Chapter 50 — The Fourth Guardian

The metallic knocking came again.

KLANG.

Kael stood completely still.

The sound came from beneath the mountain.

Not from the surface.

Not from one of the known chambers.

From somewhere far deeper.

KLANG.

A third time.

The forest seemed to hold its breath.

Kael's eyes remained fixed on the mountain.

The System window floated before him.

[Unknown Guardian Signature detected.]

[Location: Beneath Mountain.]

[Status: Active.]

[WARNING: The Fourth Guardian has noticed the Darven.]

Kael's fingers tightened around the hilt of his katana.

The Fourth Guardian.

The one that existed before the Verdant Fang Ravager.

The one that disappeared.

The one the Basilisk had just claimed was taken by the network itself.

Kael looked at the Verdant Horned Basilisk.

“You knew.”

The Basilisk's massive eyes remained fixed on the mountain.

“I knew part of it.”

“You said it wasn't killed.”

“It wasn't.”

“Then what happened?”

The Basilisk was silent.

Kael stepped closer.

“What exactly does ‘taken by the network’ mean?”

The Basilisk lowered its head.

“Come.”

Kael frowned.

“Where?”

“To the place where it disappeared.”

The Basilisk moved first.

Kael followed.

They didn't go toward the mountain directly.

Instead, the Basilisk led him along an old territorial path hidden beneath enormous roots.

Kael activated Metal Sense.

Immediately, he noticed something.

The underground network was different here.

The lines didn't simply carry mana.

They carried pressure.

Ancient metallic structures were buried beneath the soil.

Some were broken.

Some were still intact.

And some—

were moving.

Kael stopped.

A section of underground metal shifted beneath his feet.

The Basilisk noticed.

“That is why I brought you here.”

Kael crouched.

He placed his palm against the ground.

Metal Control.

The earth separated.

A narrow metallic plate appeared beneath it.

Kael removed the dirt.

Ancient writing covered the surface.

He recognized the Darven crest.

Below it were four symbols.

A mountain.

A claw.

A crystal.

And a human hand.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“The four components.”

The Basilisk nodded.

“Three guardians.”

“And the Darven.”

“Yes.”

Kael studied the human-hand symbol.

“Where is the Fourth Guardian?”

The Basilisk looked farther underground.

“Below us.”

Kael expanded the opening.

The metal structure beneath them descended deeper.

A staircase.

Ancient.

Almost completely buried.

Kael activated Metal Control.

The dirt and stone moved aside.

The stairs continued downward.

The Basilisk remained above.

Kael looked back.

“You aren't coming?”

“I cannot.”

Kael frowned.

“Why?”

“The path recognizes the Darven.”

Kael looked down.

“So only I can enter.”

“Not only you.”

The Basilisk's voice became quieter.

“But only your bloodline can open the final gate.”

Kael looked at the staircase.

Another gate.

Again.

Everything always led to gates.

He stepped down.

One step.

Then another.

The light from the surface slowly disappeared.

Kael activated a small mana lamp.

The tunnel continued downward.

No monsters.

No traps.

No movement.

That frightened him more than an enemy would have.

He walked for several minutes before reaching a massive circular chamber.

The walls were covered in metal.

Not ordinary metal.

The same unknown material he had seen before.

The same material that reacted strangely to his bloodline.

Kael touched the wall.

[Ancient Darven Metal detected.]

[Compatibility: Extremely High.]

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“Of course.”

At the center of the chamber stood a massive door.

Unlike the previous gates, this one had no handle.

No keyhole.

Only a handprint.

Kael stared at it.

The same human-hand symbol.

He placed his palm against it.

Nothing happened.

Then—

the crimson mark on his hand appeared.

[Darven Bloodline detected.]

[Fourth Path recognized.]

The chamber trembled.

The door opened.

Beyond the door was darkness.

Kael stepped inside.

The door closed behind him.

He immediately turned.

Nothing.

No exit.

Kael's expression hardened.

Then something moved in the darkness.

