Chapter 207
I had arrived at the Door of Hell.
I had to decide whether to go in and come back out, or return directly to Rac. I might never get another chance.
If I accepted both the divine power of Light and Darkness at the same time, it would grant us tremendous magic power. There was no better opportunity than now. If I tried again later, wouldn't another year have already passed by then?
Where did the flow of time start to differ?
I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment, but there definitely were strange circumstances. That pitch-black land where the night lasted incredibly long.
If that was the case, I just needed to pass through it quickly. If I sent everyone to the vault and ran alone, I could cross it in less than an hour. If that wasn't the cause, then there was nothing I could do.
A year had already passed.
Even if I delayed a bit here, it would only add a few more months. The Empire would have changed by now in any case.
I saw the shield of light.
It was clearly different from the spherical door of light.
I had to confirm whether I could come back out immediately.
"Can someone give me a regular dagger?"
"Here you go."
I took the dagger Hans offered.
I grabbed the end of the dagger's hilt so I wouldn't get sucked through the door, and gently pushed the tip into the shield of light.
It was different from the old spherical door of light.
The dagger didn't get swallowed.
So, I tried placing my hand inside first.
There was no reaction, so I cautiously stuck my head through. The sight that opened before my eyes made me jump in surprise.
I immediately pulled my head out and spoke.
"Everyone, go in."
"Are you sure this is hell?"
"Yeah. It's a door that lets us pass through right away."
I drew my saber.
It wasn't a holy weapon, but Eilin's buff would serve as a substitute. After all, the saber already had holy power imbued in it.
Without hesitation, I entered the shield of light first. There was no tunnel of light. I just walked straight through the wall of light. The others all came out at once too.
Everyone stood speechless, unable to find words.
It was a breathtaking scene.
A city of darkness, flame, and storm.
The sky was crimson, as if molten lava flowed through it, and the power of darkness raged like a violent storm. The air was a chaos of heat and swirling black ash.
At the center stood a towering spire.
A tower that seemed to pierce the blood-red clouds.
Was that the Demon King's stronghold?
Eilin's holy sword shone brilliant light and pushed back the darkness. Light always triumphed over darkness. It's just that it can't illuminate every last shadow.
Then, currents of white energy—a blend of light and darkness—began to flow into our bodies. That power streamed into Osu's tree and gradually transformed into magic power.
It was different from before. Previously, the primordial power overwhelmed the mana we had, so it took a while to be converted. But now, it was turning into magic power with little delay.
It was possible because the portion of primordial power being turned into magic power was so great. I accepted as much power as my body could endure, and soon all of it would become magic power.
I looked back at the shield of light.
There were columns on each side of the shield. Each column had a glowing symbol inscribed. It seemed one had to "open the door" using these symbols.
"Young master."
"Yeah?"
"Isn't this strange?"
"What is?"
Donnie looked around the area.
We had emerged in a place like a temple.
On the mountainside of a tall mountain.
When I glanced around, I finally realized it.
A high hill in the east. A huge river of lava running from west to south. And the mountain we were standing on.
"It's the same geography as the capital."
Everyone looked around again.
Just as Donnie said.
It was the exact same layout as the Imperial Capital.
Only the buildings and shape of the city were different. The land itself was identical to the capital. There was even a temple on a tall mountain to the north, just like in the capital—exactly where we had emerged now.
That meant this was land identical to Rac.
How could this be?
Was hell just another plane of Rac?
The devils had discovered the divine power of light.
From the distance, uncountable numbers of devils began to swarm toward us. Most were red monsters.
"They're the ones from the underground base."
He was right.
They weren't monsters resembling devils—they were actual devils. Proof that the grand duke had allied himself with the devils.
The power of darkness was so strong, magic power flooded into me right away. I had little room for more, but the others were different. They would soon rise to a new level.
"Can you endure it?"
"Yes! We should last an hour!"
