Chapter 37: Imagination away from the truth
Amazing, Zen felt it was a great decision. By plunging down the abyss makes the adventure interesting.
Who knows what's really hidden in the darkness when everyone refuses to go there. Fuh… You ordinary person who has no taste in the dark arts at all. Zen felt this was the best move he could think of.
The dark alley and cold temperature, the light that is on the surface will never reach the place where Zen stands.
He, wearing the uniform of darkness had shown his true form.
The black hood then gave off a kind of black and purple terrifying aura. It floated like a tentacle in the air and the black sword tip stuck into the ground causing a thin carving of red liquid.
Zen then put a hand on his face.
"Fufufu— a bunch of monsters that are useless but make weird carvings appear when I beat them, I feel like this is the right move to be the mastermind behind the scenes."
Zen has noticed.
After he defeats a strange bat monster, he soon finds himself in an altar with a mysterious ancient pattern. It was a script that couldn't be understood at all, but there were several large symbols that shone brightly when he defeated the huge monster.
There it was, a mysterious symbol shining brightly in the dungeon, definitely something like a seal.
"The seal has been broken, I'm sure the strange writing under my feet points to something. "
Zen watched the mysterious ancient carving with a sharp look in his eyes. It shone brightly in turns like a neon light.
The carvings stuck to the walls and floors of the hall seemed to guide Zen somewhere. After a while Zen walked, a mysterious light started to appear dazzling.
"Hmm... It's like I've arrived at a sealed place."
Between the Republic and Zen's home country, the Theocracy, the existence of Dungeons has always held a lot of mystery. Yet he had never seen anything resembling an extremely majestic ancient seal.
Something sealed, Zen was excited when he imagined himself actually being sealed one day. Therefore the knowledge of what a real seal must be learned.
A behind-the-scenes mastermind wouldn't become a behind-the-scenes mastermind without some mysterious purpose, and with the goal of getting his powers back, Zen felt that was the perfect goal as a behind-the-scenes mastermind.
Zen was now smiling broadly at the idea he had.
"My power, one shard to get my power back. Keh... keh.. keh."
No, it wouldn't be mysterious if no one saw her laugh. Zen had to correct this, with Zen's underlings seeming to have pretty much completed everything, but they weren't here right now.
Then, how?
All of that was then answered when Zen entered the mysterious light.
A huge place with stone pillars scattered in all directions and a black fog that seemed to be quite sickening was now seen by Zen's eyes.
Loud voices echoed in the white light, someone must be fighting there.
When Zen looked around, he could find a large hole from the battle scattered in several places, it looked like an energy explosion and several stone pillars were split into small pieces.
"You annoying little girl!! "
A loud voice reached Zen's ears. It came from the figure in front of him.
A monster with the upper body of a woman and the lower part of a snake, wrapped around a school girl Zen knew.
The monster then threw the girl away from him.
Exploding and shattering, the stone pillar that was hit by the girl's impact turned into rubble, pebbles floated in the air then became black smoke that covered almost every corner.
But the snake woman seemed to have the ability to blow out the black smoke. A gust of wind from the snake woman's breath blew then a man Zen knew stood there.
"The Conspirator. As I predicted, he must have headed here in the first place, that's the reason why he went to this dungeon," Zen whispered.
Although he said that, Zen actually didn't know anything, But there was one logic he couldn't refute. If a conspiracy starts to act, something big that Zen doesn't understand will definitely happen, that much is clear.
There are many mysteries scattered in various places and it will definitely be connected in the end to become one definite point. Zen was getting curious.
Hmm. Let's see, what is the reason the conspirator came to this place? Zen thought that, as the black hood that covered his face gave off a deep purple aura.
Widen the sense of hearing with magic then start listening.
He, the conspirator who looked a bit tired started to open his mouth.
Hands raised and swords dropped.
"Heaven's army, your nation is afraid of them, am I right?"
"Yes, it was said in the prophecy, those soldiers of heaven were blessed with power by the goddess of each nation. Chasing our people one by one until they run out and nothing remains, they are the opponents we have to face. The god of chaos has given us the order to destroy them. "
"Then, do you think those heavenly soldiers you mentioned are the most dangerous figures?"
"There's nothing more troublesome than the army of heaven, that's what fate had said in the prophecy."
"You're wrong, there are more dangerous than the soldiers of heaven, especially in this Republic. "
The snake woman now looked angry, her expression turned hideous with sharp pupils. Its fangs are starting to show and its tail looks like it is about to attack.
"Human, are you trying to tell me that prophecy can't be trusted? Trying to go beyond the destiny determined by your limited mind? It is nothing more than stupidity and arrogance. "
"The unknown power in the Republic, is actually much stronger than the heavenly soldiers you mentioned. Although not many people know, but I know a very powerful figure in the Republic, that figure has yet to show its strength. "
"Hasn't shown his strength yet, what figure are you referring to?? "
The woman then began to look like she was thinking about something.
Yes, that should have been obvious, the figure the conspirator was referring to, the one who had yet to show his skills. That's for sure, that's for sure.
After Zen was sure of his thoughts while smiling broadly. He immediately heard what the snake woman said.
"Human hero, could you possibly mean the hero of the human race? "
There are fundamental differences between reptile species and mammal species, egg-laying reptiles and birthing mammals, there are a lot of behaviors that drive the actions of the two species, as well as their thinking tendencies.
The taxonomy table that Zen had read from mysterious books, taught him that biological impulses had made the gap too far. And with what he was seeing now, apparently one truth was proven that snake-like reptiles were more idiots than ordinary mammals.
