Leo was already as prepared as he could be, so after checking everything once more, he decided to spend a few quiet moments with Elna, speaking softly and sharing a brief laugh to calm the tension before the dangerous journey ahead.
After an hour, the three of them, Leo, Elna, and Selina, followed Alexia through the tall, echoing halls of Oswald's tower. When they entered the main chamber, their attention was immediately drawn to the swirling darkness at the center of the room. The portal on the ground twisted and churned like a miniature storm, shadows writhing and sucking in light as if the darkness itself had a heartbeat. The air around it was cool and heavy, carrying a faint metallic scent that made the hairs on the back of their necks rise.
Oswald stood across from them, his posture tense, sweat beading on his forehead from the effort of holding the portal stable. His eyes, sharp and calculating, scanned the group as if weighing their readiness against the danger that lay ahead.
"Unlike the portal you used to go to Ethereon," he said, his voice calm but serious, "this one will close immediately after you enter. Time here flows the same as it does in the underworld, keep that in mind."
Leo's brow furrowed. "Then how can I leave?"
"There are only a few ways," Oswald replied, his tone deliberate. "Higher beings can open the way, Zahhak, a few high level ghosts, and of course Death himself. Also…" He reached into his robes and tossed a scroll toward Leo, its surface glowing faintly with protective runes that pulsed like tiny embers in the dim light.
Leo caught it effortlessly, unrolling it between his hands to examine the markings without breaking his gaze on Oswald.
"That scroll will notify me when you need to be summoned back from this world," Oswald continued.
Leo nodded, his expression calm but resolute. "Thank you," he said.
He then turned to Elna. "If it takes too long for me to get out of there, go with Master and the others to the Northern Kingdom and help Arthur. They will need assistance soon. I will join you as quickly as I can."
Elna's eyes flickered with worry, but she nodded. "All right." She took a step closer, her movement hesitant but deliberate, and pressed her lips to his in a brief, charged moment before stepping back. "Be careful."
Leo's lips curved into a faint smile. "I will."
He shifted his gaze to Selina for a heartbeat, the silent acknowledgment passing between them, before turning toward his master. "I leave everything in your hands."
"Don't worry about anything here," Alexia replied, her voice steady and reassuring, the aura of calm around her grounding him.
Taking a deep, measured breath, Leo stepped into the portal. The swirling darkness of the liquid like vortex stretched around him, cold and heavy against his skin. He walked a few deliberate steps into its depths, the world around him fading with every movement.
Oswald began chanting softly, words imbued with authority and mana resonance. The portal pulsed with energy in response, and the dark, viscous liquid started rising, wrapping around Leo like a living shadow. He felt its pressure, but he did not resist, letting it carry him further from the familiar world around him.
Gradually, his vision dimmed, the darkness swallowing all sight, sound, and sensation. The void seemed endless, a weight pressing from every direction. Then, slowly, almost imperceptibly, light, or rather shapes, began to shift around him. The darkness began to thin, and contours emerged as he started to step out of the portal on the other side, the foreign world of the underworld creeping into view.
It took him a moment to adjust to the harsh, flickering light before he could take in the terrifying expanse that stretched endlessly in front of him. Valleys twisted like gashes in the land, their slopes crawling with red and black flames that roared as if they were alive, licking the air with tongues of heat that didn't burn flesh but clawed at the soul, pressing down with an invisible weight.
Among the burning earth grew strange, leafless plants, their twisted stems blackened and brittle, crowned with dark crimson fruits that glistened with a thick, blood like liquid. The smell of iron hung heavy in the air, tangy and suffocating, and for a moment, Leo felt the urge to gag, though he forced himself to inhale calmly, letting his senses adjust.
Far in the distance, a massive stone gate pierced the horizon, carved with two enormous skeletons that dwarfed the tallest mountains. Their gaping eye sockets seemed almost alive, staring into the underworld as eternal guardians, and through a gap on the stone gate Leo's gaze fixed on the faint movement of shadows behind it. Zahhak waited near it, no doubt, and the scale of the place made him feel infinitesimal, a single point of resistance in a world built for monstrosities.
He stepped forward carefully, and the ground in front of him cracked with a low groan, splitting open like an angry wound. From the chasm rose a skeleton, dozens of meters tall, its upper body alone casting a shadow that stretched across the valley. Green flames burned in its eye sockets, locking on him with a weight that made the air tremble. With a deep, rattling creak, it raised its massive hand, poised to crush him like a toy.
Before it could swing, a slash of blood tore through it, and the skeleton exploded into shards of bone and flame, disintegrating before it could resist. Leo didn't pause. His eyes swept the valley below, a writhing sea of horrors. Skeletons clawed their way from the ground, zombies with jagged teeth stumbled forward, and ghostly forms twisted in impossible shapes, their shrieks echoing across the valley. Others crept along the edges of the fires, creatures Leo had never imagined, horned monstrosities, black scaled serpents, and beings that shimmered like living shadows.
With a faint smile, he leapt down into the battlefield. The wind from his descent sent embers swirling and flames bending around him. As he hit the ground, his boots sank slightly into the scorching soil, yet he felt no burn. The first skeleton lunged at him, a dozen meters tall, its jaw gaping wide. Leo didn't dodge; he twisted his body, his fist colliding with its skull. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the valley, and the skeleton's bones shattered like porcelain.
A pair of zombies charged from the side, teeth bared. Leo pivoted, kicking one into the other with precise force, their heads colliding and cracking audibly. Ghostly figures surged, intangible but aggressive, phasing in and out to land phantom strikes. He extended his hand, releasing a burst of light made by his creation spell that sent the spectral attackers screaming into the flames, their forms scattering like smoke.
