Chapter 128 What's Wrong With This?
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Each pair appeared in a spacious room that seemed to be deep underground, among endless caverns.
Depending on the phase of the moon, each had a different challenge, but all of them, without exception, needed to defeat their opponent, who was already waiting for them.
"Well, well, I confidently stood on the first platform, and it looks like I\'m going to regret it soon." Luis muttered with a slight smile, combing his hair back.
In the distance, there was a massive creature, with every breath releasing cold steam, covering its body. The creature had two long paws, massive stone wings, and red eyes capable of instilling fear in anyone.
"Mr. Luis... What is it...?" The girl beside him asked, pulling out her bow and preparing to attack.
Luis smirked with a slightly worried expression, "I don\'t know, but I guess we\'ll find out soon enough. Get ready for battle. There may still be many mysteries in these ruins, but one thing is crystal clear, we have to slay this one to get through!"
Luis\'s spear began to emit massive streams of darkness in all directions as his gaze changed, becoming deeper and sharper.
The others were in a similar situation. Some, like Luis, had only one strong opponent, some, like Dave, had several medium-strong opponents to contend with, and Jane had more than ten weak opponents to defeat. However, they all had something in common, as each monster had blood-red eyes.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The space to Zayne\'s left trembled, as if there were an invisible wall, slowly revealing what was hidden.
[You have activated the sign of the shattered moon!]
[This led you to meet the secret guardian of these ruins!]
[Defeat the guardian to advance further through the ruins and uncover part of the mystery!]
"Holy Shit..." Zayne muttered with his eyes wide open. His instincts told him that there was something hiding behind the invisible wall, but feeling and seeing were something on completely different levels.
In front of the ruined pillars, was a massive glass cage with a blue liquid inside. In the cage, there was a silhouette, it could not be clearly seen, but it emanated a majestic aura.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Cracks appeared in the glass, and thin streams of water rose from the pressure. Gradually the cracks grew larger and larger until the cage shattered. Zayne was ready for the silhouette to attack him instantly, but instead, the silhouette just fell to the ground as though it hadn\'t awakened yet.
"How strange... It\'s definitely a guardian..." Zayne gulped, carefully watching the actions of the silhouette, which gradually rose from the ground.
It was a Knight in black armor, but unlike his previous opponents, it was human and seemed to still be alive.
"Shit... What happened to him...?" Zayne shuddered at the sight of open flesh between the armor gaps here and there. Knight had no skin in many places, and it seemed that blood could pour from those places at any moment.
"Argh... Argh... Argh..." The Knight breathed heavily as he turned his head and lifted his weapon from the ground - a long spear, all-black, capable of merging with the darkness of the night.
The Knight\'s eyes were white, but unlike monsters the other players encountered, his eyes were not simple lights, but detailed and more than real.
The knight glanced at his spear, then he stared at Zayne. The knight whispered something, impossible to hear, and raised his spear.
Whoooooooooooooooosh.
The knight\'s hand turned into a blur as he swung his spear at tremendous speed, creating dark streams of wind that filled the entire space.
Zayne covered his arms as the wind currents left several scratches on his face, while his blue eyes met the Knight\'s gaze.
[You are faced with the secret guardian of the ruins - Sacrificial Knight!]
[Before the influence of someone who has gone through hundreds of battles and experienced inhuman suffering, you are no more than a mere human! All your stats have been halved!]
[The effect of your special Title - The One Who Seeks Fear has been activated! The negative effect of the Sacrificial Knight is invalid!]
"Fuck... If it wasn\'t for my Title, I\'d be twice as weak... Is that even normal?" Zayne muttered with a frown. He couldn\'t believe that Sacrificial Knight\'s aura was so powerful.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
With a rattle of armor, Sacrificial Knight moved forward. Each step was difficult, as if he could fall at any moment without strength, however, his aura did not weaken at all, but only increased.
"You... You were able to resist my pressure... You possess great power..." Sacrificial Knight muttered in a muffled tone, then looked intently at Zayne, "Maybe... You can restore justice... even if after many years..."
Zayne shuddered as a chill ran down his back, "So you can talk? Aren\'t you monster... How is that possible...? Wait... Are you really human?"
"It doesn\'t matter..." Sacrificial Knight wheezed, "Only the battle is important now... since... I am still cursed... I am still a prisoner of this armor..."
Zayne was completely baffled, everything looked bleak and mysterious, but he had no time to think, he had no time at all.
Whoooooooooooooooooosh.
In a heartbeat, the Sacrificial Knight turned into a blur as he appeared directly in front of Zayne, as well as his spear.
Zayne\'s pupils narrowed as he instinctively took a step to the left, and the sharp tip swept right next to his face, leaving a long cut on his cheek.
\'Quick... very quick... I barely noticed anything, my reaction saved me... Well, I have to stop thinking about what he said and concentrate fully on the fight.\' Zayne said to himself, clenched his sword tightly, and made a vertical swing, simultaneously jumping back.
eαglesnᴏνel Sacrificial Knight blocked the attack without delay, then he spun the spear in his hand, grabbed it with both hands, and swung it from bottom to top, the blade touching the ground and raising a cloud of dust upward.
Dark streams of wind whistled toward Zayne, passing over him like thousands of tiny blades, leaving minor cuts all over his body.
[You sustained numerous injuries!]
[Your HP has been reduced by 10%!]
[There is a risk of severe bleeding.]
"Shut up." Zayne said coldly, "I definitely have no desire to listen to any of this. This Knight is certainly not at Apostle level, however, it is clearly stronger than Champion Grade."
Step. Step. Step.
The Sacrificial Knight slowly approached Zayne, while darkness thickened around his spear. He was breathing heavily, as if he didn\'t want to fight at all, but he had no choice, he had to.
"There\'s a strange energy coming from you..." Sacrificial Knight muttered in a low tone, "Tell me... Are you connected to Fate...?"
Zayne didn\'t know if the question was worth answering, but he did so with a slight nod.
"Yeah. I haven\'t fully figured out what\'s going on in this world yet, but Fate has turned its gaze to me, and I have this." Zayne said as a white coin appeared in his hand, exuding blue energy.
At the same moment, Sacrificial Knight\'s pupils narrowed as blood gushed from his open wounds as the rage inside him tried to burst out.
Zayne shuddered, not at the threat from Sacrificial Knight, but at his gaze. Deep inside his eyes, Zayne could clearly see something, it was not anger, but a deep resentment and hurt brought on by the betrayal.