Chapter 488 Reaching the Deepest Core

Clang!

Aralond thrust his shield into the ground, planted his feet firmly, and braced the barrier with every ounce of his strength, blocking the onslaught of the blazing storm.

The other three also used their own methods to stand their ground amid the raging fire tempest.

Yet the horrific storm stretched on endlessly, showing no sign of stopping.

The already shattered ground gradually melted, sinking piece by piece into the sea of lava.

Sizzle……

White smoke rose beneath Aralond’s feet.

Even protected by the power of the Divine Shield, the terrifying heat was turning the rock beneath him into magma.

Moreover, as the situation worsened,

the support Aralond drew from the earth continued to fade.

The shield, which had barely held back the attack, began to shake.

Just as he was on the verge of collapsing,

Shua!

A figure suddenly appeared behind him.

“Do not push yourself. Retreat for now!”

The voice had barely faded when a hand grabbed his armor from behind.

His vision blurred as he was pulled backward at high speed.

Within a few breaths,

he reached an area where the fire storm’s power had weakened drastically.

“Thank you, Lady Irus.”

Aralond quickly turned back to thank her.

Shwoop! Shwoop!

Two more figures appeared beside them.

“Irus, we can’t keep this up! This terrain is far too favorable for his attacks!” Laki shouted.

At that moment,

the raging fire storm stopped abruptly.

After realizing the group had distanced themselves, Sugart halted his sustained ultimate technique.

“Hah…… Hahaha!”

He laughed triumphantly.

“See now, you insignificant worms~! This is my power! As long as I stand upon this lava, no one in this world can defeat me! HAHAHAHA——!”

“……”

Irus and the others watched the arrogant Sugart in silence, the atmosphere heavy with tension.

“Tch! This bastard…… he’s healed already, even after taking such grievous wounds.” Laki clicked her tongue in frustration.

“He has not only healed—his power has grown stronger. And……” Fulmir trailed off, glancing down at the ground ahead.

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The entire area where they had been fighting had transformed completely into a sea of lava, with not a single patch of solid earth in sight.

“This is grave news. His battlefield has expanded further. If this continues……”

After a brief pause, Fulmir went on.

“We will no longer be able to harm him at all……”

“……”

“It’s too early to give up——”

Irus spoke suddenly.

All eyes immediately turned to her.

“Irus? Do you have a plan?” Laki asked in confusion.

“I do not.”

Irus replied calmly.

“Or rather……

my only plan is to fight to the death!”

Boom!

Raging green light erupted violently from Irus’ body.

Her emerald eyes stared coldly at the figure within the sea of fire.

She tightened her grip on the Staff of the Sacred Tree little by little,

and murmured in a low voice:

“A Demon General…… I have killed them before.”

Rumble——!

A deafening sonic boom rang out.

The green meteor streaked toward the figure in the inferno.

“……”

Laki and Fulmir exchanged a glance

and nodded in unison.

In the next moment,

Shwoop! Shwoop!

The two also turned into streams of light, charging toward the colossal form.

……

Inside Hena’s Inner World

Thud——!

A heavy, dull thud echoed.

Another monster collapsed slowly onto the arena floor.

The group, having finished the battle, let out a small sigh of relief.

“Finally done. I never thought these things would grow this strong in the end.”

Prarlulu sighed.

“I wonder if they’ll keep getting stronger…… What do you think, Hulim? Hulim……?”

Prarlulu turned to Hulim Heyerar, only to find her staring intently in one direction, muttering softly:

“They’re gone……”

“Gone? What’s gone?” Prarlulu asked in confusion.

“The eyes……

all those eyes are gone.”

At this, Prarlulu also looked around.

“Ah, it’s true!”

Prarlulu clearly remembered that when they first entered this place, the arena was surrounded by countless terrifying eyes.

But now, every last one of them had vanished.

“What’s going on?”

She was completely baffled.

“They must have been completely eliminated.” Hulim said calmly.

“Eh…… huh???”

Prarlulu stared in blank confusion.

“Eliminated? When???”

“At times like this——”

Hulim pointed at the monster that had fallen in the arena, then explained:

“Actually, not long after these battles began, I noticed that every time a fight ended, a number of eyes would disappear. The number was small each time, so it was hard to notice.”

“Ehh, really——?!”

Prarlulu looked stunned.

She hadn’t noticed at all……

Was it because the eyes were so terrifying that she’d dared not look up, and thus missed it entirely?

“Then, now that all the eyes are gone, that means……”

With that, Prarlulu slowly shifted her gaze to Hena.

Hena was still as unresponsive as ever, like a lifeless puppet. However, the black mist around her had thickened to the point of forming a full-body armor. In both demeanor and appearance, she had become like a special, artificial golem.

But there was one clear difference……

In every previous battle, she would return to her original spot and crouch down once the fight ended.

This time, however, she stood rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

“Hulim…… I have a bad feeling.” Prarlulu inched closer to Hulim uneasily.

“Mm. It seems we have reached the end.”

As if to confirm Hulim’s words,

Rumble!

The entire arena shook violently.

Shua! Shua! Shua!

Hulim’s figure flickered back and forth across the arena, gathering Miko and the other two to her side.

Crack!

The moment everyone was together,

the entire arena floor shattered with a thunderous crash.

They plummeted downward……

Gurgle~, gurgle.

At the end of the fall, a faint red glow came into view.

As they drew closer to the light, the sound of bubbling, churning liquid and popping bubbles grew clearer.

Whoosh!

Just before they fell into the boiling pool of lava, Hulim halted mid-air.

She quickly locked onto a direction and flew with the three of them to a small landing platform.

“Prarlulu, confirm our location.”

As soon as they landed, Hulim ordered at once.

“Ah…… right away!”

Prarlulu fumbled to activate her sensing ability.

Meanwhile, Hulim took the opportunity to observe their surroundings.

This place appeared to be some kind of abyss.

At the bottom of the abyss lay a lake of lava, surrounded by sheer, vertical cliffs. The platform they stood on seemed to be the only stable spot to stand.

The platform encircled the lava lake below, its extent unknown—stretching forward, all they could see was endless darkness. The lava lake behind them, their only source of light, could not pierce the blackness.

What was more concerning was that Hena had reacted again upon arriving here.

Her body, wrapped in solidified black mist, trembled faintly. Even though her expression was hidden, the fear radiating from her was unmistakable.

“……”

At that moment,

Prarlulu obtained her result.

“We’re here!”

she exclaimed excitedly.

“Hulim, we’ve reached the Deepest Core!”