Chapter 51: 51. Inside the abyssal node – 1

Will left the underground prison the same way he had entered it earlier, retracing every step through the narrow stone passages without hesitation.

The tunnel still carried the heavy scent of molten rock and old blood, and the distant glow from the lava pits continued to flicker faintly against the walls.

Before reaching the final gate, he paused briefly and manifested a shadow-born construct at his side. The dark figure rose soundlessly from the floor. Will instructed it to steal the key once again, repeating the same method he had used before, ensuring that nothing appeared disturbed once he left.

The shadow-born moved ahead silently and slipped through the narrow gap near the gate, retrieving the key without alerting any guards.

Once the task was completed, Will dismissed the construct and reactivated the invisibility trait on his Aeon Blade.

The effect spread across his body smoothly, masking his presence completely. The system had already ensured that even strong individuals would not sense his aura, and with every precaution taken, he exited the imperial palace without encountering suspicion.

As he left the imperial capital behind, Will once again took flight using sovereign sword intent.

this flight technique was inspired by the original flight technique of sword saint klaus, who uses it to fly the same way instead of using mana.

The golden energy surrounding him remained thin and restrained, allowing him to move swiftly without producing sound waves that could alert the city.

His trajectory shifted toward the direction of the abyssal node located within the Riverdale Empire, where Klaus’s permission token would be recognized and respected much more than other locations.

During the journey, Will stopped briefly at a nearby town. He moved through the early morning streets while maintaining his disguise and restocked food supplies. Once finished, he resumed his journey without delay.

By the time the morning sun rose fully into the sky, Will reached the outskirts of his destination. He paused under the sunlight for several moments, allowing the natural energy to replenish his mana and stamina.

The warmth flowed through his body, washing away most of the lingering fatigue from the last night’s infiltration. With renewed strength, he walked toward the town bordering the abyssal node.

Military garrisons surrounded the area, their structures were reinforced and heavily guarded. Will moved quietly among the crowds and put on the Shaitan mask.

The artifact, shaped with a crow-beak mouth and entirely black in color, settled over his face.

As soon as he wore it, his hair and pupils shifted to match the dark black shade of the mask. The transformation was instant masking his real features

The Shaitan mask had been a cheap artifact purchased from the system shop months ago for ten SP, and until now he had never needed to use it properly.

Its function was simple, changing the color of hair and eyes to match the mask itself. Will had selected a black variant, although several colors were available.

He untied his hair and allowed it to fall naturally around his shoulders. At the same time, a black sword appeared in his hand. This was not the Aeon Blade but the Serpent King’s Fang.

He received this sword as feedback from Maximus who recently gained the Serpent fang sword from his family.

Serpent King’s Fang’sblade was narrow and straight with the sharp end pointed towards the right. the blade was black with a golden rib in between ensuring the blades structure.

Will almost felt like he was holding a katana which had been sharpened from the other side as well.

The memory of how Maximus had obtained the Serpent Fang Sword caused a faint smile to appear on Will’s face.

The Serpent King’s Fang was not a divine weapon, yet its quality placed it well above common arms. While the Serpent Fang Sword rested at a platinum tier, the Serpent King’s Fang

reached diamond rank.

It possessed attributes such as poison infusion and an automatic sharpening effect, making it exceptionally dangerous.

Will adjusted his appearance carefully to avoid drawing attention. Even if he did attract notice, his defining traits would remain hidden. Inside the abyssal node, experienced individuals would be present, some hunting demons and others becoming prey themselves.

The abyssal node was an overlapping point between the Aris Continent and the Abyss.

Many such nodes existed across the continent, each guarded either by empires or by the Ascension Army, an elite force under the World Academy tasked with handling demonic affairs throughout Aris.

As Will approached the gates of the forbidden area, two vampires dressed in pure white uniforms stepped forward and blocked his path.

“Watch where you are going mister, the area is off bounds”

Will did not hesitate. He calmly removed the abyssal entry token from his inventory and presented it.

One of the vampires snatched the token from his hand and examined it closely.

The moment the engraving of a sword piercing a cloud became visible, the vampire’s expression drained of color and his body shuddered.

Before the second vampire could speak, the one holding the token bowed deeply and said, “sorry for interrupting your advance, you may go”

Will accepted the token back without comment and proceeded forward.

The node entrance manifested as a rift radiating dense demonic energy. Will stepped inside without hesitation, unaffected by the corrosive aura. Immediately, a new realm unfolded before him.

The terrain was jagged and uneven, with sharp stone formations rising irregularly from the ground.

The air felt heavy, pressing against his senses. There was no sun in the sky, only a strange reddish moon that appeared far too large and close to the land.

Will stood on barren ground with no immediate direction in mind, yet he felt no concern.

In both of his lives, this would mark as his second encounter with demons but things were different this time.

This time, he was not the prey of demons, the demons were his prey instead.

***

Riverdale empire…

Imperial palace, emperor’s study

Emperor Dalton sat at his desk while listening to reports from his prime minister. Since the last incident, numerous ministers within Riverdale’s cabinet had been replaced.

After the ancestor’s emergence, Dalton had personally led the Hounds, his elite troop, to purge corrupt officials and those who had allied with demonic forces.

The empire now stood in a precarious position. Demonic cults had become increasingly active in response to the emperor’s retaliation.

Attacks and assassinations spread fear among the populace, aiming to weaken faith in the emperor’s authority.

It was, in effect, an internal war.

Dalton understood the severity of the situation. Years of negligence had allowed corruption to root deeply within the empire. Only recently had he realized that true power had slipped from his grasp long ago.

“did you find any clue about the divine physique holder?”

The prime minister shook his head silently.

Emperor without any expression turned his head slightly and asked

“what about you?”

A shadow emerged behind Dalton and knelt.

“Unfortunately no majesty, but I bring significant news”

“sigh!! what can be more significant than this?”

“your majesty, the holy sun empire and the church have declared full-blown retaliation against the demonic cults, reports say that the demonic cult infiltrated the imperial palace last night and turned some soldiers into abominations, they also destroyed the statues of The light God and his seven angels.”

“The sun empire is deeply angered and is launching an attack on all the cult bases in the Deccan forest”

Dalton laughed loudly.

“hahaha, seems like these cultists lost their minds after sucking demon dicks for too long hahaha!!!, out of all people they just had to offend those fanatics who keep deeming the light god more important than their own wives…Ahem!! I mean lives.”

“send an emissary to the Sun empire and tell them we are ready to hand any type of intel or logistical support for their purge”

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