Chapter 1242 Trial?
Ezekiel Alstreim made sure that no one stayed in the vicinity as he waited for twenty minutes before he began to descend. Flying above the cave might come off as offensive, so he didn't want to anger the so-called winged wolf for no reason as he walked on the surface.
He arrived near the entrance and stopped where all other people's structures and assets were thrown away like trash. His Peak-Level Mature Soul Stage soul force surged out of his forehead before it began to encase the entire space before beginning to pull things towards him.
He waved his hand, and all of the things that came closer to him ended up in his spatial ring.
While doing all this, he had his eyes on the cave and his senses over his surroundings, taut with concentration. His focus didn't lapse at all as he waited for him to ambush him, but even after a few seconds, it didn't seem to attack him at all.
He put his hand down and walked towards the cave before he stood in front of the dark barrier that blocked the entrance. He could make it burn away into thin air with a wave of his hands as he had the edge in cultivation, not to mention that dark was a bit weak to fire. However, he couldn't feel that this energy wasn't weak at all.
There was something off about it, but he couldn't tell even as he gave it a closer look, but then he could see that it wasn't something which he could easily break, which he initially thought he could. Nevertheless, his goal wasn't to offend it but to be given an explanation, to understand that if it were really the ruler of this sealed space and if so, how to leave this damned space!
To that end, even if some sacrifices were to be made, he was prepared, but he wasn't prepared to lose his grandchildren, so he sent them away along with all the others, instructing them to escape to the restricted city if things went south even if it meant that they have to abandon most of the people. If they live there, perhaps this magical beast wouldn't chase them and instead give up.
It was feeling overly hopeful on his part, but he was confident that he could spend his remaining life stalling and blocking it from ever reaching them ever since he decided to confront it.
"Greetings! My name is Ezekiel Alstreim. Are you the ruler of this space?" His manly voice bellowed as it resounded throughout the area, causing the surrounding wind to actually produce a mini-storm while the dark barrier rippled as if it were water.
"This is my territory. Begone..."
A smooth, confident female voice echoed from the other side of the barrier, causing his eyes to lit up as he confirmed that it was okay to communicate with it as the voice didn't display any kind of anger in it.
"Sure, as long as you can show us the way out of this sealed space that is surrounded by the Lightning Sea, we will instantly scram from this entire region!" He spoke with a bit of excitement, thinking perhaps it might really be the ruler of this sealed space.
If it was, who needed this stinky little cave? He desired the look and feel of the Alstreim Family palaces. He craved the touch of his wife and to see his son once more, making him wonder what he was doing now. If he could exit this place, even the training zone didn't matter to him anymore!
The atmosphere became tense and silent, making him feel more believable of its title of the ruler. Perhaps, it was the guardian of this space, the guardian of the vestige of the Immortal Inheritance.
If that was so, then did it require him to clear the trial?
'Could it be that the trial is going to start with its appearance?' Ezekiel Alstreim was taken aback by his own speculation.
However, a few seconds had already passed, and it seems like it refused to answer him.
"You cannot show the way to the exit of this sealed space?" He asked once more, feeling reluctant to not press for an answer when it was clearly an opportunity.
He narrowed his eyes as he waited for its answer, but a sudden ripple in the dark barrier in front of him caused him to widen his eyes. A peerless beauty dressed in black stepped out of the barrier. She raised her head at him as if looking down on him, "Scram..."
Her lips moved as her melodious and calm voice echoed out, but he stood there stunned.
"You... You are a magical beast?" He asked with a bit of difficulty seething in his voice.
Nadia's golden eyes narrowed as she waved her hand. The sky that was already dark aided her in being able to quickly encase the surroundings with her darkness that Ezekiel Alstreim was one step late in reacting to her offense.
Nevertheless, flames blazed from his body as he retreated. He extended his hands to opposite directions while the intense crimson flames quickly caused the darkness that was trying to engulf him to burn into nothingness before his crimson light of flames lighted up the world.
His flames shined the entire region as if he were a star!
However, he could tell that her dark energy was extremely powerful that it made him use much more energy than it required to extinguish that attack.
Once he gained a distance after he had defended against her attack, he was about to counterattack when he suddenly saw her look at him with those cold golden eyes. Realizing that she had only attacked him as a form of warning, he inwardly sighed before he tidied up his pure white robes.
