“Well then, take care.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take a quick look and come right back.”
Dwarf, I answered, wearing the special boots Cooper had made for me.
For now, it was a war of exploration.
Even though it was Mt. Fuji that we were familiar with, we had no idea what variables might be lurking there since it was occupied by Gehanna.
Even just the terrain right now was a situation where magma was bubbling up due to the demons of Gehanna.
Cooper had just made him a pair of boots from a special material so he could work on top of it.
“That’s too bad. I wish I could have told you more.”
“What, it’s already helped me enough.”
Cooper was well aware of the underground demons of Gehanna, as well as the ‘fire’ they held.
But since he was only a blacksmith, he did not know how to hunt Gehanna.
From now on, we had no choice but to get information by personally experiencing it.
Still, Cooper emphasized one thing in the end.
“Never touch the ‘second fire.’”
“…Is it that dangerous?”
The second flame that burned Daichi’s demon head.
There was something in common with Cooper’s explanation that Gehanna had burned the surrounding area twice.
“It’s not just a matter of burning the skin. Unlike ordinary flames, the second flame burns something very special. Of course, it can’t compare to the ‘Gehanna Fire’ that lies underground…”
“What are you burning?”
“It is known to burn the soul. It is literally like hellfire.”
“What the hell is this fire…”
It was literally hell.
If humans were to burn a second time, it would be in none other than hell.
Because the fuel would not be the flesh or bones of one’s life, but the soul itself.
Kim Sol and Lee Yong-soo had decided to join us for this schedule.
While Kim Sol, armed with the ‘Aegis,’ protected me from the flames of Gehanna, Lee Yong-soo had to take me from the gate installed in Tokyo to Mt. Fuji.
Of course, Daichi, who would seal the ‘Gehanna Fire’ at the crucial moment, also decided to move with us.
Toodoodoodo…!
After a long time, I traveled by helicopter piloted by Yongsu Lee.
At some point, he shipped out his gigantic.
As we gradually approached Mt. Fuji…
“…Wow.”
We were able to discover Mt. Fuji, glowing red as if bathed in the sunset.
The snow-covered Mount Fuji that we often saw on postcards was nowhere to be found.
Because the white snow that had piled up like ice cream had completely changed into bright red lava.
Boom! Boom!
The Gigant, whose legs were reinforced with a special alloy like boots, left large footprints on the asphalt.
Kim Sol, who had outstanding physical strength and reaction speed, decided to walk, and Daichi and I, who were frail and delicate, climbed onto the shoulders of the Gigant driven by Lee Yong-soo.
When we reached the house right below Mt. Fuji,
Daichi opened his mouth, looking at the lava flowing out shallowly here and there.
“Fortunately, people were evacuated before the lava hit. The problem is that the lava zone is expanding…”
As Daichi said, lava was constantly flowing from Mt. Fuji.
A situation where everything, whether mountains, rivers, houses, or roads, was covered with lava.
As Gigant’s feet touched the hot lava, a new message came to us.
[You have entered Gehanna’s realm.]
[The realm effect, ‘Soul Tracker’ is applied.]
Field effects were similar to when entering the realm of Olympus.
Fortunately, my feet weren’t shackled or anything, but… I could sense one clear change.
Lee Yong-soo added,
“…They’re following us.”
The lava that had been spread evenly around us slowly began to approach us.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Yongsu Lee continued walking, shaking off the thick lava stuck to his gigantic legs.
It was true that the lava was gathering, but it was moving so slowly that it wasn’t a big problem as long as you didn’t stop walking.
So where we arrived…
“It was here. It was here that I saw the last of the Madougui…”
It was somewhere on the slope of Mt. Fuji, where Daichi left a hazy impression.
Apart from Daichi, who was in a strange state of depression, a strange, unidentifiable flame was rising at the location where the demon’s head had burned.
“…What is that?”
Pure white flames rose above the lava flowing down.
The flame, which was burning white without any red or blue light, was slowly approaching us.
“Duguiya… You missed me too.”
“…”
Daichi moved his feet as if possessed by a will-o’-the-wisp, and Yongsu Lee’s gigantic picked up the hem of his clothes without saying a word.
Boom! Boom!
Holding Daichi and Kim Sol in each hand and placing me on his shoulder, Lee Yong-soo’s Gigant climbed Mt. Fuji, covered in magma.
Not long after that…
“…Is that it.”
We were able to find an entrance blocked by two huge volcanic rocks.
And,
Rumble, rumble.
Krrrr!
As if to prove that this was the entrance to hell, the magma flowing around it began to gradually take shape.
Lee Yong-soo added,
“There was a guard dog.”
It was just as he said.
The thick mass of lava had hardened into a pitch-black rock, and to anyone who saw it, it looked exactly like a dog.
Considering the environment here, it would not be an exaggeration to call them ‘hell dogs’ beyond just ordinary dogs.
Krrrr!
Choaaaak!
Three hellhounds made of lava rushed toward us.
Their bodies were a mixture of rock and lava, melting and solidifying repeatedly, and they continued to move erratically, kicking the ground and surfacing like wolves but then disappearing into the lava’s surface like dolphins.
When three hellhounds made of lava rushed at us at the same time,
“Where!”
