After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 49.1

Marbas was bewildered and turned his head, saying, “What imposter? Samikina, have you gone mad too? Inpos found an imposter claiming to be the Lord of the Abyss, I must catch him and teach him a good lesson!”

Samikina’s expression remained unchanged, but his eyes grew colder.

Marbas was confused. In his impression, Samikina had always been fair, how could he possibly allow Inpos to deceive so blatantly.

Could it be… Samikina, you’ve changed!

However, before he could react, the surrounding space suddenly distorted. When Marbas opened his eyes again, beneath his feet was a scorching hot continent.

Fires burned everywhere, and the cracks in the ground constantly spewed out fierce beast-like tongues of flame.

Marbas was completely at a loss, his fists clenched tightly as he stared intently at Samikina.

“Do you want to fight me over this?”

His temper flared up, and his body shone with dazzling golden light, almost illuminating the entire space.

Samikina didn’t answer.

Half an hour later.

Marbas rose up, Marbas fell down.

He had been taught a lesson and became even more angry, glaring at Samikina, “Why are you targeting me! Is it because Inpos is smaller, so you’re biased towards him?”

Hearing this, the young man landed on the fiery red ground, ignoring the tongues of flame as he took a few steps, staring into those eyes burning with anger, “Don’t you know your mistake yet?”

Marbas insisted. “I have made no mistake!”

Samikina reached out his hand and knocked on Marbas’s head from a distance, saying sternly: “It’s not an imposter, that’s our real father.”

“What!”

Marbas’s pupils trembled, almost swayed, but then he shook his head and snorted, “Inpos can’t hide it, trying to confuse truth with falsehood? Impossible!”

Samikina calmly said. “It’s true.”

All the air fell silent, leaving only the crackling sound of the tongues of flame.

Marbas stared wide-eyed, his voice trembling as he said. “Is… is it true?”

“It’s true.”

“…”

The two demons stared at each other in silence.

Huh?!

Marbas couldn’t believe it. Did this mean he had been treating his real father as an imposter all along? Constantly cursing at his father?

How damned am I!

Marbas’s mind went blank for a moment. He immediately revived and stood up, rushing forward anxiously asking. “Where is Father?”

Samikina stared at him, took a breath before saying: “Before you see Father, you need to know these things…”

The fierce fire burned the earth, destroying all living things, yet they conversed as if nothing was amiss.

Half an hour later, Marbas was dumbfounded, mumbling. “Ah, actually…”

His eyes shifted, not knowing what he was thinking. Suddenly overcome with emotion, he wildly wiped away tears.

“Has Father… been thinking of us all this time?”

“Yes.”

“Does Father still remember me?”

“He hasn’t forgotten us for a moment.”

“Ugh…”

Marbas buried his head and wiped away tears without any dignity, finally unable to speak clearly.

It’s true, it’s not an imposter, it’s our real father who has returned, how wonderful, how wonderful!

His anger turned to joy, great joy!

Almost simultaneously.

Xiu Si noticed that Samikina, who had just returned, was gone.

Where did he run off to?

Just as he was about to look for the child, the little ragdoll ran back, leaping into his arms in one or two bounds.

Xiu Si was a bit surprised, but before he could ask anything.

The little ragdoll spoke first, saying Samikina and Inpos had gone back to watch the store!

Xiu Si was startled, “Do they know how to get back?”

The little ragdoll was super confident, saying of course they do! Don’t underestimate them, they’re all quite capable. The human world is a piece of cake for them!

Seeing the ragdoll so confident, Xiu Si thought about it and agreed. His children could stay safe in the abyss, so they should be able to adapt completely to the human world.

Moreover… Xiu Si trusted Samikina very much.

Samikina was a steady child who wouldn’t do risky things. He probably went back early just to check on their home.

He didn’t need to worry too much.

However, when he turned his head to look, the clock showed it was already 7:30 PM.

He needed to get back quickly. He wasn’t sure if there would still be food for sale on the way at this time. He wanted to buy something for the children to eat.

As a hero himself, his body was formed by magic and didn’t need food, causing him to almost forget the taste of food.

Thinking of this, Xiu Si missed Lelagin a bit.

His cub was multi-talented.

Lelagin was brave and clever in battle, with superb archery skills, hitting the target every time. In daily life, he was skilled at cooking, a gourmet of the abyss at such a young age.

He just didn’t know if his culinary skills had improved over these 8000+ years.

He really missed him. Xiu Si still remembered when Lelagin was first created, he was a green little cub who couldn’t stand up and could only crawl. His eyes seemed congenitally deficient, always squinting and unable to see things clearly.

The abyss was dark everywhere, and Lelagin feared darkness, seeming to be born with night blindness.

