The hell—do you want me to save you, or kill you?!
Edward had just been about to end the summoning and return to the Sefirah Castle when he saw the monster's enormous body suddenly jerk to a halt, as though blocked by some invisible barrier, unable to advance any further. Whatever the reason, it couldn't leave the boundary of the Abyss.
There it thrashed madly within the tar-like "seawater," stretching its distorted arms again and again in his direction.
Edward tossed a coin to divine its condition. After confirming that it posed no immediate threat, he flickered forward with a [Blink], stopping in midair more than ten meters away, facing the creature eye-to-eye across the void.
The demon, corrupted by the Mother Tree of Desire, made no attempt to hide its ravenous greed toward him. Yet its current state was so deteriorated that, aside from pure instinct, there was no trace of rational thought left.
Edward suddenly recalled what Amon had once said to Klein in the original story:
"When you go to the Abyss, you're like a beautifully wrapped gift, voluntarily delivered into the hands of those who crave it."
The "you" Amon referred to wasn't just Klein—it applied to every Lord of the Sefirah Castle.
No wonder, Edward thought, Roselle wandered around here and found nothing, while I've been here barely a few minutes and already stirred up such a scene. Don't tell me this demon…is the Devil Monarch, Farbauti?
Feeling the endless waves of corruption washing over him—whether from the Mother Tree of Desire or the demon itself—Edward contemplated for a moment, then asked, "Hey, can you understand me?"
"ROAR!!"
The only reply was a deafening, furious bellow.
"The Mother Tree of Desire? Farbauti?"
Edward mulled it over and continued, "Alright, let's say you're the Mother Tree of Desire. Maybe stop obsessing over Earth for a moment—because the Mother Goddess of Depravity's busy stealing your home while you are busy here!"
"Doesn't matter whether you're controlling Farbauti or just making the Chained God wreak havoc—in the end, you're just stirring the pot while all the benefits go to the Mother Goddess of Depravity! If I were you, I'd deal with Her first. Kill Her, and then take Earth for yourself—wouldn't that be perfect?"
Edward rambled on nonsense, purely to buy time as he used [Deconstruction] to analyse the demon—possibly Farbauti Himself. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to safely deconstruct the aura of a god, maybe even an Outer Deity.
"I heard you were the first to claim the Moon, only to have the Fallen Mother Goddess snatch it away afterwards. How could you stand for that? If it were me, I'd have taken it back, kicked Her out, avenged myself, and shown off my dominance. That'd scare the other Outer Gods into line!"
"You'd have your revenge and look cool doing it. Maybe even scare the others into obedience—boom, instant Outer God leader! Work together, smash the barriers—it's practically a guaranteed win!"
"Back in my day, that's exactly how I became the boss of my kindergarten. One word from me, and everyone obeyed—even the teacher had to show me some respect!"
He wagged his finger sagely. "You Outer Gods—each one stronger than the last, sure, but your IQs? Honestly, you're worse than preschoolers. You stir up chaos left and right, but none of you could outwit me at age five.
"Take that so-called Son of Chaos—tricked by Old Celestial Worthy into becoming a genie in a lamp! Pathetic and laughable!
"And that other one—"
Before he could finish, the towering demon slammed one massive hand into the sea, sending waves and viscous fluid crashing upward. With the other, it swiped at Edward in fury.
"ENOUGH!!" it bellowed. "SHUT UP!!"
The very next instant, Edward's spirituality shuddered violently. Without hesitation, he invoked [Hearth], teleporting to his predetermined coordinate at Calderón City.
He waited calmly for half a minute, ensuring no anomalies had followed him, then prepared to roam back to the Abyss—only to realise his wand was gone.
Was it taken by another spirit-world creature? Or by this era's Phoenix?
No…ordinary spirit creatures couldn't survive here; the tributaries of the River of Eternal Darkness would corrode them instantly.
Then it really might be Phoenix…
Edward immediately flicked a coin, divining: "The one who took the wand is Phoenix."
The coin slipped from his fingers—and the divination failed. Perhaps there was too little information, or perhaps the River's influence interfered.
"Forget it…That Phoenix doesn't even know me in this timeline. We'll meet again in the future."
With that thought, he roamed back into the Abyss—but the demon was gone, leaving behind only chaos and wreckage.
"Damn it…The deconstruction wasn't even finished."
Edward sighed in regret. He considered venturing deeper to lure it out again, but the very moment the thought took form, his spirituality convulsed violently, screaming in protest:
Don't you dare. Do. Not. Court. Death.
"Fine, I'll come back and try again later."
As Edward turned around, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
The monstrous mountain in the distance—now bore five enormous gashes, each several hundred meters tall, cutting deep into its core. Within those jagged openings, space itself had been torn apart; chaotic spatial currents charged with annihilating power spewed violently from the rifts, like the breath of destruction itself.
"Good thing I dodged when I did," Edward muttered under his breath, before his figure blurred and vanished. The next instant, he reappeared on the opposite side of the mountain, near where the black sailboat was docked.
