"This hallway…are you sure we did not go through this before? It looks familiar somehow."
Amelia shivered once she felt the chill of this place wash over her senses. The further inside she went, the colder this place became to bear.
However, unlike her, the grandmaster seemed to be having no problem with the sudden chill. He was just as calm and cool as ever. Looking at him made Amelia feel jealous.
"You can head back if you think you cannot do this any longer, Amelia. Some people are not meant to face difficulties."
Amelia flinched once she heard the grandmaster's words. They had hit a little too close to home and made Amelia angry with herself.
If the grandmaster could walk through this hallway and not complain, then what right did she have to complain about her circumstances?
She had none and she needed to get herself together.
Just as it seemed like Amelia had pulled herself together, the wall between her and the next corridor was broken.
Two familiar figures ran through this new opening and Amelia watched both Clair and Adrian fighting against a giant monster.
The more she looked at it, the more this monster seemed weird to Amelia. But she could not put her hands on what felt wrong to her.
"Grandmaster, what should we do now?"
Amelia turned toward the grandmaster to ask for his opinion. But there was no response from the grandmaster. He looked annoyed and grumpy. But Amelia could see nothing wrong with him.
So, Amelia called out once more to get his attention.
"Grandmaster, did you not hear me…"
Grandmaster raised his hand and a barrier rose in time to combat the attacking monster's attack.
Clair attacked the monster to gain some space but the monster had enough common sense to dodge that attack.
All of Clair's attacks ended up colliding with the grandmaster's barrier but they bounced off right away. The barrier was still held solid and perfect, as always.
"Hey, are you both alright? It was not our intention to drag this fight to you."
Adrian apologized as soon as he was out of the corridor as well. He looked tired and his chest was huffing and puffing to try and get some breath in.
But the monster noticed Adrian next and chose him as its next target.
Adrian was far from an easy target, but he was caught off guard when the monster decided to attack him suddenly.
Veera tried to exert her power to save Adrian. But her aura was not enough to save him.
Keith dropped his barrier for a second and enacted a new one that covered Adrian as well. Claws met his barrier and sparks flew all over the place.
"Tsk, you people are making this fight more difficult than it needs to be. Just die already so that we can go home as well."
A hooded figure walked into the hallway. They stood behind the monster and place a hand on top of the monster.
Familiar energy surged through the monster before it got even more agitated. Keith recognized who this monster was no.
"Horas. This monster is Horas? I cannot believe it."
Keith understood no one else would get what he was saying. But surprisingly, Adrian's eyes widened as soon as he heard that name.
"Horas? Another child of fate? But no one should be able to harm us like that unless we want to be hurt like that. Then, did Horas agree to this deal?"
Adrian looked surprised and there was a good reason behind that.
After all, who would agree to lose their mind just for a little bit of power? Keith knew he would never have taken that offer, no matter how tough the situation got for him.
But something must have been eating away at Horas for him to take this idiotic offer.
"This child did agree to this deal. He insisted on being the one to fulfil this deal of ours as well. But in the end, he was unable to handle the gods' powers and ended up losing his mind. It is rather tragic to think of."
The hooded man continued speaking. His voice was strong and lacked any emotion. Keith felt chills when he looked at this man and his confidence.
"You cannot just convert humans into beasts whenever you want to. There are rules and ethics in place for these kinds of things. How dare you abuse your powers."
Adrian was angry and annoyed at this god. He was someone who had grown up while preaching the rules. There was no way he would be able to maintain his calm when he was faced with such a situation.
"Hmm, I can tell that you are a problem. So, you will need to be eliminated here. The rest of you can be my experimental pieces to gain god's divine power."
The man seemed to have lost his mind. Keith only needed to hear this much before he threw this man into the 'not mentally stable' category in his mind.
And despite everything that Keith had gone through and everything he experienced, this list was rather small to look at.
"Gods this, divine that…why is everyone so attached to the divine powers in the first place? They are nothing but another shackle around your throat. But still, people worship them like they are everything. It pisses me off when I think about it."
Clair's eyes burned with anger once she absorbed everything.
Everyone around her praised the divine power but it had been nothing but a curse for her. So now, she had a complex about divine powers.
Usually, she would not have taken offence after someone used these divine powers and praised them. But she had a limit to her temper.
And this man had crossed that. Clair could no longer look past his words.
"A kid should not interfere in an adult's matter. Go back home, kid. This place is not for you."
That hooded figure made the mistake of underestimating Clair.
Not only did he insult her, but he also called her a kid. These were two big taboos in her book, and Clair would not take these sitting down.
"This is enough. Everyone, leave this place to me and head out now. I will teach this man who the 'real' problem here is."
Clair promised while fuming. Her opponent looked confident that he would win. Her opponent already thought that he had won.
The hooded figure did not even flinch when he was challenged by Clair.
"Clair, will you be alright? I don't think you should be alone while fighting that dangerous enemy…."
Amelia tried to get Clair to accept help but Clair was not listening. Her eyes were looking at the monster in front of her with annoyed eyes. But fear was absent in her gaze.
"If this man thinks he can win against me with cheap tricks, then he has another thing coming his way. Don't worry about me and head out now."
Clair sounded calm right now. But there was an inferno burning inside her chest.
These people had dared underestimate Clair and her power. And now they would pay for that.
"A kid like you want to stop me? Hah, dream on. I will add you to my collection first and then the rest of you will follow. You will not be able to deny the call for long…"
The man bragged but Clair cut his words off by sending a lightning bolt his way. That close call finally made the man narrow his eyes and observe Clair with a critical eye.
"Are you done boasting? If so, then come and attack me. I will show you what real despair is like."
Clair promised and she finally released her powers.
These powers had been locked inside Clair forever, but they were finally free and ready to help her.
Her opponent blinked but before he knew it, the monster he had created using divine power was done in with a single punch.
Clair was not nice with her play. The forceful power moving through her body had aged it to adult age. There was a lush tail behind her and her ears flopped on top of her head.
Even her hair colour and eyes had changed to reflect her more mature style of body.
"You will be judged right here and now. And I will not show you any mercy for the crimes you have committed."
The man looked terrified for his life now. He finally realized that Clair was not playing around and that she meant business when she attacked him.
"P-Please spare me. I did not mean to attack you. I just wanted to experiment a little." the hooded man pleaded in his last moments but Clair lacked any mercy for him.
Her claw separated that man's head from his body but not a single drop fell on Clair.
And then, it was the monster's turn to die at her hands.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l