Chapter 342: Sylvia’s Help
Caelus found himself standing on a floating platform surrounded by endless void.
A massive chasm stretched before him, with a glowing pedestal visible on the distant other side.
The second fragment waited there.
But there was no bridge connecting him to it.
He looked around and saw other fragment holders standing on similar platforms nearby.
Marcus Ptolemy floated to his left, Helena Vern to his right, and Viktor Ironblood slightly ahead.
Each of them had dozens of faction members materialising in separate chambers below, ready to fight.
Viktor Ironblood turned toward Caelus with a mocking grin.
"Looks like your streak ends here, Kross. Is crossing this bridge something you can do alone?" He gestured toward the massive armies below him. "You only have three members. What can you possibly accomplish when we have hundreds?"
Marcus Ptolemy nodded with cold amusement.
"The Olympian Faction alone has fifty fighters in this trial. Your little group cannot compete."
Helena Vern simply smiled, pity in her eyes.
"Perhaps you should surrender now and save yourself the embarrassment."
Caelus looked at them with a faint smile.
"I have my girlfriend, and she’s enough."
All three of them burst into laughter at his words.
"Your girlfriend? One person against our armies?"
"This will be entertaining to watch."
Below, Sylvia materialised in a combat chamber alongside Freya, Ayame, and Seraphin Lin.
But they were not alone.
Dozens of Olympian Faction members had spawned in the same space, their weapons already drawn.
One of them, a burly man with a crude smirk, leered at Sylvia.
"Well, well, looks like the pretty girl got stuck with us." He licked his lips disgustingly. "Maybe after we kill you, we will have our fu..."
SPLAT!
Sylvia’s Blood Sword pierced through his skull before he could finish the sentence.
His body crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
"You talk too much," Sylvia said with a cold smile.
The other members immediately exploded in rage.
"Kill her!"
Twelve Olympians charged at once.
[Skill Activated: Crimson Eclipse]
FWOOOM!
A massive dome of darkness erupted around Sylvia, crimson energy swirling through the shadows like living blood.
Everyone caught inside immediately started losing HP, their health bars visibly draining.
"What the hell is this?!"
Sylvia moved like flowing water through her domain, her Blood Sword Construct, made with Sanguine Genesis, carving through enemies with devastating precision.
One slash opened a throat, another severed a spine, and the third pierced a heart.
[3 Challengers Eliminated]
The remaining Olympians tried to flee, but Sylvia was faster.
Sylvia’s Crimson Sovereign manifested behind her, its massive claws descending upon the panicked fighters.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Bodies crumpled under the vampire avatar’s assault.
[9 Challengers Eliminated]
The man who had shouted "Kill her!" was now trembling.
"Wait! I was just joking! Please don’t..."
Sylvia grabbed his face with one hand and crushed his skull like a ripe fruit.
[12 Challengers Eliminated]
With the chamber cleared of human enemies, Sylvia turned toward the trial beasts that had begun spawning.
They were massive creatures with no visible level or combat score, their bodies covered in dark scales and burning eyes.
But she could feel their strength.
They were most likely all King Rank.
But their level and combat score were unclear.
Sou!
The first beast lunged at her with claws extended.
Sylvia sidestepped and drove her blade through its chest.
[1 Beast Eliminated]
[Bridge Progress: 1/100]
A second beast attacked from behind.
She spun and decapitated it with a single swing.
[2 Beasts Eliminated]
Three more charged simultaneously.
Sylvia activated Blood Generation, her mana converting into crimson liquid that formed dozens of spears around her using Sanguine Genesis.
The spears launched forward and impaled all three beasts at once.
[5 Beasts Eliminated within 10 seconds!]
[COMBO ACHIEVED!]
[Bridge Progress: 3/100]
Up above, Caelus watched as two bridges materialised before him instead of one.
"That’s my girl," he said with a proud smile.
Below, the other chambers were also progressing.
