Chapter 22: Into the Lair
"So, that what he's aiming for!"
Although the voice felt reluctant for Kim to enter the lair, he still rooting for Kim in his heart. Before, he absolutely rejected the idea since Kim would be killed in the process. Now, the voice truly believed that Kim would have a slight chance of surviving.
"There's no choice anyway... But still..."
The hesitation in the voice's heart, part of it is the concern for Kim but most of it due to the fact that their connection will be severe during the period Kim is inside the lair. From outside, the lair, might seems to be a big cave, but when someone actually entered they would know it is actually a different world. A whole world created by the monster in the lair acting as the owner. External force won't be able to interrupt anything within the lair. Not even a heavenly monster.
"I'll be lonely for a while then..." Seemingly, tears stream down from the voice eyes.
Kim unhesitantly runs through the lair passage towards the wooden door from his memories. The path is clearly printed in his mind, enable him to rush through without the slightest pause. As he gets closer and closer towards the wooden door, the undead monsters are hot on pursuit behind his tail. Finally, he caught the sight of the wooden door from a distance. During that moment he could feel a slight deathly aura emanating out that made him feel nausea.
"Last time, it took me a single touch to feel that aura, now I'm a distance away. Did it got stronger?"
When Kim was here, he couldn't do anything but to lay down on the floor unable to resist the deathly aura that was emanating from the door. The intense pressure has increased from before, but he was also getting powerful. Even if he would die, it would be better than not trying! He already put this as his better choice to survive.
Kim employed 100% of his mana to protect Momo from getting a slight touch of the deathly aurae, causing him to sweat profusely and trembled wildly. The immense pressure shockingly increased several times with every step he took. He's now enduring everything purely with his body flesh as he focused all of his mana to protect Momo.
He didn't stop rushing through the pressure causing hundred of cuts appearing on his body. His robe is in tattered, his hair is messy, blood is dripping everywhere. As Kim reached a distance of ten steps away from the door, the pressure that draws out from the door is immeasurable. As if telling, he's not qualified to enter! Currently, three being is watching him, the voice, the manipulator of the undead monsters, and the monster in the lair. All three are anticipating what will happen to Kim.
The voice didn't say anything. He wanted to make sure Kim could give full concentration to enter the door. With bloodshot eyes, Kim finally decided to move one step. Suddenly, he felt like a giant waterfall crushing him down. He felt like his body is shredded to pieces. This was not only the death aura but also mana pressure! A voice suddenly forced into his mind.
"Show me what you capable of, boy!" It was a charming and soothing voice which sounded like a female. However, it still capable of showing a domineering aura that caused Kim's heart to thump violently.
"What do you think you are doing to my apprentice!" Suddenly a more terrifying and domineering voice rang inside Kim's mind.
"What?! Who are you? How could a being as powerful as you related to this boy?! Are you the one controlling the undead? No... you are much more powerful than that" The female voice suddenly felt alarmed. Kim's master let out a cold snort causing the female voice to tremble.
"If you don't let the boy get inside, then not only you, I will uproot the whole lair from the earth and make it is ceased to exist in the heaven! Got it?"
The female voice hesitated for a moment until she reached a conclusion. The voice she heard must be bluffing! If it could crush the whole lair then why didn't it do anything to save the boy? But it doesn't seem to be lying. She still felt that it was powerful enough to kill her.
"Then how about this, if the boy managed to get inside, I will help the girl while he's here"
"Hmmph! You really seeking death!"
"Shut up! I'm trying to focus here. I'm still alive and you already think I will fail?! I will show you. I don't need any help!" Kim moved more steps and now half a distance away from his ten steps position.
By this time, the manipulator felt something was really odd. Sensing a bad premonition, it made a slight incantation with its right skeletal hand. Suddenly, the undead monsters in the forefront went wild and started to run madly into the lair.
The monster inside the lair sensed this and her eyes shone with brilliant light!
"Get out!"
The undead monsters who were running madly inside crumbled to dust and the surrounding monsters outside were pushed hundred of metres away.
That small moment has given an opening for Kim as he sensed the pressure around him becoming weaker. He gritted his teeth and push himself forward. This time, more bone-cracking sounds could be heard. Blood oozed out from his body, but he didn't hesitate to force his way through. Kim roared, forcing all his muscle to bulge, making him seems bigger. He crashed through the door and broke it!
"T-this, this boy! How could he?! My door!" Her eyes went wide seeing the unsightly manners of Kim entering her lair.
Bwahaha! Go, kid! Show her! Make your master proud"
Finally, Kim is inside the lair. His surrounding is dark and empty. As if there was nothing there, to begin with. He felt like he was cheated and couldn't think anymore. He tucked Momo inside his embrace then passes out due to exhaustion.
