Chapter 189: Much Better Idea
Priam secretly observed for a while.
Judging by his youthful appearance and his clothes, that man was definitely an outer sect disciple. The aura he gave off was subtly similar to that of a novice Sage—Priam had sensed something similar from Uswyn.
That made Priam certain the man was a Mage Master who was very close to becoming a Sage. He was probably at the ninth level, or something very close to it.
’He’s definitely here for me... The guy’s just one step away from becoming a Sage... Well, it’s not like I could win a fair fight against anything that exists on this planet anyway. So one more mortal threat doesn’t really make a difference.’
The strangest part was that the man’s body emitted no aura whatsoever. If Priam hadn’t been looking straight at him, he would’ve had a hard time noticing his presence.
’An aura-concealing pill... It has to be. Something like that can’t be cheap. Those old bastards really didn’t hold back, huh?’
The figure wore an expression of barely restrained anger, frantically scanning every direction as he searched for something.
Priam sighed.
’He must’ve sensed my fight with the Corrupted Beast. Lucky for me, I finished it quickly and reactivated Divine Concealment... Paranoia really does save lives.’
After thinking for a few seconds, a dark, bloodthirsty gleam flashed through his eyes.
’You came all the way here just to hunt me down, huh? Perfect. Let’s see who’s the hunter... and who’s the prey.’
Priam silently moved into action, beginning his preparations.
...
A few minutes later.
The man hidden in the shadows sensed a slight Ether fluctuation. He instantly turned and rushed toward it.
As he approached the bank of a river, he finally spotted the person he had been searching for. Priam was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree. His clothes were torn, and he looked absolutely miserable.
"Haha, Priam! Are you still alive? What a miracle!" the man exclaimed as he approached with a warm, friendly smile.
Priam’s face filled with shock the moment he saw him.
"W-Who... who are you?!"
"Easy there, kid! I’m Kiden, a senior disciple from the same outer branch as you," he replied cheerfully. "The Leading Elder secretly sent me to make sure you stayed safe during your exile. Thank the heavens I made it in time!"
"S-Senior... I don’t even know how to thank you," Priam muttered, his expression turning vulnerable and relieved. "To be honest... I’ve spent the last few days terrified, thinking I was going to end up as monster food."
"That’s perfectly normal. Even I got chills the moment I stepped into this miserable place," Kiden said as he slowly approached.
"Come with me. I’ll escort you to the Inscription Pillar, and after some time we’ll head to the core together. We can’t return to the sect too quickly, or people will get suspicious."
While speaking in a smooth, reassuring voice, Kiden had already begun secretly circulating Ether through his meridians.
Priam looked at him with deep gratitude, showing not the slightest hint of suspicion.
"Senior is truly an amazing person... an angel sent from heaven."
Speaking as if he were too weak to even stand, Priam simply stretched out his hand.
Kiden’s smile grew even brighter.
He had been terrified that Priam might’ve been eaten by a Corrupted Beast, ruining his mission. But now the boy was right in front of him, naive and defenseless. All he had to do was subdue him, secretly take him back, and complete his mission flawlessly.
The instant his hand touched Priam’s arm, an unmistakable look of mockery flashed through his eyes.
’The idiot swallowed the bait hook, line, and sinker...’
But then...
*FWOOOOOOSH!*
A sharp, piercing whistle suddenly ripped through the air directly behind him.
Kiden’s heart turned ice-cold.
Priam was standing right in front of him...
So where the hell was that deadly attack twisting the air behind him coming from?!
Instinctively, Kiden tried to let go of the boy and dodge sideways.
But the moment he attempted to release Priam’s arm, the young man’s fingers clamped around his wrist like a steel vise.
Priam was holding him in place.
Kiden looked up and was met with a cold, mocking, bloodthirsty grin on Priam’s face.
The brat had known everything from the very beginning.
"Go to hell!"
Without even having time to look back, Kiden’s instincts screamed that the threat behind him was lethal. He unleashed his Mage Master aura with full force, violently blasting Priam away.
Even though he twisted his body at the very last instant, his dodge wasn’t perfect.
"!"
An arrow tore through the air, grazing his shoulder and leaving a trail of hot blood behind.
