Aurora Scroll

At first, the remaining prisoners thought Tanael meant to abandon them, leaving them to their fate. However, from the killing intent he radiated, the seasoned criminals knew he meant to butcher them like dogs.

“W-why?” Budadiaz, the Rivershaker, frowned.

Tanael snorted.

“Why? You ask why? Is it not obvious? You all can still be of use to me, as fertilizer to my growth. I already gave you two chances, to get on board or not. You leftovers... hehehe. By your own hand you have marked yourselves as expendable! Some of you have already given up on life, some of you are too stubborn to accept my deal, some of you have other plans. Those reasons are all insignificant to me. What matters is that you are all just crops waiting to be harvested in my eyes and I intend to collect!”

“And this, this is what you call salvation?” Vithia, the Rider of Shadowplains rattled the chains of her bindings.

“Hear me, O great villains of yesterday, and tremble!”

Tanael said in a kingly manner, as if it was only right and proper that he stood above the prisoners of the Bleeding Hearts floor. There was no hesitation whatsoever nor doubt. The man known as Tanael wholeheartedly believed that he was superior.

“A new age is upon you! Get on with it...or be stepped on!”

Such a degree of credence was amazing in itself, bordering on madness.

After a short while, someone finally spoke. “Fine then. Do your worst. I’m already long prepared for death. However, do not think you’ll get a single benefit from me or the satisfaction from killing me. I’ve always hated men like you.”

Tanael lit up on fire, literally. The flames flowed to his hand and jumped out, as if he were a human flamethrower. Without delay or taunt, the man who said big words earlier was bathed in flames.

“Halong, the Fortress of Fortitude, it doesn't matter whether you give me what I want or not. I’ll take it all the same.”

“...What a lukewarm fire. In the past, such a fire wouldn't have been able to burn a single one of my hairs.”

Tanael believed him. Extraordinary as Faiya’s flames might be, he was still far weaker than a Level 5.

However, the current Halong was no longer the mighty Level 5. Now he was just a bit better than Non-Pathseeker, ordinary people.

Taking offense at the insult, Faiya exerted more effort on his part. The flames turned hotter and brighter. The cooked Halong finally let out a roar of pain before his body turned to ash in a few seconds.

“Whatever you might have been in the past, now you’re just ash if I will it so.”

The black ashes flew into a bottle in Tanael’s hand and he grasped the departed’s soul. When it was done, he looked at the prisoner next door. The smell of burnt meat was incredibly strong.

“W-wait. I’m willing to take the first oath. I’ll be loyal,” Infrina the Poisonous Flower capitulated.

“Too late. I have spoken,” he said with unbrooked finality.

As Tanael cooked the second person alive, the still lucid prisoners got a glimpse of what kind of person Tanael was. Having another Level 5 under his command should be a massive benefit compared to just killing one. And yet he did not take a step back and compromise. It was a bad decision but it also solidified his grip on the people that he released earlier. Those who had a thought to cross him now had to think again.

Also, he showed no mercy despite Infrina being a woman, a beautiful one at that. Even after so many years in captivity, Infrina was still as pretty as a poisonous flower. Tanael burnt that flower to cinders remorselessly. Some people showed weakness toward the opposite sex, toward something attractive. They now knew Tanael possessed no such weakness.

Tanael’s stance on this matter was the same as his true self. He didn't like killing women but he would if he had to.

“Why didn't he use the book? Seems like a waste,” one of the eleven that took the second deal asked no one in particular.

“The Tome of Reverse Knowledge can be used forcefully upon another, but it will take a much longer time compared to a willing one,” the dark elf said. “Time that we don't have. We still need to escape this place before the security tightens, remember?”

Just like before, Tanael took the ashes and the soul. The soul’s benefits for him no longer needed saying. As for ashes, these were the remains of a Level 5, weakened or not. For someone who had soul-searched hundreds of thousands of souls, all the knowledge he had amassed, he could think of more than a few ways to utilize the bodily remains of a top-tier Pathseeker.

If all else failed, those ashes could serve as fertilizer for the Nutra grass -the cultivation wonder drug- or Dia.

Tanael wasted no time and went on to the next prisoner. This one was a lost cause. He looked like a human vegetable. His eyes were empty and he constantly asked for forgiveness for his sins in a soft voice. Even after his neighbors got BBQed, he showed no response. Apparently, the guards like Terrance had to force food down his throat or he wouldn't eat.

To reduce someone to this, the Estellian Church was pretty ruthless in Tanael’s opinion.

Either way, Tanael had no pity for him. Just as he was about to cook him, a big green hand touched his shoulder.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“If you’re going to cremate him anyway, would you mind giving him to me?” Guador asked.

“Why?”

“All this smell of burning meat makes me hungry,” the orc grinned.

“Oh. All right. Just one, though,” Tanael lowered his hand.

“Hahaha! My new master continues to amaze,” Guador laughed. “Perhaps you’re truly worthy of my axe after all.”

“Do you want your meal to be medium or well-done?” Tanael offered.

“Raw is fine. For too long I haven't had fresh meat.”

“Enjoy your happy meal.”

Guador entered the cell and began his business. Tanael had no intention to watch, the sound was gruesome enough. Some of the released prisoners held back their disgust at the sight of a dining orc.

“...Shouldn't we run away now?”

“Where can we go and how? That book already ate the core of our powers. Now... Now we are just leaves in a stream.”

