Chapter 551: Limit of the Domain, Finding the Heretic Island

The moment Leon blew into the horn, a powerful soundwave erupted from it, spreading across the surrounding sea and shaking the air with an overwhelming roar.

The waves trembled, and distant monsters seemed to stir beneath the water, but nothing appeared before them.

After several seconds, the sound faded, leaving only the wind and the sea.

Leon lowered the horn.

’Oh well, it’ll probably have its use later.’

He returned it to his [Storage Space] and decided not to waste any more time on it.

Just like that, the group continued flying toward their destination.

Eventually, approximately two hours had passed since they left the [Island Kingdom].

For Violet, whose flying speed was astonishing, two hours was an absurdly long time to travel without reaching their destination.

It was enough to make Leon realize just how far away the [Heretic Village] truly was.

They were approaching the edge of the domain.

The sea suddenly began changing.

At first, the horizon seemed strangely distorted, as though the world itself had been stretched beyond its natural limits.

Then, as Violet continued flying, they finally saw something that made everyone fall silent: the sea ended.

It didn’t gradually become shallower or turn into a rocky coastline.

Instead, the entire ocean simply flowed downward like an enormous waterfall, pouring over the edge of the domain and disappearing into the darkness below.

Beyond the edge, there was nothing but an endless void, stretching both downward and outward as far as the eye could see.

The water cascaded into the darkness, but no bottom could be seen, and the surrounding space seemed completely empty.

It was as though the entire domain had been placed on a massive platform floating in the middle of nothingness.

Violet slowed down as they approached the boundary, her enormous wings beating more carefully while she examined the strange phenomenon.

Even Leon found the sight somewhat unsettling. However, they couldn’t go any farther.

A massive barrier extended across the boundary, preventing anyone from crossing into the void.

Although it was almost invisible, Leon could clearly sense its presence, and the moment Violet approached it, she felt an immense pressure pushing against her.

The barrier wasn’t something they could break through.

"Where’s the village?" Violet asked as she looked around. "We’re at the edge, right?"

"Yeah," Leon replied, nodding as he examined the surroundings. "But I also noticed that there haven’t been any islands for a while. Maybe try looking around again, we missed something."

Violet immediately followed his instructions.

She slowly turned around and began flying along the edge of the domain, carefully examining the surrounding sea.

For several minutes, nothing changed. Then Leon suddenly noticed something.

"Wait."

He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes as he looked toward the boundary.

There was something strange about this part of the barrier...

The light reflecting off its surface seemed to bend slightly in one particular direction, creating a faint distortion that was almost impossible to notice from a distance.

It was so subtle that Leon initially thought it was simply an illusion caused by the waterfall.

However, the more he looked at it, the more convinced he became that something was hidden there.

"Violet, go toward that spot."

"Over there? But the barrier will stop me."

"Trust me."

Violet immediately changed direction and flew toward the strange area.

As they approached, the distortion became increasingly obvious.

It wasn’t an actual hole. Instead, the barrier seemed to conceal something behind it.

Leon’s eyes narrowed as they passed through the distorted area.

For a moment, the entire world around them seemed to flicker. Then the sea suddenly changed.

An enormous island appeared before them, so massive that its coastline stretched far beyond their field of vision.

Its surface was covered with dark mountains, jagged cliffs, and strange structures that appeared to have been carved directly into the rock.

At the center of the island stood an enormous skull carved into a mountain.

The atmosphere surrounding the island was completely different from the rest of the domain.

Even from a distance, Leon could sense a powerful presence emanating from the land.

Violet slowed down as she approached the island.

The three girls stared at the enormous skull, their expressions filled with surprise.

Leon, however, simply smiled. They had finally found it.

Ding!

[You have reached the "Heretic Island" which is the furthest island and strongest one in this domain.]

[Perhaps you have proven yourself worthy of joining them, accepting the gift of the gods.]

After finding a suitable place to land, Violet touched down near the edge of the island, allowing Leon, Emilia, and Celeste to climb off her back.

The moment Celeste’s feet touched the ground, she looked around uneasily.

"This place gives me the chills," she mumbled, rubbing her arms. "I don’t like it..."

Leon glanced at her before looking toward the massive skull in the distance.

"Divine power," he explained. "That’s what you’re feeling. This is the highest concentration of servants of the gods we’ve ever encountered in one place."

Even he could feel the strange pressure surrounding the island.

It was a sensation that seemed to spread through his entire body, making his instincts warn him to leave as quickly as possible.

Although Leon had encountered powerful divine beings before, the presence here was considerably different from anything he had experienced in the Higher Domains.

The aura was everywhere, almost as though the island itself had been saturated with divine energy.

"The gods possess a divine aura around them," Leon continued. "Anyone who isn’t worthy of standing near them might end up passing out or even dying from the pressure alone. Their followers inherit a portion of that aura, although it usually isn’t particularly noticeable when they only have a few blessings or when there aren’t many of them gathered together."

This island was different.It contained nearly all the heretics in the domain, including the [Heretic King], whose aura was far stronger than anyone else’s.

In fact, Leon could already sense his presence somewhere in the distance.

’Blessed by three gods, that should be incredibly rare,’ Leon thought as he examined the surroundings. ’Even in the Eternal Domain, only a few people could receive blessings from two gods, much less three.’

The [Heretic King] was clearly an exceptional existence, and Leon couldn’t help wondering how much power those blessings had granted him.

Nevertheless, he had a hunt to complete.

Leon began walking forward, followed closely by Emilia, Celeste, and Violet.

Although the island’s atmosphere made the girls somewhat uncomfortable, none of them showed any intention of backing away.

After traveling a short distance through the dark vegetation, they discovered a road cutting through the surrounding terrain.

It appeared to have been used regularly, as the ground was firmly packed and several wooden markers had been placed along its edges.

They followed it, passing scattered structures and primitive watchtowers until a massive wooden gate appeared before them.

The gate was built into a tall wooden wall that stretched across the road, marking the entrance to one of the outer villages belonging to the heretics.

The gate was clearly designed to keep outsiders away, as the symbols of the three gods were placed on it.

However, before Leon could approach, the sound of footsteps emerged from behind the wooden walls.

Several heretics appeared along the gate, accompanied by a group of enormous creatures.

Their commander rode at the front, looking down at Leon and the three girls with an expression of curiosity.

The heretics wore primitive clothing made from animal hides, rough fabrics, and pieces of leather armor.

Some had bones or feathers attached to their garments, while others carried weapons fashioned from stone, metal, or the remains of monsters.

It seemed weak, but their equipment possessed considerable power.

The commander himself wore a dark leather vest decorated with several bones and a necklace made from monster teeth.

His muscular body was covered in scars, and he rode a large beast resembling a wolf with thick scales along its back.

Behind him stood several other followers, each accompanied by their own beasts.

"Well, well," the commander said with a broad smile as he rode closer. "It seems we have new arrivals."