CHAPTER 130: CHAPTER 130 - DIVING INTO THE MOUTH OF DEATH

The forest had changed into something out of a nightmare.

The once-faint mist now clung to the ground like a living thing, curling around their ankles. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and blood, each breath Luca took feeling colder than the last. A strange, low hum reverberated through the darkened atmosphere, blending with the distant, sporadic roars of beasts. Shadows swayed unnaturally in the dim light, like they had a will of their own.

Celestia was ahead, her crimson eyes glowing faintly in the gloom, her hands moving with terrifying grace as she tore through another wave of beasts. These weren’t the weak creatures from earlier—each one was faster, their muscles taut with unnatural strength, their eyes glowing with a sickly, corrupted hue. Luca stayed close, his twin sabers already drawn, his knuckles white on the grips. His heart pounded—not only from the threat around them, but from the conversation that still rang in his ears.

"The reason you are here... is because I want you to use that ability of yours. The one where you can travel back in time."

The words had dropped like a stone in his stomach.

He had looked at her in disbelief. "T-that ability? You know it’s not in my control, right? It only happens when I... or someone close to me is in danger."

Celestia had simply nodded, her expression unwavering. "Don’t worry. I will take care of it."

Her calm tone had made him take a step back. "What are you gonna do—attempt to kill me or what?"

She had cast him an impatient glance over her shoulder, the kind that told him she thought he was being ridiculous, even though she didn’t outright deny it.

"Why do you even want me to see that vision anyway?" he had pressed, narrowing his eyes at her back.

"To see how the past heroes sealed the Demon King."

His grip on his sabers had tightened, disbelief washing over him. "Sealed? You know they sacrificed themselves, right? Erasing themselves from the cycle of reincarnation?"

Celestia’s voice had been steady, her tone stripped of hesitation. "It’s just a last resort. And maybe... maybe we can find a clue on how to truly defeat the Devil Emperor."

The words had lingered like frost in the air between them. Luca had nodded slowly, but his eyes were still wary. "Fine... but how do I know there’s no risk to my life in whatever process you have in mind?"

"Don’t worry," she replied without looking back, "I’ll be coming with you."

That had shut him up. His mouth had hung slightly open, questions lining up in his head—but before he could ask any, the world had erupted in snarls and snapping jaws. Another horde had crashed through the dark undergrowth, and Celestia had surged forward, cutting through them like she was slicing through water.

Now, in the present moment, the last of the beasts fell to the ground in a heap, dissolving into black sand. Celestia lowered her arm, the glow of aura fading from her palm. Her face was calm, but her gaze was sharper now, more alert.

"Don’t ask any more questions," she said, her tone firm. "It will only get harder from here."

Luca nodded, the seriousness in her voice settling deep into his gut. They moved forward, steps careful and senses straining against the oppressive darkness.

Then it came—an attack so fast Luca almost didn’t see it. A blur shot from the shadows, claws flashing. Celestia spun, intercepting it mid-lunge, her palm striking hard enough to send it tumbling back.

Luca’s eyes followed the figure as it skidded across the ground, landing in a crouch. His breath caught.

This wasn’t a beast.

"It’s actually..." his voice dropped to a shaken whisper, "...a corrupted human."

The figure straightened under the dim light, and Luca’s breath turned cold. Its skin was the color of rotting parchment, stretched thin over sharp bones. One arm was nothing but a jagged stump, blackened veins spider-webbing from the wound. Its eyes—what remained of them—were cloudy, and yet they seemed to see.

Then the shadows shifted. More emerged.

A man whose lower jaw was gone, his tongue lolling uselessly.

A woman whose sockets were hollow, but deep inside, tiny pinpricks of red light glimmered.

Others bore missing limbs, warped spines, and grotesquely twisted faces, the stench of decay rolling off them in suffocating waves.

The air grew heavier with each step they took toward Luca and Celestia, their movement jerky, as if pulled by invisible strings.

For the first time, Celestia moved with more intent. She reached behind her back, her hand grasping the hilt of a weapon. Luca’s eyes widened as she drew it—a saber, but unlike his. The blade shimmered in the darkness, glowing with an intense, molten orange light, the edge humming faintly as though eager to taste blood.

She stepped forward, and with a single, fluid motion, she swung. The saber cut through the corrupted humans in one clean arc—ten bodies split from shoulder to hip, falling silently before dissolving into drifting black ash.

Luca blinked in disbelief. "How powerful..." he muttered, almost without realizing it.

Celestia lowered the blade, her expression unreadable, and without another word, continued walking. Luca followed, his mind still replaying the precision and force behind that one strike.

After a while, he spoke up again. "How far do we have to reach? And... where do these beasts and humans come from?"

This time, Celestia actually answered. "It’s not far from here. As for them—nobody knows. Some say they were once people who entered this place... and were corrupted by the environment itself."

Luca nodded grimly, his grip tightening on his sabers.

They pressed on, but the attacks didn’t relent. More groups of corrupted humans appeared—stronger, faster, and more relentless. Even Celestia had to shift into a more aggressive stance, her strikes sharper, faster, and less casual than before. Luca managed to hold his own, though several glancing blows cut shallow lines along his arms.

For the first time, Celestia herself bore marks of the battle—a torn sleeve, a smear of black blood across her cheek, her breathing just slightly quicker.

Then it came—a presence so heavy it felt like the air itself was being pressed down on them. Ten figures stepped into view. Unlike the others, these corrupted humans still retained part of their original appearance. Luca could make out distinct facial features—sunken eyes, scarred skin—but they still looked... human. Half-emblems clung to the remnants of their armor and robes, symbols of some long-forgotten faction. Their aura was immense, comparable to Celestia’s own.

Luca’s voice was grim. "What now?"

Celestia didn’t answer. She simply reached out, grabbing Luca’s wrist in a vice-like grip before taking off at blistering speed. Her feet barely touched the ground before they were airborne, wind lashing against them.

Luca’s mind reeled. "Wha—?!"

But she wasn’t running away from the threat. She was heading deeper in.

His panic spiked when he saw it—up ahead, the sky itself seemed to spiral inward, forming a monstrous, black hurricane. The air was being sucked toward it with terrifying force, the sound of its pull like a hundred storms howling at once. The ground beneath it was stripped bare, a swirling vacuum of nothingness waiting to devour anything that came close.

Luca’s voice broke into raw terror. "WHAT’S THAT?! Let’s run back—back, back, not forward!"

Celestia ignored him, her pace only increasing. She leapt higher into the air, the winds tearing at them like claws.

Then she did something Luca didn’t expect—her arms came around him, holding him tightly as the pull of the hurricane swallowed them whole.

The world became a blur of black and roaring wind. Luca’s scream ripped out of his throat, echoing into the void.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHhhhhh—"

His thoughts were a frantic whirl of panic. I don’t want to die yet!

When his eyes opened up he looked at the familiar sealing, and a computer screen on the side, wait Computer...?!!!