Chapter 389: Prelude to Annihilation (5)

“Here we are...” Redshell’s voice was laden with exhaustion.

True to his name, his skin was hard—almost like an insect’s exoskeleton. And yet, his natural armor had been powerless against Karyl’s sword. Now he was bound, with both legs missing, and forced to lead Karyl and his crew deeper into the Dragon Bone Tomb.

“Hmm...” Karyl scanned the interior rather indifferently.

The chamber resembled a vast temple, almost identical to the one he had found when the Oracle had first been prophesied. Even the symbols etched into the stone walls were the same.

Did they replicate the temple where the relic was hidden?

“If your hunch is right, it means these temples were relocated to predetermined places even before the Oracle was issued,” Allen observed as he surveyed the surroundings. “It would mean they already knew the Oracle before it was even delivered.”

Without a flicker of surprise, Karyl flung the helpless Redshell to the ground.

“Agh...!”

The demon coughed up a handful of blood as he hit the ground. Despite his reputation as one of the Four Demon Knights, he looked pitiful now—thoroughly defeated.

“No chance for us to step in, it seems,” Kinu Mukari remarked.

“Even if we do, it would be just for our lord to evaluate how much we’ve grown,” Hashir replied with a wry smile. He had long since realized that Karyl’s strength was beyond measure, but after witnessing him in battle time and time again, he no longer knew what lay within the realm of the possible.

“Serica, keep an eye on him. The regenerative abilities of demons are no joke. If he acts up, freeze him,” Karyl commanded, to which Serica nodded.

Click.

Karyl turned and unlatched the lids of two large, coffin-like containers at the center of the temple. With a soft release of the lock, the familiar objects from Karyl’s memory came into view.

One of them was a black ring.

“They say not even the gods can suppress human desire. You fool! Strong as you are, you’ll succumb to the curse of the demonic relic!” Redshell shouted, desperation lacing his words.

Ignoring him, Karyl raised the ring up high to get a better look at it. Inside the dark gemstone, an inky liquid swirled, almost as if it were alive.

It was the Garb of Lamentation.

Karyl slipped the ring onto his finger, replacing the Four Canines he had used up against the Platinum Dragon.

Clink...!

A sharp needle sprang from inside the ring, piercing his finger and locking into place. The blood seeped into the ring.

Huum...

The dark liquid within shifted slightly, suggesting the relic was responding to Karyl’s blood.

“Fool...! Hah! You’re just a relic hunter after all! You made a fatal mistake—aagh!!”

Redshell’s remaining arm froze over from the shoulder down, ultimately shattering with a loud crack.

“So noisy...” Serica muttered irritably. She pressed her foot against the demon’s head, knocking him over.

“Ghah...!!”

“Shut up and just watch. A mistake? There’s no way someone like him would make one,” Serica sneered at the helpless demon, who lay limbless and completely at Karyl’s mercy.

The black liquid within the ring was absorbed into Karyl’s blood, turning into a shimmering silver-gray liquid.

“No... It can’t be...” Redshell looked on, his face ashen.

“I’ve absorbed the heart of the Platinum Dragon. If anything, it would be quite strange if I couldn’t wield the Garb of Lamentation,” Karyl said nonchalantly.

His explanation seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Redshell merely stared blankly. His mind was undoubtedly racing.

“No matter how powerful a dragon’s heart may make you, a human shouldn’t be able to wield the Garb of Lamentation! The artifact denies time itself. Humans, with barely a hundred years to live, would turn to dust the moment they try to use it...”

Redshell was frantic, but Karyl merely flashed him a smirk.

“If you’re so curious, open the dimensional gate and find out. Who knows? If the Demon King admits defeat, you might just get to live.”

Redshell’s pallor grew even more pronounced as he stared at Karyl—this human, bound by the limits of his feeble flesh, had managed to defeat two Demon Knights with utmost ease. It made no sense.

Humans are destined to succumb to the frailty of their form—some at the age of ninety, others before they even draw their first breath. It is the undeniable, inescapable truth of their existence, the very reason they remained weak in the grand scheme of things.

Unless one ascended to the realm of gods, there was no escaping the absolute rule of time. And yet, Redshell was witnessing that very rule being shattered. Of course, the demon hadn’t the faintest clue about what Karyl had been through—how he had endured eons within Pharel to defy time itself.

Indeed, Karyl was human, but there was something else at play here, something not even the demon was aware of.

The Garb of Lamentation didn’t consume time itself, but rather the memory of time. Compared to Karyl’s endless struggle in Pharel, a demon’s lifespan of thousands of years seemed almost laughable.

Good thing I learned about these relics in my past life.

Karyl allowed himself a brief, wry smile.

Clink...

He turned to the other container and retrieved a large suit of plate armor. The silver armor was rugged in design, but as Karyl slipped it on, it adjusted perfectly to his frame, as though it had always been his.

“Not bad...” Karyl muttered, giving the Armor of Extremis a light tap. He was satisfied with its sturdiness.

“The Dragon’s Multi-Seal, Celestial Array from Eastern Land, and the magic formations of the Rothschild family are all impressive, but this... This surpasses them,” Allen observed, watching the dozens of magical inscriptions flicker across the armor before vanishing.

Zap! Crack!

Allen’s ghostly hand was repelled by a jolt of energy, the force jumping to Duaat as well.

“Interesting...” Allen muttered, not startled by the surge of energy but rather intrigued.

“This piece was crafted by Hagane himself. In terms of defensive magic, this armor could rival even Polsetia, the sacred gear of the Bladers. Of course, it’s likely cursed... as is any demonic artifact.”

“Hagane, the Demon King himself?”

