Chương 276: Chapter 268: When Rivals' Masks Fall – Part I

Amidst the ruins of Oasis, Priam watched the elemental flee with a mix of sadness and frustration. The Dragon within him craved the creature's power, eager to devour it. Consuming both the Tribulation fragment and a being of flame and plasma would have brought him that much closer to Pyro's Unity. But it was too dangerous. His allies hadn't realized the threat, but Priam had sensed the elemental's true horror.

A ball of plasma capable of thought, with more energy than a nuke and freed from all constraints of a Tribulation, was a walking time bomb. Pun intended. A fragment of Tribulation wasn't worth the lives of his friends, no matter his ability to rewind time. His pragmatic side agreed: if the elemental killed his allies, it would jeopardize his plan to kill Sumstreh. That would be short-sighted. Next time, Priam promised himself, ducking under a plank that fell from Log-a-rhythm's branches.

The Tribulation had spared none of the treehouses his father had built.

"Whatever happens, stay inside Log-a-rhythm," Priam ordered the non-combatants. Bertomne, Ymir, and Lamnas quickly obeyed, but the others took longer to accept the situation.

"... We're never gonna see you again, are we?" Rose muttered, staring at the ground with clenched fists. Priam turned to Dishnu and Arnold.

"Can you guys give us a moment?" The two foreigners left, and Priam chose his words carefully.

"I'm going to rewind time; we'll see each other again in just four hours." If I don't die before I can use Back in Time...

"The Rose you find won't be me. She won't have watched her friends die or faced her Tribulations." Priam searched for the right response.

"You're right... but our friends will still be alive."

"I want them to live too!" Rose exclaimed.

"But I don't want to disappear... Maybe we could hide in the Concepts Archipelago?!" Her eyes lit up with hope.

"That way, if your inner world rewinds with you, we'll still be there!" Priam grimaced.

"I don't think the Concepts would allow that. You're System users, not objects or plants… But even if it worked, Back in Time doesn't change the past. If you come with me, there will be two Roses. Do you really want to share your identity?" This was why Priam refused to keep Sphinx in his inner world. Even if she returned with him, another Sphinx would still be trapped with Sumstreh. He couldn't bear that.

"I…" Rose bit her lip as a tear rolled down her cheek. The only solution was to kill the past Rose, but she was too kind for that.

"I want to see Kazuki, Louis, and the others again. Save them," she whispered, turning to head back into Log-a-rhythm. With a thought, Priam asked Moonie to follow her. Maybe the little wyrm could comfort the girl.

"You can't help her," Alain said, placing a hand on his troubled son's shoulder.

"I chose Back in Time to help Sphinx. Now I feel like I'm being selfish with you all," Priam sighed. Alain shrugged.

"You're not selfish... at least not with those you care about. You're doing the best you can, and no one's asking for more. Not even Rose. Now stop worrying and focus on the future."

"... I'll save everyone," Priam promised, hugging his father.

"You'll try," his father replied.

"And I'm proud of you for that." The valley that once held Sumstreh's lair lay in ruins. Cresting one of the passes that led there, the group of rivals halted, stunned. The forest was gone. Here and there, half-buried tree trunks jutted from the ground, but the green of vegetation had given way to the gray of ash. Ahead, explosions shook the earth and sent clouds scattering. The spectral form of a giant rabhorn fought both a colossal skeleton and a giant tiger simultaneously.

Instead of relying on physical attacks, the Fallen utilized rituals etched into the valley's rocks to conjure thousands of light spears from the ambient aether. Leo, the leader of the Aelbes, dodged the projectiles before they even appeared, his instincts terrifyingly sharp. In contrast, the necro-colossus summoned by Seth stoically tanked the hits. Just seeing the spears made Priam's eyes bleed, forcing him to look away. He wasn't ready to fight there. Arnold must have disagreed, as he took off toward the battle.

To his left, the three shamans lay sprawled on the ground, trembling under the assault of invisible forces. Priam sensed around them the same spiritual energy that made up the divine mark still present in his soul. That Sumstreh could enslave three shamans while fighting two powerful Tier 4s was worrying. A bluish smoke descended on a distant peak. The cloud exploded, releasing a missile that homed in on the rivals. Before they could react, the massive figure of a giant slammed into the ground in front of them.

The dust cloud cleared to reveal Braato, his face pale and skin slick with blood.

"Are any of you a healer?" Braato asked, raising his arm to reveal a dagger lodged between two ribs. Priam shook his head as Ophis stopped about fifty feet away. The insane gleam in the Snahert's eyes and the empty scabbard at his waist told a grim tale.

"What—""Ophis screwed up," Braato answered, predicting the obvious question. The Snahert leader grinned, revealing two blood-stained canines.

"Ophis made a mistake when he grafted my heart into himself, just like you made a mistake not checking your allies' condition before the fight." Either the man was speaking in the third person, or the body had a new owner. Fuck. Priam didn't need to see the Tier 4's bare chest to know there would be a scar. Ophis had absorbed the heart of the skulc shaman, likely to purify his draconic bloodline. The result? His ego had been replaced.

"I didn't think the System could give me a cursed reward," said Priam. If Ophis hadn't taken the heart, he would have devoured it himself. By the way, why didn't he devour it? Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"The reward was the help to unlock Micro II; the items obtained are a personal gift," the skulc shaman replied.

"Moreover, the System rarely interferes in the affairs of dragons." Seeing the enemy willing to answer questions, Priam tried again.

