Chapter 112
Upon receiving news that Veris and the other person were heading to the Demon King's Abyss, Florin was shocked. In a daze, he got up, quickly tidied himself up, and headed straight for the Demon King's Abyss.
The Demon Month is just around the corner, so his trip to the Demon King's Abyss now, while a bit different from his usual practice of arriving at the exact time, is still quite reasonable.
However, the demons don't care about reason or emotion; if Florin arrived early, something fishy must be going on.
But even knowing that it was strange for Florin to come to the Demon King's Abyss ahead of time, who would dare to ask him? The Second Protector, Third Protector, Sixth Protector, and Seventh Protector are currently staying in the Demon King's Abyss.
The Second Protector and Florindeer were at odds, but neither dared to truly fight him, because they would lose and lose face.
Even if you fight, you should do it secretly and stealthily, preferably watching them fight to the death before you go and pick up the pieces.
When Florin entered the Demon King's Abyss, a familiar scene came into view. He glanced around warily but found nothing unusual. The demons in the large square were still noisy like primitive beasts. He frowned and looked away after one glance.
The magical beast he rode still trampled across the large square, and the demons who couldn't dodge in time were crushed in two.
Not far away, the Second Protector stared at Florin's figure with a sinister look in his eyes. The Third Protector stood beside him, looking around suspiciously.
The six guardians have already become one with the demons in the main square.
Last year, the adventurer and his companions traveled east from Fisherman's Tomb, then north, and then back west—who knows why they went around in circles. They passed through the Mirror City of the Fifth Guardian, the Sighing Labyrinth of the Sixth Guardian, the Forgotten Underground Tower of the Third Guardian, and the Hallucinogenic Sea of the Second Guardian. Except for lingering too long in Fisherman's Tomb, they completed the other three Guardian areas in a complete speedrun within a month.
Therefore, for a long time, the Second, Third, and Sixth Dharma Protectors were not in a good mood.
They had already fought Arnold and his group, and this was the Second Protector's first time in the Demon King's Abyss since he was seriously injured.
The third guardian wasn't much better off; he was looking around when he spotted Frodien.
I heard that the heroes went to Rift Sand City and there's been no news for more than half a year. We tried to subtly inquire about Frodien before, but that old fox wouldn't say anything. More than half a year... I guess he's dead? But you never know. Fisherman's Tomb held the heroes back for almost five months. Rift Sand City is Frodien's territory, so it's understandable that it took even longer.
But this only makes them look even more useless!
The Third Protector cursed, which caught the Second Protector's attention. However, the Second Protector ignored the curse and instead seemed to remember something: "Where is the Seventh Protector?"
The names of the Seven Protectors are difficult to pronounce, so they are simply called the Seven Protectors or Old Seven.
The three guardians looked over and pointed to the castle across the main square: "Over there... Hmm? There are two—humans?!"
The two guardians' expressions changed, and they no longer cared about Florian and the hero. As if they had discovered something terrible, they took off running towards the castle.
The Sixth Protector, who was playing among the demons, looked up and saw what was happening. He pushed aside the demon who had come over and got up to follow in the footsteps of the two older brothers.
The castle on that side looked much the same as the others, but the crows that used to perch on the crooked trees were nowhere to be seen. The castle gates were tightly shut, and flickering, eerie yellow firelight drifted above the castle.
Three figures stood behind the crooked tree.
The Seventh Protector looked extremely apprehensive as he gazed at the two people before him. If it were anyone else, his first thought would be how these two humans managed to enter the Demon King's Abyss, but if it were His Holiness the Pope, his first thought would be—the old Demon King's good days are over.
The Pope himself has been slapped in the face!
However, the Pope was very amiable and said with a smile, "I am just a bard, and this is my companion."
The young man, who looked to be around twenty years old, nodded reservedly.
Seven Guardians: "..."
His cheeks puffed out, he took a deep breath, and said, "My lord, please just tell me who this person is." Could someone who serves the Pope and is called a companion be some lowly lackey?
