Chapter 90

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 90: If Being Destroyed

It had only been a minute since the Prideful Sun Rod was activated.

A minute ago, the Angry Demon had the upper hand, tearing the Book of Dungeons, on the verge of taking over the Dungeon Core; a minute later, most of its body parts were scattered in the Magic Pool in bits and pieces. The situation between the Abyss visitor and the host of the dungeon shifted once again, and the silver sword fell like a storm, shredding the great demon’s body into minuscule pieces in the whirlwind of blades.

Limbs, long horns, skull, spine, torso.

The massive skull flew high, then crashed heavily into the Magic Pool, causing splashes. The remaining torso stood firm as Tasha kept swinging her sword. She remained calm and focused, calculating the angle of her strikes and the weight distribution of the demon’s body parts. The demon’s body was dismembered precisely and fell into the Magic Pool, creating a gruesome and surreal scene.

Only when the last pieces of the demon’s limbs fell into the Magic Pool did Tasha finally collapse to the ground, breathing rapidly.

Dismembering a great demon was no easy task.

The extremely tough body itself served as excellent armor. The Angry Demon, specialized in close combat, had evolved into a Demon Lord, with a body comparable to a dragon’s. Without the Saro God’s technique breaking through its defense, and the continuous blessing from the silver sword, and facing the Angry Demon’s clones, the hard battle couldn’t have ended in just a minute, despite all the calculations made.

In fact, the battle was far from over.

The magical liquid in the Magic Pool surrounded the flesh of the Angry Demon, whose clones were still alive, resembling cut-up earthworms. The black blood spread in the deep blue Magic Pool, contaminating it like ink in crystal clear water. The body parts wriggled, the Angry Demon’s head with wide eyes trying to regroup its flesh and blood. Bubbling sounds grew louder, turning the once clear Magic Pool chaotic, as each fragment about to unite was smashed by the waves.

The liquid magic was churning, creating waves without wind, boiling without heat. Everything in the Magic Pool was part of the dungeon, and the dungeon’s will boiled within the pool. Each droplet was a combat unit, infiltrating the demon’s body to separate every drop of blood, every piece of flesh, seeping into every muscle fiber and bone. The Dungeon Core shone brightly, illuminating the battle between the inhuman entities inside the Magic Pool.

Ragehorn Simon was roaring.

Its face was split in half, its throat torn into countless pieces, and the howl came from its soul. When the Angry Demon’s body was immobile, its soul was raging uncontrollably, constantly attacking the Dungeon Core without ceasing since their first contact.

It had been a minute since the Prideful Sun Rod was activated, a minute since the Angry Demon Lord’s doppelganger touched the Dungeon Core, with a few more minutes until the entire dungeon changed ownership. Only by using the Core as bait could the great demon be trapped halfway, immobilized, and at the same time, the dungeon’s fate would fall into Simon’s hands. The Dungeon Core was exposed, defenseless. If Pope Saro Samuel and Tasha couldn’t defeat the Demon Lord’s doppelganger before the dungeon changed ownership, things would become quite troublesome.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. In the end, they emerged victorious.

The boiling Magic Pool was gradually calming down, successfully subduing the Angry Demon’s final retaliation. Its body, like a shark out of water for too long, was slowly losing its vitality. Impurities within the pool began to precipitate and separate, each time the pool churned, it became clearer, as if unseen piranhas were feasting on the debris: much like how the dungeon’s stomach was decomposing the demon’s remains.

Unfortunately, this substance was far from appetizing, every bit of power exuded a deep abyssal aura.

The demon soul deeply entrenched in the core began to withdraw.

The soul of the great demon could exist independently, but without a body to cling to, it couldn’t stay on the Primary Material Plane for long. Simon’s doppelganger acted as a nail, allowing the demon soul, rejected by the planes, to temporarily stay. Now, with the nail removed, its soul was about to plummet back into the abyss, whether it willed it or not.

Ragehorn Simon was absolutely unwilling, every corner of its soul filled with rage, ready to burst at the slightest touch, its heat feeling like it could ignite spontaneously. Towards the end, the contamination of the Dungeon Core had ceased, and Simon’s soul was just madly attacking, devoid of all plans and logic, its will was simply pure anger. Until the moment it was expelled from the Primary Material Plane, this furious soul continued to hurl the vilest curses at Tasha.

Tasha believed that curses without real power were utterly meaningless.

