After declaring his desire to level everyone up, Miko led them deeper into the vault.
“But I gotta say, this place is insane.”
Said Bloom.
“That’s for sure. It feels like I’m in a golden world rather than a vault.”
Jin agreed.
“Those two seem to be enjoying every second of being in here.”
Hina pointed to her left.
There you could see Ace and Sora swimming over mountains of gold, like salmon swimming upstream.
By the way, this was how they traveled from the moment they entered here.
Meanwhile, miko who was leading the pack was approached by Alec.
“You seem to know your way around. Is Augustus giving you directions?”
He asked.
“Whether or not he’s giving me instructions, it’s none of your business.”
Miko answered without looking at him.
“I guess you’re right.”
Alec folded his arms behind his head as he walked.
“I was just curious, so there’s no need to be alarmed.”
“You’re the type of person who’s the hardest to deal with. Why wouldn’t I be on my guard?"
“Because I’m not an enemy. Well, even if I told you that you wouldn’t believe.”
“Looks like you really are a genius.”
Miko replied.
“To be honest, I originally approached you with ulterior motives of finding a love one.”
Said Alec.
“But it’s different now. I already learned that you couldn’t help me, but you were interesting to watch. That’s why I’m sticking around.”
“And you’re telling me this why?”
“Who knows. I just felt like saying it.”
Alec answered.
“What are you guys talking about?”
Momo approached them and asked.
“Nothing important.”
Miko replied.
Alec could only smile.
That’s when they came across a collection of statues, which made Miko pause.
Seeing him stop, everyone paused and looked at the statues.
The statues were made of solid gold and were decorated with the most beautiful gems. They were six of them standing beside each other. However, there was a specific one which was larger and easily stood out.
“Whose statue are these?”
Luka asked.
“Augustus and his five children.”
Miko replied.
No one from the clan was really shocked to hear this, since they all had an idea of what their forefathers looked like. However, for the others this was the first time seeing what Augustus children looked like.
Yet, there was someone who was really shocked.
This person was Bloom.
She was staring at the largest of statues that stood out. This statue obviously belonged to Augustus.
“Logan….”
She muttered under her breath.
‘He looks just like Logan….. Tiamat’s husband looked identical to Logan?’
She began to rack her brain.
“Wait, this can’t be a coincidence. There’s obviously a linked between the two, since she went out her way to reincarnate Logan as Miko. Then what’s the link between them?’
She could’ve only think of one possibility.
‘Miko is Augustus?.....When I think about it, it does make sense. Tiamat obviously care deeply for Miko, so much she reincarnated me because I was there for him when no one was…’
She peeked at Miko to see his expression, but only saw him staring at the statues with indifference.
Earlier Miko couldn’t look at anything relating to his past life as Augustus, but after coming in contact with Augustus on a regular basis, he was fine with something of this level.
“You know, I heard an interesting rumor once.”
Alec spoke while looking at the statues.
“I heard that the bodies of Augustus and his children were inside these statues.”
“?!”
Everyone were shocked to hear this.
“It’s true.”
Miko replied.
“After the war that killed them all, their bodies were encased in sacred gold and holy gems to be used in the future.”
“Use them? How?”
Miko suddenly jumped and landed in front of Augustus statue.
“If you try to spread your senses inside the statues you’ll find an enormous amount of power.”
Kirika stepped forward and tried to sense what was inside the statues.
“What the hell is that?”
She said with a pale face.
“That’s the residual power that these corpse are giving off.”
Miko explained.
“The power of each statue is only a fraction of what the person held when they were alive, but its more than enough to change the tides in any battle.”
“Grandmother…..”
The Triplets looked at the statue of Augustus youngest daughter Tilly, and started to pray.
Since Tilly was Echo’s mother, she was their grandmother. So they found it natural to pay their respects. As if to imitate them, the rest of clan members began praying to the statues of their individual branch founder.
Miko was the only one who didn’t waste his time doing such a thing. But he had to admit that it was strange seeing what was technically his grave.
