Chapter 102

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Episode 22 - Inevitability [5]

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The two guards, both early-stage Class 5 villains, looked like they had only recently reached that level.

They charged at Adel the moment they saw him.

At first, Adel calmly waved his hand, as if he were "looking" at old friends.

But the instant both guards moved, Adel gripped Inverted Heaven, used Inverted Mana, and swung his sword twice.

The blade formed two crescent arcs as the space before him split apart, opening into a fissure that tore through the void.

The two villains who had rushed forward suddenly froze.

In front of them, space itself opened, and shortly afterward, the light faded from their eyes.

The next second, both villains had been cut in half.

Their insides spilled onto the ground: intestines, organs, and black blood that soon formed a small puddle over the smooth, dark stone path.

’Mhm, killing a Class 5 villain is way too easy now.’

His mana had reached 99.99% after training nonstop for an entire month.

At the moment, Adel could easily surpass Lumina in terms of overall strength.

Although she possessed dozens upon dozens of Traits, if both of them fought without using them and relied solely on mana quantity and swordsmanship...

Adel would definitely win.

Lumina was strong because of her enormous arsenal of Traits, Unique Traits, her Heart of Strength, and her Bloodline.

Everything about her was specialized for combat.

’Alright, let’s deal with the rest.’

Adel climbed the stairs of the palace or temple, whatever that place was supposed to be.

Charlotte followed behind him without saying a word, staring straight ahead.

There were enormous doors, towering windows made of dark crystal that repelled all light, and gigantic pillars supporting the ceiling.

The door in front of them was at least thirty meters tall.

Compared to that colossal structure, the duo looked like mere ants.

’Fuck, just how massive is this place, and why is it so ridiculously overdone?’

Adel sighed, and Charlotte frowned. Both of them were completely incredulous at the sheer size of the place.

In any case, they pushed the door open with force. The massive structure made no sound as it opened.

The black marble floor was completely spotless. Inside was a vast hallway lined with columns that curved toward the ceiling and enormous chandeliers illuminating the entire area.

There was no carpet covering the long corridor, so the duo walked forward calmly.

Adel used his senses and noticed that several villains near the entrance had perceived the disturbance caused by the opening door.

’So they still follow certain protocols, huh?’

Even after enemies arrived, they did not panic. There was a group of five targets not far from the entrance.

Then Adel turned toward Charlotte and said:

"Three early-stage Class 5 villains are coming. You can handle them, right?"

Charlotte looked down the hallway. It was extremely long, almost impossible to see the end of it, where a massive black wooden door with faint red cracks could barely be seen.

It was probably made from the trees of that Pocket Gate.

Charlotte remained silent for a moment.

She had become much stronger during that last month. Her mana had already reached 68% of the 4-Star level.

On top of that, she had nearly mastered the First Form of the Divine Art of the Eternal Void.

Even Luminus had assured Charlotte that she no longer needed to feel fear or excessive caution against a mid-stage Class 5 villain.

The stages were a system used to divide the strength of each individual within their respective levels.

They ranged from Early Stage, Mid Stage, Advanced Stage, and Peak Stage.

Four distinct stages that defined the difference in strength between each individual, whether villain or Awakened.

’...I should be able to do this.’

That thought, filled with confidence, crossed Charlotte’s mind, and she eventually nodded.

"Yes, I think I can handle three of them."

Adel nodded, and shortly afterward, he vanished without leaving a trace.

Charlotte stared at the empty space where he had been before turning her head and looking toward the front of the corridor.

She could now see a trio running toward her. Fortunately, all three of them were Dark Mages.

’I was trained to fight mages, so this should be easier.’

Without hesitation, Charlotte used the First Form of her Sword Art and launched herself toward the trio of villains.

***

Adel swiftly crossed the hallway using the Twenty-Four Steps of Space.

Soon, he arrived in front of an imposing wooden door.

It stood at an approximate height of ten meters. Adel used his senses and detected five people on the other side.

As he sharpened his hearing, he easily caught what they were talking about.

"The progress of the Memory Gate is already close to 90%. We should wait a couple more minutes, shouldn’t we, boss?"

