"Um, is that Rank 5 Field Monster now a pet of yours?" Cai asked as it walked beside Lux.
"Not my pet," Lux answered. "It's Asmodeus' pet."
"But isn't that the same thing?"
"Well, in a way, yes."
For an Apostle, having a Rank 5 Field Boss Monster as a pet was something unthinkable. As far as Cai knew, only the powerful high-ranking nobles and the nobility in Elysium had the luxury of having one as their bodyguard, but for Solaians, having a Rank 5 Field Monster at their beck and call was truly unbelievable.
In fact, Lux should be the only Apostle-Grade teenager within the Six Kingdoms that had such a powerful "Pawn" by his side, which made them feel that clearing the Sacred Dungeon had now become a lot easier.
But, contrary to what everyone thought, Lux didn't feel the same way. If a Rank 5 Field Boss Monster was present at the very starting point of the Dungeon, it only meant that the one manipulating it earlier was a creature that far surpassed the Rank 5 threshold.
'Either Pseudo-Deimos or Deimos-Ranked,' Lux thought as he walked towards the end of the hallway. 'The worst case scenario is that the bosses in this Dungeon are Argonaut-Ranked.'
Although Lux had the Golden Dragon Token, which allowed him to summon Keoza, he was very reluctant to use it unless necessary. It was one of his life-saving Trump Cards, and it could only be used two more times.
He was prepared to use one of those opportunities when he entered the Sacred Dungeon because of the things he had heard about it. Even so, he only planned to use it as a last resort.
'I'll cross the bridge when I get there," Lux thought. 'If my life is in danger, I will not hesitate to use the token.'
Although dying inside the Dungeon would only reduce his stat points, this was something that Lux didn't want to happen. Even with the Beast Cores in his possession that could propel him to the Initiate Rank, he deemed that it was best to just use them to improve the quality of his Skeleton Summons first by staying in the areas that were exclusive for Apostles.
Also, he still hadn't met with Colette, Matty, and the others. The Half-Elf personally wanted to give them an apology for not telling them about the plan he had made in order to hoodwink Twilight Rain.
He had thought that the less people that knew about the plan, the safer they would be. Lux had gotten in the way of the Secret Organization many times, and they had even dispatched Initiates to deal with him.
If they found out that he had close ties with Colette and the others, the chances of them being targeted as well was high. This was why Lux decided to "die" as soon as possible. He hoped that the animosity of Twilight Rain would end with his death, and they would no longer target the people that were important to him in the Kingdom of Gweliven.
'I wonder if they are still mad at me…' Lux could only sigh in his heart as he neared the end of the Hallway. He knew that right now, he needed to focus on the task at hand, so he decided to set aside the topic of their reunion.
After exiting the hallway, they found themselves staring at a spacious hall with five closed gates with different colors.
Lux frowned as he walked at the golden gate that stood at the very center of the hallway and read the letters that glistened on its surface out loud for everyone to hear.
—-----
"Four horsemen of the Apocalypse,
Conquest, War, Famine, and Death.
These four laughed at the folly of humanity,
and watch mankind take its final breath."
– The First Rider feeds desperate places,
His white coat brings false hope.
For him, peace has two faces,
Strife that ends hanging on a bloody rope.
– The Second Rider brings carnage like a mad hound,
His red eyes filled with burning desire,
Dire screams fill the air when the trumpets sound,
War that ends deep in a sinister mire.
– The Third Rider never felt any reason to mourn,
His black soul laughs when others slowly decay.
People wish that they were never born,
Famine that ends in an uncontrolled dismay.
– The Fourth Rider is poisoned with wrath,
His pale skin breaks every heart filling it with fear.
Corpses laying on his traveled path,
Death that ends in a timeless tear.
– He who seeks to release these Devils upon the world.
Do you know what monsters you plan to let loose of your own accord?
Someone who's weak-willed must never even try,
For the consequences of their actions will make many people die.
—----
(A/N: The author of the poem is named Niels. I just added a few things, but the poem belongs to him. There's no other information I can get aside from the fact that he is 31 years old and lives in the Netherlands. All credit belongs to him.)
—----
After reading the words written on the golden gate, Lux glanced at the four other gates located on his left and right sides.
On each of the colored gates, the words Conquest, War, Famine, and Death were written respectively. According to what limited information they had, the Sacred White Lotus was seen on the gate that represented Death.
