Our Family Has Fallen

”My lord!”

The call roused Lance from his ponderings. His eyes had fully adjusted to the outside light, and as he opened them, he could see his teammates awaiting him amid the ruins of the camp outside.

”I’ve found a hidden base of the Ascension Sect at the marker. They really are operating here.”

Lance briefly explained his findings to them, omitting any mention of the large box.

In reality, Dismas and the others didn’t care about the box. They were far more concerned with Lance’s safety.

Lance’s detour had only caused a half-hour delay, but it had already generated considerable stress for them.

They had no choice. Lance was the reason for Hamlet’s existence and the core that his followers needed to protect with their lives.

Now that Lance had come out safely, they could finally let down their guard.

”Ah, fresh air is wonderful.” Lance took a deep breath, as if trying to expel the foul stench that clung to his lungs, and called his few companions to head in Hamlet’s direction.

”Let’s go, time to rest well.”

Lance had no intention of delaying further. He just wanted to hurry back for a bath and some sleep.

However, some things were beyond his control.

Lance had barely taken a few steps when he felt something and stopped, looking ahead with a grave expression.

This familiar sensation...

”What’s the matter, boss?” Boudica looked ahead, but saw nothing.

Boudica might not see anything, but Lance could see the ripples in reality and sensed an evil force spying on him.

”Something’s not right, prepare for battle!”

No sooner had he spoken, then the force broke through the barrier of reality. A monster, its skull locked within a caged hood and its body shrouded in a wide Yellow Robe, floated in mid-air.

Was this not his old acquaintance, the Collector?

Lance realized something: by donning the Exhibition Room, he had also acquired the trait, ”Collector’s Gaze”.

It had been so long since an encounter that he had gradually forgotten about it. He hadn’t expected it to appear here, suddenly.

Boudica and Tadiff had never encountered a creature like the Collector. The creatures they had seen before were strange, yes, but still within the realm of flesh and blood. The Collector’s skeletal head and twisted, malformed body sent shivers down their spines.

Not to mention its eerie entrance, which instilled intense unease in both of them.

”The Elders never warned me of such... emanations of evil.”

”Damn it, I curse this forsaken place!”

Compared to them, Dismas, who had seen and fought the Collector before, was able to remain calm at the sight of it. Yet the seriousness on his face revealed the problem.

He vividly remembered just how desperate that battle had been. If the Lord had not sacrificed himself to blow up the monster, they likely would have been trapped there forever.

But compared to them, Lance appeared elated at the sight of the Collector, as if seeing a long-lost relative. The tiredness on his face instantly vanished, replaced by an exaggerated smile.

Ecstasy!!!

Before the others could react, Lance charged towards the Collector amidst his crazed laughter.

”HAHAHA!”

The Collector had hunted many prey, each one fearful at the sight of it. But it had never encountered such arrogance.

Whether the Collector had a sense of self was unclear, but it certainly felt the strong malevolence in Lance’s laughter.

It raised a hand to point, and a powerful, sinister force was unleashed.

Lance saw a ghastly blue light shooting towards him, aware that it was the Collector’s signature ability—Life Drain!

Without a doubt, if it hit him, it would siphon his life force to strengthen the creature itself.

But that was for ordinary people. Lance didn’t even flinch, allowing the eerie blue light to hit him.

The powerful force from ”Sanctuary” easily negated the damage, but Lance didn’t stop. The ten-odd meters were quickly traversed, finally without restrictions in this vast open space.

Lance raised his hand, and his greatsword appeared in his grip, unleashing all his strength without reservation, swinging it at the Collector.

”GRAAAH!”

The pent-up rage from his time in the Beast Lair was released with this strike, like the furious roar of thunder.

The massive blade, under the terrifying force, became blurred, moving so fast it defied the naked eye.

The others heard only a loud crash, like that of something hard being crushed. The next second, the Collector, still hovering in midair, was sent flying backward, crashing into the ruins of the camp before finally coming to a halt.

Yet as a creature that could traverse reality and the void, how could the Collector just die like that?

It soon floated up again. This time, however, the onlookers saw a gash in the flesh-like Yellow Robe. This gash revealed layers of skulls and spines intertwined inside, and tentacle-like limbs clinging together to form its body.

The distorted, freakish body was nearly severed, with countless skulls and spines turned to dust under the might of the blade.

Of course, it was this strange body construction that had saved the Collector from being cleaved in two by Lance’s sword. However, the injury was still far from rendering the Collector fully defenseless. On the contrary, the writhing skulls, spines, and tentacles could be seen filling the wound. Even the bizarre Yellow Robe began to slowly regenerate, taking on a flesh-like texture.