Chapter 465: The Trial of Destruction

Chapter 465: The Trial of Destruction

"Master Megaman, how exactly did His Majesty's heroic spirit end up in your possession?"

Ariel's tone was deadly serious, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on Ambrose.

Ambrose's expression gave nothing away. "Aige gave him to me. We're both members of the Elegiac Society, and our relationship is quite good, actually. Haven't you heard what's been happening at sea lately? I've been helping Aige seize control of the Sea of Volcanoes."

"I've heard. Even though it's a matter for the deep ocean, it does concern those of us who live on the surface waters too."

Though Ariel said this aloud, inwardly, she couldn't shake the odd feeling that she had.

She had no idea what exactly she'd noticed. She was simply feeling an increasingly nagging sense of déjà vu.

It was a strange sensation. Nothing seemed amiss, and yet her heart wouldn't settle.

So Ariel couldn't help pressing further. "Have you known the captain of the Silent Sea pirates for a long time?"

"Not especially long, no. Well, I'm counting starting from when I became an undead. I've only been a member of the Elegiac Society for less than a century. But from a human perspective, the two of us are old friends who've known each other most of a lifetime."

That answer raised no obvious red flags either, but Ariel remained unsatisfied.

Something was deeply wrong.

But what, exactly?

She was about to press further when Arthur Lyon drew his longsword and pointed into the distance. "You two, I don't think now's the time for conversation. Something's up ahead."

Both of them followed his gaze.

Beyond the massive archway, there had been nothing but a bank of mist. Now, dense shadows had begun to gather within it, as though something colossal were about to come bursting out.

Ambrose moved to sense the disturbance, but the dark shape within the mist dissolved almost instantly. Whether it had hidden itself or simply left, he couldn't tell.

"It seems even Thanos's favor won't let us walk through here unchallenged. Everyone, stay sharp. This place might genuinely get someone killed. Your Highness, I imagine you have no interest in becoming an undead anytime soon?"

Ariel understood this wasn't the moment for an interrogation. She took up her warhammer again and watched the path ahead warily.

Ambrose gestured to Arthur. "Your Majesty, would you take point?"

Arthur smiled wryly but offered no argument. He strode ahead into the mist without hesitation.

Arthur wasn't much of a liar himself, but he'd caught the strangeness in the earlier exchange between the lich and Ariel. He'd let something slip without meaning to, and now Ambrose was already weaving another layer of deception around the young woman. It was best to keep his mouth shut from here on. There was no telling what this lich would do otherwise.

Holy light blazed across Arthur's body as he strode into the fog.

The radiance cut through the fog with ease, like a beacon guiding Ambrose and Ariel forward.

All three of them kept careful watch on their surroundings, alert to the smallest disturbance.

This was, quite possibly, the most formidable warrior-mage-cleric trio in existence.

Arthur Lyon: the most legendary paladin in recorded history, the chosen of the Lord of Dawn, the great hero who had slain the Dragon Tyrant.

Ariel: Thanos's chosen, a stormpriest bearing His artifact.

And Ambrose: dual-classed in divination and necromancy, blessed with countless legendary boons stacked on top of one another, quite possibly possessing more tricks than every mage in the world combined.

Together, the three of them would be able to take on any mortal enemy without worry.

And yet the deeper they pressed into the mist, the less danger they actually encountered, leaving all three with the distinct sense of having prepared for nothing.

That didn't mean they found nothing at all. Ambrose quickly picked up traces the githarks had left behind.

The heavily weathered ground bore a scattering of footprints, along with traces of blood: evidence that they'd been moving with wounded among them.

They had presumably entered through the same underwater labyrinth. There was no telling how many had died along the way, lacking Thanos's protection as they did, before they'd made it this far. Ambrose simply followed the githarks' trail. It wasn't long before it led them onto a massive platform.

The platform resembled an altar roughly two hundred meters across, the ground bearing a clearly defined relief of three lightning bolts, carved from the same material as the archway, perfectly preserved despite the passage of countless years.

The three bolts were Thanos's emblem. This, evidently, was his altar.

Ambrose circled the platform once and found that the three lightning marks each pointed toward a different direction. There were three separate causeways built across the water, extending into the depths of the mist.

Unfortunately, Ambrose had no real grasp of Thanos's faith and couldn't tell the three passages apart.

Fortunately, he had one of His devotees right by his side.

Though Ariel wasn't from the ancient era, she understood the significance of the three lightning bolts perfectly.

"This is an ancient symbol of Thanos. The three bolts should originally have been green, blue, and red, though after so long without upkeep, all the color has worn away entirely. According to old texts, the three colors represent three different trials: green for calamity, blue for destruction, and red for fury. I'm not entirely certain what each one actually entails, though.

"If I had to guess, this is the entrance to the Arena of Storms. A warrior entering the contest would need to complete an initial offering to the Lord of Storms here at the altar, then choose a direction in which to proceed. Once they passed that trial, they would presumably be admitted to the true arena, where the final contest for victory would take place."

Having explained this, Ariel turned to Ambrose. The choice of which path to take would ultimately be his to make.