Then what if the two species are combined into one body? Well, if all the bits of information that Zen has spread to connect everything to the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes, it can't be understood by ordinary people except for one person. How could a half-human reptile possibly do it? Of course it is very difficult.
After all that Zen has done, in the end only one person can realize the mastermind behind the scenes. It doesn't matter, once a few people start to suspect something, they'll probably say something like "wow!" with an expression that would make Zen laugh. He was waiting for that moment to come, fufufu—
Finally, after three years of living in the Republic and making a few messes, there was one person who could reach the thread that Zen had spread.
Zen is now excited. A pitch-black aura began to appear around him and a dark energy wave ripping through the air began to spread out like a boom.
Zen then walked over as the thick fog started to dissipate around him. The steps of the black leather shoes and the hood that covered her face made the snake woman now show a strange expression.
The conspirator also glanced at the direction the terrifying aura was coming from, he seemed to break out in cold sweat.
"Demon, how can such a powerful Demon be in this place?" the snake woman said through gritted teeth.
Meanwhile, as the Demon stood right between the snake woman and the conspirator, he began to open his mouth in an eerie laugh.
"Fufufu— twelve sacred pillars and an eagle that hunts snakes."
Weird words that have no meaning at all. But when the Demon drew the sword from the scabbard, everything felt very different.
With a bit of panic, the snake woman spoke again.
"I don't understand at all. Why did the demon king send you? I have no business with the Demons."
"You don't have to understand what I'm doing. "
And with that, a Dark blade slash now started heading towards the snake woman. The hand then blackened and the snake woman tried to parry the deadly slash that was aimed at her.
Sparks began to spread through the air, floated and then disappeared.
The Demon slashed again but now emitted a purple glow from the shining sword.
Retreating backwards to try and dodge, the snake woman gritted her teeth in annoyance. The woman then raised her hand to create a kind of magic circle that floated in the air.
The Demon certainly wouldn't allow it.
With his face downcast, a wave of stomping feet sent him flying through the air like a shot arrow. The ground beneath his feet shattered from the intense pressure. He then tried to slash back with the accompanying dark power.
The bang happened. The magic of the snake woman started to bend by the Demon's sword slash, flew and pierced up the surrounding stone pillars, shattering them and then dusting the surroundings.
"The pact, our sacred pact with the Demon race. You Demons are trying to break it. "
Several purple beads of light floated around the demon's sword, the demon seemed not to care what the snake woman said.
The snake woman then took a glance, the small smile from the hood covering her face was now very clear.
"The pact? The promise? Kukuku—an ancient reptile like you questioning a promise? Every time the era changes, and every generation changes everything, it would be foolish to always ask for promises that have become rubble."
The heavy slash then hit the iron. The snake woman's blackened hands tried to hold back the Demon's attack, but her bestial instincts told her there was no way she could fight back.
Run away, should he run away? No it won't.
As soon as the snake woman's eyes turned dark, she felt both of her hands being burnt by something then spread all over her body.
Split in two with the fog spreading upwards.
"Argg!!! Damn you Demons!!! Heaven will punish you!!"
...
Zen feels it. The pungent smell of blood was fragrant when it reached the senses. There aren't many feelings that can explain things except for the black eagle eating the snake.
He then sheathed his sword while trampling blood on the floor. Bloodstains stuck to his shoes with the reptile tail scattered in various places.
This is awesome.
The little smile under Zen's hood has not faded. Why? That was because a mysterious altar appeared from above the ground when the snake woman was defeated.
Like a mysterious carving in a fairy tale, a luminous sword was thrust into the center of the altar. Is this a sealed artifact? Zen started thinking about that.
But he knew it wasn't his right to pick up a sword that looked strong.
"A powerful weapon for lucky people," Zen said as the black aura around him faded.
There, the conspirator began to step. Even though he was hesitant at first, but he was now closing in on the blade of light.
Seemed exhausted with an expression that was difficult to explain, if only Zen had started to walk, the conspirator seemed sure to have run away. It was an incredibly false impression, even for someone who knew a petty lie like Zen, he felt that his assumptions were too hard to deny as if they were true facts.
But this is the conspirator we're talking about. Obviously, Zen's predictions were unbelievable.
"You don't seem to be trying to kill me," the conspirator said.
No, of course Zen won't do that. Why? Why Zen had to kill the Conspirator, while he tries to find out the true motives that the Conspirator is trying to hide.
Zen then replied.
"I only take what I need. "
Hearing that made the conspirator swallow his saliva. He then grabbed the hilt of the sword to try to pull it out.
If this matches what Zen envisions. The conspirator must have intended to take this sword for added power, a classic and easy way to guess.
All difficulties will surely be resolved when the conspirator gains overpowering strength. Zen is now convinced it will happen.
However— those seemed to be just the thoughts of a beginner who didn't know anything.
The sound of metal breaking echoed through the air. A metal sword so well made it might even split a mountain, now shattered by the conspirator's hand pulling it out.
Scattered on the floor like worthless trash.
Zen's eyes then widened. His mouth began to open with the veins in his body that continued to beat faster and faster as the world had been swallowed up by the darkness.
His imagination has been shattered. Rationally speaking, the conspirator would definitely gain a lot of benefits if he wielded the sword.
Then why did he destroy it instead? Zen couldn't think of anything.
Zen then opened his mouth with a wide smile that was hidden by a hood before he was swallowed up by the darkness.
"Hoooo….this is surprising. Are you sure about your decision?" Zen said.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone