Chapter 998 Hell’s Invitation

As he touched the dark dagger, Vicente felt as if part of his soul had been sucked into the blade of the underworld.

But an instant later, when Rex called out to him, he found himself once again in the place where the phenomenon of the opening of the Gates of Hell was rapidly passing.

“Has something happened, master?” Prisiche left her form and became the female version he normally saw her as.

“That creature marked me, or rather, gave me a soul invitation. His dagger has connected to my soul and may give me access to something.”

“Something?” Bert asked from his knees, still trying to breathe properly. “What?”

“I’m not sure…” Vicente broke out in a cold sweat, imagining something. ‘The Gates of Hell? Did he invite me to hell?’

The idea itself made him shudder, wondering what would happen if he went to such a dimension. Would he die? Would he go body and soul? Or perhaps only his soul would pass through the Gates of Hell?

He had no idea, and the thought scared him a little.

‘I have to be more careful when using my abilities to banish creatures… From the words of that existence, this was my second time facing him. But previously it was Master Collins who performed the ritual. Could that have been because I was there?’

His negative powers were like the whole idea behind the underworld and the Gates of Hell. Despite the threatening energy Vicente felt today and months ago, he couldn’t deny that there was an attraction between him and such a dimension.

Now he was almost certain that if he launched another ritual like today’s, he would come across that existence again and he would have to deal with a third encounter with such a being.

‘This is way beyond me. Even if it’s an invitation, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be good. I have to prepare myself better so that I don’t have to use my ritual skills again. Also, I urgently need to become a more powerful Real Sorcerer!’

He felt an unusual urgency, something he hadn’t experienced since he had Demien Bloodthorne as his major threat.

The only silver lining was that now he didn’t have to worry about this threat reaching his wives and daughter. He could deal with these problems on his own in Anicane, or wherever the hell it was.

“Anyway, wherever I’ve been invited to, it’s not something immediate.” Vicente tried to take a deep breath and step back. This was no time for despair. They had other plans in mind, and it was unlikely that he would have to deal with such a concern any time soon. At least, as far as he could imagine, he had some power to avoid that situation again.

“As long as I can stay away from rituals, everything should be fine. As for what happened, we’d better not talk about it with anyone.” He looked specifically at Bert and Garin.

“Certainly, Senior. We’ll keep it a secret,” the two said simultaneously.

Their fear of Vicente was only growing as time passed!

Looking at Rex, Vicente asked, “Do you know anything about specters? As far as I’ve studied, these creatures exist throughout Anicane, but they shouldn’t be this common. I’ve been here for a few months and this is the second time I’ve encountered this type of being.”

“About specters, they are quite common, master. But most of them hide in the darkness, possess bodies and avoid coming face to face with people like us… Or rather, when they act, no one is left to tell the tale. This results in the apparent situation that they are not common. But they are one of Anicane’s prevalent types of magical beings.”

“About specters, they are quite common, master. But most of them hide in the darkness, possess bodies and avoid coming face to face with people like us… Or rather, when they act, no one is left to tell the tale. This results in the apparent situation that they are not common. But they are one of Anicane’s prevalent types of magical beings.”

In a way, that made sense. After all, specters comprised resentful souls who had escaped from the underworld. Since every kind of creature with magical power could form such essences, there were too many souls in the underworld for a fraction that escaped to be enough to place many specters on each island of Anicane.

“Hell is a unique place in the universe. It gathers souls not just from one world, but from the 10,000 worlds that exist,” Rex explained the underworld. “All those who are sent to hell from all planes and from our planet, end up in the same dimension. But there are only methods of escape to Anicane and some worlds… Can you imagine where that leads?”

“A bunch of specters on Anicane.” Garin added in Vicente’s place.

Rex shook his head, already used to Vicente’s two human companions.

“Is there any method of controlling these specters?” Vicente asked.

Rex shook his head. “I don’t know. I personally can’t say, but there are rumors of individuals who are said to be capable of it. But these are stories that come from a long time ago, from other islands, master. It could just be a mix-up, mistranslation, etc. We can’t know unless we see it happen in front of us.”

Vicente scrunched up his face as he thought about what his beast had told him, but something in his heart told him that these were not mere legends. ‘I’ll see the next time I meet them… I just hope they’re not as strong as this group today. I exhausted myself by destroying that guy who invaded my soul space.’

With a sigh, Vicente drank a recovery potion, before moving on to lead his group in pursuit of their goals.

He had almost lost interest in moving on after what had happened, but being so close, he didn’t give up and continued towards his target. freewёbnoνel.com

But in the middle of their night’s journey, Vicente continued the conversation. “Since there’s a hell, there must be a paradise, right?”

“Paradise?” Rex asked, not understanding.

Vicente had made the mistake of thinking that his earthly notion worked with these creatures from Anicane. For the first time, he found himself in a translation problem with the magical beings.

“Hell, as I see it, is a terrible world, the underworld where those who have failed or committed serious crimes go after death. Paradise, on the other hand, is like a divine place where the blessed are destined after their mortal journey is over.”

“Oh?” Rex opened his mouth, never having imagined such a place.

Prisiche answered her master, still in the feminine form from before. “Your description sounds like what we call Argardus.”

Bert, Garin and Rex looked at her, identifying the name.

“Argardus? What’s that?” Vicente was curious.

“This is a mythical and majestic dimension, master,” Rex explained. “Those capable of entering it are at least 9th stage magicians. Not even the strongest of Light Cay could enter there, just to give you an idea. But Argardus is not as you described. You seem to see paradise as the opposite of hell. But that’s not what Argardus is. It’s more like the most likely home of the Nine Path controllers!”

Vicente narrowed his eyes, liking what he heard. “Is there a method of getting there?”

“If you’re able to become a Sorcerer, certainly. But only someone like that would know how to search or answer your questions about this place… What we know is only a distant legend.”