Chapter 335: Aftermath and King Rank
The Ice Elf stared at Ayame deeply, her eyes piercing through flesh and bone.
"Interesting," she murmured softly.
The human beside her raised an eyebrow with curiosity.
"What did you see, Glaciana?"
The Ice Elf turned toward him with an unreadable expression.
"Nothing. Let’s go."
But before leaving, she glanced back at Ayame one final time.
"Take care," she said and then vanished into shimmering light.
Ayame stood frozen in place, her face filled with utter confusion.
Why would someone who just killed most of her faction members tell her to take care?
Caelus was equally surprised by this strange interaction.
His mind raced with questions that had no answers.
Did she find out that this was Amaterasu? Then does that mean the elf was related to the Shinto faction somehow? But why would she kill people from that same faction?
The questions piled up endlessly in his head.
But the two experts had already left, and he wouldn’t be finding answers anytime soon.
THWOP THWOP THWOP!
Helicopters soon flew across the Antarctic sky, their blades cutting through the freezing wind.
They were part of the research group stationed on the continent, and seeing that it was players, they came to their rescue immediately.
The Taoist Faction and Shinto Faction had mostly been killed by the Ice Empress, their frozen remains scattered across the snow.
As a result, Zhang Wei and Ayame were now under capture.
On the way back, Caelus looked through the helicopter window at the almost ruined Antarctic continent below.
Massive cracks still scarred the ice, and the ocean nearby churned with residual energy.
The Hollow Beast had been successfully cleared away, and the aliens hadn’t turned out to be bad either.
He couldn’t help but think about the Space League of Tier 1 Worlds.
Was it similar to the one in the Abyss? When would they finally meet them?
He was still shocked by everything related to Emperor Rank, especially that barrier made out of the Origin Network’s rules.
There was still so much to explore about the world.
But now was the time to reach King Rank.
First, they had to deal with Zhang Wei and Ayame.
Elder Sterling walked over with a serious expression on his face.
"What should we do with them?"
Caelus looked at the two captives, his expression was as casual as it can get.
"Why did you betray us?"
Ayame’s face twisted with helplessness, her voice cracking slightly.
"It wasn’t our decision, Caelus. If we had known, we wouldn’t have done that."
Caelus stared at her for a long moment, reading every expression on her face to see if she was lying or not.
"Then who made the decision?"
"Our leader made the decision," Ayame answered quickly. "He is a Peak Ace Rank, and he ordered us not to summon the aliens no matter what."
"That so?" Caelus appeared thoughtful hearing this.
Honestly, he knew that was the case, these people couldn’t act on their own interest due to being faction members, it was the same for his own faction as well.
"Alright. I can understand where you are coming from. But, now I’ll give you two options. Either join my faction... or die here."
Meanwhile, in a dark chamber far from the frozen continent.
Malazakar stood at the center of the Demon King Headquarters, his entire body trembling with rage.
The guild leaders of Crimson Fang and Shadow Halberd cowered before him, their faces pale with fear.
"They took my brother!" Malazakar roared, demonic energy exploding outward in waves.
CRACK!
The walls around him split from the pressure alone.
"Demon King Malazakar!" The Crimson Fang Guild stammered desperately. "It was HIM, Caelus Kross! He was the one behind all this!"
"Not only did he pursue the Hollow Beast, but he also took down your brother!"
Malazakar’s expression twisted with murderous fury, his amber eyes blazing like hellfire.
"He will pay for that!"
Then his breathing steadied, and a cold smile spread across his face.
"But it doesn’t matter."
"We stole enough power from the Hollow Beast."
"If it no longer exists, then so what? We will still move forward with our plan."
He spread his arms wide, demonic energy swirling around him like a cloak.
"We will create a new world."
"And once our planet reaches the requirements to enter the Space League, this world will be renamed the Demon World."
He then turned to the side with a knowing grin.
"As for Caelus Kross, you both know him, right?"
Standing there were two people with demonic features but human-like bodies.
They were Mark Twilight and Lena.
Lena stared blankly at them.
"I know him..." she muttered softly. "Like he’s my brother."
Back in Antarctica, Ayame shook her head firmly.
"I can’t do that."
Her voice carried fear, but also determination.
"I feel like it’s my duty to protect this faction. If I leave... I feel like I’ll lose myself."
Hearing this, Caelus turned toward everyone in the room.
"Everyone except Sylvia, leave the room."
Elder Sterling, Marcus, Lunari, Freya, and Seraphin Lin all complied without question.
The door closed behind them with a soft click.
Caelus looked directly at Ayame, his expression serious.
"Do you know that you are the avatar, or rather, the reincarnation of a Shinto God?"
Hearing this, Ayame’s face went completely turned into a mix of shock and confusion.
She couldn’t believe what Caelus was talking about.
"No? What do you mean I’m a Shinto God, Caelus, don’t joke around."
"Well, you are."
Her mind still struggled to process the revelation.
"It must also be why you’re so connected to the Shinto Faction," Caelus continued calmly.
Something within Ayame abruptly triggered at those words.
CRACK!
An excruciating pain spread throughout her body like wildfire, and she collapsed unconscious on the floor.
