Death Heir's Devouring System
Chapter 47: Shadows of the Golden Lands

Chapter 47: Shadows of the Golden Lands

"Aren’t we here to find the boss? Why would we follow the Unworthy Knights?" Azrael asked, his voice low and skeptical.

James mirrored Seraphina’s actions, crouching down. "It’s the only clue the system gave us when we entered the Rift. Don’t you remember?"

Azrael’s eyes narrowed. ’The only thing it told me was, ’Your most loyal follower awaits your return.’ Could it be that the other Chosen heard something different?’

"I don’t remember exactly," he lied as easily as he breathed. "I was too shocked to pay attention when I came through."

James’s eyes narrowed. Was he suspicious, or had he heard this tale many times by now?

"The one who stood against the king shall set this world free," James stated flatly.

Without asking any other questions, Azrael crouched as well. Thanks to the stealth boost of Maiden Skin, he was probably the hardest to spot of their group.

’Is my Inborn Trait the reason I heard something no one else did?’

There was no point in dwelling on the unknown, so he didn’t.

As they silently stalked the Unworthy Knights, Azrael’s gaze shifted to the flesh they dragged behind them. He tried using [Inspect], but nothing came up. It was clear—the abomination was dead.

Crossing the golden river once more, the Unworthy Knights moved farther from the kingdom. Thankfully they weren’t going to meet any Chosen residing in the base or near it since they moved southwest.

Eventually the sun hid behind the horizon; the night had descended on the golden lands.

With no light left to reflect off the golden leaves and grass, the darkness felt unnaturally deep, almost enough to suffocate those who didn’t hide behind shelter.

’I wish I had a skill to see past darkness,’ Azrael thought grimly. By the looks of it, the Unworthy Knights weren’t planning to stop. Whether it was day or night didn’t matter to them—they had a duty to fulfill.

Just as he was wondering what they were supposed to do next, Isolde stepped in front of the group.

[Follow me.]

She said simply.

’Right. She can’t see or hear, but she can sense souls. With her, we can follow the Unworthy Knights even without being able to see.’

Grueling hours passed. While Azrael knew that Isolde would change their course should she sense danger, his instincts didn’t. Every distorted shadow and sound too loud to be natural jolted him more alert, forcing his body to tense.

Eventually, the group came to a halt. Isolde stopped, her carefree facade shattered in an instant, her body beginning to shiver like a frightened girl before a threatening predator.

Seraphina moved quickly, taking her friend’s palm and tracing her question onto it.

[Corrupted souls... many.]

Azrael grimaced at the words and looked to Seraphina. "Ask her how many."

A moment later, an answer came.

[Too many to count.]

’Not good,’ Azrael sighed. Due to the dark nature of the night, he wasn’t able to see the expression of his teammates, but he had a pretty clear idea how they looked.

"We can’t continue," Seraphina said. "If Isolde can’t withstand the souls, she won’t be able to guide us. And I’m not leaving her behind just to chase after them."

The Heir of Death clicked his tongue. "We’ve come too far to turn back. I’m going on."

For a moment, Seraphina was stunned. It was nearly imperceptible, but her calm persona vanished for a brief second. A subtle smile tugged at her face before disappearing a heartbeat later, as if it had never been there.

"Are you certain?" she questioned.

Azrael didn’t bother answering, he had said he would do it, so he would. There was no need to explain himself.

He wasn’t doing it out of obligation but because he felt curious. What could the message ’Your most loyal follower awaits your return’ mean? Not to mention, if he did that, he could escape further responsibility should he wish to.

Unsurprisingly, none of the squad volunteered to join him.

’As expected,’ he thought, bursting into a sprint. Since Isolde wasn’t going to guide him now, he had to get closer until he got a clear view.

’I have Maiden Skin—that should keep me undetected. Not to mention, should something go amiss, I can use Cinder to fly out of the way.’

It didn’t take long to find the Unworthy Knights; he had to rely on their footsteps to locate them. Since the blood trail left behind by the corpse they dragged was barely visible against the pitch-black soil.

More hours passed. The sun rose once again, which led Azrael to widen the distance between his foes.

The trees began to thin, the grass to disappear until it was out of view altogether.

The two Unworthy Knights had reached their destination.

Endless darkness threatened to swallow the world whole as the abominations stopped before the colossal canyon.

’Didn’t I say that I wasn’t going here?’

He groaned, it seemed that fate had other plans for him.

Still, he’d come this far. He might as well see it through.

The one that held the chain took several more steps, stopping just before the edge. Without hesitation, the monster hurled the guts into the canyon. With their duty fulfilled, the knights turned and began to walk away.

’Is that what they were doing? Delivering corpses to the canyon? What even is the point of that?’

Shaking his head, he neared the tear in the earth, taking extra caution to not alert the Unworthy Knights.

A disgusting stench of raw, unfathomable agony reached his nostrils, forcing him to halt as a chill ran down his spine. Before he had realized it, he had pinched his nose.

"Gods, what is that smell?" he muttered.

Despite the foul stench, he continued, stopping over the edge.

His eyes widened, and his breath hitched.

Countless corpses were piled in the void, creating a lake of crimson blood. Worse, down there was a faint movement. Abominations were devouring the endless supply of corpses, happily without a care in the world.

With a flick of his finger, Azrael called forth Cinder. Seated himself on the beast’s back, he soared high in the sky.

No matter how far he flew south, the view didn’t change. The blood and the corpses seemed endless.

"There are millions at least..."

His eyes darkened.

What in the gods’ names was happening in these cursed lands?

Eventually, he decided to turn back, soaring over a lake of blood wasn’t the safest decision.

Since the stench reached high into the sky, he flicked his finger, calling forth Gray’s Cigar. Then, using Frostflare Flint, he lit it. The faint smoke drowned out the smell, while the fire provided a pleasant cooling effect.

Taking a puff, causing his body to improve slightly, he tried to organize his chaotic mess of thoughts.

’Strength. At the end of the day, I can’t predict what will happen inside the Rift or what I will face. So the only thing I can do to prepare is to get stronger.’

With that, he flew back to the base, thinking of the report he was going to deliver to Seraphina.

With this, he was certain he had proven his worth—now it was time to feast.