Chapter 55
Chapter 55
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Hell Gate
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ruby approached Jade and said.
"What are you doing? You know its name now, so hurry up and get rid of it."
"I still have some questions."
Jade said as he looked down at Kraukus's head.
Saf pressed close to his back and said.
"I agree with Ruby. Even if it's just a head, it's still alive somehow.
And it's a demon. Who knows what it might do."
"I want to know why this guy came to the top of this Black Rock Mountain."
At Jade's words, Ruby replied as if it were obvious.
"To buy time to grow stronger, obviously. It nearly succeeded, too."
"Then it should've run farther away. That way it could've bought more time. If it was to gather its minions, it should've fled to the Red Desert. Why come to the summit where there's nowhere left to run?"
Jade continued, ready to unleash the light of annihilation at any moment.
"Something drew it here. Isn't that right, Kraukus?"
The demon, reduced to just a head, did not answer.
Ruby stood beside him, poised to stomp it flat with her foot at any second.
"You think it'll just answer honestly in this state? You can't even tempt it with promises of life when it's just a head, and torture would be hard to pull off."
Kraukus blinked its eyes and looked up at Jade. Even with its face smashed beyond recognition, it felt like it was sneering.
'She's right.'
Jade glared at it, then turned away.
"Watch it for a bit."
"Where are you going?"
Jade walked over to the spot where Kraukus had first been crouching. Back then, it had been clutching something in the darkness, and when Jade appeared, it had shoved it into a hole in the ground.
'It said it wouldn't open, right?'
Jade stood before the hole.
Sure enough, something was there.
'It wasn't that it was too dark to see—it was black itself.'
Not just black, but something that seemed to emit darkness on its own.
At that moment, Kraukus's head bellowed.
"Don't touch it with your filthy hands."
Jade ignored it and knelt on one knee before the object in the hole.
"What's that?"
Saf's curiosity got the better of her, and she followed behind Jade.
"I don't know. But from the circumstances..."
It was a small door model, less than five handspans tall and about a handspan thick. It felt heavy, as if made of iron, and had no doorknob. It wasn't attached to any wall leading somewhere—it was just a door.
"...this must be the Hell Gate."
Jade pulled it out of the hole.
"Can you make it so we can see it better?"
At Jade's request, Saf created light in her palm. The letters engraved around the door stood out clearly.
"Can you read the letters?"
Saf asked.
"Yeah. Ordinary humans couldn't, but..."
Jade pulled it closer. Saf saw the letters too.
"They're the same as the ones in the priest's book."
"Can you read it?"
"I can read the letters themselves, but this handwriting is so sloppy it's tough.
Can you make it out, priest?"
"Let's see. The first line... Hell Gate."
Jade shut his mouth as soon as he read the first word.
Saf asked flatly.
"It's written right there, huh? This is the gate to Hell they always talk about? It's so small."
"Maybe it's just a symbol. No way this is the real Hell Gate."
Jade continued reading the inscription around the door's frame.
"The maker is Byfel... the owner is Kraukus... transfers ownership of the gate... Byfel to Kraukus... something like that."
Jade groaned. A strange unease crept in, and Saf put it into words.
"It kinda feels real, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, I think so too."
"If this is real... if it's really real, what do we do?"
"I don't know. But we should probably smash it."
Jade deliberately raised his voice on the last part.
Kraukus let out a horrific shriek.
"Foolish talk. Even if you're a mage who can wield demon annihilation, you can't touch the Hell Gate. Even if you could, the backlash would kill you too. You know using the light of annihilation has side effects on the caster, right?"
Jade looked only at Saf and said.
"Couldn't Ruby just smash it with her strength?"
"I can smash anything."
Ruby replied while stomping on Kraukus's head.
Jade recalled the various myths and legends Danell had told him and said.
"In old stories, when something like this happens, it often vanishes with its owner."
"If that's true, wouldn't that make it harder to destroy? It says Byfel is the owner."
Saf asked.
Not intentionally, but her flat tone made Kraukus uneasy. Jade noticed and mimicked her slow, deliberate speech.
"It says ownership is transferred. So Kraukus is the owner of this Hell Gate now."
Jade left the Hell Gate there and returned to Kraukus. The head writhed, trying to crawl toward its body. The headless body crawled toward the head too.
It was a gruesome sight, but with Ruby there, it wasn't scary.
"Where do you think you're going? Stay put. Or I'll shove this head up your ass right now!"
At her words, both head and body froze. Ruby burst out laughing.
Jade stopped about five steps away, just in case, and asked.
"Has Byfel ever appeared before you?"
"Kill me. Go ahead and see what happens to the Hell Gate."
Kraukus growled.
'It's bluffing. But I can't tell where the lies end and the bluff begins.'
Ruby rolled the head with her toe, threatening it.
"You'd better answer. Want me to really do what I said earlier? Even demons want to die clean, right?"
Still, it didn't answer.
"Fine. Let's see if you talk now." As Ruby reached to pick up the head, Jade stopped her.
"That's enough, Ruby. Even if you do that, it won't talk."
"There's a lot we need to learn from this guy, isn't there?"
"Yeah. But even if it talks, no guarantee it's the truth."
"So what now?"
