Chapter 40: He is Condemned
Raoes was left speechless by those words. But under the Grand Elder’s gaze, he knew there was no escaping. So his last hope was that it was all a mistake and that Priam was dead.
In fact, he felt it was stupid to even imagine any other possibility. There was no way Priam could have survived for this long; after all, the figure he had been forced to fight was especially bloodthirsty compared to the others.
After letting out a sigh, Raoes took out an emblem and waved it. All the stone pillars around the cave lit up and pulsed. Within seconds, runes appeared in the air, forming words and numbers.
[1] [Gangrel] [487-Year Cave] [Calculated Points: 744]
[2] [Flaris] [482-Year Cave] [Calculated Points: 666]
[3] [Shione] [464-Year Cave] [Calculated Points: 650]
[4] [Lumiere] [459-Year Cave] [Calculated Points: 639]
[5] [Aella] [461-Year Cave] [Calculated Points: 598]
Everyone read their names as they slowly appeared one beneath the other. The shock of seeing Flaris in second place was immense, especially because she had emerged much later than Shione and Lumiere, yet still scored far more points.
The reason seemed to be the age of the cave she had faced. Even without knowing what those ages meant, it was clear that they indicated the difficulty level of the challenge. She had defeated something vastly more difficult and still came out without any visible injuries. Her performance had earned her second place.
As for Aella, she had faced an older cave than Lumiere and still won. But her performance clearly showed that Lumiere was better than her, which was why she received fewer points.
"Some of you may not have realized it, but the souls inside those puppet corpses are capable of increasing their power through an ancient demonic method. As time passes, their souls grow stronger, and so does their strength," the Grand Elder explained.
"Although all the trial corpses have bodies at the same level, the souls inside them were not sealed for the same amount of time. Therefore, their strengths also vary."
"From the moment a soul is sealed inside one of the cave corpses, we begin counting time to determine the cave’s age. The older the cave, the stronger the enemy."
Upon hearing this, Aella swallowed hard. The randomness wasn’t as random as it seemed, since everyone had faced enemies at least 451 years old, and the differences between them weren’t that large.
The Grand Elder continued, "More importantly, because they are Sorcerers, their willpower and desire for revenge are extremely strong. Over time, this manifests as exceptionally powerful spiritual strength, which combines with their formidable combat abilities. As a result, they become truly terrifying and unpredictable opponents."
He spoke quickly, and while everyone was still processing his words, something new appeared beneath the last name.
The eyes of all the Elders nearly popped out of their sockets.
[??] [Priam] [1007-Year Cave] [Points Not Yet Calculated]
After that name appeared, the lights on the pillars dimmed.
This made it clear that no other names would appear.
When the Grand Elder saw those numbers, his expression changed completely. He stared at them in disbelief for several seconds.
"How is this possible?!"
Everyone was shocked.
"One... one thousand and seven years," Flaris muttered, completely stunned. "Priam... no... no..."
The entire area fell into absolute silence. This place was an environment created to train clan members through battle. Every year, Elders and other selected figures entered solely to fight and eliminate the strongest ones.
It was like raising pigs. Once they grew fat enough, they were slaughtered. After each battle, another soul would be placed inside, and the cave’s age would be reset to zero.
The clan had a rule: a cave’s age could not exceed five hundred years. If it went much beyond that, their power level could become extremely problematic. If any of them reached that point, the Elder responsible was required to personally enter and kill it.
Elder Raoes’ face was deathly pale.
He was currently responsible for those caves, and his family had handled that duty for generations. In other words, five hundred and seven years ago, when that puppet should have been destroyed, one of his relatives had been in charge.
All those responsible had access to the cave ages and could have dealt with it long ago.
In other words, it wasn’t a mistake.
It had been deliberately allowed.
"G-Grand Elder..." Raoes stammered in horror.
How could this have happened? Priam was supposed to die and for this fact to never be discovered.
How could a young man like him survive for so long against such a terrifying figure?!
"Raoes! Not only did you commit an extremely serious error that led to the death of a clan genius, but this is a clear act of betrayal against the clan! Arrest him!"
With the Grand Elder’s deep, booming voice, the other Elders rushed forward without hesitation, grabbed Raoes, and sealed him in a single second.
"Take him to the deepest prison. He and everyone responsible for this place will be thoroughly investigated!" The Grand Elder’s voice was filled with killing intent. After all, why would they want to nurture such a powerful figure? It was absurdly dangerous and could cause all kinds of chaos within the clan.
Gangrel remained silent from beginning to end.
Internally, he was somewhat confident that he wouldn’t be severely affected. He never knew these people’s motives and had no direct connection to this problem. He had merely taken advantage of the fact that this Elder had such a thing available and asked for it to be used to kill Priam.
Even if they discovered that he had requested it, as the clan leader’s son, he could easily get away with a light punishment.
Of course, his reputation would suffer greatly. After all, he had discovered this and failed to report it to the Grand Elder. But he could claim that he had been threatened and use his hostility toward Priam as an excuse to gather evidence. The fact that Priam had survived was perfect; it could be used as part of his "plan" to expose the situation.
"If his name is there, then Priam managed to survive! Why aren’t you going to save him?!" Flaris shouted furiously.
Shione and Lumiere nodded, not knowing what to feel about all this. They knew Priam was terrifyingly strong, but... one thousand and seven years... that was beyond anything they had imagined.
The Grand Elder shook his head. "It’s already been too long... It’s impossible for a young man to fight someone at that level. The only possibility is that he has already been captured and is being used as a prisoner by that evil figure. Most likely, it is trying to take over his body or do something similar in an attempt to escape. He... unfortunately, has been doomed since the moment he entered that cave. There is no way for us to save him."
Flaris clenched her teeth upon hearing that. Then she turned and sprinted toward the stone wall.
"FUCK THAT!" With a shout, she leaped forward and shot toward the cave at high speed.
"Come back!" The Grand Elder was startled.
At that exact moment, suddenly...
**KBOOOOOM!!!**
A massive explosion capable of shaking the heavens echoed through the area.
Everyone looked up and saw that the cave Priam was inside had completely exploded.
Then, from within the cloud of dust, a blood-covered figure was hurled out.
"It’s Priam!" Shione shouted.
Priam was fleeing for his life. The moment he jumped out, a gigantic black claw appeared, barely missing him and splitting the space in two.
That hand was only a phantom image, but the uncontrolled energy radiating from it made everyone tremble. The entire stone wall shook violently.
After that failed attack, a furious roar echoed out, carrying icy killing intent.
"You miserable brat, you dare trick me?! Die!"
Following the shout, a black figure flew out of the cave, its entire body wrapped in black mist.
The instant it appeared, it was illuminated by the light from the stone pillars. The black mist surrounding it instantly dissipated with a crackling sound.
"AHH!!! You’ve truly angered me now. Brat, accept your death!" That figure had actually decided to chase after Priam in front of everyone’s horrified eyes despite being bathed in the light.
"Priam!" Flaris, on the other hand, was celebrating.
