Divine Beast Bashe

Third level, frozen world.

Akes stepped out of the stone door, and the sight before him made him hold his breath.

This was an endless ice field.

The freezing wind howled, whipping up tiny ice crystals that struck his face like blades.

In the deepest part of the ice field, between several enormous icebergs, was a vague silhouette. It was so huge that Akes had initially taken it for a mountain range. But when he looked closely, his heart suddenly clenched—

It was a snake.

Its body coiled between several icebergs, stretching at least ten thousand meters by rough estimate. Azure scales covered its entire body. Its head was raised high, resting atop an iceberg, its eyes closed as though asleep. With every breath, black air streamed from its nostrils. Wherever that air passed, icebergs instantly crumbled to dust, and shattered ice drifted down like snowflakes.

Divine Beast Bashe.

Middle God.

Akes felt his heartbeat quicken. If Bashe woke up, everyone present combined would not be enough for it to kill.

"Don't make a sound," Desri said to everyone through soul transmission. "Don't release any aura, and don't go near it. The passage entrance may be nearby. We'll go around it and look."

Others gradually emerged from the stone door. Faen, Hayward, Higginson, Rutherford, and several human experts Akes did not recognize. Every face was grim. Every one of them had seen the giant snake. Every one of them held their breath.

Faen said quietly, "We'll go around it and search for the passage to the fourth level."

"Where is the passage?" someone asked.

"It isn't fixed." Faen shook his head. "Whenever the Necropolis of the Gods opens, the passage may be in a different place. But one thing is certain—the passage must be near the area where Bashe is.