"Quick! Pull back—now!"
Roselle's voice rang out sharply. He gripped a pendant shaped like the Holy Radiance symbol of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, pouring all his spirituality into it. A translucent barrier unfurled, enveloping the entire ship.
Meanwhile, under the command of the four knights, the crew were firing rifles and cannons frantically into the sea. The roar of explosions was relentless.
"What are those…"
All around the Black King, countless demons were clinging to the hull. Most were maimed—missing limbs, eroded into skeletal husks—yet each moved with crazed vitality, as though injected with pure frenzy.
They were corpses.
Corpses that had been soaking in the abyssal waters.
"Have they been 'resurrected' under the influence of that demon's aura?"
Edward took a step forward, his body flickering several times as multiple illusory gates opened around the Black King, enclosing the ship in their shimmering frames. His eyes gleamed with argent lightning.
A sharp crackling sound filled the air. Arcs of silver thunder leapt out of nothingness, weaving together into a storm thick with destructive energy.
Seeing the sky blaze with devastating lightning, Roselle's knees almost buckled. His face turned pale as death, and one thought screamed through his mind:
"I'm really done for this time!"
BOOM!
Every bolt of lightning struck at once, devouring the surrounding sea in a blinding deluge of light. The world turned pure white—every sound vanished, leaving behind a silence so absolute it felt as though reality itself had ceased to exist.
No one knew how long it lasted.
Roselle groaned as he rubbed his dazzled eyes, climbing shakily to his feet. After a brief moment of dazed confusion, he suddenly shouted in joy:
"I'm alive! I'm actually alive! So many bolts of lightning, and not one hit me—I knew I was the protagonist!"
But soon, the voices of his crew echoed one by one, and he realised—not just him, but everyone on the ship was perfectly fine.
The bizarre creatures that had clung to the hull, however, were completely gone.
Roselle blinked, then burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahaha! As expected of my protagonist's halo! It not only protected me but shielded my whole crew too!"
"Oh, really? I don't buy that."
A childish voice drifted from behind him.
Roselle's heart tensed instantly. He turned sharply, gripping the sealed artifact tighter—and saw a boy of eight or nine sitting high above, arms folded, looking down at him with a playful smile.
"Might I ask who you are, sir…?"
Of course, he didn't believe for a second that this mysterious child was truly human.
Edward leapt down gracefully. "Didn't you just pray to that one? I was sent to save you."
Roselle froze for a moment. Then, recollection dawned—he had indeed prayed before ordering the descent into the Abyss, though he'd completely forgotten amid the chaos. The thought made his scalp prickle; this damned place was too terrifying.
"You've got guts," Edward remarked casually. "You do realise this is the Abyss, right?"
"...I do."
"And you still came deeper. Were you planning to die?"
Roselle's expression twisted into helpless frustration. It's not like I had a choice!
"Forget it," Edward waved his hand dismissively. "This water runs far deeper than you think. Even I nearly took a loss in there."
He pointed toward the mountainous silhouette in the mist. "Inside that lies a being equivalent to a god."
"A god…"
Roselle's heart sank. "I'll give the order to retreat immediately."
Edward nodded. "The Chairman says—the protection He promised you last time has now been fulfilled. From here on out, you're on your own."
"I…understand."
Just as Edward turned to leave, he paused and glanced back. "By the way, before coming here, did you visit an island filled with extraordinary creatures?"
Roselle blinked in surprise. "Yes. I reported it to the Chairman, but He showed no interest."
"Where is it?"
"Here's the chart to get there." Roselle pulled a nautical map from his coat. "But we did get lost for a while—the island we found was off the main route, so I can't say for sure if it's the same one marked on the map."
Edward skimmed the map briefly. "I'll go take a look."
"Sir," Roselle added quickly, "that island is…strange. We found numerous extraordinary creatures gathered in the centre—all dead, encircling something, as if in worship or conducting some horrific ritual."
Huh?
That's not right…
In the original timeline, Roselle's first expedition to the Primitive Island didn't go like that. The scene of extraordinary creatures worshipping and performing rituals should've happened later—when he tried to build his mausoleum there.
During his first exploration, aside from the death of one of the Four Knights, Grimm, nothing particularly significant had happened.
The Mother Goddess's corruption had been subtle—invisible, almost undetectable.
Otherwise, when he returned to Trier and sought the Church's help for a "purification," they wouldn't have only purged the traces of the Mother Tree of Desire's influence. He'd still ended up under the Mother Goddess's sway, nudged by Hermes's hints—meeting Mr. Door, going to the Moon—only realising the truth after becoming Sequence 0: that he had been corrupted by Her already.
Wait a minute!
Edward froze abruptly, then looked toward the deck.
"One, two, three, four…" he counted under his breath. "Edwards, Grimm, William, Poli…"
What the hell?
Why are all four knights still alive?!
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.