Veris looked slightly disappointed, feeling that the Seven Guardians weren't cooperating with his act, but he still answered their question—out of consideration for his concern for King Linister in the Old Realm: "This is a dragon."
The dragon nodded, its light golden eyes flashing before suddenly turning into vertical pupils, radiating an inhuman cold light.
Oh, it's a dragon. He thought it was one of Icarus's top warriors... Wait, a dragon!?
The Seventh Protector's eyes widened, his face filled with terror. The dragon was very pleased with his reaction, finding it extremely pleasing.
"Damn it, Seventh Brother, what are you doing! Are you messing around with two humans?!" A rough, malicious scream rang out, and the Seventh Protector shuddered at the second half of the sentence.
He silently took two steps and gave Veris a pleading look.
Veris smiled, but said nothing; there was no smile in his eyes.
The second and third protectors rushed over like the wind and immediately launched their attack.
They also saw the two humans. The black-haired youth turned to the side, was a bit taller than them, and had his eyes downcast. He was clearly just a human, but the aura emanating from him made them shiver, reacting even more intensely than when they met the old demon king.
Before they could even react, they saw the black-haired youth raise his hand with a smile on his lips.
A pale golden magic circle suddenly appeared. Without chanting a spell or using a magic wand, golden light burst forth, illuminating the entire plaza and adding a touch of sacred gold to the usually blood-red sky.
The seven guardians were greatly alarmed.
They watched as the two guardians flew backwards not far away, their bodies now bearing large holes.
He hurriedly followed the Sixth Protector, who had come to join the fun, and forcibly twisted his footsteps, running towards the main square. Damn it, there were some extraordinary figures over there. He quickly went to the demon horde and dragged a few of them down with him.
All of this happened so fast that the noisy square fell into an eerie silence. The Seventh Protector looked at the two other protectors who were completely silent and whose recovery time was unknown, and let out a long sigh.
Veris turned back as if he had only crushed two lice, and smiled: "The heroes will be here soon. I'll just wander around here. This month is the month of demons, right? You can go and serve Vesper. Don't worry about me."
The Seventh Protector felt a bitter taste in his mouth, and there was nothing he could do about it even if he wanted to.
Veris was holding a harp. The square was too quiet, so he casually plucked the strings a couple of times. The Seventh Guardian felt something vibrate in his mind, but soon, golden characters flashed before his eyes. When he came to his senses, there was nothing there.
But just after Veris plucked the strings twice, the entire plaza returned to its usual clamor—this time it was as if nothing had happened. Even the Second and Third Protectors, who were not far away, stood up shakily, looking at the bloody holes in their bodies with confusion, cursing under their breath, and using restorative spells to repair their bodies.
The Seventh Protector felt another chill creep through his body. He suddenly realized that those few casual notes had a terrifying power that made these demons forget the magical light waves that had illuminated the entire Demon King's Abyss. Now, they showed no fear and continued to revel.
Veris looked at his pale face and smiled: "You should go see Vesper."
The seven guardians nodded blankly and hurried off.
He crossed half of the large square, shoving aside the demons blocking his way in a daze. His steps were unsteady all the way, and when he arrived at the two stone tablets, he subconsciously turned his head to take a look.
He didn't know why he turned his head to look at it. Perhaps he had heard about the hero and felt that the two stone tablets were about to be engraved with new sealing spells, and that the dirty marks would be completely renewed. No one knew how that was done. Perhaps the sealing spells were naturally imprinted on clean stone tablets.
As he descended the sloping steps, he saw the familiar Demon King's Palace, but today the area around the palace was deserted, with no demons gathered around it.
The palace was just as empty as the outside. Frodien was already standing in the main hall, and the Demon King Vesper sat at the head of the table. This scene reminded the Seven Guardians of the first time they saw King Linister in the secret realm. The lonely young king leaned on his throne, his eyebrows and eyes arrogant, playing with the King's Sword.
