A hazy stream of air blew from terrace to terrace in the southern city of Marashia region. The dark, moonless night made everything seem pitch black, and after the day of violence, the city had been overtaken by soldiers, maintaining a curfew.
But Sylvester had a mission, and he was the wind that blew silently that night. In his black, tightly tied robes, he made his way towards the monastery while setting up a few traps around the city to ensure nobody came to disturb him while executing his plan.
"Chonky, how's the view?"
"Clear! Go!" Miraj kept watch from the sky and informed Sylvester every time there was any movement nearby him.
After all, the traps Sylvester was setting were based on Elder Runes, a knowledge lost to the world, with him being its sole master. Moreover, his knowledge was elevated as he also knew about the ordinary runes that utilized common magic.
With his mastery over both, he effortlessly constructed runes that could immediately render people unconscious if they were to step on his designated area. Not only that, by using surveillance runes, he was able to keep a watch over the surroundings. If anyone were to approach them, one of the many invisible rune markings he had placed on his own body would vibrate, revealing the direction and proximity of the other party.
Having completed the preparations, he finally reached the rooftop of the monastery. Since it was the tallest building in its vicinity, it was being utilized by the soldiers to maintain surveillance. So he quickly incapacitated them—all sixty in total.
Sadly, by the end, a large pile of bodies had formed, and Sylvester worried about any of them waking up.
"I eat them?" Chonky masterfully suggested.
"No! They are just soldiers following orders," Sylvester denied and instead drew a rune around the pile that would keep them asleep unless someone were to break the rune circle.
With that, he made his way into the building. Miraj always remained ahead of Sylvester, scouting the area by flying swiftly. Any clergymen who stood in their way were simply rendered unconscious. It was part of his plan to ensure all potential obstacles were dealt with beforehand.
However, Sylvester was not so merciful towards the higher-ranked clergymen of the monastery. After realizing that the church in the West had been compromised, he understood that most of the higher leadership was also compromised.
Hence, a swift death was gifted to the slumbering men right in their beds. As for the lower-ranked clergymen, Sylvester believed they had no inkling that they were not serving the church but the royal family, as they were unlikely to possess knowledge about the functioning of genuine churches in the East.
Crack!
"Chonky, devour him." Sylvester snapped the neck of the third Cardinal of the night. There were three Cardinals in the entire Masan to begin with.
"Okey-dokey!"
With that, Sylvester descended from one floor to another, slaying everyone up to the rank of Bishop, the official position denoting a high-clergyman. Of course, Miraj ate them, too, as it was better to spread chaos by confusing the authorities about their whereabouts later.
"Maxy, where is Joe?"
"Do you mean Saint Cardinal Joseph?" Sylvester corrected him. "After encountering him, he struck me as a basement dweller. I believe he's somewhere beneath the monastery." Sylvester carefully observed and proceeded to a different floor after thoroughly inspecting each one.
Eventually, as the stroke of midnight approached, Sylvester finally reached the staircase leading to the basement. He was confident that the Saint Cardinal was at least a Grand Wizard, so he treaded each step with caution.
"Do not make any noise now, and stay by my side," Sylvester ordered Miraj while channeling Solarium through his own body by inhaling deeply and employing the training he had received over the years. It was a technique known only to Moonwatchers, called Moon Breath, enabling them to traverse the regions of the Divine Desert without attracting Dragon Snakes.
For Sylvester, it served a different purpose. Since the presence of Solarium in the air was minimal during nighttime, using Moon Breath allowed him to harness the natural Solarium more rapidly and effectively.
'Where are you?' Sylvester cautiously arrived on the first level of the basement floor. 'I see a few intruder rune traps but no clergymen or soldiers.'
With skillful precision, he deactivated all the traps and pressed on, discovering only stored food items on that level. In no time, he cleared the second level as well, yet even then, he found no signs of occupancy. Instead, only a few books and decaying furniture remained.
And so he continued his descent, yet apart from emptiness and an abundance of rune traps, there was nothing. Heck, there was so much dust that it was impossible to believe someone was living there. However, only one thing made him continue to go.
"If nobody resides here, then why are the rune traps increasing in number and intensity?" He queried himself upon reaching the sixth subterranean floor. No natural light entered the surroundings, with his shining palm being the sole source of warmth.
"Maxy, there is no clear ceiling." Miraj noticed as he was flying. "This floor is more badly made than the last."
Sylvester pondered silently and drew a conclusion based on his experience. "If that is the case, then I surmise that the deeper we go, the more crude the floors will become. Chonky, do you not understand? We are not in a basement! This is a pathway leading to some hidden underground location."
