The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Oscar followed Phillip through the grand halls of the Inner Sanctum, skipping over moats of lava and turning corners around the vast crystal trees. Awkwardly, he averted his eyes away from Esther and Simon, not wanting to be reminded of the blood on his hands.

"Are Frederick and the others there?" Oscar breathed slowly to compose himself.

"Unfortunately, no. Eleanor is missing as well, which is quite concerning. Her illusions and healing are of great asset to us. It's a pity you're not a Greater Elite Exalt yet. I'd want to see how powerful you'd be in the Greater Elite Exalt realm." Phillip eyed Oscar with a spark of interest, gripping his sword anima.

"We haven't been able to fight each other for a while, not since you kept advancing." Oscar scratched his cheek, feeling the fighting intent rising from Phillip's gaze. "Oh, before, I fought the swordsman of the Hyrin family."

"Those bastards?" Phillip bared his teeth almost as if he had fangs, and his eyes went bloodshot. Ein pulsed dangerously from Phillip's body. Phillip's expression returned to normal with a scoff. "I heard he's dead now."

"Dead? Where did you hear that from?" Oscar's eyes widened. His heart sank, feeling a numbness spreading out from his chest. Was he exposed?

"One of the people we found told us about how he entered a strange board game trial in the lava chamber. He described the other players, and I knew one was Regis Hyrin." Phillip explained as they sped up, fighting their way past other beasts, a trivial task to their combined might.

"A board game…that sounds interesting…." Oscar forced another smile as sweat ran down his back.

"He told me the one who killed Regis was a man in a fabricator uniform, wielding a hammer. The odd thing is he killed a person from every faction, so there's no telling who he truly is and which faction he belongs to." Phillip glanced at Oscar. "They said his means were brutal, crushing people's heads as they screamed."

Oscar turned away from Phillip with a dark expression. His brows wrinkled, and he seemed to age several years. Stressed beyond his limits, Oscar put down the instinct to confess it was him, wanting to keep it under wraps. He hoped Phillip would stop talking.

"The main suspect is Orden of the Earth Core Academy. However, the height doesn't match. I would like to fight this unknown fabricator. To defeat Regis is no easy feat. The Hyrin family is equal to my own, and we've been bitter enemies since the start, wanting to crush the others' blades and pride." Phillip chuckled. He reveled in the idea of new enemies to fight and overcome with his sword.

Oscar chuckled weakly. For now, no one suspected him, and he didn't want to be treated as an enemy by his allies. Though it could be written off as an unfortunate accident, the dissent would surely grow against him.

"One suspect brought up was you." Phillip stroked his chin.

Rumblings of shock blasted in Oscar's mind. His neck creaked like broken wood toward Phillip as he glanced with shaky eyes and clenched teeth.

"It was brought up as a joke by Charles but the princess and I shot that down. There's no way you would do something so cruel." Phillip patted Oscar on the back.

"Haha. Charles has a strange sense of humor…." Oscar didn't know how much more of this his heart could take. Where was the blasted place? They had been running for thirty minutes now without any signs of people.

After ten minutes, Phillip stopped in front of a room, nodding to Oscar and the others. "Here we are. We are gathered in three rooms in total. The two opposite from us is also ours. Gilbert wanted to follow the princess into the same room, but she rejected it with the logic that each room needed a leader."

Phillip opened the door and stepped inside first. He bowed and said, "I have returned."

"Welcome back, Phillip. Did anything good happen out there? You have a sly smile on your face." Celestina's lively voice came from the room, bringing Oscar into a strange state of anxiety and relaxation.

"I did. I found four others who made it to the Inner Sanctum. I hope you are pleased with this." Phillip stepped aside, allowing Oscar and the others to enter the room.

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When Oscar stepped inside, he stared at Celestina, whose eyes enlarged slightly. Her lips curled ever so slightly into a real smile, not the usual royal smile she gave to everyone. Oscar smiled and bowed, "I have made it here to assist the princess."

Though his heart thumped faster and he trembled from joy, he still could not get the image of the bloody figure out of his mind. Thoughts of whether she would accept him if she knew the truth turned his heart still from the suspense. He contemplated whether he should speak the truth or not.

"Very good. Charles is out at the moment with some others. You all can take a break here with everyone else. The stone garden of the divine essence is still locked away until the final day, and we need to make a final push later today." Celestina stared around. "It's a shame these rooms are mostly empty. I would have offered a chair to you all."

