Chapter 218: Alliance (5)

Gusion let his shoulders droop with a bitter expression.

"It's because so many years have passed that I can feel the passage of time even in the subtle arena. I haven't forgotten that day, but that doesn't mean I can't stay thirsty for revenge forever."

Aamon quietly burned flames and whispered, [Too much time has passed.]

[Too much time...]

"Yes, maybe even master Mammon would not have thought it would take so long for a new King of Greed to appear.

It was just over a thousand years. Like Aamon said, too much time passed.

"You said that Asclepius went crazy?"

His voice was rather heavy.

Aamon answered in a form of a question, [Are you worried about Richard?]

Gusion could not deny it. But he said to himself and Aamon in no time, "Richard is a guy. He is as steady as a rock that won't change even after a thousand years. Even if you or Scathach had not fallen asleep, or if you had been awake all along, I can assure you he will be there. He's a good guy."

If Asclepius went crazy, that was it. Gusion didn't want to imagine any more tragedies.

"The fighting has started. Is it Kaiwan's turn this time?" Gusion asked in a bright voice.

Aamon respected his friend's intentions. Instead of mentioning Mammon's 12 Spirits, he focused on Kaiwan's fighting in the arena.

***

[The door of the 8th floor of the Labyrinth of Greed is opened.]

Lucia's voice was a little lighter than usual. It was because she could not completely occupy the 7th floor due to the existence of the arena.

Ophelia and Eligos, who displayed their wild nature, took the lead. Salami lit himself, illuminating from behind, and Skull and Tigrius scattered the lights in all directions to drive out the darkness.

There was no single facility on each floor of the Labyrinth of Greed. There were several rooms on the first floor, a 'garden', and some convenience facilities such as the dungeon spirits' quarters and restaurants were also present on other floors.

It was natural that each floor of the Labyrinth of Greed was as large as a medium-sized dungeon.

However, the 8th floor was somewhat different. When they went down the stairs and looked around, there was only one way.

"There seems to be nothing in between. Literally... It's just a hallway."

Catalina spoke, seeing through the darkness. Other floors had rooms attached to the corridor itself or passages leading to other directions, but the 8th floor had only a single passage.

[Master, the 8th floor is a place that was created to serve as a treasure storage only.]

[The only thing that exists beyond the corridor is a staircase and a treasure storage leading to the 9th floor.]

When Aamon explained, Ophelia looked back, startled. Looking for the flames of the red lotus, she asked, looking at Yong-ho's wrist, "Do you mean that the entire 8th floor is a treasure storage?"

[Yes.]

Ophelia gulped at his short reply.

The size of each floor of the Labyrinth of Greed was vast. If so, how many treasures were piled up on the whole floor used as the treasure storage?

Not only Yong-ho but also his subordinate spirits quickened their steps.

There were no dungeon monsters on the 8th floor perhaps because of the arena.

Because of this, they could reach the entrance room of the treasure storage within several minutes.

Ophelia and Eligos, who were walking ahead, didn't even need to throw the lights.

As soon as they entered the entrance room, a soft light poured from the ceiling, illuminating the dark room.

It was a large and spacious room. On the left and right, there was a large staircase leading to the lower floor and a steel door that was larger than that of the arena.

Everyone in the room naturally turned their eyes at one place. It wasn't a staircase or a steel door. They looked at the man in front of the steel door.

A giant was sitting on a huge stone chair. He wasn't wearing anything except for a lion's skin on his head, but he didn't look naked thanks to his steel-like muscles. His tanned skin and sturdy muscles gave them the illusion of him wearing armor all over his body.

The giant held a dark red club in his right hand. They couldn't know what the material was, but it seemed to signify the bluntness of the club itself.

Leo, Silent Warrior Richard.

He opened his eyes. He got up silently and greeted Yong-ho and his party.

His mouth, tucked between his shaggy beard, didn't open. Holding the dark red club like a cane, he just looked at them.

Upon close examination, he wasn't a giant. He was taller than Eligos by a couple of heads. In the demon world where humanoid monsters such as ogres and trolls existed, he could be called a tall man, but not a giant.

But he looked like a giant. It wasn't just because of his wide shoulders and steel-like muscles. They felt something like his overwhelming presence that made them feel as if they were facing a giant, tens of meters tall.

