Chapter 1305: A Tale as Old as Time [1800 GT Bonus]
Sylas had been completely surrounded by the aura of a Scorpionâthe true, unbridled nature of oneâfrom the moment Gralith began. It was much clearer to him than the attack on his Will Core had been, before one was separate from him while the other was ironically trying to protect him.
The dichotomy of the two, not to mention the sheer strength of the latter, made it far easier for him to grasp what was happening. Sylas was already quite confident in doing it on his own. But doing it before his body gave out⊠well, that was another matter entirely.
As powerful as the Scorpion Emperor was, it was still less powerful than the incomplete Scorpion Emperor that Gralith seemed to harbor.
However, Gralith didnât seem to have heard Sylas at all. Even as the Scorpion Tail was restrained by Sylas, pressing back into his body, and the poison was forced into a retreat, Gralith had still taken the eighth step.
His torso exploded.
Sylasâ eyes narrowed, understanding what was happening. Will wasnât something you could just turn on and off whenever you wanted. Gralith had made these steps his enemy, and as a Scorpion WarlordâŠ
He couldnât back down.
Without having Gralith tell him the full story, Sylas had already picked up on some of it. There was definitely a great danger involved in trying to complete the Scorpion Warlord Armor the way it should be used.
From what he could see, Gralith had taken a step toward doing that. Unfortunately, Sylas couldnât even begin to analyze the complexities of the C-tier version of this armor.
His potential at the F-tier might be far beyond Gralithâs own, but as of right now, there was no doubt who between the two of them was the superior Rune Master. So, the best Sylas could do was guess.
But that left him in a troubling situation.
These steps would kill him. Whatever they were, they were far beyond him too. But he also couldnât just snap Gralith out of it. If it was that easy, it wouldnât be a C-tier-ingrained Will, now would it?
Would he just have to stand here until Gralith died, waiting to follow him too?
âYou awoke.â
The voice spoke again. But this time, there was some true emotion within it.
Surprise.
Shock.
They were as clear as day.
Sylas looked up, his body completely under Gralithâs control as he tried to take another step forward. However, he couldnât find the source of the voice.
âYou really are⊠youâŠâ
The voice spoke again, its shock even more evident as though it hadnât believed its senses the first time.
âImpossible. The Emperor Armor canât be born in this tiny corner of the world.â
âEmperor Armor?â Sylasâ eyes flashed. Suddenly a series of deductions fell into place for Sylas one after another. â⊠Is that so?â
Sylas looked toward Gralithâs back.
âStop.â
A bristling aura came from Sylas, but it still didnât work. Gralith was shaking as he tried to take another step, his eighth having torn a crevice through his torso.
âAm I wrong? No⊠Iâm not wrong, itâs thatâŠâ
Sylas closed his eyes again.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
One after another, shingles of armor slammed into place.
âNot good enough.â
72%.
âIMPOSSIBLE.â
The voice boomed and Sylas ignored it completely.
He realized that if he wanted this to work, he needed to integrate his Scorpion Warlord Unique Gene first.
NoâŠ
His Scorpion Emperor Unique Gene.
But he refused to do that before his armor was perfect.
Unfortunately, despite his breakthrough, his Emperor Armor had actually regressed. That was because he had to break it apart and reform it, getting rid of the weaknesses. It was surprisingly easy with Gralithâs help.
If he tried to form the Scorpion Warlord Armor right now, it would undoubtedly be at 100%. He couldnât have been more confident in that.
But that was no longer his path. He was taking another, even if that supposedly meant pissing off quite a great deal of people.
It was a tale as old as timeâa division between nobles and common people, of Emperors and their subjects. How could an Emperor give his people the same power as himself? Of course, they would have to have a muted version, a kernel of power that acted as both the carrot and the stickâŠ
It would give their subjects power and the chains that bound them at the same time.
Sylas wasnât one to be chained. He drew the Emperor Armor again.
85%.
He leapt into Spark Mastery in just two bounds.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Gralith was almost flung off the stairs as he took another step. Sylas felt his body shake, blood leaking from his lips. He wasnât in the best condition to begin with. The poison no longer affected him, but he had still suffered the damage from itânot to mention the fact his heart and lungs were still a crumpled mess right now.
He was only alive due to his powerful Will and nothing else. Any other F-tier would have long died by now.
But rather than diverting his Will to keeping his body alive, he was focusing all of it on building this armor.
He drew it again.
89%.
He clenched his jaw, feeling himself slow down. If he just had a week, or if he could bring out Andromeda, he knew that he could do it. ButâŠ
Sylasâ gaze became even more focused. He pulled Temporal Delay as hard as he dared, slowing down his perception of the world and accelerating his speed of thought several times over.
âAgain.â
He couldnât let Gralith take another step. That last one had almost killed them both. He had to be faster.
91%.
Not good enough.
He had already given up his foundation once before. He refused to integrate the Unique Gene until he brought out the best he had.
His True Pride Seed flared, roaring through his veins.
âAgain.â
92%.
Gralithâs leg was already raising as Sylas shattered the armor once again.
next at 2000