Miss Death Empress?"
Tatyana squinted. "Who knows? I just feel it in my gut."
"Oh, then it must be true." Yasenia nodded without a change of expression, taking those words for granted.
Dune asked, confused. "U-Um... is that okay?"
Andrea spoke. "Tatyana is a Fate Master. A very strong one. Her gut feelings are not just imaginary whims. Each one has meaning, so we must be careful. So, tread carefully and keep your eyes peeled."
Speaking of the paths, they chose to enter the first one to the right. Since they couldn’t really choose, they would explore them one by one in a counterclockwise order, excluding the middle passage and leaving it for last.
Yasenia, who had been walking at the front, paused and had her pupils shrink to lines. With an incredibly swift motion, her hand reached out and caught something mid-air over twenty times.
Seeing Yasenia’s hand blur, Kali asked, confused. "What’s wrong?"
Yasenia opened her hand, revealing over 20 silver needles. "Poison needles. We triggered a trap at some point."
Everyone was stunned for a second. Tatyana tilted her head and looked around. "I see no mechanism."
Angel was quick to think outside the box. "What if we are already in the mechanism?"
Tatyana hummed. "If that’s the case, then we can’t do much about it. Only destroying the place would cause trouble."
Yasenia spoke softly. "Be careful and make sure not to get caught, just in case, though..."
She expanded a dome-like defense around their group and nodded. Thanks to the size of the palace, their group of over 250 didn’t feel crowded. On the contrary, they could walk comfortably between the edge pillars holding the monstrously large structure.
"More traps."
A few arrows shot at them, but they all bounced against Yasenia’s defensive dome. "Physical attacks or soul attacks won’t be able to penetrate, it seems."
"Soul attacks?"
"I can feel ripples against the shield," Yasenia explained. "Those are most likely soul attacks. Thankfully, my soul is powerful enough to block them."
Angel muttered. "If your soul were not large enough, we’d be screwed."
After walking for a few minutes, Evelyn pointed ahead. "There is something over there."
Everyone else nodded, and they approached. The location ahead of them was a large circular area with a pedestal in the middle. A single elegant ceremonial dagger floated on top of the pedestal, as if asking to be taken.
"...It’s quite clear that when we take that, some sort of mechanism will activate."
Everyone nodded at Evelyn’s words. Yasenia shrugged. "Well, if it is displayed there so... prominently, there must be a place that it will come in handy. I’ll take it."
Tatyana slapped the back of her head. "You and your rushing. There are over 20 summoners in our group, and you want to take the risk yourself?"
Yasenia rubbed her head where Tatyana hit and pouted. "Did you have to hit that hard?"
"You wouldn’t feel anything less than that because of your stupidly sturdy body."
The dragoness couldn’t deny it, so she just sulked and pouted. Even her tail was throwing an adorable tantrum by constantly hitting the ground.
Unable to hold back, Tatyana pulled her head down and devoured her lips. "Stop tempting me, or we will have a session of exhibitionist sex right here."
Yasenia giggled, and when a plant creature Kali summoned picked the Ceremonial Dagger, a hidden door far behind them closed with a bang.
Everyone glanced back at the immense door that could block the gargantuan hall. "Wow... What a big door."
Yasenia blinked. "Should I blast it open?"
Kali chuckled. "Wait, my summon has yet to come back with the dagger."
"Why...?"
With their current distance, a single second was enough to go, take the dagger, and return. Kali smiled. "That summon is stuck for some reason. It has stopped receiving orders."
"Oh?"
BANG!
The loud sound from above caused them to look up, and a second later, over 200 bronze giants fell from the ceiling and stood around the summon. Everyone glanced at the summon with a hint of pity. ’Poor thing. It is about to get bullied."
The poor thing didn’t last a second before a flurry of sword strikes turned Kali’s summon into dust. Then, the 200 10 meter tall bronze soldiers turned around and glared at them.
Yasenia clapped. "Wow. Not bad! Go get them! The one who gets the most kills..." Her lips arched mischievously. "...she will get the first lip-to-lip kiss from me~."
With Yasenia’s order, all 250 maids stepped forward once.
BOOM!
The aura around each of them surged like an inferno manifesting on earth. Each of them had eyes that looked at the bronze giants with nothing else but murder.
Dune and even the girls shivered at the intensity of their aura. Then, as if they had practiced it before, all 250 maids vanished and appeared around the 200 bronze giants.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A myriad of colorful attacks swallowed everything around the 200 bronze giants, creating terrifying explosions. Even Yasenia gulped. She might be strong, but Yasenia calculated she could take on 5 to 15 maids at once, depending on their strength and compatibility.
Seeing the strength that over 250 of them released made Yasenia realize that she would most likely be defeated in seconds if they joined hands.
It didn’t take longer than 20 seconds for the maids to return to her side. Yasenia blinked and smiled awkwardly. "Ahem... Who was the one who took out the most?"
A completely white figure stepped forward, but this time, her face was not indifferent but stained red. With her almost translucent skin, her blush was incredibly noticeable.
"I killed three, Young Miss."
Yasenia’s eyebrows raised. "You did well, Eira."
Being able to snatch three kills in that chaos spoke volumes of her offensive capabilities, which stood firmly among the top of the maids.
249 gazes were fixed on Eira’s back with deep envy. After all, in a way, this bet was skewed toward offensive attackers.
Of course, they knew their turn would eventually come, but that didn’t stop them from feeling like tearing Eira apart with jealousy.
Yasenia, meanwhile, fulfilled her promise. She looked down at the petite woman with a thin physique and smiled. Leaning down, her fingers gripped Eira’s chin and lifted it gently. Eira’s white eyelashes fluttered, her face so red that people around were starting to worry.
"Congratulations, Eira..."
Then, Yasenia leaned down and pressed her lips to Eira’s. She stuck there, sharing a gentle and moving kiss. Eira froze, and when she felt Yasenia’s tongue, her body flinched before her eyes rolled and her body slumped.
Yasenia quickly caught her, surprised. "E-Eira? Hey. Are you okay?"
Meanwhile, Eira had fainted with a blissful smile and flushed face, while the rest of the maids were biting at their personal handkerchiefs. ’It should’ve been meeeee...!!!’