The atmosphere in the room was heavy.
They were transfixed when they saw the projection. Expressions of shock and fear were clearly drawn on their faces when they saw the red star symbol attached to the corpses' clothes.
They saw dozens of Morning Star members dead in the dark, messy hall. Blood flowed like a river, coloring the floor with red.
Corpses lay in unnatural poses as if they had gone through a brutal battle. Horrific wounds decorated their bodies, revealing unimaginable cruelty. Their faces showed expressions of confusion, fear, and final agony before their lives ended.
Klaus and the rest of the group of awakeners were stunned in silence.
Most of the Morning Star members were A-Class. Their abilities were unquestionable. However, if people of their caliber died, What kind of monster could kill them?
"No way... this can't be happening. They are the Morning Star. How could they die?" Noah was trembling. He could not accept this reality, and fear began to overcome him.
And he transmitted his emotion to the people around him. The awakeners looked at each other, seeing doubt in each other's eyes.
Everyone in the room felt fear.
Before long, whispers of panic echoed through the air. The brave awakeners began to think about their own lives. Even some didn't hesitate to yell at Noah to cancel the raid.
However, the man supposed to be their leader was seen biting his lip in fear. He was afraid that they would encounter the monsters that killed the Morning Star guild members on their way out.
"We have to get out of this castle!"
"There's no way we can continue the raid."
"The monster that killed them will kill us. We need to get out of here immediately!"
Shouts echoed out, asking Noah to stop the raid.
Noah's men were not the only ones who thought so. Some of the Rays of Hope members felt the same as them.
Even though they had been through many battles, their confidence would disappear if they saw members of the elitist guilds dying terribly.
Joanna was the most obvious one who wanted to stop.
The blonde-haired girl pulled Sylvia's arm with a worried look in her eyes. Fear was clearly painted on her face.
"What do you think, Sylvee? Should we retreat?" Joanna asked.
"We'll see," Sylvia replied softly. Sylvia herself wasn't sure what to say.
As the noise filled the room with panic, a man with emerald green eyes loudly clapped his hands, silencing the people to make noise.
They were dumbfounded while their eyes lingered on Klaus.
"Can you please calm down? Cool your heads. And look at the light projection carefully."
They did as Klaus said, closely observing the projection of light emitted by the altar. However, they found nothing different other than a scene of gore.
Until someone discovered a small detail that the other Awakeners did not see.
"He's alive," Justin said spontaneously.
The awakeners opened their eyes wide. They knew who Justin was referring to. They didn't see Vincent in the projection.
Naturally, hope rose on their faces.
Klaus raised his head. "Their deaths will not have been in vain," Klaus said in a voice full of firmness. "There is no body of Vincent in there. I'm sure the man is still alive. And I didn't see the other bodies of any awakeners besides the Morning Star. We don't even see Hugo and the Sunstrike guild members."
His words cleared their heads. Klaus hurriedly glanced at Noah, signaling the man to get their attention before the mood changed.
Noah cleared his throat. "As you can see, only a few Morning Star members died. We need to find the others and save them. We are still continuing this raid. Don't let what you see fool you."
The awakeners nodded their heads as they looked at each other. Their desire to leave this castle was gone.
"Raise your heads! We'll save them!"
Trying to look like a leader, Noah shouted to rouse his men, but they were silent. There was a hint of doubt in their faces. They still didn't know what kind of monster had killed those dozens of A-Class awakeners.
Klaus sighed as he saw his cousin fail to raise the morale of his men. Then, he took over.
"This is the last room in this hallway. It must have been a spell or something that triggered the portal around here."
Klaus felt around the wall and found the runes carved. He flowed mana on the wall with Gavin and Akio, and a navel of blue light appeared.
And then, the awakeners entered the portal.
...
When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in another hallway. It was still the same as the previous one, dark, and a red carpet ran along the hallway. Only they didn't see dragon statues or paintings, but carvings on the marble walls.
"Is it just me or do you guys also feel that we go to another floor every time we enter the portal," Justin asked Olivia, standing next to him.
The busty one shrugged. "I don't know. I think it's the same."
Justin sighed. "How can you be that ignorant?"
The awakeners began to move down their third hallway.
They followed Noah even though he was only following Klaus' instructions.
Every turn they took, every door they opened, deepened the tension and worry in their hearts. They encountered dozens of monsters in the previous hallway even though they had only moved a few steps. But this time, they hadn't met a single one.
In the middle of their search, their attention was suddenly drawn to an unusual noise. As they got closer, they saw a man fighting alone against a group of komodos. The man seemed to have no trouble and could still land massive damage with his staff even though he was in bad shape.
His body was covered in cuts and blood, but he showed no signs of weakness. His quick attacks and movements were impressive, defeating each monster with great skill.
The man's appearance looked familiar to the awakener's eyes.
"It's him! The Guild Master of Sunstrike! He's alive!" a woman in the group exclaimed loudly.
Naturally, Klaus and his group of awakeners rushed to rescue him. They joined the battle.
With his lightning sword, Gavin unleashed a lightning attack that split the monsters apart, confusing and weakening them. Akio attacked swiftly and precisely, cutting and knocking down the enemies approaching him.
Michael and Sylvia were the main defense, protecting Hugo from harmful komodos attacks. The woman used her iron gauntlet with powerful blows, pushing the monsters away from the man.
The man was surprised to find dozens of awakeners surrounding him.
"You?! Who are you?" The shock was clearly painted on his face.
"We're from Rays of Hope," Michael replied with a smile. "We've come to catch you up and save your ass!"
"What?!"
A fierce battle ensued with weapons crashing and monsters roaring filling the room.
However, the presence of Klaus and his men ended the battle with a landslide victory.
"Pick up monster cores and valuable items! The rest of you secure the perimeter! Stay alert!"
Noah's voice echoed through the hallway as he instructed his men.
At the same time, Hugo sat weakly on the floor, his body wounded and his breathing labored. Klaus and Joanna approached the man and tended to his wounds. The blonde-haired girl gave him water and some food. She also used [Cure], keeping Hugo comfortable.
"Heh, you're a talented healer. How about you join my guild after this?" Hugo grimaced as he said so.
"Shut your mouth. Let me treat you," Joanna retorted.
"Yeah, yeah. You're so fierce." Hugo chuckled while enduring the pain.
Then, his gaze shifted to the man standing behind Jonna, and his lips twisted into a smirk.
"You must be Klaus Lee. Owner of Mors Industries as well as Rays of Hope."
"And you're the guild master of Sunstrike, Hugo Musgrove. Sadly, we have to meet with this kind of situation."
Hugo laughed bitterly. "Yeah, it's really very sad."
There were many questions in Klaus' mind now. Why did this guy end up like this? Why is he alone fighting monsters? Where are the other members? How did he get this far?
However, there was one thing that made Klaus curious.
"I saw members of the Morning Star and other awakeners die in terrible conditions. But I didn't see Vincent there. I assume he survived. What makes me curious is that they are A-Class. What kind of monsters are you fighting?"
Suddenly, Hugo's face darkened. The expression on his face said Klaus had just reminded him of a nightmare. But still, Klaus really wanted to know what was going on.
"There are no monsters," Hugo replied.
Klaus raised one of his eyebrows. "Then what?"
Hugo took a deep breath. "You may not believe this, but the thing that killed them was Vincent."
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