Chapter 1664 – 1664. God’S Atlantis
“You’re being too obvious. Don’t you think Hanga might be listening and watching our conversation?”
“Don’t worry. The Moon Flower can’t see this place. The Moon Mirror can only see where the moonlight touches, and I am the Moon God. I can control where the moonlight reaches.”
Tsukuyomi smiled confidently.
It didn’t seem like it would be of much help. Hanga, being intelligent, would know that I was meeting with Tsukuyomi. She might even guess what kind of conversation Tsukuyomi and I had.
I grabbed Okto and stood up.
“Are you leaving already?”
“I know time isn’t on my side. Rest can wait until everything is over.”
“Hiek! Let go, let go! I can walk!”
I let go of Okto. Okto smoothed its fur with its front paws and sighed.
“Be careful of her. To be honest, I have no idea what she’s up to. She’s definitely planning something big.”
“I understand.”
“Oh, and there’s a place on this moon that the Moon Mirror can’t see. Do you know about it?”
“Where is it?”
“The dark side of the moon. A place crawling with terrible monsters. You should avoid going there if possible. It’s a very dangerous place.”
I urged Okto with my eyes. Okto hopped forward. Okto moved as confidently as when it had come up to Tsukuyomi’s mansion.
“Okto, do you know about the dark side of the moon?”
“Of course. I came from there.”
“Is it as full of monsters as Tsukuyomi said?”
“Lord Tsukuyomi exaggerated a bit. There are many monsters, but there’s a certain order to the place. Of course, if you let your guard down, you’ll be eaten right away.”
“Is it also affected by the Moon Palace?”
“The fairies don’t even approach the dark side of the moon. It’s dangerous, as Lord Tsukuyomi said.”
It seemed like the best option would be to escape to the dark side of the moon in an emergency. Of course, I had no intention of losing to Hanga.
Unlike when we ascended, Mount Wol was completely free of fog. Thanks to that, I could see and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Mount Wol. I could also see creatures wandering around.
“This way!”
Okto went into the dense trees. The path was so overgrown that it was hard to see. After about five minutes of continuous movement, Okto and I were inside a cave. The cave’s unique humidity stuck to my skin.
「You have entered Zone 7,900, the Moon Lake.」
「This is a hidden zone.」
「You are cut off from the outside.」
「All stats are reduced by 10%.」
「Every 3 hours, you must give up one of your five senses. Choose which sense to give up: taste, touch, sight, smell, or hearing.」
「If you do not choose within 50 seconds, one will be chosen randomly.」
「This is an uncontrollable zone.」
Notification windows popped up one after another.
‘A hidden zone. This is unexpected… but the conditions are pretty harsh.’
Being cut off from the outside meant that I couldn’t use space-shifting scrolls. Hanga’s Moon Mirror probably wouldn’t be able to spy on this place either.
‘A 10% decrease in all stats is bad enough, but…’
Having to give up one of my senses was a big deal.
「If you do not choose within 37 seconds, one will be chosen randomly.」
“I give up taste.”
There was no choice. In terms of the importance of the senses, taste was the lowest. Next would be smell.
‘The problem is after smell. Touch, sight, and hearing. These are essential senses for combat. I can’t stay here long.’
As I moved, Okto also began to move. I asked Okto.
“Okto, you didn’t give up a sense.”
“Huh? No, I did. Unlike you, Heavenly Demon, I just answered in my mind.”
“Which sense did you give up?”
“I gave up touch.”
“…My prediction was wrong. I thought you would give up taste too.”
“Without touch, I can die without pain.”
“I don’t intend to kill you yet.”
“Heavenly Demon, I’ll die to the Imugi anyway. It’s practically impossible to escape from the Imugi.”
“I won’t lose.”
“Yes. I believe you.”
Okto’s voice lacked strength. It seemed like it was thinking that I would die.
“Ah, this way.”
A fork in the road appeared. There were seven forks in total. Okto chose a path without hesitation. It was amazing.
“Have you been here before?”
“No. It’s my first time. There’s no reason to come to such a dangerous place.”
“You know the way even though it’s your first time?”
“That’s my ability. You have to go the fourth way at this fork.”
“What’s the criteria for determining the path?”
“Hmm. It’s hard to explain in words… I just feel it, I guess?”
“Like intuition.”
“Yes, yes. Something like that.”
After passing through a complex cave path, we finally arrived at an underground lake.
The lake was very large. It seemed to be about 1km in diameter. Okto retreated behind me. I felt the huge presence in the lake and said to Okto.
“If you run, you’ll die.”
“Hieeek…! The Imugi saw me! Even if I run, the Imugi will chase me and kill me! Heavenly Demon and I are a community of fate!”