Ayame moved through her section like a golden comet, her Solar Flare incinerating beasts effortlessly.
[Bridge Progress: 5/100]
[Bridge Progress: 8/100]
[Bridge Progress: 12/100]
Seraphin Lin fought alongside her, helping her when beasts tried to ambush Ayame.
[Bridge Progress: 14/100]
[Bridge Progress: 16/100]
[Bridge Progress: 17/100]
Freya struggled more than the others, her Elite Rank power insufficient against the increasingly powerful beasts. As a result, she had not gotten a single kill.
The beasts grew stronger with each wave.
Eventually, Ayame’s progress slowed as she encountered beasts that could actually challenge her.
Seraphin Lin reached her limit as well.
Freya stopped making meaningful progress entirely.
But Sylvia kept pushing forward.
[Bridge Progress: 45/100]
[Bridge Progress: 52/100]
[Bridge Progress: 61/100]
She looked at the leaderboard floating above her chamber.
[1st: Helena Vern - 78/100]
[2nd: Marcus Ptolemy - 71/100]
[3rd: Caelus Kross - 61/100]
[4th: Viktor Ironblood - 58/100]
Caelus was in third place.
She couldn’t let her hubby fail here!
The beasts before her had grown terrifyingly powerful.
Her normal abilities weren’t enough anymore.
Sylvia took a deep breath.
[Transformation Activated: True Progenitor]
FWOOOM!
Power exploded through her body like a supernova.
Her silver hair grew longer, flowing past her waist with an ethereal shimmer.
Her skin turned porcelain pale, glowing faintly from within.
Her sclera darkened to pitch black, while her irises shifted to crimson with vertical slit pupils.
Elegant fangs extended past her lips.
[All Stats x4]
[+70 Combat Score]
[Duration: 2 Minutes]
There was no holding back now.
Every day in the Domain was filled with danger, and every single moment required a player to use all of their potential.
This was one of those moments.
Her Blood Sword blurred as she carved through beast after beast, each strike carrying the full might of her transformed state.
[COMBO!]
[COMBO!]
[COMBO!]
[Bridge Progress: 75/100]
[Bridge Progress: 83/100]
[Bridge Progress: 91/100]
The leaderboard updated rapidly.
[1st: Helena Vern - 95/100]
[2nd: Caelus Kross - 91/100]
[3rd: Marcus Ptolemy - 89/100]
Helena was about to win.
Sylvia’s Battlewill activated instinctively at the sight of this, her sheer determination pushing her beyond normal limits.
She combined everything she had and unleashed it in one final strike.
Crimson Eclipse drained enemy HP while healing her wounds.
Sanguine Genesis formed dozens of blood constructs that attacked independently.
Her Crimson Sovereign manifested at full power, its claws tearing through multiple beasts simultaneously.
[Bridge Progress: 95/100]
[Bridge Progress: 98/100]
[Bridge Progress: 100/100!]
[TRIAL COMPLETE FOR CAELUS KROSS]
Above, the final bridge materialised before Caelus just as Helena Vern stepped onto her own completed path.
They raced across their bridges simultaneously.
But Caelus was faster.
His feet touched the pedestal first.
[Fragment Obtained: 2/3]
[Congratulations on completing the second trial!]
"NO WAY! FUCK YOU, CAELUS KROSS!" Helena screamed in frustration as she arrived a second too late.
Marcus Ptolemy and Viktor Ironblood stared in disbelief.
"Impossible!"
"How did one woman outpace faction members?!"
Below, Sylvia’s transformation faded as she returned to normal, waves of exhaustion assaulting her.
A notification appeared before her eyes.
[Ding!]
[For your exceptional performance, you have been granted a special reward.]
[You have obtained: Blood Empowerment (Epic, 4-Star)]
[Description: Once activated, you can temporarily increase your combat score, attack speed, and stats, but when the transformation ends, you will enter an immense bloodlust mode.]