Chapter 462: 428 Untimely Encounter
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
The high-frequency flapping of wings resonated incessantly and densely within the cavern, driving swarms of giant beetle-like creatures to fly back and forth.
At times they flew past, sometimes disappeared, occasionally clinging to the walls and ceiling, and then they would tangle with each other and roll onto the ground, giving the impression that one might have entered a lair of insects.
Such a place was definitely a nightmare for those with claustrophobia and a fear of insects.
Even Reiger could hardly bear it—after watching for a while, he felt goosebumps popping up all over, not to mention others who would likely wish for immediate self-destruction if they had come here.
"It’s good that Liz isn’t here."
Reiger felt relieved but also worried.
He had almost confirmed that he had left Bessare.
This so-called divine beast had snatched Reiger into its own body using some method while Reiger and Revin were locked in combat, during the final moments of their clash.
The memories of the magical mechanical dolls suggested the same: a vast black shadow had just emerged under their feet, and then they found themselves inside this so-called divine beast’s body, completely unaware of how it had happened.
Since this divine beast had managed to travel from the places in the memory of the mechanical dolls to Bessare, even to the training arena beneath Bessare, taking him into this place, the possibility of him now being outside Bessare was not at all low.
Now, Liz had been left behind in Bessare, while he had been taken away by this divine beast to an unknown place.
"The little princess must be worried by now."
Reiger could fully imagine what Liz must be going through.
He had tried using "Message" to contact Liz and talk to her, but the divine beast’s body had a high level of magic isolation. Not only could "Message" not be sent out, but even the bond of the contract between Reiger and Liz had started to blur.
Teleportation magic was still usable. Reiger sensed that he could teleport out at any time and even open a "Teleportation Gate" to Bessare here, but the beetle creatures were too numerous and would swarm from time to time. Opening a "Teleportation Gate" here would simply give these insects a chance to escape to the outside, which could potentially lead to troublesome situations.
Therefore, Reiger planned to explore the inside of this divine beast first. Once the exploration was over, he would see if he could leave a teleportation point here, then teleport out and reunite with Liz in Bessare.
The reason he didn’t teleport out now, meet Liz first, and then teleport back to continue exploring, was because Reiger worried he couldn’t leave a teleportation point here.
"No choice but to make the little princess put up with it for now."
Reiger apologized to Liz in his mind, then flew across the cavern, brushing past numerous beetle creatures.
These beetles acted as if they were oblivious to Reiger, allowing him to pass through as if he was invisible, continuing their flight back and forth.
In fact, they really hadn’t noticed Reiger due to his invisibility.
At this moment, Reiger had become completely invisible, so no creature could detect him.
This was the ninth-rank magic capable of completely erasing one’s presence, not just visually but also silencing sounds, smells, and even erasing all traces of existence—"Complete Unknowable."
With this magic in use, unless someone was of a very high level with special sensing abilities or used high-tier magic specifically designed to counteract invisibility, even if detection magic was employed, it would be hard to notice the presence of the one using the spell.
Reiger had used this magic to vanish from existence. Combined with the encapsulating effects of the Translucent World on breath and aura, the beetle creatures couldn’t detect Reiger at all.
Reiger thus remained hidden, flying through countless beetle creatures toward the front of the cavern.
However, he had flown for a long while.
"...I have been flying for so long, yet have not found an end or anything similar. If not for the Translucent World, I truly wouldn’t believe this place is inside a living creature."
Reiger couldn’t imagine just how large this creature, referred to as a divine beast by the magical dolls, really was.
"It’s a pity that after using ’Complete Unknowable,’ I can’t use other magic, or else I could attempt to speed things up with teleportation magic."
The drawback of "Complete Unknowable" is that once an attack is launched, the magic’s effect will dissipate.
Moreover, this magic can’t be used on others, only on oneself.
Should Reiger use other magic while in the state of "Complete Unknowable"—if not counted as launching an attack, all is well, but if counted as an attack, the magic’s effect would immediately dissipate.
Reiger couldn’t be sure whether his act of teleporting would be considered launching an attack, so he had to keep flying forward like this.
He should be glad that using "Flight" isn’t regarded as an attacking move; otherwise, he might have had to walk.
