PART IV: AFTER THE DEFEAT OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 7: Azmoth Chasm

• The Adversary was summoned to southern Leafre by Athena Pierce, who reported that an enormous chasm had appeared several days ago, with demonic monsters crossing over into Maple World through dimensional cracks.

• After interviewing several terrified Explorers who had gone into the chasm, the Adversary learned that inside was a pile of ruins, composed of an arena, an alchemy lab, and a chapel, each filled with various horrific creatures that appeared to have been artificially created through experiments. In addition, there was an ominous force haunting the ruins that created a sound that drove one to the brink of madness.

• With the ruins filled with not only enemies, but several beings who appeared to be friendly, the Alliance mounted an expedition into the ruins, allowing them to discover that Azmoth Chasm was part of Tynerum, with the mysterious master of the fortress built within the chasm having vanished without a trace, leading the Alliance to believe that all the demons within the fortress had become victims of their own twisted blood experiments.

• In order to piece together clues about the nature of the experiments, the Alliance resolved to continue sending expeditions into Azmoth Chasm and learn the truth. From the explorations of Azmoth Chasm, the investigation team learned several important details. They discovered that the fortress belonged to a pure-blooded demon named Drak, who sought to attain the power of the Transcendents in order to rule Tynerum as its king. For this reason, Drak built his fortress in Azmoth Chasm, where he intended to conduct brutal experiments to attain divine power.

• Drak hired a demon mercenary company that gathered weak pure-blood and half-blood demons from across Tynerum, bringing them to Azmoth Chasm as slaves. In the fortress arena, the slaves were forced to participate in battles to the death, causing massive amounts of bloodshed for Drak's blood alchemy experiments. This carnage allowed for the the creation of powerful relics that granted strength by using demon blood as the source of their magic. These blood experiments resulted in the creation of several failed attempts at replicating the power of a Transcendent, such as the Sword of Destruction once wielded by Damien.

• In the end, however, Drak's final experiment resulted in the birth of an unknown entity called Morghulas, which was responsible for a terrible curse upon Azmoth Chasm, with Drak and his demon forces being destroyed by their own creation. The curse of Morghulas then spread across Azmoth Chasm, driving all those who entered into madness.