The Damned Demon - Chapter 772 The Weapon That Ended It All?
The towering black metallic structure loomed ahead like a silent symbol of destruction, its wide base reflecting faint glimmers of the subtle yet eerie dark green glow emanating from the cracks in the ground.
Asher walked cautiously, his boots crunching softly on the fragmented stone, his sharp eyes scanning every detail of the desolate surroundings.
Looking down at the fissures sprawling across the ground like veins, he muttered, “This entire place seems riddled with cracks, almost as if an earthquake destroyed everything. But I doubt a mere earthquake could destroy what was probably a magnificent city or kingdom. Whoever these ‘immortals’ were, they must have built this place to last.”
Lori, coiled comfortably around his neck, shifted her gaze to the cracks below. Her forked tongue flicked out as if tasting the air, “Ssss, you still didn’t notice it, did you? Take a closer look at the cracks and see what’s different about them,” she remarked, her tone tinged with intrigue.
Asher furrowed his brows and crouched down, his hand reaching out to trace one of the larger fissures. The moment his fingers brushed against its jagged surface, a faint, electrifying sensation coursed through him, making his eyes narrow. A subtle dark green glow pulsed under his fingertips before vanishing. It was a similar feeling he had when he picked up that bone earlier.
Straightening up, he flexed his fingers, a thoughtful expression crossing his face, “The Cursed Mana… Is that what caused these cracks?”
However, he didn’t feel like calling this mana as “cursed” but only felt more curious to learn more about it and feel it. For some reason, this sensation made his entire mana circuit tingle.
Lori hissed softly, nodding her serpentine head, “Of course, it hassss to be. This city didn’t fall because of ssssome natural disaster. The Cursed Mana did something to this entire place. I am ssssure of it!”
Asher’s gaze lifted to the structure before them, its massive, foreboding frame partially bathed in the dim light. The upper half of the building was severed cleanly, the break too precise to be natural.
His lips pressed together in thought, “Did you notice that too? The upper half of this building looks like it was sliced clean off, as if a giant sword cut through it. How is that even possible? This building is made of some ridiculously strong material.”
He placed his hand on the building’s surface and pushed, his muscles straining as he exerted all his strength. Not even the faintest dent appeared on the sleek black metal. He stepped back, shaking his head. “Even if a dragon fell on this thing, it wouldn’t leave a scratch.”
Lori, her head tilted thoughtfully, gestured with her tail, “Ssss, look around us. Those massive slash marks on the surrounding ruins? They’re not random. This whole place looksss like a battlefield. I’d bet my scales that a big war or battle broke out here. Maybe it causssed the destruction of this city.”
Asher let out a dry chuckle, though his tone remained serious, “A battle between immortals? That sounds like something out of a bad fairy tale. Still, it would explain a lot if such immortals were real. Unfortunately, that’s not our concern right now. Focus on finding an entrance to this place. We have to look for any openings or clues that could help us escape.”
“Ssss, you’re no fun, brat,” Lori said with a petulant hiss. “Anybody else would be tearing this place apart for treasures instead of looking for an exit. Who knowssss, you might find something to help protect your kingdom.”
Asher sighed, his gaze never leaving the structure as he circled it hurriedly, “I don’t have the luxury of gambling our chances on treasures we might not even find. Every second wasted here puts my kingdom closer to destruction. And besides,” he glanced over his shoulder at her, “I doubt you’d be so eager to explore if you realized how quickly you’re burning through your mana reserves. You think I wouldn’t notice?”
Lori stiffened slightly, her scales rippling defensively, “Brat, you shouldn’t sssnoop into a lady’s business like that.”
Asher stopped, his tone softening, “Lori, I’m serious. I know this place is draining you, but not me. The air here is thick with something… wrong for you for some reason. Probably that Cursed Mana you mentioned. You’ll die if we don’t find a way out soon, and I don’t want to stand here helpless and watch that happen. That’s why I haven’t been using my own mana to speed up our search. I’m saving it, just in case you need me.”
Lori’s snout twitched, her eyes blinking rapidly as a strange warmth coursed through her. After a moment, she puffed out her snout, her voice flustered, “Y-You little brat. You don’t need to act all concerned while boasting about your bloodline!”
Asher raised a brow, confused. “I didn’t even mention my bloodline.”
“Hsssss, whatever,” Lori hissed but then smugly smiled, “Let’s just focus on finding the damn exit since you are so worried about your future wife.”
Asher shook his head helplessly, turning back to the building. His eyes grew sharp as he gestured toward the dark opening ahead, “Be alert. We’re going in.”
The air inside the entrance felt dens but dead, as Asher and Lori stepped into the gaping maw of the mysterious structure.