The abyss was practically hell for Lelagin.

He was very worried about this and tried many times to change that setting, but couldn’t. He could only personally guide Lelagin step by step to get used to the darkness, learning to perceive things in the dark rather than “seeing” with his eyes.

At first, Lelagin wasn’t used to it, always trembling with fear, afraid to walk into the darkness.

But after a certain day, he seemed to overcome his inner fear, no longer afraid of darkness, and even actively walked into it, making the darkness fear him instead.

Xiu Si still remembered, something seemed to have happened to him that day.

It wasn’t really a big deal, just that a troll on the opposite side self-destructed before dying, causing magic power to splatter and injure him a bit.

It was a minor injury. Just a cut on his arm.

He hardly reacted, but the children were very nervous, especially Lelagin who was closest to him, his emerald eyes trembling as he looked at him, seeming about to cry.

He wasn’t sure what happened to that troll afterwards, only knowing that the children were all very angry that day, silent for the first time, staring at him intently and protecting him, so serious that he thought they had all grown up.

Also, Xiu Si recalled, Baal unusually used his power that day. In places he couldn’t see, thunder rumbled all night without stopping, the earth trembling, as if dominated by that child’s anger.

The next day, Lelagin said he wasn’t afraid of the dark anymore, there was nothing scary about darkness.

As he spoke, his eyes, which were usually squinting without showing his pupils, opened wide.

That was also the first time Xiu Si clearly saw Lelagin’s eyes.

They were like a lake in a deep forest, clear and beautiful, ethereal and tranquil.

For some reason, it reminded him of the elf race.

“…”

Xiu Si was lost in memories, silent for a few seconds, then couldn’t help asking, “Buer, do you know about Lelagin’s situation?”

The little ragdoll’s pupils trembled slightly, thinking of something unknown. Its mouth opened slightly, then pressed together, finally not saying anything, shaking its head to indicate it didn’t know.

Xiu Si was worried and continued to ask. “After you all scattered, did you rarely gather together?”

The little ragdoll blinked.

According to Aelioge’s account, they had scattered in the abyss, unable to find each other, basically not knowing where other siblings were or what they were doing.

However, over 8000 years was too long. Even though the abyss was vast and boundless, with so many cubs, it seemed unlikely they hadn’t met up even once in such a long time.

Regarding this, Buer was a bit hesitant.

To be precise, for a long time after their father disappeared, they were still together. Their relationships weren’t good, with frequent conflicts. After their father was gone, the conflicts became more numerous and intense. But the abyss was so dangerous that unity was strength – this principle wasn’t wrong.

They worked together to occupy territory in the abyss, gradually expanding their domain, constantly growing stronger on the path of leveling up, and finally succeeding in defeating the God of the Abyss. This meant they gained the power to freely enter and exit the abyss, as well as the power to control all the rules of the abyss.

The first thing they did, of course, was to use the power of the God of the Abyss to search for their father.

However, they searched thousands of times without finding him.

That day, they were silent for a long time, and then began to suspect that their father wasn’t in the abyss at all and should be searched for outside.

And it was at this point that they began to have disagreements and conflicts.

The center of the conflict was — they were already powerful enough, so why did they still need to restrain themselves and stay with people they disliked?

Couldn’t they each search for their father on their own?

That day, they discussed for a long time, argued many times, and the final result was that they scattered, each searching for their father in different parts of the vast world.

Wouldn’t this be more efficient?

Moreover, at that time, even their weakest sibling had power at the level of a deity. What did they have to fear? In that twilight world where many powerful gods had fallen, did they need to be so cautious? If there was to be a fight, then let there be a fight. What was there to discuss?

Let them scatter!

Of course, scattering aside, they weren’t absolutely avoiding each other.

Siblings who got along well would even team up to cause trouble.

They also had a family meeting every hundred years. As the name suggests, all family members were supposed to attend the gathering. Those who didn’t come would be personally dragged to their seats by Baal.

The content of the meeting was simple: exchanging information about how their search for Father was going, if there were any breakthroughs, and such.

At first, of course, everyone attended the meetings. After all, Baal would really come to catch them.

But later… even Baal and Agares were absent. How could the meetings continue?

This tradition did continue, but over the years, more and more members were absent. There was no binding force, and coupled with their tendency to forget time while sleeping, naturally they gathered less and separated more.

Speaking of which…

Buer suddenly paused, because it remembered that the next family meeting… wasn’t it next month?

It had a distant look, causing Xiu Si to ponder.

The little ragdoll, perhaps realizing it had been thinking too far ahead, quickly snapped back to attention and meowed, indicating that they actually did meet occasionally.

Xiu Si didn’t know if he had noticed anything, and said mildly, “Regardless, you should get along well with your siblings.”

