Chapter 313: Hollow Mountains [ 2 ]
Chapter 313: Hollow Mountains [ 2 ]
But before I entered, I glanced over to Jenna.
"How’d you know? I mean, how’d you figure out this was the entrance?"
She tilted her head slightly. "Don’t you see that giant white blob of energy here?"
Hm.
"Nope."
Looks like she’s special in her own regard. Maybe she’s the type of person who’s really good at detection. I was sure she had much more going for herself, but I’d only find out more later.
Nonetheless, I stopped wasting time and finally approached the tree, placing my hand on it. To my surprise, the tree wasn’t actually there. Instead, there was a ladder leading downward.
At the very bottom, I could see some light, so without hesitation, I made my way down slowly. Jenna followed as well, tripping on the ladder several times, but catching herself as her wings reacted instinctively.
After just a few minutes of climbing down, we arrived at the very bottom, and unexpectedly, there was a pretty open space here. There were a few statues down here resembling some kind of ghosts or wraiths.
But in the end, this did seem like just an ordinary hallway leading up to the main area. It was just that the main area was very well hidden, making it seem like this here was just some bullshit entrance to a treasury.
After all, why else would there be hundreds of gold coins lying around, as well as a few treasure chests in the corner?
If I was Clementine, I’d do the same. It’s a good idea to bait away anyone searching, since after finding all of this, they’d think that there was nothing more to it than that. Their dopamine would be far too high to notice.
Still, I decided to rely on Jenna, who, as expected, glanced at one section in particular. It was the ceiling of this place. It looked way too polished and nice for anyone to even consider going there, but I trusted her.
For that reason alone, I jumped up into one of the spots she was glancing at, and as expected, my body went right through. I snatched her as well, bringing her to the very top beside me, and finally, I glanced around this new area.
It was so large and open I could barely see the top. After all, these mountains were massive. But that wasn’t the most unique part of this whole debacle, as just slightly up ahead, I managed to spot a makeshift city.
Rather than makeshift, it was pretty well established. There were dozens of stalls, houses, and even people walking around. Some of those people I recognized from Aldraazan, which could only mean this place really was where Clementine had taken everyone.
But despite me wanting to go there right away, I was too immersed in the size of these hollow mountains. One could make a literal civilization here and no one would even notice. More importantly, there was some dirt and flowing water here, which meant that even farming was technically possible.
A self-sufficient location that could last forever... so long as demons don’t find it, this was perfect. But since I was now here, I would do everything in my power to make sure the demons don’t even get near this place.
Nodding to myself in determination, I glanced back at Jenna. She was equally amazed by this place, but once she glanced further ahead and spotted the people, she froze.
"They’re all human...?"
"Yes, they are," I replied with a slight hum. "But that doesn’t mean you’re not safe. Just because you’re beside me makes you much safer than you’d realize. Also, if you want any solace..."
I smiled, and then quickly showed her my own horns. She was surprised by how beautiful they were, though she had also become slightly more angry at her father.
He called Amon evil, and yet he was a demon. Did that mean her father also thought of her as evil, just because she was a demon?
Although I couldn’t read her mind, I felt like she was a bit too unsettled, so I decided to act like some kind of big brother. I patted her head, calming her down.
It worked wonders, as she really did calm down. She sniffled slightly, then nodded at me.
"I’ll trust you."
"Mhm."
That was all the confirmation I needed, as with another thought, I wrapped us both in black lightning and teleported us to the city ahead.
We arrived on the outer edge of the city, spotting some walls made out of pure steel, which was coincidentally also infused with energy. Breaking through would be difficult.
Though, for those atop the wall, locating those who came even remotely close was easy. Because of that, it only took a fraction of a second for the horns to resound as I soon heard rumbling coming from within the gates ahead.
Jenna looked extremely uneasy. I chuckled at the sight and put on my hoodie. Then, I changed my appearance to some ordinary-looking brown-haired man. I had no qualms about revealing myself to Clementine, but since I wanted to make this whole scenario that much more special, I felt like I should add more to it.
After all, I could feel her presence inside the city. She was in the faraway section, and from the looks of things, she had also managed to spot Jenna. She didn’t spot me, since my energy was undetectable.
But of course, since she recognized just how weak Jenna was, she didn’t even bat an eye. Neither did anyone else except for the guards, for that matter.
And speaking of the guards, it only took them a few minutes to arrive in front of us, surrounding us with spears and swords.
Ah, and for the cherry on top...
"One of them’s a demon. The other might be too. Stand your ground..."
"Does that mean the demons actually found a way to enter our safe haven...?"
"Are we going to die?"
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