“Voidslayer, do you know where Assam went?” Val questioned.
In the history books that Val was exposed to in the most prestigious school of the IronSpire stronghold, there was no record of the deaths of either Valerius or Assam. These two legendary figures had not perished; they had merely disappeared one day. It was said that after their disappearance, the most glorious position in the kingdom was handed down to the most worthy person at the time, as per Valerius’s last wish.
The abrupt disappearance of the kingdom’s strongest bloodline user and his right-hand man was a mystery worth pondering over.
Why had they left, and where had they gone? These questions had lingered in Val’s mind for a long time. He hoped that Voidslayer could shed some light on these mysteries.
“He appeared to be in a hurry when he left,” Voidslayer conveyed to Val. “I heard him murmur that ‘they’ were behind all the sufferings we have suffered, and if ‘they’ weren’t stopped, the world would meet its end.”
A flicker of confusion crossed Val’s face as he took in Voidslayer’s words.
‘They’, according to Assam’s vague statement, were the cause of all suffering. This was easily interpretable. The history of this world was similar to Earth’s until the appearance of the Blood Red Moon. After it appeared, all kinds of strange and dreadful events took place, and humanity fell to the bottom of the food chain.
It was most likely that ‘they’ caused the appearance of the Blood Red Moon, which led to massive changes in the natural order of things.
But who were ‘they’?
Val thought that they couldn’t be devils, beasts, or even humans, as Assam had mentioned to the Voidslayer that he was going away to accompany his friends to face monsters far more terrifying than the Durcalians and he can’t take it with him as it was too weak.
The Durcalians were basically devils born out of negativity, who had become a part of the Durcal Empire, and any devil could become a part of this empire, provided they submitted to the Durcal.
Based on this information, these horrifying creatures Assam spoke of weren’t devils but beings that seemed to transcend even these formidable foes.
Val’s mind began to race. Considering all he had experienced and heard so far, he surmised that ‘they’ might refer to the dreadful creatures that inhabited the Other Side, possibly the Eldritch or even something more horrifying.
The Other Side was a dimension that he had barely explored, and its connection with their reality was still largely unknown to him. It might be more than just a lifeless mirror image of their world.
But these were all theories, speculations he had drawn based on limited information. The reality could be entirely different, and ‘they’ might be something entirely different. 𝔬𝓥𝑳xt.𝓒𝑜𝗆
‘There’s so much more to this world than I know.’ Val looked at his hands and curled his fingers into fists. ‘I need to grow stronger, faster than ever before, if I want to be prepared for the harsh times that’ll begin when the unknown strikes.’
Val donned the armor he had purchased from the Treasure Pavilion, the metal plates fitting snugly around his form. He approached the door, holding a talisman in his hand. As he placed the talisman on the door, it began to glow, and a barrier emerged, enveloping the house. Every evil entity within this barrier had its power reduced significantly.
Voidslayer hummed, asking, “What are you up to?”
“I’m going to perform an exorcism by force. Are you interested in joining me?” Val asked Voidslayer.
Exorcism by force, true to its name, was a straightforward process, which involved seeking out and eradicating all devils haunting a place until none were left. Val was planning to get rid of all the evil haunting this house with force today.
“It’s been ages since I’ve been in a fight. I would love to participate in it.” The ancient sword hummed in agreement.
Val dumped a few points of soul power into his eyes. Immediately, his Heavenly Eye activated, causing the world around him to become semi-transparent.
With the Heavenly Eye, he could see through walls, objects, and virtually every part of the haunted house as if they were non-existent. All of it was stripped naked and laid bare before his gaze. He scrutinized every corner, every crevice, every inch of it, but surprisingly found nothing unusual.
It confirmed his suspicions that the source of the haunting was not in the house itself, but somewhere else.
But where could it be?
‘Is it perhaps beneath my feet?’
The only place Val hadn’t inspected was the area underneath the house. He looked downwards, and his heavenly vision penetrated through the floor of the house and some unexpected things to him.
The first was a secret passageway going downwards that led directly to an underground area that was half the size of a freaking stadium. Such a huge underground area was created yet no one noticed. It must be created by a bloodline user with earth-type skills!
The underground area was located dozens of meters beneath this house, and at the center of this area was a water well, sealed shut with a sturdy-looking steel plate.
Val’s gaze traveled past the steel plate and his eyebrows immediately shot up as he noticed a dense concentration of the force of corruption within the well.
His Heavenly Eye could see through many layers of walls and obstacles, but this overwhelming force of corruption prevented him from getting a clear view of the well’s interior. However, he was able to catch a glimpse of something terrifying within.
Immediately a thought came unbidden into his mind: the secret passageway and the underground area were either created by the house’s original owner or a tenant. Regardless of who was responsible, they were surely the instigator behind all of this.
“I’ve found it. The source of the haunting,” Val said.
“Good, let’s go hunt it down!” Voidslayer said eagerly.
Val moved to the floor beneath the old, rickety staircase leading to the house’s first floor where his room was located. He took a deep breath and forcefully slammed his foot down on the floor causing it to shatter. As it shattered, the hidden entrance to the secret passage that was curved like a slope and went downwards was revealed!