A metallic chain dragged across stone.

KLANG.

Kael drew the katana.

Another chain moved.

KLANG.

Then—

two enormous eyes opened.

They were not crimson.

They were silver.

A massive figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

It was larger than Kael had expected.

Nearly four meters tall.

Its body was covered in ancient armor.

Not monster armor.

Forged armor.

Human craftsmanship.

The armor had been damaged by centuries of confinement.

One shoulder plate was missing.

The chest was cracked.

Chains wrapped around its arms, torso and legs.

But beneath the armor—

Kael sensed something alive.

The Guardian looked at him.

Kael's System activated.

[Threat Analysis.]

Name: Verdant Fallen Guardian

Level: 46

Grade: Lord

Potential: Overlord

Classification: Territory Guardian

Status: Bound

Traits:

• Guardian Authority
• Ancient Verdant Armor
• Mana Stabilization
• Territory Synchronization
• Network Perception
• Unknown Trait

Current Condition:

Severely weakened

Warning:

Do not engage.

Kael slowly lowered his blade.

“You're the Fourth Guardian.”

The figure's eyes remained on him.

“Yes.”

Its voice was rough.

But not monstrous.

Human.

Almost.

Kael stared.

“You're alive.”

The Guardian gave a faint laugh.

“Alive is a generous word.”

He looked at the chains around himself.

“I have been trapped beneath this mountain for longer than your bloodline has been remembered.”

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“You were taken by the network.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

The Guardian looked toward the ceiling.

“Because the network needed a replacement.”

Kael frowned.

“For what?”

The Guardian's silver eyes returned to him.

“For the component that failed.”

“The Darven.”

“Yes.”

Kael went silent.

The Guardian continued.

“When the last Darven abandoned the Fourth Path, the network began collapsing.”

“And you replaced him?”

“I tried.”

The Guardian looked at his chains.

“It did not accept me.”

Kael's expression changed.

“Why?”

“Because the network was built for a bloodline.”

Not a person.

A bloodline.

The distinction mattered.

The Guardian had been forced into a role it could never fully perform.

So the network trapped it.

Using its mana.

Its body.

Its life.

As a substitute.

Kael looked at the chains.

“So you've been holding the network together all this time.”

The Guardian laughed bitterly.

“Barely.”

The Guardian raised one arm.

The chains tightened.

The chamber shook.

Kael saw countless thin threads of green energy running from the Guardian's body into the walls.

The network was literally draining it.

“How much longer?”

The Guardian looked at him.

“I don't know.”

Kael stepped closer.

The Guardian's expression changed.

“Don't.”

Kael stopped.

“Why?”

“Because the network will detect your presence.”

“It already did.”

“Not fully.”

Kael's eyes narrowed.

The Guardian pointed toward his own chest.

“There is a seal inside me.”

Kael activated Metal Sense.

Nothing.

He increased his mana.

A faint shape appeared.

A small metallic ring was embedded beneath the armor.

Kael froze.

“That isn't part of the network.”

“No.”

“What is it?”

The Guardian answered quietly.

“The lock.”

Kael frowned.

“Lock to what?”

The Guardian looked toward the darkness behind him.

“To the thing beneath us.”

Kael's expression hardened.

The ancient sealed entity.

“So you're not just maintaining the network.”

“No.”

The Guardian looked down.

“I am also one of the locks keeping the seal closed.”

Kael finally understood.

The three known guardians weren't the whole system.

The Fourth Guardian had a second role.

It wasn't simply a component of the territory network.

It was also connected directly to the ancient seal.

That explained everything.

Why the Guardian couldn't leave.

Why the Basilisk had never found its remains.

Why the network had taken it.

It had been sacrificed to keep the seal functioning.

Kael looked at the chains.

“How do I free you?”

The Guardian laughed.

“You shouldn't.”

Kael's eyes hardened.

“You've been trapped here for thousands of years.”

“That is irrelevant.”

“You were forced to replace my bloodline.”

