536. Repelling Revelation

Betrugil couldn’t believe it.

He had been content to finally avoid Revelation for once, especially now that he had joined the hallowed Demon King’s ranks. He honestly hadn’t been enthused about being collared and enslaved after living a life of freedom for so many cycles of Advent, Revelation, and Salvation.

There was no say he had on the matter. The moment his hidden Lair was found out by a patrol of the Demon King’s forces, it was over. He was taken in. He wasn’t happy about it. But… if he was going to be forced to work under Regnorex from now on, he might as well enjoy the benefits of living under his kingdom.

So Betrugil had been looking forward to peacefully avoiding the planar cataclysm that was Revelation. He was going to sit back, relax, and take full advantage of the sanctuary provided by the Demon King’s Domain. Or at least— that was what he thought he’d be doing.

Unfortunately, that didn’t turn out to be the case. He sighed heavily as he strolled into the large open hall, staring at the figures waiting within. Betrugil didn’t want to be here. But he had received orders. These were very specific orders that he couldn’t disobey. Not without losing his life.

However, these orders might result in the loss of his life too. After all, it required him to leave the Demon King’s Domain and face Revelation.

It was ridiculous. It was stupid. Betrugil might as well have thrown his life away here and now. He probably had a better chance of surviving the pursuing Deathsquad Hunters if he fled the castle and broke his collar than facing Revelation. The only reason he survived for so long in the first place was because he was smart and hid it out.

This was suicide. But honestly, he couldn’t care whether he died to the Demon King or the Netherworld itself at this point. Betrugil had resigned himself to his fate. So he approached the three waiting Archdemons as they turned to face him.

“You’re late.”

A voice spoke. A green-skinned Demon with four red eyes. Tall and large with a pair of burly arms. Betrugil glanced her way.

[Baelis - Lvl. 145]

“Sorry, Laxi. I was busy getting caught up.”

He nodded at her. She raised a brow.

“Busy… getting caught up in what?”

“Busy getting caught up in this mess. I can’t believe we’re really going to go and get ourselves killed for no reason.”

Betrugil snorted, and that made Laxi frown. But she didn’t comment on that. Not that he cared. He knew he was riling up emotions, but it didn’t really matter anyway— not when he knew what kind of a fate was awaiting him at the end of this journey.

He glanced past the [Baelis], towards the other two waiting Archdemons. One of them crossed her arms at him.

[Succubus - Lvl. 134]

“Maybe you’re going to get yourself killed. But we’ll survive like we always do, right Haec?”

She clung onto the last Archdemon as she finished. Betrugil rolled his eyes, before looking at the red-skinned wall of muscle.

[Fiend - Lvl. 147]

His name was Haec. He was the highest-leveled of them all. And in such a short amount of time too— that was why he was so favored.

Betrugil didn’t really understand why Haec was here on this mission. The [Fiend] was meant to be the Heir of the Netherworld. The fact that the Demon King was sending his supposed successor to a death sentence seemed so odd… but honestly, it seemed like something Regnorex would do.

It was just strange. Betrugil didn’t comment on it. And Haec, for one, didn’t say anything. He was aloof as he usually was, barely giving Betrugil a passing glance. It wasn’t so much irking, moreso just utterly pretentious, especially considering how everyone treats him so reverently. But at this point, Betrugil barely paid it any mind.

He just looked at the [Succubus] with a deadpan expression.

“Taburas, aren’t you the lowest-leveled out of all of us? What makes you think a Primeval Demon isn’t going to just snap you up before anyone can even react?”

“Wha—”

Taburas sputtered in outrage— which made no sense. All Betrugil did was state the facts. He was a Level 143 Archdemon of Sloth. He might have been the second lowest-leveled out of them all, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t lower-leveled than him.

But still she took a step forward, pointing angrily at him, before gesturing at Haec.

“You can mock me as you wish. But I know that my Haec will protect me!”

“Sure, sure.”

Betrugil waved a hand dismissively.

“I’m sure that Haec definitely won’t be too busy dealing with his own wild Demons. Across the entirety of the Netherworld, there will only be a single wild Demon hounding after you, and we’ll all be free to save you from danger.”

That made her brows snap together. Taburas stepped forward in a fit of fury, but a hand stopped her. Haec shook his head at the [Succubus], speaking simply.

“No, Taburas.”

She blinked. And she immediately drew back, clinging onto him.

“Ah, of course. I shouldn’t bother dealing with this miscreant. He’s an Archdemon of Sloth— all talk, nothing else.”

