After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 25.1

“#%#…!”

The severely injured bird made a sound as thin as a mosquito’s, completely inaudible.

What was this black bird… saying? Xiu Si was stunned for a moment.

The wind was too strong, rustling everywhere. A suppressed howling sound came from afar, as if a powerful being was enraged, chasing something.

The black bird struggled. Snow covered its body, staining red patches that stood out like plum blossoms in the bright light.

Xiu Si crouched down, holding the red cat in one hand and picking up the black bird with the other.

The light points wrapped around his body brought warmth, allowing him to touch the ice and snow without any frostbite.

Xiu Si picked up the bird and upon closer inspection, he realized the bird was self-healing, but a curse-like force was preventing its healing, constantly destroying its body, causing its form to crumble.

The right wing was already broken in several places, feathers falling off profusely, as if it would completely shatter in a second.

Xiu Si thought to himself, it probably wasn’t an ordinary bird, but something like a magic beast, at least above level 50, because it looked very intelligent.

But it was so late, the snowstorm was strong, and taking it to a hospital was certainly not an option. Its condition didn’t look like something an ordinary hospital could treat anyway.

Since it was a magic beast, should he take it to the Magicians’ Association?

The bird seemed to know what he was thinking. Although on the brink of death, it still struggled to speak. Even though the string of bird language was incomprehensible, Xiu Si glanced in the direction of the Magicians’ Association and thought that at this hour, there probably wouldn’t be many people on duty at the Association, so he decided to take the bird home first.

Because Inpos, that child, was very knowledgeable about magic, he might be able to heal it.

During this process, the red cat slept too soundly and didn’t notice anything unusual. The cat’s head was facing the bird’s head. The bird, lost in thought, its pupils trembling slightly, seemed to sense some danger, but compared to the danger, its divine core was clearly more important, so it could only seek help from this person.

No matter what dragon’s pool or tiger’s den it might be, it had to venture in!

Xiu Si pushed open the door of the antique shop. The cat on the table immediately looked at him.

Only a gray cat remained on the table, missing the black cat and the silver cat, perhaps they had gone to sleep.

The gray cat was initially happy that father had returned, but upon seeing the black bird in father’s hands, it jolted, both paws clapping its face in shock and discoloration, its cat eyes revealing great hostility.

Because Inpos recognized at once that this fellow was none other than the God of Darkness!

Morax, this guy, even though you were with father, you let father bring back such a troublesome thing!

This bird was still half-dead, looking every bit like it was covered in trouble.

While Inpos was thinking intensely, Xiu Si walked back and placed the red cat on the table.

It was only then that the red cat finally woke up.

Its cat head was right in front of the bird’s head. At first, it didn’t think much of it, just wondering why there was a bird here, and instinctively wanted to grab it to play, but upon seeing Inpos’s ghostly gaze behind, it immediately understood.

God of Darkness, how did you bird also come along!

Morax was about to slap it with a paw right then and there.

The God of Darkness’s eyes darkened, immediately chirping for help.

Xiu Si turned to look, only to see the red cat’s paw stopped mid-air, suddenly gently stroking the black bird.

Ah, his child was truly a kind-hearted animal lover. Xiu Si felt deeply gratified and turned to the gray cat, saying, “I picked it up on the way, it looks severely injured. Do you know healing magic?”

Of course Inpos knew.

For ordinary beings, as long as they weren’t dead, he could save them. But this bird was the God of Darkness. Even without mentioning past grudges, the Abyss Lord had no reason to save a god.

Moreover, destroying the divine body of a concept god doesn’t mean true destruction, at most it’s the demise of one consciousness, which would revive again after a few hundred or thousand years.

For a being that can’t truly die, saving one consciousness, honestly, doesn’t mean much.

However, Inpos huffed and approached the black bird, extending its round, puffy cat head, frightening the black bird into trembling. Upon closer inspection, Inpos realized this situation was different – the God of Darkness hadn’t just had its divine body destroyed, its divine core had also been plundered, actually losing a third of its divine core.