"We leave after staying for just an hour! If you're about to collapse, speak up! Don't get greedy with the magic power!"
"Understood!"
"Eilin! You can buff us, right?"
"Yes!"
A powerful aura burst out from Eilin's body: red, white, blue, and more. All buffs activated simultaneously and the squad's physical abilities started changing.
"They're coming!"
KWAANG—
The devils rushed like a pack of wild dogs. Counting even those in the far distance, there must have been millions.
"Use your biggest techniques!"
The closest ones pounced first.
At the same time, all squad members unleashed their strongest skills and fanned out. It was a true festival of chaos.
KUKWAKWAKWA-QUANG—
PACHICHICHICHIK—
With everyone using their ultimate skills at once, the spectacle was overwhelming. Hundreds of devils fell in a single blow. Dozens were struck down by lightning waves.
I, too, separated from the group and unleashed the brand of god repeatedly. The surging wave of devils split apart instantly and surged skyward.
The buffs held Eilin's divine power within them.
The shredded ones scattered as ash.
Lightning and holy power dramatically enhanced each other!
Still they came, without end.
Whenever the scattered ones turned to ash and were swept away by the storm, a new swarm of devils filled the void.
Those rushing at me, those clinging to me, those getting tangled up with each other, squealing and howling as they charged. The big ones trampled the little ones as they barreled forward.
KUKWAKWAKWA-QUANG—
Another brand fell. Once again, devil bodies shattered and scattered as ash.
I also unleashed the sword of rage at will.
When a giant approached, I slashed its torso with an enormous sword of rage. A ten-meter-long blade of red light.
I used up as much magic power as I could with my best swordwork. That way, I could gather even more magic power. The next level required a true shift in mind and soul.
Eilin's skills also shone brightly.
She was truly fighting well. Seeing her huge wings of light, she looked every bit the heavenly angel punishing devils.
The smaller ones couldn't even approach her—they burned up in the holy light. Even the big ones were effortlessly separated by the massive sword of light she summoned.
She had, after all, spent a year dueling and training with the dark knights. She must have waited by the vault door, training continuously. The dark knights must have changed as well.
"A strong one is coming!"
At the shout, I looked west.
A giant in golden armor was charging at us, riding some monstrous beast.
Was he a legion commander?
Gleaming armor, a massive spear.
An intimidating black aura.
They called legion commanders Ma-Goon.
One of the primordial devils. Several legion commanders had been killed, so this must be the descendant of one of them.
Cutting down small fry, I went out to meet the legion commander. The demon commander was riding a beast like a rhinoceros, plowing through other devils as he charged.
"A mere human dares challenge me?!"
The devil was speaking our language.
I shot straight toward him.
Unleashing the crimson sword of rage!
I brought it down on him with all my might.
PAKANG—
The legion commander blocked the giant sword of rage. But he couldn't withstand the shockwave and was flung away.
I chased him as he landed.
This time, a horizontal slash!
I sliced into his side.
KAKANG—
He blocked my sword once more and was sent flying again. I immediately chased, attacking furiously. He fought only to parry my blows.
Overhead strikes! Rising cuts!
Slash left and right! Again and again!
Then, Whirlwind!
PAKA-KA-KA-KANG—
The legion commander hurriedly blocked with his spear and tried to dodge. But I stuck close, chaining Whirlwind attacks.
Then, suddenly!
TANG—PAKAKAKAKAK—
The commander's spear split, and the sword of rage cut clean through his side.
"Whuh?"
The thing looked at his own body, still holding his broken spear. A torrent of black blood poured from his belly. His waist split open with a "SKRRK" and his torso slumped forward.
THUD—
The bisected demon blinked at me. He couldn't believe it. He had assumed victory was guaranteed just because I was human.
Maybe he wasn't a true legion commander.
He didn't have the devil's essence.
He seemed to lack any primordial authority as well.
PAK—
I cut off his head and turned away.