"Hidden? Where?"
Sylvester had no definitive answer, but he had heard rumors in the East. "There is a saying that as vast as Hundred Castle City is above ground, it is even more expansive below."
"Woah! Hundred Castle City is so huge! Then…There is an underground city?"
Sylvester, however, was more worried than happy. "I... I hope that's not the case, Chonky. Things will become too complicated in that situation."
Sadly, Sylvester could feel it already. He was going to receive a headache soon. But killing Saint Cardinal was the most important objective at the moment.
So he continued his way down, floor by floor. The levels began to turn into real caverns dug purposefully through rock and sand. The rune traps increased in power with each level, and by level thirty, hordes of giant bats appeared to protect the way to further levels.
Although killing them was easy, they only marked the beginning of more hurdles. Each floor had a different creature guarding it, and by level fifty, Sylvester found a horde of metal snakes. They were not naturally placed there, as their fangs were made of red fire crystals, allowing them to spew fire—it was not something they had naturally.
Sylvester was too powerful for all the hurdles, however. A single swing of his hand was enough at all times. But what concerned him was the time, as he only had the night to kill the Saint since he had already killed the rest of the higher clergymen.
"The air feels much warmer. God knows how deep we are by now," Sylvester mumbled as he cooled himself off. Even Miraj had perched upon Sylvester's shoulder after getting tired.
"Whatever it is, this better be worth it."
So he continued his long descent and cleared level after level. As he reached the one-hundred-and-second level, he began to feel the presence of strong air coming from ahead. It was a sign of a larger opening, likely the end.
Immediately, he covered his face again and took out his spear. It was not the spear of infinity, as that would be as good as screaming his identity.
"Chonky, go and take a look. If you feel threatened, return. Never go beyond my eyesight."
Miraj immediately flew ahead but stayed within view. For the time being, they encountered no new defensive creature upon arriving on the level. However, there was no exit anywhere, nor any place to go deeper.
Still, the air circulated in the big dark cavern. Confused, Sylvester licked his fingertip and raised it to check the direction of the air.
"Maxy! I feel something! Air is coming from this wall!" Miraj exclaimed suddenly.
Sylvester rushed and examined the cavern wall. It was like any ordinary wall of hard rock, but for some reason, there were a few thin cracks from which strong wind entered.
"This has to be the exit," he muttered and looked for any rune-based mechanism to open the door. However, all he noticed was dust everywhere, so much that everything was covered in it, and even if there was a rune circuit, it wasn't visible.
"It seems there is another way to enter and reach this depth from the monastery. I can't imagine Saint Cardinal walking down this distance on any day," Sylvester mumbled and tried to find a way out.
Sylvester closed his eyes and tried to sense the flow of Solarium there. If there was a rune circuit, it was bound to have higher Solarium than anything else.
"Got it!"
Woosh!
As soon as Sylvester noticed the Rune circuit and employed his magic to override it, the wall abruptly shifted aside, unleashing a gust of wind so potent that Sylvester and Miraj both got pushed back, colliding with the wall with a thud.
"Ugh…Such a strong airflow this deep?" Sylvester mumbled and picked Miraj before standing.
Cough!
"Maxy, I'm dirty now!" Miraj complained as the forceful wind had also generated a small dust storm in the cavern. Miraj's white fur had turned into a dusty gray by it.
Sylvester didn't appreciate it either and walked towards the exit through the dust. He couldn't see the view ahead but, by instinct, knew the way.
In no time, he felt the strong wind caress his body, and gradually, as he emerged into the open area, the sensation dissipated. By then, he also noticed the dust dissipating and the view growing clearer.
"I can sense it's a colossal empty area," he muttered and hastened his pace to survey everything. "I see something red ahead."
Woosh!
"Ah!" Sylvester came to an abrupt halt and coughed. "The air burns now!"
"Maxy! Look!"
Sylvester promptly lifted his head and, first and foremost, observed the absence of dust. However, beyond that haze, he beheld something that made his heart nearly falter. Yes, the magnitude of the cavern was immense, unlike anything he had ever witnessed before.
Yet, what occupied that cavern made him sweat even more than the heat emanating from the lake of molten lava before him.
"T-This city is…!"
He felt his tongue freeze even at the mere thought of knowing what the city was. But as he pondered, he realized everything now made sense—why Masan was so bullish on East—why Masan even dared to oppose the Church of Solis.
"This architecture—That statue…"
Bam!
Miraj flew to Sylvester and smacked his face. "What is it, Maxy? Why are you sweating? Who is that beardy statue?"
"Chonky… This is… a slave city of Dwarves!"
[A/N: See the city.]
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