Chapter 62: How to Win Friends and Influence Devils

  The problem with the Mountain of Darkness turned out to be far different from what Seweryn had feared. Despite circling around for a good few minutes, no evil ate them. Nor did it seem that its inhabitants were at all concerned by their presence.

  The issue was that they could not find a suitable entrance anywhere.

  All the roads leading up the mountain broke off halfway, an effect of the terrain's elevation several months prior. Where the old paths once led, huge roots now blocked the way.

  Worse still, nothing could be seen beyond these modest areas, because the further, or higher up they went, the greater the darkness surrounding it became.

  In the end, they had no choice but to land near one of the paths sealed off by the roots.

  "We should get out of here!"

  A look at Seweryn's face was enough to guess what he thought of the whole idea to visit this place.

  Justinian himself began to hesitate a little. It was one thing to arrive as a guest on the mountain itself, and another to forcefully enter somewhere the host clearly did not wish them to be.

  He was wondering if he really had to give up when something strange began to happen to the world around them. Everything suddenly fell silent, and the air lost its gravity.

  From behind a dark root, words emerged:

  "That's right. You should."

  The young man didn't even have time to react when darkness wrapped itself around him, ready to crush his bones. His heart felt as trapped in a vicious mechanism, ready to crush it without a moment's notice. Slowly, colors began to fade, and he stopped seeing anything.

  From the outside, it looked like a great wall of darkness had suddenly sprung up in that place.

  Seweryn watched with wide eyes, seemingly spared by the brutal power. The thought of running away appeared in his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

  Many things could be said about him, but honor was important to him, and he could not abandon a companion in such a situation.

  Therefore, gritting his teeth, he threw himself into the strange darkness that had engulfed Justinian!

  That was his intention, at least, because the moment he took a step, a powerful, unseen blow hurled him hundreds of meters down the mountain!

  "Don't try it."

  A warning echoed in his mind after a painful descent from the rocky slope as soon as he managed to stop himself.

  Now, with fear etched on his face, he could only watch the darkness that had solidified in the spot where his friend had been moments before.

  Inside, Justinian felt as if he had found himself in a completely different world.

  No echoes of any outside energies reached him; the sounds were absolutely muted. There was only grayness and a strange shadow that held him immobilized.

  It was in this moment that sounds began to reach him. The only ones in the terrifying void that had the right to exist.

  They were the sounds of approaching footsteps.

  "There are less painful ways to commit suicide than breaking into my mountain."

  A calm voice cut through the air like thunder. Although he hadn't heard it before, he had no doubt who it belonged to.

  "My apologies, Your Lordship! However, I have an important matter for the representative adept, Septima!"

  He had no doubt that an apology was the right thing to do. Firstly, the entity whose mountain he had trespassed upon was known for his overt and brutal expression of displeasure. Secondly, the message conveyed by the lack of the entrance paths was quite clear.

  From the darkness before him slowly emerged none other than the devil Maleficius, the terror of the entire dimension.

  "And what important matter do you have with her?"

  His face betrayed no emotion, perhaps only slight amusement at the fact that some whelp had decided to enter his domain.

  Justinian looked him in the eyes and got to the heart of the issue.

  "I would like her to help us save the dimension from obliteration."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  The host allowed the words to hang in the air, then smiled.

  "Why should she?"

  He didn't even care what this salvation was supposed to look like. The devil's grip on the young man's power only intensified. While the boy couldn't move before, now he felt Maleficius's strength ready to crush him in case of a wrong answer.

  Nearing his breaking point, he gritted his teeth and angrily stood up to the Mountain Lord:

  "What do you mean 'why,' for heaven's sake! Aren't we part of the same dimension?! I don't know about devil customs or why you came here, but even for you, this danger must matter!"

  Hearing these words, the host looked at him, processing them for a moment. Then, he simply burst out laughing.

  "Matter? An insect like you dares to talk to me about mattering?"

  He looked as if he had heard the best joke in the world. It was not hard to tell that he was saying what he truly thought.

  He approached Justinian within punching distance.

  "Listen, bug. The only thing that matters in this world is power."

  Here, his smile became especially venomous.

  "Not only you, but your entire dimension is nothing. It can be destroyed into dust, and at most, I would shrug."

  The coldness in his eyes didn't waver for a moment. Finally, however, the devil turned and slowly began to move towards the interior of the mountain. Just before entering the wall of blackness, he looked to his right, where a new presence had just appeared.

  This presence had long, black hair and wonderfully accentuated facial features. Beautiful, wide eyes, in which darkness hid, exchanged a glance with him.

  Without stopping, Maleficius left her alone with Justinian.

