Chapter 156 - 153 : Foreign World (1/2)

A few seconds passed since the teleportation began. Elias's heart calmed down and the shivering had stopped when he opened his eyes and found out that he was no longer in that underground room.

The world he was on right now was definitely not Astria as the sky was starry and blood red. The place reeked of blood and you would hear desperate every now and then.

”I'm safe *sigh*... anyways, what was that?”

Thinking back to the aura he felt before teleporting, Elias couldn't help but unconsciously shiver from horror. It was unknown what he took out but a blackboard was put under his feet and he started surfing the gray and destroyed ground as if they were waves.

His speed rose drastically when he started using that weird object. His movements were smooth and no matter how much craters or monsters he bypassed, none were powerful enough to stop him.

Elias didn't travel for a long time, it was just for a couple of minutes before stopping in front of a red castle that had color matching the bloody sky. The castle wasn't particularly wide but it was extremely high. Its central tower stretched for more than a mile with a four-armed monster statue in its peak.

Elias hesitated for a second as he stared at the castle, he hid a green coin under his sleeve and entered the castle with an uneasy expression.

The horrors that were seen once he entered the castle's ground was not something that can be easily forgotten. Hundreds of people with skinny bodies and bloody lashes on their body were carrying rocks or doing hard labors while hideous monsters were guarding them. It was a sight even Elias, who has been here for ages, could never get used to it.

After all, these people were his kin, the same Race as he is yet he can do nothing for them. While gritting his fist, he bypassed the monsters who gave him a contemptuous look before they resumed torturing the slaves.

The smell of blood was present in the air, never leaving it and intensifying every step he took towards the castle. More loud wails echoed from behind the stone walls, ringing in Elias's ears and igniting his fury but despite all of that, he kept a calm attitude and didn't show any bit of expression on his old face.

He was, in fact, an old man in his 50's, with a short gray beard and blue eyes. One look at him and you know he has been extremely handsome when he was young, it's unfortunate that he was born in the wrong world and at the wrong age.

”Damn useless piece of garbage! *lashing sounds* Do your job properly or just die already!”

A voice he didn't like to hear rang in his ears. Subconsciously, Elias turned his head only to see a black horror with long muscular arms, brown scales all over its body and a horn erected from its back with a pair of wide bat wings resting on his back. The sight couldn't be scarier, it was the nightmare of every normal Human.

This monstrosity was using a whip to lash at a middle-aged man who was trying to stand up and carry what seemed to be a blue crystal which pulsated with a light similar to Mana Energy.

”I-I'm sorry! My leg felt numb just a second ago so I couldn't help but t-trip.”

The monster didn't even pay attention to what the slave said, it swung its whip and without much strength put in the grip, it easily wrapped the whip around the man's neck and pulled his head off his neck. A gruesome and gory sight was displayed yet all the other monsters were grinning or laughing as if this was a source of enjoyment.

Elias maintained his expression and after staring for a couple extra seconds, he turned around and entered the castle. Such occurrences appeared daily and it was not one or two times, it's at least ten times a day. It pains him to witness it but it also helps him remember his purpose and never forget who he is.

For the next part, Elias just used his high Dexterity and a special technique to navigate through the castle and reach its peak. The reason is, he couldn't bear to see what was inside. Be it living people frozen in mid-air as if they were statues.

People tortured on the side with instruments never seen before and many other things that are better kept unsaid. What's more is that those monstrosities are enjoying this so much that their laughter never ceased.

There were elderlies, women, children, they were all alive and if they died in the process, they would just be tossed to the side as if they are disposable toys. It's sad when he knew that with his strength, he can slaughter all of these monsters but not their boss. To put it simply, he would just make his kin suffer even more than this so he decided to hold it in him just for now.

He followed his master's orders, slaughtered the Emperor of a foreign world and all its soldiers, used a forbidden skill to revive them and manipulate them and albeit feeling a little bad, if it's for the sake of helping his kin, then no matter the cost, it's definitely worth it.

A few minutes later, Elias arrived at the castle's peak, where his master stayed. It was a wide room a the very top, with only one living being there.

Staring at the metal door in front of him and feeling the chilling atmosphere and the ever-so-long silence, he mustered his resolution and pushed the metal door.

What faced the old man was an empty wide room with only a four-armed monster sitting cross-legged in its center. It had four eyes, sharp long scales around its neck, legs and arms and a very long horn erected from its back. It resembled no animal or insect, it could only be described as a living horror.

”It's you? What are you doing here? It's too early for you to come here.... that means something went wrong?”

”Something u-unexpected happened. I had to retreat immediately.”

The monster stared at Elias for some time, seemingly lost in thought. Its four blood red eyes were too creepy, especially when they are focused on you.

