With This Treasure, I Summon Primordial Weapons
Chapter 24: The Cost of Survival

Chapter 24: The Cost of Survival

Godric’s heart hammered against his ribs as footsteps crunched somewhere outside the tent, circling closer.

There was no time left to waste.

He drove the blade down in one deliberate motion, between the bandages and into a wound that was already there.

The student writhed in agony. His mouth opened up, and he tried to scream, but Godric’s hand was still covering it, its grip too tight to let even the tiniest of sounds escape.

Godric twisted his blade and watched as focus faded in the student’s eyes and his futile attempt at escape stopped.

He’s dead.

Godric took a slow step back, pulling his weapon out and dismissing it in the same moment.

He watched the student’s lifeless body for a moment before taking a step forward and searching through his pockets.

Moments later, he pulled a small ID card from his jacket pocket and looked down at it.

A small emblem belonging to Elyune Academy sat at the very top, with the name and other information just beneath it.

Robert Dunn.

Citizen Tier: 2

Status: Awakened

’Rest in peace, Robert.’ Godric thought, then pocketed the ID card and stepped out of the tent.

The second his boot hit the crimson sand outside, he was hit by the golden rays of the sun, which was now barely hanging onto the horizon.

The air outside felt cooler now, or perhaps it was because of what he just did. He couldn’t tell.

He barely had a second to gather his thoughts and draw a single breath of fresh air before a sudden voice called from behind.

"Godric? What happened?"

Godric turned around to see both Raven and Astrea walking his way, their eyes fixated on his arms. He looked down and realised why immediately.

Blood.

Large streaks of crimson circled around his hands and forearms.

"I went to check on our classmate," he lied. "He’s dead."

He tried to look shaken, to appear grief-stricken. But he’d never been much of an actor, and from the frown forming on Raven’s face, she knew it too.

Astrea didn’t say a word. She bolted past him into the tent.

Raven followed at a slower pace, her feet carrying her after Astrea while her eyes stayed locked on Godric the entire way.

The silence that stretched between him and Raven was one that he couldn’t read through.

He knew he had no choice. It wasn’t just his life that the lie of the House Blackstar still being at the top relied on. But the lives of his mother, sister and even Raven all relied on Godric’s survival.

Before he could draw a conclusion to what her eyes were trying to say, Astrea left the small confines of the tent.

"He’s dead," she confirmed, her gaze trailing across the sand, a small, almost indistinguishable frown on her face.

For a moment, Godric could have sworn that she mouthed the word ’odd’ under her breath.

He, however, didn’t get the chance to dwell on it, as a low, unmistakable vibration rolled beneath the sand, and every sound of the settlement around them died at once.

Every head in the settlement turned, caught between the sand and the sun now slipping below the horizon.

’It’s time.’

A heartbeat later, the crowd surged toward the dark spire jutting from the crimson desert.

"Come on!" Astrea broke into a sprint. "Let’s go!"

Neither Godric nor Raven needed telling twice.

They ran as fast as they could toward the tower while the sand beneath began to shift.

To Godric’s surprise, despite the ground beneath their feet shifting, the people weren’t entering the tower.

Instead, they circled around it and allowed the lieutenants to enter first.

To think these people were this organised, or scared that even death sounded worse than disobeying the hierarchy set by Daren, was fascinating, to say the least.

Astrea was the last of the lieutenants to enter.

Raven went next while Godric stayed a second behind.

He turned back, looking at the small tent tumbling over the shifting sand.

"Godric!" Raven called from inside, and with that, he entered.

Countless more screams followed from the outside as Godric’s boots hit the top floor. The speed at which the sand was coalescing into the gigantic monster increased tenfold.

The sand from the staircase dropped in almost an instant, and as Godric peeked down, he saw people flooding through the window on the floor he had seen them gather at earlier.

The tower shook as the sand around it dispersed. It held as it always did, but the low tremors running through its walls seemed to keep everyone, even those lieutenants who had seen it withstand thousands of times, on edge.

On the other side of the floor, the lieutenants from the council meeting stood in a small circle, passing low whispers among one another and shooting occasional glances directed either at Godric or Raven.

Outside, the last of the sand had left the melted city, and the low, persistent trembles from the monster’s footsteps shook the earth as they always did.

Godric listened to that rhythm for a moment before a person broke off from the circle of lieutenants, while the rest made their way down the steps.

"My name is Loris. I’m in charge of the expedition to the sanctuary." He nodded, which in this place was probably worth as much as a court bow. "Daren said we should take you with us. We leave in half an hour, so if you still wish to go with us, be outside the tower by then."

"We’ll be there," Godric said.

Loris nodded, then left, moving swiftly down the spiralling staircase.

"You guys are going on an expedition already?" Astrea asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Godric replied. "Daren asked us to join."

Something in Astrea’s expression changed. Her eyes drifted briefly to Godric’s hands, the crimson stains on his skin, before just as quickly her usual expression returned. "You guys should be very careful. So far, there hasn’t been an expedition without any casualties."