Several minutes passed before Levi managed to calm down, his mind still racing but his breathing steadying.
"Let's think positively—it's not easy to gain access to a Sanctum anyway. If I use this chance well, I might find some useful artifacts and increase my power too," he muttered, trying to inject some optimism into his situation. But no matter how much he tried to console himself, the harsh reality remained. He had no strength to clear the Sanctum, and his body was still wracked with pain. The sword that he had borrowed from the mercenary federation was no longer in his possession - maybe dropped somewhere when he used his demonic transformation.
No matter how much he thought about it, the situation was hopeless!
"Let's look at the Sanctum description—maybe it's not that difficult," he thought, unknowingly jinxing it before he even read it.
[Sanctum: Lunacy of the Black Wings]
[Rank: - - - ]
[Description: Gliding through the shadows, perched on ancient branches, and hidden within the darkest skies, they are the silent watchers of the world—ever vigilant, ever cunning. Once revered by the heavens, they now dwell in twilight, watching the secrets of the world in silence. The black wings see it all and always, for they are darkness itself, and darkness exists everywhere.]
Levi sucked in a cold breath as he read the description. His soul seemed to leave his body when he saw that the rank wasn't mentioned— it was a bad omen.
The description was the final nail in the coffin. He didn't know what kind of monsters lurked in this Sanctum, but it was clear that they were creatures capable of flight! Only a fool would miss such a thing after reading that description.
In his current state, it would be a miracle if he could fight off even land-bound creatures. But creatures that could fly? That was an entirely different level of danger.
"Ha! I'm going to go insane," Levi muttered to himself, dismissing all the rune messages. He lay there, head straight, watching the dark clouds swirl above him.
His body was still suffering from the aftereffects of the demonic transformation. The skill seemed to have a heavy backlash, leaving him drained.
For instance, Levi didn't remember anything after using it, so he couldn't even gauge if it had been effective. But one thing was certain—he wasn't going to use that skill again until he gained the strength to withstand its backlash.
As for the Sanctum, it seemed no monsters were near him for the moment. He didn't know why, but he was grateful for the respite. Perhaps he could recover a bit since he appeared somewhat safe, though he had no idea how long that safety would last.
"Let's just check my status," he decided.
-----------[Status]-----------
Name: Levias Drake
Rank: Demonic Follower
Patron: The Darklord of the Endless Abyss
Affiliation: Mercenary Federation (F-rank)
Crest: —
Demonic Core: Dormant
Demonic Essence: 1/200
Trait: Demonic Soul
Trait Ability: Demonic Transformation
Innate Ability: Shadow Self
Artifacts: —
Avatars: —
[Condition: Exhausted]
-----------[Status]-----------
Levi noticed a new row at the end of his status—Condition. Apparently, Providence was even capable of calculating his physical state. The good news was that he wasn't injured, just exhausted. With some rest, he should be able to recover.
While going though the status, his eyes lingered on the line that read "Patron: The Darklord of the Endless Abyss." A thought crossed his mind—would his Patron answer him?
"Hey, Demon King? Can you hear me? Help me out a bit, will ya? I'm in a tight spot here," Levi called out, his voice half-hopeful, half-resigned.
'...'
As expected, there was no response.
Aside from the day he returned to Earth, the Demon King hadn't spoken to Levi since. The silence was worrying, but Levi was powerless to change it. Whether he liked it or not, he was trapped in the Sanctum for now.
***
After what felt like an eternity, Levi finally managed to push himself up and sit on his own.
"Much better," he thought, noticing that even his essence pool was slowly recovering. With a bit more rest, he found he could now stand and even walk. However, he dared not venture far until he fully recovered, unsure of what awaited him.
For now, Levi remained within the confines of his initial area. The place seemed safe, and he hadn't seen any monsters yet.
But even that small comfort came with its own set of challenges. Levi had no food or water, and the sensation of hunger was becoming increasingly unbearable.
"I can't stay here forever," he muttered to himself.
Stuck between the danger of lurking monsters and the threat of starvation, Levi realized he had no choice but to move forward. The chance of finding something to eat was better than dying of hunger.
With that thought, he began trudging through the desolate landscape, making his way toward the strange, glowing trees as carefully and stealthily as possible.
However, as he moved, his mind started replaying the events that had led him here—the trap in the maze that had paralyzed his leg, the fat boy he'd killed for the magical bell, the struggle against the tall boy, and how close he'd come to escaping, only to be plunged deeper into despair.
As these memories flooded his mind, a seething rage began to rise within him. It was unusual for Levi to succumb to such fury, but the anger was undeniable, consuming him despite his efforts to control it.
He shook his head, trying to push the thoughts away, but the anger still clung to him.
Soon, Levi found himself in a forest where strange, glowing trees cast eerie shadows. The forest was oddly quiet, devoid of any visible monsters. The silence should have been unsettling, but Levi's mind was preoccupied with darker thoughts. He failed to notice this abnormality, instead slipping into another memory—this one of being beaten in a slum alley.
He remembered refusing to share his small amount of salary with the thugs who controlled the area. Their response had been brutal, leaving him beaten nearly to death. If not for a friend who had sacrificed his own pay to save him, Levi knew they wouldn't have hesitated to kill him.
"Those bastards, wait till I find you now," he growled under his breath, his anger growing without his notice.
A dark thought crossed his mind as he thought deeper, 'Should I kill them all if I return to Earth?' The idea, terrifying as it was, seemed more justified with each passing moment of rage.
