Chapter 206
At the moment the demon's head was severed—
The red demons, who had been charging at us, were startled and soared up into the air.
Then, they flew straight back to where they had come from. I saw them pick something up from the ground as they went. It was Roman, unconscious.
There was no time to react.
The demons who picked up Roman disappeared instantly into a crevice in the ground.
"Whew..."
It was only then that everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Donnie even coughed up blood.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. I'll heal soon."
The team members had also been shaken up by the demons' attacks, but neither their external nor internal injuries were serious.
"Nabak! Where are you right now?"
—I'm not sure exactly! It's a narrow and deep crevice, and I'm a bit injured so I can't climb up!
"Everyone, find Nabak!"
We ran toward where the demons had shot up.
The ground was riddled with countless cracks.
"Nabak!"
"Here!"
We rushed toward the sound of the voice.
Deep within a narrow crack, just big enough for a person, Nabak was stuck. Hans quickly unraveled a rope, lowered it down, and climbed in.
A short while later, Hans rescued Nabak and brought him up.
Nabak was in a terrible state, so we treated him first. Thanks to the suit of armor, thankfully, his bones weren't broken.
"What happened?"
"That was a really tough one. It seemed like he intended to make me his subordinate—he was dragging me away. Now that I think about it, I guess he wanted to lure you and the team, young master."
He was luring us?
If that was the case, we wouldn't have come this far.
Was there another reason?
"Did you escape from there on your own?"
"Yes. I passed out and when I woke up, I found myself here. I waited for a chance, broke free, and threw myself into this crack. That's when you guys showed up."
"That's a relief. Glad we weren't too late."
Nabak gave an awkward laugh.
His way of showing his gratitude.
We glanced at the spot where the demons had emerged.
From beneath the countless cracks, the dark power was surging upward—practically hell itself.
Thunk—
The team brought over the decapitated demon.
To burn it completely to ashes.
"The one we shouldn't have touched was Kas, right?"
"It seems like it. Unless the demon's door was kept open, kas probably opened it. Roman becoming Emperor is probably related, too."
"The Grand Duke's death likely ties in as well."
True Demon Vampire and Kas had been plotting something. Then, when the vampire clan was discovered and Kas lost to me, he made his move in person.
He said he married an angel and bore two sons. One son disappeared, and the other died—those two sons appeared to be Kas and Roman.
Roman was a Priest. He naturally possessed holy power. That such a person was a son of a demon, and even resurrected, made no sense to me. Unless he was resurrected as a demon.
Kas inherited the demon's blood.
Did Roman inherit the angel's blood?
The fact that Roman was of the Emperor's bloodline was shocking enough, but to be the demon's son... What fate tied him to me, and where was that destiny headed?
And those words about killing me to make me a servant of God. Unless it meant to be reborn as a demon. To resurrect the dead.
"Do you think... this demon truly died?"
"It's really dead."
"A demon that persistent suddenly lost its strength. Could it be that its soul left?"
That was possible.
But it certainly lost its body.
"Even if it were resurrected, it wouldn't be easy. Either be reborn or possess someone else's body. But would that body be stronger than the original?"
There was probably a reason Roman was born from Madam Mien, kas's daughter. It had to be a matching bloodline and some difficult combination, it seemed.
Anyway, the True Demon Vampire was dead.
Even if it revived with a different body, or the Grand Duke appeared as a demon, it did not matter.
Whether a True Demon or the Grand Duke—
This time, I would burn even their souls away.
With an even stronger holy sword.
"Burn the body."
"Yes, sir."
The team stabbed their swords into the demon's corpse. Then, with a burst of lightning, they incinerated it in an instant. Lightning was certainly effective against demons.
"Nabak. Can you fight?"
"Of course."
"Let's go. Since we're here anyway, we should see hell."
Everyone nodded and walked forward.
Toward the place the demons had burst forth.
There should surely be the gate to hell there.
We stood above the largest crack.
Looking down, I saw a fairly large pupil. An artificial structure. The red demons were nowhere to be seen.
"There are stairs over there."
There was a narrow crack with stairs set inside. We all descended. Below was a vast space, as though gazing upon Asgard's palace.
It was the same pupil I'd seen before.
Waves of darkness pulsed outward.
Kwooooo—
From deep within the pupil came the roar of a monster. No doubt, the gatekeeper of hell.
We landed on the floor of the pupil.
Ahead, a huge arched passage stretched far. The walls on either side riddled with countless holes.
"It looks like those red demons will come out of those holes."
"They must have built it to block entry into hell. Those red things are probably sentinels."
I hefted my saber and walked on.
As expected, the moment we entered, demons wielding spears began pouring out from the holes on both sides of the corridor.
Kuaaaak—
Flapping grotesque wings, they blocked our path. Their upper bodies were humanoid, their lower bodies beastly.
Kkiaieeee—
At a signal from one, they all threw their spears at once. We all burst forward at that instant.
When the spears missed, the demons swarmed in, raking at us with eagle-like claws. Swinging my sword, I pushed right through.
I hacked down everything blocking the way, advancing ruthlessly. It was like striking armor made of leather, but these demons didn't seem to have any demon authority.
Chwaaaa— Kkyaaaak—
Patstststst— Kwa-kwa-kwaang—
Swinging through the chaos of demons, black blood spattered, explosions of lightning erupted, and forks of lightning shot everywhere.
The demons tangled in the air were electrocuted one after another and fell. Donnie and I led from the front, while the team finished off fallen, writhing demons, beheading them as they went.
Soon, I widened the gap from the others with a leap. I gathered as many demons to me as possible—
And unleashed the Sword of the Star.
Countless stars shot out from my sword. Hundreds of demons that packed the passage were struck down and electrocuted in an instant. Then—the Sword of Flame!
