Vlad, Jormungandr, Freya, and Grey Hawk wore solemn expressions as they climbed toward the mountain peak, finally rising above the clouds that had obscured their view. They had left a path of blood in their wake, killing thousands of creatures and entities corrupted by demonic energy, and now it was time to face the core of it all.
Their eyes were sharp, their focus at its peak, as they finally emerged past the clouds and saw the zenith of the mountain. It was strikingly illuminated by a lightning bolt that split the dark, ominous clouds covering the sky.
The landscape of the mountain’s zenith was rugged and jagged, with steep slopes and sharp peaks, making it hard to climb. However, this was merely a minor inconvenience for the four of them.
What truly shocked them was a red substance imbued with an eerie glow, resembling molten lava, flowing down from the peak of Nagan Mountain. It was scorching hot, incinerating all the snow in its path. As it cooled, it fused with the snow, creating the mutated coagulated blood snow from which the Snow Blood Golems were born.
Vlad’s eyes immediately focused on the molten red substance, commanding the A.I. Chip to conduct a thorough analysis.
It didn’t take long for the robotic voice of the ever-faithful A.I. Chip to echo inside Vlad’s mind.
Classification: Molten Demonblood Essence.
Substance Analysis: Molten Demonblood Essence is a potent substance formed from the fusion of high-tier demonic blood, demonic corpses, and lightning. This molten red liquid contains the chaotic and destructive properties of its components, making it a highly dangerous and powerful material.
Warning! Prolonged and direct contact with the substance can lead to rapid corruption of organic matter, inducing necrosis and tumors in weaker life forms and transforming living tissue into demonic forms in those with the ability to endure its destructive might!]
"So this is the substance that had corrupted all of Nagan Mountain!" Vlad’s eyes were cold as he stared at the Molten Demonblood Essence running down the mountain. His focus immediately shifted to the peak from which this corrupting substance was flowing.
"Be ready for whatever might come next. Do not let your guard down," Vlad’s voice was sharp and serious as he instructed the group. They all nodded before moving, crossing the last few hundred meters to reach the mountain’s peak.
The group did not immediately rise to the peak, as they were very careful to survey the area, watching it from a crevice.
As soon as the eyes of the Depravitas and Viking gazed upon the peak of Nagan Mountain, pure and utter shock appeared in their eyes as they witnessed a scene seemingly taken from a nightmarish realm.
What appeared in their sight was a massive grotesque demon with a corpulent, humanoid form more than forty meters tall! It was beyond massive and seemed to be emerging from the mountain rock!
Its aura immediately marked it as an Abyssal, the ruling demon kind of Abyss like Arasbus. As an Abyssal, the path of the demon allowed for constant evolution and adaptation of its form, and it was clear this one had chosen the path of size and vitality, resulting in such a grotesque and gargantuan body.
Vlad could not help but clench his fists as he saw that demonic body. For a size so great, that Abyssal could not be anything beneath a High Champion, maybe even above level 14!
Abyssals carried the potential and bloodline that could match the Guardian Tier. Fighting one of them with all their unique abilities right now was not different than suicide, even with the strength of his group.
Even Freya, whose mind and soul seemed born for the battlefield and who feared no challenge, held her breath from the moment she saw the massive figure of the Abyssal. She was brave, but that did not mean she was stupid, and she could see that battling a creature like that would be almost the same as suicide.
However, the group was soon able to relax as they noted the state of the Abyssal. Half of its body was out of the rock, and the other half seemed to have fused with it. And that was not all—the demon was dead!
Vlad’s eyes narrowed as he understood that, and he could not help but grow confused as he did not understand what was happening. How could a High Champion Abyssal demon seemingly have fused with the rocks of Nagan Mountain and perished?
Just as Vlad was trying to figure out the answer, lightning arcs fell from the sky, crashing into the dead Abyssal, scorching the rocks around its figure, and causing a dark red substance to flow from its corpse.
As he saw powerful lightning strike the High Champion Abyssal, a flash of enlightenment appeared in Vlad’s eyes as the gears of his mind began to form a hypothesis, soon completing it. ’That demon was trying to get into Terra, but its massive size made it harder to cross, and before he could make it through, lightning arcs began to fall from the sky!’
Thanks to his Second Past Life Memories, Vlad had a deep understanding of supernatural phenomena. The confidence in his answer grew even higher as he saw the thousands of scorched demonic corpses littering the rest of the mountain peak.
It became clear now that a powerful demonic horde had attempted to pass through a portal in Nagan Mountain but met their end due to the powerful lightning storm that must have been enhanced by the sudden rise in energy in the atmosphere during the apocalypse.
That High Champion Abyssal should have also attempted to pass into Terra along with the demonic horde, possibly being the last to march through the portal. The one that sent him must have been very powerful to create a portal capable of enduring someone above Level 11, but luck was not on its side, and the portal ended up in a place of immense natural disaster.