Portal of Destruction

The Southern Sky of Farnodt.

Cien floated above the clouds, gliding steadily northward. He estimated that within two or three hours, he would arrive at Marina.

Unfortunately, his mana was dwindling, and the mana within his cloak was depleting. He needed to stop and allow his cloak to rest, enabling it to replenish its mana.

Gradually, Cien began to decrease his altitude. As he passed through the layer of clouds beneath him, he spotted a few wandering demons.

Activating his [Stealth] skill, Cien moved discreetly, evading their notice.

From his current position, Cien was confident he had reached the outskirts of Farnodt's capital city, Lumiere.

Consequently, he decided to land on the city wall, searching for a quiet corner where he could observe the situation within the city.

At least, that was his intention. However, as he turned his gaze toward center of Lumiere, Cien was taken aback.

In the heart of the city, there stood a swirling pillar of light, resembling a tornado. It's dark purple shade sent shivers down Cien's spine.

"What the hell is that?"

Never read let alone seen an incident like that in front of him. But Cien knows that this is not a good sign.

This intuition was rooted in his experiences as a reader and watcher of fantasy, horror, and alien movies in his past life.

"They're not opening a portal for an alien, right? No, no way… I hope not. After all, this isn't a movie."

Cien was getting a bad feeling. Cien flew to the city wall, looking for a quiet place then landed.

"Uncle, arrived?"

"Not yet. The Mana in Mana Core has run out."

"Oh."

Cien looked around. The city was very dark and creepy. The sky of Lumiere was so dark due to the thick, dark clouds.

A purple light in the middle of the city, and faint laughter of demons made the city feel like a ghost town.

...well, literally that might be true. Because there were only demons in this city.

'No, are there really no survivors in this city?'

Cien thought, feeling puzzled.

Demons indeed liked to slaughter their enemies. However, usually, in a war, demons also liked to keep some humans as playthings. At least, that's what was written in the book he had read.

'Not just from the book. In Blackwinter, although not many, there were a few who lived as slaves. Although the majority of them now were mentally ill. Oh! But there should also be those like Balmut and the others. Hiding in secret places.'

Unfortunately, even if there were survivors, Cien didn't intend to help them. He stopped by just to replenish the mana in his cloak, not to perform any action in Lumiere.

However, more than helping the surviving residents here, Cien was more interested in the purple light in the center of the city.

While waiting, Cien decided to investigate that place. He at least wanted to know what Abyss was planning this time.

With that in mind, Cien jumped from the wall and slowed his fall using the cloak, which he slightly transformed into wings.

He successfully landed on a rooftop. Cien carefully made his way towards the source of the purple light.

Cien could see hundreds of demons patrolling the city streets. It seemed that they were still searching for the hiding residents.

It turns out Cien's suspicion was correct – there were still people surviving in such a dangerous situation.

Cien continued to approach, making sure not to be detected at all. As he got closer, he reached for his bow as a precaution in case enemies appeared.

When he was about dozens of meters away, Cien crouched on top of a tall building. There was a demon guarding up there, but Cien swiftly killed it without making a sound.

Then, he hid beside the water tower on the rooftop, observing the spot where the light was rising into the sky.

Unexpectedly, it turned out that the source of the light was the Royal Palace.

But why did the light look like a tornado? It was because there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of human souls swirling around the purple light.

'Could this... have something to do with the Death Element? No, perhaps more accurately, the God of Death?'

Cien thought as he looked at the multitude of spirits circling the purple light.

He tried to take a picture of the scene in front of him with his phone, hoping to gather some information. However, the photo turned out to be just an ordinary picture without any detailed information.

Perhaps because the event wasn't an object or subject.

"Hela, did you see this?"

...

...

...

There was no answer.

"Damn."

Cien cursed himself for not being able to hear the eerie roar of the dragon when he needed it.

He let out a long sigh, giving up on unraveling the details of the strange and spooky event.

Cien decided to leave, continuing his journey northward. He once again leaped across various rooftops, heading north discreetly.

As Cien passed through an area near the Royal Palace, his keen ears picked up faint cries for help and the sounds of human weeping.

Not just one voice, but many! Possibly hundreds, even thousands.

Cien halted his steps and looked towards the Royal Palace.

"[Stealth]."

