Chapter 534: Worry
Witte’s magical nature was Negative Energy, an essence colder than extreme frost. The pure Negative Energy forged frost-like armor and countless weapons, raining down like a torrential storm.
Arno acted like a petrel caught in the downpour, fearlessly dodging the strikes and launching nimble, lightning-fast counterattacks. Commanded by hatred, the Abyss Knights’ power of the seven deadly sins became almost impossible to resist.
Witte gradually realized Arno’s terrifying nature. This materialized hatred felt like a sudden burst of hidden power; just when it seemed Arno would lose, his strength proved far from its limit. The power of sin transformed into a Heart Force cloak. Wrapped in dark red energy, he morphed into a massive dark red griffin.
Sweeping past the charging Abyss Knights, the griffin engulfed the pegasus-riding warriors. A torrent of sin formed by thousands of knights funneled its strength into Arno at the vanguard.
“By my sins, and the sins of all, I protect my light. Face the abyss, become the abyss, defeat the abyss!”
A thousand knights whispered the vow, repeating it until their voices swelled with fierce momentum.
This chant seemingly triggered a hidden power. In the Underworld, Ace noticed the entire realm destabilizing and boiling. Wisps of sin-laden power converged on Arno. The petrel had evolved into a griffin, tearing through the violent storm.
Witte desperately manipulated his myriad Negative Energy weapons. Acting like a lodestone, he magnetically pulled the iron-like weapons to himself, letting them crash into his body. Skeletons on the ground scrambled toward him, sucked into the air as they drew near. A massive skeletal sphere of Negative Energy visibly formed.
With unstoppable momentum, the dark red griffin slammed into the giant skeletal sphere.
Boom!
The sphere shattered, revealing a giant constructed from countless bones. Despite its skeletal form, the giant moved with uncanny agility, quickly locking the griffin in close combat.
They fought for an indiscernible amount of time while the sun crystal dimmed and brightened repeatedly. Ollie, who had been watching the battle, suddenly flew up and shouted.
“You two have fought for almost three days and nights without a winner. Why not cooperate? If you’re meant to be a natural disaster, why can there be only one?”
Hearing Ollie, Arno kicked the bone giant away. The dark red griffin swooped down to catch her in his arms.
“Why did you run out here?” he asked worriedly. “What if you got hurt?”
Ollie held his waist sweetly and whispered, “I won’t, not with you here.”
Lich King Witte had lost his desire to fight long ago. If not for his goal of achieving legendary status, he would have preferred finding a quiet corner to study stitching better monsters together. Controlling the giant, he hummed coldly, “The Abyss Knights make worthy allies, but do you speak for them?”
Arno declared immediately, “Ollie’s will is my will. Let’s join forces!”
The bone giant nodded. Suddenly, a status panel popped up for both of them: 【Unimagined Path: Cooperation. There is more than one Scourge. Let us bring purification to the world together!】
Witte paused in surprise before clicking confirm. A peculiar power enveloped him and Arno. The bone giant and the dark red griffin dissolved autonomously. The two men finally stood face to face, a bone claw gripping a flesh hand.
A month later, in Bernada.
Augustin had worked tirelessly for a month without finding a single clue. His attendant suddenly noted, “This strongly resembles the Underworld from the blue-blood myths.”
Under the reign of the God of Dreams and the Magic Net, blue-bloods no longer faced persecution. Prompted by Augustin’s questioning, the attendant admitted he heard the myth from his mother.
Augustin personally visited the attendant’s home. The mother was a shrewd, capable middle-aged woman dressed in simple but high-quality fabrics. Well-maintained, she looked in her early thirties despite being over forty.
Since Augustin traveled incognito, the attendant whispered a warning to his mother. She composed herself, invited the Emperor inside, closed the door, and offered a formal half-kneeling aristocratic greeting.
Augustin had planned to ask about the myths directly, but her flawless etiquette gave him pause.
“No wonder Talon is always so well-mannered. Seeing his mother explains everything! Please, dispense with the formalities,” he said. “Your demeanor suggests a noble upbringing, though I recall blue-bloods were taboo among nobles before the Empire.”
The woman stood and smiled. “Your Majesty is perceptive. We thank the True God for letting us see the light of day. I actually worked alongside Her Majesty the Holy Empress for several years at St. Klan Cathedral. My mother had blue-blood heritage, chosen by my noble father for her beauty. She shared many blue-blood myths with me during my childhood.”
Surprised, Augustin bowed respectfully before asking about the myths. “When did you work with my mother? I haven’t even asked your name.”
The woman waved a hand, reminiscing. “My name is Lisa. When Lord Klan founded the church back then—I served as an officiating nun.”
The name felt familiar. “Are you the Deacon Lisa my mother often mentioned?” Augustin asked. “She learned so much about governance from you in the old streets. When she tried to find you later, you had disappeared.”
Lisa smiled, nostalgically recalling the night she was rescued under the moonlight. “When Lord Klan was sanctified, I felt heartbroken and left the capital to run a business in the south. By the Lord’s grace, I earned enough to return and retire.”
After sharing a few sighs over the past, Augustin finally asked his questions.
Studying the scenery depicted by the painters, Lisa spoke uncertainly. “In our myths, the blue-blood giant created the world, dividing it into Heaven, the Human Realm, and the Underworld. When the giant passed the gap between the Underworld and the Human Realm, thick fog blanketed the area. The illusions in your dreams and the crystal ball strongly resemble that In-Between Place.”
Augustin nodded. “It’s entirely possible. Do you have more details about this gap?”