Pitch-black darkness enveloped them like a shroud, suffocating any semblance of visibility. Asher’s sharp eyes quickly scanned the surroundings, catching glimpses of jagged rubble and the faint outlines of shattered floors high above. As always he could see clearly even in pitch-black darkness.
“This place…” Asher murmured, tilting his head upward, “it’s hard to tell, but it feels like we’re inside a tower. Look at how the floors stack upwards, or what’s left of them.”
Lori, coiled tightly around his neck, flicked her forked tongue nervously, her eyes darting around. “Hsssss, I don’t like thissss… It’sss too dark, even for me. Something about thisss cursed darkness issss making it hard for me to see properly.”
Asher furrowed his brows, hearing genuine unease in Lori’s voice.
Normally, her sharp eyes could pierce through any shadow. He reached into the Damned Dimension, the portal to his personal space of storage, and withdrew a flame torch.
Holding it in his palm, he channeled his mana into it, igniting the tip with his signature dark green flames.
The torch blazed and roared to life with an explosive burst, its eerie glow illuminating their immediate surroundings. Asher blinked briefly, not expecting his flames to get that excited.
The light revealed more of the towering structure’s strange interior.
Rubble littered the floor, and remnants of the walls bore strange patterns etched into their surface. The faint metallic sheen of the walls glimmered in the flickering light, giving them an almost alien texture.
Lori’s jaw slackened as her eyes darted around, her voice a mixture of awe and disbelief, “What issss thisss place? It doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before. Are you sure humanssss lived here? It looksss far too… alien for that.”
Asher’s eyes narrowed as he studied the ruins, “Maybe, but look closer,” he said, his gaze tracing the faint curves and designs on the walls, “These structures do have a human touch. The shapes, the symmetry… They’re not entirely alien. I wonder what these floors were originally used for.”
“You seem to know so much about these humans for a literal alien brat,” Lori said with a skeptical look, making Asher softly chuckle at her remark.
The two continued walking, the torchlight casting long, flickering shadows against the towering walls. Asher’s thoughts churned, trying to piece together the story of the place. It felt ancient, abandoned for an eternity, but there was an undeniable feeling that still lingered in the air.
Suddenly, Lori’s tail whipped forward, pointing at a spot on the floor ahead, “Brat, look there,” she hissed, her voice low but urgent.
Asher followed the direction of her tail to a strange, small cavity in the floor. It was barely noticeable amidst the rubble, but the torchlight revealed something peculiar. Multiple cracks radiated outward from the cavity, spiderwebbing across the ground and fading into the distant shadows.
Lori leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as she studied it. “Hssss… This must be the source of those cracks we sssaw outside. Whatever happened here started from thissss spot.”
Asher crouched down, his torch casting an eerie glow over the cavity. He reached out to trace the edge with his fingers, feeling the faint residue of an energy he couldn’t quite identify. “It looks like… someone stabbed a sword into the floor here.”
Lori blinked, her snout twitching in thought, “A sssword? What kind of sword could do thissss much damage? And more importantly, what kind of being could wield ssssuch a powerful weapon?”
Asher’s gaze darkened as he stood, his mind racing with possibilities, “A big sword. It must’ve been incredibly powerful, probably wielded by one of these ‘immortals’. This might be connected to the fall of this place. A sword capable of such destruction…” He trailed off, his mind flashing to the Void Reaver and its supposed ability to cause massive destruction. But then again, it might as well have been some other weapon forged by one of these “immortals” who lived here.
The two fell silent, the weight of the discovery settling over them like a heavy blanket. The cracks emanating from the cavity seemed to stretch endlessly, as if the very structure of the building—and perhaps the entire city—had been fractured by whatever force had been unleashed here.
“Ssss, maybe this is a good thing. If that weapon’s still around here somewhere…we can take it and use it to get out of here,” Lori’s voice trailed off, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Asher shook his head, “I have a feeling we might not find it here or maybe it’s just gone. Let’s keep moving. This place is too large to explore every corner.”
They pressed on, the light from the torch illuminating more of the strange, haunting interior. The designs on the walls became more intricate, and faint metallic artifacts with dead mysterious runes lay scattered amidst the rubble—broken gears, shards of strange alloys, and remnants of devices whose purpose neither of them could discern.
The deeper they ventured, the more the place felt like a tomb, a graveyard of forgotten wonders and untold devastation with mold and vines growing over everything.
Finally, they stopped in their tracks as they came upon a massive, gaping hole in the floor. It stretched across the width of the chamber, disappearing into pitch-black darkness below. Asher held the torch closer, but the light barely penetrated the abyss. It seemed bottomless, a void that devoured all light and sound. Even Lori couldn’t sense how deep it goes.
Lori’s eyes widened as she peered down into the hole, “You aren’t seriousssly planning to jump down there, are you?” she asked, her voice incredulous.
Search the NovelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
