Chapter 596.4: ????? Trial Part 4
Mira strode confidently through this Hellish Realm, her scythe gleaming in the dark, eerie red light that permeated the land. She chased down the demons as if they were pigs waiting to be slaughtered and killed them without hesitation.
But despite her confidence in battle, Mira was the most worried about the Gates of Heaven. They hovered above the realm, shimmering with a bright light that grew stronger with every demon she slew and every soul she absorbed. As the light intensified, so did the pressure around her, threatening to crush her with its weight.
It wasn't enough to cause her any significant damage, but there were countless demons in this, and if Mira had to kill them all as she presumed, then the light would start to become a major obstacle in passing this trial.
Additionally, as the pressure increased, she felt something deep within her body tremble as if it were coming to life, which worried her. However, since she had no choice but to keep moving forward, she pushed her worries to the back of her mind.
'I'll just keep 'killing' these things until I pass this realm,' Mira thought, her scythe flashing past her, cutting another demon in half. Without looking at the soul, she touched it with her hand, then moved on to the next one.
As she did that, her gaze kept turning toward the massive volcano and Gates that seemed to be in the center of this realm. It was still many kilometers away, and there were swarms of demons between her and it, but Mira felt drawn toward it.
"I have a feeling that the way to complete this Realm is over there."
This wasn't just a baseless assumption. Other than the massive volcano and Gates of Heaven, there wasn't much else to this Realm. The land around her was relatively flat, covered with demons, lava pillars, magma rivers, and scorching hot brimstone for the earth. Other than that, the place was empty.
'However, since the Firmament told me I need to earn a 100% completion rate to pass this trial, I need to be careful with how I approach it. Thus, for now, I'll keep killing demons until there are no more around the volcano.' Mira thought while cutting another demon in half and absorbing their soul, causing the Gates of Heaven to send down an even stronger light and pressure.
***
Mira continued her killing spree without running into anything unexpected.
It wasn't until she killed about 25% of the demons within this Realm, which was in the hundreds of thousands, had a change finally occurred. However, this wasn't a change with the Realm, but her instead!
As the change occurred, the pressure on Mira's shoulders increased exponentially, causing her feet to sink into the ground and her knees to quiver for a second as they struggled to adjust to the weight.
"What the hell?!" Mira's eyes widened when she felt something deep within her click open! She didn't need to sweep her consciousness through her body to know what had just happened.
The 4th door in her Gates of Purgatory had just opened without her permission! Not just that, but the additional pressure she felt on her body was exactly the same as the pressure the Gates of Heaven were trying to kill her with!
Clearly, the next Hell in her Gates of Purgatory had something to do with pressure or weight.
"How did this happen?" Mira soon calmed down and wondered, "Did the Gates of Heaven stimulate it, or did the two resonate in some way, causing the door to unlock? They do have similar names, so I wouldn't dismiss the idea that the two gates had some connection with one another."
Mira hadn't thought of this possibility before, but now that she thought about it, the two gates were eerily similar. Maybe not in essence, but the auras they released were equally as profound. It was like she was staring at a giant mountain that breached the sky every time she looked at them directly.
'Could the two be related in some way?' Mira felt that her assumption was correct but then shook her head, 'Even if they are related, will that knowledge help me now?'
Mira didn't think it would, so she put this knowledge away in her Mind Palace and kept walking forward, swinging her scythe and absorbing more souls.
***
Mira slowly circled closer toward the volcano as she killed everything in sight, making sure not to leave a single soul behind, literally. However, another change occurred after reaching the halfway point between where she started and where she was heading.
The Gates of Heaven, which were originally closed, and only opened up slightly after every demon died, had now halfway sung open.
Mira looked up curiously to see what it would do now. Then, through the light that was already trying to blind her, she saw that the gates were wreathed in a storm of golden lightning, rumbling and crackling with a deafening roar.
She felt a deep sense of foreboding when she looked at those lightning strikes, and the last time she had to face the wrath of Heaven popped inside her mind. During her breakthrough to the Core Formation Realm, she had to fight against the Heavens and.... She actually lost.
However, not only did she lose, it completely obliterated her. It wouldn't be wrong to say that she had died that day, only for a miracle to happen and bring her back to life, born anew.
That memory was still fresh in her mind and would be a day she would never forget, even if she didn't want to remember it.
'Fuck!' Mira cursed and wrapped herself in Qi, wanting to prevent as much damage as possible.
The gates rumbled once again, the golden lightning starting to increase in size and power as it wiped away the dark plumes that used to blot out the sky. After a few minutes had passed by, the golden lightning finally stopped growing, and Mira felt something lock onto her.
Before she could move, the lightning surged toward her as if it were trying to strike her.
"...!"
Mira's body convulsed as the lightning coursed through her, but she bit her lip to hold back a groan. The power of the lightning was overwhelming, threatening to tear her apart at the seams. But Mira gritted her teeth and stood firm, refusing to let the power of the heavens defeat her.
Combined with the added pressure from the Hell of Weight (or so she dubbed it), the damage done to her body was quite extensive. Her organs were slowly disintegrating, and her bones were grinding into dust. Even her meridians, which were made with Chaotic Silk, took some damage!
Fortunately, her regeneration speed and vitality were more than enough to heal these injuries almost instantly, but that didn't make Mira feel any better because right after the first strike, another one came down.
Then another...
And another...
....And another....
In just a few seconds, Mira was bathed in a storm of golden lightning as it rumbled and crackled around her, trying to reduce her to ash. It showed no signs of stopping either, as with every breath she took, another bolt rained down from the sky.
'Ugh! I fucking hate this goddamn lightning!' Mira groaned, not so much in pain but more so in frustration, as she was again reminded of the power of the Heavens.
Besides that, there seemed to be quite a significant jump in danger from having killed around 25% of the demons to 50%. Even now, the pressure from the Hell of Weight made every bone in her body creak and crack, not to mention the lightning!
'If this is how bad it already is, then how much worse will it get toward the end of this trial??' Mira couldn't help but wonder as the future looked bleaker and bleaker.
Just as that thought popped into her brain, she snorted, "I guess I'll just have to find out."
Mira used all her senses, other than sight, to locate the next demon and then shot in its direction. The weight on her body caused the ground beneath her to crack with every step, and lightning charred everything around, but Mira continued to move like she felt nothing.
As she approached the demon before she could even swing her scythe, the golden lightning surrounding her turned it to dust, allowing Mira to grab its soul without even trying.
A cruel grin formed on her face as she sent a mental middle finger toward the Heavens.
'Hehehe~ Thanks for the assistance! I'll be sure to put your power to good use!' Mira chuckled but didn't dare to voice her thoughts out loud.
The last time she did so... Well, the Heavens weren't the least bit happy with what she had to say.
Now, she knew better than to try and deliberately piss off the Heavens. She didn't want to die just yet, after all.