# 112
112
All demonic beasts that appear in this world through embodiment are beings liberated from Pandemonium.
One day, Daesung asked Commander Dolph about the world called Pandemonium.
I couldn’t help but be curious because the demonic beasts were clamoring to be let out if I forgot.
Dolph’s first words were:
-It is a place where shells with only half souls remaining gather.
-Like when you turn a healthy life into a dead person?
-I just corrode and extort the entire soul. It is impossible to pull off a meticulous eccentricity that leaves only half of the soul behind, like cutting down a tree.
Even Dolph, who deals with incorporeal spirits, stuck his tongue out.
Because it was unknown territory for Daesung, he did not have a clear understanding, but he seemed to have a vague sense of the context.
-Half of the severed soul is taken as a host by the Transcendent and then injected into the body recorded in the past.
The demonic beasts encountered in the field realization quest were such beings.
People whose souls have been cut in half and brainwashed.
-And the demon beast with the remaining half of its soul suffers in Pandemonium for eternity.
-Is there a good reason to leave half of the soul behind?
-That requires the soul to remain…
Dolph began to trail off for a moment at that point.
The purple glow embedded in the black eyelids trembled.
As if his teeth were shaking and he was angry.
-Why not feel the pain and let out a scream?
Ah ah ah ah ah-!!
Screams constantly echoed from far away.
The writing, which was precariously held in the air, was caught in the sharp wind and completely shattered.
A gray fragment flew with a gust of wind and grazed Daesung’s cheek.
‘shit.’
The system said that the identity of this twilight wilderness was Pandemonium.
And Pandemonium is the abyss of abysses into which dead lives fall, even in hell.
‘It was said that chaos was rising in the dimensional water, I’m sure.’
Apparently, something went wrong as the forced cessation of trials and the death of the apostle occurred simultaneously.
‘It was also said that we reached the deepest roots.’
I couldn’t believe that Pandemonium was located underneath the Dimensional Tree.
Either way, I was in trouble.
I should have overcome the ordeal as quickly as possible and climbed to the top of heaven, but instead I fell all the way to the basement.
Flutter-! puck-!
“….”
Plus this sharp wind.
Even if I just stood still, my skin was torn apart as if whips were swinging from all directions.
Vivid pain shook the nerves of my entire body.
< In Pandemonium, no buffs, including the blessing of the Dimensional Beast, are applied. >
While I was walking slowly and repeatedly getting cut and recovering, a phrase came to mind.
The situation has come to this point, but what good is it if it is a blessing or not?
Daesung thought it was something new and moved his legs without stopping.
‘We have to get out of here somehow.’
I arrived here with a sinking feeling.
If so, I looked up to see if the passage was connected to the sky, but all I could see was darkness mixed with a faint yellow light.
“….”
No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t come up with a clear way to escape pandemonium.
However, if you stay idly by, you will only enjoy the pain of your body being torn apart by the sharp wind.
‘You have to take at least one step further and find something that can be used as a rope.’
Daesung walked and walked with the solemn determination to get out.
How long had I wandered like that?
Ah ah ah ah ah-!
The grief that had been heard from far away now rang in my ears as clearly as if it was coming from right next to me.
thud-. thud-!
The ground trembled slightly, and the bone fragments beneath my feet shook.
‘You’re here.’
He had heard from Dolph whose mouth the screams that filled this pandemonium were coming from and what the identity of the massive being that shook this land was.
Soon, something large loomed in front of Daesung as if devouring it.
“….”
A black giant crawling on the floor with its elbows and knees straight.
The huge fuselage, which would have been close to 200 meters long when fully erected, was completely wrapped in iron chains.
Ahhh-!!
And a desperate scream came from none other than the chains.
The giant’s skinny and limp limbs were dotted with faces with distorted expressions.
An absurd and grotesque monster.
‘Dead Soul Devourer.’
A wild beast that eats half souls that have fallen into Pandemonium.
The soul that has been devoured like this protrudes from the predator’s skin and is swept away by the cutting wind, pouring out tears and screaming.
‘These are all familiar faces.’
The faces of the demonic beasts Daeseong had killed were embroidered all over the predator’s body.
Those faces, sobbing and writhing in pain, become the flesh of a predator.
at that time.
The Dead Soul Devourer, discovering a new entrant into Pandemonium, slowly opened its mouth.
Bodily fluid, like rotten ooze, was dripping and a foul odor was present.
‘I can’t get eaten too.’
You can’t be defeated by animals that pick up trash.
It was difficult to maintain a proper posture because the relentless wind blowing cut the tendons of my entire body.
‘Rather than running away, I’d rather defeat that guy.’
I had a vague thought that maybe if I killed the dead soul predator in front of me, I might be able to find a clue to get out of this place.
The moment Daesung’s eyes sank deeply.
…! …!
