Guild Wars

Chapter 568 - Foundational Floors - End

"BURNING ATTACK!!!"

With that roar, Draco brought his sword down upon the head of Devin, who could only raise a hand to block. However, this attempt was futile as Fragarach cut through his arm like it was paper.

It was a sword that had the ability to cut through any defense, so trying to block or parry it was utterly foolish. The only way to survive Fragarach's assault was to dodge it.

Draco cut Devin from top to bottom, time itself seeming to freeze as everyone nearby showed different expressions. Draco was shouting, Devin's eyes were stretched wide in horror and fear, while the two Princesses gazed on in utter shock.

In that split second, a line formed from Devin's brows to his groin, a patch of blue amidst the eternal darkness that made up his physical form. As the line developed and his two sides began to split apart, Draco finished the rest of the attack.

Not stopping there, he used Fragarach to make many more strikes, so fast that only sword lights could be seen. Each one cut through Devin like a hot knife through butter, each one leaving a blue light showing how he had been cut at that moment.

By the time Draco was done with his flurry of slashes, there was no part of Devin that had been left untouched. Only a split second had passed for him to be turned into cube-like pieces that separated and were about to fall to the ground, still floating in mid-air for a moment.

Before this could happen, Draco brought his other hand that was free and aimed a palm towards the remains of Devin. From his hand came a wave of searing hot Light Energy that blasted the remains into ash.

"NOOOOOOO!"

That was the final scream Devin could muster as he was thoroughly edified by the Light Energy spell Draco had used via his Mage God title. He couldn't use Subjective Magic without it, obviously.

The two Princesses just watched frozen as all this occurred, and as Draco slowly hovered down the ground before them. The fellow then shook his hands, making his sword disappear. Folding them across his chest, Draco gazed down at the two.

"Well, you aren't going to keep lying there, are you?" He asked with an amused tone.

Both Princesses froze as they realized their gaffe, then quickly scrambled to their feet with a spot of redness on their cheeks. Once they patted themselves down and managed to regain some calm, they observed Draco silently.

The more they did, the more they wished they hadn't because… he really was quite nice to look at. Not only that, when they thought about how he had swooped in their moment of distress and on their final breath to slay the enemy with such ease and valor…

It was obvious that the two of them would feel some strange stirrings in their hearts. Well, they were Princesses in a magical world after all. If a knight in shining armor didn't get them going, then it would mean that everything was a lie.

Aliza cleared her throat and spoke gently. "Thank you, noble hero, for saving the two of us. May we have the pleasure of knowing your name, dear sir?"

Draco answered with a smile. "Draco Morningstar, Swordmaster."

Jenna gazed at him with a strange light in her eyes. "What was that ability you just used? I have seen level 100 Swordsmen attack before, and none of them have used such a thing!"

Draco turned to the valiant Princess with a strange glint in his eye. "It's a unique ability given to me, I guess. I honestly thought it was something everyone would get, but I guess it's not possible given your current words."

Before the two could speak again, Draco raised a hand to stop them. "Don't worry, we can certainly chat a bit more once the battle is over."

The silenced Princesses were startled when they remembered that yes, even though Devin was dead, his demons and Death Warriors were still rampaging among their men.

When they turned to see the gory battlefield, the two Princesses almost fainted. Jenna held up well as she was a maiden made for battle, but Aliza almost folded in on herself at that moment.

To her, this was a scene from the deepest depths of hell. The Demons and Humans were fighting each other while cackling with madness, ripping and tearing each other apart like animals, only to be revived the next second with some of their body parts left behind.

In this situation, apart from one side having pale or tanned skin and the other having pockmarked red skin, it would be impossible to tell apart who the demons were and who the humans were. They were both doing the same thing, smiling the same way and enjoying it as much as the other side.

It was natural for Aliza to faint as a Saintess, because this is not what she had envisioned. In previous battles, they had usually dealt with enemies who couldn't revive while they could, so her men would heroically rise from the dead to combat again with stoic and valiant expressions on their faces.

This was naturally the first time that they had fought against an enemy force that could resurrect just as easily as they did, which had created this specific outcome that was predictable for those who understood psychology.

On the side, Eva and the other three beauties had watched Draco make short work of Devin with a smile, then saw him make two Princesses swoon without even trying with a facepalm.

Zaine though, was rubbing her chin as her eyes narrowed. She gazed at Jenna and Aliza with a strange glint in her eyes, licking her lips darkly. Eva, who was smiling wryly, heard Zaine's thoughts and also had a strange glint in her eye.

The two shared a look and nodded, waiting for the right time to strike. In the meantime, Jenna held the fainted Aliza gently as she turned to Draco.

"Noble Hero, would you please end the battle before it gets worse? This… is too much to see." Jenna begged solemnly.

Draco half-smiled and turned his back to her. "Leave it to me, Beautiful Princess."

