The Demonic Realm (7)
“At this rate, there’s no explaining it other than a breach in the barrier.”
Rushing urgently toward the Prison of Permafrost, Arhen continued her grim explanation.
“If we’re any later, restoring it might become entirely impossible...!”
She had completely abandoned her usual archaic cadence, her expression stripped bare of any composure.
Yet she was not the only one on edge. Everyone present wore expressions tight with dread.
Well... everyone except me, that is.
Even if the seal were to break and the monster crawled out, offering up my life to reseal it wouldn't even be that hard, so it wasn't the end of the world for me. The only catch was that resealing wasn't subjugating, meaning we’d have to figure out a permanent solution later. Plus, if I wagered my life to seal it back up, I wouldn’t be waking from that slumber for a very long time.
Still, having a guaranteed safety net was a relief in itself. Even so, considering what kind of monster we were up against, letting our guard down was out of the question. It was a demonic beast vicious enough to push the entire northern frontier to the brink of ruin; against something of that caliber, being prepared hardly meant much anyway.
A fresh swarm of demonic beasts lunged to block our advance, but with two of humanity’s apex combatants leading the charge—and both stripped of their usual calm—the monsters were wiped out with almost pitiful ease. In the game, pushing through this area had been an agonizing grind, but here we were breezing through without breaking a sweat. It felt a bit inappropriate to think this in such a dire crisis, but it honestly felt like being a total newbie getting power-leveled by max-tier veterans.
Rumble!
“Whoa?!”
“...?!“
Wait, an earthquake? Beneath the permafrost?
“An earthquake...?! Nothing like this has ever happened before...!”
Even the guide looked around with wide, bewildered eyes. Judging by that reaction, a tremor like this really was unprecedented.
Something’s wrong.
Very wrong. Whether by game logic or basic common sense, feeling an earthquake down here could only mean one thing.
Anything else I could brush aside, but not a tremor. Most of the anomalies up to this point had appeared in the game when the beast’s resurrection was drawing near, so they hadn't bothered me much. But an earthquake was a completely different story. A tremor meant that something deep below had already stirred awake.
From what I recalled, among all the monsters roaming the Demonic Realm, there was only one creature with enough absurd power and colossal mass to rattle this entire bedrock to its core.
It’s already awake...?
The frigid beast that heralded the end of days. The Beast of the End—a walking calamity that churned up blizzards where not a single living thing could survive—was preparing to reveal itself from the depths of the earth.
I hurriedly channeled divine energy into my Divine Power Detection, expanding my sensory field far beyond its normal limits. Pushing it out this wide fragmented my focus, but it allowed me to pinpoint whatever was down there with absolute certainty.
And in that very instant—
Thump!
“[Ngh...!]”
A violent jolt racked my chest as a suffocating wave of terror flooded my mind. The sheer, paralyzing dread completely overwhelmed my thoughts, and my legs buckled beneath me before I could even register what was happening.
“A-Aria!”
Beside me, Evan rushed forward in a panic to support my collapsing body.
Yet I had no spare breath to worry about Evan. That suffocating presence, that instinctual terror... and the colossal shadow that had brushed against my Divine Power Detection for a split second was unlike anything I had ever encountered. To think an entity possessed enough sheer malice to reduce me—a Saintess, even if still unawakened—to collapsing paralyzed onto the floor.
As expected... it's a boss so absurdly overpowered that the game forced every major faction to raid it early on just to write it out of the story.
In the original game lore, the raid had required the combined might of the Grand Duchy, the Academy’s entire faculty, and the surviving remnants of the Matimos Tribe—and they had still suffered horrific casualties. Was it even remotely possible with just the handful of us? Worse yet, the beast had detected my Divine Power Detection in an instant and retaliated with a psychic lash. Its power was already at peak lethality.
No. We can't stay here.
If we lingered, we wouldn't just plunge into the abyss; we’d be crushed to pulp by the collapsing ceiling from above.
