Chapter 96: After the Battle

Chapter 96: After the Battle

Cough, cough...

The thick stench of blood filled the air, causing Alex and Ikaros to wrinkle their noses in discomfort. Fortunately, with the destruction of the crimson gemstone under the holy light, the unfortunate Six-Armed Snake Demon Lord had ceased any movement. She had been completely reduced to a pool of blood scattered across the area. Aside from the terrible stench, there was no further disturbance.

"At last, it's over."

Alex sighed with relief as he looked at the now silent and ruined battlefield. He had anticipated that this mission would be extremely difficult, but to his surprise, it turned out to be relatively straightforward. Aside from the minor trouble with the Six-Armed Snake Demon, the rest posed no significant challenge. Of course, all of this was due to...

"It's all thanks to you, Ikaros."

As he spoke, Alex gently patted Ikaros on the head. Feeling the comforting touch, Ikaros showed a faint smile of relief.

"It was nothing, Master. It's my duty."

"That reminds me..."

At that moment, something occurred to Alex.

"Where did you find that red gemstone?"

"I picked it up from some fragments while I was scouting earlier. I originally wanted to give it to you, Master, but then..."

As she spoke, Ikaros glared at the old bishop nearby.

"...I accidentally forgot about it. I'm terribly sorry, Master."

"No need to apologize. You were the key player in this mission."

Alex's words were sincere. Even he hadn't expected that this seemingly fragile, defenseless little angel would prove so pivotal in such a dangerous mission. Not only had she interrupted the Six-Armed Snake Demon Lord's resurrection ritual, but she also destroyed the altar and even managed to snatch away Bella's so-called "third eye" ahead of time. Alex felt tempted to check Ikaros' character sheet to see if her luck stat was at EX level...

Without Ikaros, Alex suspected that the mission would have been far more difficult. If the Six-Armed Snake Demon had fully recovered, or if she had used the altar to open the Gates of Hell, Alex would have been left with only one option: to run, and run fast.

"You are absolutely right, Sir Alex."

At that moment, the elderly bishop approached Alex and Ikaros once more. Hearing Alex's words, the bishop nodded gravely.

"I've inspected the altar. The magic circle hidden beneath it was, indeed, the core of a Hell Gate. If Bella had activated it, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

As he spoke, the old bishop's expression grew even more solemn.

"Not to mention that they had obtained the key... This was a severe situation! Although we managed to prevent the worst, any mistake could have brought disaster to the entire northern region!"

"So, you're planning to hold the Tower of Heaven accountable?"

Hearing the bishop's tone, Alex quickly surmised that this matter wouldn't be easily resolved. Although he and his team had "timely" thwarted the enemy's plans, the accusation of colluding with demons couldn't be dismissed simply because the worst hadn't happened. Especially when Charles, that bastard, had given the key to these cultists... Speaking of which, where was the key now?

"Right here."

As if guessing Alex's thoughts, the old bishop raised his right hand, revealing a purple gemstone ring lying in his palm. However, the ring appeared filthy, as though it had just been pulled from the mud.

"It's been tainted by the Abyssal aura. This will serve as the best evidence. This time, the Tower of Heaven won't escape punishment!"

"This time?"

Alex raised an eyebrow in surprise, and his expression turned curious.

From the bishop's tone, it sounded as though the Tower of Heaven had a history of such incidents... Were they repeat offenders?

"Hey! Bishop Karl! Alex! Are you two alright?"

Just then, Stone arrived in a rush, accompanied by the members of the Pegasus Knights. After the collapse of the altar, the frightened little demons had fled in droves, but the cultists, on the other hand, fought to the bitter end. Stone and his team had been forced to assist the mercenaries in dealing with these fanatics before coming over to check on the altar.

As for the scattered little demons, Stone wasn't too concerned. Without their master, these creatures would soon lose their ability to remain in this world. It was only a matter of time before they returned to their own realm.

While Alex and his group at the core of the battle had remained unharmed, the periphery had suffered significant losses. Of the twenty Pegasus Knights who fought the small demons, only half had survived, and that was largely thanks to Stone's presence. Without him, the knights might have been wiped out.

The mercenaries had fared no better. Only the leader, two archers, and the mage had survived. The others had all perished in battle. Fina had sustained a minor injury, but fortunately, it wasn't serious. She had merely been knocked unconscious by the force of the explosion and was otherwise unharmed.

Despite the heavy toll, they had successfully stopped the cultists' vile scheme. After the bishop confirmed that the core of the magical array within the altar had been completely destroyed by Ikaros, the threat was entirely neutralized.

Although the mission was over, caution dictated that the group conduct a thorough search of the area to ensure the cultists hadn't left behind any hidden dangers. Stone also dispatched a Pegasus Knight to deliver news of their success to the temple, sparing them from a sleepless night... which would surely have been bad for their health.