Vesper was clearly not like that; although his body was also slightly slanted, his expression was indifferent.
Frodien stood below the throne, his expression also showing some surprise and uncertainty.
He saw the Seven Protectors walk in and asked, "What just happened?"
Vesper squinted at the outside of the palace, only able to see the outline of the winding staircase, with bloodstains still clinging to it.
The Seven Protectors hesitated for a moment, unsure whether they should mention that His Holiness the Pope was in the main square above.
He cautiously glanced up at the old Demon King and found that the old Demon King was still squinting at the outside of the palace. He wondered if the old Demon King's eyesight was failing. When Vesper noticed his gaze, he looked at him, and the Seventh Protector quickly lowered his head again.
Seeing the hesitation and confusion on his face, Frodien instinctively knew he had run into Veris, so he asked again, "Has someone come?"
He asked about "people".
However, the Seven Protectors still hesitated, but Vesper became impatient. "Just say it! What are you hesitating for? Florin, go and see what's going on!"
At worst, it'll be the heroes who attack; it's not like it's the first time.
Florian accepted the order and left. Reaching the entrance of the main hall, he encountered the Second and Third Protectors, who looked like two unfortunate brothers. His expression was puzzled; these two demons had large, bloody holes in their stomachs. This was the Demon King's Abyss—who had beaten them like this? And they had just been beaten…
Suddenly, he remembered something, turned his head and watched his two comrades help each other walk in, and through the bloody hole, he could still see the shadow of the throne.
The Six Protectors also rushed over, gave him an awkward smile, shrank their necks and squeezed past him, making a lewd gesture.
"Get out." Vesper looked at the two demons who were tearing out two pieces of their internal organs with every step they took, his face filled with disgust.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Second and Third Protectors were thrown out of the hall by the powerful force, crashed onto the steps, rolled down several times, and then lay motionless on the ground.
Seeing this, the seven guardians stood to the side, heads bowed, not daring to look up.
The Sixth Protector stood timidly beside the Seventh Protector.
Frodien looked away and started walking up the stairs. Although he really wanted to kick him, he was more interested in seeing if it was Veris.
Logically speaking, with Veris making such a commotion, there should have been a commotion upstairs by now, but it sounds no different than before... no, it sounds like there are musical instruments being played.
As Florin pondered this, he walked at a leisurely pace, the sound of the instrument growing ever clearer.
Inside the Demon King's palace, Vesper also heard the sound of musical instruments being played, which was rare. The decadent music from the main square carried into the palace, and he frowned.
As a member of the highest bloodline of the demon race, his five senses are extremely acute.
But the next sound was beyond his senses; the voice could be heard throughout the entire hall.
"This great protector presented a group of beauties to the Demon King, but the Demon King only took a fancy to the maidservant who served the beauties. In the middle of the night, the Demon King grabbed the maidservant's not-so-slender waist and pressed her into a dark corner of the Demon King's palace, his eyes bloodshot."
"The maid pretended to be angry and shoved him, which only made the Demon King more interested."
"Are you playing with fire? He grabbed the maid's wrist."
The maid was startled, and two lines of tears slid down her cheeks. She was filled with shame, anger, and resentment, and said, "My Lord Demon King, it's not that I don't love you, but I'm already pregnant with the Great Protector's child. I simply cannot—"
Boom—Westper felt something explode in his head.
As soon as Frodien reached the two stone tablets, he felt as if a string in his mind had snapped.
An eerie silence fell over the large square. The demons who were engaged in the Primal Great Perfection Movement stopped, the demons who were fighting each other also let go, and even the crows that had flown away to who-knows-where returned to the crooked tree.
The dragon standing among the demons opened its mouth wide and let out a sound—
"Wow..."
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Author's Note: Veris: Elder Abuse in Progress ^ ^
At that moment, Vesper recalled the fear he had felt more than fifty years ago when he was dominated by Veris's lies.
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