Reborn as an Extra Chapter 562: The Curse of Eternal Suffering. Part-1.

His attempts to track down Raika proved fruitless, so Rio pressed on for an entire day under complete concealment.

Guided by the cube's indications, he stuck to the shattered stone path, until at last, a settlement loomed on the distant skyline.

Strange airborne beasts emitted sounds reminiscent of crows while feasting on the countless decaying bodies strewn across the vast plain.

’Why do so many monster remains litter this entire region?...’

The ruined stone path guided Rio directly toward the settlement on the horizon, with innumerable monster carcasses dumped along its flanks in staggering numbers.

Piles of skeletal remains dotted the landscape here and there, and without his sword intent shielding him, the overwhelming reek of putrefying flesh would surely have knocked Rio unconscious!

Beyond the pervasive miasma and decay manifesting as toxic fog in the atmosphere, enormous crow-resembling beasts were devouring the cadavers all around!

Every one of those crow-like horrors towered like a three-level structure; just their enormous bills could swallow a vehicle whole!

Masses of enormous grubs and vermin swarmed their forms, burrowing through from within; the sight was utterly repulsive and deeply unsettling.

’This spirit realm truly poses grave perils... these beasts are all pseudo-S rank, with a few reaching full S-rank...’

’Even a typical S-ranker couldn't last beyond a couple of minutes in this hellhole...’

S-rankers represent those who surpass their species' genetic barriers; they transcend mortal limits and require no rest, air, or sustenance to endure.

Capable of navigating the void and resisting stellar rays along with countless earthly hazards, their life force is immense enough to thrive in nearly any environment.

Nevertheless, even these formidable entities would probably perish in the spirit realm after mere moments; the domain threatens even SS-rankers, to say nothing of lesser powers.

’If these bizarre beasts weren't so grotesque, I'd snag a young one as a memento for Lia... um... though she already dotes on that plump feline companion, so adding another animal gift might not sit well...’

’I'll have to search for an alternative...’

As Rio pondered his adorable partner in his thoughts, he paid no mind to the grotesque avians or the heaps of bodies littering the way, striding ahead without a care.

What posed a dire threat to others meant little more than routine to him.

Glancing at his wrist device, Rio realized all signals were absent, since he had ventured far beyond the solar system's reach into an entirely separate dimension.

’After all, the spirit realm hovers in the space between existence and void... scarce relics could enable inter-realm exchanges under these conditions...’

A peculiar cackle shattered Rio's reverie as a colossal rodent-resembling abomination emerged from beneath a towering mound of skeletons and remains.

Featuring a broad human-like visage, multiple spirits crammed into its frame made it fracture repeatedly at odd spots.

Occasionally, gashes would erupt in its belly without warning, which it patched by cramming in nearby stray bodies from the soil.

At times, a whole appendage would explode, prompting it to seize a spare from a cadaver and graft it on.

Perpetual decay and demise ravaged its form, yet it persisted in agony, weeping streams of poisonous sludge while emitting eerie chuckles.

’Um... Nah, it's plump and spherical, but hardly the pet variety I'm after... keep your distance, pass...’

To sidestep the oddity, Rio veered off course, yet as though the miasma conspired against his wishes, the behemoth rodent detonated from toxic overload!

This flung repulsive, festering flesh fragments far and wide, inflicting severe psychological revulsion on any witness to the horror.

’Ugh, realizing you can't overpower me in combat, you're resorting to irking me with such revolting displays?’

’You're such a bitter failure, aren't you?...’

Miasma delights in ridiculing cherished possessions and existences, and failing that, it seeks to taint and eliminate targets through whatever means available.

By this point, miasma had unleashed numerous assaults on Rio over the past month, with the majority falling short.

Rio sustained zero harm and, in fact, harnessed the miasma to enhance his own prowess.

’Honestly, I'd grow irate and vexed too if my strikes and abilities left someone utterly indifferent, treating them as mere gentle rubs...’

He went so far as to substitute miasma for water in his cleansing rituals, clearly showing his utter dismissal of its onslaughts and schemes against him.

’On second thought, turning an adversary's onslaughts into personal hygiene aids... uh... I'd rage if disrespected that way myself...’

Though a twinge of sympathy stirred in Rio for the miasma, he had no intention of ceasing.

’Come on... who made it feel so soothing, snug, and relaxing... it's akin to a soothing rubdown or the like...’

Rio merely lifted his shoulders in indifference, levitated briefly, and skirted the strewn gore below to evade contact.

En route to the far-off settlement, Rio encountered assorted oddities such as enormous mollusks and even oversized insects munching on the monster husks dispersed throughout.

The whole zone suffered from miasma, decay, and decomposition; the earth itself lay blanketed in spoiled tissue and congealed dark ichor tainted by the blight.

’This spot is utterly messed up... what's behind the massive buildup of bodies around here anyway?...’

Yet, Rio quickly grasped the reason behind it all.

Approaching the settlement nearer, he beheld shadow dragons at last, his inaugural encounter since stepping into the spirit realm and journeying through it nonstop for a full month!

A pair of diminutive shadow dragons, clad in ashen-dark armor, assaulted a colossal ape-resembling fiend draped in spoiled, malformed viscera dangling across its frame.

Having witnessed Ellie's draconic shape, Rio readily identified the duo as authentic shadow dragons; they were simply undersized.

’Dragon whelps? They're mere younglings!! What drives them to hunt beasts!?’

Shock gripped Rio upon sensing the faint soul auras from these shadow dragons, their forms appearing underdeveloped; evidently, they were juveniles!

Despite measuring like two-level edifices—petite for dragons—they were at that tender phase meant for nestling against parental warmth!

’In human terms, a dragon whelp equates to a child of 5 to 12 years... these pair don't belong here... and they're... they're severely tainted by miasma!’

One lacked a tail and bled nonstop; its gaze burned crimson, its whole frame soaked in ebony tainted fluid.

The second whelp bore a massive cranial gash, exposing its cerebrum plainly, leaving Rio baffled at its survival amid such dire wounds.

Observing the scene, Rio at last comprehended the immense penalty inflicted on the shadow dragons for their disloyalty to the world alliance.

Beyond exile to the spirit realm, their blameless offspring endured the repercussions of ancestral transgressions.

Such a sanction was dire enough to shatter the prospects of countless pure souls.

In the dragon valley, Rio had observed whelps and young drakes thriving joyfully, frolicking like typical youngsters.

Contrasting that bliss with the current spectacle illuminated for Rio the curse's profound harshness on the shadow dragons.

’The retribution for almost dooming the world is harsh indeed... so even you harbored such ruthless traits... King Allen?’...

Rio couldn't deem King Allen's judgment on the shadow dragons unjust, yet he recoiled at the merciless destiny imposed on these guileless youths.

’Sigh... this realm is truly a nightmare... I suppose this mirrors the daily horrors Alverto faced across the demon lands...’

All Rio could muster was a heavy breath, powerless to alter the grim reality.

Once the pair of whelps scarcely felled the ape beast, they turned on one another right away to seize the spoils.

No bonds of fellowship linked them; only raw despair, futility, and survival dread gleamed in the shattered gazes of those tormented youths.

They appeared too frantic and overwhelmed to fret over their wounds, prioritizing the quarry over their very existence!

Their forebears' misdeeds had cursed them with this torment of woe, forcing such suffering upon the innocent.