Chapter 44

The murky floodwaters cascaded from higher ground to lower areas, and the girl’s small figure was submerged in the waves, rising and falling with them.

Beneath the flood, countless ancient creatures’ corpses were buried, unknown to her.

Talli cast a low-level Floating Spell on herself, allowing her to rest upon the water’s surface.

This battle had nearly exhausted all her strength, and even her senses had become dull. The pain from her wounds, washed by the dirty water, would always take a moment before reaching her.

She kept her eyes closed, only making sure her nose and mouth were above the water, slowly breathing in and out.

Time passed, day sinking into night, and after her limbs lost all sensation, she gradually fell into a restless sleep, unaware of where the waves had carried her.

In this sleep, it felt like she had slept for a long time, but it wasn’t peaceful, she kept waking in fright.

However, it was still rest, at least.

One afternoon, she felt the warmth of the sun and heard voices, slowly waking up.

The person speaking entered, closed the door behind him, and walked to her side, squatting down to look at her:

“You’re awake?”

Talli’s vision was blurry for a long while before it became clearer.

She squinted her eyes and, after a while, said with difficulty: “…Magician?”

Some small goblin-like creatures were jumping around next to her pillow, loudly complaining, “You should call him Lord Magician!”

“No manners!!”

“…”

Talli remembered the young man in front of her, he was the same young magician she had beaten at chess in the Abyssal City.

He still wore his harmless, squinting expression, but now, with his hood lowered, he was squatting at her bedside, looking at her: “A few days ago, a heavy rain in the wasteland washed you near the Abyssal City. When I was out, I found you barely alive, so I brought you back.”

Talli propped herself up to sit, but the sudden movement tugged at her wounds, making her cough uncontrollably: “…Thank you.”

“Are you leaving now?”

The young man looked at her movements with confusion. “Your wounds have been soaked in dirty water for too long. They’ve become infected and are pus-filled. I’ve just barely managed to bandage you up. Also, your internal injuries are serious, and three days aren’t enough for them to heal.”

Talli asked, “I’ve been lying down for three days?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “The rain in the wasteland just ended. You still need at least another week of rest before you can move freely.”

Talli hesitated for a moment: “Won’t it trouble you?”

The young man squatted in front of her, tilting his head and asking, “Are you worried about your identity as a human sacrifice?”

Talli’s expression slightly changed.

The young man laughed a few times: “There’s no information in this world that I don’t know.”

The small goblin-like creatures on the bed and windowsill jumped up, clapping in circles:

“Lord Magician knows everything!”

“Lord Magician is the strongest!”

“Lord Magician is our god!!”

“…”

“So, don’t worry,” the young man raised a finger and said slowly to her, “Since the beginning of the sacrificial ritual, no human girl has ever survived in the wasteland. You’re the first.”

Talli was about to say something when there was a knock at the door.

The young magician stood up from the ground and went to open the door.

A moment later, he returned, handing Talli a round magic pearl and urging her to eat it.

Talli hesitated for a moment, then swallowed it. Soon, a wave of black mist gathered from all directions, enveloping her body. She began to feel as if she were one of the Abyssal creatures she had seen in the Abyssal City.

“This magic potion will temporarily protect you from being infiltrated by demonic energy,” the young man explained. “With this, if you stay in the Abyssal City to recover, your injuries will heal faster.”

Talli raised her hand and clenched it. Indeed, the cold, sticky sensation that usually clung to her skin, like maggots, had vanished. Instead, she felt warmth and dryness.

“Thank you.”

Talli looked at him sincerely.

“No need to thank me, these things cost money,” the young magician waved his hand and pointed off in the distance.

Talli followed his finger and saw a chest in the closet.

“That chest of gold is the one you left with me earlier, asking me to give it to that… child,” the magician said. “But he never came for it, probably doesn’t need it anymore, so it’s being returned to its rightful owner. This chest of gold is still yours. The money for the medicine, lodging, and the purchase of this magic potion all came from that chest of gold.”

“…” Talli said, “Still, thank you.”

The little goblins started clamoring again:

“Lord Magician is beautiful and kind-hearted!”

“Lord Magician has a benevolent face!”

“Quick, kneel and thank Lord Magician!!”

—

Talli suddenly remembered something and asked, “By the way, are the three pieces of information we talked about earlier still valid?”

“Of course.”

“I want to ask you, do you remember the young man who came with me to the Abyssal City last time… His name is Dusk.”

