17 Chapter 17 : Gladius of the Hero

The three members of the meeting could not believe their ears.

"A monster... Intellectum?" repeated Charles.

"Of course. An Intellectum monster would have managed to survive on this island, without us knowing it"

Carl gritted his teeth "You and I differ on many things Arthur. But what I'm saying is the truth. There is definitely an Intellectum monster"

The man with the glasses was concerned by this information. He asked him several questions in a row to learn more about the threat "What did he look like ? What was his level of intelligence ? Has he evolved ? Is he near the camp ?"

The fifty-year-old shared the information he had "It was a skeleton with smoking purple eyes. He' s probably as smart as we are and from what I've seen he hasn't evolved. But that's not the most urgent problem"

"Well tell us !" said Josh.

"This is going to sound crazy. But... he looks like he has military training. Probably the same caliber as you" he said looking at Maria.

"Interesting" muttered the Captain.

Carl couldn't believe it "Interesting? That monster is probably our biggest problem ! Do I have to remind you how dangerous they are ? This kind of monster is a harbinger of chaos ! We need to focus all of our resources on him to wipe him out !"

Maria slammed him against the wall with her magic "Raise your voice one more time and I'll cut your vocal cords"

Everyone in the room swallowed their saliva at the magical pressure coming from Maria.

"She's in a bad mood" remarked Arthur, who was not under the influence of her pressure.

The former M-team soldier released the fifty-year-old and ordered Charles "You and your team hunt the Intellectum monster. Use all the necessary weaponry"

A wicked smile appeared on his face "What will be my reward if I kill it ?"

Maria looked at her with her typical smile and fanned his desire to win "You'll be allowed to bring as many people as you want to the playroom. You can even bang the little Witch who was with number 710293 if you capture it alive"

With that, he licked his lips 'Perfect. It will give my team a goal and they won't complain about it. They love the playroom as much as I do'

This disgusted the other two team leaders who had only one thought when they saw this: "They are both really crazy"

"Now everybody get out" ordered Maria.

Everyone left except Arthur.

He asked her once everyone had left "Do you think he's one of them ?"

Maria sighed "I haven't seen a Dracmiros in over 15 years. Even if this island belonged to them, he was different from the other prisoners I tortured, and if it turned out that he survived in the Hole. Well..."

Her mental mana boiled around her "I couldn't rule out that tiny possibility"

Arthur stood up and made a circular motion with his hand. A clone came out of him and he said to his copy "Write down everything that happens in the Butcher's cell for the rest of the day"

His copy went off to fulfill his mission.

"Now what do we do?"

The Captain replied "We should go pray"

***

Maalick walked inside the temple.

Inside, 10 bright black flames surprisingly began to illuminate the room. On the verge of enlightenment.

'Those flames again? What does that mean?' he asked himself.

The Lizardian saw a square of water in which there was a rusty chain.

Maalick looked at the chain apprehensively 'But what if I am not worthy ? Will the temple explode? Will monsters rise from their slumber ?'

The weapon was in front of him. m. Its scent had drawn him in 'This object could get me into more trouble. And I really don't need that right now'

"But "Who Dares Wins ?" " quoted Mars.

Maalick looked at the line of links again. This weapon seemed to want to guide him through his anger, to overcome it so he could become a better person.

The words of the God of War gave him courage "And fuck it"

He thrust his arm into the water square and pulled out the rusty chain.

[ Reaction with the Polymorphic Chain ]

[ Response Phenomenon ]

[ The Polymorphic Chain resonates with you ]

[ Waiting of the answer of the Polymorphic Chain's judgment ]

[ The Polymorphic Chain recognizes you as the rightful Asath of the Dracmiros ! ]

The chain slipped through his claws.

The links began to form a thick pommel. Slowly, he's guard took a classic vertical shape.

But the ends bent in opposite ways. One went upwards, while the other went downwards, forming in each side a legendary snake with a small ruff.

'The Basilisk' guessed Mars.

The chain from there created the rest of his weapon with ease.

The tip of his sword was as sharp as this type of weapon, despite its bizarre appearance.

[ As a new Asath of the Dracmiros Tribe, you have unlocked a special form ]

- [ Gladius of the Hero ] : 11th form of the Polymorphic Chain, it was taken by the hero of the Dracmiros who wanted to change the world.

When this form is used, a bonus of 5pts in [ Strength ] and [ Stamina ] will be applied.

'A hero? I'm not so sure about that...'

Mars admired his candidate's weapon "If that's not a quality gladius, I'm no more a God of War. It's so beautiful. The rust really makes it look antique, like in my time"

"A what ?"

"A gladius, if we translate it from Latin to English. It was a weapon widely used by the Roman legions. In those days, weapons were built to last"

Maalick inspected his sword as Mars spoke of this magnificent piece of metal. From the hilt up, the sword was only made of links.

But he noted something more than vital "How am I supposed to defend myself with this ? I've never used a sword in my life"

His tongue came out to warn him of the danger. His brain analyzed the different smells, several of which had gained his attention.

