"... You want to kill the Hero?" The Demon looked at the small group of four with an unreadable expression on their face.
"Do you have a problem with that?" The monster woman asked.
Luka wasn't stupid, he knew who this woman in front of him was. There were probably some Demons that would treat her the same way the Angelic race does, but he wasn't one of them. The Demon General didn't care about her identity just her motives. So, while he thought she was crazy, he wasn't that surprised by her answer.
"No, I don't, but I also can't have you just wandering around unsupervised." Luka said. "I'll have someone escort you to the Corrupt Lands."
"You're helping us?" Lucilla asked with a raised eyebrow, her companions also looking just as confused.
"Of course." Luka said with a smirk. "If you plan to fight the Hero whether you succeed or not doesn't matter, because at least on potential threat would be delt with."
"I'm happy to be of help." Lucilla said, clutching Yuki's hand to keep her calm.
"Just do what you need to do and leave, we're busy here."
With that Luka left the room. A short while later Lucilla and the others were escorted outside and towards the gate leading into the first Province. There they were greeted by squad of soldiers, ten in total. Lucilla walked up to the Demon in charge, giving them a brief greeting before asking him how long the trip could take.
"If were quick we should get there in a month." The Demon answered.
"... A month?"
"Yes."
Lucilla was silent for a few seconds before answering speaking again. "Can you show me a map?"
"Sure." Answered the squad leader pulling out a map from his side." You can't keep it though."
What was handed to Lucilla was a simplified map with little detail. There was just enough information for on to make their way towards their destination, which was northeast from the border. It looked like if she made sure the mountains that separated them from Purinia were to her right the entire time, she would eventually enter the Corrupt lands without issue. After all it covered the entire north easter corner of the continent.
"Maisy have you memorized the map?" Lucilla whispered.
"Yes Master." Responded the slime.
"Thank you for the map." Lucilla said turning around and handing it back to the squad leader. "We are on a time crunch, so I hope you don't mind if I make my way there first."
Before the Demon could ask what, she meant, two large black wings emerged from her back. The two wings expanded out behind her before raising and giving one mighty flap, as she jumped, sending out a shockwave that caused everyone to stagger backwards a little. She was high in the sky far faster than anyone could react. Lucilla's companions and the Demons looked up into the sky as the crimsoned eyed woman quickly disappeared into the distance.
-- -- --
Lucilla traveled what would've taken weeks in a matter of hours. She was already at the river which marked the halfway point by time the sun started to set. Landing by the water Lucilla had Maisy take out their camp supplies. As she and the slime maid got to work preparing their camp, Lucilla on the fire and Maisy on the tent, Lucilla couldn't help but sigh. If she had known how far this place was, she wouldn't have brought everyone with her. At the very least she would've asked Cristina to stay with them a little longer before leaving so the others can go with her.
"Hope Yuki isn't too upset with me when we get back." Lucilla muttered. She didn't want to risk the Demons stopping her, which is why she left so quickly and without warning but leaving without Yuki again left the woman feeling biter.
"Well, this feeling has already pretty much faded, eventually I won't even remember it properly." She then grabbed some of her provisions she had packed and sat down by the fire she just created.
-- -- --
The next day Lucilla had awoken early and reached the border of the Corrupt Lands a little after midday. The harsh cut off of the border looked like a wall of thick smog reaching high into the sky. It swirled and twisted, but never overreached, as if an invisible barrier was keeping the Miasma trapped inside. The ground near the edge was rotten and decayed, making it clear that even with the Miasma trapped, it could still affect anything in close proximity.
Lucilla decided to land right at the edge, looking into the inky abyss with apprehension. Turning her back to it she looked out towards the land she had just come from. With a heavy sigh she addressed the slime under her clothing.
"Maisy come out."
"Yes?" Maisy asked forming into her humanoid figure. Along with the illusionary neckless, the slime looked like an exact replica of Lucilla, but with lavender colored hair and eyes, along with a maid dress.
"I'm going to need you to head back" Lucilla said. "Hand me the items we prepared specifically for my journey into the Corrupt Lands."
