Harem System In A fantasy World - Chapter 377: Conduits
Zenith fell into deep focus, preparing herself to block whatever attack this father of hers threw at them.
She didn’t know how powerful he was at full strength, since she had never seen him in such a state, but that attack from before was all she needed to know that even with all her precautions, she had still underestimated what it meant to be a true Saint-class mage.
She was nowhere near his level. As strong as she had gotten in so little time, it was still not enough.
She was not very hopeful about her chances against him, but if it was just a matter of stalling him long enough for Elion to lay claim to the stone and use it against him, then she would gladly lay down her life.
But she didn’t want to die here if she could help it.
She wanted to see things through. She wanted to watch Elion make it to the end. And she wanted to leave this place and be with him for the rest of her life.
“Haaaaa!”
She roared as she poured mana from her core into her body. A powerful pulse radiated from her.
Her hair lengthened until it reached her knees, whipping wildly around her as the pressure flowing from her body intensified.
Her horns lengthened as well, the two smaller ones growing taller and curving menacingly outward, away from her face. Then, two more horns pushed through her hair near the top of her head. However, they did not grow any farther, remaining comparatively small.
Her presence spread outward in a violent ripple, encompassing the entire chamber before completely spilling beyond the castle walls and spreading across a wide radius outside.
Every lesser demon caught within that presence immediately fell to their knees in worship, their bodies trembling before an aura that felt both familiar and overwhelmingly powerful.
Zenith felt her body overflowing with power as she finally stepped into the Early Saint Stage. Her hair whipped violently around her as the pressure flowing from her doubled once again.
“Oh?”
Asmodeus looked amused.
“You broke through?”
His eyes moved over her transformed figure calmly.
“As usual, my bloodline never disappoints.” His expression turned faintly colder. “But if you think this is enough to defeat me, then you are mistaken.”
At that same moment, Elion’s hand finally clasped around the Philosopher’s Stone.
His fingers tightened around it, and he pulled at it with all his strength. But shockingly enough, it didn’t budge, not even a little.
“Huh?” He pulled again, but the Philosopher’s Stone remained suspended above the altar, pulsing faintly between his fingers as though it had become an inseparable part of the world itself.
His brow twitched.
Asmodeus laughed.
“You thought it would be that easy?” he asked calmly. “That you could simply reach out, pluck the stone from its resting place, and walk away with the power to overturn this entire world?”
Elion grit his teeth and tightened his grip. At the same time, he activated temporary Stat Conversion.
Strength.
Power surged through his arm, his muscles tightening visibly beneath his armour as he planted his feet into the stone floor and pulled with everything he had.
Crack!
The ground beneath him fractured beneath his foot, but the stone still did not move.
Asmodeus raised a hand slowly.
“Move!” Zenith shouted.
Reality split and a thin, invisible line tore through the air toward Elion’s back, but Zenith stepped into its path before it could reach him.
She thrust both palms forward, and a massive wall of pale blue mana erupted between them. The spatial cut struck.
Shk!
The barrier split cleanly down the middle. Zenith’s eyes widened.
She twisted aside at the last possible moment, but the edge of the attack still scraped across her side. Blood burst from her waist, staining her robe dark as the force sent her sliding across the floor.
Her boots carved twin trails through the stone. She stopped herself with one hand pressed to the ground, breathing hard.
Asmodeus’ gaze remained indifferent.
“I told you,” he said. “You are not strong enough.”
Zenith slowly stood, one hand pressed against the wound in her side.
Her healing had already begun. The cut narrowed visibly, blue mana wrapping around the damaged flesh, but her face remained grim.
She had barely blocked one attack, and calling it a block was generous.
The attack had sliced straight through her barrier as though it was not there. If she had been a fraction slower, it would have cut through her body as well.
Did her breakthrough mean nothing? Just how powerful was this man!? Still, she stepped between Asmodeus and Elion again.
“You will have to go through me first,” she said.
Asmodeus looked at her for a moment and sighed, “You say that as though it would be difficult.”
Elion’s eyes remained fixed on the Philosopher’s Stone. He could feel the power inside it. It was close. So damn close, but it refused to budge.
’Why?’
