150. Ifrit
Belkoseu led us to what once was Zekill"s land, a look of confidence filling his face.
If the demonic realm was to be categorized in the four cardinal directions, then our base camp was located in the north, in the heart of what was once Berdan"s territory.
Zekill"s land was located in the opposite direction, which was in the south.
Unlike Earth, the demonic realm wasn"t a spherical planet.
It was a flat dimension.
This meant that you could not return to the same spot by constantly moving in a single direction.
You could say that it was as if a world map was laid flat on the ground.
Of course, the scale was far beyond comparison.
To travel from north to south, a ma.s.sive amount of distance needed to be covered.
It was obvious, since the demonic realm was beyond comparison in terms of size compared to Earth.
I was thankful of how fast Belkoseu moved.
Despite not having a ma.s.sive amount of magical energy, he was able to move at speeds similar to me.
I suspected that it was one of his Authorities.
Just like that, he ran for two days before reaching down in the southern area.
Other than time spent to eat and sleep, all of the time was used to move.
This territory had now become that of Ladin"s.
However, since Ladin was with the Demon King in the Demon King"s castle, which was located in the central area of the demonic realm, he probably couldn"t help but take poor care of this area.
Unlike the other areas, this place was still.
This area should"ve been filled with bustling monsters, but there were only a few moving about.
It was probably because Ladin, who had received in territory at the decree of the Demon King, had drained this area of its magical energy.
I was thinking this was a good place to create a Gate, but I didn"t get to continue that thought for long.
Belkoseu took in a deep breath before looking at a single direction.
He then pointed at that spot while speaking.
“There.”
“It was quite a distance to travel. Are we here now?”
“There. At the ends of the demonic realm, there lies what you seek.”
“We"ve been traveling to the point of exhaustion to get this far, but we need to go further?”
“Kuhuut. You won"t be disappointed, so trust me and follow.”
“Hm…… If this results in disappointment, then you can consider this alliance over. We"ve invested a great amount for a couple hours of hunting.”
“Are you speaking about how the Demon King is chasing after us?”
“Of course. It won"t take long before the Demon King will find us again, and we"ll have to retreat back to base camp…….”
Agitated was the Demon King, to the point where we could not let down our guard for even a moment.
Monsters did not have the need for food or sleep like humans did.
Since they did not eat or sleep, I knew that it wouldn"t take long for them to catch up to us.
But thanks to what Belkoseu said in the following moments, I felt somewhat less worried than before.
“Do not worry. This area is forbidden to entry, even amongst us demons.”
“…….”
“One of the guardian G.o.ds of the demonic realm, Ifrit, sleeps here. Despite how fast the Demon King catches on, it"ll be days after we are done here that he will notice.”
“Keruru. Ifrit? I have never even heard of them before.”
“It"ll be only for a short while, but you"ll be able to see them with your own eyes. Their magnificent existence that is.”
“It seems the monsters serve this being with utmost care, so I a.s.sume that they"re also very strong? Can I even take them down?”
“For someone who took down two of the demonic tribe leaders, your words are quite humble.”
“…..”
“If what I saw in you is correct, you have enough power to take down Ifrit. However, it will be a difficult fight.”
“There"s no business before a beatdown. Jong Ho-hyung, stand behind me and just pour down magic on them. I"ll block their attacks.”
“Don"t worry about that.”
“Kuhut. Sadly, that won"t be happening.”
“Why is that?”
“The moment that Ifrit"s existence materializes, only the one who awakened them can see their form. From then on, a battle that only they could partake in will begin. The dimension or spatial area won"t change though……. You"ll soon understand what I mean, so don"t be hasty.”
“Touch the whiskers of a sleeping lion? I guess that"s something I"ll have to take care of.”
“Kuhut. So it seems.”
“Whew…. So I"ll have to remain a spectator again? Sorry Min-Cheol. Seems you"ll have to struggle for our sake again.”
“I was hoping for this. After all, I don"t know how strong they are.”
Jong Ho"s face was colored in disappointment.
With suspicion filling his expression, he stared at Belkoseu and asked.
“Hey, Belkoseu. Are you sure that Min-Cheol has a chance to win?”
“Human, have you forgotten? Without him, I cannot gain the power I desire.”
“……”
“Wait, Belkoseu.”
“Hm?”
“If I heard correctly…… You said that this is one of the guardian G.o.ds? Then other than Ifrit here….”
“Kuhat. Did I say that? It is as you think, human.”
“You"re quite good at tying up loose ends, aren"t you? I like it.”
“This won"t be an easy opponent. However, the rewards will be grand. As I have told you, they have survived in the demonic realm for this long. I shall stop the small talk here. Then…..”
“He speaks only his mind, with no time for replies. Well, let us go as well.”
“Kerut!”
It didn"t take long before we arrived at the edge of the demonic realm"s southern area.
The demonic realm we have seen so far was covered in purple light.
However, the edge of the realm was covered in pitch black darkness.
Almost as if telling us that it was the edge of the world, we could clearly tell where the realm ended.
The two different colors clearly showed the separation between the two zones.
