Chapter 174
Chapter 174
Ch. 174 .｡.:✧ The Trap (14) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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‘I’m dead! I’m dead! I’m dead! I’m dead! I’m dead! I’m dead!’
The Archdemon’s mind screamed. Pinned to the ground by Yerina’s vice-like grip, he couldn’t even twitch.
His demonic energy was useless against her, and any attempt to cast magic or curses was met with a chilling glare from her burning blue eyes.
He knew instinctively that any sign of aggression would result in a swift decapitation. He remained still, his body trapped, his mind racing.
‘Luna, that damned traitor…!’
The dungeon, now devoid of the undead army, was eerily silent. They had lost a few undead to the bright flash, but to abandon him so readily…did they even have a sense of camaraderie?
He briefly wondered, then realized he would have done the same.
|Luna! Come back and help me! Or I’ll reveal all your secrets!!!|
“Give up. They’ve abandoned you. They probably think the information you possess is worthless.”
|T-That’s impossible…!|
Luna had always been secretive, operating in the shadows.
What if he had intentionally withheld information, anticipating betrayal?
That would explain his absence, despite the Archdemon’s desperate pleas.
|That damned bastard…|
“Shut up! I’ll rip out your vocal cords if you don’t be quiet!”
|…|
“We’re retreating. Grab the Archdemon’s arm and fall back slowly, Murderer.”
“Understood.”
Yerina and Transylvania dragged the Archdemon towards the dungeon entrance.
They emerged, and the stone gate slammed shut, plunging the dungeon back into darkness.
The Archdemon, dragged into the light, was met with an unexpected sight.
|The Saintess?!|
“Huu. Two shots was my limit. I’m glad you were so easily scared.”
“Two shots won’t be enough to reach the deeper levels of the dungeon. We’ll have to exploit their ignorance of the flash magic’s limitations…”
|…?!|
The Saintess, Jill Diner.
The Archdemon’s head swiveled between her, the Frost Duchess, and Transylvania, struggling to follow their conversation.
The flash magic that had decimated the undead army…only two shots? Then the undead didn’t need to retreat…
|Luna! The flash magic just now-|
“This won’t do.”
|Ugh…?|
Yerina’s hand clamped around his throat, silencing him mid-sentence. She squeezed, and instead of blood, demonic energy gushed from the wound.
The Archdemon weakened, desperately trying to staunch the flow of demonic energy.
He could still speak, his physiology different from a human’s, but he was too terrified to utter a sound.
“Hmm. Listen, we’re short on time. How about we have a nice, intimate chat?”
|S-Stay back!|
“Cooperate, and you won’t get hurt.”
It was a lie.
Even if the Archdemon cooperated, Yerina intended to remove a limb or two. It was simply more convenient for intimidation.
As she approached the cowering Archdemon, her ears and tail twitched.
“…What’s that?”
Her animal instincts sensed something amiss.
Birds took flight in the distance, and ants swarmed out of the ground, fleeing in a single file.
“Everyone, get down-”
The world went black as Yerina shouted. An endless abyss of darkness consumed everything.
Opening or closing her eyes made no difference. She screamed, but no sound escaped her lips.
The world seemed to have lost all light, freezing everyone in Elvenguard in place.
‘I don’t know what’s happening, but I’m grateful!’
The Archdemon quickly broke free from his restraints.
The humans, blinded and silenced by the darkness, were helpless, but he was different.
He recognized the darkness for what it was, Yin energy, the very essence of the underworld. He could see and hear within it. He felt a sense of comfort, as if he had returned home.
He was about to retaliate against the Frost Duchess and the Murderer when…
|Oh…?|
He froze, his black eyes widening in realization. This immense amount of Yin energy…he recognized it.
|Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!|
Earsplitting shrieks echoed from all directions. He understood. This wasn’t just Yin energy.
It was the combined presence of countless underworld beings, so numerous that they manifested as a dense cloud of Yin energy.
|This is…|
It wasn’t that Yin energy had flooded the mortal world.
|The Underworld…!|
The Underworld itself.
