Vwooom~
The large doors groaned as they opened, revealing the interior of the room. I felt goosebumps as a cold shiver ran down my spine.
"Huu…." I took a deep breath and exhaled only to see white fog seeping out of my mouth.
It was then that I noticed it, a pair of burning flame-like orbs focused on me. No, it was focused on the figure behind me.
The malice in those eyes was so intense it made my skin crawl and the cold wasn't helping the matter.
Clank~ Clank~
Sounds of metal clashing against metal, groaning and scraping as the figure moved echoed through the large but mostly empty halls.
The specter king slowly rose from the throne, a weird weapon that looked like a fork with only two heads in its hand as its battered heavy armor shifted beneath its movements.
"Nightcrawler king, can you hold him off for a while? I need to find and take its core to render it immobile." I said to the nightcrawler king but its eyes weren't even on me anymore.
Its six glowing orbs seemed brighter as it stared at the specter which was slowly approaching from the opposite end of the room.
Yeeeeeeeeeik~
Shrieeeeeeek~
Both monsters suddenly shrieked before lunging at each other. I felt eyes spin and my headache as a blur ran past me. I had borne the full brunt of the nightcrawler's shriek.
Clang~
The sound of metal clashing against an equally durable body part in the scythe-like hands of the nightcrawler's king resounded as the two clashed at the center in a mere instant.
They seemed to be at a stalemate.
"Esfyn, What's happening? Shouldn't the specter king be stronger?"
[Unlike wraith kings whose strength comes solely from themselves and their core, specter kings are only as strong as their army and their core houses only their main strength which is way weaker in comparison.]
'I see…. And since the specter army is gone, this specter king is at its weakest….'
[The specter king is currently around 2-star, which is weaker than normal and I think the reason is because of the nightcrawler king.]
"What? Why is that?"
[If I'm not wrong, lord Emris, the nightcrawler king's mutation comes from the specter king. I couldn't tell before but now that they are close,.....]
[I can tell that approximately twenty percent of the specter king's core should be within the nightcrawler king.]
—
Back at the main mansion.
Julien stood before the large glass door in his bedroom, staring outside at the moonlight garden that was just directly across his room.
It was a pretty sight.
With a cup of blood red wine in hand and dressed in a simple silk garment, he was the very embodiment of nobility. He had amazing looks, his tall stature enhanced his noble traits and made him stand out among his peers.
He was nothing like the crook that just put an end to his step brother's social life.
Creeeak~
The sound of the door to his bedroom opened and a figure stepped in.
"Do I have to teach you to knock, Edwinn?"
Edwinn paused for a bit before proceeding to stand beside his brother anyway.
"So?" Julien asked without looking beside him, his gaze entirely focused in the garden, a small smile playing in his lips.
"He went back into the devil's path." Edwinn replied.
After Emris left, Julien ordered Edwinn to send someone to tail him and find out where he was going.
"Good riddance…. Now that he's gone, every last piece of that wretched woman has finally left this household."
Julien finally turned to look at Edwinn. The latters eyes widened a bit as he saw Julien's expression, his brother finally seemed at peace.
'His smile is genuine,...' Edwinn thought.
"Finally, mother can rest and father can forget all about the past and focus on us alone."
"Elyisa seems opposed to it though, you know she knows the truth…."
"Don't worry about her,....I'll handle it." Julien shrugged the matter off as he walked towards his drawer.
He opened it and picked up an object, it was entirely white, like a pearl and it had a chilling feeling.
It was the prime frost orb.
"As for you…." Julien handed out the prime frost orb to Edwinn,
"This is yours."
Edwinn didn't immediately take it, instead he seemed to be hesitant.
"Take it…. You have to. You need to get stronger, we are about to become a duke household, you know what it means right?"
At the mention of the soon promotion, Edwinn's gaze changed almost as if he was recollecting something.
"Yes….. Imperium….."
To the other children of House Leonis, once the rupture was conquered, the battle was won. But for the few that were in Imperium, the battle would only just begin.
