Novel Full Chapter 498: Hidden Castle
Chapter 498: Hidden Castle
“Ah Tharne… check this out.” Vaal said as he walked to a certain stand with a very tall monster with dog ears behind it.
Azel’s eyes twitched impatiently.
He didn’t know why but that feeling of being found out, he could currently feel it crawling up his spine.
Every instinct he’d honed over years of combat was screaming that something was wrong. Vaal was being too friendly, too helpful, and too convenient.
“Welcome to my stall.” The dog-eared monster’s voice was deep and gravelly, completely at odds with the cheerful setup. “These are Hell buns, however amongst the pile… one of them is packed to the brim with pepper enough to burn your tastebuds off.”
Azel motioned to all the girls and even Rene. They each took one bun from the displayed pile, the pastries looking reddish with some kind of sauce glazed on top.
Azel picked one as well, as did Vaal.
“Here goes nothing.” Vaal raised his bun in a mock toast before biting into it.
The rest of them followed suit.
Azel braced himself for the pepper, his teeth already clenched in anticipation of the burn, but he got nothing. It was just sweet bread and a tangy sauce that tasted vaguely of berries. He looked at the rest of his team to gauge their reactions.
Irielle was chewing contentedly, her eyes half-closed in appreciation. Mira took another bite without hesitation and even Rene seemed pleased with his selection.
So far they were all enjoying the Hell buns without any problems.
He looked over at Vaal. “What about you?”
Vaal raised a hand up as the bun remained stuffed in his mouth, his pale skin beginning to light up into a shade of red that spread from his cheeks down his neck.
“I’m absolutely—” He fell to his knees, the words strangled in his throat. “FINEEE!!!”
Flames soared from his mouth and into the sky, a literal pillar of fire that made nearby pedestrians scatter with startled shouts.
The flames stopped shortly after, leaving Vaal to collapse sideways onto the street and twitch like a dying fish.
Azel chuckled despite himself. It reminded him of the time that he had gone on a date with Esme, when she’d convinced him to try some of that sauce.
’I hope Esme is still alive.’ The thought sobered him immediately, wiping the smile from his face.
Vaal stood up shortly after like nothing had happened, completely ignoring the fact that his mouth had nearly been blown out moments ago.
His face was still flushed but he grinned anyway.
“That was an amazing treat.” He gave Azel a smile that seemed too genuine to be faked. “Come on Tharne… let’s check out a few more stalls just to be sure.”
And Azel was carried along to every last shop in the festival district.
The next stall sold grilled meat from Hellspawn that tasted like charcoal and regret.
The one after that had decorative masks more elaborate than the simple ones they’d been handed earlier then came a game involving throwing bones at targets, which Rene dominated with disturbing accuracy.
’I’m only doing this for authorization into the Palace…’ Azel thought while gritting his teeth as Vaal dragged him to yet another vendor.
He couldn’t bear the thought of enjoying this festival while his lovers were in danger up there in the living world. Every minute wasted here was a minute they might be suffering.
But he needed Vaal’s help. So he smiled and nodded and pretended to care about whatever nonsense the man wanted to show him.
…
“Ooh~ We’re finally done.” Vaal placed a hand on his waist, surveying the street with satisfaction.
They were far away from the festival’s venue now, standing at the other towering gates that led out of the Citadel proper.
The crowds had thinned to almost nothing here, just a few Reapers moving with purpose toward whatever duties awaited them.
“Did you have fun, Tharne? What about you guys?” Vaal looked genuinely curious, like their answer actually mattered to him.
“We did.” Irielle was still chewing on another Hell bun. They had gone back for more from the dog-eared monster’s stall, and Irielle could personally say it was hands down the best decision she’d made all day.
The others nodded in agreement while Azel sighed.
“It was okay.” He kept his tone neutral, careful not to seem too eager or too dismissive. “But I’m more or less focused on this business with our Honorable King, Bael’zaroth.”
It was a stupid sentence but it would draw out his primary interest in seeing the King. If Vaal suspected them of being the infiltrators that Bael’zaroth was hunting, this would solidify it. This would force his hand.
Azel’s hand drifted closer to his badge in preparation for any attack. He really didn’t think he would leave the Citadel without a fight.
With the amount of things that had happened to obstruct their journey so far… the Soul Sea path destroyed, the teleportation crystal shattered, the blood rain attack, he would be a fool not to expect one final obstacle.
“You know what? Me too.” Vaal’s response was casual and unbothered. “But this is like the fifth time I’m seeing the King so I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Once you get to know him, he’s a pretty chill guy.”
’Chill guy, huh?’ Azel’s jaw tightened as they reached the gates. ’So all the dreams I had about this guy killing me are fake… yeah right.’
No, the King was in fact not a “chill guy.”
“Ah, Rank Three Interrogator… Vaal.” One of the guards straightened to attention as they approached. “Are you here to get to the castle? If you have business there, you can use the teleportation grid.”
“No, I want more wind to my face today.” Vaal waved off the suggestion. “Is the cable car good to use?”
The guards nodded in unison. “Yes sir, it’s operational.”
“Alright then, open the gates.” Vaal gestured to Azel and the others. “I and my friends have a mission to complete.”
The guards didn’t question it, which Azel was grateful for. He had befriended someone as resourceful as this and someone with enough rank and trust to move freely but the choice between teleportation grid and cable car bothered him.
