CHAPTER 318: TRUST ME COMPLETELY

"Brother Darian..." Awel turned to him and held his hand.

He sighed and spoke softly. "Seems like a good place to check out. I already planned to explore some high-level ruins anyway..."

"Don’t be reckless, kid." the Golden Monkey cut in quickly. "I know you’re smart and a great strategist. But that place is home to thousands of Primal Beasts. They’ve got crazy sharp instincts and senses, and they’re strong as hell. If they catch you..."

"Don’t worry!" Eleri blurted, then looked at Darian, clearly worried. "Brother Darian, we’ll protect you, no matter what."

Darian gave a faint smile. It felt strange having people want to protect him, when it was always the other way around.

"Sadly, we’re too clueless... only Brother Darian can come up with a way. But we have to try to save others like us. Brother Eldu sacrificed himself for that..." Tir muttered with a determined look.

The Golden Monkey snorted.

"You’re putting way too much responsibility on him. Smarts are only useful when you can surprise your enemy or when both sides are evenly matched — which is not the case here. Going there is like throwing yourself to the wolves."

The three heard that and their expressions sank. They lowered their heads painfully.

Darian stayed silent for a few seconds, thinking.

Then he spoke lightly: "I’ve got a plan. It should be fine."

Everyone turned to him, stunned. But in his eyes there was total calm and certainty — which kept the Golden Monkey from saying anything else.

"Come with me, we’ll spend the night testing a few things. If it all works out, tomorrow we head to that place." Darian murmured to the three, then threw a look at the Golden Monkey. "Did you pick the people like I asked?"

He nodded, "Yeah, the most experienced and talented are ready. What’s your plan?"

Darian stared at him. A different kind of light flashed in his eyes.

"Before I go, I’ll leave behind a bunch of different resources in the city. You need to organize them so the weaker ones can get enough points to level up and catch up to the rest. Then, I’ll bring more so everyone can start preparing."

The Golden Monkey was speechless at that. He’d already suspected a few things when the four had left the city. But now, he connected the dots — especially with that secret scroll that had clearly come from those assassins.

He was both shocked and scared.

Were they seriously stealing from those assassins? Was the kid insane? Obviously, those people had connections and would realize a threat had popped up.

It wouldn’t come cheap. Soon, they’d band together, forming a terrifying group of enemies, all focused on wiping them out.

Darian ignored him and turned, leaving the hall.

The four of them went to a secluded room. Inside, Darian looked into their eyes... and saw the massive expectation and faith they had in him.

He sighed, then activated the power of the ring on his forehead. A green aura flowed through him. At the same time, the three felt a strong impact and trembled.

Darian noticed and concluded: "So that’s it... the blessing of the will of the heavens seems to be the cause of all this. You felt something subtle like this when you first saw me, right?"

The three nodded, clearly shaken. They’d been born from the natural power of the universe, which was connected to the will of the heavens.

Standing before them now, Darian felt like the very embodiment of the heavenly will. That’s why they’d felt such closeness and had trusted him instantly.

"Well, my plan is simple..." Darian nodded. Then, the green power from the ring flowed toward the three.

They took a deep breath and, as it touched them, their bodies glowed. Instinctively, their metamorphosis was undone. Three small glowing runes appeared.

"Hmm... come over. Try to connect to me and use this power of mine."

The three small runes floated gently, drawing close and orbiting around Darian. The ring’s power was easily absorbed by them, like they came from the same source.

’Brother Darian... I feel a strange force wanting to burst out of me...’ Eleri’s voice echoed directly in his mind.

"Let it flow. Trust me completely."

He said calmly, and the blue rune pulsed with a terrifying light. The room’s temperature plummeted, the entire place covered in ice and mist.

Darian nodded and activated the ring on his wrist, controlling the water element. It was like their souls linked. In that moment, he felt completely connected to Eleri.

The wind rune pulsed next. Almost at the same time, the earth rune followed. Darian nodded, controlling them and repeating the process.

Then he began testing, moving the elemental power of the three throughout the whole night.

...

When the bright sun rose in the sky, Darian walked out of the room calmly. Right behind him, the three youngsters wore satisfied smiles.

He went to where the Golden Monkey was.

As he entered, he handed over several spatial crystals, packed with countless resources. It was basically everything he’d looted — none of which he needed for his missions right now.

Receiving that and glancing over it quickly, the Fiendgod was left speechless.

