Previous page password is bold portion: q+kUtoch1BR!
Translator: SumTLMan
Beneath ground level, in the grand hall…
Lanterns affixed on the walls had toppled over in the pursuit battle just before, and the viscous, black lamp oil splattered all over the floor. Sparks followed the oil trails, gradually igniting them and slowly spreading their fiery tendrils outwards.
As the grand fire was on the brink of erupting, Angel made his way towards the main exit.
Stationed at the doorway, he glanced back over his shoulder at the grand hall.
At present, the underground chamber was deserted, even the statue of the Cruel Scholar had been pulverized to dust. With this upcoming conflagration, the once pinnacle inscriptions left behind here, akin to ancient relics of yesteryears, were about to be incinerated.
This location was the life source of La Sutherland, allowing its ancient existence. Likewise, it was also the final destination of La Sutherland’s path to destruction.
All things will eventually fade away.
And this place, it was just the beginning.
Angel’s mind teemed with thoughts, eventually uttering a soft sigh, then turned to ascend the spiraling staircase.
…
In the shadowy passageway, subtle footsteps resonated.
This was a windowless corridor. The carpet was blood-red, with monstrous skull specimens adorning both walls, including human ones, all frozen in expressions of terror and fear.
At the corridor’s midpoint, occasional flame-bearing statues with menacing, grotesque faces could be seen. Their flickering firelight hinted at the owner of the footsteps.
A tall, blonde youth with a striking posture and handsome features. His face, however, was pallid, reflecting an odd fatigue and frailty.
He was none other than Angel.
After departing from the grand underground hall, Angel had arrived at a level of the Void Obelisk.
He had initially assumed he could quickly find a way out, but to his surprise, the interior of the tower was an actual labyrinth. He had spent half the day wandering without finding a path, not even a single window leading to a balcony.
The material composing the walls was not ordinary. It had the property of weakening and shielding against any form of energy. For a Demon Lord, this wouldn’t be a hindrance, but with Angel’s current strength, he couldn’t use his mental powers to explore the path behind the walls.
Having walked around this corridor for quite some time, Angel had not seen a window, not even a door.
Facing the seemingly endless darkness ahead, Angel felt a surreal sensation, as if he had entered the intestines of a creature, or perhaps a looping corridor with no end.
After walking a bit longer, Angel found a rest area in the middle of the corridor.
The rest area was wider than the corridor, enough to accommodate a long table and sofa, with the sculptures bearing flames still present on the side.
The table was cluttered with dining platters, though now they bore an untidy and disheveled appearance. Angel was present, the malodorous scent of Iuppiter’s saliva pervading the room.
Presumably, Iuppiter had partaken of some food here before descending into the basement.
Rather than wander aimlessly further, Angel thought for a moment, decided to pause at this resting spot. Subsequently, he procured his scouting puppet and dispatched it into the dark recesses.
While the puppet navigated its way, Angel brought forth the statue of the Cruel Scholar and positioned it on the table.
“Relic,” Angel murmured quietly, echoing the words of Iadase, the evident name of this statue. Yet, what could be the purpose of this Relic?
From the previous words of the Cruel Scholar, it was clear that the statue was somehow utilizable. But how to utilize it, and what were the outcomes and repercussions? Those still remained enigmatic.
Angel gazed upon the statue, which now looked exactly as it had when he first saw it in the underground hall. Its wings were closed, enveloping its body. Its face was unseen, yet inexplicably, Angel felt a chill creep up his spine, as if from somewhere in the distant darkness, a pair of eyes were fixed on him.
After musing for a moment, Angel removed his glove from his right hand.
The green runes that coiled around his right hand were instantly brought to his attention.
These green runes constantly morphed and meandered around his hand. Angel soon fixated on one specific rune that he had only recently acquired.
Although he hadn’t thoroughly dissected it like the other runes, when he obtained this rune, he grasped its meaning—’shield.’
However, if the meanings of the other runes were any indication, this ‘shield’ likely only represented its most superficial definition. It probably bore additional, deeper meanings which he could only understand after conducting a more thorough analysis in his spare time.
He observed the green rune that denoted ‘shield’ for a while. Eventually, he released a long sigh, then channeled the aura of the Nightmare Plane, which gently emanated from his right hand, to power up the green rune. Angel then attempted to activate it.
Without any play of light or noticeable energy fluctuations, the green rune that symbolized ‘shield’ simply melted away unremarkably. One could say that it vanished to the naked eye, but Angel was able to distinctly feel that the rune had transformed into a thin layer that enveloped him entirely.
With the appearance of this thin layer, Angel again cast his gaze towards the statue on the table, no longer experiencing the same palpitation as before.