"I've thought of another way."
Jade opened the book.
"I was taught that this book's power was only for demon annihilation. But that was because I didn't listen to Priest Danell when he wanted to teach more. He never forces knowledge on those who don't want to learn."
Jade read the demon annihilation passage and connected it to another, reading them together. Instead of the white light that annihilated demons, a golden light burst forth.
"Then, when I undid Ruby's shackles, I learned the annihilation scripture had other functions. You said it yourself—this is magic. I ranted about not believing in God, yet vaguely thought of this book as a holy power from the divine. So I subconsciously saw reading it backward or mixing parts as blasphemy. But thinking of it as a grimoire changes everything."
Jade emphasized his realization.
"I've been able to use this power however I wanted from the start."
"Did you see me mixing light powers...?"
Saf asked.
"Yeah. That's how I undid Ruby's shackles too."
Jade glanced at Ruby's shackles on the ground and continued.
"Annihilation was just the basics. Undoing the shackles taught me there's a binding power too. And seeing you, Saf, I learned I could mix powers."
Ruby asked with curious eyes.
"So what happens?"
"If I'm right, I can capture this guy's soul. But there might be side effects in the process. So Ruby..."
Jade spoke in a meaningful tone.
"...if something goes wrong, cut off my wrist."
Ruby's eyes widened.
"Cut off your wrist? Did I hear that right?"
"You've got good ears."
Jade grabbed Kraukus's head with his glowing golden hand.
Just like with the light of annihilation, the demon's flesh burned, and black smoke swirled before Jade's hand.
"Fine. Kill me. Annihilate me! I'll curse you eternally from Hell..."
Soon Kraukus's scream-like voice faded.
The distant body also turned golden and burned faster than the head. It evaporated quickly. Unlike the head, no black gas formed from the body.
Where the head evaporated, black smoke swirled into a pumpkin-sized mass. With a roaring wind, the smoke pushed at Jade. It felt like a massive bull beast shoving its head with full weight.
Afraid the pumpkin-sized smoke would crush him if he fell back, he gritted his teeth and held firm.
Seeing Jade groan, Ruby asked rapidly.
"What? What? What? Something wrong? Is it wrong? Cut your wrist? Should I cut it now?"
"No! It's working fine!"
Saf shouted instead.
"How do you know?"
"Look. The demon's soul, evaporated by the light of annihilation, is gathering in front of the priest's hand."
"Soul? How can I tell? It just looks like wet wood burning to me!"
The pumpkin-sized smoke shrank to apple size, then to coin size over time. As it shrank, the repulsive pressure grew inversely.
Jade clenched his teeth and endured.
"Be careful, priest. Lose focus, and it might explode."
Saf analyzed coolly.
That was exactly what Jade feared. Time was short. Now for the final test.
"I ask you. What is your name?" The black sphere replied with Kraukus's voice.
"Kraukus."
'Good. Even as just a soul, it can speak.'
Jade pressed on.
"Who entrusted you with the Hell Gate?"
"Byfel."
He'd predicted pure soul states couldn't handle complex lies, and so far it held. Now he could drag out every truth Kraukus knew.
The problem was time. The pressure was building.
Jade hurried.
"What is the Hell Gate's purpose?"
"To release demons."
"Did all the Red Desert demons come from there?"
"Yes."
"When did Byfel give it to you?"
"Three years ago."
"Did Byfel appear before you in person?"
"Yes."
Jade's eyes widened as he glanced at Ruby and Saf, then asked again.
"What did they look like?"
The coin-sized orb began writhing, and the pressure on his hand intensified.
Ruby whispered quietly.
"Even in that state, it seems to resist telling the truth."
Kraukus's voice answered.
"Woman... beautiful woman... more angel than demon..."
"Are there other Hell Gates like this one on this mountain?"
"There are."
The golden light from Jade's hand began to fade. He didn't know what would happen when it vanished.
"Where?"
"North."
"Where in the north?"
Jade asked urgently. The black sphere answered slowly, ignoring his haste.
"Dark Forest."
"Exact location?"
"Don't know."
"Where is Byfel now?"
"Don't know."
"How do you destroy the Hell Gate?"
"Eliminate the gate's owner..."
The black sphere finally lost its form, bubbling and stretching toward Jade's hand.
Saf shouted.
"Priest, hurry! Switch to the light of annihilation!"
Jade hesitated.
'No. Still more to ask.'
Then the black sphere gaped open like a beast's maw to devour his hand. In that instant, Ruby swiftly grabbed the writhing black smoke.
"Why hesitate? Finish it! Or I'll cut your hand off!"
Ruby threatened.
"Priest Danell..."
Jade swallowed countless questions, instead voicing the one he hoped was a lie—that Yol had lied, that Saf was wrong.
"...did you really kill him?"
"Yes."
Jade glared at the sphere for a brief moment.
Then he recited the annihilation passage.
In the split second the golden light from his palm vanished, the black sphere in Ruby's hand stretched like sticky sap.
As white light emerged from Jade's hand again, the black sphere fully evaporated. No trace of Kraukus or Yoll remained in Ruby's hand.
Ruby rubbed her hands together and said.
"Ahh, feels like I touched shit again."