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The walls were thick with tangled red vines, their tendrils reaching out as if to grasp at him as he passed. Leo was already used to the environment of the temple and didn’t mind the plants, inspecting the ants contained within the empty potion bottles.

As he peered into the bottles, Leo couldn’t help but feel as though the ants inside were glaring at him with their red eyes, filled with malice. It was as if they were aware of his presence and were seeking revenge for being trapped.

Entering the hall, Leo’s demeanor changed. The smile on his face vanished as he cautiously approached the altar that stood at the center of the room with old, metal chains attached to its foundation.

Tap...

Leo carefully placed the two bottles full of ants onto the surface of the altar before taking a step back. He withdrew a small tooth from his inventory and pricked his finger, allowing a few drops of his blood to fall onto the nearby chain. As soon as he had finished, he quickly retreated to the other side of the room, keeping a safe distance from the altar and the metal creatures that were chained to it.

Clank...

Leo and Ava stood in silence as they watched the chains come to life, writhing and wrangling around the room as if searching for prey. After a few minutes, one of the chains made its way towards the altar and the bottles that were placed atop it. With a sharp crack, the chain shattered the bottles, causing the ants to scatter in all directions.

Leo and Ava watched as the writhing mass of chains swarmed over the altar and the ants scattered atop of it.

.....

[ ?????????? ???? ???; ??????/?????? ?????????? ]

Leo breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed the number of souls being devoured by the altar increasing. For a moment, he had been worried that the ants wouldn’t be counted, but it seemed his worries were unfounded.

“My end of the deal is complete...”

Ava whispered to Leo, who nodded in response. A few days ago, Leo had reached out to Ava with a proposition. He needed her help in finding some creatures and offered to help her in return by bringing them out of hell.

Leo couldn’t help but think that this deal had turned out to be a huge success. Even if Ava had declined his offer, he had been planning to escape from hell on his own. He could’ve kept hunting demons until the altar was full of souls. But with Ava’s help, he had been able to speed up the process.

Rumble...

Suddenly, the room shook violently, causing both Leo and Ava to stumble. Leo leaned against a nearby pillar to steady himself, while Ava spread her wings in an effort to maintain her balance. The shaking continued for a few more moments before finally subsiding.

Leo noticed a massive shadow hovering above the altar. The shadow seemed to have no particular form, constantly shifting and morphing into various creatures and shapes that Ava had never seen before. It was as if the shadow was alive and constantly changing, almost as if it were trying to attract their gaze.

“Close your eyes!”

As he watched the shadow hovering above the altar, Leo finally realized whose altar it was. It belonged to one of the high-tier corrupted ones. Even making eye contact with its phantom form could be deadly.

‘Kikikiki...’

Leo could hear the faint sound of giggling, as if the phantom shadow were amused by their presence. However, the laughter soon faded away, as if the shadow had disappeared into the distance.

[ ?????????? ?????????? ??????????????????... ]

[ ???????? ?????? ?????????????????? ??????????????! ]

[ ?????? ???????????? ?????? ???????????????????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???????????? ???? ???????????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ????????????????... ]

As soon as Leo and Ava opened their eyes, they were greeted with the sight of a system window hovering in front of them. While Ava’s lips curved up into a smile at the sight, Leo’s eye twitched in annoyance.

‘Too early...’

Leo let out a sigh of resignation. At least now the phantom wouldn’t be able to leave hell and wreak havoc on the new players who were barely above level 20. If that had happened, the servers would have likely gone down for an entire day, if not longer, as the developers worked to fix the issue.

Leo himself had never even entertained the thought of going after a world boss. He knew that there was no easy way to kill one of these powerful beings. It would take a huge group, or even an army, of powerful players to bring even the weakest world boss down. The thought of facing off against one of these behemoths was daunting, to say the least, and Leo had no desire to put himself in such a dangerous situation.

Leo was grateful that avoiding world bosses was relatively easy, mainly because they were like beacons of disasters. He remembered his past life and the time he had fought the Kraken. Wherever the creature went, tsunamis followed, destroying cities located near the shores and shattering ships that players used to approach it.

If a player saw massive waves in the distance, they knew to turn their ship and run away as fast as they could. Unless, of course, the world boss had targeted them specifically. In that case, the player could consider themselves as good as dead.

Click...

The sound of a faint clicking echoed through the room, causing Leo and Ava to turn their attention back to the altar. The altar suddenly split in half, revealing something glowing within it.

Exchanging glances with Ava, Leo cautiously approached the altar. He peered inside, trying to get a better look at the glowing object that lay within.

1?? ?????????? ???????? { ?????????????? }

— ?? ???????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????????????????? ??????????????????...

— ?????? ?????????????????????? ?????????????? ??????’?? ???????????? ????????????????

— ?? ???????????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???????????? ???????? ?????????????????? ?????? ???????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ????????

~~~~

To Leo’s surprise, the object inside the altar was not what he had expected at all. Instead of a mask clowns wear in the circus, he found a mask lying on the stone platform within the broken altar. The mask was completely black, with two holes left for the eyes. On top of it were two horns that curved backwards, giving the mask an ominous appearance.

As Leo read through the description of the mask, his face contorted a few times as he took in the information. Deciding to take a closer look, he equipped his ‘Shadow Gloves’ that he had removed earlier due to the heat in hell. He carefully touched the surface of the mask, and soon, it was absorbed into his inventory.

Even though the ability to permanently enhance his racial features was tempting, Leo knew that he couldn’t let himself be swayed by such a temptation. He had no desire to lose his mind, especially not with Ava nearby.

After retrieving the mask, Leo made his way back to Ava. As he felt her glare aimed at his face, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“It was a mask I needed to get...”

Ava’s curiosity was momentarily quenched, but her eyes still shone brightly in the dim lighting of the room.

The pair soon left the temple, with Leo taking the lead as they made their way through the red sand. Ava spread her senses, keeping a vigilant lookout for any lurking monsters that might pose a threat. They moved slowly, each step cautious as they made their way through the dead landscape.

Leo decided against summoning Fenrir, knowing that he’ll need the fast wolf further down the road. He wanted to keep his options open and have the ability to call upon Fenrir’s strength when they were ready to make their final push to escape from hell.

To leave hell, Leo and Ava needed to find a portal or teleportation station. These structures were typically shaped like huge pyramids, with a large platform at the top. A powerful guardian monster guarded the platform, and the only way to activate the huge engraving that would allow them to escape was to defeat the guardian and take control of the platform

Leo knew that summoning Fenrir in the high temperatures of hell would be a risky move. The beast would likely overheat, rendering it unable to fight at its full strength.

Leo scratched his neck absently as he glanced over at Ava, who was following closely behind him. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her cheeks were slightly red from the heat.

Even though they were in the midst of a grueling journey through hell, Ava’s appearance remained unchanged. Leo couldn’t help but wonder if she had some kind of passive skill that kept her looking fresh, even in these harsh conditions. He was tempted to ask her about it, but he hesitated, knowing that it might come off as if he had been paying too much attention to her

Leo and Ava continued their journey in peaceful silence, only interrupted by the occasional distant roar from creatures that called hell home.