Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1987 An Accessory

Hoarse cries of anguish and desperation reverberated through the dungeon.

The werewolf thrashed against its restraints, its desperate howls gradually devolving into ragged, agonized screams.

Adam could be very petty.

And this time, he had every intention of indulging that particular flaw.

The pain he had endured in this very dungeon had never truly left his memories. Every wound, every moment of helplessness, every agonizing second when the werewolf had methodically broken him down, Adam remembered all of it.

And now, he intended to return every bit of that pain severalfold.

He would do things to the beast that it could never have imagined. Things so cruel that even the memories of his own torture paled in comparison.

But Adam had no intention of killing it.

No.

Death would be far too merciful.

He would heal the werewolf whenever its injuries became too severe. He would repair its body, restore its strength, and then begin again. And again. And again.

The beast would live through every second of it.

Adamʼs lips curled into a cold smile.

He had learned something during his own time in this very dungeon.

The difference between torture and death was simple…

Torture only worked when the victim was allowed to survive!

Aboveground, the stone angels continued their twisted choir. Their serene faces remained unchanged as their voices drifted through the ruined temple, beautiful and haunting in equal measure. Their hymn filled the ancient halls, drowning out the suffering beneath their feet.

They sang as they always had, unaware that the one being tortured was not the one they believed it to be.

The crimson moon glided slowly across the sky, and soon, dawn would arrive once again.

Throughout the night, the anguished screams of the werewolf gradually faded. At first, they became weaker and more hoarse. Then they grew distant, reduced to little more than faint cries of agony.

Until, eventually, there was nothing but silence.

For a long while, the dungeon remained completely still.

Then, without warning, a flash of light erupted from its depths. A wave of warmth radiated outward, spilling through the staircase and washing over the stone-cold walls. It lingered for almost a minute before gradually fading away.

Then came the sound of footsteps. They were slow, steady, and unhurried.

The stone angels aboveground abruptly stopped singing. Their twisted choir fell silent as their stone faces lit up with anticipation. One after another, their heads turned toward the entrance leading down into the dungeon.

They didnʼt have to wait for long. The door to the left slowly opened with a long, drawn-out creak. Muted light from the hidden sun filtered through the crack in the dome and barely illuminated the figure who had just stepped out of the dungeon.

It was a tall figure with long raven-black hair, with a patch of bone-white near the temple. He wore loose pants and was barefoot.

The hide of a wolf… no, a werewolf lay across his shoulders.

His left shoulder bore the head of the High Priest as though it were a pauldron. The antlers had been removed, and the wounds had been singed shut. The hide also acted as a cloak, radiating the unmistakable intensity that the High Priest had possessed when it was alive.

When the stone angels saw the human wearing the hide of the High Priest as an accessory, they trembled in fear and shock.

They were so terrified that they remained rooted in their spots, not knowing what to do.

Adam glanced at them with an amused smile and stretched his hands wide.

”Praise the sun, eh?”

The stone angels then turned to look at one another, silently reaching the same conclusion.

The next moment, they shot toward the crack in the dome! They had to escape! Quickly!

They all knew exactly what kind of existence the Antlered High Priest had been.

For countless years, the werewolf had been the guardian of the Sun Temple. It had been a calamity, the likes of which even the powerful adventurers of the City Hall avoided.

There had been times when entire groups of adventurers had attempted to challenge it, only to be annihilated without leaving behind so much as a corpse. All of them had been sacrificed to the sun god.

The High Priest had slaughtered countless beings throughout its long existence.

And yet, that very existence was now draped across the shoulders of a human…

The stone angels trembled.

If this human had been capable of defeating the High Priest, then what chance did they have against him?

None.

Absolutely none.

What frightened them even more was the state of the human himself. There were no signs of a prolonged battle. No trace of weakness one would expect from someone who had just fought an existence as terrifying as the High Priest.

The human simply walked out of the dungeon, as though what had happened below had been nothing more than a trivial matter.

They fled for their lives!

All pretense of dignity vanished as they shot toward the crack in the dome, desperately trying to escape the temple before the terrifying human could catch them.

Ah, such wishful thinking.

”Not so quick!”

Adam appeared before them like a specter, effortlessly barring their escape through the crack in the dome.

With overwhelming speed and strength, his fists shot forward.

The stone angels barely had time to react before Adamʼs attacks descended upon them like a relentless storm. Each strike carried enough force to shatter their stone bodies, reducing their once-majestic forms to fragments.

Several seconds later, the stone angels crashed to the ground as piles of broken debris.

Adam gracefully landed on the floor and dusted his hands.

”Much better,” he murmured.

He glanced at the scattered stone fragments, then at the werewolfʼs hide draped across his shoulders. A deep sense of satisfaction welled up within him.

The werewolf had certainly done a number on him back then. Needless to say, he had never experienced anything like that before.

And now, he had finally repaid what was owed.

He felt wonderful.

The stone angels were at the Mana Core Rank, so it was easy to deal with them. However, the illusion that he had put the werewolf under had truly surprised him.

It was potent and intricately crafted. Such an act would have placed immense strain on his eyes in the past. But now… nothing. He was fine. His eyes were fine. There were no bloody tears. There wasnʼt even a hint of pain in them.

He couldnʼt help but let out a soft sigh.

The time for contemplation can come later, he thought.

He had something else to do now.

Something to explore.

Adam turned his head, his gaze settling on the door to the right.

Without waiting a moment longer, he stepped forward.