entering the hell domain
Deep underground, a teenage boy named Xander, who had been training under the guidance of an older man named Sizal, stood before an ancient black stone door with a skeleton carved into it. As they approached, two black flames blazed in the skeleton's eyes, and it held out its bony arm. Sizal, guiding Xander to the hell domain, nudged him, saying, "Put a drop of blood on its hand." Xander, trusting his mentor's guidance, did as he was told, and as soon as the blood touched the skeleton's hand, the door swung open, revealing a dark portal. The two walked through it. When Xander opened his eyes again, he had a bewildered look on his face.
Xander's eyes were wide open as he stood in the air. This place had a sun, sky, clouds, oceans, and mountains, all shrouded in a perpetual twilight. Although the energy was cold and dark, he felt more comfortable here than in the Earth domain. "Right now, we are in the underworld territory, a realm where the laws of nature are twisted, and the strong thrive," Sizal said with a mysterious grin. On the way to the entrance to the hell domain, Sizal shared cryptic tales about the underworld territory, each adding a layer of intrigue. The only thing that mattered here was strength. The royal demon families, who held the ultimate power in the underworld, ruled the nine territories of hell with an iron fist, their influence reaching every corner of the realm.
Sizal and Xander approached the underworld territory on the outskirts of the hell domain. This area was used to harvest common spirit herbs, demon beasts, and other resources. It was also the only place in the hell domain that allowed outsiders. As they floated in the air, Sizal gently brought them to the ground and said, "We will walk from here." Xander nodded and followed Sizal as they made their way towards Bloodfeast City. People greeted Sizal respectfully but stared at Xander with a mix of curiosity and disdain, their eyes filled with unspoken questions about his presence in their city. The tension in the air was palpable, but despite feeling their hostility, Xander stood tall, his resilience shining through as he ignored them.
After a few minutes, they arrived at the main gate of Bloodfeast City. On each side of the gate stood a guard. The guard on the right was a burly man with pink skin and a pig's head, his beady eyes scanning the surroundings with a predatory gaze. Two green tusks protruded from his mouth. "Lord Sizal, it's been over two hundred years since you last visited. May I ask who your young friend is?" the guard said as he stared at Xander as if he were prey. "Oh, him? It's too early for me to tell you. We're here for him to enter the Malevolent Bloodfeast Arena," Sizal said, his words dripping with anticipation as he walked past the guards with Xander.
The guard with the pig head looked at the other guard. "Fluzin, go tell the city lord about Lord Sizal's arrival. The last time he showed himself..." The guard shuddered in fear, unable to finish his sentence. The guard named Fluzin nodded and took off. At the same time, not far away in a house, a man who was about thirty years old, with unkempt hair and a straggly beard, took a huge gulp of wine from a bottle and smiled. "So it begins," he said, then vanished into thin air, leaving a lingering sense of mystery and heightened anticipation.
The colossal arena in the city's center bore a sign above its entrance that read "Malevolent Bloodfest Arena." The aura of death enveloped this part of the city, making it overwhelming and not for the faint-hearted. "So, this is where you want me to train?" Xander asked sternly. "I wouldn't call it training; it's more like your debut. I want everyone to know who you are," Sizal laughed, his words dripping with anticipation. The two then walked into the arena, each step building excitement in the air.
The arena was filled with packed seats as different demon clans and other races chatted among themselves. As Xander and Sizal entered, a hush fell over the crowd. "Did you hear that the top young talent of the Barbarian race is here? He's been defeating all the top experts of the younger generation of other races, and now he's challenging Prince Jelres," a man said. The arena was buzzing with conversations about this, making it the hottest topic.
In a beautifully decorated private room in the arena reserved for royalty, three men and a woman sat around a table that had the finest spirit fruits and wine. "Where the hell is he? It's been six months since he left. That old lizard summoned us here for what, to see an idiot get killed by the eighth prince of the underworld?" a skinny old man said grumpily. "Little brother, when has Sizal ever summoned us for something trivial like that? All he said was there would be a shocking show. For those words to come from him, I feel something extraordinary is going to happen," a beautiful woman with a lustful figure said lazily. The other two men nodded and agreed with her.
