I Am The Anti-Mage

Chapter 81: Warlord: Redredane, Sanctum of the Dead

Somewhere different from the earth inhabited by humans. A dark planet with no light at all. There was neither the moon nor the sun.

Its ground got covered in cracks filled with lava, volcanoes erupted every now and then, and the planet’s surface got filled with tons of lava lakes and rivers.

A place called the Sanctum of the Dead, Redredane.

The mysterious creature that defeated Ji-woo with ease flew toward a large stone castle. He landed at the front gate, and the guards let him pass through them. But, the mysterious creature got stopped by another being that had the appearance of a human with two large fangs.

“Tor’zek, stop! The Lord is busy and can’t be bothered. Come back another time.”

Tor’zek took off his hood, revealing the pointed ears, dark-skinned, and white-haired appearance. A Dark Elf whose physique was slightly different from the usual skinny one. He was the same size as Ji-woo, just a little bigger.

Tor’zek looked at the creature that stopped him. He gazed at the two eyes that had four pupils. He then raised his hand in a gripping motion, and an invisible pressure was squeezing the creature’s neck.

“I let you go after your bad attitude of calling my name directly because we’re in the Great Warlock’s circle. If it’s anywhere else, consider yourself has already died, f*ck*ng dog!”

Tor’zek lowered his hand and walked into the castle hall.

The creature knelt on the ground and choked upon being released. However, that human beast wasn’t afraid just like that and intended to attack Tor’zek.

“Bane, don’t make a fuss. Let him in.”

Bane nodded at the echo from within the castle hall. Both him and Tor’zek walked together, entering the room. When they met the Lord of Redredane, they bowed and knelt down.

“The Lycanthrope, Bane, presents his presence to the Great Warlock.”

“The Emperor Necromonican, Tor’zek, presents his presence to the Great Warlock.”

“Arise.”

Both Tor’zek and Bane got up and stood before the Great Warlock that sat on the steel throne. Even though they were both in a standing position, their heads lowered and stared at the floor.

The Great Warlock had an imposing aura despite his appearance as not a great fighter. He got draped in a tattered robe, and his hooded robe got pulled low around his face. On his back, several mystical pointed trees towered like horns above his head but were no taller than the steel throne. His right hand also held a staff that was the same length as his body, called the Desolation Scepter.

“Speak.”

“One of the doors where restrictions got lifted with Eternal Mana has been closed.”

The Great Warlock frowned and raised his voice. “A blunder! You asked to be the overseer of those doors. And now you say one is closed? How could you be negligent!?

“Using the Eternal Mana again to lift the restrictions on other doors is tantamount to shortening Redredane’s life span! Can you see how bad things are for us now!? This world won’t last long!

“The final door wouldn’t be as perfect as I hoped it would be if there were only six doors!”

Tor’zek closed his eyes as his head still lowered. “That is the door where Val’gard is the guardian. The one the Great Warlock recommended to me. He also dispelled my magic spell there.”

Bane got angered by Tor’zek’s words for blaming the Great Warlock for the cause. “Audacious!”

The Great Warlock also rose from his seat on the steel throne and used his hand to cast a magic spell on Tor’zek.

Splash!

Bwossh!

Streams of water gushed from under Tor’zek’s feet, surging up to the ceiling of the castle. But, Tor’zek didn’t get elevated and had no trouble against the magic spell regardless of how strong the stream was. All he got was water soaking all his clothes.

Tor’zek also got attacked by Bane’s claws from the side after the water streams stopped. Yet, it got blocked easily by him. He decided to end the conflict. Otherwise, the Great Warlock and Bane would continue their assault. Right now, there were important matters other than their dispute.

“It’s my fault. I’ll be ready to accept whatever punishment you want to fall on me. O, Great Warlock.”

Tor’zek released his grip on Bane’s hand and returned to his original position. He stood still and lowered his head.

The Great Warlock also returned to his steel throne. He remained calm even though his expression was raging on his face.

“I stripped you of your position of overseer and ordered Redredane’s seven Generals to take over those doors, not the others.

