Child of Destiny

“Hey, Shin! Are you screwing us over? How can such a quest be so simple as you said? Do you want to interrogate such a thing? This is definitely beyond our current capabilities!” cursed Arthur while looking at the existence in front of them.

The corner of Shin’s mouth also could not help but twitch uncontrollably as he could not take his eyes from the existence before them.

What they were seeing was a colossal existence that possessed a humanoid form. It looked like a Giant or a Titan from the legends but carried a lot of different features from what they had heard or read from the lore of the game.

But the size of this giant alone far surpassed any monster that Shin had encountered even in that trial ground. Its overwhelming size was way beyond those colossal sea monsters that he had met in that place – or at least those younger sea creatures within the independent realms where they fought.

This existence also possessed a pair of horns sticking out from its forehead and a sinister face that made the three of them think – “How can such an ugly face exist in this world.” –

There was also a pair of giant wings on its back that was tightly bound by some chains filled with golden runes.

The surface of this giant’s body was also filled with obsidian scales that seemed to act as its main armor.

Its hands and feet also resembled the destructive claw of a colossal monster, particularly with those pointed nails.

The eyes of this colossal being seemed to have been dug out given the wounds that were left behind on it. There was also a special seal that was preventing it from recovering those wounds.

“This is a Demon, right? A bona fide demon,” mumbled Leonard as he realized why the aura that he was sensing earlier was somewhat familiar yet also different.

“From which tribe does this demon belong to?” Shin asked, somewhat mumbling to himself.

The two of them had already encountered a real Demon before. That larvae of a Grand Centipedeus of the Bug Tribe also carried such a dense demonic power, but even that powerful monster was nothing compared to this being in front of them.

The difference in aura was so big that it was similar to the gap between a human and a tiny bug.

“Just how strong is this guy for it to emit such a horrifying around passively,” commented Leonard as he stared at the colossal demon in front of them.

Arthur nodded in agreement as he also found it astonishing. Even with the help of his Dragon Eyes, he was unable to see any information from the demon aside from its race – an Ancient Demon. Everything else was a bunch of question marks.

Shin squinted his eyes as he tried his best to focus his mana. But despite all his efforts, he had only gotten a similar result as Arthur.

Hearing those words, Hano suddenly explained. “This Demon is one of the Ancient Demons that managed to survive the previous war during the Repelling Era. It is even one of the Demon Generals leading the great demonic army under the banner of a Great Demon King who is trying to invade our world.”

“A Demon General, who is under the direct orders of a Great Demon King? This guy should be very powerful then,” commented Arthur, stating the obvious.

Hano chuckled when he heard those words before continuing. “As you can see its demonic powers are so strong that even the Divine Seal that the Great Sages of the Mage Tower and the Saints of the Divine Church is barely able to suppress it.”

“It is even starting to affect the entire prison due to the slow corrosion that it caused. That is the main reason why we have no choice but to transfer most of the prisoners of this place.”

He then paused, took out a talisman from his pocket, and showed it to the three. “If not for the protection provided by the talismans blessed by the Divine Oracle, all the guards within the vicinity will most likely have lost their minds.”

He then glanced at the three with an odd gaze before continuing. “I am actually quite impressed that none of you require one.”

Shin and the other two raised their brows when they heard those words. They first looked back at Hano with suspicion, seemingly trying to see what he was thinking.

– “Is this guy trying to harm us? Letting us walk around such a dangerous place without handing us that protection talisman?” –

Fortunately, the three had their respective means to ward off such a powerful mind corruption that was leaking outside this fortified prison cell.

Shin always wore that badge that he had gotten from Longinus, which provided him immunity to any mental attacks under ‘Divine Rank’.

Meanwhile, Leonard’s Lion Helmet, which was his Sacred Relic, provided him a strong defense against such mental attacks on top of promoting his mental strength to a certain degree.

Arthur, on the other hand, was in possession of a special talisman with a Dragon Blessing, which had a similar effect to what the two had.

Seemingly understanding the meaning of those gazes, Hano smiled awkwardly. “It is a misunderstanding. I am just surprised by your ability to ward off the mind corruption in the higher levels of the dungeon, which is why I have forgotten about this matter.”

The three rolled their eyes at him while shaking their heads.

While they were talking, the Demon General before them seemed to have been awakened by something and turned his head toward that direction.

[Interesting~! Someone has opened a hole in the ‘shell’ of this world and is in the middle of building a Dimensional Bridge toward one of Hell’s major regions.]

[I can also sense the presence of the Bug Tribe gathering on the other side of the Dimensional Bridge. Is the Glutton Demon King of the Flies launching another dimensional invasion?]

Shin and the other two could not help but groan in pain as they heard the Demon General ‘mumbled’ to himself.

His voice was like a clap of thunder that erupted inside their consciousness.

This Demon General was not talking through normal means as he was using a Telepathic Message to talk, which made it worse for the three to endure his words.

Fortunately, Hano was quick to act and activated another technique that enhanced the defenses of his barrier.

However, he was also taken aback by the situation as he did not expect this Demon General to talk. After all, they had spent quite a lot of time and effort just to interrogate him, yet nothing yielded any results.

They had even used all kinds of torture against this Demon General, but he never opened his mouth up until now.

As the three were trying to recover, the Demon General turned in another direction, seemingly able to pierce through all the obstacles and ‘see’ everything despite his missing eyes.

[Hoh~! It seems like the other side is also reaching its ripeness. I wonder what those are living in the void thinking. Regardless, it will be a good advantage to us.]

He then started smiling creepily, enough to send shivers down the spines of anyone who saw it.

On the other hand, the expression on Hano’s face immediately changed when he heard the latter words of the Demon General.

It was because those words concerned the very information that the Council of the Righteous Churches and the Hall of Heroes wanted to hear about the crack deep within the Abyss Brink.

The Heroes that were sent to investigate that crack before told everyone that the existence behind that crack was emitting an aura similar to the Demons from Hell but also somewhat different.

This was why they were trying their hardest to get some information from this captive Demon General.

“What did you say? Beings living in the void? What do you mean by that?” asked Hano, unable to contain his mixed excitement and anxiousness.

Hearing him talk, the Demon General finally turned his attention to their direction. But instead of answering Hano, he ignored everyone else and focused his ‘eyes’ on Shin – or to be more precise, someone deep within Shin’s Sea of Consciousness.

[This is getting more and more interesting. An Evil God candidate without that Evil Aura? What a special existence we have here.]

Hano was quite confused with these words, but it was a different case for the three.

Given those words, Shin knew that this Demon General must have discovered something about Uno, who was hidden deep within his Sea of Consciousness, which also somewhat surprised him.

Arthur and Leonard, who were aware of Uno’s existence, were also taken aback by those words. They looked at Demon General with a serious expression on their faces. They knew that this Demon General was quite strong, but they did not expect that he could see through even to this.

At the same time, someone talked to Shin through his telepathic connection with his Elemental Spirit Companions.

[Host, let me talk to that Demon. I have something that I must confirm.] – sounded impatient and agitated.

……