Realm of Myths and Legends

'There's no mistaking it. This aura is definitely of shadahi origins. But the question remains. Is it possible that there is a shadahi hiding within the Night Lord's Crypt? If that's the case, then the more pressing question becomes how it was achieved without the use of a gateway.'

So far, the only known shadahi in the Mortal Realm was Commander Ekquilore who was summoned via the Gateway of a Thousand Bloodless Hands. However, according to the latest reports, Commander Ekquilore had yet to leave the confines of the Demilitarization Belt.

Needless to say, the shadahi had numerous watchful gazes locked onto his every movement. The moment he decided to step out of the Demilitarization Belt, there was no way news of it wouldn't spread fast.

Furthermore, the shadahi aura Izroth detected from the corridor did not even remotely match that of the Commander Ekquilore he faced back in the Shadahi Realm.

While it was possible that crossing over into the Mortal Realm changed his aura, Izroth did not believe that it would be to the point where it was completely unrecognizable.

'Could it have come out of the rift in Tempest? If so, does that mean Tempest has found a way to stabilize the rift?'

Izroth knew that there was a rift that connected the Shadahi Realm to the Mortal Realm somewhere in the kingdom Tempest. However, to his knowledge, that rift was too highly unstable for anyone to travel through—be it going or coming from the Shadahi Realm.

If Tempest truly did find a way to stabilize the rift between the Mortal Realm and Shadahi Realm, then this news was too huge to remain undiscovered.

'No, right now, it's nothing but speculation. There's also a chance the aura I'm feeling is from a Chaos Variant. It's not too far-fetched considering the secret relationship between the netherworld and the shadahi.'

Chaos Variant—this was the name Izroth called those who took on the cursed power of the shadahi and could transform to mimic some of a shadahi's abilities.

So far, Izroth had come across two such individuals. One of them was the ex-leader of Fatal Touch known as Silent Steps. As for the second person, it was, of course, Dolos Jestal.

The aura given off by a Chaos Variant was virtually indistinguishable from that of an actual shadahi.

The presence of a Chaos Variant made the most sense in Izroth's mind due to the circumstances that surrounded the potential summoning of a second shadahi from the Shadahi Realm. That being said, Izroth did not entirely write off other possibilities.

'There's no use thinking too much about it. The answers I seek; I will naturally obtain them once we reach the other side of this corridor.'

Izroth cleared his mind and increased his level of concentration as he focused on manipulating the strands of the corridor. As he did so, the temperature in the atmosphere rose to a point that even those positioned near the bottom of the staircase started to feel as though they were dropped onto an island surrounded by scorching flames.

A few minutes later, Lances eyes shot open as he pushed his arms halfway into the ground at his sides.

"Hear me, Ruler of the Blazing Inferno! Grant me authority over your undying flames through your 8th Incarnation!" Lances chanted as a large seal of mysterious origins formed at his back.

Right as he completed his chant, a flaming creature emerged from the large seal. This time, however, there was something different about it.

For one, it was much weaker than the first flaming creature that Lances previously summoned. In addition, its appearance was much less intimidating and closer to that of a human's than a monster's.

The flaming creature's appearance resembled that of a young female fire spirit with flowing hair of brilliant flames. Though, unlike the members of the Seventh Demon Clan, this fire spirit-like entity's entire body was crafted from flames.

"I am the 8th Incarnation of the Inferno Ruler, Emberosia. Rejoice, mortal, for my lord has chosen to grant your request. I shall now lend my power to you. Use it as you see fit." The flaming entity, Emberosia, stated.

Without waiting for Lances' reply, Emberosia morphed into a spiraling whirlpool of flames that converged to a single point at Lances' back.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the flames rapidly flowed into Lances, causing his entire body to burst into flames.

To those who witnessed this scene for the first time, it was a terrifying sight to behold. But there were no screams of anguish from Lances. Instead, the energy around him abruptly grew exponentially.

Lances stood to his feet as his physical appearance had undergone a few changes.

The 5th Unit Commander donned a suit of armor made entirely out of flames. The armor was made up of multiple layers of flames, with the outermost layer being the brightest and hottest part.

The flames seemed to be constantly moving and flickering with every breath he took. And his face was partially concealed by the flames, leaving only his glowing eyes that contained a fiery intensity visible.

The dominating fire element that encompassed Lances made it evident with a glance that he had become a much more formidable force.

"Everyone, be sure to brace yourselves!" Lances cautioned as he extended his right arm out to his side.

At the same time, five wisps of flames emerged at the tip of Lances' fingertips.

Lances clenched his fist as the wisps of flames dispersed before nimbly swirling around his right fist like a rotating ring of flames.

Crack!

In a flash, the floor beneath Lances shattered as he kicked off his back foot and dashed toward the corridor, leaving a trail of flames in his wake.

"Break!" Lances roared as the fire element around him spiked considerably.

BOOOOOOOM!

A large explosion sounded throughout the room as it violently shook.

Upon impact with the corridor's entrance, several intense shockwaves were unleashed.

'Oh? The fire element contained within those flames are not as powerful as the first flaming creature summoned, but... These flames, somehow, it's splintering the space between the strands I'm manipulating and the corridor. Employing this method, as long as he doesn't make a misstep along the way, this corridor-'

Craaaaack...!

'Won't be able to hold up.'

Shatter!

The entrance into the corridor was destroyed as a hole of luminous light revealed itself.

"Move now! We won't have much time before the protection on the corridor repairs itself!" Lances commanded.

Woosh! Woosh!

Without delay, Izroth and Lances were the first two to sprint through the corridor.

Immediately after doing so, the brilliant light quickly started to fade as the entrance into the corridor seemed to be fixing itself just as Lances warned.

"Go! No one is allowed to fall behind!" Niflheim shouted as he charged up the staircase along with the rest of the vanguard.

Not far behind the vanguard were the rest of the 9th Division and 5th Unit members. And, one by one, they sped into the corridor.

Woosh!

After making sure there was no one left behind, the last two to go through the corridor were Kol'Jil and Zel'Kan.

Zeeeeut!

Almost instantly after the two Seventh Demon Clan members stepped into the corridor the light vanished as the corridor returned to its previous state.

...

'Strange... Are we still in the Night Lord's Crypt?'

After rushing into the corridor, Izroth arrived in a large chamber that was lit by a red hue. However, it was nothing like that Night Lord's Crypt he'd seen so far.

The area mirrored a lifeless wasteland that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.

'An isolated space within an isolated space... No wonder it's not easy to invade the Night Lord's Crypt. Under normal circumstances, accessing this place is nearly impossible unless you're accompanied by the one who created it.'

Izroth attempted to scan the area with his Energy Vision Sense; however, he discovered that its range was limited. Therefore, he had to rely mostly on his natural senses.

'I don't sense the aura of a shadahi. Was it my imagination?'

There was no telling the results that would come from manipulating the strands of the corridor in the manner he did. So, it was not a complete impossibility that he may have detected a fake aura. That being said, Izroth was not convinced that was the case.

'I'm certain the aura I sensed earlier was genuine. However, there's no obvious place here for anything or anyone to hide.'

In the wasteland-like chamber was a completely open area. The only thing in view was an object located at the chamber's center—a pitch-black coffin encompassed by an overwhelming amount of death energy.

Naturally, the coffin was the first thing to draw Izroth's gaze, as well as that of Lances who stood next to him.

'It matches.'

Izroth felt a familiar aura leaking out of the coffin. Even with his Energy Vision Sense not working correctly, he could tell that it belonged to the owner of this Night Lord's Crypt.

'The Antumbra of Decay, Zarolas. So this is where you're hiding away.'