Upon sensing my gaze, Inferinos started the conversation.
"I first must congratulate you on accomplishing your mission and returning in one piece. Would you care for some tea?"
"No, thank you." I declined her offer and nudged my cup away, well-equipped with the knowledge of how the tea was made.
Inferinos chuckled, as if she knew I would refuse, and leaned back in her chair. She clasped her hands together and spoke arrogantly with her chin raised. "Report your findings," she commanded, adopting an air of authority that befitted a Demon Lord.
I figured I ought to return the favor. I crossed my legs and raised my chin high as well. "I shall tell you what I saw."
And so, I gave my report with my head held high and my eyes intensely returning Infernos' gaze.
"Karpeios' building is called the Sacred Tomb of Chaos."
The new information sparked her greed for knowledge, causing Inferinos' eyes to widen eagerly.
"What is the purpose of the building?" She asked. "What did you see there? And what does he intend to do with it? Go on, tell me more."
I was more than willing to share the information.
"Once you reach the lowest floor of the sacred tomb, there is a place called the Altar of Chaos, which is connected to the root of all demon-kind."
"Meaning...?"
"The Cradle of Chaos and Evil."
That was the name of the dungeon Tesilid jumped into during Loop One Hundred. It was a dark sea formed by a collection of countless evil intentions, evil thoughts and malicious evil spirits. The place had been nothing more than a pandemonium of various evils at first, but the wicked beings eventually congregated into one large mass, initiating a ritual that represented the collective will of all evil.
And so it was that the aggregation of countless evils led to the birth of a consciousness called Chaos and Evil. In Loop One Hundred, Chaos and Evil lost its will and was consumed by Reed, who had it distilled into pure energy. But we were currently in Loop Seventeen after time had been turned back, which meant Chaos and Evil still existed in this timeline. That's why Reed intended to create a dungeon burst through his powers to unleash Chaos and Evil into the human world and destroy it.
And the reason Reed doesn't destroy the world himself? The answer was quite simple. He made an unbreakable vow with Chaos and Evil during Loop One Hundred, which allowed him to safeguard his consciousness without getting consumed by Chaos and Evil.
In the novel, Reed faithfully carried out the vow to initiate a dungeon burst in the final dungeon. What about the Reed in this timeline? He went off the original story arc, but his plan mostly remained the same, save for a few changes.
"The Sacred Tomb of Chaos is a double-layered dungeon. The altar itself is the entrance to the cradle."
Inferinos was silent as she listened to my explanation.
"Reed intends to create one dungeon burst on top of the other to bring out the true Chaos and Evil into the human world," I added.
The she-demon didn't seem to know what to say.
"His motives are pretty clear. Each instance of a dungeon burst boosts the power and authority of the dungeon master, so the true Chaos and Evil unleashed onto the Human Realm will be..." I myself didn't know what it would become or what kind of disasters it would bring about. "Quite horrifying."
Would anyone be able to stop it? I wasn't confident. There was nothing I could do about the uncertainty in my voice and the doubt in my eyes.
â¬Â«System» [A Legal Transaction (Difficulty: SSS)] quest completed.â
Inferinos finally voiced her admiration for the plot. "The powers of the true Chaos and Evil in all its dark and sinister glory..." she said, her tone full of wonder. "Will be amplified twice over by the powers of the double-layered dungeon..."
The Demon Lord was ecstatic.
"Ahhh... Ahhh!" She let out a long moan of admiration. "How magnificent this plan is! I praise and adore you with all my being, great Chaos and Evil!"
Inferinos jolted out of her seat in elation. She no longer paid any attention to proper etiquette and manners. It was hard to tell whether she had done so out of admiration of Reed or joy in satisfying her desire for knowledge. Not that I cared about it.
"It's time to fulfill your end of the bargain, Inferinos."
"Of course."
It was time for my reward. As Inferinos had conveniently gotten herself up from her seat earlier, she walked over to the ledge of the Pit of Solitude. She didn't seem like she would sit back down, so I got up as well.
The demon explained, "As I mentioned before, the rules state that no one can leave the hole unless they become the last one standing. My ability has been used to make this rule irreversible and its enforcement absolute."
I stayed silent. The fact that she seemed to be making excuses already was hardly a good sign.
