Dimensional Descent

Big Buddha frowned when he entered the castle. He immediately realized that there wasn't a single other soul. But, by his estimations, this didn't make sense. He most definitely wasn't the most powerful of those who had chosen to participate. By all rights, he logically shouldn't have been the first to reach this point. 

He suddenly felt like something was wrong. The cold stone beneath his feet, the eerie works of art that hung from the tall walls and windows, the knight statues decorated with immaculate armor… It all felt too quiet, too disconcerting. 

Little did Big Buddha know that there were several individuals feeling the exact way he did.

They all stood in the very same hall Big Buddha did, staring at the same eerie walls, feeling the same stifling weight on their chests, but none of them sensed the other. It was as though they were on different planes of existence, viewing the same things from a completely different perspective.

Leonel sat within the throne room, coldly watching these events. He was both surprised and disappointed to see Big Buddha taking part. Others might not be aware, but weren't they both here to complete the same mission? What did he gain by targeting him like this? 

Leonel sighed and shook his head. He looked off blankly into the distance for a moment. 

This world… why was it like this?

Something faint budded within Leonel's heart, but he wasn't in the mood to grasp it. He simply wanted this to end. 

"Let's go, Little Blackstar."

Leonel took a step forward and was suddenly shrouded by shadows. 

…

Zyllee was a Demon Lord ranked #19. He could be considered to have made a name for himself a long time ago. 

He had a hook nose that seemed displaced from a large beaked bird and two sharp hawk-like eyes. What was most surprising about him, though, was the fact he was one of the rare bowman who had chosen to take part in the trials. 

Zyllee's steps were slow and silent. He crossed over one step at a time, leaving his body in a ready position to fire his nocked arrow in short notice. 

Just from his movement alone, Leonel could learn many things. It was clear that while Leonel's talent was several levels beyond his own, the one with more experience and training was clear at a single glance. 

Unlike Big Buddha, Zyllee wasn't surprised by the fact he was the only one here. He was confident in his own tracking and sensory abilities. There were very few things that could hide from his hawk-like eyes. 

However, it was for this very reason that though he seemed cautious, he was the one with his guard the most lowered. In fact, he could even spare thoughts toward the kind of rewards he would gain for killing Leonel. 

Sure, the goal was only to capture the flag. But, wouldn't the game end much quicker if he just killed his only opponent? Why waste ten minutes running away if things could be ended so easily?

Zyllee licked his lips, revealing a long brownish-red tongue covered in bumps and sinkholes. It looked more like a piece of aged skin rather than someone's tongue. 

Out of habit, the tip of his tongue swung past his nose, picking at both his nostrils. 

"Hehe, I can see you!"

Zyllee suddenly spoke, his head whipping around in the direction he had sensed movement. But, all he found was a corpse falling down toward him. 

Such a realization shocked him to the point that he hardly registered an arrow aimed through the body and toward his heart. 

In the end, Zyllee was still a veteran of the battlefield. While it was clever to use a body to cover an attack, it was also inevitable that said attack would be slowed after passing through such an obstacle. This gave Zyllee plenty of time to react. 

The hawk-nosed demon dove out of the way of the corpse, rolling along the ground before propping himself up on a knee. Without even standing up, he was already prepared to fire an arrow. 

Unfortunately… 

BANG!

The corpse exploded. A ran of metallic shrapnel barraged the #19 Demon Lord. 

Zyllee had focused his entire being on aiming his first shot. He had thought that Leonel's attack was finished the moment the corpse fell and didn't even bother to move away from it. Little did he know that the corpse that fell by his feet would be the true attack. 

An entire side of Zyllee's face was bombarded by shrapnel, causing his already unpleasant features to become even more ghastly. 

Zyllee's vision swam. He could already feel his consciousness slipping away as his body bled out. 

He never even got the chance to hit the ground when an arrow shot through his forehead. 

'… You couldn't have at least… checked if I was dead first…?'

Zyllee died with grievances. Though he had been hurt by the initial strike, it hadn't been to the point of dying so soon. He was severely injured, but as a demon, he could have fought another round or two before his life truly slipped away. 

Who could have expected that Leonel wouldn't even speak a word before sealing his fate completely? Any thoughts he had of luring Leonel into a false sense of security before counter attacking was completely disregarded as his eyes grew dull. 

… 

At that moment, another Demon was slowly exploring the castle, trying to find exactly where Leonel was hiding. 

His steps paused, his large body becoming frighteningly still. 

His nose tilted up into the air, a large pair of fiery red nostrils taking a deep breath. 

'Blood…'

The demon's eyes narrowed. 

It could be said that Leonel's means were quite clever. 

Taking advantage of the fact his enemies didn't enter at the same time, he used a few illusions of the eyes and senses to separate them and deal with them one by one. 

He managed to isolate sight, hearing and Internal Sight. However… he didn't manage to do so with scent. 

It wasn't necessarily Leonel's fault. A human wouldn't be able to pick up the scent of blood from so far away. In fact, not all demons had a strong sense of smell either. 

But… it just so happened that Umred did.