Chapter 573. The Underworld (1)

What would the underworld look like?

Kang Oh thought of a vast plain with a giant river flowing through it. After all, Thalesman had told him that there was a river here!

However, the underworld was completely different from his expectations.

"Huh?"

"What is this?"

Kang Oh and his entire party looked shocked.

'Space?'

There was a vast, black expanse in front of them, much like what you'd expect to see in space films. Kang Oh's party floated in this place, which lacked any sort of gravity.

Kang Oh looked back and saw the door they'd just entered through. It looked like a black sinkhole from here.

However, they weren't actually in space.

First, Kang Oh was able to breathe no problem. At the same time, the place did lack gravity; whenever he waved his hands, his body would automatically move forward.

"Welcome to the underworld," Loxia said, smiling kindly.

"It's a lot different from what I expected," Kang Oh said.

Asu, Sephiro, and Nile nodded their heads in agreement. Meanwhile, Eder was completely engrossed in observing his surroundings.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I heard that there was a river here, so I assumed it would be a vast plain with a river flowing through it."

"There is a river here." Loxia pointed above his head.

Kang Oh's party looked upwards.

Then, they saw the endless milky way.

However, it was different from the normal milky way. All of the stars were flowing to one side. It was as if they were being swept along by a river.

"That's..."

"The souls are traveling along the river, where their memories are washed away and they become as plain as a piece of paper. Anyway, follow me."

Loxia pushed his body forward.

'How did he do that?'

Kang Oh's party waved their arms and legs around as if they were swimming, and followed after him.

It was a strange experience.

They were 'swimming' through an area that lacked gravity. Moreover, they passed by brilliantly shining spheres of various colors.

"What is that?" Asu asked, unable to withhold her curiosity.

"Those are a portion of the memories that have been washed away. The yellow spheres are happy memories, the blue spheres are sad memories, and red spheres are intense emotions."

"Wow."

To think that there existed such a mysterious and marvelous place! They couldn't help but feel amazed.

All of a sudden, however, a black 'something' came from underneath and swallowed a red sphere! It looked like a huge leech.

"Don't be surprised. They're cleaners. They get rid of the leftover memories." Loxia smiled and calmed Kang Oh's party down.

After that, Kang Oh continually watched as these 'leeches' rid the underworld of the memory fragments.

How much time had passed?

A hemisphere-shaped planet appeared.

There were a few buildings and structures on the flat surface of the planet. Their styles and sizes were all different.

"This is the only place in the underworld where you can stay. We call it Noah."

Loxia led Kang Oh's party to his residence on Noah.

It was a small castle.

Rumble.

Blood shook violently. It was as if she were asking him to let her out.

Kang Oh used Demon's Descent.

Then, Tasha appeared in her fluttering red dress.

"Lahinder Castle!" Tasha saw the castle and looked moved.

It was the castle that she lived in back when Loxia was still alive. It was exactly the same as she remembered it.

"It's been a while, Tasha." Loxia looked at her with nostalgia.

"I missed you." Tasha latched onto him. She acted like a child, which was very unlike her.

Loxia warmly embraced her.

It was as if Kang Oh were seeing a grandfather and his granddaughter.

"You've been well?" Loxia looked at her warmly and smiled.

"I've been ok." Tasha beamed. To think she'd smile so unreservedly like that. Kang Oh was completely shocked.

"We can talk more later. First, let's go inside. Everyone, follow me."

The inside of the castle was archaic, though it did give off a warm atmosphere.

"Aah, it's exactly as I remember it." Tasha touched the wall and the ground, and looked deeply moved.

"Of course it is. I made it out of my memories," Loxia said.

"Your memories?" Kang Oh asked.

"As long as you satisfy a few conditions, you can retain your memories in Noah."

"Hoh."

The underworld was truly a fascinating place.

"Sit down." Loxia pointed at the circular table and then served Kang Oh's party some tea.

Tasha wouldn't leave Loxia's side.

"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Grande Loxia. I died a long time ago."

"Does that mean you're a soul?" Eder asked. He didn't feel like a soul at all.

Loxia extended his hand. "Feel for yourself."

Eder grabbed his hand. It felt warm and elastic like real skin.

"I did die, but I still have a body."

"The Resurrection Stone!" Eder yelled.

"Indeed. I received a new body with the Resurrection Stone."

"We came here to procure the Resurrection Stone. Where do we get it?" Kang Oh asked.

"I received one in exchange for becoming a Soul Guardian and doing various matters for the goddess. However, the Resurrection Stone appears somewhere around here once every month. One of my duties as a Soul Guardian is retrieving that stone and presenting it to the goddess."

"When will the next one show up?" Kang Oh asked.

"In a week. And the goddess told me to give it to you when your job is complete."

Kang Oh clasped his hands together and prayed. 'Thank you, Lady Deborah!'

"What do we have to do?" Nile asked.

Loxia began to explain what this 'job' entailed.

"When a person dies, they pass through the river of souls and their memories are washed away. It's in preparation for their rebirth. However, strong souls are capable of resisting this process."

"Then what happens?" Sephiro asked.

"Some of them escape the river of souls and pass through the area we were just in, while others arrive here. But no matter how strong the soul is, its memories slowly begin to fade. Those spheres you saw are fragments of their memories. It's different if you gain a new body like I did. In the end, a soul will inevitably lose all of its memories and return to the river of souls."

Kang Oh's party nodded their heads.

