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Chapter 330: Hell (1)
Chapter 330: Hell (1)
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Chapter 330: Hell (1)
[Hell!]
The Tower Master was aghast.
The dwelling of demons.
A world of another dimension.
Hell.
That world had now torn through the dimension and arrived here.
It was hard to believe even while seeing it with his own eyes.
But the Tower Master had no choice but to accept it.
Because Hell was slowly approaching them.
[…Wait!]
Hell was not as large as one might think.
At most, it was the size of one of the four continents.
For a world of demons, it was relatively small.
But while it was small as a world, the mass itself was unimaginably immense.
What would happen if such a mass touched the ground?
It wasn't hard to guess.
A collision that would lead to the destruction of the world.
The Tower Master hastily extended his hands.
Magic spread out frantically, forming barriers.
Crack crack crack.
But it was like trying to stop frostbite by urinating on frozen feet.
No matter how powerful the Tower Master was, stopping such mass hurtling forward with acceleration was impossible.
“This is dangerous.”
Even Ketal became serious at the sight of the approaching planet.
He pulled out his axe, filled it with aura, and planted his feet firmly.
Just as he was about to charge forward—
Zzzzeeeeeng!
Another tremendous roar rang out.
But this time, it was not unpleasant.
Despite its enormity, the sound brought an odd sense of calm to those who heard it.
And then, divinity enveloped the world.
It surrounded the surface of the earth in the form of a solid sphere, protecting it firmly.
Before long, Hell and the divine barrier collided.
Crunch.
A horrifying sound reverberated.
The barrier began to shatter, unable to withstand the planet's mass.
But it wasn’t meaningless.
The incoming star’s speed was slowly decreasing.
And finally…
Rumble rumble rumble…
Just before it touched the ground, Hell came to a stop.
[Ah.]
The Tower Master barely held himself upright as his body threatened to collapse.
Forcing himself to focus, he lifted his head.
“This is…”
“Spectacular.”
Ketal spoke in admiration.
The crimson-black planet was now fused with their world.
It was a scene one might only see in a painting.
Of course, it was only beautiful when seen in art; when such a thing entered reality, it was nothing short of a catastrophe.
The Tower Master groaned.
[Ah, ah, ah… These lunatics! They smashed Hell into the world!]
A state of emergency erupted.
The relaxed atmosphere born of their previous victory shattered in an instant.
The Tower Master sprang into action.
[Have we received any word from the gods?]
“Uh, no! The saints and Saintess are praying, but there’s no response!”
[…Is it taking them time to assess the situation as well? Damn it!]
The Tower Master shook his head roughly, frustrated.
Ketal turned to him and spoke.
“Is it necessary to seek the gods for information? There is someone here on this earth who knows everything they know.”
[…Ah!]
Realizing the meaning behind Ketal’s words, the Tower Master moved immediately.
He headed straight for the elves’ sanctuary.
“Waaaaah!”
“Aaahhhh!”
The elves were screaming and running around like mad.
Understandably so—Hell had appeared above the southern continent, right over the elves’ sanctuary.
Amid the chaos, the Tower Master and Ketal found Serena.
Her already pale face had turned ghostly white.
“K-K-Ketal!”
“What’s happening?”
“A-Ah! This… this is!”
Serena was half out of her mind.
Ketal observed her for a moment and then released his presence.
“Calm down.”
Woom.
His will pressed down on the sanctuary.
The elves’ frenzied movements came to an abrupt stop.
Panic slowly subsided.
“A-Ah…”
Calm began to return to Serena’s face.
Ketal asked quietly.
“What happened?”
“…Hell has connected to the ground, crossing the dimension.”
[Is such a thing possible?]
“It’s not impossible. Both Heaven and Hell exist on higher dimensions than the earthly plane. Lowering them into this dimension isn’t particularly difficult. But— but it’s madness!”
Serena cried out in bewilderment.