"Once a sacrifice has entered the Pit of Solitude, not even I can exempt it from this rule. But there is nothing to worry about. A contract is binding, and I shall honor my word."
I held my tongue as she tried to convince me of her honor. Despite her words, the Demon Lord's eyes flashed maliciously as they scanned me. My suspicion was soon proven right.
"But we will have to bend some rules. We must offer a sacrifice to replace the one to be taken out of the pit."
I couldn't stop myself from scoffing out aloud. Of course, I knew this would happen. The quest had only promised me Tesilid Argente's survival as its reward, nothing more. The ambiguous phrasing obviously hinted there was a catch.
"You will sacrifice yourself in his place, Executioner of Evil."
Rumble!
The ground beneath me crumbled down.
â¬Â«System» Warning. Entering the Pit of Solitude.â
â¬Â«System» Warning. You are the 10,257th sacrifice.â
System messages started popping up right as my heart dropped.
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World lets out a sigh and says they knew this would happen.â
â¬The Scale that Judges Souls groans at the predictable plot.â
â¬The Advocate of Confidentiality clicks their tongue and wonders why this couple always falls from cliffs.â
A powerful force greater than gravity pulled me down as I thought about the black-haired man named Reed. So, this is why he merged the Cross Flory Lily Scythe with the Holy Demon Sword.
If this had been in his plans all along... It made me wonder.
Then did he also account for what I would do? There was only one way to find out.
Whoosh!
I could hardly hear anything over the roar of wind against my ears as I fell into the hole. Meanwhile, I noticed a mild burn over my right hand as the distorted half moon on my palm shriveled away. The mark disappeared as both parties had fulfilled their obligations.
Rumble!
A part of the ground at the bottom of the pit had formed into a pillar and was soaring upward to match the speed of my fall. A man was crouching on top of it. He raised his gaze to see me, and our eyes locked for a brief second.
"Allie...?"
Tesilid was safe. It was all I needed to know.
"Allie!"
His voice quickly soared upward. Soon, I could see he reached ground level that was now high above me. The terms had been carried out in full, so there was no reason for me to hold back anymore.
It's time for payback, Inferinos. I clenched my right fist to reveal a silver wire wrapped around my fingers.
"Guess what, Inferinos."
I turned my head to see the Demon Lord looking down at me from above. She flinched when she saw me smile. Good. At least she can tell when she's in trouble.
"I happen to have a habit of pulling some strings."
I sharply tugged downward and felt the tight tension of the wire in my hand.
"What?!"
Only then did Inferinos feel the silver thread that had been wound around her neck. Although the Spirit King's Harp String would hardly last a second against the vile demonic energy emitted by a Demon Lord, that was all the time I needed.
Once a body topples over the cliff, the Pit of Solitude would consider it a sacrifice. And, as she so kindly explained moments ago, not even a Demon Lord like herself was an exception to the rule set on this place.
Oh, how I love that rule.
"Join me, Inferinos."
The voice overhead answered my invitation.
"Curse you, Executioner of Evil!"
The demon glared at me with bloodshot eyes. Ah, what a fine look on her face.
Convinced that my eyes probably flashed with malice as heinous as that of a demon's, I scoffed out loudly for her to hear. But I heard another voice from above.
"Allie! No!"
It was impossible for me to not turn my head in the direction of his desperate cry. The sneer on my lips turned into a smile once my gaze found his ocean-colored eyes. I made my best effort to smile.
"I'll be off now, Tez. There's nothing to worry about."
I could only hope my promise would reassure him.
Soon, everything turned pitch black, and only his words reached me through the darkness.
"Ailette Rodeline! Come back!"
Unfortunately for Tesilid, I would rather have him worry about me than be anxious about him myself. Pleased with how I managed to reverse our fortunes, I silently closed my eyes. That's when I was suddenly spammed with a series of system messages.
â¬Â«System» Warning. The total sum of power wielded by the sacrifices exceeds the limit set for the [Pit of Solitude]. The Pit of Solitude is shutting down.â
â¬Â«System» Warning. Requirement f or a [Royal Sacrifice] has been fulfilled, making the rule of [Solitude] more powerful.â
The last message I saw on the back of my eyelid read as follows.
â¬Â«System» [Battle for the Throne] has begun.â