His gaze shifted toward the golden veins spreading out from beneath the altar. They stretched across the floor, climbed the walls, and disappeared into the ceiling, branching outward in every direction like the roots of an ancient tree.
His eyes narrowed.
“Discerning Eye.”
The world changed.
Mana structures became clearer beneath his gaze. The golden veins brightened, revealing layer upon layer of intricate formations woven throughout the underground chamber. Thousands of lines converged beneath the altar, binding the stone to the heart of the domain.
A translucent status appeared before his eyes.
[Philosopher’s Stone]
[Item Type: Ancient World Relic]
[Grade: Pseduo Divine]
[Current State: Unbound]
[Claim Status: Unavailable]
[Warning: The relic is anchored to the foundation of the Demon King Asmodeus’ Domain through seven primary conduits.]
[Warning: Attempting to remove the relic without severing the primary conduits is impossible.]
[Warning: The relic is semi-sentient and capable of choosing its own master.]
[Warning: Forced removal may result in catastrophic repercussions.]
’Seven conduits.’
Elion blinked. He ignored all the other warnings and focused on the one that mattered, and then swept his gaze across the chamber. He didn’t need to worry about the stone accepting him either; he could worry about that later.
At first, all he could see was an overwhelming web of golden veins tangled together so densely that separating them seemed impossible. His enhanced vision sharpened further.
’There.’
One thick golden vein ran from beneath the altar and into a pillar on the far side of the chamber. He spotted another, then a third, beneath the floor. A fourth climbing the wall behind Asmodeus.
Seven in total.
Each one pulsed in time with the stone. Elion released the stone relic and raised Kurogoroshi. Asmodeus’ gaze shifted toward him.
“So, you noticed the chains I created for it?” he said.
Elion glanced at him. “You could have saved me a bit of effort and told me.”
“You were not going to survive long enough for it to matter.”
“Well, a man can dream, no?”
“How foolish.”
Elion glanced at his blade and looked toward the nearest conduit.
[Fate Rend]
A sword capable of cutting through seals, barriers, dimensions, and spatial constructs. If anything could sever those anchors, it was this.
Asmodeus seemed to arrive at the same conclusion. The boredom faded slightly from his expression as his eyes gleamed with interest.
This whole thing was unnecessary; it would be easy for him to blow this pair away if he was up to it, but he was still recovering from that heaven-shaking battle with those hypocritical bastards, so it would take a bit more effort than normal.
Besides, he wanted to see if this boy had what it takes to claim the stone, or if he was just wasting time placing his hopes in the wrong person. If that turned out to be the case, he would just cut his head off like he had many times before.
His foolish daughter was capable of much more than this, but she was probably far more concerned about hurting that lover of hers in the aftermath of their exchange if the two of them went all out.
But he would do nothing more than throw some casual attacks at her, counter her own attacks, play with her a bit, and show her her place. Asmodeus lifted his hand again.
“Zenith!” Elion shouted.
“I know!”
She slammed both her hands together.
Boom!
Her Saint-class presence erupted outward. The air around her twisted violently as pale blue mana flooded across the chamber.
Ice spread beneath her feet in jagged patterns, racing toward Asmodeus in branching lines before erupting upward into a forest of crystalline spears.
At the same time, she raised one hand toward the ceiling. A massive magic circle bloomed overhead.
“Frozen Heavens.”
The temperature plummeted as snow began falling inside the chamber. Then the air itself froze.
Thousands of thin ice shards formed around Asmodeus from every direction, each one vibrating beneath the weight of compressed mana before shooting toward him all at once.
The chamber became a storm of blue light, but Asmodeus did not move. The barrage of ice struck him.
Boom!
A violent explosion shook the underground hollow. Frost spread across the altar, the floor, and the surrounding pillars, covering everything in a thick layer of pale blue crystal.
Elion ran.
He crossed the chamber in a blur, [Temporary Stat Conversion] still flooding his body with speed, and he reached the first conduit.
Kurogoroshi came down.
Shk!
The sword cut through the golden vein.
The moment the conduit was severed, the entire chamber trembled. A pulse of power burst from the wound in the formation, throwing Elion backward several steps, but he caught himself and turned immediately toward the next one.
[Primary Conduits Remaining: 6/7]
The frost exploded as Asmodeus stepped through Zenith’s spell.