The divine core is the most important quality of a god, signifying the god’s rank, power, and authority differential. A drop in divine core means a drop in rank, and loss of divine core means losing one’s divine position, becoming nothing more than an ordinary spirit.

As one of the original series of gods, the God of Darkness had a very high status, in the second tier. Who could act in the imperial city of the Aust Empire and plunder the God of Darkness’s divine core?

Inpos was stunned for a moment, then pressed its cat paw down.

The God of Darkness immediately jolted, fearing it would be killed with one paw press.

But in front of Xiu Si, Inpos wouldn’t kill the bird. Inpos was just checking its specific condition.

For damage to the divine body, ordinary healing magic has no effect, as divine power and magic power are not from the same system of forces.

Generally speaking, only divine power can repair a divine body. This was also one of the reasons why the Gods Era fought so fiercely. Gods are mostly self-contained beings. Once their divine body is damaged and self-containment is broken, it’s difficult to self-repair. Natural repair takes at least a few thousand years, sometimes over ten thousand years. To repair quickly, they had to plunder the power of other gods, using divinity to supplement divinity, to complete their own deficiencies. As the fighting intensified, it fell into a vicious cycle. With the addition of hatred, it became even harder to stop, and in the end, they all went berserk.

At the end of the Gods Era, gods discovered that “humans” were also a resource that could charge divine bodies, but by then it was too late. Many gods had already exited the stage, leaving only a bunch of angels or archangels.

It was after that, that the divine race, which originally looked down on humans, started to scheme against humans, almost exterminating the human race. If it weren’t for the protection of heroes and great figures, as well as the help of some mysterious forces, humans wouldn’t have persisted until today.

Inpos despised the divine race, feeling they were just a bunch of daily lunatics. Some were naturally sick, some became sick due to corruption, most were sick, and the few who weren’t sick would eventually be made sick.

So far, only those three goddesses have remained consistently normal.

The gray cat was inwardly displeased. Taking advantage of father’s inattention, It patted the bird’s head and asked: “What are you up to? Do you know who my father is, huh? You dare to follow us in?”

The black bird was on its last breath, almost knocked out by the pat. It struggled to maintain consciousness and transmitted a thought: “There’s a dangerous being in the Imperial City. Its target is my divine core. I was almost eliminated by it. If you help me recover, I’ll give you benefits. Let’s make a deal.”

Morax responded indifferently: “Oh, what benefits?”

The black bird said with utmost seriousness: “Anything that can be realized with the God of Darkness’s authority, as long as it’s within my power.”

Inpos poked the bird’s head with its paw, its cat eyes pressing close: “Hmph, you think we want that?”

The black bird was almost suffocated by the pressure. You Abyss Lords are too ridiculous if you don’t even want the God of Darkness’s authority. Come on, I’m the God of Darkness, one of the original series of gods, not some common cabbage. Back in the day, who didn’t revere me? And now you look down on me?

But Inpos was truly unmoved, its cold gaze seeming to pronounce the bird’s death sentence.

The black bird, anxious at heart, said weakly: “I’m only in my teens.”

Inpos almost laughed out loud, its paw finally unable to resist playing with the bird’s head. Teens? How old a god are you to pretend to be so young?

The black bird argued: “The past is the past, now is now. I only acknowledge my current life’s consciousness. I’m not the same god as those perverts before!”

The gray cat: “Who cares if you’re hereditary or not. A pervert’s genes still grow into a pervert. You were a pervert before, and you’re still a pervert now!”

Xiu Si looked over, just in time to see the gray cat hitting the bird’s head, and the red cat nearby seemed about to join in. His pupils dilated, “You…”

The gray cat immediately realized and explained that this was emergency treatment, helping the bird restore its breathing. As it spoke, it pretended to perform something like CPR, looking very professional.

The black bird immediately looked to Xiu Si for help, wanting to say it was dying, save the bird’s life, my brother is your child, I’m your child too, father!

“…”

Xiu Si couldn’t make out what the bird wanted to say, only feeling that this bird had a particularly strong will to live.

Being looked at like this by a weak and pitiful little animal would evoke sympathy in anyone.

“How is it, can you save it?”

Xiu Si asked the gray cat.

