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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Artel’s expression was bright as she lifted the box.
“Lady Christine! It seems we made it in time!”
Artel had been in the Demon Realm for quite a long time.
Moreover, as Christine’s personal secretary, she had naturally heard countless tales circulating within the Demon Realm.
Lepista’s Wand.
How could Artel not know of it?
The thought of the legendary artifact, the one that always set the Demon Realm abuzz, now in the hands of the Vampire race filled her with pride.
“Jekkiel-nim! Here!”
Artel quickly handed the box to Jekkiel.
“……”
However, upon receiving the box, Jekkiel merely wore a perplexed expression.
It was as if he had been presented with an incredibly troublesome task.
‘Is it because of Regita?’ Artel wondered.
Seeing Jekkiel standing there dumbfounded, Christine approached and opened the box herself.
There was no need to carry it around like a precious treasure.
Simply taking the wand and escaping would suffice.
And the moment the box opened, everyone’s eyes widened in astonishment, except for Jekkiel.
Even Regita was taken aback.
“Huh…?”
Naturally, the most bewildered was Artel, the one who had retrieved the box.
She cautiously glanced at Jekkiel and Christine.
Christine’s face was etched with dismay, while Jekkiel’s expression was so complex and subtle that it was impossible to decipher.
“No… Huh? Why isn’t it in here?”
Artel rummaged through the box Jekkiel was holding.
But no matter how much she searched, all she felt was the rough texture of the box’s interior.
It was gone.
Lepista’s Wand was nowhere to be found.
“Huh? What the…?”
In the end, she even snatched the box from Jekiel’s hand and shook it upside down.
But the result remained the same.
The only reaction, if it could be called that, was the red magic circle that began to form in the air.
It was a very ominous reaction.
“Th-This… What is this?”
Despair washed over Artel’s face.
From the moment Jekkiel had departed for Harpy’s Hill, Christine and Artel had been on edge.
They had supported his mission, and shared the same goal, but why was the box, which should have contained Lepista’s Wand, empty?
It was then that Jekkiel muttered,
“You fool.”
He let out a deep sigh.
Only Jekkiel had seen the map.
No matter how convincing the box appeared, if it wasn’t marked on the map, then the wand wasn’t there.
‘But…’
Of course, the map’s intentions felt malicious.
According to its markings, the wand should have been inside the box.
However, the structure itself was suspicious, the atmosphere too unsettling.
He had refrained from touching it, yet they had gone and done something so reckless…
“What have you done?”
Even Regita, seemingly dumbfounded, was scratching her head.
The Annihilation Inscription was being completed stroke by stroke, yet everyone was staring blankly at the spectacle.
The sight was simply too shocking.
‘This is no time to be standing around.’
Regardless of what had happened to Lepista’s Wand, survival took precedence.
Jekkiel racked his brain for a solution.
Burrowing into the ground was impossible.
Flying upward was out of the question due to the sheer height of the cliff.
There was nowhere to hide.
Surrounded by walls…
No, were they actually walls?
His eyes fell upon the massive iron gate.
“Regita.”
The name Jekkiel uttered in a low voice was, unexpectedly, Regita’s.
“What.”
“Do you recognize that inscription?”
“The Annihilation Inscription.”
“Right. So what happens now?”
“We die, obviously. There’s not enough time to open a portal to the Demon Realm, nor can we fly up and escape.”
“Right.”
He slowly nodded.
Ziiiiiing—!
The inscription was complete, the sound signaling its activation ringing through the air.
Kugugu—
Kugugugugu—
And as mana surged through the inscription, the entire world began to tremble.
“Shit…”
Artel muttered involuntarily.
Cracks, like spiderwebs, began to appear on the seemingly impenetrable cliff face.
“What are we going to do, Artel? We’re all going to die because of you.”
“……”
The situation was so dire that even an apology wouldn’t suffice.
Guilt for causing this disaster, regret for her reckless actions, and fear of what was to come…
“Hmm~ Well, what to do? Shall we settle this before that thing explodes, Jekkiel?”
“You only think about fighting.”
Jekkiel tightened his grip on his scythe and looked upward.
“But the fact that you’re still talking means you have some strength left, right, Regita?”
“Of course.”
Ziiiiii—!
The inscription began to glow.
Time was running out.
They had one chance, one opportunity to escape.
“Open it.”
That was all Jekkiel said.
Everyone stared at him.
“We have no choice. We open it and run.”
“Open what?”
“That massive gate, of course.”
He called it a gate, but the material didn’t seem to be iron.
It didn’t resemble anything found in the human world.
Its durability probably wasn’t due to the material itself.
Considering the Annihilation Inscription had been floating in mid-air, this gate likely had a similar high-level inscription etched onto it.
And then.
Pshhhhiiiiiii—!
The moment the inscription flared to life, everyone, without exception, raised their weapons.
Kwaaang—!
Regita was the first to swing her greatsword at the iron gate.
“I’d rather live, thank you very much! Open this damn thing!”
“Uwaaaagh!”
Artel joined in, unleashing explosions against the gate.
Who in their right mind would choose death?
Especially in a place like this.
Even sinners clung to life.
They began to attack the gate with reckless abandon.
The surrounding ground buckled and cracked, dust clouds billowing into the air.
The tremors intensified.
“Hit it harder! Harder!”
“You call yourself a Radiant Dragon? Is that all the strength you have?”
“Shut up!”
The world was painted red.
The inscription’s glow had already engulfed the entire space in a crimson hue.
In other words, it was almost fully charged.
“That damn Regita! You have to swing your sword downward, not upward!”
“I can’t get a proper angle with you fools crowding me! Angle!”
A temporary alliance, forged in the face of imminent death.
Truly a heartwarming sight.
“Damn it! This isn’t working!”
Regita tore at her hair in frustration, then suddenly turned on the vampires beside her.
“Huh?!”
She kicked Artel away.
“Ugh!”
She shoved Christine aside with her shoulder.
“You too, Jelkiel! Move!”
She pushed Jelkiel back with her entire body.
They were terrified, but there was no time for fear.
Just as they were about to charge back towards the gate…
“Everyone, get back!”
Get back where?
The iron gate stood before them, the inscription looming above.
“Damn it, I was saving this for Jelkiel…”
A golden aura enveloped Regita.
Her golden pupils, shaped like crosses, were bloodshot.
The greatsword.
The same massive greatsword she had been wielding moments ago.
However, as the golden aura engulfed it, the blade seemed to come alive, writhing like a giant dragon’s tail.
The sheer force of the sword’s wind made it appear as if it were alive.
Kwaaang—!
She swung once.
And in that instant, the vampires’ eyes widened.
‘It’s dented!’
They saw it.
The gate was dented.
Regita’s golden sword’s wind, resembling a silk ribbon, was incredibly wide, but also incredibly sharp.
If brute force was what they needed to escape this place, then this was the answer.
“See? Brute strength has its uses. Now keep at it!”
“Shut up!”
“Lend me your strength.”
Jekkiel placed his hand on Regita’s shoulder, channeling his life force to bolster her dark mana.
“…Then I shall assist as well.”
Christine joined in.
Ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiii—!!!!
The inscription crackled ominously.
One chance.
They had one chance to break through.
Regita’s veins bulged, her entire body tense.
The golden aura, now infused with Jekkiel and Christine’s power, swirled around her, a mixture of crimson and gold.
“If we make it out of here… I’m killing every last vampire I see!”
Finally, Regita raised her greatsword.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!”
And then, the world was engulfed in golden light.
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[This chapter was NOT missing waht are you talking about smh….]
