Because he had been corrupted too deeply, Saladin's belief that he had become stronger than a Legendary was nothing more than wishful thinking, a castle in the air, an illusion with no substance. Reality proved that he hadn't grown stronger at all.
All of his delusions and false confidence shattered in an instant. By delving into the forbidden knowledge of corruption, he had lost his physical body entirely, turning into an existence burdened with a fatal weakness.
"No... my kingdom..." Saladin let out one final wail. The golden crown slipped from his head, turning into ordinary sand before it could even hit the ground. "The desert... will swallow everything... in the end..."
To be fair, the guy really knew how to put on a show. Even on the verge of defeat, he couldn't resist giving himself a dramatic exit, complete with a line that sounded straight out of a video game. Of course, nobody in this era would think to make fun of that. After all, video games wouldn't exist for another thousand years.
As the last syllable faded, the Sandstorm Sorcerer King crumbled into an ordinary pile of sand. Only his staff remained behind, lying on the ground and emitting a faint glow.
"We finally got rid of him. Good thing we weren't unlucky enough to meet him at his peak," Saruman muttered, collapsing onto the ground. "If he still had a physical body like the Star-Speaker, we'd have been in serious trouble."
Casting one high-level spell after another had completely drained his magic. His magic core felt like it was tearing apart, and worse, he could clearly sense a foreign force trying to corrupt his soul.
"Can... can we even make it out of here alive?" Kag was in even worse shape. The black markings on his right arm had already spread to his shoulder, and every breath brought a stab of pain.
"We have to get out." Saruman's voice was firm. At the same time, he had realized something. "There's something very wrong with this place," he said between heavy breaths. "It's using these powerful beings to wear us down while... trying to corrupt us."
Saruman wasn't a fool. Quite the opposite, he was exceptionally intelligent. He had already figured out why they couldn't escape. This place was deliberately using powerful Fallen Ones to trap them, forcing them into battles where they would inevitably be exposed to corruption.
But that also revealed something important. As dangerous and malicious as this place was, it proved that the Infinite Corridor did have a way out.
Otherwise, there would be no need to use these corrupted powerhouses to delay them. If there truly were no exit, the Corridor could simply leave them wandering around like headless flies forever. There would be no reason to waste effort sending corrupted beings after them.
Because of that realization, the hope Saruman had almost lost began to return. If this place was trying so hard to stop them from leaving, then an exit had to exist. It was afraid they would find it.
After defeating the Sandstorm Sorcerer King, the two found a relatively safe corner to rest. Saruman tried to treat Kag's wounds with healing magic, but he quickly discovered that magic was far less effective here.
"My magic power is recovering incredibly slowly," Saruman said grimly. "And... I can feel corruption eating away at my magic core."
"I feel it too," Kag said through gritted teeth. His right arm had begun to discolor in a disturbing way. "It's like there's something moving through my blood."
Just then, the lights within the corridor suddenly dimmed. The already faint light sources went out one after another until nothing remained but absolute darkness.
Within that darkness, a figure slowly emerged. She wore black ceremonial robes, and in her hand was a dagger inlaid with moonstone.
"Shadowmoon High Priest Nephiti..." Despair filled Saruman's voice. "Even her..."
Nephiti had once been the Moon God Cult's most powerful High Priest, famous for her mastery over shadows and dreams. Now, she had become completely one with shadow itself. Her body drifted like black smoke, never staying solid.
"Sink into eternal darkness..." Her voice was like a dream, echoing directly inside their minds.
The darkness around them began to take shape, transforming into countless black tentacles that coiled toward them. These shadowy tendrils could not only bind the body, they could attack the soul itself.
Saruman tried to cast light magic, but he found that he couldn't even summon a basic Light Orb. "She's twisted the very laws of light!" he cried.
Enduring the agony, Kag swung a crude stone club he had picked up with his left hand, smashing it at the shadow tentacles. It was useless. Physical attacks passed straight through them. The shadowy tendrils slipped effortlessly past his defense and began eroding his will.
"I saw it... a nightmare..." Kag's gaze began to lose focus. "There were corpses everywhere..."
