Arthur froze, startled by the rare expression on the Demon Axe's face. "What is it?" he asked.
"Something's happening in the Abyss," the Demon Axe replied. "I can sense something invading Layer Seventy-Nine, and its influence is spreading rapidly. It's already indirectly affecting Layer Eighty."
As the Lord of Layer Eighty of the Abyss, even in his sealed state, the Demon Axe maintained a strong connection to his domain. Any major events occurring there would naturally come to his attention.
Arthur pondered for a moment. "So... what does this have to do with us?"
His logic was simple: whatever happened in the Abyss—even if it exploded—should have no impact on the Material Plane, right?
"No, it does concern us," the Demon Axe insisted. "I can clearly sense that this power originates from that Outer God... the one called the Mother of Flesh!"
As previously mentioned, the Pitch-Black Sea above the world and the Endless Abyss below were entirely distinct realms, with no connection between them.
Outer Gods dwell in their own realms, demons in theirs—theoretically, this should be the case.
But the Mother of Flesh has invaded countless other worlds. If she were to descend through these worlds into the Bottomless Abyss, reach a certain depth, and then ascend again...
Due to the Abyss's nature, she likely wouldn't return along the same path. Instead, she would likely emerge in another Material World.
Assuming this theory holds true, if the Mother of Flesh knew the coordinates of the Main World, she could ascend the Abyss against its currents, bypass the Barrier surrounding the world, and infiltrate the Material Plane from within.
The Mother of Flesh has coveted the Main World for ages, especially since the battle at the Floating City. During that clash, the Barrier momentarily shattered, allowing her to successfully obtain the Main World's coordinates.
Moreover, during the battle in the Northern Abyss, Tribios had used the Century Gate to "dump trash," sending all the poisonous gas to the Moon. While this caused significant damage and immense disruption to the Moon, it also revealed the existence of Abyss Layer Seventy-Nine to the Mother of Flesh.
With the lord of Layer Seventy-Nine dead, now was the weakest moment. A little effort would make invasion easy. The Demon Axe's ability to sense this proved that Layer Seventy-Nine had completely fallen, and the Mother of Flesh's power was already spreading, beginning to influence Layer Eighty.
If the layers were deeper, the Mother of Flesh's attempt to surge upward would undoubtedly be more challenging. The Archdevils were formidable beings. In Layers Three or Four Hundred, it would be uncertain whether the Outer Gods or the demons would prevail.
But in Layers Seventy-Nine and Eighty, the demons were no match for the Mother of Flesh. They could easily be corrupted, influenced, or even used as cannon fodder and sent to the Material Plane.
As these thoughts raced through the Demon Axe's mind, its eyes darted to Arthur. Deciding against further explanation, it simply said, "Just trust me, this is a grave and urgent matter. Go find Cerydra immediately!"
Arthur wasted no time. He immediately changed course, heading toward the Winter Palace at the heart of the Northern Territory Empire. Given his status, gaining an audience with Cerydra would be remarkably easy.
Though it was still quite early, Arthur waited in the reception room for about five or six minutes before hearing soft, padded footsteps approaching. Soon, Cerydra entered, yawning, clad in a blue pajama set, with a few stray strands of hair sticking up from her head.
The padded footsteps were due to the blue cotton slippers she wore. Her pajamas were loose-fitting, especially around the shoulders. It wouldn't have been surprising if they slipped off completely at any moment, revealing her pale shoulders and collarbone.
To put it bluntly, Cerydra in this state looked nothing like the supreme ruler of a vast empire, Her Majesty the Empress, revered by ten thousand subjects. Instead, she resembled an incredibly cute girl next door. Of course, she would never appear in public in such a state.
But Arthur was now one of her closest confidants, and he had requested an urgent audience to report on a matter of grave importance. Therefore, Cerydra had rushed over immediately after waking up.
"Ha~" She yawned again, then walked across the room to face Arthur. Grasping the edge of the raised chair, she gracefully vaulted onto it. Once seated, she looked at Arthur with her sapphire-like eyes, still sparkling with traces of water. Propping her chin in one hand, she casually asked, "What is it?"
Even Arthur, a hardened warrior, and the Demon Axe, a being beyond mortal comprehension, couldn't help but be charmed by the sight. After a moment, Arthur placed the Demon Axe on the table. "Go ahead, tell me."
"Ahem, right." The Demon Axe cleared its throat and proceeded to explain its theory in detail. As it spoke, Cerydra gradually shook off her drowsiness, her beautiful brows furrowing in concentration. "You mean the Mother of Flesh might launch an invasion of the Material World from the Abyss?"
The Demon Axe corrected her. "Not just the Mother of Flesh. Demons from the Shallow Layers of the Abyss—those below Layer Eighty—might join the fray. If that Outer God were to surge upward, I doubt it would spare those lesser demons."
After all, demons cannot die. They possess immense power and are notoriously dim-witted, making them the perfect thugs. This is precisely why many Wizards of the Conjuration School favored summoning demons to do their bidding.
But the moment this thought crossed her mind, Cerydra suddenly realized she needed to immediately notify Heinrich and instruct him to restrain all Conjuration School Wizards from summoning any more demons. Summoning a demon corrupted by an Outer God would be like letting the enemy march straight into your village.
Her tone gradually grew serious. "Do you have any countermeasures for this situation?"
The Demon Axe replied, "The only option is to venture deep into the Abyss and stop that creature from surging upward! If we sit here and wait, we'll end up facing both the Mother of Flesh and corrupted demons. But if we strike first, we'll only have to deal with the Mother of Flesh!"
"Don't worry. Even if that Outer God can extend its influence into the Abyss, it can't exert much power here. We won't have to confront its true form! Besides, if the battleground is the Eightieth Layer of the Abyss, that's my old stomping ground. We'll have the home-field advantage!"