IN VERSION

"Cultivators, also known as Monsters or Netherbeasts, are mysterious creatures who randomly appear and cause deaths and destruction, varying according to their levels. Cultivators are classified from the least Grade 1 to the most powerful Grade 10."

YEAR: UNKNOWN

LOCATION: UNKNOWN

Two choices lay before Tenny, only one to be made. Life and death were set, and he was given the chance to pick. The options weighed heavily in his mind. Darey himself had said it would get even more dangerous than anything they had previously encountered, and that he might not be able to look out for his safety. If he decided to go, he was most guaranteed to die. However, if he did stay, he was confident in, if nothing else, his ability to escape, pending the time Darey returned.

"Will Darey return though?" Tenny questioned in his mind. He had seen Darey perform unbelievable feats but even he had to have a limit.

Tenny, however knew what his answer would be, what he had already resolved to do since a while ago. He had sworn to himself to stay by Darey's side and aid him in any way. He was his comrade, and his brother. The fact that Darey had brought him along to this world was because he trusted him, and he might have need of him. He would not disappoint!

"I'm coming!" Tenny said with his strongest resolve.

"Good" Darey said with a proud smile, as though he had passed a hidden test. "Now let's go" he finally said as both boys walked down the path ahead of them, headed toward the depths of oblivion.

They walked for a few more minutes before they finally saw the exit of the path, which meant it was the entrance to the Grand Hall, abode of the Grandmaster. They kept moving till they were a few feet away from the entrance. Darey stopped, and so did Tenny.

Unlike the previous tunnel and path, the room was massive. It was bigger than any large hall Tenny had ever seen. The ceiling was at least over 200 feet from the ground, and it was littered with Diamantite like crystals. The walls were too far apart from one another and the shiny minerals were also scattered there, illuminating the room, making it just bright enough to see.

The ground was rough, and there were no other accessories in the large hall, except one. A huge boulder, which had been carved into a throne, and a massive shadow loomed over it, although it couldn't be seen as the rays of light seemed to avoid that area.

There was no time for sightseeing however, as in front of them were exactly 501 VampCyclops who by their countenance were out for blood. These creatures were different from the others whom they had previously encountered. They were at least an extra feet tall, some were taller, and had a huger build. Their eyes also seemed to glow even brighter crimson. Their body looked rough and scaly, and they possessed tails.

"These ones are different, as you have seen." Darey spoke to Tenny in a calm voice.

"They're evolved, and so they serve directly under the Grandmaster as Its guards. They are about 4 times more powerful than the average soldier... However, these ones are not a problem for me." Darey smiled wickedly.

In a flash Darey faded from Tenny's sight and rose above all of them. He hovered about 60 feet from the ground and looked down on the elite army smiling. "Irrelevant" He spoke, as he raised his left hand high.

"DARK NEBULIUM" He said as suddenly a pressure formed, and purple sparks of electricity began appearing around him and started concentrating above the palm of his left hand. The purple energies started swirling around his palm and an orb began forming. The orb started getting bigger as it sucked more of the purple energy and it glowed dark purple.

In response to Darey's first move, the elite guards withdrew attention from Tenny, sensing the danger that awaited them and their glowing crimson eyes glowed even brighter, signaling their light beams. All 501 of them shot their light beam toward Darey, and Tenny could feel the intensity of the heat from his distance. The beams were definitely exponentially more powerful than the one he had experienced. As the light beams approached Darey, the trajectory shifted and it slowly changed course to the orb.

The orbs sucked all the beams and began growing in size. The beams lasted for seconds, some taking breaks and firing at intervals, while others kept a constant discharge, but none reached him. Soon, the creatures grew exhausted and ceased their meaningless attacks. At this point, the glowing dark purple orb, with a touch of crimson had grown so large in mass, it was bigger than fifty feet, and it was nearly touching the ceiling. The pressure caused Tenny to quake from where he stood.

"Done already?" Darey's voice echoed in the large hall. "Fine then, let me end your suffering by erasing your pathetic existence" He grinned sadistically.

"DWARF COMPRESSION" He said as the now 50 feet growing orb suddenly began spinning rapidly, and shrinking in size. It was compressing as it was spinning and before Tenny knw it, it was as tiny as a grape. The tiny orb hovered above Darey's palm as he let it down and casually stretched it forward. The orb then began gravitating toward the confused and exhausted creatures. One of them reached to probe the orb, which seemed like a tiny floating balloon at this point. As its sharp claw made impact with the orb, a large explosion was triggered.

Lightening crackled around the large dark purple and crimson explosion. The entire hall shook and vibrated. The walls surrounding the hall started cracking and even the air pressure reached Tenny, who was at the entrance area of the hall, causing him to wince and cover his face from the impact. The loud explosion even reached the ceiling as rocky fragments dropped and the ceiling began to vibrate violently. Darey, who had even risen higher looked down at the crater formed by his power, smiling. Tenny marveled at all this, looking at Darey astonished. "This is him... at one percent?" Tenny asked himself.