Saruman knew they had to come up with a countermeasure immediately. He recalled the records about Nephiti: her greatest ability was dream manipulation, but that might also be her weakness.
"Kag! Focus!" Saruman shouted. "She's trying to drag us into an eternal nightmare! Don't fall for it! We have to stay awake!"
But it was already too late. The scenery around them began to twist and distort. The corridor disappeared, replaced by a landscape of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
Countless twisted bodies struggled in the crimson waves, letting out piercing screams of agony. This was Nephiti's specialty: the Nightmare Domain, which manifested the deepest fears hidden in a target's heart.
"This is... Lina's prophecy..." Saruman stared at the horrifying scene before him, his mind reeling.
Just as he was about to be swallowed by the nightmare, a thought flashed through his mind: Nephiti's power required a continuous mental connection. If that connection could be severed...
Saruman bit the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to maintain his final shred of clarity. He abandoned all complex magic and instead cast the most primitive, purest Psychic Shock.
"In the name of my true self, break!"
A surge of pure mental force erupted from him like a massive stone crashing into a still lake. The Nightmare Domain shuddered violently. Nephiti let out a shrill scream, and cracks appeared across her shadowy form.
"Now!" Saruman shouted to Kag. "Attack the Moonstone Dagger! It's the conduit for her power!"
Fighting against the nightmare's corruption, Kag used the last of his strength to hurl the stone club at the dagger in Nephiti's hand. Under the effect of the Psychic Shock, Nephiti's reaction slowed by half a beat. The club struck the moonstone with perfect accuracy.
Crack.
The moment the moonstone shattered, the Nightmare Domain broke apart like glass. Nephiti let out an unwilling wail as her figure gradually dissolved into the darkness.
Light returned to the corridor, but both men were in even worse condition. Cracks had appeared in Saruman's magic core, and Kag's right arm had turned completely dark purple.
At least they had not been left behind. That was the only thing worth being thankful for.
"You have to hold on," Saruman said, trying to encourage his companion. "Not just for us, but for our friend."
He glanced at their female teammate, who had completely lost consciousness. Lina was no longer responsive, only letting out unconscious moans. The degree of her physical distortion had become terrifyingly severe, making her appearance both frightening and unsettling.
Although Saruman was deeply alarmed, his confidence as a genius wizard remained unshaken. He firmly believed that once they escaped this place, he would be able to find a way to solve the problem.
Whether it was the curse afflicting Lina or the corruption spreading through Kag's body, Saruman believed that as long as they left this damned ruin, he could create a cure. After all, he was also a master of potion-making.
For a wizard of his caliber, talent extended across every field. Whether in magic, potions, or other disciplines, he excelled in all of them. That was why Saruman possessed such confidence.
Of course, the fact that he could still hold on to hope was also related to one thing: at this point in time, he still did not truly understand what they were facing.
Because he lacked knowledge of the mythological creatures within the Cthulhu Mythos system, Saruman had not lost faith the way others might have. In fact, his ignorance had slowed the progress of the corruption consuming him.
In this moment, "ignorance is bliss" seemed to have become literal.
After consecutively defeating three legendary wizards, Saruman and Kag had reached their limits. Strange black streaks had begun appearing in Saruman's silver hair, while Kag's consciousness faded in and out, a clear sign that the corruption was spreading rapidly.
"I believe in you, my friend," Kag said weakly. "But we have to find a way out soon... Otherwise, we'll become just like them..."
In their current situation, he had no choice but to trust Saruman. This teammate had never let them down before. Kag hoped that Saruman would once again turn the situation around, just as he had in the past, leading them through the crisis and toward a new dawn.
The two continued their exploration. This time, Saruman did not overlook even a single brick in the wall.
Wherever they went, he carefully examined the surrounding environment, afraid of missing even the smallest clue that might reveal a way out. He searched with meticulous attention to detail, which naturally made their pace much slower.
Of course... in the end, speed didn't really matter.
An hour later, they saw the color-changing magic marker again. It confirmed that time had indeed passed, and that they had truly returned to the exact same place.
"The Infinite Corridor..." Saruman muttered, finally understanding what the name really meant. "It wasn't just a metaphor... This place really is an endlessly looping space..."
