After the small disturbance just now, the trio's formation remained unchanged.
Lumina was still in the middle, her left hand holding Herta's small hand, and her right hand holding Castorice's small hand. On her fair, exquisitely beautiful face hung a satisfied, happy, and gentle smile.
Nothing was more pleasing, joyful, and satisfying than holding a beautiful girl in each hand.
Ding, ding, ding~
However, this moment of happiness, joy, and satisfaction did not last long, quickly brought to an end by the sound of a ringing bell.
Following the direction of the ringing bell, both Lumina and Herta fixed their gazes on Castorice.
This was the bell ringing from the tablet on Castorice's person.
"Um... S-sorry."
"I... I need to check a message."
Even though Castorice already considered the two of them her very best friends, she still couldn't help but blush and feel a wave of embarrassment under Lumina and Herta's combined gaze.
With her head bowed, she took out the tablet, gestured an explanation, and began to quickly read the information within.
"This..."
After clearly seeing the message received on the tablet, Castorice's pupils shrank sharply. The blush and embarrassment instantly vanished, replaced by a serious, solemn expression on her face.
"Sister Castorice, has something happened?"
Seeing the change in Castorice, Lumina's smile faded as she asked, "What is it, Castorice?"
"Teacher Tribbie... she's missing," Castorice replied, her voice heavy with worry and gravity.
After the death of the Titan of Strife, the danger outside Okhema City had surged.
Coupled with what they encountered in The Grove, Castorice had a sudden, inexplicable premonition.
She felt that Teacher Tribbie and the others... might have been attacked by that Flame Reaver!
Otherwise, with Teacher Tribbie's strength, it would be impossible for her to lose contact.
No, no, Teacher Tribbie...
The more Castorice thought about it, the more panicked she became.
They had to find Teacher Tribbie quickly; she couldn't let her be in danger.
Before Castorice could descend further into panic, a warm aura flowed through her palm, instantly soothing much of her distress.
"Don't worry, Little Sister Castorice. Where was Tribbie last seen before she went missing?"
Looking up, she saw Sister Lumina's heart-healing smile.
Bathed in that smile for a moment, Castorice quickly regained her composure.
The panic had completely vanished from her face, leaving only an expression of utter seriousness and focus.
Nodding softly, Castorice glanced down at the tablet again, reading the message sent by Lady Aglaea.
After finishing the message, Castorice put away the tablet and looked up at Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta.
"It's in the Abyss of Fate!"
-
Amphoreus, Abyss of Fate.
Led by Lumina, the three arrived at the Abyss of Fate almost instantly.
"So... so impressive."
The sudden transition left Castorice's already cute and dazed little face looking even more adorable.
Staring at the Abyss of Fate before her, her mouth formed an "o," her entire being seemingly awestruck by the "divine power" Lumina had just displayed, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
Too impressive... It was the kind of power she couldn't even imagine.
Even when writing novels, she could never have conceived of something this incredible...
One second, she was holding Sister Lumina's hand, walking the streets of Okhema. The next, her vision blurred, and she found herself standing in the Abyss of Fate, some distance away from the city.
If this hadn't happened right before her eyes, she would have thought it was a complete fantasy.
"I can do even more impressive things." Seeing Castorice's face frozen in a daze, looking utterly clueless and adorable, Lumina felt her heart melt.
She lightly snorted as she felt Herta's silent, exasperated gaze directed at her. Before Castorice or Herta could speak, Lumina continued, "Alright, let's not forget our current objective."
"We came for Tribbie. Let's not waste any more time."
"Mm-hmm, Sister Lumina is right." Hearing this, Castorice finally snapped out of her daze from Lumina's divine power.
She stopped dwelling on the matter, her expression turning serious.
The most urgent priority was Teacher Tribbie's safety.
Realizing this, Castorice looked around, and after a quick observation, she rested her chin on her hand and thought:
"Hmm... We know she's in the Abyss of Fate."
"But this place is so huge. If we just fly around like headless chickens, it'll take forever to find her."
"Yes, that's true." Lumina nodded, then turned her gaze to Herta, gesturing with her hand. "Does Madam Herta have any clever ideas?"
