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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 172: Special Grade Demon Realm (1)
A man was fleeing without hesitation toward a narrow passage.
He moved as if he knew every nook and cranny of the demon realm.
I kicked off the ground and shouted,
“Hey, stop!”
The eyes that peered through the mask he wore a moment ago seemed familiar.
He wasn't some young punk from the Socialist Party.
The fleeing man's footwork was quite bizarre, too.
A boisterous movement that made it seem like he had two bodies.
'Quickness, Haste.'
I focused wind pressure on the tips of my feet to increase my speed.
The low ceiling made it awkward to use levitation magic.
An extreme acceleration was added to my body as I ran with superhuman speed.
At the same time, incantations manifested by my subordinates grazed my head, aiming for the man's back.
Fwhooooosh—!
Earth, fire, wind, light, lightning.
The man's movement momentarily faltered at the attack where the five childish magic spells gathered into one, emitting a colorful light.
It was at that moment, without missing the gap, that I tried to grab the back of the man's neck.
Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation around my waist.
Ominous.
As soon as I wrapped my body with wind blades and spun, a ting— sound resonated as the hidden weapon released by the man bounced off.
Just before the startled man regained his posture and ran away again, faster than him, I swept the man's chest with my right hand and created some distance.
An ominous demonic energy wriggled from the core of the demon realm he grasped in his hand.
Thud—
Finally, the man stopped and looked back at me.
“Finally stopped, huh. Take off your mask.”
“...Insolent.”
There was no sign of bewilderment in the man's voice.
After glancing at me and my fools, the man suddenly looked up at the ceiling.
“Looking away during battle? You're third-rate.”
Only then did the man look at my hand and reply,
“If you bring it now, I won't kill you.”
I asked the man,
“What were you going to do with this?”
The man muttered as if annoyed,
“Should have just killed you back then.”
As his voice trailed off, the man's body blurred.
The moment the man disappeared with an afterimage, a volley of hidden weapons poured down from close range.
As soon as my subordinates and I stepped back simultaneously, the volley of hidden weapons stuck to the floor, and a sticky yellow smoke billowed out.
Fwoosh—!
Then, as the acrid smoke obscured my vision, the man, appearing in mid-air once again with an afterimage, leaped towards me, holding something.
A strange hand axe flew towards me as if to split my forehead, along with a surging mana wave.
This guy.
I know who he is.
The only ones who use poison techniques and such bizarre cavalry techniques together are…
“Are you one of Bellusia’s?”
Clang—!
Makan’s spear strike deflected the hand axe.
Simultaneously, I opened my Circles and chanted a lightning-type incantation.
Fwhooooosh—!
Surprised by the unexpected attack, the man hurriedly retreated and looked at me.
I asked during the brief lull,
“What is your relationship with Parin?”
For a fleeting moment, bewildered emotions flickered in the man’s eyes.
I kicked off the ground and leaped towards him.
Whiiiiing—
Three Circles rotating in reverse.
Swift and decisive.
I deliberately aimed for the man’s legs with my right hand, which was dyed in darkness.
It was then.
Rumble—!
Suddenly, the ceiling vibrated crazily.
“What is it?”
Cracks appeared on the ceiling with a crack— sound.
For a moment, I thought the demon realm had ended, but the ensuing collapsing sounds indicated otherwise.
My concentration wavered, and the dark lightning missed the man’s legs by a slight margin.
Swoooosh—
The man looked down at the ground beneath his feet, which had been directly hit by the dark lightning, and let out a gasp.
At the same time, a roaring sound was heard.
Crash—!
The ceiling collapsed, and all sorts of debris began to pour down to the ground.
The man, as if he had decided something, jumped into the air, stepping on the collapsing debris.
Magic manifested by my subordinates once again enveloped the man.
“Watch your heads, you fools!”
While warning my subordinates, I also leaped into the air.
It was strange.
The ceiling was only five to six meters high.
But even after soaring high into the air, the debris continued to pour down. It felt as if the sky itself was collapsing.
I looked at the back of the man who continued to leap higher into the sky, stepping on the debris without a moment's hesitation.
That guy knows the cause of this situation.
“Number 7? Number 6? Number 5?”
The moment the man’s back, which had been leaping, faltered slightly, I realized this guy was one of the guys I was looking for.
“What number are you?”
The distance between us quickly closed as the man’s stride slowed.
Once again, I aimed the dark lightning at the man’s left leg and unleashed it.
Bang—!
A direct hit.
