Chapter 77 – The Archdemon of Pride
The river, the beast, the very air around them—gone. No explosion, no booming aftermath, just a sudden, eerie silence as everything ceased to exist.
In the place where the beast had once stood, there now swirled a mass of black-red energy, writhing and twisting like the maw of something ancient and unholy. It was a portal, a wound in space.
Ethan stared at it, head tilted slightly in curiosity.
"Is that the entrance?" he asked Airi beside him, though truthfully, he already knew the answer.
"I believe so," Airi nodded, her voice quiet but steady.
"Anything I need to prepare before going in?" Ethan asked again, not out of fear, but strategy. He had no plans of being caught off guard.
Airi placed her hand under her chin, pensive.
"Well… besides the fact that the aura inside can kill you instantly, and that we need to make sure it doesn't leak out of the core zone into the rest of the forest…"
She shrugged, casual. "Nothing much, really."