After a few more seconds, he jumped down and started to walk away.
“Come. Since we’re at it, let me show you something.”
He turned a different direction and ran as if he didn’t want to waste anytime.
When the others saw that, they chased after him. They soon arrived at a temple in the middle of the golden mountains.
“Seriously, just how big is this place?”
Edward asked after seeing the grand temple.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Hey, Miko. Why did you come to the War God Temple?”
Ishma asked while licking the cake pieces of her fingers.
“This is the War God Temple? I thought it was only a myth.”
Said Karim.
“What’s the war god temple?”
Rin asked.
“It’s a legendary temple that was created with the combine powers of the Five Divine Generals. It’s said to house one of the most terrifying armies to ever live.”
“It’s not a myth. Inside are over 3000 soldiers who fought in the last war that claimed the lives of Augustus and his family.”
Raven answered.
“Or I should say, 3000 dead warriors who were turnt into sacred artifacts, by Divine General Edwin Magnus. Edwin was also the one who turned Augustus and his children corpses into weapons.”
He explained.
Both Raven and Miko kept the fact that either it be the statues or the dead warriors in the temple, they could only be used once before crumbling away.
“If the clan is every in trouble they’re countless ways to repel even an army of higher beings a few times.”
Miko said.
‘But it would be better to not use these methods. That’s why I need to create an invincible foundation for the clan before I leave.’
He thought while looking at the others who were in awe looking at the temple.
‘And I need to make them the center of that foundation while they're still young and full of potential.’
He turned his back to the temple and started to walking away.
“Now then, its time to dig up some old books.”
They walked for another 10 minutes before arriving in front of a gigantic book shelf. No, it was more like a library that was spread across the walls. Each book shelf was a 100m tall and 50m wide, stocked with countless books.
“Wow, those books are giving off some ancient aura.”
Said Momo as she approached the book shelves.
“These are all magic books/grimoires. I don’t know the exact number of them but I heard that it’s should be near a million.”
“A million?!”
“Its merely an exaggeration, but there’s still a great number.”
Miko answered.
“Miko, don’t go playing with those grimoires.”
Ishma warned.
“These books were all collected by Augustus, my brother and the others. They’re all very dangerous and possess terrifying magic. Just reading it can kill a person, if theyre not careful.”
“Momo is already reading them though.”
Miko pointed and said.
“Void magic, demon spells, god spells, dark summoning, necromancy, death magic, life magic, Hell Arts, there’s so much rare and lost magic in these books!”
Momo said as she skip through several books at once.
“These book can help me perfect my Heavenly Demon Witch technique.”
She looked back at the shelves and her eyes sparkled.
“You’re fangirling you know?”
Miko said and took up a book and open it.
“Ugh.”
He instantly felt a sharp pain in his brain.
“I see. These really are dangerous.”
He then smiled.
“But risks are necessary for evolution.”
He stepped back.
“Bašmu, show me the books I asked you for.”
“Alright.”
Basmu snapped his fingers and certain books started glowing.
“Alright, thanks.”
After he said that, Miko moved as swift as the wind to grab the glowing books. When he finished he had a huge pile of books stocked up.
He then checked the books and nodded.
“Yup, this is everything I wanted.”
He took a book and threw it towards Hina. She caught it and looked at it with confusion.
“That is a grimoire containing demon arts. I’m sure if you combine it with your abilities, you’ll gain the decisive firepower you lack.”
Hina opened the book and a sinister feeling engulf her body. She quickly closed the book with cold sweat covering her face.
“I-I'll try my best.”
Miko nodded.
He then took another book and threw it at Rin.
“Your Demolition Arts is amazing, but its better to have a few moves as back up if it fails you.”
Miko said.
“That book has the arts of the legendary Thunderbird inside it. If you incorporate it into your Demolition Arts it should at least triple its fire power, and also gives you a wider variety of techniques.”
“Thanks. I was thinking of improving the Demolition Arts myself. This is perfect.”
