A Sorcerer's Journey 488 Dread

"We made it! We've finally won!"
"Praise the great Infernal Gods, for the Sun will never set on the great Acraepoid race! We will rise from the ashes and…"
The sky above the First Acraepoid Kingdom returned to its beautiful blue hue. The invasion of the cursed sorcerers had ended in failure. Now, the masterless Abyssal Demons were being hunted down, with not a single soul spared. In the sky, floating hordes of red-eyed soul slave soldiers were patrolling, held captive by the Acraepoids' Will.
"Limo, are you seeing this? Victory is ours! The Acraepoids have triumphed over the enemy! The sorcerers are not undefeatable as the cowards would say! The day when we, the great Acraepoids would crush the sorcerers and recapture the Infernal Spirit Continent is as near as it can get! And when that day comes, we will hang, draw and quarter every single one of them!"
Grimm's body, having been washed and cleansed with spring water no longer reeked of the giant Abyssal monster's stomach acid.
On his head, a black flame burned intensely as he shifted his gaze toward the sky. Seeing the sight of the massacre unleashed on the Abyssal Demons, he faked a look of satisfaction.
"Yeah, totally. I too, believe that we will take back the Infernal Spirit Continent someday!"
At that moment, while it seemed as though the Abyssal Demons had been thoroughly exterminated by the Acraepoids, they only belonged to a relatively small portion of demons under the control of the Sorcerer's Will. As for the remaining forces which made up the main bulk of the invasion force, they had already fled under the command of the respective Abyssal Summoners into the horizon.
A celebratory mood was evident throughout the Crimson City, as the Acraepoids patted each other on the backs. It seems that their long lost confidence and pride had finally resurfaced after so many years of living in cowardice.
***
Ten days later.
Grimm had become a member of a patrol team made up by a dozen Acraepoids, with Aeschi in command.
The auxiliary space in which the First Acraepoid Kingdom existed was similar in size to the Holy Tower of Seven Rings' Vicious Thorn Forest.
It was not particularly big, nor was it particularly small.
There was an area within the kingdom where there were ruins of a city with an unknown past. No one knew what kind of city this was, nor what glory it once saw. No one understood the reason why the First Acraepoid King decided to abandon this place, thus allowing it to crumble into nothingness.
"Remember, our task is to patrol the ancient city of Situ and flush out any Sorcerer's Shadows in hiding. We will not allow any of them to taint this ancient city."
Aeschi said to everyone on site with a serious, but calm expression.
"Right."
"Understood."
Everybody answered Aeschi's command before taking off in different directions.
Grimm fluttered the pair of Acraepoid wings on his back, flying above the ancient city with an Infernal Blade in his grip. From time to time, he would crane his neck left and right in search of potential hiding spots for the enemy Abyssal Demons.

