Chapter 63: The Spoils of the Gods
The heavy iron vault door groaned loudly. Belida kicked the dead center of the thick metal plate for the third time. The reinforced locking mechanism finally gave up with a deafening screech. The massive door crashed completely inward, kicking up a thick cloud of dust inside the grand hallway of the Zenith.
Sili did not wait for the dust to settle. The skinny broker practically dove into the dark room. He coughed violently, but he kept running toward the glowing shelves lining the walls. Sili dropped to his knees in front of a massive pile of pure gold bars. He grabbed two heavy bars and hugged them tightly against his chest. He was hyperventilating, completely overwhelmed by the sheer, absurd volume of wealth hidden inside the High Elders’ private vault.
Kanos walked in slowly behind Belida. He completely ignored the mountains of gold coins and the glowing crystal artifacts scattered across the floor. He walked straight to a clean marble bench in the center of the vault and sat down heavily. He needed to figure out exactly what the system had done to his body.
He raised his right arm. The new obsidian flesh absorbed the bright magical light of the room. It looked like a piece of the dark abyss perfectly shaped into a human limb. Kanos flexed his fingers. The movement was incredibly smooth. There was zero stiffness. The phantom pain from the hunting knife wound was entirely gone. He felt a strange, deep hum of raw energy pulsing just beneath the pitch black surface of his skin.
Kanos picked up a solid block of pure silver from the floor near his boot. He squeezed the metal block tightly. The silver did not bend. It literally melted. The solid metal instantly turned into a thick, glowing liquid and seeped directly into the pores of his black palm. Kanos felt a sudden, cool sensation travel up his forearm.
He raised his right index finger. He did not need a wooden brush anymore. He drew a quick outline of a hunting knife in the empty air. A perfectly solid, razor sharp silver knife materialized instantly. It dropped onto his lap with a sharp clink.
Kanos stared at the knife in absolute silence. He did not feel dizzy. His nose did not bleed. His mana bar did not drop a single point. His new obsidian arm acted as a perfect, flawless material converter. He could absorb physical matter, break it down into raw creative energy, and redraw it into reality without sacrificing his own life force. He had completely bypassed the fundamental cost of his Illustramancy class.
"You look like you just found a cheat code, boss," Sili said. The broker was currently stuffing extremely rare skill books into his leather bag. "Are you sure that demon arm is completely safe? It literally melted a silver bar."
"It is perfectly safe," Kanos answered coldly. He tossed the silver knife onto the floor. "The system tried to heal me, but the void stone in my wound fought back. They fused together. I do not need to carry bottles of monster blood or charcoal anymore. My arm is the ink."
Belida leaned his heavy black greatsword against the wall. The giant knight crossed his arms, looking at Kanos with a highly serious expression. "That means you can draw continuously in a fight. You can build weapons on the fly without stopping to dip a brush. You are basically a walking armory now."
"Correct," Kanos stood up from the marble bench. He walked over to a massive pile of raw mythril ore stacked in the corner of the vault. He placed both of his black hands flat against the glowing blue metal. The entire pile of incredibly rare ore rapidly dissolved, sucked completely dry into his arms. Kanos felt his physical weight increase slightly, but his mobility remained entirely unaffected. He was fully loaded with high tier drawing materials.
The sound of light, rapid footsteps echoed from the hallway outside. Papuyu walked into the vault. The female hitman looked unusually tense. She did not bother looking at the gold or the magical artifacts. She walked straight up to Kanos and dropped a shiny golden emblem onto the marble bench. The emblem was shaped like a roaring lion.
"We have a massive problem," Papuyu reported flatly. "I just scouted the main elevator platform. The High Elders did not just run away to hide. They went straight to the surface city and contacted the major guilds."
Belida frowned deeply. "The guilds? Why would free adventurers help the Sensor Bureau? The Bureau has been suppressing their levels and taxing their loot for decades."
"Because the High Elders lied," Papuyu explained coldly. "They told the Guild Masters that a rogue demon army slaughtered the Bureau and took over the Zenith. They promised the entire wealth of the floating fortress, plus absolute immunity from future system taxes, to whoever kills the anomaly."
Sili dropped a rare book on the floor. The broker grabbed his own hair in pure panic. "Oh my god. They put a blank check bounty on our heads! Every single S-rank adventurer in Marrath is going to rush up here! We are talking about hundreds of level ninety freaks loaded with top tier gear!"
Kanos picked up the golden lion emblem from the bench. He turned it around in his black fingers, feeling the intricate metalwork. The Crimson Lions. He remembered seeing their arrogant members kicking low level beggars in the outer city markets.
"How much time do we have until they reach the top?" Kanos asked quietly.
"Thirty minutes," Papuyu answered. "The main elevator is already ascending. They brought three entire raid parties. They have heavy magic artillery, high tier healers, and front line tanks that can easily crush buildings."
Belida grabbed his greatsword. The knight rolled his broad shoulders, popping his joints loudly. "We should barricade the main hall. Force them into a narrow chokepoint so your hounds can slaughter them one by one."
Kanos shook his head slowly. He crushed the golden lion emblem in his hand. The metal melted into his skin, adding another tiny drop of raw material to his arsenal.
"No barricades," Kanos said. His voice was incredibly calm, completely devoid of any fear. "If we hide inside this building, they will just blow the walls down with their artillery. We are going to meet them outside."
Kanos walked out of the vault, heading straight for the grand marble plaza of the Zenith. Belida, Papuyu, and a heavily panicking Sili followed closely behind him. The afternoon sun was shining brightly over the floating fortress. Kanos looked at the massive, perfectly flat marble courtyard. It was the absolute perfect canvas.
"Sili," Kanos called out without looking back. "Stay near the vault. Do not get in the way. Belida, Papuyu, take the flanks. Keep the fast ones away from my blind spots."
Kanos raised his pitch black right arm. He pressed his palm directly against the smooth white marble floor. He poured the absorbed mythril and void energy deep into the stone. Thick black lines instantly spread outward from his fingers like aggressive tree roots, carving a massive, highly complex geometric web across the entire courtyard.
He was not just drawing weapons. He was completely redesigning the battlefield. The surface guilds thought they were hunting a rogue demon. Kanos was going to show them exactly why the system itself was terrified of an unbound illustrator.
