Ruby descended from the sky in a slow and controlled glide, her wings cutting through the cold air as she moved toward the group gathered below, where Kai, Chiru, and the other members were struggling to support Dev's unconscious body, his weight hanging heavily over Kai's back as if life itself had abandoned him for the moment, and when Ruby finally landed behind them the ground trembled slightly beneath her feet while every member immediately straightened themselves , Ruby's eyes were fixed only on Dev, whose body remained limp and lifeless upon Kai's shoulders.
For a brief moment Ruby silently observed them, watching the exhausted group carrying their fallen king through a land that seemed to reject life itself, and then she raised her claw and pointed forward through the dark terrain before speaking in a calm yet commanding tone that carried an unspoken urgency.
"From here, follow the claw path straight ahead," Ruby said while pointing toward the distant darkness, her eyes narrowing slightly as if seeing something far beyond their sight. "After one kilometer there is a place called the Holo Ghost Area, and once you reach it the old man will be waiting there to receive you."
Without another word Ruby watched as the group began moving forward again, Kai carrying Dev's unconscious body across his shoulders while the others surrounded him in silent vigilance, their footsteps echoing through the desolate land as they advanced toward the place Ruby had mentioned.
Ruby continued staring at them until their figures began fading into the distance, swallowed slowly by the shadows of the land, and then a strange smile appeared on her face as she murmured softly to herself.
"Dev… now the fate of your survival lies entirely within your own hands."
Suddenly Ruby burst into laughter, the sound echoing strangely in the empty air.
"Hahahah… ahahahaha… Dev, you should know something… you are truly a lucky bastard.
Her laughter continued for several seconds before she finally turned away and vanished back into the sky.
Meanwhile Dev, still unconscious, was being carried forward by Kai while Chiru, Vaal, Karn, Sethr, and Rehx walked alongside them, their eyes constantly scanning the surroundings as they approached the location Ruby had mentioned, and after walking nearly one kilometer the atmosphere around them suddenly began to change.
A thick and unnatural fog covered the entire area ahead of them, swallowing the land in a ghostly veil where even the ground beneath their feet appeared colorless and lifeless, and within the fog enormous pillars could be seen rising from the earth like ancient monuments of forgotten power, some of them towering high and intact while others stood broken in half as if shattered by forces beyond imagination.
Strange and unsettling sounds echoed through the fog, low whispers mixed with distant roars that did not belong to any living creature, and the group instinctively slowed their steps as they reached the entrance of the Holo Ghost Area.
At that moment the old man who had taken Dev's eyes suddenly appeared before them as if materializing directly from thin air.
Every member of the group immediately became alert, their bodies tensing in readiness for danger, but the old man merely looked at them calmly before speaking.
"That bird made an interesting choice," the old man said with a faint smile hidden beneath his hood.
Then his expression became cold.
"Now enter with me and follow me alone, because if any of you stray away or attempt to move on your own, you will die here without even understanding how, and the ghosts within this Holo Ghost Area will drain the life essence from your bodies until nothing remains but empty shells."
Without waiting for their response the old man turned and walked directly into the fog, and one by one the group followed him into the ghostly mist.
The deeper they walked into the Holo Ghost Area the thicker the fog became, until even objects only a few meters away appeared blurred and distorted, and as they continued forward Chiru finally broke the silence.
"Hey old man," Chiru asked cautiously. "What exactly is this place?"
The old man did not stop walking as he answered.
"This place is called the Holo Ghost Area."
As they moved further inside the group noticed numerous broken pillars scattered across the land, each one covered in ash-colored stone that seemed drained of all vitality, and the entire area carried a suffocating ghostly aura as if countless souls were trapped within the pillars.
Curious, Chiru stretched out his hand toward one of the broken pillars, but just as his fingers were about to touch its surface the old man instantly stopped him.
"You idiot!" the old man shouted sharply. "Did you not hear what I said about not touching anything here?"
Chiru frowned.
"What happens if I touch one of these pillars?"
The old man sighed irritably before bending down and picking up a stick from the ground, which he casually tossed toward one of the broken pillars.
The moment the stick struck the pillar a horrifying event occurred.
A transparent figure suddenly burst out from the pillar, its body bound by chains around its arms and legs, and it released a terrifying roar filled with hatred and hunger.
Not only that, but nearly ten nearby pillars began shaking violently as ghostly figures emerged from them as well, each one chained and struggling as if desperate to break free.
Their hollow eyes glowed with a terrible hunger.
