Shalyh. This was the name of the city where the eighth recruits were rescued, and a new title was finally added to the city’s name today. It was now the holy city, Shalyh. Since Kabal had been revived by Chi-Woo, Shalyh rose from a normal city to a holy territory under her governance.
Of course, the state of the city did not befit its grand name, but it was in considerably better condition than before due to the Cassiubia League’s post-war recovery efforts. A man and a girl walked out of the city’s magnificent gate, which had been completed a few days ago.
The black-haired girl slightly glanced to her side and said, “Can’t you stay for a few more days?” Judging by her black hair and black eyes, she was now Kabal instead of Balal.
“The conference is over. There’s no reason for me to stay longer,” Chi-Hyun replied in a cold tone.
“Hey, don’t be like that. Three days—no, even one or two days would be enough. What about it?”
Chi-Hyun looked down with an empty expression. “It seems you’re trying to make me stay somehow. Am I misunderstanding things?”
Kabal felt slightly flustered.
“Or is there a reason why I must stay here for a few more days?”
“That’s not the case, but…”
Chi-Woo snorted as Kabal’s voice softened to almost a whisper and said, “When I get back and announce the results of the conference, a large number of our people will flock to this city. As soon as the temple is renovated, there will be many beings on both sides who will want to be your followers, so you’ll be busy soon.
“…”
“You’ve walked me far enough. You should head back now.”
“No, is there a reason for you to be in such a rush? There isn’t. Can’t you just stay one more day?”
“There’s nothing urgent, but I have a reason to head back quickly,” Chi-Hyun replied indifferently and leapt off the ground without saying more. He flew through the sky and moved far away. His expression was lighthearted as he left the holy city behind. It was because his conference with the Cassiubia League had ended, and he had reaped an unexpected harvest. What did they say again about the little bluish guy who followed Chi-Woo around?
‘The original slime?’ Chi-Hyun had thought that little bun was way too capable to be a regular slime, but it turned out it was an amazing slime used as an important strategic weapon in the distant past. Pushing aside the question how Chi-Woo was able to obtain such an astounding slime, it was definitely not something Chi-Woo should just use as a bag.
‘If I tell him that little guy’s true identity, he’ll be shocked beyond belief.’ Chi-Hyun smirked as he imagined his younger brother’s reaction.
“…He left.” On the other hand, Kabal sighed as she watched Chi-Hyun move further away and slowly become a dot. “Sorry, oppa.” She murmured to herself and looked up at the sky with her head tilted back. “I tried to give you at least a few more days, but I guess it couldn’t be helped.”
* * *
It was dark. However, Chi-Woo could roughly see the internal layout around him due to his improved night vision from living in a cave for an extended time. Contrary to their speculation, the bottom was not a swamp. Although it was muddy on all sides, there were channels connecting to an unknown place. It was more like an ant’s nest than a cave. Even though he didn’t know where he was, he couldn’t let down his guard; his surroundings were squirming and moving as if something would pop out at any moment. Chi-Woo was brought back to his senses by mud dripping from the ceiling. Then he heard someone let out a groan of pain under him. Chi-Woo looked down and immediately felt guilty. He was sitting on Apoline and squashing her.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“You…really are…” Apoline gritted her teeth and got up. “Ugh…so dirty…” Then she looked at all the mud on her clothes and frowned.
“Did anyone die?” It was Jin-Cheon’s voice. Of course, no one answered—
—Me.
Philip calmly raised his hand.
“Good. No one died.” Jin-Cheon, who couldn’t see Philip, looked satisfied. However, his reaction soon changed when he counted and found out there were only four of them—Chi-Woo, Apoline, Hawa, and himself. “My brother and Abis are…” Jin-Cheon muttered blankly with a tense expression.
“Mr. Nangnang, Ms. Noel, and Mr. Ru Amuh are nowhere to be seen,” Chi-Woo said, concern thick in his voice.
Apoline said, “It’s ridiculous. How could they have fallen to a separate place when they were right next to us?”
“We don’t know. They might be near, or maybe above or below here.”
