Fire Mage (Web Novel)

Chapter 677: Bone Tree

Ancient Trinket

At the Innermost core of the ancient forest, there stood a mountain range touching the dark, cloudy sky.

Upon observing closely, one would find that this mountain range appeared circularly, protecting the center plain around a 50 km radius.

At that moment, a shadowy humanoid demon with eerie dark wings suddenly appeared at the top of one of the mountains, releasing his wisdom power to let everyone know his arrival.

He appeared around 190 cm tall, had two goat-like horns, a clear human facial appearance, reddish brown hair, and ebony skin, and wore a black cloak.

"The clouds are blocking my vision." He spoke in an ancient abyssal tongue and waved his hand.

A moment later, the white clouds that covered the whole mountain dispelled, giving him a clear view.

Alas, what followed him were countless roars of anger from different mountains.

But a sudden gust of wind came from the northern direction and silenced the roars.

Meanwhile, the demonic being narrowed his eyes and focused on a particular direction.

A few seconds later, a monstrous winged lizard with shiny black and red scales popped out of the faraway white cloud and flew in his direction.

It was more than 120 meters long and 50 meters tall, making him look more like an ant.

It was a Chaos Dragon!

"I've been waiting for your arrival for ten years, Azgan. What took you so long? Did you get any Imperial Whiskey?" The Chaos Dragon spoke in ancient dragon language as it arrived above the winged Demon and slowly flapped its wings to land on the mountain's peak.

"It's hard to fool the eyes of Pale Night Witch, Mirigon. One wrong move and our millennium years of hard work will go into dust." The winged Demon named Azgan said with a smile and slowly ascended.

"Lead the way; I've something urgent to report to the Lord of the Chaos."

"Oh? I thought you came here to spend your boredom. Did something happen?" Mirigon asked and flapped its wings to cause a powerful gust of wind in all directions.

"You will know soon enough." Demon Azgan kept his words short and asked further.

"So, how is your plan going on? Did the humans find any loophole in the Dungeon's structure?"

"Well, they said they managed to find the core of this Dungeon Layer through some formula and even used some trickery to fool the Guardian's eyes for a second before retreating. If I give out an order, they will invade the core room and break the Dungeon's defensive array. At that time, Our Lord of Chaos could directly enter here and succeed in his plan."

The Dragon's words made Azgan's eyes widen.

'I didn't put any hope on this Dragon's little experiment. But the humans are indeed oddballs who would do anything for wealth.'

"Fascinating. Things will be more interesting in the following days, it seems. Let's go, Mirigon."

He urged the Dragon to move.

Before long, the Chaos Dragon rose and guided the Demon towards the central plain.

An old palace made of glittering gems and crystalline rocks stood at the center of the land, surrounded by towering mountains and woodlands. Even though it was dark outside, the whole building shone in rainbow color and illuminated the surroundings in magnificent rays of light.

As Azgan and Mirigon approached the Crystal Palace, they could feel the oppressive aura emanating from it. The air seemed to thicken as they arrived closer, and the very air around them seemed to vibrate with an evil energy.

Guarding the entrance to the palace were two colossal stone golems, each standing over fifty feet tall. Their bodies were etched with ancient runes, and their eyes glowed with an eerie blue light.

Azgan and Mirigon landed before the golems, and Azgan raised his hand, revealing a black gemstone amulet. He held it up to the golems, and they scanned it with glowing eyes. After a moment, the golems stepped aside, allowing the duo to pass.

"Let's go and greet the Lord now," Azgan said, causing the dragon to flinch.

"Me too?" A surprised voice could be heard from the majestic creature's mouth.

"Of course. Although your mind isn't powerful enough to endure Our Lord's gaze for a long time, you won't become a puppet. But be careful when we meet the lord. Never utter a word unless I say so."

Azgan said with a smile and quietly signaled the dragon to get ready.

On the other hand, Mirigon flapped his wings lightly, and his whole being shrunk at an incredible speed.

Before long, he transformed into an appearance of 2-meter tall lizardman-like appearance.

Then, he took a black robe from his space ring and wore it over his naked body.

After that, both arrived closer to the entrance and walked in.

Inside the Crystal Citadel, the surroundings starkly contrasted with the foreboding exterior. The walls were adorned with intricate carvings and colorful murals depicting scenes from the history of the Abyssal realm. Crystalline pillars rose high into the ceiling, refracting the light in a dazzling display of colors.