The God of the Underworld, the Ten Kings, had drawn near, his very being engulfing the mortal world.
The realization drained the Archdemon’s strength. He had been oblivious, but now, the full weight of the god’s presence crashed down on him, a pressure far surpassing even ‘Him.’
He trembled, a primal fear gripping him.
The humans, their eyes shielded by the god’s intervention, were merely confused.
But the Archdemon, able to see through the darkness, was confronted with the true form of the Ten Kings, a horrifying amalgamation of underworld beings, and his mind began to unravel.
|No…no! I can’t…|
He desperately channeled his remaining demonic energy, tearing open a dimensional rift.
Anywhere but here. He just needed to escape. He had expended too much demonic energy.
It would take a long time to return to the mortal world, but he didn’t care. He just needed to escape.
|H-Help!!!|
A giant hand, formed from countless underworld beings, reached for him, its shriek echoing through the void.
Weakened and defenseless, he plunged into the dimensional rift.
|Has one already fled?|
The rift closed, and the hand clawed at empty air. The God of the Underworld’s disappointed voice echoed through the darkness.
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|Speak their names. I will capture them, within the limits of the pulling force you have generated, and judge them accordingly. But if they are not deserving of punishment, you will face the consequences.|
“Luna! The Necromancer Luna! And Kali! The Great Druid Kali!”
|The names of the mortal world are always so…unfamiliar. But that is enough. If there are no others with the same names, I should find them easily…Hmm. One of them seems to be hiding here, like a rat.|
“…?!”
The God of the Underworld’s voice turned cold, and I felt a presence within my clothes.
A creepy, crawly sensation, like an insect…no, it was an insect.
“…”
I reached inside and pulled out a small spider.
For a moment, I thought it was Nameless, but its wide, frightened eyes were unmistakably Kali’s.
I flicked it to the ground, and it transformed into a small girl, her golden hair spilling around her as she looked up at me, trembling.
“My apologies. I didn’t realize she was hiding on me.”
“M-Mijung? What’s going on? What’s happening…?”
“What’s happening? I’m sending you to heaven, that’s what’s happening.”
“…!”
|Kali. The Great Druid Kali. You are indeed the soul with that history.|
“Aaaaagh!”
Kali clutched her head, a searing pain coursing through her as the god’s ‘gaze’ focused on her.
It was a pitiful sight, but the memory of her atrocities quickly extinguished any sympathy I might have felt.
|Great Druid Kali. Confess your sins.|
“G-God of the Underworld?! W-What?!”
|Great Druid Kali. Confess your sins.|
“Can you please explain what’s-”
|Great Druid Kali. Confess your sins.|
“Uwaa…”
With each repetition, his voice grew more distorted, more…inhuman.
Kali finally seemed to grasp the situation, her body freezing as she stared up at the darkness.
“S-Sins? I haven’t committed any sins! I’ve lost my memories-”
“Lying before the God of the Underworld? You’ve got guts, Kali.”
“Mijung? What are you talking about? Lying?! You saw it! I lost my memories!”
“You did. But not all of them. You remember everything you’ve done, except for recent events, don’t you?”
“…!”
Crack.
The crystal ball in my hand shattered. I had intended to use the recording to jog her memory, but it was no longer necessary.
Kali had been lying from the start. She hadn’t lost all her memories.
She remembered her atrocities but had chosen to hide them from me, perhaps sensing the consequences.
This made things easier.
“Memories are a person’s history. Your body contains your history, Kali. And your history proves your wickedness. Stop making excuses and start thinking about how to reduce your sentence.”
“W-What?! Wickedness? That’s absurd! How can what I did be considered wicked?!”
“Not wicked?”
I couldn’t help but frown.
I risked looking into the darkness, meeting Kali’s gaze. She flinched, surprised.
“You unleashed blood ghouls, killing innocent people.”