[Indeed. Although demons have emerged in the human realm before, they’ve mostly been lesser demons. The fact that there’s an artifact connected to the Demon King in the human real is... concerning.]

Karyl shrugged at Duaat’s comment.

“Well, I suppose we can ask him directly about that.”

He stepped forward, lifting Redshell’s mangled form off the ground.

“You heard that, didn’t you? Before you open the gate, I have a few questions for you. Why are you and your kind in the human realm? The Four Knights are the elites of the Demon Realm, and yet two of you are here. Why?”

“Arrghh...!!”

Redshell groaned in agony as Karyl grabbed him by nape and shook him roughly, pressing him for answers.

“The emperor must have created this tomb to hide you. The fact that Kaye Aesir built this place with Riseria’s bones means that the imperial family and you demons have been colluding for the past 250 years at the very least.”

Thud! Shank!

Karyl dropped Redshell into the ground, and without hesitation, he drove his sword into the demon’s side.

“For decades, you’ve been hiding demons here on the continent. Why?”

“Ghaaaah...!!”

Karyl extended his free hand, summoning an ancient tome out of thin air. As the book opened, multiple intricate magic circles materialized above its pages, layering atop one another to form a condensed orb. The Ein Trigger in his hand emitted a red glow as Ramine’s flame engulfed the orb.

Sizzle...!!

“Aaaagh...!!”

Acrid smoke rose as the orb seared Redshell’s shoulder stump.

“Demons are known for their regenerative abilities, but if I cauterize your wound like this, your arm won’t regenerate.”

“You... You maniac!! I’ll kill you...!! Ghaaaah...!!”

Redshell screamed empty threats, shooting Karyl a venomous glare. The others watched in silence, stunned by Karyl’s brutality.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen him like this,” Hashir observed.

“Seems like he holds a deep grudge against demons... Something must’ve happened,” Hwarin muttered, a hint of uneasiness in her voice.

“Hah, sparing the enemy is folly. This is exactly how a leader ought to act,” Miliana sneered.

“Kill me? Sure, you can try. But first, answer my questions.”

Karyl hooked his fingers into Redshell’s mouth and yanked him closer. The demon’s right cheek tore open, flesh splitting apart.

“Ghhrrr...!!

“Ready to talk yet?”

“If the Demon King learns of this, he’ll turn the empire into a sea of flames...!!”

Unfazed, Karyl switched his grip to the demon’s lower jaw, hooking his fingers into the other side of his mouth.

“Mmf... Mmph...!”

“Tearing it any further might make it hard for you to speak... But you’re a demon. You’d heal quickly.”

Squelch!

“Uurghhh...!!”

Redshell’s face twisted in terror as he gazed up at Karyl, his cheekbones peeking through the torn flesh. He could barely even form words now.

“Thirty seconds should be enough,” Karyl remarked, standing still as he waited for Redshell’s face to regenerate.

“Now, then...”

As soon as Redshell’s flesh knit itself back up, Karyl moved to hook his fingers into his mouth again.

“W-Wait...! Wait!!” Redshell shouted desperately, trembling all over.

“Done already? I thought a Demon Knight could take more rounds,” Karyl sneered, his voice laced with disappointment.

“Karyl’s fingers, infused with Divine Power, must’ve inflicted tremendous agony the moment they pierced the demon’s flesh. I can’t even imagine how painful that is,” Allen murmured.

“This is nothing compared to how they do things,” Karyl said drily. “They slowly rip off your fingernails, your toenails... You should be grateful I cut your limbs right away.”

“Ghruuuh...”

A guttural sound escaped Redshell’s lips, hard to distinguish between a sob and a groan.

“We know nothing! We’re only following orders! It was the Demon King who made a deal with the human who sought out the Demon Realm...!”

“A human sought out the demon realm?”

“Yes... The one you mentioned earlier, Kaye Aesir. He came to the Demon Realm and struck a deal to send three relics back to the human realm.”

Hearing that, Karyl’s eyebrow twitched.

That man is wild and unpredictable, but to make a deal with demons that could threaten the very empire he founded?

It seemed utterly absurd, but Karyl knew that the Kaye Aesir he had seen in those memories was not simply an eccentric.

This tomb was built from Riseria’s bones.

Karyl recalled Riseria’s final moments, the memory embedded in her heart. Though several centuries old, that memory was vividly imprinted in his mind.

“Just answer one question. Does my death offer you a new path forward?”

That was what Riseria had asked Kaye Aesir with her dying breath. And to that, Kaye had nodded.

“Of course. But my magic ends with my generation. My essence will...”

Karyl had never heard Kaye Aesir’s full response, as flames had erupted from his sword, and fiery meteors had rained down from the heavens.

Could it be...?

The thought sent a shiver through Karyl. He had almost forgotten about Kaye’s legacy. Attaining Polsetia, the pinnacle of magical power, had made him dismiss any further interest in Kaye’s inheritance.

While impressive, the abilities of an 8th Class sorcerer remained within the limits of human potential, which Karyl had surpassed.

But now he wondered,

Could Kaye Aesir’s legacy involve the Demon Realm?

If so, everything took on a new significance. The item that could open the gate to the Demon Realm was supposedly the Demon King’s relic, as prophesied by the Oracle. Yet, Redshell was claiming that Kaye Aesir, a man from before the era of the Oracle, had made a pact directly with the Demon King, opening the dimensional gateway without any demonic artifacts.

Opening that gate without a medium?

Not even an 8th Class sorcerer could do that.

Karyl was faced with yet another mystery. He promptly lifted Redshell from the ground and carried him deeper into the vast temple hall. In its deepest recess, a massive well resembling the Soul Spring waited.

Karyl thrust Redshell’s head toward the well and commanded, “Open the gate to the Demon Realm. Now.”