The ground beneath him trembled as larger monsters emerged, hulking, armored beasts with jagged claws. Leo leapt onto a ridge, using the elevation to propel himself downward, his fist connecting with a beast's chest. A crimson shockwave radiated outward, throwing smaller creatures away like ragdolls. The underworld itself seemed to respond, the flames twisting and surging with the rhythm of battle, casting moving shadows that threatened to swallow him whole.
Through it all, Leo's expression remained calm, almost serene, but his eyes were sharp, tracking every movement, every threat. Every slash, every kick, every burst of energy was calculated. He was a single point of precision in a storm of chaos, and with each strike, he carved a path deeper into the valley, moving closer to the massive stone gate and the inevitable confrontation with Zahhak that awaited him.
…
Leo's steps crunched against the scorched, blackened earth as he moved forward, yet no matter how far he walked, the colossal stone gate loomed as distant as it had been hours ago. The valleys stretched endlessly in every direction, a chaotic labyrinth of red and black flames, jagged rocks, and shadowed hollows, and the underworld seemed intent on testing his endurance as much as his skill.
Along his path, creatures of every shape and size rose to challenge him. Skeletons towered like brittle statues, their joints cracking with each motion, while clusters of smaller undead clawed at his feet. Zombies staggered forward, their malformed limbs snapping, and ghosts flickered in and out of existence, phasing unpredictably to land their attacks. Even the ground itself seemed hostile, laced with blackened roots that writhed like serpents, attempting to entangle his legs.
Most of the monsters, though numerous, were easy to dispatch. Leo's mind worked fast; he analyzed weaknesses instinctively. A skeleton's green flame could be extinguished with a simple bloodslash, a spectral form could be dispersed with a controlled burst of light, and zombies crumbled with the precision of a punch or a kick. The underworld's creatures were relentless in their numbers but predictable in their vulnerabilities.
As an S rank with creation abilites, Leo had options beyond brute force. He shaped fire into whips to lash ghostly figures out of the air, molded spikes of obsidian from the ground to impale advancing beasts, and even summoned bursts of elemental wind that tore through waves of enemies with terrifying efficiency. Each strike was precise, calculated, a dance of destruction that left the valley littered with charred bones, shattered bodies, and fading specters.
And yet, despite ten hours of relentless combat, despite clearing path after path with methodical precision, the massive gate ahead remained stubbornly distant, a reminder of the endless challenge the underworld had set before him.
He paused for a moment, wiping a thin film of sweat from his brow.
At first, Leo had intended to explore the underworld a little, to study its strange landscape and the countless creatures that roamed it. But he quickly realized that such curiosity would cost him too much time. Zahhak was his goal, and every moment spent wandering these endless valleys would only delay what had to be done.
Without hesitation, he bent his knees and leapt high into the air. As he rose, a massive stone sword began to take shape beneath him, the rock forming piece by piece as if reality itself were obeying his will. The blade grew long and wide, its surface rough like ancient granite, until it was large enough to cut a mountain. Leo landed lightly in the middle, steadying himself as the enormous weapon floated beneath his feet.
A moment later, the sword surged forward, cutting through the smoky air of the underworld as it sped toward the distant gate.
From that height, Leo could see the full scale of the realm below. Valleys stretched endlessly in jagged lines, their surfaces crawling with creatures. Skeleton armies marched across burning plains, ghostly shapes drifted through the air like pale mist, and enormous beasts prowled between the flames. Some creatures fought each other, while others clawed their way out of the ground, newly born from the cursed soil.
But Leo barely spared them a glance.
Now was not the time for curiosity.
The stone sword carried him across the underworld for nearly half an hour before the terrain ahead began to change. The valleys flattened into a vast open field directly before the enormous gate itself. The ground there was dark and cracked, and it was filled with monsters of every kind, gathered in numbers that would have overwhelmed any normal army.
Standing in the middle of that field were two enormous giants, their bodies towering over the surrounding creatures like living mountains of bone and muscle. Their thick arms hung like pillars, and their slow breathing shook the ground beneath them.
Behind them, deeper in the field and closer to the colossal gate, something even more unsettling rested.
A massive creature lay sleeping, its body wrapped in dense darkness so thick that it seemed like a living cloud. The shadows coiled around it, shifting slowly as if breathing along with the creature hidden within. Only faint hints of its true shape could be seen through the swirling blackness.
A small smile appeared on Leo's lips. That had to be Zahhak.
At that moment, the stone sword beneath him suddenly accelerated. The massive blade angled downward, slicing through the air as it plunged toward the ground.
In just a few seconds, the enormous weapon crashed directly into the center of the field. The impact shook the land like an earthquake. A massive shockwave burst outward, ripping through the surrounding monsters and throwing bodies, bones, and dark flames in every direction. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of creatures were destroyed instantly, their forms shattered by the force.
When the dust and embers settled, the stone sword stood embedded deep in the ground like a monument.
Leo sat calmly near the handle of the blade, looking down at the battlefield that had suddenly gone silent.
All around him, the surviving monsters slowly turned their heads toward the intruder. Countless glowing eyes fixed on him at once, filled with hunger, hatred, and instinctive hostility.
But beyond them all, within the swirling darkness near the gate, something else moved.
From deep inside the shadow that wrapped around the massive creature, a single red eye opened.
It locked directly onto Leo.
Leo didn't look away. His gaze met the burning red stare without hesitation.
For a long moment, the battlefield remained perfectly still.
The real battle was about to begin.