Guild Wars

"I can't pretend to understand the horror of what you've gone through, nor can I pretend to be qualified to guide you out of it." Misery began, which had little to no effect on the women here.

Of course he couldn't understand, he was part of the same gender that inflicted this pain on us.

If Misery was female, or if Sublime was the one talking, her words would have been slightly more effective. However, this was just the beginning of what Misery had to say.

"However, I can tell you this. We who are here are just a small part of a force currently genociding the entire Pangu Lineage and this order, this raid is supported by the two prodigies of the Lucifer and the Amaterasu Lineage who have grown up and become more powerful than you could ever imagine." Misery added calmly, to which the bodies of the girls trembled.

Those belonging to the Amaterasu Lineage shook when they heard that Young Miss Eva had sent someone to come for them. Immediately, the well of emotions that had been suppressed by the numbness started to break.

The Lucifer Lineage girls too were shocked and deeply moved that their prodigy was not only alive after all this time, but that he actually still cared about them. After all, they knew the most how much the Lineage had let him down, so even caring about them was asking a lot.

As such, with the heat of emotions rising, they began to shed tears while forcibly repressed memories about their suffering began to unveil themselves unwillingly and force them to remember the things done to them.

And yet, Misery was far from done.

"Also, I know for a fact that the prodigies have the ability to not only undo the effects of your suffering on your body, but on your mind too. As long as you make it out of here today, they can literally make it as if you had never been a moment of your life in here."

This caused the crying to freeze as the girls gazed at Misery with shock, disbelief and endless hope in their eyes.

What, you expected them to cringe away from the idea of wiping away their trauma the 'easy' way.

This ain't a Hollywood movie or some cheap dramatic anime where they would wipe their tears and reject the offer stating that they would like to live with their trauma, as it quantified who they were.

Yeah, such 'strength of character' moments were nice on a screen and in fiction, but in reality, no one would want to bear with any latent trauma for the sake of such foolish ideals.

As such, the prospect that they could be cleansed really spoke to them, and ignited something in them that they had long lost: hope.

Not hope for survival.

Not hope for escape.

But hope for the future.

Hope that they would not have to live with the physical and mental scars that would cause immense emotional pain each time it relapsed in some way during their lives.

Naturally, with hope came strength and with strength came clarity. Now, they could properly process what Misery was saying and their minds finally latched onto something they had subconsciously ignored because they believed it impossible.

Their eyes shone and their long sealed bloodlines roared with malice. They were excited by the idea of wantonly slaughtering members of the Pangu Lineage and such a thing could cleanse some of their anger before they met their prodigies.

Misery smiled at the fierce women who rushed down and out to join the slaughter. The core members had gained powerful allies in this attack, allies who would stop at nothing to see them succeed.

This was just the beginning of the Pangu Lineage reaping what they themselves had sown. However, unlike most farmers, they wouldn't enjoy the 'bumper harvest' that was coming for them.

Misery and Kiran went one floor higher and saw that this was where most of the defenders had come to. The floor was small and had a few cells that were absolutely sealed from top to bottom, preventing them from seeing those kept within.

So this was where the truly dangerous fellows were kept.

Misery sensed around but didn't feel the aura of Scathach. This caused his face to darken until he saw that there was a final set of stairs that led upwards. This caused him to calm down as he assumed a prime captive like Scathach would likely have a whole floor reserved for her.

While this made him nod his head as it showed how truly potent his beloved Nanna was, it also filled him with killing intent because who knows what kind of pain they had inflicted on her?

As for the nonsense Ao Jiantian had uttered, he knew it to be rubbish said to provoke him. None of these limp dick Pangu boys would dare even get near his Nanna without ten to twenty layers of defenses on, even if she was sealed.

As such, the defenders who had huddled up and numbered almost 20 rushed at him and Kiran. They shared a look and split apart, Kiran manifested his Knight Energy and Noble Energy to enter his Base Warrior form while Misery spawned Scathach's purple tome in his left hand.

His spear stabbed out once, causing hundreds of spear shadows to appear which targeted the lethal areas of his assailants bodies. This caused their faces to change as they went from attacking to defensive, blocking the spear shadows as best as they could.

However, those with the Undying King Inheritance managed to survive and defend against it, while those with the Primal God Inheritance used their strength to fight back.

Since this was a casual attack from Misery, it was okay for them to be able to resist it. He wasn't attempting to kill them all anyway, just slow down their charge so he could pick them off one by one.

After all, these blokes weren't pushovers but bloodline wielders. They stood on top of the human food chain, above Supernatural and Superhuman. The only ones who could threaten them were the World Council, and that was purely due to the devastating power of nuclear weapons.

Kiran dashed in from the side and assisted. He was even faster and stronger than Misery at the moment, using only one strike to blast the heads of any Pangu Lineage defender he faced, whether they had the Primal God Inheritance or the Undying King inheritance.