"Soldiers of the empire"

The Half-Blood began to turn his brain 'The scent is too good compared to the monsters in the Hole and it moves too slowly. The ghouls were running faster and in a chaotic way. Them they move cautiously and slowly'

Maalick made some quick sword movements to test his rusty weapon.

Mars interrupted him when he saw his disastrous movements and posture "Please stop doing that. It's an insult to the homoplagy..."

The former human stopped "It's not like I can make her go back to being a chain"

With these words, the Polymorphic Chain changed. All the links began to unravel, leaving only a rusty chain, like the kind you find everywhere in a junkyard.

[ Polymorph Chain ] - [ Rank : Low ] - [ Evolving Weapon ] - [ Mastery : 0% ] : The weapon of the Asath of the Dracmiros, allows you to access to the former forms of the 10 predecessors of the Tribe.

The holder can possess a new form every 10 levels.

When this form is worn, a bonus of 1pts in each statistical category will be applied.

"Apparently you just had to ask" muttered The Olympian.

"Tell me, how was I supposed to know that this weapon could answer me ?"

Too much information was fluctuating in Maalick's head "Let's put it in the Inventory for now"

His forked tongue came out of his mouth 'That's not good. The soldiers are closing in faster than I expected'

He analyzed the smell to see where they were "They're probably in the stairs"

Mars asked him a question he already knew the answer with a smile "Do you have a plan ?"

"Always"

***

Earlier, the Alpha Team had entered the Hole, wearing gas masks to filter out the putrid air.

The soldiers walked towards Maalick's position. For some of them, it was the first time they had been inside this pit.

They couldn't help but look at the many dead bodies that covered the ground.

The soldiers felt all sorts of emotions through their masks. Pride, questioning, and sorrow.

Carl reminded them why they were there "Focus on the mission and watch out for the ghouls"

"Chief, aren't the ghouls supposed to be weaklings to us ? I mean, it's true that most of us come straight from the Human Military Academy, but we got stronger thanks to you" said the red haired soldier.

"No matter how strong you are. It's the..."

"Teamwork that matters" replied his team.

Then the silence fell. They walked on the sticky skin of the bodies, until they arrived in front of the arena.

The team leader immediately recognized what the construction was 'A Dracmiros building !'

He turned back to his team when he saw Maalick's Mue "Listen up. I want everyone to stay on guard, understand ?"

Upon hearing his orders, they moved into formation. Three soldiers were defending the front, two were in the middle and the last three were behind them to assist them from a distance.

The Task Force descended with the help of Carl's wind magic. All of them saw the remains of Maalick's skin and the corpses of the algoule and the ghouls around him.

"Specialist, come over here"

A woman of the same age as him walked over to the scene.She crouched down to analyze the Mue, the corpses of the monsters and Maalick's footprints.

The soldier whispered her verdict in his ear.

Carl was shocked by her discovery "Are you sure ?!"

She nodded heavily.

He regained his composure and said to his team "With all the clues the specialist has gathered. She deduced that the Lizardian was alive and that he went through this trapdoor. So we will follow him"

The young man from earlier put their situation into perspective, as he saw the look on his teammates' faces "Don't worry guys. With 4 soldiers each wielding an elemental magic, a sniper, a specialist, a healer and our leader Carl. We're safe"

He gave his comrades a pat on the shoulder.

His team members awoke from their temporary fear. They all had determined looks on their faces now.

"I like that better. Now let's go inside" said the veteran.

As they jumped into the hallway, they felt the blood of the ghouls rise to their boots. The dismembered bodies from the trap made them want to throw up.

Nevertheless, they walked down the hallway, which was covered with the marks of their claws.

The group escaped the wires, by taking their time and entered the hallway that was guarded by the door that Maalick had smashed down.

The specialist inspected the traces of their target's bloody punches.

She nodded to transmit the information that the team leader feared.

'This is not good. That door was reinforced with a pre-war magic alloy. Our target broke through the door by using only his raw power... like the Dracmiros'

The specialist said quietly to him, away from the group "We should retreat and send the information to the Captain. If he' s alive, they will never survive"

Carl looked at his soldiers 'I know very well that they are my responsibility...'

"But if there's one thing they won't survive, it's the treatment that Maria will give them. If she finds out that I aborted the mission, she will judge them for treason. She knows I can't forgive myself for failing to protect them. She's doing everything she can to remind me of Linbar"

The specialist tapped her badge "Maria may be the Captain. But to them, you are a true war hero. Their leader"

Carl continued his walk, thinking of his fallen comrades "Only heroes have seen the end of war"

The next room was a hecatomb of monsters. The giant that Maalick was struggling to keep up with was completely destroyed. Its energy core was outside of its body.

The soldiers looked at the guard with a worried eye.

Carl said to them "We have to keep moving"

The Alpha Team continued to move through the rotting bodies of the ghouls to the next room.

Carl used his wind magic and sent a condensed blast toward the door. The piece of stone shattered under his magical power.

They entered the last hallway and made their way down the stairs.

The group in formation found themselves in a cave, where before them stood a temple with the prophecy.