Chapter 996

996: Anomaly Underground

After about 30 minutes, Trismegistus had exterminated the antidemons in the underground space.

「Pheeeeew………」

By the time Trismegistus disengaged his Divine Dragon Form, not a single antidemon remained.

The only traces of their existence were the scars left in the ground from the fierce battle.

And those had already started repairing themselves. It seems this place was considered part of the castle, so the automatic repair function installed by the gods applied.

Those scars will apparently be completely gone in a few hours. Then tomorrow, Trismegistus and the antidemons will tear it all up again.

Trismegistus first closed his eyes to meditate and focus on regenerating his wounds, but he started walking away before a full recovery. He must have a lot of invisible wear and tear, yet his gait was as graceful as ever.

I’ve gotten used to him never looking back at us, but I still found myself surprised at the complete lack of visible damage. Is it just because he’s gone through this so many times?

At any rate, it seems we’ve yet to see the extent of the dragonkin’s abilities.

「We’re going too!」

Frederick followed after Trismegistus. Though in a rush, he did not run at full speed.

He simply walked behind Trismegistus looking somewhat irritated.

It seems he sensed another battle up ahead. Therefore, we could not leave Trismegistus behind just yet.

The group quietly continued through the dark underground space. The magical light emitted by Trismegistus and the antidemons dissipated, leaving only a world dominated by darkness.

However, none of the people here minded much. Fran and the others kept pushing their way forward without issue.

We continued walking for 10 minutes. Finally, the end of this vast underground room was in sight. We saw a small door in the wall, which seemed unbelievably tiny compared to the scale of the room.

That said, the strange aura emanating from the other side of the door was so strong that it made us wonder if everything was just a prelude for what was about to come.

I see how it is. No doubt the core of the Abyss Eater lies beyond that door.

But I noticed something bothering me along the way. There was no sign of anyone fighting aside from Trismegistus.

And therefore, no sign of the Dragon King’s group, who was supposed to be up ahead.

If they truly went underground, then they must have passed through here.

Since repairs didn’t happen instantly, we should have seen some signs of damage on the ground.

Yet there was not any trace left behind.

『Urushi, can you smell Velmeria?』

（Woof!）

『You sure?』

（Woof!）

Urushi nodded his head repeatedly as if to say he was certain. It seems Velmeria’s scent was still strong around here.

The two Frederick was searching for must be up ahead.

Then how did they get through?

Did they perhaps use some kind of stealth skill to hide themselves? But how could they have fooled the eyes of so many greater antidemons? Maybe an individual specializing in stealth might be able to pull it off, but they were a group.

The first possibility was that they had some ability to hide the entire group. Then it would make sense for them to slip through without fighting at all.

For example, an ability similar to Fran’s “March of the Valkyrie” title could make it possible.

The second possibility was teleportation. They might have made it through via repeated teleportation. I think that would let them avoid unnecessary battles.

But this entire place was seeped in the Abyss Eater’s aura. To be honest, I doubt I can even cast a proper teleport. Maybe I could push it out once, but continuous usage would be impossible.

If our enemy was capable of rapid teleportation, he’d certainly have a huge advantage in battle.

The third possibility was manipulating the antidemons. If he controlled the titans and such, surely he could also manipulate the high-level antidemons here.

Trismegistus initially commented about how few antidemons there were. What if the Dragon King had the antidemons fight among themselves as he slipped through?

Each possibility gave our opponent a nasty power. Even if my speculation was wrong, we have to watch out for even more unknown abilities. As I was thinking all of this through, Trismegistus pushed open the door.

A rush of warm air ruffled the golden dragonkin’s bangs. Even though I shouldn’t be able to smell anything, I somehow felt the stench of blood.

The air was just that stagnant.

Right now, I have to say I’m grateful for Trismegistus’ indifference.

Everyone moved forward, following Trismegistus through the door. We took the tail end of the group.

The passage was tall but narrow. Maybe it was designed for dragonkin?

We proceeded in a single file down this undecorated passageway.

Though Fran could not see what lay ahead due to Izario being in the way, her tension gradually increased.

She already took a serious battle stance.

No doubt she sensed the killing intent emanating from the end of the corridor.

Not that of the Abyss Eater, which was more similar to a desire to devour us. This killing intent was more direct, the kind to be targeted at your enemies.

『Fran, that’s Velmeria’s presence.』

（Nn…… But it’s weird.）

『Yeah. She might be under someone’s control.』

We sensed multiple enemies, and one of them was definitely our blue-haired dragonkin girl.