Chapter 497: The Archpriest

With both the right side and left side rooms explored, there was only one place left to go: the central room.

Of course, that was where the presence Lorelei detected earlier was. It was almost certain that was the Archpriest of the Midnight Syndicate we were searching for, and also an old friend to me.

Well… maybe ‘friend’ wasn’t exactly the right term. Enemy would be more fit.

After making sure both Mei Gui and Amane were ready, we headed for the central room directly ahead of us. There was a door sealing it, and this one, unlike the one before, was unlocked—as if the person inside was inviting us in.

Mei Gui, Amane, and I exchanged glances, and I gently pushed open the door.

Inside, a man knelt on a cushion pad, meditating or praying. His garments, however, were anything but what one would expect to be meditating or praying. He was clad in silver knight’s armor, from head to toe with not a single inch of his body exposed.

But more importantly… I recognized this man. That armor was unmistakable.

“… Well, well… long time no see, huh?” I chuckled, folding my arms.

“Oho… you still remember me,” the silver knight said, arising from his cushion like he had expected us to come all along. “Long time no see indeed. I was supposed to meet you again in the Fortress, but… certain circumstances prevented me from doing so.”

“Really? That’s cool,” I said, nodding as if I was intrigued. “But really, I don’t care. I came here to abduct you. Need an Archpriest to enter Fragment. That’s your rank, isn’t it?”

“… Technically, yes,” he replied. “But in reality, no.”

This made me raise an eyebrow.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Remember the certain circumstances I mentioned just now?” He laughed. “After returning to the Fortress, I was berated by my superiors for failing in my invasion, and was essentially driven out of the organization. I was blocked off from all future operations by the Bishop, and had nothing left but the few men I still had under my wing.”

“… And you repaid them by turning them into these corrupt monsters, huh?” I folded my arms. “Don’t think I haven’t realized by now.”

“And what of it?” The silver knight asked, stepping closer and shrugging as if none of that mattered. “Sacrifices are needed in the path of revenge.”

“Is that what you’re after?” Amane asked, narrowing her eyes. “Revenge? How utterly cliched.”

I decided not to mention how my journey began as a search for revenge as well. But to contrary to our expectations, the knight laughed.

“My end goal? No. Revenge is a mere stepping stone, the beginning. My ultimate goal… is to collect all four Empyreans’ treasures. Then, and only then, will I have the power to rule the world!”

Faced with this arrogant and determined speech, all we had to say was…

“… Even more cliched.”

“Hmph… you will never get it. Those people chose to follow me of their own free will, and their noble sacrifices paved the way for my experiments with the power I gained from the Empyrean of Earth. At last, I have discovered the method to successfully fuse a god’s strength with a human body!”

“So those slime-like things were the introductory stage of experiments… and that final gatekeeper we faced was the result of all this testing?” I shook my head in disappointment. “You’ve fallen. You’ve fallen a long way.”

At this, the knight stopped.

“… What?”

“You know, back then, despite not knowing your name—and I still don’t—I respected you after our fight,” I said. “I’m not big on following codes of honor or any ‘rules’ in battle, but I respected you for doing your best to stick to your knight code even on the brink of death. I was looking forward to our rematch… but to think it would be a completely different man…”

“Shut it… I’m done following rules,” the knight growled, a dangerous aura rising from his body. “Look where following rules got me… exiled, betrayed by the very organization I devoted my life to. Chivalry is long dead, Xuan Kai. But if it’s a name you want… you can call me Steel.”

“So you still remember mine too,” I said with a grin. “Well, what do you say we settle this the old way, one on one?”

“Ha… you really are deaf, aren’t you?” Steel cackled evilly. “I just said… I’m DONE playing by the RULES!”

With a hysterical laugh, his body arched backwards as if trying to limbo underneath an invisible line, and suddenly, two slimes appeared beside him.

“Get ready… Xuan Kai.”

I smirked. “How nice of you… this means my allies can help out too now. Let’s go!”

*****

The battle began with a clang.

While Amane and Mei Gui each took on one of the slimes, I drew my katanas and sliced towards Steel, who used the same blade he had been using last time we fought to parry and strike back.

Of course, since the last time we dueled, both of us have gotten many times stronger than we once were. I spent three years in the Void Realm cultivating, and Steel has now obtained the power of the Earth Empyrean, Terrarim. I don’t know how he managed to do it given the requirements, but there was no time to worry about that now. My top priority was figuring out what exactly this power did, and that was why I was still holding back in strength for now.

“… Heh, you’ve grown stronger since we last fought,” Steel said as we exchanged blows and strikes.

I grinned. “Could say the same to you. Too bad your personality changed.”

“Hmph… like I said… someone like you would never understand!”

He suddenly cut down with all his might, and rather than blocking, I dodged backwards swiftly. By now, Mei Gui and Amane had both finished off their opponents, and were now both facing Steel with me.

“Ho… your friends aren’t bad either,” he muttered. “Summoning more imbeciles will only be a waste of time. It seems I will have to deal with the three of you myself… heh, very well. You shall be the first ones to witness my true power… so behold!”

With an evil laugh, Steel’s body suddenly began morphing, mutating, much like the purple giant monster we fought earlier. However, unlike before, his body did not grow big. His armor didn’t even shatter. The power did not physically alter his body’s appearance in any way, and in fact, even his armor remained the same.

There was just one difference, judging from appearance alone:

The ominous purple gas that was coming from his knight helmet’s visor, and surrounded his entire body.

“Heheheheh… fight me now, Xuan Kai.”

“… Fine, if that’s what you want,” I said with a smirk, then turned to Mei Gui and Amane. “Stand down. I’ll take care of this one myself.”

“What? But-” Amane began, but Mei Gui stopped her and merely said ‘understood, master’. She understood why I needed to do this, and she believed in my strength.

After all, if all three of us fought this man at the same time, there would be no point to all of this. After carefully analyzing Steel’s current mental state, I judged that I needed to beat him in a duel and show him how weak he was. Otherwise, if we took him on 3v1, he would never submit to helping us, and would instead choose to kill himself instead.

I didn’t want to risk losing our key into Fragment after coming all the way out here to get it, so this was the only way.

Drawing my blades, I prepared for the fight to commence. But then…

“… Hey. I have a proposal, Xuan Kai,” Steel suddenly said, and I frowned.

“… If this is you trying to distract me into letting my guard down, it’s not working.”

“That’s not it. I’m not that low… yet. This is a genuine offer,” he reassured. “I want you to work with me, together. You’re trying to fight the Midnight Syndicate, are you not? So am I. I want revenge against those bastards… and since we share a common goal, why not work together?”

Hm… he certainly has a point. Like the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but…

“Be careful, Master. Lorelei senses he has ulterior motives,”  a voice whispered to my in my head, and I smiled slightly.

As expected. But I can play into his trick…

“… Sure. But how do I know you won’t betray me?”

“Well, you’ll just have to take my word for it,” Steel replied with a low chuckle. “Trust is the basis of all partnerships, no?”

“… I suppose that’s true,” I replied, and held out my hand. “Then, shall we seal the deal?”

Steel gave a nod, a laugh, and walked closer to me. Then, he placed his hand in mine, and shook it firmly.

And that is when…