Chapter 116. Devil
Leaning against a nearby tree, Severus let out a long breath of relief. He had escaped, you could say, at the last second. Barely a minute later, a terrifying aura rolled into that spot. He had no doubt it belonged to a creature one rank higher, something he couldn't even scratch right now, let alone outrun. If he had run into it from the very beginning, he would have ended up as dinner.
"Damn. That was too close. But now I'm certain that, besides the lesser Devils, there's something a rank higher in there, and even if I reach Archmage, it won't leave a wet spot of me. What could be better?" Severus muttered with bitter irony, staring toward the forest's center. "And what am I supposed to do? Even if I absorb the Ent King's heart, the highest I can reach is Archmage, and after a jump like that I'll be stuck in one place for another ten to fifteen years, stabilizing my core. That's in the best case. How long will this barrier hold, and will I even have time to reach the peak before they break it? That's the real question."
With a mournful sigh, he raised his eyes to the sky, already darkening, and took out the mirror. I can't just give up. My peaceful life isn't the only thing at stake. Nagini's and Bella's are too, and the others as well. When the reflection in the mirror blurred and two red dots appeared in its place, a shiver ran through him, and a nervous smile tugged at his lips.
The creature staring back at him also had two horns, like the previous one. But while that one had been completely naked and looked like a skeleton wrapped in skin, this one had a muscular body packed with corded strength. And in its red eyes, beyond the animal instincts every devil possessed, there was something far worse: intelligence. It studied him, tracking every movement.
For that single second, only one thing pleased him: the enormous distance between them.
He recognized the creature immediately. Its image had been in that book he'd read back in his old world, and in sheer power it equaled peak Archmages. Even now he felt fear pressing against his mind, the monster trying to overwhelm him with it, but his will was stronger. His mind, tempered in his past life as a peak Archmage, helped him smother the influence.
A minute later, the creature narrowed its gaze, displeased that the "attack" had failed.
"Hu.man. sub.mit and we will not kill. you." Its hoarse voice sounded grim, stumbling over the words as if the throat was never meant for human speech.
"You will not kill me anyway." Severus snorted, forcing confidence into his voice. A smirk cut across his face. "And why would I surrender to you? Do you want to kill the only human who managed to scratch your brother?"
"Sub.mit or die."
"How did you get into this world, and who sealed you?" Severus asked a few more questions, watching the creature's eyes grow brighter with every second. "I see. So you will not answer. Then we have nothing to talk about." Without waiting for another mental strike he could feel gathering, he burned the mirror at once. So I was not wrong, but there is nothing to celebrate. First I need to understand how much longer this barrier can hold, and if possible, strengthen it. And for that I need to reach Archmage, because with my current strength it is simply impossible.
It took him about an hour to return to the "anthill." The snakes had long since woken up and were patrolling as they had before his intrusion, but not one of them attacked as he walked straight toward their home. The King of Serpents had warned them in advance.
The passage he had opened earlier had still not been sealed. He used it to get to the bottom quickly, and once inside the lair, he simply jumped into the hole whose end was invisible.
At the same time, the half-snake, half-dragon lifted its head, sensing his familiar aura.
"You still managed to survive." A disappointed sigh left its mouth, making the house-elf nearby almost jump.
"Sounds like you're unhappy about it," Severus replied, shooting out of the ceiling hole. A gust of wind caught him at the moment of landing and lowered him to the ground.
"M-Master!" Nelly squeaked, near tears of joy, rushing up with a box in her hands. He smiled warmly, patting her head.
"I'm fine."
"And why should I be happy? If you had died, I wouldn't have to look at your arrogant face anymore, and the contracts would be over."
"Fair enough." He took the artifact from the elf, slipped it into his wallet, and placed his palm on her head. "Tell Nagini I'm fine. I need to speak with this serpent."
"Y-yes! Nelly is very happy Master was not hurt!"
He nodded, moved her into the box with the others, and raised his eyes to the King of Serpents.
"I saw them."
"And what do you think, human?"
"They are extremely dangerous. Even at your current strength, the strongest you could defeat is the weakest of them. And the one that killed your father." He paused, his voice flat. "You could not even leave a scratch on it." The Serpent King did not take the words too personally, because it understood them better than anyone, though deep down there was still a dull sadness that it could not avenge its father itself.
"I see. What do you intend to do next?"
"Return to the outer world."
"And those creatures?"
"Nothing for now. First I want to strengthen that barrier and buy myself some time to think. Because when this jungle falls, their next target will be the outer world."
"So you also believe they will break out someday."
"They will. I just can't say when exactly," Severus said more seriously, shifting his gaze to the crystal. "That is why I want to study them and understand how much longer they will last." Although, judging by the dim light of the crystal, it will only last a couple more centuries before the barrier falls. But to be sure, I need to see the others as well. I also need to find the barrier's core. It should be somewhere nearby, and to locate it without being detected, I will need to use a search and concealment spell at Archmage level. He looked back at the serpent's gloomy muzzle. "But for now you can rest easy. I think this barrier will hold for another two or three years, and I can prepare in the meantime. If the other crystals are in the same condition, there is no need to fear an imminent breakthrough, though I still want to look at them all."
The half-snake, half-dragon was not a fool and understood the hint. It also sensed that the human before it was truthful. There was no reason to. As he had said, once those creatures broke through, their next target would be the world beyond the barrier.
"Contract?"
"I don't mind." A red parchment appeared in Severus's hand, and the serpent let out a tired sigh. There had been too many shocks in one day.
Inspecting the other crystals did not take long. With the King of Serpents present and volunteering to escort him to each site personally, it took only one night.
In total, nine such artifacts were scattered through the forest, not counting the one in the serpents' lair. Their guardians varied: foxes, stone giants, the huge worm at the bottom of the swamp in the chimera forest, a tribe of werewolves, strange birds, and even plants. The plants were the hardest to deal with. Although they possessed intelligence, it was only at a beast's level, so they had no allies among magical creatures and attacked anyone who entered their territory. The remaining crystals rested at the bottom of the river that ran through the entire jungle, in different stretches of it, and they too were guarded by monsters.
The crystals themselves, except the one in the stone giants' lair, were in relatively decent condition. They could last for a couple more centuries. The first one, though, could supply the barrier for only another ninety years because someone had left a huge number of chips and dents on it, so for safety he layered additional protective charms over it, to ensure it would hold for at least that long.
By morning, the inspection was finished. They returned to the bloody pond, and Severus began preparing to leave.
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