The little ragdoll nodded vigorously, looking obedient and well-behaved.

Just then, Xiu Si suddenly slowed his pace, finally stopping and turning his head to look at the research lab next door.

Since it was evening, many magicians had gone home, and this lab was empty.

This seemed to be a public magic experiment lab?

Xiu Si was inexplicably curious and stood at the entrance to observe.

The configuration of magic labs was more or less the same, basically a bunch of magical instruments surrounding several circular table tops in the center.

The table tops were usually covered with magic mirrors that were easy to clean, for magicians to draw magic arrays and various setups.

Moreover, you didn’t need to inject magic power yourself. You just had to operate it a little, and it would automatically inject magic power to activate the magic array, saving magicians a lot of trouble while facilitating universal verification.

From Xiu Si’s position and angle, he could just see the magic array inside.

Curious, he walked in.

The magical devices here were much more advanced and complex than those in the Aust Empire, reportedly because the mechanics here were more skilled.

Xiu Si didn’t understand mechanics, but he could see their complexity. The difference was so visible that it could be discerned from their appearance.

He stopped to take a closer look, then turned and walked to the magic array, focusing his gaze to observe carefully.

He was very familiar with the magic array on the circular surface, recognizing it almost at a glance as the teleportation technique he had been researching for several days. But it was different from the standard teleportation magic array, missing some structures and reduced in complexity. It was actually… a simplified version.

Xiu Si was a bit surprised. He thought only he would research the simplification of the teleportation technique, but didn’t expect to find it in a random lab he walked into.

So it wasn’t a special idea after all?

Xiu Si nodded silently, thinking it made sense. If he could think of this approach, how could others not? Even in an ordinary magic lab of the great Oedipus Empire, they were doing related basic research.

“However…”

Upon closer inspection, Xiu Si found that this magic array was incorrect and wouldn’t run at all. Trying to inject magic power, it would collapse in less than a few seconds. To make an analogy, it was like a tripod that originally had three legs, but one leg had been removed. The direction of simplification was clearly wrong.

Moreover, it seemed this magic array was about to be erased, with traces of erasure in the lower right position.

Xiu Si was silent for a moment, his unconscious compulsion kicking in. He picked up a nearby piece of chalk and started drawing on it.

The little ragdoll, not knowing if it understood what he was drawing, watched with great interest, its emerald eyes shining, its little paws dancing.

A few minutes later, Xiu Si finished his simple drawing. He observed for a while, injected magic power, and confirmed it was running successfully.

Realizing he had arbitrarily changed someone else’s magic array, he felt embarrassed and picked up an eraser, intending to erase it and draw it back for them.

But the little ragdoll suddenly meowed, as if saying it was fine, since it was going to be erased anyway.

Xiu Si put down the eraser. Actually, he couldn’t remember exactly how he had drawn it just now and couldn’t restore it for them. Since it was originally going to be erased anyway, it should be alright?

He turned his head to look outside and saw that it was getting darker. It was time to go home.

At night, the monsters in the subspace would become active. Even though they were in the great empire and safety was guaranteed, they still needed to be cautious.

As Xiu Si and Buer were heading home, Xiu Si reflected.

He had heard that…the Abyss Lords had been frequently visiting the Oedipus Empire recently?

Xiu Si was silent for a moment, realizing he had paid too little attention to such news. Everyone seemed to be going about their business as usual, suggesting it wasn’t a big deal.

He thought for a bit, then decided to just head home with the little ragdoll. Xiu Si’s principle was not to worry about grand things beyond his current abilities, to avoid unnecessary stress. As an ordinary person in the flow of time, he should just level up normally, doing things appropriate for his level.

He took Buer home, intending to find something to eat, but most shops on the way were closed. Apparently, people were advised to be cautious these days to avoid getting caught up in conflicts between the Abyss Lords.

Xiu Si gazed at the distant sky, wondering why he seemed to encounter Abyss Lords wherever he went. Was it just his luck, or was he being overly self-conscious?

He shook his head, silently muttering. “That’s impossible.”

Before he returned…

Samikina had brought Marbas to the bookstore entrance, explaining this was their temporary residence.

Marbas stared in disbelief, carefully examining the bookstore.

Then he asked a very crucial question.

“Why a bookstore?”

Samikina didn’t react.

At this moment, Inpos across from them had mixed feelings. He had thought his fourth brother went to dissuade Marbas, but not only had he failed to do so, he had even brought Marbas back.

His fifth brother Marbas… had quite an unsettled personality.

Marbas then asked another critical question, “Don’t tell me you’re short on money?”

Inpos inwardly retorted, of course we’re short compared to you!

“You’re letting Father stay in a place like this?”

Marbas’s eyes were full of disdain.