Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 91.2: Oni Hill

"Oni Hill. The home of Razznik Y'Terlow..." A lump formed in Alia's throat as she gazed at the towering mountain range. Terrifying pressure from the silent monolith. She had never felt this intimidated in her entire life. Not even when faced with possible death in the defeat eleven years past. The daeben queen looked at her Uncle, who wore a relaxed smile. It was at times like these, that she truly understood how much of a monster this man was. "How... How do we get in?"

Cathek pointed at the base of the mountain. "The Gates of Purgatory."

"...Gates of Purgatory?"

"You shall see when we get closer."

Just as Cathek said, sets of gigantic gates hewn into the mountainside came into sight as they neared the mountain's base. The gates were spaced around a kilometer apart from each other, and went around the mountainside. The first thing that popped out were the 100 meter skeleton statues standing by each gate. Terrifying auras oozed off these sculptures, threatening to crush all who neared them.

Gruuu!

One of the skeleton sculptures turned its head to stare at them once they were within 100m of a gate. Gruuuu! A bone-crushing pressure suddenly exploded over Alia and her army. The robed figures and Cathek were unfazed by the pressure. Alia, however, sweated as she resisted under the pressure. Her army fared much worse.

Several soldiers crumbled to the ground in a heap of sweat, some bleeding from their noses and ears. Evidently, even these expertly trained warriors were unable to bear the pressure from the statues.

Cathek smiled as he looked at the statues. "Razznik was a proud man. Towards the end of his life, countless fools tried to claim his head for fame, glory or wealth. While, he indeed welcomed battles, Razznik soon grew weary of the everyday riff-raff that came to challenge him. So, he devised an ingenious sorting method... A series of tests, to weed out the weak from the strong, and thus ensure only the best of the best got to challenge him."

Alia's blood chilled. She glanced at the red-eyed statue with trepidation. "This is just a test?"

"This?" Cathek chuckled and shook his head. "This is not a test. This is just a preliminary screening to determine those worthy of his test." Cathek then looked at the severely injured soldiers. "Order your men to retreat to 200 meters. This is their limit."

Alia nodded, and then ordered her soldiers to step back and heal their injuries. The loss of her soldiers did not bother her. This had been the plan to begin with. The soldiers would hold the line, and prevent anyone from approaching the mountain.

Cathek nodded and then tapped Gunder, who approached the gate with steady steps. "There are eight levels in Oni Hill, each corresponding to a ring of Chaos. Usually, we would have to battle fiercely to reach the summit. Fortunately, Razznik ordered easy passage for a few, select individuals." When Gunder reached the gate, Cathek ordered the robed figures to climb aboard the dragon's back. He then looked at the mountain, and said, "Climb."

Vwoosh!

With a heavy flap, Gunder bypassed the gate and took to the air, slowly flying up the mountainside.

Alia frowned. "Will the enemy not attempt a similar method?"

In reply, Cathek stretched out his hand. A mandala appeared in the air, from which cold ice poured out. Moments later, an ice sculpture that looked identical to Cathek appeared before them. "Let me show you what will happen, if there is such a fool." The ice sculpture jumped off Gunder's back.

BOOOM!

The ice clone barely crossed a meter before it suddenly exploded into fine dust. Even among the robed figures, only a few managed to catch what happened. A giant ki bolt shot out of the mountain and then crashed into the ice clone. It was so fast, 99% of the continent's population would have missed it.