Now that Alex had unlocked four wings and gained a tremendous speed boost, he no longer needed [Alphox] to travel.
Sure, flying on the back of a primordial dragon sounded like an incredible experience, but he didn’t have the luxury of wasting time anymore.
Every second mattered, and he couldn’t afford to slow down.
Still, with nothing but open sky around him, flying alone did give him plenty of time to think, and to talk.
“So, are we gonna talk about the fact that Astolf still hasn’t spoken once?” Alphox’s voice echoed from within Alex’s [Shadow Pet Space].
“Yeah.”
It had already been well over a week since the Abyss incident.
By all logic, Astolf should have revived by now.
Maybe he was cultivating again?
“Or maybe the fact that you absorbed the [Annihilation Crucifix] into your body with the [Crown of Calamity] killed him,” Alphox said, laughing.
Alex kept flying, but his forehead immediately broke into a cold sweat.
That… was a real possibility.
From the very start, he knew the [Annihilation Crucifix] was one of the few things capable of completely eradicating beings like the [Undead King] or the [Undead Lord].
And Astolf had been inside his body at the time of absorption.
Was it possible that taking the crucifix into himself had also erased Astolf?
For the next few minutes, Alex and Alphox discussed the implications, but no matter how they looked at it, there was no clear answer.
“It’s possible,” Alex admitted, his voice steady despite the unease creeping into his chest.
“I didn’t expect that to happen, though… and right as we were heading to [Undead Land] too.”
Losing an ally, even one as powerful and unpredictable as the [Undead King], still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
But he needed to move forward.
Because in the [Chosen Games], there was a real chance he could lose even more people.
Alphox included.
And maybe…
‘No.’ Alex shook his head, pushing the thought away, ‘No need to think about it.’
Dwelling on it wouldn’t change anything, he had a mission to complete.
With that resolve, he continued his journey.
…
A week passed.
During that time, Alex barely took breaks.
He only ate when necessary, and even then, his appetite was minimal.
His body, now nearly on par with a god, hardly needed rest.
Then three more days passed.
Then four.
Five.
Six.
By the time the final day arrived, Alex was soaring through the air when his [World Map] flickered to life.
His golden eyes locked onto the blinking marker ahead, his destination was close.
The [Hatred Sect Hideout].
The confrontation would happen soon.
He could feel it.
“So, what’s the plan once we’re inside?” Alphox asked, his voice casual, yet carrying a sharp edge.
“Kill them all, duh?” Alex shrugged mid-flight, “Maybe blow the place up.”
It wasn’t worth overthinking.
He was stronger than all of them, he knew it.
As long as he stayed careful, nothing could stop him.
Without the [Heart of Calamity], the [Hatred Sect] shouldn’t be able to summon the [Hatred Demon] anyway, which meant dealing with them now was the safest option.
Though, he had to admit… he wasn’t entirely sure if there was another method to summon it.
But better safe than sorry.
The [Hatred Demon] was just one being.
But its influence? Its power?
Even without a god descending as he planned to kill each of them in the [Chosen Games], its presence alone could lead to catastrophe.
It would be bad if even when the [Chosen Games] ended, entities like Lich and the Hatred Demon remained alive to cause chaos.
And though he believed he could kill them eventuall
“Be careful,” Alphox warned.
Alex nodded.
A few more hours passed.
Then finally, he reached the exact coordinates where the [Hatred Sect Hideout] was supposed to be.
And yet, there was nothing.
“…Huh.”
He hovered in the air, scanning the landscape below.
The location was deep in an uncharted part of the world, so remote that even monsters didn’t roam here.
Universal Descent was an enormous world.
Even with his absurd speed, it had taken him nearly a month to reach this place.
And yet, this was perhaps the most desolate area he had ever seen.
No life.
No monsters.
Not even a trace of movement.
But something was here.
He could feel it.
An ancient presence.
A power so dense that even he, someone who had faced mythical beings and calamities, felt wary.
The energy in the air was heavy, almost suffocating.
Still, he couldn’t back down now.
If he hesitated here, he wouldn’t even be worthy of standing in the [Chosen Games].
Alex landed with a powerful thud, dust kicking up around him.
His sharp gaze swept across the area as he began his search.
For hours, he looked.
He tried attacking the ground, blasting away layers of earth with raw force.
Nothing.
He scoured the area, searching for any hidden entrances, inspecting every rock, every tree, every possible mechanism.
Nothing.
Which meant one of two things.
Either he needed a special item to enter, like the [Token of the Mage] for the [Mage Tower], or…
They knew he was here and were hiding from him.
Both possibilities were bad.
He glanced at the timer in the corner of his vision.
[Time before Chosen Games:]
[26 Days, 15 Hours, 29 Minutes…]
Less than a month remained.
Every hour counted.
And he still wasn’t at full strength.
He had already reached 90% of Kaelios’ power, but that wasn’t enough.
He needed 100%.
If he wanted to survive, if he wanted to win, he had to push himself further.
As the minutes ticked by, Alex felt the weight of it all pressing down on him.
That pressure.
It was like a poison wrapping around his heart.
He was one of the strongest beings in this world now.
That was undeniable.
But even so, the fear of the unknown didn’t spare him.
“Stop dozing off, partner,” Alphox’s voice cut through his thoughts.
“We need to kill those bastards!”
Alex blinked, snapping back to reality.
Then he grinned.
“Yeah, true.”
He still didn’t know where the entrance was.
But he had come this far, and at the very least, this location was now registered on his [World Map].
He wasn’t going to give up.
And so, just as he took another step forward…
[The Heart of Calamity has reacted to your demands.]
[It senses its previous host nearby, and it will assist its new host, as it much prefers him.]
“…Huh?”
Then…
FWISH! FWISH! FWISH!
Dozens of dark tendrils burst from the [Crown of Calamity], writhing through the air like living shadows.
They slithered forward, moving like ocean waves, as if searching for something unseen.
Alex watched in fascination.
“The hell?” Alphox muttered.
The [Heart of Calamity], the very core of the crown, was reacting.
It could sense something.
No, not just something.
It was tracking the remnants of its old master, the [Hatred Demon].
“Well, well,” Alex murmured, a grin creeping onto his face.
“Guess that solves the problem.”
If the [Heart of Calamity] wanted its former owner gone, then that worked just fine for him.
Letting the tendrils lead the way, Alex cracked his knuckles.
“Alright,” he said, eyes burning with resolve.
“Let’s do this.”
He was ready.