Chapter 30 Whispers of the Abyss (1) But Xia Ying, you are clearly...
The conflict between the dragon and the demon hound plunged the Wild Hall into chaos.
The two flames clashing against each other generated waves of heat, instantly transforming the desolate hall into a scorching inferno. The flying sparks affected the surrounding abyssal creatures, and their howls and fleeing cries filled the air.
"Calm down! Calm down!"
Amidst the chaos and turmoil, the goblin administrator shouted as he tried to maintain order, but he soon found that such efforts were futile.
So the administrator shut his mouth, quickly bent down and crawled under the table, opened the locked safe, and pressed a red button hidden inside.
As it moved, red light began to flash rapidly in the Wilderness Hall.
"Beep beep! Beep beep! The Wilderness Hall has entered defense mode! Magic concentration is about to decrease! Magic concentration is about to decrease!"
Rows of gun-muzzle-like black tubes appeared on the sleek, technologically advanced walls of the Wilderness Hall. Large amounts of wandering magic particles were drawn into the tubes, causing the magic concentration inside the hall to drop rapidly. An abyssal creature that was preparing to fly away from the battlefield suddenly fell, only to find that it no longer had enough magic to support its flight magic.
At the center of the battlefield, the continuous release of large-scale attack magic caused magic energy to be drained at an even faster rate, especially in the areas where flames collided, which almost created a vacuum zone where magic could not exist.
Xia Ying looked up and saw that both the dragon fire and the black flames were beginning to weaken. Finally, she found an opportunity to intervene and ran towards the battle.
The dragon and the demon hound also sensed the waning of magical energy, so they transformed into their beast forms and fought using their most primal physical strength... Just then, a creature that appeared exceptionally small in comparison burrowed into the battlefield and stood between the two.
This should have been a futile attempt to stop a chariot, but the dragon and the demon hound stopped moving at the same time.
"You can't hear me from this height!" Xia Ying shouted at them. "Change back!"
Cerberus was the first to revert to human form. He shoved Xia Ying behind him and bared his teeth, saying, "What's this dragon doing here?"
"That's a long story," Xia Ying said, skipping over the parts that might make the dog furious, and simply summarized, "To put it simply, Fafnir is currently my mentor in the [Ring Domain Internship]."
"Keep your voice down... It's not like I wanted to do this!" Xia Ying quickly said. "It's only during my internship. I already know how to pass the internship assessment."
On the other side, Fafnir also transformed back into a handsome red-haired man. He gradually calmed down, but when he saw the girl and the demon dog talking almost huddled together, another strong sense of unease suddenly rose in his heart.
However, this time the dragon did not use force to destroy this unsightly scene.
He has a better way of asserting sovereignty.
"Xia Ying," Fafnir said to the girl in a calm tone, a slight smile playing on his lips, "come back to my side."
He did not activate the forced effect of the [Sisyphus Collar], but Xia Ying keenly sensed the hidden warning within it.
She looked at the demon hound, then at the dragon, and after much deliberation, made a decision in her heart.
Cerberus noticed this as well and instinctively grabbed her arm.
"Is our connection really that fragile?" Xia Ying asked seriously. "Bear with it for now, Ker, and I'll reward you."
Cerberus stared into her eyes, suppressing his instinct to attack with great difficulty, and slowly released his grip.
Xia Ying was about to leave, but she couldn't help turning back and saying worriedly, "You have to tell me if anything happens. Don't go on any more adventures alone... Also, you must reply to my messages, okay?"
The demon hound grunted unhappily from its throat, but still managed to nod reluctantly.
"Good girl." Xia Ying couldn't help but smile, leaning over to give the other person a quick peck on the cheek. "See you tomorrow, Ke'er."
She turned and walked toward Fafnir.
The dragon's golden eyes were fixed on her every step as she approached. When she was still a few steps away, it reached out and pulled her closer. Then, the teleportation array lit up. Before entering the array, Xia Ying looked back again, but her vision was blocked by the billowing cloak.
