thefictionvixens Page 374
Page 374
……
"So why did the demon go berserk?"
Latis looked down at the large demon in front of him, rubbed his slightly sore fist, and asked curiously.
Just moments ago, they had entered the dwelling place of this demon spirit when they encountered it, which had gone berserk due to the stability of the demiplane. Under the demon spirit's initiative to attack, Latis decisively shielded the half-elf behind him and met the attack with a punch.
This punch caused a violent vortex of magic energy to rise all around. As a demon spirit composed of magic energy, the fist possessed a corrosive power of magic energy, as if it would instantly turn Latis's body into magic energy.
Fortunately, with the indestructible synergy shield at hand, Latis's resistance was no longer a concern for these minor injuries. However, in the aftermath of the battle, the ground, which was only made of intertwined roots, cracked instantly, almost causing Latis to fall into the void of the demiplane.
Fortunately, his strong body allowed him to immediately find a foothold and head straight for the demon spirit, which was also briefly unbalanced due to losing its center of gravity. He immediately summoned a hundred or so one-time mage hands and, while shouting "Ora Ora," he beat the demon spirit's face.
Finally, Latis and the defeated demon fell back onto the vine-covered ground that Ateliers had rewoven, and the brief battle came to an end.
Frankly speaking, the demon's strength is almost stronger than everyone Latis has ever seen. Apart from the Queen and Orianna, even Lekmor might not be able to gain any advantage in this surging magical environment. It was only because Latis discovered the moment he got his hands on it that he could interfere with the demon's autonomous consciousness to a certain extent, which is why he was able to deal with it so easily.
Looking at the humanoid demon lying on the ground like a leaky mascot costume, Latis scratched his head, unable to immediately discern the demon's original form.
“The squirrel said that whenever the demiplane is about to stabilize, this demon goes berserk until the demiplane starts to drift again, then it calms down.” Atelius crouched down, examined the marks on the demon’s body for a moment, and said somewhat uncertainly:
"The demon's rampage could be due to the magical elements that make it up becoming violent, or it could be a natural, spontaneous self-protective tendency emerging in this area. Of course, it could also be influenced by some human intervention, such as humans and elves who have a contractual relationship with the demon..."
She stood up, stroked her chin, and whispered:
"For some reason, this demon spirit gives me a strange feeling of familiarity..."
"is it?"
Latis thought for a moment, bent down, and reached out to straighten the demon spirit that had collapsed to the ground. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked in confusion:
"Speaking of which, Arte, demonic spirits are generally quite easy to transform into a demonic essence state, right? Why is it that, according to the squirrel, this demonic spirit has always resided here in a physical form, and didn't transform into an unstable demonic essence state during our fight?"
"Could it be... huh?"
The half-elf's scream made Latis stand up and look at her. However, unexpectedly, it was not a sudden danger, but a bluebird emitting a faint light.
"Have I seen you somewhere before, little one?" Ateliers reached out and let the bluebird land on her finger, then her brow furrowed slightly as she whispered:
"White eyebrow feathers... Are you the lucky bird born from that brood of long-browed finches?"
The lucky bird flapped its wings and chirped a few melodiously.
"Hmm... If it's a spirit instead of an animal, then 'Animal Talk' won't work..."
Artemis touched the grimoire at her waist, looked at Latis, and said helplessly:
"It seems like it wants to tell us something, but I'm not sure what it is."
"I see... Wait, what's that?"
Latis's gaze passed over the half-elf's back, then suddenly froze, and he said somewhat uncertainly:
"Perhaps... we'll soon get a whole bunch of gesturing answers."
"What?" Arterifus blinked, followed Latis's gaze, and immediately widened her eyes in shock.
The lucky bird cried out loudly, and then countless demonic spirits emerged from the forest.
As they ran, they transformed into streams of strange magical energy and arrived beside Atelius.
The demons bowed slightly to the half-elf, and then a portion of the demons transformed into pure demonic energy, which surged into the shriveled body of the berserk demon, encased in an air sac-like shell, and disappeared into the jungle.
Latis and Ateliers looked at the remaining body of the berserk demon, stared at each other for a moment, and then fell silent.
