546. Turning Tides

The second layer of the Netherworld.

I wondered what it held for me down in these depths below. It couldn’t have been anything like the Netherworld I knew above. In fact— the Netherworld I knew above was not what I thought it was. So I couldn’t quite imagine what awaited me once I reached the end of this long passageway.

Perhaps the second layer of the Netherworld could have held a vast ecosystem below. Maybe there were flowers and trees and all kinds of plants growing hidden from the crimson sky. There could have been a completely alien landscape waiting for me down here, with giant spikes jutting out of the earth, and a carpet of moss covering the rock floor.

Truth be told, I couldn’t really imagine what would be waiting me down below. I had seen plenty of different things ever since I left the Netherworld and ended up in the Mortal Realm. From hulking artificial towers that reached higher than the clouds to deep ravines that dug deep beneath the ocean. But in spite of all that, I still thought that one of the most amazing things I had ever seen was a rock right after I was first born.

And that was mostly because of its novelty. I couldn’t quite comprehend it. Not at first. Not when I was barely even cognizant of my surroundings.

So after seeing so many things throughout my life since then, it was hard to imagine something that could truly stand out. And maybe I was getting excited over nothing. It was entirely possible that what waited for me at the rest of the second layer was… nothing.

The corruption could have swallowed everything up, and this distorted hallway was all that was left. I mean— when I looked down at the missing tiles, I saw nonexistence there. I couldn’t even step onto that missing space if I wanted to. Whenever I raised my feet over that speckled spot of darkness, I felt like there was something blocking me.

But then that wouldn’t explain why I wasn’t alone down here. I saw a few broken pieces of [Gargoyles] lying around, and that was it. Belphegor was gone. He must have pressed further down the hallway without me. So there couldn’t have been literally a void of nothingness lying ahead.

It was also possible that the second layer was just one large cavern. Honestly, that was the most likely option: it was probably a corrupted cavern with large chunks missing from existence, no different than the hallway.

But I wanted to imagine that what waited for me down below was something amazing. Something incredible. So I hoped. I walked on with anticipation, reaching the end of the hallway. The dark passageway opened up into a bright chamber.

I took a step forward, entering this brand new domain. And I came to a halt, blinking.

“Huh.”

I slowly lowered my Divine Nebular Scythe. I just stared at what I saw before me. It was a tempest of corruption— a curtain of distortion. But it was unlike anything I had ever seen before either.

The Corrupted Netherstone I encountered back in the Lair of the [Basilisk] was already different from what I had encountered in the Mortal Realm. The corruption that had encapsulated the Cursed Boulder had been weak, and the same could be said for the Corrupted Island.

The distortion of the corruption in the Mortal Realm had been fully opaque. Like whatever was afflicted with the corruption was simply being held in the center. Meanwhile, from what I had seen so far here in the Netherworld, the corruption was the object.

As in— the Corrupted Netherstone was a mixture of both the corruption and the rocks of the Netherworld. Not opaque, but translucent and melded together. And that was why it was so much stronger than what I faced in the Mortal Realm.

But what I saw before me was nothing of the like. Not because it was different in terms of the corruption— no, it was quite similar to the Corrupted Netherstone with how it was held together. However, the reason why I could only gape in shock was simple— because this was my first time seeing a fully-corrupted creature.

[-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Hydra - Lvl. -̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝]

I stared at the remains of the Demon before me. It stood at the center of the chamber, its body flaking and desiccated. Parth of its scale-like skin had vanished, replaced with rifts that peered into the abyss. It had five heads— but only four necks. One of its heads was floating, connected by a thin string of corruption.

The Corrupted Hydra spread a pair of wings wide as I just looked on.

“Huh.”

And it roared.

[Uroboros - Lvl. 155]

The wild Primeval Demon charged. It lashed down at the four Archdemons as they stared in shock. Haec was the first to react. He leapt before the whipping body of the undulating creature, crying out as he raised a fist.

“[The Titan’s Strike]!”

His fist shone with a black aura before he struck the side of the [Uroboros]. The wild Primeval Demon reeled for a moment as the two of them clashed. Haec leapt back, watching the attack explode into a pulse of energy. The shockwave shook the nearby rock walls, sending a ripple across the river of lava.

Both Betrugil and Aemula just looked on as Haec landed. But Taburas was already moving. The moment she saw Haec leaping into action, she began to act.

The [Succubus] conjured a pair of ashen chains from the ground, ensnaring the wild Primeval Demon. Haec nodded at her before glancing at the other two Archdemons. He yelled.

“Run!”

And the [Uroboros] ripped through the chains. The four Archdemons sped down the narrow crevice as the wild Primeval Demon gave chase. As an [Abraxas], Betrugil was the fastest of them all. He glanced back only once to point past Haec, Taburas, and Aemula.

