Chapter 29

In the vast dense forest, fallen leaves paved a narrow path. The warm and gentle morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the foliage, dancing and flickering on the black hair of the girl carrying a stone crossbow and on the piece of paper in her hand.

Talli was holding a map that the clan chief had specially ordered someone to draw for her, studying it intently.

A young man with a ponytail slowly strolled over with a bag on his back. He bent down and leaned in to take a look at the map.

“Talli,” He suddenly spoke.

“Just a second, just a second—it’s almost done.”

“That’s not it.”

A strand of Deritz’ hair slipped down from behind His shoulder, brushing the side of Talli’s face.

He reached out and pointed at the map with His index finger.

“You’re holding the map upside down.”

“……”

Talli coughed lightly as if nothing had happened and flipped the map right side up.

A long and elegant hand reached down from above her head and lightly pulled the map away.

“Forget it, I’ll take a look instead.”

So Talli followed behind the young man as he walked. Stepping on the fallen leaves that let out creaky “squeak-squeak” sounds, she suddenly recalled the ruins of a lost temple she had seen in the elven territory and couldn’t help but sigh, “What a shame. I really thought I’d get the chance to enter that temple and have a look.”

“Not all temples are well preserved, especially those exposed to the wild,” Deritz said. “Temples hidden behind waterfalls, the ones that can receive proper protection, are rare. After enduring hundreds or thousands of years of wind and sun, with no maintenance, those broken-down ruins are what most temples are destined to become.”

Talli nodded in agreement, thinking back to the crumbling temple where she first saw the sculpture of the demon.

She hadn’t seen many temples in the human world either. The imperial capital was nearly covered in grand shrines, and she hadn’t even seen the shadow of a temple there.

Because the spatial-folding effect she had encountered when first leaving the temple was gradually weakening, the road to the Abyss had fully unfolded and became a long journey. As a result, they would need to spend several days on the road.

Thanks to the stone crossbow, Talli felt her hunting skills had greatly improved, and she was becoming more adept at taking down small animals.

“Using the goddess’s crossbow for hunting… is that really okay?”

Talli looked a little uneasy.

“If you weren’t currently eating roasted rabbit leg, that question might be a bit more convincing.”

Deritz took a sip of water.

Over the past few days, He could feel that they were getting closer and closer to the entrance of the Abyss.

He raised His right hand and blocked the moon in the sky.

Moonlight slipped through the gaps between His fingers, cold and gloomy—not gentle and clear anymore. It no longer resembled the clean spring water trickling between mountain rocks, but rather, like a parasitic nightmare clinging like maggots to bone, a shadow that could not be dispelled.

In the deep of night, Talli had wrapped herself in a gray wool blanket and fallen asleep quietly on His lap.

Deritz leaned against a tree, his deep red eyes—partly hidden in shadow—stared straight ahead.

Before long, from the darkness emerged a massive three-headed beast. Its ghostly green eyes glinted with cold light, and its entire body was encased in bone. Its long tail stood upright, but its neck drooped low in front of the young man beneath the tree, clearly showing fear and caution.

It couldn’t even hold eye contact with the young man for two seconds before it lowered all three of its heads to the ground, one after another, quickly pledging its loyalty to Him.

“Did Saimond send you?”

The beast nodded all three heads in a flurry.

“I see.”

A string of dark runes floated before Deritz, the characters shrouded in black mist, making them impossible to read. He raised His hand and slowly wiped them away. The dark runes turned into a blue flame in His palm, and He sent it flying toward the beast.

The beast lifted one of its heads and opened its mouth to swallow the flickering flame. It didn’t dare look up at the young man again. With a pained cry, it spread its bony wings and quickly soared into the night sky, shrinking into a dot before vanishing beyond the horizon.

—

Inside the ancient fortress at the heart of the Abyssal City.

A figure shrouded in black mist stood by the city wall, watching as the skeletal beast flew in from the horizon. It flapped its bone wings and landed on the wall, then opened its mouth and spat out a ball of blue fire.

“My king,”

One of the beast’s heads spoke, still trembling with fear. “He really appeared on your territory.”

“Mm.”

A cold, thick voice slowly echoed from within the black mist. As he read the runes written in flame, he responded to the bone beast.

“What did He look like?”

“Just like the rumors say…”

Even now, recalling that man’s presence made the beast tremble uncontrollably. It lowered its body at the foot of the black mist, as if seeking comfort from its master.

“Those red eyes, like a blood moon… The moment He glanced at me, I couldn’t move. I didn’t even think about running away. I forgot how to flap my wings—it was like I was completely frozen.”

A pale, skeletal hand reached out and gently rested on one of its heads in a soothing gesture.