Cien reluctantly activated his cloak's skill again, even though he has to conserve mana within it. Yet, he couldn't shake off the unsettling feeling in his heart. The collective wailing of thousands of people seemed to momentarily stop his heart.

Cien didn't yet have the intention of helping them. However, his instinct told him that he needed to investigate the Royal Palace.

Quickly, Cien sneaked into the palace courtyard. He silently killed a few demon guards wandering around the palace walls and discreetly disposed of their bodies by throwing them into the pond in the backyard.

As Cien began to navigate through the palace grounds, he arrived outside of the grand front courtyard of the palace.

It was so vast that it might be equivalent to a football field. Truly unique to have such a spacious courtyard.

But that had to be pushed aside from his mind, for the sight in front of him left him speechless.

There were hundreds of demons surrounding the courtyard, overseeing thousands of humans gathered in the center. The humans were crucified and arranged tightly together.

The majority of them were still alive, crying and screaming endlessly. Meanwhile, some were dead, evident from their desiccated bodies, devoid of flesh, reduced to mere skeletons.

The thing that bothered him the most was that the spirits of those who were still alive seemed to be attracted by the purple light that shot up into the sky. The light and the crucified humans seemed to attract each other.

And that's not all, in front of the guarding demons around the courtyard, upon closer inspection, Cien noticed another row of demons seated cross-legged, encircling the humans in the courtyard.

Faintly, he could hear a chanting or incantation-like recitation from this line of demons.

'Is this a ritual?'

Just looking at it was enough to make Cien want to get out of the situation in front of him. It was too dangerous and horrifying.

Cien regretted coming closer. He decided to leave and stay away from that absurd place.

But seconds later, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly shook. The roar of a monster suddenly sounded, making Cien's body tremble in fear.

Cien huddled in the corner of the yard bushes. Incomparable trembling. It wasn't just him, even Lilinette felt the same way. The girl was on the verge of tears.

'What is this?!'

Cien screamed in his mind, and then a small answer to his question revealed itself.

From the end of the purple light in the sky, suddenly a rather large portal formed.

From this portal, a hand of a monstrous creature emerged. The portal was so massive that it probably occupied half of the palace courtyard, yet only the hand could fit through.

Hand or foot, Cien wasn't quite sure. But what was certain was that the hand had large, sharp claws that reached out to the swirling vortex of spirits around the light.

In some inexplicable way, the vortex was caught by the hand and drawn into the portal along with the thousands of souls within it.

The horrifying sound of the monster then echoed once again. A thunderous roar that sent shivers down the spine. After that, the portal expanded slightly by a few meters.

ROARRR!

A thunderous roar shook the palace surroundings, causing cracks in various walls and leaving Cien paralyzed and cold with sweat.

Deep down, he knew that the entity behind the portal was likely something he couldn't possibly fight against. An absolute being.

As the minor earthquake subsided, the portal disappeared.

The purple light still shone brightly, now beginning to draw the human souls back into the front courtyard of the palace.

Cien attempted to calm himself. His heart continued to beat irregularly. He also heard sobbing from within the coffin.

He soothed Lilinette inside, afraid that her crying might be heard by the enemy.

"Goddamnit! What the hell was that?! I must be insane to come here!"

After witnessing the event, Cien's mind started to churn. He concluded that what he saw ahead was indeed a ritual.

A ritual to offer human souls to the entity behind the portal.

The problem was, for what purpose?

Based on the events, where the portal had been expanding, Cien could imagine that the demons' goal was to make the portal as large as possible. Maybe to allow the terrifying entity to emerge in this world.

'Ugh! Isn't that the end of Kastia? Who could possibly stand against that absurd monster?!'

Every time Cien left Death Valley, he felt like he stumbled upon some horrifying information. Whether it was Abyss, Divinia, or even that absurd portal!

"Maybe I'm cursed…"

Cien muttered, his legs still trembling and unable to move to flee.

<You are indeed cursed.>

"…cursed by you. Now you decide to talk, huh."

<Cien... stop the ritual over there.>

"…your humor isn't appreciated, Hela. I'll surely die if I do that."

<Kastia will gone if you don't stop it.>

"…"

<The figure that emerged from the portal earlier, I believe that was the Demon God. If the ritual continues and the Demon God descends, it will be the end of the world.>

"Oh, God. More information I didn't want to know..."