363. Purpose Served

“Hey, Orgaf.”

I spoke as I flew through the sky, passing over the mountainous landscape. The clouds obfuscated my vision. I felt a cool wind brushing against my face. But I didn’t slow, and I didn’t drop my casual tone.

“So… you can hide inside shadows, right?”

“That is correct.”

An ethereal voice spoke from over my shoulder. The shadow of a head crawled underneath my wings. Even though my wings were burning brightly, the shadow persisted.

“And I can create shadows where shadows cannot be. I am a [Nightcrawler Shadower], after all. A combination of a [Rogue] and a [Mage].”

“Huh. I think I’m the same.”

I could probably ask him for some advice, then. I tilted my head to the side, pondering another question.

“If you can create shadows out of nothing, why can’t you create wings?”

“Unfortunately, I am not an expert in shadow creation magic. Shadow conjuration is my specialty. But to create solid objects out of the shadows is… difficult. And inefficient.”

“Inefficient?”

“If I truly wanted to fly, I could simply drink a Potion of Wings or use a Scroll of Flight. Perhaps even learn said spells myself with my second Class. But I never saw the importance of an aerial advantage. Not with my skill set.”

“I see.”

That was true. He was a close combatant, from what I’d seen so far. But I had a lot of long-ranged Skills. I even had magic that could engulf a whole forest in flames in moments. Flight was thus very important to me, unlike for Orgaf.

My eyes glazed over the Motharis Mountain Range. [A Hunter’s Sense] had told me Belzu fled in this general direction, but I wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly where he was hiding or if he was still running. Worst of all, I wasn’t even able to focus on tracking him down.

“What about you, Willy? Are you good at fire creation magic?”

“No. Useless.”

“Hey, it’s not useless just because you suck at it—”

I made inane conversation. Not because I didn’t care about finding Belzu. But because my mind was preoccupied with something else.

Why? Why was I distracted even though I had decided to go on my own to chase after the Primeval Demon? Well, it was simple.

I left my companions behind. For their safety, I asked them to go find Helena Warshade and bring her here. I didn’t want them to die to Belzu or anything. And he could use them as bait or even hostages. It was too risky. It was exactly as my companions said.

Yet, they clearly looked upset. They didn’t look happy about being left alone. I didn’t get it. And it made me upset. An uncomfortable feeling bubbled up inside of me, and I only snapped out of it when Orgaf spoke up.

“We’re not covering enough ground.”

The shadow said. I cocked my head, looking back at Orgaf.

“Huh?”

“At this rate, we won’t find the Primeval Demon. We need to split up to cover more ground. The only problem is… do either of you have a communication artifact?”

“Um…”

I exchanged a glance with Willy. Both the [Will O’ Wisp] and I answered at the same time.

“Nope.”

“No.”

“That’s… unfortunate.”

Orgaf sounded disappointed. He pondered aloud, trying to figure out a solution to this dilemma.

“Perhaps we could agree to return to the same spot in an hour. We do not want to face the Primeval Demon on our own—”

“Wait!”

I exclaimed. Orgaf wanted us to cover more ground, but I had a simple way to do that!

“What if I do this?”

I snapped my fingers. And this time, I felt a surge of mana draining from my body. I was instantly exhausted, but golden sparks flickered to life around us.

My clones appeared around me. All ten of them. This was the real number of clones I could summon. My max clones. I grinned as they looked at me, nodding.

“Split up! Find Belzu! Go quickly!”

And they flew off. Orgaf’s shadow turned to Willy, and the two stared at each other as I beamed.

“I’m a genius!”

Willy scoffed.

“No.”

Alix screamed as she swung her sword. Her ears rang. Blood splattered on her. The monster fell, and the ground shook. Taking in a deep breath, she ignored the words resounding in her head and looked towards the glint in the corner of her eye.

Experience is awarded for defeating [Goliath Oliphant - Lvl 114]!

More experience is awarded for defeating—

Just from doing this, she’d leveled up five times. Five times in an hour. Alix didn’t believe it. But it worked. These were monsters far above her level, and she was killing them. They were fueling her level— as well as the other former slaves with her. Quinn, for example, had leveled up eight times since they began. Winsley, while a low-leveled combatant, had leveled up three times.

Together, the Humans brought down the Oliphants and the Drakes and the undead under Belzu’s command. Alix knew this never would’ve been possible under normal circumstances. But these were no ordinary circumstances.

The bright light flashed, and Alix covered her eyes. The portal shimmered faintly. The image on the other side grew more solid as its circumference expanded. Alix stared as a creature— a Demon with many legs and a dozen eyes and spikes jutting out of its body— leapt for the portal. She flinched, but the Demon didn’t break through.

