Chapter 181 – Floor 18: Part 6

As the Bartlett family fled behind him, Mathew gathered his mana together. Cycling it furiously inside his body, he raised his hand, palm outward, toward the monster that was now only smouldering slightly rather than engulfed in flames.

A large part of Mathew was excited about using this Blessing. He knew he should be scared or worried about this fight, but years of isolation without access to his strength and abilities made him look forward to using them again.

Maybe he was being foolish, but there was no way in hell he was going to fail a Floor again. He would never go back to that prison planet and mine Aether again.

When his gathered mana reached its pinnacle and could not be contained anymore, he unleashed the Blessing.

“Disintegrate.”

As soon as the word left Mathew’s mouth, time stood still. Nothing in the world moved, including him. He could feel the mana dissipate from inside his body; that thrill of expulsion that accompanied the discharge was curiously absent. It was as if the mana was there one instant and gone the next.

To Mathew’s eyes, a humungous pendulum formed in the space between himself and the monster. Frozen mid-charge, Mathew didn’t even know if it was aware of the changes in the world around it or if this was merely Mathew’s mind trying to make sense of something beyond his comprehension.

The pendulum was formed of bright green Mana, and it began to swing slowly back and forth. Each time it reached the end of its movement in one direction, a thunderous ‘gong’ would ring out, and reality itself would shake.

With the movement of the Pendulum came an understanding: if the pendulum ceased its movement while being pointed in the direction of the monster, it would be destroyed. Nothing could save it; the Blessing drew on the power of the gods, and no mortal power could circumvent that.

But if it stopped in Mathew’s direction, he would suffer horrendous consequences. A backlash of power would occur, damaging not only his physical body but his connection to the Tower and the gods. He could lose Blessings, levels or even his Disciplines.

Mathew watched the pendulum with a sense of disconnect as it slowly swung back and forth.

When it reached the monster, he could feel the creature’s body tremble as if it were on the verge of collapse. As it approached Mathew, it was accompanied by a feeling of dread and a vibration through the ephemeral link to the Tower.

On and on, it went back and forth until it finally began to slow its movement through a world frozen by its power.

Finally, the pendulum stopped moving as it hovered over the monster’s head. Time resumed in an instant.

The creature took another step forward, blinking in confusion, then collapsed into a pile of dust and ash.

“Well, that was anti-climactic.” Mathew said as he walked forward and sifted through the remains with his boot. The dust was fine, and each movement of his foot sent particles into the air. He let out a sigh of relief as the ‘Buzz’ faded; the danger had finally passed.

At least for now.

Mathew grinned widely, he still had some things left to do on this floor.

Page Break

Ridley White watched as the monster charged into the mansion, shattering the locked doors and a large section of the wall in the process. It was a shame that he had used the vial on one of his bodyguards instead of one of the trained ‘Thralls’ his family kept in storage for this purpose.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

But it would be enough to kill this ‘Champion’ that his Concubine had found.

Ridley wasn’t sure what the syringe contained or how his family had obtained it, but they had hundreds of them contained in one of their vaults. He had stolen it a while ago after his father talked about the results on a Thrall they had recently killed.

Ridley had been eager to test it out on someone but hadn’t had the opportunity. There were always so many other things to distract himself, such as Lily Bartlett. He had so many plans for her, and he had just added a few more to the list.

She needed to be taught a lesson to pay for her defiance.

There was a loud roar from the mansion, followed by a series of explosions, and Ridley saw the top floor windows shatter in a spectacular fashion. It was truly marvellous, and he revelled in the destruction.

Maybe he would take a few more vials and release them on the town. That would drive the boredom away for a while.

“Sir, we should get back to the palace. We might not be able to protect you here.” Another of his bodyguards spoke up, his voice fearful. They all knew what his family were capable of. If any harm came to Ridley, they would all suffer a fate worse than death.

“Idiots. Fine! Go and collect his head and bring it to me. I also want that ‘Champion’s’ skin; I intend to make Lily a dress from it for the ceremony. Flay him properly and ensure it’s in good condition. Ridley ordered as he climbed back into the automobile and waited for it to pull away.

Several of the guards ran into the building while the rest followed Ridley to the vehicles. Starting the car, they drove away just as another explosion rocked the mansion, and a flash of light lit up the night.

Page Break

“A Champion, you say? Preposterous. There hasn’t been a representative from the gods in Amalar for decades. Even if one were to visit, they would not come for anyone else’s command but my son, Ridley.”

A large, fat man dressed in a black suit under enough strain that the buttons were clinging on for dear life leaned back in his chair as he heard the report from his son’s bodyguards. King Ryker of Amalar was really only a King in name.

Amalar was a relatively small city-state that lacked the military and financial strength of those located on the continent. Still, while he may lack power compared to his peers abroad, in Amalar, his word was law.

There was a council of course, made up of wealthy business owners and prominent citizens, but money was power in Amalar, and Ryker was the richest person in the country, as well as its head of state. Hearing the report, he immediately dismissed it.

Ridley joined him in their ‘entertainment’ room, where scantly clad women danced, musicians played in the corners, and buffet tables filled with food and drink took up most of the space. Ryker didn’t leave this room unless there was an emergency, which was a rarity.

Taking a drink of imported spirits from the continent, he turned to look at his son.

“You’ve been cuckolded, son. That harlot needs a caning. Don’t worry. Once that monster you created finishes his business, I’ll send in the militia to kill it, and we’ll have everything under control once more.” Ryker assured his son.

Ridley ignored what his father was saying; instead, he played with another vial of that strange liquid that he had plucked from the family vault. Ryker was more than happy to supply him with whatever he wanted, but Ridley took a bit of pleasure in just taking things rather than asking for them.

“What will happen if I inject her with this?” Ridley asked, more thinking aloud than expecting a real answer.

“Marvelous idea, my boy. We’ll say that Bartlett was trading in illicit substances and that this whole affair was their fault. They were looking to destroy us and all that. Truly, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!” Ryker praised as he smiled at his son.

They were interrupted by one of the palace guards rushing into the room, looking to be in a panic.

“Sir, we have a problem! We’ve lost contact with the guards we sent to the Bartlett estate.” He reported, and Ryker waved him off.

“No matter! Send another twenty. No, wait, make it fifty! Show of force for the people. I want it broadcasted all across Amalar that we’re keeping them safe! And make sure that when they’ve killed that monster, to parade it through the streets. The people will love it!” Ryker said, praising himself for coming up with such a remarkable idea.

“Sir, we’ve already sent fifty. We can’t send any more people unless we pull in the militia. Otherwise, we won’t have enough to guard the palace.” The guard explained.

“You already have? Good, that will take care of everything.” Ryker replied, clearly not understanding the situation. Just as the guard was about to repeat himself and provide further clarification, the palace walls shook violently.

The food and drink table collapsed, sending items across the floor. The dancing women screamed in fear, and the musicians immediately stopped playing and dropped their instruments.

“What in the blazes was that!? How dare you stop dancing! Guards! Arrest these women for failing in their duties. You! Keep playing!” Ryker ordered.

Ridley stopped toying with the vial and stood up. There were muffled screams and shouts coming from outside, followed by an eruption of gunfire.

“What is it? Did the creature follow us? Idiots, I told you to put it down!” Ridley asked the guard as the man was listening to a radio communicating the situation from outside.

“It’s…. a man? A single man is tearing through our defences, sir!”