Nameless King

The trial of Greed continued. Wain, Erza, Ern, and Alas continued forward and passed one test after another. They had already cleared ten rooms. Each time, they easily completed the task and took everything there was.

"Well... Where do we go next?" Ern asked as he looked around.

There were no more doors in the hallway, this one was the last.

"I don't know. If there's no obvious way out, then we need to search the place." Erza muttered as she walked out of the room. She was the last one.

Crackling.

Doors in all the rooms closed as they disappeared.

"What the hell is going here...?" Ern muttered.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Space warped, and a huge gate appeared at the end of the corridor. They were bronze, ancient and majestic. In the center was a massive drawing of a hand with gold coins falling from it.

"Looks like something special is waiting for us." Wain muttered as he approached the gate.

He tried to open it, but he couldn't get it open no matter how hard he tried. The gate was as heavy as an entire mountain. He couldn't move it even a millimeter.

"What's going on? Why isn't it working?"

"We're doing something wrong." Alas suggested, "I doubt these gates are so heavy that Wain cannot move them."

"What is this...?" Erza mumbled confusedly.

The others turned in her direction. Erza had a massive gold coin in her hand, and her eyes went wide.

"I certainly didn't take such a thing with me."

"Maybe it's a key. Give it to me." Wain took the coin as he returned to the gate.

Whooooooooooosh.

The coins on the gate began to light up just as his hand did gradually, then a massive golden bowl appeared in front of the gate.

"Hahahahaha, a bowl, that's pretty ironic." Ern laughed.

"What makes you laugh?" Alas didn't understand.

"Isn't it obvious? They want us to pay for passage! I knew that Wain's decision was the right one. We've collected all the rewards, so it's time to part with them to get permission to enter the VIP room!" Ern exclaimed as his ring glowed brightly.

Several chests filled with treasure appeared next to it. Ern dumped it all into the bowl.

Any item that hit the bowl immediately disappeared, it was burned by a golden flame, and a ringing sound of coins rang out.

Whooooooooosh.

The sign of the flaming chest appeared on the gate. It was small, but the more treasure Ern used up, the larger the chest became.

"I see, most likely the more treasure we spend, the better the reward awaits us." Wain muttered as he did the same thing as Ern.

"Hey, why are you both acting so frivolous?" Alas resented, "What if this is some kind of trap? We've spent a lot of time putting this together, but you're getting rid of it so easily."

"Alas, traps are not everywhere, though it looks like you fell into one." Wain smiled.

"Huh?"

"You and Erza were against taking things and treasure from rooms, but you haven't started emptying your pockets yet. Have you become miserable about getting rid of your loot? Isn't that the most obvious manifestation of Greed?" Wain muttered.

Alas was stunned.

"It's not like that!" Erza exclaimed, "You just started acting too fast. Alas and I, unlike you, at least think a little!"

Erza walked over to the bowl as she disposed of her treasures. The chest on the gate reached its maximum size, so another appeared.

"It's definitely some kind of sensor. I wonder if we're making ourselves better or worse now." Wain wondered.

"I don't know." Ern shook his head, "Does it matter? Whatever's waiting for us, we'll make it either way. Alas, come on, you're the only one who hasn't filled the cup yet."

"Okay." Alas nodded.

Three chests lit up on the gate when no one else had any gold coins left. They were the same size, so Wain and the others maxed out.

Whoooooooosh.

The chests exploded like fireworks as the gate slowly opened.

Behind the gate was a massive arena with golden bleachers, ancient columns, and a magnificent chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

In the center of the arena was a giant statue in golden armor. It looked like a warrior who had been waiting for the right battle for a long time. There were three empty cells on the armor, and when Wain entered the arena, they lit up brightly like the chests before it.

"I see. We spent all our savings to make our final enemy that much stronger. It's disappointing..." Ern muttered.

"Are you serious?" Wain smiled, "Doesn't that show all our Greed, or is that called pragmatism? We gave away all our treasure because we were sure we'd get something more valuable in return, so this big one is a great way to find out if we were right."

"Sometimes you're really hard to understand." Erza shook her head.

"Okay. Let's get down to business." Alas said as a scarlet spear appeared in his hand.

Crackling.

The gate behind them closed as the Statue came into motion. He slowly rose as he stared at them.

"Well... He looks threatening, but the four of us can handle it easily. Can't we?" Ern muttered as dark armor appeared on him.

Alas and Erza also activated their Beyond. The aura emanating from the Statue was menacing and much stronger than that of the Elves of the Royal Family. This opponent was from the top league.

"You... Were able to saturate the cup completely..." The Statue muttered.

"What? He can talk?" Ern was surprised, "Since when are walking stones capable of that?"

"Your greed is actually astounding..." The Statue continued, "However, thanks to Greed, you were able to manifest your freedom, and that treasures can't control you. So... if you can defeat me, you will receive the main treasure of this castle as the most greedy!" The Statue uttered as his eyes sparkled.