No More Pain For This Villain.

Chapter 377 The Fallen Grace -3

Chapter 377  The Fallen Grace -3

"W-what?" Adam stammers, his voice cracking as he glances back and forth between Falco and the mantled woman. His grip on his sword tightens, betraying his unease.

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Falco's voice cuts through the tense silence, sharp and devoid of emotion. His expression is unreadable, but the weight of his command leaves no room for argument.

I force myself to focus on the woman kneeling in the center of the chamber. Her frail form and prayerful posture seem utterly harmless, so unlike the Emberclad Colossus, the fearsome guardian of the Nightshade Sanctum. The thought claws at the edges of my mind—why does she feel different? Why does she seem… vulnerable?

"Still—" Adam's weak protest is abruptly silenced by Aron's sharp tongue.

"I'll do it," Aron snaps, stepping forward with reckless confidence. His annoyance is palpable as he glares at Adam. "Why the hell are you even hesitating? She's part of the dungeon, you dumb fuck. Who knows if we wait, she'll attack."

But before Aron can take another step, Falco's hand clamps down on his shoulder like a steel vice.

"Go back to your place," Falco commands, his tone steady but unyielding. "Yours is not here." He turns his gaze to Adam, cold and unrelenting. "Adam. Go."

Aron doesn't protest. He shrugs off Falco's grip with a scowl, massaging his shoulder before retreating to stand beside me. His porcelain mask tilts slightly, but he fixes it without a word, his frustration evident in his rigid posture.

Adam hesitates, his face pale and grim. But he obeys, dragging his feet as he steps forward. The distance between him and the kneeling figure closes too quickly, yet every step seems agonizingly slow.

When he finally stands before her, he unsheathes his sword. The blade gleams brilliantly in the golden light of the chamber, its sharp edge reflecting Adam's trembling resolve. Without hesitation—or perhaps because hesitation would break him—he slashes.

The blade moves swiftly, cutting clean through.

Her head falls, rolling away, revealing a face aged and withered. Her expression is not one of pain or fear but of relief, as though some unseen burden has been lifted. The faint trace of a smile lingers, haunting in its serenity.

Adam doesn't move. His shoulders heave as he takes shallow breaths, his gaze fixed not on the lifeless body at his feet but on something far beyond. Even from where I stand, I can see his eyes—hollow, unfocused, and filled with something I can't quite name.

Then, almost imperceptibly, he turns his head, glancing over his shoulder in our direction. His eyes meet mine for the briefest moment, and he sighs.

It happened instantly.

The chamber groans, a deep, rumbling sound that reverberates through the air. The walls begin to shift, grinding against each other like massive stone gears. Dust falls from above as the very structure of the room transforms.

Massive archways emerge, carved seamlessly into the moving walls, their thresholds glowing with shimmering symbols. I feel the mana radiating from them, pulsing in sync with the chamber's movements.

The first insignia catches my eye—a wave pattern, unmistakably Neptune's mark. I've seen it before, etched onto the floating island above the Tritonic Surges near the Crooked Isles, far from Reva's shores.

The second is Ellora's, her signature symbol of a nine-petaled golden flower entwined with a sword. The intricate design gleams brightly, even in the dim light.

The other symbols are foreign to me, yet their presence is undeniable. They must belong to the other gods—Geb, Aine, Hera—each insignia radiating a divine essence unique to its bearer.

Geb's Insignia was a jagged mountain with a fissure, encircled by vines and roots.

Aine's was a crescent moon cradling a winged figure, with scattered stars.

Hera was a spiral gust with falling feathers.

I guessed and blaze confirmed.

The chamber falls silent, save for the faint hum of magic lingering in the air. I glance at the others, their expressions unreadable as they all stare at the gates now surrounding us. The trials have begun.

Falco then gestured for us to follow, his movement sharp and deliberate. We all walked past the lifeless form of the woman, her severed head still resting on the cold stone floor, the soft mutterings long gone.

The newly opened gates stood before us, their massive frames beckoning. The air felt thicker now, charged with an unseen force, as if the dungeon itself had taken a breath and was waiting for us to step forward. The silence was almost suffocating, broken only by the faint shifting of the stones around the party.

Everyone came to a halt before the massive gate adorned with Geb's insignia—the jagged mountain and roots coiling around it. Its towering presence was both ominous and inviting, as though it was daring us to enter.

Standing at the threshold, I peered into the pitch-black abyss beyond the gate. At first, nothing moved. Then, from the darkness, two pairs of eyes emerged, slowly coming into focus. The eyes were glowing faintly, their yellowish hue piercing through the blackness like twin lanterns in a void. They were not human, not even remotely. The eyes were unnerving in their stillness, but what unsettled me more was that they never blinked. They just... watched us.

The tension in the air tightened as Falco spoke, his voice cool and unwavering. "You'll conquer this one," he said, his gaze fixed on the darkness beyond. Then, turning slightly, he addressed Devon with a simple, almost indifferent command.

Devon's posture stiffened slightly, his fingers twitching in response. The weight of the moment seemed to settle over him like a heavy cloak. Without another word, he stepped forward, his boots making no sound against the stone floor as he moved toward the darkened gate.

First, he ordered Adam to kill the blind woman, and now Devon to kill the four-eyed creature... Is there a specific way to conquer this place? Why did we leave every other gate but enter the one that belonged to Geb, with Devon specifically required to advance alone?

Questions...over questions, is that all I get even after following these guys here?