Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 855: Land of Fire [2]

BOOOM—!

Thunderous cheers rolled through the Sun-Scour Arena, crashing against the towering walls of ashen stone that encircled the colossal battleground.

Tens of thousands packed the towering stands, their voices rising into a deafening roar that seemed to shake the very foundations of the arena. Cloaked nobles, hardened mercenaries, desperate gamblers, and bloodthirsty spectators leaned forward from their seats, their gazes burning with anticipation.

All eyes were fixed on the two warriors clashing in the center of the pit.

The fight between the two had gone on for several hours, both battling until their mana completely dried up and there was nothing left in the tank.

Their breathing came in ragged bursts as they staggered across the cracked arena floor.

Despite the numerous injuries in each other’s bodies, neither man allowed himself to fall.

BANG!

Fists swung through the scorching air.

A brutal hook landed with a sickening thud, snapping one fighter’s head to the side as blood sprayed across the sand. The other answered immediately, driving his own fist forward with the last shreds of strength left in his battered body.

BANG, BANG—

Blow after blow echoed through the arena.

Blood dripped from torn knuckles and split lips, splattering across the fractured earth beneath their feet. The once pale sand had long since turned dark and muddy, soaked through with their blood.

And still, neither warrior backed down.

"Waaaah!"

"...Kill him! Kill him!"

The depraved shouts of the crowd reverberated in all directions as the two warriors battled it out with their lives on the line. Neither seemed to be affected by the shouts; their entire attention was focused on the opponent ahead.

This was no regular battle.

It was a battle that went beyond simple survival.

This was a ranking battle.

Ranked 73 Kelak vs. Ranked 68 Simola.

The victor between the two would determine their overall ranking within the city.

Fists were exchanged once more.

Two heads snapped back at the same time, but this time, clenching his fist once more, Kelak’s entire body squirmed and popped as it doubled in size. His eyes turned completely red as he threw a terrifying punch forward.

BANG!

There was nothing his already exhausted opponent could do.

The moment Kelak’s fist landed, Simola’s head exploded.

Blood spurted in all directions as the crowd thundered once more.

"Waaaaaah—!"

Their depraved shouts filled the grounds once more as Kelak wobbled back, trying to keep his large frame from dropping to a knee. That was also the moment everything turned silent as Kelak turned his attention towards the far end of the arena, where a figure sat, his eyes drooping as he looked in Kelak’s direction.

Unlike the other spectators, he was different. His frame wasn’t large, and his white robes hung loosely around his body, accentuating his grayish hair.

But above all, just a simple look in his eyes was enough to make one submit.

Kelak was no different as his head lowered, a primordial fear clawing at the deepest part of his being and causing his body to shiver continuously.

He was well aware of the identity of the man in front of him.

How could he not know?

Ranked 1 — Tharvek.

The Dune Conqueror.

"...Not bad."

Tharvek’s soft voice reverberated across the surroundings, causing Kelak’s body to tremble even further.

"For defeating Ranked 68 Simola, you shall be bestowed the 68th Ranked. Congratulations."

The surroundings thundered once more, but Kelak kept his head lowered. The surroundings turned silent after a brief moment as the figure at the center of everyone’s attention stood up, flicking his hand.

Kelak’s head lifted as he raised his hand and caught a small flask, containing a deep red liquid.

"You have earned the right to batpize yourself."

Kelak’s eyes gleamed as he stared at the red liquid within the flask.

"Once again, congratulations, Ranked 68 Kelak."

BOOOM—!

The surroundings boomed once more as the crowd erupted into cheers.

Tharvek didn’t stay any longer. Upon handing over the liquid to the victor, he calmly walked out of the arena.

But as he did, he eventually looked up towards the sky.

Towards the two suns that hovered above.

His lips curled into a smile.

***

The moment we stepped into the forest, it felt as though we had been transported into a completely different world. The trees twisted together, their branches spiking upward as the dark bark blended seamlessly with the darkness around us.

There was something about the air that felt suffocating.

As if something was staring right at us.

"This place gives me the creeps."

Kiera muttered while looking around, her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings, while everyone else tensed.

I activated [Mana Sense] and tried to detect anything.

’This is a forest where Malenconies are supposed to exist. If I activate Mana Sense, I should be able to see if there’s any of them hiding.’

But...

’Hmm? Nothing?

This was a development that took me aback.

From the very start, I had expected there to be a lot of Malenconies or even monsters. However, regardless of which direction I looked, I couldn’t feel a single thing. It was as if we were the only ones to exist within this dense forest.

But how does that make sense?

"I don’t detect anything."

I shared my findings with the others.

"There’s nothing near us. No Malenconies or monsters."

"I also don’t sense anything."

