The Achievement Junkie

Chapter 375 Choron Goes Off the Grid

Flying high in the sky, a large creature flew at incredible speeds. Its speed cut through the clouds and shook all aviary beasts nearby. Yet none of the beasts or common people that the creature had passed knew that it had flown overhead.

That beast was massive and grotesque. It resembled the bone fiends of the magma floor from the Leisure Guild storehouse but was far too large and only had a single eye focused on its destination. Other than a muzzle wrapped around its face to keep it from wailing, there was a gemstone choker around the fiend's neck with a chain leading back to the man sitting on the giant fiend's back.

The man sat on a chair that was installed into the giant fiend's spine, jutting out from the creature's back. In one hand, the man held the chain of the giant fiend and in the other hand, he held a contact crystal.

"Choron, answer already!" the man shouted again into the crystal, still not getting a response.

The crusty boils around the man's pig-like nose almost cracked open as his face tightened in anger. His body was broad and sturdy but there was a large amount of fat covering the powerful muscles of his abdomen.

He shouted once more, "Choron! Answer me! How dare you not answer a superior?!"

With nothing left to do, the man grunted and put the crystal away. Since Choron wasn't going to let him in, the man needed to enter by force.

On the man's command, the invisible fiend dove down toward the expansive canyon below. It aimed for a spot that seemed to be covered in somewhat fresh rubble. It didn't stop though, barreling into the ground and finding a passage beneath it.

The giant beast soon landed at the bottom. Dim artificial lighting lined the walls and there was a single passage out of that chamber.

Dismounting the fiend, the hulking man shook the ground as he landed on his feet. He started to walk down the tunnel with a smug look on his face. The art along the walls didn't interest him as he confidently walked with his gaze fixed forward.

Eventually, the man reached a large chamber filled with beds. Only then did he finally seem interested in something other than the final chamber at the end of the tunnel.

The beds weren't dusty or unkempt. Everything was clean, tidy, and organized. Some beds had even been moved around. It was nothing like the last time he had visited Choron a couple of centuries ago.

Sniffing the surrounding air, the man's pig-like nose snorted while trying to figure out the reason behind the sudden change.

"... Goblins?... Or elves?"

The scent was both familiar and unfamiliar to the hulking man. No matter what he tried to imagine, though, he couldn't pinpoint the exact creature the scent belonged to.

Unhappy to realize that Choron had accepted people into his hidden temple, the man charged ahead at full speed.

Everything shook as the man's great weight combined with his speed and strength to barrel through the remainder of the passage. Only after he stepped into the vast open chamber and noticed a figure sitting cross-legged in the center of the room did the man halt his charge.

"Choron!" shouted the man. "What's going on here? What have you done now!?"

Unfazed, the man remained cross-legged and continued his meditation.

"You…" Stomping forward, the giant man marched toward the tranquil ninja. Once he was standing over the ninja, the man shouted directly into the ninja's ear. "What's the big idea, huh?!"

"Why so loud?" asked Choron, finally opening his eyes.

"Answer me! Why didn't you let me in?" questioned the man.

Choron chuckled, "Pestro… can't you see I'm in the middle of meditation? Now's not the time to bother me. We can speak later."

"No! We'll talk here and now!" Grabbing the ninja by the collar of his jacket, Pestro lifted the ninja a full meter until they were eye to eye. "What are you doing, Choron?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Pestro."

"Nonsense!" Spittle from Pestro's cries speckled Choron's face. "Tell me or die!"

"That's some threat, Pestro, but… can your actions back such a statement?" Choron chuckled.

Showing no hesitation, a halberd appeared in Pestro's other hand and was thrust into Choron's chest. "Now speak or die!"

Blood trickled down Choron's chest and the ninja spit a mouthful of the red liquid as well. But the ninja never stopped smiling or laughing. "I ask again… Can your actions back such a statement?"

Pestro snarled and removed the halberd only to thrust back into another part of Choron's chest.

As more blood fell from the ninja's mouth, he chuckled more. "You're too late…"

Just as Pestro started to gather black demonic energy around his halberd, Choron's figured evaporated in a puff of smoke. Leaving Pestro alone in the empty chamber of Choron's hidden temple, Choron's ninja clone disappeared without a trace.

"Raaaaahhhh!!"

Echoing off the walls and causing rocks to fall from the temple ceiling, Pestro yelled in pure, unadulterated rage. More and more of that demonic black energy gathered around him as the Demon God demonized and thrashed out within the temple.

Everything was laid to waste. The shrine of the main chamber was reduced to rubble. All the beds and furniture in the living quarters were shredded in Pestro's rampage. Every image along the walls was broken with either Pestro's shouts, his fists, or his demonic halberd. Nothing was safe from his fury.

After ten minutes of destruction, Pestro returned to his mount while panting heavily. He wasn't tired, just extremely livid and trying to calm down before he reentered the common world. If he accidentally thrashed out while in the mortal world, Tralbok and the other gods would never forgive him.

Five minutes later, Pestro was calm enough to speak normally. He then mounted the giant fiend and pulled out his contact crystal while the fiend fled from the scene of destruction.

"Tralbok, Choron wasn't there."

"What?!" replied Tralbok. "But according to crystal, Choron only left that place fifteen minutes ago, after you had already arrived."

"That was a clone, nothing more," replied Pestro, grinding his teeth. "Also, the beds had been used recently but I couldn't pinpoint what creatures had used them."

Thinking silently, Tralbok twiddled his fingers. "Pestro, do you have any clues or theories about what type of creatures had used the beds? Maybe we can pinpoint Choron's location from that."

With a sigh, Pestro replied, "I was stuck between goblins or elves."

"Goblins and elves? What a strange combination… Then let's check the goblin lands of Drulgen."

"But what about--"

"Don't worry too much about Rikko. Just go there quietly and scope things out. If you happen to run into him, just state that you're handling business for the faction," reasoned Tralbok. "Don't bother searching in Korten. That would cause too much trouble at the moment."

"But aren't we supposed to face the Holy Gods before the Neutral Gods?" asked Pestro.

Tralbok replied, "Well, we're not facing them. All you're doing is handling the business of the faction. Don't act afraid of Rikko, but don't do anything to hurt him either. If he causes you too much trouble, then call me so I can speak with him."

Nodding, Pestro guided his giant fiend eastward, heading toward the southeast corner of the continent.

"Also, don't come back till you have a lead on Choron, Pestro," Tralbok added. "With your snout, you should be able to sniff something out or at least eliminate goblins from our search list. Got it?"

"Got it."

With the conversation over, Pestro clenched his fists tightly. He was still enraged about Choron giving him the slip. With so much pent up aggression, Pestro wanted to hurry up and find Choron so that he could use the ninja as a punching bag to vent.