Betrugil just yawned in response. He was the smallest of the lot. But he didn’t really care. He was an [Abraxas]. One of the many evolutions of the [Imp]. He might seem slow and lazy, but his size and speed would let him escape most lethal encounters just fine.

It just sucked that he now had to run straight at the danger instead of away from it.

“That’s enough, the two of you.”

Laxi spoke, turning around. She might not be as high-leveled as Haec— and she definitely wasn’t the Heir of the Netherworld— but she was their guide here. As such, she was in charge. She stepped forward onto a carpet laid out at the center of the hall.

It started to hover, and she gestured for the other three Archdemons to get on.

“Hurry up. I want to reach Hartia before the border shifts. We’ll have to wait for an updated location if it comes to that.”

“That sounds nice. I’d honestly prefer it if we just dove straight into the Beast’s jaws by accident right away.”

Betrugil shook his head as he hopped onto the flying carpet. Taburas scowled, getting on after. And Haec was the last to clamber up. His gaze was stoic as always. Unchanging even as the carpet slowly carried them forward.

“Now let us go.”

Laxi raised a hand, and the carpet flew faster and faster, bringing them out of the large chamber. It shot forward as the four Demons stood steadfast on its surface. None of them stumbled or fell back— the momentum of the flight magic keeping them locked in place.

“Onwards to repel Revelation.”

The [Baelis] finished. But Betrugil just scoffed.

“To our deaths.”

And I followed Belphegor. Onwards— towards the second layer of the Netherworld. He moved with haste, no longer walking with the slothful demeanor of before. His gaze fully focused now. Like he had his senses suddenly restored after a brief prolonged moment of insanity.

Behind me, I could hear the [Basilisk] hiss. It thrashed inside of its prison, watching us as we descended further down the tunnel. I was a bit worried about an attack from its petrifying gaze, even now that I knew it was supposedly an ally. But I kept an eye on it until I couldn’t see it any longer, just to make sure it didn’t attack me with my back turned.

There was a steep decline here. A light haze that obscured my vision. [Gargoyles] poured forward around me, vanishing into the mist as I tried to peer at what was hidden beneath using my spatial senses.

But it was all a blur to me. I couldn’t see anything in particular with my magic. I just saw the same descent I perceived with my eyes. I pursed my lips, before turning to Belphegor. He was in a rush to reach the second layer, but he was also willing to let his [Gargoyles] move ahead of us. Which made no sense to me.

“Aren’t you in a rush?”

I peered at him, and he glanced back at me fractionally.

“Indeed.”

He replied curtly. I frowned.

“So why aren’t we charging straight in?”

“We must make haste, but that does not mean we should not exercise caution.”

Belphegor looked forward as we turned a corner. He raised a finger, and I stopped. He pointed ahead of the tunnel as I heard a clamor in the distance. The echo of fighting. I narrowed my eyes, raising my Divine Nebular Scythe.

We edged forward as the white blanket of mist cleared. And I stared at the rubble lying at the ground just ahead of me. I frowned, still hearing the sounds of fighting echo from the broken [Gargoyle].

“Um, what?”

And came the flash of light. I spun around just in time to see the tendril of corruption lashing down at me.

[-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstone - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]

I tried to teleport out of the way, only to flicker in place. I didn’t move. I just blinked. But a hand grabbed the tendril. Belphegor yanked the Corrupted Netherstone forward. With a single punch, he silently tore through the floating piece of corrupted rock. Without sound.

Even though the corruption couldn’t normally be cleansed through physical means, Belphegor somehow just crushed it completely. I stared with wide eyes, before looking back down. I heard the sounds of fighting continuing to reverberate from the dead [Gargoyle], and I tried to work my jaw.

“Why can’t I teleport? What’s going on? Why can I still hear…?”

“It is pointless to rely on any of your senses down here. We are at the entrance of the second layer. We are at the brink of the corruption.”

He strode forward, approaching a large arched gateway as I stared at his back. I took a step forward to follow him, and he glanced back one final time as his figure blurred.

“Down here, space no longer obeys the laws of the rest of the Nexeus. Instead, it has been… corrupted.”

As Belphegor finished, I finally heard the crash of the dying Corrupted Netherstone. I opened my mouth to pester him with even more questions, but he vanished. His figure disappeared as I was left alone here in the mist. I gaped for a moment, staring at the archway which was said to lead us into the second layer.

“Huh.”

I moved my lips. But my voice didn’t come out right. It sounded almost… distorted. I glanced back at the dead [Gargoyle], then forward towards the empty archway.

And I realized I might have bit off a lot more than I could chew here.