“Bane, you will be the guardian of the new door where I will lift the restriction with Eternal Mana later.

“Both of you can be dismissed. I need to recuperate to use the Eternal Mana later. Remember! It is our last chance, and we need to hasten the process!”

Both Tor’zek and Bane lowered their heads and exited the castle hall. After leaving the castle, Bane separated from him.

Tor’zek used his hand and cast the magic of wind to dry his attire. He also called the other Generals’ names.

“Lucifer.”

Suddenly, the ground shook, and fissures filled with lava opened. There was a Demon emerging from that lava fissure.

The Demon was taller than Tor’zek. He had two horns on his head and a short tail on the back. He also had two featherless wings and legs like a werewolf. He was one of the seven Generals of Redredane, the Doom Bringer, Lucifer. Just like the Necromonican Emperor, Tor’zek.

The fact that the two were of the same rank, Lucifer’s attitude did not show equality toward Tor’zek. It instead acted like it was in a lower position.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Call the others to exit from the unrestricted doors. The Great Warlock wanted us to be the guardians of those doors instead.”

Lucifer clearly showed his dissatisfaction with the arrangement. But, Tor’zek reassured him of the matter and told him to carry on with the task.

“I know what you’re thinking. However, we urgently need those doors to open the final door. From now on, we need to make sure everything goes according to plan. Pay attention to the other Generals of Redredane. I won’t tolerate a single mistake again. Mess up. I’ll kill them all indiscriminately!”

Lucifer could feel the anger his sovereign was expressing.

“Nevertheless, how could a high-ranking human mage enter that door? Their world shouldn’t have Eternal Mana like ours to be able to lift the restriction of Universe Gateway.”

“No, the Earth doesn’t have that luxury to bypass the restriction.”

“How is that possible, my sovereign? Val’gard is the closest candidate to become the next General of the Redredane. His strength is only slightly lower than ours.”

“There are unexpected variables that come into play. That human doesn’t have Mana with him. Even my magic spells don’t work unless I use the Magic manifestation.”

Lucifer widened his eyes. He couldn’t believe what he heard.

The Universe Gateway rules were absolute. Only creatures with Mana could traverse inside the doors. But now, Tor’zek said a man without Mana entered the door and killed the Warlord of Trolls, Val’gard. Did that make sense!?

“What happened, my sovereign!? Has the Universe Gateway changed!?”

“No. I still couldn’t do anything about it. Even when that door bead gets destroyed, I am constantly gets thrown outside the Universe Gateway and back to Redredane.”

Lucifer also knew about that rule. Now, their best plan was to make sure the unrestricted doors would work. Other things could come later.

“My lord, I will inform the others and immediately occupy one of the unrestricted doors.”

Lucifer bowed to Tor’zek and turned into a gigantic flame in the form of a Demon. He swiftly disappeared in front of Tor’zek.

“Now, if I’m not mistaken, there was a Dwarf in Redredane who was imprisoned from another world long ago. Maybe that Dwarf has something that I need.”

On another note, the Great Warlock found the solution to their world demise a long time ago was the Universe Gateway. A law that allowed them to travel across multiple universes.

However, it wasn’t as simple as crossing a bridge to arrive at the other side. The Universe Gateway would randomly open various doors of different sizes. It would allow the inhabitants of Redredane, the Sanctum of the Dead, to enter the human world. Alas, the Great Warlock discovered a problem. There was a restriction that didn’t allow any creature to pass through that door.

The size of the door would determine which creatures could enter based on their Mana. And it would take a very long time for the entire population of Redredane to cross if they waited for the right door to appear. There was also the possibility that the door they were waiting for could not get opened.

The Great Warlock then decided to use Redredane’s Eternal Mana. Using it to open their own door through the Universe Gate was a risky move. Instead, he chose to use it to remove the restrictions of some of those doors. That would allow him to send even more powerful beings to occupy the place. And it also created a final passage that would completely ignore the restrictions and immediately open a two-way door directly.