Chapter 706: Fork in the Road
Sylas had no ability to draw Demonic Runes normally. This was because Earth didn't produce Demonic Aether naturally.
All Runes required Aether to function. So logically speaking, if there was no Demonic Aether, then there was no way Demonic Runes would work.
However, who said there was none? Wasn't the Blackened Claw in Sylas' right hand precisely a mass of Demonic Runes and Demonic Aether?
Sylas flipped over his other palm, splitting his mind to activate Extricate. He pulled the Blood Essence of a random beast from his Madness Key, pouring it into the Blackened Claw and supplementing the Demonic Aether it was using up.
CRACK.
In just three seconds, the barrier had already suffered over four million Damage, and it was only accelerating.
Sylas was drawing the very same Poison Demonic Runes that he had seen in the Woodland Territory, and every time he drew a new one, he became more proficient.
The Poison Demonic Runes seeped into the barrier and began interacting with it in ways that his normal Poison Runes hadn't been able to.
Black veins scoured the golden barrier, accelerating its corrosion. But by the same token, the Durability of the Blackened Claws was quickly plummeting as well.
The Greed Seed took advantage, sucking up all that it could.
CRACK.
Professor Fembroise watched this scene in horror. She could feel every crack as though it was resonating with her soul.
Soon, the barrier had already lost over 10 million Defense, and then over 20 million.
Fatigue began to dig at Sylas' mind. The constant stream of mental anguish he had been suffering had taken its toll, but even if it hadn't, controlling so many complex things at once was bound to be a strong drain on his Wisdom. He wasn't the Snail Queen who seemed to have practically endless supplies of it.
To make matters worse, he had yet to recover from the debuff to his Will. His mind simply wasn't in a good state, and the passive effects of weren't good enough to keep up.
It also had to be remembered that much of Sylas' strength came from his Comprehension. He was used to keeping it almost constantly active these days, and its now Legendary Mastery made that far easier than it had once been in the past.
But that didn't mean that it didn't still take its own toll on his Wisdom as well.
All of these issues were coming to a head, ruthlessly slamming against his skull like a sledgehammer time and time again.
However, his attention was entirely focused on the task at hand.
It was the only thing he could do.
Focus on the task.
It was what he did best.
When he thought of things he didn't like, when he ran into problems he didn't want to face, when he felt like the world wasn't being as honest with him as he wanted it to be.
It was the reason he stopped doing his best in school when he felt like powers beyond his control were trying to tug him in directions he didn't understand, becoming a simple, ubiquitous cog in a wheel.
It was why he had run from his relationship with Cassarae when she made him feel things he couldn't control.
It was why the Summoning was so appealing to him. Do this, earn that. Take this, gain that. Snatch Genes, raise your stats.
Orderly. Focused. Disciplined.
Every action was clearly explained, marked out by numbers and tracked by an overlord eye in the sky...
Did he really love the Summoning because he was free and unfettered, able to control his own life?
Or did he love it because it was like everything else in his life until this point, except it gave him the illusion of freedom.
Why had he shied away from Legacy? Wasn't it also to give himself the illusion of control?
If he hadn't been such a coward, wouldn't he have faced it head on?
How much more prepared for the Summoning would he have been had he joined Legacy long ago?
He had always been weak.
CRACK.
The emotions fell heavier and heavier, but it only made his Demonic intention all the more potent. The gashes in Defense increased from over a million to over two a second, and then from over two to over three.
By this point, the barrier was filled with so many cracks that it was shuddering almost as much as Professor Fembroise was.
Tears streaked down the Professor's face as she realized that these would likely be the last few seconds of her life. She couldn't even think straight.
She was just a Professor. She hadn't been able to adapt to this new world like everyone else did. All she was good for was her Profession, something everyone seemed to want to get a
piece of.
In the face of Sylas, her Will seemed to crumble... but maybe that was because despite her earlier fury, she understood exactly why Sylas wanted to do this. And deep down, she maybe
felt like she deserved it.
CRACK.
Pale-faced, Sylas pushed as the barrier fell below 10% of its original Defense. The flow of Demonic Aether was beginning to slow from the Blackened Claw, but he continued to furiously press, relentless and undivided in his attention.
CRACK.
Sylas unleashed a roar that drained all the blood from Professor Fembroise's face.
The once golden barrier had become nothing but a sea of swimming black lines.
And then it completely shattered.
Sylas reached out and Professor Fembroise attacked at the same time. But the latter's attempt couldn't even succeed before <King's Bind> descended from the Basilisk King.
Professor Fembroise's fragile neck was caught by Sylas. She struggled, but it was to no avail, the tears streaking down her face doing nothing to perturb Sylas.
"Sylas, please..." she squeezed out. "... My husband... my son... I can't... die..."
Sylas hardly heard a thing, squeezing down on her neck with a force that could have snapped a
beast's neck, let alone this middle-aged woman's.
However, he soon found himself frozen.
[Quicktime Event Triggered]
[Event Type: Fork in the Road]
[Choices]
>[Kill Vesta Fembroise]
OR
>[Spare Vesta Fembroise]
Sylas was stuck in time, the world greying around him as this notification screen hovered
before his eyes.