"..." Herta rolled her eyes, forced to admit that Lumina's acting was indeed quite good.
Clever ideas? The best idea would be to simply and directly scan the entire Abyss of Fate with Path power.
If she did that, they wouldn't just find Tribbie; they could pinpoint the exact location of a single grain of dust.
But since Lumina wanted to put on a performance, Herta would play along.
Pretending to think for a moment, Herta offered her "clever idea": "First, we need to figure something out."
"Is there anything in this dump of a place, the Abyss of Fate, that could attract a [Passage] Demigod?"
Observing Lumina's expression, Herta noticed she didn't seem worried about Tribbie's disappearance at all.
That surely meant she had left some power on Tribbie to keep her safe.
If that were the case, Herta didn't need to rush.
If Lumina wanted to play, she would play along.
"Something that could attract a [Passage] Demigod?" Hearing Herta's words, Castorice seemed to have an answer and muttered something.
"Sister Castorice, did you think of something?" Hearing Castorice's mutter, Lumina asked with a smile.
"Yes." Castorice nodded and said softly, "The Abyss of Fate is the location of the [Time] Titan. Teacher Tribbie and her group should have gone to find the [Time] Titan."
"Let's go check the [Time] Titan's place first. We might find some traces there."
What Big Sister Herta said just now was true. The Abyss of Fate was no longer as glorious as it once was.
Now it was just a dump. Normally, no one would ever come here.
All the precious things had long since been moved into Okhema.
If someone had come here, the only answer would be the [Time] Titan.
However...
"Could that Flame Reaver be here too?"
Castorice muttered softly, feeling a bit anxious.
The Flame Reaver was the name everyone had given him back in the Grove.
Because he had come for the Coreflame.
If he had come for the Coreflame...
Then that would mean.
He was very likely right here.
The [Time] Titan must have also met with misfortune, could it be?
"Alright, don't overthink it. Aren't I right here?"
"If that Flame Reaver is in the Abyss of Fate, we'll just cut him up along the way."
Lumina reached out, patted her head, and softly comforted Castorice.
"Mm-hmm." Hearing Lumina's words, the weight on Castorice's heart also lifted a little.
Although Castorice didn't know the Flame Reaver's exact strength, she had absolute faith in Sister Lumina's power.
One step, ten thousand miles. One moment they were in Okhema, and the next, Lumina had brought her here to the Abyss of Fate.
Even a Titan would be completely unable to perform such a feat, wouldn't they?
"Alright, let's not waste any more time. Let's hurry to the [Time] Titan's location and take a look."
Ending the small talk, Lumina gestured to Castorice to lead the way.
"I don't know where the [Time] Titan is located, so I can't teleport us directly there."
Though Castorice hadn't asked, Lumina still offered a brief explanation.
"We came to the Abyss of Fate when we first entered Okhema, so I could bring you all here directly from Okhema."
"Mm-hmm, I understand." Knowing Sister Lumina was speaking to her, Castorice nodded, her face showing nothing but admiration for Lumina, with no other displeased expressions.
Whatever Sister Lumina did was her own business. Castorice would not, and could not, try to "morally kidnap" her. Besides, in Castorice's eyes, instantaneous teleportation was a fairy tale, a Divine Miracle.
Even if this ability came with some cost and limitations, it would still be perfectly normal.
Without further chatter, the group soon followed Castorice's lead, heading toward the [Time] Titan's location.
Along the way, as she watched Castorice leading them forward, Herta leaned in and whispered curiously into Lumina's ear: "Hey, Lumina, I'm curious."
"From the first time you encountered a beautiful girl until now, how many lies have you told in total?"
Based on how Lumina blurted out a lie the moment she saw the beautiful girl, Herta was extremely curious.
Such a practiced technique had to be the result of numerous "trials."
"I don't know, too many, I lost count."
Facing Herta's question, Lumina, for once, did not lie.
"..."
Hearing this answer, Herta immediately fell silent.
Although this was the outcome Herta expected, she never thought Lumina would actually tell her the truth.