Kag slammed his fist into the wall in frustration. "Damn it! Then how are we supposed to get out?"
"Don't panic. There has to be a way out. There 'has' to be. It's just hidden very well. Our enemy is extremely cunning."
Supporting each other, Saruman and Kag continued staggering through the corridor. The cracks in Saruman's magic core spread like a spider's web. Every spell he cast sent waves of agony through his body, as if he were dancing barefoot across knife blades.
"...Looks like we're really going to die this time." Kag's condition was even more critical. The black markings had spread to his chest, forming a grotesque pattern. Breathing had become incredibly difficult, and every heartbeat felt like something was tearing him apart from the inside.
"Hang in there, Kag. We'll make it," Saruman said as he supported his companion with his uncorrupted left arm. His wand trembled slightly in his right hand. "We've created miracles before. This won't be any different. We'll find a way out... Lina is still waiting for us to save her."
As he spoke, Saruman took Lina from Kag and carried her himself. There was no choice but to keep her restrained.
She could no longer respond to their voices; instead, she struggled violently and repeatedly tried to attack anyone nearby. She was clearly in the process of becoming one of those monsters. The corruption was advancing far too quickly.
"...How did things end up like this?" After drinking some of the precious potion Saruman handed him, Kag recovered slightly. His corruption was still nowhere near as severe as Lina's, who had faced Cthulhu's will directly.
Then, just as they caught their breath, something happened again.
The entire corridor began shaking violently, as though some colossal beast were awakening beneath it. The temperature skyrocketed in an instant, and the stone walls began to melt.
Crimson lava flowed from the cracks like rivers of blood, and the sharp stench of sulfur filled the air.
A gigantic figure slowly rose from the churning magma.
"Come! Join me!" His entire body was made of molten lava, and eternal flames burned within his eyes. Every step he took left blazing footprints on the stone floor.
"Lava Tyrant Grum!" Saruman recognized the legendary king of volcanoes. His voice was filled with disbelief. "Even you... have become a warden of this prison?"
Naturally, there was no reply. Grum let out a deafening roar, his voice rumbling like erupting magma. "Intruders! Become nourishment for the earth! Let your flesh and blood feed this scorched land!"
He swung his enormous fist of molten rock, sending a torrent of blazing lava pouring down like a waterfall. Wherever it passed, even space itself warped under the unbearable heat.
Saruman hurriedly cast the ice magic he excelled at, his wand tracing an intricate pattern through the air. "Extreme Cold Domain, Freezing Ten Thousand Miles!"
Frigid air collided violently with the lava, filling the corridor with dense clouds of steam. The ice crystals vaporized instantly under the intense heat, only to condense again under the influence of magic, creating a bizarre symphony of ice and fire.
But Grum's power far exceeded anything they had imagined. Every attack carried overwhelming heat, and the walls of ice Saruman raised melted away before their eyes.
Enduring the pain, Kag hurled enchanted stones with his remaining left hand, but they never reached their target. Before they could even touch Grum, the stones melted into glowing streams of liquid rock.
"This won't work! We have to find his weakness!" he rasped.
Saruman clenched his teeth. The sweat that formed on his skin evaporated the instant it appeared. At the brink of life and death, inspiration suddenly struck him. He abandoned conventional magical theory and began reconstructing the spell based entirely on his own understanding of the essence of magic.
"In my name, I redefine it. Ice is fire. Fire is ice!"
Something astonishing happened. The ice magic Saruman cast transformed into blazing flames, yet those flames possessed the properties of absolute cold. The bizarre fusion of ice and fire struck Grum's core.
The Lava Tyrant let out a roar of agony as his body began to solidify. The glowing magma gradually darkened, turning into solid black basalt.
"No... the will... of the Heart of the Earth... will... swallow... everything..." Grum whispered his final words before freezing completely.
Saruman dropped to one knee. This breakthrough had temporarily stabilized his cracked magic core, but the black markings had already spread up to his neck, writhing slowly like living creatures.
He could feel his connection to the corridor growing stronger and stronger. It was as though he was slowly becoming a part of it.
(End Of This Chapter)
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