Free Web NovelChapter 8: Welcome To Tartarus
[The World of Tartarus] ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
[One Dimensional Leap from Aquinas]
In the depths of a volcanic landscape was a world known as Tartarus, which was very different from the world of mortals. Tartarus had a very rocky terrain with thousands of volcanoes that filled the land with pools of lava and caused the sky to darken with black smoke that blocked the sun. This world was home to a race of magical beings known as demons, and they were separated into the lesser demons, who were the workers and slaves that dug for precious ores and metals around the world of Tartarus, and the upper demons, who were the generals and fighters in charge of defending the world if a battle ever broke out.
At the very apex of the demons’ hierarchy in Tartarus was a being known as the Demon Lord. A title saved only for the fiercest and most powerful of all the demons! The Demon Lord led Tartarus from their castle in the central city of Raksha. The entire city sat on top of a massive plateau surrounded on all sides by a lake that flowed with burning hot lava! The only way in or out of the city was a stone bridge that had been formed above the lake of lava, and there was currently a long line of lesser demons standing on the bridge as they waited to be let in through the city gates.
In the center of the city was the Royal Palace, where the Demon Lord ruled from, and it loomed over the city of Raksha like a majestic monument! At this time, the world of Tartarus was in one of its most prosperous periods, and there was a great amount of development across many of the cities in this world.
But things hadn’t always been this way. A long time ago, the world of Tartarus had been ruled by a tyrant king whose bloodlust and greed had almost destroyed the entire world!
During the demihuman war in Aquinas, the former Demon Lord had joined forces with the dragon king that led the demihuman race, and he had pushed his people into joining the war against the humans! He believed that once they were successful with getting rid of the humans, the demons would be able to share the spoils with the demihumans and become even wealthier! But nothing had gone the way any of them planned!
The appearance of Verati on the battlefield completely changed the tide of that battle, and in the middle of one of the wars, Verati had chased the Demon Lord all the way down to Tartarus, and they engaged in a battle unlike anything this world had ever seen! That battle nearly destroyed the central city of Raksha, and it ended with the Demon Lord’s defeat. It was only after he died that a new Demon Lord rose to power, and the demon race slowly began to recover its former glory.
Now, more than a decade after the war ended, the city of Raksha was more beautiful than it had ever been!
A white rectangle appeared in the air over the large stone bridge leading up to the Raksha city gate, and Percy stepped out before Viva fell through with a shout!
"Oof!"
Viva let out a cry as she landed roughly on the floor, but in the next moment, she rushed to her feet and turned to Percy angrily! Viva was about to give Percy a piece of her mind, but she froze when she noticed where they were, and she looked around with wide eyes at the strange scenery! Viva took in the stone bridge and the massive lake of lava flowing under them! The air in this place was murky and dry, and every time Viva took a breath, it felt like she was taking in hot steam! Viva looked to her right, and she saw a long line of people walking towards a gate in the distance. The people were all tall with red skin and long horns twisting out from their foreheads. Their teeth were fanged, and Viva’s natural feline instincts told her that these people were not to be messed with! None of the people in the line looked surprised by Percy and Viva’s sudden appearance, but some of them were chuckling in amusement as they looked at Viva’s dirty clothes and disheveled hair.
"Where the hell are we?"
Viva spoke in a voice filled with disbelief, and Percy chuckled while walking forward.
"It’s funny you say that, cause we’re actually in hell. This is the central city of Raksha in Tartarus."
Viva had no idea what to say in response to that. She looked around for a few more seconds in disbelief before she asked.
"Are we in another world?"
"Yeah."
Percy put his hands in his pockets, and he began walking across the bridge without waiting for Viva to follow him. Percy could understand why this whole thing was very shocking to Viva since she had never heard about the existence of multiple worlds before, and Percy had actually considered not bringing her along for this. But since the headmaster had recommended her, Percy decided to allow Viva to get involved with the full investigation. Although it was actually a little annoying to see Viva’s shocked face as she looked around nervously.
To a lot of high-level mages, the existence of multiple worlds was just something normal to them, and it was also normal for them to meet with high-level mages from other worlds when traveling between worlds. But something like that wasn’t common knowledge to the weaker mages, and Percy decided to ignore Viva’s expression until they got to the city gate.
At the gate, there was a giant red troll that towered over everyone with bulging muscles and a large club strapped to his back. The troll looked down at Percy and Viva and growled something deep in its throat! Viva immediately stepped behind Percy in fear since she had no idea what the troll said, but Percy was able to easily understand the troll, and he spoke.
"I don’t have a pass. Tell Gorgon Percival’s here to see the Demon Lord."
The troll was silent for a few seconds before it let out a rumbling laugh that shook its entire body!
"You want to meet the Demon Lord? You must be joking! Get back in line, or I will crush you!"
The troll reached back for its club, but it froze as Percy’s eyes narrowed! Percy spoke in a calm tone, but this time, there was a threat present in there that showed he was losing his patience!
"Get Gorgon this instant, or I will kill you."
Percy did not even bother to release any mana, but there was an intense pressure coming from his body that froze the troll in place! The troll actually felt fear fill its heart when it saw the look in Percy’s eyes, and it wondered who this human was to stand in front of him like that!
"YOU FOOL!"
SLAM!
Another troll suddenly appeared from the side and hit the first troll in the head hard! The new troll glared at the gatekeeper before turning to Percy and going down on both knees respectfully!
"Master Percival. It’s an honor to see you once again. I’m sorry for his actions; he is new to this job. I came as soon as I heard you were at the gate." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Percy looked at the gatekeeper troll in annoyance before he decided to just let this go. The gatekeeper was rubbing the back of his head with a shocked look on his face, and the gatekeeper bowed his head as Percy walked past to enter the city.
"Is the Demon Lord here?"
Percy spoke to the new troll, and the troll quickly got to his feet and began following behind Percy while speaking respectfully.
"Yes, the Demon Lord is available. I already sent a messenger to let the Demon Lord know of your visit."
"Alright, I’ll go alone from here. You can go back to your post."
The troll bowed once again, and it allowed Percy to move alone, but Percy stopped all of a sudden as he realized that someone was missing. Percy turned around, and he scowled when he saw Viva standing at the gate with a look of shock on her face.
"What the hell are you doing back there?"