A short while later, Grimm seemed to have detected something. He dived down in a flash, and with the swing of his Infernal Blade, an ugly Abyssal Demon was executed with not so much as a wail of pain.
Expressionless, Grimm cut off a small piece of flesh from his victim and stored it into a special transparent container before his wings started beating again as he moved forward to proceed with his patrol mission.
Approximately three hourglasses later.
The ten-or-more Acraepoids gathered again, each holding containers with specimens of Abyssal Demon parts.
"Hmm? Where's Yashasu?"
Aeschi noticed that there was a missing member among the small detachment of Acraepoids. At that moment, his expression changed for the worse. Did he overlook the possibility that there was an extremely powerful Sorcerer's Shadow creature hiding amidst the ruins and that Yasashu had run into said creature while on patrol?
Grimm too, felt a chill run down his spine.
Abyssal Demons were typically much weaker after leaving its regular environment. Without the continuous replenishment of the Abyssal signal, its life force would dwindle rapidly which would hinder its combat potential greatly, not to mention the suppressive force exerted on them by the laws of this world. No matter how deadly and terrifying an Abyssal Demon might be, its powers would inevitably shrivel up when cast away from its normal habitat for too long.
Also, Level-2, Level-3 demons for the most part, did not hide from their enemies alone. They would either be targeted by top-tier Acraepoids for elimination, or they would be under the strict control of the Sorcerer's Will.
Then…
Could it be that hidden here, was Grimm's fellow Abyssal Summoner, a Demon-Hunter Sorcerer!?
Although the possibility for this was just a tiny sliver, Grimm could not help but feel a sense of unease. Establishing his identity within this city and blending in took him so much effort after all. Who would have thought that his bluff would be uncovered so early on?
As long as Black Isotta Stigmata Sorcerer had not opened up a second Void Aperture to send a new invasion force into this auxiliary space, Grimm would have to still conceal his identity.
Fancy guerilla escape tactics were only applicable for great, powerful Demon-Hunter Sorcerers.
"Hey…"
Just as the atmosphere around the squad had started to thicken with fear and tension, an Acraepoid came flying from afar. After confirming that it was indeed Yasashu, Grimm's teammates could not help but sigh in relief.
"Look at what I found?"
Hmm?
Everyone turned over to find the latecomer holding a sorcerer's staff. The ruby-red gem at the tip of the staff was faintly drawing in Elemental Light, which made it all the more dazzling. Its overall aesthetic was for some reason perfectly in line with the Acraepoids' taste.
Grimm's eyes widened, for this was Claudia's magic staff!
Did she…
No, it could not be right. Grimm had come to see with his own eyes, that that woman had a situational awareness far surpassing his own. Although danger was seemingly imminent from the perspective of the defeated sorcerers, after the brief round of chaos, so long as the Demon-Hunter Sorcerers, whose drive to survive was endless, were not killed, it would be impossible to strike them down later on.
Moreover, prior to their mission, Black Isotta Stigmata Sorcerer had sworn that the Infernal Spirit World's Guardian of the Sea as well as the First Acraepoid King would not dare to show up in this auxiliary world.
As for the reason, Black Isotta did not provide any further explanations.
"Ha ha ha ha, look at this sorcerer's weapon. I'll take it home as a war trophy!"
Yasashu said arrogantly while smiling as the others showered him with praise.
The Crimson City of the First Acraepoid Kingdom was not the small town of the Dark Destroyer Kingdom where the Abyss Moss had started its infestation in the Infernal Spirit World. Back there, the unfortunate Acraepoids who collected such war trophies for research were burned to death by their weakling peers. Perhaps it was done impulsively out of fear and despair but it was undeniably stupid.
As for this place, anything could happen. It was such because this was where the elites of the great Acraepoid race congregated!
"Heh heh, I really must thank my lucky stars. Who knows, maybe if I hand this over to the nobility to aid their research, I would get some unthinkable reward."
Aeschi snorted at the statement before reminding Yasashu. "Come back on time from now on."
"Uh… understood."
Just as they were about to wrap up the day's mission and call it a day, Aeschi's expression darkened as he detected something nearby. Raising his hand, he yelled out to his teammates.
"Everybody, conceal yourselves!"
In mere seconds, everyone squeezed into the nearest crevices they could find in the ruins. From the darkness, they peeped into the distant sky.
Pant, pant…
A flock of Abyssal Demons, so massive that blocked out the Sun's rays flew on by their heads. They must have numbered upwards to a million as the entire place turned dark under their shadows.
"Curses, it's an escaping Abyssal Summoner!"
Aeschi's clenched fist hammered down onto the broken wall's surface. He gritted his teeth and in the moment, pure, unfiltered hatred was projected from his eyes.
While these Acraepoids had a boost of morale after securing victory in defending the Crimson City from the sorcerers' invasion, fear presented itself in the hearts of everyone around Grimm. Some were trembling as they prayed to the First Acraepoid King, hoping that the Abyssal Demons would not take notice of their hiding positions. Some averted their gaze from the demonic creatures beyond their hiding holes.
It was only after a while that Aeschi broke the silence with a cold grunt.
"Hmph, get up. That Abyssal Summoner has left."
Aeschi's words made the Acraepoid who was taking refuge beside him jump out of fear. This Acraepoid then pulled at Aeschi's arms, glaring at him while saying in a nervous tone.
"Lower your tone goddamnit! If we're discovered by the sorcerer or his Abyssal Demons, we're done for I tell you!"
"Bastard, don't you dare pull at me! Raise your head and look at the sky! This is the Infernal Spirit World, our world! The ones who should be cowering in fear are the sorcerers!"
As Aeschi retorted, a team of Acraepoids around the size of ten thousand troops flew by in the skies above. They were most probably chasing down the Demon-Hunter Sorcerer from before.
"We're joining them to hunt down that sorcerer!"
After saying this, Aeschi prepared for flight to join that large team of Acraepoids but was pulled back by Yasashu instead.
"Our mission was to patrol this area, not to hunt down sorcerers!"
"You…"
Aeschi, who was struggling to speak pointed a finger at Yasashu.
Grimm's brows furrowed and thought about what he should say in such a tense moment. Then, he shook his head while facing Aeschi's direction and advised him.
"The nobles must have their reasons for assigning specific tasks to us. As such, I think we should prioritize our mission. Be patient, the day will come when more Acraepoids would understand our grand vision for our race's future!"
Grimm was spewing out the cringe-worthy, superficial and righteous words Acraepoids were so obsessed with hearing in an effort to stop Aeschi's impulsiveness.
"Huhh…"
Aeschi let out a breath he was holding and nodded in agreement to Grimm's words. Leading the team, they flew back to the Crimson City in the opposite direction.

Chapter end