The dead soul predator, which was viciously trying to swallow its prey in front of it, suddenly started twisting its body.
In an inexplicable situation, Daesung relaxed his posture.
‘what?’
The dead soul predator rolled on the ground, twisting its limbs as if it had thorns in its body.
Every time that happened, piles of bones were scattered everywhere.
Daesung stared blankly at the scene and suddenly recognized it.
‘The screaming has stopped.’
The scream of the half soul stuck to the body was like the roar of a dead soul predator.
But now, because the souls all closed their mouths, only silent screams continued vaguely.
After a while, the ghost predator rolling around on the floor became quiet.
And
-Ah…
-Lord…
-Are you there….
Black blood gushes out from the body of the prone predator, making a sound.
This is because the faces of the dead souls that made up the swollen lump of flesh burst into tears.
“Can you see me?”
Only after the predator became completely silent was Daesung able to leisurely face the beasts.
Each of the demonic beasts opened their mouths. At first glance, it is a disgusting and strange sight, resembling maggots wiggling.
– We managed to put the predator to sleep by mustering up our will to welcome our lord…
– We forcibly cut off consciousness, so he will wake up soon…
– Now that the predator is asleep, this is our only chance to welcome our lord… ..
I also heard this from Dolph.
It is said that the Dead Soul Devourer enters a sleep phase every non-specific cycle, and the demonic beasts take advantage of that moment to send a message to Daeseong through the Pantheon.
‘I said it was the feeling of a thread being connected.’
A sense that the soul, which would have been left behind only to feel pain, was connected to the hidden world of the Pantheon.
‘It was said that my appearance was observed through Argoniac’s crystal sphere.’
A magical beast called Argoniac, which may be stuffed somewhere in the predator’s body, stores an orb in its skull that can focus on a specific target.
Originally, only Argoniac could look into the orb, but those demonic beasts are beings that are integrated with each other as the flesh of a predator.
In other words, we share the scenery that Argoniac sees.
-I apologize for always making you noisy…
-But the only time we can speak out is when the predator is asleep… -Please
consider our desperation and earnestness with great generosity, great lord. My goodness….
Suddenly, the demon beasts started apologizing.
Perhaps it bothered me that I shouted out multiple system messages?
‘Wasn’t it quiet recently because I told you to be quiet?’
Suddenly, such a hypothesis occurred to me.
It may be that the predator simply wasn’t in the sleep phase and didn’t have time to send a message.
Well, that’s probably good.
“Is there any way I can get out of here?”
I don’t want to have a leisurely reunion with those magical beasts.
Meanwhile, the fierce wind continues to blow. The faces of the demon beasts, which were no different from the flesh of a predator, were cut and healed repeatedly.
But they didn’t manage to scream. Because it is in front of the lord.
-The only being who can open and close Pandemonium is the manager…
-The predator is asleep, so the manager may come here soon…
-Be prepared….
Daeseong twitched his eyebrows after hearing the commotion of the demon beasts. I cried.
Dolph said that Pandemonium is like a vast prison that traps dead souls.
And it is no surprise that prisons have guards who supervise the prisoners.
Just
‘coming to visit?’
I expected to visit him in person, but he came here.
The moment a feeling of doubt crossed my mind, a message like dust appeared before my eyes.
< 'The contact point of the roots' has opened. >
< The manager of Pandemonium, 'N', has appeared. >
< The wind of punishment has stopped. >
The gust of wind that had been blowing suddenly stopped as if it had never happened before.
And not far away, groups of twilight-colored lights gradually began to gather in the air.
“….”
The identity of the light group must be the manager.
First, Daeseong hid behind the body of a predator as big as a mountain.
***
A mysterious thing happened.
The Dead Soul Devourer, who had entered the sleep phase just recently, fell asleep once again!
‘The cycle has never been this short? ‘That’s strange.’
A mysterious place that dead souls cannot see or set foot in.
contact point of the roots.
‘N’ was caught in confusion in a small gap where the stem and roots of the dimension tree were so close that they almost touched each other.
He looked like a miserable old man and stroked his long, matted gray beard that reached the nape of his neck.
‘I’ll have to go down and have a look.’
The Dead Soul Devourer is a spirit created by Yen by dedicating his divine power.
Even without seeing it, I could tell clearly, as if I could touch it with my own skin, where it was, what it was doing, and how many prisoners it had caught and eaten today.
That’s why En noticed that the Dead Soul Devourer had stopped acting and had fallen asleep.
Damn it -.
The wrinkled ground covered with vines opened wide, creating a hole.
The black abyss of Pandemonium, directly below the ‘root point’, was visible beyond the hole.
‘Please, there shouldn’t be any problem with him.’
A predator is a being that takes over one’s job. N had no intention of dying in the dark and damp abyss.
Soon, N, who stepped into the hole, split into a halo of light and transitioned into Pandemonium.
And saw.