Draco then disappeared from where he stood, leaving a blushing Jenna behind. He reappeared in the midst of all the fighting, then stomped his foot. A wave of purplish magic spread out from him, disabling all the humans who were fighting, sending them falling to the ground.

Using gravity magic, Draco had incapacitated all the maddened humans, while he was the only one left standing. The attention of the demons fell on him, and they roared as they rushed over to him to rip his flesh apart.

They had already grown tired of dealing with these other humans. They had ripped them apart so much that there was nothing new to see in their innards. If these demons were to take an anatomy exam, they might even surpass some of the best doctors in the world.

The prospect of getting to see how Draco looked like internally excited them so much that they were frothing at the mouth. Maybe he had three livers and ten pancreas? Or fifteen hearts and six kidneys? The possibilities were endless!

Draco did not wait for them to attack him first. He simply removed Dragorugio from his inventory, swinging the sword nimbly with his right hand. He then exploded in a sea of Destruction Energy that singed the very atmosphere itself, but did not harm anything.

Seeing this, the demons and Demon Warriors realized that they had made a terrible mistake, but it was too late. The Destruction Energy swept forth and engulfed all of them, binding them in place for a split second.

Draco then swung his sword upwards, and it seemed to strike the entirety of the enemy force before him, sending them flying up into the sky. His sword went up with them, spinning continually as it did so.

Draco then bent down and blasted into the sky, a black streak following up he went up and grabbed the hilt of the still spinning Dragorugio. The moment he connected with the sword, the Destruction Energy they both contained exploded and covered the entire sky, almost burning it.

The Demons and Demon Warriors were spinning just as the sword had, wrapped in a thin coat of Destruction Energy that bound them, also harming them slightly. However, this pain was nothing compared to what they felt when Draco began the attack.

"GREAT AETHER!"

Draco moved his sword in powerfully swings, slashing the group of bound Demons. Even though his sword did not strike them physically, it struck them through the veil of Destruction Energy wrapping them, even sometimes forming sword clones within to strike each individual demon.

Draco struck and struck, moving through different sequences of slices and cuts as he moved faster and faster. He even threw in two kicks during the motion, before slashing at an inclined angle, then finishing with an upper-cut clash.

He then charged his power as he lifted the sword high above his head and stretched his body out. The Demons trapped in the attack were on the verge of death, having been diced up by Destruction Energy this potent.

What was left of them simply spun over and over within the black fire, before Draco roared and swung the sword down, bringing himself and all the demons down crashing to the ground.

BOOM!

The places exploded in a black light that reached the sky, carefully bypassing all the humans and allies of Draco. When the effects subsided, Draco walked away from the spot with Dragorugio placed across his shoulder.

Behind him, there was a crater filled with nothing. Everything that had existed in that spot was vanquished minus Draco.

Seeing him come out unscathed, the wind blowing his now white hair which had returned together with his Ultima Sunt abilities, many felt their hearts beat. Eva and the other ladies gave a thumbs up, Zaine directly putting her hands in her lower garments.

The two Princesses had a look of infatuation on their faces. All of this was fine, a normal response to a handsome hero vanquishing evil and bringing peace to the land.

However, what made Draco shiver from head to toe were the guys who had hearts in their eyes as they gazed at him. Burly men big enough to beat a bear like it was their son looking at you like that… how would you feel?

He released them from their gravity bindings, but before they could move, Draco had scurried over to hide behind his wives, not even daring to come out. The Four Beauties covered him behind them protectively, trying to stifle giggles at the same time.

The two Princesses shared a look and also smiled. They found Draco cute, and their anxiety towards his existence diminished and was replaced by a strange fondness.

The field had already been cleared by the Destruction Energy, clearing all the waste and horror. The men who were locked in the rictus of battle soon came down from the insanity induced high, feeling tired and groggy.

Many outright fainted, drained of energy to continue even thinking. They would likely be unable to fight for a very long time in the future. That was not accounting for any PTSD that might arise out of this event.

Hikari saw this and hesitated before clapping her hands together. A whitish fire emerged in between her palms which Hikari merged with copious amounts of Creation Energy. She then cast the fire out, which passed through everyone, purging a certain viscous darkness that was present in all of them minus the Morningstar Group and the two Princesses.

Heartfire!

｢Active 1 – Heartfire: Expel all the negativity in a target's heart and body, bringing about perfect mental and physical stability. Cooldown: 20 hours.｣

This was the only active skill of the Purefire that Hikari integrated, and its use had been obscure until now. Thanks to Hikari's thoughtfulness, the various curses, negativity, and possible heart demons that anyone here would suffer were destroyed, burned to ash.

Now, they were clean or heart, mind, and soul, ready to fight again at the drop of a hat for justice and honor. The rebels rose to their feet and exulted the Princesses and the Morningstar Group, while the Royal Guards did the same.

The two Princesses walked over to Draco and his wives shyly, Aliza hiding behind Jenna like a young maiden. Jenna didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but could only wear a stoic face.