However, no matter where I looked, I could not see Ifrit.
I had definitely followed Belkoseu"s guidance.
Not only that, but he had a mysterious smile on his face.
I quickly asked him.
“Just where is this Ifrit?”
“Seems you"re in quite a hurry. Here. This is the way to the Masin Castle where Ifrit resides.”
“There isn"t anywhere we can go further, so what are you talking about?”
“Kuhuut.”
At my question, instead of answering with words, he showed me with his actions.
Without any hesitation, he tossed his body off the edge of the demonic realm.
It was a sight that made me wonder if I would fall down straight into the depths of h.e.l.l if I followed suit.
And it wasn"t just me that felt this way.
Jong Ho and Karin both could not hide their shock, merely looking at me for an explanation.
“Just because he has an immortal body, he"s being reckless. Karin.”
“Kerut?”
“Is it okay for me to follow him?”
“Keruu….. I am not sure either. I have never encountered such an event.”
“Min-Cheol, are you sure this is okay? Common sense is telling me that all this was just him committing self destruction, you know?”
“…….”
With one hand, I casted Explosion.
A ball of black intense heat and flame floated above my hand.
The next thing I did was to cast it at the direction that Belkoseu tossed his body towards.
After all, it was dangerous to just blindly trust the words of a monster.
The intense ball of flame flew at great speed, hitting something and causing a ma.s.sive explosion.
The flames brightened the area, showing a path that I couldn"t see before due to the darkness covering it.
The Explosion"s bright light also revealed Belkoseu"s form to us.
He was looking at us with a bemused smile.
With this, I knew that it was safe to proceed.
“It seems it"s okay. There"s a path below here.”
“Is that so? Then…..”
“Let"s go. Karin , hold onto me.”
“Kerut! Understood.”
“Oho. I thought you"d find an excuse to avoid this, but I"m surprised.”
“We"re family! We go together!”
“That"s right. Let us go, hyung-nim.”
“Whew….. Let"s go. The worst that can happen is death, right?”
“We won"t die, silly.”
“Every day, I thought out my will and erased it from my mind dozens of times. I"m fortunate that I haven"t broken down mentally at this point.”
“Pfft. Stay strong. It"ll be over soon.”
“I"ll believe in you. Let"s go!”
“Yes!”
“It is here.”
“Keh… Kehruruk!”
Inside the darkness, where not a single ray of light was to be found, I focused an electric spell that glowed brightly in my hand.
It acted as a torchlight.
After lighting up the darkness around me, I could finally see the structures around me.
Almost as if it was a different dimension from the demonic realm, I could see a path that was dosed in golden light.
At the end of the path, there was something huge there.
It must be the so called Ifrit.
My astonishment at the scene didn"t last long, and Belkoseu spoke once more.
“That"s it. The Demon G.o.d Ifrit.”
“What is that…. Fungi? Ashes? I see a dark shadowy form, but I"m not too sure. I guess it"s hard to put into words?”
“I think you could call it smoke and it wouldn"t be wrong? It seems like smoke is rising from its main form as well……”
“Keruut. I do not even sense magical energy from it. I don"t think its existence is a part of this world. Kehruk!”
“What are you doing? Are you just going to observe it?”
“I guess you"re not as calm and collected as I thought you were. So I have to wake it from its slumber?”
“That"s right. It"ll be enough letting out your killing intent and approaching it to have it awaken.”
“Then everyone else, don"t come any closer and wait here.”
“Be careful, Min-Cheol.”
“Keruut…… I"ve got a bad feeling about this….. Min-Cheol, be careful.”
“Kuhut. You all worry for nothing. The difference in strength is so minuscule that it is almost impossible to see, but this human will win. However, even the smallest mistake will decide the outcome between victory and defeat.”
“Why don"t you just narrate this whole thing? Let"s go. When I give the signal, please come and help me pick up the loot.”
As I walked closer to Ifrit, I could hear the sound of something burning away into a crisp.
It sounded as if straw or dry firewood was being burnt.
I could finally see its form clearly.
Black smoke.
There was no other way to explain it.
Explained in terms of a human anatomy, a fiery core similar to a heart continued to burn at the center of its body, and the smoke from the flame seemed to make up its body.
I could clearly see its form, yet it did not have a solid form.
As Belkoseu said before, it seemed to move after sensing my killing intent I was giving off.
In an instant, countless eyes formed on its smoky form.
Making quite the disturbing racket, all eyes busily searched around the area.
However it didn"t take long before all of them locked on to me.
Its appearance definitely fit the t.i.tle of a monster.
Only in one"s imagination could anyone think of something with such an appearance.
Turning into a perfectly spherical form, its floating giant body filled my sight.
It seemed that it was at least 10m wide.
Looking at Ifrit"s unblinking eyes, I spoke.
“Did you sleep well?”
“……”
“If you"re going to complain about being woken up, I"ll listen.”
“…….”
“You can whine and throw a fit, but…….”
“…….”
“You"ll have to give me everything you have. Everything that you"ve gathered over those countless years that is.”