The Angry Demon turned into unconscious flesh, Simon’s soul was successfully sent back to the Abyss, the first crack in the Abyss Passage had closed, and no other monsters could come for now. Finally, Tasha could free up her hands to do other things.

An invisible hand started to move, collecting torn pages that had fallen elsewhere and swiftly bringing them to the core room of the dungeon. The same force pushed aside the broken pillars on the Book of Dungeons, sending the book to the front of the Magic Pool.

The broken Book of Dungeons, along with all its pages, was thrown into the Magic Pool.

The now calmed Magic Pool began to boil again, the body parts of the big demon were broken down into a dark liquid, rushing towards Victor in the center. It looked as if a purifier had been thrown into the pool, quickly absorbing all the darkness. The Book of Dungeons extended each torn page, with murky droplets seeping into the pages.

In the minutes before the arrival of the Abyss visitor, Tasha and Victor made many arrangements.

They planned this dangerous scheme and naturally considered the problems they might encounter. Victor and Tasha were both bait this time, the former big demon had told Tasha in advance about what to do after the Book of Dungeons was torn.

The Book of Dungeons was the vessel of Victor’s soul, the book itself was powerless but had a strength greater than that of the Angry Demon: resilience. The book had no flesh and bones, could withstand more damage, and as long as it was not completely destroyed, it had the possibility of survival and even recovery.

"Can the torn pages be stuck back together?" Tasha asked in amazement at the time.

"Not if they’ve been digested," Victor replied, still seemingly fixated on the idea of Tasha "consuming" those pages. "But those were given to you by me. If I’m not willing, being digested is not something that can be done quickly. As long as it’s not completely swallowed, even torn pages can recover, just need…"

Only need enough materials.

The Book of Dungeons is not an ordinary book. The things needed to repair it are not glue, paste, or staples. In the Primary Material Plane, materials suitable for repairing Victor could not be found. But the demon who caused the damage also brought the most suitable raw materials.

By digesting and dispersing the carrier of the great demon, it can be restored to pure power, which can repair the carrier of another great demon.

The remaining body of Ragehorn Simon is decomposing at a visible speed, transforming into that black power. The murky energy is integrated together, all flowing towards Victor in the Magic Pool. The abyssal power that Tasha did not want to absorb found an outlet, accelerating the transformation.

The torn pages trembled in the flowing water, paper scraps searching for their lost parts, sticking together with the torn edges. In Tasha’s dungeon, everything is under control, so not a single piece of paper was missed. They were all sent into the Magic Pool, repairing every scar on the pages. The pitted and torn wounds were repaired and smoothed one by one, the yellow eyes on the spine of the book squinting contentedly. The Power of the Abyss, which made Tasha uncomfortable, was a great tonic for Victor.

Tasha only breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed when she saw this working.

The end.

The dragon-winged figure walked to the corner of the room and helped Pope Saro up from the ground. Samuel’s face remained pale, his eyes shining brightly from witnessing the downfall of the great demon, like a wizard who had stayed up all night drinking too much Karlo drink.

"Thank you for your help. It was a lot of hard work," Tasha said.

"Please don’t say that, I am honored to help in any way I can." Samuel smiled and then asked worriedly, "Have we completely banished that demon?"

"For now," Tasha admitted.

For now only. The first crack caused by the connection of the passage could only send one soul, the scouting demon was sent away, and for the time being the abyss would not send any other guests. However, as long as the passage remained, the threat of the abyss would still exist.

How exactly did Aryan’s ancestors banish the abyss?

It seems like no one knows anymore.

"How much time do the creatures on the surface have?" Saro’s Saint Child frowned.

"Somewhere between five to six years at most, three to four years at least," Tasha replied. "The exact time will need to be determined by the wizards."

"Within ten years, right…" Samuel nodded, his gaze drifting far away, with a bitter smile, "Everyone thought there was more time."

"It’s not the end of the world," Tasha understood his meaning and responded firmly, "We will definitely have more time after dealing with the abyss."

Saro’s Saint Child smiled.

"Yes," said Samuel, "The creatures on the ground have fought against the abyss for thousands of years, and once drove the abyss away from Aryan. We can certainly do it for the second time. Things are always like this, just as the sun rises after every night, timeless for millennia."

