Gargoyle Supremacy-Chapter 76: Thanks to a Lowly Demon, I Now Have PTSD

After ten minutes of fury, the pale incubus was reduced to mangled pieces of flesh. Carn stood over the remains, panting. His frustration wasn’t only directed at the demon but also at himself. He had nearly died to a weak demon’s basic mind spell.

Carn took a mental note to himself.

’This can’t happen again. Fool me once, shame on me. I won’t let you lowly demons fool me again!’

Noticing Carn’s stillness, Gawain cautiously approached. "My lord, are you alright?"

Carn groaned, "No, I’m still pissed."

Gawain sighed, "Please, my lord, restrain your anger and unnecessary emotions. This isn’t like you. You were so calm and calculating when you were leading your men back then."

"…"

Carn closed his eyes, forcing himself to exhale deeply. He begrudgingly pushed his frustration into the back of his mind.

Finally, he turned to Gawain, nodding slowly. "Thanks. You saved me. I could’ve died back there."

"It’s my duty, my lord," Gawain replied with a slight bow. He quickly seized the opportunity to shift the conversation. "About the portal… I need to report what I found."

Gawain recounted his journey with methodical detail.

"The rift portal led me to what was once Demon Lord Despera’s dungeon. It’s a ruined dungeon now, but mimic slimes still cling to the cracks in the walls, and there were smiling spiders feeding on them. I don’t know how Demon Lord Drath’s spiders got there, but I think we know how the monsters got here."

Carn’s brow furrowed as Gawain continued. The mention of mimic slimes and spiders made him wonder if Demon Lord Drath had been responsible for Despera’s dungeon’s destruction.

"When I made my way outside, I found myself in a dense jungle."

Carn flinched at the description. His mind briefly flashed to the incubus-induced dream. He asked, "A dense jungle? Full of trents and ents?"

Gawain nodded. "Yes, that’s correct."

"And animals? Birds? Wildlife?"

"Yes, plenty. Nature has reclaimed the land."

Relief washed over Carn, and he let out a long sigh. At least this wasn’t the same nightmare in his dream.

Gawain resumed his report, "The world is no longer barren, my lord. Trents, ents, and wildlife now rule the lands. And… the trents, they spoke to me. Through them, I learned something almost too unbelievable to comprehend."

He hesitated, looking at Carn with caution. "Brace yourself, my lord. What I’m about to say may unsettle you."

Carn dismissed the warning with a smirk, "Go ahead, Gawain. Make my day. Who knows, it might even cheer me up a bit."

Gawain’s expression turned grim as he delivered the news. "Seven centuries have passed since your battle with Kaim Ariel. Seven hundred years, my lord. The world we once knew… it’s gone."

Carn’s reaction caught Gawain off guard. Instead of shock or anger, he laughed. "Seven centuries? That’s good news. So, Gawain, what’s the deal? Fill me in."

Gawain dryly laughed and sighed at the same time. He told the story, that the trents had told him.

.

After Carn and Kaim’s legendary duel, the human kingdoms descended into chaos. Without a unifying force, they turned on one another, vying for control of the mythical source of life and the secret to immortality. The infighting was devastating. The Dragoons and the Kirin Kingdom were annihilated in the ensuing wars.

The balance of power crumbled. Sensing weakness, the remaining demon lords united in a brutal campaign to annihilate humanity. The demon coalition obliterated every hero, king, and soldier, leaving mankind extinct on the Grand Tide Continent.

But unity among demons was fleeting. Soon, they turned on one another. The resulting war spanned decades and resulted in the victory of the black dragon faction under Demon Lord Faffa.

As Demon Lord Faffa prepared to claim ultimate dominion over the continent, the divine spirits intervened. Desperate to restore balance, they resurrected the hero Kaim Ariel. However, their plan was foiled when Kaim, bittered by their betrayal, murdered one of the divine spirits in cold blood, inciting their wrath.

The divine spirits cursed his soul, binding him to an eternity of torment as an undead being. Yet, their punishment had unintended consequences. Stripped of his humanity, Kaim evolved into a Lich King.

In his newfound form, Kaim launched a crusade against the divine spirits. He hunted them across the Grand Tide Continent, driving the survivors to flee overseas in terror. Fortunately for the Mother Tree, she escaped Kaim’s wrath.

.

Listening to the story, Carn couldn’t help but sympathize with Kaim. His life sounded like the stereotypical betrayal plot in mangas.

"So, does this mean all rifts connect to our world?"

Gawain shook his head slightly. "We don’t know for certain yet. But when I visited the Mother Tree, she asked me to pass these branches to you. She said you’ll need them more than anyone else right now."

Carn’s eyebrows lifted at the mention of the Mother Tree, "The Mother Tree’s still okay, then? What about the Kirins and the Dragoons?"

"My kin are gone, my lord. All of them. Only the Trents and Ents remain to guard her now."

"…I see."

"The Mother Tree also said there’s no need for you to worry about her or return to her. In fact, she advised against it. If you go back and run into Kaim, you’ll die for sure. He’s not the same as he was before."

Carn’s expression darkened, "But he has no grudge against me. If anything, I’m the one with a score to settle."

"You’re human now, my lord. And according to the Mother Tree, Kaim despises humans with every fiber of his being."

"…Emo bastard."

Gawain fell silent, resisting the urge to comment. He wanted to point out the irony that Carn was also prone to brooding and sudden bursts of anger, which wasn’t so different. He wondered if this moodiness was a side effect of his human form or his teenage mind.

Breaking the silence, Gawain spoke, "The Mother Tree also mentioned that Kaim Ariel’s minions have already infiltrated Earth. Some of the authorities here are actually mimics, disguisers, or skinwalkers. I suspect the one that tried to kill us was one of them."

Carn’s frown deepened into a scowl. If Gawain was right, this facility might have been compromised from the very beginning.

"If that’s true, then this entire facility could have been operating under Kaim all along. Earth is f-cked. So… any other advice from Mother Tree? What else should I do? Turn all humans into gargoyles and fight Kaim?"

Gawain let out a bitter laugh. "I asked her the same question. Unfortunately, her suggestion was to join forces with the local divine spirits and ECD-7... Though now that I think about it, that guy hasn’t returned to our world since the previous breach incident."

Carn’s ears perked up at the mention of ECD-7. He couldn’t help but feel intrigued, especially as he was still searching for the Ferryman of the prophecy. According to Rosa, ECD-7 might just be the key to his quest.

"ECD-7? Who is he?" Carn asked, his tone sharp with curiosity.

Gawain’s expression grew serious. "An agent from the Netherworld, my lord. From what I’ve gathered, he has the ability to travel between dimensions."

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

At the mention of ECD-7’s title, Carn broke into a cold sweat.