Instead, he studied the residual traces left along all three causeways, and noticed that two of them bore githark blood and footprints, though the prints were too chaotic to determine the direction they had taken with any confidence, let alone the number of githarks involved.

"Take a look at this. These prints and bloodstains are interesting."

Ariel asked, puzzled, "Could they have split into two groups?"

Arthur, however, replied, "No, I think they entered one path, then retreated and chose a second path instead. Look here: the path leading to the Destruction trial has more footprints and more blood. My guess is the githarks tried this one first, failed the trial, turned back, and then attempted the Fury trial instead."

Ambrose nodded, agreeing with Arthur's assessment.

This was exactly the kind of detail that only someone with deep adventuring experience would catch. Back before he raised his banner in rebellion, Arthur had spent years traveling the world, accumulating a wealth of practical experience.

Ariel, despite being something of a prodigy herself, had always been the princess of the Ragetide Kingdom first and foremost. Her experience in this particular area simply couldn't compare.

"Should we follow them?" Ariel asked.

Ambrose's actual goal in coming here was to find the githarks. Given that they'd fled into the Fury trial, following them seemed to be the obvious move.

Ambrose shook his head. "No. I think it might actually be worth trying the trial the githarks failed. Your Highness, don't forget what the Lord of Storms told us: he wants to see a recreation of the trials of old. If we simply follow the githarks, whether we end up slaughtering them all ourselves or completing the trial alongside them, neither outcome is likely to be what he actually wants to see."

Thanos was clearly an overgrown child relishing the spectacle of mortals tearing each other apart. If Ambrose tried to cut corners by tagging along behind the githarks, or worse, ambushing them ahead of time, Thanos almost certainly wouldn't be pleased.

Ariel understood exactly what Ambrose meant. She marveled that, as expected of someone blessed by the gods, he could still grasp precisely what the Lord of Storms wanted. If anything, she felt she should reflect on her own conduct; her composure had been slipping ever since they'd entered this place.

"I should pull myself together too. Right now, I need to focus entirely on completing Thanos's trial," she whispered to herself.

Ariel's expression hardened. Lightning danced across her warhammer, as though responding to the resolve in her heart.

Ambrose pointed toward the passage that had defeated the githarks. "Let's brave the Destruction trial. If we can overcome an opponent the githarks couldn't, I imagine Thanos will be pleased."

Ariel felt a surge of genuine admiration for Ambrose just then. That this lich could show such courage at a critical moment was certainly worthy of Thanos's favor.

In truth, what Ambrose was actually thinking was that all three trials were likely comparable in difficulty. Since the githarks had already fought their way through part of the Destruction trial once, it ought to be at least somewhat weakened by now. Why not take advantage of that?

The three of them headed toward the middle passage.

Following the trail of githark blood laid out before them, they passed through another stone archway and into a fresh wave of fog.

After roughly four hundred meters, they finally emerged from the narrow causeway over the water into a vast open platform.

The instant their feet touched the platform, violent lightning began crashing down from above, striking relentlessly in every direction.

The bolts fell at a steady interval, but otherwise followed no discernible pattern.

The Destruction trial, evidently, was designed to make combatants fight through a literal storm of lightning.

Ambrose had already raised Mage Shield well in advance; the bolts that landed on him did nothing more than tickle. Arthur was equally unbothered, and didn't even bother dodging.

As for Ariel, the lightning that had already wreathed her body before they'd even arrived merged seamlessly with the storm around them. Not only was she unaffected, she seemed to be actively drawing strength from it.

Such was the power of a god's chosen. Thanos's might lent Ariel a formidable boost.

As the three of them stepped fully onto the platform, three enormous shapes came crashing down from above.

The impact shook the ground violently enough that Ambrose nearly lost his footing entirely. Before any of them could even register what had landed, a massive hammer was already spinning through the air straight at Ambrose.

The head of the hammer alone was nearly the size of a carriage. A ton-sized weight had been hurled with enough force to whistle through the air. What kind of monster could even achieve such a feat?

The hammer was repeatedly struck by lightning as it flew, gathering storm energy that radiated blinding light along its surface. Anything caught by that impact would likely be reduced to fragments first, then charred to cinders.

Fortunately, Ambrose didn't need to worry. Arthur's longsword met the hammer head-on. A single flick of the blade sent the lightning-charged hammer spinning off at an angle.

Arthur had entirely neutralized that thunderous blow while barely exerting himself—the product of a thousand years' worth of refined swordsmanship.

Only then did the three of them get a proper look at their attackers.

There were three giants, each standing well over four meters tall, wielding an axe, a hammer, and a greatsword respectively. Each of their fingers was thicker than any of the trio's own thighs.

"FOR THANOS!"

The three giants, roaring in unison, split off in three directions and came charging toward Ambrose's group.

The sheer force of their charge called to mind Gareth's own headlong assault.

Ambrose could only stare in disbelief. This was what Thanos called a "trial"?!

Were Thanos's faithful really this insane, even back in the day? What ordinary person could possibly beat this?!

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