The Last Monarch : Unlimited Regeneration-Chapter 72: The Offer

Maria stood directly in front of the swirling dark purple portal, which spun like a giant whirlpool. Glowing runes encircled it, emitting such an intense magical pressure that the surrounding air trembled. Dion gave a hand signal to his members, and they began to prepare.

"Everyone, stay alert. Don’t let your guard down—this is an S-rank portal," Dion said in a low but firm voice.

Maria took a deep breath, then stepped into the vortex first. Her body was sucked into a space dimension that seemed to fold time and distance. A few seconds later—followed by Dion, Lisse, and the rest of the Hollow Fang members—they all disappeared into the portal.

Moments later...

FLASH!

The blinding light that clouded their vision began to fade. They slowly regained their sight. They had all appeared in a massive cave. The place felt unfamiliar to Maria. She knew she had been to a similar dungeon before, but the atmosphere was different.

"This... isn’t the same place," she said firmly. "We entered the wrong dungeon!"

The cave walls were lined with dimly glowing purple crystals, and humid heat radiated from every crack in the rock. Around them, faint rustling sounds echoed. Maria and the others quickly realized they were being watched. Swiftly, they drew their weapons.

"Are you sure?" Dion asked.

Maria’s face was serious. "Yes. This isn’t the same place because there was supposed to be a horned woman tied to the wall. This is different, but..." she swallowed hard, "it’s just as terrifying as the previous dungeon."

Their eyes kept scanning the surroundings. Even Dion, the strongest among them, swallowed hard. His face paled slightly, and his hands trembled. He could feel it—hundreds of eyes were watching them from the darkness of the cave.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Dion whispered.

"Same here."

Then, dozens—no, hundreds—of creatures emerged from the shadows. Half ant, half bee. Their sizes varied, but some were three times larger than them. Strangely, the smaller ones were more terrifying, emitting far stronger magical energy.

"What are these things?" Lisse muttered.

"They seem to be mutant creatures, a hybrid between ants and bees. That’s all I can gather," Dion added, pointing his spear forward, ready to fight if attacked.

Dion snapped his fingers. In an instant, the Hollow Fang formation shifted. Several mages raised magical barriers, while the warriors drew their weapons. Maria unsheathed her sword, fully on guard.

But the creatures didn’t attack. They only surrounded them, observing cautiously, vibrating their wings as if waiting for orders.

Maria scanned the area, then realized something that made her hair stand on end—this place was a nest. The walls were curved, and the more she focused, the clearer it became: there were many more of these half-ant, half-bee creatures.

Even when she looked up, she saw some of them floating above, watching—but none made a move to strike.

"They’re not attacking," Lisse whispered.

"I think they’re waiting for a command," Dion added.

Maria clenched her teeth. "You mean... someone’s controlling them?"

"More accurately, they have a commander or something like that."

Maria and Lisse felt the same ominous sensation. Then, a second later, a silhouette appeared from a tunnel. A figure was walking toward them. The aura it radiated was incredibly powerful—and terrifying. Feeling that aura made Maria’s body shiver.

Trauma and fear she had once buried returned in full force. Her knees buckled, and she fell. Tears nearly spilled from her eyes, her body trembling from the memory.

"What’s wrong with you?" Dion asked.

Maria pointed at the tunnel. "That’s the one who slaughtered our members."

Dion, Lisse, and the Hollow Fang members immediately looked in the same direction. They were ready for battle. Then finally, the figure that had haunted Maria’s nightmares revealed itself.

Maria couldn’t bear to watch. She shut her eyes in fear.

***

Back to Alvaric.

He opened his eyes. In front of him was the smiling face of a demi-human woman. Alvaric quickly sat up, cross-legged. His expression was stern because he knew no one would save him without wanting something in return.

Obviously, they wanted something from him. Alvaric was willing to listen—but the decision to accept or reject would be his.

"Speak!" Alvaric demanded.

"You’re quite impatient."

"I don’t have time to listen to someone ramble. Just explain clearly and directly. Don’t beat around the bush—I’m not in a relaxed state right now."

Serya nodded. Her face turned more serious. "Very well, then. Let me say it plainly." She paused a moment. "You want to bring back your subordinate named Niva? I know how to do that."

Alvaric, who had seemed disinterested at first, suddenly turned serious and eager. "Tell me!" he urged.

"Of course, but you’ll have to help me first. Don’t worry—what I’m asking and your goals are aligned. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?" Serya remained casual.

Serya’s offer was incredibly hard for Alvaric to refuse. Still, he couldn’t believe there was any power that could bring back the dead. That would defy the very laws of the world. But then, he remembered his own power—how his body could endlessly regenerate.

That also defied the laws of the world. So maybe, bringing someone back from the dead wasn’t entirely impossible, even if he didn’t know how.

"Just tell me. What do you want?" Alvaric demanded.

Serya’s smile widened. This was exactly what she had anticipated. "I want you to help me overthrow the current king. Kill the remaining high generals. How about it?" she asked, eyes sharp.

Alvaric found the offer interesting. He had already killed one of Valentharia’s high generals. But somehow, it wasn’t enough. Deep down, he believed the true mastermind behind everything was the king of Valentharia. His goals and Serya’s proposal aligned.

Without overthinking, Alvaric nodded. "Very well. I accept."

Serya breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Alvaric’s answer. She had feared she would have to handle everything on her own. That was an impossible task. The remaining high generals were absurdly powerful. One of them could level an entire city.

Fortunately, they had chosen the wrong enemy. If it hadn’t been Alvaric, perhaps none of them would have died.

Alvaric’s regeneration ability was beyond reason.

"If you agree, then we’ll start planning. But before that, we’ll return to my city first," Serya said.

"Hah, your city? Are you like Raiga?"

"Correct. I’m one of the city rulers within the Valentharia kingdom," Serya replied.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m