Our journey northward took us through a number of Purgatory Shadowcat territories of which some belonged to those who took part in the succession war. However, upon recognizing us, they didn’t try to trouble us but instead treated us warmly, going so far as to offer us barbecued Ashen Fur Mice while enquiring about a certain cat couple…
The moment I said “Anmi is going to kick the bucket”, they all chuckled devilishly with their unique feline “Nyahaha” before then expressing their good wishes while gushing about how fortunate Anmi was to marry a princess. Deep down however, they were laughing at the poor guy(cat), that much was certain by looking at their eyes.
For the most part, our journey went rather smoothly and quickly thanks to our fair bit of strength. In roughly one month alone, we traversed through over a dozen Purgatory Shadowcat territories and formally entered Warhorse lands.
Having left that terraformed region, the first thing that struck me was how drastic the change in environment was. Gone were the teeming plant life and scampering animals, instead we found ourselves surrounded once more by the characteristic lava lakes and blackened soil of Purgatory.
That wasn’t to say that there weren’t volcanoes in the Shadowcats’ territory, rather they were simply sealed so as to prevent any potential eruption that could wreck havoc on the lands.
Speaking of horses, my first impression of those beasts was that they were very fast, and that they ate grass.However, unlike the Shadowcat’s lush territories, the Warhorses’ lands were just filled with solidified magma. Without any grass to speak of, what exactly did those horses feed on?
If I had to hazard a guess, it would probably be meat and souls. Being a fiendish creature themself, they possessed the ability to feed on souls, just like most fiendish creatures. Upon entering their territory for the first time, we so happened to stumble upon one of their hunting expeditions.
Over a hundred Warhorses were in the midst of surrounding and attacking three gigantic monsters made entirely out of dark red molten rock. The biggest of the three had to be at least ten meters or so, the smallest, eight or so at the very least. Gazing at them, I found that their bodies were actually composed of irregular black rock with red sections that glowed. From time to time, these flowing red sections would shimmer as if they blood vessels.
Seeing that, I was reminded of those breathing lights I used to have on my PC mouse…it really did look like that, huh.
The rock monsters were humanoid in shape, but in terms of body proportions alone, they were more dwarven in stature than human. With burly limbs, they kind of looked like winter melons to me. As for their facial features, they were mostly a blur to me, with the rough shape of a pair of eyes and nose being the only visible parts. Their eye sockets were sunken in and within those pits, I managed to make out a pair of deep red crystalline objects that seemed to be in a burning state.
Compared to those giants, the horses were noticeably smaller. An adult Purgatory Warhorse was at least two meters tall when standing and for the stronger ones, they could even grow to three meters tall.
In terms of appearance, the Warhorses were basically horses. Their fur was pitch black except for the tip of their tails which had a tuft of red fur. Their eyes were of a blood red hue and their teeth resembled that of a wolf’s, the kind that seemed on edge no less. Mostly, I could tell that their bodies were extremely well-built and brimming with power. Whenever they galloped, flames would roar to life around them, giving one the impression of speeding fireballs when seen from far.
Our unexpected arrival naturally caught their attention but upon discovering that we had no intention of approaching, they chose to continue with their hunt and merely ignored us.
A while later, we came to a stop on a relatively tall hill where we were afforded a decent view of the ongoing battle. There, mostly out of curiosity, I pointed at the two species battling it out several hundred meters away and said: “Those black horses are the Purgatory Warhorses, I assume, what about those rock monsters? Are they Earth Elementals?”
“Those monsters are known as Demon Fire Igneous Giants, a subspecies of the Giant clan. However, there’s also another theory that their bodies were actually formed of Igneous Rock Elements and had turned into the monsters you see before you now because of the Fire Elements in Purgatory.”
From the way Sinmosa had such information on hand, my guess was that she had interactions with these giants in the past. “Igneous Rock Element is one of the evolved form of the basic Earth Element. For the most part however, Igneous Giants resembled the Demon Fire Igneous Giants.”
“There sure are a ton of creatures in Purgatory…” Truly, this was an eye-opener for me and proved that my inherited memories wasn’t all-knowing either. For example, this Demon Fire Igneous Giant she spoke of wasn’t in my memories at all so I had no information about them. Well, whether or not they were actually giants or just elementals, that I didn’t know, but there was one thing I knew for sure, and that was that they were strong. Still, the two races were clearly as different from each other as horses and cows so what was up with those Igneous Giants?
“I bet you’re wondering right now which race they actually belong to. In truth, this question has been debated for a very long time because the Demon Fire Igneous Giants possess both the traits of giants and elementals. The defining feature of an elemental is that they are comprised of pure elements and require nourishment in the form of elements to survive. The Demon Fire Igneous Giants satisfy such a criteria but they also possess something similar to blood flowing through them. That, is something only creatures of the flesh can possess.”
Noticing my confusion, Sinmosa continued explaining, going the extra mile of being as detailed as possible: “I’m sure you’ve already seen those that blood vessel-like sections on them that periodically gives out light. That’s their circulatory system and that’s also the reason why the Purgatory Warhorses are hunting them.”
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