"It's time we let them know why the gray-haired Lion is our emblem."
—
Bang~ Bang~ Bang~
The echoes of battle resonated within the vast halls of the throne room as the nightcrawler king fought against the specter king, sharp claws clashing against steel Polearm.
Both figures blurred around as they battled, like oil and water trying to mix in a massive explosion of steel and fury.
On one hand was the nightcrawler king, a hunter and apex predator. Its fangs were useless in a fight like this, and so were its webs and poison, this was because a specter was ethereal, they could phase through most attacks.
And although the ability was weakened in tow with the specter king, it didn't make it any less disadvantageous for the nightcrawler king.
But even with that disadvantage, it slashed and clawed its way at the specter king, moving with amazing agility for a beast its size.
On the other hand was the specter king, a general in battle and a barbarian with the spear. His strikes carried the weight of a thousand men and it seemed to resonate with the wails of dead enemies.
Although the spear looking Polearm was filled with rust and corrosion, it wasn't blunt. On the contrary, the weapon was even deadlier than it would otherwise be.
Both monsters danced through the hall like a hurricane and I was left having to stand at a corner watching the whole process, lost in the beauty of the fight for a moment.
'So you can use a spear that way?.... So this is a dance….'
The Velthora basic Spearmanship was a scripture that was unlike any spear scripture. It was more of a general Polearm scripture than a spear scripture which was why I could comprehend a few things from the way the specter king fought.
"Shoot! I have to find the core!" I muttered as I looked around. I didn't need to look too much, the only place that wasn't bare was the throne so I headed there first.
'The hell….?'
The closer I got to the throne, the more the cold seemed to seep into my body. It went so deep, I could feel it penetrating my bones.
"Esfyn,... Any idea what's going on?" I asked Esfyn. I've noticed she wasn't opposed to helping me out with knowledge, in fact she seemed more than willing to.
[There is a high concentration of yin energy in the area, lord Emris. The core of the specter king is most likely there.]
"Yin energy?"
I knew what yin energy was having read a lot of books in my previous life but this was the first time I was hearing of it in this world.
[Yes, lord Emris. From the concentration of ice in the air, it's most definitely a low level yin pool]
'Low level? This is low level??!!!'
I finally arrived at the throne and just behind the massive structure was a small circular pool no larger than 3 meters in radius.
The pool was crystal clear, like the purest of water. It was shocking that this thing could generate such intense frost.
"There's nothing here!" I said to Esfyn.
[It seems like the urn has been placed into the pool as a drastic measure by the specter king]
'Hell nah, there's no way I'm entering there!....'
I didn't need to try to know that the moment I stick my hand into that pool, I'll freeze to death.
[The yin pool is perfect for your awakening process. Although it is a little bit intense and might kill you in the process]
As if reading my mind, Esfyn's voice sounded once again but I was not happy with the news.
"What? Isn't there a way to mitigate the percentage of me dying?"
[There is, but it's only a little less dangerous. You'll have to heal your core and awaken your mind world at the same time. But doing so might let the frost energy seep into your mind and kill you.]
"And what happens if we just walk away?" I asked but before Esfyn could reply,
Boom~
I looked up to see that the nightcrawler king had been smashed into the wall of the room by the specter king. It had cuts all over its body and it didn't seem to be doing well.
'Nope…. It's definitely not going well.'
[Although the specter king is weakened, it's still a 4-star monster]
'Fuck my life….. but this is my chance. If I do this, I'll finally be able to take the first step to becoming stronger….'
"Well,.... Do you have any advice for me?"
[Yes lord Emris.]
Esfyn replied.
[Don't fall asleep, no matter what. You must bear through the pain and stay awake throughout the process.]
'I'm in for a world of pain, ain't I?....'
"Esfyn, activate mind awakening card and flawless healing card."
[Understood, lord Emris.]
[Activating the flawless healing card….]
[Activating the mind awakening card…]
Before I could feel any of the effects, I ran and jumped into the pool, sinking to the bottom.