549. Endless Expanse

It was a city. An underground city. Well— to describe it more accurately, it was the ruins of an underground city. And it expanded all around me, encapsulating everything I could see of the second layer.

I blinked. I cast my gaze over the sweeping landscape with round eyes. I saw buildings of all shapes and sizes rising up from the ground. They were round, they were square, they were shaped like stars and like pears. It was nothing like the architecture I saw back in the Mortal Realm. The only uniformity to this city was that there was no uniformity.

It was all so completely haphazard. There was a spire that stabbed out of the ground like a stalactite, but it was actually just another building. I dove past a boulder-tower, before circling around a floating rock.

It wasn’t floating by itself— it was held in stasis by the corruption. Just like with the hallway, there were entire sections of the city that were completely gone. Vanished away into nothingness. I carefully avoided these blank spots as I raised my head.

“It just keeps going…”

I whispered. The city spanned the entirety of the second layer— and it was all just a vast cavern. But it wasn’t dark. There was a luminescent moss that was scattered across the city. Just like the moss I could find in the [Basilisk]’s Lair. And no matter where I turned, I saw buildings rising in the distance.

But the city didn’t just come to a halt over the horizon. Instead, it crawled up the walls of the cavern before hanging off the ceiling. I blinked at the towers that spiked down from above.

“Seriously?”

I had never seen such a thing before. Sure, I could walk on the ceiling of the hallway. But I assumed that was a result of the corruption. Was it… just the nature of the second layer? It had to be. How else could there have been buildings built there before the corruption even existed? Unless these structures were created after the corruption was formed.

I wasn’t entirely sure. I just flew onwards, occasionally glancing back and keeping an eye out for the Corrupted Hydra’s head. Fortunately enough, it didn’t follow. It must have returned to its original body. Or maybe it didn’t, and now it was wandering the second layer aimlessly in search for me.

I didn’t know for sure. I just shook my head and turned my gaze forward. The world sped past me, and I heard a susurration in the distance. A soft whispering that didn’t seem to resonate from a single direction. Almost like it was a kind of static— a buzzing that invaded my mind itself.

I managed to brush off this sensation and focused on what was ahead. I watched as the cavern expanded ahead of me like a giant tunnel. And it wasn’t stretching out in a straight line either. It was curving, turning, burrowing down slowly.

It was like I was atop a mountain, sloping down a steep hill. And the city continued to carpet the ground below. But the further I flew, the fewer buildings I saw. It was an endless expanse. I didn’t even know where it led. I just followed this path, hoping I could find something along the way.

But the city began to grow scattered— corrupted into nothingness. There were more and more bits of rocks floating in the air just like when I was in my dad’s home. The moss was mostly gone, replaced by a grass of corruption. Not only that, there were entire sections of the cavern that were entirely blotted out into non-existence. I had to avoid them, because sometimes I wouldn’t even notice them until I got close.

“The second layer is kinda… empty, huh?”

I spoke to myself. I wondered where Belphegor went. He was nowhere to be found. And there certainly weren't as many Corrupted Netherstones flying around here as I thought. I frowned, before closing my eyes.

“Maybe I should use [Manifestation of the Old Gods]...”

But before I could cast the Skill, that was when I heard the screeching. I blinked and raised my head. It came from above. Towards the ceiling. I narrowed my eyes as I saw something moving in between the buildings spiking down from above.

No— not just one thing. There were three things. It was… a battle.

A pair of Corrupted Netherstones zipped around a tower, lashing out with their tendrils as they fell a nearby building. The collapsed rubble began to disintegrate into nothingness, taken by the corruption as the two Corrupted Netherstones continued on. They were chasing after… a [Gargoyle]?

“Those are… Belphegor’s.”

I blinked. Finally! A [Gargoyle]. That meant that Belphegor was nearby. I swooped up into the sky, heading for the ceiling. My orientation of the world around me began to change. It was like the ceiling suddenly became the floor, and I was being pulled towards the ‘ground’.

I raised my Divine Nebular Scythe, grinning as my [Divine Radiant Slash] began to coalesce. I could help the [Gargoyle] deal with these Corrupted Netherstones, then I could find Belphegor.

It was going to be an easy fight with the [Gargoyle]’s— especially since I was getting the drop on these Corrupted Netherstones. I began to conjure up a volley of flaming spears around me as I crashed into the back of the first Corrupted Netherstone.

I immediately tore through the broken rock, shearing through the corruption with my divine attack, before raising my head. I aimed the flaming spears— created by [The Holy Flames]— at the second Corrupted Netherstone. It turned its gaze towards me as I smirked, and the volley of projectiles lanced out.

My surprise attack went well. In an instant, I had already inundated both Corrupted Netherstones with divine Skills. They reeled back, then shrieked as I flew back up with my [Angelic Wings].

I snapped my fingers as I whispered under my breath.

“Boom.”

The first Corrupted Netherstone turned towards me. It shot up into the air, trying to launch a counter attack. And then it exploded.

[Divine Demon’s Mark] engulfed this section of the city. The blast was so large, it nearly knocked me back into a bubble of non-existence. But I caught myself, swerving around the abyss, before turning to face the [Gargoyle] down below. It just stared at the blast as I yelled.

“Now’s your chance! Help me take down those things!”

But the Primeval Demon didn’t react. It just stood there silently. Even as the two Corrupted Netherstones emerged from the blast. I narrowed my eyes, watching as the floating, distorted rocks drew towards the [Gargoyle].

The first Corrupted Netherstone had been badly damaged by my [Divine Demon’s Mark]. It had been the epicenter of the explosion, after all. A large chunk of its body had been completely disintegrated. But still, it was just a floating rock. It could fight on even if it was split in half.

Meanwhile, the second Corrupted Netherstone was still mostly intact. It had two tendrils of corruption aimed my way like spears as I pursed my lips. I glanced past it, looking back at the [Gargoyle] for help.

“Hey, why aren’t you—”

I started. But the [Gargoyle] let out a chittering cry as it grabbed a large boulder and tossed it my way. I blinked and swerved away from the attack.

The boulder landed in the bubble of non-existence, before freezing. And then it slowly began to fall off as its form began to deform. I watched with wide eyes as pieces of the rock broke off, only for a little bit of corruption to wisp off its figure. It hovered there in stasis like the floating houses and towers, and I turned back to the [Gargoyle].

That took me by complete surprise. The Primeval Demon had attacked me. It hadn’t been trying to attack the Corrupted Netherstones at all— instead, it attack me. I didn’t get it at first. I scowled, turning to face the [Gargoyle] with an annoyed look.

“What are you doing? You’re supposed to be—”

And then I paused. I stared at the [Gargoyle] with narrowed eyes. I started to realize that it… wasn’t exactly the same as the [Gargoyles] I had seen accompanying Belphegor. It was… different. There was only a slight difference there. That was why I hadn’t noticed it at first.

The [Gargoyle]’s face was… slightly distorted. Its eyes glimmered with an iridescent light. And when it brought a hand out, the corruption began to seep from its claws.

I stared, blinking a few times.

“Huh. So that’s why it isn’t attacking them.”

[-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Gargoyle - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]

[-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstone - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]

[-̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ Netherstone - Lvl. -̸͙̍̀͠-̴̛̠͊̀͝-̵̪̱̼͑-̶̰͎͙̉̆͝ ]

I glanced between the three corrupted creatures. All three of them were significantly powerful— nearly as strong as me. And their attention was fixed on me. They charged.

“Uh-oh.”