The blood ghouls Undecided had encountered…Kali had unleashed them on the village simply because Undecided had picked a flower.
Everyone except Undecided had been slaughtered and burned by the paladins.
“You tried to usurp the World Tree and unleash a plague upon the continent.”
The Death Plague, which I had assumed was an unavoidable event…it had been Kali’s doing.
She had attempted to unleash a weapon of mass destruction, indiscriminately killing countless people.
“And countless other acts of murder and deceit, without justification or remorse. Are you saying these aren’t wicked deeds?”
“Yes! Nature is a world of survival of the fittest! The strong prey on the weak! It’s the natural order! The strong die and become nourishment for the weak, and the weak are then consumed by the strong! It’s a cycle! How can what I did be considered wicked?! It’s your human civilization that disrupts this natural cycle! You’re the evil ones!”
“What…?”
I was dumbfounded.
Kali’s indignant outburst, her twisted logic…she was serious. She genuinely believed what she was saying. That was the most shocking part.
“What drives human civilization? Desire. Your civilization revolves around fulfilling desires, pursuing petty pleasures. But I acted solely on my beliefs! And I won’t stop! Until the day I kill all humans and guide nature back to its ‘rightful path’!”
“…”
I was speechless, shocked that someone could hold such a distorted worldview.
|Hmm. Interesting. There’s some truth to that.|
“Right, your majesty? She’s the wicked one! She lied! She said she was a Heavenly King, that she was my lover!”
“…”
|That too is a wicked deed.|
“Ahaha! I knew you would say that! See, Mijung? No…is that not your real name? It doesn’t matter! Your human justice doesn’t apply here! Do you think the God of the Underworld follows human morality? No! He, like me, sees justice from the perspective of the natural cycle! Unlike your shallow, hypocritical human morality!”
Kali poked my chest, her confidence unwavering. I trembled, my gaze falling to the ground.
‘Is this crazy bitch oblivious?’
I wasn’t afraid of Kali.
The God of the Underworld’s presence had shifted, become…ominous. But Kali, her shoulders still squared, hadn’t noticed.
“Now, punish him, your majesty!”
|No. That is not my concern.|
“What?! What do you-”
|Have you ever heard of the God of the Underworld intervening in family disputes? Or mediating between friends? Petty squabbles and fights are not my concern. I am interested only in those who commit grave sins.|
“S-Surely you’re not referring to me? I simply acted as a part of nature…”
|Indeed. You have functioned perfectly as a part of nature.|
“Right? That’s…that’s right…?”
Kali’s expression shifted, her face paling as realization dawned on her. She finally sensed her impending doom.
|It seems you find greater joy in functioning as a part of nature than as a sentient being. I shall grant you your wish. In the underworld, you may frolic freely as an animal, upon the flames of purification.|
“What?!”
|Perhaps you dislike animals. Then I shall send you to the Mountain of Blades, where you may experience the joy of having your stems endlessly sliced as they grow. You need not thank me.|
“Aaaaaah! No! No! That’s not what I- Aaaah! No! I’m sorry! I was wrong! I confess! I repent!”
Too late.
Kali prostrated herself, her hands clasped together, tears streaming down her face.
“I repent! My misguided beliefs led to the deaths of so many! Please, have mercy! Forgive my sins!”
|Do not worry. It will be fine. We shall begin by having you experience the pain of those you have wronged. Hmm…? Oh dear. Looking back at your history, it seems this will take…thousands of years.|
“Aaaaaaaaaaah! No! No!”
|Ahahahahahahaha! I told you, you need not thank me!|
Darkness swirled around Kali, accompanied by a chilling laughter.
Then, Nameless seized control of the body, her terrified eyes replaced with a sleepy, almost bored expression.
She pulled a crimson soul from her chest, shaping it into a round mana stone.
Kali’s True Soul.
The mana stone was swallowed by the darkness, pulled into the abyss.
Kali had been dragged into the underworld. I watched, my mouth agape, my body trembling.
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