He paused for a moment and then said, "I was a bit excited to see the demon and finally see Saro’s divine spell at work… Ah, I hope Saro forgives my untimely excitement."

Over the years, Samuel has matured and become more stable. His gestures and actions now have the appearance of a pope. Only when he smiles somewhat embarrassedly can a hint of his past immaturity be seen. However, in the past, he would have felt guilty for being pleased by the appearance of the demon, causing much self-blame from this morally tidy Saro follower. Now Samuel has made peace with himself. Uncontrollable thoughts in his mind do not need to be blamed, as he knows what he will do and will not be confused about the way forward.

The resolute Pope caught his breath, stood upright, bid farewell to Tasha, and left the Dungeon Core.

After he left, Tasha walked towards the Magic Pool. The condition of the Book of Dungeons had improved much compared to before, and the repair speed was beginning to slow down. She leaned over the edge of the pool and asked, "Are you okay?"

The eyes on the book opened slightly and glanced at her. Victor spoke, "Finally thinking of me?"

"You seem to enjoy yourself, so I won’t disturb you for now," said Tasha.

"Saro’s people look half-dead and lifeless, and yet you disturbed him," Victor said sarcastically.

A sour smell hit Tasha’s nose, almost making her laugh. She put her hand into the Magic Pool, and the pages of the book slid smoothly along the water flow, not allowing her to touch them.

"Say thank you to him too. He didn’t want to sign the contract but still helped with spreading the message. Why won’t you say thank you to him as well?" Victor was upset, "Why don’t you thank me?"

"Thank you," Tasha said with a smile.

"Is this how you’re sending me off?" Victor asked.

"It’s polite to say thank you early and bid farewell quickly. Do you want him to stay here longer?" Tasha said, "We should be polite to outsiders, take it slow with family. We should be close enough by now to not need to write thank you notes, right?"

Victor stayed silent for a few seconds and when he spoke again, he sounded a bit confused and surprised, "Wait, am I your family? Since when?"

"I was just giving an example."

"…"

The Book of Dungeons flipped a page with a growl, turning its back to Tasha and fell silent. Tasha patiently tried to calm it down for a while. This time Victor had truly worked hard and recently suffered a setback, making Tasha wonder if he had temporarily lost some of his wit. She didn’t have the heart to punish a hero who was currently unwell.

When Victor finally settled down, Tasha asked again, "So how are you feeling now?"

"Okay," Victor lazily replied, feeling as comfortable as soaking in a hot bath after running a marathon, not wanting to talk.

The book pages no longer evaded her touch, as Tasha’s hand in the pool brushed against a book. Running her fingertips over the cover of the Book of Dungeons, the previously scratched surface became smooth again. As her thumb stroked the book, Victor made a series of muffled mutterings, sounding like complaints yet with a completely different tone.

These few syllables sounded somewhat like a cat being petted under the chin until it went limp, with a hint of… oddness.

"Why did you choose to make a book as your vessel?" Tasha inquired.

"It was mostly accidental," Victor replied. "I remember I quite liked humanoid vessels."

"Can I make one for you?" Tasha suddenly had a fancy idea. "Since reshaping a book is possible, why not create another body, and place your soul into it?"

"Insufficient materials," Victor stated.

"Would a few pages of a large demon’s body be enough?" Tasha recalled the size of Ragehorn Simon, calculating that even accounting for losses, it should be feasible to create a book along with an average human form.

"What does adding a few pages of book mean? This is the Book of Dungeons, my vessel!" Victor immediately became unhappy. "I was once a great demon. In the past, I was much stronger than Simon. Can his poorly made clone even compare to me?"

"Hmm, no," said Tasha.

"Exactly, this kind of material is not worthy of me!" Victor proudly stated. "I am only using this to repair my vessel because I couldn’t find better materials."

"Okay, okay, using it as it is," said Tasha, realizing that Victor might have lost some intelligence, feeling deeply sympathetic.

Thank goodness, Victor hasn’t lost his wits entirely and still remembers the main point. After boasting proudly, he explains why he can’t create a new body.

"The soul of a great demon can temporarily come to the surface through a vessel, just like Simon. It resides in the clone passing through the cracks." Victor said, "But these hastily made temporary vessels not only don’t last long, they can’t contain the entire soul of a great demon. Simon’s main soul is still in the abyss, only a small part is attached to the clone. In the past, most great demons used this method to come to the Primary Material Plane, so even if killed on earth, they won’t truly die, only return to the abyss to recuperate."