It was the body of an elf, and judging from his close-fitting casual clothes and the broken longbow hanging on his back, he was probably a guard.
Chapter 372 The Bush Maze
"On the first day that Herod City completely fell, I seemed to have followed the Blessed Land to an unstable space. After helping some of my younger siblings hide in the core area, I stayed outside. I will continue to guard this area until King Herod dismisses me from my guard duties."
"The day after Herod fell, I found that we seemed to be drifting around. Spatial turbulence swept across the entire Blessed Land, taking away many animals and demons. I was unable to move and could only watch as it all happened."
"On the third day after the city fell, the Land of Blessings seemed to have activated its life energy, finally isolating the spatial turbulence from the outside. Although the raging winds still often rise up, I can finally move around normally."
"On the fourth day after the city fell, the outer perimeter of the Blessed Land seems to have extended slightly outward. Could it be that the roots of the World Tree are still watching over us? Mother Goddess, if you have mercy on us, please take our younger brothers and sisters away!"
"On the fifth day after the city fell, I guessed that the Land of Blessedness had probably carved out a demiplane in the spatial turbulence. Some mysterious power is expanding the area of the Land of Blessedness. The stability inside the demiplane has brought about the accumulation of magical elements, and the dormant magical spirits have begun to become active again."
"Six days after the fall of the city, everything is getting better. I think I should stop using the fall of Herod as a point in time. The Blessed Land is still there, so perhaps there is still hope."
"On the seventh day of the Blessed Calendar, I met my younger siblings who were staying in the core area. They said they were trying to communicate with the roots of the World Tree. My astronomical calendar clock is broken and I can't observe the sun and moon now, so I'll leave it to them for now."
"The Zhifu Calendar... I don't know how many days have passed. During that time, the demiplane briefly stopped a few times, seemingly overlapping with the outside world. However, I was patrolling near the core area and didn't have time to go to the outer perimeter to observe."
"In the year of Zhifu, about two months ago, during a patrol, I discovered a colleague who had been assimilated by a demon spirit. Perhaps he had overused his magic power while resisting the tremors of the demiplane. However, I seemed to see some traces of battle on them. Could it be that there was an invasion by an enemy during the previous spatial overlap? With the help of other demon spirits, I helped him to be freed. Looking at his appearance, I had a premonition that perhaps I might become like that in the future."
"In the year of Zhifu, about half a year later, my astronomical calendar clock was repaired, but I gave it to my younger siblings. Now I have lost my sense of time. In this long drift in space, I have long been numb to the gray spatial turbulence."
I've heard that a branch of the ancient elves once ventured underground; I wonder how their people there endure those days without seeing the light of day.
"Several months have passed, and the demiplane has finally stabilized again, overlapping slightly with the outside world. This time, the stabilization lasted for a relatively long time. My younger siblings, lacking food, went out to scout for a while before running back in a sorry state."
The good news is that this is still the continent of Atlantis. The bad news is that elves are being captured outside, and a girl named Aye has been kidnapped. I am shocked and furious, but the demiplane is about to drift away, so I have no choice but to cover my younger siblings' return to the core area.
"I lost count of how much time passed before the demiplane stabilized again. With the experience from the previous times, I guarded the edge in advance. Sure enough, not long after, some nosy nobles came to visit, but I chased them all away. But next time, it might not be so easy. I thought about it and decided to borrow the power of the demons, hoping that they would recognize me."
"The power of the demon spirit... is very strong. I will use it to fulfill... my duty."
Latis put down the small notebook he had found in the elf guard's pouch and fell into deep thought.
It turns out that the so-called berserk demon was just an ordinary elf guard who was accidentally bewitched by the demon.
Although he was just an ordinary elven guard, he had done so much, which was worthy of the ancient glory of the elven race.
Furthermore, Latis recognized a somewhat familiar name among them; it turned out that the elven girl captured by Dragonhorn Territory had come from this demiplane.
He sighed softly, glanced at Ateliers who was silently blessing the elven guardians, thought for a moment, and then asked the demons surrounding them:
"So, are the Pokémon in the core area all doing well now?"