“You really fell asleep, right?”
The image of a predator lying down and only breathing intermittently.
Even I, the owner of the spirit, can’t predict when it falls asleep, but this was so strange.
After completely transferring, N approached the predator to find out the cause.
“You poor souls.”
-….
“The predator is sound asleep again. “Did something strange happen while I was away?”
En smiled generously and looked at the faces of the demon beasts.
On the other hand, the demon beasts glared at En with feelings of resentment written all over their faces.
N didn’t like it when his questions weren’t answered and only a murderous glare was pointed at him.
“The decision to control your pain is up to me. “I guess the wind of punishment alone won’t make you want to reflect, right?”
-….
“You who came here already dead cannot die again. That is why they do not die and continue to suffer for eternity.”
The demon beasts could not hide their resentment from their expressions, but at the same time, they were too afraid to open their mouths.
They also feel emotions unless they are plants.
And I know very well how terrible and sad it is to repeat pain without being able to die.
“Answer the question. Next time, before the wounds are given a chance to heal, a harsher and harsher punishment is imposed. What happened here? “Someone came…”
“I came.”
N, who had been fighting a war of nerves, turned his head to the side.
Soon, En’s cloudy eyes shrank, as if he had a cataract.
Because I saw something so amazing.
“Oh oh… this can’t be right…!”
“Are you going to keep being dazed and mesmerized like that?”
Apostle Orkiel.
She suddenly appeared in Pandemonium.
En wasted no time in lying face down.
“I see the Supreme Being. “What is it like for an apostle to be in such a lowly place?”
“An unauthorized ascetic entered the dimensional tree at will.”
“Yes yes…?”
“It looks like he went on a rampage and the place above is a complete mess. He can’t even be seen. While I was searching, the dimensional tree flipped over and I suddenly fell here. Damn. “What a disgrace!”
“Oh, please stop being angry…!”
En soothed Orkiel’s anger in a nervous voice.
The mere presence of a strong being who was not a dead soul or even an apostle was enough to threaten the tide of pandemonium.
“That’s it. I can’t stay in a place like this for even one minute, one second. “Can you please let me out quickly?”
“Would it be possible…! “I know you must be very uncomfortable, but please hold my hand for a moment.”
Orkiel held En’s wrinkled hand with an expression of displeasure.
At that moment, Orkiel’s body split into a halo of light, just like when Yen first appeared here.
After a while, ‘root contacts’ spread out everywhere.
“This is the first time the Apostle has visited Pandemonium.”
N walked leisurely through the desolate interior of the contact point and suddenly spoke.
“hmm. however?”
“Oh no. Perhaps because it was the first time the lonely old man had a conversation, he started talking a lot. Please understand.”
He has been lonely for a long time, traveling between this contact point and the abyss below, caught by his mission.
Even if the person around you is a difficult apostle to deal with, you can’t help but feel glad to see him.
“Anyway, this place is pretty interesting, isn’t it?”
“yes?”
“I’m curious. “By what principle can we go in and out of this place?”
Orkiel turned his back and looked around the inside of the contact point.
En’s face lit up.
‘I can’t believe the Apostle is interested in what I have to say!’
N, who was so excited for no reason, suddenly started talking a lot.
“There is a path connected to the root tree in the deepest part of the northernmost part of the junction we are heading towards.”
“Yeah, so?”
“If I shed my blood as a manager there, the way will open.”
“Is the blood of anyone other than the manager useless?”
“Oh my, you are ignorant about Pandemonium.”
There is no way the Supreme Apostle would be interested in such a lowly place.
It would be even more strange for a high-ranking angel of the 6th rank to be so knowledgeable about this kind of waste treatment plant.
“That’s it. “Just answer me.”
“Oh yeah. The ‘Root Point’ only responds to blood from the heart of the One who presides over the Abyss. “My heart can be seen as the symbol of a manager.”
And as soon as the words were put into focus, N’s vision suddenly turned over.
I’m crying!
Uncontrollably, countless amounts of blood poured out of my dry lips out of nowhere.
“Huh huh…?”
My intestines are twisted, my bones are turning to dust, my flesh is melting…
this feeling as if my very existence is falling apart.
It was a pain I was experiencing for the first time, but the information imprinted in my head told me where it came from.
‘Why the oath of bran worship now…?’
A charm placed to prevent confidentiality from being granted to outside entities.
However, the person in front of you is an apostle. An apostle is absolutely not an external being to which the oath of worship applies.
I’m crying!
En’s body, which had spilled blood once more, crumbled into powder.
I feel dizzy and my vision becomes blurry as if there is a black fog.
“Thank you for the good information.”
The skin on Orkiel’s face was completely transformed into a hard butterfly mask.
Daesung, who soon shed his skin and revealed his true self, looked sideways at N, who was turning into dust and disappearing, and said.
“You don’t notice this.”