Death Heir’s Devouring System

The most horrifying part wasn't that the Apex monster was gazing towards him. It was the fact that he didn't feel pressure. Once spotted by the Apex Queen, he should have been assaulted by her aura, forcing him to grit his teeth.

Yet he hadn't… Almost like she wasn't hostile towards him at all.

'Is that because I pricked up the Heartroot? The thing that stopped her from evolving?' He wondered only to shake his head a second later.

'No matter if she is hostile to me or not, the mere fact she comes closer, bringing two monsters more powerful than even her, is daunting enough.'

Making use of the moment, he threw glances towards the lava ocean and the Taintstorm. Both were advancing and had begun to enter the Golden Lands. It was only a matter of time until they became a problem.

Wasting no time, he descended, joining the Chosen group once more, and threw Rachel her golden binoculars back.

The group gazed at him with worried expressions, with one exception. Victor, unsurprisingly, was smiling like a madman. His Inborn Trait had made him aware that their situation was far from a good one.

"About one to two days until the Queen reaches us." Azrael told them, getting off Cinder. He wasn't about to abuse his flying mount. He didn't want to risk being shot down by his blind spots after all.

The expression of the group hardened. There wasn't a point in complaining. All of them were in the endgame now. They would either kill the boss monster or perish here.

Since Isolde seemed shaken by the approaching monsters, she wasn't able to help them be on the lookout for the Death Knight.

"I think the Death Knight must have gone to the King once more." Seraphina suggested. "After all, something major had happened, so maybe the abomination would want to meet its master?"

It was the best guess they could make, so they changed their route going towards the cathedral.

However, soon enough their plan was forced to change. Footsteps in the thousands echoed before them far in the distance.

An army was coming.

"The houses!" Quickly they repositioned themselves to the roofs of the tall structures before continuing their march forward.

The kingdom was painted in a golden hue before being embraced by darkness as the sun dipped under the horizon.

As before, the lined-up torches lit up in their eerie green flames, illuminating what had been the source of the footsteps.

Dozens of rows of Unworthy Knights marched in eerie harmony. Black flowers blossomed from their skulls, all pointing toward the Queen in the distant south. They moved with the intent to reunite with her.

The army tide seemed endless; each Unworthy Knight, even if a mere Pawn, had the power to beat most Marked in a one-on-one duel.

What was worse, they weren't alone.

Duskguards and Nightfletch were mixed in. Their numbers were inferior, true. But they made up for it with their saturated Corruption.

Aside from the strongest Marked, no one could slay these abominations.

And to extinguish the little hope some Chosen still held onto, Rook monsters stood at the center of the tide.

"Shit." One Chosen cursed.

"God help us." Another prayed, putting a hand over his mouth trying to hide his breathing.

Azrael remained stoic on the surface, while inwardly his mind was working in overdrive.

'All the bodies thrown into the canyon were in order to cause their Queen to evolve. Now after that goal is accomplished, they are moving towards her… Either to aid her in the battle against the Calamities or to stop her from reaching the Ruined Kingdom territory.'

He suppressed a scoff.

'Whatever the case, even such an army would be powerless against these monsters.'

While he was busy analyzing, Seraphina muttered, breaking him out of his thoughts. "This could be an opportunity."

She was technically correct. If the whole kingdom rose into battle, they should leave the cathedral mostly unguarded. If one were to think like the Death Knight, it would be the perfect time to strike again… Not that the King's guards had stopped it last time.

"Let's rest." Seraphina ordered. "Once the tide march passes, we could make up for the lost time and move closer to the cathedral undisturbed."

[Let's.]

Isolde agreed. And the other Chosen did as well.

Azrael grimaced, feeling anxious with Proven hot on their tail and monsters beyond human comprehension closing in. He didn't agree that resting was the right choice.

'I guess not everyone can push themselves as far as I can.' He sighed.

It seemed no one shared his view, so he wasn't willing to force everyone to follow his lead. If he did, there was a high chance the Chosen would break and die before they could even act as bait for the battle with the Death Knight.

Throwing one last somber look at the army, he lay down, capitalizing on the opportunity to regain his strength.

It wasn't easy to go to sleep in his current situation, but in the end, he managed.

Once the sun's light rays assaulted his face, his eyes sprang open. The first thing he noticed was that the area was quiet—the army had passed.

Looking around, he saw Seraphina sitting on the roof's edge as she massaged her temple, clearly deep in thought.

Most would have admired the sight of the woman and the way her fair skin shone under the morning sun. But Azrael wasn't one of those people, especially not with the tension he felt the moment he woke up.

"Did something happen?" He asked.

She shrugged. "Look around."

With an arched eyebrow, he did. Surveying the unusually quiet Chosen didn't take long, especially...

"Why do we seem… fewer?"

Seraphina sighed, getting up.

"A few brave souls decided to disobey my orders and sleep inside the houses themselves rather than on their roofs." She shook her head in disappointment. "The army's march had been too loud for them to sleep, or so they said to the ones keeping watch."

She lingered for a moment before adding, "We're going to continue our advancement in a few minutes. If you want, you can go see what happens when Chosen don't follow my orders."

With his interest piqued, Azrael did just that. He still remembered how she had warned him not to sleep inside the houses.

All this time, the reason for that had eluded him.

Now, staring at the ones who had done that, he understood.

About a dozen bodies lay peacefully on the wooden floors, their eyes shut. Dust had settled unnaturally on their forms, and spiderwebs clung to them. Quite strange, considering how clean the interior was.

Their once healthy and shining skin, which all Chosen had, was no more. Now, that youthful shine was gone, replaced by dry, cracked skin covered with wrinkles that ran all over their bodies. Their hair had grown as long as their bodies, while their fingernails were three times longer than their fingers.

A sight that would remind everyone of a mummy.

Azrael's eyes narrowed as he used [Inspect] on the still figures.

As he suspected, no information came up.

They were dead.