12- What was that ?

" I'm dead, I'm dead," Siphex exclaimed in terror as he saw the ghoul soar into the air, fists clinched together, attempting to reduce him into flesh paste.

Siphex heard a notification in the final moments as the silhouette of the leaping ghoul reflected in his eyes, but he didn't pay attention as he closed his eyes waiting for the upcoming agonizing death.

*GROOOOOOOOWL*

arriving at the last possible moment Zuliqar smirked as he raised a bubble-like barrier and flashed his fingers, attempting to command the Ghoul to halt before it touched Siphex.

*Stab* Stab* Stab* 

*splatterer*

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

As the ghoul was about to smash Siphex, a black liquid-like substance surrounded his body in a cocoon and solidified, followed by several black spikes bursting the bubble barrier and impaling the ghoul from all sides, ripping its corpse to shreds, then disappearing into the cocoon in a flash.

" I hope you've learnt your lesson and recognized how weak you..... WHAT THE FUCK ", Zuliqar screamed in disbelief and shock.

It was too late, as his most beloved summon lay lifeless and shattered in front of him.

****************

Siphex waited for the Ghoul's destructive blow, but it never arrived. When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by darkness.

"What the hell happened to me? I can't have died right? I can still feel my injuries, so.,.. what is this? Is this a joke from that guardian?" Siphex was puzzled when he received a notification that made his heart skip a beat.

< 2,426 of total absorbed souls have been Drained by ????? ?? >

< Level reduced back to 13 >

< 18 stat points have been suspended >

< Increased ????? ?? Energy ( 2,426/??????) >

'What the hell?' All of this is written in question marks. 'I'm not sure why I lost a month's worth of farming souls, but something had absorbed my souls... Hold on..where did the ghoul go?' He was furious and perplexed as he looked around at the darkness.

The blackness evaporated as the black material turned liquid again and was absorbed back into his body while he struggled to come up with something logical. Suddenly greeting him Zuliqar with an enraged expression pointing his ethereal finger at him.

"Yo.. YOU , my ghoul, my ghoul have been butchered. HOW DID YOU DO IT? Even in your dreams, you were not supposed to defeat my ghoul at your current level "Zuliqar said this as he slowly turned around and knelt next to the ghoul's remains.

"ahhhhhhhhhhh my ghoul.... my favorite summon " cried zuliqar as he attempted to put the ghoul back together. 

** Stupid wraith **

"You cheated, didn't you? You probably utilized an artifact ..hmmm but only an item of legendary grade could work inside Lord Zurich's realm" Zuliqar murmured.

'How can I be stupid, there is no way he can kill that ghoul unless using a artifact...and having a legendary grade artifact and using during a trial inside my lord's realm and not suffering any consequences, only means that he is being supported by either the lord himself or someone equally powerful, that is the only explanation... it's better to be out of this and pass him to the next Guardian,' he concluded after some thought "As he looked at Siphex and cleared his throat, Zuliqar pondered.

" Cough.. ."I was going to keep you with me until you were strong enough to defeat my... ghoul, but since you already did... 'BY USING ARTIFACTS,' ahem, you are now ready to Ascend the next trial. However, keep in mind that the next Guardian's trial will be more difficult than mine since artifacts won't work where you'll be heading. Goodbye, arachnoid; we'll meet again when it's time to confront me; for now, pass through this portal "Zuliqar stated this as he moved around gathering the ghoul's fragments, opening a portal.

' the head'.

.

.

' left leg '.

.

.

' right claw'.

.

" A legendary artifact, indeed "'...

' the torso, The heart has vanished. As he discovered a hole in the ghoul's torso, zuliqar became concerned. 'I can't revive it without its heart.'

A voice halted Zuliqar as he paced over the debris searching for the missing heart.

"Are you looking for this?" Siphex shouted this as he bit into the heart.

" Arghhhhhhhhhhh," Zuliqar yelled as he realized he couldn't revive his beloved summon any longer.

"You will pay for this, you little shit, you're lucky I can't hurt you, now GET OUT," Zuliqar yelled angrily as he pushed Siphex through the portal.

* zzzzzzz fizzzzzzz*

**********************************

Somewhere deep underground, a sealed room that didn't appear to have been touched in centuries lay. Inside, a group of 30 tombs or so stood facing each other in a circular formation. There were seven rings drawn on the floor in the center, the seventh ring being the largest as it went under every tomb filled with runes and symbols, one could instantly tell that this is a magical array, and it surprisingly looked clean as if it had just been drawn yesterday. 

There was a glass-like orb in the middle of the magical array that appeared to be running out of energy as it faintly struggled to keep glowing, and it appeared to be the thing powering the array.

if whoever made these tombs was here, they would notice that there are some fresh cracks on the tombs that weren't there before. .

*******************

< You have Consumed the heart of a powerful creature >

...

..

.

< Souls + 124,516 >

< Level Up + >

        < Level Up + >

  < Level Up >

...

..

.

< Reached level (20/20) >

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< Evolution Quest Completed >

.

< all stats +1 >

.

< Class Selection is available () >

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< Race Evolution is available () >

*********