Chapter 629: Journey to the Underworld (2)
The Search for the Exit
The Valley of No Return!
This was the exit location provided by Teth-Adam. It was said to be located in the eastern part of the Underworld, in a highly concealed plain filled with white flowers, known to very few outsiders.
The name was completely foreign to Luke, and likewise, Clark and J'onn had never heard of it.
The way back had been sealed, making this the only viable option to leave the Underworld.
After a discussion, the four decided to split up and search for intelligent, self-aware life, using the mountainous area as their center point. Clark and J'onn headed to the right, while Luke and Diana went left.
The Underworld had no sun, no day or night. The land was barren, and the sky was constantly shrouded in black clouds. Light was scarce, and oxygen was pitifully thin. Survival would be impossible for ordinary people, but the four were exceptional.
Luke was a soul form. Clark and J'onn could survive in outer space, so the Underworld's atmosphere was no problem. Diana was protected by her power armor, which could isolate her for a limited time.
Leaving the mountains, the pair flew straight ahead, searching and making mental notes of their path.
Diana finally spoke up.
"You shouldn't have come."
"What nonsense! With you here, how could I not come?"
Diana felt a mix of emotion and exasperation.
"This is the Underworld, the realm of the dead. We might get stuck here and never get out."
Luke gently shook his head. "I've been through worse worlds than this. I know how to handle it."
Worse? Diana asked, confused. "Is there a place more terrifying than the Underworld?"
"Of course there is."
"The Underworld at least has lifeforms. Some worlds are left with nothing but fire."
"Where is that?"
"I'll tell you when we have a chance."
The Bone Valley and the Dragon Skull
As the two walked and talked, they unknowingly left the mountainous area and reached a valley covered in bones. The valley was thick with noxious smog, and low growls occasionally echoed within it.
Based on the environment, this seemed to be a massive graveyard, covering at least a hundred kilometers in every direction.
The ground was paved with bones of all shapes and sizes: humanoid, demonic, stitched-up monsters, gigantic insects, and some terrifyingly large remains clearly left by great beasts.
Diana whispered,
"Did you notice how strangely those bone piles are arranged?"
Luke nodded. "They aren't naturally formed. Someone piled them up deliberately, like a kind of totem."
"Is someone here?"
"Perhaps not a person."
"Should we go down and take a look?"
"Will you be alright?"
"The power armor should be able to block the noxious fumes."
The two descended from the sky. Before they even landed, they were attacked. Three four-legged, snake-like creatures emerged from between the bones. Their black mouths held four terrifying fangs coated in a purple fluid.
Luke pointed a finger. A forked lightning bolt shot from his fingertip, striking the heads of the three monsters.
The creatures twitched and fell to the ground, quickly dying.
Luke picked up a corpse and pried its mouth open to examine its structure. The skin was rough, like gauze. It had no tongue, and its mouth held two rows of flexible, serrated teeth covered in slime, indicating powerful decomposition capabilities.
"See anything?"
Luke shook his head. "If this thing existed on Earth, ninety percent of all species would go extinct."
He tossed the corpse away and walked toward a nearby pile of bones. Several more monsters attacked along the way, but Luke didn't bother engaging. He simply released a fear projection wave, driving all nearby creatures away.
The structure of the bone pile was unique. It was shaped like a cone, with clear layers: the bottom was made of fragments, the middle held the skeletons of slightly larger monsters, and the top was crowned with a dragon skull. It was clear that the beings arranging the bones strictly followed the local food chain.
The creature at the top of the food chain must be revered.
Diana picked up the dragon skull. The more she looked at it, the more familiar it seemed, as if she had seen it before.
"What, do you recognize it?"
Diana nodded. "I saw a giant dragon-like demon in the Colosseum earlier. Its head looks very similar to this skull."
Oh?
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"The size and structure are right. It should be the same one."
"That makes things interesting."
The Corpse Portal
Using the bone pile as a coordinate, the two ventured deeper into the valley. As they reached a large pit, a portal suddenly appeared above it. Shattered limbs and broken bones fell from the portal like rain, quickly filling the pit.
The moment the portal appeared, the entire valley erupted in a frenzy.
Monsters of all kinds surged from every direction, gnawing on the corpses and sucking the marrow, enjoying the rare feast.
Suddenly, a deafening roar tore through the air. Accompanied by a blast of wind, a dragon-shaped behemoth with a lizard-like head and a body covered in bone spurs appeared in the sky.
The surrounding monsters scattered like birds and beasts. Some fled completely, while others hid among the bone crevices.
The giant beast landed in the pit, opened its mouth wide, and began gulping down the blood, flesh, and debris inside. The other monsters could only watch from the sidelines, afraid to approach.
Luke turned to Diana.
"Is that it?"
"Yes, it's identical to the one in the Colosseum."
Diana looked around and said, "I never understood why there were so many bones before. Now I get it. They must be dropping from the sky."
"The Underworld truly is bizarre. It rains corpses from the sky."
"It's not the sky; it's the ground."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll see in a moment."
Luke strode forward, his body swelling into a five-meter-tall giant. Energy erupted from within him, forming powerful gusts of wind.
The giant beast stopped, glaring at them like a wild wolf guarding its food.
Luke raised his right hand. A fireball shot from his palm, expanding rapidly until it became a massive sphere over ten meters in diameter.
"Go!"
The sun-like fireball plummeted downward. As it neared the ground, it exploded.
Boom!
A mushroom cloud rose into the air. High-temperature heat waves mixed with bone fragments, spreading outward rapidly. The large pit was vaporized, and the nearby peaks were leveled.
Dust flew everywhere, taking a long time to settle.
The two stood at the center of the explosion. Luke pointed at the faint energy patterns now visible beneath them.
"This is the secret behind the 'corpses falling from the sky.'"
"The valley is a garbage dump for corpses. Someone is using a magic array to throw body fragments here."
"Who are these people?"
"I don't know, but they are definitely an intelligent species. Perhaps they know about the Valley of No Return."
Diana frowned. "You want to go through the portal, don't you?"
"It's the simplest way. But before that, we need to figure out the identity of those beings. You go back, bring Clark and J'onn over. Leave this to me."
"Be careful. Don't be too reckless."
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
Diana said no more. She leaped into the air, flying back in the direction they had come from.
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