UNIFIED W

Chapter 14: Brotherhood

The elite guards were effortlessly slaughtered, and Kai, along with the other participants in the chamber, could hear every moment of it.

Zeru could no longer bear it. He drew his chain knife and reached for the door handle, but a guard in the room stopped him.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

"Don't you hear that they need help?"

The guard shoved Zeru aside, positioned himself in front of the door, and blocked the chamber's only exit.

"Until further notice, our mission is to safeguard you all."

Zeru started to get worked up, while everyone in the chamber stared at him.

"Move and open this goddamn door!"

"Listen, if you're really itching to die, I can open the door for you, but let me warn you—these aren't your average criminals."

"Is that meant to scare me?"

The guard paused for a moment, shaking his head before taking a deep breath and speaking to Zeru again.

"Listen, kid, you don't want to mess with these people. They call themselves the Pillars—and they're at the very top of the world's most wanted list."

When Zeru heard the guard's words, his confidence faded almost instantly.

The guard went on explaining the situation to Zeru.

"Their weapons are worth billions of points, and their heads have a bounty of millions. Even knowing their whereabouts could earn you a fortune."

"What kind of weapon could be worth billions of points?"

"Only legendary-type weapons hold such high value. The Pillars possess 5 of the 7 and are missing the fire and wind clan's."

As the guard explained the situation to Zeru, Kai glanced at him and could tell that he was struggling to maintain his composure.

"The Pillars might have come here today to retrieve your weapon, kid."

Zeru tightened his grip on Inferno.

"Let them come. They'll learn not to mess with the fire clan."

Suddenly, the guard who stood by the door raised his hand as his band watch began to light up.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

As the guard spoke to the king, the participants in the room remained dead silent, waiting to hear what he would say next after his conversation with the king.

"I understand. I'll inform the participants immediately."

After the call with the king ended, the guard's expression turned serious.

"Listen up, the king gave me a new order, and that's to safely escort you all to the transport room at the top of this headquarters."

"The king informed me that there will be only one trip to stage two, and anyone who misses it will be disqualified, as the passage between stages one and two will close for a year."

The participants looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces.

"What do you mean when you say it will be closed for a whole year?"

"It was the king's command; I am here only to carry out his orders."

Suddenly, someone knocked on the chamber door while they were talking.

"Who is it?"

When the person outside didn't respond, the guard closest to the door peeked through the peephole and saw another guard standing outside.