Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 298: Entrance to hell

Chapter 298: Entrance to hell

"Your Majesty, to celebrate your victory over the rebels, we have decided to hold a festival in your honor, one like no other." A sagely elder spoke in a stately manner, holding onto a parchment which he methodically read from with the other nobles present nodding in agreement to his words.

Enoch, being the addressed party, didn’t seem quite interested in the meeting as he sat on his throne, his posture tilted to the side as he rested his jaw on his fist.

As the sagely elder continued speaking, Enoch found himself continuously drifting, his eyes flickering as drowsiness overtook his senses.

It didn’t take long before he closed his eyes and then opened them again only to be stunned by the bloody scene before him with dismembered bodies strewn about and broken palace pillars lying around.

Rubbing his eyes, he opened them again to find that he was seated at the dinner table, being served methodically by the servants.

At first confused, Enoch soon settled into the setting, watching as a rather sumptuous meal was placed before him.

"Is everything to your liking, Your Majesty?" One of the female servants who seemed slightly older and was most likely the head of the female maids, inquired of Enoch with a smile.

Enoch responded in kind. "It’s quite wonderful, you may leave now."

"As you wish." The head maid said before leading the maids away from the dining hall that was large enough to fit a little over two hundred people.

With no guards present, the hall felt quite empty but this didn’t seem to bother Enoch as he leaned forward in a bid to sink his jaws into breakfast.

However, just as he blinked once, the meal vanished and in its place, plates were laid out but instead of freshly made food, it was filled with decayed morsels as well as dried blood and cobwebs that seemed to have been around for several decades.

Enoch immediately backed away at the sight only to pause as he sensed a presence approaching.

"Your Majesty."

Enoch glanced back to find that it was only Albert, causing him to let out a relieved sigh.

At the same time, the horrid appearance of what he’d seen had vanished, once again replaced by the sumptuous array of food laid out before him.

Of course, Enoch had no desire to eat any longer and so he addressed Albert instead to sate a different hunger that had been gnawing at him.

"Any news?"

One could see the visible excitement on Enoch’s face as he awaited Albert’s response.

Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed as Albert shook his head.

"There have been unexpected issues so it isn’t going as..."

Bam

"What’s with the hold-up?" Enoch inquired angrily as he slammed his fist on the table, cutting off Albert who immediately took a step back in fright.

"Apologies, your Majesty, I assure you, it is not our mistake."

"... Is that so?"

"Indeed."

Albeit upset about the delay, Enoch calmed down. "Alright then. As it is, I’m still dealing with the ascension so I guess I’ll just focus on that to pass the time."

"That would be best, your Majesty."

"Mn... Make sure to tell me once you’ve got something, understand?"

"As his Majesty wills it." Albert bowed in response only to inquire. "Your Majesty, forgive my insolence but... I would like to ask if you are feeling well?"

Enoch sighed as he massaged his temples. "The ascension is harder than I thought but it’s fine. I’ll be fine, I just need to focus. So don’t worry."

"Alright then, I’m glad to hear that your Majesty is fine. I’ll be leaving now."

With that, Albert promptly took his leave, leaving Enoch to contemplate his next course of action before he decided to head back to his room.

Closing his eyes, he opened them to find himself standing on the balcony of his room.

His breathing uneven, he slowly inched toward the edge where the entirety of the capital was laid out before him.

Below, the citizens methodically moved about their everyday tasks with not a single deviation.

It was peaceful, it was soothing.

Enoch let out a satisfied sigh as he closed his eyes, taking in the morning breeze that rushed past him.

But as he opened his eyes, he wished he never had.

The beautiful scenery was gone and in its place, a city destroyed with dead bodies covering every inch of land as far as the eyes could see while the buildings lay in ruins.

Enoch gasped as several overlapping voices began to ring out in his ears.

He let out a scream as he dropped to his knees, his body trembling like a sickly man.

***

"Princess Berenice..." Elena muttered in shock as she took steps back.

Nice to meet you, Elena.

Berenice spoke calmly with an air of nobility about her, understandable for a woman of her stature.

"How come..."

We can communicate like this?

"..." Elena said no words but her expression was enough of a response.

This city was the origin and so the dimensionality is weaker here and more than that, we are connected. I doubt any other would be able to see me the way you can.

"You..."

You want to know if I’ve been listening to everything?

