Parallel Memory

Chapter 559: The mission complete

The sound of boots was getting closer. Each step was heavy, measured, and perfectly in rhythm—just like the strange patrols they had seen earlier.

Somewhere in the far end of the chamber, a dark figure moved. Its head turned sharply from side to side, scanning for even the smallest sign of movement. The way it moved was unnatural, like it was built only to watch and hunt.

Mia’s eyes flicked to the floor. Near her foot was a small, loose piece of stone. Without saying a word, she looked at Hiro. He caught her gaze, and she gave a short nod. She bent slightly, picked up the stone, and with a quick flick of her wrist, sent it flying to the opposite side of the room.

The rock hit the polished floor with a faint clink, then rolled a short distance before stopping in the darkness.

The figure’s head snapped toward the sound instantly. It drifted across the chamber, its attention locked on the spot where the noise had come from.

That was the moment the group moved.

They stayed low, their movements smooth and silent, quickly slipping into a deep corner where the torchlight couldn’t reach. Shadows wrapped around them like a blanket, hiding them completely. Their bodies pressed close to the cold wall.

All except Mia used their Mana Base to hide themselves in the darkness, blending in so well they almost seemed part of the wall. Mia didn’t use mana camouflage. Instead, she relied on her mana suppression technique—cutting off her presence completely so that nothing could sense she was there.

The figure searched the place where the rock had landed, its head jerking from side to side. After a few tense moments, it gave a slow look around, then drifted away, apparently convinced nothing was wrong.

Mia gave a small, slow nod. It was time to move again.

They slipped further into the shadows, each step taken with extreme care. No sudden movements. No unnecessary noise. Their breathing was quiet and controlled.

At the far end of the chamber, a wide archway appeared before them. Beyond it was something none of them had expected to see.

It was... a city.

Not the kind of city they knew—no warm lanterns lighting the streets, no friendly voices of merchants calling out to sell their goods. Instead, the light here came from tall, jagged crystal spires that rose up from the ground. Each spire glowed faintly with a red and black light, the strange glow spilling over the streets and painting them in an eerie color.

The buildings were built from black stone, fused with a metal-like substance. The walls were covered in shifting symbols, shapes that seemed to move as if they were alive. The symbols twisted and reshaped themselves in a slow, hypnotic motion.

The air was heavy with the smell of ash and iron, a mix that clung to the back of the throat.

Devils walked through the streets in steady, purposeful movements. Some of them were huge—towering over everyone else. Their skin looked like cracked black rock, and their faces were marked with deep scars. Long tusks jutted from their mouths. They resembled ogres from human stories, but far more dangerous. Every time these hulking brutes passed, smaller devils stepped out of their way without a word.

But there were others that even the ogres moved aside for.

These were more human-like in shape, standing tall and straight. Their skin was pale or completely black, and their eyes burned like red coals. Curved horns grew from their heads, sweeping back like a crown of bone. Folded wings rested against their backs, and a heavy, dark aura spilled off them in waves. The air seemed to bend slightly around them, as if even the atmosphere itself feared them.

Hiro leaned close to Mia and whispered, his voice so low it was barely more than breath.

"The order here’s clear."

Mia followed his gaze and saw what he meant. Even the massive ogre-like devils gave these winged ones space, lowering their eyes slightly when they passed.

The group stayed to the shadows, hugging the edges of narrow alleys where the red light didn’t quite reach. They moved slowly, keeping their bodies low and close to walls. Every step was planned before it was taken.

The voices of passing devils drifted to them—rough, guttural words that sounded harsh but carried a certain rhythm. It was almost like hearing merchants bargaining or soldiers giving each other updates.

There were stalls on the streets, but nothing like human markets. No baskets of fruits, no bolts of colorful cloth. Instead, there were rows of dark, jagged weapons—blades that seemed to drink in the light, some of them faintly wrapped in a swirling black mist. Other stalls had talismans made of bone, strange shards of glowing crystal, and bottles filled with thick, shifting liquid that almost seemed alive inside the glass.

Far in the distance, a structure rose higher than all the rest. It spiraled upward, its jagged balconies curling out like the claws of some monstrous beast. Many guards were stationed there, their black armor carved with the same shifting symbols seen on the buildings.

Everywhere they looked, the message was the same: this was not just a base for soldiers. It was a living, working city. Devils didn’t just fight here—they lived here. They trained here. They prepared here for something much bigger than what the humans had seen on the border.

After careful observation, the group began to suspect the truth. The size of the place, the way the streets led toward that distant fortress—it could only mean one thing. They were in the capital city. And far in the distance, beyond the busy streets, they could see it: a massive fortress, big enough to hold an entire city inside its walls. It could only be the palace of the Devil King.

They exchanged quick looks. If they could measure the distance between the portal and the palace, the human army could bring their full force through and take the Devil King’s head. Once the palace was under their control, the entire devil settlement could be taken.

They turned back, starting their careful return to the portal. Every step had to be as silent as before.

Then Mia froze.

She felt it—a familiar aura cutting through the dark. It was faint, but unmistakable.

Zero.

She knew him well enough to recognize him anywhere. His face was hidden under a hood, his body wrapped in a cloak that radiated dark energy. But it didn’t matter. Mia would have known him even if he was buried under a mountain.

Her heart gave a sharp pull in her chest, but she didn’t move toward him. She couldn’t. Revealing herself here would put their mission in danger. The wrong move could ruin everything.

So she kept her eyes forward, her expression unchanged, even as she felt the weight of his presence in the crowd.