The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

It is one thing to know that there is a trap set for you, and you willingly walked into it, and another to walk into an unknown trap that you don’t even know how vast it stretches.

No matter the planning, there is just no way to account for all variables. In other words, when one finds themselves in an unknown trap, the loss outweighs the gain, and Klaus had experienced such situations several times before.

He won some and lost some. However, no matter how hard he tries, he always suffers huge losses in the end, even if he wins.

Perhaps because his 9th incarnation ended with him falling into a trap that cost him hundreds of thousands of friends and family, his anger, hidden just below the surface, ignited.

The Jade Princess, hearing Klaus’s harsh words, frowned. Nobody, not even her mother, dares talk to her like that. However, she was forced to come to terms with her feelings, considering they were now in real danger.

”Are you sure, Renegade Hunter?” Omen asked, his forehead breaking into a sweat.

”I am dead serious, buddy, and you can call me Klaus. I found out from Crux that we have all walked into a slaughterhouse, and soon, we will be surrounded from everywhere. Of course, I have no plans to die, and so I will fight back.”

”But how? From the information put out, this Nest cannot have a god. So how then is it that there are 4 gods here?” Princess Evren asks, showing she has more details about the Nest than Klaus and the others do.

Turning in her direction, Klaus smirked and said, ”I reckon the ones who put out that information are the Heavens Court.”

She nodded.

”Ah, how obvious.” Klaus felt a deeper disdain toward the heavens, but since he planned to join them and unravel their secrets, he buried it in his heart.

The last thing he wanted was for it to be put out there that he hates the Heavens court.

”They were wrong, Princess. There are four gods here, of which I plan to meet and have a good talk with them. Of course, when it comes to the main danger hidden here, you will learn in the coming weeks.”

”So are you saying the gods aren’t a problem?”

”Oh, they are. I just meant to say the real danger will soon reveal itself, and by then, if you are not out of this place, it will be too late for you.”

Crux cleared her throat. ”Actually, all paths have been closed, soem block by powerful demigods so unless the main gate opens, nobody can leave here.”

”Ah, then we all have to do well and live, else we are as good as dead.”

Princess Evren looked at her four teammates and sighed. They were completely wrecked, meaning that for the next few weeks, they would be out of commission. Her mission to find the Jade Pendant is out of the equation now.

Turning from them, she glared hatefully at Crux, who smirked and turned away.

”Klaus, do you have a plan?” Rory asked, a bit worried.

”I do, actually.” He extended his hand, and the demon bead appeared. ”I plan on storing you all inside this place, and then, with Crux leading the way, I will go to the god whose domain we are currently in.

If I succeed in convincing her, we’ll have a much better chance of leaving this place. If not, then you all will have to pray for a quick death.”

Klaus laughed, causing Rory and the others to frown. ”Be serious, Klaus.”

”I am being serious, everyone. In a few weeks’ time, there will be an all-out war. The good news, however, is that the restriction keeping you all at the True Immortal stage will be lifted. The bad news is that your opponents will be demigods and gods.

I will do my best to even the odds, but prepare for a deadly battle, one that will perhaps be your last, or your first life-and-death battle.”

Rory wanted to protest, but Klaus gave her a slight nod.

What he planned to do would reveal more of his paragon side, and so he wanted them all to be away. If she insisted on remaining by his side, the others would protest as well.

So she nodded too, though she hated the idea of not being by his side; for the greater good, she had to swallow her worry and follow his plan.

”Don’t worry, love. I will be fine, so make sure they don’t cause any trouble once inside the bead,” Klaus said to Rory using the connection they shared.

”Okay,” she nodded.

Klaus walked toward Princess Evren and retrieved five bottles of Immortal Essence water. ”Take one and give the rest to your teammates. It will help you all recover much faster. Once I manage to secure an alliance with one of the gods, I will bring you out so we can discuss your reason for coming here.”

She had no reason to protest, so she accepted his kind gesture and gift and stored them away. Klaus then opened the portal that led into the Demon Bead.

”Alright, time to go.”

Rory gestured for Omen, Slate, and Echo to walk inside. After they entered, the Jade Princess helped her people enter before she did.

Rory walked toward Klaus first and kissed him. ”Be careful, okay.”

He nodded, and she walked into the portal. Klaus closed it and stored it away. He turned to Crux.

”Lead the way.”

She nodded and took to the air. Klaus followed after her.

A few seconds later, he asked a question: ”What is the God Beast you used to serve like?”

---

[Somewhere inside the Jade Nest]

A five-man assassin team stood on the body of a giant elephant beast, their gaze, through their masks, locked on a building 300 meters away.

”It took longer than we anticipated, but we are finally here,” the one in the green mask spoke, his eyes narrowing a bit. ”I wonder if the others have also managed to reach their destinations.”

”We will know soon enough,” the blue mask assassin said, her dagger laced with blue blood. On the ground, a pool of blue blood ran freely from all the wounds on the beasts they’ve killed.

”We should break the seal fast so we can focus our attention on eliminating the Renegade Hunter and the 7th Jade Princess.”

For a moment, none of them said anything, letting the breeze pass over them for a few moments.

The red mask assassin then asked, ”Aren’t we going to be suspects once the Heavens Court finds out we were involved? I mean, they seem to want him to join their ranks, so won’t killing him cause an internal conflict?”

”That is not our problem. The one who hired us reports to a human king who is linked to the Heavens Court. He assured us we would be safe, so we should do good work, get paid, and be on our way.” The Black Mask assassin, who appeared to be their leader, said, and they all nodded.

”Great. Let’s break the seal then.” They sprang into action the next second.

Somewhere else, three other teams were also nearing the other seals that had kept the Corrupted Heaven warriors sealed for the past million years.

In a few days, chaos and mayhem will descend, and Klaus, who is running out of time, will have no choice but to reveal his hand, a move that will either break him or elevate him.

After flying for 3 hours, Klaus and Crux came to a stop just as they approached a large tree trunk that had been repurposed into a sleek-looking house.

From far away, he could already sense the terrifying gaze of the god beast locked on him.

’Here we go,’