"..."

I have and I won’t lie by saying that it was expected but I won’t also say that the possibility wasn’t there, after all, you are me, and who else would understand you better than me?

"... Do you hate me?" Elena inquired.

... The people are upset. It’s been difficult avoiding them to not get into an altercation.

"I..."

No need to apologize. After all that’s happened, a few fools screaming at me is the least of my problems.

"But..."

But I won’t say that I’m not disappointed. My Magnum opus wasted all because of a miscalculation. I guess numbers can’t account for everything.

"I don’t know what to do. I want to save you all but... I don’t know." Elena muttered, dropping her head down in defeat.

I won’t lie and say that I know what to do. What I do know is that I’m tired, Elena. I don’t care what you do with your life, I just... I want to be set free. So please... whatever decision you make, I hope it can help me put an end to this suffering.

Elena raised her head to meet Berenice’s gaze and at that moment, she saw it.

Berenice’s noble air was gone, replacing it a woman who wished to end it all.

Exhaustion was visible from her expression and her eyes were devoid of a will to keep going.

"I... I promise."

Thank you. I hope you find a way. You may leave... I’ll be waiting.

And with that, Berenice’s figure vanished from the mirror with the voices plaguing Elena finally stopping, allowing the latter some well-deserved silence.

Clenching her fist, Elena dropped to her knees and as her hair covered her face, a teardrop fell from her face and stained the dusty floor.

***

It took a day before Alex recovered completely from the corruption received from absorbing the abyssal air from Platadoris.

Thankfully, his plan was successful, it would have been quite annoying to go through what he went through.

Regardless, rid of the corruption, Alex was finally able to move about, an opportunity he took full advantage of as he took a well-deserved bath before putting on a cotton shirt with a long leather jacket as well as gloves and khaki pants with a matching pair of boots.

Adding a wide curved brim hat to the mix, Alex checked himself out in the mirror for a bit before snapping his fingers.

***

He appeared in an otherwise destroyed Wandering Forest.

Its lush trees were long gone and its lands were now covered in craters and scorched earth, clear signs of the battle that had happened not too long ago.

Catching sight of the Beast camp not too far away, Alex sauntered over only to be met with tense BeastMen who immediately saluted once they noticed his presence.

It was a clear contrast to the disdain they’d used to regard him the first day they saw him, though Alex could care less how they regarded him.

Alejandro, Ana, and Victoria quickly came over to meet him with Victoria revealing a joyful expression while Ana straight up leapt into his arms.

"You’re awake. I was so worried." Ana remarked as she buried her face in Alex’s chest.

Not really in the mood for the joyous atmosphere, Alex calmly peeled Ana off of him before glancing at Alejandro who began.

"I want to..."

"Save your gratitude for someone that needs it, Alejandro. I did what I did for the deal, I hope you will do the same when the situation calls for it."

Unoffended by Alex’s irritable state, Alejandro replied with a slight bow. "You have my word."

Nodding in satisfaction, Alex inquired. "Where is it?"

"Hmm?"

"The Hole. Where is it?"

"Ah, we no longer call it the Hole." Alejandro casually remarked, causing Alex to furrow his brows.

"Why?... Were there any changes?" His tone laced with worry, he feared that the situation might have gotten worse in his absence which would further exacerbate what he had to do.

"Not at all," Alejandro shook his head as he added context. "But although my men and I were quite agreeable to the designation of the structure as the Hole, Lady Ana held a different opinion and with a well-thought-out argument, managed to convince us to change the name from the Hole to the Pit."

"..." Alex glanced at Ana who had her nose up in triumph as she explained.

"A hole is only a hole if it has two ends, the structure in question has only one end so it naturally is better to call it a pit."

Alejandro nodded in understanding while Alex could only look on in silence, his eyebrows twitching as a result.

He could understand Ana since she had her moments, but Alejandro?... Alex resisted the urge to curse out the both of them as he remarked through gritted teeth. "Lead me... to the Pit."

"Aye aye, this way, please." Ana seemed quite enthusiastic as she led the way, with Alex following closely behind.

Soon, they arrived before it.

It was large... much larger than Alex could have anticipated.

It spanned a wide enough diameter to swallow up the entirety of Aragon if placed underneath the city and its depths couldn’t be made out even as Alex peered over the edge.

If anything, it looked like the entrance to hell.

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