Milicent was wary of allowing Ethan to regain his strength, which was why she wished to get him to decide quickly.Ethan chuckled as he sipped some more wine before moving to set it down, or at least, attempting to do so as Milicent immediately attacked, leaving him no room for evasion.Already expecting the strike, Ethan quickly moved out of the way, allowing the spear meant to put a hole in his temple to instead graze the side of his head.There was another attack, but it wasn't from Milicent or Ethan.Instead, another of the Musketeers moved forward in a bid to catch Ethan off guard, but it seemed Ethan had also expected this as he made use of the divine shard of deception to deceive the trajectory of the attack, allowing it to go wide off its mark.The Musketeer was stunned, unable to understand how he had missed while the third Musketeer also charged forward with killing intent.Ethan no longer considered sparing any of them as he met their attacks head-on and began to overwhelm
Ethan woke up the next morning, rather refreshed and surprised to discover that he hadn't been attacked the whole night.He'd expected Khalid to pull something, but the assassin leader behaved himself, causing Ethan to wonder if he had already fled.Stretching, he made his way out of the room to find Khalid standing guard outside, making for a much more pleasant surprise.“I thought you fled.” Ethan joked with Khalid replying.“Haha, surely you jest, my Lord. How dare I try to escape?... I know my place and know what would have happened if I'd done that.”Ethan smirked. “You call me Lord now?”“Of course, this lowly one wishes to be your humble servant if you'll take me under your wing.”“I see. Quite intriguing. Why though?... Is it because you know that I'm going to end you once all this is over?”“Not at all. It is your choice if you wish to spare me but for now, I would rather serve you than go against you. At least then, my end would be peaceful.”Ethan nodded. “Alright then. It'
After he'd finished talking, Romulus disappeared, leaving Ethan to his fate.Ethan was quick to deduce that the ticket had been a trap to force him into the Gauntlet.But he didn't care because that meant he would be able to save Poltergeist.Just then, he sensed something causing him to glance in one direction.From there, a ferocious beast revealed itself.From now onward, Ethan was a fighter in the Gauntlet.***The Gauntlet was not just an event but was also a relic, a high-grade relic capable of creating a whole new world within.Within this world was a jungle that worked based on strict rules, and the weak perished.Only the strong could survive against the powerful predators prowling within the Gauntlet and also survive the attacks of other challengers as well.Not all those challenging the Gauntlet were forced in like Poltergeist and Ethan.Some had entered willingly with the desire to earn a name for themselves and grow their power to unprecedented heights.To that end, they
When he was approached by Romulus, Oswald felt on top of the world.One had to understand that on earth, the GK Council was the most powerful force, with only the Evil faction daring to compete with them.So to catch the eye of one of their strongest people was enough to make Oswald feel like he had arrived.Of course, that was until Romulus let him know the reason for the unexpected approach.Poltergeist.She was meant to die within the first day of the Gauntlet because she wasn't fit for it, yet she has managed to remain alive up until this moment, and it was all because Romulus willed it that way.Romulus knew that if she died, Ethan wouldn't come but would awaken as a vengeful monster, and Romulus was aware of how dangerous such people were.So he decided to dangle a carrot to ensure that Ethan would come and Poltergeist was exactly that carrot.Oswald's goal in the entire operation wasn't just to hunt Poltergeist down but to gather as many allies as possible before Ethan arrived.
It was safe to say that Romulus felt even more threatened, which made him realize that he needed to do something else. He would end up like those Apostles Ethan had just dealt with.“Ethan Jones,” Romulus muttered. “This is not the end.”Meanwhile, within the Gauntlet, the final battle was about to begin.With Varun having dealt with a good portion and Ethan clearing out the rest, only three remained.Poltergeist, Ethan and Varun.“I think we should go into hiding for the time being so you can regain your strength,” Poltergeist suggested as she sat beside Ethan, who was seated at the edge of the battlefield he'd just cleared out.Managing a smile, he inquired. “Why?”“The last opponent is a dangerous foe, a man calling himself Varun.”“How dangerous is he?”“He is nothing like Oswald. According to what I could gather, he is shaping up to become another human that would ascend upon their death. That is the highest grade of honor a mortal can receive.”“Does it matter?”“Yes, a great de
“Impossible.”“To think that Varun would lose?”“Forget about losing; their battle was spectacular; those men are worthy of being my disciples!”“Are you stupid?... Can't you tell that they are our equals already?... Do you think they would want to be subordinate to someone they were as strong as?”“Who are you to say that?... Don't you dare look down on me? They may be my equal in strength, but that isn't the only thing that matters in a battle!”As the strongest humans argued among themselves in the spectators' stand, Romulus didn't bother taking part in it because he was no longer with them.Only one person could recall when he had left and according to them, he had been muttering one sentence over and over as he left.“Ethan Jones must die!” ***“Stand proud, you fought well. You are strong.” Ethan admitted calmly, catching Varun off guard.Varun stared at him momentarily before dropping his head. “You may kill me.”“There is no need for that.”Once again, Varun was caught off gu
“Bastard!” Ethan bellowed. “If you kill her, you better forget about getting away.” “Dare to threaten me!” Romulus grew even more aggressive, snapping a few more ribs, causing Ethan to clench his fist.“Know your place, Ethan Jones,” Romulus remarked as he finally stopped trying to break Poltergeist in half. “I won't kill her, but that's only if you do as I say.”“Ethan, no, you have to run away. Don't listen to him.” Poltergeist said amidst heavy breathing.It was clear that she was struggling to maintain consciousness.Ethan stared at her, recalling the promise he'd made to Leilani.“Don't worry, I'll make sure you get back home safely.”Then he shifted his attention back to Romulus who was grinning wickedly.“What do you want?” Ethan asked with Romulus replying.“It's quite simple actually.” Romulus intoned. “Hand over the Divine Shard you wield and I will let her go. It's a simple task, don't you think?”His explanation earned a cold glare from Ethan but he didn't care, instead c
“You bastard!... You dare to go against the GK Council like this?... Do you think we won't retaliate?... We will find you even if you flee to the ends of the earth and will drag you back like an animal and flay you, so you'd best go down on your knees and beg for forgiveness, do you understand me!” Romulus bellowed as he glared hatefully at Ethan.This was supposed to be just like the other times when people had dared to go against the GK Council.Romulus had never considered himself as weak within the GodHand even though he was merely the seventh finger but he wasn't the strongest.But if one would ask the others what he was the best at, it was toying with people only to end them in the worst ways imaginable.Others might opt to just kill but Romulus enjoyed causing pain and torturing people, making them weep like babies and crushing their souls until they were nothing more than vegetables to be slaughtered.He intended to do the same today, to claim the divine shard, then make him b