"Hey! Aren't you going to see Stormterror?" the Cryo Abyss Mage asked curiously, seeing the Pyro Abyss Mage hesitating at the eye of the storm.
Stormterror and they had a good relationship, and Stormterror had already broken free from the Abyss's corrosion. Why was the Pyro Abyss Mage still hesitating?
The Pyro Abyss Mage stared intently at Stormterror, who was struggling within the Domain. It took a deep breath, gritted its teeth, and darted inside.
In its memory, the Abyss's corrosion was irreversible, yet Dvalin had now broken free from it. The Pyro Abyss Mage didn't know what price Dvalin had paid, or if he hadn't truly broken free from the Abyss's corrosion at all.
After all, it had never seen a creature completely corroded by the Abyss—Abyss Mages and Apostles didn't count.
The Pyro Abyss Mage teleported in front of Dvalin, but the latter showed no reaction. Dvalin's eyes were unfocused; his consciousness was still confronting Durin.
The Pyro Abyss Mage waited for a while, but Stormterror still didn't notice it. So, it cautiously spoke up:
"Storm… Stormterror?"
"Hmph—" The Pyro Abyss Mage's words pulled Dvalin back from his subconscious. Coming to his senses, Dvalin saw the Abyss Mage in front of him and let out a rough breath.
"I have a thought that I'm not so sure about," Dvalin said, looking at the Pyro Abyss Mage and extending his broken dragon claw.
A flash of green light appeared on it, revealing five solidified wind blades. The sharp aura emanating from them, even through its shield, sent a faint, stinging sensation to the Pyro Abyss Mage's face.
"I know what thought you're not sure about." The Pyro Abyss Mage nodded, not dodging Dvalin.
It wasn't its fault anyway; if anyone was going to die, it would definitely be Abyss Fire first.
"Speak!" Dvalin retracted his dragon claw and lay down on the shattered platform. He knew that a single Abyss Mage couldn't have caused his poisoned blood to erupt.
"Speak! Or you'll regret it!" Yu Jin appeared from nowhere, standing beside Dvalin and pointing at the Pyro Abyss Mage.
"???"
"???"
Both Dvalin and the Pyro Abyss Mage were startled. When did this guy show up?
"It's you, the one who always ruins our plans!" The Pyro Abyss Mage was not to be outdone, also pointing at Yu Jin and speaking fiercely.
Every time they executed their destructive plans, they would "coincidentally" see Yu Jin nearby.
Over time, the four of them had been beaten by Yu Jin countless times.
"Stealing eggs, snatching Hilichurl Slimes to block wells—do those require a plan?" Yu Jin remained skeptical that such simple actions needed planning.
"What do you know? Tricking The Order is very brain-intensive!" The Pyro Abyss Mage said angrily, looking at Yu Jin's nonchalant attitude.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Eh? How did you guys get here too?"
The silence lasted for a long time. The Pyro Abyss Mage looked around and found that its other companions had also arrived, all looking at it with regret.
Clearly, they had also heard its previous words.
"Have you betrayed The Order?" The Hydro Abyss Mage looked at the Pyro Abyss Mage, speaking with a pained expression.
"You should go. For the sake of our friendship, I won't attack you!" The Electro Abyss Mage said with a pained face, pointing towards the Domain exit.
"This… this isn't a betrayal, is it?" The Cryo Abyss Mage was clearly more rational. The Pyro Abyss Mage's actions could only be called slacking off, not betrayal, right?
And weren't the two of you the most active when slacking off?
"Is… is that so?"
"It seems my worries were unnecessary."
The Hydro Abyss Mage and the Electro Abyss Mage didn't think too much and immediately believed the Cryo Abyss Mage's statement. Their quick change caught both Yu Jin and Dvalin off guard.
They both looked at the Pyro Abyss Mage, their eyes clearly asking: Are all you Abyss Mages like this?
"Don't look at me like that! Only those two are like this!" The Pyro Abyss Mage decisively shook its head, cutting ties with the Hydro Abyss Mage and Electro Abyss Mage.
"It's all four of you," Dvalin added.
"Indeed." Yu Jin nodded in agreement. He completely agreed with Dvalin's statement.
