After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 51.1

Xiu Si was focused on working on his model. He occasionally turned his head to look, only to see them happily playing with a ball of fur.

Those two were currently the most active children, excluding Vassago. Xiu Si wished Aelioge, Beelzebub, and Morax in the dormitory were also this active.

Xiu Si was a bit worried.

Although sleeping was necessary for growth, hadn’t they been sleeping for too long lately? The good thing was that they were really leveling up in their dreams. It felt like they were actually practicing in the dream realm, not just soundly sleeping.

In any case, making progress was always a good thing. He just feared they might be bullied in their dreams.

Xiu Si’s feelings were somewhat complex.

His children never liked to honestly report these things. It had been like this from before. Baal especially loved to level up and fight, often getting injured, but never said anything. He was powerful, but had a strong personality and was very stubborn about things he had decided on. It was both good and bad.

Xiu Si had been troubled by this for a while, but later came to terms with it, because this was the child’s personality. You couldn’t change it, nor should you. All a parent could do was respect their individuality and then remind them to be more careful about safety.

Over 8000 years had passed. What level had Baal grown to now?

He remembered that before he left, Baal’s level was already quite high.

Now he should be at least… level 90, right?

Xiu Si optimistically imagined.

Speaking of which, level 90 magical beasts could transform into human form. What would his children look like if they transformed into humans?

Xiu Si was somewhat expectant as his gaze fell on the two cats on the table.

The two cats were playing around, their paws all tangled up in yarn. They were innocent and lively, without any adult-like appearance. It was hard to imagine what they would look like when they grew up.

They were still children after over 8000 years. Wouldn’t it take tens of thousands of years for them to grow up?

Xiu Si choked up, doubting if he could survive until then. But nevermind, let’s take it as it comes. The future is unpredictable.

He casually removed the yarn that the little ragdoll couldn’t scratch off and asked, “Are you interested in that skill competition?”

Both cats turned their heads simultaneously, their competitive spirit burning fiercely.

Of course we’re interested! This is war! The one who wins in the end will definitely be me!

You really are children. Xiu Si smiled and said, “Levin said the competition is next Monday, which is three days from now. If you want to participate, you have enough time to prepare. You don’t need to compete for rankings, just go and have fun, and make some friends while you’re at it.”

The two cats excitedly raised their paws, but their eyes showed no intention of just “having fun”.

In their minds, this was a holy war concerning their father and honor!

Meow! We must win!

At this moment, Beelzebub had just returned and was stretching in the dormitory. He happened to overhear this conversation.

He didn’t know what they were talking about, but seeing the state of his two siblings, he understood.

Oh, another showdown, how boring.

However, Beelzebub turned his head and saw Xiu Si’s expectant gaze. His cat eyes trembled instantly. He remained silent for a moment, then thought to himself, hmph, it’s just a competition, how could you possibly beat me?

I’m going to participate in this competition too!

He had just transformed into a cat body and might not have even noticed it himself.

Beelzebub had just returned from investigating the Church of Dawn. His thoughts were stuck and he had no new information, so he felt a bit frustrated.

He wanted to run back and stick close to his father to replenish his energy.

Who knew these two would get the advantage of being closer, and they had already completely transformed into cats.

But when it came to cat power, how could he possibly lose?

Beelzebub chuckled, suddenly hearing a noise behind him. He turned his head to look, and sure enough, Aelioge had returned as well.

The black cat-shaped Aelioge had clearly also heard the conversation outside. At first, he didn’t think much of it, but after meeting Beelzebub’s gaze, he inexplicably felt a competitive urge rise within him.

Everyone wants to compete for first place, huh. Hmph, it doesn’t matter, I’ll make my move.

Aelioge maintained a serious exterior as he exchanged information with Beelzebub, asking, “How’s the investigation into the mastermind going?”

“We’ve made great progress, and have basically narrowed it down to a few suspect gods.”

Beelzebub didn’t mention that his thoughts had hit a dead end, and quickly asked before Aelioge could, “What about you?”

Aelioge’s lips curved upward, his cat eyes sharp, as he said, “It’s close. That history research group is quite good at their work.”

Beelzebub reminded him, “But you should know, they are people from the Aust Empire. The results of their research might be widely spread and accepted by the citizens of the Aust Empire, but it’s limited to just the Aust Empire.”

Aelioge didn’t respond.

Beelzebub’s gaze turned towards Xiu Si outside, “Don’t forget, Father is currently in the Oedipus Empire. How will the historical alterations you’re making in the Aust Empire affect other countries, or even the whole world, to make most people believe it’s true?”

