Caesar stopped in his tracks.
The Plasma Cult?
This name made his heart, belonging to a pokémon player, skip a beat.
Good grief, even the villainous organization from the Unova Region has come here for a team-building exercise?
And this reward... [life orb]—in the original game, it increases the power of moves by 30% when held, but deducts 10% of one's own HP with every attack.
Commonly known as the "life orb."
In the games of his previous life, novice players might think it's a good item since it increases power with every attack at the cost of just a little blood.
But to an old hand like Caesar, this item seemed quite mediocre. The boost wasn't top-tier, and the HP-drain side effect was fatal in a battle of attrition; it was the kind of item that was tasteless to eat but a pity to throw away.
He wondered what effect it would have in this world.
However, since it was an item from the original game, it had collection value.
"I originally just came to pick up a delivery... but now it seems I can clear a dungeon on the side and grab a limited-edition item." Caesar's dragons maw split into a grin.
"Hey, Earth Dragon," Cecilia's voice came from above, sounding puzzled. "What are you spacing out for? The barrier here is very troublesome, but this young lady has already found a way to break it."
"No need for all that trouble," Caesar lowered his voice. "We're going straight in."
"Straight in? Do you want to be blown to bits? This barrier is connected to the ley lines; forcing your way in will cause a massive explosion!"
"Who said anything about forcing our way in?"
Caesar set off, walking a circle around the outer wall of the abandoned munitions factory. He wasn't looking at the wall but was instead staring at the ground. As an Earth Dragon, the earth was his Domain.
Soon, he found a weak point.
This should have been a sewage pipe outlet once; although it had long been sealed off, the soil structure below was significantly looser than elsewhere.
Caesar silently pressed his sharp claws against the ground.
[Sand Tomb].
Without any earth-shattering noise, the gravel and soil on the ground seemed to turn into water, silently collapsing inward to form a deep hole leading underground.
"Go through here," Caesar said succinctly.
The Hakime Young Miss, composed of two little dragons, slipped silently underground... The factory's underground space was much larger than expected.
This place had been converted into a massive, cathedral-like hall. The strange smell in the air was even more pungent, and in the vast space, dozens of torches illuminated the area brightly. On the assembly lines originally used for siege engines, people were now tied up.
There were humans, orcs, and even a few low-Rank adventurers who had been stripped of their equipment.
A group of people in white robes and strange masks were busy surrounding these captives.
They were performing some kind of "surgery."
Caesar saw a white-robed person holding an alchemical knife, harvesting something glowing from an orc's chest.
That orc was no longer screaming; his eyes were vacant, and saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth, like a broken doll.
"Is that... a Soul?" Cecilia asked uncertainly. "Are they stripping away ghost elements?"
"Not exactly."
Caesar narrowed his eyes, watching the white-robed person Seal that clump of glowing matter into a piece of bluish-gray leather.
That was the [Arcane Leather].
So this thing was used as a Seal container.
"They're purifying," Caesar understood. "Stripping the chaotic elements from within living beings, leaving only the most basic life force to create an obedient Puppet."
In the center of the factory floor was a massive altar.
There was no idol on the altar, only a huge circular magic circle drawn with white powder. The lines of the circle were complex and eerie, emitting an ominous glimmer.
A middle-aged man in more ornate robes stood before the altar, holding a staff, gesticulating wildly toward the altar's core.
"O Great Ultimate Will!"
The middle-aged man's voice was booming, filled with a neurotic excitement.
"Hear the call of your humble servant! This world is already beyond saving! The arrogance of the Dragon Clan, the greed of humans, the hypocrisy of elves... the Impurities of bloodline fill the world with pain!"
"Only through liberation!"
"Only by returning to the purest energy!"
The white-robed cultists below shouted in unison: "Liberate! Return to the Source!"
"Um... Earth Dragon, they seem to be summoning something terrifying," Cecilia's voice trembled. "I can feel it; powerful elemental fluctuations are being twisted... Should we run?"
