"How did this place get corroded too?"
Entering the secret passage from the side of the upside-down statue, the two were met with a corroded floor. This made Paimon somewhat dejected; it was truly like being caught between a rock and a hard place.
Unlike Paimon's panic, Lumine's face was very calm. She knew that the more dangerous the situation, the calmer she needed to be.
Watching the ground behind her gradually being corroded away, Lumine stepped forward, treading on the floor that had just begun to glow purple.
"Hiss—"
Lifting her foot, Lumine saw a charred mark on what should have been her white shoe sole.
"Paimon, follow me, we can go this way!" After feeling the height difference with her feet on the ground, Lumine nodded. If they were quick, it would be no problem at all!
"Bang!"
With that, Lumine stomped hard on the ground and blurred into a figure rushing forward.
"Woah, wait for me!" Paimon, seeing this, cried out in a panic a few times before following suit.
His speed was somewhat inconsistent with his strength, which was only a fifth of a wild boar's.
The wind whistled past Lumine's ears, and all that remained in his vision was a blurry purple. Only the faint sticky sensation under his feet told Lumine that he had not yet escaped danger.
"Boom!"
Lumine's sprinting figure suddenly paused. Looking down, he was startled to find himself airborne, and beneath him was a bottomless Abyss—the ground had collapsed.
"You want to keep me here? Not that easy!" Lumine quickly reacted, and her clothes suddenly began to flutter wildly.
The biting wind immediately overpowered the sound of the corroding ground, and a vortex of wind appeared beneath Lumine's feet. Strong updrafts surged from the vortex, abruptly halting her downward momentum.
"Whoosh!"
A pair of wings unfurled from behind Lumine; it was the Wind Glider Amber had given him.
"You scared me to death! I thought you were going to fall!" Besides the immobile Wind Glider, Lumine also had a mobile Wind Glider.
Paimon held tightly onto Lumine, pulling him up.
With the help of Paimon and the Wind Glider, Lumine flew over the section formed by the collapse and returned to solid ground.
"Clatter!"
Stepping onto the ground, Lumine immediately noticed a difference. Here… the degree of corrosion seemed much less severe.
Looking at the new gate standing ahead, Lumine immediately ran towards it.
Such gates are common in Domains; they are not mechanisms but merely serve to divide areas.
Upon detecting someone approaching, the tightly shut gate automatically opened, revealing a pristine open space within.
"Rumble!"
The open gate closed, and the unremarkable stone door seemed to possess infinite power, as the encroaching purple automatically halted its advance before the gate.
"Phew… looks like we're safe for now." Lumine looked back at the closed gate, panting and smiling.
As he spoke, he also raised his palm.
"Slap!"
Paimon's small hand met Lumine's palm with a crisp clap. Then he climbed onto Lumine's back.
"Let… let me rest for a bit, I'm… I'm dying." Paimon's face was drooping, looking half-dead.
To keep up with Lumine's pace, he had used all his might, and he definitely wouldn't recover without three big meals.
"You who come here, you who gaze upon it. The mysteries of the Abyss cannot be gazed upon."
"Pay the price, rash one."
A hoarse voice echoed in the small space, like a demon from an unknown place, instilling fear in people.
As soon as the words fell, a wormhole formed by starlight appeared before Lumine's eyes.
Then, a tall figure emerged from it.
The dark blue robe, the ferocious mask with two horns, the deep eyes, the bulging muscles… all spoke of the non-human being's power and distortion.
"—Punishment, descended by the Apostle!" The Abyss Herald roared, revealing the twin blades on his arms.
"Hide!" Lumine's pupils constricted slightly. He hadn't expected the Abyss Herald he had been searching for so long to appear here.
Lumine threw Paimon far away with a single motion, then took a step back, creating distance from the Abyss Herald.
He re-raised the dull sword he had just put away, and swirling storms began to churn around him, with blade-like wind currents circling nearby.
The Abyss Herald glanced at Paimon, who was dizzy from falling on the ground, and then ignored him.
A flying trinket, without much strength; it would be better to deal with this imposing fellow first.
The twin blades on the Abyss Herald's arms converged with Hydro element, with a rapid flow of water forming a shimmering, flowing barrier.
Both maintained a certain distance, not making any rash moves. Lumine was seeing an Abyss Herald for the first time and was unclear about the monster's capabilities.
The Abyss Herald, on the other hand, sensed the potent aura emanating from Lumine and was trying to find Lumine's weakness, hoping to defeat him easily.
"Abyss Herald? Let me test its strength!" Perhaps it was due to being repeatedly tricked in the Domain earlier, leaving him frustrated, or perhaps it was confidence in his own strength, but Lumine made the first move.
He suddenly stepped forward, wielding the dull sword in his hand, and the wind howled in response, with wind blades shooting like arrows towards the Abyss Herald.
Facing this Abyss Monster he had never seen before, Lumine dared not hold back, going all out from the start, completely devoid of the gentleness he showed during his previous skirmishes.
The Abyss Herald smirked coldly, crossing its twin blades, and the water currents converged into waves. With a swing of its arms, Lumine's incoming wind blades were shattered one by one.
Then, with a backhand swing, the water transformed into two intersecting "cross" shaped blades, rushing towards Lumine like a cascading waterfall.
Where the blades passed, two smooth incisions were left. Although the blades were made of water, they were many times sharper than ordinary swords.
"Starfall!" Lumine exclaimed brightly, raising his free arm, and a massive, solid Geo construct rose, blocking the blades' path.
"Crack… Bang!"
The blades slammed into the Starfall, instantly shattering the bedrock, which was as thick as a person.
"Dual elements?!"
A hint of surprise appeared in the Abyss Herald's eyes beneath its mask. Affected by this, its subsequent movements slowed by a few beats.
"Good opportunity!"
A flicker of joy flashed in Lumine's eyes. He swung the sword in his hand, frantically urging the surrounding Anemo Elemental power.
From the unremarkable dull sword, an unremarkable wind vortex was unleashed. But in just an instant, this wind vortex became extraordinary.
The wind vortex swirled the surrounding elemental power, and the wind's path seemed to be controlled, gathering relentlessly into the vortex.
At the same time, a storm suddenly erupted.
In a few blinks, a tornado completed its transformation from small to large, from weak to strong, forming a storm that engulfed everything.
The tornado swept towards the Abyss Herald. In haste, the Abyss Herald could only cross its arms and teleport.
"Whoosh!"
The raging storm cut through everything—wooden planks, rubble, even the floorboards that were blown up. Anything sucked into the tornado was instantly reduced to dust.
"This power… it feels familiar." The twin blades on the Abyss Herald's arm gradually dimmed. He stared at the distant Lumine, deep in thought.
"Hmm… I see, you are… that one!" The Abyss Herald looked at the wary Lumine and suddenly understood something.
Isn't this the princess who has been exiled? If so, there's no need to continue fighting.
"It seems I shouldn't linger." Having understood, the Abyss Herald opened the Abyss Passage, looking as if it wanted to escape.
Lumine tried to stop him, but suddenly felt a violent wind pressure from above.
It was as if a giant hand was trying to press him to the ground.
"Whoosh—"
The howling of the wind grew from small to large, soon filling the entire space. Accompanying the arrival of the wind, the already dim environment of the Domain grew even darker.
"What… what is that?"
Paimon in the distance looked up, his eyes widening instantly.
"Oh no! A meteor is falling underground!"
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"