As if it felt something, the monster suddenly got up and shouted

”What have you done! Foo-”

Before it could finish, a black shadow appeared from inside Elias, the shadow wielded a long black sword that was a bit curved.

The monster crossed its four arms to block the katana while using its leg to kick the incoming enemy. What it didn't expect is that the opponent suddenly vanished and reappeared behind it with the katana slashing at its back.

.....

In his frustrated and confused state, Arthur chose to lay dormant inside Elias and let him teleport back to is home. In that case, he'll find a way out of Astria and eliminate this hiding enemy that was controlling the Human Emperor.

He didn't get the thousands of corpses he intended to posses from Robin, neither did he take Taliya with him as intended. Lots of things have been left unfinished on Astria but an opportunity arose and his most important goal right now is to find a way out of Astria.

He was going to a get that monster which was talking with the black mage but since Elias seemed to be teleporting away, might as well follow him without alerting him and since his Race is special, such thing is easily doable.

The possessing was pretty successful and in no time, Arthur laid dormant inside Elias and shared the same point of view as his victim. The first thing he noticed was the totally different world he appeared on.

The most astonishing thing is the total absence of any kind of Energy, no Mana, no Qi, no Nether Energy. It was like Earth but here, the sky was blood red and the ground seemed rotten and dead.

Elias traveled at a fast speed but Arthur was able to witness everything, he saw no plant or any form of living thing except those wandering monsters that are either killing humans or banging their head on the floor for no apparent reason.

Fortunately, since he possessed Elias, his mind calmed down and the weird state he was in previously had disappeared. It's no wonder he was desperate to find Lucy, his loneliness coupled with his subdued anger are driving him crazy and he needs a quick solution.

The shock never lessened, especially when the victim arrived on the castle's ground. Witnessing the sight, Arthur started feeling utter disgust and dislike for these hideous looking monsters.

It's the first time he ever saw such creatures and he doesn't remember Zodiak mentioning similar creatures in his notes or books.

Arthur was never an evil person and albeit being dormant and not being able to appraise, he could more or less feel their power. He knew he could kill them easily but this would ruin his plan. It's an unfortunate thing but he isn't going to sacrifice his plan for them when he doesn't even know them.

He arrived in a new world, that's a fact, but what kind of word, that is the real question. Perhaps it would be better to search for a Spatial tunnel on his own and leave Elias and these monsters alone, however, there is the possibility of not finding any.

To begin with, he doesn't even know how to find a Spatial tunnel. Thankfully, he had some description about them and a way to locate them, it was not precise but it would work if he used Eclipse Magic.

Eclipse Magic had the Dark Magic and the Void Magic, it's the perfect way to use the Spatial Magic since he can't use it individually.

He can also use Void Magic directly but it's too unstable, at least the Eclipse Magic is not that dangerous.

Arthur was not going to act until he learned something useful but after seeing the living statues and the true nature of such creatures and the possibility of them invading Astria, he was forced to act.

He regarded Astria as his home and he had to admit that he cared for his friends there, he isn't going to let such evil creatures invade his home and cause chaos.

If he didn't go to save Alina, maybe he would never have discovered them until it was too late. Better wipe the danger before it comes, at least that's how Arthur take care of things. No matter how weak the enemy is or how insignificant he is, it had to be eliminated because even a Lv10 mortal can hurt you one way or another, it's that carelessness that causes tragedies to occur.

When he saw the master of his victim, Arthur waited for a couple of seconds and when a chance arose, he immediately left Elias and charged at the monster with Makaze in hand.

He was able to appraise when he was out and the result was a bit surprising, nonetheless, Arthur didn't stop and added Natural Lightning around Makaze to deal more damage.

Bucama (Race: Khin (Mutated)): 9th Grade Divine Realm.

'I can manage, it's not a God.'

Arthur teleported behind the monster just as he was going to strike him from the front. As the exposed back of the creature was laid in front of him, Arthur didn't hesitate as he swung his katana at its horn and wings, trying to deal as much damage as possible.

While vibrating uncontrollably, Makaze clashed with the horn, which surprisingly was extremely hard. Makaze couldn't even damage it, much less cut it.

The horn, in response to Makaze, bent in a weird way and pointed at Arthur and fired an ominous black beam at his face.

Arthur used [Faster Than Death] again and teleported away whilst leaving a Shadow Clone in his place to confuse the enemy.

Obviously, the Shadow Clone received the full blunt attack which was the black beam and died instantly, transforming into dispersing black fog.

In this split second, when the Shadow was dispersing and the monster was confirming the death of the enemy, Arthur replaced himself with another clone created from the Dark Cloud and possessed an extremely long snake made from long white bones.

It could barely be called a snake as its size was so massive that it covered the whole room. The newly created clone caught the flying Makaze and leaped at the four-armed monster, which was clever enough to realize the trick and shift its attention to its front.

