Chapter 274: Captain's Certification, Cheng Tian is the Eternal Guardian of the Red Moon Goddess
It was unknown how many times it had happened, but fire and ice had completed yet another fierce clash.
Since they were completely opposing attributes, such frequent collisions, permanent deformation of the battlefield, and numerous explosions naturally attracted some people who were nearby.
"Falling into the demonic path has indeed increased your strength, but at what cost?"
The Captain swung his sword, releasing a phoenix-shaped shockwave that flew straight towards the Axe Man.
"Cost? The cost is that I can eternally enjoy the joy of battle!"
The Axe Man showed no fear, a dragon made of ice burst forth from his downward-swinging battleaxe, colliding with the phoenix shockwave in mid-air.
The Captain, no longer a living being, felt no exhaustion, and the demonized Axe Man also felt almost no fatigue. The two seemed capable of fighting forever.
The collision and explosion of ice and fire separated the two once more.
"No, you don't understand."
The Captain, propping his Greatsword of Crimson Lotus on the ground, seriously denied the Axe Man's reply.
"Falling into the demonic path, choosing to bind your life to this evil black tower, while granting a certain degree of immortality, also indirectly traps you permanently in this world."
"...This...world?"
The Axe Man, a battle maniac but not completely brainless, seemed to have caught a hidden meaning in the Captain's words.
"Exactly, this world. You will be eternally bound to the land of Ys, becoming a wandering undead constantly seeking others to fight... But I will have the chance to follow Lord Cheng to other worlds and witness more powerhouses beyond the limits of this world."
The Captain began to reveal information to the Axe Man with a serious expression.
The moment he became Cheng Tian's Guardian Spirit, it meant that Captain Saulus had effectively disconnected from the Ys Origin world. Once Cheng Tian completed his mission and left, whether the Captain accepted it or not, he would have to leave with him. This was the price he had to pay for choosing to protect the Goddess once more.
Based on acquiring this identity, Captain Saulus was naturally instilled with some basic knowledge directly by the Space, which included information about countless other temporal instances besides Ys Origin.
The Captain himself was not a warmonger, but he had perceived the Axe Man's battle-crazed nature during their fight.
And this speech, so different from his usual demeanor, was deliberately made by the Captain.
"What strange things are you saying!? Explain it clearly to me!"
The Axe Man's voice grew agitated; he was clearly very interested in what the Captain was talking about.
The Captain's lips curved slightly upwards—
He had taken the bait, as expected.
But just then, a voice that haunted the Captain's dreams suddenly came from not far away.
"Father! It's Father!"
A petite girl, dressed somewhat unfashionably, even with a braided pigtail that could almost be equated with a country bumpkin, yet holding a heavy double-bladed battleaxe as if it weighed nothing, was shouting loudly towards Saulus—
Yunika Tobar, daughter of Saulus, a magic-less individual, and a Temple Knight trainee.
Not only Yunika, but behind her followed a group of Goddess search team members, including knights and mages, but notably, the stubborn blonde Yug Fact was absent.
Even more agitated than Yunika were the knights of the Temple Knights. Their Captain, who had been confirmed to have bravely sacrificed himself to cover their retreat, had reappeared alive before their eyes. This made them not only excited but also suspicious, wondering if the Dark Clan had pulled some blasphemous trick on the dead.
Father and daughter's eyes met, and in the next moment, Saulus, as the father, decisively threw his Greatsword of Crimson Lotus!
The blade plunged directly in front of Yunika, who had come to a sudden stop.
"Daughter! Take it! Inherit the divine artifact of the Tobar lineage!"
Before Yunika and the others, as well as the Axe Man, could react, Saulus continued.
"Don't worry about me. Although I am only a remnant soul, I can still guard the Goddess's side, and we will have a chance to meet again!
Fina is safe now and has her own exclusive guardian. And I will now return to continue my guardianship mission!
Now, for the last time as the former Captain of the Temple Knights, I give you an order: Find and protect Lady Rhea... If necessary, you can follow the command and deployment of the man named Knight Cheng. Do not doubt his identity, for he is Fina's Eternal Guardian!"
After speaking to his daughter's colleagues, who wore various expressions, the Captain then looked at the Axe Man, who had already realized something.
"You will surely regret choosing deep demonization."
With that, Saulus, before his soul reached zero, decisively and voluntarily canceled his soul's materialization, instantly turning into a myriad of soul fragments on the spot, returning to Cheng Tian's location, leaving behind a group of bewildered individuals from both sides.
The innocent souls that Cheng Tian had been using to extend his life had run out, and there was only one reason: he had triggered a BOSS battle, and there were no more small fry to kill.
The 100% soul acquisition achieved by the Ghost Gauntlet combined with Soul Salvage was not without cost. The cost was that monster units whose souls had been absorbed could not respawn, indirectly limiting the number of monsters in the area and Cheng Tian's ability to repeatedly farm monsters to max out equipment levels.
As the 'Monster Demon Badge' found in a treasure chest along the way was embedded into the BOSS door, Cheng Tian also initiated the Guardian BOSS battle for the third layer, the Blazing Fire Domain.
Due to the special nature of the BOSS battle arena, Cheng Tian arranged for Bazett, Utan, and the Skeleton Kicker to wait outside the door.
The reason was simple: the entire BOSS battlefield was situated atop a massive lava pool, with only limited segmented circular floating platforms available for stepping.
The Goddess could fly, completely ignoring the lava problem on the ground, while Cheng Tian could simply swim in the lava... Thank you, Cyan Fire Dragon, because of you, bathing in lava is not a problem~
As Cheng Tian entered, a large hand emerged from the lava in the center of the circular floating platforms. Subsequently, a humanoid super-beggar-version Ragnaros, with a strong mechanical golem aesthetic and very DeepDark attire, crawled out—
The Judgment Helm, Grarudi!
This monster BOSS was completely submerged in lava from the waist down, with only its hands and the gem in the center of its forehead having attack hitboxes.
In the game, this was a relatively easy stationary target, but here, its most troublesome aspect was the moment after a player successfully dodged an attack.
The Judgment Helm's downward smash attack would directly plunge the already scarce circular floating platforms into the lava, and the submerged platforms would remain there for several seconds before slowly rising again.
If one lacked high jump or levitation abilities, the consequences of falling into the lava were self-evident. High strength could at most delay the onset of terrible burns, and those with low strength attributes should ideally avoid even a single touch of the lava.
But what the Judgment Helm, and even Goddess Fina, found unbelievable was that Cheng Tian, a carbon-based lifeform, freely moved in and out of the scorching lava that could melt even a T-800, much like a lava dragon. After their initial exchange, he immediately retreated to a spot where the BOSS's reach couldn't touch him, but his Judgment Arrows and Flame Array could, mercilessly initiating a stationary target practice mode!
The Judgment Helm was furious, constantly releasing fire spells from the crystal on its forehead, attacking Cheng Tian with flame lightning. Cheng Tian's response was to dive into the lava, letting the lava absorb the spells.
Thus, with the Judgment Helm never touching a single hair on Cheng Tian, the crystal on its forehead was slowly but surely shattered by Cheng Tian.
Judgment Helm Grarudi, dishonorably logged off.