Rin answered with a smile.
Miko then threw a book towards Cait.
“Although we never fought, I watched how you fought from the replays of the tournament. From it I realized that you didn’t possess any techniques that can utilize your behemoth blood. As such, I’m giving you this.”
Cait read the book title.
“Ganesha War Tactics?!”
Miko nodded.
“This book has most of Ganesha’s techniques in it. Although Ganesha is an Elephant God, while Behemoth is seen as an Elephant Demon, it’s close enough. It’s up to you to bypass the barrier between god and demon and make it your own.”
He then threw two books at Hal and Kane.
“You two got taken out pretty easy by Ren and Krul because you have zero defensive abilities. Those books are full of defensive techniques like barriers. Learn them before you kick the bucket.”
With that, he was out of books.
“Hey, none for us?”
Ace and Sora appeared wrapped in expensive clothing they found laying around.
“You two are fine as you are. You don’t need any more techniques.”
“That doesn’t seem fair.”
Said Ace, who had a golden tooth in his mouth.
“That’s right. There’s no end to improvement.”
Said Sora whose fingers were covered with large gold rings.
“Fine, I’ll give you some weapons later. Just shut up.”
Miko then turned his back on them.
*Boom!*
That’s when he heard an explosion behind him. He quickly turned around and saw Ashur and Verde punching it out.
“Hahahahaha! Little lamb, you’ve finally decided to let me slaughter you!”
Verde shouted.
“You bastard! What’s the big idea suddenly attacking me? Well, not that I mind.”
The two spoke while the two slugged each other.
“Oh no! Who gave Verde sugar?!”
Asked Chika.
“He looked a little sluggish so I thought that some sugar would hype him. I was right.”
Ishma said while she started cheering on Verde and Ashur.
“Don’t tell me that the pills you gave Verde to make him let loose were just sugar pills.”
Miko asked.
Chika nodded.
“We wanted it to be something we could get anywhere. It would be fine if someone just monitor him and don’t let him eat sugar.”
Chika explained.
“I see.”
Miko looked at the two fighting.
“We don’t have time for this.”
Miko summoned Regis in her human form.
“Help that idiot subdue, those idiots.”
“Alright.”
Regis dragged Ishma and the two of them went to break up Verde and Ashur’s fight.
“Alright let’s continue.”
Miko turned his back to them and continued.
“Miko can I have these?”
Momo approached Miko and asked while pointing at the book shelves.
Miko wanted to say no, but when he looked at Momo’s puppy eyes, he couldn’t deny her request.
“As long as you bring them back eventually.”
“No problem! I only need them for a while. I’ll give them back after I memorize the contents.”
Momo proudly said.
‘Wait……If she learns more spells and magic won’t she try to force them in my head as well? Shit! I just increased my own workload!’
Miko screamed in his head.
As if his motivation was cut, Miko dragged his feet as he walked towards their next destination.
This time they arrived at section of the vault that was filled with countless scrolls on racks.
“What are these?”
Luka asked.
“Training Scrolls.”
Miko said while looking at the countless scrolls.
“These scrolls consists of techniques created by Augustus and his allies. There’s also countless scrolls that have techniques that were thought to be lost during the war.”
Miko took up a scroll.
“Ah, this is the one.”
He threw the scroll towards Nen, who caught it.
“Since your talent in magic is zero, I’ve decided to give you something that would fit you better.”
Nen opened the scroll immediately after he felt like his soul was being drawn in.
“That’s a Sacred Qi Scroll.”
“Sacred Qi?”
“It’s a branch of Heavenly Qi, or it would be better to say that it’s an upgrade version of Heavenly Qi.”
Kirika answered.
“It’s primarily used by those who strive to be War Buddhas, like those in the Buddhist Alliance and the Warrior Monks in the Wakoku Nation. Hence, it’s extremely rare to obtain. I never thought that our clan had a training scroll on it.”
“Well, it was plundered.”
Miko laughed and said.
