Chapter 999 Whose Standard <TOC> Chapter 1001 Dongola
Translator: SumTLMan
A sigh of relief brushed through Angel as he noted that Sanders had ceased discussing the matter of the Time Thief.
“Mentor, did Lord Velite visit earlier to inquire about the changes in Eternal Night Kingdom?” Angel queried.
Sanders nodded. Velite had indeed expressed the same curiosity to Angel, who, however, had chosen to remain silent. This course of action was met with approval from Sanders as any response from Angel would inevitably give Velite a clue. Silence was indeed golden.
“Judging from Lord Velite’s reaction earlier, it seemed that he was quite satisfied with Mentor’s answer.” Angel voiced his puzzlement. “How did Mentor answer him?”
“What he desired to know were but two things—the spread of the changes from Eternal Night Kingdom to Western Demos, and the underlying plot behind these changes.”
To the first, the answer was affirmative, with the spread proving rapid. To the second, it was the Nightmare Plane.
That was Sanders’ response, straightforward, devoid of embellishments that might trigger suspicion from Velite. Instead, laying bare the shocking, albeit truthful, facts would prompt Velite to fill in the blanks himself.
As for Sanders stating that the force behind Eternal Night Kingdom was the “Nightmare Plane”, it was rather expected.
After all, the Wizarding World had discovered several nests of colorful dragonflies, each housing a stable interplanar passage. Although not all wizards could navigate this anchor-less route to the Nightmare Plane, the discovery meant any prophecy wizard could unravel some secrets.
Moreover, the answer “Nightmare Plane” echoed the prophecy in the —Frost Moon Confidential— penned by La Pluie—
The looming shadow of the Demon God is even more terrifying.
If the Bottomless Abyss was fraught with perils, necessitating cautious steps, the Nightmare Plane was an unending nightmare, a fall into which resulted in complete oblivion.
To date, no plane more terrifying than the Nightmare Plane had been uncovered by the wizards of the Southern Region.
These two chilling answers didn’t seem to be lies in Velite’s eyes. Though not entirely satisfactory, they offered clarity to the crux of his curiosity. As for the details that Sanders hadn’t explicated, while Velite was indeed curious, he couldn’t press further if Sanders was unwilling to disclose.
A sense of resonance stirred in Angel as he listened to Sanders’ words.
Perhaps only Sanders could muster such audacity to respond as such. If it had been Angel, even the utmost detailing might not have been credible enough for Velite. Such confidence was a testament to the profound power Sanders held.
With that, the matter was put to rest.
Velite’s case drew to a provisional close, and Angel had initially planned to fulfill the task of completing the sequel to the “Monument of the Strange Ring”, a scheme originally devised by Sanders before the lifting of martial law in the demon city. However, before Angel could begin his creative process, Sanders summoned him into his study.
“Now that you have touched upon the Great Barrier, it implies that you must consider the matter of Spell Position,” Sanders’ gaze suddenly grew somewhat murky. “I mentioned this to you during our time on Phantom Island. Have you made a decision?”
Indeed, Sanders had alluded to Spell Position, though at that moment, he had stopped short of elaborating. It was only after Angel had sought answers from Flora that he ascertained Sanders’ unspoken wish — for Angel to select an Original Spell.
However, creating an Original Spell requires a great deal of time. Given the imminent storm brewing in the Southern Region, Sanders had refrained from broaching the subject.
Angel nodded in acknowledgment, “I have not made a decision, but my inclinations have taken shape in my mind.”
“The choice of a Spell Position is a matter of vital importance, and it would be best to select something of use to you. Illusion spells would work, as would Alchemy.” Sanders paused briefly, “You must prioritize the matter of Spell Position.”
Establishing a Spell Position does not consume a significant amount of time. Instead, it is the selection of the spell that is the most time-consuming, as it will dictate Angel’s future path.
After departing from Sanders’ study, Angel retreated to his own quarters and sank deep into contemplation.
He was personally inclined towards an Original Spell, though constructing one is no simple task. After mulling over it for a moment, Angel contemplated if he should seek inspiration from a mysterious tangible object?
…
Downfallen Forest, the interlayer passage.
A petite figure hurtled out in a state of disarray, barely landing before she collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
She looked back at the slightly terrifying spatial rift suspended in mid-air, a glimmer of fear flashed in her typically jealous eyes. Of all her interlayer teleportations, this was perhaps the most dangerous!
It was merely a translayer teleportation, with a spatial rift so short that it was almost negligible, yet she encountered an unprecedented energy torrent. Precisely at that moment, she was at the heart of the spatial rift, where the torrent almost swept her into the Dark Abyss. If not for the use of her trump card, she would probably have been lost to the torrent.
“Curses, my Kuna’s skin!” She muttered under her breath, her eyes filled with resentment.
Hundreds of years ago, she discovered a mysterious humanoid in the world of Looft, who was strikingly handsome. She always abhorred those who were more attractive than her, even if the person in question was a man.
