Chapter 67
A few days had passed since the battle with Zherthlsh, and people questioned what had happened and found nothing. The revelation about the demonic cult was taken seriously by the government and the Fraternity. They warned everyone about the demonic cult and their method of recruiting people into the cult.
Mykel was a bit surprised that Zherthlsh hadn’t shown herself ever since the battle, but he was glad that she didn’t show up.
“We are good to go, boss,” Gunnar said with the others standing behind him in front of the tavern’s door.
Mykel put out his cigarette and stood up. “Alright, let’s clear the twentieth floor,” he said as he turned around and walked toward them.
Mykel and the others looked at the Azazel tower that was damaged from his battle. So many people were gathering around the tower to look at the damages as if they were a tourist attraction or something. Without wasting any time, they entered the tower and tried to clear the first ten floors as fast as they could.
“That boss looks like a gorilla, don’t you guys think?” Rozan asked as he stared at the dead body of Drazgikath.
“That’s Gunnar if he’s a demon,” Lillith said as she approached the portal and kicked Gunnar’s butt since he was blocking her path.
“Eleventh floor, huh? I wonder what it looks like,” Agnez said as she stared at the portal in front of her.
“We can go, right, boss?” Gunnar asked as he rubbed his butt.
“Yes,” Mykel answered after Edith couldn’t find the secret room.
All of them entered the portal and they were surprised that it wasn’t as they expected. All they could see were long big stairs in between walls, it looked almost similar to the endless hallway when they entered the portal.
Mykel was at the front with Edith and Gunnar, they couldn’t see the end of the stairs even though they had been walking up for half an hour.
“This isn’t the eleventh floor, isn’t it? This is just a resting area or something,” Rozan asked as he looked up the stairs.
“It seems like it,” Jeanne answered.
Gunnar pointed at the door up ahead of them. “I see the door!”
All of them started to walk faster since they were curious about the eleventh floor and then stood in front of it. Mykel opened the door and everyone was mind blown because they never thought to see themselves in a different world.
“This isn’t real, right? There’s no way we can clear this floor if there’s a whole kingdom in front of us!” Rozan said as he looked at the old and looked abandoned kingdom far in the distance.
[You have proven yourself in the trial, you have been chosen to save the worlds that the Demon King, Azazel has conquered]
[The first world, Helmga]
[Free Helmga from the Second Demon Lord Tuzgolth’s army!]
“What’s the meaning of this?! So all the things we fought in the first ten floors were just a test?” Gunnar asked as he looked at the notification.
Mykel made it that way because it was the only way to help new awakeners to gain levels and the only place they could get everything they needed. The real battle against demons started on the eleventh floor and above.
Not like the previous ten floors, once Awakeners saved the world, it stayed as it was, but that didn’t mean the breakout wouldn’t happen in that world. As long as they kept clearing the next floor, the breakout only happened to the latest floor they cleared like a real war.
The only tower that didn’t look like the rest was the Lucifer tower because the Awakeners invaded his world, not the world he conquered. That was why the demon lord dropped the [Followers Amulet] so the Awakeners could challenge the next demon lord.
“I see, so we are sent to the worlds that Azazel conquered. Does that mean we will be moving from one world to another?” Agnez asked as she looked at Mykel who was staring in the distance.
“Why don’t we find it out?” Mykel replied as he looked at Agnez. “Let’s move because this is going to take a while,” he said as he started walking forward.
They followed the road and everything looked so dead, the tree, the dried land, and abandoned farmhouses in the distance. They were all still in shock until they heard growls from in front of them.
“Keep your eyes and ears sharp, we don’t know how strong these demons are if the demons we fought from the past ten floors are just a trial,” Agnez said with her hand ready on the sword handle.
A giant demon with its whole body covered with hair walked across the road as it dragged a human dead body. They were looking at it and they could tell the giant feet that the demon had. The demon suddenly stopped moving and slowly turned its head, it saw them and immediately growled and charged at them with its gigantic mouth and fangs that could stretch like a snake.
Gunnar charged at the demon and bashed it with his shield. He was a bit surprised that the demon wasn’t even that strong and he knew he could kill it himself.
Gunnar swung his ax and cut off the demon’s head like butter. “Fucking demon!” he said as he looked at the head rolled down from its body.
Gerrard suddenly pointed his bow to his right and saw a shirtless skinny kid standing behind the dead tree with his whole body trembling. He put down his bow and whistled quietly to inform the others what he saw.
“Is that a real kid, or a demon? I can’t tell,” Rozan asked quietly to Jeanne.
Jeanne sheathed her sword and slowly and carefully approached the kid. “Hey,” she said as she waved her hand at the kid with a gentle smile on her face.
“Where’s my brother?” The kid asked with his voice trembling.
“Your brother?” Jeanne asked back and then looked at the dead body that the demon dragged. “Is that your brother?” she asked again as she pointed at the dead body on the road.
The kid staggered to walk because the look on his skinny body that enough to tell that he hadn’t eaten anything for a week or so. Lillith stared at the kid’s memories and it was quite sad to watch, but she didn’t feel any empathy or sympathy toward him.
“Brother…” The kid said as his eyes started to water. “Brother!” the kid yelled at his brother and started to run but fell down immediately.
Edith approached the kid and grabbed a sandwich from the bag, she then showed it to him. The kid looked at it and smelt it, he looked surprised and grabbed it from her hand and then ate it like a pig.
The kid ate as he cried and looked at his brother’s dead body. They were wondering if the kid was feeling happy or sad if they were in his shoes.
“What’s your name?” Edith asked with a worried expression.
“Alphid,” the kid answered as he sniffled and looked at Edith.
“What happened to your world, Alphid?” Edith asked as she stroked his hair gently.
“The demons, they came here and took everything,” Alphid answered as he rubbed his eyes.
Jeanne sat next to Alphid. “Are you alone?” she asked.
“No, there are a few of us hiding behind that hill,” Alphid answered as he pointed at the hill on the right side of the road.
Jeanne looked at Mykel and he just nodded in agreement. “Can you bring us there, Alphid? We are here to save your world,” Jeanne said with a smile on her face.
“Are you really going to save us?” Alphid asked while tearing his eyes, Jeanne nodded while keep smiling at him. “But, my brother…” Alphid continued as he looked at his brother’s dead body.
Gunnar looked at the dead body and put it on his shoulder. “I will bring your brother back,” he said with a serious expression.
Alphid stood up while Edith used her handkerchief to wipe the tears and snot under his nose. “Follow me, I will bring you to our chief,” he said.
All of them followed Alphid to the hill which was quite far away from the road. They looked at him and thought, he was following that demon all the way there because he wanted to save his brother. Edith couldn’t help but carry Alphid in her arms because his feet were covered with wounds.
“Our village is right behind this hill,” Alphid said as he pointed at the hill.
Gerrard walked past Edith and climbed the hill first, he looked at what was on the other side of the hill. He turned around and looked a bit sad so the others decided to follow him up the hill to see what he saw.
“We were too late,” Jeanne said as she saw so many dead bodies on the ground around the village.