To Hao Ren's surprise, the entrance to the Underworld was not only in the suburbs not far from the city of Rome, but it was also not hidden or camouflaged in any form. It was simply a landmark, openly displayed in front of everyone. Even the farmers living nearby knew of its existence. However, ordinary people knew that it was a terrible entrance, but they did not know that it led to the mythical kingdom of the dead.
It was a cave in the suburbs, and there were countless local horror legends related to it.
If the shepherds lost their livestock nearby, they would immediately sacrifice another animal at the entrance of the cave, believing that the lost animal had disturbed the gods. If they did not make such compensation, the rotten monster incarnated from the animal would enter the village at night and spread the plague to every household. Some farmers claimed that they had seen the dead coming out of the cave more than once. The dead, dressed in a variety of clothes, were festering and swollen as if they had been soaked in the river for three days and three nights. The dead would disappear as soon as they came into contact with the sun. Some travelers at night had seen smoke spewing out of the cave, and there were wailing sounds coming from the cave all night long. The wailing sounds were even more terrible on a moonless night.
Hao Ren and his team did not have to ask around, and Hasse did not have to search his memory. They just asked a few passers-by and found the cave that the locals avoided. It was located on the sheltered side of a small hill, wide and tall enough for three to five strong men to walk in at the same time. A large area of land outside the cave was barren, and even a small river nearby emitted an unpleasant stench. The inside of the cave was pitch-black, and one could not even see their own fingers.
The power of the shadows, almost visible to the naked eye, was surging in the cave.
"This thing is so open and aboveboard." Hao Ren looked at the cave in front of him in amazement. He could see the supernatural power lingering in the cave, which was completely different from the carefully disguised supernatural domains in the past. "There is no need for you demon hunters to investigate. You can tell that this place is not right with just a glance."
In the face of Hao Ren's amazement, Hasse just said faintly, "So this is the difference between the Mythological Era and the era after it."
"In those days, these things were indeed open and aboveboard," Hessiana said. "In the hills, in the wilderness, and even in human settlements, traces of supernatural power could be seen everywhere. The otherworldling 'gods' never thought about hiding their whereabouts. They did whatever they wanted. They could open a spatial rift next to a human city. No one dared to object, and no one could threaten their rule over the human world. Just like the cave in front of you, what is it? Essentially, it is just the sewage pipes and connecting beams of an out-of-control laboratory. Would you disguise these things because you are worried that it will affect the life of a nest of ants? "
Hao Ren was speechless. In the end, he could only smack his lips.
"The destruction of Olympus is a symbolic event. Before that, the Sumerian divine war dragged on for too long, and the Egyptian divine war was not completed in one go. Only Olympus was completely destroyed by the demon hunters. Under our deliberate publicity, the war shocked the whole world. So, the first year of the Mythological Era is regarded as the dividing line of the Twilight Period. Of course, this is what we demon hunters say, but many otherworldlings also think so," Hasse said calmly. "You are now standing on this dividing line. Before this, all the 'gods' were high and mighty and complacent. After this, all the gods are waiting for the Twilight of the Gods."
Hessiana glanced at Hasse, turned around, and walked into the cave. "All right, all right. Don't brag. It's not like it's the glory days."
Hasse was speechless.
The power of the shadows lingered in the passage, which caused the light to be attenuated severely. Even just ten meters away from the entrance of the cave, it was so dark that one could barely see their fingers. Hasse frowned. "The death of Hades has begun to show its consequences. The control system of the Underworld is gradually shutting down. The pollution in the Underworld has lost its filter and has become at least twice as strong as before."
Although he knew that this was just a 'false space and time' created by Vivian, Hao Ren could not help but worry about the ancient people. "Won't the leaked energy cause a big problem?"
"There was a problem in history, but not here." Hasse nodded. "At another entrance to the Underworld, a town was polluted, and almost no one survived. If it were not for the explosion of Olympus, which caused the Underworld to be annihilated by the turbulence of time and space, the incident would have been a hundred times more serious."
Lily snorted disdainfully. "When the gods fight, the mortals suffer. The Mythological Era is really not a good thing."
