Chapter 47: The Mysterious Dark City

Yet, a flaw persisted in this theory, as it failed to account for the abundant dark elements saturating the air.

We had been enveloped by this very environment even while in Tedles Town; if we had merely traversed to another location, these dark elements should have vanished instantly, unless we had coincidentally landed in a place equally dense with them, a possibility that seemed rather remote.

“Do you think we might currently be in that ‘Barren Land’ you mentioned?”

I pressed Sally further, hoping to validate my hypothesis, especially since she had remarked on its resemblance to that place just last night.

“Highly unlikely!” Sally, to my surprise, recanted her previous stance, unequivocally refuting my suggestion.

“Regardless of whether you could even fly there, I have personally witnessed the ‘Barren Land’ at its borders. While it shares this type of gravelly terrain, it is predominantly an endless expanse of desolate white desert. In the ample daylight now, it is clear at a glance that the situation here is entirely different from there.”

“Are there any other places, then, where the concentration of dark elements in the air is similarly high, or even surpasses that of the Barren Land?”

“That’s difficult to say…”

Sally’s voice carried the strain of deep contemplation as she wrestled with the question.

“The continent of Engis-Uir possesses numerous areas rich in dark elements, distributed quite unevenly. These aren’t confined solely to the hellish realms beneath the land; generally, any place lacking sunlight tends to have a higher concentration of dark elements. Given the perpetual cloud cover here, which deprives this area of light, it’s certainly a possibility if these conditions are constant throughout the year…”

“So, you’ve also realized we might have traversed space, haven’t you?”

Seeing her admission, I surmised she had largely come to the same conclusion.

She remained silent for a considerable moment before finally conceding:

“Indeed, my suspicions are growing stronger by the minute…”

I understood her sentiment perfectly, for this realization implied a formidable challenge in returning to the royal capital.

“We’ve flown for so long, yet there’s still no sign of Tedles Town, not even a faint outline…”

Sally’s voice was laced with a hint of despondency, echoing the observations I had already made myself.

Tedles Town was nestled among mountains; beneath us, some mountains did exist, but they appeared to be extensions of volcanoes, utterly barren and devoid of vegetation, clearly not our intended destination.

“It seems there’s a small river down there, though.”

Prompted by her observation, I too glanced downwards, discerning after a prolonged scrutiny a slender river indeed meandering east to west across the desolate gravel plains.

Even so, not a single trace of green could be seen along its banks.

“It appears there’s no turning back now,” I sighed, having flown for nearly an hour, with the vista before me remaining a desolate and expansive wasteland.

“But even if it was a spatial jump, why did I not sense the slightest elemental fluctuation?” Sally still grappled with this unanswered question.

“When, and where, exactly did we cross over?”

“How would I know?” I responded with a wry smile, when suddenly, on the distant horizon ahead, numerous dark specks began to emerge. Gradually, these specks multiplied, coalescing into a dense, sprawling mass that appeared to be a multitude of moving figures.

“Did you see that?” I inquired, noticing Sally also gazing in that direction. “What could those be?”

“I can’t quite make them out,” she replied, shaking her head.

“They seem to be moving in our direction; we’ll know once we get closer.”

In truth, we didn’t need to draw much closer; after advancing for only a short while, we could largely discern their identity—they were all dark creatures, densely packed, numbering at least several thousand. Their variety was extensive, encompassing both those that soared through the sky and those that walked the earth.

It was only due to our extremely high vantage point and considerable distance that Sally and I remained undetected by their massive host.

“Where are so many demonic beasts headed?” I wondered aloud, peering from within the clouds at the ant-like procession below.

“Judging by their destination, they appear to be advancing towards that particular mountain.”

The mountains in this vicinity were largely treeless, appearing much the same to me.

However, upon closer inspection, the mountain along the demonic beast army’s route proved rather distinctive. It stood in solitary grandeur upon the gravel plains, disconnected from the surrounding ranges. Furthermore, it bore the quintessential shape of a volcano, yet lacked any traces of lava, suggesting it was not in an eruptive state.

“Let’s not concern ourselves with them,” Sally declared, uninterested in the demonic beasts’ activities, but she had finally grasped one crucial fact.

“We can now largely conclude that we are within a realm controlled by dark creatures.”

“But do you know which realm it is?” I asked.

“No…”

She shook her head, implying that if that question could also be resolved, there might still be hope of returning home.

“Perhaps we should capture one of these demonic creatures and interrogate it?” I proposed, voicing a perilous idea.

“Where would you even find one? Do you dare approach that horde below?”

Sally’s voice carried a hint of exasperation, instantly silencing me.

