Chapter 561: Absurdity (2)
The devout, expectant voices of countless descendants echoed throughout the cavern, reverberating with an inexpressible sorrow.
Levi and Fatir couldn’t help but exchange a quiet glance, seeing the shock and silence in each other’s eyes. They shared a single thought. ‘If these Divine Servants showed up in Debei, they’d all be branded as Cultists and slaughtered without a second thought.’
Even the young children became frenzied fanatics after singing the song.
Their minds had been so thoroughly poisoned that not even a Great Purification Technique cast by a Legendary Powerhouse would work. This was not because their thoughts had been altered by Magic, but because they were the product of long-term, insidious brainwashing.
This was truly a warped world!
“Lord Iron Crown! There’s a situation!” a Blood-colored Warrior shouted in terror, running out from the depths of the castle.
Everyone stopped singing and turned in unison to look at the burly warrior.
As one of the five Holy Seats of the Night Wanderers, ruler of the Boundary Land, and City Lord of the Dungeon, Galrogg’s pious prayers had been interrupted. He turned his heavy, oppressive gaze on the warrior.
“Lord Galrogg, the Divine Abomination is heading for the Dungeon!” the Blood Warrior shouted, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“What? How could the Divine Abomination have found the Dungeon?”
“It’s over! We’re doomed!”
“Oh, merciful Divine Lord, please protect your poor, helpless children.”
His words were like a tidal wave on a calm sea, a thunderclap in the quiet night sky, sending shockwaves through the crowd.
At the same time, strong tremors and the sound of impacts grew more frequent. A dull thudding echoed from above the cavern, as if some behemoth were pounding the ground overhead.
Levi and Fatir saw some of the Divine Servants beginning to panic, shoving their way toward the exits to escape.
No one was a fool. If the Divine Abomination truly arrived, the massive crowd gathered here would bear the brunt of the attack.
“I have a bad feeling about this. Hold on tight so we don’t get separated,” Levi said to Fatir, clasping her slender hand.
“Quiet!”
Galrogg roared.
The Blood-colored Warriors surged into the crowd, doing their utmost to maintain order and prevent further chaos.
“The Divine Abomination is indeed powerful and terrifying, but we are not without a way to fight it.” Galrogg adjusted the Iron Crown on his head and proudly announced news that made everyone ecstatic. “I’ve received word from the Holy Seats in the other regions! The Son of Hope has been born in the Sin Tower! We just need to get to the Central Area, and the Son of Hope will deal with these monsters!”
“We have lain low for far too long. Now is the time for our counterattack.”
“Thousands of years of darkness will end with us as its witness!”
“No wonder the service started so early! It’s because the Son of Hope has been born!” Kemisi couldn’t help but shed tears of joy.
All the Divine Servants began to cheer, as if they had witnessed the descent of a True God.
“When each of us is born, we have a dream. In a pitch-black dreamscape, a luminous figure appears to drive away the darkness. We revere that person as the Son of Hope, the Apostle of the Divine Lord.” Kemisi seized the chance to explain to Levi, stressing at the end, “Every single one of us!”
‘If only one person had such a dream, it would be dismissed as a daydream. If it were ten, you could say they were simply indulging in wishful thinking, dreaming at night of what they obsessed over by day.’
‘But when that number rises to over thirty percent of an entire population, it’s undoubtedly seen as a divine omen.’
‘Let alone a staggering one hundred percent. No wonder these Divine Servants were so fanatical and devout toward this so-called Son of Hope.’
‘And now, their dream had actually come true.’
BOOM! BOOM!
A violent crash made everyone instinctively look toward the sound.
Rocks and dirt began to crumble from the distant stone ceiling, as if a giant rod had punched a hole through it. A blazing beam of light instantly shot down.
A colossal hand, as large as a giant elephant, followed right after, reaching inside. Its golden armor was so bright it seemed it would blind every Divine Servant.
“It’s a Divine Abomination!”
Someone shrieked in terror.
The sound was as grating as a knife scraping across glass right next to a Lord’s ear.
‘The star of the show is about to make its entrance,’ Levi thought, taking a deep breath.
The Divine Abomination that Kemisi had hyped up as being so powerful was finally about to reveal itself, and Levi found it hard to conceal a flicker of excitement.
After all, according to all speculation, this thing was supposed to be the strongest combat power in this world.
“People of the Divine Servant Race, do not panic! Follow the passages we prepared long ago to the Central Area! The Son of Hope will save you!” Galrogg bellowed, his powerful voice reaching every ear.
The restless crowd began to calm down and, led by the Blood Warriors, started moving toward the center of the Dungeon.
But then someone realized something and couldn’t help but ask, “Lord Iron Crown, what about you?”
“Me?” Galrogg smiled, tossing the Iron Crown from his head onto the ground. He drew a Longsword from the sheath of a nearby Blood-colored Warrior. “I’m staying behind to buy you all enough time.”
“Go, children! Don’t look back! Head for the Central Area! That is the land of hope!”
The Night Wanderers couldn’t help but shed tears. Even the Divine Servants from the Wriggly Zone, who had grown numb from their life of hardship, could not bear to watch, and could only pray silently in their hearts.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
CRACKLE! The dome split open, and a towering Golden Armor Warrior crashed down through the opening, revealing its form. It was a creature dozens of meters tall, completely encased in Iron Armor. The golden plating was stained a dark red and bore the scars of countless swords and blades. It looked ancient and weathered, like a warrior from a primeval age.
From within its Face-covering Helmet, a gaze as black as the Abyss stared out. With a single swing of its sword, it cleaved away half of the ceiling.
This was the last sight Levi and Fatir saw before they followed the crowd and ducked into a passageway.
The passage wasn’t cramped; it was actually wider than they had expected. The group walked with their heads down, and no one spoke.
Time seemed to lose all meaning in there, each heartbeat stretching for what felt like an entire year. Levi only knew that by the time Little Buji, who was tucked into his clothes, had spat out a handful of melon seed shells, the dim passage had gradually begun to brighten. A gate of light appeared at the far end of their vision. When they stepped through, sunlight, a gentle breeze, and the scent of grass washed over them, greeting everyone’s face without distinction.
“Lord Levi, will you be coming with us to the Central Area?” Kemisi asked, holding his little sister’s hand.
Although the Nanny Milans had described him as a Human Abomination, a creature like a Demon, after their short time together, Kemisi felt he wasn’t as vicious as the rumors claimed.
“Together,” Levi nodded.
As things had developed, he felt an ever-growing sense of absurdity. He wanted to go to the Central Area and see for himself just what this Son of Hope was all about.
There were countless people. As far as the eye could see, a river of Divine Servants in tattered clothes, looking like refugees, marched north. Levi and Fatir blended into the crowd; in their ragged, hooded robes, they were indistinguishable from the Divine Servants around them.
The Central Area was to the north, only about a ten-day journey from the Boundary Land. They could make it in good time, provided the Divine Abomination didn’t catch up.
Fatir’s physical stamina was only marginally better than an ordinary person’s. She had never traveled long distances on foot before, and now she didn’t have her Left and Right Guardians to ride. After only a few miles, she accidentally stepped on a round, mossy stone, and with a cry of “Aiya!” she stumbled and fell into a patch of grass, apparently having twisted her ankle.
“Levi…” Fatir’s fine brows furrowed slightly. Even though her ankle was throbbing with pain, her expression remained calm.
“Here, I’ll carry you.” Levi shook his head and held out his hands to Fatir.
Like a little vixen, Fatir scrambled into the Lord’s arms in the blink of an eye. Though her face remained expressionless, anyone could see her inner glee.