Lisa thought for a moment. “The Human Realm includes the Surface World and the Crypt World. To reach the Underworld, one must travel through the Crypt World, which acts as a blue-blood reservation. Since Your Majesty, the Son of God, is willing to protect us, I can help you find a passage to the underground.”
Augustin rejoiced. Still harboring a youthful spirit, he had always heard rumors of a deep underground world. Lisa’s absolute certainty convinced him of its truth.
As an awakened blue-blood, Lisa knew others of her kind. Within days, Augustin met a long-bearded old man who inexplicably reminded him of Mentor Bayen. Eager to impress the Emperor, the old man practically leaped at the opportunity. He babbled endless gratitude for the rule of Augustin and his mother, subtly hinting for royal favor.
Augustin laughed dismissively. As long as the man delivered, money or a cushy position posed no issue.
It turned out the old man wanted a royal attendant position for his young grandson. Augustin agreed readily; his entourage already swelled with nobles’ children, so one more made no difference. Won over by the old man’s excellent flattery, the Emperor even met the boy personally.
After learning the blue-blood customs from the old man, Augustin brought Talon to the elder’s home. They entered a uniquely styled secret room.
Augustin feared no traps. Confident in his strength as the Son of God, his youthful power already rivaled his mother’s, making him a Level 2 Life. This matched angelic strength from the past, fueling his courage to act recklessly anywhere.
The old man Lisa found proved reliable. He danced, spilled blood, and drew symbols until a ball of blue light materialized on the wall.
“Your Majesty, stepping into that light takes you to the Crypt World,” the old man said respectfully. “Take this black stone as my personal seal. My clansmen will assist you if you carry it. I will guard the door here. It will open automatically when you approach with the seal, but please do not exceed three months.”
Augustin took the seal and stepped through the light with Talon. The world spun, and the scenery shifted drastically. Looking around, their faces paled.
“This isn’t what the old man described! There’s no altar or town—it’s just ruins!” Talon said, checking the area.
Augustin frowned, inspecting the rubble. “It smells of rot, yet there are no corpses. This is far too strange. What happened here? An entire town turned to ruins, and everyone vanished.”
Talon said anxiously, “Your Majesty, a whole town becoming like this is bizarre. I fear something terrible happened underground.”
Augustin nodded. “Didn’t your mother give you a map? Let’s search the area. Time is tight. Regardless of what happened, I feel an unseen force urging me to find that place quickly. Let’s move.”
Ending their chat, they left markers and departed. As Augustin walked away with the seal, the light vanished. They visited several locations, finding only baffling devastation.
“Your Majesty, the largest city nearby, Moore City, is just ahead. If it’s also…” Talon trailed off.
He spotted the hills swarming with walking corpses and skeletons. The skeletons’ eyes glowed with an eerie, terrifying blue light.
“What is this? What on earth happened to the Crypt World!” Augustin nearly yelled.
They tried to bypass the horde quietly but were discovered and chased. Augustin alone could have escaped easily. However, to protect the weaker Talon, he expended immense effort to secure their getaway.
After a skirmish, Augustin gauged the monsters’ capabilities.
“These strange things vary in strength, for some reason. Their primary weakness is the head—specifically that blue flame. Now we know why we didn’t find corpses; they all turned into these monsters.”
Talon summarized between pants. Ashamed, he added, “I’m dragging you down, Your Majesty. I’m too weak to help.”
Augustin laughed it off. “Leave the fighting to me and handle the rest. We don’t have much time. Head west and don’t look back.”
Along the way, they encountered more walking corpses and active skeletons. Occasionally, they met survivors and witnessed their horrifying transformation into monsters known as the Undead.
“The Lich King… the Lich King came, and everything changed. Homes are gone, people are gone…”
They caught fragments of speech but failed to grasp the full picture. The Crypt World’s upheaval was staggering; nearly the entire realm had perished. The survivors had gone mad, babbling incoherently.
Augustin’s expression darkened. He sensed the deep wrongness of the situation. Civilization here had completely collapsed. If this Lich King orchestrated this destruction, he likely wouldn’t confine himself to these gloomy caves. If his forces found a way to invade the surface en masse…
The more Augustin thought, the more anxious he grew, quickening his pace.
Three months later, having failed to reach the legendary In-Between Place, Augustin yielded to Talon’s pleas and returned to the surface. He informed Yamila of the underground catastrophe. Yamila summoned several awakened blue-bloods from the surface for a secret ritual, teleporting Augustin directly to a town near the In-Between Place.
There, Augustin parted ways with the others. Yamila dispatched an elite team to investigate the underground anomaly concurrently with his mission.
Augustin felt the unseen urging grow increasingly frantic. He hurried forward into the thick fog, a landscape mirroring his dreams perfectly.
Observing from the Underworld, Ace watched the actors take the stage. Everyone had begun their performance. He just needed to wait quietly. He had placed a Noble Phantasm in the In-Between Place to serve as the hub for this act of destiny.
“The Holy Light hasn’t reacted yet, which makes me very uneasy. Before the grand curtain rises on the surface, I must check Mount Celestia. I won’t have peace of mind otherwise.”
Ever since his body achieved sanctification, Ace’s state had completely stabilized. He had long comprehended the True Spirit. The fusion of flesh and spirit—the ultimate hurdle for others—was effortless for him.
Though his Mental Imagery World had not yet materialized to project a Demi-Plane, Ace could temporarily merge the thirteen epic stellar Noble Phantasms with the epic Gravity Torsion Balance Noble Phantasm to form the quasi-divine artifact, the Calamity Sword. That would suffice.
Driven by his lingering concern, Ace decided to spy on Mount Celestia.
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