Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1991: Righted

Fanelei waved a hand and Eliwine was yanked up by his hair, his body barely having the strength to limply remain alive. He had tied the Lineage Scorpion too tightly to himself that its destruction was no different from the destruction of a real Spirit of his own. It was like someone had taken an axe right to his Will.

It was nothing short of devastating.

Although Maldrith hadnʼt had the full scope of understanding of what was going on before, he, too, could put two and two together now. At the very least, whatever else the Scorpions had done, this was definitely a betrayal.

Every time the Lineage Spirit moved, it took with it a great amount of Karma, gifting it to the next generation. This was why they held the gathering right before the next cycle of Emperor was meant to be decided upon.

Eliwine holding onto the Spirit was not just a matter of betraying the branches of the Scorpion Lineage, it was also him hoarding Karma not meant for him.

Clearly, this wasnʼt just so that he could concentrate it onto his descendants. It was also for the sake of his very own power.

He was trying to bolster his chances of ever reaching beyond Legend and becoming an S-tier. Who knew, if he hoarded enough of the Karma within himself, he might be able to tip the balances so that the Scorpion Lineage would have become one of the four pillars, and then maybe even their ruler one day.

The longer this went on without them understanding that they were being stabbed in the back by one of their own, the more chances the Scorpion Lineage would have had to manipulate things.

And all of this could have only been possible because the Scorpion Lineage had somehow managed to manipulate their system from right under their noses.

But how?

The Scorpion Lineage wasnʼt exactly a cut above in terms of Rune Mastery. Granted, they had little idea how easy or difficult it would have been. After all, none of them were thinking of betraying their family like this.

It couldnʼt be said that The Sanctum was harmonious, but they still had their own sense of belonging and every intention of taking every step forward as one. Together.

They had, thus, never studied the formations of the system for the sake of tricking it.

And yet, as intelligent as all of these Ancestors and Emperors were, they arrived to the same conclusion at the same moment.

Earth Escape.

That was how.

The formations that formed the underpinning of The Sanctum were located deep in the foundation of their world. There was only one entrance, but if someone wanted to get there without others knowing... what better method could there possibly be outside of this cowardly ability?

With their ability to shift right through the earth as though walking on solid ground, it was no wonder they had managed to make it so far undetected.

”Eliwine.” Rikkon, the 713th Ape Emperor, growled out the word as though he was drinking the foulest of poison. He was furious, but he was also embarrassed.

Though the 713th Whale Emperor had spoken of Maldrith being an outsider, they still couldnʼt help but feel that Sylas was also one. It was like they were airing out their dirty laundry in front of a stranger. A stranger that some of them had been hesitating about just moments ago.

Sylas, though, didnʼt seem to care. He took a step and appeared by Faneleiʼs side, looking down on Eliwineʼs state.

Honestly, he had never met this man before. He could guess who he was, but he still didnʼt care exceptionally much.

Unceremoniously, he stretched out a palm and a scythe formed in it, crafting itself out of air and rotating Runes of black and death.

Then Sylas cut.

Chi.

Eliwineʼs screams were cut out, his body falling from the skies as Fanelei held onto his hair. His headless corpse dangled in the air, thick streams of blood falling down in dense black curtains.

Even his blood looked as though it had been corrupted to its very core.

Sylas was about to continue, but it was then he felt Gogo silently slip into his Hibernation Realm while Nosphaleen appeared to his side. She pressed a hand to his wrist, stopping him from slaughtering the rest of them so easily.

Instead, she gave him a bright smile.

Sylas looked at her, somewhat guessing, and yet at the same time not quite understanding what she wanted to do. Still, his scythe lowered as the weight of an Ancestorʼs death settled into the air.

It was so easy, so fluid, so sudden that none of them knew how to react.

Once again, though, it was Maldrith who seemed to recover first.

”What is the meaning of this?” Maldrith said coldly. ”Even if Eliwine was a traitor, he should be dealt with by the rules of The Sanctum and properly investigated. What is this farce?”

Nosphaleen turned to meet Maldrithʼs gaze.

”This isnʼt a matter of the-.”

”Silence.” Maldrith growled. ”Who are you, girl, to speak to me? Know your place.”

So much of Maldrithʼs originally calm disposition seemed to be withering away, replaced by the man he had once been. He had spent centuries meditating to reach that state of tranquility, and yet Sylas had unravelled it all in a matter of days.

What he didnʼt realize was that if that state was so easy to unravel, then it was clear why he had never succeeded in reaching the S-tier.

Why would his body acknowledge a mere facade?

Nosphaleen was about to speak but this time it was Sylas who acted. His palm slapped out and the entire world rolled with his momentum.

BANG.

A palm-shaped indent appeared in Maldrithʼs chest. His body shook, his bones snapped as a projectile of blood flew from his mouth.

And yet, he didnʼt take a single step back as his face drained of all color.

Unfortunately for him, that wasnʼt because he didnʼt want to, but instead because Sylas didnʼt allow him to.

”Donʼt think you can stand here because of your own power. You stand here because I allow it and nothing more. Speak out of turn again and the next palm will crush your skull.”

Nosphaleenʼs smile bloomed like a field of roses.

”As I was saying,” she continued with a gentle tone, ”this isnʼt a matter of The Sanctum. This is a matter of a wrong committed being righted.”

Her gaze shifted and landed on a far-off Keyesen.