The God-Demons War.
It was a war fought over the ownership of the earthly realm, where Earth was the centerpiece.
Heaven and Hell were excluded from that fight.
In other words, regardless of the war’s outcome, their own realms would remain unaffected.
Until now, even if the gods attacked Hell, it was closer to venting their anger.
They could not cause significant damage.
But now, the demons had dragged Hell itself down to the earthly realm.
“If this happens, the demons can no longer be banished back!”
Why could demons who manifested on Earth be killed yet still return to Hell?
Because Hell was their home base.
Being in another dimension, the damage they suffered here didn’t matter much.
But now, with Hell in the same dimension as Earth, there was no place to be banished to.
In other words, if demons received fatal wounds now, they would face true death.
And that wasn’t all.
With Hell itself brought into this realm, it now fell within Heaven’s range of attack.
The gods could assault Hell unilaterally.
Hearing this, the Tower Master groaned.
[It sounds insane when you put it like that. But if they did it, there must be something to gain, right?]
“…Yes.”
Serena swallowed hard.
“The gods and demons cannot interfere with Earth because they exist in extremely distant dimensions. But now that Hell is here…”
“The demons no longer consume anything to descend.”
They could now roam Earth freely, as if it were their own backyard.
Named demons, demons of rank, and even the demon lords themselves—all of them could attack Earth.
The Tower Master understood the demons’ intent.
[A gamble.]
“That seems likely…”
Even at the risk of losing Hell itself,
the demons had resolved to devour Earth.
After a moment of silence, the Tower Master shouted urgently.
[Soaring hawk! Spread this information across the world!]
Dozens of hawks formed from magic soared into the sky and scattered.
The information the Tower Master had discerned spread to the entire world.
Hell had descended to Earth.
At any moment, they could attack.
Hearing this, the churches and kingdoms began to move frantically.
Powerful beings from all over began to gather near the elves’ sanctuary.
Great dragons even soared through the skies, preparing their draconic incantations.
Time flowed amidst tense silence.
And after two days…
Nothing happened.
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* * *
[…What’s going on?]
The Tower Master muttered suspiciously.
[Why haven’t they attacked yet?]
Dropping Hell into the earthly realm had been a highly sudden move.
Earth had no time to prepare.
If the demons had attacked immediately, they would have dealt immense damage.
But even after two days, the demons had yet to show themselves.
In that time, Earth had been diligently preparing for an attack.
The demons needed to act quickly, yet it was still quiet.
Something was very wrong.
[Are they plotting something?]
“That’s likely.”
Ketal muttered, looking at Serena.
Serena shook her head vigorously.
“I don’t know either. They must’ve done this to attack Earth, but… why…?”
[Hmm.]
The Tower Master stroked his chin.
After thinking for a moment, he moved to a nearby saint and asked if there had been any response to their prayers.
“T-There is no response.”
[Are the connections still active?]
"Yes. The prayers are reaching them."
The prayers of the believers were definitely reaching the gods.
But no answers were coming back.
That meant one of two things.
The first was that the gods didn’t have the strength to respond.
Hell itself had manifested here on Earth, and the gods were likely expending considerable power to suppress its aftermath.
It was a very plausible explanation.
The other was that the gods themselves had not yet found an answer.
[…This isn’t good.]
The demons were plotting something.
But no one could tell what it was.
The Tower Master let out a groan.
Next to him, Ketal, who had been silent, finally spoke up.
“You look troubled.”
[The problem is I can’t figure out what they’re after. They’ve dragged Hell into this world, yet why are they staying silent? Why aren’t they targeting the surface?]
The Tower Master looked deeply worried.
Ketal, watching him, opened his mouth again.
“There is a way to solve that problem, you know.”
[Hmm? And what might that be?]
“Isn’t it simple? Hell is connected to the surface now. They can freely come here, right? Then, the reverse should also be possible.”
[…You. Don’t tell me.]
