Chapter 34: The Promise Of Power.

’What the hell,’ he thought, shocked. ’What is going on here?’

The invisible source of the voice chuckled in his mind and said, "I am a telepath, and I can read your mind. That’s what’s going on here."

"You can what?" Alexander thought, his mental voice rising a notch.

He was no longer shocked. He was now plagued by fear. For obvious reasons, he didn’t want someone reading his mind, so he began looking for a way to avoid this.

The only thing he could think of was the "meditative state". So he detached his consciousness from his mind and pushed it deeper into the recesses of his existence.

The effect was immediate. His mind became calm and empty.

"Oh," the voice in his mind exclaimed. ’What is this?"

"Can you empty your mind on command? I’m impressed."

It was the invisible speaker’s turn to be surprised. They said, "And here I thought your gluttony with a complete mind was odd enough. What an interesting oddity you are."

Alexander could still hear what they were saying. But he could no longer respond.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to say anything. In this situation, he only needed to do what he was told.

"Come in and see who it is you serve as your master," the invisible voice said to them.

Upon hearing the order, Tessa stood up and began pushing the door. The three of them behind her stepped up to help her push. But she glared at them, so they stepped back and fell in line.

With the massive doors opened, the entity behind them was revealed. It was a colossal being, standing more than a head taller than Tessa. They were so tall that the top floor couldn’t contain their body.

A Small Boss like him could reach 3 meters tall. That was already 30 centimeters taller than the tallest human on Earth.

With that kind of height and massive muscles, even if someone didn’t see their four-eyed, open-mouth configuration, there was no way an Apostle could be mistaken for a normal human.

Then there were Big Bosses like Tessa who were four meters tall. She was twice as tall as most men from Earth. But this man standing before them was still taller than her.

The top-floor walls were four meters tall, so Tessa was barely contained. But this man was five meters tall. He stood above them, making Alexander feel like a child.

As if the height difference wasn’t bad enough, a tongue of red flame burned above their heads, and their eyes glowed like twin torches.

As soon as he saw the red flame, a piercing pain lanced through his mind. Even though his consciousness had been detached from his mind and senses, he still felt pain.

The pain forced him to keep his eyes low as he thought, ’What the hell! Is this a Tyrant?’

’Is this what a Tyrant is capable of? We haven’t even begun to fight, but I can’t look at him. How am I supposed to fight something like this?’

’And they are big too. No wonder they didn’t want a roof here.’

"I am Byron. I came to this town to set up the Meat Brute Order for a purpose. From today henceforth, you shall be my tools to achieve that goal. Perform well, and I’ll help you survive your next evolution."

"You may go," they said, their tone final.

Tessa, who had always been bowing, bowed even deeper and said, "Your Will will be done."

Then she turned to leave. The other three, like fearful chicks running after the mother hen, followed her without being prompted.

On her way out, the Tyrant’s voice rang in Tessa’s mind, saying, "I see your hard work, and I don’t intend to let it happen for naught."

"If you continue to do your best, no matter the outcome, I will help you become a Tyrant. This I promise on my honor."

"I will do my best even if I won’t get any reward," she said sincerely.

"I know you’ll do your best. That’s why I trust you," Lord Bane said to her.

"But I also want you to know what is to come and be prepared. Regardless of my success or failure, you will definitely become a Tyrant."

"No matter what happens, I will never forget you. And I will be eternally grateful for saving me," she said, her voice full of determination.

Alexander and the other two didn’t know about this secret conversation. They were still following Tessa into the hallway.

After Tessa closed the massive door, she led them into the elevator. With a few button presses, the elevator began to descend.

"Did you sense that peace and serenity you experienced in His presence?" she suddenly asked them.

Robert nodded and said, "I did, Big Boss. For a moment there, I forgot that I had someone else in my mind."

Nodding her head, "That’s one of the abilities of Tyrants. They have dominion over the mind, so it is easy for them to subdue worms."

Alexander, who hadn’t experienced such a thing, could only lament inwardly, thinking, ’Just my luck.’

His worm had been present the whole time. It even shrieked and complained when he looked at the red flame.

’It must be because my worm’s mind is stronger than normal. Even the Tyrant saw it. No wonder it could wrestle for control of my body,’ he thought, sighing at his unfortunate circumstances.

Meanwhile, Tessa had moved on. She was saying, "For now, as long as you manage your temptation to eat, you’ll be fine. Eat a little bit every day, and you’ll keep getting stronger."

"But you can’t grow stronger forever. You’ll reach your limit after you gain a total of 90 units of anima. So you’ll need to evolve to break your limit and continue growing."

"The requirements for evolution are easy on their own. You must have reached your limit of anima in one Attribute, and you must have reached two-thirds of the way to your limit of total anima."