On the battle platform stood a young man, around fifteen or sixteen years old, about eight feet tall, muscular, and covered in scars. Lightning flickered around his body as he proclaimed, "Demons of the underworld, I am Nezurn, the barbarian of thunder. I'm here to challenge Prince Jelres. Do you dare accept?" As he spoke, he stared at a young man with delicate features. Without hesitation, Prince Jelres jumped onto the platform.
Prince Jerles comes from the Ice Demon Clan of the underworld. His features are delicate due to this. The bell rang as the two faced off, and the fight started. Prince Jerles lifted his hand and slowly said, "Frost prison." On the platform, frost quickly spread and wrapped around Nezurn's legs, slowly going up his body. Prince Jerles appeared behind Nezurn, but something felt off just as he was about to strike. A smile slowly formed on Nezurn's face. "Too weak, Thunderclap!" he shouted. A bright light emitted from his body and shot at Prince Jerles. He was too slow to react, and by the time he realized what had happened, a hand was wrapped around his neck as he was slammed to the ground.
Murderous intent emanated from Nezurn's body as Prince Jelres found himself trapped in a vast pit. "By getting rid of you, I will prove to the world that the barbarian race shall reclaim our place among the top seven races!" Nezurn shouted angrily. In the crowd, many demons frowned. Anyone with a brain could tell that the barbarian race had planned this. This match-up was truly one-sided, but in the hell domain, they could only blame Prince Jelres for being weak. Nezurn raised his leg on the battle platform as he was about to crush Prince Jelres' head, but suddenly, Prince Jelres disappeared. The next moment shocked everyone in the arena - a hand grabbed Nezurn's foot, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move.
"How dare you act tough when you choose an opponent that gives you a massive advantage, yet you still have the nerve to brag?" A handsome young man with silver hair and purple streaks appeared. His hand maintained a tight grip on Nezurn's foot as he stared into Nezurn's eyes with his own purple eyes.
At that moment, Nezurn experienced an emotion he had never felt before. It was Fear. He shuddered as he tried to free his leg. "Die!" Nezurn screamed as lightning descended on the newcomer. At that moment, he felt the grip on his leg disappear as he fled.
It was too late. A purple fog appeared before Nezurn. Suddenly, he started coughing blood. Everyone was stunned as the purple fog materialized. Xander's hand was inside Nezurn's chest. In the next moment, he ripped out Nezurn's heart. Then Xander placed his hand on Nezurn's head and yelled, "Devour!" A strange energy was forcibly taken from Nezurn's body, entering the black book inside Xander's soul. The crowd fell silent.
Inside the beautifully decorated private room, each member of the group of four was visibly surprised. Their attention was drawn to a young boy with silver hair and purple eyes. "Do the four of you realize why I summoned you now?" said Sizal, carrying a somewhat cocky demeanor. The beautiful woman was the first to regain her composure; her pink eyes landed on Sizal as she trembled slightly.
"Is that boy the heir of Big Brother?" she asked softly.
Sizal nodded with a devilish grin. A fat, older man jumped out of his seat. "This is bad. Nezurn was brought here by three barbarian generals. They might attack," he said nervously. Sizal shook his head. "Take a look around," he said slowly. The fat, older man scanned the room and realized someone was missing. Only then did he relax.
On the battle platform, two grown men about nine feet tall checked on Nezurn. When they arrived, their faces paled instantly. Xander felt immense pressure from the two barbarian generals. Just as they were going to attack, a heatwave descended, causing the temperature to rise. A tall man with yellow eyes wearing green and red armor appeared and said confidently, "The two of you dare to attack my nephew? Then don't leave." A green flame suddenly left his body and rushed to the two barbarian generals, turning them to ash instantly.
The man turned to look at the remaining barbarians. "Leave the underworld now, you idiots! You dared to break the rules. You're lucky I don't exterminate the rest of you," the man yelled as red and green flames danced around him.
The only remaining barbarian general gathered Nezurn's corpse and then turned to look at the burly man. "Tinnor, the barbarian race will leave, but don't get ahead of yourself. This isn't over. Nezurn is the king's youngest son. You demons will pay for what happened today," the barbarian general said coldly as he left with the others.