The next second, Xia Ying returned to the Dragon Cave.
As soon as she landed, she broke free from the dragon's grasp, silently crawled into the sea of plush toys, turned her back, and showed her attitude of non-violent non-cooperation.
The dragon paused, then slowly walked towards her, its shadow gradually enveloping Xia Ying from behind. Then, she heard its voice.
"From now on, you are not allowed to kiss anyone but me."
The Sisyphus Collar glows, rendering it a mandatory command.
"Just for this? No, are you crazy?!" Xia Ying sat up in shock. "And the collar only allows one forced command opportunity per day, right? What do you mean by 'from now on'?"
The dragon didn't seem to care, leisurely playing with a strand of Xia Ying's hair with its fingers: "From now on, this will be the mandatory command every day."
...How should I put it? It seems that it would be very beneficial for Xia Ying to waste the function of coercive commands, which is prone to causing problems, on this aspect, but I always feel a little uncomfortable about it.
Fafnir asked lazily, "So, who is that guy?"
“My family, my best friends, note, best,” Xia Ying said irritably. “Ker cooks for me, bakes cakes, and doesn’t sleep on my hair. They’re completely different from some other people.”
The dragon raised an eyebrow, lay down on its side, and pulled her into its arms without giving her a chance to refuse. Xia Ying immediately screamed, "My hair! All my hair is tangled up!"
Fafnir said cheerfully, "So what? You're stuck here now anyway."
Fortune changes every thirty years! Never underestimate a young person's potential!
Xia Ying thought bitterly.
I'll just have to put up with this nasty dragon for the next few days of my internship until I pass the internship assessment...
She envisioned a bright future after completing her internship in the [Global Region]. As she relaxed, the fatigue accumulated throughout the day gradually took over.
Xia Ying closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
However, it didn't seem to be her own dreamland.
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Xia Ying gathered her consciousness in the blue dream, and through the surrounding sea waves, she immediately recognized that this was the client's dream.
...Didn't you just start working? Isn't this scoundrel a bit too capitalist?!
Fortunately, this time, Xia Ying wasn't facing a raging storm, but a tranquil sea with rippling blue waves. She no longer needed to rack her brains to find the client who commissioned her dream, because the enormous pearl oyster was right in front of her, in the most conspicuous place.
By the way, what was that beautiful siren's name again?
Before stepping forward to open the clam shell, Xia Ying pondered.
Ka...Kalu...
That's right! It's Charybdis!
Just as Xia Ying remembered the customer's name, the white clam seemed to have been waiting impatiently and spontaneously opened a crack.
A brilliant pearly light leaked out from the crack, startling Xia Ying. She tiptoed to the clam shell and gently opened it.
Just like last time, the siren lay inside the clam... But unlike last time, this time his light blue hair was adorned with pearls and agates, and his neck, arms and waist were decorated with ornaments made of giant clam shells, corals and colorful shells, making him look radiant and magnificent.
The siren opened her eyes as the clam shell opened, then swam to Xia Ying with joyful, rapid movements of her tail, grasping her hands: "You actually came...!"
He paused, then asked in confusion, "Xia Ying, why are your eyes closed?"
Xia Ying answered honestly, "It's so dazzling that I can't open my eyes."
The siren secretly ripped off her jewelry and slapped her tail into the depths of the sea.
"And now?"
"Ah, I feel better now." Xia Ying opened her eyes and looked around for a while. "Mr. Karl, you don't seem to have had any nightmares tonight. Why did you summon me?"
“Soul fluctuations don’t always happen; they’re as unpredictable as the tides,” the siren said softly. “But with you by my side, I think I won’t have to fear being disturbed by them anymore.”
How delicate and adorable this siren is!
Quite unusually, after entering Cocytus, Xia Ying was inspired with a sense of responsibility and protectiveness by an abyssal creature.
"Leave it to me!" Xia Ying patted her chest and assured her. "So, what can I do for you now?"