The bone beast relaxed under its master’s hand and added, “But… what’s strange is that there was a human girl with Him. It was very strange. So strange that I checked several times. She really is human. But there was also an elven aura on her. I didn’t dare observe her too closely, so I can’t tell if she’s mixed-blood… The only thing I’m sure of is—He treats her differently.”

For an ordinary human girl to stay alive by the side of such a prideful monarch—just that alone was almost unbelievable.

The man within the black mist showed a flicker of interest.

“No wonder… He brought me that message,” His dry, hoarse voice carried a rare ripple of emotion.

The bone beast lifted another head. “Master, what message?”

The black mist’s hand spilled out thick black sludge, which corroded the beast’s head under His palm in the blink of an eye. The other heads, seeing this, tried to retreat, but the hunting-like black mist immediately surged over them, strangling them cleanly without leaving a single bone behind.

“‘Leave a vacant spot for Him among the twelve beasts,’ that’s the message,” the black mist said slowly to the air.

—

The next day, after rushing and hurrying, Talli finally arrived at the entrance of the Abyss before dusk.

Between the Abyss entrance and the Abyss City, there was a vast wasteland. Non-Abyss creatures passing through here would be infected by the demonic aura. Talli had only walked on this vast land for less than a quarter of an hour, but she already felt something was wrong with herself.

However, fortunately, not long after, a flying beast landed in front of them, lowering its head obediently.

“My colleague, the flying magic beast,” Deritz introduced.

Talli climbed onto the beast. As she stroked the obedient creature, she heard the young man behind her say this, noticing the beast beneath her seemed to tremble for a moment.

“Do the twelve beasts have a hierarchy?” Talli asked, curious. “I feel like it’s a little afraid of you.”

“Because I’m the leader of the twelve beasts,” Deritz replied without blinking. “They all listen to me.”

“Then, if you’re so powerful, how did you end up in such a miserable situation?” Talli asked. She had heard from the innkeeper that he almost died.

“That’s because,” Deritz said, the wind from the wilderness brushing through his long hair as he slightly squinted, “…one of my subordinates, who was originally loyal to me, stole part of my power after I went through a bone-shattering battle and escaped into the human world. After my power was weakened, I was defeated by my enemies and fell into the human world.”

The wind howled in his ears.

In the wind, Deritz almost forgot how much of what he said was true and how much was a lie—what was blown away by the wind and what remained as truth.

However, the girl’s voice quickly pulled him back to reality. “Is that true?”

Deritz blinked and returned to his cold gaze. “Of course.”

“Then, have you gotten your power back?”

“Not yet.”

“Do you know where your power was lost and who stole it?”

The girl seemed more concerned about this than he was.

“…I know.”

“Is it really okay not to go find it and just return to the Abyss like this?”

Talli shifted in his arms, straining to turn her head and look into his eyes as she asked seriously, “After losing such a great amount of power, will the other eleven beasts still follow you when you return to the Abyss? Won’t they take advantage of your weakness to bully you and seize your position and the Abyss Lord’s trust?”

Deritz felt the beast beneath them tremble even more violently.

He smiled slightly. “What you say does make sense.”

“However, since we’ve already come this far, let’s first visit the Abyss City and the King’s castle. After meeting the Abyss Lord, we can talk more about it.”

The beast slowly descended and landed on the city walls of the Abyss City.

Deritz got down first, standing on the city wall and extending his hand to the girl.

Talli grabbed his hand and, with a firm push, jumped down from the beast’s back.

The flying beast eagerly flapped its wings and flew away.

She brushed the wind-swept mess of her hair, hugging her backpack in front of her, and stood on the city wall, gazing at the Abyss City in the distance. Even though it was night, the city was brightly lit and bustling with activity. People wrapped in a thin black mist moved freely through the city, entering various taverns and inns. The unique architecture, clothing, and the exotic cultural atmosphere stirred her curiosity.

Everything was fresh and new—things she had never seen while trapped in the prison-like human world.

“You’re right.”

Talli reached into her backpack’s inner pocket, feeling the flint that was pressing against her palm. “I heard from the Elf Clan leader that every race has at least one temple of the guardian god passed down from ancient times. The Abyss race probably has one as well.”

Deritz stood behind her, arms crossed, watching the prosperous Abyss City below as he asked, “Do you want to look for the temple?”

“Yes.”

The temple might be able to bring her back into the dream, where she could meet the Crimson Witch and the Arrogant, and learn more of what she wanted to understand.

Talli continued, brushing her arm. “The demonic aura in the Abyss City is light, almost purified. I think I can stay here a little longer without any problems.”

She tilted her head back and looked at Deritz, tightening the crossbow in her hand. “Besides, if by then, because your power is weakened, you end up being bullied by the other beasts in the Abyss…”

Deritz looked at her and smiled, asking, “You’ll protect me?”

Talli turned her face away, looking at the endless stream of people below the city lights.

“Then, I’ll take you away, Dusk.”