"Why not help us defeat the Fallen? With your power, I'm sure it's possible." Ophis might be dead, but that didn't change anything for Priam. The important thing was the death of Sumstreh, not the identity of his temporary allies. The skulc's smile widened into a crescent moon.

"Because their original self was part of a pantheon I wish to join." As Priam opened his mouth to ask more, a chilling notification appeared. Lvl Up: [Poison Body] lvl 28 CONST +1 VIT +1 META (Endurance) +1 This fucker's talking to distract us! Wrapping an arm around Esmée's waist, Priam leaped backward. His instincts screamed, and he looked up to see a toxic cloud descending towards them. It took him just a moment to realize this was the end. The attack covered the whole sky and fell at the speed of a meteor.

Braato lunged at the possessed, but he would be too late… Suddenly, the skulc sneezed, and the skill froze. Braato's tackle on its creator dispersed the cloud. Landing a hundred meters away, Priam realized he was drenched in cold sweat. Without the Tier 4's sneeze, he would be dead.

"Herg!" Esmée coughed. Seeing blood trickle from her mouth and nose, Priam feared she was severely poisoned. As Dishnu and Braato dashed forward to engage the enemy, Priam opened the Sun Shop, frantically searching for a detoxifying pill. A hand on his cheek stopped him.

"It's useless; it's not the poison."

"What?"

"… I told you, my father forbade me from endangering our civilization," the princess reminded him, a smile on her lips.

"I was ordered not to provoke the ire of a Tier 4." The skulc's sneeze! Esmée had just saved their lives. Priam glanced at her chest. The absence of a familiar sound struck him.

"Your heart…"

"The geas made it burst." The ground trembled under the cataclysmic battles raging kilometers away, but Priam paid no attention. A young woman was dying in his arms, and that was all that mattered. Helplessness hit him hard as he searched desperately for any way to save her.

"I can keep your blood circulating with my kinetic control!" The princess's gaze was gentle as she shook her head.

"But you wouldn't be able to fight at the same time. It's pointless as this world is coming to an end." Despite the looming threat of death, Esmée kept her eyes firmly on their objective. In the distance, Dishnu hit the ground. The Guardian of the Forest, who had conquered a quintuple Tribulation, was completely outmatched by the skulc. He rose painfully, ignoring the poison, and charged back into the fray.

"I'm sorry," Priam said, staring into the princess's beautiful eyes.

"For what? Thanks to you, I dared to defy my father. More importantly, I proved to myself that my resolve was more important than my life." The princess had taken advantage of the timeline's end to disregard her orders and give meaning to her sacrifice. A flicker of pride shone in her eyes: even death hadn't made her back down. A blinding flash made Sphinx roar. Summoning Pyro, Priam absorbed a wave of heat so intense it was turning the valley's stones to glass. Above them, Arnold was going nuclear.

"I'm going to summon my Tribulations," Esmée murmured, opening her grimoire. Priam watched her frown as the System's aura descended.

"..." He stayed silent while the princess explained the contents of her quintuple Tribulation. Despite her words, none manifested, but Priam respected the secrecy of his rival. Clearly, he wasn't the only one chosen by an entity during their Tutorial. As Sphinx leaped off his shoulder to block an avalanche of rock triggered by the battle, Priam gently wiped away a tear of blood trickling down Esmée's cheek. So close to death, her royal aura was dissipating, revealing her youth and vulnerability.

Though she was a formidable rival, she was undoubtedly the most fragile.

"Let's make sure you get home," Esmée whispered. Dipping her nail into her own blood, she scribbled a few words in her grimoire before tearing it apart. Priam felt a force envelop him but stayed silent, engraving the beautiful features of the young woman in his memory. When she turned back to him, her pupils were dilated with pain, fear, and hope. Her mouth opened, forming words without sound. Priam moved closer to hear better and was taken aback when she straightened up.

Perhaps because she had been crafted to be alluring, the princess's lips were of indescribable softness. Pressing his hand against her cheek, Priam drew her closer to deepen the kiss. When the two rivals finally pulled away, light shone in their eyes.

"Rose told me that in your culture, the woman can kiss first."

"It happens when we're lucky," Priam joked to hide his sadness. Esmée's hand caressed his cheek.

"... With me, you don't have to wear a false smile." As the end drew near, the princess removed the mask she had worn all her life, and Priam did the same. The two young people looked at each other, letting their emotions sweep over them and revealing their true feelings.

"I'm scared," Esmée whispered as death approached. Priam's lips reassured her. [2 hours 33 minutes before optimal activation of Back in Time.] Status: PHYSICAL: Strength 782 Constitution 1 387 (+1) Agility 924 Vitality 1 338 (+2) Perception 817 MENTAL: Vivacity (D) 599 Dexterity 680 Memory 896 Willpower 1 193 Charisma 754 META: Meta-affinity 920 Meta-focus 438 Meta-endurance 779 (+2) Meta-perception (A) 441 Meta-chance 332 Meta-authority 252 Potential: 12 433 (+2) Tier 0 Sun point: 0 [He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRIMED [Tribulation]: Six Tribulations pending. Future Tribulations delayed until: Time: 152 days 8 hours 40 minutes 46 seconds.

Next thresholds: 12 attributes > 600 / 6 attribute > 900 / 3 attributes > 1 200 / 1 attribute > 1 This arc is already complete on Patreon if you want to find out what happens next! https: //www. patreon. com/ANovelConcept