WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom-Chapter 192: Apophis Sealing Ground

Chapter 192: Apophis Sealing Ground

Ben narrowed his gaze, staring hard at the entrance. It was pitch black, so dark even his sharp vision couldn’t pierce it. His instincts screamed danger.

‘How the hell can I not sense anything even this close?’

It felt like standing at the gate of another world. A world that was hell itself.

[Host, don’t you dare go in there. It reeks of daemon stench.]

Unfortunately, it was already too late. The massive skull structure began to move. It expanded, its size swelling until it loomed over the entire expedition team, then its jaw dropped, like a beast devouring its prey.

CHOMP!!!

In the blink of an eye, Ben found himself somewhere else entirely. The sky was a gloomy shade of red. The ground beneath his feet cracked and broken, littered with the massive bones of long-dead beasts.

He scanned the area, but there was no trace of the other Nephirid. It was like they’d vanished completely.

A familiar voice broke the silence.

“We’re screwed,” the knight muttered, appearing beside him.

Ben didn’t take his eyes off the horizon. “Where is this? One of those daemon sealing sites?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” the knight said dryly. “What else could it be?”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. His senses sharpened to the limit. Ignoring the system’s nagging tone, he asked flatly, “You know which daemon this is?”

The knight turned to him and replied with a mocking smile, “Congratulations. You’ve hit the jackpot, it’s one of the high-ranking ones. Aphopis.”

The moment the name was spoken, the ground began to tremble. From deep within the cracks, a black liquid started to ooze out, thick and flowing upward against gravity. It looked like crude oil, but moved with consistency like water.

“Don’t let it touch you, no matter what!” the knight barked.

His body grew larger, matching Ben’s height. A greatsword materialized in his hand, crackling with divine lightning as a barrier formed around them.

The dark fluid gathered in the air, slowly morphing into a massive demonic face.

“A traveler…” it spoke, its voice soft and melodic. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen one.”

Ben hadn’t expected the voice to sound like that, sultry, almost beautiful.

“Don’t speak to it!” the knight snapped.

“Hahaha. And the guidles still act the same. So afraid of what I might offer to your precious host,” the voice teased, laced with amusement.

The massive face melted down into the ground, reforming into a humanoid shape. With each step it took toward Ben, its form became more and more defined.

Elegant, otherworldly, graceful. Flesh peeled into shape, darkness smoothed into curves.

In just a few strides, the daemon had taken on the appearance of a woman, breathtakingly beautiful, yet unnervingly wrong.

She had pale white skin, her jet black hair flowing like liquid shadow, drifting in the air as if underwater. Eyes glowed with a deep crimson hue, and a sly smile tugged at her lips, full and red as bloodwine, filled with temptation.

She stopped, just a single step from the lightning barrier. The air grew heavy, Ben’s muscles tensed.

“See?” she said, her voice like a lullaby wrapped in venom. “I chose this form for you. You like it, don’t you? It’s rude not to greet a lady when she’s made an effort.”

Ben didn’t answer.

“Smart boy,” the knight muttered, tightening his grip on the sword.

The woman gave a soft laugh, her fingers brushing the edge of the barrier, but not crossing. Sparks crackled along her nails as divine lightning crackled in warning.

“Don’t worry,” she said with mock innocence. “I’m not interested in fighting you, not yet. I only came to talk.”

Her eyes locked with Ben’s. “You know people on this world love to call us all daemon, label us as the same monster and villain. But you know not all of us is the same, if anything we’re very alike. Both of us come from another world.”

A faint breeze carried the scent of ash and roses.

“Don’t listen to her,” the knight growled. “She’s trying to worm her way in.”

“Worm?” the daemon purred. “Such an ugly word. I prefer… having a discussion.”

She took one more step, her foot hovering just at the edge of the barrier’s, still not crossing.

“Do you believe in your little guideline that much?”

Her smile curled wider, voice velvet-smooth.

