537. Second Layer

Belphegor was gone.

I searched for him, but no matter where I looked, he wasn’t there. I hesitated, scanning my misty surroundings as I finally heard his footfalls echo in the distance. It had to have been ten minutes after he vanished before I finally heard the soft thudding of his slow walk.

And that was when I knew that I was now alone.

I stepped back, kicking back some rubble. I glanced down to see the corpse of the [Gargoyle] below me. Its broken visage stared up at me with a silent scream. It was a Primeval Demon. Not wild, apparently— but one of Belphegor’s creation.

The fact that he could create Primeval Demons in itself was very impressive. But knowing that these Primeval Demons were so easily dismantled here at the entrance to the second layer… it made me realize how out of my depth I was down here.

I raised my Divine Nebular Scythe warily as Belphegor’s footfalls faded, and a loud clamoring resounded all around me. The sounds of battle. I hesitated. I considered leaving. In fact, it only made sense for me to leave. I wanted to become the strongest in all of Nexeus, but this was just suicide. Nothing waited for me down here except for death. I backed up—

Only to stumble forward towards the tall archway. I blinked a few times, trying to regain my bearings.

“Huh— what…?”

I asked, but my voice wasn’t audible at all. I couldn’t hear myself speak, and while that was a little bit disconcerting, the fact that I had taken a simple step back but somehow ended up a few steps forward was a lot more worrying to me. I spun around, and a thin haze encroached on me.

I bit my lower lip as my voice finally echoed behind me. It sent a shiver down my spine as I stared at where I’d come from, then looked back up towards the archway leading me to the second layer of the Netherworld.

It wasn’t just a regular entryway like the various tunnels that had led down from the Dungeon. It looked like a massive gate. A tall lumbering arched entrance that would stand at the front of a royal palace. But its gilded double doors were rusted— shattered in a few places. There were holes and cracks torn through its stone surface, and part of it had even collapsed to the ground.

Maybe it had once been a glorious sight— it could have even been a powerful seal that held back the corruption at one point. But that was all a memory now.

The corruption had broken through. Only a single layer of the Netherworld remained… whatever that meant. And I needed to get out of here.

A sense of trepidation and dread drove me back. I spread my [Angelic Wings] wide and spun around. I flew straight in the direction I’d come from, but the world spun around me. Even though I was flying in a straight line, I seemed to turn a corner at every passing moment.

It was like I was trapped in one of Belzu’s illusions. The scene kept changing, and my mind reeled. I grew dizzy, trying to turn back each time I was spun around unwillingly. But no matter what I did— even if I corrected my direction— I would still be turned over my head, flying in a different direction.

It was confusing. It was mind bending. This didn’t make any sense. There was no logical explanation for what was going on. And unlike Belzu’s illusions, I couldn’t see through this nonsensical world with my spatial senses.

For a flicker of a moment, I was flying straight for the exit. Then I was diving straight into the ground, only to appear back standing at the arched gateway. I spun around to regain my bearings, only to find myself facing a wall. I flapped my wings, flying up, but crashed into the ground.

I groaned and picked myself up. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been trying to get out of here. All I knew was that the echoing sounds of battle never stopped. It could have been hours— even days. Or maybe it was a few minutes or seconds. I barely knew what was going on, completely thrown into disarray by this broken maze of space.

I looked towards the steep incline leading away from this vast chamber. It was not a cavern. The floor here was made from a mossy black brick. The very same rock that made up the rest of this ruined kingdom.

But parts of the ground had been ripped up and shredded, with bits of rubble… floating? I glanced up at the ceiling, seeing a chandelier hovering overhead. Its chains had been broken, and it was trapped in an infinite fall. My eyes darted around the room, but a layer of mist clouded most of my vision. I still heard the echoes of a battle, even though I couldn’t see the walls lining the edges of this chamber. It could have been a vast hall that expanded thousands of feet… or it could have been a small room that was barely a dozen feet wide.

I didn’t know. I couldn’t even move right!

“This is getting annoying!”

I took a slow step forward, but right as my toes touched the ground, I found myself standing in a completely different place once again. But this time, I wasn’t facing the wall, nor was I facing the arched gateway. I was facing a blurred figure. A mesh of colors. A broken—

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

“Fuck—”

[Angelic Premonition] blared in my head right before the Corrupted Netherstone could lash out at me. Its tendrils shot out, and I was leaping out of the way. I tried jumping back, but space bent as I expected, and I flew straight at the distorted creature.

I crashed into it as we tumbled out of the air. I felt its corruption bearing down on me— trying to rip apart my skin. But I resisted it. My [Corruption Resistance] protected me from the twisting touch of the Corrupted Netherstone.

I swung at the Corrupted Netherstone as we silently clashed. My Divine Nebular Scythe shimmered with divine flames, ripping through the cloak of corruption protecting its core. But even then, that wasn’t enough to finish it off in a single blow.