"So, which gate are we taking?" Einar, the Barbarian Prince asked.
Lux pointed at the Black Gate. "We're going to the Gate that represents Death."
"Sounds ominous," Vall commented from the side. "But, since we're already here, why not?"
Both Einar and Vall knew that Lux had come for the Sacred White Lotus. In fact, it was not only them. The majority of those that entered the Hidden Dungeon this time all changed their goals from challenging the Normal Mode into Hell Mode.
The reason for this was simple.
The Purple Plague was starting to become active again along the borders of the Six Kingdoms. Although proper steps were being taken to "freeze" all of those who were infected by the disease, they understood that this was merely a stop-gap measure, and not a cure for the problem at hand.
Because of this, the Six Kingdoms had ordered their elite candidates to acquire the Sacred White Lotus no matter the cost. Even if they had to ally themselves with other guilds to do it.
The Six Kingdoms, Barbatos Academy, and the Rowan Tribe had an unwritten agreement that whoever gets the Sacred White Lotus, its benefits would be shared to all of them.
—--
Welcome to the Valley of Death.
—--
The monotonous voice spread in the surroundings, as if confirming that they had really entered the Gate of Death.
Lux and the rest scanned their surroundings first to check for any hidden dangers that might be present in it.
Just like the name suggested, they had appeared in a valley, where countless bones littered the ground.
Several banners fluttered in the breeze, and each of them represented the armies that had fought to the death, covering the valley with the air of death and destruction.
Lux paid close attention to Diablo's stats to see if the dead bodies in the surroundings were boosting his Blood Fervor passive skill. Unfortunately, nothing changed. This meant that the dead bodies that littered the ground didn't trigger the passive skill's effects, and were merely there as props or for something sinister that they would have to face later on.
"Everyone, be careful," Einar shouted. "You already know what happened earlier. Stick together and do not wander around aimlessly. Also, don't touch anythi—"
Einar wasn't able to finish his sentence because Cai had already gone to the battlefield, picking up the swords that littered the ground.
"Hahaha! So many swords!" Cai said as it happily tossed the swords inside its storage bag. "Grandpa will be very pleased after I bring these back to him. Oh… this one is of high quality, not bad."
The corner of Einar's lips twitched. He shifted his attention to Lux and gave him the "Bro, can't you even take care of your own subordinates?" look.
Before Lux could even shout and tell Cai to return, the Boar suddenly shouted and uttered a curse.
As it was picking up a sword that it fancied, the hand that was holding the sword held it firmly, not wanting to let go.
"Damn, you're already dead and you still don't want to let go of this sword?" Cai cursed as it stomped on the Skeleton's arm with the intention of breaking it to pieces. "Let go!"
However, no matter how hard it stomped on the bony hand that held the ornate sword in a firm grip, it didn't shatter.
Just as Cai was about to unleash a barrage of stomps to show the Skeleton who was the boss, the ground under their feet trembled.
The Skeleton's other bony hand rose up to catch Cai's hoof and stopped it from descending on its sword arm, making the Boar squeal in shock.
A moment later, it propped itself up from the ground and pushed Cai's hoof with a force that sent the latter flying away like a cannonball.
Suddenly, the sounds of countless rattling bones reverberated in the surroundings. The noise was so loud that Lux was forced to cover his ears because he had very sensitive hearing.
"I knew it," Vall said in a helpless tone.
Everyone stood in shock as countless Skeletons rose up from where they lay, and raised their weapons towards the sky.
Lux immediately activated his appraisal skill and the information he saw made him understand that staying on the battlefield was an option that they couldn't afford to take.
"Run!" Lux shouted, as he ran straight towards the South East, with the intention of scaling the side of the mountains in order to escape the vast Skeleton army. Every single Skeleton within it were all Rank 4, making it impossible for any of them to stand up against them.
The only option was to escape and hope that the Skeletons would slow down on the uphill climb.
As everyone was running for their lives, Cai, who had been busy cursing at the Skeleton earlier, was running away from a chariot that was being manned by several Undead Warriors, which seemed to be keen on hunting her down.
In an attempt to escape its pursuers, it immediately transformed into its Second Form, Hildivisni, and charged like a madlad towards the Southeast in order to put as much distance as possible between her and her pursuers.
Everyone knew that if any of them were caught up by the Skeleton Legion, only death awaited them. This was why they ran with everything they had towards their destination because their lives depended on it.
