MTLNOVEL Chapter 329: Very convincing
After a while, the castle walls, paintings, and winding staircase all turned into particles that dissipated in the air.
They were back in the mirror world of Genesis City in the Remedium. But even though the Church was just a few streets away from them, they didn't feel as if they were closer to their goal at all.
They encountered a Canzer, the Beast, and fully expected to battle the monstrous being to the death. That was what they trained for, that was what they expected.
Yet the truth was much stranger than fiction. Instead of fighting tooth and nail to kill the Canzer, instead, they were stuck in a gray fog and wandered around doing nothing.
In the end, the Beast was dead, with them none the wiser of what happened. They couldn't understand the situation. Should they be thankful or should they be much more wary of the fact that there was a strange stalker in their midst that killed all the Canzers before they could kill them?
They had no idea if this secret 'benefactor', if they could even call it that, would soon betray and kill them when they least expected it.
After all, if it could kill the Beast without so much as evidence of a fight, then this strange creature would surely be able to wreak havoc on their team with ease.
While everyone was feeling anxious about the situation, Atlan couldn't be more secure.
Not only did he gain multiple Intern-level skills in his repertoire, but he also gained a physical contract with the Queen herself. This contract was binding. He could finally be sure that the Queen would stay true to her words and help him traverse this Remedium with ease, all while giving him more Canzer deaths to reap.
"Ninth, what should we do?"
Everyone looked at their leader. She was their hope, their pillar amid all this uncertainty. If she said to them to keep going, then they would do so without a doubt in their mind. But if she wanted to retreat, then they wouldn't have any hesitation in abandoning the mission.
"You have to keep going. The Church is just a few streets away."
But Ninth couldn't simply agree.
Carmine couldn't understand, not unless he experienced the dread she felt when facing against the Dragon.
Somehow, she had a feeling in her gut that this wouldn't be the last time that the Dragon would show its face. It would come again. And if there came a point where she had to fight it, Ninth wasn't confident at all in escaping the monster, much less fighting it.
Because of her wavering confidence, Ninth lost even before the battle started. And she knew this, which was why she was so hesitant to continue this mission.
"We have to continue," said Atlan. He was the only one brimming with confidence, probably because he was the only one who knew the truth about the Dragon.
"Atlan, it's not that simple. We are experiencing anomalies at an increased rate! I mean, half the time, Carmine couldn't even communicate with you or us because of that fog, right?"
"I'm not confident in facing those anomalies without Carmine's help. What if that fog appears right when we encounter a new Canzer? We won't be able to know about its weakness. You won't be able to create the construct!"
Atlan went silent. Although he could understand their hesitance, he simply didn't want to let go of this opportunity. He wanted to encounter more Canzers and reap more LifeSkills.
It was selfish, but it was for the good of everyone in the long run. The faster they reach the church, the safer the whole City will be.
He suddenly had an idea and walked in front of the team. Then, he turned around and faced the whole lot of them.
"Come on, guys! The Church is so close. So what if we encounter more anomalies? Is that so bad? Didn't we benefit greatly from what happened with the Beast and the Frog?
Yes, those two Canzers died because of strange circumstances, but in the end, it helped us get closer to the Church with barely any injuries on our bodies. Isn't that great? You didn't have to shed any of your SoulTime fighting against two Specialist-level Canzers.
Think about it. If there weren't any anomalies, then we would have been dead exhausted from fighting two Specialist-level Canzers in such a short amount of time. We might have even lost a comrade or two.
So, I ask again. Is the anomaly that bad?"
Atlan went into a long monologue trying to convince Ninth and the rest of the team to continue.
Normally, words wouldn't have been enough to convince them to continue onwards with the mission.
But for some reason, they couldn't help but be more receptive to Atlan's words. Not because of his eloquent speech, but because his face seemed to light up in their eyes.
Atlan seemed more attractive. His face didn't change, but somehow, he was so much more pleasing to look at. It made a lot of them relax just by looking at his face.
And because of this strange attractive quality, they couldn't help but agree with Atlan's words.
"Hmm…he's right."
"What were we so afraid of? That anomaly was actually helping us."
"So long as it doesn't attack us, we don't need to deal with it. We just need to reach the church in one piece." Enjoy exclusive content from empire
Slowly, everyone agreed with Atlan's suggestion.
And it was all thanks to Atlan's mutation: Allure.
It was a 7-star mutation that allowed him to easily influence everyone that looked at his face. It seemed to work wonders this time around because everyone was raring to go and continue the mission despite feeling anxious just a minute ago.
The only holdout was Ninth. Atlan's Allure mutation wasn't enough to get rid of her fear of the Dragon.
Atlan looked at the camera. "Carmine, isn't it possible that the Canzers are having a falling out against each other? That's why they are killing each other?"
"...you're right. It seems that a war is brewing in their world. Which means that this is the perfect opportunity for us to strike. Ninth, what do you think?"
Carmine's words seemed to finally do the trick as Ninth picked up her sword and gripped it tightly.
"Let's finish this."