Chapter 43: The Eight Pillars

"But I won’t use it right now, is that okay?"

"Of course!"

’I’m actually grateful.’

Elias nodded right away in agreement with Elysia’s words. Besides, he didn’t have time at the moment to do the one thing that girl wanted.

Honestly, Elias was even a little touched that Elysia understood his situation.

After that, Elysia said she wanted to come along too. Of course Elias wasn’t going to turn down extra strength for their investigation.

When the three of them had walked a few steps away from the tent, Vladir suddenly called out to Elias.

"Where are you all going?"

Elias stopped in his tracks before turning around.

"There’s a place we need to investigate. You stay inside the camp."

"Can I just come along with you? I can offer a little help even though my body isn’t in great shape."

Elias looked at Vladir with a confused expression. He looked the man over from head to toe, as if trying to size up his condition.

"Hmm... I guess that’s fine. But are you sure it’s okay?"

"Of course! Don’t worry about me. I’d feel bad just sitting around in the camp while you all work. Besides, I’m a stranger here, and honestly... I’d rather be with other people than alone."

’A stranger, huh.’

"Do as you like."

And so, Vladir joined Elias’s investigation of the place Group 5 had found. Before leaving, Elias ordered Group 5, who were resting, to continue the search.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the foot of a mountain deep in Blackwood Forest, there was a cave hidden among the trees and rock cliffs. The mouth of the cave was partly covered with wild plants, making it hard to find from the outside.

There wasn’t any sound of animals around the cave. Even the wind passing through the trees seemed to vanish as it neared the entrance. The silence felt unnatural, as though the place were cut off from the rest of the forest.

Deep inside the cave, a wolf-eared woman was walking down a dark tunnel. Her footsteps echoed softly until she reached an enormous stone door.

An ordinary person would probably struggle to open a door that big with bare hands, without mana or body reinforcement. But the woman just pushed it with both hands, without any sign of difficulty.

The sound of stone scraping echoed as the door slowly opened. The woman then stepped into an extremely spacious chamber.

Inside were many beings in all sorts of forms. Some resembled humans, while others looked like monsters. As the woman walked past them, sharp stares immediately fixed on her.

They only watched her in silence, and none of them spoke. But the woman kept walking, paying their gazes no mind.

She kept going until she reached the edge of a huge chasm splitting the middle of the room. Below it, dark purple liquid boiled like lava, occasionally giving off a faint glow that lit the chasm walls.

In the middle of that crater, eight pillars of different heights stood. The first pillar towered highest, and the ones after it grew progressively lower until the eighth pillar, the lowest of all.

On top of each pillar was a mysterious figure whose presence felt incredibly strong. But the figure on the first pillar held a different position from the other seven.

On top of the tallest pillar, someone sat on a throne with one hand propping up his head. His eyes were still closed, as if he didn’t much care about the woman’s arrival.

The wolf-eared woman stopped at the edge of the chasm before kneeling on one knee.

"My King, it seems they’ve started to move."

The figure on the throne remained silent with his eyes closed. But after a few moments, he slowly opened them.

Dark purple light blazed from behind his eyes, followed by a massive wave of energy spreading throughout the room.

*Rumble...

The stone floor shook as the wave of energy swept the room. The figures standing around felt the pressure slam into their bodies. Some even had trouble keeping their footing.

The woman kneeling at the chasm’s edge felt the same. Her eyes widened while sweat ran down her forehead. She tried to hold on, but her body began to tremble and her breathing grew ragged.

Her wolf ears drooped. Her fingers dug into the stone floor, trying to keep her body from sinking lower under the pressure.

The seven figures on the lower pillars were also hit by that pressure. But they stayed where they were, without any overblown reaction.

The figure on the throne stared at the kneeling woman for a few moments. After that, his gaze shifted to the other figures in the room before returning to her.

"Who do you follow?"

His voice boomed through the whole room. The pressure that had enveloped the place grew even stronger, making it hard for her to lift her head.

She gathered all her strength before answering in a trembling voice.

"I-In answer, My King. This lowly servant follows Lady Venatrix."

"Hoo..."