The leg was cleanly severed, drawing a clear arc, and disappeared completely below the thigh.
I grabbed the neck of the man who was staggering with a painful groan.
As soon as I took off his mask in mid-air, a familiar face was revealed.
“It was you.”
A direct descendant of Bellusia.
The one recognized as the next head of the clan.
It was him.
“...Ugh, what are you?”
Even in the midst of all this, I felt the man’s arm I was holding go limp…
I immediately turned my head to the left.
Whoosh—
A whistling sound grazed my ear.
As soon as the yellow smoke billowed out, I held my breath for a moment.
A hidden weapon coated with deadly poison.
Crash—
“Gah!”
Suddenly, with a scream, the weight of the man I was holding felt heavy.
In that very moment when I turned my head to the left, a stone fragment the size of my forearm fell from the sky and struck the man’s neck directly.
With a snap— as his neck broke, the man went limp.
“Damn it.”
I quickly grabbed the man and descended to the ground.
Meanwhile, my subordinates surrounded me and the man, defending against the falling debris.
Makan thrust his spear into the ground, sending the resulting pile of rocks flying into the air, and Arin directly struck the falling debris with bolts of electricity.
Zion stirred up wind pressure, while Ain and Iron unfolded barriers.
In the meantime, I checked the man’s condition by placing my hand on his neck.
Dead.
Damn it, his neck bone was completely broken.
There’s no way to save him.
For now, I focused on what was happening.
As the debris continued to pour down, Arin calmly said,
“It seems like a forced opening.”
I’ve heard of it before.
However, it didn’t seem like a forced opening.
There’s no way the debris would pour down like this for so long, as if a hole had been punched in the sky.
Zion, who was blocking the debris with wind pressure, cursed and asked,
“What should we do, Commander?”
“Wait a moment.”
I looked up at the sky for a moment.
The falling debris was gradually decreasing.
Just as I felt the ashen sky, visible through the gaping hole in the ceiling, was gradually being dyed with an earthy color…
I suddenly burst out laughing.
A chilling sensation swept over my entire body.
“Everyone, gather around.”
It was at that moment that the entire surrounding scenery changed.
The walls, the ground, the path – all the structures that made up the ‘Hexen’s Tomb’ demon realm disappeared, revealing the scenery outside.
The spectators who were outside the barrier, and the members of the regular branch, were shouting something and running towards us.
The regular branch manager clearly had a look of shock on his face.
“Commander?”
“Has the demon realm ended?”
I shook my head at my subordinates’ questions.
That can’t be.
I can’t hear their shouts.
It feels like we’re looking outside from within.
Suddenly, all directions were dyed black, swallowing some of the running spectators.
Boooom—!
With a roar, the scenery changed once again.
***
“Wh-What?!”
“Aaaaagh!”
The place was packed with people covered in blood.
It was a scene of utter chaos.
I looked around with a calm gaze.
What appeared as the scenery shifted was a circular cavity.
It wasn’t just a change of scenery; it was as if we had been moved to a completely different place.
‘A magic circle?’
The figures around me were all those who had entered the ‘Hexen’s Tomb’ with me.
Many were severely injured, their body parts crushed or severed by the endlessly falling debris.
Everyone had a certain level of mana core, but the problem was that many were already exhausted from the depths of Hexen’s Tomb.
Because of that, many couldn’t react properly.
Zion whispered softly,
“Commander, do you know what this is?”
“I’m figuring it out.”
I looked down at the black mask in my hand.
Did this guy know something?
“It doesn’t seem like a forced opening.”
I put the mask in my pocket and looked around again.
Palge was moving around, manifesting light attribute magic, but there was a limit to what he could do.
“Aaaaagh!”
“S-Save me! What’s going on?!”
Everyone was looking at each other with a mixture of confusion and fear in their eyes.
Looking around, I saw that Chano was there, along with the families who had entered earlier, members of the Red Magic Tower, and Taylor, Blair, and Cliff.
As the chaotic situation continued, Taylor gritted his teeth and shouted with a pale face,
“...It doesn’t seem like it’s going to collapse any further. For now, let’s gather the injured in one place. Those who can’t move, please speak up. Those who are fine, let’s help them.”
At Taylor’s words, those who had regained their composure began to help the injured.
Once the situation calmed down a bit, Taylor looked around and shouted,
“Does anyone know what’s going on right now?”
While no one answered, Chano replied, breathing heavily.
His right arm was mangled.