Unlike the six of the first deal, the eleven that took the second deal were getting restless but they no longer had the power to choose their own paths, at least until they got out of the Tower of Remorse. Until then, Tanael held their lives in his hands.

Meanwhile, Tanael went to the next one on the kill list. The others in the list were shouting curses or pleading mercy but he disregarded them all. His focus was always on the executee in front of him.

Just one look at the man Tanael could tell this one was different from the rest. He was a man with short black hair. Judging by appearances alone then he was just in his early twenties but appearances were too deceiving in this world. Aura was a better indicator of age for those with the skill to read it. One of his eyes was closed; if the scar on his face was any indicator, then the man had only one working eye. His good eye looked at Tanael like a king appraising his subject.

To be fair, Tanael was giving him the exact look.

“Sire, be careful.” Jordan, the former knight who was the first to accept his offer, came with a word of warning. “This person is truly dangerous. I-”

Suddenly, Tanael made a grabbing motion, as if there was something in front of his face. Jordan saw nothing but empty air. However, Tanael’s hand began to bleed.

“You don't really think something like this will kill me, do you?” Tanael smiled. “A mere sword of thought?”

“Hehehehe,” the one-eyed man laughed. “Your soul foundation and the way you imprisoned their souls make you a Soul Pathseeker, a powerful one at that. Almost as powerful as myself back then... Then the way you carried yourself, a swordsman. No doubt about it. Such skill at so young an age... Who is your master, Tanael?”

“Hm... Don't have one. If I have to name someone, he is called Experience.”

“I see... You’ll do. I bequeath to you my legacy, Tanael.”

“You’re already marked for disposal. Then you tried to kill me. You can't possibly think whatever you're offering can buy you your life, do you?”

“Nothing of the sort. Since the day of my defeat at the hands of my nemesis, I’ve been a walking corpse. My only regret is never finding a successor. To think, after failing to find one despite wandering the wide world, one appeared in this godforsaken pit. Fate is a strange thing.”

“Oh? But I don't have any intention of succeeding you.”

“Doesn't matter. Use my corpse as a ladder to achieve greater heights. I wouldn't have it any other way.”

Still chained in his cell, the one-eyed man invoked a great power despite his lack of Victa. A sword with a blade as red as blood took form in front of him. As he formed it, Tanael sensed that the man’s life was fading fast.

“An Inheritance...”

“That guy is betting his all on Tanael.”

More than a few people were shocked by the one-eyed man’s action. Those who knew his reputation, the lofty heights he had achieved in life. That same man was now leaving behind his full Inheritance to a junior who was about to kill him when he was powerless. However, instead of chagrin or humiliation, everyone could see the one-eyed man was joyful, as if finding a priceless treasure.

Inheritance was like a map, a way for others to reach the past generation’s lofty heights. It would be easier since it had been trailblazed. Tanael was familiar with the concept. The xianxia genre was rife with it.

The Tome of Reverse Knowledge served the same purpose but it was lacking a very important thing compared to a true Inheritance: attainment. Therefore, the Tome was inferior.

After the red sword was wholly formed, the floating object fell to the ground. The way it sank toward the stone floor despite barely any force showed how sharp the sword was. However, it was not a weapon despite having the form of one.

“Take it,” the one-eyed man looked like he was halfway to the grave. His flame of life was flickering faintly. “It’s yours now.”

Seeing Tanael didn't move, the man chuckled.

“No need to pretend, as if you can resist something as precious as this. You gathered the remains from the dead to create something more for yourself. This is no different. You’re ambitious, you seek power, you want to taste the sweet dew of victory. So take this Blade Demon Vaan’s Inheritance and use it to ascend to the sky and reign supreme!”

Vaan was already laughing like a madman.

“Rise high enough, then the Sword Saint will appear before you. Fleur defeated me. Perhaps you’ll cross swords with her too, or perhaps the next Sword Saint. If you die, then you’re a man only worth that much. But if you win... Even if a sliver of that is caused by this act of mine today, I will smile even from the deepest of Hell!”

The light was fading from Vaan’s eye.

A true Inheritance could only be formed once, using everything the creator had.

“The world... will tremble... before the Blade Demon’s edge... once more...”

Thus Blade Demon Vaan breathed his last. His body and soul crumbled to nothingness; not even a speck of dust remained. Only the sword of inheritance remained.

“Hmph. Show off.”

Tanael grabbed the handle and took the sword for himself. There was nothing left for him to take.

There were four more Inheritances that Viers got that day. Inheritances were how they chose to leave proof of their existence. As for the rest that did not give Tanael Inheritances, they met their end cursing Tanael with their last breath.

As promised, out of thirty-four prisoners, six became his servants, eleven he stripped of their power entirely, the rest of them, all dead. Each was a great figure of renown but they died like livestock in a slaughterhouse.

The survivors, six Level 5s and eleven former, witnessed the fall of these historic figures and felt the coming of a new age in their bones, like a crippling, deathly chill.

Except one. The painter seemed oblivious to all that was happening around him. His focus was solely on his painting.

“We’re finished here. We’re leaving this place behind. A new horizon awaits.”

The seventeen people followed Tanael out. Their steps, the beginning of a new story. In the end, only a single person was still alive on the hidden floor.

The prison guard that Tanael spared, Terrance, witnessed everything.

Until the day he died, he wondered if it was horror or privilege to witness such a historic moment.

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Chapter 517 - Taking Everything