Chapter 434: Opportunity (3)

Priam watched as the Elder let out a heavy sigh and walked toward the exit of the underground hall with calm, measured steps. Priam extended his perception, tracking the old man’s movements through the stone corridors until he reached a secluded chamber, still deep beneath the ground.

Without hesitation, Priam moved silently across the upper floor until he was positioned directly above the new room. He condensed another scouting rune and sent it sinking through the cracks in the rock, opening up his vision of the space below.

The image revealed the Elder activating a complex communication inscription engraved on a pedestal. Apparently, he had left the blood reservoir solely to deliver his periodic report.

Within seconds, the Elder’s voice rang out in a tone of deep respect.

“Reporting to the Leader: everything is proceeding as planned, and we’ve just begun the 28th cycle. I’ll retrieve the twenty-two previously selected Pristine Primordial Wild-Spirits and begin the refinement stage.”

A cold, measured voice replied, “Excellent. The new Heralds are extremely troublesome figures, and nothing can be allowed to go out of control. I’ll remove the seal on the Sacred Lotus’s essence right now.”

Upon hearing the confirmation, the Elder bowed his head slightly and waited until the communication ended.

He took a deep breath, pulling a black jade tablet from inside his robes and running his fingers across its shimmering surface, where lists of names and ages were recorded. It was probably the registry of this planet’s slaves.

At that very moment, Priam inhaled slowly. He extended his perception beyond the room where the Elder was standing, coldly calculating the route the old man would take.

There was a secondary exit just a few meters away. He would climb a stone staircase, reach the surface, and pass through the nearest iron side door before leaving the castle and heading into the forest.

Priam didn’t think twice before moving toward that exit.

Within seconds, he emerged from the citadel and positioned himself beside the door in question.

After examining the perimeter, he noticed that the courtyard was completely bare, with no tall vegetation or structures that could serve as cover. However, when he raised his gaze, he spotted a tall, unglazed window standing open directly above the iron doorway, providing access to an empty room.

Priam leaped without making a sound, settling onto the inner windowsill, positioned directly above his target’s exit route.

He controlled his breathing, keeping his mind cold and clear.

Ananke wasn’t with him at that moment, having remained behind with the Central Elder for the enhancement process.

After taking a deep breath, the newly assimilated bloodline of the Vekil race awakened within his veins, burning as he pushed it to its absolute limits.

At the core of his Heart of Life and Destruction, the Thunder of Destruction stirred and compressed.

The Vekil race’s Ancestral Art was activated. This supreme technique granted the element of electricity a terrifying property: the ability to infuse it with a curse that could afflict the target’s soul in the very millisecond it pierced their flesh.

For an ordinary Mage, this attack was completely indefensible. However, a Sage backed by the essence of creation could, in theory, raise defenses and resist the curse… that is, if the power being used were conventional electricity.

The Thunder of Destruction? It was a power derived from the laws of the world, something no one had ever dreamed a member of the Vekil race could wield.

The fusion of the Ancestral Art with this destructive force transformed the attack into an absolute death sentence—a strike capable of annihilating the essence of creation without any resistance.

Minutes passed in sepulchral silence.

Priam remained in a trance of absolute focus, his eyes fixed on the doorknob below.

The invisible blade of his attack had been drawn and was ready to execute its target.

His presence was completely concealed by Transcendental Concealment. The only way the Elder could detect him was through direct eye contact. But with Priam perched atop the window, he was entirely outside the old man’s field of vision.

“…”

Tense seconds dragged by at a painfully slow pace.

With a soft scrape against the grooves in the stone, the iron door began to give way.

The Elder’s frail figure emerged, his gaze still fixed on the jade tablet in his hands.

With a calm surge of energy, he stepped over the threshold and began to rise into the air, floating just above the ground as he crossed the courtyard.

In the very millisecond the old man’s neck became exposed, Priam struck.

Without displacing even the slightest breath of air, he plunged from the windowsill like a black lightning bolt. Transcendental Concealment enveloped his body in an absolute absence of presence, while the Vekil Ancestral Art, fused with the Thunder of Destruction, erupted from his right hand in the form of an electric spike.

“!”

Only when the destructive energy touched the fabric of his robes from behind did the Elder sense the deadly chill of an enemy’s presence. The old man’s eyes widened in pure shock and terror, but it was already too late.

PIERCE!

Priam’s surgical strike pierced the Elder’s waist as easily as a red-hot rod passing through snow, striking and shattering his Jade Core in the very same millisecond.

The impact of the electrical curse swept through the old man’s internal circulation pathways, spreading a wave of paralysis and existential collapse through every cell in his body. In desperation, the Elder tried to mobilize his Essence of Creation to contain the curse and send out a mental distress signal.

However, his attempt ended in tragic failure. The Thunder of Destruction didn’t merely ignore his defenses—it consumed them instantly, nullifying any barrier the old man tried to raise.

Before the Elder could even process what had happened, Priam’s left hand shot forward like a claw and plunged into the victim’s chest.

