Chapter 93: Rats and Veritas (4)

The Custodians began to retreat, one by one entering the room, their formation breaking.

"The Custodians are retreating! Hehehe!" Gamers began to advance excitedly.

"There were twenty Custodians and us ten Gamers..." Genius thought breathlessly. "That leaves ten Custodians and seven Gamers..."

He did the math mentally.

"For every two Custodians killed, we lose one Gamer. They aren’t that strong when we unite... or there are absurdly strong Gamers here..."

He looked at Haru.

"What power are you hiding!?"

Genius’s HUD clearly showed Haru’s mana bar rising drastically, 40%, 60%, 80%, almost full.

Genius, on the other hand, had half his mana left.

"What scroll is he using to boost mana absorption!?" He was astonished.

"I knew I should have brought more panties..." Haru murmured to herself.

```

[TOUCH OF GODDESS: ACTIVE]

◊ Extracting mana from Kira’s underwear

◊ Absorption rate: 15 MP/second

◊ Current: 87% > 95% > ...

◊ Source quality: HIGH (intimate connection)

```

His left hand discreetly held Kira’s panties, hidden in his pocket.

```

[Genius] "Give me some mana..."

[Haru] "And how do I do that?"

[Genius] "Just imagine how much mana you want to give. I’m halfway there, and from what I see, you have a scroll that allows you to absorb mana quickly..."

[Haru] "Scroll!?"

[Genius] "I’ll explain later!" "Just pass it to me before we go in there!"

```

```

[SYSTEM ERROR]

◊ Squad members CANNOT share mana

◊ Reason: Squad unnamed

◊ Certain resources unavailable until Squad naming

◊ Please name your Squad to unlock shared features

```

Before they could both message commenting on the error...

They entered the chamber.

Absolute darkness for a second.

Then a voice echoed, deep, reverberating and sacred:

"By the heavens that watch over the fallen,

By the light that exposes the lie,

By the word that judges the lost,

By the truth that never expires..."

Father Elias appeared in the shadows, only a silhouette, with an open book floating before him, shining golden.

The voice continued:

"Sacred Codex, and the eternal record of the soul

May each name be revealed, and dissolve into calm..."

The book shone intensely, pages turning. Alone, golden runes emerged.

Father Elias raised his hand:

">"RESONANCE: 1CODEX VERITAS!"

The sound of a drop of water echoed infinitely.

Everything turned golden.

Suddenly they found themselves in the sky, golden on all sides, without a horizon, without visible solid ground.

Far away, at the edge of the horizon, were angels singing something sacred, shining silhouettes, enormous wings, harmonious voices making the air vibrate.

Each Gamer stood on a platform, different locations around, scattered in a circle.

The platforms were so clean they were slippery, a surface polished like a mirror, you could see your own face reflected.

And the face they saw in the reflection was not the face covered by the masks they wore.

It was the unmasked face.

Below was only a fall, the end was not visible, only clouds covering infinity.

But the The impression was clear: falling there would mean not returning.

In the center of that space was a platform larger than all the others, a mini-temple, white columns, a sacred altar.

Fragments of golden runes flowed from the other platforms where the Gamers were, leading to the central platform, threads of light connecting them all to it.

Father Elias, simple, without armor, only white priestly robes, a sacred book floating in his hand.

He looked at the book calmly.

He turned the page.

"Dominus Van’Cento..." he said, raising his head and looking at a specific Gamer.

The Gamer froze.

"He knows my Avatar’s name!?"

Father Elias continued reading:

"Name of the Anomalous: Richard Matthew..."

The Gamer felt a tightness in his chest as if his heart would stop.

"That’s my real name... how... how... how did he know!?"

All the others looked at him.

He wanted to react, run, attack, flee.

But he weakened. He fell. Kneeling there on the platform.

Golden chains emerged from the platform itself, binding wrists, ankles, and neck.

They tightened tightly.

"I feel myself fading... without strength... I need to break free... I have to escape... I can’t move..."

"We’re inside of a Ressonace!?" Genius shouted in astonishment. "Shit!?"

And he jumped off the platform, like all the other Gamers who understood.

Some jumped to escape the Resonance, leaping from platform to platform to the distant end.

Others jumped to attack the Priest, but currents of light prevented them from reaching him, forming barriers.

Father Elias spoke calmly:

"So... didn’t you come to retrieve the artifact?"

He smiled.

"The Codex Veritas... I am the Codex Veritas. It’s only a matter of time before I know the names and faces of each of you! Anomalous!"

"Where’s Haru?" Genius thought, dodging the currents as he tried to approach.

He looked back.

Haru stood on his platform, staring fixedly at his reflection in the platform, too still.

He even seemed hypnotized.

Genius looked at the Priest who was about to pronounce another name...

"It can’t be!" he thought, moving quickly to grab Haru...

Eugin arrived at the Cathedral and stopped at the wall, observing the war below. The system notified:

```

[SAFE ZONE INVITATION] Accept Cathedral as Safe Zone?

[YES] [NO]

```

She looked. She refused.

The system notified again:

```

[WARNING]

◊ Refusing Safe Zone may compromise user

◊ Including user, there are now two hostile targets

◊ Viper Eyes + User

◊ You will be marked red on all maps

```

"Viper Eyes, huh..." she murmured.

The map marked four red points, one nearby, others moving quickly inside the Cathedral.

She focused on the closest one.

Blandina was on top of a Gamer, brutally mutilating him without any shame, the dagger descending repeatedly.

