198
Ray could not easily accept the information he had seen through the hologram.
Even with the weapons from his past life that Ray remembered, a rock layer 2 km deep would be impossible to penetrate.
Bunker busters wouldn’t make a dent, and even detonating a hydrogen bomb at that depth would render it ineffective.
Rarely did the underground bunkers built by the leaders of powerful nations on Earth, prepared for nuclear war, reach depths of 2 km.
Who knows if dragons two thousand years ago dug this out to satisfy some damp desire, but for Ray, it was maddening.
‘There is no way to strike this fortress, buried 2 km underground, from the surface.’
Magic wouldn’t work either.
Even unleashing grand magic simultaneously couldn’t pierce through 2 km of solid rock.
The magic known for causing earthquakes could only shake layers tens of meters deep at best.
Digging through the ground over time would also be impossible in the Forbidden Forest.
The only way to assault the fortress 2 km underground was to find a passage and storm it head-on.
“…”
Ray confirmed a few passages connected to the underground fortress through the hologram.
However, given that these passages led 2 km underground, they were certainly not short.
There was no telling if these passages were still intact or, if they were, how many traps lay in wait.
No matter how many troops one had, crawling through there would be sheer madness.
Just as Ray was about to utter another curse toward the dragon,
The hologram flickered, and the surrounding scenery warped.
Realizing that this was a kind of ‘illusion’ displayed by the central system of the tower, Ray relaxed his grip on the sword hilt.
After the scenery twisted back and forth,
Ray found himself standing in the middle of a dark city.
The sky was blocked, and Devil Worshippers were transporting horrific Chimeras, presumably in their final stages of completion, into facilities.
Judging by the level of equipment within the city, supplies seemed abundant.
The scenery warped again.
The central system of the tower was guiding Ray deeper into the city.
Ray could indirectly experience just how much malice swirled within this city.
Finally, Ray reached the very heart of the city.
Within a pillar of light, several corpses were fusing together into one.
What kind of corpses were being mixed?
An Apostle? A Demon? Or something else entirely?
Their identity wasn’t truly important.
What mattered was the terrifying danger inherent in the mass of fused corpses.
Even though it was beyond the illusion, Ray was certain.
‘It must be eliminated before it’s completed.’
It couldn’t be left alone.
Even at the cost of many sacrifices, it had to be destroyed before it was finished.
When that mass of corpses fully merged and opened its eyes,
The scale of the catastrophe that might occur was unimaginable.
But how, exactly, was he supposed to reach that place?
As Ray repeated that this was an impossible task,
A powerful existence guarding the pillar of light noticed his gaze from beyond the illusion.
Hooook!!
The great representative of evil, possessing six pairs of eyes, stared at Ray through a thin veil.
The Demon, who had ascended to the highest position among fallen beings, gazed into Ray’s pupils and felt a sense of joy.
Simultaneously, their connection broke.
Crackle!!
“…”
The twelve eyes floating in the air returned to their original positions.
The Demon mulled over the ’emotion of hatred’ it had read from the prying gaze.
That gaze carried a will so intense that it momentarily sent shivers down even the Demon’s spine.
Soon, laughter escaped the Demon.
“Are you planning to come here?”
“If you do, I will gladly welcome you.”
There was less than a day until the fusion was complete.
Even if a Swordmaster leading an army arrived, it would be impossible to reach here within a day.
And once the fused entity opened its eyes, even a Swordmaster here would have to surrender their head.
There were no variables left.
“You’ll be my last entertainment before the fusion. I’m quite curious about your decision.”
Will those who spied on this place walk into hell driven by arrogance and altruism?
Or will they flee like cowards under the guise of plotting for the future?
Even if they choose to flee, they need to decide quickly.
Because the overwhelming number of Demons and Devil Worshippers controlling them are beginning to surround the underground city where they reside.
Even if they run now, breaking through the encirclement won’t be easy.
“Try running as hard as you can. It will be futile anyway.”
By the time they barely escape and leave the Forbidden Forest,
A being wielding transcendent powers worthy of being called the avatar of evil will awaken.
“Now the ancient destruction descends.”
With the Demon’s proclamation, echoes filled with the ecstasy of the corrupt reverberated deep underground.
The darkness-dwelling malice was crawling towards the land where the sun rises.
*
“Ray!!!”
Ulte forgot to call him by his alias and shouted Ray’s real name.
Ulte was that flustered.
Ray didn’t have the presence of mind to point out Ulte’s mistake either.
The central system of the tower had just shown the same illusion to everyone.
Ulte shouted again.
“We need to get out, right now!”
“Ah, yeah… we should.”
It was the right time to retreat.
With the current strength of Ray’s group, assaulting the underground fortress 2 km below was impossible.
Their stamina was nearing its limit, and even if it weren’t, three people couldn’t take on such a fortress.
Without a large-scale deployment from the Kingdom and the Empire, assaulting that place was impossible.
‘Even if we risk our lives to enter… I can’t bring Luna along.’
Even if they entered, somehow managed to destroy the mass of corpses with every stroke of luck, escaping afterward would be impossible.
High-ranking Demons and numerous Devil Worshippers were there.
Crack!!
The ceiling of the underground city groaned.
Realizing that many groups were approaching the direction of the underground city, Ray sighed.
At this timing, whoever came rushing would likely be Monsters or Devil Worshippers.
“I wonder if the Silver Cross Knight Order managed to escape…”
Trailing off, Ray checked his equipment.
They needed to collapse the ceiling, cause chaos, and use the opportunity to break through the encirclement and escape the Forbidden Forest.