Beelzebub didn’t say “all people”, because that was impossible. There are no absolute certainties, and they only needed most people to believe it was true.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Aelioge smiled mysteriously, “I have my ways.”

Beelzebub raised an eyebrow, “Oh? Having spent so long in the human world, you wouldn’t happen to have some underground organization, would you?”

“What do you think?”

Aelioge’s eyes were full of meaning.

“…”

Beelzebub had always suspected that Aelioge’s eagerness to make contracts with humans was part of some scheme or calculation.

Among all their siblings, only Aelioge loved to cast his net worldwide, actively participating in various human conflicts, with contractors spread across the world and even across all races.

Previously, he thought Aelioge had forgotten his original purpose and developed ambitions, perhaps trying to conquer the continent or something. Now thinking about it, Aelioge’s goal was purely singular and had never changed – that was to find their father.

That’s why Aelioge cast his net wide, setting up informants everywhere, even establishing intelligence organizations.

That’s why Aelioge was able to find their father first.

He had been preparing all along, and finally got that “chance”.

Thinking of this, Beelzebub’s eyes darkened slightly.

Essentially, he and Aelioge were alike yet unlike. They were alike in that they both excelled at thinking, but unlike in that their feelings and actions after thinking were different.

For instance, Aelioge had no particular thoughts about the human world itself. In his view, the human world was no different from the natural world, and humans were just animals capable of thought.

Beelzebub, on the other hand, disliked humans other than their father, and would particularly despise certain human individuals.

He had clear likes and dislikes, while Aelioge’s attitude was ambiguous, as if observing the human world through a veil.

If Beelzebub were to be classified as chaotic leaning towards evil, Aelioge would be chaotic neutral, sometimes even participating and conducting experiments he deemed valuable.

Is this befitting of a sibling with the power of “War”? Beelzebub’s thoughts stirred slightly.

“Anyway,” Aelioge suddenly said, “My matters are in progress. The main trouble lies with you and Amon, as well as Botis.”

Beelzebub raised his eyes. “Hmm? Why do you mention me?”

Aelioge snorted, “Just think about what you all have done.”

Beelzebub fell silent. Even without mentioning him, Amon and Botis had quite a record of misdeeds.

Aelioge’s tone was slightly complaining as he said, “You understand, right? Regarding their history, it’s not just a matter of how to change or explain it, but rather…”

Amon had occupied a country. 

Botis had destroyed a country.

How could one change or explain away the things these two troublemakers had done? One probably wouldn’t even know the specifics without asking them directly, right?

So Aelioge was also stuck, stuck on those two troublemakers, and absolutely didn’t want to go ask them.

Moreover, these two demons were no pushovers. Asking them about the situation without letting them notice anything unusual would be an extremely difficult task.

If only they were as simple-minded as Morax.

Aelioge’s eyes suddenly changed, as if remembering something important, “Oh right, where did Morax go?”

Morax?

Beelzebub paused for a moment, “Oh, he’s still looking for us in the subspace.”

Aelioge: “…” 

Beelzebub: “…”

The air suddenly fell silent.

Aelioge: “How many days has it been?”

Beelzebub: “It’s been a while, I guess.”

They both fell silent. Morax’s temper was one of the most volatile among the siblings, his power being [Violence]. When he got angry and lost control, everything around would suffer.

So now, after Morax had been searching for a long time without finding anyone, how high had his anger meter risen? Also, would the other siblings in the subspace tell Morax that they had actually already returned?

The two demons exchanged a glance, both having a somewhat ominous feeling.

At this moment, Inpos, having discovered that they had returned, quietly jumped down from the table, tiptoed to them, and asked.

“How are your tasks going?”

The two demons whose tasks were at a standstill simultaneously said everything was going smoothly.

Inpos didn’t suspect anything, but his eyes flickered a bit. After a while, he honestly reported that Samikina and Marbas had come looking for them.

The two demons were dumbfounded.

Although Aelioge had anticipated that one sibling might come, he hadn’t expected two to arrive, and of all demons, one of them was Samikina!

Everyone knew Samikina’s personality. If Samikina knew, it was as good as all the siblings knowing, and he would definitely tell their father.

But Inpos shook his head, “No, Vassago persuaded him. He didn’t tell the other siblings, nor did he reveal it to Father.”

Beelzebub asked in surprise. “Samikina actually agreed to keep it secret?”

Inpos nodded, “Yes.”

Aelioge and Beelzebub exchanged a glance, both finding it unbelievable.

