Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1836: No

This was an odd question, by all accounts, for Sylas of all people to be asking. That was because on the entire E- tier list, right this moment, he was not only number one, but he was the only human in sight.

Sylas was arrogant, but while he believed there was no one superior to him, it wasn't like there couldn't be someone else who was also superior to others.

This Xalor could very well just be the Sylas of his Race. What was the issue with that?

There was none. But Sylas found himself focusing on the name more and more.

'Xalor Celeste.'

What was bothering him about the name?

Sylas' pupils constricted into pinholes as he focused on the last name. It blurred and then blurred again until he saw it.

WHOOSH.

Sylas took one strong step back, his head ducking on instinct as a pair of wings flew overhead.

Or so he thought.

When Sylas regained his focus, he realized it was just an illusion.

'Wings.'

It shouldn't mean anything at all, but to Sylas who knew far more about the world than ever before, it was

enormous.

Wings-Angel Wings in specific—were a trait that was Gene Locked across the universe. Only a very select few could have them at all. It was chained down to the point that even Convergent Evolution wasn't able to reproduce them again.

And that was when Sylas remembered Starell.

It wasn't that he had forgotten. It was instead that he had so many enemies now that it was impossible for him to account for every single one of them at every single point in time.

He was already preparing to account for the Thryskai and the Rat. He was also preparing to deal with potential interference from Legacy as well, as they had been peaceful for a while.

In fact, just saying the "Thryskai" didn't really do it justice. Because in reality, he was facing what amounted to four of their seven Mortal Clans at once.

Sylas was expecting not just the Kaelthar, but also the Purvon. And he was almost 100% certain that Ryhkan wouldn't be appearing himself and would prefer to use proxies, which meant that the fact Sylas had killed Sona and Buri Thryskai would come back to bite him as well.

What Sylas didn't expect was to have to deal with Starell's people as well.

No... he had considered of the possibility, but he had dismissed it because it was remote.

The reason the Thryskai could find a way to attack him was because they had a foothold here. Though they were almost always separated in the minds of the people, it had to be remembered that the Thryskai were technically just a single Race.

Because the Kaelthar had a foothold here, it probably wouldn't be an issue for the Sona and Buri to find a way to take advantage of it.

But as far as Sylas knew, the angel-winged Races shouldn't have had one.

He had been wrong.

Whoever was coming for Starell wasn't just coming, they were already here.

Sylas looked toward Cassarae, his expression as impossible to read as it normally was. Cassarae herself was entirely focused on the fact Sylas had just taken a step back. In fact, there was a hole through the floor where he had just stepped.

The entire foundation of the City Lord Mansion, the sturdiest location of the strongest City on Earth, had just so suddenly been shifted by that single step.

The fact Sylas didn't properly control that step meant that he felt like he was in real danger just now.

And Sylas feeling like he was in real danger just because he was observing something from afar... "Did they have angel wings?" Sylas asked.

"... Huh?" Cassarae was still in a bit of a daze.

"Did they have angel wings?" Sylas repeated. He never did such a thing, but there were some people worth the exception to his rule.

"Angel wings? As in feathered wings?... no, no they didn't. But their spears had bronze angel wings on them."

Sylas pulled his legs out from the hole in the floor, Runes flowing behind it and shifting the City Lord Mansion back into place. The floors and the foundation all repaired itself in an instant.

For the past several weeks, Sylas had been preparing himself for the absolute worst.

All the effort he put into the Omnimous, only to not be satisfied by that alone and to proceed to risk his life against

a literal God Race, was all because he knew that he couldn't afford to rest on his laurels.

Others might have thought he was crazy. If he knew that Earth was about to be in so much danger, and he was the best option they had, how could he put himself in jeopardy not just once, but twice in quick succession?

And yet now, it suddenly felt like it wasn't nearly enough.

Cassarae shook her head. "How do you even know that?"

She knew that Sylas was smart, but this felt more like omnipotence compared to his usual. Though he had gotten the Angel Wings wrong, it felt like something impossible to land on by coincidence... especially since Sylas wasn't the sort who spoke without reasonable cause.

"How many of them were there?" Sylas asked a question instead of answering.

"... Three. They just appeared out of nowhere while I was trying to get the site finished up for the Legendary City Stele."

"Did they say anything about what they wanted?"

"They didn't say anything. They just started fighting. But it didn't seem like they wanted to kill me, they were more focused on capturing me. Unluckily for them, I was in the middle of a Quest for my Sword Slave Profession and, well... let's just say I was in a graveyard of swords."

"Did you kill them?"

"No." Cassarae shook her head. "Their healing abilities were ridiculous. I almost cut one in two and they zipped back together like a pair of pants.

"When I successfully converted my Will to Sword Aura, they left."

Sylas fell into complete silence.

Had they been trying to capture Cassarae to use against him? Why send only three? Were they just probing? But why would they need to probe Cassarae-if they knew enough to know to target her, then they certainly knew enough to know that he was the only real threat.

Sylas' pupils suddenly shrank into pinholes, then shook violently.

Almost on cue, Earth shook as well.