Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 376: Chapter 376: Fourth Rank Nonhuman Being

Chapter 376 – Fourth Rank Nonhuman Being

It was mind-blowing. The successive gunshots came so fast that dozens of bullets were already on Cassius before any of them even registered the sound.

Their reactions were achingly slow. Meadow was completely helpless, without enough time to activate any of her many artifacts.

Diaila was even worse off, collapsing straight to the ground, her heart unable to bear the pressure. It felt like her heart was being crushed inside a fist.

William was the only one who managed any real reaction to the bullets, though he was still a beat too slow.

Cassius was different entirely. From the moment the voice called him ’little dragon,’ he’d already used his golden plasma to accelerate his mind.

His thoughts moved faster than anything he’d ever experienced, and he could see every bullet converging on him from all sides, as clearly as if they’d frozen in place.

And a threat you could see clearly became far less threatening.

He acted immediately. His Sun Core pulsed, and golden plasma laced with lightning burst from his body, sizzling and crackling like hissing snakes.

The plasma’s activation released enough of a shockwave to blast his three teammates backward, pulling them clear of the target zone.

Then the bullets finally reached him. But his body ran incredibly hot, and he condensed the plasma further, drawing on the Burn Truth of his Concept, turning part of his golden plasma into red, destructive plasma.

That plasma, carrying true destructive power, shattered every bullet like glass, before any of them so much as grazed his skin.

The surroundings fell dead silent. But only for a heartbeat. The next instant, the illusory veil dropped completely, and Cassius and his teammates finally saw where they actually stood.

Their hearts skipped a beat.

They were sealed inside a dome of hard, blackened steel, closed entirely over them. No sky, no sun; the only light in the place came from a pair of yellow eyes, belonging to a man standing high above them.

He looked like a god. Tall, unnaturally so. His body radiated the presence of a giant’s bloodline, muscles rippling beneath his skin like living things straining to break free.

His hair was an impossible red, long enough to reach his lower back, waving behind him like a cape woven from fire.

His face was hidden behind a black mask, leaving only his beastly eyes visible. And, oddly, Cassius found himself noticing the man’s nails — pitch black — and a black bangle circling his right wrist.

The moment Cassius’s eyes met his, one truth became clear instantly: this was not a human being.

Cassius’s eyes narrowed with real seriousness. Not just because this was his first encounter with an intelligent, nonhuman being, but because the power rolling off this giant was dreadful.

It wasn’t Third Rank. Which meant it had to be at least Fourth Rank.

’This has to be a joke,’ Cassius cursed inwardly, his frown deepening, his Sun Core pumping out more essence.

William and the others pushed themselves off the ground, eyes fixed on the same towering figure, whose glowing eyes lit the whole dark space.

It was jarring.

They looked around next and spotted the men who’d fired the strange weapons at Cassius.

"We’ve been trapped," Meadow said, moving closer to Cassius. William and Diaila did the same, Diaila needing actual help just to stand.

The pressure in the air was staggering.

"Seems like it," Cassius replied, eyes never leaving the man above.

"Who wants you dead, Cass?" Meadow asked, her voice edged with fear she couldn’t fully mask. This was the first time she’d ever faced danger at this level. "And I mean someone inside the Academy."

By now, it was blatantly obvious. They’d used the Academy’s own teleportation, only to land inside what looked like a trap built specifically for them.

Which meant whoever was behind this had known about their mission, their departure date, and had planned accordingly.

Which, in turn, meant the culprit had to be someone high-ranking within the Academy itself.

But Cassius had no idea who. There were far too many possible suspects, and he didn’t have the mental strength to spare on that right now.

The strange creature finally decided to speak.

"We can no longer trust the information we were given, little dragon," the voice was heavy, every word seemed to thicken the air around it. "We were told you control fire and blood. Not plasma. Our test weapons won’t work on you."

"What do you want from me?" Cassius asked. There were numerous armed enemies, and one far stronger than him.

If a real fight broke out, he wouldn’t be able to protect the others and himself at the same time.

’Queen’s blessing. Who the fuck is behind this?!’

"We’re here for one thing only, little dragon," the man raised a thick, meaty finger and pointed at his own left eye. "Your left eye. Give it to us, and none of you will be harmed."

