Volume 1, Chapter 4

The terror of the Abyssal Demons was known to all.

These horrifying monsters harbored immense hostility toward all living beings other than their own kind, and they would not hesitate to tear them to pieces.

And Deepwinter Forest,

As the birthplace of the Abyssal Demons, the largest number of them naturally gathered on the entire Ancheka Continent. Among them were demon king tier Abyssal Demons, entities equivalent to mobile calamities. It was a place universally recognized by all powers on the continent as a restricted zone.

However, even a restricted zone had its uses.

To better punish those who committed heinous crimes, many rulers would exile prisoners to the depths of Deepwinter Forest, leaving them to fend for themselves. Of course, these so-called “prisoners” were sometimes not actually criminals in the true sense.

Naturally, due to the presence of the Abyssal Demons, most of these people met the same end, dying without a whole corpse, regardless of whether they were guilty or innocent.

Under the dim sunlight, a man covered in scars, looking as though he had suffered through brutal torture, was struggling through the forest of withered trees. Because his clothing was thin and he was walking through the snow, the man was shivering uncontrollably. His legs had turned a bruised purple, covered in hideous and nauseating frostbite.

However, even though his physical condition was dire, the man still gritted his teeth, enduring the bitter cold and the intense pain radiating from his wounds as he ran forward with all his might. The reason he was so desperate was simple.

It was because of the nightmare-like white figure behind him.

An Abyssal Demon!!

This man, Arkate, was currently filled with utter despair. He was supposed to have successfully inherited his family’s title and enjoyed wealth and prestige, but he had been framed by his uncle. Not only did he lose his title, but he was also exiled to this terrifying Deepwinter Forest on a false murder charge?!

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Of course, as an ambitious young man, he would not simply give up. He held a grand plan for revenge in his mind. He hoped that after leaving the forest, he could reassemble his old subordinates to fight against his uncle. After all, people had indeed successfully walked out of Deepwinter Forest alive before.

If others could do it, why couldn’t he?!

However, before his plan could even begin, it seemed to face a massive risk of being aborted.

After being dropped into the forest by the Griffin Knights, Arkate discovered to his horror that he had been locked onto by a bloodthirsty gaze. That gaze was like the stare of the Grim Reaper, causing his pupils to shake, his skin to crawl, and his soul to tremble. He felt as though he might vomit up his last meal out of sheer terror.

Trembling, he turned his head and discovered in total despair that he had been targeted by a wolf-type Abyssal Demon.

Although this six-meter-tall Abyssal Demon had not yet erupted with its Black Aura, the chilling killing intent filling its blood-red vertical pupils and the terrifying fluctuations of power faintly surrounding its body caused Arkate to lose all will to fight instantly! His strength wasn’t considered weak, fourth tier was definitely among the best for his age group!

However, the combat power of an Abyssal Demon started at fifth tier at the very least!! How could he, a fourth tier, possibly fight back?!! Furthermore, the wolf before him was clearly far beyond fifth tier!

Even his family’s Knight Commander likely couldn’t defeat this thing, let alone himself!

The thought that his revenge plan had ended before it even began, dying before his mission was accomplished, made Arkate’s heart nearly collapse. Fear and despair caused his face to twist. Combined with the blood and black soil on his face, Arkate no longer possessed the handsome demeanor of a nobleman; he looked as ridiculous as a clown.

“Run!! Hurry and run!!”

This was the only thought in Arkate’s mind. Even if his logic told him that he could never outrun the Abyssal Demon behind him and that he might as well lie down and wait for death, who would willingly embrace death when influenced by a strong desire to survive?

Arkate was the same.

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The potential he had accumulated over twenty years erupted almost instantly. Supported by the magic power throughout his body, Arkate sprinted toward the depths of the forest!

However, the harder he ran, the deeper Arkate’s despair became. This man, who considered himself strong, began to let out a breakdown-like wail.

The reason was simple.

No matter how much he accelerated, even using every drop of magic power in his body, he could not shake the giant white wolf behind him. The distance between the giant wolf and him remained constant at about ten meters. The giant wolf’s terrifying blood-red eyes never left Arkate’s back from beginning to end.

At times, when Arkate tripped, the giant wolf would “thoughtfully” stop and wait for him to get up and continue playing this game of tag.

It was the clear behavior of a predator toying with its prey.

It seemed to be waiting for the prey to become exhausted before going in to devour it.

“Goddess, what… what did I do wrong?! To have to suffer this kind of torture!!”

Having guessed this, Arkate was on the verge of tears. It seemed the only ending awaiting him was being torn apart by the giant wolf. The thought of being the son of a Marquis and dying so inexplicably under the claws of a beast made Arkate’s heart collapse even further.

Besides continuing his meaningless flight, all Arkate could do was pray in his heart that the giant wolf would quickly change its target. After all, he wasn’t the only one exiled to Deepwinter Forest to die!! Go eat someone else, don’t eat me!!

“Goddess! Give me a miracle! I don’t want to die! If you let me go back alive, I’ll build ten cathedrals for you!!”

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The wretched son of a Marquis wailed in his heart, desperately praying for a miracle.

But this time, it seemed the Goddess actually answered his request?

After Arkate blindly pushed through a thicket, he seemed to step into a special barrier. Everything around him suddenly distorted, and the vision before his eyes underwent a world-shaking change!

??!!

Huh?! Wha-what happened?!

Opening his eyes again, Arkate was shocked to find that the surrounding scenery was no longer the monotonous, hideous giant trees, but had become a dilapidated altar? Or perhaps a palace?!

“This… what is this place?!”

Looking at the ancient stone pillars standing around like pillars supporting the heavens, seeing the broken throne on the high platform already crushed by giant rocks, and scanning the fragmented murals filled with ancient unknown scripts, Arkate was stunned. He felt as if he had been struck by a bolt from the blue, and it took a long time for his heart to settle.

“Where… am I?? Hmm?!! No!! Where’s that Abyssal Demon!”

Suddenly, Arkate snapped out of his shock and looked behind him in extreme terror.

However, he found to his bewilderment that there was only a crystal-clear lake behind him. There was no bloodthirsty, rampaging white wolf. Even the terrifying pressure the wolf had been releasing just now, which had been weighing on him constantly, had vanished without a trace, as if everything before had been an illusion.

However, the joy of surviving a disaster did not make Arkate relax. His nerves remained taut.

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The reason was simple.

The giant wolf was indeed gone, but across the lake, there were dozens of pairs of eyes staring at him like he was a delicious meal. And the owners of those eyes were, without exception, Abyssal Demons…

Seeing this, Arkate couldn’t help but gasp.

“But… why aren’t they pouncing?”

This didn’t fit the nature of an Abyssal Demon!

In his terror, Arkate also noticed an unbelievable point. Although the way these Abyssal Demons looked at him was terrifying, they didn’t seem to have any intention of crossing the lake to kill him.

“What’s going on??” Arkate couldn’t help but ask himself.

Right then, an eerie, genderless, mechanical voice suddenly entered Arkate’s mind, making his entire body shudder.

—Do you want revenge? I can give you power…

Upon hearing that devilish whisper, Arkate trembled all over, silent as a cicada in winter. He looked around shakily, searching for the source of the voice.

“Wh-who is it?! Who’s… who’s speaking?!”