After deciding on their next objective, Duanmu Huai moved together with the Night Guards, retreating toward their teleportation base. According to the Night Guards, the demons had already begun a full-scale assault on the Ring of Nur, but as for the exact situation there, even they were not certain.
But it was easy to imagine that things could not be optimistic. Many of the Yajin within the Ring of Nur had, in fact, already become captives of that hellish energy. If demons appeared, it was entirely possible they would surrender at once...… this kind of thing had happened before, so it would not be strange if it happened again.
Previously, the Night Guards had already fought a civil war with the defenders of the Ring of Nur. After that, they once again ventured into Hell, attempting to destroy the factories built by the Meck and the demons, only to fail once more. Now, the Ring of Nur itself no longer had much strength left to resist. Facing the ferocious assault of the demons, how much they could actually hold out...… that was truly hard to say.
Moving together with the Night Guards, Duanmu Huai also felt somewhat relieved. Perhaps because these Night Guards were all battle-hardened veterans, their willpower was far stronger than that of those shut-in scientists. Unlike a certain scrawny stick of a man who had been scared to death just from seeing him, at least along the way he finally had someone to talk to. The Night Guards were clearly very interested in Duanmu Huai's origins and the history of the Imperium—after all, they were warriors who clung to tradition, so naturally, they were deeply curious about the roots of their own people.
And so, as Duanmu Huai fought demons along the road, he also told them some things about the Imperium. Of course, upon learning that the human Imperium had already been destroyed, the Night Guards could not help but sigh. But then again, with their own civilization standing on the edge of destruction, perhaps they should worry about their own situation first.
At last, under Duanmu Huai's protection, this remnant band of Night Guards successfully returned to their base, where they opened the portal leading to the Ring of Nur.
With a flash before his eyes, the next moment, Duanmu Huai found himself standing before a magnificent city.
"This is it, great Inquisitor."
The leading Night Guard spoke.
"This is the Ring of Nur...…"
Yet before he could finish his words, his voice faltered and died away. Duanmu Huai raised his head and gazed at the city before him.
"Looks like we were still a step too late."
Before him lay a splendid city—or rather, what had once been.
Now, this city was entirely shrouded in corruption and decay.
It could be seen that the city had once been built amid lush green forests, composed of tall structures crowned with rounded domes. But now, the buildings were broken and ruined, scarred everywhere by signs of attack. In the distance, he could even see a gigantic mech clutching a spear, frozen in the act of impaling a massive demon. The entire city was utterly silent. Though Duanmu Huai had never been to the Ring of Nur before, it was easy to imagine that this was not how it had once looked.
"We must find His Majesty the King!!"
At this moment, the faces of the Night Guards were pale. Although they had already anticipated that their homeland might fall, when they truly saw its destruction with their own eyes, the shock and sorrow were far beyond what they had expected. But soon, the leading Night Guard collected himself, forced his spirit to rally, and led Duanmu Huai and the others toward the direction of the royal palace.
But as soon as they entered the city, the Night Guards quickly realized that something was wrong.
This did not look like it had been recently attacked. On the contrary, it seemed as though a long time had passed—perhaps decades, perhaps even longer. This was not unusual, for time in the Warp itself was unordered and chaotic. When they emerged from the Warp, they could easily appear at any point in the past, present, or future.
Just like now.
When they entered the palace, what they saw was nothing but wreckage and remains covered in dust.
"How could this be...…"
Looking at the empty throne before them, and the sacred statues around it whose flames had long gone out, the Night Guards collapsed to their knees. They wept in silence, mourning their misfortune.
Duanmu Huai only stood there, carefully observing everything around him.
"—————!!"
Suddenly, the empty throne before them radiated dazzling light, and in the next instant, a glowing, crown-wearing phantom appeared upon it. His eyes fell on the Night Guards before him, filled with sorrow and lament.
"Your Majesty!!"
Seeing the ghost before them, the Night Guards hurriedly dropped to one knee, laying down their weapons and paying their respects. The ghostly king looked at them, his expression solemn and mournful.
