[Salvos] 634. What Do We Even Do? (Patreon)

634. What Do We Even Do?

***

It was worrying. From what Haec told me, the Demon King’s plan was going to cause a lot of problems. Not just for me or my friends, but for the entire world. After all, ripping a permanent hole between the Netherworld and the Mortal Realm was going to exacerbate the end of the world.

I had seen the corruption that was spreading down there. Even the Beast wouldn’t have been able to survive the death and destruction that was proliferating down there. And that was at the current danger of the corruption.

If Regnorex saw his plan through, it was entirely possible that the corruption that was afflicting the second layer would grow even worse than before. Belphegor and my dad were down there, fighting as best they could to slow the end of the world. Their efforts would then become pointless. Not only that, but… their lives would be in even greater danger than ever before.

I grew uneasy at the very idea that my dad could perish down there, before I ever got to see him again. However, that wasn’t even the worst-case scenario, as horrible as it would be. An even worse outcome than that would be if instead of simply exacerbating the corruption, Regnorex’s plan brought the corruption up here into the first layer.

That was what happened at the twelfth layer of the Netherworld— when my dad’s project to build a new world failed and collapsed into itself, causing the end of the world.

Seriously— Regnorex was going to cause a lot of problems for me. He was hunting down Haec, while threatening the lives of all my companions in the Mortal Realm. And then he was endangering my dad at the same time as expediting the destruction of everything and everything as I knew it.

I needed to find a way to stop him. And yet, what could I have realistically done right now? I was a Primeval Demon, and he was a Primordial Demon. I would get killed in an instant in a fight against him.

It wasn’t even that long ago when I had witnessed two Primordial Demons duel in one of the most dangerous battles I had ever seen. Maybe Regnorex wasn’t nearly as strong as the Beast, but he at least had to be comparable to [The Great Agarus]. Considering that I was hunted down and nearly killed by the latter, I was pretty sure my gut feeling that I’d be utterly slaughtered by the Demon King was probably correct. Especially considering how much I struggled when I was fighting a far inferior imitation of him by Avaritia back in the Siege of Alyras.

Anyway, that was all a problem for future me to deal with. Right now, my biggest worry was finding a way to the Demon King’s Domain. Because… well, the Netherworld and its expansive rocky white plains was not a conducive place for figuring out directions.

“Come on, are you guys seriously lost? Isn’t this your home? Didn’t you guys grow up here?”

I threw my hands in the air as I trudged behind Haec. Bertrugil and Aemula walked beside me, while Taburas trailed slowly behind. We traversed the Netherworld, not bothering to even mask our presence.

Revelation was over, so most of the danger was gone. It was currently Salvation, and according to Haec, this was the most peaceful period of all the cycles. And from what I saw, that was truly the case.

It was completely silent all around us. There was no wandering wild Demon looking to pounce on an unsuspecting target. Occasionally, I’d spot a Demon or two in the distance. But they simply stared at our group from afar.

Most of the time, even though I was higher-leveled than them, I’d still be attacked by a group of wild Demons. So I knew they weren’t scared of me. It was just because of Salvation.

As I had been told by Haec, at the end of Revelation, all the wandering wild Demons would return to the places of their birth. And they would huddle back there until Salvation came to an end, before leaving once Advent began.

It was genuinely such a strange sight to me, being simply watched by wild Demons, but otherwise completely ignored by them in any other way. I even spotted a [Cthonic Agaros] in the distance, nesting atop the caldera of a mountain, just staring down at me from afar.

Aemula shrank back at its gaze, but Bertrugil didn’t seem to care. I turned away from the two Archdemons to face Haec, waiting for his answer.

The former Heir of the Netherworld sighed as he shook his head.

“Unfortunately, we have spent most of our time in the Demon King’s Domain. And when we were sent out to complete missions, it was always under the supervision and guidance of Oracli.”

“Oracli? Who’s that?”

I tilted my head back at my first companion. But Bertrugil was the one who answered.

“Some old fart who’s apparently one of the most trusted advisors of the Demon King, having been there since the inception of the kingdom.”

“Huh. And how did he navigate his way around the Netherworld?”

I frowned, placing a hand on my chin as I swept my gaze over our surroundings. No matter where I looked, everything looked exactly the same as before. It really was nothing like the Mortal Realm with all its recognizable landmarks.

But at the very least, I assumed that the people of the Demon King’s Domain would have mapped out the area somewhat. Apparently, my hopes were too high, because Haec shook his head.

“Oracli did not navigate the Netherworld through his own means. He used an artifact. And unfortunately for us, we lack such an artifact.”

“An artifact? What kind of artifact did he use?”

I raised a brow, and Aemula piped up excitedly.

“Oh! Oh! I know the answer to that question!”

“What is it?”

I turned to her curiously. She beamed as she clapped her hands together.

“A Tablet of Tracking! Everyone knows about those!”

“A… what?”

I blinked. I stared at her quizzically, and she waved a hand casually.

“It’s an artifact that lets you track the location of any summoning collar in the entirety of the Netherworld!”

“The entirety of the Netherworld?!”

My eyes bulged when she said that. Aemula paused, before placing a hand on her chin.

“Well, actually, I don’t know if it can track across the entirety of the Netherworld. But it can certainly go quite far. That’s what the Deathsquad Hunters use to track down escapees from the Demon King’s Domain.”

“You mean that’s how Venas found us?”

I narrowed my eyes, remembering the group of Deathsquad Hunters I killed before we were attacked by the Beast. I turned to Haec who nodded.

“That is correct. It is likely that Venas or one of his subordinates carried a Tablet of Tracking on them.”

“Doesn’t that mean we can just go back and get it then?”

Aemula spoke, tapping a finger on her chin. I nodded along as I glanced back.

“I think that’s a good idea! Except—”

I gestured vaguely back in the direction of the lake of fire created by the Beast. Aemula blinked. And I continued.

“I think the Tablet of Tracking was destroyed along with… everything else.”

“Oh.”

Aemula just deflated. I patted her on the shoulder reassuringly, before turning to Haec and Bertrugil.

“But we can still set up a trap.”

Haec frowned back at me.

“A trap?”

I nodded with a grin.

“Yep! You’re still being hunted down by the Deathsquad Hunters, right? Even if you don’t have your summoning collar on you any longer, they’d at least be going after Taburas next since they know you’d be together.”

I glanced back towards the [Succubus]. She raised her head at the mention of her name, but she didn’t speak. She hadn’t said a word ever since Haec snapped at her for a brief moment. I felt back, and I really wanted to cheer her up. But right now, we had other pressing issues to deal with.

“We just have to use the two of you as bait, then we can catch them off-guard.”

Haec furrowed his brows, considering that plan. But Bertrugil protested as he took a step back and crossed his arms.

“Nope— that’s a stupid plan. We’re going to get ourselves killed doing that. I’m not doing this.”

“Well, if you want to go your own way, you can. But you’re going to be hunted down by a member of the Deathsquad Hunters anyway, aren’t you? After all…”

I gestured at the summoning collar on the [Abraxas]’s neck, and he blinked. He looked down at himself, before scowling.

“I… fuck.”

I just smirked, before turning back to Haec.

“So what do you think? First, we find a way to the Demon King’s Domain, and then we figure out what we do next.”

I spoke simply as my first companion mulled over my words for a while. He held my gaze, before nodding slowly.

“That’s a good plan. As expected of my leader.”

He smiled at me, and I grinned back. Behind me, Taburas shifted uncomfortably. And I spun around as I pointed to the sky.

“Alright! Then let’s do this!”

Author's Notes:

What thonk?

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