Tinnor stood in the arena and then vanished with Xander. In the next moment, Xander found himself in a beautifully decorated room. Five people were standing before him, only one of whom he knew. Sizal smiled and said gently, "Don't be nervous. You're around family."
The beautiful woman walked towards Xander, her pink eyes scanning his body. "Little nephew, do you have any memories of before Lady Irma found you?" she asked curiously. A rare sight happened next to the usually cold and confident Xander—tears flooded his eyes as he shook his head. "I only remember hearing a voice telling me to survive," Xander said emotionally.
"I believe my father is still alive, but he is trapped somewhere far away," Xander said hesitantly. The group of five shuddered as silence descended in the room. The woman's eyes widened. "Nephew, are you serious? Don't lie to your auntie Lilith," she said as her voice trembled. Xander said nothing; he only nodded. After his awakening, he produced a segan, the origin of darkness. When it entered his soul, he felt an extremely faint connection. All he knew was that the person was related to him.
"Before we continue, let me introduce everyone. You've already met your aunt Lilith and your uncle Tinnor," Sizal said as he introduced the other two. The fat, older man with orange eyes who was worried earlier is his uncle Yolrond, while the skinny, quiet man with green eyes sitting next to Yolrond is his uncle Jaurd. The group of six took a seat and talked to each other for a while.
…
Meanwhile, news of a new demon killing the top expert of the young generation of the barbarian race spread like wildfire. Three people were standing on top of the malevolent Bloodfeast Arena. One was a petite girl wearing a beautiful white dress that revealed her long, stunning legs. Her veil covered her face, but her vibrant pink eyes were unmistakable.
"Hmph, why did Uncle Tinnor take him away? I wanted to witness his strength personally. Why didn't you get me sooner, Draskin?" she pouted.
The man with messy hair and a scruffy beard looked at the private room. "I didn't think he would attack Nezurn, or I would have gathered the two of you sooner," Draskin muttered.
"We should wait. Father will bring him back into the arena just because he could kill Nezurn with a surprise attack, which means nothing. That boy needs to prove himself," a young girl wearing a pale blue dress with yellow eyes said softly.
As if to prove her right, Xander appeared on the battle platform. His purple eyes scanned the arena and landed on three figures standing on top of the arena wall. After a moment, he looked around and said, "I, Xander, will face anyone in a life-or-death battle right now," speaking lazily with a faint smile.
The crowd went berserk when they heard those words. A young man wearing ice-blue armor with delicate features, who looked more feminine than the boy Xander had saved earlier, stepped onto the battle platform. The young man faced Xander with a devilish grin. "I am Smukr, and I'm here to regain the integrity of the ice demon clan," Smukr roared. Xander stared at Smukr with a stern expression. "You should return to your seat. I only saved him because the battle was a set-up from the beginning. If you choose to stay, be prepared to die," a cold glint flashed in Xander's eyes as he said icily.
Those words were like pouring salt on a wound to Smukr in a momentary fit of anger; frost covered his body as a pure white sword with a blue hilt appeared in his hand. He violently swung the blade at Xander. The sword left behind a streak of frost as it closed in on Xander. The sword slashed across Xander's neck, and his severed head fell to the ground, but the strange thing was there was no blood. Suddenly, Xander's figure turned into a purple fog.
Smukr's pupils constricted as his face paled. as Xander's fist smashed into his chest. His heart stopped beating, and he died, not knowing how. Xander placed his hand on Smukr's limp head. "Devour," Xander muttered. A strange power flooded his body, going straight into the origin of darkness sealed in his soul.
The next moment, Sizal appeared behind Xander, placed his hand on his shoulder, and vanished. Tinnor appeared on the battle platform.
"Xander will not be taking challenges for the next few days, so if anyone of the same rank still dares to face him, do so at a later date," Tinnor said as his gaze landed on a man with an ice crown on his head, then he left."
The trio stood on the wall, each with a different expression. "So, Pandora, what are your thoughts on him?" Draskin asked as he looked at the girl with the pink veil. Pandora smiled under her veil. "He is fascinating. What do you think, Wutei?" Pandora said softly. The girl in the pale blue dress huffed and left without saying a word.