Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Aether Core [5]
— I’m sorry...
— That sphere definitely wasn’t an ordinary thing, because it seemed to be protected by a monster.
— But unfortunately... I couldn’t see it. I could only endure the pain while trying to run away as fast as I could.
A Tower Creature that could turn invisible?
— It really hurt...
"Interesting."
— A large chunk of my skin was torn off, several bones were broken, blood kept flowing out... and many other disgusting things.
— I miss my parents...
— I will continue to try.
Flip.
— Today, I have a rematch.
— As a result, I lost.
Flip.
— Today, I have a rematch.
— As a result, I lost.
Flip.
— Today, I fought again.
— Result, I lost.
Flip.
— Today, I fought again.
— Result, I lost.
...
All the following pages contained the same content.
Fought that Tower Creature, and lost miserably.
— Why?
— Why?
— I trained so much, but in the end I still couldn’t defeat it even once.
— Why?
— This world... is so miserable.
That man had completely collapsed at that time.
All his positivity and hope had been mixed with the darkness of despair as he suffered one bitter defeat after another.
The handwriting had also become much more unstable.
He had gradually gone mad.
Flip.
Flip.
Flip.
...
The following pages were left with nothing written on them.
Only blank pages.
"That’s understandable, how could a madman write anything."
Just like that, Kael’s fingers kept flipping through the pages.
But the result was always the same.
And just as he was about to stop, he realized that there was only one more page left to finish.
"Never mind, this is the last page anyway."
Without holding on to too much hope, Kael’s fingers flipped to the last page.
Flip.
— I’m sorry...mom and dad.
"..."
Like the first page, this line of text took up the entire space of the last page.
However, the meanings of the two lines of text were completely opposite.
The first one belonged to someone who still held on to a lot of hope.
But this one belonged to someone who was drowning in despair and pain.
But, that wasn’t all.
The last line wasn’t written in ink, but in blood.
And it looked extremely scribbled, proving that he didn’t have much time to write it.
Did he write this before he was killed?
"... How... interesting..."
Kael didn’t know what else to say.
A madman, until the last minute before his death, suddenly regained a bit of consciousness?
And he still had the mood to think about his parents?
There was no doubt about it.
What an amazing person.
"..."
Just like that, the diary came to an end, and he received much more than he expected.
"...I will avenge you... and give this diary to your parents if possible."
With a faint smile, he closed it.
What a roller coaster of emotions.
"Are you done reading, Kael?"
"Here."
Kael tossed the diary to Hans.
"Don’t be shocked by what you read."
***
Arriving at the location recorded in the diary, the location of the [Aether Core], Kael was truly shocked.
As written, this place looked really polluted.
And it seemed to be even worse than what the man had seen.
It seemed like the pollution had spread a lot.
And just like what was recorded in the diary, in the middle of this disgusting area, was a spherical object.
Emitting golden light and spreading warmth to the world, it truly looked like a small sun.
These two things really don’t match each other at all.
"It’s an [Aether Core] after all."
A gift bestowed by angels.
But cursed by demons.
Hiding in a bush, the four of them glanced around.
This place was truly peaceful, not a single living creature entered their sight.
But...
"...I feel something very strong around here, but I can’t see it. Maybe it’s like what the diary said, this Tower Creature really can become invisible."
Suddenly, Alaric spoke up.
And The King was never wrong about things like this.
"...!"
Almost at the same time, everyone felt a chill down their spines.
Although no one could see, they could all feel something staring at them.
For a while.
"Gulp."
Everyone backed away, trying to erase their existence as quickly as possible.
This Tower Creature was not an easy opponent to face.
And its rank was at least Monster, or even Beast.
It couldn’t be any lower.
***
Darkness descended, and covered the entire forest.
All the light had disappeared, as if it had never existed.
Even though Joey had said that the forest was completely safe, Kael, Hans, and Alaric somehow felt like something bad was about to happen.
All, except Kaede.
Because for the guildmaster of the Shadow Viper guild, the darkness was like a second home.
The night was her battlefield.
Using [Shadow Movement], Kaede successfully became one with the darkness.
However, that was still not enough as she even had to activate her outfit, the Artifact, [Black Rain], to become invisible.
Trying to erase as much of her presence as possible.
All because Kaede was about to embark on a dangerous mission
That was to retrieve the [Aether Core] over there, which was definitely being protected by a Tower Creature with horrifying power.
"..."
Taking a deep breath, the guildmaster of the Shadow Viper guild successfully adjusted her mood.
"Do your best."
Hans cheered.
And that encouragement successfully motivated her, forcing her to try harder.
"I’m going, wish me luck."
With that, without waiting for anyone’s response, Kaede quickly moved closer to the glowing sphere.
"Gulp..."
For some reason, the closer she got to the [Aether Core], the more her chest tightened.
Kaede’s instincts were sounding an alarm, wanting her to leave immediately.
"Shut up instinct, don’t bother me."
This mission of hers would determine whether the four of them could leave this place, so how could she abandon it?
"..."
The guildmaster of the Shadow Viper Guild could sense that something was staring at her in the darkness.
And that was even while she was using [Shadow Movement] and activating [Black Rain]!
It felt so unpleasant.
It made Kaede dizzy, and nauseous.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Her heart was pounding.
Something was coming.
Whoosh!
And indeed it was.
Invisible, from within the darkness, continuously splitting the wind into two, the Tower Creature rushed straight towards where Kaede was standing.
"How?"
It was something that no one could have imagined.
And it was also an attack that the guildmaster of the Shadow Viper guild could not avoid.
It was a surprise attack.
And Kaede could only sense it, not see it.
But, just as the tentacle was about to touch her body, and take her life away, a bright light like the sun appeared, blowing away the darkness in this area in just a brief moment.
"...!"
The second that light ended was also the second the danger for Kaede disappeared.
Yet, that Tower Creature was still alive.
It had successfully dodged the attack just now.
Then, from behind, Kael’s voice rang out dramatically:
"Plan B!"