Divine Path System

In response to Zara's words, Varian suddenly raised his head and looked into her eyes.

"Miss Zara Woz." His eyes were determined and his voice was sincere.

"Don't bother to beg. You're not getting any mercy from me." Zara's spear glowed with a blue light and was now only a moment away from slashing Varian's waist.

"Comparing you to a whore is an insult." Varian said in a heartfelt tone.

"I-I…"

Zara's spear that was about to pierce his waist halted in its path. It grazed his skin and blood already started pouring out. Her expression was shaken and her eyes were trembling violently.

She was on the verge of crying. Even though she wanted nothing but to torture him and revel in his misery, she couldn't help it. "S-Say that again." 

"Comparing you to a whore is an insult." Varian said and a small hole formed in the barrier blocking off the area.

The space around him suddenly distorted and he disappeared before the disturbed Zara. But he left a few words behind. 

"It's an insult to the whores. I heard you don't even take any payment."

"W-Wha—"

"Wh-What did you just say?"

It took Zara a moment to come to her senses. It felt like someone smacked the back of her head with a hammer.

That guy…she thought he was supporting her. But that bastard, how dare he? How fucking dare he?!

"There's no easy way out for yo—"

The sliver powers that were infused in the security barrier removed themselves. And the barrier immediately recognized that it was breached. The only person present in the facility was designated as the enemy.

The security system, which hadn't been opened since thousands of years, began to run.

A tremendous pressure of aura fell onto Zara and it alerted the woman of the danger she was thrown into.

"He did it!"

Even though she was fuming in anger, she didn't waste any time. It was her good fortune that this security system wasn't used for so many years which delayed its activation.

If she didn't get out now, she would stay here forever.

"Yorus!"

With a thought, the spinning disc—the treasure blocking off the facility—gave off a brilliant light and pulled Zara out.

The security system lashed out at the last moment and it grazed her.

Zara tried to defend herself but the power, even though it's only a small part, was too much for her.

As she disappeared, the attack swept the facility. Varian's arm, blood and bits of flesh all disintegrated at the slightest touch.

*** *** *** ***

"An alarm? You sure it isn't a mistake?" An old man moved the pieces on the board and asked in irritation.

"No, no. I think it's really the alarm. It came from the [Archives X4]." A young man sitting in front of him groaned.

"But do you even remember how the alarm sounds like?" The old man wasn't convinced.

"Are you going or not?" The young man slammed the table and the force quickly transmitted to the board.

The coins were about to be disrupted and disintegrated, but a quick pulse of aura stopped that from happening.

"You son of a bitch! Yes, I'm going. But you're coming with me!"

"It doesn't need two of us!"

"I can't leave you with the game, you always cheat!"

Two rank 9 auras shot out of a secluded place and raced to the X4 facility.

Almost at the same time these two old men, even though one of them looked young, rushed to the X4, Prince Samatv was tense.

He was standing in front of a huge cage, in which a giant elephant, which might as well be as large as a planet's moon was sleeping. Its aura was at least that of a high rank 7.

In the cages not too far away were a total of six rank 9 beasts, all of different races but of monstrous powers, resting.

Like most facilities, this place too had no emergencies for the last few thousand years.

So, there wasn't much vigilance by the lab other than the security mechanism installed on the cages and the rank 9 guardians available in the premise.

Unlike Varian, Prince Samatv and the person behind him was preparing for this day since centuries.

So, the moment he managed to enter the lab, he perfectly activated the treasure.

An invisible bug was working on the cages, quietly destroying the formations engraved on it.

Another invisible bug was working on the security system, stopping it from raising any alarm.

Each of these cost a fortune.

Even though she's a powerful rank 8 warrior and gained a lot influence as the 'mother' of the late legendary princess, acquiring these bugs—which were specifically bred for this very purpose by centuries worth of effort—was a difficult process.

If not for Samatv's repeated assurances, she wouldn't have lent him these bugs.

And his confidence wasn't unfounded.

A few seconds later, the Prince let go of the breath he was holding and walked out of the facility.

The security guard nodding at him but Samatv didn't even look back. Once out of sight, he quickly ran away from the facility, like he was fleeing from a mad dog.

Just seconds later, the cages exploded.

*** *** *** *** ***

Varian dragged his injured body through the woods, minimizing his aura as much as he could and kept moving deeper and deeper, trying to find an obscure location.

Inside a Prime World, the space was far more resilient than in normal locations. So, he couldn't go into Hortus in a snap like outside.

Though strictly speaking, a 'snap' was a considerably long time for rank 7 and higher to act.

And here, it's gonna even more time. Which meant he had to find the perfect place to hide his traces while he did the job.

His arm had regrown and his injuries were mostly healed.

"Okay, this will do." Varian finally found a good cave suitable for the job.

But as he was about to start the process, alarm bells began to ring throughout the lab's domain.

[Alert! Alert! Rank 9 beasts are running amock!]

[Emergency!]

[Red Emergency!]

Varian looked at the cave with a reluctant gaze before heading out.

His destination?

X1.