The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

Slate became a bit stunned when Klaus handed the core over to him.

In his mind, an Immortal Lord-grade calamity core is something he had no business expecting to be handed to him. At best, being the one to extract it and then hand it over to Rory was something he expected.

In the past, when he and a few others managed to kill an Immortal Monarch-level calamity beast, the core was handed to Lord Victor without fail, for that was the right thing to do.

He never expected to one day absorb one.

At the moment, he has only 6 Immortal Rings. That, in some sense, is impressive even for an Immortal Lord such as himself. However, in Klaus’s eyes, it is not enough.

Even he, who is just a True Immortal, has 6, and thanks to his wives, other incarnations, and beast legion, he can temporarily take more immortal rings, allowing him to wield 12 at the same time.

That would, without a doubt, make him a terrifying foe. If Slate and the others can also increase their Immortal Rings, then their small team would become robust.

”There is no need to feel shocked, Slate. The mission we are on is to retrieve something for Lord Victor. While that is important, if we don’t have the required strength, we might just lose it to someone else.

So while we have the opportunity to grow stronger now, we might as well take it. We will be facing more Calamity Beasts, so relax, this won’t be the last calamity core you will absorb. That goes to you all. If possible, by the time we return, I want you all to become terrifying warriors.”

Of course, Klaus knew that the battle that was coming would be devastating, so he wanted his team to be prepared.

Lord Victor had no use for a calamity core unless, of course, it was from a demigod.

So they might as well make good use of the one they have. There is no telling what will be coming their way soon enough.

Slate stood there for a few minutes, then he nodded.

He moved to the side and began absorbing it. While none of them had any idea what power he would awaken, Klaus was certain he would benefit greatly from it, so he just smiled and started to wait.

Rory, who was still in his arms, looked at him and smiled.

”You sure know how to win the heart and trust of people. Though I wonder why that is,” she eyed him and asked, ”What are you hiding?”

Klaus smiled and hugged her from behind, not minding the looks coming from Omen and Echo.

”Nothing too drastic, just that to save the Jade Ant Queen, there is a chance we will clash against the Heavens Court. I am not worried about them, though; it is just that I can’t help but feel like something doesn’t add up.”

With 1000 brains working in sync, he can see a flaw in everything.

”Queen Mantis said the Celestial Supreme intervened when she was entering reincarnation, and because of that, she lost access to most of her Nest.

She also said that while she was away, the Nest started spawning abominable beasts, which, from what I had just seen, may all be Calamity Beasts.

Lastly, she said the Heavens Court attacked her twice, and from what she said, it sounded like she won every time, despite losing all her children in the process. If that is the case, then why didn’t the Celestial Supreme send a third team to break down the Nest and take her egg a long time ago? Why wait till now to make their move?”

Klaus is no idiot. He knew the Heavens always have a way, and so he is aware that if they wanted, they would have long destroyed the Nest and taken her egg away.

Since they did not strike and waited for millions of years, being someone who had schemed beyond space and time, he knew there was something afoot.

”Funny thing is, I feel like this is related to the Paragon somehow. Just that I cannot place my finger on just what that is,”

Rory smiled. ”Maybe you are just overthinking things. But even if you aren’t, there is no telling what they can do to you, considering we are all suppressed to the True Immortal stage,”

”About that,” Klaus grinned, ”Soon, the suppression will be lifted, and so you will all recover your cultivation.”

”Oh, then that is even better. If we can hunt down more Calamity Beasts, then even if we were to meet other Immortal Lords, we wouldn’t be in danger. I will protect you from them,”

Klaus, of course, nodded, happy to hear her loving words.

”I have already started making provisions for the last battle. For now, when Slate is done, we will head toward the location of the Immortal Essence Water. If we can even get our hands on more than one drop, then we can add more Immortal Rings to our arsenal.

After that, we will head for the Jade Vault and see if we can score some treasures. Then the rest would be waiting for the egg to hatch. If the Heavenly Court has sent people here, then the battle will be devastating, but since I gave her my word, I won’t go back on that.”

”Won’t the Heavens Court hate you and come after you if you end up taking the Ant Queen from them?” Rory asked in a slightly concerned tone.

Since Klaus is destined to be part of them atleast for now, going against them will sour that relationship.

He smiled and grinned. ”Oh, trust me, I wouldn’t be the only one they would be facing. But even if that were to be the case, when everything is over, they would have their hands full with the scandals, and so my issue will be the last of it.”

Rory knew she had no business knowing more, so she kept quiet. Inwardly, however, she couldn’t help but wonder just what Klaus was planning.

The mission details seem plain enough, but she knew Klaus wasn’t saying everything. Even so, she trusted him completely, so there was no need to worry.

But if what he said about the Heavens Court turns out to be true, then she must up her game and protect him at all costs. Her sisters had already told her to protect him from himself.

Klaus is a ticking time bomb that can explode any day. If he is not protected from himself, by the time anyone becomes aware, he has already caused the damage.

So aside from external enemies, her other mission was to protect him on the emotional level, too. When it comes to matters concerning the Heavens, he tends to be a bit crazy.

***

Three hours later, Slate was done absorbing the core and the immortal ring. As expected, his gain was just that crazy. He gained two things: [Spider Scale Armor] and [Deadly Corrosive Poison].

The [Spider Scale Armor] allows him to coat his entire skin and weapon with the extremely hard skin of the spider they had just killed, while the [Deadly Corrosive Poison] gives him the power to channel poison through his spear.

Every strike corrodes the environment around him until there is nothing left but corrosion.