The gray cat’s movements stiffened, its eyes somewhat complex.

A damaged divine core is the most troublesome thing for a god. They need to retrieve the stolen divine core, otherwise this bird won’t recover.

However, is it worth it?

The gray cat stared at the black bird with a death gaze.

The black bird’s wing trembled and crumbled a bit more.

But after a few seconds, the gray cat still nodded. Because it didn’t want to disappoint Father, it wanted Father to think it was omnipotent.

“Is that so? You can try?”

Seeing the gray cat nod, Xiu Si was relieved and asked, “Do you need me to do anything?”

The gray cat and red cat exchanged a glance. Repairing the God of Darkness’s divine core would require finding the stolen core, meaning finding the culprit. But the opponent was at least a level 90 being, they couldn’t let father get involved.

Aelioge and Beelzebub had gone out because there was a familiar fluctuation in the subspace just now.

The gray cat thought for a moment, then told Xiu Si that no help was needed for now.

Because before reclaiming the divine core, this fellow’s divine body might crumble, so stabilizing the divine body came first.

Inpos looked at the black bird with disgust, but still helped stabilize the bird’s life force, at least making it look less bloody. For a being like the God of Darkness, every generation’s consciousness was arrogant and proud. This generation really had it rough.

White light rose around the black bird.

The gray cat seemed to be kneading balls in the air, forming magic incantations.

It was very serious, but because of its cat form, the movements inevitably looked like kneading balls. The motions of its two paws resembled forming rasengan, particularly adorable.

Xiu Si was stunned watching this. If this were on Earth, he’d definitely record this scene to appreciate repeatedly. His children seemed to each possess extraordinary skills; those thousands of years weren’t wasted.

How gratifying, how touching!

Seeing that things seemed fine now, Xiu Si was temporarily relieved, though it was already late, almost eleven o’clock.

The gray cat then looked up, blinking at Xiu Si.

Xiu Si: “You want me to sleep first, while you don’t need to?”

The gray cat nodded.

In fact, whether now or in the past, they never needed sleep unless too exhausted for their bodies to involuntarily rest.

If Xiu Si’s system were normal, he could actually see fatigue values. This world was like a life simulation game with various status values. Before, he could see the numbers and didn’t worry much. Now, unable to see them, he felt somewhat uncomfortable, not knowing how to care for his children.

However, he thought, as a parent, it’s not good to control children too much. They’ve grown up and become independent long ago. If he kept meddling, it would not only restrict them but might also annoy them.

Parents should maintain an appropriate “distance”.

When the children say they don’t need rest, you can’t forcibly insist.

Xiu Si suddenly had an epiphany. He nodded seriously, looking into the gray cat’s eyes, “Thank you for your trouble. Do your best, and if you get too tired, wake me up.”

Encouraged, the gray cat kneaded faster, thinking, Father, leave it to me. With me here, this bird couldn’t die even if it wanted to!

The red cat glanced sideways, then looked at the half-dead bird. Well, since father said to save it, they’d reluctantly do so.

The red cat to the black bird: Once you’re saved, don’t you dare linger. Got it?

The bird didn’t hear. The bird was almost dead and couldn’t respond.

Morax’s magic was too violent; even approaching would make it crumble.

The two cats surrounded the bird, poking here and there. Honestly, although they were healing, they also left an indelible psychological shadow on the God of Darkness.

Meanwhile, Xiu Si returned to his room and saw three cats sleeping friendlily together in a row, their sleeping postures cute, quiet like dolls.

Xiu Si casually pulled over a blanket, covering them all, and tucked in the edges to ensure no cold wind would enter.

Thank goodness, after thousands of years, his children were all fine. Although they leveled up slowly, as long as they were safe, their levels would eventually increase.

It’s just…was Vassago sleeping too much? He hadn’t seen it awake all day today.

Xiu Si knew this child’s nature and wasn’t too worried, but he feared it might sleep too long and grow too fat, which would be terrible if it couldn’t walk.

After thinking for a while, Xiu Si also lay down and fell asleep a few minutes later.

Meanwhile, outside the Imperial City.