'Let's begin with getting rid of this castle.'

The large snake opened its mouth and started spitting huge dark red fireballs randomly, the ancient fire hit every possible place, it burned walls and destroyed floors, nothing could withstand its head.

It didn't take much time for the four-armed monster to finish the second clone with its back horn. The black beam was just too strong and weird, the clone, albeit being much stronger than the Shadow Clone, was easily extinguished with just one black beam.

The dark nebula was absorbed instantly by the snake which confronted the monster after completely destroying the sky-high tower.

Elias was dumbstruck and petrified, not knowing what to do, he retreated the moment the fight began. He felt the endless tremors as he descended using his blackboard. Not caring what happened, he flicked the green coin which vanished immediately and what replaced it was a green sphere enveloping.

Every monster that met Elias was killed by him, he showed no mercy as he beheaded every last one of them whilst trying to save whoever can be saved.

As for the main fight, two figures were floating high up in the sky as rubbles fell from above and the castle was crumbling. Arthur finally shifted his attention to Bucama, who leaped at him with four dark spears, each one is held by one of its hands.

The snake, which was made of bones, was quickly enveloped by thorny vines all over his body. A sticky purple liquid was coming out of the vines, so was the fangs of the snake which had a very lethal poison.

Arthur was going to fully rely on poisons to finish this monstrosity, there's no crueler way than this one. By the time Bucama clashed with Arthur, the snake was totally covered with the thorny plants.

With a loud hiss, the snake opened its mouth and used its thirty inch long fangs to bite at Bucama, which crossed its four spears together and created a black tornado that clashed with the fangs.

The black tornado materialized by the four spears and the sharp long fangs soon clashed with each other. An impactful clash that caused the two parties to back away but it was apparent that the snake had a small advantage as it was only pushed back for a tiny bit and managed to withhold the pushing force with its unimaginable strength and large body.

As for Bucama, the monster was angry as it looked at Arthur with its four eyes, glowing with rage. Unfortunately, the monster was suddenly held by the long tail of the snake, which instantly wrapped around its body, stabbing the thorny vines all over its body and injecting endless amounts of lethal poison inside this monstrosity.

However, that was not the end, Arthur tightened his grip on the body and used the whole body of the snake to wrap around the monster, covering it all and crushing its body.

All of this was going smoothly until the snake body began pressing on that long horn sticking out of its back, Arthur felt an ominous aura and a chilling sensation. He didn't know what that horn was but one thing for sure, it was dangerous.

He knew that it was a bad idea to continue pressing on the horn and trying to shatter it so he backed away with the snake's body after using the tail to send Bucama flying down until he crashed on the ground, killing a few of his fleeing kin and creating a small hole.

Not even a second later, the hideous creature stood up, unscathed as if nothing happened. With its four raging eyes, it stood there silently for a moment before it began speaking coldly to Arthur

”What are you? What brings you to my world.”

If Arthur didn't possess Elias, he wouldn't have understood what Bucama just said. It was a weird language, even in pronunciation but with his unique skill, he learned it instantly. He could use simple telepathy to answer the monster but he decided not to.

He didn't come here to negotiate or talk, he had one goal for now and that is to eliminate this danger. He could more or less predict why these monsters wanted to invade Astria and if it's confirmed then part of his hopes will be crushed but at least he would have killed a potential threat to his home.

The snake's body twirled in the air as it made its way toward the four-armed monster. Bucama, in response to the opponent, stabbed its four spears on the ground and curled itself like a ball.

As the snake was almost upon the enemy, it opened its mouth and spit a small Heavenly Arrow totally made from Dark Magic and White Thunder.

It was quite difficult to get rid of the Void Magic in the Heavenly Arrow but as long as it is a small Heavenly Arrow and it's not the real one then it can be done.

Arthur was still hellbent on killing Bucama using poison but first, he had to immobilize it in order to slowly kill it. In all his previous attacks, Arthur was reluctant to finish the enemy using his powerful tricks and that is because he wanted the monster to suffer a bit before dying or else his mind would not rest.

The small Heavenly Arrow tore threw the wind barrier as it rushed straight at the four-armed monster. The creature could not react in time as white thunder struck it and Dark Magic penetrated its abdomen, literally pinning its body on the ground with no way of resisting it.

This was but a small doable feat that Arthur could do, his stats were outrageously high and dealing with a peak Divine Realm should never be a problem even if the opponent is a bit strange or stronger than what the appraisal indicates.

Arthur's overall strength should match Delia if not a bit stronger and if he uses Rizaki then that is a whole other matter.

Bucama, full of surprise and disbelief, stared at the arrow pinning it down and coughed blood continuously. The Godly Thunder was invading its body and smiting its organs and the Dark Magic was consuming its life force.

Slowly descending toward the creature, Arthur left the snake body and stored into his ring then stared at the hideous being in front of him.