Though the battle had ended, for Alex, it wasn't quite the conclusion.

"Sigh..."

He watched the bodies disappear into the roaring flames and shook his head. Truth be told, Alex didn't enjoy fighting alongside others. Whether in the world of Diablo or the world of Edge of Tomorrow, he had always preferred working alone or with only his summoned companions.

The reason for that was simple...

"Sir Alex?"

Hearing the voice of the young priestess beside him, Alex turned his head to look at her, then sighed softly.

"I'm sorry for putting you in danger."

"It's nothing."

Despite Alex's apology, the priestess shook her head. She looked rather ragged at the moment—her priestess robe was torn and tattered, her head wrapped in bandages, and her face smeared with blood. She was clearly exhausted, but she remained standing there resolutely.

"Don't you want to go rest for a while?"

"I'll rest in a bit, but you, Sir Alex... you seem troubled."

"Not in the best mood, no."

As Alex spoke, he turned his gaze back to the campfire in front of him.

"To be honest, I don't really like this feeling."

"This feeling...?"

Fina asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Yes."

Alex nodded at her question.

"Take that big guy for example, you know? I had a bit of a conflict with him before. He thought I wasn't fit to be their leader, so I beat him up a little. Then we drank together, and after that, he accepted me."

"Did that really happen?"

Fina's eyes widened in surprise.

"How come I didn't see it?"

"Oh, that's because I just expected it to happen that way."

"Uh..."

Fina was at a loss for words.

"Kidding."

Alex smiled faintly at Fina's puzzled expression, but the smile quickly faded.

"But honestly, it doesn't feel good at all."

Alex was speaking his true thoughts. He had been born in a peaceful world, where his daily challenges involved overwhelming work, endless meetings, and late nights of overtime. Sometimes people would quit, new people would join, and some might even get fired. But none of these things would threaten someone's life. Alex had made many decisions in his life, but none of those choices had ever led to someone's death.

However, here, things were different. Every decision he made could risk lives and send people to their deaths.

Of course, the mercenaries who had fought alongside Alex were strangers, and much of what Alex felt was just him overthinking. But Fina was different. She had followed Alex to the Dark Swamp, and although they hadn't fought side by side during the battle, she had still been a great help to him. If it weren't for her providing buffs to the mercenaries, they wouldn't have lasted as long as they did.

And yet, even this young girl had nearly died.

While the deaths of the mercenaries stirred some feelings in Alex, Fina's near-death experience genuinely scared him. This wasn't a game where NPCs could respawn after they died. Alex had been so focused on his mission and dealing with the damn Six-Armed Snake Demon that it wasn't until things had calmed down that he felt a chilling fear—what if he had finished everything only to hear news of Fina's death? He knew that would have haunted him.

After all, he didn't have to bring Fina along on this dangerous adventure. This mission had been his responsibility, yet he had dragged an innocent person into it. As someone from the modern world, Alex was used to a "live and let live" mindset. He wouldn't cause trouble for others, and he didn't expect others to cause trouble for him. If someone needed help, he would lend a hand, but in dangerous situations, he would prioritize his own safety first. Never before had he made a decision that sent someone else to their death... and in his world, no one would have followed his orders to die anyway.

After all, Alex wasn't a soldier.

Not only that...

Alex stretched out his hand, opening up the system interface in front of him, his eyes scanning the information displayed.

[Main World Quest: Gates of Hell – Completed. The time ratio between the main world and the instance world will be adjusted to 1:10.]

On the surface, this mission seemed to be completed just as it should have been, with everything playing out like it did in the instance. But Alex couldn't shake a strange feeling.

He still vividly remembered the resonance of the law when he first entered the temple in Star Moon City and the system's message at that time.

[Detected Order Parallel Port]

[Port Activation in Progress]

As the designer and creator of the Map of Myriad Worlds, Alex knew exactly what those messages meant. But since the Map of Myriad Worlds had remained silent afterward, he hadn't thought much of it. However, this time, the system suddenly issued a main world quest, which made Alex recall that initial event.

He had a strong suspicion that this mission had been a transaction between the system and this world. He had helped stop the reopening of the Gates of Hell, and in return, the Map of Myriad Worlds was allowed to adjust the world's flow of time.

It was similar to how a base game and a DLC worked. If the Map of Myriad Worlds was the base game, then this world was the DLC. Only by connecting to this world's map could Alex accept and complete the DLC's exclusive quests.

But this raised a new question.

Who was the "NPC" that issued this quest?

Thinking along these lines, Alex glanced down at the badge on his chest.

He was starting to have an idea.

(End of chapter)

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