'Yes, I see!'

"But there's a way to retain one's memories even without a body."

Kang Oh realized that his 'job' would be related to what Loxia said next.

"Eating other souls. We call it a Soul Eater. Its main goal is to procure the Resurrection Stone and gain a new body."

"Mm."

Kang Oh could guess what Loxia's next words would be.

"So we just need to kill this Soul Eater?"

"Indeed. And from what I hear, you have a sword that can cut through souls."

"Yes, it's this sword." Kang Oh pulled out Ubist.

"It's a demon sword, I see."

"Yes. A black beast that originally came from the Demon World is sealed within."

"Good. The Soul Eater is made up of souls, so it should prove useful."

Deborah had stressed that he brought along Demon Sword Ubist, and now he knew why.

"Now I'll teach you how we fight here. Let's go outside."

"Yes!"

* * *

"Fighting here is different from fighting on the continent. You're fighting without gravity. Thus, you have to learn how to move your body first," Loxia said, as he 'walked' out of the castle.

"This is what's called a Cube."

Loxia clasped his hands, and a transparent, film-like hexahedron appeared in the space in between.

"Basic movement involves using this Cube." Loxia soared into the air.

Then, he rapidly moved his body through the air. Kang Oh took a closer look at what he was doing, and noticed that a Cube appeared beneath his feet before he moved. Loxia would use it as a stepping stone to move forward.

It had various applications. For example, you could grab the Cube and use it to scale a wall. Plus, it could be used to jump from branch to branch like a monkey.

A short while later...

Loxia, who'd demonstrated all sorts of flashy moves, descended to the ground.

Clap, clap, clap.

They couldn't help but applaud him.

"You have to make good use of the Cube in order to fight properly in this place. Let me pass down the method of summoning this Cube."

Then, a system message appeared.

[Loxia has passed down Summon Cube.]

[This skill can only be used in the underworld. The skill will disappear upon exiting the underworld.]

Kang Oh had inherited Mad Wind's Sword from Sven before. Loxia had used the same technique to pass on Summon Cube.

'How exactly are they doing it?'

"Now, try using the Cube to move around," Loxia said.

"Alright!" Nile leapt into the air.

He was a bright kid, so he adapted to the Cube rather quickly and started performing flashy movements in the air.

Sephiro called forth Waryong. Without him, he was like red bean bread without the red bean.

He got on Waryong's back, and it forcefully flapped its wings. At some point, Waryong started to get accustomed to moving without gravity.

Sephiro tested how far an arrow would go. It was quite strange to see an arrow move in a straight line like a bullet.

Kang Oh got accustomed to it rather quickly too. It was because he'd trained in Flying Swordsmanship. He, like Nile, was also rather bright.

He also called Tasha, Sara, and Ubist, and got them familiar with the environment too.

Tasha unleashed blood energy, Sara used ice as stepping stones, and Ubist used Abyss Transfer to teleport through the gravity-less area.

Asu had a bit of trouble using the Cube, but she eventually got somewhat familiar with how it worked.

Moreover, she had Rudy with her. If need be, Rudy could transform and fly her around.

"Good. Now, attack me."

Loxia floated in the air using a Cube as a stepping stone, and drew his sword. However, he was holding Demon Sword Blood.

"That's..."

"It's like the castle. I recreated it using my memories."

"Aha."

"Then I'll go first."

The Master Fighter, Nile, forcefully pushed off of a stepping stone and charged at Loxia like a rocket.

He went full throttle from the very beginning.

Loxia gave off the same feeling as Kang Oh. He felt like someone truly strong!

Mad Dragon Cannon!

Enormous energy rose from Nile's right fist, which transformed into a long dragon.

Its power was comparable to Kang Oh's Abyss Predator. After all, it was a Beast Fighter secret move that he developed himself.

However, its power wouldn't matter if it didn't hit. Loxia quickly soared into the air and dodged it.

"Quick, precise attacks are preferable to large, flashy attacks here." Loxia softly swung his sword.

Space-Time Slash!

It was a Swordsman secret move, the same one Dukeram had used!

Nile quickly created a Cube, grabbed it, and twisted his body.

Swish!

Loxia's slash passed through where he'd once been.

After that, Sephiro shot an arrow at him and Waryong spat its flames.

Loxia's refined movements and his application of the Cube allowed him to dodge their combo attack with ease.

Asu and Kang Oh attacked him next. He held Ubist and Sarahoff in his hands.

Kang Oh did exactly as Loxia had instructed. He barraged him with small, precise attacks. Meanwhile, Asu stood beside Kang Oh, and thrust her sword whenever she saw an opening.

Their combined assault was impressive. Plus, Sephiro and Nile backed them up.

However, Loxia just smiled and parried every single one of their attacks. Some of them he deflected, and some of them he just dodged.

"Good, that's it. Those are some good attacks."

Loxia even complimented them. He wasn't even breaking a sweat.

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed.

'As expected!'

He became sure of it after fighting him.

"A Grandmaster..."

Loxia responded with a kind smile. That was enough confirmation.

"I'll be in your care."

"Me too!"

Kang Oh and Nile's eyes gleamed. Their eyes were earnest and identical; it was as if they were actual brothers.

Asu backed off and Sephiro lowered his bow. They were giving the two a chance to challenge the Grandmaster on their own.

Predator Kang Oh!

Supernova Nile!

That's how the battle between Arth's strongest players and a legendary knight began.