  5 minutes earlier...

  Septima, with raised eyebrows, watched as one human and one devil methodically flew around the Mountain of Darkness. They were clearly looking for an entrance that the mountain's owners had deliberately disposed of long ago.

  The very fact was absurd. After all, who didn't know that the powerful and sinister Maleficius had taken this place and was not one for socializing?

  'Maybe that man has completely lost his mind.'

  Recalling their previous meetings, she felt like clutching her head. She had lost the battle to his demonic tactics when the Holy Pilgrimage began, and later, for some incomprehensible reason, he had saved her when he could have finished her off.

  'The worst was on the moon.'

  In that pathetic corner of the world, this man not only defeated her domain but completely dominated the Foundation Stabilization ritual. He even preempted her in achieving the power of the devilish virtue of wrath, which he then scorned.

  Whatever he did, he always acted against her predictions, causing considerable annoyance.

  'Should I kill them?'

  Maleficius's voice echoed in her mind.

  'No. I want to see why they came here.'

  Watching the "conversation" between the devil and his guest, the absurdity of the situation struck her again. The boy was spouting some nonsense about saving the dimension and the importance of this world-forgotten backwater.

  The she-devil sighed heavily. Since he had come here, she could at least listen to him. Especially since her curse still wouldn't yield.

  Sending a telepathic message to the Mountain Lord, she entered the area of darkness and stood a few meters before Justinian.

  "It is impolite to show up at someone's home uninvited."

  "Are we really going to talk about politeness when my bones were almost crushed a moment ago?"

  Septima shrugged. What else did he expect?

  Seeing her unfazed expression, Justinian shook his head at the poorness of devilish customs. However, there was no time for further antics, so he seriously brought up the topic of representation.

  "I would like you to go with me to the recategorization ceremony."

  The she-devil raised her eyebrows when she heard that.

  "Why would I do that?"

  "According to Boruta, the whole dimension could be destroyed if we fail."

  Her cold gaze expressed, better than a flood of words, the sense of indifference she felt regarding this. The young man before her felt his blood boil at the sight.

  "Oh, come on! I know we've had our differences, but do you truly not care about the destruction of the 66th Hell?"

  Septima's mocking smile was her answer.

  "And why exactly do you care so much? This isn't even your home, almost everyone here hates you, and you can't even introduce yourself without summoning lightning from the sky."

  The sentences blazing from her mouth were effective. She knew she was right; that was simply the nature of things.

  "Instead of wasting time on this nonsense, listen to my advice and get out of here while you can. Leave it to the devils to decide the fate of H..."

  He didn't let her finish. Clenching his hands and with a gesture full of conviction, he shook his head.

  "No. I don't care that the devils hate me, and even if they do—everyone changes. But this is also my home now, and I have to take care of it. At least until it's lost."

  Septima looked at him with pity; his absurd views clearly demonstrated the weakness of being human. She had no intention of wasting time on such nonsense.

  Ignoring the monologue about responsibility that he had launched into, she was about to pointedly turn away when Maleficius's voice rang in her head.

  'Perhaps you should consider it? Progress with the mountain will take several months, and the recategorization is a good opportunity for our cause.'

  '...'

  'I am serious. Besides, that man's exceptional foundation might inspire you in finding a way to break your curse.'

  The she-devil felt as if a huge weight had been placed on her temples, and her mocking smile turned into an awkward grimace. Justinian, meanwhile, with a glint in his eye, continued his lofty speech about values and fighting for a common cause.

  Half an hour later...

  The nobleman Seweryn could not believe his eyes when a satisfied Justinian emerged from the wall of darkness, explaining something to a grim-looking Septima.

  All this time, he had been waiting for his friend to be released by Maleficius—after all, if the Mountain Lord had wanted to, they would both already be dead. Hence, the boy's return was a relief, but not a surprise.

  The matter was different with the adept of the Mountain of Darkness. She had a deadly reputation for a long time, and the nobleman had even seen her defeat the Orange Prince without any problem during a ritual.

  'How on earth did she agree to this trip?'

  Pondering this, a certain absurd rumor finally surfaced in his mind. This rumor concerned Justinian's reputation among the local she-devils. A very romantic reputation...

  Now, watching the boy cheerfully chatting with the silent demoness...

  He did not finish the thought, however, because he felt the heavy gaze of the woman in question upon him.

  He considered himself quite clever, so he dared not revisit that idea.

  The three soon approached the Mountain of Mists. There, however, a completely different greeting awaited them than the one they had expected.

  "That..."

  The sky above the mountain was torn by a powerful—dark blue glow.

  There was no doubt that Micromegas was about to descend.