"As I was saying," He opened his mouth with a confident smile on his face, "As long as you can take us away from here, you won't need to see us anymore."
Nadia watched him as if she measured him with her sharp gaze. The atmosphere quickly turned silent again, but this time, Ezekiel Alstreim patiently waited as he maintained a smile. Inwardly, he was shocked! He had never seen a magical beast this beautiful before!
Magical Beasts rarely tend to change to their human form, and especially the higher their species rank and bloodline was, the higher they tended to show their contempt for humans, refusing to change to that form, so he was a bit astonished to see her in a transformed state.
He was becoming more and more convinced that she was the regulator or the guardian of this Immortal Inheritance. Otherwise, he couldn't see a reason for this magical beast to not attack him. Or maybe, he was just too optimistic, and she was nothing more than a magical beast that wants to protect its master's inheritance sight. He quickly hoped that it wasn't the latter.
"You want to leave?" Nadia finally spoke again, causing his eyes to lit up.
"Yes!"
Ezekiel Alstreim nodded with a solemn nod as his heart began to pound in abrupt expectation and excitement. Even his blood flow became a bit chaotic on hearing her question.
"Then..." Nadia's lips curved as a deadly smile crept up her face, "Sacrifice one human of your descent to me."
"..." Ezekiel Alstreim's solemn expression faded, replaced with a look of confusion.
It was just a moment before realization abruptly dawned on him, "What!?"
"Did you not hear me?" Nadia taunted as she turned her back, "Bring me a human of your blood and descent so that I could taste their flesh. If you do so, I'll allow you all to leave."
She was about to enter the barrier when she suddenly turned to look at him, "If you dare to break this barrier, then even if I can't kill you, I will hunt down every single one of you!"
Even before she entered the barrier, she disappeared right before his gaze as if proving that she could really do what she said!
Ezekiel Alstreim's body trembled as he was left all alone in this space. He couldn't stop his trembling no matter how he tried. The key to leaving this space was sacrificing one of his descendants. In this space, there were only two of his descendants, Nero Alstreim and Niera Alstreim.
However, to sacrifice them...?
He didn't even dare to think about it! Nero Alstreim was his grandson separated by a few generations, while Niera Alstreim was his granddaughter separated by an additional generation. However, only after they had entered his life in this sealed space did he realize that he should value them. It was especially the case when Niera Alstreim was born. He had treated her like his own daughter and even gave her a piggyback ride!
How could he even think about sacrificing one of them?
He began to think that it could be a trial, a trial of blood and sacrifice to enter the Immortal Inheritance before gaining the opportunity to leave, but if not, could it be that this magical beast was just fooling him?
Either way, he cannot really find out unless he decided to use one of them as a sacrifice!
His expression constantly twisted, struggling with himself before his helplessness changed to one of anger, "You damned magical beast with the face of a temptress! Just you wait, I'll kill you one day or another!"
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Davis and all the other people were taken to a mountain forest far away in the west. It was inhabited by some magical beasts, but they were not even Sky Rank Species that people instantly drove them away. This was one of their spots for hunting as well, but they weren't the ones who marked this as their territory, but the Infernal Lightning Palace people did and treated the magical beasts here as livestock.
He didn't instantly disappear to return to the underground cave but bided his time until the Ancestor came back while he watched their fight and conversation with his soul sense that was undiscoverable to the people here and Ezekiel Alstreim.
Only Nadia could sense him, but then she was more than happy to be watched by him as she battled a bit and followed his instructions.
Davis was extremely satisfied with her performance that he couldn't help but want to praise her. He made a mental note to make her happy again. She did just as he said that he could see the nice Ezekiel Alstreim have an extremely angered expression on his face.
'Well, it was indeed a trial of sorts, but not the Immortal Inheritance's Trial but mine. If you pass it, well...'
Davis smiled a bit as he thought that he could release this powerhouse into the outside world. Nevertheless, he narrowed his eyes as he looked towards his side, feeling two soft bumps press onto his arm.
"Niera, that mysterious magical beast won't attack us little people suddenly when judging by what it did previously, so stop holding my arm in nervousness, will you?"
Niera Alstreim stared at him in worry as her face possessed a blush, "But..."