**STAB STAB STAB**

She smiled, she liked feeling blood splattering on her face, she laughed loudly.

She stood up covered in blood.

The system notified that XP had been gained.

When she tried to pick up the loot from the dead Gamer:

```

[LOOT RESTRICTED]

◊ This Gamer’s items are locked

◊ Cannot be acquired

```

"Fuck it..." she said, wiping blood from her face. "I just want to level up my skills and run to the basement room where everyone is going!"

The system notified:

```

[ALERT]

◊ Gamer [3uGG15678n] REFUSED Safe Zone invitation

◊ Marking as HOSTILE on map

```

"Another one refused..."

Her map showed a red dot rapidly approaching:

560m... 347m... 230m... 100m... 0m...

**THRUST.**

A beam of a greatsword pierced her abdomen, the blade going all the way through, dragging her to a tree.

**CRASH.**

He pinned her to the tree trunk.

Golden helmet. Sound of heavy breathing.

"What the hell are you!?" Blandina said weakly, unable to move, stretching out a trembling hand trying to grab his head.

Eugin looked at her through the mask.

"Supposedly... I am a God."

He paused.

"...Shine."

The sword gleamed, golden light exploding, a wave expanding.

It incinerated Blandina and everything behind her, trees, walls, ground turning to ashes.

The light shone so brightly that it made everyone around look.

She screamed as she burned until almost a skeleton remained.

She fell to the ground, blackened bones, melted flesh.

Eugin turned to the others there, saints, custodians, gamers.

Saints and custodians were happy: "The Empire sent reinforcements!"

From afar, Eugin dashed with absurd speed.

With his sword, he swept away everything in his path.

Custodian cut in half. Saint decapitated. Gamer pierced.

"WHAT!? But isn’t he from the Guard!?"

Eugin went on a killing spree, killing everything in sight without mercy, ally or foe, it didn’t matter.

It was pure Massacre.

The twins fighting on the other side saw the flash.

They received a message:

```

[SQUAD ALERT]

◊ Blandina is Dead

```

"SHIT!"

On the other side, Seline received the message, running to the basement level, chasing a Squad.

The gamers ahead encountered a magical wall, a glowing barrier.

Fear of fighting Seline and dying didn’t make them think twice. They entered.

Seline gradually slowed down until she stopped before the wall.

"A Resonance...?" She thought hesitantly.

```

"[Seline] There’s Resonance at the entrance..."

```

And she entered calmly.

...

"Blandina... I mean, Xiomara... you died again."

A man’s voice sitting on the throne, neon emptiness all around.

Blandina, her true body, was that of a young Mexican woman: dark skin, long black hair, brown eyes, a curvy body.

She was naked, in a post-death state.

---

"Who is that guy who killed me!?" Clearly angry, pacing back and forth.

"Calm down, little ember..." God said in soft Spanish.

"They’ll bring you back with your Squad. And I can’t tell you who the guy who killed you is." "It’s against the rules of the game."

She kept pacing back and forth furiously.

...

Meanwhile, among the living, the twins quickly grabbed what remained of Blandina’s body, a burnt skeleton.

They hid in a safe place.

"She said to pour out Dragon or Virgin blood..."

"How do you expect me to know? I’m not a vampire!"

"Virgin OR Dragon?"

...

On the other side, Blandina saw this through God’s system.

"Now you agree with me when I said you should get a vampire race! It suited your compulsive nature!"

She didn’t answer. She just stood there stressed, watching the twins argue.

"If you don’t know, just pour out both vials! DAMN IT!" she shouted.

God thought, observing: "Vampire races have disadvantages, of course. But their biggest advantage is that they can come back to life." Each with their own requirements.

In Blandina’s case: the blood of a virgin or a virgin.

Of course, there’s a limit to resurrections. The stronger the vampire, the longer they can stay dead.

In her case: she only has thirty minutes. "After that... permanent death."

He smiled, seeing her angry.

...

"Fuck it, let’s just pour BOTH of them!"

The twins poured the vials of dragon blood and virgin blood onto her body.

The dead body began to regenerate, flesh growing, skin returning, bones reconnecting.

On the other side, she slowly disappeared, returning to her body.

She flipped the middle finger at the God on the throne.

"See you next time you die, Lobby!"

God just stood there watching her disappear, smiling.

```

[VAMPIRE SKILL ACTIVATED]

◊ Specific bloods grant advantages

◊ Blandina’s body consumed: Dragon blood

◊ Effect: DRACONIC HUNGER activated

```

Blandina’s body regenerated completely.

She rose like a vampire, a supernatural movement. She opened her eyes.

"Welcome back, boss..." one of the twins "She said, trembling.

System notified:

```

[DRAGON BLOOD CONSUMED]

◊ Mana absorption: x10

◊ All attributes: BOOSTED (temporary)

◊ Physical change: Horns manifested

```

Blandina grew horns, small, curved, black, glowing red.

She drew her daggers, her eyes empty, her facial expression as if she hadn’t eaten in centuries.

```

[CRITICAL HUNGER STATE]

◊ Draconic Blood effect

◊ User gains strength + specific traits

◊ BUT enters HUNGER MODE

◊ Will attack target non-stop until DEAD

◊ Cannot change target until Draconic Hunger ends

◊ Duration: Until target dies or 1 hour

◊ Target selected: Gamer [3uGG15678n]

```

"Focus on the target..." she murmured in a distorted voice.

Blandina It vanished in a blur, ten times faster.

Heading straight to Eugin.

Want to know what resonance is right now? Read Afro-Swordsman, Chapter 18