“You’re saying something unpleasant.”
The calm surface of the lake began to ripple roughly. The huge presence inside the lake began to move.
A dark shadow and a red light flashed beneath the blue lake water. The red light was the Imugi’s glare.
-I was just getting hungry, and prey came to me on its own. I’m so lucky.
The Imugi soared above the lake. Water splashed everywhere from the impact. Soaked, I clicked my tongue and checked the Imugi’s appearance. It was a huge snake that could swallow a person in one bite. Its red eyes, glaring at me, were full of murderous intent.
-Come here.
The Imugi’s red eyes flashed.
I quietly watched the Imugi. I was gauging the Imugi’s strength. It was my first time facing an Imugi, so I didn’t know if it was stronger than me. I would have to fight it to find out.
-Come here!!
“It’s noisy. Do you think I’m a servant who comes when you call?”
-…You’re resisting my command? You’re no ordinary human!
“Was that a command?”
Aside from being noisy, I didn’t feel any special power. Perhaps the Imugi was weaker than I expected.
-You insolent fool!
This time, I felt pressure from its entire body. An invisible force was grabbing my body. I had experienced a similar force a few times before.
‘Telekinesis.’
I exhaled and awakened the Heavenly Demon Qi from my dantian. The Heavenly Demon Qi rushed through my meridians and spread throughout my body. Black energy flowed out of my body, resisting the telekinesis.
-How can such evil energy…!
The Imugi hesitated.
Then, it opened its mouth wide and spat poison at me.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step.
In one step, I crossed space and appeared above the Imugi’s head. I glanced at where the poison had landed, and the ground was melting.
I bent my knees and slammed my fist down on the Imugi’s crown.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Heavenly Demon Blast.
A black explosion occurred. The Imugi’s head staggered. I had intended to smash its head, but its skin was tougher than I thought.
-That doesn’t even tickle!
The Imugi shouted and shook its head. I tried to dodge with the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step, but the waves emanating from the Imugi interfered with my space shift.
Splash!
I fell into the lake.
‘Damn it. Space control is difficult. If I could perfectly control space, I wouldn’t have been shaken by mere waves.’
Regardless of my mastery of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, my understanding of space was lacking.
-The water is my domain! Now that you’ve fallen into the lake, your end is decided!
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Black Flame Demonic Dragon.
Hot flames erupted from my body. The surrounding water instantly rose. The Imugi, which had been swimming towards me, was startled and retreated, circling around.
-How long can you last? I’ll wait until your flames die out. I’m better at waiting than anyone.
I couldn’t maintain the Black Flame for long, as it consumed a lot of mana.
I had [Blessing of Water], but it wouldn’t be of much help in this situation.
I calmly swung my fist at the Imugi.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Dragon Fist.
The energy of the Dragon Fist was fired at the Imugi. It hit the Imugi’s large body. The Imugi didn’t even flinch. The power was weakened by the water.
-Puhuhu. Is that your last struggle?
Ignoring the mocking Imugi, I chose a different approach.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Revolving Heavenly Demon Dragon.
The water around me began to rotate. The Imugi’s telekinesis immediately interfered, disrupting it. The rotating water disappeared absurdly.
‘This isn’t it.’
-Puhuhuhuhuhu.
‘The Heavenly King of the Demonic Realm rotated the world with the Revolving Heavenly Demon Dragon.’
I recalled that feeling from that time. It didn’t come to me. I wasn’t a genius who could instantly recall a feeling I had experienced once.
‘Wait, I just need to become a genius. Genius Time.’
[Genius Time is activated for 10 seconds.]
The feeling came.
The water around me began to rotate slightly.
The important thing for the Revolving Heavenly Demon Dragon was power and direction.
‘I thought the Revolving Heavenly Demon Dragon used the power of wind… but that wasn’t it. Wind is just a byproduct of the Revolving Heavenly Demon Dragon.’
The more it rotated, the more its power increased. The water began to swirl around me.
-This crazy!
Sensing danger, the Imugi urgently intervened in the rotation with telekinesis. The rotation instead devoured the telekinesis.
The rotation grew rapidly and finally began to devour even the Imugi.
-Aaaaaaaaah!
The Imugi screamed. Its flesh was torn apart, and the lake was gradually stained with blood.
[Genius Time has ended.]
Even though Genius Time had ended, the rotational force did not stop. The Imugi’s screams also disappeared at some point.
‘……I can’t control it.’
Fortunately, I was in the center of the vortex, so I wasn’t harmed.
‘I can’t stop this now either.’
I decided to stay still until the rotational force disappeared.
