Chapter 152

Chapter 152

Investing Through the Status Window.

Episode 152: The Underground Of The Holy Kingdom (3).

The black monolith had an aura that overwhelmed the surroundings merely by its presence.

The foul smell of sulfur wafting into the nose signaled that a demon was sealed right there.

Allen snapped his fingers, making a sharp sound to signal his members. The mercenary group immediately formed their formation. The Holy Knights also pushed the mages of the Holy Kingdom to the back row and built a wall in two lines.

“Advance.”

The group cautiously approached the monolith. Then, the enormous monolith’s patterns began to flicker slowly, as if reacting to their presence—no, the creature probably already knew they had arrived.

Around the monolith were six hexagonal pillars, three of which were completely destroyed. Of the remaining three, two were still intact, but one seemed to be slowly deteriorating.

Their mission was to neatly restore the collapsing axis.

As they approached the axis, an immense force struck them. Simultaneously, anything not protected by holy water began to rot or decay.

!!!

Allen was quite shocked internally to see his leather shoes rotting, twisting, and gradually turning to powder. Even though it was sealed, he didn’t expect it to be this powerful.

However, the protection of holy water had its limits. Clearly, they couldn’t afford to drag this out for long.

“Elena!”

He called the key figure of this mission. This task was practically impossible to resolve unless it was by the one who opened the gate—no, strictly speaking, it couldn’t even be considered a resolution. This was merely an attempt to forcibly extend an already broken seal.

There was nothing in this world that could completely withstand the aura of demons. Not even the branches of the World Tree.

Elena approached closely with a bag full of orbs. As she poured them onto the ground, the monument began to resonate with a hum.

Without even a moment to take a deep breath, she hurriedly redirected the evil energy being drawn to the monument. To be precise, she blocked the flow into the monument using her own mana.

Ugh…!

It was not an easy task. Without extraordinary control over mana, it was something one couldn’t even dare attempt.

The problem was that the moment the dark mana was injected into the axis embedded somewhere in the multidimensional space for restoration, unintentionally, the Gates of Hell or the Spirit Realm would open.

The mercenary group and the Holy Knights Order had to fend off the uninvited bastards squeezing through the open door to protect the mage.

If they weren’t careful, a second Amper incident might occur, so they had to stay especially alert.

The air began to ripple. The hot heat and stronger smell of sulfur slowly spread.

It’s hell…!

“Elena, don’t worry about anything else. Just focus on the axis!”

Allen shouted to Elena, who might lose her concentration.

Soon, the soles of their feet felt hot. And the surroundings gradually changed.

It was a dimensional assimilation phenomenon. Just like when the gate to the Spirit Realm opened in the small city of Amper and the surroundings transformed into the Spirit Realm… which meant the Gate to Hell had opened. Just as the cult desired so much.

Soon, the monster’s arm began to slowly emerge from the air. Of course, Allen wasn’t some kind of good villain in a cartoon who would wait until the transformation was complete.

“Take it down right now!”

The arm fell off with concentrated attacks. Then, a horrifying head popped out this time.

-Phaaaah.

As it opened its maw, countless insects poured out. They quickly severed the head, but the hideous insects that scattered everywhere continued to trouble the group. Fortunately, the mage from the Holy Kingdom shot mana bullets to eliminate many of the insects, but it was still minimal compared to the whole.

“Goddamn it!”

While shaking off and stomping on the insects clinging to their bodies, the space tore apart again.

This time, a bundle of tentacles emerged. It swiftly targeted the Milk-Jug Mage. They must know that without her, the Gate to Hell couldn’t be closed.

Of course, Allen wouldn’t just stand by and watch. When he called Natasha’s name, Itty Titty Natasha swiftly dashed to the Milk-Jug Mage and cut down all the rushing tentacles. Her swift swordsmanship was impressive even to Allen, who had little knowledge of martial arts.

While Natasha was protecting Elena, the others tore out the roots of the tentacle bundle… but the problem was that the tentacles kept emerging no matter how many were cut down.

The Holy Knights were also extremely busy taking down the demon spawn that tore through the space. As time passed, the dimensional synchronization intensified, and the number of monsters emerging onto the continent steadily increased. It was still manageable for now… but if it took too long, it would become quite dangerous.

Allen had already instructed Elena to cut it off in the middle if it seemed to take too long. Attempting to restore the axis might inadvertently result in the disaster of the Gate to Hell not closing. At the very least, they needed to avoid burning down the entire house to catch a single bedbug.

