Way of the Knights

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Irritatingly hot…

This was Raven's first impressions upon arriving at Asphodel. 

As soon as his vision returned to him, all he could see was endless expanse of roasted and cracked soil with occasional wisps of flames here and there. There's also wisps of smoke, a horrible stench of burnt things and a very oppressive aura of evil. All of which, on top of the high temperature around them. 

The heat was irritating, Raven doesn't know how to accurately express it. 

Although he had been through many places before that had high temperatures, nothing was as irritating as this. The heat felt like it was searing though his skin and was purposely causing him to sweat. It's all omnipresent so he just can't get rid of it. Additionally, it's aggressiveness is also top notch, it felt unforgiving and annoying, ultimately causing him to frown. 

Needless to say, Raven didn't allow this heat to deter him. He had read enough records about the sect which somehow prepared him for this. He already guarded him mind and raised his vigilance. He knew that the irritation that he felt is the effect of a very powerful devil which is none other than the 'Sin of Wrath'.

During the explosive battle that occurred in this very land, the 'Sin of Wrath' cursed this land which permeated every fiber of this place. As the 'Sin of Wrath' the curse it left was befitting of it's name. 

The 'Curse of Wrath' is precisely that searing and annoying irritation that anyone could feel here. The curse is very subtle that it's a bit hard to detect but it's definitely present. Additionally, nothing could be done against it either. It will persist as long as someone stays here and will constantly erode their patience until it runs out. Once it does and they succumb to their rage, the curse will reach is consummation and will start to corrupt their very soul, turning them into a deranged cultivator. 

And if the curse completely eroded one's soul, then that person will turn into a Devil. This was an irreversible outcome. 

This is why none of the Inner Disciples would stay long in this place. The Curse of Wrath is just that terrifying. Prevention is the best cure for this. So long as their 'Will' remains strong, the Curse of Wrath won't be able to erode their consciousness. 

Raven adjusted to his surroundings pretty quick. The heat was still there but now that his vigilance is at an all-time high, it's not as irritating as before. It is still hot though, but thanks to the enhancement of Raven's physique, he could more or less ignore the heat - well, for now. He didn't dare to become arrogant and dismissive since their just at the Outskirts of Asphodel. 

Seeing how fast Raven adopted, Kyrie nodded in satisfaction. She knew that Raven took every lesson she gave to him seriously since if he didn't, then he would've really struggle against the atmosphere of this place. 

"I guess we need to arrive at the Core of Asphodel right?" Raven asked while remaining vigilant of his surroundings. 

"Indeed, Young Lord. However, we're no in a hurry." Kyrie mentioned. 

Raven understood what she's trying to say. She didn't want him to recklessly charge forward in order to arrive as swiftly as possible to the core area. She wanted him to familiarize himself at this place for now and it would be better if he could also familiarize himself with the lurking devils here. 

He didn't say anything about this since he understood what she wanted from him. And even if she didn't, he had no plans on hustling towards the Core Area anyway. Raven wanted some exercise as well, staying at the pocket dimension for a month was boring and dull. He wanted to get some action as well and measure just how strong he truly is compared to the Devils lurking around here. 

"Okay, we'll go as planned. You'll only interfere when my life is in danger. As for the encounters, let me handle it." Raven declared. 

Kyrie nodded and said: "As you wish, Young Lord."

She then turned somewhat illusory and continued to tail Raven. Meanwhile, Raven didn't even need to look back in order to see what Kyrie had done. He instead started walking forward while keeping watch of his surroundings and analyzing it. 

'It's pretty much how the books described it to be, only lacking the finer details.' Raven thought to himself. 'Aside from being hot and inhabitable while also crawling with Devils and evil aura, it also has no sky, but it does have some sort of a ceiling.'

Instead of dark clouds, gloom and doom, what's above him is some sort of a dome which is filled with charred stalagmites. Looking at them, it would seem that they will fall at any given moment, and with their size, ignoring them would be a fatal mistake. 

If anything, Asphodel seems to follow the theme of a burning cave or a burning prison. Just it's atmosphere is enough to deal some serious harm to those who were caught unprepared. 

*Hiss!*

Raven's ears twitched as he suddenly heard a hissing sound. His body immediately blurred and when he reappeared, he was already holding a corpse of a Devil. 

The Devil was in a form of a snake. It was somewhere around 40-50 foot long and a foot thick. It has two fangs protruding out of its mouth dripping with acidic red fluid. Its skin was charred black and its pupils were crimson. 

"Charred Devil Snake, huh. Not bad." Raven murmured as he started harvesting it's skin, fangs and gall. These parts will fetch a good price of the market. 

Asphodel is filled with different kinds of Devils, taking form of common animals and tainted with the Devil Emperor's Will. 

The Charred Devil Snake didn't just contain a lethal poison, its fangs were sharp, it's movements are fast for its size and it could also release noxious fumes from it's mouth. Since its a predator, it possess some minor intelligence that will help it hunt its prey. Well, it was unfortunate that it met Raven. 

Once Raven harvested its parts, he just threw the remains on ground. Once he did, it immediately caught on flames and became ashes in mere seconds - a good sign of how hot this place truly was.

After that little incident, Raven continued going North since that's the way towards his destination anyway. 

Along the way, he tried to commit the image of the place to his memories while also remaining vigilant. Thanks to his evolved ocular technique, his vision was clear and unimpeded. 

Raven encountered some more devils who tried to ambush him along the way. Most of them took form of predators such as snakes, tigers, lions, mantises, alligators, and so on. 

Even though he was suppressing his aura, these devils still saw him and tried to hunt him down but none of them were able to even touch the hem of his uniform nor his cloak. Still, compared to Tartarus, this place is livelier. He's still within the outskirts and he's already been harassed multiple times. 

Anyone who's careless enough to let their guard down will surely perish in this place. 

Hour passed and since this place had no such thing as night and day, Raven specifically paid attention to how much time has passed. With a little effort, he deduced that it should already by night time so he decided to take a rest. 

Raven already found a relatively inauspicious place to set up a camp. Once he decided, he took out an array disc from his spatial ring and started setting it up when Kyrie suddenly made her presence known. 

"Young Lord…setting up a camp is…" 

"I know." Raven interjected. "I specifically remember you telling me that setting up a camp here isn't wise since the temporary security will cause me to drop my guard - which in turn, will allow the Curse of Wrath to erode my consciousness. I am aware of this."

Raven didn't add the fact of this place being incredibly hot as well since he's mostly unbothered by it anyway.

"So then why?"

"I wanna rest for a bit." Raven stated but then realized that he needed to clarify his words so he added: "By 'rest' I didn't mean sleeping or meditating. Simply resting my legs and observing this place a bit more."

Kyrie hesitated but ultimately, she allowed Raven to do as he pleases. If he failed, then he'll learn his lesson the hard way. If nothing goes wrong, then maybe…just maybe, something will come out of this. 

Raven eventually erected the formation, concealing him and Kyrie from the predators roaming around. Raven took out a table and some chairs made out of special materials which he could use to relax for a bit. 

As for Kyrie, she's fine on her own. However, there's something that really bothers her as soon as the formation was erected but somehow it escapes her. 

Raven seems to realize what she was feeling so he calmly said: "Would you look at that…the curse is somehow nullified."

And this words caused Kyrie to look at him with an incredulous expression. 

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