He took another scroll and threw it towards Ashur.
“That’s a scroll containing techniques that utilizes your demon dragon blood. It was created by Mušma himself.”
He then threw another one at Al-Shura.
“That contains the martial art created by Demario. He never gave it a name, but as his descendants it should be compatible with you all. After all of you take a copy of it, you can give it to Andreas. I think he was searching for it.”
Miko then threw another scroll to KC.
“I’m giving back Roland descendants his Archery Arts. It was quite powerful in its own right.”
Roland was Rouge’s brother and eldest child of Augustus traitorous son, Judos. He and Rouge were the only ones from Judos children who didn’t get slaughtered by Tia after Augustus died. He later created his own house in the Secundus Branch before disappearing. Christian, Kouta, KC, and Nen were from this house, while Karim and Rin were from Rouge’s house.
Miko then took up a black scroll covered in thick chains.
After hesitating for a bit he threw it at Bloom.
“Don’t open it without my permission. When I’ve made the right preparations I will help you learn it.”
Miko spoke with a serious tone, which made everyone wonder what was in that scroll.
He then threw the final scroll to Alec. This of course shocked Alec. It might sound arrogant, but he didn’t really need any new techniques.
“That is Sandora’s scroll. It contains the forbidden blood arts of an extinct vampiric race. Whatever you do with it is your choice.”
Alec looked at the scroll and smiled.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
He then started to walk away again.
“The next stop is the place I wanted to bring you all the most.”
He looked at Ishma.
“You remember where it is right?”
“Of course. I’ve stayed in here for over 10,000 years you know. Besides, I can’t forget that terrifying aura no matter what I try.”
She answered with a rare serious expression.
“Good. Then lead the way.”
Ishma nodded and then led the group while they walked.
After a while, the group saw something terrifying.
They saw a gigantic coffin wrapped in chain that had countless swords stabbed into it.
“W-What the hell is that?!”
After sensing the terrifying aura that the coffin gave off, no one could stand straight. Just staring at the coffin made it feel like their souls were being drawn to other side.
Miko looked to his side and saw that even Raven looked weak-kneed in front of the coffin, and smiled.
“Did Sandora tell you about this?”
Miko asked.
Alec shook his head.
“What the hell is that?”
“Evil Incarnate. Or that’s what I call it. I don’t really know myself, only thing I know is that the first time the world was destroyed, it was because of it.”
“Is it alive?”
Miko shrugged.
“Who knows? It’s been in that coffin long before Augustus was born. Oh, just so you know, that was what killed him.”
“What?”
Alec was shocked to hear that.
“That’s the thing that cursed Augustus to death?”
Miko nodded.
He was gaining more and more of Augustus memories overtime, and the memory of Augustus encountering this thing was the most terrifying.
Just trespassing in its territory was enough to curse him to death.
Thankfully he was able to strengthen its seal and lock it away in here. As long as it was in here, it’s powers can’t be used. So it was just a harmless coffin, expect for its aura.
“Ugh.”
Standing in front of the coffin made Karim’s chest hurt, and his eyes turn black.
He was able to calm himself down, but his momentary change didn’t escape Chika’s eyes.
‘Was that father’s….?’
She Thought.
Another person had a strange reaction to the coffin.
This person was Sora. He looked at the coffin with great surprise and terror.
‘Why does this feel so familiar?’
He thought to himself.
He quickly calmed himself down.
“I must be imagining things.”
“Don’t tell me you want us to use this thing?”
Momo asked.
“Of course not. This is the most taboo of all the taboos in the clan. No one is allowed to touch this thing even if the clan is going to be destroyed. I don’t need to tell you why right?”
Everyone shook their heads.
Miko then pointed at the three story building next to the coffin.
“That’s the Imperial Weaponry. It’s filled with peerless weapons that have immense powers. Qi Artifacts, God Relics, Demon Objects, it has it all.”
Miko grinned.
“And I’m going to give you all a couple of them to hold onto.”