Chapter 1129 Rune Entities <TOC> Chapter 1131 The Collapse
Translator: SumTLMan
As soon as the words were spoken, the native abruptly opened his eyes.
With the unfurling of his gaze, an atmosphere of terror surged forth, carrying with it an all-encompassing oppression.
Iadase’s pupils constricted: this was yet another existence not the least bit inferior to the previous Abyss Dragon!
It seemed that the defense mechanism of the Void Obelisk had been fortified to the maximum; even this hidden path left out had a formidable entity safeguarding it.
“Dreadful, we’ve been discovered! I’ll keep him busy, seize any chance to infiltrate the Void Obelisk!” Nythotep instructed.
A black eagle cried out, the air becoming stagnant.
The battle, was on the brink of breaking out!
Meanwhile, within the confines of the Void Obelisk.
In the hollow corridor, a figure ablaze with flames moved through. The sanguine chains entwined around his body met the polished floor, causing a crisp clashing sound of “clang, clang” with each step he took.
As he passed a window, he paused, casting a sideways glance outside.
The exterior was blanketed in dim light, black silhouettes were ceaselessly fluttering across the sky. At that moment, a large shadow drifted to the window. He lifted his gaze to meet this towering silhouette.
——From his perspective, this shape was no less than the size of the skull of an Abyss Dragon.
The dragon’s eyes were violet, a flicker of confusion passed when they met his. With a huff, violet flames crackled against the window.
In the dragon’s breath of fire, his face was clearly revealed.
His features were as profound as deep ravines; in the play of light and shadow, he seemed wildly insane.
This was Popoca, disguised as Sparrow Blossom.
Popoca stared unflinchingly into the dragon’s eyes, utterly fearless.
Contrarily, the Abyss Dragon, under Popoca’s intense gaze, slowly withdrew its skull, vanishing from the window.
Once the dragon’s form had disappeared, Popoca slowly lowered his brows, concealing the bizarre pattern within his eyes. As his brows descended, the chains on his body produced a rustling sound.
He lowered his head, his lost gaze stroking the chains, “Are you satiated?”
The chain quivered, as if answering his question.
“Then it’s time to move.” Popoca’s voice was initially calm, to the point of coldness. But suddenly, from his mouth emerged a manic laughter.
“Yiihahaha——” after the laughter, Popoca’s eyes oscillated ceaselessly between lucidity and confusion, his mouth revealing a strange arc.
He pressed onward, rapidly arriving before a colossal gateway adorned with mysterious runes.
The gateway was closed, yet a gaping hole was present in its very center. Glowing metallic fragments were scattered across the ground, and from the magnitude of their shattered state, one could infer the savage strength that had been exerted to break open this portal.
Beyond the hole lay a pitch-black staircase, spiraling downwards into unfathomable depths.
At this point, Popoca’s expression grew increasingly strange, his eyes radiating an aura of perplexity and confusion. If Angel were here, he would have found the current Popoca drastically different from the one he’d encountered in the Savage Grottoes and even from the Popoca he saw by the lava pool not long ago.
The man seemed even more unhinged, as if another personality had been forcibly crammed into Popoca’s body.
Humming an eerie tune, Popoca ventured into the hole and descended along the staircase. The staircase terminated at another massive door, also sporting a large, gaping hole.
A grinding noise echoed from within the door.
As casually as if he were returning home, Popoca sauntered through the door. Beyond it lay a spacious circular hall, the first thing to catch the eye upon entry was a statue across the hall. The specifics of the statue were indiscernible as it was wrapped within a pair of black wings, with only the faintest hint of a curled figure visible from within.
Beneath the statue, a demon lay unconscious.
The preceding grinding sounds were, in fact, emanating from this emaciated demon.
The demon’s face was almost entirely comprised of a mouth full of sharp teeth, a distinctive feature of a Glutton Demon.
Typically, Glutton Demons are substantially robust and round. However, this one was starkly different with a shriveled belly that resembled a starving man.
A chain, identical to the one wrapped around Popoca, coiled around the demon. One end of the chain was lodged in the demon’s navel, ceaselessly sucking its blood and flesh, resulting in the grinding sounds.
Suddenly, the chain wrapped around the Glutton Demon began to glow a dazzling red, and withdrew itself from the demon’s belly.
“All filled up?” Popoca raised an eyebrow, peering at the chain on his body. The chain in the Shadow Mist Zone had to consume dozens of demons before it was barely sated. Yet, the chain left in the Void Obelisk was content with merely one Glutton Demon… moreover, this Glutton Demon hadn’t been completely drained.
——One of the seven mightiest demons of La Sutherland, truly extraordinary indeed.
“Well fed, time to return then.”
Upon his command, the chain around the Glutton Demon connected with the one on his body.
A blinding red light erupted from the union of the chains, illuminating the entire underground hall.
Simultaneously, Popoca’s face contorted gruesomely and his figure began to swell as if countless worms were squirming under his skin. Popoca felt an indescribable agony, but he neither cried out in pain nor did he scream. Instead, he burst into maniacal laughter. This transformation persisted for several minutes.