From outside, a shield covering the whole entrance, showing that someone is challenging the lair. The manipulator gave a deep glare and finally decided to wait cross-legged in the mid-air. The undead monsters all tumbled down to the ground becoming a lifeless corpse once more. It still sensing that something is wrong, but couldn't really sort out the puzzle pieces. Instead, it decided to wait for Kim to come outside. Some dishes are worth to wait for!
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"I shall protect the world!"
A sudden ringing sound slowly becoming louder and louder causing dizziness in Kim's mind. When he opened his eyes, what was once a dark empty area became a blinding white light that illuminated the whole room that strikes like a needle into his eyes. He blinked and the white light starting to fade showing a vague image behind. The ringing sound also started to disperse slowly.
He blinked again and saw various being floating around within the night sky. Now, he could hear a faint sound of his surrounding. But he still couldn't grasp clearly what is happening around him. As the dizziness receded, his vision becoming clearer. What was thought as the night sky is actually the starry sky, and Kim is floating in the middle of it!
BOOM! A sudden loud explosion could be heard splashing about almost everywhere making it seems like to be a battlefield. As he observed more, a sphere-like object with several rings around it suddenly split to half crumbled down into bits that scattered everywhere.
Within that crumbling sphere a huge winged monster as large as the sphere emerging out! Its body covered with thick black scales which engraved with several unknown symbols in a violet glow which seems to be ancient. It seems to emanate powerful dense mana. A single glance from that symbol alone could cause an ordinary person to die from being terrified. Even Kim was struggling to stand on his ground. Somehow, the monstrous mana he felt from the being seems familiar.
He observed nearby surrounding and saw more sphere-like objects which seem to move around in a system. Far away, he could see glittering small orbs of lights that seem to be the starry sky. He turned around and saw a shining yellowish-red body that emitted an intense heat which solved his suspicion of the place he's in.
"This... is space?! And that's the Sun?!"
He looked down below and directly underneath him is the Earth!
"That means... no... that was Saturn?!"
The magnificent giant planet was destroyed to pieces. More shockingly, a being that emerged from it seems to be unfazed. As if, this was its everyday life.
Suddenly, six of similar winged-monsters surrounded the giant black scale monster. Each has the size that is comparable to each other, which is as huge as the black scale monster.
The one with crimson red scale took the lead and started to talk "You have become weak! That's why you should listen to us! We are your faithful subordinates! We are willing to follow you to the end! Don't blame us for acting against you. It's for the greater good for all of us!!!"
"Faithful your grandpa! Are you sure you do this for the greater good of all or for the benefit of you alone!" Both of the crimson-red monster and the black-violet monster are gleaming to each other with killing intent.
"You have been standing on top too long. There's no chance in heaven you will be able to fight us Die!"
The crimson-red scale suddenly burns with an intense flame. The heat emanating from its body was so terrifying that standing in front of the sun is more comfortable! With bloodshot eyes, it opened its mouth and breath out flames that could swallow a planet as a whole towards the black-scale monster.
The ancient symbol covering the black-scale monster glow intensely and then the monster unleashed a domineering roar that caused a tremor that shook the whole solar system!
Feeling threatened, all six of them retreated back. The flame breath just now was simply extinguished purely by the pressure, which is mana pressure. Kim can't hold himself from kneeling down from the pressure as blood ooze out from the orifices of his face.
"This aura, this pressure... it's too similar..." Kim thought in his mind.
"Don't fall back. Attack!"
Another one from the group of six rushed forward. It has elegant green-jade scales which emitted the aura of life. Then floating rocks started to encircle him. As he flew higher and higher more and more rocks circled around him, including asteroids! The jade monster is like a shiny pearl within the deep sea underneath all that rocks. It let out a roar, and all the circling rocks merged together into a giant mountain that makes the sun only a small golf ball when compared. The mountain then descended toward the black-scale monster making it look like a meteor that could crush the whole galaxy!
The black-scale monster only looked closely at the descending with no change in expression. It opened its mouth and again an intense violet glow shot out from the symbols causing mana to be concentrated it its mouth.
"Mana burst!"
A powerful-dense violet coloured mana shot out in straight line piercing through the meteor. But it didn't stop from just hitting the meteor. The mana continues forward into the endless space almost hitting the jade-scale monster. It almost looked like a bluish-purple laser beam. The mana then grew wider and wider until the point it enveloped the whole meteor!
When it ended, the jade-scale monster is now full of injuries as blood coming out from all over its body. Even some of its scales were broken. The meteor has been reduced to rubbles. A shock could be seen in its face as if it couldn't believe it's still alive!
Kim who was watching the entire scene couldn't believe his eyes, blinking them more than hundred of times. He knew that the world of mana is huge. Kim always heard the self-glorified story of the voice. Of course, until now he won't believe that a mana-user could be that powerful. Now that he saw everything that is happening, he thinks that nothing is impossible with mana. Each one of those flying-monsters is tremendously frightening. But the powerful attack from the black-scale monster has been deeply printed as a significant image within his heart.
"What monster is that? Until now, it didn't even take a single step backwards!"