Fire Mage (Web Novel)
chapter-675

Chapter 675: Demon Fortress

'I can't see clearly. No good.' As Charles was confused by the sudden Hypnosis, the Shadow Princess tightened her body around his neck and let out a hiss at the Vampire.

Even though it was a baby snake's cute hiss, a strange invisible power came along with it and broke his spell!

At that moment, Charles woke up from the spell effect and was stunned by the Shadow Princess's help.

Simultaneously, he locked his gaze on Dorian and attacked his consciousness.

As soon as Dorian took the third step, he suddenly forgot how to take the next step and stood dazed.

Meanwhile, Charles continued to cast the [Burning Thoughts] spell on his consciousness and arrived before him in an instant.

Simultaneously, he unsheathed his sword and placed it on Dorian's neck, giving him a superficial wound.

But before Dorian could think of a way to resist, he realized that his Inner World was being invaded.

At that moment, a strange purple human started destroying his memories with a peculiar purple flame, causing chaos everywhere. Whenever his clone consciousnesses tried to intervene, they all got devoured by the strange purple flame instantly.

"@$*I%U! @$*I%U!" Realizing the situation, Dorian instantly decided to surrender and raised both his hands.

"Good choice." Charles curled his lips upward and removed the sword from his neck.

After that, he let the drop of Dorian's blood fall onto his palm, made an identity imprint, and asked a question in Rune Language.

"Can we talk now?"

Dorian stepped back, realizing the enemy's proximity, and nodded stiffly.

"That's good." Charles smiled and cast the [Curse of the Overlord] spell.

Then, he sheathed the long sword and spoke casually.

"Don't look stiff. If you answer my questions, I'll let you go."

"How can I trust your words?" Dorian asked angrily but soon swallowed his words.

A cunning smile appeared on his face.

"Oh? It seems you indeed realized your position. Indeed, you don't have a choice to begin with." Charles said with a chuckle and soon asked while pointing his finger at the faraway fortress-like building.

"My first question: How many strongholds like that are there in this layer?"

Even though Dorian wanted to give a false answer, something within him warned him about the danger and made him restless inside.

'Tsk, I shouldn't make any reckless decision.'

"This Layer has twelve Strongholds, My Lord. Thousands of people from different worlds and races inhabit each Stronghold. The fourth Layer is a merging point for explorers from different worlds. Among the twelve Strongholds, three belong to the demon race, two belong to devilkin, three belong to elves, one belong to Humans, and the remaining three belong to neutral villages where all Lawful races gather."

"Oh? Twelve Strongholds, huh? But what about the time limit? Who rules these strongholds? Can you tell me more?" Charles asked with a frown.

Meanwhile, Dorian nodded his head and answered.

"Each stronghold is being ruled by a Commander. Unlike the previous layers, you can stay here if you form an oath with Lord Nyxen and might even be selected to go to the next layer once he gains enough trust."

"Lord Nyxen? Who is he? Didn't we have to kill the Boss of the Fourth Layer to move to the next Layer?" Charles's curiosity piqued.

"Kill Lord Nyxen?" Dorian couldn't help but give him a weird glance before shaking his head.

"It has been more than five millenniums since someone managed to kill him. But you don't have to worry about not going to the fifth Layer. If you convince him by showing your abilities, he will allow you to enter the fifth Layer."

'Oh? Lord Nyxen is the Devil Crow, huh? But how can I get my hands on the Wicked Flame if I can't kill the Devil Crow? Will it teach me if I show my Wicked Flame spells? No way.'

"Now that I think about it, you said something about Oath, right? What is it?" Charles asked.

"I can't say anything about it. Once I say anything related to the Oath, I'll-" Dorian abruptly paused and went silent.

"Oh? You don't want to tell? Then, I've no choice then." Charles instantly cast [Burning Thoughts] spell on him and erased his current thought.

'Oh? If I reveal anything related to Oath to anyone, even his soul will be extinguished by a strange black flame?'

"Argh!" As Charles was reading the memory, Dorian suddenly let out a screeching noise and fell to his knees.

Simultaneously, a strange black flame enveloped his body, burning him fiercely! Like a devouring flame, the black flame burned the clothes, flesh, the artifacts he possessed, and even bones!

What startled Charles was that the black flame managed to burn the Purple Consciousness within Dorian's Inner World!

'The black flame even entered his Inner World?' No, he noticed even his soul form was being burned!