"I’ll choose a few information magic spells to use and try to probe what exactly is around here."
With that thought, Reiger prepared to find a place devoid of creatures to safely use information magic for exploration, avoiding mid-exploration attacks or disturbances.
"Boom...!"
Suddenly, an explosion-like sound came from ahead.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
The surrounding beetle creatures, as if startled, began frantically flapping their wings, flying towards the direction of the sound.
"Someone?"
Reiger was surprised, then thought of something.
"Could it be him?"
A name of the most likely person to have come here with him flashed through Reiger’s mind; raising an eyebrow, he too flew towards the direction of the sound.
After flying for a distance, Reiger noticed the sounds ahead growing louder, not only explosions but also collisions and roars, indicating a fierce battle was underway there.
By the time Reiger arrived at the scene, the person he saw completely matched the figure he had just envisioned, confirming his guess.
"Get out of the way!"
Accompanied by a roar, a burst of dark light suddenly swept across the area, provoking another boom.
A middle-aged man, dressed in tattered armor and covered in wounds, clutching a mysterious great sword, was struggling against a swarm of beetle monsters.
His body enveloped in dark light, his great sword like a storm, continuously sliced through the surroundings, cutting each attacking beetle monster in half.
Although these beetle monsters possessed very tough shells, and their defensive power was clearly not low, facing the great sword in the man’s hand, which radiated dark light and a mysterious halo, they were like the most fragile clay sculptures, instantly cleaved in two by the sword, splattering blood everywhere.
Commanding the battle with such majestic power, the man even forced the beetle monsters to not even come close to him, turning the few meters around him into a dead zone for monsters, filled solely with the bloody corpses of beetles, no living monster in sight.
However, the glory was short-lived as the man suddenly weakened.
"Cough..."
He violently coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, and blood seeped from his wounded body, causing him to pause and stop his storm-like offensive.
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
In this moment of pause, the sea of insects, seemingly infinite, instantly found its chance and rushed towards the man with a frenzy, flapping their wings.
"Splurch!"
A beetle monster reached the man first, its sharp mouthparts piercing through his shoulder and into his body.
"Splurch!" "Splurch!" "Splurch!"...
One after another, the beetle monsters took the opportunity to climb onto the man, their mouthparts stabbing down, piercing through his arms, thighs, and back.
"Ah... ah... ahhh!"
The man painfully roared, his body flaring up with violent dark light.
"Get away from me!"
The dark light swept wildly, hurling each beetle monster away.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The Great Sword Knight, his body further lacerated, entirely drenched in blood, finally knelt down.
The dense sea of insects immediately surged toward him, about to completely engulf him.
"Whoosh!"
At the last critical moment, Reiger’s figure appeared in front of the man.
"You...!?"
The Great Sword Knight, ready to fight desperately, saw Reiger’s figure and his expression changed.
"Expand Magic Range·Banshee Scream!"
Reiger did not pay attention to the man behind him and cast the spell, letting out a piercing scream that turned into massive waves of sound, attacking all around.
The area-effect instant-death magic immediately took effect, and with enhancement, the screaming expanded in range, sweeping through the domain of hundreds of meters, claiming the lives of countless beetle monsters.
The beetle monsters hung motionless in the air for a few seconds before crashing down.
The area’s beetle monsters were instantly wiped out, causing the pupil of the man holding the great sword to shrink, and his breath became rushed.
"————"
An indescribable silence spread.
Reiger then slowly turned around to face the man kneeling on the ground, his appearance severely battered, his expression becoming somewhat mocking.
"To think you’d become this wretched after just a short while, Marquis Mepros," Reiger said.
Indeed.
The man holding the great sword was none other than Revin.
"...You’re here as well," Revin said, looking at Reiger standing before him, his gaze extraordinarily complex.
There was no helping it.
Reiger, as carefree and composed as ever, appeared completely unharmed, nothing like having entered a lair full of dangerous monsters.
Revin, on the other hand, was in utter disarray, not only covered in wounds and drenched in blood, but his armor was also half-destroyed.
In comparison, the difference between the two was immediately clear.
Seeing Reiger like this complicated Revin’s emotions even further.