Sylvia rushed to her side immediately, her crimson eyes filled with concern.
"Caelus, what just happened?"
His observation of Ayame being Amaterasu’s avatar wasn’t conveyed to Sylvia yet. He had forgotten to tell her honestly speaking.
He swiftly explained everything to her.
Sylvia listened carefully before looking down at Ayame with interest.
"Another god?"
Caelus soon called someone into the room.
"Take her to the infirmary."
As they carried Ayame away on a stretcher, Freya suddenly poked her head back through the door.
She looked at Caelus with a disapproval.
"You are a monster, Big Brother Caelus. How can you do such a thing to that girl?"
Hearing this, Caelus grabbed both of her cheeks and pulled them apart.
"Ouch! Big Bro! That hurts!" Freya squealed loudly. "Stop!"
"But you’re such a cutie patootie," Caelus replied while continuing to pull.
Sylvia covered her mouth to hide her laughter at the sight. In this world, Freya was one of the many that she didn’t consider a threat.
"So, when are you going to awaken your ender powers, Freya?" Caelus asked while finally releasing her poor cheeks. "Your big brother is already awakening his own."
Freya rubbed her face with both hands, pouting dramatically.
"I’m already showing signs of awakening."
"But, I don’t know."
"I don’t want to awaken."
Hearing this, Caelus was taken aback by her words.
"Why wouldn’t you want to awaken?"
"Because I’m afraid."
Both Caelus and Sylvia stared at her in surprise.
"Afraid of what?"
"My Ender powers," Freya admitted as her usual cheerfulness faded. "What if, when I awaken, I lose control?"
"I already saw you in action, Big Bro Origin."
Caelus’ lips twitched at her words.
"Well..."
He gently patted her head with a warm smile.
"If anything happens, I’ll be there."
"Really?" Freya asked hopefully, her eyes lighting up.
Sylvia stepped forward and placed a hand on Freya’s shoulder.
"I’ll be there too."
Freya’s smile returned brighter than before.
"Alright," Caelus said with renewed determination. "Gather around."
"Let’s reach King Rank."
Seraphin Lin was already Level 50 Master Rank.
Sylvia was also Level 50 Master Rank.
Freya, however, was only Elite Rank since she hadn’t been properly taken care of before.
But she had gained an extra 25 levels while clearing Corruption Zones in Antarctica.
She should reach Master Rank Level 25 once she ascended.
With that done, Caelus smiled confidently.
"I will now invoke my special powers as an Ender of Origin."
Sylvia blinked at him with confusion.
"How are you going to do that, Caelus?"
"I’ll invoke it, obviously."
Caelus immediately began trying to pull out the Ender of Origin’s power from deep within himself.
Soon his face turned red and his entire body trembled violently.
He looked like he was suffering from severe constipation.
All of the girls stared at him with speechless expressions.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Sylvia blinked several times.
"Are you... sure this is how it’s supposed to work?"
Freya tilted her head with genuine concern.
"Big Bro... do you need a bathroom instead?"
Seraphin covered her mouth with a smile.
"I don’t think he’s invoking anything. I think he’s giving birth."
Caelus’ face darkened immediately.
"I’m trying!"
Several minutes passed with absolutely no results.
Nothing happened at all.
An hour later...
He tried again with even more determination.
The exact same thing happened, his face turning various shades of red and purple.
Freya couldn’t hold it anymore.
"Pfft!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Big Bro looks so funny!"
Even Sylvia looked away, her body shaking with suppressed laughter.
"I’m... really trying not to laugh right now."
Several hours later...
Still nothing.
Caelus stood there speechlessly, his pride completely shattered.
"..."
Finally, Sylvia sighed with sympathy.
"Let’s try again tomorrow."
Everyone silently nodded in agreement.
They didn’t enter the Origin Domain that night.
They had already reached their bottleneck, and everyone was mentally exhausted from the day’s events.
Besides, their pickup back to the United States would arrive the following day.
Hence, he tried again the next morning with renewed determination.
After struggling for what felt like an eternity...
He finally felt the power coming out from deep within his soul.
FWOOOM!
A strange zone spread around them, the air itself shimmering with golden light.
The Ignore Rules of the Domain effect activated successfully.
[Ding!]
[Ender Passive Activated: Break the Rules Of The Origin Network]
[Bypassing Ascension Quest Requirements...]
[Rank Advancement Triggered]
They successfully achieved King Rank Ascension.
[Congratulations!]
[Rank: Master → King]
[Level: 50 → 1]
[+3 Combat Score from Ender Class]
[Combat Score: 169.42 (Master) → 4.69 (King)]
[Chaos Dragon Body Calibrating to King Rank...]
[Calibration Complete]
[+25 Combat Score (King Rank)]
[Current Combat Score: 29.69 (King Rank)]
Power flooded through Caelus’ body like a raging river, his cells restructuring themselves to accommodate the new strength.
His muscles tightened, his senses sharpened, and every fiber of his being hummed with newfound power.
Then, the door burst open violently.
BANG!
Elder Sterling rushed into the room with urgency written all over his aged face.