"These," the old man said calmly, "are Pillars of the Dead."
He continued walking while explaining.
"These pillars belong to those who died without completing their will, and when their pillar fails to fully form their lingering will transforms into ghosts that remain trapped here, endlessly seeking life essence to complete their unfinished existence."
He gestured toward the chained spirits.
"They feed on the essence of Holo animals that wander into this place, but even then it takes the life of nearly one hundred beasts just to complete a single pillar, which is why these ghosts remain bound to these pillars for eternity."
The old man's voice grew colder.
"So listen carefully, foolish youngman… do not touch anything here unless you wish to lose your life."
Then he added another warning.
"And remember this as well whenever the gate to the real world opens, a deadly mist emerges from this Holo Ghost Area, and any creature who enters that mist will die instantly because the chains binding these ghosts weaken during that time, allowing them to roam freely."
On the very day Dev entered this forbidden land, the deadly mist of the Holo Ghost Area had already begun moving slowly toward the entrance like a tide of wandering death, carrying within it countless restless holo ghosts that hungered endlessly for life essence, yet by the time that creeping mist finally reached the entrance to the real world the gate had already closed completely, leaving the ghosts trapped once again within the cursed land while the path to escape had already vanished. and the gates to real world will open again
"So if we stay here too long," Rehx muttered, "we become their dinner."
The old man nodded.
"Exactly."
They continued walking through the heavy fog while avoiding the broken pillars and the chained ghosts emerging from them, and the visibility within the Holo Ghost Area remained extremely poor as the thick mist swallowed nearly everything around them, while distant ghostly roars echoed endlessly through the darkness.
After some time Rehx spoke again.
"The king is still unconscious… what if he never wakes up?"
Before he could say another word Sethr suddenly slapped him hard across the face.
"Shut up," Sethr said coldly. "The king will wake up."
rehx glared at Sethr as if ready to fight, but Kai and Karn both turned toward them simultaneously with serious expressions that instantly silenced the tension.
The group resumed walking.
After nearly half an hour the old man suddenly raised his hand.
"Stop."
They had reached a location where the fog was even thicker than before, almost completely blocking their vision, and the old man stepped forward before taking something from his pocket.
Without warning he threw it directly into the mist.
A massive explosion erupted instantly.
The blast wave tore through the fog like a violent storm, forcing everyone to take cover while the thick mist was violently blown away from the area.
When the smoke cleared the group saw what had been hidden beneath the fog.
Before them lay a barren land of dead earth where seven enormous black pillars rose into the sky like monuments of absolute death.
The pillars were massive, lifeless, and ancient beyond comprehension.
A horrifying smell filled the air.
The scent of rotting corpses and spilled blood lingered everywhere, yet no bodies or blood could be seen anywhere in the area.
Then the old man suddenly grabbed Dev from Kai's shoulders and threw him onto the ground before the seven pillars.
Kai instantly grabbed the old man's cloak.
"Show some respect," Kai growled. "Or your head will lie beneath my king's feet."
The old man simply laughed.
"Young man, this is the world of the strong, and the weak have no right to challenge them… and right now you are weak, so endure it."
Then he bowed slightly toward the pillars.
"Pillars of Deaths… I, Raphael Normax, your humble servant, have brought the boy you commanded."
He then explained calmly to group ,
The Pillar of the Dead is a pillar that is formed from the lingering will left behind by the dead, yet the Pillars of Death are something entirely different and far more terrifying, because those pillars belong to absolute kings of death who once spread chaos and slaughter across the entire world merely through their existence, beings whose presence alone drowned kingdoms in blood and whose names have long been forbidden in this world, for there were even entire kingdoms that were wiped out from history itself simply to erase the records of their names from every history book that existed, and because of this terrifying legacy they came to be known as the Pillars of Deaths, a silent and dreadful existence completely different from the ordinary Pillars of the Dead.
The Pillars of the Dead, on the other hand, follow a completely different rule of inheritance, because each of them chooses a successor from their own clan or bloodline, and for example if a man named Derek once belonged to the Shade Clan, whose specialty lies in the manipulation of Black Dragon energy and the transformation into a dragon form, then naturally there would exist a separate Shade Clan Pillar of the Dead within the barrier, just as every clan within the world has its own pillar that preserves the will and power of their lineage, and even those who were cast out from their clans may still appear within these pillars if they possessed power that belonged to that clan, because in death even the rejected can still become useful if their power carries the bloodline's strength.