The squad was fighting off some strong devils as well. They were clearly all much stronger than before. Eilin's buffs had an enormous effect—her aura was packed with divine power.
I went back to hunting down more devils.
I'd love to smash the demon's tower too, but that would have to wait. If the devils invaded, another door would open anyway.
"Squad leader! My body is struggling!"
"Already?"
"I can't take it anymore!"
Everyone looked to me.
Eilin yelled, too.
"I don't think I can last much longer either!"
Apparently, everyone's bodies were full of magic power. Since Osu's tree tended to endlessly absorb power, if they took more now, it might overload their bodies.
"Get out first!"
"Understood!"
I had to fill my own magic power to the brim before leaving. Because I had expended more than I'd gained so far. I didn't think I'd go past my limit.
The squad and Eilin exited, and Donnie also gathered a bit more magic power before heading out. I rampaged alone, taking down thousands of devils.
At last, real fighters began showing up. The ones wielding weapons and clad in armor—likely the legion's soldiers. The little ones so far had just been ordinary devils.
SHU-SHU-SHU-SHU!
The front-runners all threw their spears at once. I jumped high, dodging as they sank into the ground with tremendous force.
Both the spears and the devils themselves were huge.
Maybe they were devil knights.
Wanting to build up more magic power before leaving, I ignored them and just dodged the hurled spears as I ran. Any spear that came at me as I leapt, I deflected.
Then, two of them stopped targeting me and ran toward the door of light instead. I thought they were chasing our squad, but I was wrong. They were trying to shut the door!
I shot flying swords as I dashed for the shield of light. One reached the symbol on the left pillar first. The other ran for the right.
PAK—
Both were struck on the back of the head by flying swords and collapsed. One erased the light from the symbol; the other was stopped just as he reached out his hand.
We had almost gotten trapped in hell.
I rushed into the shield of light.
The party was waiting at the door to the magic vault.
"Everyone, get in!"
"You're not coming with us?"
"No! This is faster!"
The squad and Eilin entered the magic vault. I erased the door of light and dashed down the long passage. The devils didn't follow for some reason.
I rushed through the passage, quickly climbed the stairs, and ran to the door of light where we had originally come from. Some devils of this area must have received word—
I saw devils flying in from afar, not toward me but toward the door. They too were trying to erase the door.
I raced at full speed.
The devils hurled spears at me as I ran.
I sprinted straight for the door of light.
Again, I passed through the tunnel of light and emerged in the desert. There, no devils were trying to erase the door of light.
Because the two doors of light in the desert were close to each other, I kept running and jumped through the next one. There was always a chance I could crash into something in the tunnel of light, but there was no helping it.
I emerged in the pitch-black land.
The razor-sharp storm still raged. Hours had passed, but the faint dawn in the east hadn't changed.
I sprinted toward the distant mountains.
I ran with all my might.
No one blocked me in this area either.
I ran for over an hour.
With the storm forcing me to maintain a barrier, I was burning magic power at a crazy rate, running as fast as I could.
Finally, I reached the door of light and threw myself in without hesitation. This tunnel of light was unusually long. My body spun wildly as I went through—
SHUYOOK—
With that sound, I shot out.
The faces that greeted me were familiar.
"Squad leader?"
"You're finally here?"
There was the Intelligence Division squad leader and the special forces.
A mountain of monsters was piled up in the underground canal. The special forces saluted me, looking exhausted.
"Have you been guarding this door the whole time?"
"Yes. Starting a year ago, we've watched it day and night, because monsters kept trying to destroy it."
"You did great."
"We're glad you returned safely."
It was obvious how much they'd suffered over the past year. My heart ached to see it. Looking at the piles of corpses, I understood how bad the situation had become.
I immediately opened the magic vault door.
Eilin and the squad emerged at once.
"Let's get out of here first."
With everyone gathered, we headed for the exit.
The squad leader and special forces looked grim.
It seemed the Empire had changed dramatically.