”I'll give you a chance if you tell me the location of one Spatial Tunnel.”

Hearing the unfamiliar Human speaking its language, the monster was first surprised then confused. With eyes burning with hatred and rage, the creature still kept a rather calm expression albeit its eyes that was betraying it and replied to Arthur

”*cough* Spatial Tunnel? *cough* you came to the wrong world *cough* *cough* you think I would try to invade your world if such a thing existed here? Are you that weak or pretend not to *cough*notice it?

There's no Energy here! We were a *cough* forsaken and thrown in this hell but we learned how to cope with it, *cough* *cough* invented our own energy and became the dominant Race, we even killed all other living Races and left the weakest ones to control yet after acquiring so much power, Fate is still not willing to accept us! *cough* *cough* hahahah

I never *cough* thought there will be someone dumb enough *cough* to come to my world!”

'Just like I guessed.'

Arthur was not moved by what he heard, he just felt a bit disappointed, however, one look at this broken world and it is quite apparent that the existence of Spatial Tunnel is rather unlikely. Even a desolate world like Astria is much better than such a prison like this place.

Just as Arthur was going to shower Bucama with all kinds of poisons he possesses. A bright blue light flashed on his left, it resembled the one that he saw when Elias used a teleportation circle.

The reaction of the monster was much more surprising than Arthur's. Its eyes glowed with a blood-red light and its four-armed started smashing the arrow in a crazed manner as if it didn't care about its arms, it just wanted to break free.

”T-that fool! HE REALLY IS DOING IT!”

While looking to the left, the monster banged its arms at the arrow but it wasn't helping at all, no matter how much it banged the bulging muscular arms, it couldn't scratch or disperse the condensed Dark Magic.

....

A couple of hundred meters away from Arthur and Bucama, Elias stood in a large blue circle with fifty or so people with him. They all stood close to him and stared fearfully at the surroundings. The place was littered with Khin corpses, no matter where they looked, there was a beheaded corpse.

Elias resolutely activated the big teleportation circle whilst the green coin protected them from the mage Khin monsters that were throwing ranged skills from afar.

This teleportation circle was the one Bucama was going to use to teleport all the Khin army with it but it didn't use it yet cause the preparation wasn't ready yet, or so thought the four-armed creature.

Fortunately, Elias was able to alter the destination and use it as a transportation means to take as many people as possible, this way, they wouldn't be tortured daily and the hellish life would be no more.

He knew that Arthur somehow followed him and he was thankful towards him but he wasn't going to wait for him to start the teleportation. If sacrificing their savior is what it costs to live freely then so be it.

....

Arthur sensed that something was off, the ground was heavily shaking and the sky was turning darker and darker, these were definitely no good signs. He abandoned the thought of finishing Bucama slowly, the arrow will kill it anyways.

He darted off toward the bright blue light on the East and transformed into lightning to arrive faster. With such speed, the distance of a couple hundred meters would be crossed in a split second, literally yet even such Godlike speed was not enough.

Nothing can be faster than teleportation, that blue light was the indication that the teleportation has begun. As Arthur tried to grab Elias, his hand passed through the old man's head as if he didn't exist there.

Apologetically, the old man nodded his head to Arthur to express his thanks but he still felt a bit fearful after seeing the cold eyes of Arthur that glowed with gray light and the black flames burning around him.

”... So you used me to get your people out, good! Good!”

Arthur didn't linger there any extra second, he turned around and charged to the West, heading to the small teleportation circle that Elias appeared on when he arrived in this world.

There may still be a chance, he didn't need an explanation to know that this world is literally crumbling after Elias did whatever that blue light was. The ground was being opened in half and skies were falling.

As he was charging toward the West, Arthur noticed a thick red beam of light, it was like a pillar penetrating the dark sky. Just one look was enough for him to know that Bucama did that as it originated from where he left the monster.

Either way, he wasn't going to bother as time was of the essence, the destruction of this world was happening at a faster pace, especially when Elias disappeared with his people.

The annihilation was fastening by the second, as Arthur was bypassing lands after lands, which shattered or was devoured by the open ground, he soon arrived near the small teleportation circle which Elias used to appear here.

The problem was, he doesn't know how to activate it. If it was a normal one then he simply needed to inject Mana but Elias did much more than that to make it work.

By the time he started pondering on what to do, the ground under the circle began shaking and some cracks appeared, the sky was literally falling and if he does nothing, Arthur is going to be devoured, just like everything else.

Arthur focused his attention on his Dantian and gathered all his remaining Nether Energy. The Dark Anguish circulated through his body and black flames started burning his body yet dealing no damage.

'This should hold on for a while.'

Arthur raised his hands and did some strange black seals with his hands on the air and said

”Darkness shall fall, naught shall be done!”