Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 623: Essence of a dead god

Chapter 623: Essence of a dead god

"Excalibur." Alex breathed out softly, his words reverberating through the aether.

The next moment, the sigils on the Godkiller lit up with a bright orange glow, causing the air about Alex to heat up.

At the same time, Alex’s psyche was assaulted by terrifying thoughts and emotions that nearly drove him to madness.

His eyes blanked and for a moment, he lost his sense of self.

Noticing that something was wrong, Ana immediately paused time about him but it didn’t even take up to a full second for the exertion of will to fall apart, leaving her stunned.

Vessina chuckled.

Before a Godkiller, all supernatural powers are voided. Do not waste your strength trying to stop what is happening.

"He’s clearly losing it. We need to do something!" Ana remarked in a panic, watching as Alex staggered back and fell to the ground, convulsing as the assault on his psyche continued unabated.

This is the most important phase. If he cannot conquer the sword, he will never be able to use it. Only when he wins would it willingly grant him its power.

Hearing this, Ana had no choice but to watch as Alex struggled to maintain his sanity.

Meanwhile, for Alex, he found himself standing in a land covered in magma as far as the eyes could see with ash raining down from above.

Falling to his knees, he struggled to breathe while thinking of a way out.

Just then, he laid eyes on it.

It was a terrifying monstrosity made from molten lava.

Magma dropped from its body as it revealed a twisted expression on what could only be described as its face though it only contained a pair of holes from which lava poured and a twisted mouth hole.

As pained howls escaped the ’mouth’ of the abomination, it swung its arm at him, seeking to obliterate him.

Alex didn’t dare think he could face such a monster, especially not in his current state so he did what he thought was most sensible.

He gave up.

Boom

When he opened his eyes, he found himself covered in perspiration while lying down on the brass floor of the submarine in his room.

Taking deep breaths, he sat up while glancing at the sword in his hand.

It had gone dormant again but that didn’t make it any less dangerous in his eyes.

Instinctively, he let go of it, allowing it to fall to the ground ungracefully before shifting his attention to the humanoid females in his room.

"Are you alright?" Ana asked in a worried tone as she rushed to his side with Vessina looking on in amusement.

Alex took a deep breath while nodding. "I’m fine."

"You look troubled. Did you conquer it?"

Alex shook his head. "No, not yet."

Then, he addressed Vessina. "You didn’t tell me this would happen."

Common sense dictates that nothing so powerful would be easy to wield. A Godkiller is an ego weapon capable of felling deities. Do you think that it would be as easy as drinking water to conquer it?

"Still, a heads up would have been appreciated," Alex muttered begrudgingly, with Vessina shrugging.

My bad.

"I saw a lava monster in my psyche. I’m going to take a guess and say that it’s related to the Artisan."

His essence resides within the sword so most likely.

"How am I supposed to deal with the essence of a dead god?" Alex questioned with Vessina giggling.

That’s for you to figure out, not me. Now then, if you’ll excuse me, I have to return home.

With that, Vessina left, leaving behind a whiff of devilish essence that tainted the aether within the room.

Letting out a sigh, Alex glanced at the sword on the floor and shook his head. "One step at a time."

***

After getting some well-deserved rest with Ana helping him to store Excalibur, Alex moved to join Ulysses in the control room.

"How close are we to Pheripolis?" Alex calmly asked with Ulysses replying.

"We should be there in three days. I’d have to admit this submarine is quite useful for transport. Air, sea, land... nothing is beyond its reach."

"Unfortunately, we don’t have a way to maintain the Goddess’s blessings on it."

"Unfortunately." Ulysses concurred.

Taking a moment to scrutinize the control room considering this was his first time in it, Alex asked. "So when do you plan to head to the Abyss?"

"Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe when we arrive at Pheripolis."

"Found any overlaps yet?"

"None yet," Ulysses replied. "Mostly because I haven’t had the time to look though. However, I have some ideas on a few places to check."

"It would be a difficult journey," Alex muttered. "Best be careful."

"I will," Ulysses replied before adding. "Thanks."

Placing a hand on his shoulder, Alex turned and left, leaving Ulysses strangely satisfied.

Taking a deep breath, he once again focused on piloting the submarine to their destination.

***

"Aren’t there faster ways to travel?" Arwen couldn’t help but ask as she sat in a room within the carriage.

The lady seated across from her shook her head. "Not since her awakening."

"She?"

"Baba Yaga. She stands at the peak of the Undead Wheel, serving as an Undeath. She’s been around for a long time and is a perpetual trouble for us, considering she resides in the Grim Forest, which we need to cross to get to the Wailing Peaks."

"Are there no other routes?"

"The Wailing Peaks reside at the center of the Grim Forest with the latter encircling the former. There is a reason it was chosen as our home."

Arwen rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. "Of course."

"Please be patient, my lady, we will be arriving soon."

Soon, the carriage forged from bones stopped and the women stepped out to set their eyes upon what lay ahead.

It was an eerie forest with several towering trees, stretching on for as far as the eyes could see.

Despite being midday, the area within the forest was shrouded in darkness, leaving one oblivious to what lay within.

"Come, my lady. From here onwards, we walk."