“Yes.”

“So I'll take your place.”

The Guardian became completely silent.

Then it shook its head.

“No.”

Kael frowned.

“Why?”

“Because that is exactly what the network wants.”

Kael froze.

The Guardian continued.

“The Fourth Path isn't a position.”

“It is not a title.”

“It is not a guardian seat.”

“It is a bloodline function.”

“If you simply replace me, the network will bind itself to you.”

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“And then?”

“You become what I became.”

Kael looked at the chains again.

A living component.

A prisoner.

A guardian that couldn't leave.

His expression hardened.

“Then I'll do it differently.”

The Guardian stared at him.

“How?”

Kael looked at the walls.

At the network.

At the seal.

At the metal.

“I don't know yet.”

The Guardian smiled faintly.

“For once…”

Its voice softened.

“That is the right answer.”

A sudden tremor shook the chamber.

The Guardian's expression changed.

“Too late.”

Kael turned.

“What?”

The network behind them flickered.

One of the green lines turned black.

Then another.

Then another.

Kael's System appeared.

[Foreign interference detected.]

[Guardian Network stability declining.]

[Mountain Node: 82%]

Kael's eyes widened.

The previous seal had been 84%.

Now it was dropping again.

81%.

80%.

The Guardian's chains tightened.

“Someone is cutting the network.”

Kael remembered the masked observer.

The one who had said:

The Fourth Path is awake.

The Guardian spoke again.

“They've found this chamber.”

A metallic sound came from above.

Then another.

Then many.

Kael looked toward the entrance.

Something was coming down the ancient staircase.

The Guardian's silver eyes narrowed.

“They are not here for me.”

Kael's grip tightened around the katana.

“They're here for me.”

“No.”

The Guardian shook its head.

“They're here for the thing beneath us.”

Silence.

Kael looked toward the floor.

A faint heartbeat came from somewhere below.

THOOM.

Another.

THOOM.

The Guardian looked toward the darkness beneath the chamber.

“You awakened it.”

Kael remembered the mountain.

The heartbeat.

The 93%.

91%.

89%.

87%.

85%.

And now—

80%.

The Guardian continued.

“The seal has reached its warning threshold.”

Kael's expression hardened.

“What happens at eighty?”

The Guardian didn't answer.

Kael looked directly into its eyes.

“What happens?”

The Guardian finally spoke.

“At eighty…”

The chains around its body glowed.

“…it starts trying to open the door.”

Footsteps echoed through the stairway.

Multiple people.

Kael raised PR-02.

His three Armament Bonds activated.

PR-02 floated beside him.

AR-03V appeared behind his shoulder.

The katana remained in his hand.

The Guardian looked at the weapons.

“You've learned quickly.”

Kael didn't smile.

“I've had to.”

The first figure appeared.

Dark armor.

Crimson markings.

A firearm in one hand.

Then another.

Then another.

Six.

Ten.

Twelve.

Kael recognized the formation.

Hunters.

The same type of coordinated group that had appeared near the mountain before.

But these were stronger.

The System analyzed the lead hunter.

[Level 37.]

[Grade: Commander.]

The second.

[Level 35.]

Third.

[Level 36.]

The rest ranged from Level 31 to 35.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

Too many.

The leader stepped forward.

Unlike Darian, this man wore a full mask.

His voice echoed through the chamber.

“Kael Darven.”

Kael raised the rifle.

“You found me.”

The hunter looked past him.

Toward the Fourth Guardian.

Then toward the floor.

“More accurately…”

He smiled behind the mask.

“…we found the door.”

Kael fired.

BANG!

The fight began.

But this time—

Kael was not protecting himself.

He was protecting the Guardian.

Because if the hunters reached the seal beneath the chamber—

the ancient entity would be one step closer to freedom.

And Kael finally understood the true purpose of the Fourth Guardian.

It hadn't been waiting for him.

It had been waiting for someone who could replace the broken bloodline without becoming its prisoner.

And perhaps—

that person was Kael.