An endless swarm extended till the end of one eyesight.
THUD!THUS!THUS!THUD!
Army consisting of an uncountable number raised their weapons and clashed them on the ground. The ground was littered with corpses and the blood from the corpses flowed forming an ocean of blood.
The sound made by striking weapons resonated loudly one after another in perfect symphony as if praising their Lord.
Marcus, who was bewildered by the scene, soon turned his eyes towards the overwhelming presence.
At the centre of the world, a huge throne extending up towards the sky stood.
As soon as the man's sitting on the throne looked into his eyes, his body started to shudder in fear.
Alex's lips crept upward as he saw Marcus' dreadful expression.
"Are you satisfied?"
Before Marcus could answer, the eyes of the army turned towards him. At that time, he felt pressure and suffocation like never before that seemed to be wanting him apart.
The sharp condensed killing intent made him feel the sickening feeling of a sickle placed over his neck that could take his life any moment from now if he spoke anything bad.
Alex, resting against the Throne, just waved his hand and the entire world soon disappeared into dust.
Marcus' sight turned white and as everything returned to normal, he found himself standing from his chair.
His legs trembled and he stumbled on his feet.
"Oye...What happened to you?"Issai reacted quickly and supported Marcus who shook his head to clear the dizziness.
He was already drenched in sweat and was on the verge of losing composure.
Seeing him heaving heavily, Alex chucked.
What he had shown was not even the full might.
It was praiseworthy that he could remain the same after this.
Dryad gave Alex a bewildered look and asked.
"Just what did you see?"
"It's better if we don't talk about that. I think I need some rest after this."Marcus smiled wearily.
"I will impart the training method to you after which I will enter seclusion and will come out when the other realm attacks."Marcus decided.
"I wanted to talk to you about that."Alex waved his hand.
A fiery golden orb condensed over his arms.
The orb finally took the shape of a golden fire key.
"What's that?"Issai asked.
All of them felt a sense of trepidation after feeling a strong presence from the key.
"Key to Unlock Hell," Alex answered with a smile.
"H...Hell..."Kosuru stuttered a bit.
"Yes, with this you can unlock hell and stay there for a certain time."
"I will leave the key here. I want you to take people to train there. Hell is the best training ground to groom a person. I have already set out the plan. The Hell Demons will guide you there."
Alex explained the things and then looked at Kosuru.
"There is fiery purgatory in Hell that has the world's hottest flame. You can use it to craft weapons. I know you might have retired but it seems you have to work hard."
"Are you going to the dark realm?"Marcus asked.
"Yes."Alex's expression turned grave.
"After I bring Riya back and take a look over there, I want us to be the first ones to attack. I want to finish things with them as soon as possible."
"We are still not ready," Issai spoke with a frown.
"We can never be ready. We just need to try our best."
"Hmm...Alex, I wanted to take back Athena to teach her. She needs to take her official post. The last time I spoke about this, she protested against me. Now, that you are away. I can make use of this chance."Issai spoke grievously.
Alex nodded.
"So, now that everything is set. Can I enter?"
"You want to go today?"All of them asked.
"Yes!"
"Okay, come with me then"
Led by the Five Protectors Alex entered the underground labyrinth.
In the end, a huge majestic gate stood covered by a golden barrier. Alex saw many magic circles and runes engraved over them.
"This is the passage that leads to the Darkness realm. The door protects us from the dimensional passage."Marcus spoke and further added, "In the Darkness realm, time flows differently."
"One day there is equivalent to 4 days here."
"Okay, now I will open it."
The five took their position.
Five circles appeared underneath them and a beam of light shot from them towards the door.
Alex marched forward through the glistening barrier that was previously locked with traps of lock.
CRICK!CRICK!CRICK!CRICK!
Clicking sounds echoed one after another.
Slowly and steadily, the huge door opened.
Swish!
A mass of condensed bone-crushing pressure spread all around hitting Alex directly.
The pressure was enough to kill anyone below the Saint realm. Alex could feel the turbulent energy of spaces intertwining with one another.
With a stomp, he shot through the darkness and disappears from everyone's vision
"Husshh!"
Everyone heaved in relief and the door closed and everything went back to normal.
"I hope you can return safely."Issai prayed.
"I hope you can wreak havoc and mess things up on my behalf!"Dryad spoke with a cheeky smile.
........
Coming out of the passage, Alex was immediately met by an engaging world. The light of the giant moon illuminated the words and bathed the lush landscape in bluish light.
A strange energy hangs in the air and makes one hair rise in fear. The darkish energy of miasma surrounded him and bathed his body supplementing his power.
Lucas felt a bit out of touch as he was thrown into a random forest but as he walked, the body loosened.
With no laws suppressing him, the 9th star was deeply hidden in the abyss, sprung up and broke.
Darkness erupted from Alex and a frightening burst of power spread like waves.
Alex then waved his hand and spoke with a smile.
"Come out of my shadows. It's time for us to set loose."
A dark shadowy figure shot out from Alex's back.
Alex smiled seeing dead Agnes coming back.
"Necromancy...I've wanted to try this since ages."