Death... and me

Rean and Kentucky didn't let their guard down, though. Being in the range of the city wall also meant being in the range of whatever was trying to reach Aelrie's soul. With the pretty much inexistent remaining sky energy they had, they covered Aelrie, afraid she would be taken at any moment.

At the same time, they took out even more Divine Origin Energy cores and absorbed as much Divine Origin Energy as possible, replenishing their reserves. There was one good thing, though. Now that they reached the range of the City Wall, the Spatial Chaos Environment of the Chams seemed to have disappeared. They were simply standing in midair, with nothing harmful happening in the surroundings.

*Roar, roar, roar...*

Their group then looked behind, and their expression contorted a little. The number of Dark Beasts outside the city wall range continued to increase nonstop. In just a minute, the hundreds of Dark Beasts had already surpassed the thousands, and it seemed to increase endlessly.

"Just how many of them are down here?" Kentucky couldn't help but comment.

Rean shook his head. "If this short time was enough for such a number to appear, I can only guess it surpasses the millions."

"It's not that surprising, is it?" Aelrie also commented. "If you count the amount of Light Beasts in the Initial Areas, there are definitely millions of them spread all over there. However, the Chasm is such a tight place, so the Dark Beasts could only end up pilling up."

Rean and Kentucky had to admit that Aelrie's words made sense.

The roars continued to increase for the next few minutes, but Rean and the others just ignored them all. Their whole focus was recovering their energy and healing their injuries. For some reason, the Dark Red Flames of the suicidal Dark Beasts were hard for even Rean's Instant Recovery Skill to get rid of.

Rean tried to analyze his injuries since they were touching his body, so his Divine Sense did reach them. "Such a weird type of energy. There is definitely Dark Element involved, however, it is only a small piece of the puzzle."

"Is it poison?" Kentucky asked, finishing healing another injury caused by those Dark Red Flames.

Rean pondered a bit and decided to give it a try.

'Life Style, Purification!'

His purification worked on the injuries, seeming to get rid of the harmful effect of the Dark-Red Flames. However, it wasn't perfect. "It is poison, but it is not just that. Kentucky, pay close attention to the burnt part of our bodies. You should be able to barely feel it."

Kentucky concentrated for a moment and finally understood what Rean meant. "Laws... The Dark-Red Flames have some kind of law operating behind them. No wonder your Instant Recovery and your Purification Skills can't heal us as fast as they usually do."

Rean nodded. "I only have a connection with Dark and Light Laws, just like you. So, I can't tell what kind of laws are affecting our bodies. Fortunately, they are quite weak, and the constant use of my Instant Recovery and Purification skills are able to get rid of them."

Another few minutes passed while Rean and Kentucky managed to recover a little more than 10% of their Divine Origin Energy reserves. At least they wouldn't be helpless anymore if something happened now. Rean then looked at the City Wall, wondering what they should do next.

However, it was at this moment that all the roars of the Dark Beasts outside stopped. It was very loud and impossible to simply forget they were there, so as soon as they stopped, Rean, Kentucky, and Aelrie looked in their direction.

The Dark Beasts hadn't left yet. They were all looking at their group, seeming ready to attack at any moment. There were even more of them now, which made it look like there was another wall made solely of Dark Beasts outside the one-

kilometer range of the City Wall.

Suddenly, that wall seemed to open a huge gap. All the Dark Beasts in that area opened the way, showing the darkness of the Chasm stretching as far as Rean and the others could see.

*Gruuuu...*

A growl then echoed in the surroundings. The darkness of the Chasm in that open area of the Dark Beasts seemed to give way to something else. Several red lines began to take form, and they were getting close to the City Wall. Obviously, all the Dark Beasts stopped roaring because of whatever was arriving.

Rean, Kentucky, and Aelrie were finally able to see the newcomer's shape. It was another Dark Beast, although very different from all the others. The red lines they saw before were, in fact, tattoos covering the Dark Beast's body, illuminating its form. Its size was also at least three times bigger than any of the Dark Beasts around. Above all, its aura made Rean and Kentucky feel a chill on their backs. That Dark Beast was anything but weak.

"Seems like the boss arrived..." Rean commented.

Kentucky opened his wings, ready to flee for his life if things changed now. "Should we leave? We can both go up or continue to go down."

Rean narrowed his eyes. If that Dark Beast could attack them, there was no need to move that slow in their direction. It could simply pounce from there instead of giving his group time to recover their energy. "Let's wait and see."

Aelrie couldn't help but tremble. "I don't know how, but I feel like that weird Soul Power is also trying to take control of that Dark Beast..."

Rean and Kentucky were surprised, especially by the word 'trying,' which meant it wasn't being controlled.

Finally, the Dark Beast arrived in the range of the City Wall and stopped in the same place as all the other Dark Beasts. The same thing that prevented the normal Dark Beasts from going forward seemed to have the same effect against this big guy.

Yet, it was then that it opened its mouth and...

"Let's make a deal."

It talked...