Lux’s disappearance had caused a stir among the diplomats and Rankers who were waiting outside the Gate of the Fallen.

They had clearly seen that Lux had entered the Gate of Famine, but he disappeared soon afterward.

While the Crystal Palace and the Skystead Alliance weren’t the least bit affected by what transpired inside the Sacred Dungeon, the Xynnar War Pact and the Six Kingdoms were currently dealing with a headache.

Although Cethus had forcibly taken control of their temporary alliance, they didn’t know him too well to judge whether the Dragon Born was capable of leading the members of their younger generation or not.

However, they also understood that the chance of them being treated as cannon fodder by the Crystal Palace and Skystead Alliance was high. Having known this, they could only hope for the best and see how things were going to turn out.

While all of this was happening, cries of outrage and pain reverberated inside the Domain of the Fallen as Alexander and Maximilian started their looting operation.

“Hahaha! A five-hundred-year-old Spirit Ginger.” Maximilian carefully dug out the precious plant that was rarely seen in Solais. “If those snobbish Kings of the Six Kingdoms could only see us now, they’d probably die from anger. I knew that looting this place was the right thing to do.”

Not far from Maximilian, an Argonaut-Ranked Golden-Winged Tiger lay on the ground panting for breath.

“Choose between submission or death,” Alexander stated. “There is no third option.”

“Grrrr!” The Golden-Winged Tiger was filled with indignation as it glared at the Headmaster of Barbatos Academy whose eyes were as calm as a lake.

The Tiger was one of the Apex Beasts inside the Domain of the Fallen, and those that could beat it could only be counted by the fingers on one hand. It didn’t expect some illegal trespassers to enter its domain and one-sidedly beat it, taking the prized herb that it had been guarding for so long.

In the end, the Golden-Winged Tiger bowed its head and submitted to Alexander, allowing the Headmaster to bind it with a Beastial Contract.

The moment the Argonaut-Ranked Beast became Alexander’s subordinate, the Saint waved his hand and sent the Tiger to his Miniature Domain, where he kept his other pets.

Maximilian, who had just finished digging the herb, also hid the treasure he found inside his own Miniature Domain, which contained various rare and exotic herbs that could be used as ingredients for Elixirs.

All Saints had this ability, allowing them to do many things that ordinary High-Rankers couldn’t possibly do.

“My senses tell me that we should continue to head North,” Maximilian rubbed his beard. “I sense a very strong life energy coming from that direction. Maybe it’s a primordial Panacea that can heal any injuries or some kind of exotic plant that is already extinct in Solais. Either way, we must have it at all costs.”

“Okay.” Alexander nodded.

A moment later, the two disappeared from where they stood and headed North.

Both of them were unaware of the events that were happening inside the Sacred Dungeon. The only thing on their minds was to get everything as fast as they could and return home with all the treasures that they had found inside the Domain of the Fallen…

——————

Boundary between the Void and Elysium…

“Where am I?” Lux thought as he scanned his surroundings. “Where is everyone?”

After he entered the Sacred Dungeon, the Half-Elf found himself in a place, where everything was red in color.

The ground, the sky, the moon—all of them were red.

However, the most notable thing was the broken sky above his head, which looked similar to a cracked mirror that could shatter anytime.

Lux also noticed something else. There was a city, or what remained of a city, in the distance.

The City Walls, which should have protected it from any outside threats, were in shambles, just like everything inside it.

Even the castle that towered in the distance was destroyed and dilapidated, which was a contrast to its once glorious past.

Just as Lux was thinking about what to do next, he suddenly felt a familiar weight on top of his head, making him breathe a sigh of relief.

“Pa!” Eiko crawled down the side of Lux’s face and peppered his cheeks with kisses.

“It’s good to see you too, Eiko,” Lux replied before gently prying off the Baby Slime from his face, giving it a kiss on the cheeks. “I thought I lost you. Good thing you can teleport to my location anytime you want.”

“Un!” Eiko happily nodded her head, agreeing with her Papa’s words.

After sharing a bit of skinship, the Baby Slime told her Papa about what happened to Cai and the others.

“I’m glad they’re fine,” Lux sighed in relief. “It seems that I’m the only one who was sent to a different place. I’m sorry, were you scared earlier?”

“Un!”

“Don’t worry, we’re together now. Everything is going to be fine.”

“Pa!”

Lux once again placed Eiko on top of his head before summoning his Soul Book. Now that he was reunited with the Baby Slime, it was time to figure out where he was and find a way to get back to the others.

Fortunately, the Elysium Compendium and his Soul Book had merged together, giving the Half-Elf easy access to almost every piece of information that he needed.

The first thing he did was open his Map to see the name of the place he was in.

“Zangrila?” Lux muttered. “Never heard of this place.”

The Half-Elf then searched the compendium for any information about Zangrila, and the data he saw made his eyes widen in shock.

————-

Zangrila, the boundary of the Void and the Mortal Plane.

– Hundreds of years ago, Zangrila was a prosperous kingdom that thrived in the Western Regions of Elysium. It was located on the very edge of the continent, allowing it to grow uncontested.

However, after hundreds of years, something unexpected happened.

A crack appeared in the sky and, from it, monsters that had never been seen before descended on their peaceful kingdom.

These creatures were quite strong, with some of them standing over hundreds of meters tall. Of course, Zangrila was a powerful Nation, boasting three Saints, who fought bravely against the invaders.

However, even the three of them weren’t able to push back the darkness that had come to consume their land. In the end, no one was able to escape—not even the Saints who were the Kingdom’s strongest fighters.

Many years passed, and the Kingdom of Zangrila was still in ruins. None dared to move even a single stone from this place, in fear that the ghosts of the departed would haunt them for eternity.

It was said that those that were killed by the Abyssal Creatures couldn’t cross over to the Tree of Life, where they would be reborn once again. These countless pitiful spirits of the dead wander around Zangrila, waiting for the day their suffering will finally end.

Note: Since this is the border of the Void and Elysium, Abyssal Creatures often appear here. It is a very dangerous place, and even Saints are weary to tread in this place.

————-

Lux’s face immediately became solemn when he read that Abyssal Creatures often appeared in his location.

Although he could probably fight a Deimos-Ranked Abyssal Creature by himself, that didn’t mean that he was comfortable staying in a place where danger could appear at any time.

‘I’d better leave this place. I’ll just think of a way to get back to the others after I’ve gained a safe distance from this place,’ Lux thought as he gave the cracked-sky one last glance before turning around.

He had tried to contact the others through his Guild Chat, but there seemed to be some kind of force preventing him from accessing the features of his Guild.

Lux was about to summon his Mount, Jed, when he suddenly heard a cryptic voice behind him, making his entire body shudder in fright.

“Leaving so soon? Why not stay a while? It has been quite some time since I saw a living person in this Godforsaken place.”

The Half-Elf slowly looked behind him to see who the owner of the voice was.

“Hoh~ it has been a while since I’ve seen a Half-Elf. You seem to be pretty young too. What are you doing here, my boy? Are you lost?”

An old man, leaning on a cane, asked Lux in a teasing tone.

He was just a little over three feet tall, and his gray eyes had an amused glint in them, making him look very harmless.

“Ah, right. Where are my manners?” the old man lightly scratched his head. “My name is Gaap El Nash. Just call me Gaap. How about you, My Boy? What’s your name?”

“Lux,” Lux replied. “Lux Von Kaizer.”

The old man smiled, revealing the three teeth that had managed to survive his long decrepit life.

After staying in Zangrila for many years, he finally found someone who wasn’t an Abyssal Creature in the place that was located between the boundary of Damnation and Beyond.