Chapter 694: Enemy
It wasn't that Sylas didn't understand Professor Fembroise. She felt like her government had abandoned her, so what reason did she have to remain loyal?
But this wasn't how Sylas saw things. He didn't care if she betrayed the Terranova
government. However, foolishly betraying Earth and siding with their invaders was
something that he couldn't allow. That was because her help would inevitably harm him and his own chances in the future.
If he had sensed that there was a chance to change her mind, he would have taken it. But, their relationship had already been harmed by how long it took Sylas to return. And, the hatred in her heart had only grown since the last time Sylas had seen her.
Although it seemed like Sylas was just willing to allow anyone with talent into his fold, he actually had a standard of trustworthiness that had to be met first.
Professor Fembroise was a ticking time bomb. She was enough of a danger to be rated so highly by the Grimblades, so it would be the height of hubris if Sylas believed that he would be able to control her with 100% effectiveness... especially since he already knew that he couldn't stay by her side.
So when he said that he would kill her... he wasn't saying this to give her a final chance. In fact, the only reason he spoke at all was out of respect for the relationship they had once had as fellow professionals.
There was definitely a part of him that didn't want to do this, but that didn't slow his arm down in the slightest.
His fist had already exploded forward with such speed that he had no doubt in his mind that even if Professor Fembroise had only a particularly powerful armor, all the bones in her chest would shatter from the reverberating impact. The gap between their stats while Sylas was fused with the Basilisk King was far too wide.
And yet, just as Professor Fembroise's life flashed before her eyes, something unexpected happened.
[Quicktime Event Triggered]
[Enemy of Earth]
[Level Recommended: 40]
[Description: An Enemy of Earth has been detected. Wreathed in Demerits, Sylas Grimblade has begun to target the future seedlings of your world. Take up the mantle as protectors of Earth and claim the head of this Traitor.]
[Event Type: Merit Blitz]
[Time Limit: 00:12:00:00]
[Clear Requirements]
>[Kill Sylas Grimblade]
>[Protect the Seedling of Earth]
BANG!
Sylas' fist crashed into a barrier.
The pale-faced Professor Fembroise collapsed to her knees in shock and horror, only to realize that she was surrounded by a protective, transparent barrier.
A reverberating impact rebounded against Sylas' arm, nearly fracturing his wrist. However, he could hardly focus on the spike of pain before Professor Fembroise vanished, teleported away to some unknown location.
Flashes of notifications danced across Sylas' screen. He calmly read the Quicktime Event, and by the time he finished, a pulse came from him.
Aether was projected out from him, rippling through the underground network and alerting many to his location.
By comparison, Sylas himself had no idea where Professor Fembroise had gone.
Sylas closed his eyes.
This time, the system was really screwing him over. But he had been waiting for this sort of thing to happen for a while. A Silver Demerit needed 10 Bronze Merits, 100 True Merits, or 1000 Hollow Merits to clear. Until now, Sylas had only gathered two True Merits thanks to the deaths of two Bronze Beasts, but he had also conquered several System Cities.
When everything bore out, he still needed over 970 Hollow Merits before he could undo what Lucius had done to him.
The fact that the system hadn't screwed him over more was already a miracle.
But then again, he had just spent a lot of his recent time in a Split Realm where the modern system didn't have much sway or power. That was the only reason he had been left relatively unscathed for so long.
Now, however...
[You have displeased the system, System Rebel]
[The system is watching you]
-
[System Curse Received]
Sylas exhaled a breath. The steadiness of his heartbeat was eerily mechanical.
'Twelve hours? That's too long, especially since I am in the middle of Lone Star City. But...'
[Clear Requirements]
...
[Protect the Seedling of Earth]
'... If I kill her this will end early.'
Sylas looked back toward where the Second Flame gang was, but he didn't sense Professor Fembroise or the energy pod she was in toward that direction.
In that case...
He shot off down the cave tunnel. Why would he allow himself to be entrapped if she wasn't even there?
...
Masquerade was taken aback by the notification. But the instant he finished reading it, he understood the problem.
Sylas wasn't a man of his word. He had tried to kill Professor Fembroise and the system had
saved her.
His head snapped toward Sylas' location.
The system was giving them a chance to kill him.
"Wait!" Masquerade roared. "Not yet."
Not yet.
...
[Linzie Han (FFF+)]
[Level: 33]
[Physical: 1125]
[Mental: 1155]
[Will: 894]
The notification flashed across Linzie's screen. When she saw the name, she immediately stood to her feet, gripping a long, flexible spear and a green wind kicked up around her.
She knew that name well. It was a name that kept her up at night.
Every time she saw news of him, she would feel an aching pain in her heart and an even worse
sense of guilt and loss. She had had the best chance out of anyone to kill this monster before
The grew up, but she had failed.
Back when Sylas was in the volcano, she was precisely among the agents that he had escaped from. In fact, she was the one who had thrown the wind javelin at him just before he escaped
with the military jeep.
Knowing that, it was no wonder why she reacted like this... Sylas had killed Joel, the very man
he gained the Path of the Mancer Class Quest Destiny from, a man that had been by her side
for over a decade.
Linzie began to roar out orders. This time, Sylas' head would be hers.