Death… And Me

Chapter 4458: Back To Work

Kentucky flew closer to the lava itself, slowing down as they approached the center of the enormous molten lake. From above, they could clearly see quite a few Magma Drakes swimming through the lava as though it were nothing more than water. Some rested half-submerged while others lazily circled around the ruins swallowed by the molten rock. A few eventually noticed Roan’s group flying overhead, lifting their heads to roar in warning. Even so, none of them dared to leave the lava or attack.

The strangest part wasn’t the Drakes themselves. Near the very center of the lava lake, there wasn’t a single Magma Drake to be seen. In fact, not only the center itself, but a fairly large area around it was completely empty, as though every Magma Drake instinctively avoided crossing an invisible boundary.

*Tsss...*

”Ouch!”

Kentucky abruptly flapped his wings backward, retreating several dozen meters before stopping. He shook his feathers repeatedly, trying to disperse the unbearable heat clinging to them. ”That was hot as fuck!”

Roan had been paying close attention from the very beginning, immediately noticing the sudden change. ”Quite a weird increase. Within the span of just a few meters, the temperature skyrocketed, and we aren’t even inside the magma pool. That’s only the heat carried by the air above it.”

Lukay also focused on the center of the lake. ”Take a look at the magma. It’s... a lot cleaner.”

Everyone followed his gaze.

The molten rock throughout the lake looked like ordinary lava, constantly bubbling while patches of black floated across its surface. Yet, near that central region, those darker spots completely disappeared. The magma there glowed with an almost pristine yellow color, radiating an intensity that distorted the surrounding air.

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that whatever was hidden beneath that spot was producing an unbelievable amount of heat. It was so intense that even the magma itself seemed unable to retain any impurities.

Kentucky let out a low whistle. ”Well, any idiot can tell something inside that pool is keeping all this heat.”

Roan, Celis, and Kentucky instinctively turned toward Lukay, making the Lightning Element Spirit look around in confusion. ”What are you looking at me for?”

”You’re the one who knows the most about the Celestial Plane,” Roan answered. ”Any idea what could be inside?”

Lukay’s lightning flickered for a few moments before he finally responded. ”If I knew, I would’ve said it already. I’ve heard of natural treasures capable of changing entire environments. Ancient relics can keep affecting the surroundings for millions of years, and there are arrays powerful enough to permanently reshape the landscape. Honestly... this could be any of those.”

He paused briefly before continuing. ”Or it could simply be something I’ve never heard of.”

Celis frowned while looking at the glowing center of the lava lake. ”So what do we do? There is no way any of us can enter that thing. Kentucky’s defenses were damaged just by approaching the air above the lava. Forget diving inside.”

Kentucky nodded repeatedly. ”I’ve always been proud of my defenses, but that heat nearly roasted me alive. If I entered the lava itself, I’d probably become roasted minokawa.”

Roan showed an expression of disgust. ”That’s bound to have terrible taste.”

”Why don’t you go fuck yourself?” Kentucky asked back.

”The real question isn’t whether we can retrieve whatever is inside.” Roan’s eyes narrowed slightly, ignoring the minokawa. ”It’s whether we actually need it.”

Lukay answered without the slightest hesitation. ”Of course we do.”

Everyone looked back at him. ”Think about it. Whatever is producing that amount of heat has probably remained here for countless years. Even if it isn’t a natural treasure, bringing it back to Besgol would be an enormous contribution. The Blacksmith Guild alone would probably fight over the chance to study something like this.”

His lightning crackled faintly around his core as he considered another possibility. ”It might even be some ancient array that somehow remained active... although I honestly doubt it.”

Roan agreed with that assessment. ”If it really were an array, we should have found traces of others throughout the city. At the very least, there should have been functioning runes connected we could repurpose to the Sacred Relic. So far, we haven’t found anything remotely close.”

The group fell silent, everyone observing the enormous lava lake while trying to imagine what could possibly be hidden beneath it.

After a while, Lukay spoke again. ”So then... how exactly do we reach it?”

Roan had already reached a conclusion. ”We don’t. We make it come to us.”

Kentucky blinked before following Roan’s gaze toward the edge of the lava lake. Understanding immediately dawned on him. ”You want to break the walls.”

Roan nodded. ”Exactly. The entire pool sits several dozen meters above the surrounding terrain. It’s basically being held together by its own borders. We create enough openings, let gravity do the work, and wait for the lava to drain away.”

Kentucky stared at the enormous lake stretching far into the distance before letting out a long sigh. ”...That’s going to take forever.”

”Probably,” Roan admitted. ”But unless someone has a better idea, this is the safest approach.”

No one objected.

”Then let’s stop wasting time.”

Roan immediately jumped from Kentucky’s back and flew toward another section of the lava lake. Celis and Lukay split up as well, each choosing a different direction. Since there weren’t any Godly Predators nearby, the remaining Magma Drakes posed little threat even if they worked separately.