What was suspicious was that during the entire attack so far, from the early bombing, to the skirmishes outside, to the looting and now climbing the Heavenly Imprisonment Tower, they had never seen a single member of the Primogenitor Inheritance, which was the one that was capable of summoning Elemental Golems of the four elements.

It was as if they had all universally disappeared, or as if they had never been here in the first place. Very strange, and something that the members of Umbra had yet to actively take notice of.

Misery followed up by striking out simple blows that pierced through the skulls of his targets. Once his spear got into their bodies, it would erupt with a red light and absorb their life force like a leech, causing its red hue to darken as it killing intent increased.

With the kinds of speed and power he and Kiran possessed, it was easy enough to quell these so called defenders and put them out of their… well… misery. Once done, they regrouped in the center and glance at the doors.

Misery debated whether it was wise to open them, as fellows that even the Pangu Lineage had sealed this deep might not exactly be friendly towards the ones freeing them.

However, Kiran had already attacked by smashing all the doors in and tossing them to the side, allowing the duo to see those who were trapped within.

To their shock and surprise, they were a bunch of different people of different sexes and ages, but one thing was certain, they gave off pure fluctuations of the Pangu Lineage!

What?!

The Pangu Lineage had actually locked up their own people!

Not anywhere too, but in their prison meant for their worst offenders!

On not just any floor, but the penultimate floor, in cells that were completely isolated and blocked from outside view!

What the fuck?!

For the first time during this raid, Misery and Kiran were totally speechless. They shared a look and gazed at these weakened Pangu Lineage members who were chained up as if they were threats that could destroy the entire world.

Misery eyed them seriously before facing the arguably oldest one of the lot, who was slim enough to pass as a ban of bones and had a flowing beard that reached his chest.

He, like all the others on display, quietly watched Misery and Kiran without making any moves, remaining clam and focused.

Misery saw this and asked. "Old man, why did they imprison you?"

The old man smiled. "We tried to do the same thing you're doing now, purge the filth from our clan. However, we were betrayed in the end and captured, then tortured for years."

Misery's eyes narrowed. "You... were you part of the clan who wished to protect the prodigy girl?"

The old man's eyes flashed, surprised that outsiders would know that should have been kept secret. "It is exactly as you have surmised. My name is Ao Fengtian, grandfather to Ao Shuangtian, the true prodigy of our clan! How could I accept them saying rubbish like our prodigy being a girl was wrong and that the bloodline should be passed onto that filthy rat Shangtian?!"

"Obviously, they wanted my daughter's bloodline, and we weren't the ruling party at the time. It was the line of Lingtian, Shangtians's father. He was and still is the Clan Head, but Shangtian was born with low bloodline purity." Another middle-aged man spoke who was skin and bones, looking similar to Fengtian.

"That is Ao Litian, the cousin of Clan Head Lingtian and the father of Shuangtian." Fengtian nodded to his son.

"Alright, alright, so the long and short is, your Lineage's ruling party lusted after your daughter's blood because it would solidify their reign and make Shangtian the clan heir by force?" Misery concluded with impatience.

"That is the long and short of it. They used clan laws to pressure us, so we could only rebel… which was exactly what they wanted to legitimize their actions later on. We were then locked up here while Shuang'er is being kept in the underground mansion." Litian explained calmly.

Misery and Kiran shared a look.

"Brat, go up first and confirm if Nanna is okay. I will talk to these old blokes and find out how we're gonna proceed after crashing this tower down."

Kiran nodded and walked up the stairs to fulfill Misery's order while the man himself squatted and glanced at the prisoners still chained up with boredom.

"I'm gonna be honest and say that I have no inclination to free you folks. Putting aside whether your story is true, or whether you will attack after being freed, the simple fact is, you're members of the Pangu Lineage."

Misery smirked coldly. "There is no innocent person in this Lineage except the one you're talking about. You fellows are old enough to have committed many atrocities alongside your clanmater when you were still in their good books."

"In fact, you only fell out of grace due to this clash of interests, not because you were doing something great. Had that not happened, you would be down there with them, trying to kill us."

"So why should I free you?" Misery asked with amusement.

The eyes of Fengtian flashed with interest. "Because we-"

However, his admission was interrupted by a roar so full of fury that it caused a small shockwave.

"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!! THAT'S MY FUCKING GREAT GRANDMOTHER!!!"

BOOOM!

Kiran's rage fueled roar was filled with a blast as a red wave spread out and shattered the walls of the prison.

While the Pangu prisoners were shocked by the sheer power, Misery's heart sank to the bottom of his gut.

For Kiran, the usually stoic fellow to say so much in one go, just what could be up there?

Not to mention he had willingly cut down his total lifeforce by at least 10%, perhaps even more.

Just... what the hell were they doing up there?!