197th Chapter
The underground city within the Forbidden Forest had been occupied and utilized by Devil Worshippers.
This fact was undeniable, but when Ray entered the underground city, most of its facilities had already been abandoned.
Additionally, the core forces of the Devil Worshippers who had remained in the underground city were almost entirely annihilated by Ray and Luna.
If this fragmented information were to be taken back, the Empire or Kingdom might judge the situation too lightly.
‘For future eradication efforts, we must secure the location data of other underground cities.’
Searching the Forbidden Forest blindly without any information to find traces of underground cities would be sheer madness.
If there was a way to obtain relevant information, it should be pursued.
Ray, having reorganized his thoughts, moved forward and called out under Ulte’s alias.
“Hophe, did you find any clues to resolve Titi’s curse here?”
“…There has been progress.”
Ulte responded briefly.
As Ray continued moving forward, he brought up an event from the past.
“It happened nearly ten years ago. Beneath the moonlight, she reproached herself and shed tears. I hope Lord Gardi’s wandering had some value.”
Only after speaking did Ray realize that sarcasm had crept into his words.
Spewing words to unsettle Ulte while deep in enemy territory was akin to digging his own grave.
Ray clicked his tongue unnecessarily and changed the subject.
“Let’s save the details for when we return safely.”
“Agreed.”
Ulte replied calmly.
Aptel briefly appeared, catching sight of the final guardian who refused to let go of the original, before disappearing.
Boom!
The ground trembled.
The closer they approached the massive tower at the center, the more frequently they encountered residual demons or experimental creatures created by the Devil Worshippers.
This time, a Chimera made up of various demons appeared, dripping black venom as it blocked their path.
Currently, Ray’s group needed swift action.
Lingering in enemy territory only invited disadvantage.
Thus, Ray immediately launched a Leaping Sword Energy at the Chimera.
Kwa-ga-gak!!
The Chimera shattered into pieces under the assault of the sword energy that tore through the air.
With an indifferent expression, Ray was about to continue forward when his eyes met with Ulte’s.
Ulte’s gaze was filled with confusion.
After blinking, Ray bluntly asked,
“Is this your first time seeing Leaping Sword Energy?”
“…Yes, it is.”
“Ah… Now that I think about it, it makes sense.”
Although they had often heard each other’s names, this was the first time Ray and Ulte had met face-to-face.
Ray nodded in understanding.
“In any case, let’s hurry.”
“…”
Upon witnessing the Leaping Sword Energy with his own eyes, Ulte’s lingering doubts about Ray’s identity seemed futile.
Though there were still one or two points worth questioning, facing such abnormal sights continuously had instead numbed his mind.
Ulte dismissed his complicated thoughts and drew Genesis, which resembled a rotten tree branch.
Tsu-zu-jik!
As Ulte gripped Genesis, a wave of darkness enveloped him.
In the darkened vision, Ulte held Genesis like a bow and aimed at a Chimera in Wyvern form above, pulling the string.
Chhe-eung!!!
A beam of light formed from nothingness in Ulte’s grasp and shot forth.
The violent beam pierced the air and burst the Chimera like a balloon.
Tu-du-du-k!
Blood rained down to the ground.
After glancing at the pool of blood, Ray questioned Ulte,
“Isn’t that weapon supposed to be unusable due to a curse? How are you using it now?”
“To put it simply… my body is covering the ‘curse,’ allowing me to partially restore and use the weapon’s function.”
Ulte calmly explained what sounded like utter nonsense, leaving Ray in awe.
“Wow, how are you still alive? You should have been buried long ago.”
“My body turned out to be tougher than I thought.”
Muttering that even he found it astonishing to still be alive, Ulte chuckled.
Ray also laughed along with Ulte.
While these two men, who excelled in consuming their own lives, conversed amiably,
the wind spirits summoned by Luna had cleared away the minor threats, allowing Ray’s group to quickly approach the central tower of the city.
“Now it’s just ahead.”
Ray took a light step forward.
At this point, Ray expected to encounter only remnants or those left behind in the underground city.
However, that was a misconception.
To the Devil Worshippers, the underground city where Ray currently stood was indeed a facility that had almost served its purpose.
But it was still one of their key strongholds and could not afford to be recaptured.
Therefore, a powerful Guardian was stationed in the central tower, capable of interfering with the city’s systems.
Koo-ung!!!
An ancient Demon, once known as “The One Who Slaughters,” opened its eyes.
The Blessing of the Dark God flowing through the city concentrated into this single Demon, infusing it with power.
Gul-rung!
Following the blessing, a peculiar mechanism lost long ago was substituted through Chimera research, activating the Demon’s body to its limits.
The Demon, revealing a presence akin to a giant, grasped three cursed and sanctified weapons.
