NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21: Arkin
"Are you sure this is the zone they entered?" Arkin asked, a man with gritty black hair and a face full of scars; he stood facing the forest that was of different shades of red, the sun beating gently on his head.
"Yes, High Priest." The Captain of the Black paladin, a short teen said, the other three members stood behind him. They wore black clothes and masks.
Arkin raised the object he was holding, an old lantern, but instead of the warm yellow glow, this one shone with red light that cast no shadows. An artifact, a silver-ranked one [The rejector], cost him a lot, both in gold and souls, but it was worth it. "We can't go looking for them in there, we'll flush them out."
Zones are always far from towns and this one even more so, Arkin had all the time in the world to do as he wanted. He needed the chaos Devourer. It was his ticket to rise in the ranks of the Chaos cult.
He was a failed Climber for twenty-seven years, but he has done well for himself throughout the years, steadily climbing up the rank in the cult. His final push-up was that spellbook he bargained for about summoning the chaos Devourer, one of the guardians of Chaos itself, having one would cement his place.
He spent all his resources on it and entrusted it to one of his faithful subordinates. "They killed your mother didn't they?"
The paladin Captain stiffened. "Yes, High Priest."
"Then you can kill the two. I want the one with the Devourer brought to me alive. The Necromancer." Arkin looked at him and he felt a wave of envy. The boy has a great future in front of him with his powerful Codex, unlike him who had to make himself strong by clawing to other powerful beings.
He climbed the Tower to floor 90 as an Iron before he realized he couldn't advance anymore. But that would end when he had his summon. He raised [The rejector] and unlatched the lantern with his right hand then he brought out the flame.
The flame is the real artifact, and it pulsed, giving off a smell that Arkin loves, the smell of blood. He said a small spell and then he released it, directing it towards the forest. The fire bloomed, painting the sky a vivid red before it dissolved.
But its work is already done. The whole zone froze and then a blinding red light flashed through the whole forest. [The rejector] acts like a summon tool, but it can only work where there's a natural twist in space. It would bring forth monsters with chaos entitie.
Arkin would have loved to use the spell for his gain but anything summoned by it can't be controlled by anyone.
Suddenly, a roar tore through the forest, so loud it sent all the monster birds flying. The forest shook, and a wind, like the scorching air of the desert, made Arkin's robe flap. "Now we wait."
****
Temur was teaching Jael sword forms when he felt it; like cold fire, It spread through the forest quickly.
They paused and looked at each other. A blinding flash of red light followed and then a roar tore through the forest, so loud they felt in their bones.
"What is that?" Litha said, dropping the meat in her hand and getting out quickly.
Hermit stirred in his hand, and it sent a combination of confusion, fear, and excitement through their connection, but Jael could understand none of it. "It sounds like the roar of a powerful monster."
"That roar and the faint aura we can feel from here. Should it be here in this zone? It felt powerful." Temur towards the direction the roar came from.
"You are right, and is it me but have the environment changed a bit? The trees are more vivid." Jael turned slowly.
"It's now like the color of blood." Litha confirmed.
The three of them shared a look then Temur exchanged his training sword to his real one. A long double edge long sword, made to suit him. Litha don't need any weapon and Jael's right hand is weapon enough since he knew no other form of fighting.
They were already dressed for fighting since they just came back from a round of hunting deeper into the zone. So they quickly began to trace the place where they heard the sound.
Jael stopped suddenly, because of his sharper ears and senses, he felt the vibration on the ground before others. "Litha! Can you make a shield around the three of us? Do it! Now!"
She didn't hesitate, she drew close and raised her hand palm sprayed. A soft glow started to emmit from her hand, but quickly expanded to a vivid blue that formed a dome shield around them.
Just in time too because the trees in front of them exploded as monsters came running. Different monsters– from crimson crawlers, to ironfangs, goremores– all running together without a care.
They all felt a chill because monsters are territorial and don't mix. Whatever scared this monsters to make them fare for their lives enough to make them forget to fight each other, it's something they were not in an hurry to meet.
Jael swallowed. 'Monsters are ranked just like the Awakened but that's just the general ranking. There's still a sub ranking for monsters in the Tower. S Iron to D Iron. The ones we have been hunting since are D and C. But if they are running now...."
Others seem to be thinking the same thing.
Litha shouted over the noise. "I alone can take care of a B rank Iron monsters, Temur too. Even you Jael. But if it's A ranked, then we might have a problem!"
But what they all don't say is if it was an S ranked Iron monster. What will happen then? Jael didn't want to find out but it's looking like that might be the case.