Kiden was completely stunned by the boy’s audacity. He was just about to charge forward and tear Priam apart when he heard three more sharp whistles cutting through the air.
*Fwoo! Fwoo! Fwoo!*
Three arrows were coming in a crisscross formation.
Drawing his long spear in a blur, Kiden channeled his energy and unleashed a terrifying bolt of lightning, shattering all three arrows in midair.
"You dare ambush me, you little bastard?!" Kiden roared, throwing away his friendly façade as he glared at Priam with eyes blazing with hatred.
Priam brushed the dust off his shoulder as he calmly stood back up.
He looked at the Mage Master with undisguised contempt.
"Do you really think everyone in this world is as stupid as you are?"
Kiden frowned, but Priam kept talking, not giving him a chance to interrupt.
"The Leading Elder is known for being extremely fair and strict. She didn’t even treat her own son any differently, much less give him special treatment within the sect. Do you really think she’d send someone to rescue me?" Priam spat coldly.
"It looks like those Law Elders have gotten way too used to doing whatever they want. The very people who are supposed to uphold the rules are the first ones to break them so shamelessly... Excellent. Now I have a really good reason to ruin their lives."
Kiden looked surprised for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! I didn’t expect you to know that much... So you’ve got yourself a good reason, huh? Too bad today’s the last day of your life! But I’ll be generous—hand over your spatial ring."
Priam raised an eyebrow, pretending to be puzzled.
"And why exactly should I give you my spatial ring? You’ll let me live if I do?"
"No," Kiden replied, pointing his spear at Priam’s chest with a cruel smile. "But I can promise I’ll kill you a little faster. You won’t feel any pain."
Priam slowly nodded, putting on a thoughtful expression.
"That’s reasonable. If I resist, you’ll chop me into pieces—which would be painful and miserable. If I don’t resist, I can just die right away. What a wonderful idea! But... I have a much better idea."
"What idea?" Kiden asked, narrowing his eyes.
But at that exact moment, he realized something was terribly wrong.
An unbearable stench of rotting flesh invaded his nostrils.
Looking down in panic, Kiden saw that the small cut on his shoulder had already turned completely black. He had lost all feeling in his arm.
The foul odor coming from the wound was what finally alerted him: the earlier arrow had been coated in an incredibly powerful poison.
That entire conversation with Priam had only been to buy time and let the toxin take effect.
The most terrifying part was that the poison had spread in complete silence. If not for the smell of decaying flesh, Kiden would’ve remained completely unaware of what was happening.
Priam flashed a mocking grin when he saw the shock on the assassin’s face.
"Took you long enough to notice, genius."
[Rune of Power]
[Activate?] [Yes / No]
"My idea is simple: I’ll just get rid of you... then take the evidence back to the sect."
Before Kiden could react, Priam’s entire body erupted with a blinding, terrifying white light.
His Rune of Power had been activated at its absolute limit.
It was the very first rune he had ever created, combining the Yang energy from high-level crystals of the Divine Plane with the few fire-element materials he possessed. The result was a purely explosive Yang Rune of Power—simple, yet possessing terrifying destructive potential.
And it was the perfect fuel for a moment like this.
**KBOOOOOOOOM!!**
Rumbling Heavens exploded in the middle of the forest like a miniature nuclear bomb.
The power of those Yang crystals was a thousand times more insane than Priam had imagined, far exceeding all of his expectations.
*FWOOOOSH!*
Priam was blasted through the sky like a blood-soaked meteor. Even as the caster, he suffered catastrophic injuries from the shockwave of his own attack.
’Holy shit... I was this close to blowing myself into a bloody mist... that would’ve been the dumbest suicide in history!’ he screamed inwardly, feeling the agony of the burns.
His Nature power immediately began healing him in midair, regenerating his tissues as he flew.
Twisting his body while airborne, Priam realized the explosion itself had launched him exactly in the direction he had planned to escape.
But then—
"I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!!!"
A shrill roar echoed in every direction.
Emerging from the smoke and flames, a figure covered in blood and horrifying wounds shot through the air at incredible speed, chasing after him like a furious demon.
Killing a ninth-level Mage Master with just that?
Only in his wildest dreams.
Priam felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest as he watched the humanoid monster charging straight at him.
’Here we go again... TIME TO RUN!’