Afterward, he needed to contact Ernst and explain the danger and necessity of assaulting the underground fortress.
If persuasion failed, well…
Escaping this place was the priority.
“Well, let’s go quickly…”
“Ray, wait.”
Luna grabbed Ray’s wrist.
“…I’ll open the way. Just wait for three hours. Please… guard this place.”
Without waiting for Ray’s response, Luna turned her head towards Ulte.
“Valerius, give it to me. I need it.”
“…”
To Ulte, this request was perplexing.
Aside from lending an Artefact, staying here for three hours would only result in a thicker encirclement.
It was unclear what grand magic Luna planned to prepare in three hours, but breaking through immediately seemed wiser.
Ray also agreed with Ulte’s opinion.
However, upon meeting the unwavering, quietly shining silver eyes, Ray couldn’t help but smile at Luna.
For when Luna insisted, there was always a valid reason.
“Luna, does that mean you want us to guard this place for three hours?”
“…Yes.”
“Got it. Leave it to us.”
Nodding, Ray turned to Ulte.
Ulte couldn’t positively evaluate the opinions of the two but had no other choice.
Ulte was clearly in the subordinate position here.
Reluctantly handing Valerius to Luna, Ulte warned,
“If things don’t go well, we’ll collapse the ceiling and run.”
Ulte, whose expression remained uncomfortable, got a light pat on the back from Ray.
“Relax. Luna will show us an amazing magic.”
“It’s not that I doubt your skills… never mind.”
Ulte grasped Genesis again and headed towards the entrance of the tower with Ray.
All of Luna’s Spirits were summoned and followed behind Ulte and Ray.
Watching their backs disappear, Luna touched the bracelet connected to Aptel, then established multiple barriers inside the tower.
All these barriers were designed to contain and conceal the mana fluctuations inside.
Hummm-!
Luna held the system key and deployed a hologram to check the power source of the underground city.
Originally designed to utilize the mana from nearby Mana Veins, the city was currently powered by the emergency source, Dragon Heart.
Having identified all devices controlling the flow of mana, Luna cast her magic.
Koooom-!!
A crack appeared on the ground, and the core device controlling the underground city’s power was destroyed.
The mana that had been peacefully gathered in the Mana Vein lost its balance due to the shock and began to reverse flow.
At that moment, Luna redirected the reversing mana flow towards the space where the Dragon Heart fragment was located.
Whoooosh!!
The surge of mana poured onto the Dragon Heart fragment.
Subsequently, the fragment, reacting to the Mana Vein’s mana, began to release the accumulated mana as well.
Ka-ga-gak!!!!
The mana surged uncontrollably, but the devices to control it were shattered.
The mana pouring out from the Mana Vein and the Dragon Heart fragment eventually collapsed the central pillar of the tower and surged upward.
At that moment, Luna’s Circle fully opened.
The Circle she had hidden for so long since childhood emitted light and began drawing in mana.
The surging mana currents were drawn into the rotating Circle, forming a circle themselves.
Crrrrk-k-k-k!!!
Initially flowing like a faint mist, the mana currents soon condensed into droplets.
A deep blue liquid made purely of mana enveloped Luna and rotated violently.
Already exceeding the limits controllable by humans, the runaway mana from the Mana Vein and the Dragon Heart fragment continued to condense into Luna’s Circle.
Kr-crack!!!
Unable to bear the load, Luna’s Circle scratched against itself, producing metallic sounds.
The backlash that the Circle couldn’t resolve shook Luna’s body.
The blood vessels around her silver irises burst, and blood pooled and trickled down from the corners of her eyes.
If she continued like this and failed to control the mana, it would end in self-destruction.
But Luna didn’t waver and continued to draw in more mana.
Clank!!
Ulte’s Artefact, Valerius, activated.
Valerius, which had the function of stabilizing space-related magic, was hit by the wave of mana.
Though Valerius began to crack under the pressure of the incoming mana waves, Luna paid it no mind.
At this moment,
The safety of just one person was all that mattered to Luna.
“…Ray.”
Luna knew Ray well.
She knew all too well the abnormal sacrificial spirit and obsession he possessed.
If necessary, Ray could always crawl into the enemy’s lair deep underground, even if he retreated for now.
If doing so would prevent the kingdom’s downfall and protect the empire and its people,
Ray was the type who would do it.
Moreover, as the situation grew more severe, Ray would inevitably try to separate Luna with seemingly plausible excuses.
To Ray, Luna was still someone he needed to protect.
Drip
The tears of blood streaming down her eyes mixed with the swirling mana waves.
Even for Luna, handling this much mana with merely four Circles was an excessive ambition.
Her body couldn’t withstand the backlash and began to break down from within, causing blood to stream from the corners of her mouth.
Still, Luna didn’t care.
“…Don’t worry.”
Luna respected Ray’s choices.
His choice, his wishes, his will—she respected and loved them.
Just as Ray had done with Bella.
Luna solely loved one person named Ray.
That’s why Luna didn’t try to stop Ray.
That’s why Luna…
“I’ll do it.”
Anything evil that sought to harm him, threaten him, or force him into painful decisions—
“I’ll kill it.”
Using Aptel as a medium, the Resina Record and Obelisk System were invoked.
As her vision darkened with blackness and then filled with countless starlights,
The apparition of a girl with flowing golden hair appeared between the lights.
The apparition of the girl, with an incredibly innocent and radiant smile, whispered into Luna’s ear.
[Come, let’s open the sky.]
The power of annihilation blooms.
Prayer (1)