“Think about it. You’re standing in my domain now. If I truly wanted to harm you… it would’ve already happened. So tell me, what harm could possibly come from a little conversation?”

Ben didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. He knew all too well how much damage could be done through words alone. Especially when facing something like her.

So breathtakingly beautiful… every word laced with honey, every movement filled with temptation.

And yet, he couldn’t deny it. His curiosity was piqued.

By everything he’d learned, daemons were beings born at the end of the Third Epoch, abominations of war and chaos. But could they truly have created something this powerful?

If she was like him… if she was a traveler, That would explain everything. A being that come from higher dimension.

Then there was that word, guideline.

Ben’s gaze sharpened. She didn’t say “system,” but it felt the same. Maybe it was the same. Just with different names.

Maybe the system had more faces than he thought. Like the knight beside him, is a guidance given form.

He remembered, Even when the knight was hibernating, the system still ran fine. Just… missing a few functions.

After a long moment of silence, Ben finally spoke.

“If you want me to free you,” he said, “then let me make it clear, I’ll never do it.”

The woman laughed, low and musical, like bells ringing in a nightmare.

“Hahaha… don’t be so quick to decide, Ben. You speak with such certainty, yet you don’t even know the whole story. How can you judge me without understanding the truth?”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “And how do you know my name?”

Her smile didn’t falter. If anything, it deepened, like she’d been waiting for that question.

“Oh, that?” She tilted her head, mock-innocent. “You think only your knight watches over you? Sweet child… the moment you stepped foot into this realm, everything about you unfolded before me.”

“Oh hush,” she said…

And in the blink of an eye, she vanished from her spot.

Ben’s eyes widened. She was suddenly beside him, inside the barrier.

Her breath touched against his skin, warm and unnervingly human. Lips hovered just inches from his ear as she whispered,

“I can give you what you want, Ben. The strength to break free from those shackle. No more chains. No more rules. Real freedom.”

Ben didn’t move, but his heart pounded. His instincts roared, danger, but his body refused to react.

The knight didn’t hesitate. Lightning surged, and with a furious roar, he brought his greatsword down on the daemon.

CRACK!

She caught the blade with one hand. With a single, fluid motion, she twisted, and hurled him.

The knight’s body tore through the barrier’s edge like paper, crashing into the distance with a sound like thunder splitting the sky.

Ben stood frozen. Cold sweat clung to his back.

The woman didn’t even look at the knight. Her eyes, those glowing crimson eyes, were locked only on him.

“You’re not afraid of me,” she said, voice low, dangerous, sweet. “You’re afraid of what I’ll make you realize.”

Her fingers gently brushed his arm, but the touch sent a jolt down his spine.

“And that terrifies them far more than it terrifies you.”

“Who’s them?” Ben asked, while forcing himself to stay calm.

“The guideline,” she said smoothly, lips curling. “Who else? You were summoned here, forcibly, for a reason. And that little ‘guideline’ of yours?

It was built to make sure you fulfill that purpose. No matter what.”

‘No matter what?’ Ben’s thoughts caught on those words like a hook. ‘Did she just say… the guideline would kill me if it had to?’

He glanced toward the distance, where the knight had been flung. The armored figure was now slashing at a rising tide of black water, trying to carve his way back.

Ben’s chest rose and fell slowly. He remembered,

The confusion when he first arrived.

The deaths. The transformations. How far he’d come. How much of his humanity had been stripped, reshaped.

With that memory, the fear began to fade. His heart steadied. It wasn’t that he’d become stronger.

Apophis was still overwhelmingly powerful, even in her current form.

But so what? He wasn’t just a human anymore.

He was a sovereign. And a sovereign didn’t kneel just because his enemy was stronger.

He turned, locking eyes with her, those deep, burning crimson eyes.

“I know the system,” he said, voice low and firm. “I know the guideline was made to hunt daemons. To erase or expel you all from this world.”

His gaze sharpened. “So tell me this, why are you still here? If you really came from another world, and you’re that powerful… why haven’t you just gone back?”