Chapter 238: Aerith Finally Confronts Bahamut (2)
The atmosphere inside the Pharaoh’s Vault was already strange enough. Endless shelves stretched into the darkness above, packed with relics that radiated ancient power. Floating crystals drifted through the air like silent stars, casting silver and gold light over everything. Some treasures pulsed softly. A few even felt alive, yet somehow, Aerith’s glare managed to feel sharper than all of it.
Bahamut tilted his head slightly as the grey-haired boy blocked his path. Sel, who was a few steps behind, immediately sensed the tension and slowed down. Gabi instinctively shrank backward. Aerith’s stormy eyes locked onto Bahamut, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, he finally opened his mouth.
"Watch your back."
Bahamut blinked, but Aerith continued coldly,
"I’ll surpass you soon."
Silence spread through the place as Bahamut stared at the boy in surprise and confusion. Aerith turned and walked away immediately, his white wrappings fluttering behind him while his small-sized tailed crow perched silently on his shoulder.
Bahamut remained standing there for several seconds.
"What?"
Sel covered his face.
"He’s declaring rivalry."
"But why?"
Sel stared at him blankly.
"You beat him during the rankings. You became Rank One. You also somehow attract disasters, girls, ancient beasts, and weird legendary creatures every other day."
"That’s not my fault."
"It absolutely is."
Bahamut looked genuinely confused.
"I don’t even know him."
"You don’t need to know a rival personally for rivalry to happen."
"That sounds stupid."
"It is stupid."
Gabi awkwardly raised his hand slightly.
"I-I think he just wants acknowledgment..."
Bahamut frowned harder.
"So he threatened me for attention?"
Sel nodded seriously. "That’s exactly what happened."
"What kind of mental illness is that?"
Meanwhile, farther ahead, Aerith’s ears twitched slightly after overhearing them with his telepathy.
CRACK.
The wooden railing beside him shattered in his grip. The white-haired instructor leading them sighed deeply without even turning around.
"No fighting inside the Vault."
"I know," Aerith answered coldly.
Behind him, Bahamut still looked disturbed.
"I seriously think something’s wrong with him."
Sel patted his shoulder with a mocking smile. "Welcome to having rivals."
"I don’t want rivals."
"That’s not how this works."
Bahamut looked horrified by that realization.
"Can I reject him?"
"No."
"That’s bullshit."
Ahead of them, Sixtie suddenly let out a small laugh for the first time since entering the Vault. Even Apollonia’s lips twitched faintly.
The instructor finally stopped walking.
"We’re here."
The group’s attention immediately shifted forward, and the moment they saw what stood beyond the massive black doors ahead of them, every expression changed completely.
...
Beyond the massive black doors was not a treasure room. It was a world, an endless, impossible world.
The moment the doors fully opened, the group felt as if reality had shifted under their feet. Space distorted silently before them, revealing a colossal expanse far larger than the exterior of the building should have allowed.
The Pharaoh’s Vault was a dimensional realm.
Above them stretched a dark artificial sky filled with drifting golden symbols and slow-moving stars. Some constellations looked wrong, shifting shapes every few seconds like living things observing them back.
Below were treasures, mountains of them. Entire valleys filled with weapons, forests made of glowing crystal trees, and floating islands chained to the sky carrying gigantic beasts frozen in time. Ancient books hovered endlessly in spiraling towers that stretched upward beyond sight. Somewhere in the far distance, a golden river flowed upward instead of downward, carrying glowing artifacts through the air like drifting leaves.
It was suffocating. Every item here radiated power. The very air trembled beneath the pressure of countless treasures gathered over centuries.
"What the hell..." Gabi’s jaw dropped completely.
Even Sel looked visibly stunned now. "That old monster robbed kingdoms..." The instructor said nothing because there was nothing to add. The Vault itself spoke enough.
Then, they saw them: weapons. Hundreds upon hundreds suspended in the air ahead of them. There were swords, spears, halberds, chains, scythes, and bows. Some burned with elemental energy while others leaked darkness. One sword screamed continuously without making a sound.
Another weapon appeared half-organic, breathing slowly like a sleeping creature. A massive black spear impaled the skeleton of something enormous at the center of a floating island. There were also bones, gigantic bones. Remains of creatures so massive that their skulls alone were larger than buildings.
Apollonia’s expression sharpened.
"Dragons."
"Not just dragons," the instructor answered calmly. "Primordial species."
That single sentence made the atmosphere even heavier. Bahamut slowly stepped forward, and the moment he did, something reacted.
HUMMMMMM!
A faint vibration echoed across the Vault. The stars above dimmed briefly while several artifacts flickered. Deep within the endless world, something pulsed. Bahamut froze instantly while his heart skipped.
That feeling again. Somewhere in this Vault, something wanted him, and it wanted him badly. The instructor’s eyes shifted subtly toward Bahamut for the first time, observing his actions, but he remained silent.
Aerith narrowed his eyes from the side after sensing the strange reaction around Bahamut.
’Again! Again, something special was happening around him!’ His jaw tightened unconsciously.
Meanwhile, Sel suddenly walked toward a nearby floating sword. The instant he touched its aura.
FWOOOM!
A massive illusion exploded outward. A battlefield appeared around him instantly. Millions of corpses were projected, followed by burning skies. At the center was an elf king wielding the sword while standing atop a mountain of dead gods.
Sel immediately let go, and the vision vanished.
"Okay," he muttered calmly. "That sword definitely has trauma."
Gabi nervously stepped away from another artifact after it growled at him.
"WHY ARE THEY ALIVE?!"
"Most legendary artifacts develop spirits eventually," Sixtie answered casually.
"That’s not comforting!"
Far above them, one gigantic, chained eye suddenly opened briefly within the darkness of the artificial sky. It stared directly at the group and closed again. All of them understood now. This was not merely a treasure vault. This was the collection of a being who had walked through wars, kingdoms, calamities, and history itself.
And they had one day to choose a single treasure from it.