If there was a faster, easier option and Vaal decided to go with the cable car instead, it meant they were going to be attacked while in it. It was the perfect setup for an ambush… trapped in a small metal box, suspended over a deadly drop, with nowhere to run.
Azel’s hand remained near his badge as the gates clicked open with a mechanical groan.
He stepped through into a wonderful mountain base.
The area was wide and flat, clearly constructed rather than natural. Several cables stretched upward into the sky, connected to small cars that looked barely large enough to hold four people comfortably.
The cables led to the top of the mountain, disappearing into clouds or mist or something else but the problem was that he didn’t see any mountain on the map.
“Where is this…?”
“It’s called the Nightfall Mountain Pass.” Vaal walked toward the nearest cable car with confidence. “I can’t blame you Tharne, even regular Rank 3’s aren’t allowed here but you are here with me now.”
He pointed to the cable car and they slowly approached the contraption. It was made of metal that had been treated to resist rust, dark gray and covered in protective enchantments that glowed when Azel looked at them from the right angle.
“It will take us to the peak of the mountain.” Vaal opened the door to the car, revealing a cramped interior with bench seating. “The thing is that the Nightfall Citadel holds the castle though it’s hidden with the help of this high level illusion. The Esteemed King Bael’zaroth confused the others by making his castles in a place where others could not reach while he modestly stayed here.”
Azel felt like a fuse was about to tick in his head.
So even if he had taken the Soul Path, even if that skeleton Reaper hadn’t destroyed it, he would still have had to come here because of the Underworld King’s tactics.
All that time wasted, all that frustration, and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. The King had made sure his castle was unreachable except through this specific route.
“Alright get on in.” Vaal held the door open like a gentleman. “We’re running late.”
They filed into the cable car one by one. It was cramped with all five of them inside, shoulders pressed together. Vaal entered last and lifted a lever at the side.
The cable car lurched and began shooting up in speed, crossing the cables with such force that the metal began to glow red from friction.
Wind howled outside the windows as they ascended at an angle that felt far too steep to be safe.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be receiving our first boost right about no—”
The cable car shot forward even more and gained speed, some kind of enchantment activating to propel them faster.
The car rattled violently and the metal groaned under the strain.
“Does it need to move this fast?” Azel gripped the bench to keep from being thrown around.
“Of course… it needs to break the barrier.” Vaal seemed completely unbothered by the violent shaking. “The only way the barrier is broken is by speed.”
The car shot upward at an even steeper angle now, nearly vertical. A barrier appeared in front of them, a shimmering wall of energy that looked solid enough to stop anything.
The cable car didn’t slow down… It collided with the barrier and pushed through with a sound like shattering glass.
Out the windows of the car, they could suddenly see a wonderful castle.
It wasn’t as big as Azel expected… not a sprawling fortress but that didn’t make it any less scar. The entire structure gave off an immense amount of death energy that made the air itself feel heavy.
The energy here was quite overwhelming.
Rene basked in it, his eyes wide with wonder as he absorbed the ambient power. But for Mira and Irielle… they turned a bit pale, their faces losing color as the Death energy pressed against them and even Gwendolyn felt very strange.
’Are we really facing the person producing this mana…?’ Irielle thought, her hand trembling slightly where it rested on her weapon.
She gulped down saliva that suddenly tasted like copper. It was for her Master though. She would give her life for him without hesitation.
The cable car came to a stop at a platform built into the mountainside. Guards were stationed there, two Reapers in formal armor rather than the standard cloaks.
Azel’s hand was still on his badge but somehow there wasn’t even one ambush like he had expected… it couldn’t be that easy.
He calmed down a bit, though his guard remained up. They passed by the guards who barely glanced at them and continued to the gates of the castle itself.
“You have business here, Vaal? Who are these people?” The first gate guard asked, his weapon held casually but ready to be raised at a moment’s notice.
Vaal smiled with easy confidence. “They are my friends, and they’ll be escorting me on this business meeting with our King Bael’zaroth.”
The guards parted the gate without further questions. The massive doors swung inward with a deep grinding sound, revealing the interior of the castle beyond.
They had gotten inside… Actually inside the King’s castle.
Azel’s heart trembled in his chest as adrenaline flooding his system. After so much time wasting, after so many delays and obstacles and frustrations, they were finally here.
They entered through the main door and reached the main hall with stairs leading everywhere… up to what looked like residential quarters, down to what might be dungeons, branching off to wings that could contain anything.
The doors closed automatically behind them with a heavy thud that echoed through the empty space.
“King Bael’zaroth usually stays in the study or in his throne room.” Vaal looked around the hall like he’d been here dozens of times. “There are also barely workers in the castle too. He prefers privacy.”
Azel smiled, genuine relief flooding through him for the first time in days. “Thank you for everything, really.”
Vaal smiled back, that same friendly expression he’d worn all day. “No need to than—”
Azel’s fist collided with the pressure point in the man’s neck.
Vaal’s eyes went wide for just a fraction of a second before they rolled back. He fell over the next instant, completely knocked out, and his body crumpling like a puppet with cut strings.
He was a pale human, so Azel was sure they had the same weak points as living humans. The technique had worked perfectly.
“Good.” Azel looked down at Vaal’s unconscious form without remorse. “Let’s tie him up and go meet the King.”
A bundle of steel rope appeared in his hand, pulled from his inventory. He tossed it to Mira, who caught it without comment.
“This is the final part of the mission so deal with it to the best of your abilities.”