I projected my telepathic voice to everyone at the top of my lungs.
“[We have to run! We can’t stay here!]”
If we turned back now, we could make it. With warriors of Arhen and Valencia's caliber, escaping the cave-in wouldn't be an issue. Even if the demonic beast was on the verge of breaking free, our best course was to evacuate, regroup, and devise a proper countermeasure. While this cavern was doomed to collapse, the Grand Duke's Estate was still a considerable distance away. No matter how immense the monster was, it would take time for it to march across the frozen tundra. We would have enough time to mount a proper defense.
That was the logic behind my warning, but—
BOOM—CRACK—!!
A tremor far more violent than the last tore through the cavern. At this point, it was impossible to miss: the beast was mere seconds from breaking out entirely.
Forget everything else—we had to get out of here right this second. If we didn't escape, discussing countermeasures wouldn't matter in the slightest; we'd be buried alive under tons of rock and ice before we could take another step. Getting dragged down into that pit was going to be an enormous pain in the ass...
Creeeeak—CRACK!
“[Ah...?]”
The ground beneath my boots shattered into nothingness.
“...?!“
And with it, Evan—who was still holding me upright—began plunging straight down into the gaping chasm alongside me.
Wait a second.
This wasn't in the script...! Evan is falling too?!
“...!!”
Arhen’s eyes widened in horror as she saw us plunging into the void.
“Sto—!”
Shatter!
She desperately tried to invoke her Word Magic, but with the sharp chime of breaking glass, the spell shattered before it could even form. While she froze in absolute disbelief at having her concept magic nullified, Valencia moved. With the terrifying speed unique to a Swordmaster, he thrust his scabbard toward us like a lifeline.
Yet it was far too late. Evan reached out frantically toward the outstretched sheath, his fingers grazing it, but he missed by a fraction of an inch and was dragged down into the roaring dark.
“Aaaaargh!!”
Just like that, Evan and I plummeted together into the pitch-black abyss below.
There was no time. In our rapid free fall, there wasn't nearly enough time to cast an absolute barrier capable of shielding both of us.
At the very least, Evan has to live...!
If I had to prioritize a barrier, giving it to Evan was by far the most optimal choice. Unlike me, who could eventually regenerate and stand back up even after taking catastrophic trauma, Evan was still mortal at this stage—a fall from this height would kill him on impact.
Resolved, I poured every ounce of divine power into casting the most impenetrable barrier I could muster over Evan as we hurtled toward the depths. Along with that, I stacked every blessing and ward at my disposal.
I dumped practically all my holy energy into layering divine protections upon him. A barrier of that magnitude would take even the Demon King considerable effort to breach; it certainly wouldn't give way to a mere terminal fall or falling boulders. Given the urgency, I would have enveloped us both if we were close enough, but our descent had wrenched us apart, forcing me to prioritize him alone for maximum efficiency.
Having shielded Evan, I immediately set about erecting a barrier around myself, but...
Perhaps because I had spent too much time weaving blessings and protections to ensure Evan’s survival, the cavern floor rushed up to meet me before my own spell could even take shape. At this rate, I wouldn't even have a half-decent ward ready before slamming face-first into solid permafrost.
Damn it...
Yet strangely enough, I felt a flicker of relief. It wasn't as if we were tumbling into some bottomless, inescapable abyss. It was undeniably deep, but not so steep that climbing back out would be impossible; we could find a way out eventually. And frankly, knowing the impact was coming was far better than having my body pulverized out of nowhere.
The protective barrier around Evan was woven with everything I had, engineered to last for ages. The sheer kinetic shock ringing through the shield might knock him unconscious, but he certainly wouldn't die. With his safety secured, I had nothing left to worry about—and even if the worst happened, I could always resurrect him.
Well, since it's come to this... I might as well savor the sensation of fatal fall damage to the fullest.
It had been quite a while since I'd experienced falling to my death.
Honestly... might not feel half bad.
CRUNCH!