Chapter 525: Ruins + Announcement
525. RuinsVisitt novelbin(.)co/m for the latest updates
I entered the crevice as my wings beat weakly behind me. I heard the lightning thunder in the distance, and I saw the flash of dark light. It was like I was blinking when I didnt actually blink. And it happened constantly. A tempest that raged on, striking down countless winged Demons from the air.
The death throes of wild Demons echoed all around me. I had even seen a Primeval Demon fall amidst the battle. Its corpse was consumed by the boiling lava below, and the victors left to survive the shifting landscape of the Netherworld.
And here I was, trapped amidst this chaos. Injured and exhausted. I flew between the cracks that scarred the earth, feeling the intense heat of molten rocks burning below me. I looked down, seeing the crimson river bubble and crackle, before shaking my head.
After the initial eruptions that exploded from the ground, the lava would stop rising. It simmered below, a deadly floor at the bottom of the cracked earth. If I fell into it I would probably survive. But I would still be hurt from it. Especially at my current state.
So I kept low. I escaped the fighting, and I avoided the black lightning. The occasional wild Demon fell into the crevice, tumbling to their fiery doom ahead of me, and a handful of lightning bolts crashed around the lip of the ravine. But none struck me.
And I could actually recover.
I sighed, looking down at the burn marks across my right shoulder. I glanced back and saw the holes in my wings. My injuries slowly healed, and I flitted slowly down a fork in the ravine. It split off into two directions large gulfs that led away from each other. To the left, the crevice continued on until it intersected through a broken mountain. And to the right, the crevice cut through the vast flatlands.
I stared at my two options for a moment, unsure where to go. Then I heard the rumbling I saw the shaking. The right ravine trembled as a tremor washed over it, and its narrow crack widened. I watched as wild Demons stumbled over the edge. [Hellhounds], [Hellbeasts], and the like. They were caught in this widening crack shallower crevices tore open perpendicular to the gulf, like roots spreading far and wide. Spurts of lava shot into the air and incinerated the Lesser Demons.
I blinked a few times before shaking my head. I swept my gaze back towards the only option I had left. The gulf that led towards the shattered mountain. It remained idle unmoving and sinuous. It was safe?
At least, it wasnt rapidly expanding and bursting with molten rocks. So I flew forward. I didnt look back. Even as I heard a bolt of lightning crash behind me, tearing the earth asunder. I continued on, searching for a moment of respite. But that moment never came.
I simply got used to hearing the crackle ripping across the sky. I heard the occasional boom of another eruption exploding from the earth. I saw the shower of lava raining in the distance, and I felt the rumbling of a nearby tear in the earth. I didnt fly too quickly. I took my time, healing as I glided towards the broken mountain in the distance.
I wasnt sure how much time had passed. I simply knew that my Grand Skills neither of them were available to me just yet. So it must not have been that long since this event whatever it was began.
And it wasnt like my flight forward had been completely uneventful. A flock of [Vampyr Bats] descended upon me, and I quickly incinerated them with my [The Holy Flames]. Then a group of [Hellwolves] leapt off the cliffside, trying to sink their fangs on me. I easily avoided their attacks, and they fell into the lava below.
They burned, but they didnt die. I looked down at them in pity as they tossed and turned in the molten rocks. They screeched, then howled. And that attracted even more of their companions. Or maybe they hadnt even been companions just other wild Demons looking for a kill.
I looked up as more [Hellhounds] and [Hellwolves] rained down at me, and I cursed. I sped up, hurrying through the ravine as I sent the occasional blast of gray flames to deflect the falling wild Demons. I heard more shrieks coming from above, and I cursed.
I should have just incinerated those [Hellwolves]...
There was nothing I could do now other than press on. I sped up, leaving these wild Demons behind as they poured off the edge of the cliff, down to the ravine in a mindless mass that only slaughtered each other. I reached another fork in the cracks, but this time, it split between three directions.
The blast of blue flames shot out, incinerating the [Savage Agarats], before shooting my way. And I moved. I teleported out of the way, all at once
The world went dark around me, and I heard the explosion in the distance. But it was muffled. The blast of blue flames didnt reach me. I wasnt burnt to a crisp. It was almost like the blast struck a wall overhead. And then I felt the world shaking. I felt the ground beneath my feet trembling. I raised my head, and I heard the distant cries of the [Hellabomination]. That of anger and fury. It roared.
And nothing. It didnt rip me apart, because I wasnt there. I was below it.
I was safe. I sighed in relief as I looked around at my surroundings. I saw a white ceiling above where I had come from. It shook for a moment as everything around me rumbled. But the shaking stopped soon enough a mere echo of the explosion of blue flames.
That was close
I mumbled to myself. I collapsed to the ground, sighing in relief. I was in a cave chamber. Directly below the lava lake. Beneath the island I had been resting on. I hadnt realized this broken mountain was hollow on the inside until I activated my spatial senses.
And even then, it had been difficult to teleport in. I had to focus for a moment, until I could finally break in. I got to my feet with a frown.
Although this is a weird cave, isnt it?
I looked around, seeing the brick-like floor beneath me. I saw the black walls, and I spotted the broken doorways. I paused. This didnt seem right. It wasnt a cavern. It couldnt have been a natural formation.
And it wasnt. I froze, finally taking in where I was. This wasnt just a cave chamber it was a cave chamber that had been carved into the mountain. It was a Lair no it was something more.
The realization settled in, and I heard a voice echo in my head. It made my eyes snap wide. I felt a shiver run down my spine as my mind spoke to me. And I realized where I was.
Now Entering [Dungeon: Remnants of the First Demon Kingdom]
I blinked a few times, processing those words. And my jaw dropped.
This is a Dungeon in the Netherworld?!
I gaped for a moments, before shaking my head.
But how?