Death... and me

Just as Gulan was about to get closer, he felt some kind of barrier stopping him as the arched door opened. From inside, a huge skeletal hand that emanated a bit of gray smoke came out. The soul of the demon seemed to have felt its nemesis as it immediately tried to run away. Unfortunately, the barrier didn't only stop Gulan from getting close. It also prevented the soul from running away.

The skeletal hand that stretched out grabbed the dark soul that tried to run away. At the same time, a voice came from behind the door, muttering, "Amatuces fuiotumaked sotules...rukiqdel portriad mu nitalas! Hehe!" No one understood what it meant, obviously meaning that it was a different language. Nevertheless, the dark soul seemed to understand its meaning as it struggled much more, trying to leave this place. Then again, it was all for naught as the skeletal hand dragged the soul inside.

Once the dark soul disappeared inside the dark door, a red eye appeared as it looked at everyone in that place. It glanced at every single member of Rean's group until suddenly, it stopped at Roan. For a moment, the eye narrowed as if it saw something it didn't expect.

Roan also didn't look very well as he paid attention to that eye. However, that event only lasted for a few seconds before the eye disappeared within the dark door. As for the door itself, it closed completely before disappearing. The space around it also repaired itself until it looked as if nothing had happened at all.

Rean's group sighed in relief after the door disappeared. They all felt like they were nothing but ants in front of that thing. If it wished to, they would all be dead now...or so they thought.

Rean then glanced at Roan before asking through their Soul Connection, 'Did you understand what it said?'

Roan slightly nodded, replying, 'It seems like the owner of that skeletal hand had something against that demon. It said, 'I told you I would find you eventually, didn't I? Hehe!'''

Rean was surprised that Roan actually understood it. 'So, you understand the language used in the Underworld.'

'More or less,' Roan told Rean in response. 'It's very similar to the language used in the Underworld of our half of the universe, but not entirely identical.'

Rean pondered in silence for a bit before asking, 'Why didn't you try to rush inside? You've always wanted to head back to the Underworld until now, didn't you?'

Roan shook his head as he explained, 'I don't have a connection to the Underworld of this half of the universe. If I tried to enter the door, that skeletal hand would probably kill me. Even if I could pass through, the Underworld Energy would kill me since I'm in a living body. At the very least, that's what I believe would happen since I'm not too sure how this half of this universe's Underworld works.'

Of course, the conversation only lasted a second through their soul connection. Nevertheless, Duran couldn't help but ask as he looked at Roan, "Roan, why did that eye pay attention to you for so long?"

Roan shrugged his shoulders as he came up with an excuse, saying, "I'm pretty sure it's because of my Dark Element. You do remember that I can use it to feel this different energy in this dimensional realm, right? Perhaps that eye noticed that. Dark Element Affinity isn't something you see every day, after all. If that's not the case, then I have no idea. I'm just grateful that terrifying thing went away."

Gulan finally recovered from the fear of the skeletal hand and felt somewhat glum as he muttered, "In the end, that red-eyed being had a way to escape. I couldn't destroy its soul."

Roan wanted to say that he shouldn't worry. He also wanted to say that the skeletal hand definitely wouldn't give that demon's soul a good time. Unfortunately, that would also mean that Roan knew the language spoken by one who had the skeletal hand. He obviously wouldn't do that.

Rean then looked at Duran and Frin, asking, "Seniors, can you feel anything else after that door closed? I don't want to become a target of that thing."

Duran and Frin shook their heads as one of them replied, "We don't know. Even at our level, we couldn't perceive that thing's presence until it appeared in front of our eyes. Besides, don't forget that we can't use Spiritual Sense."

Rean nodded in response. "I see...if even seniors can't feel anything, then let alone the rest of us." Rean then looked in the Blood Lake's direction before saying, "Anyways, let's take a look at the island where the blood is gathering. Now that the formation is active, something might have happened there."

Frin and Duran's eyes lit up in response, thinking that perhaps the portal to the Realm of Gods was now open. If that was the case, then all these problems they went through would be worth it.

"Wait just one minute." Celis stopped them. "Let's take a look in the red-eyed being's chamber. After all, we still don't know the way out of this dimensional realm. It's better to guarantee our way out before anything else."

No one was against Celis's idea as Kentucky and Gulan brought everyone inside the cave, eventually arriving at the ruins once again. Not too long after, they arrived where the demon escaped from.

"No wonder Kentucky felt the presence of Heaven-level materials in large quantities. Almost everything in this place was made using such rare materials." Rean was truly surprised by the view as he immediately started to collect them. After all, Heaven-level materials were very valuable, even if he already had a lot of them.

The rest of the group also started to collect their own spoils, not minding sharing them with the rest.

The only exception was Roan, who looked at a certain location of the chamber and approached it. The Underworld Energy was protecting something inside a barrier, which he wanted to check. He touched it with his hand and used his Dark Element to get rid of it. After some time, a bunch of dark jade slips appeared in front of him, prompting him to look at the others and say, "Guys, I think we can get a few answers here."

Naturally, everyone's attention was piqued by Roan's words as they looked at the dark jade slips.