The Psychopathic Beast Emperor-Chapter 109: Second Mission

Bahamut, Sel, and Ren headed towards Elder Silvia’s place. They had been summoned and they had an inkling of why they were being summoned. In no time, they reached the huge residence which always awed them.

...

Four people and one beast stood in front of Elder Silvia and Elder Iset with determined expressions. They were Bahamut, Sel, Apollonia, Rakia, and Ren. They were back in their mission clothes.

Elder Silvia moved in front of them with her usual cold expression and handed them a small transparent tablet each.

"This will record the denseness of soul energy. It will change color from blue, red, violet, and black depending on the density. I’m sure you understand this. If the soul energy density cross red, leave that region immediately. None of you can survive whatever creature rules that region.

You will be teleported straight to the Dunes of the Ancients. Thankfully, the sect has what you requested." She said as she turned to Bahamut.

"But, the Dunes of the Ancients is not just any place or any battlefield. It is the testing ground for the Sect Master. This a highly confidential secret, therefore making this mission confidential too. No one. I mean absolutely no one outside the four corners of this room should know about it.

The Dunes of Ancient is very dangerous, so you have at most a day to find what you seek. The Sect Master has given us coordinates of where it is possible to find the Life Tose, so you will be transported straight to the place. The rest will be up to you, but remember this, never keep the tablets away from you. As they are indicators of soul energy density, they are also your ticket out of the place. If you lose it, you will die.

I won’t sugarcoat it. In the history of the sect, only three people have survived the place and they all became sect masters. Thousands have fallen to the place. This mission is directly approved by the sect master and he is overseeing everything but even he cannot do anything if you lose the tablet. So be very vigilante. I don’t know what you will encounter there, but make sure to get the Life Rose before nightfall." Elder Silvia continued lengthily.

Bahamut’s face showed a cold determination, Sel’s own was calm, like he was confident in himself and he knew he would never die in that place. Apollonia and Rakia were different though. They’d heard stories of that place and knew its dangers. What Elder Silvia was sugarcoating as compared to the dangers of the place. Beasts were the least of their problems.

Ren on the other hand, was chilling on Sel’s head. He was too carefree to care. His marks pulsed faintly as he smirked.

...

Their mission was to find a Life Rose. It was simple. But as simple and easy as it sounded, it was very dangerous. Even if they didn’t know the rumors of the Dunes of the Ancients like Apollonia and Rakia, they could tell it was a dangerous place.

A place where only three people had survived in the history of the sect was definitely not some playground.

The group followed Elder Silvia and the silent Elder Iset into a dark room. The moment they entered, the room lit up. It was a large room, designed like a gallery. It stretched for about a kilometer with different portraits of people and glowing golden hieroglyphs on the walls. It was also wide enough for all five to walk side by side, making them wonder just how something this huge was in Elder Silvia’s residence.

"If you are wondering how this is here, then the answer is that it is not exactly here. All the elders have their residences connected to the Road of Giza. The portraits you see on the walls are images of pharaohs from ancient times. The hieroglyphs are writings of their lives, their feats, challenges, victories, and defeats, almost everything about them.

The Road to Giza is a straight portal to the Dunes of the Ancients, which is where the great pyramid of Giza is. But you will never see the pyramid no matter how big it is. Just follow the portraits in a straight line. You will reach the place before you know it.

Remember your mission, and be vigilant all the time. That place is worse than get your heart removed as you watch."

With this said, Elder Silvia stepped back. Then Elder Iset spoke.

"I have nothing to say but good luck. And, when you are back, I would like to have a talk..." she said, the last part referring to Bahamut.

Bahamut nodded in response.

Then they all headed down the long hallway or whatever it was. The walk was long and arduous to say the least.

Their footsteps echoed softly along the immense corridor. Ancient history stared down at them from both sides.

For a long time, no one spoke.

The portraits were enormous; towering figures painted with such detail that it almost felt as if the pharaohs themselves were watching the group walk past. Golden hieroglyphs glowed faintly beneath each portrait, shifting with a strange living light.

Sel tilted his head slightly toward one of them.

The figure wore a towering crown shaped like a rising sun, his skin painted deep bronze, one hand resting on a staff that looked suspiciously like a serpent coiled into a rod.

"Let me guess," Sel said calmly. "A dead king with too much power and a massive ego?"

Apollonia shot him a dry look.

"That ’dead king’," she said, "united three warring continents."

Sel blinked.

"Ah."

Rakia stepped closer to the portrait, her expression thoughtful.

"Pharaoh Khasekhemra," she said, reading the glowing hieroglyphs. "Known as the Devourer of Storms."

Bahamut slowed slightly, listening.

"Storms?" he asked.

"Not metaphorical ones," Rakia replied. "Actual storms."

She pointed toward one of the hieroglyphic sequences glowing beside the portrait.

"It says he stood against the Tempest Leviathans that descended from the upper sky currents. Apparently, he fought them alone for seven days."

Bahamut whistled quietly.

"Sounds like the kind of lunatic who would survive a place like the Dunes."

Ren, lounging on Sel’s head, smirked lazily.

"Or create it," the rabbit muttered silently.

They continued walking. More portraits passed. Some depicted rulers seated calmly on thrones. Others showed figures mid-battle, surrounded by monstrous creatures or blazing storms of power. One showed a pharaoh holding the severed head of something that looked suspiciously like a dragon.

Bahamut’s pace slowed again.

His blindfolded gaze lingered on a portrait of a woman.

She stood barefoot in desert sand, holding nothing but a curved blade. Behind her, the sky burned red, and an army of skeletal beasts lay scattered across the dunes.

Rakia noticed where he had stopped.

"Pharaoh Nefret-Ka," she said quietly.

Apollonia stepped in.

"She ended a necromantic empire that lasted four centuries."

Sel blinked again.

"...Right."

They walked on. Minutes stretched, then an hour.

The corridor seemed endless. The air grew quieter the deeper they went, the golden hieroglyphs dimming slightly as if the past itself was falling asleep.

Eventually, even the chatter stopped.

Only their footsteps remained.

Then... the corridor ended.

One moment, they were walking on polished stone beneath towering portraits, the next moment... sand crunched beneath their boots.

A violent brightness slammed into their vision. The sky exploded into existence above them.

A massive sun burned overhead, so bright it forced everyone to squint instantly. Wind rushed across an endless desert. Golden dunes stretched in every direction, rising and falling like waves frozen in time.

The group stopped immediately. Sweat formed on their skin within seconds under the brutal sunlight. But something felt... wrong. Bahamut tilted his head slightly.

"It’s not hot," Sel said slowly.

Rakia nodded stiffly.

"It’s cold."

The wind carried a chilling bite that crawled under their clothes despite the blazing sun above.

Like standing inside a corpse under daylight.

Then...

Flash!

The tablets in their hands suddenly lit up in a bright violet. All five of them looked down at the same time.

The glowing screens pulsed with a deep, ominous light.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Rakia’s voice came out barely above a whisper.

"...That’s impossible."

Apollonia’s expression had gone pale, Bahamut’s grip tightened around his tablet.

Because violet meant one thing.

The soul energy density here was already close to catastrophic.

And they had only just arrived.