Chapter 22: Zephyr's Authority

–Several minutes ago–

Zephyr was faced by a monster that could take down a group of high ranked hunters. Its fangs bared, its razor-sharp claws tearing through the ground with ease as if it was made of cotton, its piercing eyes focused solely on its prey.

'This creature is blocking the exit! Are high ranking monsters smarter than the rest!? How am I supposed to deal with a Prism ranked monster alone!? I want to go home…'

The Moonlight Enigmatic Seal is a ring artifact that holds a certain creature that is strong enough to rival multiple high ranking hunters. The summoner will be granted authority over the creature trapped inside, however, it comes with great cost. As shown by Alice, the ring's first toll is the life force of its wielder, robbing them of their vitality and vigor, ultimately making them age threefolds. The next toll is that the wielder will have a high chance of losing their morale and think like a monster. In Alice's case, she has no conscience anymore, that killing humans is just a minor chore for her. And lastly, both the creature and its summoner will perish as soon as one of them dies.

A wild roar echoed throughout the Cave once again as the Chimera fiercely let out a vicious warcry to show Zephyr that it's not scared of him. As its sharp glare landed on Zephyr, the Chimera noticed that the expression he got was something it did not expect: a face of pure nothing. It's as if Zephyr was staring through a boring telenovela. With that said, the Chimera felt somewhat intimidated, however it did not waiver its killing intent as it prepared for a lunge. On the other hand, Zephyr-

'Aaah…I should have just stayed home. Why is my decision making always failing me!'

But then he finally snapped back to reality and realized how much in a pinch he was. This made him remember those times where his guild members always drag him inside high level dungeons without his consent, mainly because they want him to witness their improvement.

'"Oh right, at times like these, I have that thing!"

Zephyr takes out what seems to be a transparent orb which has a little diamond-shaped crystal inside.

"It's been a long time since I've wielded this to fight…hope I still know the controls."

The crystal inside the orb violently spins as if reacting to Zephyr's authority.

"Yeah! It still remembers me, thanks for deeming me worthy!"

His veins light up in a bluish hue as if it's getting ignited by an unknown energy. 'Man, I still remember the first time I used this, I got so scared after seeing myself light up like this. But now, it just seems normal for me.'

The Sovereign's Crystal Orb. It is one of the three most powerful sacred treasures (heavenly artifacts) discovered inside a dungeon. The Crystal Orb was plundered by none other than [Grim Fate] itself, inside the Abyssal Front, |Never-ending Labyrinth|, that they have cleared. As for what it can do–

"Still, I can't believe how the manual of this artifact is so easy to understand despite being so overpowered. It's such a cheat, perfect for the weak me…"

A thunderous roar was let out by the Chimera as its snake tail started to violently demolish every pillar and stone walls it collided with.

"Shoot! Is it trying to cause havoc to distract–"

The chimera then ran around the field, tossing the falling rubbles towards Zephyr with its mouth, whilst waiting for an opportunity to lunge.

"Wha-! That's your aim?!" He then turns towards the crystal – "Protect me please!"

With those commands alone, a numerous volume of huge transparent hands comes out of his shadow and catches all the rubbles being thrown towards Zephyr and is continously doing so. He then gave another command–

"Restrain it."

An unoccupied hand then shines and breaks apart, transforming itself into an extending chain which then chases the rampant monster. After noticing the chain, the Chimera jumps back and draws in a surmountable amount of air. It then violently lets out the trapped air from its mouth, producing a destructive shockwave which successfully rebounds and destroys the chain.

"Hold up, that's powerful enough to destroy it!? This monster's insane!"

The Chimera did not waste any time and continued its assault. This time, its snake tail pumps out a deadly poisonous gas as the Chimera runs around the battlefield, spreading the noxious gas in the process.

"I can't let it reach me. Disperse it away!"

A strong vortex of wind begins to emanate from the orb, dispersing every hint of poisonous gas within the perimeter of the caster. As Zephyr narrows his eyes down after seeing that the gas has cleared out, he immediately orders a restraining command which then the orb responds in kind by turning the ground that the Chimera has landed into a quicksand.

"ROAAAR!"

Another vicious roar has been let out by the Chimera which echoed throughout the entire cave and briefly stunning all living beings that heard it. However, Zephyr has been continuously being protected from harmful effects by one of his relics. The Chimera is smart, noticing that Zephyr was unharmed and unaffected by anything it does, it finally felt an emotion that it's not particularly familiar of–

Fear. The Chimera's eyes widened as it looked at its opponent. Zephyr was nonchalant from the very start of their battle and it doesn't change even until now…well, on the outside, he is, but deep inside, Zephyr is panicking and already wants to go home and just laze around.

Transparent chains then emerged from the quicksand, enveloping the huge Chimera along with its mouth, finally putting a stop to all of its movement and violent warcry. The more it struggles, the more the chains tighten its grip around its body.

"...uhhh…err…"

Seeing the Chimera's struggle, even Zephyr felt a bit of pity towards the monster in front of him.

"Uhm, you know, maybe dial it down a bit? Haha…" The diamond inside the orb stops spinning for a second, but then continues after a brief moment. In that span of time, the chains that are holding down the Chimera have slightly loosen its grip, as if obeying Zephyr's command. However–

"MEOW!!"

"...???"

An unexpected roar was let out by the vicious monster. It's as if the Chimera is back to being just a little kitten. After a while, it shines brightly as if it's being called back by its owner, ultimately disappearing from the cave as if it got teleported away.

"....."

"Well, that works…"

As the quicksand and chains disperses, a voice then comes out of the Sovereign Crystal Orb.

"Still too soft, {Fate Threader}."

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