I followed up with a flurry of strikes empowered by [Draconic Fury]. The crimson afterglow overcame my iridescent blade, tearing into the Corrupted Netherstone even as we crashed through the room. Until, finally, I swung up with the Divine Nebular Scythe as I yelled.

“[Divine Radiant Slash]!”

[Draconic Fury] flashed. The image of a dragon’s claw slashed down with my shining strike. With those two Skills combined into one, my attack engulfed the Corrupted Netherstone as I pushed back.

I landed lithely on the ground with narrowed eyes, watching as the distorted figure flew back. Its core had been ripped open, and while it was still recovering slowly, it couldn’t instantly regenerate. Not in the same way the Cursed Boulder had been able to heal itself by stealing from the earth around it. I also knew that once it was shattered, it wouldn’t regrow into smaller tinier but still dangerous corrupted remains.

But still, the Corrupted Netherstone wasn’t destroyed just yet. I had to finish it off. I watched as it zipped around me, and I took a step forward—

Only to find myself once again stumbling around, no longer facing the Corrupted Netherstone. I blinked, and a pair of tendrils whipped me from behind. I staggered and spun around, watching as the distorted figure continued circling around me as it slowly tried to heal.

“Huh.”

I watched as the Corrupted Netherstone continued navigating through this chamber without any problems. It didn’t slip or spin or teleport around the area. It just… drifted around me. And I realized that it wasn’t affected by whatever distortion was permeating this area.

I narrowed my eyes, remembering when I was tumbling through the air with the Corrupted Netherstone. I had clung onto it, and I hadn’t been discombobulated, confused by what was going on around me. I had been moving perfectly fine while within the radius of its corruption.

I gritted my teeth, looking back towards the exit. I shifted back, only to appear a dozen feet to the left. I stared down at the broken [Gargoyle] from earlier, and bands of fear tightened around my throat. This was a Primeval Demon. It had been a Primeval Demon, just like me. But even down here, it was nothing.

I thought about a plan to escape. The next time the Corrupted Netherstone attacked me, I could hop onto its back and ride it out of this place. The pit in my stomach refused to close, and the prickling sensation of crawling ants over my skin never vanished. The pervading corruption left me uneasy. I shouldn’t have come here. I should have—

And I steeled myself.

“No.”

I whispered. My voice came a full second later. I raised my head as my body wisped with Divine Essence. Not my Grand Skill— that wasn’t available just yet. I clenched my jaw, eyeing the circling Corrupted Netherstone.

“If I can use these Corrupted Netherstones to get out of here, then I have an exit strategy if things get bad. I am not going to run away without even seeing the second layer!”

I pointed at the Corrupted Netherstone and cried out.

“Now, come at me! [Invoke Wrath]!”

And I watched as the distorted figure froze. For a moment, the blurred flakes of color coating its body flickered. Like it was battling against my Skill. Then there was a flash of light, and it charged at me, swinging down with its tendrils.

I deflected the attacks with my Divine Nebular Scythe before leaping up. I grabbed onto the Corrupted Netherstone as it shrieked, before slicing down at its tendrils. I ripped apart those appendages, then grabbed onto its back, redirecting it as it flew in a frenzy.

The Corrupted Netherstone tried to smash me against the floor and the walls, but I nimbly circled around its back. I managed to avoid being crushed as I barely guided its movements, leading me towards the arched gateway ahead. An unsettling sensation crept over my back as I fought back against the corruption.

We flew straight down into the second layer as the Corrupted Netherstone began to regrow its tendrils. It struggled to throw me off, but I held on. Even as the walls changed around me. Even as the scene began to wrap and shift. Entire sections of the floor were missing, and nothing lay below but empty space.

I watched as the corridor led down and leveled out, opening into a narrow tunnel. It wasn’t an open chamber, but this was the second layer. I heard a voice echo in my head— warped and twisted as my eyes flickered.

Now Entering [L-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ir: The H-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝a D-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ma-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝n]

I grinned and raised my Divine Nebular Scythe high. I bared my teeth down at the Corrupted Netherstone as I aimed for its core.

“Thanks for the ride! [Divine Strike]!”

And I slashed down. My Divine Nebular Scythe blurred, flashing with gray flames, before shifting into an iridescent aura. It tried to swipe up at me with its tendrils, and I sheared through its core. But the Skill didn’t come to an end. It continued glimmering over my Divine Nebular Scythe, even as I leapt off the collapsing Corrupted Netherstone.

Defeated [-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstone - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]!

Experience is awarded for defeating a corrupted piece of the world!

General Skill [Corruption Resistance] has leveled up!

[Corruption Resistance - Lvl. 1] -> [Corruption Resistance - Lvl. 2]!

Experience is awarded for the leveling of a General Skill!

Class [Draconic Apprentice] Level Up!

[Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 128] -> [Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 129]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

Class [Draconic Apprentice] Level Up!

[Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 129] -> [Draconic Apprentice - Lvl. 130]

Gained 2 Secondary Skill Points!

“Alright.”

I swept my gaze over the second layer, looking at the corrupted tunnel.

“Now, let’s see what you have in store for me.”