Andre searched the entire city but found that the God of Darkness’s aura had completely disappeared.

His face darkened, his eyes flashing with a sinister light.

Did the God of Darkness leave? Impossible. He had invaded the city’s protective magic with his own power, his eyes covering the whole city, especially the borders, waiting for the God of Darkness to run out so he could capture It instantly. But he had been waiting in vain.

The God of Darkness couldn’t have left silently, which meant it must still be hiding within the Imperial City.

Andre looked in all directions, thinking, “A few dark angels from the Dark Divine Kingdom came the day before yesterday. I didn’t expect it to have mixed in among them, probably wanting to check on its old enemy the God of Light, looking for a chance to steal some divine power to repair its divine body.”

How did I not think of this? Perhaps subconsciously, I thought the original series of gods wouldn’t stoop so low as to mix among humans.

But times have changed, and the gods might have changed too.

Andre reflected, continuing to mutter to himself. “It is, after all, the god controlling the [Darkness] authority, particularly adept at concealment. But no matter, I will find It eventually.”

Andre turned, his gaze fixing on the tallest tower in the southern part of the Imperial City.

That was where the magic central system guarding the entire Imperial City was located. The target was extremely obvious, but there was no choice – only with sufficient “height” could it overlook the whole situation and protect the entire city.

Generally speaking, such buildings are a country’s most fortified strongholds, with at least three super-format magic arrays deployed outside, able to withstand the simultaneous explosion of more than ten anomaly magic spells. Ordinary people can hardly infiltrate such places; they’d die instantly upon approaching.

But Andre chuckled, raising his right hand to carefully examine the pure black crystal in his palm.

The crystal floated in the air, surrounded by active black particles. They rotated and rose bit by bit. To the naked eye, it looked like an ordinary magic stone, but upon raising one’s perception, within its small volume lay infinite mysteries!

The [Darkness] authority encompassed multiple properties such as engulfment, absorption, gravity, and concealment – perfect for assassination, scheming, and plotting. Andre had wanted the [Darkness] authority for too long, never having the chance. Today, he finally obtained a part of it.

He weighed it in his palm for a while, feeling the power of divinity and its omnipotence in the wind and snow. The arrogance in his heart grew increasingly inflated.

All gods are arrogant, all strong beings are arrogant. When one’s position is high, of course one looks down on others. Isn’t that so?

The pure black crystal rotated in his palm, melting and dripping a pure black liquid.

As the liquid fell onto his palm, space shook, as if a meteorite had struck the ground, causing rolling ripples.

Andre smiled, feeling the divine power flowing through his veins, strengthening his flesh and his entire constitution. He watched his personal stats suddenly increase, tripling!

Andre couldn’t hide his excitement and trembling.

“Gods, indeed it must be gods!”

“You are the resources, you are the best resources in the world!”

Andre laughed maniacally, his thunderous voice even waking nearby residents, who cursed his entire family. But Andre seemed not to hear, his mind full of wanting to try the [Darkness] authority!

So, his gaze naturally turned to the tower.

The empire’s most heavily guarded fortress – what if he could infiltrate it as easily as entering unoccupied territory?

Andre’s lips curled upward, unable to suppress his inflated inner self.

That night, the people sent by the Empire to monitor the Continental Human Alliance did not detect any activity, yet they vaguely felt that something big had happened.

Philip couldn’t sleep all night, pacing back and forth in his room, feeling extremely anxious. Vaguely, he also realized that establishing diplomatic relations was just a pretense. The people outside were either waiting for your country to be destroyed or observing how your country would be destroyed. None of them were good. We can only rely on ourselves!

On the other side.

Late at night, Great Magician Eilinson went to find the hero Luo Jie, asking if Luo Jie had any opinions on this situation.

They knew each other and had discussed the topic of the Aust Empire countless times.

Years ago, Eilinson was an infant that Luo Jie had personally dug out from a pile of dead bodies on the battlefield.

Later, Luo Jie entrusted the rescued girl to a highly respected elder of the Imperial Magicians Association, and then forgot about it, until Eilinson came to visit him after she had made a name for herself.