The Demon Kings Cowardly Vessel - Chapter 294

“Argh!” Wolfe and Luca g.r.o.a.n.e.d slightly as they braced against the falling rocks. When everything was finally peaceful again, they released their shields and looked at the magma that was flowing down the side of the volcano, making the previously black ground even darker in color now.

“Man… Those normal humans who live near volcanoes must have lived in fear every day,” Wolfe said as he dusted himself off the imaginary hot ash. With his shield on, there was no way those hot ashes could have touched him. He then looked into the volcano, at the bubbling pool of lava. “Even if the volcanoes that they live near to are inactive, I’m sure the fear would still be there.”

Luca nodded. “Only dead volcanoes are truly safe, like living beings. The dead can’t harm you.”

Wolfe glanced at Luca, until the latter asked in annoyance, “What?”

“I’m surprised you said something stupid like that. Living beings are more dangerous dead than alive. Have you never met a ghoul before?”

“I’m just saying from the perspective of a human!” Luca said, his face turning red from slight embarrassment. Even though he had been in the supernatural world for a long time, he still could not help but say things that he heard during the years spent in the human world. Besides, most of the people around him were humans, especially when he was in school, so naturally, he would pick up certain sayings.

“Even so…” Wolfe sneered, “I would think that you, of everyone else, would know better. After all, aren’t you hoping that ghosts are real?”

“Shut up, Sterling!” Luca said in a low tone.

Hearing his surname come out of Luca’s mouth, Wolfe immediately took a step back with his hands raised. “I’m sorry. I have gone overboard. I shouldn’t have mentioned that…”

“What happened?” Juin’s voice interrupted these two before anything else could happen. He floated down in between them, took a quick glance at each of them, and asked, “What are you guys arguing about?”

“Nothing…” Wolfe said. He then asked, “So, how’s the result?”

“As expected,” Juin said, peering down into the volcano. “Whatever it is that lives in the walls of this volcano, it has some sort of intelligence and can easily grasp the items that have fallen into the volcano. The walls of lava were sent up by the creature, or creatures, using a spell. The lava itself is safe; I can’t detect anything within them. Even if there is something special, it’s probably very minimum and nothing to be afraid of. Otherwise, our soul shields wouldn’t have been able to withstand them. And–”

Before Juin could continue, Wolfe put his hand and waved in front of Juin’s face. “Wait, wait, wait…”

“What?”

“What do you mean by ‘creatures’?” Wolfe asked.

Juin shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I saw three hands grab the items, and they all looked similar. Yet they come out of three different areas. So, it could be a creature with a few hands, or three different creatures…”

“Or a tree…” Luca volunteered as he rubbed his chin in a thoughtful pose.

“What?”

“That creature could be a tree-like creature. From you mentioned earlier, the ‘hands’ were vine-like… What if they are vines? Like tree vines?” Luca said, looking at Juin.

Juin nodded. “It’s possible.”

Wolfe looked between the two and mumbled, “I’m not used to these two talking nicely to each other… Why do I feel like something bad is about to happen?”

And he was right.

Because the next thing that Juin proposed was, “Let’s jump in and take a look at the creature.”

“W-What?” Wolfe gasped. “You haven’t even figured out what it is yet.”

“And we can’t figure it out by standing on the sidelines,” Luca backed Juin up. He looked at Wolfe and said, “The creature, or creatures… Whatever it is, it has the ability to sense the hidden features of a thing and can quickly discern whether the things that are thrown in are worth saving. If we use some of the more powerful things that we have and place those things on our bodies, the creature might pull us to whatever dimension that it comes from.”

“Yeah, dimension!” Wolfe pointed out, wondering why he was the voice of reason when this was usually Luca’s job. “It’s not like it will pull us into the walls. We can always break out of the wall. This is another dimension, a dimension that no one knows of!”

Luca glanced at Wolfe and said, “You can’t get power by standing still.”

He then looked at Juin and said, “I will go.”

He then took out a B-rank weapon that had the ability to create a deadly “wind explosion”. Its power was too weak for Luca to ever use it, but he had kept it with him since it was one of the first weapons that he got when he was still a primary school kid.

He then looked at Juin and said, “If you want to live, you better use a weapon that is at least Rank B, or a non-weapon magical item that is stronger than the things we threw in just now. The thing inside the walls… We don’t know what kind of things it’s looking for, so it’s best to put something stronger on you.”

Juin nodded. He looked through his Dimensional Pouch and took out an item that they took from the treasury earlier. It was a bracelet that had the power to turn a type of liquid into another type, such as turning blood into drinking water or drinking water into saltwater. Apparently, it had limited applications for the Atlanteans, who could easily learn such spells, but for non-water users, this could be a lifesaver item, especially when they were out exploring or in a foreign world.

“Maybe not this…” Juin thought, putting the bracelet back into the Dimensional Pouch. He then searched around and found a simple Rank B knife that he took from the treasury. Looking at Wolfe, who was crouched on one side with his head buried in his arms, he then asked, “What about you?”

Looking up at Juin with puppy eyes, Wolfe then asked, “Are we really doing this?”

“If we don’t, we will be stuck here forever.”

“Have you wondered why Warrick did not tell us about it and let us figure it out by ourselves?” Wolfe suddenly asked.

“Easy,” Juin said with a nod. “Because I wouldn’t have come otherwise.”

If Warrick had told them the truth that was hidden within the walls of the volcano, Juin would have rather stayed in Atlantis forever instead of risking his life.

“Yet you are going to fall for it.”

“Now that I’m here, I’m curious. Besides…” Juin glanced at the magma flowing down the side of the volcano and said, “These magmas might be hot, but they can’t hurt me.”

“But I can get hurt,” Wolfe said. “I’m not a flame user, nor wind or ice or electricity or water. I have no power other than my literal strength, speed, and a bunch of extendable claws. I’m just a… damaged werewolf.” His eyes narrowed as he clenched his fists tightly. “… A runt.”

That was Wolfe’s nickname–The Damaged Runt. At least, that was what others had been calling him behind his and his family’s back. The Damaged Runt of the prestigious Sterling Family; the only one who could not transform; the disgrace of all werewolves.