Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 441: The Black Gate
Luna was instantly on edge when she saw the cost of failing this new ’Quest’. Leo’s Death? That was unacceptable!
"What the fuck?" Adam couldn’t help but remark with wide eyes while Lily’s expression grew grim. Ethan and Morgan were confused as to how any of that made sense while Crystal removed her blindfold, revealing her Draconic eyes filled with concern.
"What sort of punishment is this. Can you tell us what’s going on Leo?" Crystal asked as she looked to the inky black portal while another system message appeared in front of their eyes.
[Due to the Nature of the Unique Dungeon, Party Dynamics and Limits have been adjusted.]
[Max Party Size has temporarily increased to 7. Current Party Member Count: 6/7]
[ A Special NPC has joined your party. If the NPC dies, Player Leo will die.]
From the portal, Leo slowly walked out to meet them, but it was not the one they were familiar with. His hair, ears and tail were a jet black while his eyes were a brilliant gold while his sclera was an inky black.
"A demon?!" Lily raised her rifle, pointing it at the alien version of Leo. "Where is our Leo?!" she asked, her voice trembling slightly as Luna’s shoulder trembled. Adam followed suit by pressing the blade of his dagger against it’s throat. Morgan and Ethan both got into a stance, ready to react to anything this demon would throw their way.
But despite all of that, ’Leo’ didn’t even flinch. His cold expression slowly transformed into a sinister grin. "Oh~? You really care for Leo huh? Though I wouldn’t kill me if I were you. It wouldn’t be a smart move."
There was a smugness to him that irritated the group but it was Crystal who maintained her calm as she evaluated the situation. "Everyone put away your weapons for now. We can’t kill him."
Luna’s lips trembled before she shouted "Not until he tells us where Leo is?! Why will he die if this demon dies?!"
’Leo adjusted his head, looking towards Luna with a cold smile on his face that was totally foreign to the brother she knew.
"I can answer that one for you. Believe it or not, I am a part of Leo. You are here because of me and you all chose the path that led to me~!"
"Bullshit!" Luna growled, her agitation only growing with the words that he spoke. "You can’t be him! There’s no—"
"No way? Do you really believe that Sis~? You have a demon in your heart, do you not? In fact by choosing me, I can now intervene and save you." Leo interrupted, his gaze then turned to Lily who was still pointing her rifle at him.
"Can you imagine my surprise when you let that part of you free. You really showed those traitors no mercy~! I loved it!"
Lily’s eyes widened in shock as the gaze directed towards her was surprisingly familiar. Crystal wanted to say something but before she could, the golden gaze was directed towards her as he continued to speak.
"But you? You were a surprise. I didn’t expect you to choose this path. I figured the one standing here would be Rachel. It is odd that the Shadow Monkey chose the path of Light. Yet, the girl who is willing to discard her humanity for others? It is foolish but admirable."
The words Crystal wanted to say died in her mouth as Adam slowly pulled the blade back from this odd Leo’s throat. Leo’s smile grew wider as he looked directly into Adam’s amber eyes.
"As for you Adam, I knew you were destined to find your way to me one day. I knew that from the moment I first laid eyes on you. I must thank you again for awakening Mors. The idea to consume a corpse was a brilliant one."
Adam’s throat tightened as Lily finally came to a conclusion.
"You.....You’re the Dark Path aren’t you."
"It is always great to work with someone smart~!"
Ethan gripped his spear as he growled "Can somebody please explain what the fuck is happening?!"
Morgan didn’t have an answer either but judging by the reactions of the other 4 members, he didn’t dare cast a spell, at least not yet.
"Oh I almost forgot about you two. One second." The Dark Leo remarked as his gaze fell on the two on guard members of the party. When their eyes met his golden gaze, Ethan and Morgan felt their hearts skip a beat as somehow, a connection was formed between them.
"Oh my. What brotherly love. One who is willing to die for their kin...and one who would slaughter the world to protect what they care about." The Dark Leo looked interested for a moment before he turned his back on them and slowly sauntered back to the portal.
"Are you guys coming? This dungeon isn’t going to clear itself."
"Well could you tell us what the hell this dungeon is about?" Crystal asked after a moment. She was unnerved by the words that were spoken to her but she didn’t want to show it. Was she really giving up her humanity?
"It’s quite simple really. There are a total of 12 of you, yes? 6 of you have chosen this and 6 have chosen to go to him." The word was spoken with disgust and disdain dripping in his tone but before anyone could question it, he continued to speak
"The ones who have chosen this path must face the concepts of those who did not. Simple, right?"
Luna frowned as that sounded disturbingly familiar to her.
"Are you telling us we have to fight our friends? You expect us to kill them?!"
Leo’s golden eyes narrowed as he growled back "Not quite. Just like how I appear here right now, The System has created copies of your friends and amplified their strengths. They serve as the BOSSes of this dungeon."
Without another word, Dark Leo entered the portal, leaving everyone else with no choice but to follow after him.