Maisy hesitated for a second before reluctantly handing over a large bag from her dimensional space along with her scythe. She didn't want to separate from Lucilla, but knew she had no choice in the matter. "Just be careful Master." Maisy said handing her a silver lantern with multiple engravings covering its surface.
"I will."
With those parting words the crimsoned eyed monster turned to face her next step in her journey. Taking in a deep breath she took her first step forward, then the next, and the next. In just four steps she was completely surrounded by Miasma. The atmosphere changed the instant she stepped through, feeling unwelcoming and wrong.
Everything around her was hazy and dark, object in the distance taking undefined shapes of shadow. The ground was rotten like the dirt itself was made from the flesh of the dead. Squelching with each step, a dark thick and murky liquid seeped out of the rotting dirt. The stench of decay and rot permeated the surroundings, making the already suffocating air even harder to stomach.
Lucilla covered her mouth and nose, feeling bile rise up. She used the twins as a crutch as she bent over, trying her best to not throw up. After a while she shakily moved her hands and fiddled with the dormant lantern, eventually getting it to light. A white flame that radiated purity flickered inside, causing the Miasma to recoil in disgust.
While the rotting stench of the land still filled her nostrils, the suffocating air the Miasma brought with it was cleared. Standing up straight Lucilla squinted her eyes trying to discern her surroundings. Even with the lanterns help, the Miasma made everything looked like shadows even with it being a few feet way. The ground was a dark purple like a bruise and blended into the grayish purple fog that was the Miasma, making it hard to discern one's footing.
Using magic and some Celestial Energy, Lucilla made a small ice platform to set the lantern down. She then opened her bag and pulled out a map and compass she received from Christina. Her destination was a large ravine the ran through the center of this land. Once long ago the Corrupt lands were home to the Dwarves. This was before Eldon, back when Mankind lived in the north and the Demons lived in the south. The ravine was home to the three great Dwarven cities, and since it stretched for miles, it was hard to miss.
Even if Lucilla somehow veered off course a little bit, she would enviably run into it. So, once she made sure she was facing the correct direction, she grabbed her things, position the bag between her wings, with her compass in her left hand and the twins in her right, the lantern hanging of them. Once she was sure she was ready, she unfurled her wings and took off into the sky.
Weirdly enough after a couple hours of flying Lucilla's ability to see became much clearer. It still became a dark hazy mess the further something away was, but she was able to make out distinct shapes and borders. Down below was a sea of undead too. It was mostly dead animals, but whenever she flew over a dead town, it was full of Dwarves, with the occasional Human and Elf.
"This place is disgusting." Lucilla said as she watched the rotting world below. "I can't believe people compare me to Eldon."
While she was heading towards a location called the Vesh canon named after him, it wasn't for anything good. One of the first things Eldon Vesh did when he arrived at the Central continent was take control over the Dwarven cities and renaming it under his image and erasing all records of the original name. The first Hero had confronted him, but the end result was the Canon becoming a dead zone thanks to Miasma. No one really knows what happened, but what they do know is that from there the sickness spread until it got the point that even the Celestials had to intervein. The barrier being held by the Moon Goddess Ovana.
Lucilla despised being compared to a person that could cause such destruction. It wasn't because she thought he went too far, or she felt bad about any of it. She just found the way he did it distasteful and if he was going to destroy something, at least try to make it beneficial. She also just hated the gross amount of Miasma in the area, it always felt sticky as it crawled over her skin.
Lucilla continued to fly without rest, unable to tell how much time has passed. Just as she felt herself become far to fatigue and thought about landing and setting up camp, she saw it. A vast canon that stretched north to south, it's expanse so impossibly large it was all inspiring. With renewed energy she flew down into the Canon, scanning the landscape below.
She quickly realized she stumbled upon an ancient city. Large boxy building that reached high into the sky, with tens to hundreds of floors. While most were corroded away and have long since collapse, vestiges of what they once looked like remained. It was clear they were made from glass steel and cement, the latter of which she only really saw in both Dr. Vancers and Judieth's Labatories.
"Well, this is weird." Lucilla muttered as she observed the ruined city.