"That’s usually what villains say right before they kill everyone anyway, once they’ve gotten what they want," Cassius replied, smiling tensely. "I don’t buy it."

"Then you’ll all die," the man said, with an air of finality.

And then something happened that made everyone snap their heads around,

"I... I don’t want to die," Diaila blurted out, her eyes locked on Cassius, repeating, "I don’t want to die."

Meadow’s frown deepened instantly, while William shot Diaila a flicker of contempt, unusual even for his otherwise blank face.

But Diaila couldn’t bring herself to care about either of them right now. This was her first time standing before a hostile nonhuman being at Fourth Rank.

Every second felt like her heart might just stop, and she’d die. And that was something she truly couldn’t accept.

Her life had just started turning around. There was finally hope for her future. Part of that was thanks to Meadow, for bringing her into this group; but her greatest benefactor, the one she felt real loyalty toward, was Julaibib.

Him, and only him.

And she couldn’t die here without ever thanking him for everything.

So she looked at Cassius, and everyone knew exactly what she wanted from him.

"I’ll even make it easy for you," the creature said, clearly savoring a scenario he’d expected all along.

Cassius began to understand why the creature hadn’t killed them outright, or even really tried.

Because the first attack had targeted only him, and obviously hadn’t been meant to kill him.

This was what the yellow-eyed being actually wanted: to fracture a team that had only just been assembled for a single mission. A team with barely any real trust between its members, apart from Cassius and Meadow.

It was a cunning move, and the Last Born couldn’t deny how well it was working. And as if that wasn’t enough...

"Any of you who chooses to abandon little dragon will be allowed to leave this place unharmed," the beastly man said. "And if you’re assuming this is Safara territory, think again."

He grinned, baring teeth as sharp as a dragon’s.

"You don’t even know where you are. But I’ll tell you one thing," he held up a single finger, "you’re no longer inside the Badur Kingdom."

The words landed like a lightning strike, and Diaila’s eyes went even wilder with panic. Even Meadow started backing away, though only to get closer to Cassius.

"That’s... that’s not possible," Meadow whispered. "The Net only..."

Her voice trailed off, her eyes widening in sudden understanding. She pulled out her phone and checked the Net, only to find an unfamiliar icon sitting at the top.

She wasn’t connected to the kingdom’s Net at all. This was a private one. Which meant everything about Yoru City...

"...was fabricated," Meadow breathed out sharply.

How had they ended up here?

And where, exactly, had they been sent?

The situation had escalated far faster than any of them had expected. They weren’t even at their actual mission yet, and someone had already made an attempt on their lives.

’This whole thing was planned out,’ Cassius frowned. ’This mission’s been strange from the very start. MasterofPaths’s artifact? Queen’s skirt!’

William, for his part, was ready to fight. He was genuinely losing patience with all this pointless talking. As far as he was concerned, the battle could start right now.

He certainly wasn’t going to turn on Cassius.

Not because he liked or trusted him. But because he was a Castria, and a Castria never betrayed. That was the ultimate taboo. A blade that turned on its wielder was a blade unworthy of being carried by anyone.

So he settled into his stance, eyes glowing with cold essence, a sharp aura rippling around him.

Meadow saw it and gritted her teeth, activating an artifact of her own: something her mother had given her for exactly this kind of situation, since her Aspect wasn’t built for combat.

Only Diaila stood apart from the three, with no faith that three students could win against the monster above them, let alone all his minions, whose weapons could drop her in a single shot.

"Your choice, little dragon," the man said. "Give it to me, or watch your teammates die before I even come for you."

Cassius already knew the second, more important reason this man wouldn’t kill him outright.

A Characteristic vanished the moment its owner died.

A Characteristic could only be given, willingly or obtained through a Process. Just as the 333rd had given him the Dragon’s Eye, and the High King had given him the Eyes of Adonis.

’So he wants to pressure me mentally, using my teammates as leverage,’ Cassius deduced.

He took a deep breath, weighed his options, and realized how few of them he actually had.

There was only one real move available against a Fourth Rank being who wanted his eye, but not his life.

Someone clearly worried about the consequences of kidnapping him, likely because of his master.

Only one path forward.

"Marvela, please, grace us with your presence."

And so he invited a goddess to stand before mortals.

—End of Chapter 376—