Sitting at the end of a long table was a man who apparently served as the leader.

"Yes. Once it’s ready, we must use the Circle of Deviation. That way, we can teleport directly to the Church and report the mission as completed."

Applause spread throughout the room while some of the villains drank from their cups, perhaps wine or some expensive beer.

Either way, they were having a good time.

"Oh, great. Boss, the progress has already reached 90%. We should move now."

The group’s leader nodded. Then he stood up and said:

"Alright, let’s go. Wasting time in this place won’t gain us anything."

The group slowly stood up and walked toward the exit of the room. However...

Just as the leader was about to open the door, it suddenly opened on its own, slowly and without making any creaking, squeaking, or any other sound.

The leader frowned and gestured to the group behind him.

Everyone stepped back a few paces, their minds and bodies prepared for anything.

It was a habit. They had been ambushed countless times.

They had managed to survive, and over time, their bodies and minds had adapted to moments like these.

So they stepped back and waited to see who the person entering was. Their leader had said they would be holding a small meeting.

Therefore, no one should have been entering.

Shortly afterward, a voice reached their ears.

"Hello, friends. May I join you?"

The voice clearly carried hostility; the group was not foolish.

They quickly moved, taking up positions for the battle that was about to unfold.

The person who appeared on the other side was a man with a white bandage wrapped tightly around his eyes.

His hair was as white as moonlight, and on his face rested a smile that appeared joyful, though in reality it was fake and forced.

The leader instantly looked at the bandage and recognized him as the first-year Rank 1 cadet.

’How did he get here...? No, more importantly, did he really enter this Memory Gate?’

Dozens of thoughts crossed his mind. He had never imagined that any cadet would enter the Fallen Maiden’s Memory Gate.

Even if they did, it was unlikely they would manage to reach Chapter One.

The group of villains had struggled just to overcome the prologue.

They had to humiliate themselves by following memorized lines of text to talk about Luminus’s purpose.

It was ridiculously disgusting. They changed the way they spoke, mixing emotions with all kinds of acting.

They had barely managed to clear the prologue, but obviously they had no idea how to proceed to Chapter Two.

Still, it didn’t matter. Chapter One was perfect for planting the Seed of Chaos and destroying the Memory Gate.

They had never expected cadets to enter the Fallen Maiden’s Memory Gate.

Just to be safe, they had to reach Chapter One.

And now, standing before them, was the cadet considered the strongest among the first years.

The Church of the Black Dawn had information about that cadet.

They had obtained it through the Abraham Clan, a villain organization, though one that could not compare to the Church of the Black Dawn.

’The reports say he can kill a Class 6, so it’s more than certain he can kill a dozen Class 5s like us.’

Frustration struck the group’s minds.

They never underestimated those considered the strongest of each year at the Holy Academy.

Perhaps Class 6s could look down on those cadets, but Class 5s never did.

The leader made subtle gestures for everyone to prepare in case everything went wrong.

They had to plant the Seed of Chaos; otherwise, infiltrating that Memory Gate again would be impossible.

So the leader shouted:

"Get ready..."

But before he could continue speaking, Adel muttered.

His voice carried calmness, yet at the same time there was something sharp within it.

"Growing flower."

The next second, the space around the group changed.

If they had previously been in a room with a long table and several chairs, they were now standing on a hill before an endless field.

The place was completely covered in black and purple flowers. Some were dark blue, others purple, others crimson red, and so on.

Different colors divided into separate sections, as if they were individual gardens.

However, the hill they stood on was filled with purple flowers.

The villains stared in disbelief, but soon they felt cold sweat covering their entire bodies.

They did not know how they had arrived there, they did not know what was about to happen, and they did not even want to imagine it.

They remained frozen for a second before a voice reached their ears.

"Don’t you think Soul Flowers are beautiful?"

Adel suddenly appeared.

He was sitting on a chair beside a small table. On top of the table was a vase and a cup filled with some liquid the group did not recognize.

Adel calmly drank tea at the center of the hill. At some point, a pavilion had appeared, surrounded by purple Soul Flowers.

"They won’t answer."

The group looked at Adel in silence.

Without knowing what awaited them if they so much as touched the purple flowers.