Rather than Lumina's honest answer, Herta wished she had used a lie to deceive her.
That way, her "fantasies" could at least be fueled.
For example, the fantasy that Lumina was actually an innocent... a little girl who never liked to lie.
Herta thought so, her mood immediately taking a turn for the worse.
Fortunately, thanks to her strong mental fortitude, Herta quickly pulled herself together.
Hadn't she been with Lumina for so long now? How could she not have gotten used to this by now?
With that thought, Herta stopped dwelling on the matter and quietly watched Castorice ahead of them.
"What's wrong? Disappointed in my answer?"
"Want me to give you a different one?"
Lumina had caught every flicker of emotion and change in expression on Herta's face.
Seeing this, Lumina chuckled softly and asked.
If Herta wanted to hear sweet words, things that would make her happy, Lumina could certainly indulge her.
It was just a matter of speaking.
"No, I'm quite satisfied."
"I prefer your honest answer."
Facing Lumina's words, Herta told a lie.
If Lumina could lie, then Herta certainly could too.
As a genius, Herta had always disdained lying because it was pointless.
But Lumina was different.
When dealing with Lumina, lying was a strategy.
A means to achieve victory.
"Hehe." Lumina seemed to see right through Herta's body into her soul.
She chuckled softly, saying no more.
She followed quietly behind Castorice, waiting for the next "act" to begin.
-
"Are these... signs of battle?!"
Abyss of Fate, the location of the Time Titan.
Arriving here, everyone saw a pitch-black, empty space, and signs of a desperate battle scattered all over the ground.
After seeing these signs of battle, Castorice kept looking left and right, searching for the figures of Tribbie and the others.
But in the end, she found nothing at all.
"Titan, Titan, Titan!"
Seeing this scene, Castorice first called out a few times into the pitch-black space, wanting to receive a response from the Titan.
"..."
But besides a series of echoes, no other sound rang out.
"Could it be... that the Titan and Teacher Tribbie and the others have all met with disaster?"
In her heart, Castorice immediately began to imagine the worst possible outcome.
For a moment, Castorice's small face instantly turned deathly pale.
This was the worst outcome, and also the outcome Castorice was most unwilling to accept.
"Hah... hah..."
But soon, this state did not last long, and Castorice quickly recovered from it.
Her small face gradually returned to its normal color from its deathly paleness.
"Let's look for other traces." Lumina walked over to Castorice, patted her shoulder, and signaled.
"Mm." Castorice nodded, crouched down, and began searching for clues on the ground around them.
"It's a Flame Reaver."
After a short while, Castorice found a piece of torn black fabric on the ground.
This was fabric from a Flame Reaver's Black Robe.
Upon reaching this conclusion, anxiety and worry resurfaced on her face.
As she continued her search, Castorice still held onto a sliver of hope.
What if Teacher Tribbie wasn't the one who fought the Flame Reaver?
Hmm... but if that were the case, it wouldn't seem to be a good thing either.
After all, a mysterious expert appearing out of nowhere...
"A fierce battle must have taken place here?"
After a moment, Castorice announced a conclusion, though she sounded somewhat uncertain.
The traces of the battle were fierce, and both sides should have been in a situation of evenly matched strength, where neither could defeat the other.
Since that was the case, this shouldn't have much to do with Teacher Tribbie and the others, right?
Although Teacher Tribbie was a Demigod, her combat strength wasn't very high.
Castorice had also personally experienced the combat strength of a Flame Reaver, so Teacher Tribbie and her group couldn't possibly have fought one to a stalemate.
"Little Sister Castorice, come here and take a look."
Before Castorice could think any further, Lumina's voice snapped her back to reality.
"Mm, I'm coming." Since it wasn't Teacher Tribbie, Castorice also felt a slight sense of relief.
After responding, she stood up and walked toward Sister Lumina's location.
"Little Sister Castorice, do you recognize this aura?"
Once Castorice arrived, Lumina pointed to the aura remaining on the floor ahead and asked her.
"This is..."
Castorice looked in the direction Lumina pointed, and feeling the familiar aura, she froze completely.
"The aura of the Century Gate..."