“I’m trying to find the source of the fluctuations in my dreams. But as you can see, my dreams are a vast ocean, so it might be difficult to find it,” Charybdis said with a smile. “Would you like to search with me?”
Xia Ying nodded without hesitation, and their environment changed. The siren swung her tail, carrying her into the waves.
The ocean is very calm and beautiful today. The waves gently sway from side to side, and the sunlight breaks overhead, turning into swaying, hazy pillars of light that slant through the deep blue.
Thanks to the siren's blessing, Xia Ying was also able to move freely in the water.
This was the first time she had observed the ocean from this perspective, and she couldn't help but curiously observe the unique and beautiful scenery. She lingered among the coral reefs and seaweed forests, occasionally reaching out to tease the colorful fish and the small crabs half-hidden in the fine sand.
Following behind her, Charybdis tentatively asked, "Do you like the sea? Do you have any favorite marine creatures?"
"I like the sea," Xia Ying said without turning her head as she was having fun. "I like jellyfish; they're so pretty and shiny."
"!"
Upon hearing Xia Ying's words, Charybdis's body subconsciously changed. His waist gradually became soft and transparent, and the jellyfish-like skirt, which was originally a fish tail, blossomed open, like a crystal curtain or a light and elegant veil...
"But I also like octopuses; they seem interesting and mysterious."
The jellyfish tentacles, halfway through their transformation, stopped abruptly and retracted with a "whoosh," while the strong, flexible octopus tentacles extended out, gracefully and dangerously unfurling...
“But if I had to choose one, I’d pick the mermaid!” Xia Ying said enthusiastically. “When I was little, I loved pestering my mom to tell me the story of the Little Mermaid… uh, I mean…”
She suddenly remembered that Andersen's fairy tales were probably only known to every household in human society, so she quickly added, "It's just a story about a little mermaid, it's normal that you don't know it."
Xia Ying couldn't help but turn around to see Charybdis's reaction. She saw the siren gently sway her tail and dive into the water. The beams of light shining through the sea enveloped him, making his light blue hair and fair skin look as if they were sprinkled with stardust. The surrounding seawater was illuminated by his radiance, turning into a hazy and sacred realm of light.
Even the most beautiful little mermaid that Xia Ying imagined in her childhood would not be as moving as Charybdis at this moment.
“Ah, Little Mermaid, I love that story too,” the siren smiled at her. “I also think you would like mermaids; they are so beautiful, so delicate… and yet so troubled by love.”
Just like in a fairy tale, Xia Ying watched as the dreamlike mermaid swam gracefully towards her, but suddenly felt a strong sense of unease.
Before she could figure out where this feeling came from, Xia Ying blurted out, "I'm sorry, Mr. Karl, I think I should go back now."
The mermaid's serene and tranquil expression suddenly froze, and the sculpted mask began to shatter, revealing a sudden surge of genuine loss and confusion.
"Why? Is it because I'm still not beautiful enough?"
His originally slender and graceful arms tore through the waves and instantly rushed to Xia Ying's side.
"Tell me quickly, which style do you prefer? Either way is fine, as long as you're willing to stay."
At such close range, Xia Ying could even see the siren's pupils constantly changing, from wild, vertical slits to dark, opaque round holes, and then to strange, horizontal square pupils.
“Wait, Mr. Karl, listen to me, this isn’t the first time this has happened.” Xia Ying tried to explain the situation. “You may have some strange feelings towards me, but it’s all because I’m a succubus…”
"A succubus?" A mixture of understanding and mockery appeared on the siren's face. "Perhaps this is why you are here. Let me think, is this the identity Tartarus prepared for you?"
Just like when they first met, the siren, completely captivated, cupped Xia Ying's face in her hands: "But Xia Ying, you are clearly human."
The weight and terror of the sea pressed down on Xia Ying at this moment.
For a moment, she felt paralyzed, yet a voice clearly echoed in her mind:
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Author's Note: Currently, Siren is the male abyssal creature with the most severe appearance anxiety when courting, which is a good trend. I hope this can be promoted in Cocytus.
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