Talli asked him, “Do you know where he is now in the Abyssal City?”

The young magician’s expression immediately became very subtle.

“…Has he left you?”

Talli lowered her head. “He probably had something urgent and returned to the Abyss early, but I still have something I didn’t manage to give back to him.”

She took out the red rune from the scroll and showed it to him.

After the magician looked at the rune, his expression became even more subtle.

It was a look as if he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure whether he should or how to say it.

Talli sensed something was off. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

The young man shook his head. “I just find it strange… How are you so sure that he’s still in the Abyss?”

Talli lowered her eyelids. “Actually, I don’t know where he is. But since he comes from the Abyss, I thought, even if he left me, he would definitely return here.”

The young magician looked at her pale skin for a while and finally sighed. “Alright. I’ll tell you, but are you sure you want to use this first opportunity? My information is very valuable, it can’t be bought with money. From what I know, you should have something more important to do right now, right?”

Talli thought for a moment and nodded seriously. “Yes.”

She still had two more chances. Since she was already in the Abyssal City, she might as well return his things to him.

She could also meet Dusk again.

“Alright, then I’ll tell you.”

It seemed that her determination had convinced him, as the magician helplessly said to her, “Your companion, he is not in the Abyssal City right now.”

“He is at the center of the world.”

—

With Talli’s current invisibility spell, she could only maintain it for no more than half an hour.

As the sunset gradually sank behind the Abyssal City, Talli drifted into the palace like a breeze.

This was her second time coming to this palace.

Because she couldn’t maintain the disguise for too long, Talli secretly knocked out a maid as she passed through a winding corridor, changed into her clothes, and quietly joined a group of maids when she passed by them, following them into the inner hall.

At the end of the long corridor, she saw the man completely enveloped in dense black mist.

She glanced left and right, waiting for an opportunity when no one was paying attention, then hid behind a door and followed him.

She hadn’t taken more than a few steps when she lost track of him.

As Talli was wondering where to search next, a voice sounded behind her.

“Are you looking for me?”

Talli turned around with her heart in her throat.

She froze when she saw the man’s pale skin and the bluish-white backs of his hands.

The Lord of the Abyss’s voice was as dry as a dead tree.

“Yes…”

“….”

The man squinted at her, then seemed to recognize her. “Oh, it’s you, human girl.”

“It’s me.”

Talli explained her purpose to him.

“You’re going to the center of the world?”

Saimond said, “As a sacrifice offered by humans, just surviving is already considered lucky. In this case, shouldn’t you stay as far away from there as possible?”

“I have something I must do.”

Of course, Talli couldn’t tell him her real purpose. Either of her goals would be too risky to reveal to him.

“Well, it’s not impossible,” Saimond thought for a moment, “But I have a condition.”

The lord could not be aware of her movements on his territory. Conveniently, he mentioned that the “Curse of Undeath” he had previously retrieved was now in the hands of this human girl, and he wanted her to return it.

“I smelled a familiar scent from your storage scroll.”

Saimond said, “Give me that red rune, and I’ll take you to the center of the world.”

Talli immediately changed her expression. “That’s not possible.”

Saimond raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“That belongs to my companion. I’m just holding onto it for them. It’s not mine, so I don’t have the right to decide what happens to it.”

“Your companion is my subordinate. When you fled with it, I didn’t hold you accountable for your crimes,” Saimond said. “Our lord wants the power in your hands. Conveniently, if you give me the rune, I’ll not only take you back to the center of the world, but I can also plead on your behalf in front of the lord. Perhaps He will show mercy and let you avoid the fate of a sacrificial death.”

“….”

He could see that Talli was greatly tempted, but in the end, the girl shook her head.

“No,” she said.

Saimond squinted. “Well, that’s too bad.”

He clapped his hands.

The floor of the palace trembled, and soon, four magical beasts slowly emerged from the shadows in all directions. They were imposing, with bloodthirsty killing intent, and they gradually surrounded Talli.

The girl clicked her tongue, tightened her grip on the crossbow, and assumed a fighting stance.

—

A massive storm erupted from the palace, sending winds hundreds of meters away.

The palace walls collapsed, and the dense surrounding forest was scorched in large patches. Talli rode the heat wave, rising into the air, spinning several times before facing the magical beasts. She fired magic explosive ammunition from the crossbow. She used the shockwave to roll away, getting thrown to the top of a tree branch, and then continued to fall.

“Ugh!”

When she finally hit the ground, she thought she heard a faint “crack” sound. Cold sweat dripped from the pain.