That Samikina was actually persuaded? Their third brother was really something.

Indeed, Vassago had always been a demon of few words but strong actions. He usually conserved energy to the extreme, but his insight and ability to act were unquestionable.

If he got serious, in some aspects he might not even lose to Agares.

This was just Vassago’s personality – he disliked being earnest and hardworking, especially in front of their father, because he didn’t want their father to see him tired and worry about him.

“Laziness” was both his nature and his disguise.

All of their siblings were quite self-centered in their own ways.

Then, Inpos continued. “They both went to look for Lelagin.”

Aelioge was surprised, “Lelagin? Where is he?”

Inpos: “They said he might be at the western edge of the continent. Samikina was worried about Lelagin’s situation, so he took Marbas along.”

That place belonged to the [Ultimate Land], which was extremely special. To avoid getting lost, it indeed required two demons to fix the location.

Beelzebub thought Samikina alone could handle it, but Samikina had always been cautious. Perhaps because of what happened with Agares, he became even more careful.

This was understandable.

Although Marbas probably wouldn’t be that obedient.

Aelioge’s expression changed several times, but in the end, he could only helplessly give in to Inpos and Buer. Inpos aside, Buer was naive and whimsical, often acting on impulse, so nothing she did was surprising. And Inpos couldn’t possibly stand up to Buer.

“However… having Father play the role of the Lord of the Abyss, I can’t believe you actually did that.”

Inpos showed no regret, clasping his paws in front, insisting, “Don’t you think this is a good strategy?”

Beelzebub suddenly said coldly. “The most dangerous identity is the safest identity? Is that what you were thinking?”

Inpos choked, as they had hit the nail on the head.

Beelzebub: “But don’t forget, some of our siblings don’t think in such roundabout ways.”

“Yes…”

Inpos was anxious.

But in the next second, Beelzebub couldn’t suppress the excitement in his voice, “But Father was indeed cool.”

Aelioge agreed. “Our Father should intimidate the world! Make all humans and all races bow down!”

Inpos widened his eyes.

Roar, they finally agreed on this point!

They were meowing noisily, as if having a big meeting, yet also seeming like they were just chatting casually.

Xiu Si, at a distance, couldn’t understand cat language. He just felt that the children’s relationships were becoming more and more harmonious.

This was really a good thing. Siblings should communicate more and play together to cultivate familial affection. Xiu Si unconsciously smiled.

The little ragdoll on the table followed his father’s gaze and glanced over.

She didn’t care about these three, she only knew that a great battle was about to erupt!

She would crush them and win first place decisively!

Meanwhile, at the Magicians’ Association.

Great Magician Millard was lost in deep, troubled thought. Suddenly, he couldn’t help but ask his assistant nearby, “What impression do you have of magicians who keep cats?”

The assistant, who had been preparing a potion, asked in surprise. “Don’t you keep cats too?”

Millard coughed once. “Apart from me, what impression do you have of other magicians?”

The assistant replied, “There are many magicians who bring their pets to the association every day.”

Millard laughed. “I hadn’t really noticed, but now that I think about it, there really are quite a lot. We magicians really do love keeping pets.”

“Oh right…”

The assistant seemed to remember someone, his eyes moving as he recalled, “Today there was also someone who brought two cats.”

Millard: “Brought two cats? That’s quite a cat lover. Who was this person?”

The assistant nodded, “I was curious too, so I went to find out. It turns out he’s a magician from the Aust Empire, here to study magic at our association. He’s staying nearby.”

“The Aust Empire?”

Millard was a bit surprised.

Recently, news from the Aust Empire had spread worldwide. An otherworld god had attacked but mysteriously retreated, supposedly due to the intervention of multiple powerful beings. Later, a long-buried scandal was exposed, revealing the truth about the otherworld god’s attack to the whole world.

In just a few short days, the events in the Aust Empire were enough to make history.

Especially the sacrifice of Hero Luo Jie, which could be considered a watershed event.

Millard had doubts about this. When he first heard the news, he often bet with others that Luo Jie couldn’t have died like that. But later his thoughts changed. He believed that even if Luo Jie was still alive, he would choose to “die”. He had to choose a way to retire, otherwise being so old and still entangled in worldly affairs wouldn’t be a good thing.

Everyone probably understood this tacitly.

However, Millard sincerely hoped that Hero Luo Jie… and the other missing heroes were still alive. They deserved the best ending, not a bleak curtain call. The humans of this world owed them too much, enjoying their achievements but rarely being able to repay them.