Sylas’ body shook as a second True Chosen mark fused into him. He felt his luck deepen and his connection to the galaxy strengthen. His confidence surged as he embraced it.
That was the irony of Thalrik’s words.
Right now, it wasn’t Sylas who was feeling pressure. It was Voryx.
For the first time, the young man’s gentle smile faded into a stern seriousness. It was clear and obvious to him that if Thalrik was first, then he was next.
If he gave Sylas the opportunity, he had a feeling he’d end up in the exact same situation as his short-term alliance partner…
And he wasn’t sure what he could do to avoid that inevitable end.
**
Cassarae held onto her sword, a blazing Will forming over it. It looked less like a blade all of a sudden and far more like a saber of light.
Blue scales coated her from neck to toe, shingles of illusory blue armor snapping over them, a wide, sweeping tail extending from her tailbone.
Illusory tail and real tail overlapped one another, Cassarae’s strength increasing so much that the concrete beneath her shattered with a simple flex of her toes. Her claws extended, shredding the shoes that had once graced her delicate feet.
BOOM!
With a flex of her quads, Cassarae shot forward, her speed so fast she became nothing more than a blur of blue and wind.
Nyssa’s hair blew back under the force of Cassarae’s momentum, her eyes widening. Just now, Cassarae had felt like someone she could handle with ease, but all of a sudden goosebumps crawled up her skin.
She had watched the final leg of Cassarae’s Trial. She had definitely not used these capabilities then. Just what…
It was too late to take back the things she’d said, but there was a glint in Nyssa’s eyes. She didn’t believe for a moment that this power was due to Cassarae alone.
She had given Sylas a boost, but what he had done with it was beyond anything she could fathom. This definitely had Sylas’ fingerprints all over it.
If she followed him, could she grow that powerful too?
BOOM!
Cassarae slammed into the gates of the Valeria Clan, shattering them to pieces. She hardly saw anyone before she lost herself in a slaughter, every kill causing more Will to pool toward her blade.
At that moment, Cassarae had well and truly forgotten about everything else. All she cared about was the next bit of blood for her blade to taste.
She could feel Sylas getting farther and farther away, and just now, the feeling became almost overwhelming.
Maybe some of it was because of Nyssa, but honestly speaking, Cassarae didn’t feel the slightest bit threatened by the Florineth. She knew Sylas—really knew him—which was why she was confident.
Nyssa was the last sort of woman he would be interested in.
But what she was… was a symptom of a greater problem. There would only be more women like her in the future, and unless Cassarae could behead every single one of them, she felt like she would eventually lose Sylas.
And that… that was entirely unacceptable to her.
Cassarae stomped a scaled foot, the arch of her heel rising as she roared, a great amount of power and presence building in her calf and quad.
A crater deformed beneath her.
The aura of the E-Grades didn’t affect her at all thanks to Grade Slayer. But the realization of this only made her angrier.
Everything had just been given to her. Everything except this Class that she could call her own. It left her infuriated in ways she couldn’t even put into words, so angry that even the memory of Nyssa had been erased by the white-hot fury.
Her Physical Stats skyrocketed, her tail jetting out with a sweeping strike that bisected three E-Grades who tried to overwhelm her from behind.
This Race. This Armor. Szorn over her shoulder.
Even this opportunity—it had all been set up for her. The Florineth had all been mobilized in reaction to what was happening with the Petals of the Seeing Thorn. Many of the E-Grades, the backbone of the Clan, had already been killed by Gogo’s counterattack.
All that was left was for Cassarae to hit her 100,000 kill requirement and slaughter enough of the upper class… much of which had already been cleared away by her man.
It was all given to her by Sylas.
In a way, that showed just how much he cared for her—but on the other hand…
Flashes of the end of their first relationship came to Cassarae’s mind. They were the only thoughts that seemed to survive her burning fury, the only ones that weren’t etched away by the white heat rolling through the folds of her brain.
It was the one fear that couldn’t fade with anger, the one, largest insecurity buried deep within her soul.
He could just one day decide he was done with her—like he had in the past. There was nothing stopping him but the whims of his mind, a mind she felt she knew… but couldn’t truly understand.
She knew Sylas better than anyone else.
But she didn’t understand him.
She didn’t feel that even Sylas truly understood himself. His pride and arrogance were like barriers even to himself.
Ironically enough, while she thought this… she still felt she understood Sylas better than he did.
And that was why she had to stay by his side. Otherwise, one day, he would reach a point of no return and forget his home.
She refused to allow that.
BANG!
A sweeping aura surged over the surroundings, a ship appearing high in the air. Matriarch Valeria, wheelchair and all, landed on the ground amidst the destruction and rivers of blood.
She blocked Cassarae’s path, her eyes wide. It wasn’t until she got there that she realized she had actually been outmaneuvered again. Sylas had known from the start that she would be able to figure this out.
Now, she had no time to gather allies. She had suddenly become the last line of defense for her Clan.
Finally… fury bubbled up within her own gut.
“STOP!”
Cassarae’s blade was already sweeping toward the D-Grade.