Chapter 349 - 347:”Benefactor?”
Within an expansive room on the last floor of the wanderer guild building. Mere moments before Dante’s rampage. An important guest had made its way here and was currently having a discussion with the branch guild master.
...
"To what do I owe the honor of such an impromptu visit, Marshal Kath’zul." A powerful voice echoed within the silent room.
The speaker was an abyss walker with obsidian-black skin that carried a faint metallic sheen. Thick silver hair flowed down his back, contrasting a pair of curved charcoal-black horns rising from his temples. A heavy jaw framed by a coarse beard, molten amber eyes with slit pupils, and pale ash-coloured scars crisscrossing his broad arms and face completed the image of a seasoned abyss walker.
The guild master of the sand city wanderer guild.
Maersk Culling.
A commoner from birth. But one talented and powerful enough to claw his way to power, to respect, and to the coveted title of High Marshal.
He leveled a neutral stare at the being opposite him.
Ash-grey skin told clearly of his roots. But unlike the somewhat delicate Veyr most were accustomed to.
This was a mountain of a man. Ash-grey skin stretched over a heavily built frame that looked carved from iron rather than flesh. A thick mane of dark silver hair was tied behind his back, while a neatly trimmed beard framed a square jaw etched with countless old scars. His features weren’t handsome. They were rugged.
Nothing about this man said.
Elegant.
Precise.
Noble.
All his aura screamed was... DOMINANCE.
Kath’zul Abarith. Second son of the Unkillable. Second in command of the Deathless Knights.
"Guild master Maersk. I come bearing no Ill will."
His voice came out calm. Composed. Neither arrogant nor servile.
"I merely come making inquiries."
"Inquiries?" The guild master asked, "... and what issue would be significant enough to warrant the attention of the Vice commander to the deathless knights."
"My youngest brother." The words immediately made the guild master’s expression turn solemn.
"His life lamp has shattered." The man continued. His voice never once wavering.
"And our investigations have shown that he was last spotted around the general vicinity of your city." He concluded.
A solemn quiet filled the room as the guild master lost his casual position.
He sat up straighter as he locked eyes with the man before him.
"This is something you should have inquired from the city lord. He is of your family after all."
"That mongrel isn’t fit to bear my family’s name. I have already exterminated the stain and replaced it. Worry not. I’m merely here because I trust in how thorough you can be. Father has demanded we fix it. And when father demands something. It. Must. Be. Done." The man didn’t threaten. He didn’t need to.
The mere mention of that man was enough to put the guild master on Alert.
Yes. He worked for the wanderer guild. An entity far more powerful than anything the veyr could ever compare to.
But...
These were the outer fringes. The veyr had absolute power here. And if that man dared make a move. Then, not even the name of wanderer’s guild might dissuade him.
The rage of an emperor level figure was something to dread. But the rage of an emperor level Abyss monarch?
The guild master stood up at once.
"I shall see what I can do."
"Give me a few days, I’ll..." he had barely completed his words when...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!
The entire guild building shook from the foundation up.
He swayed before catching himself.
"What?" His head snapped to the side.
The sitting veyr had already gotten up in alarm as well.
"Maersk. What is happening?"
"I don’t know.. but, it’s coming from the eastern part of the city..." the two shared a look before bolting out the window.
Yet before they could get any further...
".... Extinction." A cold, murderous voice echoed through the entire city.
Their bodies shivered as they felt the cold hand of Death wrapped powerfully around their necks..
"What... what is this??" They stuttered in horror. Only for that feeling to increase exponentially as the skies split and a massive palm fell.
The pressure from the mere appearance of the palm forced them to the ground as they collapsed to their knees. Unable to lift their heads.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!
Cataclysmic explosions rocked the sky and city as everything shook and crumbled.
Yet...
"Impossible..." the guild master whispered in dread as he strained his eyes, only to see the massive palm continue its unstoppable descent.
The veyr man had already lost his voice at the sheer magnitude of the attack.
And then...
THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!
It happened.
The palm fell.
And the entire city felt it.
A horrifying shockwave traveled through the foundations of the city as multiple buildings collapsed. Screams of horror and panic erupted as people made haste to flee.
The runes of the guild building flared as they tried to mitigate the damage.
But no where had it worse than the center of collision.
A cloud of dust had already risen to the very heavens as nothing. Absolutely nothing could be seen.
The overwhelming pressure disappeared soon after, as the city slowly regained its calm.
Yet..
The damage had already been done.
Jagged scars ran along the city’s streets and beyond.
Each step threatening to crumple into a rift that would swallow one whole.
"....."
"....."
Both the guild master and veyr man shared a look of utter terror as no words seemed to register in their minds..
"Who... wha..." the veyr man tried to speak. But the words wouldn’t come.
The guild master didn’t bother. He merely picked himself up. Took to the skies, and headed straight for the location the palm had fallen.
The veyr shook himself from his fear. Stood. Then followed suit.
....
....
As they approached the place, they could see multiple other powerhouses.
Outsiders. Abyss walkers. It didn’t matter. They were all present.
And each one of them had solemn, almost reverent looks on their faces as their attention remained locked to the ground.
The guild master and the veyr followed suit. Only for their faces to freeze in absolute horror.
A bottomless pit that stretched for kilometers wide had appeared right where the Kraxis family had once stood.
The entire land looked devoid of... earth.
All that remained was a gigantic palm-shaped wound gouged into the world... one that refused to heal.
"Who..." that was all the guild master could muster before, just like everyone else, he fell silent.
.....
.....
A few paces behind the guild master.
The old horned abyss walker that had handled Dante’s registration and subsequent activities,Corvak, appeared.
"Oh my..." his eyes shrinking into pinholes the moment he saw the aftermath of Dante’s carnage.
Never in his wildest dreams would he have dared imagine that Dante’s request for the kraxis family’s whereabouts would result to... this..
He looked up, towards the guild master that had adopted the same reverent silence the other major powerhouses had. A strange light flickering in his eyes as his thoughts churned.
.....
.....
"Who could’ve caused such a frightening level of destruction?" On the opposite side of the gaping palm sized pit. A blue skinned woman in a fitted body armor could be seen with shock all over her stunning features.
Her ocean blue eyes remained fixed on the bottomless chasm below them as her generous chests strained with every breath against her armor.
"Princess Nyssara. I don’t think we have anything to bother with this event. We will be making our way out of this city soon. So this has nothing to do with us if we know how to lay low." A man clutching an empty stump voiced out from the side.
....
....
The woman remained thoughtful for a few moments before she shook her head.
"Thrax is right. This event has nothing to do with us. Everyone, let’s get back to our preparations. We need to have made our way towards the next city by the next cycle, we do not want to be caught in an abyssal storm."
"Yes! Princess." The others around started departing one by one.
"Lysera. Is something wrong?"
The woman being addressed didn’t seem to have heard her name as her eyes remained fixed on the pit.
Her eyes flashing with recognition as she seemed to have picked up on something..
"Benefactor?"
......
.......
Meanwhile far away from the safety of the city..
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" A terrified scream resounded through the dreary abyss skies as Dante tore through sky towards his next destination, abyss walker clutched in hand. Whatever aftermath his actions had caused wasn’t something he spared even a single thought. Because as of now, all he cared about was...
"Time to begin my next quest. Hahahahahahahahahahahah!!!"
******************
A/N: Bro doesn’t even give a fuck. I don’t even think I can call him reckless. Bro I just cruising since he got his freedom. But anyways..
******************
Thanks for reading...