Memory Reaper's Ascension

Chapter 210: Battle for Salvation (IV)

Meanwhile, deep beneath the Cathedral ruins, Ishiki finally broke through the last section of collapsed stone.

His hands were bloody from climbing. His newly healed body was covered in fresh scrapes and bruises. But he’d made it.

The gap he had squeezed through opened into what had once been the Cathedral’s main floor. Now it was open to the sky where the roof had collapsed. Moonlight streamed down through the opening, painting everything in silver.

Ishiki pulled himself up, stood on trembling legs, and looked around in confusion.

Everyone was in panic. He could see many players running towards the castle.

’What is happening?’

Curious, Ishiki managed to scramble out of the rubble and then slowly descended from the stairs. Making sure that no one saw him while he did all this.

He hid behind a building in darkness and peeked out.

And what he saw was chaos of a different kind than he’d expected.

Players were streaming toward the castle gates in droves. Not in organized lines, but in desperate crowds.

’They’re seeking shelter? No… something else.’

He had felt the shockwaves of something not long ago, and he was sure that something bad was happening. But he did not expect people to be so much in fear.

He changed his position and slowly moved towards the main street that lead from the obsidian gates to the castle.

His eyes widened as he saw injured players running inside the Inner Ring from the Secondary Ring… the gates lay open and the guards have been long murdered.

Beyond the gates he could see the destruction clearly and a myriad of Withering beasts moving around as well.

The secondary Ring has been breached.

’Holy cow.’ He knew it was going to happen sooner or latter but he did not expect that this would happen so soon.

Ishiki’s enhanced hearing picked up fragments of conversation from the nearest group of players, all looking like they had barely survived whatever hell had fallen onto the Secondary Ring.

“—The Dragon said he would protect us if we swore loyalty—”

“—Secondary Ring is completely overrun… someone needs to close those doors. At least we the ones who are inside would be safe.—”

“—I understand now… I don’t care about this scenario anymore, I will live under the dragon’s command for my whole life.—”

“—no choice, we either go in there or we die out there—”

The words painted a picture that Ishiki’s mind assembled with cold clarity.

The Secondary Ring had been breached. The players who had been fighting to hold the district had been forced to retreat, and now they were accepting the Dragon’s “protection” because they were afraid to die.

’So the situation has escalated completely while I was underground.’

Ishiki’s eyes tracked the flow of players toward the castle. The gates were open, yes, but there were guards. Not many… hardy a dozen players, who carried themselves with the disciplined posture of people who’d been organized into an actual force.

The Dragon’s guards. Players who had already long sworn loyalty.

They weren’t stopping people from entering. In fact, they were ushering them in with almost disturbing efficiency.

It was disturbingly well-organized for what should have been a desperate evacuation.

’The Dragon planned for this. He knew the Secondary Ring would fall eventually. He’s been preparing to consolidate all the remaining players under his control.’

Which meant everyone flowing into that castle was walking into a trap. Not a trap of immediate death… the Dragon clearly wanted subjects, not corpses. But a trap of obligation, of debt and of having nowhere else to go.

Once you accepted his protection, you accepted his rule.

And somewhere inside that castle… Renji must be sitting quietly as well. Ishiki’s fists clenched into fists. He needed to face him and confirm if he was the one responsible for what happened to Nina.

He was Ishiki’s prime suspect.

But walking through the front gates wasn’t an option. The guards were checking people and keeping track of who entered. If Ishiki tried to blend in with the crowd, he would be identified.

He was sure that the guards knew about him.

And then he’d never get close to Renji.

He needed another way in. Something that would let him bypass the guards and the organization and get directly into the castle’s interior.

Ishiki’s eyes drifted to the castle’s walls. They were high—maybe thirty meters and smooth, made up of gold. Climbing them would be possible with his enhanced body.

An idea formed. Insane and reckless. The kind of idea that would probably get him killed.

But it was the only kind of things he was good at doing.

Ishiki raised his right hand and focused his will on the Divine Blood flowing through his veins.

The response was immediate.

Black liquid seeped from his fingertips, gathering in his palm like oil that refused to drip. It pooled there, waiting for instruction, responding to his thoughts as if it were an extension of his own body.

’A mask,’ Ishiki thought, visualizing what he needed. ’Something that covers my face completely. That changes my appearance and that makes me look like… like a demon.’

The Divine Blood responded to his visualization.

It flowed up from his palm, crawling across his skin with a sensation that was simultaneously cold and warm. The liquid spread across his face, molding itself to his features while somehow changing them.

The mask covered the lower side of his face… It was completely black and with a jagged, teeth-like pattern that gave it an aggressive, demonic appearance. The edges were irregular and sharp-looking, almost like broken fragments fused together.

And as it settled into place, Ishiki felt something growing from the sides of his head.

Horns.

They extended from his temples, curving backward in elegant arcs that mimicked the demonic features he’d seen.

Ishiki looked down at his hands. Still human in shape. But the mask covering his face, the horns curving from his head, and the sphere floating beside him…

From a distance, in the chaos and moonlight, he could pass for something demonic.

’This is insane,’ a part of his mind whispered. ’You’re going to walk into the Dragon’s castle disguised as a demon. This is going to get you killed.’

He summoned some more of the Divine Blood and imagined it to turn into a large scythe. In no time… an elegant all black scythe appeared in his hands, almost double his size.

’Perfect… now let’s hunt.’