"We’re heading out now, might be a while before we’re back. For now, do what I asked." Darian murmured, staring at the Fiendgod. "I don’t plan on staying in this desert for long, and I know you all want out too, right? It’s not impossible, if you give it your all."

Without waiting for a reply, Darian turned and left.

Quickly, the four passed through the city gates.

As soon as the doors closed, Awel smiled and her humanoid form dissolved. A wind rune appeared and floated toward Darian.

That was her true form — and also her biggest weakness. Even though her power increased a lot, this form was extremely fragile and could be easily destroyed. That’s why Heavenly Elemental Spirits never took this form lightly.

But the three of them trusted Darian completely, and would do exactly as he said.

"Let’s go." Darian waved, and the ring’s power flowed out.

Awel absorbed it instantly.

The other two clung tightly to him. With just a thought, Darian focused forward and controlled the element.

*Woooosh!*

They shot off with the winds, at a ridiculously high speed.

The night before, Darian had figured out that the blessing of the will of the heavens could connect him to the primordial essence that had created those youths. Once they absorbed his power, it was like their strength multiplied dozens of times all at once. But... they didn’t know how to control it.

That’s where Darian came in. He had absolute control over the elements and could direct that power flawlessly.

Within minutes, they landed on top of a sand dune.

Far ahead, they saw a city slightly larger than the Fiendgods’. But the feeling — and the look — was of a fortress, impenetrable and strong. There was only one entrance. Everything was built with the best materials, and inside lived extremely powerful Primal Beasts with razor-sharp senses.

Invading from the ground was impossible, and anything flying close would be detected from far away. Even if something did manage to break in, every beast there would find and surround it within seconds.

But...

Even from a distance, Darian could sense the people inside easily — through their karmic connection.

At the very center, of course, were the Ruins. Around them, everyone had built houses and buildings, circling and protecting the entrance.

"We’ve only got one shot. You ready?" Darian murmured quietly.

Tir and Eleri nodded, and their bodies dissolved. Two runes floated around Darian. Now, it looked like he had three colored stars orbiting him.

The ring’s power burst out all at once. The three Heavenly Elemental Spirits started absorbing it nonstop.

Their glow kept intensifying, and an unmatched power began to overflow.

Darian smiled.

...

Right then, inside the city, everyone instinctively felt something terrifyingly powerful flaring up nearby.

Their fur and feathers bristled immediately, along with a strange sense of dread.

In a heartbeat, people rushed out of their homes. But...

...at that exact instant, their vision was completely blocked.

A thick, suffocating white mist covered the entire city. The beasts panicked — suddenly, they couldn’t see even a meter in front of them. And then...

**BOOOOOM!!**

A deafening explosion shook the ground beneath their feet like the end of the world.

"PROTECT THE ENTRANCE!!!"

A fierce, thunderous roar reverberated in every direction. The beasts snapped out of their daze, their most primal instincts kicking in.

Without hesitation, they all rushed toward the city’s only entrance, even though they could barely see anything.

A mass of thousands of beasts moved. When the first ones arrived, they felt high-level earth element fluctuations everywhere.

Charging forward, it was like stepping through a portal into another world. Suddenly, they found themselves outside the city, with everything looking normal again — no mist at all.

But without anyone realizing it, a figure had already slipped through the entrance long before, advancing silently toward the city’s center.

The moment the domain of absolute mist swallowed the city, everyone’s senses were completely cut off. Then, an earth-element meteor exploded at the entrance, creating the perfect distraction.

And so, Darian rode the winds right through the blind spot, slipping in from above flawlessly.

They now stood before the largest building in the city — a circular structure, dozens of meters tall, built to seal the entrance to the "Ruins."

That name had stuck because some places were actual ruins, while others were like dungeons, or even portals leading to small spaces. To keep things simple, everything was just called "Ruins," divided by difficulty levels.

The building itself was empty, but... obviously, it was completely sealed against intruders.

"Getting in is always the easy part... well, we’ll worry about getting out later."

Darian muttered, pulling out one of his daggers. The sharpening seal lit up on the blade, and then he slashed at the entrance’s seal.

*BUZZ*

A loud hum, along with a booming alert, echoed across the city.

All the beasts’ eyes went wide, realizing far too late they’d been tricked.

But... Darian was already inside. And within the building, he found it was indeed a portal leading to a closed space.

"So, I’m already in some kind of pocket world, huh? Well, who cares."

He leapt in, with the three little stars orbiting him closely.