However the laws of this world never declared that only noble clans or righteous warriors could leave behind their will, because any individual who awakened their power during life could create a will after death, and this truth applies not only to heroes and kings but also to the worst monsters that ever walked the earth, which meant the rulers of the world could never remove every dangerous will from the barrier, and because of that they were forced long ago to select certain individuals from history whose existence was so hateful and destructive that their wills had to be isolated separately, and thus the seven terrible monuments known as the Seven Pillars of Death were created.
because the hatred and killing intent left behind by those ancient kings of slaughter is so overwhelming that not even sacrifices are valued before them, and in order to remove a single pillar from pillar of dead it requires the sacrifice of two hundred powerful rankers
For this reason these Seven Pillars of Death stand within the depths of the Holo Ghost Area, a cursed land where almost no living creature dares to enter, not even the savage Holo beasts that roam the surrounding regions, because the deathly aura emitted by these pillars is so overwhelming that even wild beasts instinctively avoid this place as if sensing the presence of ancient predators sleeping beneath the earth.
The old man slowly explained all of this while staring at the seven towering black pillars before them, his voice calm yet filled with a strange reverence as he continued.
"Within these seven pillars the ancient wills have long since grown bored from endless slumber, and if one wishes to awaken their attention or gain even the smallest chance of being chosen as their successor, then an offering must first be made, and that offering must be a fragment of one's own body."
After saying those words the old man reached into his robe and removed a copper bowl before casually throwing Dev's eyes into it, after which his blood and poured Dev's blood into the bowl and then looked toward the others.
"Pour your blood as well."
Kai immediately cut his wrist without hesitation, yet when the blood began flowing from the wound everyone present became shocked, because instead of the usual crimson color the blood flowing from Kai's veins was pitch black like liquid darkness.
The old man's expression changed slightly when he saw it.
"Wait."
He quickly removed his blood and kai's blood from the bowl and reset the ritual by placing Dev's eyes inside again before allowing the others to continue.
Kai, Chiru, Vaal, Sethr, Rehx, and Karn each cut their wrists and allowed their blood to flow into the copper bowl, and slowly the container filled with the combined blood of the entire group along with the crushed remains of Dev's eyes floating within it.
Chiru stared at the ritual with visible discomfort before muttering quietly.
"This creepy old man first asks for blood… what will he ask for next?"
Rehx smirked slightly.
"Your eyes probably… so be ready."
Yet despite the uneasy jokes none of them stopped the ritual, because every one of them understood that the fate of their unconscious king now rested upon whatever terrifying power slept within those seven ancient pillars.
The bowl was soon filled with their blood along with Dev's crushed eyes.
The old man crushed the eyes further and mixed them into the blood without hesitation.
Kai clenched his fists.
"What are you doing?"
"I am doing your king a favor," Raphael replied calmly. "If he is chosen by one of these pillars, he will become the next chaos of the world."
then suddenly
Dab… dab… dab…
A slow heartbeat.
Then another.
Dab… dab… dab…
The sound was deep and ancient, like something sleeping beneath the pillars had suddenly begun to stir after countless years of silence, and the ground itself seemed to vibrate faintly with every pulse.
The old man's eyes widened for a brief moment before his lips slowly curled into a wide and unsettling smile.
"Hahahahaha…"
Without hesitation he lifted the copper bowl that contained the mixture of Dev's blood, the crushed remains of Dev's eyes, and the blood of Kai, Chiru, Vaal, Sethr, Rehx, and Karn, and then he poured the dark liquid directly across the surface of the seven Pillars of Death, allowing the blood to spread over the ancient black stone like a forbidden offering meant for kings who once ruled the world through slaughter.
The moment the blood touched the pillars the heartbeat grew louder.
DAB… DAB… DAB…
The fog around them trembled.
The ground cracked slightly beneath Dev's unconscious body.
The old man's laughter echoed across the dead land.
"Hahahahaha… it seems the pillars have finally awakened from their endless boredom."
Yet just as his laughter began fading, his expression suddenly changed as if he had sensed something unexpected.
His eyes slowly narrowed.
Then he whispered in a low voice filled with disbelief and excitement.
"Well… well…"
"What an interesting surprise."
He looked down at Dev's unconscious body lying before the seven pillars.
"It seems the boy carries something far more dangerous than I expected."
For a brief moment the land fell completely silent.
Then the old man spoke one final sentence.
So the one who told to bring this boy was "The pillar of Dev Ravenclaw… Dev's grandfather…"
From the seven pillar of death .