The Demon King's First General
Chapter 100: Psychopomp

Chapter 100: Psychopomp

"What? Do you mean all the creatures living here are three thousand years older than us?" Jez asked, his mind clouded, confused about hearing the monster’s claims.

"There’s no way that’s true," the man with the machete said, rejecting the thoughts while shaking his head.

Even Royle found it exaggerated. After all, according to the records they knew, the oldest living existence until now was Calix, the king of spirits. He had been around for a thousand and five hundred years, and at this very moment, this snake was telling them something unbelievable.

"It’s not my problem if you don’t want to believe my words," Tencent replied, hissing.

"I have been alive and here since the beginning of time; I witnessed the fall of different races, the war of reclamation, and even the shattering of the other sun," he added.

"War of reclamation? Other sun?" Jez repeated, his curiousity now at its peak.

Upon hearing the human’s reaction, one of Tencent’s heads glanced behind.

’Hmnn, it seems that the early years of history were forgotten and never passed down to this generation of living beings. Is this part of the deities’ doings?’ He thought, then spoke afterwards.

"Who is ruling the world right now?" He asked, curious about the current progress outside.

"No one. Exgreia is divided into seven regions, and each has its own ruler," Jez replied as soon as he heard the question.

"I see," Tencent nodded.

Then Jez continued speaking, still wanting to know more about what happened in the past.

"What is the war you’re talking about and the other sun? Are there two suns before? Please tell us more!" He asked, almost pleading to the monster to let them know the whole story.

"Indeed, there were two suns at the beginning. They rose and set in different directions, opposite to each other, but one day, one of those balls of light exploded, which caused the world to lose some of its brightness," he said.

"Do you know what’s the reason for it getting destroyed?" Jez answered with another question while his two companions were all ears to their conversations.

"Unfortunately, it remains a mystery until now; it happened in an instant without anyone knowing the real cause," the snake said.

Then he stopped moving as their group reached a black swamp with trees that had faces smiling with menace upon seeing them. Eyes and mouth were glowing a red bloody color while their branches were filled with vines swaying even without a strong wind passing by.

"Let’s stop this topic for now and focus on crossing this place first; don’t let yourselves get caught by them. They’re not aggressive, but they’re not that friendly either," Tencent imparted.

Then he looked at the silver-haired man casually walking on the surface of the swamp with no intention to wait for them.

’He’s in a hurry,’ he thought.

Meanwhile, the three mercenaries put their curiosity aside for now as they heeded the monster’s warning, focusing their thoughts on the dangers in front.

"I’ll go ahead first and do what that demon did; don’t let yourselves get soaked or you’ll have difficulty getting out of that body of water, and just ignore the noise," Tencent said, adding some pieces of advice.

Then, contrary to his warning, he dove straight into the swamp. His huge body made the murky water splash at the trees, but they paid no attention to the snake and focused their eyes on the group of humans.

"What does he mean by that?" Jez uttered, then looked at Royle.

They nodded to each other, and they stepped into the water while staying vigilant and careful about the creepy atmosphere. They appeared calm, but there was tension building up in their chests.

Meanwhile, the Ruby-class mercenary pulled out his machete as he created a platform of energy. He stared at them for a moment and gulped before stepping on them. His legs were shaking, and he almost fell as soon as several eerie laughters reverberated at the place.

"W-What i-is that?" He asked while strengthening his grip on his weapon.

The man was scared for his poor life, and upon seeing this, Jez glanced back at him.

"I think you should return if you’re getting scared just by this. And besides, I can’t guarantee your safety anyway," he said.

"N-No, I-I can do it!" The man replied, and Jez just sighed, realizing how stubborn he was.

"Just let him die," Royle uttered without looking at his friend.

Then, after a few moments, they reached the middle of the swamp, while Zeno and the snake were nowhere to be seen from their perspective.

"Where did they go?" Jez uttered and concentrated, trying to feel their two companions presence.