"I never thought I would be able to see you again, my children. I once believed you had been forever swallowed by that evil Hell. And also...…"
As he spoke, the king's gaze turned to Duanmu Huai. When he saw the skull emblem and crimson cross upon his armor, he froze.
"Your Majesty, this is the angel of the great divine being—the Inquisitor himself!"
At once, the Night Guards spoke anxiously.
"In Hell, it was thanks to his timely arrival that we were saved from the demons! Without him, we could never have returned safely to the Ring of Nur!"
"Astartes...…?"
Hearing the Night Guard's words, a flash of emotion crossed the king's eyes. Duanmu Huai only shrugged.
"Don't think too much of it. The Imperium was destroyed tens of thousands of years ago. It's not much better off than your situation now."
"I see...…"
Facing Duanmu Huai's reply, the king revealed a weary smile, then nodded slightly.
"Indeed, as you can see, the Ring of Nur...… has already been destroyed. The demons broke through our defenses and wiped out all life...…"
"Please give the order, Your Majesty!!"
The Night Guards lifted their heads again, staring firmly at the king.
"No matter what order you give, we will fulfill it to the death!"
"If it concerns demons, I'll help as well."
Duanmu Huai fixed his gaze on the king as he spoke. He had already keenly realized that this was very likely a crucial main storyline within this secret advancement quest. If he could complete it, the rewards would surely be far greater than a simple advancement!!
"..."
Sure enough, the king hesitated at his words. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke again.
"Originally, this was not mine to say. But... since it concerns my people, I ask you to hear my wish—I hope you can go into Hell itself, find that Yajin energy factory, and completely destroy it!"
As he said this, the king clenched his fists bitterly.
"Those damned demons, they not only destroyed my kingdom, they even sealed away the Elemental Spirits, and through them, enslaved the souls of my people...!!!"
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai immediately understood.
In Star Ocean Online, soul-snatching was a very common matter. In particular, if you did not worship a god, then upon death, your soul would almost certainly fall into the hands of the Chaos gods. That was why, in many worlds, people chose to worship a deity—so that when they died, their souls would return to that god for peace.
On the Ring of Nur, they had once worshiped beings known as Elemental Spirits. According to the Night Guards, when Yajin died, their souls would return to the Elemental Spirits to find rest.
But now, with the Elemental Spirits imprisoned by demons, it meant that all Yajin souls had fallen into demonic hands. And what those demons would do with the souls...… one hardly needed to ask—it was certainly nothing good.
"I only wish to ask you, please, grant my people's souls their release..."
The Ring of Nur was already destroyed. Rebuilding the Yajin civilization was little more than a fantasy. The only wish of the last king of this nation was to free his people's souls from endless enslavement and torment at the hands of demons.
And just as the king voiced his request, sure enough, a message appeared before Duanmu Huai's eyes.
[Hidden Quest Activated: Peace of the Soul]
[Quest Objective: Destroy the Yajin energy factory within Hell and release the imprisoned souls!]
[Human souls must not be defiled by Chaos!]
As expected!!
Seeing the system prompt before him, Duanmu Huai clenched his fists in excitement.
Before he had crossed over, that other player had never mentioned anything about the Yajin. Most likely, he had never discovered this main questline. But for Duanmu Huai, it was different. A hidden main questline within the secret advancement mission—this haul would definitely be enough to gorge himself full!
Not to mention, this task did not conflict with his advancement mission. Killing demons was killing demons, blowing up factories was blowing up factories. Doing both together posed no problem at all, right? Besides, mindlessly killing demons was already starting to bore him. Now, having a clear objective would make it far easier to get motivated. At the very least, this was much more interesting than playing whack-a-mole with demons in Hell!
Thinking this, Duanmu Huai withdrew his thoughts, raised his head toward the king's spirit, and nodded.
"Don't worry. I will make sure those souls are completely freed from the hands of demons!"
(End of Chapter)