Tasha nodded.

"I’m different, I… I think I’m already dead," Victor said.

"What do you remember?" asked Tasha.

"I couldn’t remember anything, but Simon said my body was in the abyss." Victor shook his head irritably, "At least in the abyss, I am dead, with no backup left there. The me on the surface is the original."

It’s like, after the main server is destroyed, the backup hard drive becomes the main body.

"To host the core of a great demon, you would need more ‘materials’, at least something similar to the body of a great demon. So, it’s not likely for now." Victor said, "Cherish the present, because if I die, it’s all gone."

"In those places you don’t remember, aren’t there various tricks left?" Tasha comforted, "Who knows, a new backup might suddenly appear one day."

"Something feels different." Victor murmured, "Right now, without a hub in the abyss, if this part of me is destroyed, the other parts won’t remember you… No, they won’t have known you. I don’t want that."

This time, Tasha fell into silence.

Though it was plain to the point of being childish lines, she was somewhat moved by it, which made Tasha feel a bit awkward. On the other hand, Tasha found it quite ominous. In times of unrest, it’s better not to speak of one’s death ending—an especially Victor’s jinxed deeds were still fresh in her memory (like saying "unless there’s a Saint Child" and then a once-in-a-lifetime Saint Child of Saro appears).

Saying, "I won’t let you die with me around," would be better at this moment. If this were a romance game, there would definitely be an option to greatly increase affection. But in some ways, Tasha was a person without much charm, she never made uncertain promises.

"About what you mentioned about the cracks," Tasha abruptly changed the subject, "The resonance from the channel opening forms the first crack. In a brief moment, it’s enough for an individual with less than legendary power to pass through. So, is the crack closed now?"

"It’s not closed, but it seems like we can’t pass through anymore," Victor said. "The passage is one-time only. Once a soul passes through, it will block other souls."

"Wait, we didn’t destroy the Angry Demon’s remaining soul just now," Tasha frowned. "If that soul goes back and returns with another body, do we have to fight again?"

"Of course not. Do you think I haven’t considered this possibility?" Victor proudly said. "The crack will solidify over time with back and forth journeys. When that soul goes back, the main demon’s secondary body won’t have the power to come through. There’s a very small chance for the main body to cross, but it’s very risky. It could easily cause spatial turbulence, not the kind where Shadow Fiends dwell or wizards appear during spell accidents. No matter the strength, if unlucky, one might disappear forever. Which major demon would dare do such a…"

Victor stopped speaking.

The Book of Dungeons fell into a sudden silence. The lively hall from a moment ago plunged into an eerie stillness, as if the shadow of a flying eagle passed over a flock of chirping birds in the forest. The bad feeling quickly turned from a vague sense into reality. Tasha didn’t ask but felt it too.

Small ripples appeared on the surface of the Magic Pool.

If you hold a cup on a moving train, the water inside will show these kinds of patterns. Ominous patterns spread layer by layer, as if an earthquake is happening in the distance.

But Tasha didn’t feel any shaking; the ground was calm, and it was the air that rippled.

Or rather, the space.

Just as Ragehorn Simon was defeated, something strange was happening at that exact spot. In the sealed room, a weird air flow appeared, and a red light with no source shimmered in the dim space. Tasha felt a sharp, prickling sensation on her skin, and then the space suddenly cracked open.

Without any time to react, from feeling the loose seams to the space being torn apart, there wasn’t even half a second in between. It was like a heavy tank crashing into a wall at high speed. Before you even realized something was coming, the once house had collapsed towards you with a loud crash, and outside the room was an endless void.

A fierce wind swept through the entire hall, and a monster with a single horn pierced the barrier, looking even larger, more ferocious, and fiercer than its previous form. Small cracks appeared all over its head, black blood quickly oozed out, dried up, evaporated, blood-red patterns snaked under its deep red skin, as if lava were flowing everywhere. The enraged monster widened its pitch-black eyes, locked onto Tasha and Victor not far away, revealing a crazed smile.

What kind of crazy person would push through a gap with their original body, risking their life after finally evolving into a Demon Lord, all just to arrive at the other end of the passage a few years early to let off some steam?

An Angry Demon who had been manipulated by a longtime rival, dismembered by the disdainful Nest Mother, and gone mad with anger, running wild regardless of consequences.