Haec’s eyes flickered. He watched as the air rippled around the wild Primeval Demon. The [Uroboros] flinched for a moment, its skin cutting open and pouring out black blood, before continuing to barrel its way towards them with a terrible shriek. Whatever Betrugil tried clearly didn’t work.

So the [Abraxas] turned tails and ran ahead. Haec and Taburas were close to his level, so they could keep up, even if he was faster than them. Unfortunately, as the lowest-leveled of the four of them, while also harboring a previous injury, Aemula couldn’t. She stumbled as she glanced back with wide eyes, watching as the [Uroboros] drew closer with its massive maw.

“Idiot— get over here!”

Taburas screamed as she flicked a wrist, creating an ashen tendril that grabbed the [Fiend] out of the way in the knick of time. The [Uroboros] crashed into the earth. Haec watched as it dug into the ground, vanishing before his very eyes. He slowed to a halt as Aemula sighed in relief, held in the air by the ashen tendril.

“T-thank you, Tab—”

Aemula started. But the [Succubus] raised a clawed finger warily.

“Quiet— we don’t know where the [Uroboros] has gone.”

Haec narrowed his eyes, glancing around warily as he felt the vibrations of the earth. Even Betrugil had slowed down.

“Where did it go?”

The [Abraxas] asked. Haec pursed his lips, watching as the river of lava swayed and shook. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.

And the ground exploded. The [Uroboros] emerged from the side wall, aiming straight from both Taburas and Aemula. Both Archdemons blinked, and Haec moved. He slammed his foot on the ground and yelled.

“[Pillar of Despair]!”

A column of stone shot up beneath the [Uroboros] before it could even reach the two Archdemons. The attack glanced off the hard skin of the wild Primeval Demon, barely hurting it. But it wasn’t actually an attack. It was a defensive barrier.

And Haec knew that it wouldn’t have been enough to stop the charge of an enemy nearly 10 levels above him. So instead he opted to redirect the [Uroboros].

He watched as the wild Primeval Demon was knocked to the side while Taburas, Aemula, and Betrugil unleashed whatever they could against it. The [Uroboros] vanished back into the earth as Haec pursed his lips. He backed up to the other three Archdemons as he stared at the massive hole left behind.

“We can’t escape. If we try to run, the [Uroboros] will—”

And before he could finish his sentence, the wild Primeval Demon shot up from beneath their feets. Fortunately, Betrugil reacted in time and he flicked his wrist. What felt like a gust of wind knocked Haec, Taburas, and Aemula back, narrowly pulling them out of the way of the gaping maw of the [Uroboros].

Taburas cursed as she created a giant axe made of ash. She readied the weapon, watching as the wild Primeval Demon vanished into the river of lava. And moments later, the [Uroboros] reappeared.

This repeated again and again as either Haec somehow managed to redirect the wild Primeval Demon’s charge, or Betrugil used his magic to yank them out of the jaws of danger just in time. But they couldn’t keep it up, and they knew it.

“We need to find a way to escape!”

Taburas shouted. She held onto Aemula as Haec leapt into the air, punching the side of the [Uroboros]. The wild Primeval Demon lashed back at him. The grazing blow sent Haec flying back down into the rock wall. He crashed into the stone as a crater formed at his back, but he pulled himself out a moment later as he groaned.

And the [Uroboros] disappeared into one of its previously-dug tunnel. Taburas cursed, taking a step back as her shoulders bled. She turned to Haec.

“That [Uroboros] won’t leave us alone. We’re going to die here!”

Taburas exclaimed. And Betrugil just snorted in response.

“I told you.”

“Shut it—”

She spat at Betrugil. Aemula just leant back against the rock wall as the [Abraxas] and the [Succubus] quarreled even amidst the battle.

“Just… leave me.”

Aemula mustered up as she nodded at Haec. She offered him a weak smile, her wounds clearly showing on her bleeding body. Even as she had tried to fight back against the [Uroboros], she was far too low-leveled. The simple shockwave from the wild Primeval Demon’s attacks was enough to hurt her.

“I’m… I’m only slowing you down… l-let me distract the [Uroboros].”

Haec blinked, watching as she took in a deep breath and stepped forward. She steeled herself as both Betrugil and Taburas glanced over her way, perplexed.

“Let me help you guys out!”

Aemula exclaimed, but there was the clear hint of hesitation in her voice. Haec opened his mouth, before stopping himself. He looked over at Taburas and Betrugil— both of whom were clearly considering this offer.

The ground began to shake once more as Aemula wobbled, nearly falling over. Haec closed his eyes, realizing he had finally found his chance. He caught Aemula as the rumbling approach of the [Uroboros] drew closer.

He raised his head and spoke simply.

“No, Aemula. You go. I’ll hold the [Uroboros] off.”

It was a simple declaration. But it caught all three other Archdemons completely off-guard. Especially Taburas who could only stare in shock at that.

“What…?”