“...I don’t know what happened, but I think I know where we are. It seems like we’ve returned to the entrance of Hexen’s Tomb. It’s similar to the cavity at the entrance.”
As the others looked around, they began to agree with Chano, one by one, with sighs of relief.
“That’s right. It’s similar.”
“If it’s Hexen’s Tomb, then at least that’s a relief. We can breathe a sigh of relief for now.”
Taylor shook his head.
“It might not be. We need to keep the possibility open. We don’t know when the ceiling might collapse again or something strange might happen. Rather than just waiting blindly, it would be better to organize a vanguard and go explore…”
Suddenly, a knight with a greatsword strapped to his side interrupted Taylor.
“That’s not a good idea. It’s better to wait for now. I’ve been to many Level 1 demon realms, but this is the first time I’ve seen something like this. The Alliance is probably aware of it.”
“I have a bad feeling about this. We need to figure out where we are first.”
The knight looked at Taylor’s attire and asked,
“Are you a mage? You seem to be from the Red Magic Tower.”
“I’m from the Samael Clan.”
“How many times have you been in a Level 1 demon realm?”
“...This is my first time.”
The knight snorted and said,
“I am the heir of the Parmaus clan. This is already my fourth time in a Level 1 realm. I will take control, so please wait for now.”
Taylor looked around with an anxious gaze. He had a lingering feeling of uneasiness.
“No, this doesn’t feel right. For now, let’s do as I say.”
The knight suddenly raised his voice as if to reprimand him.
“Do you know how many lives are at stake here?! A mage’s intuition is hard to trust. Don’t cause confusion and let everyone rest.”
***
“Did that idiot just insult mages?”
I stopped my fools from stepping forward for a moment.
Until then, I continued to stare at the walls of the circular cavity.
Faint traces of mana flickered on the black walls.
Moreover, the circular staircase leading to the upper level through a passage on one side indicated that this place was completely different from ‘Hexen’s Tomb.’
“Hey! Are you trying to pick a fight?!”
Suddenly, a growing shout pierced my ears, and I looked straight ahead.
Taylor and the knight with the greatsword were confronting each other.
Chano was in the middle, waving his hands repeatedly.
“Stop it, stop it. Just let it go. You should be patient. Why is the Parmaus heir so agitated? What this side is saying makes sense.”
“You need to know when to step up and when not to. Especially as a mage.”
At that moment, at my gesture, my fools all stepped forward together.
“Hey, knight.”
At Zion’s voice, the eyes of all the knights gathered in the cavity focused on him.
"You, you punk."
The heir of Parmaus, who was being pointed at, asked with a dumbfounded expression,
"Are you talking to me?"
“Why are you insulting mages? You arrogant fool.”
“Who are you?”
I stepped forward.
“This is getting out of hand. Stop it and gather around, everyone.”
Zion grumbled and stood behind me.
The heir of Parmaus pointed at me this time.
“And who are you?”
“I am the Crazy Mage Squad Commander of Samael. They are the Crazy Mage Squad. But that's not important. Gather around. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“You're from Samael too? Why do all you mages keep saying you have a bad feeling… How dare you!”
Zion sent a wind blade flying at the heir of Parmaus, who tried to defend himself with his sword.
However, he lost his grip on the sword due to the unexpectedly strong wind pressure.
“...What?”
The moment the heir looked at Zion with a bewildered face, I approached from his blind spot, shot him in the forehead with a slingshot.
Thwack—!
“Ugh!”
The heir of Parmaus collapsed to the floor.
As the other knights of the Parmaus clan, who were watching, jumped to their feet, I shook my head.
“Don’t mess around and just gather around. And don’t stick to the walls.”
Suddenly, I turned my head and looked around.
A circular wall blocked the view at 180 degrees.
…Where is it?
Thud—
The sound of someone collapsing.
As soon as I turned my head to the left, screams erupted from where the injured were gathered.
“Aaaaagh!”
At the same time, an ominous feeling spread to everyone.
Clang—
Something round bounced into the air and fell to the ground with a thud.
The cleanly severed upper part of a neck.
Chano, recognizing the face, grabbed his own face and shouted,
“A-Andersen? What happened?!”
Someone who was the first to recognize the giant figure appearing from the left wall shouted as if possessed,
“A Great Warrior?”
Simultaneously, giant figures of monsters flickered from all directions – left, right, and front.
The heir of Parmaus, with a suffocating look on his face, unconsciously muttered,
“...Sp-Special grade demon realm.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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