Kwa-kwa-kwaang—
A blade slammed down, firing a wave of fire forward. Again, hundreds of demons caught fire and fell like autumn leaves.
Again, I leaped forward to draw in more of them. Once I had packed the passage full—
I unleashed a weak form of the brand of god.
Kwak-kwa-kwa-kwaang—
A sigil of gravity was imprinted on the corridor. Black blood burst out, bodies of demons shattered and exploded upward.
Moving on!
I summoned the five-meter-long Sword of Light. Surging forward, I spun in a Whirlwind, slashing everything in my path. This Whirlwind even had a thunderbolt effect.
Kkyaaaaa—
Kwa-chchchchik—
It was barely different from when I had swept the goblins during training. I pressed forward with the Whirlwind, moving ever onward. Then, the Sword of Flame again!
Kwa-kwa-kwaang—
The sword slashed down, sending flames fanning outward. The swarming demons were set ablaze and dropped at once.
Thud, thud, thud—
Suddenly, a massive wild boar-like beast came charging from the other side, bowling over demons as it went.
I dashed straight toward it.
The moment the beast approached, I spun forward and brought down the Sword of Rage.
Ku-kwa-kwa-kwaang—
The colossal red sword cut both the monster's head and body in one strike, felling it.
The explosion of lightning and rage occurred together. All the nearby demons smashed into the walls.
Chwaaaa—
The charging boar split in two with a rip, passing on either side of me.
I dashed down the path suddenly cleared.
The red demons were nearly all out.
The fallen ones could be left to the team.
At last, I reached a dead end.
At the end of the passage, another giant pupil waited, just like the entrance, and beyond it stood a massive beast.
It was a monster with immense muscles, resembling a lion and a wolf. Its fur was like steel spikes, and it had three heads. A beast of unspeakable savagery.
Krrraaaak—
The monster charged, slamming its huge forepaw down.
Thud—the impact from its attack sent out a shockwave.
Dodging its strike, I assessed my surroundings.
Behind the beast was a strange door.
It wasn't like the spherical door of light.
It was more like a barrier of light.
Could it be entered directly?
The monster charged again.
This time I dodged with a dash to the side—
And brought down my saber.
Chunk—
There was a magic defense, but my saber pierced through.
Its fur truly was like steel.
Kueeek— Haaaak—
The monster's three heads flashed wildly, shrieking and foaming at the mouth, straining to bite me.
Swish— Thunk-thunk—
Cutting around the beast, I carved into its flank. Its steel exterior split, spraying black blood. Then, I struck one of its heads squarely.
Thunk— SPLAT!
My saber was driven into one of its heads. As I yanked it out, that head drooped limply. The remaining two thrashed even more violently.
Finally, the monster leapt at me.
As it descended, I lept too instead, diving under its belly and slashing upward.
SPLASH—
Its belly was sliced open, guts spilling out all at once. The belly was just flesh!
Boom—
The monster, still mid-jump, crashed to the ground with its entrails pouring out, then slid into the wall.
Just then, the team arrived, quickly severing the two remaining heads as they passed by. Chop, thunk-thunk—one by one, the necks were quickly lopped off.
Thud-thud— Patststst—
The last heads rolled onto the floor. Soon, the team incinerated the monster with lightning.
"Demons really are weak to lightning."
"It must be connected to the holy power."
God is believed to reside in the sky.
Lightning bolts descend from the heavens.
Perhaps lightning is imbued with holy power by nature.
Everyone gathered before the gate to hell.
The shield of light shimmered in waves.
The dark power was exceptionally strong.
"I should call Eilin."
I pulled out the stone from the magic vault.
She's trained long, so this could be valuable experience for her. And her holy power would be helpful.
I opened the door to the magic vault and called out,
"Eilin?"
No response.
Just as I was about to call again, an answer came.
—It's me. What's going on?
"We're near the world of demons right now."
So the door of light allowed communication.
There was no delay at all in transmission.
She ought to be quite far away.
—Can you not get out from there?
"That's not the case. Can you come here?"
—Of course! I'm in suit of armor right now!
Eilin came immediately.
When we crossed into that black land, it had taken us over ten seconds. Was this red earth closer to Rac, maybe?
Her eyes were filled with gladness.
So much so her eyes brimmed with tears.
Had something happened?
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing."
Eilin forcibly concealed her emotions.
Then she looked at the shield of light.
"This is the strongest darkness I've ever seen."
"On the other side... I think it's the demon's world."
Eilin nodded.
"Can you get through?"
"Of course."
Eilin raised her holy sword.
Even so, her sword emitted a brilliant holy light. Her wings of holy power were spread wide.
Her wings had grown bigger.
The stream of holy power above was already large—it was now even longer. Her magic power seemed stable.
"You've changed again since last time."
"I guess I did grow in the last year. I hadn't noticed any obvious changes until now."
"A year? What do you mean?"
Eilin looked at me quietly.
"I've been worried. I wondered if something had happened to you and the team. The door to the magic vault didn't open for over a year, and I had all sorts of thoughts, being alone."
She looked at me with genuinely worried eyes.
But what was she talking about?
"You're saying I didn't open the door for over a year?"
"Yes. There was plenty of food and water in the freezer you made, so I didn't starve. Thanks to it, I trained a lot."
So she really had been trapped?
"When was the last time you saw me?"
"When the Emperor was kidnapped and you left to rescue him. You took the holy daggers I made back then."
Good grief.
"For us... that was just yesterday."
"What?"
Eilin was shocked instead.
Time had flowed differently in Rac.
Just like when we came out of the Forest of Death.
For the past year, we'd been missing.
Emperor Roman had also vanished.
What about the empire, then?