The air in the chamber was heavy, not from battle, but from the swirling questions and uncertainty that followed. The group sat in a circle, their expressions grave, each nursing their thoughts while Pyris paced restlessly.
Alera rested nearby, her breathing steady but her face pale, her battle with the guardian having left its toll.
Zara and Seren whispered faintly as they tended to her, though their attention often flickered to Pyris and the monolithic guardian still standing motionless in the center of the chamber. Its presence was a silent challenge, its aura of divine mana continuing to ripple ominously.
Pyris stopped pacing, his eyes locking onto the guardian. It was still, almost deceptively calm, but its presence scread of power.
That aura—it wasn't mortal, not even close. The sheer potency of its mana spoke volus, and Pyris couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this particular divine ascension than t the eye.
"Divine mana," Pyris muttered to himself, his tone laced with suspicion. His voice carried across the chamber, drawing the group's attention. "That's not sothing just anyone can possess. Only gods can grant it… and only to those they deem worthy."
His words hung in the air, thick with implications. Seren's brows furrowed in thought, while Zara's expression darkened.
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"Are you suggesting…" Zara began, but Pyris cut her off.
"That all guardians in this labyrinth might possess divine mana? Yes," Pyris confird, his voice steady but low. "It's either that, or these creatures are remnants—soldiers of the gods themselves. Either way, we're dealing with sothing far above ordinary mortal power. This is beyond just bestowing divine mana."
A hush fell over the group. If what Pyris suggested was true, it ant that every battle ahead could be a clash with forces tethered to the gods, either directly or through their creations.
Seren finally spoke, her tone hesitant but curious. "But… what if the gods aren't behind the labyrinth? What if sothing else captured their creations, or their soldiers, and turned them into these guardians?"
The idea sent a shiver down Pyris' spine. If the gods weren't directly involved, then the labyrinth's creator was sothing even more terrifying—sothing powerful enough to bend divine beings or their servants to its will.
Pyris clenched his fists. The thought was unnerving, but another idea was taking shape in his mind. His gaze flickered to the system notifications that had appeared in his mind's eye after his last battle with the guardian.
The missions…
The first mission had been clear enough: survive the guardian's attack. That was done. But the second and third were where things got more intriguing.
The last mission—kill the guardian. Pyris scoffed. "As if I needed a mission to do that," he muttered to himself.
That was already on his agenda, mission or not. But what had truly caught his attention wasn't the mission itself—it was the reward.
"Information about the Elental Deity's Spawns…" Pyris whispered, his mind racing. He had no idea what these "Spawns" were, but the implications were enough to set his blood alight with anticipation.
He turned back to the guardian, his eyes narrowing. 'Could it be? Could the guardian itself be one of these Spawns?' The divine mana it wielded, the overwhelming power it displayed—it all pointed to sothing far beyond mortal comprehension.
"If this thing is a Spawn," Pyris muttered, "then it definitely must be connected to the Elental Deity… or maybe it's one of his lower rank soldiers."
The idea sent his thoughts spiraling. If the guardian was a soldier of the gods—or worse, of the Elental Deity himself—then what did that make the rest of the labyrinth's inhabitants?
But there was no ti to dwell on that now. Pyris shook his head, forcing himself to focus. The first mission was complete, and the second and third could only be accomplished after obtaining the Blood Chalice.
Yet the rewards from the first mission had given him more than just closure—they had given him questions.
The Anti-Divine Mana. God-Slayer Mana.
The energy of legends, spoken of only in hushed whispers, wielded by those with the power to kill gods themselves. Pyris had read of such power in his life on earth, the power of God-Slayer in novels, but he had never thought it truly existed, until he arrived in this world himself.
Now, the system had confird it. The information it had provided left no room for doubt:
"Few individuals have ever wielded this power, and fewer still have mastered it. Fewer still have survived its imnse potential."
Pyris' brow furrowed as he replayed the words in his mind. It wasn't just the imnse potential of the mana itself that posed a threat—it was the reaction of the gods.
"Were they hunted?" Pyris whispered to himself. The thought sent a chill through him.
The gods would never allow sothing as dangerous as God-Slayers to exist unchecked. If anyone had ever wielded such power, they must have beco targets the mont their power was discovered.
His mind raced. "If there are any God-Slayers still alive, they must be in hiding. And if not… then they were killed off by the gods long ago."
The possibilities were staggering. Pyris found himself wondering: was he alone in this? Or were there others out there, wielding the sa forbidden power, lurking in the shadows?
"Lucy…" The na escaped his lips before he could stop himself.
The all-powerful Obsidian, a figure of myth and legend, whose whereabouts had remained unknown for centuries. If anyone could have wielded such power and survived, it would have been her.
But even that thought was fleeting. Pyris' attention snapped back to the present as he considered the most pressing question of all.
"Why did the system give this information now?" he murmured. "Why the sudden missions, right when the guardian began to ascend, readying its divine energy?"
The timing wasn't a coincidence. Pyris could feel it in his bones. The system wasn't just guiding him—it was preparing him.
He clenched his fists, his jaw tightening as a realization began to form in the back of his mind.
"If the system gave this... this knowledge… then it's because I'm ant to use it?
His eyes burned with intensity as the words ca unbidden to his mind, each one hamring ho the undeniable truth.
"I… am a God-Slayer, too?
The revelation hung in the air, equal parts thrilling and terrifying.
Pyris' heart raced as he considered the implications. If he was truly a God-Slayer, then he had been chosen—or cursed—with a power that would make him a target of the gods themselves.
And yet, as daunting as the thought was, Pyris couldn't help but feel a surge of exhilaration. He had always craved power, and now he stood on the precipice of sothing greater than he had ever imagined.
The guardian's unmoving form lood in the distance, a silent reminder of the battles yet to co. But Pyris didn't falter. He straightened his back, his confidence unwavering.
Whatever lay ahead—whether it was the wrath of the gods, the mysteries of the labyrinth, or the truth behind the Elental Deity's Spawns—he would face it head-on.
Because he wasn't just a warrior. He wasn't just a survivor.
He was a God-Slayer!
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