As Jin-Cheon grumbled, Apoline looked around and said, “What’s clear is that this place is probably going to be extremely complicated to navigate.” She smacked her lips and slightly bit her nails. “If at least Mr. Cat were here…” As Apoline said, Nangnang’s absence was truly unfortunate; when they needed a scout the most, he was separated from them. That left them with very few options.
Jin-Cheon said, “Hmm…Should we go find them? Or do we…”
While Jin-Cheon scratched his head, not knowing what to do, Apoline clearly stated her thoughts, “It’s pointless to argue about each option.” They had no idea what had happened to the other team members. They could be together, or they could be further separated. It was possible that they were either wandering around to find them, staying low, or trying to figure out how to get out of this place. However, things could also be worse for them no matter how reluctant Apoline was to entertain the possibility.
Moreover, they needed to consider Abis. Currently, she was nothing more than a burden. There was no way to assess the situation and figure out the correct answer right now. In the end, only the results would tell. Apoline couldn’t abandon her other team members and had to consider the companions she was currently with.
“Let’s go inside,” Apoline said plainly. “Whether we find the other four or leave this place, we need to clean this place up first.” She hadn’t sensed it above ground, but now that she was underground, she keenly felt a great evil somewhere deep down—it was an evil so strong that it sent chills down her spine. If they followed that strong energy, they would probably find the source of evil and the one responsible for this situation. They needed to defeat it as fast as possible. Then they’d be able to secure everyone’s safety and find a way to get out of here.
Chi-Woo lowered his head. This was the most dangerous method, but if they successfully accomplished it, it would ensure their safety and produce the best possible result.
“It’s nice that you make your points clear.” Jin-Cheon warmed up his body and suddenly looked back. “Good. Everything you said is good, but…” He wasn’t the only one who had turned around. All four of them were checking their surroundings and putting their backs together. It was impossible to not notice several presences frantically rushing toward them with such open hostility.
Soon, mud bulged out from not only the walls, but also the ceiling and even the floor. They took the shape of humans or monsters, and they floundered their arms and howled with their mouths open.
“So we break through them, right?” Jin-Cheon cracked his knuckles.
“Of course. There’s no need to even ask.” Bright flames lit up from both of Apoline’s hands, and Chi-Woo took out his club.
“And haven’t I said this to you before?” Apoline glared at the monsters making a racket and shouted, “Please stop talking to me so informally!” Soon, the earth and the neoks assimilated into the earth rushed out and fiercely confronted the expedition team.
* * *
At the same time, bright light was flowing from the deepest part of the fortress. The source of the bright light was a chain. It was pure white and glowing from incandescence like it had been left in the furnace for a long time. The chain, which seemed as if it was going to melt, slowly dimmed, and for a moment, it seemed to return to its original color. Then it suddenly turned black and scattered into pieces. At the same time, the skeleton slowly crumbled like the chain from the top of its skull to its toes until it settled into a pile of ashes.
“Pweh…” Only then did Zepar let out the breath he’d been holding. He carried out his plan as soon as he finished his conversation with Evelyn. His long-cherished desire would finally come true at last. Since his eyes were already red with excitement, he had no intention of giving Evelyn a grace period or even a moment of reprieve. He wanted to claim her as soon as possible and complete his experiment. Thus, he got on his first task right away and resolved two major hurdles, releasing Evelyn from the ties that bonded her to the Abyss, and purifying her soul.
Even though this should have been no easy feat, Zepar managed to accomplish it without great difficulty; the Abyss had given him a chain that would nullify Evelyn’s contract with the Abyss’ queen. It was an astounding treasure that could turn a pledge toward a supreme being into nothing. Of course, he didn’t receive it for free.
Zepar gulped as he looked at the ashes on the ground. Everything that Evelyn had accumulated as a witch in the Abyss was contained in the pile of ashes. It went without saying that it was an incredible treasure that couldn’t be priced. If he absorbed it, he could obtain the vast knowledge and magic of a witch—but only if he could handle it. It would be a lie if he said he didn’t want it, but Zepar suppressed his greed. The Abyss only allowed him to take Evelyn’s soul. Zepar needed to give the essence back to the Abyss so that they could quickly give birth to a new witch. He could break the promise and take everything for himself, but it was better in the long run to keep his side of the bargain.