The still-healing broken bones had cracked open again.

She remembered the peaceful three days she had spent at the magician’s house.

The young magician was named Alex, a member of the Abyssal race, who had grown up in the Abyss City.

He was an exceptionally gifted magician, with an incredible talent for magic since he was young. He had reached the pinnacle of magic at an age when most people would never even come close to achieving such a level.

But what interested him the most was chess.

At first, he taught himself how to play, but soon he realized that no one around him could match his skill. So, he set up a chess stall next to the palace. At that time, he didn’t have much money, so he promised that the person who won against him would receive a barrel of gold, while the loser would have to pay him a gold coin.

Gradually, he accumulated wealth and fame through chess, but no one dared challenge him anymore.

In order to find someone to play chess with, Alex had to change the rules of the game. He raised the stakes and added a reward of intelligence as part of the game.

Because of his innate magical affinity, goblins were drawn to him and became his spies. This allowed him to know all the information about the land.

However, for centuries, he had never lost.

Until that time, when he lost to Talli.

… No.

It should be said that he lost to the monarch and Talli. He was defeated twice.

Alex had a very high reputation in the Abyss, and he even had ways to acquire magical potions that, when consumed, could create an Abyssal barrier.

When Talli was about to leave, he crouched down and asked her to stay for one more game.

The two of them played for almost an hour, until finally, the game turned into a deadlock, with no winner.

“Alright.”

He sat in front of the chessboard, fiddling with the pieces, and looked up at Talli with squinted eyes. “I can’t stop you. I know you have more important things to do.”

He tilted his head, gesturing for her to look at where his chin pointed.

“On the table, there’s the potion I prepared, along with a healing potion for your wounds.”

Talli walked over, gathered them, and said quietly, “Thank you.”

She was already full of vitality, and with the effectiveness of the potions Alex gave her, what was supposed to take seven days for her to stand and walk, she was able to do in just three days.

She turned around, pushed open the door, and light poured in.

Then, a voice came from behind.

“Talli,”

The young man asked her, “Will you come back and finish this game with me?”

Talli answered, “Mm.”

She closed the door.

—

Dust filled the air in front of her.

Talli painfully fumbled for the scroll, searching for the potion Alex had given her inside. Just this simple action caused her so much pain that her heart seemed to tremble.

Talli guessed that she had broken several ribs. She couldn’t move carelessly, and it was best to remain in this position to avoid further harm, preventing her ribs from puncturing her organs.

She held her breath under the concealed dust, even coughing quietly, pressing her hand tightly over her mouth and nose, the smell of blood spreading in her palm.

The terrifying, towering figures of the magical beasts moved through the palace, patrolling the woods. Another magical beast flew in the air like a hawk, scouting the area.

Lightly, just a little more lightly.

Talli thought to herself, but then she noticed that one of the magical beasts had changed direction without her noticing and started running rapidly. The flying beast, as if caught by a flood, quickly fled the area, heading back toward the palace.

The ground trembled, leaves fell, and Talli’s scorched back hurt intensely. Her hand loosened, and the scroll rolled away with the vibrations.

“!!”

She had to force herself to prop up her body, reaching out to grab the scroll. It unfurled, and its contents spilled out, with the most noticeable item being the red rune.

She stretched out her arm with all her strength, holding her breath and enduring the pain.

But a slender, graceful hand reached the red rune faster than she could.

The young man leisurely picked it up and straightened up.

Talli looked up. The moment she saw the young man’s red eyes, her stomach churned, her vision blurred, her brain throbbed, her heart raced, and her ears rang. She clutched her head in agony with her other hand, yet still stubbornly held onto his boot.

“Please…”

Even though she was already in unbearable pain, her arm covered in bluish-purple veins and trembling violently, she still clung tightly to him, her knuckles turning white. “…Don’t take it… it belongs to my companion…”

Deritz let out an “Oh?”

He smiled gently and closed the Curse of Undeath rune into his palm. “But what should we do, then? I picked it up. That makes it mine.”

Talli suddenly felt a sharp burst of pain. She let out a strained, broken cry, clenched her teeth hard, and forced her sweat-drenched eyes open.

The toe of the young man’s boot stepped on her fingers, pressing down lightly on the soft fallen leaves and dirt.

“If you really want it that badly…”

He crouched down, gripped Talli’s pale chin, lifting her face up, and smiled coldly with hatred in his eyes:

“Then how about using yourself as collateral?”