Taaang!
Kim Sol deployed a round, sphere-shaped barrier.
The surface of the barrier, covered in black soot, crackled.
The hellhounds’ flames were fierce, but they could not penetrate the defensive wall.
Knock knock!
With a splash!
As if to signal the next attack, the hellhounds took up positions around the barrier once again, but…
“Earth-bound seal!”
With the new abilities he had developed through leveling up, Daichi was able to tie up their hands.
A technique that allowed you to bind enemies from the outside, separate from tattooing monsters on your body.
Purruk!
The hellhounds were surging like a fountain, but their ankles were tied by the ground seal, preventing them from leaving their spot.
Meanwhile, thanks to him tying up the hellhounds, Lee Yong-soo and I were able to continue our counterattack.
“I’m ready, Mr. Jeonggyeom!”
“Yes!”
Swaaaaaaah!
A torrent of water poured down.
Cold water that was registered as a product in the subspace.
Hundreds of liters of water shot into the air…
“Hey!”
Phew!
The hellhounds were swept into a whirlwind by the trident pulled out by Gigant.
—
Now it was time to look at the entrance to Gehanna…
“No, Yongsu. Not yet.”
The hellhounds were starting to burn again.
A pure white flame that was neither red nor blue.
The second flame that burned Daichi’s demon head spread to the hellhounds.
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“Come together quickly!”
Kim Sol shouted urgently, and a circular barrier appeared again around her.
But…
The hellhounds also began to move more intelligently.
Gulp.
Plop! Plop!
The hellhounds, transformed into lava and covered in pure white flames, were called out in numbers.
From three to six, from six to twelve, from twelve to twenty-four.
Dozens of hellhounds, dividing like cells one by one, surrounded us.
And then…
—Boom!
They all rushed at us with a single cry.
“Go away!”
Taaang!
Kim Sol raised the ‘Aegis’ and stopped their charge, but…
“…What?”
The second flame of Gehenna, that pure white spark that was said to burn the soul, pierced the curtain like a ghost.
Knock!
Hit the button!
The surface of the Aegis that was touched by the soul fire began to gradually swell.
The pieces of meteorite that Cooper had joined together turned red hot, and the shield began to burn from the corners, accompanied by a stinging burning smell.
“Ah!”
Finally, Kim Sol used the effect of Aegis—an ability to further increase the barrier’s capabilities.
A golden curtain stretched out in the shape of a shield and rose from within…
Pfft!
The curtain burst like a balloon, clearing away the white sparks that had threatened us.
Jiiing!
I also opened the portal right away.
Then, using product recovery, I quickly pushed myself, Kim Sol, Lee Yong-soo, and Daichi into the subspace.
Like that…
Kkudangtang!
Together with Yong-soo Lee’s gigant, the three of us poured into the logistics center.
.
.
.
“…I survived.”
A subspace portal opened roundly toward Mt. Fuji.
The sight of hellhounds loitering around was clearly visible.
“Can’t you see? It’s not like you have pupils in the first place…”
Even though the portal was open right before our eyes, the hellhounds didn’t detect us at all.
They were just wandering around, trying to find us after we had disappeared.
“Well… I guess it’s because of the fire.”
There’s no way fire could have eyes.
It doesn’t look at anything; it just passes by, burning the wood it touches.
If we had allowed the attack, it would not have been the firewood that burned—it would have been our souls.
“…”
As I was blankly staring at the hellhounds, Cooper, who had seen us off a few hours ago, approached me.
“Are you okay?”
“No, the guard dogs are quite vicious.”
“Haha. Of course, did you think it would be that easy to go to hell on your own feet?”
Our ultimate goal was to capture the ‘Fire of Gehenna.’
And to do this, it was necessary to enter the depths of the volcano that they had dug.
But the problem was the hellhounds guarding the gate—or more precisely, the ‘second fire’ they surrounded.
“There was a field effect called Soul Tracker. Whether it was lava or fire, it would follow us around… It seemed like it wasn’t chasing us by sight, but by sensing our souls.”
Cooper also nodded at my words.
“That’s a very Gehenna-like effect. The soul fire is also their specialty. Its characteristic is that it follows the soul… If the volcano erupts soon, the fire will spread to all sorts of places.”
The second attribute of fire follows the soul.
If the demons of Gehenna were left unattended and the volcano erupted, the pure white flames that spread to the surrounding areas would burn people alive.
Cooper, who had been quietly looking out through the portal, asked me,
“Then… how do you plan on getting in?”
It was a situation where we had to enter through an entrance we had somehow found.
But it was difficult to approach because of the hellhounds.
Moreover, they were able to know our location through the field effect called ‘Soul Tracker.’
The only applicable method was…
“Throw me a bone, please.”
Like the demons of hell, they hunted down human souls.
So… it was about countering their field effects.
—
[Blessed Demon Devourer +5]
Grade: [Unique]
Devoured Soul: [1,000/1,000]
[Divine Explosion: Spits out a projectile of Devoured Soul, causing a Divine Explosion.]
—
Dozens of hellhounds rushed in, chasing the snack called ‘soul.’
Because my subspace contained an infinite amount of dog paws that had been condensed into 1,000 of Permegon’s vengeful spirits.
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