The figure on the throne smirked slightly before glancing at the fourth pillar, three levels below his own.

"You really never disappoint when it comes to scouting, Venatrix."

The one named Venatrix turned her body to face the first pillar and bowed slightly.

"This is only what I should do for you, Master."

"Oh-ho..."

Suddenly, a woman’s gentle voice came from the second pillar.

"You’re getting better at fishing for the Master’s attention, Venatrix."

Venatrix shot a sharp glare at the woman on the second pillar, who was smiling at her. Her eyes narrowed while dark red energy slowly seeped from her body. Her sharp claws came into view as the energy around her grew stronger.

"Because I’m not a cheap woman who likes clinging to the master’s feet all the time. I’m a woman and a subordinate who’s actually useful to the master."

The smile on the woman’s face vanished at once, leaving veins bulging on her forehead and dark purple energy pouring from her body.

"Cheap woman? Who exactly are you calling a cheap woman?"

"If you don’t know, you should go to the lake and look at your reflection in the water. Then you’ll see."

"Fucking bitch. I’m seriously going to skin you, rip out your heart and eat it right there."

"Before you can, I’ll have already torn your face to shreds and cut off your breasts, you damn slut."

The energy from the two figures swelled even bigger, along with their sharpening killing intent.

And because of their energy, the people below them began to collapse one by one, unable to endure it.

The woman who was still kneeling could barely keep her consciousness because of it, even though she was far stronger than most of the people in this room.

She was still nothing compared to those on the pillars, and she was already overwhelmed by the energy from the figure on the first pillar.

But now she also had to withstand the energy and killing intent from the two on the pillars. To her, it was truly exhausting and agonizing!

Her vision began to blur and her head grew heavy and dizzy. Breathing got harder too, and her body was going limp.

’M-my consciousness...’

Just before her consciousness completely vanished, the man on the third pillar released his own energy to stop the two women.

"Can you two calm down for just one day? I’m sick of cleaning up after your fights."

Hearing the man’s words, the two women withdrew their energy. Though some killing intent still lingered between them, at least the pressure wasn’t too strong for the people in the room.

The one sitting on the first pillar, who had stayed silent while the two women on the pillars unleashed their killing aura, suddenly smirked slightly before turning his eyes back to the kneeling woman.

The woman was catching her breath now that the pressure of energy and killing intent had disappeared.

"You... I remember you. Your work is always good."

The figure on the throne then raised his hand. From his fingertip, a drop of dark purple liquid emerged, writhing as if it had a life of its own.

"This is a little reward from me."

The drop floated toward the woman before piercing her forehead.

A moment later, the woman’s body began to tear apart. The sounds of snapping bones and screams of pain echoed throughout the room, while her blood sprayed in all directions and flowed into the chasm.

*Crack! Crack!

Strangely, the people who witnessed it showed no reaction, as if they were used to such a sight.

After a while, the woman’s screams finally stopped. Her body, which had been thrashing, now stood upright again, but her appearance had changed.

Her body had grown taller, with a much more mature figure, a slender waist, and a fuller shape.

Her hair grew even longer, while her face, once covered in wounds, had become more beautiful. On one of her lovely thighs appeared a tattoo shaped like a black snake’s head. The claws on both hands also grew longer and black, looking far sharper than before.

When she opened her eyes, her gaze was sharper than before.

She lifted her eyes to the figure on the first pillar before bowing her body slightly, with grace.

"Thank you for this wondrous gift, oh my great King. This lowly servant will use this body for the King’s purposes."

"Hmm... Good. You may go. It’s too embarrassing to see a naked woman before me."

"Y-yes!"

The woman slowly walked backward with a slightly flushed face before running out of the room.

"Venatrix. Give her some of your clothes later."

"Yes, Master."

"And as for the earlier matter..."

The man placed one hand on the side of his throne again and propped up his head.

"You seven. Slaughter every last one of those who dared enter this forest."

"We obey your command, Master!"

The seven figures on the pillars answered in unison, bowing toward the figure on the first pillar.

Who they were and what they were after, no one knew. But from this, it could be said for certain that a great storm was about to sweep toward Elias and the Nocturne family’s Expedition Team.

* * *