In a few seconds, Charles noticed nothing was left behind in the area where Dorain stood.

'He was erased from the existence itself. This spell is almost as powerful as Runeth's Erase Existence!' Charles drew a deep breath and slowly sat on the nearby rock.

'I've made up my mind. This spell, I want it at all costs. But how?' He suddenly thought of the 'Causality Manipulation' skill.

'This skill enables me to manipulate causality, altering the sequence of events to create desired outcomes or prevent disasters.' He activated the skill without delay and soon noticed a strange connection with the profound wisdom.

Random information in images appeared before his eyes one by one.

The first was an image of a sealed coffin within a dark chamber; the second was a drunken winged Demon; the third image was about a secret tunnel leading to a chained towering tree made of bones and flesh; the fourth image was a strange spatial rift being controlled by a group of humans in bluish robe with eye pattern on their chest region, and finally, the fifth image was a blackish Egg nested in a large underground cave!

'Visions? No, this looks more like information that could help me achieve my goal.' However, Charles knew he needed more information about each image and decided to look for clues.

Then, he activated the identity imprint and transformed himself into Dorian. After that, he changed his clothes into a black formal, miming Dorian's earlier appearance.

'But the problem is memories. Except for name and title, I know nothing about him.' He thought momentarily and decided to sneak into the fortress ahead.

He slowly released his wisdom power and hovered up to the sky.

He then manipulated the wisdom power and flew towards the direction of the fortress. Before long, he flew past the lava lake and soon arrived closer to the sturdy fortress on a small hill.

As he approached the fortress, Charles observed the surroundings in detail. It was a massive, dark stone structure adorned with intricate carvings and symbols that exuded an aura of power.

Massive gates, wrought with intricate runes and sinister motifs guarded the entrance. Fiery braziers illuminated the door, casting flickering shadows that danced across the formidable walls. The fortress's exterior was adorned with monstrous sculptures and grotesque reliefs, showcasing the demons' fascination with the macabre and the arcane.

The atmosphere around the fortress was tense, with Demon Guards stationed at various points, eyeing anyone who approached with suspicion. Every corner bore a sense of watchfulness, with watchtowers and battlements offering sweeping views of the surrounding landscape, including the nearby lava lake glowed with an otherworldly radiance.

As Charles approached the Fortress Entrance gate, the two winged humanoid demons with snake heads nodded and greeted him in the abyssal language.

Charles gave a nod and continued to walk into the fortress.

Simultaneously, he cast the [Shadow Stealth] skill and started observing the surroundings while roaming.

The interior of the fortress was just as imposing as its exterior. Long corridors stretched before him, lit with eerie purple torches that cast strange shadows on the walls. The air was heavy with sulphur and an odd metallic scent. Charles couldn't help but feel a bit tense as he walked deeper into the fortress.

Passing by various rooms and chambers, he could hear snippets of conversations in different languages—Abyssal, Nether, and others entirely foreign. The fortress seemed like a hub of activity, with mostly demons, some devils, undead, and even beings from various chaotic races mingling and doing their business.

'Each one of them is as strong as me! If my identity got found out, there is no way I can leave this place alive.'

Charles maintained his composed facade as he continued to explore, searching for any opportunities to gather more information. He knew that to impersonate Dorian and gain access to information about the visions, he needed to have a solid understanding of Dorian's connections, alliances, and any secrets he might have held.

For the next few hours, he roamed inside the fortress stealthily and finally grasped some understanding of the Abyssal Tongue. Thanks to that, he also managed to find out Dorian's personal information and even the ranking of Demons in the Demon Fortress.

'Dorian belongs to the scouting squad called 'Shadowstalkers' and has been assigned to monitor the Lava Oasis region and its surroundings. In the scouting Squad, there are seventy-two demons from different chaos races. Like the Scouting squad, there are eleven different groups out there. They are Plaguebearers, Voidshifters, Summoner Enclaves, Dread Commandos, Soul reaver Cavalry, Death Archers, Abyssal Knights, Cursed Sorcery Coven, Bloodbound Berserkers, Hellfire Bringers, and finally, the Infernal Legion, where the rest of the demons belongs. And the one who leads this whole group is a Demon Commander named 'Drakaroth the Flameheart.' The total population of this Demon Fortress is 1253 Demons!' As Charles learned how strong this single Demon Fortress was, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.

'For now, I should focus on finding the Drunken Winged Demon and gather more information.' He thought inwardly.