To eliminate intruders and protect the city.
The terrifyingly powerful Demon began to move.
And soon enough,
Che-tteok!
The Demon, who had arrogantly claimed omnipotence, lay on the ground, its physical form torn apart.
“This can’t… be!!”
The Demon had misjudged.
The entity the Demon had to confront was the successor of a hero who harbored fragments of a 600-year-old myth.
Though only three individuals worked together, their combined strength rivaled that of a Lord-class being.
As Ray severed the Demon’s soul, Luna purified its corrupted body with flames.
The Demon’s belated scream echoed and then faded away.
Ray clicked his tongue while observing the central tower whose outer walls had been damaged during the brief battle.
“We need to fight more carefully. The building might collapse.”
“Isn’t worrying about that now somewhat surprising?”
Ulte smirked and countered.
The central tower had already been sufficiently contaminated and broken long before Ray’s group arrived.
It was questionable whether any part of the internal system would still function properly.
Ray sighed deeply.
“We should hope that at least the database remains intact.”
Leading the way, Ray entered the interior of the tower.
Inside the tower was absolute chaos.
Entirely covered in writhing organic tissues, there was no clear starting point for intervention.
“I can’t exactly burn all of this…”
If they tried to purify the deteriorated structure with flames, nothing would remain.
Everyone paused, lost in thought.
At that moment, the artifact shaped like a key that Ulte possessed began to glow and levitate on its own.
Woo-wong!
The tower trembled slightly, and the central pillar inside began to resonate with the light emitted by the key.
Koo-ung-!
The dormant central system of the city reactivated.
However, since most of the facilities supplying power to the city had either been eroded or destroyed, there wasn’t enough energy to fully activate the system.
Recognizing the emergency, the central system sent a signal to the emergency power source.
Deep beneath the underground city, a fragment of the Dragon Heart concealed there reacted to the system’s signal.
Hwa-aek!!!
Once the minimum power necessary for normal system operation was secured, light emanated from the central pillar of the tower.
The brilliance of history forgotten from the golden age of dragons 2000 years ago stretched across time once again.
Dde-dde-dek!!
The cursed organic tissues infiltrating the tower oxidized instantly upon contact with the light.
Ray’s group waited quietly, sensing the heat.
Soon, the dazzling central pillar gradually dimmed its luminosity.
“…?”
Ray narrowed his eyes.
The softened light particles floated around the pillar and began to cluster together.
Ray used his authority toward the hologram forming in the air.
‘Guh…’
Having used his power too frequently recently, a severe headache overtook him.
Suppressing his groan, Ray examined the hologram.
Although the language inscribed on the hologram was impossible to decipher, the diagram beside it carried a discernible nuance.
The damage rate of the city was critically high. That much was implied.
“The ceiling will definitely collapse if we open it.”
But there was a more pressing issue at hand.
They needed to identify the existence and locations of other underground cities.
Ulte walked past Ray and reached out to grab the floating key.
As if the central system of the city read Ulte’s thoughts through the key, the hologram underwent changes.
Tsu-zu-jik!
The hologram extended outward, beginning to sketch topographical diagrams.
Centered on the underground city where Ray stood, the hologram depicted buildings that existed in the past but had vanished, both above and below ground.
Before long, Ray confirmed that there were two more underground cities within the Forbidden Forest besides this one.
“They’ve really dug deep into the ground…”
Ray muttered.
Fortunately, the newly discovered underground cities were much smaller in scale compared to the one Ray was currently standing in.
Then,
A red dot blinked on the surface drawn by the hologram and began descending into the ground.
After descending for quite some time, the red dot split into hundreds of branches, outlining the shape of a new underground city.
Ray felt a sense of déjà vu looking at the structure of the city being drawn by the hologram.
‘This can’t be…’
The largest blueprint shown by Leonie of the Silver Cross Knight Order.
The city depicted in that blueprint was being reproduced in the hologram.
Ray couldn’t help but laugh hollowly.
He instinctively realized that this place was the main base of the Devil Worshippers.
Dark Wizards, demons, and Demons crossing over from the Demonic Realm likely swarmed there.
“So that’s where they’ve all been hiding.”
The underground city was even larger in scale than the one Ray was currently standing in.
Though it couldn’t be assaulted immediately, its exact location needed to be determined.
Ray first checked the coordinates on the surface where the underground city existed and then observed how deep beneath the surface it lay.
“…”
Ray closed his eyes tightly, suspecting he might have seen incorrectly.
The units used in the hologram were unfamiliar to Ray, but rough conversions were possible.
Ray recalculated the numbers indicated on the hologram several times.
However, the result didn’t change.
The depth of the underground city beneath the solid rock layer was approximately…
2 km.
“What have these lizards done?”
Ray’s expression hardened with cold fury.