The vibrations finally stopped as the explosion subsided, leaving not even the dust of the creatures behind. They were completely disintegrated. Darey descended to Tenny's direction. He was smiling and said "Now... all that's left is the boss." Tenny was too stunned to speak. "Just how powerful is he?" His mind questioned.

Darey who was looking calm and triumphant was not feeling that way. He had expended a large amount of energy on that attack. He had also used three abilities in succession, Levitation, Nebulium and Compression. He had wanted to eliminate the small fry and move to the main event as quickly as possible, and so he spared no expense. He however was not expecting this much energy drain from himself.

"CRASH!!!" A loud sound was heard. "So it's finally making it's move... The Grandmaster..." Darey said smiling nervously.

The huge entity rose from it's throne and stood upright. It was 100 feet tall. The being possessed a huger build than anything they had ever seen. It's four arms dropped slightly, and it's huge feet were seen by the boys. The three eyes of the beast glowed crimson, azure and ember respectively. As it moved forward, the ground trembled and the walls quaked. It possessed spikes behind him and it's tail swept the ground. It's sharp teeth were clearly displayed and it's beard hung on his face. It possessed chest hairs and his entire feet were covered in hairy hide. It looked down at the two boys before him with a fierce look.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" The Grandmaster let out a menacing laugh, which caused the entire room to vibrate "SO THE GATE IS FINALLY OPEN, AND I AM FREE TO LEAVE THIS DYING WORLD AND POSSESS ANOTHER! HOW ECSTATIC!" It let out.

Tenny was paralyzed with fear and confusion "I...It s...spoke? H...How...?" He muttered in confusion at the absurdity of the situation. Cultivators were known as wild monsters, and while some displayed a certain degree of intelligence of cunning, they were only to a limited degree, certainly not to the point of organized speech"

"Don't be so surprised." Darey's calmly began speaking. "This is what truly sets a Grandmaster apart from other Cultivators, and is It's most terrifying trait... Its Intelligence!"

"YOU THERE, ARE YOU THE ONES WHO OPENED THE GATE? YOU MUST BE QUITE STRONG!" The Grandmaster spoke.

"And what If i am?" Darey replied it casually.

"OHO, QUITE THE EFFONTRY. YOU MUST CERTAINLY BE CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITY. YOU MUST BE THE STRONGEST OF YOUR KIND, THEIR CHAMPION! TO HAVE OPENED THE GATE TO FACE ME. SMALL ONE, I COMMEND YOU. WHY DON'T YOU SERVE UNDER ME? YOU'VE CERTAINLY PROVED YOUR COMPETENCE!

Darey had predicted this would happen "And why would a high being such as a Grandmaster wish for a mere creature like me to join its ranks?" he replied to the tall figure.

"YOU ARE NOT WRONG! NORMALLY I WOULD NOT HESITATE TO CRUSH YOU WITHOUT PAYING ANY MIND, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU RUDELY WOKE ME FROM MY SLUMBER, HOWEVER... YOU WERE STRONG ENOUGH TO ERADICATE ALL OF MY ELITE GUARDS, THAT MUCH IS ENOUGH FOR ME TO RECOGNIZE YOUR POTENTIAL. BESIDES, SINCE YOU'VE DONE AWAY WITH THEM, YOU'VE CREATED A VACCUM THAT NEEDS TO BE FILLED, AND I DEMAND RECOMPENSE" The Grandmaster said.

"YOU DO NOT NEED TO FEAR HOWEVER, I DO NOT HOLD IT AGAINST YOU. THEY WERE WEAK, AND SO THEY DIED. YOU ON THE OTHER HAND HAVE PROVEN YOUR WORTH, AND SO SHOULD YOU ACCEPT I SHALL SPARE YOU"

"I see..." Darey decided to be bold. "And should I refuse?"

"YOU DIE! DON'T GET CONCIETED BRAT. YOU SHOULD KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT STRENGHT, AS YOU ARE STRONG. I AM EVEN STRONGER. SHOULD YOU REFUSE MY BENEVOLENCE, YOU WILL BE DONE AWAY WITH"

Tenny, who could not even speak watched the conversation between the two. There was no way Darey could win. They had to run... Run and close the Gate. This creature was indeed more than enough to level a state. "Darey can't handle this... especially at one percent." Tenny spoke in his mind. Darey had said the Grandmaster was a Grade 7, but he had not said by whose standard. A Grade 7 by Darey's standard would be a Grade 9 by normal standard. This Monster was impossible. "We have to run, we can't..." His thoughts were screaming.

"Relax" came Darey's soothing voice. Tenny looked only to find Darey smiling as he said "Do you trust me?"

"Yes, I do" Tenny said without hesitation, even though he was still very frightened.

"Then watch... look closely at this fight Tenny" Darey spoke smiling as he began moving forward "I'll show you why you must never fear when you're with me. With this fight... I'll give you no reason to doubt my strength" He kept moving forward toward the impossible looking calamity.

The Grandmaster stood a few feet from him as Darey stopped, ignoring the Giant beast's wicked smile and intense gaze, and looked back smiling calmly at Tenny "You might want to take cover... I'll show you true power!"

TO BE CONTINUED....