Of course, Elena was doing her utmost to control the mana. Separate from the gradual restoration of the sealing axis, the demonic energy persistently targeted the Milk-Jug Mage.

The noise of reality buzzed and gradually faded away, and the hallucinations and voices of demons began to torment her… She was suddenly in hell.

She heard terrifying screams and saw a horrifying scene flickering before her eyes!

She felt as if she were standing alone in the middle of hell. She only glanced at the ground, but she could feel the demon staring at her.

Ah.

It was like a sticky tongue licking her skin. Her hair stood on end, and her muscles stiffened.

Almost forcibly drawn into the imaginary world, she began to find it increasingly difficult to control the mana. Even a brief lapse of concentration, and it seemed as if the devil’s claws would rush from all directions to tear her fragile body to shreds.

Elena persevered with a single-minded determination not to falter. If she crumbled here, not only she but everyone would be in danger.

…At the very least, she had to protect Group Leader Allen.

However, regardless of her will, her body had already reached its limit.

The sinister aura of corruption from all sides gradually constricted her. She was holding on with holy power, but her skin began to crack and tear.

Ugh!

It was dangerous to delay any longer, but the restoration was almost complete. It would be such a waste to turn back now.

Please, please, just a little longer…!

And just as her skin began to rot, a brilliant light suddenly burst forth from afar, dispelling the evil aura enveloping Elena’s body.

It was Lady Shetlan, riding a sacred beast. The white light pushed back the darkness as it approached Elena.

“You foolish girl. What will you do if you don’t cherish your body?! That was really dangerous!”

“…Shetlan!”

“Hurry and get out!”

“The axis is still…!”

“Then finish it quickly. I can’t last long in hell either.”

Shetlan blew into her palm. Then, sparkling dust scattered in all directions. Numerous spirits blocked the oppressive evil aura.

Fortunately, it was enough to hold on until the axis was fully restored. Elena, having finally completed her mission, wanted to express her gratitude, but she had no time.

“Get out now!”

With that stern command, Elena left the mental world and returned to reality.

She shattered the orb with the prepared hammer, simultaneously blocking the dark mana transmitted through the axis. Then, the Gate to Hell began to slowly close.

As the hell that had been expanding its domain began to gradually shrink, the monsters of hell started to struggle. Elena stood to assist the members, but a severe dizziness nearly made her collapse. Group Leader Allen quickly caught and supported her.

“Well done, Elena. I knew you could do it! Now, take a rest.”

…No, Group Leader. If it weren’t for that person, it would have been disastrous. It’s not that I did well…

The words rose to Elena’s throat, but she ultimately swallowed them without speaking.

Fortunately, the sealing axis was safely restored, and the Gate to Hell was completely closed. The monsters that had emerged from hell were also cleanly dealt with by the mercenary group and the Holy Knights Order.

Of course, there was not a complete lack of damage. Newbie Kori’s right arm below the elbow and part of his right leg were severed, the Old Dog Kalisman also suffered a severe wound with his left side torn open, and the Training Junkie Victor’s jaw was completely torn off by a tentacle.

The Holy Knights Order suffered particularly heavy losses. It was because they lacked the battle experience compared to the Allen-Mercenary Group, who had gone through numerous missions. There were not only injuries but also casualties.

“Aaahhh!”

Among them, a female knight began to scream, clutching her swelling belly.

“Help, help me!! Do something about this!!!”

As she lay thrashing around, the knights around her were at a loss, fumbling and panicking. Allen hurriedly ran towards her with Natasha.

“Lift her clothes! Everyone, grab her arms and legs! Hold her down tight! Make her bite on the cloth! She’ll lose all her teeth!”

The female knight, drenched in sweat, panted heavily as she looked at her own greatly swollen belly while her limbs were restrained.

“Natasha, just cut the surface. Be careful.”

Natasha began to slowly cut her belly with a sword heavily coated in holy water. The female knight’s thrashing intensified.

“Hold her tight, you bastards!”

With Allen’s roar, the belly gradually split open. A horrific creature burst out from within. Vice Group Leader Quintus quickly snatched it up and threw it far away, where several Holy Knights rushed to crush it to death.

The female knight, who had even wet herself, fainted on the spot, and the healer of the Holy Knight’s Order hurriedly healed her split belly.

Huff, huff, huff.

The underground, which turned into chaos, was filled with the rough breathing of people.