Starlight stared at the lingering gold and red light trails in the sky, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
Moen’s deduction sparked a terrifying theory in his mind, but before he could voice it, he was interrupted.
“Stop dwelling on it. You’ve guessed correctly.”
A long-absent voice suddenly echoed in the minds of all four of them, making them jump in surprise.
“Noah?! You’re awake?”
Starlight looked toward the old book at his waist with joy. The crimson gem on its cover had regained its former luster.
“Yeah, just woke up. If I hadn't woken up just in time, you lot would be dead meat.” Noah’s voice was somewhat raspy, sounding even more solemn than usual.
“What do you mean, Senior?” Po Kong’s voice interjected.
“Exactly what it sounds like. Just as Little Star suspected, that guy just now was the ‘Heavenly Demon’ Phoenix.” Noah’s voice exploded in their minds like a clap of thunder.
“...!” The four of them stood frozen as if struck by lightning.
“The Heavenly Demon?! But that guy didn't look like a Demon at all; he clearly had a human form, didn't he?!” Xia Duo pressed.
Noah didn't answer her directly, instead offering a warning: “Regardless of whether you believe it or not, do you really plan on staying here? The volcano is about to erupt!”
“What?”
The four of them whipped their heads around, only to find that the lava lake, which had been temporarily calmed by the phoenix’s power, was boiling once more. The surface was rising at an alarming rate, already flooding the small path they had taken to get there.
Even more terrifying, spiderweb-like cracks began to appear at the edge of the crater, and massive plumes of thick smoke spewed from the fissures, condensing into toxic clouds in the sky.
Boom—!
With a massive roar, the rock layer beneath their feet finally disintegrated amidst the deafening explosions. Debris rained down like hail into the boiling lava below.
Po Kong reacted quickly, grabbing Xia Duo as they both made a precarious leap onto another protruding rock. No sooner had they landed than another pillar of fire shot into the sky beside them, the scorching air currents nearly knocking them over.
Meanwhile, Starlight grabbed Moen and used instant movement to teleport into the air, using wind elements to hover briefly in the sky.
“We can’t stay any longer! Po Kong, Sister, grab on!”
Moen waved her hand, and a verdant vine shot out from her palm like a spiritual snake, precisely wrapping around the wrists of the two below.
With a sharp tug, the two were instantly hoisted into the air, narrowly avoiding the collapse of the entire rock platform.
“Go! To the east!”
As Noah’s voice rang out, Starlight immediately followed his instructions, pushing his instant movement to the limit. Finally, after four successive blinks, the group broke through the billowing smoke of the crater.
The biting cold wind hitting their faces provided instant relief to their scorched lungs, but the danger behind them was far from over.
Boom!
Another pillar of fire erupted from the volcano, tearing through the sky. Splashing lava rained down like meteors, trailing thousands of fire lines through the air.
“Wind’s Wing!” Moen cried out softly, suppressing the dizziness brought on by the spatial movement.
Pure wind elements condensed into translucent wings behind everyone, and the four figures shot toward the safety zone like arrows released from a bow.
Having caught her breath, Xia Duo turned back decisively, pulling out her longbow to fire arrows at the pursuing rocks, knocking them out of the sky.
“To the left!” Noah warned suddenly.
A glowing volcanic rock the size of a house was hurled by the blast, hurtling toward the four of them wrapped in flames!
In the nick of time, Po Kong shouted and blocked the path of the others, swinging his blade upward. He forcibly cleaved the rock in two, and the shattered fragments grazed their sides as they fell into the lava below, kicking up waves of fire several meters high.
Starlight seized this moment to tear through space again, transporting the four of them away from the site.
Thud.
The four of them tumbled ungracefully onto the snowfield several miles away, the cold snow instantly turning into clouds of white mist from their body heat.
Looking back, the horrific sight made everyone catch their breath—the entire Ignium’s Crown had fully awakened. The plume of smoke pierced the clouds, tearing a jagged wound in the sky. Crimson lava flowed down the mountain fissures like the blood of a giant beast.
Seeing this, the four didn't dare rest. They ran for their lives in unison, heading away from the volcano. The volcano continued to roar, swallowing everything in its wake...
They ran for an unknown amount of time until the roar of the eruption gradually faded and the smell of sulfur in the air thinned. Only then did Starlight and the others finally stop.
“Phew—we really barely made it out alive!” Po Kong collapsed into the snow, dramatically wiping cold sweat from his forehead. “Little Star, you’ve got to buy me a drink when we get back... Eh?” He finally noticed Starlight’s solemn expression.
Starlight was in no mood for jokes. He turned and asked Noah, “You said that person just now was the Heavenly Demon? What exactly is the story there?”
“What story could there be? You lot were just incredibly lucky to have run into him.”
“But isn't it said that the Heavenly Demon stays in the Valley of Ice and almost never leaves? Why would he appear here?”
“How should I know... I only just woke up. If I hadn't, you definitely would have been discovered! Shouldn't you be thanking me?”
“...”
Starlight fell silent. Thinking back, if Noah hadn't awakened in time to reactivate the secret art that suppressed fate, his identity might have been discovered by the Heavenly Demon.
With their current strength, they wouldn't stand a chance if they actually faced the Heavenly Demon. It was no exaggeration to say they had just walked through the gates of hell.
“Hmm... but don't you think it’s strange?” Moen said suddenly. “That so-called ‘Heavenly Demon’ didn't have any demonic aura on him. Rather than a demon, it felt like... he had a hint of divinity?”
“Exactly! Especially that phoenix! Since ancient times, hasn't the phoenix been the sovereign of all birds? It’s an embodiment of absolute yang and strength. It doesn't seem to match those gloomy and cunning Demons at all, does it?” Xia Duo agreed.
Hearing this, Po Kong rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Yeah, now that Little Shadow mentions it... besides his armor looking a bit macabre, he really is different from the Demons described in the books.”
Then again, although the group had encountered many magical beasts and monsters on their journey, they had never seen a single pureblood Demon with high intelligence as described in the records.
“Noah, you tell us. Are all Demons like that?” Starlight asked.
Noah remained silent for a moment at the question, his pages rustling without any wind. “Hard to say. Although Carlos and the others fought with Demons during their travels, it didn't happen often...”
“If I had to say, in my understanding, most Demons are in a state of chaos and madness. Otherwise, why would they be so destructive? If they had even a shred of sentience, that wouldn't be the case.”
The four of them nodded in agreement.
If it were possible, the various races of the continent wouldn't have been engaged in such a long, drawn-out war with the Demons for countless years.
“In that case, where do the Demons come from?” Starlight continued to press.
“Well... no one knows. That’s one of the mysteries that has lasted for thousands of years. We only know that most Demons appear on that shattered continent in the west, and that place really doesn't have the conditions for life to thrive.”
“But the fact remains that every so often, a large number of Demons appear there and start the next war.”
At this point, Moen took over the conversation. “Actually, this point is mentioned in the World Tree’s database. Many people have studied this issue in depth, and the most widely accepted hypothesis is that Demons are actually the remnants of the War of Gods—the manifestation of the malice shed by the gods as they slaughtered one another.”
“Because of this, Demons are incompatible with this world, yet they follow it like a shadow. They are like a twisted mirror, reflecting the darkest corners of the hearts of all living beings. As long as anger, hatred, and greed still exist in this world, the Demons will never truly perish. They will be like weeds, reborn time and again on the scorched earth of war.”
...
Rate on N.U.