Before long, explosions echoed around the borders of the lava pool as the four of them began opening breach after breach, allowing the molten rock to slowly spill into the surrounding lands.

—

A few hours later, back at the airplane...

”Tch...” Rean clicked his tongue as he carefully removed another damaged rune from the left thruster. Several maintenance panels had already been opened, exposing the complex network of runic circuits hidden beneath the alloy. Floating beside him were dozens of replacement runes and tools, each moving on its own under Rean’s Godly Energy while he compared the damaged inscriptions against new ones.

”The stabilizing runes on the left thruster took quite some damage,” he muttered to himself. ”No wonder the output kept fluctuating during the escape. At least the Celestial Thrusters themselves survived. Replacing those would’ve been a nightmare...”

He gently brushed away the melted remains of another ruined inscription before placing a fresh rune into position. ”Good... now connect to the secondary circuit...”

*Rawr!*

”Hm?”

Rean immediately stopped what he was doing.

Although he looked completely immersed in repairing the airplane, he had never relaxed his vigilance. If a Godly Spawn or Godly Beast approached, he would immediately sense the disturbance in the surrounding Godly Pressure. Even if his own senses somehow failed, the airplane’s radar would certainly detect the intruder.

Yet... neither had reacted.

Rean slowly turned toward the nearby forest, and from behind the trunk of a tree, a tiny creature cautiously stepped into view, staring directly at him.

*Rawr!*

”A white fox?” Rean tilted his head with curiosity.

Almost as if it understood him, the little creature tilted its own head as well.

Of course, it wasn’t actually an Arctic fox. While its body looked almost identical, it possessed two fluffy tails instead of one. Its eyes were also unusual, one carrying a faint golden glow while the other shimmered with a soft reddish hue. Combined with its spotless white fur, it looked surprisingly elegant despite its small size.

*Tud!*

*Grrrr...*

Rean jumped down from the airplane and landed softly on the ground. The little fox immediately backed away several steps, lowering its body as every strand of fur stood upright. It bared its tiny teeth and continued growling, trying its best to appear threatening despite barely reaching Rean’s knees.

”So that’s why I didn’t notice any Godly Pressure, and why the radar ignored you.” Rean nodded to himself while examining the little fellow with his Godly Sense. ”You’re just an ordinary animal.”

The fox wasn’t completely devoid of energy. Rean could clearly sense a small amount of Celestial Energy circulating inside its body, though it was incredibly weak. Compared to cultivators or Demon Beasts, it was almost insignificant.

”Come to think of it...” Rean crouched down, resting one arm on his knee while keeping a relaxed smile on his face. ”There are quite a few ordinary animals living inside the territories of the Godly Creatures. They aren’t Godly Creatures themselves, yet Godly Creatures don’t seem interested in hunting them.”

His thoughts naturally drifted back to the Great Void.

”Maybe you’re just like the Demon Beasts back home. Plenty of them started as ordinary animals before gradually evolving after absorbing enough Cultivation Energy.” He smiled. ”Perhaps it’s the same here. If you continue cultivating that Celestial Energy of yours and eventually manage to merge it with Godly Pressure... maybe you’ll become a Godly Creature one day.”

The little fox continued growling, though not nearly as fiercely as before. Instead of fleeing, it simply watched Rean, its two differently colored eyes never leaving him. ”Hahaha... you’re pretty cautious, aren’t you?”

Rean reached into his Spatial Ring and took out a piece of preserved meat. Even after so many years, he still enjoyed eating from time to time despite no longer needing food to survive.

”Here.”

He casually tossed the meat a few meters away from the fox before taking two slow steps backward.

The little fellow didn’t rush toward it immediately. Instead, it sniffed the air several times before cautiously approaching the piece of meat. Every few steps, it lifted its head to glance at Rean as if trying to determine whether this was some kind of trap.

Eventually, hunger won.

*Nom!*

The fox pounced on the meat and immediately began devouring it, its two tails swaying happily behind it while it ate with surprising speed.

”Hahaha!” Rean couldn’t help but laugh at the adorable sight. ”Looks like you were hungrier than you wanted me to believe.”

He didn’t disturb the little creature any further, simply turning around and jumping back onto the airplane. ”Alright... back to work.”

His tools immediately floated back into the air as he resumed repairing the damaged thruster, replacing rune after rune while occasionally checking the stability of the surrounding circuits.

Meanwhile, the little fox remained where it was, happily finishing every last bite of the meat. Once it was done, it licked its lips before lifting its head toward the strange flying machine once again. For several long moments, its mismatched eyes quietly observed Rean working on the enormous object, curiosity gradually replacing the caution it had shown earlier.

Eventually, it sat down beneath a nearby tree, wrapped its two fluffy tails around its body, and simply continued watching him in complete silence. Unbeknownst to everyone, the very mystery Roan’s group was trying so hard to uncover had already wandered away from the lava lake... and was now calmly keeping Rean company.