It will take forever for the ghouls to reach him at their current speed. They won't be dangerous that way. He was a little disappointed by it. He expected them to be dangerous. But if they can't threaten him then they won't be of much use to him.
But he knows that they are more than they seem. He has never seen one. Not even Gehaldirah has seen one. Legion has only heard tales of them. Their origin is tied to Vampires. Where there are vampires, there are ghouls. They are supposed to be very dangerous.
If ghouls aren't dangerous, then no one would have gone to great lengths to seal them within this space. Even the fountain of life created a barrier to hide them and it warned him against releasing them. He also wouldn't feel a faint sense of existential dread from them despite how slow they are. So he still has high hopes for them.
"Let's see what makes you guys special." He said.
Then he began to move closer to them. He intends to test their power and not kill himself. He is not that stupid to underestimate things that can kill Origin gods. So he moved cautiously. He chose a specific ghoul and moved closer to it while avoiding others. He reached within 1km of the ghoul and prepared to attack it from a distance but then the ghoul disappeared.
"Hmm?" He exclaimed in surprise before he was attacked.
The ghoul was crawling on the wall. It dug its long bony fingers into the hard rock and used it as support to ascend. The hard rock parted easily as if it was dipping its fingers into water. The ghoul didn't jump when it got within 1km of Ragnarok. It just flashed forward as if propelled by an unseen force. Then it struck Ragnarok instantly.
Fortunately, he was ready for the attack. He was on guard so he managed to block the hand that tried to grab his head. Then he kicked the ghoul away immediately. The ghoul flew back and crashed to the ground. Ragnarok also flew back the way he came from. It is more like he ran back the way he came.
He examined the stump of his hand as he ran, "That is plenty dangerous for something that can't fly." He said through gritted teeth.
His hand is regenerating but it is very painful. It is the most painful injury he has ever experienced apart from when Gehaldirah separated his body from his soul. This time, the ghoul tore out the aspect of his existence that is his hand.
The injury is so great that his hand shouldn't be able to regenerate at all since he is not an Origin god. His Origin soul didn't help him in that aspect. If not for divine life energy, then he will remain handicapped forever.
"And this is the result when I managed to block the attack." He said in wonder. "I can only imagine the type of Carnage that they will wrought in the world above."
He can only imagine, for now. His imagination will come true soon enough. The ghouls have been awakened after being in stasis for several years. They have been locked down here for so long with no one powerful enough and crazy enough to dig through the hardened earth to reach this place and break the barrier to release them. The tunnel he created will lead them to the upper underdark and to the surface. From there, disaster will spread like an uncontrollable blight.
"I better leave before more of them attach themselves to me. They will get stronger soon. It is best to be out of their way." He said and ran away without turning back.
He can't underestimate the ghouls anymore. He has been taught a lesson to know better. That's why he has decided to run away so that the Ghouls won't target him. It is a good idea too. The ghouls have awakened from their slumber after sensing life. So they will begin to grow stronger. That means that they will get faster and their range of teleportation will become longer as time passes. It is not wise to be around them when that happens.
Their weakness was used against them to lock them away in the past. There was no life within their area of detection so they went into stasis. Their range of detection reduced further and they became slower until they slept.
They won't sleep now that they have sensed life once again and when there is a path for them to seek more life. They will soon be able to fly too. Anything around them will be the target of their hunger.
The Life that was stolen from them in the creation of Primogenitors must be returned. They will hunt and hunt but it will never be enough. Every living thing and Vampire will suffer because of their endless hunger. They won't rest until every Vampire in the plane has been destroyed.
That's the future that Ragnarok has released on the plane. It is what the fountain of life warned him about. As for him, he is running away for his dear life. He dug another tunnel and collapsed it behind him to make sure that they won't use it to reach him.
The ghouls climbed the walls to reach the opening he created in their cavern. They followed the initial tunnel back the way he came to the surface. They didn't pay attention to the new tunnel he created because it is collapsed. All of them did that except a single one.
The Ghoul that attacked him didn't climb the hard earthen walls. It walked right through them. It didn't phase through the earth and the earth didn't become intangible for it to pass through. The earth simply parted for it without resistance.
The ghoul walked in a straight line toward Ragnarok without pausing at all or giving up. Everything in its way made way for it without resistance. Walking through water is more difficult than the way it walked through the earth to get to him.
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A/N: I hope you remember where such similar creatures have appeared in GREED. Specifically in this volume.