MTLNOVEL Chapter 579: Saving it
Zephyr saw the object in Eren's hands, which made his expressions darken. The worst possible thing had happened for him. He didn't think Eren was able to find out, especially since it was kept in such a secure place.
The small grey box looked so ordinary that even Eren couldn't recognize it. If it wasn't for his Identification Skill, he would have still been confused about the purpose of the small box.
Even if Eren maintained a calm exterior, but deep down, his heart was racing. He was worried that the power balance might actually be broken, but thankfully it wasn't.
Zephyr wasn't strong enough to face the Overlords. He had just awakened, which was his weakened state. There was no way for him to be this strong in this state, even if he was an overpowered Necromancer.
Despite that, he was able to show such overwhelming strength. It could only mean that he was taking help from an external object.
That was the possibility that Eren wanted to believe the most. And now that the object had come in his hand, he was finally able to believe it.
The reason Zephyr was able to use his complete strength, despite just awakening, was because he was borrowing it from this storage device.
"Did you leave this thing here?" he asked the Tower Master. "You must also be the creator of the spirit gathering formation that gathered the essence of the surroundings inside the storage device?"
Zephyr had been sleeping all this time. If he was awake, he would've long tried to leave this place. Which means he wasn't the one who placed this device or made the formation.
He was simply the source that was connected to the device, to help him when he awakened. The only person that could have done something like this, was the Tower Master.
"It must have been gathering the Spirit Essence from hell for over a hundred years," he said, observing the small box. "The moment my dear brother awakened, he was able to access it right away through that connection. Am I right?"
The Tower Master didn't answer, but his expressions allowed Eren to confirm his assumption.
Zephyr wanted to attack Eren, to take that box from him. However, he was also cautious. He could feel that Eren was prepared for that. No... It felt more like Eren was luring him into taking action.
'Young Lord, you should attack him. Don't give him a chance! You are faster than him. You can easily snatch that box from him.' The Tower Master sent a mental transmission to Zephyr.
Even if the box was in Eren's hands, Zephyr was still connected to it and could use that same strength, at least until the box ran out of the stored essence.
'It's a trap. You think he isn't prepared for that? The moment I wish forward, thinking that I have an opportunity, he will crush that box. I will lose my advantage right when I'm near him. That's exactly what he wants.' Zephyr answered using his thoughts.
There was no other explanation for him as to why Eren hadn't broken that box yet. It was a trap, but it was such a good trap that even he felt the allure.
Subconsciously, he thought about taking action as well, but he controlled his urges. His safety was more important than that box, especially since that box was already about to run out of the stored essence.
Even if it had been gathering essence for years, the consumption was much larger, especially during his awakening. Moreover, this fight alone exhausted the rest of the stored essence, which was why he was trying to end this battle fast.
"Do you want it back? It seems like it's something important for you." Eren reached out his hand, revealing a smirk. "Why don't you try to take it? Are you scared, my dear brother?"
"You are still just as scheming, aren't you?" Even if Zephyr wanted nothing more than to simply kill Eren, he knew that he had missed the opportunity. The moment Eren got his hands on that box, the opportunity was as good as gone.
Instead of approaching Eren, he started stepping back. His strange actions made Eren frown. Was this guy really trying to leave? Did he really not have the courage to attack?
"You are just as cowardly as ever, brother. No wonder I killed you," Eren got off the coffin and walked toward Zephyr while his grip on the box tightened.
He wanted to let Zephyr get close to him before doing it so that there would be no escape, but that plan had already failed. In that case, there was no point in keeping the box. Discover more stories at empire
He crushed the box, letting all the gathered essence spill out, returning to nature from whence it was devoured.
The connection with Zephyr was cut, and he felt his heart skip a few beats, his body becoming much heavier. Even his face had grown pale, and his eyes looked more tired. He wasn't looking as good as he had just a few moments ago.
Zephyr flew back with the Tower Master, but his speed was clearly slower now. Eren flew closer to him until Zephyr was almost within his reach. However, just as Eren was about to touch him, an undead skeleton fell from the ceiling, attacking Eren with its dagger.
Eren jumped back, subconsciously avoiding the dagger that would have hit his back if he hadn't stopped flying forward.
He didn't understand where that skeleton had come from. However, he soon realized where they were coming from, as he saw a hand crawl out of the wall, accompanied by the rest of the skeleton's body.
From the ground, more corpses crawled out until the entire passage was filled with undead in front of him, with no gap for him to even use blink.
"I was saving it to blow up the wall, but let's use it here!" Eren crushed the skull of the skeleton that had attacked him, before summoning his Holy Sword.