Richard was silent, which reassured Aamon. Yong-ho felt as if he saw Aamon's smile.

[Master, try to open the front door.]

[Richard is the same. He is still faithful to his role as the guardian of the treasure storage.]

His voice was filled with deep relief and delight. When Aamon had to kill Asclepius on the 5th floor, he didn't express his feelings, but he felt great sadness.

Only after hearing Aamon's voice, Yong-ho realized that there were two cylinders in front of Richard. Yong-ho was so focused on Richard that he missed them even though they were right before his eyes.

[Subordinate spirits, do not follow your master, but wait here.]

[Only the master can make the attempt to open the door.]

At Aamon's declaration, they flinched while trying to follow Yong-ho.

Catalina looked at Richard and Yong-ho alternately as if she was worried.

Yong-ho nodded. As if to calm her down, he stroked her hair once and exchanged eye contact with Kaiwan. He smiled with an effort then walked toward Richard.

Richard was still looking at him without moving. Though this kind of description wasn't appropriate for the terrifying giant warrior, he truly had clear eyes. It seemed like he could see through any muddiness and dirt.

Yong-ho stopped in front of the cylinders. There were two cylinders slightly higher than Yong-ho's waist, with something on top of it.

The cylinder on the left had a deep and large hole while the cylinder on the right had a small sphere that looked just the right size for resting a hand.

[You can use the left device only when you have a 'key'.]

[My master, use the right device to open the door to the treasure storage.]

Despite hearing Aamon's voice, Richard did not respond. His eyes were fixed on Yong-ho.

Yong-ho took a deep breath and raised his right hand. He put his hand on the sphere on the top of the right cylinder.

It was cold. He felt like he touched a marble. Shortly afterward, his attempt to open the door of the treasure storage began.

Heat radiated from the sphere. The pleasant coldness transmitted through the palm of his hand evaporated at once.

His test to open the treasure storage was simple. All he had to do was to stabilize the turbulence of the mana protecting the front door by inserting mana through the sphere.

Yong-ho closed his eyes and concentrated. He understood why Gusion said that even he could not open it with his mighty power.

It wasn't a simple torrent of mana. Not only was it fast and strong, but it had seven attributes.

Wind, water, earth, flames, lightning, rock, and darkness.

When these seven attributes were added to the swirling storm of the blade, its power was really terrifying. Even though Yong-ho was injecting mana from a distance through the sphere. he felt as if he was thrown into the middle of the torrent.

Yong-ho generated mana. He erected six horns to emit powerful mana befitting a king, and at the same time, he triggered the Godly Energy, a lump of Brigada equipped on his left hand.

Yong-ho's own attributes.

Flames, coldness, and lightning.

Catalina's darkness, Kaiwan's wind, Eligos's land, and Tigrius's light were also added to his attributes.

A fierce light arose from the Godly Energy of Greed. Harmony, the power of Yuho Yuan, was once again triggered, and at the same time, Tigrius's power of synthetic magic united seven different attributes into one.

A cold sweat flew down Yong-ho's forehead. His whole body vibrated, starting with his right hand.

But Yong-ho smiled. Dissipating mana at once caused him intense pleasure.

Yong-ho's mana was thrust into the torrent of mana like a bomb. He confronted Richard's seven attributes with his own.

The wind and the flames clashed. Light and darkness became one, and the earth and water were in harmony. Lightning and darkness collided and scattered.

Yong-ho's right hand vibrated more violently. It was never easy to simultaneously use his seven attribute powers while releasing enormous mana.

Only

However, he overcame that difficulty. By combining all the attributes into one, he achieved a huge power of harmony.

There was no explosion. The torrent of mana, which was like a mad vortex, naturally weakened. Finally, it scattered and became calm and still like a lake.

Yong-ho breathed out roughly. His whole body was sweaty. He didn't know how long he injected mana. However, when he opened his eyes, he felt an enormous sense of accomplishment. It wasn't just because he opened the door of the treasure storage.

He just achieved growth by struggling hard a moment ago. He felt like he learned how to use Brigada to bring out the power of a true king.

He raised his head. There seemed to be a little sign of emotions in Richard's eyes, who was indifferent. Instead of expressing his feelings, Richard stepped aside. He opened the way for Yong-ho.

The steel door of the treasure storage opened automatically.

A dazzling golden color caught Yong-ho's eyes.