The Tower Master realized what Ketal was suggesting.
[You’re saying we should go to Hell directly?]
“Is there a better way?”
[…….]
The Tower Master couldn’t answer that question.
Indeed, at this point, the best way to uncover the demons’ plan was to go to Hell itself.
Ketal spoke softly.
“To catch a tiger, you need to enter its den. They’ve come here—sitting back and watching isn’t an option.”
[You sound almost excited.]
“You’re mistaken.”
Ketal answered casually, but his eyes gleamed like those of a child discovering a new toy.
The Tower Master let out a dry chuckle.
[It doesn’t seem like a mistake to me.]
But whether Ketal’s intentions were pure or not, his suggestion was on point.
In fact, it was the closest thing to a correct answer.
They couldn’t wait forever for the gods to respond.
After much deliberation, the Tower Master made his decision.
[Fine.]
“Oho! Then I’ll…”
[No. I can’t send you alone. There’s no information about Hell. Even Serena doesn’t know anything. Sending you alone would be reckless… though, to be honest, I don’t think you’d be in danger, but we still don’t know what they’re planning.]
The demons might have anticipated someone like Ketal arriving and prepared for it.
They needed to be just as prepared.
“Then what do you propose?”
[I’ll go with you.]
The Tower Master answered firmly.
[Not just me. I’m bringing one more person.]
“One more?”
Ketal’s face showed curiosity.
* * *
A few hours later, Ketal understood as soon as he saw who the Tower Master had brought.
“So you’re going with maximum firepower.”
[We don’t know what’s there. We could run into a Demon Lord as soon as we arrive. It’s best to be prepared.]
“That won’t happen.”
A calm voice echoed.
“The Demon Lords are like gods of Hell. If they were to act, the gods wouldn’t just stand by.”
“And yet those gods aren’t answering, are they?”
“That likely means the Demon Lords are already interfering in some way. If they’re acting to counter us, then it means the gods will soon have some breathing room. So, you can rest assured, Ketal.”
“Oh. I see.”
The speaker was a woman with golden hair and black eyes: Helia, the Sun God’s Saintess.
She smiled faintly as she greeted them.
“It’s good to see you again.”
“Likewise.”
“I thought that the next time we met, it would be under more peaceful circumstances… This really isn’t good, is it?”
“So you’re going to Hell, too?”
“Honestly, it’s dangerous… but I think it’s the right decision.”
Helia spoke calmly.
“Let’s take care of each other for the time being.”
“The same goes for me.”
Ketal grinned.
The party to investigate Hell had been decided: the Sun God’s Saintess, the Tower Master, and Ketal.
Serena was excluded from the team.
Her power was clearly lacking compared to the Saintess, so it was only natural.
Serena let out a sigh of relief.
The preparations were swift.
Since no one knew what the demons were planning, they had to move quickly.
Within just a few hours, they were ready to head to Hell.
[Well then.]
“Shall we go? Stepping into Hell as a servant of the gods… It’s practically blasphemous.”
Their faces were all tense.
Even Helia, who spoke lightly, was full of nervous energy.
The land of demons.
The sanctuary of the Demon Lords.
The realm of the Four Monarchs:
Hell.
Nothing was known about it.
No one knew what creatures lived there, what the environment was like, or what awaited them.
It was a place of the unknown.
It was only natural for living beings to feel tense.
But only Ketal wore an expression of anticipation.
‘What could be in Hell?’
[Let’s go.]
Kiiiiing!
A magic circle formed.
Their bodies began to leap through space.
With Hell connected to the surface, transportation was no longer an issue.
The scenery changed.
What they saw first was a world of black and red.
Thick demonic energy swirled like fog.
Rotting, ancient trees stood scattered, and acrid smoke rose from the cracked ground.
They were now in Hell.
“Well, that’s one more thing crossed off my bucket list.”
Ketal couldn’t stop himself from muttering.
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