Realizing how narrowly they had escaped death made Saruman understand that they needed to be even more cautious from here on out.
He focused, trying to distinguish the different energies mingling in the air.
"There's one... filled with the stench of the deep sea and an ancient resentment. It feels like a living curse crawling up from the bottom of an abyssal trench..."
"Another carries the coldness of the stars and absolute nothingness. It feels as though it could freeze your soul and erase your very existence..."
"But the most terrifying one is this... whispering madness that's everywhere. It doesn't seem to have a fixed form, yet it constantly attacks the mind during battle and distorts reality itself..."
The more Saruman spoke, the heavier his heart became. Not one of these enemies matched any magical creature or otherworldly entity he knew. Their auras felt more primal.
More ancient.
More... completely outside anything this world understood.
"No wonder... No wonder even a Legendary is having such a hard time..." Saruman murmured to himself.
Previously, he had wondered whether the Legendary was simply clearing monsters out of R'lyeh City, or perhaps fighting ancient constructs guarding the ruins. But now it was obvious that whatever his enemies were, they were definitely not creations of any human race.
Their strangeness and sheer power were probably on par with a Legendary. In some ways, they might be even more troublesome, their powers were so alien and profane that fighting them would inevitably put anyone at a disadvantage.
"I see..." Kag listened to Saruman's analysis while watching the strange dust clouds constantly rising over the city and the deadly green flashes cutting through them. His throat felt dry. "Saruman... do you think that Legendary can win?"
That was exactly what Saruman himself was most worried about. At this point, almost all their hopes rested on that unknown Legendary, whether for escaping this dead world or finding a way to save Lina.
If he lost... the consequences were unthinkable.
"I don't know..." Saruman answered truthfully. It was one of those rare moments in his life when he genuinely couldn't judge a situation.
"Judging by the sheer volume and level of magical power involved, that Legendary still seems to hold the initiative. His death magic appears to be extremely effective against those enemies."
"But their numbers... and those strange, unpredictable attacks that keep coming without end..."
"This feels more like a battle of attrition. The ultimate test of willpower and endurance."
He paused before adding an even more terrifying possibility.
"And I suspect... these enemies may not actually be the original guards of R'lyeh City."
"The feeling they give me is more like they've been awakened by some force... or perhaps drawn here from other dimensions."
"If that's true, then this battle may never end unless he finds the source."
This time, Saruman's instincts had actually picked up on part of the truth.
"What?!" Kag sucked in a sharp breath.
A battle that would never end? Against an endless wave of bizarre enemies comparable to Legendaries? That sounded like the cruelest punishment imaginable.
Just then, the youthful voice rang out from inside the city again.
This time, however, it wasn't announcing a spell, nor was it expressing frustration. Instead, it began rapidly chanting a string of strange syllables. They belonged to no language either of them recognized, sounding twisted and discordant.
Yet the magical power contained within that chant was so immense it was suffocating!
As the chanting continued, the murky yellow sky above R'lyeh City actually began to twist and rotate, forming what looked like an invisible vortex. An even greater, more ancient will seemed to be briefly stirred!
"He's... drawing upon the power of this world itself?!" Saruman cried out, horror filling his eyes.
This went far beyond ordinary magic! He was manipulating the rules of the entire "Domain"! That was the kind of power a Legendary could normally display only within their own personal Domain. But here, inside this Forbidden Land belonging to R'lyeh, could he actually do it as well?!
Then they saw it.
The green death magic reached a violent boiling point. It merged with the power drawn from the surrounding world, forming an indescribable torrent of destruction that stretched between heaven and earth, its color impossible to define.
The torrent slammed straight into the core region of the city!
This time, there was no sound of collapsing buildings or massive impacts. Instead, a sharp, crystalline shriek rang out like shattering glass, yet somehow, the sound echoed directly through the soul.
Immediately afterward came countless inhuman screams and wails filled with agony and madness, as though thousands upon thousands of evil entities had been severely wounded at the exact same instant!
'Rumble, !'
'Rumble, !'
The shockwaves from the clash spread outward like a tsunami, so powerful that Saruman and Kag were forced back several steps. Saruman had to raise a magical shield while Kag unleashed his warrior's aura just to keep from being swept off their feet.
