NOVEL WEB Chapter 77: The Archdemon of Pride
The river, the beast, the very air around them—gone. No explosion, no booming aftermath, just a sudden, eerie silence as everything ceased to exist.
In the place where the beast had once stood, there now swirled a mass of black-red energy, writhing and twisting like the maw of something ancient and unholy. It was a portal, a wound in space.
Ethan stared at it, head tilted slightly in curiosity.
"Is that the entrance?" he asked Airi beside him, though truthfully, he already knew the answer.
"I believe so," Airi nodded, her voice quiet but steady.
"Anything I need to prepare before going in?" Ethan asked again, not out of fear, but strategy. He had no plans of being caught off guard.
Airi placed her hand under her chin, pensive.
"Well… besides the fact that the aura inside can kill you instantly, and that we need to make sure it doesn't leak out of the core zone into the rest of the forest…"
She shrugged, casual. "Nothing much, really."
As if she hadn't just described something that could erase him from existence.
But Airi knew Ethan now.
Knew him well enough to understand: worrying for him was pointless.
And indeed—
"Hm… just that? Then it's fine," Ethan replied calmly, as if she'd warned him about a mosquito.
'System, suggestions?'
[You can purchase a barrier strong enough to withstand the aura of a Stage-4 god and enter safely.]
'Cost?'
[50 trillion points.]
'I've got 30 quadrillion. What's 50 trillion?' Ethan scoffed mentally. 'Take it and give me two of them.'
[DING! Purchase confirmed.]
Two glowing white rings materialized mid-air.
Ethan took one and handed the other to Airi. "Here. This'll help you resist the aura inside longer."
Airi caught the ring and examined it then froze.
A Stage-4 god-grade artifact?
Something even she had never owned when she was a goddess?
And now, as a mortal… she was holding one.
Airi sighed softly.
Life, truly, was unpredictable.
Quietly, she slid the ring onto her finger.
Ethan was already walking forward, grinning like a child who'd found a new toy.
"Let's go."
They stepped closer to the portal, now mere inches from the churning threshold of power.
Ethan raised his hand, reaching toward it…
But Airi stopped him, grabbing his wrist.
He turned toward her brows raised in an inquisitive way.
"Let me enter first, Ethan," she said seriously. "I'm your Saintess. I can't always be the one receiving while giving nothing back."
She looked him in the eye, her expression serious.
"Let me be useful."
Since the moment she became his Saintess, she'd done nothing—nothing worthy of that title.
Granted it was not that long ago when she became his saintess, not even two days. But she wanted to be of help.
And after all he'd given her, the least she could do was take the first step into danger.
Ethan smiled, soft and pleased at her resolve.
"Then go on, my Saintess," he said simply, stepping back, hands behind his back.
With one last breath, Airi nodded and entered the portal.
Ethan waited, not worried at all about her safety.
Something out of mind must happen for him to lose his own Saintess after all.
…
Inside the portal, Airi found herself standing on a massive battlefield long forgotten by time.
Corpses of all races lay strewn across the ground—twisted, mutilated, decayed beyond recognition. The sky above bled red, its hue casting a hellish glow across the ruined landscape.
No… the ground itself was blood. Layers of it. Thick. Dried and wet. Blood of every color.
And yet…
There was one blood that didn't mix with the rest.
A black-red stream that flowed with arrogance, untouched, separated from the rest like it refused to be sullied by anything beneath it.
And as Airi traced it to its source—
Her heart skipped.
So unnatural, so still, so wrong, that she immediately reached out to Ethan through their newly formed Saintess - god bond.
Within moments, he appeared beside her.
"…Oh my," Ethan muttered, his voice drifting like a breeze through the blood-slicked air.
There, at the center of it all, sat a being on a demonic black throne.
Pale white skin. Long black hair like ink. And a pair of sharp, pitch-black demonic horns rising from his skull.
But what caught the eye most was the golden holy spear driven clean through his chest—pinning him like a specimen. The wound bled endlessly. It was the source of the black-red blood that flooded half the battlefield.
Even pinned and bleeding, he sat like a king receiving worship
Ethan's eyes lingered on the spear.
Holy. Radiant.
So disgustingly pure that it made Airi's skin crawl.
But to Ethan?
He stared at it and thought—
'That would suit Anita nicely.'
A beautiful weapon for a beautiful angel.
'I miss her,' he thought absently. 'And Esmeray too. She'd probably be euphoric in a place like this—drenched in death, soaked in demonic power.'
He smiled faintly, shaking his head.
'I wonder how they're doing…'
But the thought passed.
He turned his attention back to the one Airi called Archdemon and started to walk towards him, slowly.
'System. Alive or dead?'
[In the middle.]
'Meaning?'
[He is aware of his surroundings, but cannot interact with them.]
'Because of the spear, I assume?'
[Correct.]
'So he can hear me if I speak to him?'
[Yes.]
'Perfect. Now, greedy system, how much do you want for this info dump?'
[…I was going to give it for free, but now—5 million.]
'Take it. And stop pretending you ever meant it for free.'
[…]
Ethan rolled his eyes, stepping forward until he stood directly before the throne.
Airi remained behind him, silent, watching.
A sigh slipped from Ethan's lips.
'Another divine rescue, huh? At this point, I deserve a damn title.'
He leaned forward, smiling softly, speaking in a voice meant only for the creature before him.
"Buddy… want me to pull that little thing out of your chest?"
—End of Chapter 77—