Suddenly, Levi felt a sharp sting and glanced down, only to freeze in horror. His leg was bleeding!!
---***---
Levi stared at his bleeding leg in disbelief, his mind racing to make sense of the situation.
"When did I get hurt?" he wondered, startled by the sudden pain that struck when he realized the injury.
The blood seeping from his foot was real—he could feel the wet warmth trickling down his skin—but he had no memory of getting injured, and there had been no pain until now when he saw the sharp stone lodged in his sole.
His breath quickened as panic began to set in. Reflexively, Levi crouched down, removing the stone and examining the wound more closely.
The injury wasn't deep, but the pain was sharp. His eyes then trailed behind him, where he saw a long line of blood drops scattered on the ground, here and there.
"How... How is this possible?" Levi murmured, his voice trembling.
He hadn't sensed anything—not even the slightest discomfort. Yet, seeing the trail of blood stretching far behind him, it was clear that he had been injured for quite some time.
"I didn't even feel anything—no pain, no impact... nothing."
As he pondered, his thoughts drifted back to the anger that had consumed him earlier.
'Wait a minute, why was I angry again?'
A cold sweat crept up his back as a sense of dread washed over him.
"This... this isn't right."
Levi was not the emotional type, he rarely ever got angry. But ever since entering this sanctum, he had felt a constant, inexplicable rage. And now, as he tried to recall the reason for his anger, he found that he couldn't even remember it.
Suddenly, a new thought struck him like a lightning bolt.
"A hex... This fucking sanctum! It's using some kind of hex!"
The realization hit him hard, and with it, a wave of clarity washed over him. Levi steadied his breathing, calming his raging mind.
'They are darkness itself, and darkness exists everywhere.'
He remembered the last line of the sanctum's description—how it spoke of the black wings being like the darkness that exists everywhere.
It seemed like the description was not talking about the monsters but this weird power that the sanctum was using to corrupt his mind!
Levi realized that he had been under some kind of hypnosis of the sanctum or it was also possible that it wasn't the sanctum but the black wing, mentioned in the description who had cast a mind hex on him, distorting his thoughts, feeding his anger, and dulling his senses.
"This is so fucked up…"
Levi's blood ran cold.
He closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus.
When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that everything around him was eerily clear.
'Wait a minute….'
There was a thick fog that had enveloped the area when he first entered this part of the sanctum but now it was gone, replaced by an unsettling clarity. He had been such a fool not to notice the change sooner.
"Is what I am seeing real, or is it also an illusion?" Levi muttered to himself, doubt creeping into his mind.
He no longer knew what was real and what was a trick of the Sanctum. The boundary between reality and illusion seemed to blur, leaving him in a state of confusion.
Levi began to suspect everything—even the injury on his leg. Was the pain genuine, or was it just another twisted mind game by the Sanctum? The more he thought about it, the more his sanity seemed to slip away.
"Breathe, Levi. Focus. This isn't real—at least, not all of it."
He repeated the words like a mantra, forcing himself to concentrate on the here and now. Whether the injury was real or not, whether the trees and the fog were part of the Sanctum's tricks, he had to stay grounded. Doubting everything would only drive him further into madness.
He clenched his fists, feeling the reassuring sting of pain in his palm. That, at least, felt real.
As he restricted his thoughts, slowly, the anger that had consumed him also began to dissipate, replaced by a calmness he hadn't felt since entering the Sanctum.
Levi focused on his breathing, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, concentrating on keeping his thoughts in check. He sat still, pushing all thoughts to the back of his mind, embracing the silence.
Time passed—how much, Levi couldn't tell—but then, without warning, a series of runes appeared before his eyes, glowing faintly in the dim light of the forest.
[You have broken free from 'Lunacy']
The rune hung in the air, pulsing with a soft, golden glow.
As Levi read the message, it felt as though a glass dome had shattered around his mind. The world snapped back into focus, and the illusion that had clouded his thoughts began to crumble. Clarity washed over him, and with it, the oppressive fog returned, swirling around him like a living entity.
"Lunacy... So that's what this is," Levi whispered, his voice barely audible as all the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place.
The fog around him was dense and suffocating, reducing visibility to just a few feets ahead. The strange trees that had seemed so real moments ago were now obscured by the swirling mist. It was as if the forest itself had been a mirage.
Levi's breath hitched as he glanced upward, his eyes widening at the sight above. The sky, once covered by dark clouds, was now illuminated by a blood-red moon, hanging ominously overhead.
"It's already night? Wait, how does the time pass inside here in the first place?"
Levi didn't have answers to those questions and interestingly, he didn't seem to panic. Instead, Levi took in the information in a positive way.
If he didn't know about it - then he would find it out. It was just as simple as that - complex thoughts would only confuse him more, driving him towards madness.
The Sanctum had already tried to twist his mind but somehow, he had managed to break free.
And the clarity that filled his thoughts after knowing it was almost overwhelming.
Levi also realized just how close he had come to losing himself entirely.
His hands shook as he wiped the blood from his leg, the wound now seeming less severe than it had moments ago.
The pain was still present, but it was manageable. He even felt a sense of gratitude—if not for the injury, who knew if he would have snapped out of the hex?
"That was too close," Levi thought, swallowing hard as he rose to his feet.
The glowing trees around him no longer felt like a comfort, instead, they seemed like a threat—silently watching him, waiting for a chance to devour him whole.
The runes flickered before fading away, leaving Levi alone once more in the eerie silence of the forest. But this time, his mind was clear, and his thoughts were his own.
---***---
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