"There's no need for that, princess. We are more than comfortable in a safe place like this. May I ask how we are progressing?" Phillip asked.

Celestina pointed at the map of the Inner Sanctum they had so far. "We've been slowly progressing. I sent Lockwood out to secure some more rooms closer to the garden. However, we're still in the dark about much of the area. We've only been in this place twice in the past in increments of hundreds of years."

Oscar raised his hand. "I have a complete map of the area. It may be outdated due to the changes in the palace, but it's a good start." He pulled out the drawings of the Inner Sanctum he drew with Gol-4's guidance and handed them over to Celestina.

Celestina's emerald eyes glinted as she exclaimed, "Amazing! These will be amazingly good for us! Thanks! I wonder how you came across these maps."

Hearing her slight tease, Oscar chuckled and scratched his head. "I got lucky and came across some etchings and recorded them."

"How fortunate you are!" Celestina smiled, but her eyes narrowed, staring at Gol-4 on Oscar's waist. She passed the maps to someone else in the room and told them to review the maps with what they knew.

Oscar retreated to the side of the room and sat down to meditate. He wanted to clear his head of all useless thoughts. He had to focus on the divine essence, nothing else. Oscar felt his body growing lighter and more relaxed as his mind wandered into the void filled with motes of Ein.

With his mind and body prepared, Oscar wandered out of the room, saying he would find other survivors if he could. Frederick and the others could be out there, lost and maybe dead. Oscar feared the worst.

After several turns and sprints, Oscar stopped and turned behind him. "What are you doing? There is no need to follow me."

"As your fellow bibliophile, we should stick together for some time." Celestina turned around the corner, revealing herself with a rapier in hand, tapping it on the floor. "It's been a while since we've had a good while with each other. I'm beginning to miss my friend."

"Shouldn't you be in the room, leading the others?" Oscar wanted to avoid Celestina for now. He didn't know how to face her after what Demon did.

"Shouldn't a Middle Elite Exalt avoid wandering alone? You must be accompanied by a few others, and I can't let you go alone." Celestina slipped by, arriving by Oscar's side. With her usual bright smile, she waved her finger in a rebuking manner. "We need to fight together in this place."

"I…" Oscar sighed. He couldn't argue against her forceful manner. "...do what you please."

"AWOOOOOO!"

Howls reached Oscar and Celestina, who covered their ears. The howls had a dizzying effect on his mind, but Oscar surged his Ein and bit his tongue from fear of Demon's repossession. He couldn't allow that, not in front of Celestina.

Snarls and scrapes followed the howls. Across the hall, a pack of wolves gazed with malice toward Oscar and Celestina. They were strange beasts made of gnarled winter branches with dead leaves falling down their withered husks. Two wolves were at the helm, emanating the power of Greater Elite Exalts.

Oscar activated his Prinstyct, unable to pierce through their beast eidolons. Celestina summoned her dragon anima, which roared a shockwave of pressure. Oscar nearly buckled down from the heavy pressure she gave off.

"Oscar, take care of the ones in the back. I'll take on the two in the front." Celestina smiled as the wolves descended upon them.

Oscar swerved behind with his deer anima and unleashed a fearsome Ripple Shroud to force some away. Celestina locked herself into combat with the larger wolves, stabbing several large blades of light into one and bombarding the other with her Starfall.

She waited by the side after finishing off her enemies, watching Oscar. Oscar cursed at how easily she dispatched the two, but he wasn't far behind either. He crushed several wolves into a mess of branches and riddled others with exploding Silver Stars. With a final bash of his bulwark, he squashed the last onto the wall.

"Well done," Celestina clapped. "You've gotten far stronger than before. I'm glad to see you're doing well."

"Thanks. But I still have a long way to go to catch up to you." Oscar stared at the remains of the larger wolves, fearing anyone who might slight her. They would be met with a flood of light impaling them.

Oscar returned his gaze to Celestina, only to find she had a serious expression. Her stern look numbed his mind, and her lips formed a frown. Staring into her powerful emerald eyes, Oscar gulped. "What is it?"

"Why did you kill one of the Pavilion's students during the board game?"

"What?" Oscar forced out a single word. His posture stiffened, feeling disorientated from her sudden question.

Celestina sighed. A fierce light shone in her eyes, not allowing any lies or excuses. "Why did you kill him?"

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