Chapter 132: Inheritance of the Lord of the Stars (Part 6)
Aiden and Natalia, who had taken the path on the right, continued down the corridor of stars, which grew brighter and brighter until he had to close his eyes because of the intense glare.
A few seconds later, they slowly opened their eyes and found themselves in a completely white room, where different shapes could be seen in the stars on the ceiling.
"What is this place?" Aiden asked aloud: despite having had many experiences and visited unique places, he had never encountered anything like this in his life.
And the surprise was evident on his face; he almost forgot about his daughter, but he quickly recovered and went on high alert.
Because he didn’t know what kind of trap was in the room.
Natalia also recovered from her surprise and quickly circulated her mana essence into her magic diagram and muttered a spell:
"[Infrared]"
Natalia’s eyes changed to those of a snake, and her entire vision changed completely. She scanned her surroundings in search of any wild creature or beast of the rank of Baron or Viscount.
But after looking for a few seconds, she found nothing, which made her nerves tense up.
"I didn’t find anything in the room," Natalia said quietly, because she didn’t know if they were being watched or listened to.
Aiden narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like this situation at all. Since he could be attacked at any moment, he circulated his mana essence toward his magic diagram.
He murmured a third-circle spell.
"[Toxic Fog]"
From the purple magic circle, a toxic fog began to emerge and cover the entire white room.
But despite the toxic fog, there was no movement, and it remained just as quiet. This made Natalia and Aiden’s nerves tense.
"What’s going on in this room?" A cold sweat ran down Aiden’s forehead when he saw that nothing was happening.
"..." Natalia didn’t say anything; she just stood there silently as she looked at the room covered in toxic snow.
Just then...
From the ceiling filled with stars of different shapes, the stars began to fall slowly, while at the same time, the toxic fog began to disappear.
The stars began to spin around each other, forming swirls of light that intertwined like threads. From that glow emerged a colossal figure: a wolf with fur as dark as the void, chained by shining golden links. Its eyes, two burning stars, illuminated the place with a gaze that pierced through its entire being.
His appearance shook the air, and every beat of his presence made Aiden and Natalia’s bodies tremble; their expressions darkened completely.
...
Clang!
The initial clash shook the air. Michel’s coin sword crossed paths with the star being’s shining spear, unleashing black and silver sparks that lit up the area.
The black dragon roared, swirling around Michel like a shadow, forcing him to take a few steps back. However, he reacted quickly: he twisted his weapon and transformed it into a curved blade, delivering rapid cuts.
Michel blocked the first, dodged the second, and with a sharp movement pushed the third aside. His muscles tensed; each time the coin sword struck those star weapons, the impact made his arm vibrate.
The being did not stop. It advanced with brutal frenzy, blow after blow, until Michel was forced to retreat a few meters. Its movements were a luminous dance, fast, charged with hostility.
Then Michel smiled. The gleam in his eyes intensified. He swung his sword and unleashed a diagonal slash; the black aura expanded in a flash that tore one of the being’s weapons apart, shattering it into fragments of stars that faded instantly.
The creature roared furiously. With both hands, it created a gigantic sword and raised it above its head, falling like a meteor onto Michel.
Michel crossed his sword, and the black dragon lunged at the star blade. The impact shook everything around them.
The being pressed with all its might. Michel, with a calm expression and a slight smile, resisted for a few seconds... and suddenly, in a swift movement, let the enemy’s force pass by. He slid to one side and, at the same moment, counterattacked.
The coin sword pierced the creature’s side, tearing through its stellar body. A luminous wound opened up and began to crumble like cosmic ashes.
The creature screamed, waving its weapon in a last attempt to knock Michel down. But he gave it no chance: he spun around and delivered a clean, precise cut, straight to the center of its chest.
The blade pierced the star being. The glow of its body flickered, trembled... and then began to slowly disintegrate, like a constellation fading into the night.
Michel simply watched as the last fragments of the being fell and faded into nothingness.
Michel, sword still in hand, exhaled calmly. The battle was over. The star being was dead.
"That was pretty exciting," Michel muttered as the aura covering his body began to disappear into particles.
Kael, who had been watching, calmly approached with Elizabeth’s unconscious body and handed her over.
"Don’t be careless with her." His words were short but cold.
Michel frowned, not understanding what he meant, but quickly realized. "So she was faking it."
Kael simply nodded and gave him a look that said, "Don’t make the same mistake."
Michel looked at Elizabeth’s body. Moments before, he had sensed that she was awake, but as he was focused on Kael’s fight against the creature, he had overlooked it.
At that moment, the entire place began to shake.
The sea of stars that formed the floor churned violently, like an overflowing ocean.
From the depths emerged pillars, resembling shelves made of stars.
One after another, they rose, ascending, defying all logic. Then they began to float throughout the space, suspended as if gravity itself had been erased.
The glow intensified, revealing the white wall that had previously been invisible due to the dim lighting.
Then, the sound of the quianzhi resonated once again.
This caused Michel to turn his gaze toward the instrument, only to see a cat made of stars playing softly, with the gentle melody resonating in the air.
Kael paid no attention to this, but fixed his gaze on the shelves that moved throughout the chamber, which reminded him of level 2 of the Clan’s vault.
Without wasting any time, he began to move through all the shelves, most of which contained formulas related to star Zu. Kael picked up a formula that interested him.
Although he was somewhat surprised, as he did not expect this magical inheritance to contain items related to the Zu.
This is an unexpected windfall.
Kael continued to look at the different shelves while storing various items in the rings with space runes.
This second chamber was much better than the first, but he still hadn’t found anything related to star magic that would help him with his strengthening speed.
After about five minutes, Kael had checked all the shelves made of stars. He took everything that seemed useful for later.
Michel also took some things that caught his attention, objects that could be useful to him in his future growth. As he did so, his eyes naturally drifted to Kael, who was quietly finishing putting away everything he had gathered.
Did you know about this inheritance from the beginning? The doubt arose immediately, like a needle piercing his mind.
Michel already suspected that Kael had not chosen this mountain at random. It was not because it was the best destination; of that he was convinced.
If it were really a matter of convenience, Kael would have chosen another mountain, one where he could communicate more easily with his family, without having to go through all the difficulties of the jungle.
That possibility left him with a persistent uneasiness, as if behind every step taken there was a hidden intention.
Even so, he couldn’t deny the other side of the experience. Those days spent in the jungle had been exciting, a constant test that kept him on his toes. What’s more, he had learned several things from Kael, small but significant details that were gradually beginning to shape his view of him.
But mistrust still lingered. He wasn’t stupid enough to trust Kael. Deep down, he felt that if the opportunity arose, Kael would not hesitate to betray him. That conviction did not stem from a mere hunch, but from the way Kael acted: reserved, always hiding something, always weighing what he revealed and what he kept to himself.
Michel let out a long sigh, as if trying to expel that tension, even though he knew it wouldn’t disappear so easily. He pushed his thoughts aside and looked away toward Elizabeth’s unconscious body. Her calm breathing and helpless expression.
Meanwhile, Kael, who had already stored everything away, circulated his mana essence into his magic diagram and muttered a spell.
"[Fire]"
A blood-red fire burst forth from the magic circle and spread violently, devouring the bookshelves one after another, determined to reduce everything it had not taken to ashes.
The crackling of the flames mingled with the suffocating smoke. Without looking back, Kael and Michel ran out of the room. They had already wasted too much time in the first two rooms... and the price for delaying any longer could be even higher.