Chapter 415: The Requiem Guild’s S-Rank Quest
At this point, Leon felt that Cavin let go of any "warmness" that he tried to emit, his expression simply cold and demanding, his true colors showing.
The aura around the other members also rose, as if they were ready to attack again if Leon refused.
"Your companions, those three girls," Cavin got up from his seat and looked out from the glass wall, "We wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to them, right?"
"Are you—"
SLASH!
This time it wasn’t Cavin, but the figure right beside him, a silvery aura surrounding her as she got up from her seat.
She had crystal scales all over her body, from a race that Leon didn’t even recognize, her form both beautiful and deadly.
She had slashed with her spear, and a fracture of crystals erupted right beside Leon, embedding into the floor with a sharp crack.
"Hand over the stronghold crystals, and once you help us, we may even reward you," Cavin said simply, "Come on, Celestial, we can both benefit each other."
Seeing everything that happened until now, Leon couldn’t help but grin internally at the irony of the situation.
’Of course, it wouldn’t be this easy,’ he thought, his mind racing with possibilities.
"And don’t even think of leaving this place," Cavin said with the most ruthless voice yet, "You are going to help us, or both you and your companions will die."
It truly seemed like the [Requiem] stronghold was bad news, a wolf in sheep’s clothing that had finally revealed its true nature.
They were so strong that they didn’t even bother keeping the facade up for that long once they had him cornered.
"You may have ways to save yourself from normal attacks," Cavin said simply, his voice dripping with confidence and menace as he leaned forward in his seat, "And even that phoenix girl is immortal thanks to her racial abilities, but unfortunately for you, we have soul attacks at our disposal."
Leon’s expression tensed as he heard that, his body instinctively preparing for the worst.
A cold shiver ran down his spine at the implication of those words, his hands tightening around his weapons.
Indeed, as said before, soul attacks were the only way to truly kill a phoenix permanently, as well as any other player who relied on resurrection abilities to cheat death and come back from fatal injuries.
The body was a physical thing that could be rebuilt with items and healing magic, but the soul was entirely different and far more fragile, a person’s very essence.
If a soul was hit by a powerful attack, nothing could restore it except time itself, and that was only if it wasn’t shattered beyond repair by the assault.
That is why soul attacks were so devastating, even against monsters stronger than you, because they bypassed all physical defenses and went straight for the essence of your being.
Basically, if Leon was hit by a soul attack powerful enough to kill him, neither [Life Vessel] nor his [Resurrection Stones] would save him from permanent death.
And he could sense that Cavin wasn’t messing around either, the oni visibly ready to attack at any moment, his golden horns gleaming with power as he watched Leon’s reaction.
So seeing this, Leon simply sighed and did the smartest thing he could think of in this situation, choosing survival over pride and swallowing his anger for now.
Fwoosh!
He tossed the [Stronghold Crystal] at the oni, who caught it in midair with practiced ease, his fingers closing around the glowing item as a satisfied smile spread across his face.
Every single requiem guild member turned to look at it, and a glint of satisfaction could be seen in their eyes, their goal getting closer with each crystal obtained.
"Thanks to you, Celestial, we only need 6 more, and with your help, we may even complete our goal within the month!" Cavin said, his voice filled with barely contained excitement.
"...Sure," Leon replied, his voice flat and unenthusiastic.
Leon decided to abandon the idea of being a rebel at this point, knowing that fighting back would only end badly for him and his companions.
Internally, of course, he vowed to take revenge, and as hard as he could against the requiem guild, storing that anger for a future confrontation.
As long as they didn’t do anything to the girls though, he was perfectly fine with playing along for now.
At that moment, Leon received another panel, a quest notification that appeared before his eyes with a soft chime.
Ding!
[You have received an S-Rank Quest from the Requiem Guild!]
[Objective: Bring them the remaining 6 Stronghold Crystals.]
[Time Limit: 29 Days 23 Hours 59 Minutes.]
[Reward: You get to live.]
[Penalty for failure: Death.]
[Do you wish to accept?]
"...Heh," Leon at this point couldn’t help but laugh, and he did so very loudly, the sound echoing through the chamber, to the point where the requiem members all tensed up, if just a little, their hands moving toward their weapons.
Then with a wide smile, Leon simply accepted the quest, the notification disappearing with a soft chime.
"Good choice," Cavin nodded, unbothered by Leon’s actions, "And just for your information, the moment this quest ends, no matter where you are, even if in another higher domain, you will instantly die."
"Haha, sure," Leon continued smiling as he turned around, his mind already racing with plans.
Cavin snapped his fingers, and a portal appeared in front of Leon, leading him outside the building, the swirling vortex humming with energy.
But before he left, Leon simply turned around, his eyes flaring with power as he gazed at the 25 players before him, "Just one question before I leave."
"Go ahead," Cavin smiled, as relaxed as he had ever been, "It’s the least we can do for our new companion!"
"Are you aligned to the gods?" Leon asked, his voice steady and direct.
That was all Leon needed to know before he moved onward with his plans.
As soon as he said that, the pressure in the room rose to a new high, and Cavin kept the same smile on his face, though it seemed much more cold than before, a hint of something dangerous flickering in his eyes.