However, the laughter coming from the living trees was not stopping, which caused the duke’s brows to knit.

"I can’t locate them with these noises," he complained.

Then he tried to go up, but upon remembering about the mysterious force that prevented them from levitating into this underground place, he cancelled out the idea in his head.

. . . . .

In the meantime, Zeno was just walking without any intention in mind. He continued to traverse the path ahead, ignoring all the stares from the creepy environment.

Then, out of nowhere, he heard a distinct sound coming from his right.

’Is that a bell?’ He thought.

The next second, he halted his steps and faced in the direction where the sound came from.

"Hey, Tencent! It looks like we found one of the monsters we were looking for," he exclaimed.

As soon as Zeno said that, two pairs of eyes glowed from underneath the water. Then a giant snake moved out and stood tall behind the demon.

"Hmnn, to think that there’s one here," the monster replied, and another sound of a bell rang in the vicinity once more.

However, this time, the noise became much louder. Then, not so far from Zeno’s position, a light coming from a lamp gave brilliance to the swamp.

It appeared to be floating due to the darkness, but as it moved closer, the silhouette holding the lamp came into view.

A monster with the humanoid body of a woman was standing at the top of a raft. She had a pair of feathery wings protruding from her waist, and they acted as cover, hugging her thighs and protecting her body.

Without further ado, Zeno examined the woman. She was dressed in an all-brown hooded loose robe, while her hands had a lamp and a paddle. The color of her eyes was darker than black and had a skull-like pattern at their pupils, while her black hair gave off an ambiance perfect for the swamp. Aside from these features, she had two small horns protruding from her forehead.

Then, the moment she spotted Zeno looking at her, she stopped rowing and looked at the demon and the giant snake.

"Tencent? The weakest of the twelve Fallen Commanders," she uttered, surprised upon seeing the creature present in the swamp.

After hearing her words, Tencent became frustrated and almost burst out in anger.

"A mere monster dared to insult me?" The snake snorted.

However, the woman ignored him and directed her eyes at the silver-haired demon.

"Hmnn, I couldn’t seem to identify this man before you. Who is he?" She said.

Then Tencent glanced at the demon, waiting for him to introduce himself, but aside from his name, Zeno, he gave nothing else.

"Zeno? I’m not certain about it, but I think I’ve heard that before," the psychopomp uttered while her eyes continued to stare at the demon.

"We have a task on hand; can I ask for your help?" Tencent said.

Despite the treatment the creature gave him, he still asked in a nice manner.

"Help? If it’s about reviving someone from death, I won’t do it, even if you kill me right here, right now. You won’t receive any help coming from me," the woman declared, which made Zeno click his tongue.

Her response was enough to annoy the demon, and the next second, Zeno pulled out a black dice from his pocket.

"Tencent, you see! My mood is a little bit sour, so are there any other psychopomps at this place aside from this one?" He asked.

"Probably yes, but I don’t know if we will manage to find one in a short period of time," Tencent responded to the demon’s question.

Then the snake moved closer to the psychopomp and confronted her. Both of his heads stared at the woman as if he were intimidating her. However, he was still composing what to say inside his mind when she opened her mouth and spoke.

"Death is sacred!" She exclaimed, and she paused for a few moments before speaking once more.

"Destroying someone’s life and death cycle by bringing them back is a major taboo in the deities’ eyes," she added while shaking her head.

"Is there no other way to convince you and let this slide just this once?" The snake tried to change the woman’s mind, but to no avail.

"Not even a Fallen Commander could make me set aside my beliefs regarding the deities’ teachings," she replied.

"Even though they abandoned all of us here! After those long years, we didn’t hear from any of them, and yet..." Tencent repeated the words that the demon told him earlier.

And upon hearing this, Zeno couldn’t help but shake his head. He didn’t expect this kind of progress after all. Then he looked up, and a smile curled on his lips.

’I wonder what their reaction would be if they saw one of their favorite pawns turn his back against them,’ he thought.

. . . . .