Chapter 667: Old Ruin

Asmodeus sat alone in his throne room, surrounded by the deafening roar of lava raging through the cavern below, flowing through deep channels beneath the throne, filling the chamber with intense heat. Waves of hot air rolled through the cavern, carrying the smell of sulfur and burning rock.

Asmodeus was accustomed to the heat. In fact, he enjoyed it. The oppressive temperature and the constant roar of lava made the cavern feel like home.

But tonight, the heat was not what occupied his mind. It was Clyde. The Demon King leaned back against his throne and stared into the darkness ahead.

Clyde had returned from the dead. The thought was difficult to accept. How could someone return after his body was completely destroyed by the combined powers of Gods, Angels, and Demons?

Asmodeus had witnessed the final battle from a distance. He saw the destruction. He saw Clyde’s body disappear beneath an overwhelming storm of power.

There should have been nothing left.

Unless something within Clyde’s soul made his return possible. Asmodeus narrowed his eyes. That mysterious power...

The strange energy he once felt within Clyde. The same power he managed to grasp and use for himself. Even after all this time, Asmodeus still did not understand what it truly was.

He only knew that it was ancient, and powerful. Perhaps far more powerful than anything he had seen.

With that power, resurrection might not be impossible after all.

A slow smile appeared on Asmodeus’s face. If Clyde really was alive, then he should approach him again. The thought excited him.

Clyde had once risen as a genuine threat to the Higher Realm. The Gods, Angels, and Demons all recognized the danger he posed, and they eventually united against him.

Asmodeus had also pretended to hunt Clyde, even while secretly avoiding any real attempt to kill him.

Clyde’s greatest weakness was not his power. It was his impatience.

He rushed into his rebellion before he was ready. He revealed too much of his strength and gave the Higher Beings enough time to understand him, prepare their forces, and eventually crush him. There was also someone who betrayed him.

But now he had another chance. Surely Clyde would not make the same mistake twice. If he truly returned with the same determination as before, he could become even stronger than he was in his previous life. Strong enough to succeed, to destroy the Higher Realm.

Asmodeus imagined the possibility for a moment. The Gods fall, the Angels fall, the Demons fall, and when everything was over, he would remain. The only powerful being left in the Higher Realm.

A quiet laugh escaped his throat. Now that would be interesting.

But Asmodeus knew he could not rush either.

If Clyde truly returned, secrecy was more important than ever. The Higher Beings could not learn about his survival before Clyde was ready.

Asmodeus needed to establish contact with him first. After that, he could begin searching for their old allies.

But he doubted many of them were still alive.

Most of those who once stood beside Clyde were exposed after his rebellion.

Still, Asmodeus needed to search. If even one of them survived, that person could become useful again.

Asmodeus rose from his throne.

The stone beneath his feet trembled faintly as he walked toward the enormous entrance at the far end of the cavern.

—

Clyde and the others emerged from the portal and immediately found themselves standing on a floating piece of land.

Clyde’s eyes narrowed. The Ruin was worse than any destroyed world they had seen before.

The floating islands scattered across the endless darkness were small, broken, and unstable. Some were nothing more than fragments of buildings or pieces of earth suspended in the void. Others trembled constantly, shedding chunks of stones.

The land beneath their feet also shook. Cracks spread across the surface and several pieces of rock broke away from the edge before falling into the abyss.

Samuel looked around in silence. The entire world looked as though it was already collapsing.

The Ruin carried the signs of an extremely old apocalypse. Whatever happened here during the Selection Stage occurred long ago, yet the destruction never stopped.

The remains of cities floated through the darkness, their buildings covered in vines and strange plants. Some structures were upside down, others were split in half or suspended between broken islands.

There was almost no wind yet everything around them trembled.

Don looked over the unstable terrain and gritted his teeth. "This is insane. How are we supposed to move through this place when everything is falling apart?"

"We keep moving. We can’t stay in one place. Let’s go, fast!" Samuel said and immediately looked toward the next floating island. He moved first.

The others followed, jumping from one unstable piece of land to another.

They had to move quickly because remaining in one place for too long was dangerous. The ground could collapse without warning, and entire sections of the floating islands occasionally broke away and vanished into the abyss.

But moving quickly came with another problem. They had little time to examine their surroundings.

The first monster attacked from beneath a collapsed building. It was a massive reptilian creature burst through the rubble, its jaws opening wide as it lunged toward Maira.

"Watch out!" Arven shouted.

Maira immediately drew both curved blades and crossed them in front of her body.

The monster slammed into her weapons and forced her several steps backward. The unstable ground cracked beneath her feet.

"Fuck!" Maira cursed.

Don rushed forward and slammed his shield into the creature’s side, knocking it away.

More roars followed. Clyde looked toward the surrounding ruins.

Several enormous creatures crawled out from between the buildings. They resembled dinosaurs, but their bodies were changed by the corruption of the Ruin. Thick scales covered their limbs, their jaws were filled with rows of long teeth, and some of them had strange horns or elongated claws.

Leyan fired an arrow. The projectile pierced one creature’s eye. The monster screamed and charged anyway.

"More are coming!" Leyan shouted.

"Stay together! Don’t let them push us off the island!" Samuel said, tightened his grip on his spear.

Another monster lunged.

Arven released a spell that struck the creature in the chest and slowed its movement, giving Samuel enough time to drive his spear through its throat.

Clyde moved beside Mina as another reptilian monster charged from the side.

Mina stepped forward while saying, "Leave this one to me."

She activated Crimson Step. Her body blurred, she vanished from the creature’s path. A moment later she appeared beside its head and drove one dagger into its exposed flesh.

The monster roared and swung its massive tail.

Mina ducked beneath it, rolled across the ground, and immediately struck again.

Clyde watched her for a moment before turning toward another approaching monster.

He drew his longsword. Pure Lightning crawled along the blade. With one swift movement, Clyde cut through the creature’s neck, and it was dead near the edge of the floating island, causing the ground to shake.

Don cursed as another crack appeared beneath his feet. "Can we finish this quickly?! This whole damn place is trying to kill us!"

Samuel glanced toward the next island and said, "Then stop complaining and move!"

They continued fighting while advancing through the unstable Ruin.

Every step was dangerous.

—