Foreseeing such a retaliatory move, Karna clenched his teeth in grim determination. Helplessly, he was forcefully propelled towards the left side, crashing into the unforgiving ash-colored stone wall.
Agonizing pain surged through his body, contorting his back as he recoiled upon impact, ultimately succumbing to the overwhelming force.
Collapsing onto the ground, he lay there, writhing in discomfort and battling to regain his composure amidst the throbbing ache.
"Aish... Exercise caution, leader. Don't go killing him just yet," the slender demon remarked, a disingenuous smile stretching across his face.
Sensing Divox's piercing gaze, the thin-looking demon swiftly restrained himself, sealing his lips shut after taunting Karna's agony.
"Human, don't test my patience; I have already warned you that if you tried anything stupid, I myself would give you a horrifyingly painful death."
Karna, hearing the dreadful words of Divox, shuddered. but still slowly raised his body from the ground and spoke.
"Believe me, I am not lying to you." "The narrow ledge leads to a waterfall, and behind the waterfall is a cave that leads to a tunnel that would allow you to reach the other side of the mountain."
Divox, hearing his words, arched his eyebrows. He gazed towards the narrow ledge, then again towards Karna.
"Hmm…" He looked to be in deep thought.
The thin looking demon, seeing this, spoke hurriedly. "Leader, are you seriously considering this human's words."
"Hmm... we have already come this far up the mountain." "We can't descend downward at this time of night. The ground will be crawling with monsters who are proficient in hunting in the dark."
"So…."
"So, we are going."
"This-this leader, he wants us to walk on that narrow ledge, clearly knowing that our weight will make it crumble, resulting in all of us falling."
"Hmm... I know that's why you're the one who's going to follow him to the waterfall."
"???"
Upon hearing Divox's remarks, the thin-looking demon froze. He cast a wide-eyed glance towards Divox.
'So that's what they were planning' Karna thought to himself, as he observed everything from the sidelines.
"Haa, it's evident that I can't, and someone needs to go with this human to stop him from fleeing, someone who's not fat and a demon," the demon said.
"But I…"
"You are going." Saying those words, Divox turned his gaze again towards Karna and spoke. "And if you don't find the passage, you can rip this human apart into pieces, just leaving his head attached so I can see his dying expression that would be filled with fear, pain, and regret."
Karna frowned upon hearing this.
The thin-looking demon's mood became a little better after hearing Divox' words.
He nodded his head, licked his lips, and then spoke with an excited voice. "Let's go, Human." "Hehe"
Karna, ignoring the demon's mocking look, started to slowly walk on the narrow ledge, with the demon following him closely.
Walking on the narrow ledge, Karna was trying his best to keep his mind as calm as possible to prepare for what was about to happen next.
After walking for some time, they soon heard the sound of a waterfall. But they didn't pick up their speed, still walking cautiously.
They soon had a clear view of the waterfall.
Karna gasped at the beauty of the waterfall, which was being illuminated in the dim blue light of night. It was spurting over the rock, spilling eel-like over the sides.
Its clamorous passage at the foot of the mountain threw up bubbles.
Looking downward, Karna could see that there was a whooshing vortex at the bottom. It was caused by the plummeting funnel of water that spiralled from above.
"Keep moving, human!" the demon behind him shouted.
Hearing the grumpiness in his voice, Karna could only sigh in his head and think, "This bastard really wants to rip me into pieces."
As they slowly kept moving on, they were soon able to reach the upper area of the waterfall.
And just as Karna had said, hidden behind the veil of the waterfall was a cave.
As not much light was able to pass through the waterfall, only the area where we stood was visible; the deeper side of the cave was completely shrouded in darkness.
Karna exhaled a sigh of relief when he saw the cave. He had his doubts about the system, but most of them had been cleared by now. He could trust some of its features. 'Now…'
He looked at the cave and then towards the thin-looking demon, whose eyes were set on the cave. Karna's face looked calm, but his heart was beating wildly right now; this was the only opportunity that he had to escape out of this situation.
With his gaze fixed on the cascading waterfall, Karna found himself standing at the precipice of a decision. His heart yearned to take the daring leap, plunging into the unknown, while his rational mind urged caution and patience.
Right now, the thin-looking demon's eyes might be fixed on the cave, it's other sense were definitely locked on him and Karna understood that his slightest movement would not go unnoticed.
To catch the demon off guard, he needed to bide his time, waiting for the opportune moment to escape.
Karna realized that any attempt to retreat from the menacing demon would result in immediate capture.
"Hmm, thinking about escaping by jumping into the water, are you, human?" The demon's voice reverberated through the cave, unsettling Karna.
Karna's expression hardened upon hearing the demon's words. The once-thin demon now emanated an intimidating presence, and his voice had transformed into something hoarse and sinister.
Despite the confusion and fear that gripped him externally, Karna remained surprisingly calm within. He anticipated that this moment would come, bracing himself for whatever lay ahead.
'Here it comes.'
If Karna had not gotten the chance to see this demon's stats window, he would have been truly terrified.
It turned out that both demons had been playing him from the beginning.
Karna, looking toward the demon in front of him, asked the system to show his stats window one more time.
-----------------------------------
Name: Turukhan
Age/Sex: 67/Male
Level: 15
Race: Lower-level demon
Bloodline: Low-ranking demon
HP: 3500
Physical stats:
Strength: 44
Agility: 39
Vitality: 41
Sense: 37
Intelligence: 25
----------------------------------
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Turukhan."
"Muahahahaha."
"Muahahahaha." The sinister laughter of Turukhan echoed throughout the cavern, resonating with a maniacal fervour.
'Yes, this f*cking demon was actually Turukhan.'
Unbeknownst to Karna, both Divox and Turukhan had orchestrated a deceptive charade, portraying Turukhan as a loyal follower of Divox.
The moment Karna had first glimpsed Turukhan's stats window, an overwhelming surge of astonishment threatened to escape him, yet he managed to suppress his reaction.
Now, faced with the revelation of Turukhan's true identity, Karna couldn't help but acknowledge the gravity of the situation. Had he been unaware of the ruse, he would have undoubtedly been utterly shocked, potentially squandering his opportunity to escape from their clutches.
The intensity of the moment heightened as Karna recognized the critical importance of maintaining his composure and seizing the fleeting chance to flee from the clutches of this treacherous duo.
Karna tried to put on his best shocked expression and spoke in a trembling voice. "No, no, that can't be." "Why would you...?"
"-act like a weak little follower." Before I could even complete my sentence, Turukhan spoke. "Well, you see, it's been a really long time since I've had a taste of a human or even seen one."
"The only place we get to see humans is at the damn fortress in the Fallen Titan Valley, which is too far from here.
So when I first saw you, I thought, Why not play with you a little before killing you? I know it's a bad habit to play with your food. But hey, it is my way of preparing a good dish."
"Hmm, but I have to thank you, human; now, with this tunnel, we would be able to enjoy the delicious food called humans on a daily basis."
With casual nonchalance, Turukhan began to approach Karna, closing the gap between them to a mere 5 to 6 feet.
A sly grin played on Turukhan's face as he taunted, "Hehe, go ahead, human. You can try jumping. Let's find out who's faster, shall we?"
However, his amusement quickly turned to curiosity as he noticed the fear in Karna's eyes, directed elsewhere.
Momentarily intrigued, Turukhan considered turning around to see what had caught Karna's attention.
But instead, a sadistic smile spread across his face, and he spoke, relishing in the anticipation of what was to come.
"You really think that I..." Turukhan was about to mock Karna's petty scheme, but he suddenly stopped speaking.