Chapter 87
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Chapter 87: Beneath the Elven Kingdom
The Blade-sharp wind roared past Midi’s ears as he plummeted, blood rushing backward through his body and consciousness draining away.
This wasn’t illusion or trickery, but brutal reality.
Midi had been teleported above an abyss.
The sheer cliffs on either side stood terrifyingly vertical, yet close enough. Using Demon Shadow Flash instinctively during the fall, he shifted sideways until his fingers scraped the chasm’s edge.
Though the cliff face offered no footholds, Midi simply carved a shelter into the rock with his Black Sky sword. Meanwhile, the massive fire meteor element could only roar helplessly as it fell like an actual meteor into the depths.
The element’s glow trailed smoke downward until swallowed by the abyss’s darkness. No impact echoed upward.
Midi didn’t know if this pit connected to the Demon Realm, but he understood why the Teleportation Arrays had brought him here.
Forest of Gran meant "flowing forest" in Elven tongue. Without royal permission, escape became impossible – every path and tree shifted positions, sometimes teleporting intruders outright. Having explored the Elven Kingdom in his past life, Midi knew these weren’t mere rumors.
Back then, most Teleportation Arrays barely functioned, only shuffling people within kilometers. Now, the Palace’s defenses actively targeted the Skyfire-born elements. Though unclear how the dark elf summoned the meteor, Midi had been caught in the purge.
As for the abyss below? The immense magic, Elven life-aura, and canyon’s damp cold left no doubt – these were the Elven Kingdom’s magic veins, digesting fallen elements into raw energy.
By accident, Midi had bypassed the Palace’s outer defenses to reach its deepest underbelly. His path? Straight up.
The climb would take ages.
Absolute darkness enveloped the abyss, but Midi’s Ultimate Intent spread like a net across meters of rock. Finding no threats or dark elves nearby, he rested in the carved niche.
After checking his gear and choking down stale rations, he secured a hooked chain to his left forearm. Sheathing the Black Sky sword, he drew twin daggers from his boots and rose with feline grace.
Demon Shadow Step carried him upward in smoke trails – the foundational skill of a Demon Swordman. He avoided Demon Shadow Flash and its chain variants; too draining for prolonged climbing.
Daggers stabbed temporary holds as he climbed. In the endless dark above the bottomless pit, he moved like floating ash through wind’s mournful howls – a hellscape of nothingness.
Most adventurers would break here. Even Midi couldn’t confirm this was truly the Palace’s underbelly. Yet he stayed calm. After enduring lifetimes of despair, mere physical peril meant nothing.
Countless stranger realms had opened across Arad after the Forest of Gran burned. This simple darkness? Child’s play.
He’d escape. He knew it.
Besides, he wasn’t alone.
A soot-colored head wriggled free from Midi’s backpack.
During a recent gamble, Midi had kept Robin dormant. Though the crow excelled at tactical reconnaissance, its presence risked alerting others. Combined with Norton’s exceptional binoculars, Midi chose caution, forcing Robin into hibernation.
Now, within this silent darkness, he needed his summoned creature’s power to guide him.
"Boss, I’m blind," Robin croaked miserably upon awakening.
This made sense—birds depended on light for sight. In such shadows, the crow might as well have been blind.
"Just darkness. Stay calm." Midi flicked the crow’s head, a faint smile forming as memories of Fina and Alice surfaced.
Despite his usual composure, the familiar rasp in this lonely abyss lifted Midi’s spirits.
"Switching to elemental vision works! But what cursed place is this?" Robin whispered conspiratorially into Midi’s ear. Though the crow loved acting weak before dominating foes, it prioritized survival over showmanship when danger loomed.
"Magic veins’ depths. Look upward—search for green," Midi ordered.
Neutral magic lacked color. This abyss had consumed countless high-tier elemental spirits born from Skyfire. Downward views would show red, but Midi needed green—the hue of life.
If this truly was the core magic vein beneath the Elven Kingdom, gathering most tributaries from the Forest of Gran, one thing must exist here: the Tree of Life’s Branch of Yggdrasil.
Major magic vein convergences required large formations. Only the Tree of Life could anchor such a formation’s Eye, much like the Nibelungen Dragon Sealing Array in the Belmar Duchy’s capital, Hertonmar. The Elven Kingdom’s "flowing forest" surely stemmed from similar magic.
With Alice’s powerful summoned creature aiding him, Midi believed they’d detect the Branch of Yggdrasil’s brilliance here.
Three days of upward climbing later, a pale green glow emerged—emanating from massive roots bursting through cliff walls. Their light shifted between fresh-leaf green and withered-branch dark green.
The Tree of Life’s roots were struggling, but Midi didn’t care.
Following the luminous roots upward, he found a ruptured underground water vein—split open by the tree’s growth. Midi hurled his chain, executed a Demon Shadow Flash, and slipped through the gap.
Though nearly dry, the ancient waterway’s path remained. Midi navigated branching channels and echoing currents, using wind patterns, water flow, and magic surges as guides. He crawled, slashed through obstructions, and even swam submerged through icy flows.
Finally, at a bend, silver moonlight pierced the darkness. Above the fissure filtering that light sprawled the starry sky—and the Elven Kingdom.
Midi’s destination.
