Reborn as an Extra Chapter 542: Inside Hell. Part-1.
Previously on Reborn as an Extra...
When Rio finished playing the flute until he was fully satisfied, noon had already arrived.
Heat began to build up, turning the surroundings sweltering, so Rio rose to his feet while securing his flute at his waist.
Drawing in a deep breath, he cast one final glance at the peaceful ocean before his features turned utterly blank once more.
The faint grin on his lips vanished in a flash as he shifted straight into focused seriousness, his presence fading to nearly nothing by reining it in completely.
’I wish I could have delved deeper into the dwarf kingdom if time allowed, but I lack the luxury right now...’
’Time to move; a vital task lies ahead...’
Without a moment's delay, Rio leaped from the cliff edge, letting his form drop freely through the air.
His flute session hadn't been idle delay; he'd been timing the perfect moment all along.
While plummeting, Rio checked his wristwatch and saw it was spot on: precisely 12:00 PM.
’Lucky I received the details ahead of time, or I'd have needed to uncover it all solo...’
Those hidden files from Ashtel contained heaps of intel for Rio, with the standout piece being the precise 'time, location, and method' required to breach the 'weak node.'
Sword intent enveloped Rio's whole body, shielding him from the fierce gales battering against him or the drag of the rushing air.
He hurtled downward at blinding velocity, on a path that looked certain to end with a splash into the sea below.
Yet that outcome never came to pass.
In mid-descent, Rio drew forth his flute and lashed it downward with overwhelming power.
Typically, only elite SS-rankers such as Ashtel can rupture the space-time weave with such simplicity, and Rio himself couldn't pull it off anywhere else.
This spot, however, stood out as 'unique.'
It functioned as a 'weak node' bridging the physical realm to the spirit world.
Even top S-rankers could fracture the space-time barrier right here, but solely during a specific hour on a designated day.
The full moon hung in the sky today, and Rio had timed his strike exactly as Ashtel specified.
On his initial attempt, Rio achieved success.
The space-time barrier splintered like shattered glass under the force of Rio's devastating blow.
Breaking from the ordinary, the rift this time birthed a fleeting wormhole to the spirit realm, and Rio plunged into it at ferocious speed.
The wormhole's sudden formation didn't startle Rio.
Normally, Ashtel's space-time breaks reveal only barren emptiness or void, given those areas' loose bonds to the spirit realm.
Rupturing it at this site proved entirely different.
’That turned out far simpler than I'd imagined...’
’Barring the timing and volatility issues, a fixed gateway to the spirit realm could have been built here permanently...’
Contemporary tech enables the creation of reliable portals or wormholes, but the main deterrent to installing one here likely stems from its quick obsolescence.
Such a link would tie straight into a domain brimming with miasma.
Inevitably, miasma would seep from the gateway, posing a dire hazard to the surroundings, and corruption would ravage everything nearby.
’This passage... it's incredibly delicate...’
Scanning his surroundings, Rio perceived the wormhole's channel as highly brittle to his senses; he could demolish it if desired, though that would fling him to some arbitrary point across the cosmos.
No opportunity existed for such a bizarre trial just now, so Rio compliantly navigated through the wormhole.
Barely seconds into the transit, Rio got ejected outward at tremendous velocity.
Mid-tumble, Rio steadied his stance and touched down on solid ground with a classic 'hero' flair!
Having expelled Rio, the wormhole collapsed in an instant, yet Rio still sensed the ambient space's fragility, meaning a return trip could involve simply tearing it open as he'd entered.
Even before Rio launched into his scouting, a nauseating reek slammed into him, so vile it nearly knocked him unconscious right there.
Rio halted his breathing without delay, drawing on mana for vitality instead, and then sheathed his face in Sword Intent to fully sever ties with the outer world.
As an S-ranker, Rio had no need for air or meals; mana sustained him entirely.
’What the f*ck!? What is this horrible stench!?’
Rio surveyed the vicinity and realized he perched on a large rock amid a modest lake, its surface an absolute void of black.
"Liquid miasma.... And what is this... rotting corpses.... No, there’s crude oil too..."
The lake formed a toxic brew of crude oil, reeking appallingly and deadly on its own, mingled with decayed remains so mangled that identifying their species proved impossible.
Topping it off, the miasmic taint hung so dense that Rio found himself grimacing despite everything.
Rio glanced about and saw the atmosphere thick with miasma pollution, while brooding clouds loomed overhead, forged from packed miasmic foulness.
Desolate badlands sprawled in all directions, the earth itself stained jet black from the encroaching corruption.
"This place really is filled with miasma to the brim..."
Any lesser S-ranker would already be falling prey to corruption and restraint by this point.
Miasma harbors a deep aversion to mana-infused beings, so the instant an intruder arrives, brutal suppression from the miasmic blight kicks in.
The miasma launches aggressive strikes against them!
Mere moments atop this central boulder within the festering miasma pool would suffice to crack their psyche and ignite decay from within.
Nothing short of an SS-ranker could stand untouched amid this hellish nightmare.
Right as Rio scanned the landscape, a beast slithered from the obsidian miasma lake and hauled itself onto the shore.
At first, Rio figured it for a serpent, but horror struck when he saw its elongated, snake-shaped frame riddled with human faces across its hide!
As the grotesque entity emerged from the waters, every face fused into its flesh erupted in mad shrieks, heightening the spine-chilling terror of the display.
’Mental and soul attacks?’
Rio's gaze sharpened upon realizing those cries of agony hurled fierce mental and soul barrages outward in every direction!
’What the f*ck is this weird being... I am sensing at least a dozen different souls continuously clashing against each other inside its body...’
Rio's brow creased deeply while the full abomination dragged itself from the lake and began spasming violently, every face on its surface leaking tears of dark blood.
’All these souls... they are constantly clashing, damaging each other and... this is... this is torture of the highest levels!’