There was a harrumph. Alix turned to a dissatisfied figure, lowering itself to her.

“You’re too slow.”

Belzu, Lord of Lies, and Primeval Demon spoke simply. Alix lowered her head, sputtering. She gestured at a [Goliath Oliphant], standing defiantly even as a hundred slaves assailed it.

“I-I… we’re trying our hardest. But we cannot possibly take down these Level 120 beasts—”

“That’s enough.”

His eyes flashed. Alix stumbled back. Then there was a crash. The [Goliath Oliphant] fell. Again, the ritual circle grew brighter and wider.

“Go.”

The Primeval Demon’s voice boomed. Alix blinked. A susurration ran through the cowering slaves. They paused, exchanging glances. They spoke in hushed voices as Alix barely mustered up the strength to speak.

“...what?”

Belzu twisted his head to face her. He addressed not just her, but all the slaves present.

“Leave. You have served your purpose. You are no longer of use to me.”

He waved a hand dismissively. Then he turned back to the ritual circle as his eyes flashed a dark crimson, killing a chunk of his monster army without even looking.

“I always keep my promise.”

Alix stood in disbelief. The other slaves were at a loss for words at first. They looked at each other, confused. Not sure if this was a test or not. They finally reacted when a voice exclaimed.

“We… we’re free!”

Quinn jumped in joy. He turned around, excitedly wading his way past the other slaves.

“Get out of my way— I’m getting the fuck out of here!”

Alix stared as the man left. Then it broke the stupor. A dozen of the former slaves clamored after him. Then a hundred. And all at once, a stampede made their way out of the Brilsum Ruins.

“We can finally return to our homes!”

“I lived! I didn’t die to that insane…”

“Move! Hurry up idiots—”

Was this real? Alix saw them leave, and she realized it was true. But she still couldn’t comprehend it. She turned to Belzu, raising her sword.

“You’re letting us go.”

Her voice trembled as she spoke. The Primeval Demon killed another hundred monsters, and she shouted.

“Why? Aren’t you the Lord of Lies? Aren’t you a Demon? Why would you set us free, just like that?”

Alix didn’t understand. She couldn’t comprehend it. But the Primeval Demon didn’t care.

“You said you are a slave, Human. That is why I took you into my army. But I realize— that is not true.”

His wings buzzed as he floated before her. He raised a hand as a powerful curse gathered around his fingertips. Alix hesitated, but he didn’t face her. He turned to the [Goliath Oliphants], felling them all at once. They trumpeted as they died, sending small earthquakes throughout the Brilsum Ruins.

“You have your free will. You could oppose me or your captors as you wish, even if it is at the cost of your life. You do not understand what it is like to truly be a slave. To dedicate your life to servitude, believing your master is right, only to learn of his follies.”

The Primeval Demon’s mandibles clicked before spreading wide. The symbol burned in his mouth shone brighter than before as he faced Alix.

“So I have no use of you. I have no care for you. I do not want you here.”

Alix stumbled back as the portal pulsed with energy, no longer expanding. The ceiling fell, crumbling around Belzu as a translucent pillar reached for the sky. The dark clouds gathered turned pitch black, and a red glow shone down from above them.

A screech drew Alix’s attention. Her eyes darted to the base of the portal. A claw crawled up the corner of the circle.

“That’s…”

[Hellwolf - Lvl 93]

The first of the waiting Demon pulled itself onto the Mortal Realm, eyes glowing red. An untamed, wild beast. It bore no collar. Belzu had no control over it. It snarled as Alix screamed.

“No—”

But it leapt past her. Alix fell to the ground, panting. Confused. Then she saw the blotch of magic covering over her. An illusion shielded her from the Demon’s sight.

Belzu turned away from Alix as his voice grew quiet.

“Now go. Return to your cities. Hide. Do as you wish with the time you have left. And pray for salvation.”

Alix ran. As the wild Demons crawled their way out of the Netherworld, she fled the Brilsum Ruins. The sky turned red. The magic illuminated the night. And hell was unleashed on earth.

“What is… that?”

Orgaf’s voice quivered as he spoke over my shoulder. I looked up. From eleven different perspectives. All my clones saw it. I saw it. The familiar crimson sky. The dark clouds. A pillar of translucent light, emanating a magic that I mastered. It came from the center of the Motharis Mountain Range. A place I’d been to before.

And my eyes narrowed.

“That, Orgaf, Willy—”

I turned to the [Will O’ Wisp] and the Elite’s shadow.

“Is our destination.”

With that, I took off, rushing to put a stop to whatever that was before it was too late.