With all the resources invested, both from Ashera and himself, Kilian couldn't bear destroying the fine specimen, planning to devour him at a later date. Satisfied, the Mark of Greed and Eye of Fehl stirred, silently reaching new levels.
At that time, the Sura Plane shook under unprecedented tremors and a dark-purple light column shot into the sky. All eyes turned toward its origin and witnessed the emergence of an ancient, jet-black fortress so large that regardless of where they stood, all could see it.
A hypnotic call spread around the Sura Plane, driving the weak-willed toward the fortress' doors.
Over one kilometer tall, the fortress appeared like the devil's residence, breathing thoughts of depravity into all that glanced toward it. From its doors came a drawbridge that stretched and buried itself in the ground—welcoming everyone into the fortress' corrupt halls.
Kilian's face twisted into a frown. With the Sura Queen in his hands and the councilors under his nose, why was the fortress rearing its head? Wasn't the key in the suras' hands. Moreover, although not fully independent, the castle seemed animated with a will of its own, enabling it to spread its influence toward the weak-minded.
"It's Ashera's lingering will. Before Hel robbed the fortress from her and sealed it for the suras' sake, Ashera managed to impart it with a trace of her will. It seems that over the ages, that will not only didn't vanish, but grew increasingly stronger. My guess is that it feeds on a vast source of fehl corruption, perhaps ancient legions buried just in case by Ashera to maintain her hold over the Fortress.
However, if she could control it, it'd have long since returned to her side. If anyone can reach the control center before the Fortress forms an independent consciousness, they can suppress its budding individuality and take full control," said Eleonora who appeared at Kilian's right.
"Urag, meet me inside the Fortress."
Realizing that someone had already outpaced him and seized the key from the fehl suras' hands, Kilian wasted no more time, gave Urag a mental order, and alongside Eleonora, rushed toward the focus of his greed. Others had similar reactions.
"We can't allow such a terrifying relic to fall into Kilian or the technocracy's hands. Otherwise, the von Skoll dynasty's 3,000 years of hegemony will end in this era," Ayden declared, and alongside Tristan and Estrella, raced toward the Fortress. Agreeing with the words, Hanns followed them.
Unwilling to let such a force fall into the outsiders' hands, the sura councilors readied to join the fray. But before the spectacle of 297 exarchs' erupting dra could alarm all sides, an amethyst crystal formed before them, and Kilian's voice resounded.
"As long as you stay put, your queen is safe. But once you join the race for the fortress, I cannot guarantee that she won't fall to some unexpected accident," Kilian said, and instantly the councilors halted all moves.
"Despicable!"
Curse as they might, the councilors didn't dare put their queen's life at risk, and begrudgingly chose to stay put. With the strongest force kept out of the game, Kilian had more confidence in seizing the prize. But when he thought of the one capable of forcing 300 exarchs to hand over the key, that confidence turned into doubt.
"Could it be…"
Below the Astral Master rank, there was only one person Kilian could think of with the strength to force the suras into submission. Perhaps with her link to Ashera, she even managed to hasten the Fortress' awakening?
A matter for another time. Faster than the others, Kilian and Eleonora first landed on the drawbridge and dove in. Bjorn arrived a step later, followed by the von Skoll and technocrats group. Across the Sura Plane, all surviving students and countless lower-ranked fehl suras hurtled at the den of sin. Strangely, as if protected by a foreign force, none of the uncorrupted suras felt the Fortress' hold.
Or perhaps it just couldn't breed vices into those that didn't have any to begin with? In any case, thanks to its appearance, the Sura Plane no longer had non-suras on its soil—at the exception of Kilian's six aistis who remained sheltered by their master-servant bond.
…
Inside the fortress, high purple walls of a foreign mineral appeared before Kilian. But before he could appreciate the scenery, one after the other, the key contenders made their entrance.
Clad in a golden power armor, Bjorn landed before the Kilian-Eleonora pair and blocked their advance.
"Fehl usurper, long time no see. Even my best estimations failed to accurately gauge your current strength. Impressive," Bjorn said as the von Skolls and technocrats entered, while staring at Kilian's dreadlocks from behind his visor.
A strange glint flashed in his eyes, and he attempted to send Kilian a mental message. Kilian too did the same, and both were thus the first to realize that within the Fortress' walls, all mental connections were severed.
Led by Esther, the technocrats, undeniably the largest group, banded at Kilian's left. The von Skolls at the right, the Crystal Lords behind, and last but not the least…
"Woohoo! Isn't this the legendary fortress of hidden bitches? Ma boys, get ready to wreck some holes!" Leading a legion of lust-oriented daemons, a dwarf swaggered in, fists raised at the ceiling.
But once his eyes met Kilian's back, Urag's overflowing enthusiasm died down.
"We're here to support my exalted son-in-law in his conquests, Garth you fucking son of a bitch. How can you speak of wrecking holes before my daughter's man? Are you trying to corrupt him?"
Urag blamed the previous words on a confused imp and smacked him for good measure.
"Boss, even if you want to cheat the world, you need to be reasonable. We don't even have the same voice. How can you blame me?" Garth inwardly cursed. But dared not expose his boss.
From the technocrats to Kilian, black lines stretched all faces—at the exception of Esther, who just restrained a chuckle.