Sylas stood in the middle of a hall as a great amount of hustle and bustle was moving around him. There were workers getting things set up for tonight’s festival, some were only arranging flowers, while others were building large podiums or even positioning heavy stone pillars.
When he entered this Dungeon, the last thing he expected was that he would be organizing what was essentially a grand party. He, Sylas Brown, a man who had never even seen a party invitation that he thought about accepting. And now he was in the middle of creating one.
But he honestly didn’t mind it. He wondered that if in the future, if he ever settled down to become an actual City Lord, would these be the things he spent his time doing?
Honestly speaking… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
At least that was what he thought for a few brief instances.
And then he thought about the meetings, the demands, the constraints… Would it be that different from the time he spent as a professor?
Maybe it was alright to do from time to time, to give his body a rest and flex his mind a little bit.
But all the time?
He remembered that feeling of freedom he had felt when he faced off against the Violet Rose Heart…
He was addicted to that feeling.
He wanted to feel it again and again, to experience what it was like to soar through the skies and display a might that didn’t just shock others… but also himself.
He wondered just how far he could push himself.
But for now, he wouldn’t lift much of a finger and clear this second Leg instead.
Even as the streamers were going up and the flower decorations were dotting the city…
—
[Leg 002 Cleared]
—
[Leg 003]
>[Investigate the lingering danger of the Temple and quell future troubles]
—
Sylas nodded, not feeling surprised at all. Just as he suspected, stabilizing the city to clear Leg 002 wasn’t just about clearing the gate or fortifying it.
It had required death.
**
~Hours ago.
The Great Priest stood in a wide room of the temple not quite understanding his luck. Then he began to laugh so hard that the echoes layered onto one another and the room started to quake.
It was impossible for an F-Grade existence to possibly have a voice so powerful, but it was also unknown just what kind of shocking secrets were hidden in this room to force such a thing.
“What a fool!”
The rumbling of the temple suddenly became even more fierce, but this time, in response, the Great Priest who had just been laughing uproariously came to a sudden stop.
The Great Priest fell to his knees and pressed his head against the ground, not daring to look up or even to breathe too harshly. He had just been laughing hard and was somewhat out of breath, but even with his face as red as a tomato he didn’t dare to inhale as deeply as he wanted.
When he felt a shadow sweep over him, his body shook to its very core, as though he could feel even his very soul about to crumble.
The shadow above him became deeper, darker, heavier. And then he began to smell that acrid breath.
The smell of sulfur and burning ash filled the air, a smoke consuming the oxygen, and suddenly it became obvious why it was the Great Priest hadn’t been eager to take breaths.
The Great Priest more than feared for his life; he feared for his soul, his very being, his chance at ever seeing the light of day again.
But it was ambition that continued to drive him. Ambition for something that rested beyond the mere Human Race.
“Heel, Aki boy.”
A somewhat feminine voice echoed, but it was clear at the same time that it likely came from a man slurring his speech in a lazy pattern.
Even as the shadow retreated, the Great Priest didn’t dare to raise his head up.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… it seems you’ve forgotten just how sacred this place is, little priesty boy.”
The Great Priest trembled but still didn’t say anything.
“Tell me. What has you so riled up?”
After some hesitation, the Great Priest began to speak about the matters and how the golems had been returned to him to “research.”
“Is that so? So you mean to say that you lost so many golems in the first place?”
The Great Priest froze just as he was feeling pleased with himself, the chilly wind threatening to penetrate to his heart and freeze it over.
“I fail to see what there is to celebrate so much about. If he can sever your connection so easily with them once, why couldn’t he do it again…”
“I… I… your grand holiness… if they believe that the golems are ours, I can trigger a ‘malfunction’ when the time is convenient and deal a lethal blow to the city.”
“Mm… do you think I cannot think of the possibility of such a plan…? If I wanted a dead city, I would simply do it myself…”
The Great Priest knew that this was a complete lie after everything he had observed. These people couldn’t step foot outside of the temple. But he also didn’t dare to voice his opinions.
“I need worshippers… I need humans to grovel at my feet and do my bidding… I do not need corpses. Do you understand me, priesty boy?”
“Yes, your grand holiness. I understand.”
“Good. Now think of a plan better than just springing a little trap. Make them despair. Make it so that they have no choice but to give their lives over to me.”
“I understand.”
The Great Priest didn’t dare to move even for several more hours. It was only when the acrid scent finally faded from the room that he dared to stand.
Exhaling a breath, he reminded himself to never do that again, before hurriedly rushing to the golems with his mind churning with thoughts.
What he didn’t expect was that these would be the last moments of his life.