Even though Angel felt that acting so cautious might be bordering on paranoia, this Relic was, after all, the creation of a Great Demon God. And when dealing with the artifacts of a Demon God, there was no such thing as too much caution.
Furthermore, once the shield rune was activated, Angel didn’t need to worry about its disappearance. This was because his right hand was constantly releasing the aura of the Nightmare Plane, which, for the moment, was sufficient to maintain the existence of the rune.
Unless he used his right hand to release the nightmare illusion spell, the rune wouldn’t be affected in the short term.
Once Angel’s mind was at ease, he naturally turned his attention to the scouting puppet.
However, when Angel looked over, he noticed that the scouting puppet was paused in front of a large, broken door.
This door was precisely the one that Angel had ascended through from the underground hall.
In essence, the scouting puppet circled around this corridor, but in the end, found absolutely nothing. The only door seen was still the one leading to the underground hall.
There is only one door in the entire corridor, which is clearly impossible.
“Either I’m caught in a maze, or the path has been concealed.”
If it were a maze, Angel speculated that he certainly wouldn’t be able to crack it with his current abilities. Moreover, based on his deduction, the Void Obelisk, which itself possesses rune techniques, is unlikely to have additional mazes set up.
Could it be then that the path has been hidden?
Angel pocketed the statue on the table and ventured into the dark corridor. As he walked, he kept observing his surroundings, but until he returned to the entrance of the underground hall, he found no clues whatsoever.
Upon careful thought, if a maze is out of the question, then hiding the path also seems to contradict the speculation.
Furthermore, from Angel’s observations over this period, except for demons mainly affecting the mind, most other demons don’t like complications. They do engage in numerous brutal and deceitful actions, but rarely do they hide and conceal.
“Could it be that the path was never hidden, but I merely overlooked it?”
Angel retraced his steps, going through the route once more, this time walking quite slowly. Other than the occasional skull specimens on the walls, there was nothing unusual along the way.
Just when Angel was at his wit’s end, a faint glow appeared in the darkness ahead.
Looking up, it was one of the holding fire sculptures that sporadically appeared in the corridor. These sculptures were grotesque and terrifying, clinging to the walls, their elongated arms outstretched with fire burning in their palms.
Looking at one of these holding fire sculptures, Angel suddenly seemed to recall something.
For the demons that hate trouble, if it were a path, there would surely be a clear marker. And in this pitch-black corridor, the most obvious things were these sculptures burning with firelight.
Could it be that these sculptures are the path?
Bewildered, Angel stretched out his hand and touched the long arm of the sculpture.
Then, without any force, he heard a “ka-ka—” sound. The Holding Fire Sculpture and the wall behind it rotated, revealing a large door.
Angel: “……” So, this really is the path.
While complaining about this design, Angel walked toward the door.
Behind the door was a cramped, narrow room. As soon as he entered, Angel was immediately hit with a strong smell of blood. Upon closer inspection, the tiny room was filled with all sorts of decaying flesh, seemingly from some sort of demon, some of which were already breeding white maggots.
In the center of the room, there was a slope going downwards, looking like a slide. But on this slide, there were both ancient black bloodstains and vibrant recent bloodstains.
Angel had the scouting puppet look down the slide, and it turned out that there was a blood-soaked basement below.
A plump Butcher Demon, with chains around its neck and limbs, was continuously chopping at a creature with a large cleaver. The creature, hanging with a Hunting Museum number, seemed to have come from the Hunting Museum.
Surrounding the Butcher Demon were pieces of flesh and rotten meat, as well as a variety of repulsive-looking dishes and seasonings.
Surveying the activity of the scouting puppet, it seemed to have startled this Butcher Demon. It pivoted its head and bellowed in fury, charging with a kitchen knife toward the puppet.
However, it was only halfway through the charge when it was reined in by the chain.
Upon witnessing this scene, Angel quietly retreated from the room. The design of the dinner hall was essentially the same as the ones at the resting place, perhaps, a chef abducted by Iuppiter?
There were many fire holding sculptures in the corridor, and Angel quickly found a new room.
Yet again, it was a kitchen, and under it, another Butcher Demon was held captive.
In fact, all the ingredients used by these demon chefs were abyssal creatures. To Angel, they were premium demonic materials. However, to acquire them, one would inevitably have to confront these horrifying chefs.
Angel didn’t believe he could triumph, so he regretfully withdrew.
On this journey, Angel entered numerous rooms behind fire holding sculptures, yet, the vast majority were ‘kitchens’. From this, one could tell how much Iuppiter loved to eat.
The remaining rooms were, for the most part, eerily vacant.
Not entirely empty, though, such as the one in front of him now.