The Nether Realm was home to the Netherworld, a place where a single entity reigned supreme and stood above all else. This individual's name had long been lost to the passage of time; however, those who knew of their existence in this era called them the Netherworld Monarch.
The Netherworld Monarch was a unique existence. There was always a limit when it came to one's lifespan, whether it was True Dragons, Trephasias, or other long-lived races. It could be a thousand years, tens of thousands—even a million! Nevertheless, time would eventually catch up at some point, and one would ultimately be erased.
Death could not be avoided as it was the Will of the World—the fate of all that comes to exist.
There was one way to circ.u.mvent death, but that method required one to step into the Divine Realm—an impossible task for the vast majority.
However, there was a sole exception to this Will of the World that existed below the Divine Realm—the Netherworld Monarch. They were eternal—unable to experience a true death. Due to this, not even the threat of heavenly lightning could force them to ascend to the Divine Realm!
It was also because of this that worshippers of the Netherworld Monarch were not uncommon in the Mortal Realm. In fact, the Skounae race and the League of the Eidolon were two of the biggest followers of the Netherworld Monarch.
However, what troubled Izroth was that the relationship between the Netherworld Monarch and the Shadahi was nonexistent from what he ascertained. They stayed out of each other's way. Even during the Mortal Realm's last encounter with the eternal darkness, there were no signs of the Netherworld's presence.
As for the two sides making contact after that event, it was impossible. Beings from the Divine Realm sealed the eternal darkness; therefore, any type of communication with it from the outside was a futile attempt. Or, at least, it should have been.
'To gain access to the Shadahi and Netherworld's powers, it is unlikely that he is acting alone. There is a good chance that the entire Jestal family has a hand in this matter. If that is the case, things will not fair over well for Proximus within the alliance. There is also no guarantee that others are not a part of it. How troublesome.'
All of a sudden, the aura of death encompassing Dolos increased as it began to expand outward in every direction!
"Netherly Swathe," Dolos uttered, and in the blink of an eye, a world of pure darkness covered the surrounding 200 meters from his position.
A wave of darkness washed over Izroth and Aurie as they were separated from one another and pulled into the Netherly Swathe!
…
At first, there was nothing but darkness; however, after a few moments passed, a purple hue appeared and faintly lit up the environment.
The instant he was drawn into the Netherly Swathe, Izroth felt the gazes of several powerful existences lock onto him. But, it was as if those individuals were looking at him through a one-way mirror. Even though he could feel their presence, Izroth was unable to see them, and they were not able to directly interact with him.
'It's the same feeling as that time.'
Back during his visit to the Roaming Village of the Netherworld, Izroth experienced a similar situation from a player called Aelaza Ghost. However, she stated at the time that those effects were a benefit of being within the Roaming Village of the Netherworld.
Despite her personality, Izroth did not believe that Aelaza was lying. The most logical conclusion was that Dolos was simply higher up on the League of the Eidolon's ladder and held access to extra benefits.
For whatever reason, Dolos was somehow capable of using that same ability without having to be within the Roaming Village of the Netherworld. If the effects of this Netherly Swathe were identical to his previous encounter against Aelaza, then Dolos was virtually unkillable in this place! This was the primary reason why Izroth was only 30% confident in dealing the finishing blow to Dolos after sensing that familiar deathly energy. Paired with Dolos' Shadahi transformation, this was not something he could afford to take lightly.
'Do I have no choice but to use that now?'
Izroth owned a straightforward solution to escaping the Netherly Swathe—his Boundless Emperor Void Perfection's Boundless Nullifying Expanse. With its Nullification Zone effects, it should have enough power to break through the Netherly Swathe. In addition, since Dolos was a magic caster, the Nullification Zone was his natural enemy.
However, Dolos was not the largest threat in the Demilitarization Belt, and with a cooldown time of 252 hours, the Boundless Nullifying Expanse was not something Izroth could use freely.
'I'll have to bet on this.'
Izroth opened his inventory, and less than half a breath later, a small medallion materialized in the palm of his hand. This was the medallion he received from old man Zhi. Last time, it shattered the restrictive space after clashing with a powerful deathly energy and helped him escape from its influence.
Unfortunately, Izroth still had no idea how the medallion worked or how to activate it! Back then, it merely acted on its own accord.
'If it doesn't work, then I will just have to-'
Oooom! Oooom! Oooom!
Without warning, several holes in space formed around Izroth at multiple angles.
Shrieeek!
What could only be described as a condensed stream of space rushed towards Izroth with an edge sharper than any blade he had crossed paths with before in RML.
Woosh!
Izroth swiftly activated his Light Feather Footwork, gaining a considerable boost of movement speed as he evaded the incoming assault.
Zeeeut! Ooooom!
The condensed space vanished as it missed Izroth and hit the ground; however, just as Izroth's foot touched the earth, a second stream of space raced in his direction. This time, however, it was slightly faster. Though with the movement speed boost from his Light Feather Footwork still active, Izroth had no trouble dodging it.
But, it did not stop there. Every time Izroth avoided the condensed space, another would exit immediately after from a different hole in space with its speed slightly increased.
Izroth utilized his Energy Vision Sense to search for a clue where these attacks originated from and noticed one obscure flame not too far from his position.
'Although it's faint, I can tell that flame belongs to Commander Aurie. As for Dolos, his presence is spread all throughout this area, so it's impossible to pinpoint his exact position. Though if his target is Commander Aurie, it means he won't be too far away from her location. But, first, I will have to find a way to deal with these spatial streams.'
…
Meanwhile…
"This is a bit bothersome," Solomon said to himself as he inwardly frowned. With his Great Blazing Azure Bird's assistance, he managed to track down Dolos; however, he quickly ran into a problem. There was an insanely powerful spatial restriction magic in place!
"This level of complexity when it comes to spatial magic is definitely the work of someone from the Jestal family, and this energy infused into it… There is no denying it." Solomon sighed. A small part of him truly hoped that Soothing Smoke was wrong, but wishful thinking was just that—wishful.
"Just what are you up to out here?" Solomon muttered to himself.
He then removed a small purple orb that resembled the golden one he used earlier and crushed it in the palm of his hands. As he did so, a humanoid silhouette formed in front of Solomon.
After a breath of time, the silhouette underwent a drastic transformation.
"It has been a long time since you've summoned me, Solomon. I was beginning to think you stopped caring~." A sickeningly sweet and alluring voice sounded.
"That's because every time I request a favor, in return, you ask for something unreasonable, Celebrexa," Solomon stated.
The one called Celebrexa was a scantily clad, well-endowed woman with pale skin, violet hair, and mesmerizing eyes that mimicked the starry night sky. On her back was a modest pair of black demonic wings, and attached near the lowest region of her back was a tail.
"That's only because the favors you ask are never small, Solomon~," Celebrexa noted.
"Well, it's fine. I need you to destroy this spatial barrier." Solomon said as he directed Celebrexa's attention to the corrupted area of space.
"Hmmm?~ This barrier is pretty sturdy. For this, I'll need five." Celebrexa said as she narrowed her eyes and licked her lip as if she were about to devour something.
"Understood, do it." Solomon agreed without hesitation. He did not know what Dolos was doing inside this spatial barrier, but he would not wait around idle to find out.
"Then, as usual, I'll be taking my payment in advance~," Celebrexa said as she moved closer to Solomon and stabbed her hand through his chest!