Consequently, she ensnared him, methodically stripped his skin from crown to heel, and then, in a perverse act of craftsmanship, weaved for him a shell of toad skin.
Regrettably, the man, an enigma wrapped in a mystery, was but a mere mortal, unable to reconcile with the peculiarities of the toad’s skin. In just a few days, he perished.
Later, she learned that the man was the last member of an incredibly precious race from the Looft World—the Kuna clan.
With his demise, the Kuna clan vanished from existence.
She also discovered at that time that the skin of the Kuna clan possessed the capacity to stabilize space. Through a unique spell, it could serve as a protective amulet when traversing the passage between planes.
Indeed, it was the skin of the Kuna clan that allowed her to navigate through these passages without a single mishap. One could argue, the Kuna’s skin was one of her trump cards!
But alas! Alas!
Before, when she was merely crossing a single layer of the Abyss, akin to entering a passage to a subsidiary world in the Wizarding World, there should have been no danger. Yet, against all odds, she encountered an energy torrent!
An unwarranted, yet immensely potent energy torrent!
Even as a second level witch of true knowledge, she was utterly insignificant against this torrent of energy. She felt like a tree uprooted by a hurricane, devoid of anchorage, at risk of being swept to an unknown distance by the storm, and facing the ultimate obliteration of life.
In such a perilous situation, she had no choice but to play her ace—the Kuna’s skin. Through its space-stabilizing ability, she was able to protect herself amidst the relentless torrent.
It was a journey brief for a wizard, and for a witch of true knowledge like her, it should have been a blink of an eye.
However, in her perception, no journey had ever felt longer than this one.
With every step she took, the protective Kuna’s skin, which had been her safeguard, was pummeled by the torrent until it was riddled with holes.
At the very last step, with the exit within sight, the intensity of the energy torrent suddenly escalated, leading to the complete disintegration of the Kuna’s skin.
In the split second before the destruction of the Kuna’s skin, she resorted to a forbidden spell to barely squirm through the planar rift, eventually making a successful landing in Downfallen Forest.
But that forbidden spell has left her utterly drained and immobile at the moment.
However, the aftermath of invoking the forbidden spell left her with an even deeper wound in her heart. Witnessing the tearing to shreds of the Kuna’s skin with her own eyes, how could she possibly remain unscathed emotionally?
This was probably the most dangerous and the most devastating experience she had encountered in nearly a hundred years!
After regaining her composure from the terror, she glared at the rift in mid-air, seething with frustration. If a human hand had been involved in this incident, she would spare no expense to erase the culprit from the face of the earth, leaving not even a trace of their spirit behind. Yet, such a colossal stream of energy was beyond anyone’s control; attributing the blame, all she could say was that she was down on her luck.
With a chest full of rage and nowhere to vent her frustration, she couldn’t help but let out a piercing scream.
The shrill, acute cry tore through the heavens, reverberating through the desolate Downfallen Forest.
After a while, she panted heavily, eyes flashing with hatred: “At least I have the people at Watchtower Fortress nearby to vent my anger. No one can stop me…”
Only destruction, only dissection, only grafting could provide solace to her loss!
She was already picturing in her mind what methods of torment would bring her joy? Transmuting men into women? Transplanting the faces of those snobbish, prudish women with men’s whips? Injecting the blood of the Goat Demon into their bodies?
All sorts of “ingenious ideas” echoed in her mind.
However, she reveled in these thoughts for less than half a minute when the ground suddenly began to shake.
Her brow furrowed, and her eyes flashed with annoyance.
What’s going on, an earthquake? Supporting her weary body, she stood up. The surrounding tree shadows were constantly shuddering, their fluttering leaves dancing in a way that irked her.
The ground’s stones were also incessantly bouncing, creating a clattering noise.
At first, she thought she had encountered an earthquake, but as the shaking intensified and the tree shadows around her began to blur, the earth rumbled and split open.
The crevice turned into a massive pit.
At the same time, an enormous and immeasurable aura drilled out from within the deep pit.
At this point, she had a creeping suspicion that this was not an earthquake!
An inexplicable sense of dread made her feel a chill down her spine.
Far from any resolution, the previously dormant chasm burst forth with vermilion magma, instantly setting aflame the surrounding deadwood. Accompanying the rhythmic clanging, a colossal hand, adorned with molten rock, emerged from the chasm, clutching the edge.
Gazing at the hand reminiscent of a Titan, disbelief flitted across her eyes.
Simultaneously, a legend sprang unbidden into her mind—
She had once unearthed an ancient scroll at a monastery in Blackwater Basin. The scroll spoke of an Ancient Demon sleeping in the belly of Downfallen Forest, the third layer of the Abyss.
This ancient demon, using lava as its bed, had been slumbering for millennia.
None dared to disturb it, for it was a Demon Lord who had once been dethroned!
Its name was “Mangonis.”
As her memories resurfaced, the owner of the “colossal hand” finally revealed its head — even just a head appeared mountainous.
“Who… dares disturb my slumber?”