Chapter 1168: Blackest Hell

Chapter 1168: Blackest Hell

Fran and Persona had calmed down for the most part.

「Hmm, it seems all of them have been killed. This time, I’ll make sure to completely erase this place off the map.」

Maleficent raised the stone sword once again, without holding back his killing intent.

「Black Lightning Princess-dono, please run. I’m not confident in my ability to avoid getting you caught up.」

「…Fine. Bye Persona.」

「Woof.」

「…」

We teleported away while waving to Persona. A few minutes later…

An immense surge of mana erupted from within the research facility. Maleficent had once again released his divine sword. Can he really afford to use it repeatedly in such a short period of time?

He must have some kind of reason.

Black light overflowed from the facility, and in the next moment, the structure began to collapse.

In less than a single minute, the vast building had vanished without a trace.

The truly fearsome part of Hell was its ability to annihilate anything. Rather than being “destructive”, it seemed to specialize in “killing”.

The poison, demon summoning, dimensional manipulation, and the like all seemed like secondary skills in comparison.

Despite having erased the facility, Maleficent didn’t stop there.

He ascended into the sky, as if riding an invisible elevator, and halted at an altitude of about a thousand meters.

「A curse upon Raydoss.」

Something black overflowed from Hell, and it exuded a menacing presence. Exactly like he had shouted, it seemed to be the embodiment of a curse.

This appeared to be black water at first glance, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. What looked like a highly viscous liquid was actually a concentrated mass of mana.

Fran’s face quickly turned pale.

I only sensed the ridiculous amount of mana, but Fran seemed to view it as a much greater threat.

「Master! Get farther away!」

「Woof woof!」

『O-Okay, got it.』

It’s been a long time since Fran and Urushi got this scared. Must be a sign of how terrifying this ability truly was.

『Fran, what is that?』

「I don’t know. But it’s bad.」

『I see.』

「…Nn.」

「Kuhn.」

It seems Fran and Urushi don’t understand the details either, yet their entire bodies were tense, and their teeth were chattering.

We teleported further away and continued watching Maleficent.

The black mass gradually expanded, before suddenly exploding. No, not quite an explosion. It only ballooned so rapidly that it resembled an explosion.

Drawn by gravity, it fell to the ground.

Right on top of the fort behind Fort Marth, at the peak of the mountain.

Fran, who was still trembling, widened her eyes at the calamity Maleficent had triggered.

A black tsunami rushed toward the fortress where some remnants of the Raydoss army remained. I expected them to get swept away, but this tsunami had almost zero physical impact.

Not to say that it had no effect though.

The tsunami’s wake left a fortress painted entirely in an ominous and horrific black color.

Consumed by the darkness, all signs of life vanished.

What remained was the fort itself, with black-stained weapons and armor rolling along the ground.

The people, horses, birds, trees, and insects had disappeared. All life had been snuffed out equally.

Even more terrifying, the earth was stained black, and I couldn’t sense any life left in the land either.

This was no longer a technique for defeating your enemies, but a dreadful power that turned the land into hell itself.

Moreover, it had yet to end. The dark mass unleashed by Maleficent continued moving forward.

The man’s horns grew further, emitting a deep crimson light. His tension seemed to rise in response to the strength of that light.

「Fuhahahahahahaha! Worthless trash of Raydoss! Your death cries serve as a requiem for my homeland!」

He’s clearly furious even from this distance. Well, not as furious as when Persona was kidnapped, but I have to wonder if his Wrath Demon is going out of control.

The black tsunami had already swallowed a wide area, dyeing mountains in the color of death as it continued expanding. At this rate, it would soon reach the forts and villages at the base of the mountains.

This unbelievably wide area was now completely devoid of life. Could this have significant consequences even after the war?

Wait a minute. Didn’t I hear about a location where Hell was once used, and is still barren to this very day? Perhaps this is the power that caused it?

Doesn’t that mean the region will be uninhabitable for centuries to come…?

The black tsunami had already consumed a few small mountains, and was still continuing its advance.

As I trembled in fear at the shocking reality, the tsunami reached the next fortress at the base of the mountain. While Raydoss’s troops had started retreating, a majority were still stuck within its walls.

The dark flood overtook the fortress with lightning speed, completely consuming it. Thousands of lives were lost in that single instant.

As I stared at the scene in shock, Fran suddenly murmured.

「Persona is crying.」

『Huh?』

「Persona!」