[Extract Creation Rune?] [Yes / No]

Priam confirmed the prompt in a millisecond. A faint vibration emanated from his palm, and the Elder’s Creation Rune was summarily ripped from his soul.

With his Core shattered and his Creation Rune removed in less than a second, the Exalted Sage’s ability to react was completely destroyed.

The Elder’s mouth opened in a silent spasm as he stared at the sky with trembling, disbelieving eyes.

He hadn’t even seen his attacker.

In that final moment, Priam concentrated the power of his own soul and projected it directly into the old man’s sea of consciousness.

Rather than delivering the killing blow and finishing him off right there—which might trigger some kind of signal within the Pure Lotus Sanctuary Sect—Priam chose to knock him unconscious, keeping him alive.

It was the safest option. Besides, the old man’s memories and knowledge were an invaluable treasure that Priam would thoroughly extract later.

The Elder’s body collapsed limply into Priam’s arms.

The entire execution unfolded in a terrifying, sepulchral silence, without causing any major disturbances in the surroundings. Inside the castle, immersed in the chaotic storm of blood and refinement filling the underground hall, the twelve remained in a state of absolute trance, completely unaware of what had just happened on the surface.

Priam held the Elder’s body, collected the target’s jade tablet and spatial ring, and flashed a cold, razor-sharp smile.

[Karmic Title Acquired!]

[Assassin of Destruction]

[+ 10,000 GP]

Priam snorted as he read the green notification window.

Without wasting even a second, he placed the Elder’s limp body in a blind spot in the courtyard, pivoted on his heels, and slipped back inside the castle, passing through the exact same iron door the old man had used to leave.

His Transcendental Concealment remained perfectly active.

As he hurried through the bare stone corridors, he examined the Elder’s golden emblem with a focused gaze.

Upon descending the staircase and stopping in front of the underground hall’s entrance, he came to a halt.

That emblem served as the command key for the inscription, directly linked to the blood pool where the twelve were submerged.

Priam channeled a small amount of his Aether into the emblem.

“!”

The emblem absorbed the energy instantly and responded to his will without the slightest resistance.

A cold, predatory smile curled Priam’s lips as his thoughts calculated the final move.

‘Hmm… I think there’s still enough time.’

Having made his decision, he took a deep breath, bringing his mind and spirit into a state of absolute concentration.

Seconds later, his hand reached forward, settling on the doorknob before pushing it open.

Upon entering the underground chamber, the scene remained unchanged: the twelve youths still had their eyes closed, immersed in sepulchral silence and locked in a state of deep meditation, completely oblivious to the outside world.

Priam moved smoothly, positioning himself right at the edge of the crimson pool.

He raised the golden emblem in front of him. At that very moment, luminous runes emerged from thin air, intertwining until they formed a mystical sphere that floated gently in the air.

This was the core of the inscription.

Priam activated the emblem, gently taking control of the inscription.

All twelve individuals were physically connected to the inscription while inside this pool. Runes were embedded in the blood, and these runes linked directly to each of their bodies. They were like needles inserted into their flesh, helping them refine their bodies to perfection.

That was why they had complained about how long the process was taking earlier. They couldn’t leave the pool and disconnect themselves from everything.

‘Slowly…’

Priam made a gentle movement, commanding the inscription connected to one of them. His movements were smooth and meticulous as he subtly removed a single bloodline rune.

One rune meant nothing. Since everyone was in deep meditation and the inscription was constantly interacting with their bodies, the individual didn’t notice anything unusual.

That single red rune emerged from the inscription’s core. Priam smiled and stored it inside his Nexus Seed. His future bloodline was already waiting for him.

With everything taken care of, he sighed in relief. Then, he extended his right hand.

Between his fingers, all the Thunder of Destruction he had stored began to flow out in a black cascade, channeling directly into the core.

[Dominate] [Yes / No]

Priam used the system’s assistance to stabilize the core and contain the resulting overload.

The runic sphere began pulsing violently, transforming into a blazing orb of black thunder. However, thanks to the system’s precise intervention, not a single fluctuation or trace of energy leaked into the surroundings, leaving the twelve’s trance completely undisturbed.

Within a mere sixty seconds, every last drop of destructive thunder stored within his being had been poured out.

He slowly withdrew his hand, gazing at that apocalyptic sphere of destruction with a sinisterly satisfied smile.

He cast one final glance at the twelve Sages immersed in the pool—haughty figures who had absolutely no idea that Death himself was smiling at them from just a few meters away.

‘Party’s over for you guys.’

Priam snorted mockingly and spun on his heels, racing toward the exit at the full speed granted by his mastery over the winds.

Within two seconds, he emerged into the castle’s outer courtyard and grabbed the robes of the unconscious Elder lying on the ground.

The very next second, he shot away from the planet as fast as he could.

Immediately afterward, the very fabric of space and time surrounding the Black Castle froze in absolute stillness. And then…

**KBOOOOOOOOOM!!!**

A truly apocalyptic detonation erupted from underground, incinerating the Black Castle, the pool, and all twelve Sages in a storm of black thunder and total annihilation, leaving not the slightest trace behind.