Genetic Ascension

Sylas called out the Bone-Tailed Lizard next, and the aura of another Bronze Beast manifested. But unfortunately, the Bone-Tailed Lizard was still Level 0, unlike the rest.

However, that didn’t stop it from ruthlessly devouring the second.

’There’s a path here Sylas thought to himself, nodding.

If this Dynamic Field Dungeon was going to start making dinosaurs appear everywhere, the Bone-Tailed Lizard was going to have a field day. After all… they were its Ancestors.

The Bone-Tailed Serpent aspect of its being was actually much more muted than its dinosaur lineage.

That said, Sylas obviously couldn’t lean into this lineage just because. It was just that when he first got the Bone-Tailed Lizard, something quite interesting had happened, and he had many questions about it that he hadn’t yet answered.

For example, he was fairly certain that it had tried to communicate with him in ways that none of the others outside of the Basilisk King ever had. Well, he also didn’t really count Nosphaleen in that either.

The Basilisk King was far more capable of communication than his other Summons were by a good margin.

There was something peculiar about the Bone-Tailed Lizard that Sylas wanted to observe some more, though.

Sylas waited until the two were finished with their meals. The Bone-Tailed Lizard definitely had to put in considerably more effort, but Sylas didn’t give it a sign to stop, so it gorged itself until its belly was practically popping at its seams.

Only then did Sylas take it into the Hibernation Realm.

He obviously wasn’t worried about the two being out of commission. Within a few seconds, if that, they’d already have everything fully digested.

This was the power of a Legendary Profession.

Sylas turned to Alexander. "I trust that you know what to do."

After giving the man a glance, Sylas shot off into the distance. In what felt like a blink, he had already vanished over the horizon, his body becoming nothing more than a fleeting dot.

Alexander took a breath.

He was the number one draft pick of Astrid for a reason. Even though Astrid had considered taking Sylas, it was a fact that she hadn’t.

Alexander couldn’t remember ever feeling inadequate in his life. Even while he was under Astrid’s firm control, he never truly felt like it was somewhere he would be indefinitely.

But right now… he couldn’t see a path to surpassing Sylas at all.

His head shifted to the unconscious Astrid, his gaze flickering.

… I trust that you know what to do…

They were the words of a man that had earned his confidence.

Alexander looked off into the distance. He always thought that he would be center stage when Earth needed it most. But it seemed that he was very, very far from that. ℝå₦ОBƐs

**

Mortimer sat in silence, staring at a notification screen before him.

As someone who was no longer of an Overlord Race, it was very rare for the system to send him anything at all. By virtue of that, it was going to be a surprise no matter what it was.

But this… was still well out of his expectations.

—

[Affiliation Head Transferred]

—

[Affiliation Head Assigned]

—

[Grimblade Lineage Head: Sylas Grimblade]

—

He stared at the screen for a long time.

As the interim head, he had had about half the control he once did in the past. There were many benefits to having Affiliations, most of which were related to carrying over resources from the last Summoning without penalty.

Of course, there were also protections associated with it. Not just anyone could join an Affiliation or challenge for the position. Bloodlines, Unique Genes, certain thresholds—all of them had to be met.

But in all of his planning, Mortimer could have never expected that things would actually end like this.

Just when he thought that the time was coming, that things would fall right into place, the very last thing he expected actually happened.

"Ha… what a joke…"

"I told you that you should have killed him."

Mortimer didn’t reply.

"Are we finally going to do things my way?"

"Do you still think that is possible?"

"Why not?"

"This is why you are dead, and I am not. You lack flexibility. When we planned to give the family over to one of the kids, were they ever going to be in control? What difference does it make?"

"I may be dead, but you’re still a fool. Did you really think that Astrid was as under your control as you thought her to be? When’s the last time you checked on Malachi?"

Silence fell.

"Don’t bother to answer. You never did check, because you have no expectations of him. He’s been dead for five months already. Astrid could have ended this little Heir War whenever she wanted. She didn’t because she knew exactly what you just said.

"You’d better hope that she hasn’t willfully fallen into Sylas’ clutches, or else with his means and her understanding of the family, you can just wait here to present your head to the next blade." Stay updated through

Mortimer didn’t reply for a very long time, his calmness almost eerie.

When he eventually did part his lips, the end result was all the more surprising… because he never got a chance to speak.

Mortimer looked down, a hole having appeared in his torso at some unknown point.

The door to Mortimer’s office clicked open, and Nathan walked in calmly.

"Sorry to disturb you, Ancestor Mortimer."

He walked in, dragging something behind him. It took a while to fight through his blurring vision for Mortimer to finally see what it was he was pulling.

A coffin.

"You’ve done the family a great service bringing us this far, but I believe it’s about time you pass on and leave things to the next generation."

Mortimer continued to fight through his blurring vision, but he felt the world slipping away around him.

In those last moments, he realized that there was no longer anything he could do. Without his position as interim head… the family was no longer under his control.

And the shadow that had been his friend all these years…

Was nowhere to be seen.

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