“Uh…”

I cast an awkward glance around, then my eyes suddenly lit up.

“How about that place?”

With that, I pointed in the direction from which the demonic beast army had come.

“There?”

Sally followed my gaze and, seeing it, seemed somewhat intrigued herself.

“Then let’s go and investigate.”

The place I indicated was indeed a city, though it was still quite distant from our current position.

Unlike the crude beastmen’s settlements we had encountered before, this city was far from impoverished. It boasted numerous towering structures—all slender, pointed spires that rose densely into the sky.

Upon flying closer, we discovered that these tall, slender spires formed only an outer ring. At its core lay a colossal, bottomless circular pit, its sheer walls seemingly riddled with numerous tunnels where faint shadows of moving creatures could be vaguely discerned.

“Do you truly intend to enter this city?”

Perched on a hilltop near the city gates, we observed it for a long time. Sally appeared unable to identify the city’s origins or which dark creatures it belonged to.

Yet, its mere outward appearance was sufficiently eerie; under the dim light, the surfaces of those slender spires gleamed with an ink-green luminescence, resembling dark bone spurs inverted into the ground, evoking a chilling sensation.

“Perhaps we should just watch from outside the city for any stragglers…”

I instantly conceded, knowing I was merely a Tier 3 minnow, no stronger than a mountain bumpkin; it was best not to provoke such forces.

“Hmph…”

Sally rolled her eyes, her expression one of disdain.

“I’m merely being cautious!” I retorted indignantly, seeing her reaction.

****

However, after a prolonged wait, not a single dark creature was seen entering, exiting, or even passing by. The area outside the city gates remained perpetually desolate, with not a single guard in sight.

“What now? Are we just going to keep waiting?”

Several hours had passed, and my composure instantly shattered when I noticed Sally beside me munching on an apple-like fruit.

‘She still has food; damn rich people.’

“There’s not much left! Stop staring at me; look for demonic beasts below instead!”

Sally frowned, noticing my persistent gaze at the apple in her hand, then turned her back to me and continued to bite into it.

“Angels don’t even need to eat during the day.”

‘But I didn’t eat last night either. I should have stayed at the church in Tedles Town to finish dinner before leaving.’

Fortunately, I hadn’t felt hungry since dawn. I felt like a plant, needing no food as long as there was sunlight, and remaining perfectly energetic. Yet, I wasn’t green; from where did this photosynthesis originate?

“Huh, it looks like something’s moving on the ground.”

Sally suddenly pointed towards the ground with the hand holding the apple, subtly nudging me with her elbow.

Following her gaze, I indeed saw a white object slowly moving, leisurely approaching the city gates from a distance.

“Is that…?”

As it drew nearer and I clearly discerned its form, I gasped sharply.

“It looks like a skeleton, doesn’t it?”

Sally’s face was also deathly pale, and she added, “And it’s not even human bone.”

“Do you think we could glean any information from such a thing? It probably can’t even speak.”

I asked her skeptically, and predictably, she shook her head in response.

“Undead creatures are devoid of consciousness, acting purely on instinct. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a living undead being.”

However, not long after, before the skeleton could even draw close, a small door beside the city gates swung open, and a bipedal, lizard-like dark creature emerged.

Wielding a large saber, it charged directly at the skeleton, hacking wildly before finally piercing its skull with a decisive thrust. Gathering the scattered bones from the ground, it then strode away, quickly disappearing back into the small door.

“What do we do now?”

Watching the door close once more, I turned to Sally, astonished.

“Aren’t undead creatures also considered dark creatures? Why would they slaughter one another?”

‘The lizard’s actions reminded me of the guards in the small towns surrounding Navareli. Any wild beasts that occasionally approached the city gates would be killed in precisely this manner, their bodies and bones dragged back to be stewed into soup.’

“I don’t understand it either…”

Sally was equally bewildered by the creature’s behavior. Her knowledge of dark creatures primarily stemmed from church texts and scriptures, with very little practical experience or firsthand observation.

“So, are we just going to keep waiting?”

I felt my sanity beginning to fray. Not a single demonic beast had passed by, and the one living undead creature that finally arrived was summarily hacked down by the gatekeeper. What sense did any of this make?

Moreover, I realized the city gates would remain shut indefinitely. If we continued to idle here foolishly, there was no telling how long we would have to wait.

“Are you suggesting we try to sneak into the city, then?”

Sally looked at me, uncertain of my meaning.

“Is it feasible? Otherwise, if you have other suggestions, we could try those as well,” I asked, my face impassive. ‘Had I not been so restless, I would never have considered such a method.’