In this regard, Hasse could only smile helplessly. His position in this topic was too awkward.
The deep and long cave seemed to have no end. After a few hundred meters, it began to tilt downward. It was so long that Hao Ren almost thought that he was going all the way to the center of the earth. But this feeling was just an illusion. After moving forward for a while, he noticed that the surrounding environment began to change.
The air turned cold. It was not the damp and cold natural environment of the cave, but a kind of cold feeling that made people shiver from all directions. The moss on the rock walls gradually thinned and disappeared. The soil under their feet also became cold and slippery gravel. The gravel seemed to be soaked with blood and venom, and waves of unpleasant stench drilled into their nostrils.
"Ugh …" Lily almost cried. "Why is my nose so sensitive?"
Hao Ren took out a life-support collar from his dimensional pocket and gave it to everyone, including little Hessiana. "Put it on. The concentration of toxins and negative energy around us has reached a harmful level. Wearing this can save your strength."
As early as a dozen meters into the cave, the toxins and negative energy around them had reached a fatal level. But that was only fatal for ordinary people. Hao Ren and his team could ignore it with their strong physique. But the further they went, the worse it got. The Underworld was a dangerous space full of harmful substances because of the failed experiment. Now that the only administrator here, Hades, was dead, they really did not know how bad the place would get. To save everyone's magic and physical strength, it was better to use equipment to resist the toxins.
Little Hessiana took the collar and fiddled with it curiously. She finally learned how to use it with the help of Big Sea Hessiana. It was obvious that the little girl was very satisfied with the magical device. Even a vampire would not like the environment of the Underworld.
Suddenly, the path in front of them opened up.
At the end of the cave, a vast space appeared in front of Hao Ren. He saw the dark, dry land extending infinitely under his feet. Poisonous rivers and hot magma flowed on the land. Flames and steam were constantly spewing out of the cracks in the earth. Every time it spewed out, it seemed to be accompanied by the mournful wailing of countless souls. The sky was covered with a layer of dark, rock-like chaotic matter. It was hard to tell whether it was a layer of clouds or a real layer of rock. There was only a dark-red magma-like substance flowing on the dome as if it would pour down at any time. It was a daunting sight to behold.
There was a crack in the sky that traversed the entire dome. The crack shone with an unsettling red light. Through the red light, Hao Ren vaguely saw another world on the other side. It was engulfed by the flames of war. Explosions and the collapse of huge objects were happening one after another.
That might be Olympus, which was in the midst of war. The demon hunters' last attack had destroyed the spatial structure of the Underworld. It seemed that it had created a crack in the horizon, allowing the scene of Olympus to be projected into this space.
Of course, such a vast place could not be under the city of Rome. There was only one explanation for such a scene: they had unknowingly crossed the boundary of time and space through the cave and entered the different space created by the Olympian gods.
"What is that thing?" Lily looked up curiously at the dark and horrible place. Suddenly, she found many floating, translucent things between heaven and earth. Those things were like fog hovering hundreds of meters above the ground, gathering and dispersing without a fixed shape. But in the fog, there were some noticeable phantoms.
Hao Ren also noticed those things. He stared at them and suddenly saw several painful faces on one of the fog, as well as various strange scenes of death.
"What the f * ck?"
"This is the Underworld," Hasse said faintly. "There must be some 'decorations' that match the reputation. Those are the souls of the dead humans who lived under the rule of Hades. The twelve gods of Olympus ruled the human world as if they were dividing a cake. They set the rules of human life and death according to their preferences. According to the rules of Hades, all humans who died in his territory could not be freed unless they paid enough offerings when they were alive or had relatives present gifts to Hades on their behalf. Otherwise, the wandering ghosts must serve Hades in the form of souls in the Underworld, and the way they serve him is as fuel to power the three Soul Furnaces at the core of Tartarus. Now that Hades is dead, the Soul Furnaces are out of control, and the souls that have not been burned out have been released. "
Looking at the souls floating in the sky, unable to be freed forever, Hao Ren's face was still gloomy even though he knew that these were just phantoms of history.
"The Mythological Era …" Hessiana sighed.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