Zepar scraped up the ashes and put them into a bottle. After sealing it tightly, he handed it over to Astarte, who had been standing quietly. “I’m sure they’re desperately waiting for this right now. Give it to them.”
Astarte took the bottle and bowed before turning around. Zepar, who was now left alone, stared straight ahead. The chains and skeleton were gone, leaving only a mysterious haze with a strange light floating in the air. It was not the witch of the Abyss, but Evelyn’s soul as a saintess during her past life.
“Oh…” Zepar couldn’t hide his amazement inspired by Evelyn’s noble and holy soul; it went far beyond his expectations. Even though he had to use more than half of the neoks he had collected to break her binding and purify her soul, it was more than worth it. He had really put his hopes in the right place. If he just finished the resurrection ceremony, he would already be halfway through actualizing his plan. The remaining process would be a piece of cake; rather, he was looking extremely forward to it.
“Heeehehehe. My dear, how are you feeling? How does it feel to lose everything you’ve built over thousands of years?”
Evelyn stayed silent. Only her soul wavered a little stronger.
“Hehe. You must feel stuffy, don’t you? Please wait a little longer.” Zepar reached down and sliced vertically.
Crack! Cracck! The ice that preserved her body split in half. Zepar carefully lifted Evelyn’s physical body and moved quickly toward the altar for her resurrection.
* * *
While Chi-Woo and his group were trying to break through the deepest part of the basement, and Zepar was initiating Evelyn’s resurrection ceremony, Ru Amuh, Nangnang, Noel, and the young man carrying Abis were exploring the area. Even though their goal was finding the rest of their teammates, it was a search without much promise.
There was a low chance that their other team members would stay in the same place and wait for them, and they had no idea where the others were. Neither Nangnang nor Ru Amuh with his synesthesia ability could sense any presence near them. Nangnang speculated that the others must have been separated or even fallen to a completely different floor according to the distance between them. This was a plausible theory as Noel, who was next to the young man and Abis, had fallen with them, and Hawa, who had been relatively distant, ended up elsewhere. Despite the uncertain situation, one fortunate aspect was that they didn’t see any enemies. They had thought this place would be teeming with the same monsters that had attacked them outside, but they were wrong. Rather, it was eerily quiet and bleak, as if everything had been sucked away. But just in case, they moved around on high alert when—
Nangnang, who was walking at the forefront, suddenly stopped and raised his tail. Ru Amuh also caught something with his synesthesia.
Clank, clank… They heard metal hitting the ground. The sound gradually grew closer, and a figure appeared in front of the expedition team. It was a woman who seemed like a living flame. Her hair was crimson, and her eyes red. She looked of noble birth from a glance, but her blank stare gave off a sensual decadence. The expedition team and the woman looked at each other for a moment.
The woman’s eyes slightly widened before curving upwards, and the expedition team lifted their weapons on instinct. They saw the twin horns on her head, and everyone felt intuitively that the newcomer was in a completely different league than any enemy they had faced so far.
It was really a coincidence that the expedition team ran into Astarte, who was carrying out an order issued by Zepar. On the other hand, Astarte had sensed a foreign presence and turned to seek them out. In any case, it didn’t change the fact that the expedition team had fallen into a crisis.
“…Sir Nangnang.” Ru Amuh spoke quietly, never once taking his eyes off the woman standing still in front of him. She was the most powerful enemy he had encountered so far on Liber, even stronger than Vepar. The situation might have been different with Chi-Woo around, but it was a terrible idea to fight this woman given the strength of his current group. “Take the others and run away. I’ll try to…” Ru Amuh raised his sword to buy some time for the others.
Bam! The ceiling suddenly exploded and collapsed. Mud dropped down in lumps and blocked the expedition team’s exit. The message conveyed by the attack was crystal clear—don’t you dare run away.
Nangnang glanced back and said while licking his mouth, “It seems…we have no choice but to fight.”
Thus marked the start of a historical battle. Although no one was aware yet, this battle would significantly change the course of Liber’s far-away future. For better or for worse.