Chapter 331

Jacob slowly re-reads the words.

It doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots.

Is this…

But Queen Anthea interrupts his thoughts.

“Emrys, is there anything we can do?” Queen Anthea asks.

“He has sealed himself in. There’s nothing we can do now until the Trial is resolved.”

“But I thought Jacob coming here wouldn’t create interference with the Sacred Grounds since they have been dormant for so long. Didn’t you say that he could even enter them?”

Emrys, the Ancestor, is looking with venom at Jacob, and doesn’t take his eyes off him while replying.

“Only someone knowing about the Relic could activate the Trial. But even if they did, they’d also need the right blood to reach the Relic. The Mad God gained access through the bastard, but I doubt that he has enough blood to open the path to the Relic. He must be trying to figure out a way right now.”

“My son is not a bastard,” Princess Priscilla says out loud.

The Ancestor’s aura flares at the woman, and he takes a step toward Jacob.

“Your bastard son needs an education, which you clearly didn’t provide.”

“You take one more step toward my son,” Priscilla says coldly, “and I swear on my soul, you’ll regret it.”

The Ancestor pauses for a moment, seeing the sheer hatred in the woman’s eyes, but then laughs in mockery at her.

“You think you can do anything to me, child?”

“Do you like bullying kids, Emrys?” Vice Principal Lyanna says, looking at the old man. “Want to vent some frustration with someone at your level?”

“You’re not at my level,” the old man says coldly.

Jacob stares at the portal and then takes out the Ruby from his Interspatial Ring.

The Ancestor immediately narrows his eyes.

“Where did you get that?”

Jacob focuses on the gate, since the Grimoire’s readout just changed slightly.

[Flaw Analysis: Utilize Heartfire to charge Rafnov’s Ruby.]

Jacob had not been able to examine the Ruby with the Grimoire, but now, by analyzing the gate’s flaw, he has found out what it is.

He calls forth the Heartfire, creating a small furnace in his hands.

Everybody just stares at him.

Slowly, the red Ruby becomes liquid and floats in the air in the direction of the portal. The Ancestor tries swatting it away, but it passes through his hands in a ghost-like manner. And when it touches the portal, the opening in space is not translucent anymore, but physical and pulsating with a red light.

“There you go,” Jacob says. “The Trial has been reopened. Now, we can go hunt the Mad God.”

“I volunteer,” Valerius, the oldest of Princess Priscilla’s children, says immediately. “I shall bear this responsibility. I am also the strongest here.”

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The Ancestor grits his teeth and sees that another man has stepped forward.

Bastian.

“I shall accompany my cousin. This is a grave matter for the Valemonts.”

Duke Dorian looks like he wants to say something about his son risking his life, but he stops himself from doing so.

“I want to go.”

“I shall go as well.”

Kai and his sister say.

Thorne, who now has his giant white tiger beside him, nods, “I shall go too.”

“Thorne, you’re too weak,” Duke Arthur suddenly speaks up. “Your sister is strong and your brother has a Rainbow Skill. You should stay behind in case something goes wrong. Otherwise, we’d have gutted two bloodlines in one go.”

“Uncle, I—” Thorne’s words die in his throat as he stares at his uncle.

Marcel, Bastian’s brother, hasn’t said a word so far.

Jacob scans the group and says, “Of course, I have to go as well.”

I need to kill the Mad God and bathe the Skill Crystal in his blood.

“You will go nowhere,” the Ancestor says.

“Jacob,” Queen Anthea says. “If there’s truly an incarnation from the Mad God in there, it cannot ask for a better target than you. We would be delivering the key to the Relic to it. Valerius, Bastian, and Ilyra are all at Adamantite Rank. Kai can help them, too. But you? No. We can’t allow it. The Ancestor is right.”

“Let’s see how things go,” Vice Principal Lyanna tells Jacob under her breath, so nobody else can hear.

“I suppose,” Jacob lies through his teeth. “I shall wait, then.”

“The Sacred Grounds are relatively small. The path can be covered in four hours. Less if they are speeding and not stopping to reap treasures. So, they’ll go confront the Incarnation. It shouldn’t be more powerful than Valerius and Bastian since it’s somewhat tied to Jacob’s blood and Karma. They should be able to dispatch it in a few hours, venerable Ancestor,” Duke Arthur says, addressing the old man. “I think this is the correct plan.”

“I agree,” the Ancestor says, looking at those who volunteered. “You are young, brave warriors. Do not hesitate when you meet the Incarnation. The Mad God cannot have channeled too much power into the world if he can enter the Sacred Grounds, but he’s still an Evil God. Do not engage in any talk, any negotiation. If you can, avoid looking it in the eyes. The moment you identify it, obliterate it with your strongest Skill. Do not waste any time. A moment can be the difference between life and death with such an entity.”

“I understand, venerable Ancestor,” Valerius says, bowing to the old man and then turning toward the others. “Let’s move. The moment we find it, we’ll pool all of our Skills into a lethal attack. If the Mad God manages to attack back, Kai, we’ll be counting on you.”

“Of course, brother,” Kai says.

And so, the youngest generation of the Valemont family walks through the portal and disappears into it.

- - -

“Boss, are we really just giving up and going to sleep?” Lancelot asks as he and Jacob walk back toward their lodgings.

“I’m not going to wait in front of the Sacred Grounds,” Jacob says, thinking. “Vice Principal Lyanna is going to be there with everybody anyway.”

“Yeah, but think about the optics,” Lancelot says. “You are kinda the reason why the Mad God is there, aren’t you? It’s a better look if we skip sleep tonight and just wait for everybody to come back.”

“We’re going to fight the Mad God, Lancelot,” Jacob says, “I am not going to skip sleep. It might sound silly, but I don’t know how an Evil God’s powers work. So, we’ll get some good sleep in. Then, tomorrow morning, we’ll go check on them.”

Lancelot stays silent for a moment and then asks,

“Do you think they’re going to make it?”

Jacob turns silently toward Lancelot.

“No.”

“Why? They’re pretty strong, no?”

“When I faced King Baalrek’s Mad reincarnation, it didn’t fight me, Lancelot. Asmodeus wants to turn people into monsters — or just increase the number of monsters in the world. The Mad God must want to turn people mad. So, he’ll trap them. Then, he’ll use them to lure me in.”

“Well… if the Mad God is trying to lure you in, then why are we going? Wouldn’t that mean the old guy and your grandma are right and that you should stay as far away from it as possible?”

“The Mad God, specifically, doesn’t know I have the Grimoire. An Evil God has limited ways to interact with the real world. I asked the Headmaster a while back. And since I destroyed King Baalrek’s Madness, he will try really hard to drive me insane. The Mad God is a very petty God.”

“But how are we going in, then?”

- - -

Sixteen hours later

“He has a shattered vein that he has been trying to heal — his left Rising Sun Vein, which impairs him in the use of his Steel Titan Bloodline. So, if you focus your attacks on his left arm, you might manage to cripple it,” Jacob says to Vice Principal Lyanna and a stunned Ancestor. “And, luckily, his Constitution Skill only grows in power if you directly attack him. So, just hold him off for ten seconds, please.”

Jacob has come back to the portal to the Sacred Grounds.

Nobody has made it back yet.

“That’s one way to go in, I guess,” Lancelot says, bracing himself to make the fastest sprint of his life.

“You dare!” the Ancestor roars, red-faced from his weaknesses being revealed like this.

Vice Principal Lyanna laughs out loud as she immediately pounces on the old man.

And so, Jacob and Lancelot enter the red portal.