Chapter 225: Reunion

[The Host will be able to enter the Ascension Dungeon once they reach the requirement to enter the Floor of Inheritance.]

[Returning to the Overworld...]

Vlad’s body fell into the portal that suddenly appeared beneath him. His body freely fell through the tunnel of striking rays of countless colorful lights.

Thud!

His back hit the cold floor. He couldn’t see anything due to the absolute darkness surrounding him.

Vlad was about to celebrate that, for the first time, he hadn’t puked because of the teleportation when a revolting stench hit his nose, as if someone had shoved rods into his nostrils. His insides churned, and he barely managed to keep himself from puking.

He immediately knew where he currently was. His silhouette was covered in a faint crimson glow of mana, with bolts of lightning dancing across his form. It illuminated the surroundings within a radius of around five metres.

That was all he needed.

He looked around, finding the array that bred the monsters with human corpses completely destroyed. The barrier that kept their stench sealed was also broken, hence the revolting smell.

His sword, Dark Heart, was still stabbed into the array, and spiderweb-like cracks spread outward from the point of impact.

His gaze lingered on its chipped blade. Just from the look of it, Vlad could tell that the blade had been completely worn down. It was never even meant to withstand Tempest Grade Mana to begin with.

If Vlad were to pull it out now, the blade would simply crumble into multiple pieces. He decided to leave it there.

His eyes shifted to the decaying corpses behind the sword.

Although the array had been destroyed, thousands of capsules containing the sleeping bodies of monsters still stood within the array. Even though they were unconscious, their intimidation hadn’t diminished in the slightest.

As much as Vlad wanted to destroy all these capsules and burn the corpses using his Electro Mana, he decided otherwise.

He didn’t know how much time must have passed already, but the investigators from the academy would definitely come. He might accidentally destroy some invaluable evidence, so he held himself back.

Now that there was nothing left to be done here, he activated Lightning Steps and moved out of the cave as fast as he could.

After reaching the surface, he completely covered himself from head to toe in his Black God Armour in an attempt to protect himself from the bone-chilling cold.

To his surprise, the suit was an insulator. His body heat didn’t leak from the suit, keeping him warm. Its vast applications kept surprising him.

"Chloe... Sera... Lily," Vlad murmured, a faint smile appearing on his face as lightning danced around his legs. "Wait for me."

He bolted away through the towering trees of the forest, lifting snow and rustling leaves in his wake.

He didn’t spam Lightning Steps for the entire journey. Even though his mana reserves had expanded now, they were not infinite. He needed to conserve his reserves in case he faced an enemy. He was in the Forest of Death, after all.

He had only covered one-fourth of the distance, reaching the densest part of the forest where sheets of snow covered the trees, blocking the sky beyond.

The light from the canopy of snow and leaves vanished for a moment. Vlad raised his head, his eyes narrowing behind the mask of his armour, whose black, glass-like helmet covered his face.

A wyvern moved past him. The light entered through the canopy again as its colossal shadow moved forward.

"There are wyverns here as well," Vlad’s brows rose in mild surprise. He hadn’t encountered one during the five days he had spent in the forest with his party members.

He shrugged, turning his gaze forward again. He was about to move when a thought crossed his mind.

"The direction that wyvern went to..."

---

Seraphina and Chloe’s lips parted, their eyes widening as they gazed upon the centre of the cave. A sword was stabbing into the ground, spreading cracks outward in every direction.

"That’s Vlad’s sword," both of them murmured simultaneously.

Chloe’s lavender eyes moved past the sword, reaching the mound of rotten corpses, their blood still wet.

The grotesque sight immediately made her arms tremble at her sides. She barely managed to hold herself back from puking.

Lucas’s eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening at the horrible sight.

An amber flame appeared in his eyes again as he checked for any signs of life. Except for the monsters inside the capsules filled with crimson liquid that glowed with an amber hue, there was no other living being here.

There was only one of two conclusions. Either Vlad had escaped or... he had already died.

"You two wait outside," he ordered the duo in a firm tone. "I will check this place."

He didn’t want them to remain in the presence of such a sight any longer. They were too young to see all this.

"What about Vlad?" Chloe asked, a hint of strain in her voice. "He was definitely here."

"He must have already left after destroying the array," Lucas replied. In truth, he wasn’t sure. There was a possibility that he might find his dead body in the pile of corpses, but that wasn’t something these young girls needed to know. "Look for clues outside, but don’t go too far from the cave."

The duo nodded. Once they left the dungeon, Lucas’s expression darkened. His fists tightened until his knuckles turned white.

"The Excidus..." he muttered, every syllable laced with hatred. "This is their doing. How dare they show themselves again?"

---

Seraphina and Chloe reached the surface again, both of them carrying grim expressions on their faces.

"Vlad..." Chloe murmured, her voice slightly breaking.

Seraphina turned to her. She tapped her shoulder and said in a reassuring tone, "Don’t worry. He will be fine."

Chloe gave an empty nod. They both understood that Lucas sending them back wasn’t merely because of the sight in the cave. He was going to find Vlad... or more accurately, his corpse among all those dead bodies.

Chloe’s lips pressed into a thin line. ’If something really happened to Vlad... I-I will—’

"Chloe..." A soft, familiar voice echoed, the voice she had longed to hear for over three years.

Her heart raced, her breath caught in her throat as her eyes rose.

A few metres away in front of them stood Vlad, carrying the usual warmth in his crimson eyes.