Evelyn spoke up, her eyes opening as lightning crackled within her pupils.

"There’s nothing near us."

This left me unsettled. Was my information wrong, or were the monsters here somehow able to hide from us?

"What should we do then?"

As Aoife asked, Leon walked ahead.

"What else are we supposed to do? Let’s go ahead."

"Mhm."

I agreed with Leon’s assessment and followed behind him. At the same time, I kept [Mana Sense] active as I scanned the surroundings. However, even as we walked for the next dozen minutes, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. The trees grew denser, their bark thicker, and the darkness deepened.

After some point, I started to lose track of the people around me.

Thankfully, with [Mana Sense] active, I was still aware of where everyone was. But the same couldn’t be said for them, as Kiera’s body suddenly glowed as flames emerged.

As light flourished from her body, Aoife’s gaze flicked towards a certain direction.

"Wait."

She pointed in a certain direction.

As we all followed her line of sight, a pair of chains met my vision.

"Those are...?"

Aoife approached the chains and grabbed them.

"They look like chains."

She pulled the chains apart.

"They’re quite durable too. Like, very durable."

She had to exert quite a bit of force before they snapped in half.

"Why are chains here?"

An’as asked as he looked at the chains in Aoife’s hands. Anne, who stood next to him, also took a close look at the chains before responding, "If I’m not wrong, they probably belong to those from the city in the Land of Fire. Maybe they were trying to hunt for food? Food and water are quite scarce over there."

"...That makes sense."

Aoife continued to mess with the chains before tossing them away.

We all proceeded ahead.

But the more we walked, the more things we noticed. From chains to a piece of clothing, to helmets, and so on.

"It really does look like a lot of people were sent here."

The deeper we walked, the more such items we saw. However, despite that, there appeared to be no single human within our vicinity. The same was for the monsters. Above all, the temperature started to rise the deeper we went.

"From hot to cold, Julien... You really can’t expect the Mirror Dimension to be a normal place."

Hearing Kiera’s gumble, I nodded. This really did feel quite uncomfortable. But just as I was about to reply to her, something caught my attention in the distance.

A light.

My heart skipped a beat.

"We’re almost there."

Everyone’s steps hurried as we headed towards the light as it pierced through the numerous gaps created by the trees ahead of us.

I still remained cautious as we continued ahead, but even as we drew closer and closer to the opposite end of the forest, nothing came to attack us. By the time we arrived at the forest’s edge, greeted by the numerous dunes stretching across the horizon, a strong heat washed over our group.

"Wow....!"

The heat was unlike anything we felt before arriving. It almost felt scorching, prickling at my skin as though I was standing in the middle of an oven.

I had no choice but to coat my body with a layer of mana to endure the heat.

"I’m actually quite surprised that we were able to pass by the forest so easily. This is the first time we’ve gone through something without encountering any trouble."

"Stop jinxing it."

I replied to Leon’s words as he kept looking at the forest, seemingly waiting for a monster to jump at him at any given moment. It wasn’t like I didn’t get him. I was also at a complete loss.

’But this works out for the best.’

"Still, don’t let your guard down."

I looked at the scenery ahead, my eyes eventually lifting to the sky. The moment they did, my expression changed subtly as I took note of the second sun hovering above, its presence just as bright as the other.

In fact, I couldn’t even tell the difference between the two.

"So it wasn’t a lie."

Anne mumbled, similarly looking at the second sun in the sky.

"There truly is a second sun."

"...But how is that possible?"

Aoife looked up, her brows furrowed tightly as her eyes squinted under the bright lights of the sun.

"Don’t you find it strange too? Before coming here, even when we were in the sky, there was no sign of a second sun. However, the moment we pass the forest, a second sun magically appears above? Something is not adding up."

"....."

Evelyn’s words had merit. Everyone else started to talk with each other, trying to figure out what the second sun meant and how it was possible for it to be there. At first, I was also confused, but the more I looked at it, the more I started to understand as my heart started to beat faster and faster.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

It was so loud that I felt the pounding inside my head.

"That’s no sun..."

Everything became clear to me in the next second as a knot formed inside my stomach, my expression quickly changing as I activated [Lament of Lies] to the maximum, not holding back a single thing as sweat poured from the side of my face.

"Julien!?"

"What’s wrong with you? Where are you—"

"That’s not a second sun."

I shouted, my expression tensing further. Almost as if something had set its sights on me, its gaze hovering over our general direction as the mana inside my body circulated faster, beginning to drain more quickly than before.

But I had no choice but to do this.

There was no other option.

Because...

Slowly lifting my head up, what greeted my line of sight wasn’t the sun.

No.

It was an eye.

A large eye that seemed to overlook the entire world.