…truth be told, she also wanted to hide behind someone!

Jenna bowed before the group. "Noble Gods/Demi-gods, thank you for your assistance in purging evil. As the Crown Princess of the Ordelia Family, I would like to host you in a celebration of your valiance and benevolence upon the mortal world."

Draco and co could only share wry looks. Such potent praise… jeez! Young Miss, are you adept in the Dao of Bootlicking? How can you make us feel like we are floating on cloud nine with just a few words?

"No problem. Please lead the way." Draco replied with a smile, guessing that this must be part of the floor's story.

At this moment, while the two Princesses were still bowing and the fighters were cheering and celebrating, the floor began deconstruction itself. Everything pixelated and disappeared as it started from the horizon to where the Morningstar Group was standing.

The warriors had been long gone, but just before the two Princesses could be sucked away, Zaine's eyes flowed with an evil light.

"Draco, capture the two of them!!"

Draco was surprised by this request, but didn't waste any time. He knew Zaine the genius would have her own reasons for doing so, so he captured the two of them with his Telekinesis and sent them to his Inner Universe.

Just then, the world completed crumbled apart and the rewards panel was displayed.

｢Congratulations on completing: Tower of Babylon Tenth Floor

Time elapsed: 0:17:38

Objectives complete: All

Assessment: EX+

Reward:

14,000 Score Points

1 Treasure Selection Reward - Peak Bronze Grade｣

At this time, the Four Beauties were whisked away into the Inner Universe automatically as they returned to the castle in which Draco resided. He was still in his seat where he made his executive decisions, and decided to open the floor-specific rankings.

1st – Draco Morningstar: 14,000 Points.

2nd – Gavin Guy: 1,498 Points.

3rd – Dorothy Keel: 1,495 Points.

4th – James Luster: 1,492 Points.

5th – Mandingo: 1,324 Points.

6th – God's Son: 1,315 Points.

7th – Dark Lord: 1,300 Points.

8th – King's Return: 1,286 Points.

9th – Helia Nuer: 1,244 Points.

10th – Makinsser: 1,237 Points.

Well, it seemed like floor 10 had been a respite for everyone despite the difficulty. After all, now that all their abilities and equipment had been released, and they had automatically been sent to level 100, which was their full power, they had finally been able to go all out.

It was actually quite disgraceful that they could not score more than 2,000 points. In fact, with each floor, their scores got worse and worse by comparison. Just look at how the total increased.

How could you score 1,400-ish when the total was 14,000? That was barely 10% of the total score! How badly did you do that you scored so low?!

Well, the problem laid with Draco. Before he came, their scores had been regarded as the standard, as they had been the highest. In a school of idiots, the standard for what was smart was different from a school for geniuses.

But now things would change, which was what everybody thought. The foundational floors seemed to have favored Draco due to its storyline, but other floors going forward had fewer generic storylines and featured issues that would take days if not years to solve.

This was what the rest were hoping would stump Draco, so that he would be unable to climb and reach the top. After all, if he actually cleared floor 99, none of the others would get that free chance to explore floor 100.

Everything would become Draco's spoils as he was the only one who would be able to pass. There was no second place prize, only first place for the winner. The thing with getting time to browse the top floor for a period of time for the top 3 was basically a consolation prize.

However, whether or not Draco would be 'stumped' especially since he had his Four Beauties with him, was yet to be seen.

Hehe.

Anyway, Draco checked the overall rankings.

1st – Gavin Guy: 71st Floor, 102,000 Points.

2nd – Dorothy Keel: 71st Floor, 101,500 Points.

3rd – James Luster: 71st Floor, 100,000 Points.

4th – Mandingo: 70th Floor, 96,000 Points.

5th – God's Son: 70th Floor, 94,700 Points.

6th – Draco: 11th floor, 93,350 Points.

7th – Dark Lord: 69th Floor, 92,300 Points.

8th – King's Return: 69th Floor, 91,010 Points.

9th – Helia Nuer: 69th Floor, 90,200 Points.

10th – Makinsser: 69th Floor, 88,230 Points.

After the ninth floor, he had reached 79,350 points and had occupied 17th place from the previous 44th. Now that he had cleared the tenth floor, he had broken into the top 10 like a wrecking ball. Hugo Mori, who had been the former 10th place, was coughing blood in his mansion as he fainted.

God's Son and Mandingo were currently squirming in their seats, trying to hold back the bomb that was poking at the tip of their butts, as they were inches from shitting themselves due to fear and despair.

As for James Luster, he had spent the past few days staring into the sky, his eyes blank and his soul lifeless. He was a man broken and beaten, wondering about the meaning of life and what the Dao truly was.

As for Draco, he grinned ruthlessly as he pictured their expressions, then realized not much time had passed still. As such, he decided to do some other stuff while in his Inner Universe especially craft some more.