Chapter 99- The God of Guardians

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A white glow appeared in a dark hallway as three figures suddenly materialized in the air and landed on the black metal floors, creating a clanking sound.

They appeared to be on guard as they quickly scanned out their surroundings just after they had appeared inside the hall.

After looking around for a while and not finding any traps or hostile creatures, they started to slowly traverse the dark hall.

It appeared mostly similar to the other compartments of the Hell Train if not because of the two big differences, the metal floor tile was thicker and was black in color unlike the usual white, and there were massive gears all around the room, which was probably connected to the engine of the humongous train to operate it.

"So, Xin, is there any information about the warp device and what kind of place it teleports to in your research?" Liu Guanyi broke the silence as he asked Xin about the warp.

"No, Mr. Liu, as far as I can see, there's nothing about this mentioned on the internet, though that doesn't mean that the information isn't available. It might be some secret that only certain people know that doesn't regularly circulate on the internet." Answered Xin calmly.

Liu Guanyi nodded lightly and commented casually. "I guess we just have to do it the scout the compartment with the traditional way then. Hopefully, we will find something here."

As they continued walking, Liu Guanyi was the first one to notice something in the distance with his eyes almost unaffected by the darkness even without regulating inner energy consciously to sharpen his eyesight.

"Wait." Liu Guanyi raised his hand as he told them to stop in a hushed but clear voice. Adori and Xin wordlessly reacted quickly as they stopped their footsteps.

Liu Guanyi led them moving forward slowly and steadily, without creating any noise to rouse the gigantic figure as he kept his eyes on it, ready to retreat back at a moment's notice if it suddenly awakened from its slumber.

When it was close enough for Adori and Xin to be able to see clearly in the darkness, Liu Guanyi pointed his finger toward a humongous, white cone-like platform that glowed slightly.

However, that wasn't what he pointed at, it was the colossal figure that slept atop the platform that unnerved him.

Even though there were some gigantic creatures here, in the Hell Train, such as Bloomer, they were just big punching bags ready for some punishment for him.

This giant in particular was different though, it had a massive shinsu that he could easily feel from the air.

"Xin, did you know about that giant?" Said Liu Guanyi in a hushed voice.

"Wait, Mr. Liu, let me see it." Xin summoned his yellow lighthouse and reread the information that he had collected and saved beforehand. "Ah, there it is, some of the ticketers have met him in their journey on the Hell Train."

"They call him the "God of Guardians", the greatest guardian and the boss of every guardian in the Hell Train, a terrifying entity that shouldn't be provoked at all costs."

"There were some groups of regulars that happened to meet him and suffered annihilation as they made a single mistake, waking up the God of Guardian."

"However, ignoring the danger he possessed, there are some interesting rumors about him which are related to our purpose in the hell Train." Xin stopped explaining as he looked to Liu Guanyi to see whether he wanted to hear the rest or not.

"Hmm, go on." Liu Guanyi said curtly.

"Well, according to written records, he has already existed even when leaders of the great families got on the train for the first time."

"Furthermore, there's a legend that says that the ten great families' leaders passed his test to gain their true powers of some sort or something along the lines." Xin ended his explanation.

Hearing this, Liu Guanyi was lost in thoughts.

"From the sayings and the shinsu that God of Guardians emitted, it's better that we should just back off. I know that he is a crucial lead to solve the secret of the Hell Train."

"But just from the shinsu alone, it's obvious that he is incredibly powerful… way more powerful than we are." Adori who had been silent spoke out with a hint of concern in her voice.

"Hmm…" Liu Guanyi pondered her words. Indeed, the God of Guardians was certainly much more powerful than them as he could clearly feel his massive shinsu power.

However, the Guardian was very likely to have the answer that had been eluding them and if the legend and rumors were true, he would pass up what should be a valuable opportunity for him.

His teammates didn't know but Liu Guanyi was irregular after all, and from the legend, he, as an irregular, could be treated differently.

Liu Guanyi shook his head and spoke with a determined tone. "No, he just might be the answer to the secret all along."

"If we turn back now, there might not be another opportunity to unravel the secret of the Hell Train anymore, it's just too good to pass up."

"And it's not like we will have to defeat him and engage against him without any plans, so no need to worry, princess Adori, we only have to figure out what connected him to the Workshop and the great families, not to defeat him."

"Who knows he might actually be able to be reasoned with? If we don't take any risks, how we can earn anything?" Said Liu Guanyi.

Knowing his character, Adori knew that she couldn't change his mind at this point. She sighed softly, this was very dangerous and they could simply die for this.

Adori grasped her sword tightly, it didn't matter, even if she would die, she would still follow him, for he matters a lot to her.

"Alright, so what's your plan?" Adori had collected herself and asked calmly, she wasn't someone who couldn't control herself and she had braced herself to face even death.

She didn't manage to become a prodigy among princesses of Zahard just because of her talents, it was because of her determined character and immense efforts she always put into her sword.

Because at the end of the day, she was Adori, without the name of Zahard or any surname. She didn't become stronger and reached her current achievements because she was a simply princess of Zahard or being blessed with talents.

The real reason why she managed to become a princess of Zahard and a prodigy was that she had understood the pain of being weak from a very young age and strived with all her being to not suffer anymore, just like when she picked up the sword for the first time.

In the end, it wasn't because of the blood of Zahard, it was because she was her own self, she was Adori, someone who always carried determination in her life, nothing more, nothing less.