"So, can you tell us why Dvalin just turned out like that?" After a conversation that could barely be called a greeting, Yu Jin got down to business.
Dvalin nodded upon hearing Yu Jin's words, his dragon eyes once again looking at the Abyss Mage below.
Now that he thought about it, that eruption of poisoned blood had many suspicious points.
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy with Yu Jin's question.
The Pyro Abyss Mage looked at Dvalin and Yu Jin, silent for a long time. Although it slacked off every day, and even leaked its superior's information to humans, the Pyro Abyss Mage never had any intention of betraying The Order.
Ultimately, The Order was its only home; only The Order would accept an Abyss Monster like it.
If it truly left The Order, it wouldn't just be universally despised; it would be loathed by everyone and everything.
"I cannot betray The Order." The Pyro Abyss Mage looked at Dvalin and Yu Jin. It regretted it now. It shouldn't have sought Dvalin for the sake of that so-called "transcending the Abyss."
"So, you're not willing to cooperate?" Yu Jin looked at the Pyro Abyss Mage, narrowing his eyes.
"Whoosh!" The howling wind grew louder, and swirling currents of air began to move around Dvalin's body.
The Pyro Abyss Mage lifted its head. It certainly couldn't defeat them. Lifting its head would at least make its death look a little better.
"Snap!" Yu Jin snapped his fingers, and then everyone saw a warm, yellow light shield envelop them.
Then, to the bewildered gazes of the Abyss Mages and Dvalin, everything within the Stormterror's Lair Domain began to reverse.
Platforms that had turned to dust reassembled, and shattered dragon claws reappeared—they even ran back to Dvalin's fingers on their own and grew back.
Time flowed normally within the light shield, but outside the light shield, time was rapidly reversing. The scene before them was a genuine miracle!
Silently, the warm, yellow light shield dissipated, and everything within the Domain returned to its original state.
Dvalin looked at his intact dragon claws, then at the several massive stone books in the distance.
They should have been destroyed in his madness, but now they had returned to the world.
Dvalin now felt exceptionally fortunate, fortunate that Yu Jin hadn't killed him before.
"Are you going to talk or not? If not, I'll send you straight back to your mother's womb!" Yu Jin looked at the stunned Abyss Mages, menacingly waving his fist.
Upon hearing Yu Jin's words, the four Abyss Mages suddenly shivered. Yu Jin's threat wasn't particularly vicious, but he could actually follow through!
If they were really sent back to their mother's womb, they would have nowhere to cry. But honestly, the Pyro Abyss Mage was quite curious to see how Abyss Mages were born.
It seemed all their companions in The Order just popped out of cracks in rocks. They appeared inexplicably and died inexplicably.
Shaking its head to clear away the jumbled thoughts, the Pyro Abyss Mage deliberated for a moment and said, "This isn't a betrayal, you all remember that!"
"Hurry up! So much nonsense!" Yu Jin impatiently tapped the Pyro Abyss Mage's head. Why was this guy so verbose?
"Stop hitting me, it hurts like hell!!!" The Pyro Abyss Mage covered its head and retreated. Then it said, "This isn't my fault, my superior did it!"
"When Dvalin first made contact with The Order, Abyss power was injected into his poisoned blood. Then The Order could use the Abyss's power to gradually corrode and subsequently control Dvalin!"
"I knew you guys had ulterior motives!" Dvalin snorted. He had long been prepared for The Abyss Order's impure intentions, but he never expected them to want to directly control him!
"Oh, quite an appetite." Yu Jin also said sarcastically. Dvalin's strength could rival a God, and The Abyss Order sent these few incompetent individuals to try and control Dvalin—they were quite greedy.
"Then, do you have any way to resolve the poisoned blood on my back?" Dvalin lowered his dragon head, revealing the much-dimmed clumps of poisoned blood on his back.
"No." This time, the Pyro Abyss Mage didn't dawdle, answering quickly.
This directly choked Dvalin. His dragon eyes were filled with disbelief, "Aren't you Abyss Monsters? You can't deal with this thing?"
"Do you know why I came to you first?"
"No."
"Because I'm also curious why you were able to break free from the Abyss's corrosion." The Pyro Abyss Mage said faintly, looking at the faint purple poisoned blood behind Dvalin.
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