The light inside the city gradually faded, and the raging magical power began to settle. The battle... seemed to have come to a temporary halt.
Saruman and Kag stood where they were, breathing heavily, shock written across their faces. They looked at each other, seeing the exact same question in one another's eyes.
What kind of enemy could force a Legendary, someone capable of drawing upon the power of heaven and earth, to fight so desperately, even forcing him to use such a trump card just to bring the situation under control?
And deep within this dead city called R'lyeh... What kind of unimaginable horror was sleeping there?
After that final devastating attack, the earth-shaking roars and shrieks inside R'lyeh City suddenly stopped, as though an invisible giant hand had reached down and cut them off. Absolute, heart-stopping silence spread like thick black ink, quickly swallowing every trace of the previous chaos.
But this wasn't a peaceful silence. It was the unsettling stillness after a storm, as if the entire city had gone into temporary shock after some ultimate collision. Or perhaps... something even more terrifying was gathering beneath the surface.
There was no way to know.
Beneath the murky yellow sky, the twisted city of green stone lay motionless. No more magical light flashed between its buildings; no more towers collapsed with deafening crashes. Even the strange whispers and grinding noises that had once formed the city's constant background noise had vanished.
Only the occasional breeze drifting in from the distance remained, carrying a mixed stench of sulfur, ozone, and something indescribably foul, like the rotting entrails of an enormous sea creature. It was the sole reminder of how real and brutal the battle had been.
"So..." Kag's tense muscles slowly relaxed, though his hand never loosened around the hilt of his greatsword.
He listened carefully. Apart from his own heavy breathing and Lina's faint, wet, rattling breaths, he couldn't hear a thing.
"Is... is it over?" His voice was hoarse and uncertain. This sudden calm made his skin crawl even more than the violent battle had.
Saruman's brows remained tightly furrowed, his silver eyes filled with vigilance and calculation. "I don't know... but the energy fluctuations have definitely subsided. That Legendary seems to have temporarily suppressed the enemy, or perhaps... ended the battle."
He didn't dare make a definitive judgment. A battle at the Legendary level was far beyond his comprehension, anything was possible. Perhaps this was only a temporary lull. Perhaps the enemies had been completely annihilated. Or perhaps... The Legendary himself had paid a steep price.
Yet even though the battle appeared to be over, neither of them dared move toward the city. They stared at the silent metropolis lying there like a sleeping beast, their feet seemingly rooted to the spot.
Only now did they truly understand the weight of the word "Legendary."
The madness and blasphemous aura radiating from the city, from every massive block of green stone, hadn't weakened in the slightest after the fighting stopped. If anything, the absolute silence made it even more palpable. It was like an invisible barrier warning all living things to keep away.
"We can't go in," Saruman finally shook his head, his tone firm. "Not until we understand what's happening inside and learn the condition and attitude of that Legendary. Rushing in now would be suicide. That silence... there's something deeply wrong about it."
Kag desperately wanted to find an exit or a way to save Lina, but he knew Saruman was right. He nodded, glancing back toward the broken stone tablet. "Then... What can we do? Just sit here and wait?" He sighed.
"No." Saruman turned back toward the stone tablet containing the secrets of R'lyeh, his eyes growing sharp and focused once more. "We still have this."
"What we've deciphered so far is only the tip of the iceberg. This tablet must contain more information about this place. Maybe... there's even something explaining how to enter safely, or how to leave!"
He took a deep breath, forcing down his curiosity and unease about the city, and poured all his mental energy back into deciphering the tablet. This time, he didn't limit himself to the clearer, simpler symbols. Instead, he focused on the deeper sections, the symbols that were more complex, twisted, and so disturbing that merely looking at them made his eyes sting and his thoughts spiral into chaos.
"All right. I'll guard you."
Seeing this, Kag stopped pressing him. He silently stood watch, keeping an eye on the city and their surroundings for the slightest sign of trouble while taking extra care of Lina.
Then he noticed something. The edges of the scales covering Lina's arms seemed to give off a faint, ominous glow, almost like fluorescence. And the black markings on Kag's own arms had begun to itch and sting far more intensely than before, feeling as though tiny insects were crawling beneath his skin.
