While Vincent tried to shake the voice from his mind, Uncle Gold and the two siblings stood agape behind their masks, staring at the transformed three-meter-tall Blackrat Man.
"What is that...?" Fiona muttered, her eyes wide.
After releasing a thunderous roar, the massive black creature suddenly leaped into the air, vanishing momentarily from their sight.
"Look out!"
Despite the warning, the Half-Primalized creature landed in the center of the origin warriors, causing a tremor and sweeping its nearly two-meter-long tail, instantly killing several slower, weaker party members.
"Argh!"
"Dendo!"
"Damn! It got Mish!"
"Lhika!"
"No way..."
Alko, the Vyrmins' party leader, wore a dark expression as he took in the damage inflicted by the black creature on their makeshift group.
'Damn it!' he exclaimed in his mind.
Initially, along with the 'influential party,' there had been a total of fifty origin warriors. Once abandoned, they were left with forty, with each race represented by ten members. Surrounded by countless primals, five of their number had already fallen.
Now, after the creature's single, sweeping attack, only thirty-two warriors remained.
Alko's gaze turned toward the Thrygians' surviving group. Despite the chaos, the Thrygians were untouched, not a single injury or sign of fatigue among them, which he finds suspicious.
Others had noticed, too.
The Lyards' leader, a tall, muscular, crimson-scaled lizard-man named K'vok, thrust his spear toward the Thrygians. "This is all your fault! If we hadn't trusted Grarik, my people would still be alive!"
Spit flew from K'vok's mouth as he raged. Of the eight fallen warriors, three were his own, fueling his fury.
Indeed, Grarik had been part of the 'influential party' that abandoned them, which he deeply regretted trusting them.
The Thrygian leader, Gorak—a muscular figure standing 6'6"—responded calmly like a matter-of-fact, "My group was abandoned too, as you can see."
K'vok's rage only grew at Gorak's calmness.
"You don't look abandoned to me. It seems like this is all part of your plan! You say you were left behind, yet look at your group—they're in perfect condition!"
K'vok's words caused a ripple among the party leaders. It was true; Gorak's group was oddly calm, given the circumstances.
Yet, Gorak's expression remained unbothered, composed despite the hostile stares.
"We're simply not afraid of dying, unlike all of you," he replied flatly.
"You'll only lose your chance to enter the Origin World. You're not really going to die. So, why do you all act as though this is your end?" he added with a scoff.
His words stirred mixed reactions. Some were silent, unsettled by the truth he spoke, while others maintained dark expressions.
Becoming an Origin Warrior was no easy feat, and losing access to the Origin World was akin to becoming crippled. For them, failure was not an option.
But the rampaging Blackrat Man continued its assault. With claws shrouded in dark mist, it unleashed powerful slashes, cracking the ground and slaughtering both its kin and several more origin warriors.
Alko, known for his cautious nature and influence within the group, spoke up.
"Let's settle this later. We need to survive first!"
"What are we going to do?!"
"The door is open, and the Lionfang Clan has created a path—let's escape now!" exclaimed a Birdman origin warrior. Initially grounded to avoid spear bombardments from above, he now saw an opportunity to flee.
He flapped his white wings and dashed toward the exit, passing by Vincent and Caelius, who glanced briefly at him.
The Birdman's face radiated excitement as he neared the exit, thinking, "I'm going to survive!"
But just as he was mere steps away, a dark shadow flashed through the air. The Birdman froze mid-flight.
In the next instant, his body split in two, his remains dissolving into particles of digital light.
A silence hung in the air as those who witnessed the scene turned toward the source of the attack.
One of the two statues of hooded Blackrat Men, each holding long scimitars, had moved, blood dripping from its blade.
Crack!
Earlier, the warriors had ignored the statues behind the massive door—a grave mistake.
Vincent, having finally subdued the voice in his head, had also seen the Birdman's death.
Chamber's Guardian Tier 2 (4★)
The statues were actually late-Tier-2 primals. Vincent hadn't noticed them upon entering the chamber.
He then heard Caelius mutter, "Fool. If it were that easy to escape, the Novice Center's Tier 2 investigation team wouldn't have died here."
Uncle Gold, Fiona, and Karl, who had been battling the Blackrat Man, retreated to Caelius. They'd tried to prevent its transformation but failed. Silently, they joined their young master, heads slightly lowered in shame.
Caelius noticed their dejection.
"Don't let it bother you. You all did well. The Golden Lion Legion doesn't fear failure. Stand tall and watch me take this thing down."
Karl, clearly a fan, exclaimed with shining eyes, "Young Master's finally stepping in?!"
Hearing this, Vincent's curiosity grew as he focused on Caelius.
"Be careful, Young Master," Fiona said, her voice and gaze filled with concern.
Vincent watched Caelius step forward, releasing a powerful aura that swept through the chamber, causing their hair to whip in the force.
"So strong!" Vincent thought, astonished.
The rampaging Half-Primalized Blackrat Man took immediate notice of Caelius' approach. As it could sense a dangerous feeling coming from him.
Vincent saw Caelius rest his hand on his golden longsword's hilt before smirking. In a blur, he vanished.
Vincent frowned.
"He's fast!" He turned his head, trying to locate Caelius.
Then, a yellow flash erupted, illuminating the vast chamber for a brief moment, followed by a deafening explosion.
Boom!
Howl!
A pained howl split the air as the massive black figure was hurled dozens of meters away, crashing into a thick pillar and embedding itself there.
Vincent's eyes widened as he finally spotted Caelius, hovering tens of feet above the ground. His body radiated golden energy, and his unsheathed golden longsword glowed with a lingering yellow-gold aura.
"That demon's truly worthy of his rank," someone muttered, awestruck.