The demons looked at each other for a while, but made no move.
"You don't know either?" Latis scratched his head and asked, "Is the road to the core area blocked?"
The demons nodded, pointed to the elven guards on the ground, and then began to dance and mimic the movements of trees growing.
"Does that mean he used magic to create plants that blocked the road?"
Latis stroked his chin, guessing that the elven guard's consciousness was already unstable after coming into contact with the demon, and the excessive use of magic had caused him to gradually fall into complete disorientation.
He looked at Artemis, who had stood up, and gave her a concerned look.
"The soul has long since dissipated in the assimilation of the demon spirit, so it cannot be transformed into a seed of resurrection."
Artemis shook her head, watching as the elven guard's body was gradually buried by flowers and plants sprouted from elven magic. She gave an elven salute, took Latis's hand, and said:
"The demons will lead us to the core area, brother, let's hurry."
……
……
Doug gasped as he stared at the vines that were tangled together like an impenetrable wall.
It must be said that, apart from encountering a white-haired spider at the beginning, and later a snake, a wild boar, and a mantis that throws poop, his journey was quite smooth.
As long as you quickly back down and stay away from those strange demons, you'll generally be safe from any danger.
It's just that I have a few more holes in my body; it seems like being hit by a demon is no big deal.
"This ruin feels a bit like some kind of back garden in Herod City..."
He punched the vine-covered wall, muttered something, and looked back at the path he had come from.
Admittedly, he saw many exciting things along the way, such as dilapidated courtyards covered with vegetation, mysterious ancient wells made of white stone, and scattered stone tablets with unknown recipes carved in Elvish script. However, he didn't have time to explore them. He just wanted to take over the place before the others arrived, so he rushed to the core area.
Then he was blocked by this wall, which was of unknown height and thickness.
Such a thick vine wall would probably be difficult to break through, and above it is a spatial turbulence, so it would probably be difficult to fly over it as well.
Just as Doug was at a loss, he suddenly heard a rustling sound. He turned around and saw a first-ring monster, a "herbivore," slowly pulling him out from under the vine wall.
It looks like an animal from the Herod Ruins. It's probably hiding somewhere and only comes out to move around after the demiplane stabilizes.
Doug scratched his head, looking at the hole left after the herbivore crawled out, and suddenly a thought flashed through his mind.
If we can't get in from the front and can't fly over from above, surely we can crawl in from the bottom?
If herbivores can go in, why can't Doug go in?
Thinking of this, Doug perked up and pounced on the dog hole left by the herbivore. He stuck his hands in and started digging. Before long, he dug out several herbivore puppies from the hole.
"What the hell?"
Doug glanced at the whimpering herbivore puppy, then tossed it aside boredly and continued digging.
However, he forgot that herbivore puppies instinctively seek out burrows to rest, and he happened to have several holes poked in his body earlier.
"Holy crap?!"
"Chi chi chi chi!"
……
……
Latis was followed by a large group of demons, who walked in following the traces of the World Tree's roots.
He didn't know why these demons kept following him. Logically, after defeating the rampaging demons, they should have been able to go home. However, it wasn't a big deal that they were following him; it just made them look more imposing.
The winding forest path was fraught with obstacles, which Latis and Ateliers easily overcame. The demons behind them then transformed into streams of magical energy, passing through the obstacles and reforming.
They soon arrived at the huge, thick wall of vines. Ateliers nodded to Latis, then walked closer to the vines and placed her hand on them.
A faint turquoise magical glow began to shimmer, and the tightly bound vine wall slowly untied itself, revealing a passageway large enough for two people to pass through. The half-elf then stopped the surge of magical energy, took a step back, and clapped his hands.
"As expected, it is a magical composition with a different frequency than ordinary magic. It became easy to analyze after contacting the guard."
Artemis looked at Latis and explained:
"Plants like these, which are generated by elven magic and contain magical power, are difficult for ordinary plant-based mages to utilize. Moreover, they possess certain life characteristics and sometimes act autonomously, just like their spellcasters."
"Huh?" Latis asked curiously as he followed the half-elf into the passageway.
"Is that why your plant guardians are also so cute?"