Way of the Knights

Chapter 538 - First Glance At The Pagoda

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"This works too?" Kyrie couldn't help but blurt out as she saw the ending of that poor wraith. 

"I know right? The Cleansing Flame truly is miraculous." Raven replied, he wasn't expecting this either but he wasn't as shocked as Kyrie. 

Truthfully, him testing this trick was just on his whim. It's not like he was expecting it to work or hoping for it to work for that matter. He just wanted to test is out since he could, lo and behold it did. Nevertheless, even at the case that it didn't work, he could always try out other ways to deal with the Fog of Ruin. 

The cloak of Cleansing Flame around them didn't drain too much of Raven's energies, in fact it barely did. Additionally, due to the constant nourishment of his Cosmic Force, the potency and purity of this Cleansing Flames raised to an astonishing degree. None of them were harmed by the Cleansing Flames either, this is due to Raven's impeccable control and that they're not devils.

Now that they had the protection of the Cleansing Flames, Raven and Kyrie had no problems travelling within the Fog of Ruin. 

They walked at a brisk pace at Raven's lead and continued heading towards the other side. 

Kyrie never imagined that there will ever be a day that she'll experience and casual stroll within the Fog of Ruin in her entire life but here she was. 

'I'm afraid that aside from him and Theo, nobody else would be able to take the Fog of Ruin as a joke.' Kyrie thought inwardly. 

As they walked around, they could hear several screeches of the wraiths around them. Their shrill screams were filled with unkind intentions yet none dared to charge at them. Raven could tell that these wraiths saw the pitiful end of the one who attacked them earlier thus they were afraid. In fact, he could even somewhat translate what they're trying to tell him.

'Hurry the fuck up and leave!' 

Raven chuckled. Yeah, these wraiths couldn't do anything to him, that's for certain. In fact, so long as he's protected by the Cleansing Flames, this will probably be the safest place for him within Asphodel. 

To the devils, the Fog of Ruin simply didn't exist. According to the records, every devil that stepped inside the Fog or Ruin will automatically pass through it as if it was a portal. Meaning that within the Fog of Ruin itself, there are no devils present.

These wraiths aren't truly considered as devils themselves since they lack corporeal forms. Yes they can hurt someone and also convert humans but they can't step away from the Fog of Ruin simply because they can't. 

This is why Raven was confident that so long as he's covered with Cleansing Flames, this place is would be the safest place for him. 

According to the records, the interior of the Fog of Ruin spans for at least five kilometers. This might sound short but considering the fact that this place is festered with wraiths, this five kilometer distance might be even more dangerous compared to the rest of Asphodel itself. 

As Raven walked inside the Fog of Ruin, he took his time to inspect the kind of wraiths he encountered. Although the books had an accurate description of them, seeing them in person was still more detailed. 

Wraiths as similar to ghosts, the only difference is that Wraiths are far more aggressive and they contain high elements of Extreme Yin and Darkness. Additionally since we're talking about wraiths within the Ancient Elysium Sect, it's given that they would have the Evil element stemming from the Devil Emperor itself. 

These wraiths were humanoids, and from what Raven saw, they mostly retained some features from their former lives as a human being, only they aren't wearing anything, they're almost transparent, and their lower bodies are akin to wisps of smoke as if only their upper bodies were left for them. 

There are visible injuries on their bodies. Some had cracked skulls, long gash of wounds, missing arms, contorted bodies, etc. Raven believe that this injuries might be how they died before they turned into wraiths. 

Their form of attack was described as simply passing through one's body. Wraiths are weightless and posses incredible speed too, anyone who isn't prepared will mostly likely be injured by them. Wraiths will always release a piercing shriek right before they attack, it's as if they're warning their comrades about the intruder before they charge at them, however this is also their downside since it's easy to tell where the attack will come from. 

Wraiths are immune to physical attacks thanks to their incorporeal forms, they also posses some form of immunity against spiritual based attacks. Hiding isn't an option here since everything within the Fog of Ruin is connected, even the ground itself. This is why so long as humans decided to step within this place, it is certain that they'll be discovered. 

The most effective method to deal against them is by running as fast as one could. Even though wraiths are quick, their speed aren't constant and they seem to not have accurate control of their bodies, making them sway in different direction. Unfortunately, this method also rely on luck since nobody could be sure that they'll be able to come out unscathed. 

Suffering an attack from a wraith isn't the end of the world. Wraiths will only be able to deal real damage to those who possessed weak wills. Staying true to one's heart, guarding your will and remaining steadfast is also one of the ways to defend against the onslaught of wraiths, however this is an unreliable method too. 

The method that show's great promise is the combination of the two previously mentioned methods, however if one gets unlucky then they could only hope that the conversion wouldn't be that fast. 

There are Cleansing Chapels in Greece and they are located next to the transmission array thanks to Theo's arrangement. Those who got infected could only hope that they could return as fast as possible and employ the help of a cleanser to deal with the remnant will. 

Once Raven was done inspecting the wraiths at their natural habitat, he paid them no attention anymore and hastened his steps. Their goal is to arrive at the 11th floor of the Devil Emperor's Pagoda as swiftly as possible and Raven already delayed as long as he could. 

Kyrie always matched his pace, and since Raven accelerated, she did so as well. She could still remember when Raven said that he's got a bad feeling about this. Kyrie wasn't as convinced but seeing that Raven is hurrying up, cause he heart to sped up as well.

The five kilometer distance of the fog were swiftly passed by the two. They arrived at the other end of the fog and saw it roll on itself as soon as they exited. 

Right then, the view of the towering Devil Emperor's Pagoda was displayed in Raven's eyes. 

Evil. That is the first word that would come to anyone's mind upon gazing in it. 

The Devil Emperor's Pagoda was surrounded by thick snakes of black lighting and pitch black clouds, the aura it radiated was hair-raising and extremely oppressive. It's body was gleamed with a metal sheen yet upon closer look, these sheen was like a liquidly substance that's being excreted by the pagoda itself. 

Raven could hear malignant whispers next to his ears, it was filled with temptation, madness and desire. No devils could be found within it's vicinity but the aura of evil was very concentrated here, in fact it was nearly tangible. 

The whispers didn't shake Raven's will at all. Raven's soul went through many assiduous trials that his will had been forged to be able to resist any kind of outside influence. Nevertheless, the visual impact of this enormous pagoda still caused him to be surprised. 

As he gently stood there, Raven suddenly felt a warm sensation on his forehead. Checking it briefly, he saw that the thunderbolt mark on his forehead was actually glowing and was the one that's releasing this sensation. 

Raven felt refreshed due to this. He guessed that this was because of the mark's effect. It was actually capable of resisting against the evilness around the pagoda. 

Recovering his indifferent expression, Raven gazed at the bottom most floor of the pagoda, it was also then that he saw the 'Broken Floor'. 

Dilapidated, and stupidly patched-up. This is what comes into Raven's mind as he saw the state of the 'Broken Floor'. Compared to the rest of the theme, it was extremely obvious that the this floor was different from the rest. 

The scenes it its destruction was even slightly visible on Raven's eyes. He could tell that it's really in a bad shape and the patches that the sect did to it, was barely capable to holding it together. 

When he recovered from the surprising sight, Raven could feel that the ground was shaking beneath him. He focused his senses and instantly, sounds of terrible clash became clearer on his ears. 

Raven's pupils constricted as he abruptly turned into a shooting star going straight to the source of the clash.