When it finally concluded, the ground was littered with a layer of expelled flesh, and Popoca was standing amidst it.
By now, Popoca’s stature was nearly comparable to Iadase in his transformed state.
Covered entirely in knotty protuberances and sharp angles, a viscous green fluid incessantly oozed from the pores of his skin. Even more horrifyingly, a pair of fleshy wings had sprouted from his body.
Where once a humanoid shape could faintly be discerned, there was now nothing left that resembled a human. He seemed even more grotesque than a demon. However, an intense sense of danger was radiating from him, spreading outwards!
“Yiihahahaha——” Amid the eerie laughter, clarity was nearly gone from the depths of Popoca’s eyes, replaced by nothing but bewilderment and insanity.
Within his madness, Popoca struggled to his feet and began to move towards the statue at the center of the great hall.
Beneath the wing-wrapped statue, there was a protruding stone. It seemed ordinary enough, but with Popoca’s rapidly increased power, he could discern numerous luminous runes hidden within the surrounding space. These runes filled the entire underground hall, stretching out towards the Void Obelisk, and even into other dimensions.
The linchpin of all these luminous runes was this seemingly ordinary stone. By merely pressing it, all the runes would be disrupted!
Popoca was on the brink of madness.
Clear, rational thought had been supplanted by the turbulent emotions of insanity.
It was as if many whispers were echoing in his ears: Press it, press it…
Heeding these whispers, Popoca raised his green, viscous-covered hand, “Yiihahaha, it’s time for La Sutherland to take its final bow.”
Slowly, he stretched out his hand towards the protruding stone.
The surrounding runes started to stir as if they were trying to prevent him. But he paid them no mind and continued to reach out, albeit at a slower pace than before…
Outside the Void Obelisk, all the shadows suddenly became still for a moment.
Nythotep, who had been at a disadvantage against the native, seized the opportunity to regain her bearings. “I’ve opened up a secret tunnel with my tentacles. Rush in there, now!” she yelled at Iadase.
Without pausing to question why the shadows had halted, Iadase quickly darted into the secret tunnel.
The native was still for only a moment. Nythotep took the lead, her misty tentacles trying to suppress them in a frenzy.
However, the native was far stronger than she had expected, and they severed her tentacles with just a swing of their weapon.
But it was enough. In the brief respite it created, Iadase made it into the secret tunnel.
Nythotep was gravely wounded, but at this moment, she let out a sigh of relief. She knew the shadow entities had their own limitations and could not penetrate the Void Obelisk. The secret tunnel was now within the bounds of the Obelisk.
Having successfully ushered Iadase into the tunnel, Nythotep’s mission was accomplished. Now, she had to devise a way to retreat.
Only upon vacating the enigmatic expanse of the Shadow Mist Zone could they claim genuine safety.
However, just as Nythotep sought to retreat amidst the chaos of battle, a sudden tremor quaked through La Sutherland.
The fiery sky was rapidly shrouded by a surge of ominous black clouds.
A frenzied wind, originating from an unknown source, howled through La Sutherland, filling the air with an eerie resonance.
Confounded, the wizards upon the floating iceberg scrutinized the dramatic transformation unfolding around them. Gale-force winds whipped their garments into an uproarious symphony of noise. Even those previously entangled in combat with demons now receded, endeavoring merely to retain their footing.
The black clouds around them intensified in their grim opacity.
In the heavens above, the topmost layer was aflame with flickering fire, the middle teemed with dark clouds, and the lowest was filled with a brooding and incessant wind.
“What has transpired?” everyone inquired, yet none could provide an answer. However, a palpable shroud of unease began to envelop everyone’s hearts. Anomalies unfolded one after another, each intensifying the undercurrent of dread. Now, ominous premonitions lurked within the minds of all.
It’s one thing for an individual to dismiss an incident as happenstance, but when a collective sense of unease forms, there’s surely a grave issue at hand.
Maher approached Mengke, seeking guidance amidst the uncertainty.
Yet, Mengke stood at the eye of the storm, his gaze sweeping across La Sutherland before finally resting upon the colossal Void Obelisk.
…
The Phantasmagoria Cabin.
When La Sutherland trembled unexpectedly, Angel’s heartbeat pounded like a frantic drum.
His puzzlement deepened as the sky above La Sutherland morphed ominously, clouds of darkness amassing, and the savage wind erupting.
The wind disheveled Angel’s hair, while his eyes mirrored the engulfing black clouds.
“What’s happening?” Angel turned to Fafnir, his voice infused with an uncharacteristic trace of panic. He was so perturbed that he failed even to use the proper honorifics in his address.
Fafnir’s eyebrows knitted together in concern.
She too was unaware of what was unfolding. However, like the wizards in the turbulent sky above, Fafnir also harbored a burgeoning sense of dread — indeed, her premonition was far more powerful than the others.
In the face of this sudden, perilous anticipation, Fafnir even rose to her feet.
Ignoring Angel’s inquiry, she instead cast her gaze in the direction the foreboding seemed to emanate from——the Void Obelisk.
Before Fafnir could respond to Angel, it was Canaan who spoke in a trembling voice:
“It’s as if… I can hear La Sutherland weeping.”