"Run?"
Caesar chuckled.
"Tell me... what would happen if the 'Ultimate Will' they're summoning actually descended?" Caesar asked in a tone as if he were watching a play.
"What else? These idiots would be the first to have their Souls sucked dry!" Cecilia said crossly.
"That's no fun," Caesar laughed softly. "I think I can take the stage myself and give them some guidance."
Before Cecilia could understand what he meant, she felt herself being taken off.
"What are you doing?" she asked, confused, but her body had already floated down, turning back into that round Silver Dragon hatchling and hiding in the shadows behind a beam.
Caesar stood up.
He unfastened his cloak, and the wide black cloth slid to the floor. Emerging from it was a ferocious monster that looked like a shark, covered in deep blue dragon scales with giant fin-blades on its arms.
Gabite form, unleashed!
The Level 33 Gold Rank Dragon Might, mixed with the feral aura unique to a Gabite, enveloped the entire corner like a physical shadow.
"[Sandstorm]," Caesar whispered.
Without any warning, a gale rose!
Yellow sand appeared out of thin air, instantly sweeping through the entire factory!
The once clear vision became a murky yellow, and the flying grit struck the metal walls, making a dense "pitter-patter" sound.
The chanting cultists were interrupted by this sudden turn of events.
"What's happening?"
"Wind! Where did this wind come from?!"
"The ritual! The ritual must not stop!"
In the chaos, someone screamed.
But their voices were soon suppressed by another, even more terrifying power.
[Dragon Might: Rebel]!
Caesar released his Dragon Might without reservation, washing over every Soul present like a tsunami.
Those ordinary cultists weren't even Silver Rank; how could they withstand pressure of this level?
They felt as if their hearts were being squeezed by an invisible giant hand, their breathing instantly stopped, their minds went blank, their legs gave way, and they collapsed to the ground in droves, their bodies trembling like chaff.
Right in the center of this chaos, atop the ritual altar—
A terrifying monster, the likes of which no one had ever seen, was stepping out with heavy strides!
What was even more frightening was that as it appeared, the ground of the entire site began to vibrate... Yellow sand surged out of nowhere, shrouding its figure and leaving only a pair of eyes burning with golden flames, flickering in the dust.
"De... Demon!"
"The will of Ultimate Space has descended!"
"Praise our Lord! Our prayers have been answered!"
After a brief silence, the cultists instead erupted into even more fanatical cheers than before.
They prostrated themselves one by one, pressing their foreheads hard against the cold floor, shouting prayers of praise.
Caesar was very satisfied with this effect.
He raised a Shadow Claw, aiming it at the gathering Soul energy in the center of the altar, and gave it a light squeeze.
[sharp claw], activate!
An invisible suction force emanated from his claw.
The Soul energy, which had been slowly condensing, seemed to find an outlet and instantly turned into torrents, frantically pulled in by Caesar's claw.
On the System panel, Viola's Soul energy began to jump upward at a visible rate!
"Current Status: Drowsy (5610/10000)"!
"Current Status: Drowsy (5724/10000)"!!
"Current Status: Drowsy (5850/10000)"!!!
The ritual that would have taken hours was completed in less than ten seconds with Caesar's "help."
"A miracle! This is a miracle!"
"The great Sand Demon has accepted our sacrifice!"
Seeing this, the cultists became even more convinced of their judgment, each one trembling with excitement, wishing they could tear out their own Souls and offer them up.
Just then, a steady and powerful voice came from behind.
"Silence!"
Within the Sandstorm, a middle-aged man wearing ornate purple bishop robes pushed through the crowd and walked over quickly.
He looked about forty years old, with a refined face and gold-rimmed glasses; he didn't look like a cult leader but rather like a learned scholar.
But Caesar's System panel clearly displayed his data.
[Plasma Region Bishop — Andorn (LV.39)]