The Devil Is Real (Noir x Arifureta)

Chapter 7: A Chaotic World, Tortus

These beings of godlike power that border on divinity effectively rule as deities over their domains. Their very existences' overwhelming forces are something the world itself struggle to contain. Even among their Special-S Classification, however, one name stands apart--Ehitruje, hailed by the humans as the one true deity of Tortus. Little is known of this supposed primordial entity, yet its influence is felt in every corner of the world through the preachings of the church.

The sheer power of these supreme powers shapes the destinies of all who dwell in Tortus. Whether human, demon, beastmen or other, their fates are fundamentally tied to the ambitions of these beings.

•••

The advancement of civilization in Tortus is not consistent. That is understandable for a planet considerably larger than what should be possible for life. This world's unique property of mana is the reason why humans can even live in this world, after all. It caused some form of terraforming to the fundamental genetics of lifeforms.

Some regions in Tortus are as advanced as modern Earth, and some countries' civilization level can be found similar to Earth's 16th century. Despite the humans' territory only occupying the northern hemisphere of Tortus, the land in it is greater than all of Earth's landmasses combined.

The southern hemisphere is occupied by the demons, ruled by Ryomen Sukuna and the monarchs, and the center of the equator is a massive forest that acts like a boundary between man and demon. The east is the domain of beastmen, while the far west is a gigantic desert.

To many, especially to magicians, the Reisen Gorge was a veritable hell. Not only was it home to many powerful monsters and was a source of irresistible heat, but it was also the domain of a great anti-magic system. In the gorge, all magic seemingly disperses. This is because the entire gorge is encased in an anti-magic field that deforms mana and prevents it from clustering.

Numerous scars can be seen in the gorge's steep walls. The scars looked as if they've been carved out by the claws of a gigantic beasts, but they were nothing more than Noir's slashes. The ground is also littered with blood and monster corpses.

The two, after staying a few nights in Brooke, had come back to the Gorge to check out the rumors of a hidden labyrinth. And it was right. Down below a small caving, was a small sign that just denies all prudence.

Welcome one and all! Welcome to Miledi Reisen's heart pounding dungeon! Is what the text written in a stone vertical platform says.

"Wha..." Noir unconsciously muttered.

"..." Yue was just as perplexed. They both thought, yeah, ain't no way. The damn thing was a bit too lighthearted for a title like Great Labyrinth.

"Nah, it's true. I think it's over... here?" Noir told Yue as he pressed a little rock bulging on the caving's wall. Then, like a secret passage, the wall flipped open, allowing for entrance.

.........

......

...

I and Yue took a moment to look at each other first before stepping in. Immediately after, we were shot with a countless barrage of arrows, each with different properties. Some were flaming, some were oozing out some poison, and others were made of ice. They numbered thousands upon thousands. How brutal it would've been for anyone other than us.

In front of my barrier, they all simply turned to mist and vanished into thin air without a trace. We continued on. And let's just say, it was the most annoying journey I've ever had in an untold number of years.

Not only were the traps so incredibly irksome and annoying, but the pestering voice that kept echoing throughout the labyrinth was annoying as fuck. I had to swear there just to show how annoying it was. The traps weren't that dangerous at all. They can hardly do damage. But they were annoying certainly, and following that annoyance is an even more annoying voice trying to get to your head.