As they ventured deeper into the palace, they reached a grand chamber at the heart of the Crystal Citadel. At the center of the chamber was a throne of pure chaos energy, constantly shifting and changing form. Upon the throne was a figure shrouded in darkness and swirling mist.

Azgan and Mirigon approached the throne, and Azgan bowed respectfully. "I'm here to meet our Lord, Master."

A short silence appeared, and soon, the shadowy figure spoke deeply from within the swirling mist.

"Opening the Gate frequently might expose his location to Devil Crow."

"A big anomaly has appeared. I've got a vague feeling that this anomaly has some information to counter the Devil Crow."

"An anomaly? Hmm, come back quick." While saying so, the shadowy figure raised its hand and waved it.

First, a strange invisible layer enveloped the rainbow crystal palace and blocked any mysterious and even divine power from entering.

Then, a bluish crack appeared in the middle of the throne chamber and formed into a portal.

"Let's go," Azgan said solemnly and leaped into the portal. Mirigon also followed after him and soon found himself in a dark, gloomy cavern. The cave ceilings were filled with sharp stalactites and seemed to be filled with bone-chilling icy aura.

"It's cold here." The Dragon said grimly and soon looked ahead at the area where the dim light was coming.

"Follow me." Azgan cautiously glanced around and hurriedly moved towards the light.

After walking for a while, both soon reached the chamber and found a towering tree of bone and flesh.

It was around 200 meters tall, had a 10 to 15-meter-wide trunk almost resembling Titan's bone, and even had different bones forming stems and branches. But what made Mirigon grim was the image of blood dripping down from the fleshy leaves. Strangely, he saw unique eye patterns on each leaf and appeared creepier.

"I-Is it the Lord?" Mirigon asked in a stiff tone but soon felt a mysterious gaze.

At the same time, he felt millions of eyes looking at him from every corner of the cave and shuddered.

Then, all of a sudden, a strange ice-chilling whisper echoed in the air.

"Why did you bring a lizard? I know you wouldn't bring someone without any reason... So, what is it?"

Even though Azgan had come to this place multiple times, he couldn't help but get anxious.

"I brought some good news, My Lord. This Dragon's subordinates found a way to enter the Fourth Layer's Core room and disrupt the Guardian from interfering. Although this will only delay the guardian briefly, I think even a small amount of help is worth it."

"Who are those smart, reckless puppets? Winged Devils? No, those are proud creatures and never bow down to a lizard. Elves, Demons, and Dwarfs are out of option. Humans, huh? They indeed have no fear when it comes to research." A deep sigh came from the ancient bone tree.

"But why did you come here in a hurry? This isn't the time to leave your post, right?"

Upon hearing the question, Azgan nodded his head and spoke.

"I sensed an anomaly in this layer, My Lord. He might have some crucial information to help us achieve our goal much sooner."

"A Taboo Existence? No. If a Taboo Existence arrived, the whole layer might have already been in chaos. Hmm, can you get in contact with him?" The ancient voice asked.

Azgan shook his head and answered.

"I have no idea about his whereabouts. But he seems to be looking for me."

"Oh? Go back and try to get in touch with him sooner. If you find a single piece of useful information, notify me right away." Just as the voice spoke, another spatial crack appeared behind them.

Before they could even think, a suction force came from the slowly forming portal and pulled them in.

Azgan and Mirigon disappeared a second later, leaving the ancient bone tree in the chilling darkness.

...

A few seconds later, Azgan and Mirigon appeared in the middle of the crystal palace's throne chamber and looked up at the shadowy figure.

"It's done, Master. I'll be taking my leave soon." Azgan said as he bowed and took out a yellowish-red vial from his space ring.

"Please accept this as my parting gift." Saying so, he used his wisdom power and sent it to the shadowy figure.

On the other hand, the shadowy figure caught the vial and let out a chuckle.

"Hmm, Titan's Blood? This looks more like the blood of a Rank 7 Sun Titan!" He paused for a moment and soon added.

"You should return to the War Castle quickly. Pale Night might notice your disappearance."

"Yes, Master." Azgan agreed.

After that, both didn't stay in the Castle's Throne hall any longer and left in a hurry.