Alarm bells immediately went off in Kag's mind. Time really wasn't on their side.
"Hurry," Kag couldn't help urging.
"I'm working on it!"
Saruman's deciphering entered an even more difficult and dangerous stage.
The deeper symbols seemed almost alive, actively resisting any attempt to comprehend them. Every time Saruman extended his mental senses farther into the carvings, the backlash against his mind grew stronger.
The hallucinations became clearer, and far more terrifying.
At times, he felt as though he were floating through an endless, freezing void, surrounded by enormous, indescribable shadows slowly writhing in the dark. At other times, he seemed to sink into the depths of an impossibly abyss-like ocean, where massive, slimy tentacles brushed against his skin and indescribable whispers echoed directly within his soul, tempting him to stop thinking and surrender to eternal madness.
"Damn this corruption!"
Cold sweat drenched Saruman's forehead as his body trembled slightly. But he gritted his teeth and held on through sheer willpower. He constantly switched between different deciphering techniques and mind-protecting spells, like a man walking a tightrope over a bottomless abyss.
Time slowly passed in the dead silence surrounding them. Finally, after enduring countless mental assaults, Saruman made another breakthrough, deciphering several even more horrifying passages:
"...Do not call its name... do not envision its form... the Sleeping God lies within the city... its dreams themselves are a curse..."
'Do not call its name? Do not envision its form? Sleeping God?'
A chill crawled up Saruman's spine. Was this referring to a specific entity inside the city?
He pressed on.
"...Space and time are twisted here... this is no place for the living... those who remain... flesh shall change... the soul shall return to the Eternal Dream..."
Remaining here caused mutation? The soul would return to the Eternal Dream?'
Saruman's head snapped toward Lina and Kag, his heart jolting in alarm.
"...The positions of the stars... are both key and shackle... when the stars align... the Sleeper shall awaken... R'lyeh shall rise from the depths..."
'The stars aligning? R'lyeh rising?'
This sounded like some kind of... apocalyptic prophecy.
Saruman's thoughts raced wildly, but he forced himself to keep deciphering.
"...Those who gaze upon the truth... must pay the price... knowledge and madness are two sides of the same coin..."
These fragmented messages seeped into Saruman's mind like drops of icy poison. Combined with the terms he had deciphered earlier, "Great Old One," "Eternal Nightmare," and the rest, a vague but horrifying picture began to form in his mind.
R'lyeh City wasn't simply an ancient ruin. It was the resting place of one, or perhaps several, terrifying entities known as "Great Old Ones," beings far beyond anything the human mind could comprehend!
Merely knowing of their existence, speaking their names, or imagining their forms brought irreversible corruption and madness.
And worse still... this place was saturated with an invisible force that gradually assimilated anything that didn't belong. Any living being remaining here too long would have both flesh and soul corrupted and twisted. Eventually, their bodies would mutate into inhuman monsters, or their consciousness would be dragged into the "Eternal Dream," becoming part of the madness itself.
Lina's mutations...
The worsening black markings on Kag's body...
These were undeniable signs that the assimilation process was already underway.
They had thought they had escaped the Infinite Corridor, but in reality, they had stumbled into an even more hopeless trap, one that killed its victims slowly.
If they stayed here, only two outcomes awaited them: they would either be killed by monsters, or become monsters themselves.
"How could this happen?!"
Saruman's face turned as white as paper. He suddenly looked up at Kag, his voice carrying an urgency and desperation Kag had never heard from him before.
"Kag! We can't stay here any longer! We have to leave this area immediately!"
Saruman's sudden outburst startled Kag. "What happened? What did you find?"
Saruman quickly explained the terrifying information he had deciphered, emphasizing the warnings that remaining here caused mutation and that their souls would eventually be dragged into the Eternal Dream.
After hearing it all, Kag looked down at the black markings on his arms, which now seemed almost alive as they slowly writhed beneath his skin. Then he looked at the unconscious Lina, the scales covering her body glowing with an eerie light.
Icy despair washed over him.
"We're screwed!"
He had hoped they might find a way to cure Lina here, or at least wait safely until an opportunity appeared. Instead, this entire place was a slow-acting poison chamber.
(End Of This Chapter)
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