The Record of Unusual Creatures

Ten thousand years ago in ancient times, even the most heritage-obsessed races that had well-preserved literature and history had difficulty remembering the most ancient history, let alone that it was something indescribable and as abstract as a natural phenomenon. Vogus could only piece together the images of Shade of Chaos and Solar Roulette, which were shrouded in mystery, based on the ambiguous words of his ancestors.

“Our ancestors found the Solar Roulette from an ancient lava crater 6,000 to 7,000 years ago,” Vogus said, telling everything he knew to Hao Ren. “It was said that the roulette was buried thousands of meters underground by the plutonic rocks when the magma cooled. Despite the depth, light still emanated from the depths of the earth at each full moon night, illuminating the entire sky. My ancestors sound the roulette by tracing this light. The roulette is deadly mesmerizing. So in the first few hundred years, people had always regarded it as a divine artifact that brought infinite energy, but over time, the roulette began to show its terrible nature.

“Something called the Shade of Chaos came out of the roulette. It wasn’t many at first, and it was easy to deal with, but soon they became more powerful and drastically increased in number as if it were endless of them leaking out from the Solar Roulette.

“The Shade of Chaos had caused an enormous problem. My ancestors tried to destroy the Solar Roulette to annihilate it from the root. It turned out that the roulette was indestructible, not even the fusion explosion could leave a dent on the surface of the Solar Roulette. Then they tried to re-bury it into the crater, but the shadows had found a way to escape as rock and soil couldn’t contain them underground.

“There was no more information about what happened after that, but you should have already known the story: under the threat of the Shade of Chaos, a few of the strongest families had joined the effort and found the oldest and most powerful Blood Clan in the world, the Countess Vivian Ancestor. It wasn’t known how they did it, but these ancients had successfully reversed the process of the Solar Roulette and captured the shadows in the artifact of disaster.”

When Vogus finished, Hao Ren asked, “I have a question: Was there an innate hostility between the various races before the appearance the Shade of Chaos?”

“There was.” The one spoken was not Vogus but Hasse. “I’m sure that the innate hostility has existed since the beginning, at least 10,000 ago and it has been recorded in history,” Hasse said.

Vogus knew what was in Hao Ren’s mind. “The Shade of Chaos and the Solar Roulette did not appear until the innate hostility had been around for thousands of years, but it was only discovered as it was buried underground from the beginning. No one knows when it first appeared,” he said.

“Where is that thing now?” Y’zaks asked.

“In the deeper part of this dimension. We have built another layer of dimension in here and used a massive shadowy maze called the Calamity Cloister to seal the Solar Roulette. It has been there for thousands of years,” Vogus said.

Lily could not help but become curious at this time. “Since you lot have known that the thing is so dangerous, why are you still guarding it? Those not in the know are thinking that it a treasure but in fact, it is a source of calamity,” she said.

Vogus laughed; at least this expression was very close to the human smile. “Because we were the one dug it out of the ground, so the Ancattero family voluntarily bore the responsibility of guarding it, even if it would bring death to the whole family one day. We take responsibility for what we have done.”

“Where is the entrance to the maze?” Vivian asked quietly. “We are going in.”

“I could gain access to the maze with my family emblem; the entrance is a portal,” Vogus said. He took a deep breath and got to his feet slowly. “But you have to think carefully. That place is the lair of the Shades of Chaos. It is a hundred times more dangerous inside than the outside. After the seal was broken, the monitoring equipment in the Calamity Cloister has been offline. We couldn’t receive any signal from there. Once you enter, you are on your own and can only return to the outside world through the altar where the Solar Roulette is located,” Vogus warned.

“Isn’t it bad enough now?” Vivian smiled. “Give it to me. Though my strength has declined, I have accumulated a lot of experience in dealing with ‘difficulties.'”

While saying, Vivian glanced at Hao Ren; what she was saying was that, while following Hao Ren around, she had learned a lot in dealing with all kinds of difficult situations. Hasse and White Flame, however, thought that Hao Ren was the trouble in the eyes of the Countess and so their imagination ran wild.

Vogus did not delve into this. He silently took out a pale-gold device that looked like a pocket watch. It was the key to unlock the door to the Calamity Cloister. Before activating the door, he reminded Vivian, “The fewer people go in, the better.”

Vivian’s brows knit together. “Why?” she asked.

“Those who are mentally weak could fall under the influence of the Shades of Chaos and Solar Roulette and become killer machines. The number is useless. It is best to let the strongest go in, so there is room for maneuver even if things go wrong. Who are you going to send?” Vogus asked.

Vivian looked at Hao Ren. “What do you think?”

Hao Ren already had the most suitable men for the task in mind. “Y’zaks, Hasse; you two go with Vivian and me. Any problem? I think we’re the most suitable ones.”

He did not choose them randomly. Among the four, Vivian, who had a connection with the Solar Roulette, must be in the team. Y’zaks and Hasse were the strongest and vital battle force.

As for himself, Hao Ren felt that though his combat strength was not as high as Y’zaks’, he knew he had the greatest backup force—the divinity of Raven 12345. This divinity would guarantee him free from the attack of the devils. Since the Solar Roulette was such an evil thing, then his position as the ‘Pope’ should be the Shades of Chaos’ natural enemy.

Of course, Y’zaks and Vivian had no object to the arrangement. Hasse accepted the job after some mental wrestling. The other demon hunters, however, seemed to have differing views, but since their leader had agreed, they remained silent.

Lily grabbed Hao Ren’s sleeve and shook it. Hao Ren looked at the husky, feeling her concern for himself. But He knew that Lily was not suitable for the task. “Stay back here. You don’t want to mess with those things,” he said.

Wagging her tail, Lily said, “No, I just want to remind you to take some photos back so that I could know how it looks like at the inside.”

Hao Ren’s face was like “Really?”

He should have known that he should not waste his feelings with this dumbo.

Vivian ignored the husky maiden. She nodded to Vogus. “Open the door,” she said.

After everyone took a step back, Vogus placed the pocket watch-like device on the ground. It came open with a tingling sound.

The device split into four parts and slowly floated into the air. Light beams connected the pocket-watch pieces, and they expanded into a rectangle like a picture frame. As the four pieces were finally in their positions, the space within the structure changed with ripples gradually filling the space and eventually forming into a door.

Hao Ren could see through the door, which had dark and long passage filled with thick fog behind it. The passage was made of materials different from that of the gold buildings of the Ancattero family. They were dark like obsidian.

“Once go beyond the door, you all will be completely isolated from the outside world,” Vogus reminded for the last time. “To prevent more Shades of Chaos from escaping, I will close the door behind you. When you reach the Solar Roulette, I will be able to receive your coordinate signals again. And if you still can’t solve the problem there—”

“I got it.” Hasse interrupted Vogus. “If we fail, Andaherr and Hesperides will have to call for more capable reinforcements. Before that, you should never open the door.”

“How are we going to find the location of the Solar Roulette?” Vivian asked.

“The shadowy maze is only effective in keeping the Shades of Chaos in, but it does not affect people with normal mental conditions. You won’t see any other ways except a winding passageway. You need to follow the passageway,” Vogus explained.

Vivian sighed. “Understood.”

“I wish you lot all the best,” Vogus said, motioning them to proceed.

Hao Ren propped up his Steel Membrane Shield and took the lead to step into the portal.

As soon as he entered, he immediately felt the existence of the source of the calamity!