After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 57.1

Aelioge initially did not want to use his trump card, but Amon was relentless and showed no signs of backing down, so he had no choice but to reveal his hand.

Upon hearing this, Amon’s expression flickered, his eyes clearly showing a hint of panic.

Aelioge smirked.

‘I’ve won the first round of this psychological battle!’ he thought to himself. ‘The advantage of having superior information is absolute. Amon, even you can’t beat me!’

Aelioge thought, ‘With Father in my hands, I have the upper hand!’

Amon stared at Aelioge, trying to maintain his composure as he said, “Heh, Aelioge, you dare to bluff me? Would that kind of thing work on me? It’s just audio and video recordings, what use could they be?”

Aelioge calmly replied, “What do you think?”

Amon’s face turned pale, his fists clenched as he continued, “Father isn’t even here. Are you going to use those recordings to tattle on me? An impostor is just an impostor!”

Aelioge smiled, putting on a mysterious expression as he said, “If you think it’s useless, why are you so nervous? Why not just ignore it? If you have the guts, go to Inpos and Buer and shout about beating up the ‘impostor’. Trying to outmaneuver me with words? Heh, not a chance.”

Amon frowned deeply, remained silent for a few minutes, then asked in a subdued tone, “Could it be…”

Aelioge snorted, “What could it be? I don’t know.”

Amon felt both anxious and furious inside.

‘What a detestable demon,’ he thought ‘Aelioge is clearly deliberately letting me know about [that possibility]!’

How could Amon not understand Aelioge’s implication? Aelioge was clearly hinting that Father had already returned! If he didn’t cooperate, Aelioge would show the recordings to Father!

But Aelioge deliberately kept things vague, making him guess and worry.

Was it true or false? Had Father really returned? Or was Aelioge setting up an elaborate deception to strike at him psychologically?

Amon’s thoughts raced through hundreds of possibilities in just a few seconds, his expression growing darker.

Because he realized why Aelioge was so eager to rewrite history. What was there to fear about history?

And the answer was likely – Father had already returned! Aelioge was rewriting history to prevent Father from learning about what they had done over the past few thousand years!

“You…”

Amon glared at Aelioge, his demonic power radiating outward, causing the void to distort and even the laws of reality to tremble.

“What about me? What does it have to do with me? You said it yourself, and you did it yourself. May I ask, what does it have to do with me?”

Aelioge, who had been at a disadvantage when fighting Amon earlier, now seemed completely at ease, his tone full of composure.

“You…”

Amon gritted his teeth, his gaze sharp as a blade.

Then, Aelioge turned his back and said mockingly, “There’s a certain demon who, thinking no one was in charge, felt free to do whatever he wanted outside. But his good days are coming to an end.”

As he spoke, he took a step into the spatial rift.

The rift would close in two seconds, giving Amon only two seconds to stop Aelioge.

In those two seconds, Amon’s mind raced through various thoughts, his ideas changing rapidly. Finally, just before the space completely sealed, he called out to Aelioge.

“Wait!”

“Wait for what?”

Aelioge, half of his body already in the spatial rift, looked back coldly at Amon and said bluntly, “If you have something to say, say it quickly. I’m very busy and don’t have time to play games with you.”

Amon gritted his teeth, trying hard to control himself as he stared at Aelioge and anxiously asked the question he most wanted to know, “Has… has Father already returned?”

Aelioge remained silent.

Amon pressed his lips together and nervously asked, “That ‘impostor’… is it… actually Father?”

The air fell into silence.

Aelioge didn’t speak, just quietly looking at Amon.

The atmosphere gradually became suffocating.

Amon’s mind was in turmoil.

If Father had really returned, that would be great news! But Aelioge had recorded his words. What would Father think if he saw that?

Aelioge was such a devious demon! He had deliberately set this trap!

Aelioge said, “I didn’t say anything.”

Amon snapped in frustration, “You clearly did this!”

“Didn’t you say you were independent and mature, that you didn’t need Father anymore? Are you changing your tune now? Don’t tell me you have a father complex. Come on, you’re such a big demon now, can’t you move on from the past? What a joke.”

Aelioge twisted the knife.

Amon felt the sting of those words, his heart bleeding, his expression turning ugly.

Aelioge said nonchalantly, “However, I could refrain from reporting this, on the condition that you cooperate with me and tell me about your history.”

Amon frowned and lowered his head, his eyes deep in thought.

If this was a scheme concocted by Aelioge to trick information out of him, rather than having actually found Father, then Aelioge had already succeeded.

Their weakness was so simple that they would repeatedly fall into the same trap, even Agares. Did Agares not know it was a trap? Yet he still went into the dream.

All beings are ruled more by emotion than reason. But perhaps it was also because they had nothing to fear. At that time, Agares was already powerful enough to disregard almost all other existences.

Amon was the last among his siblings to see Agares. He wasn’t quite sure what Agares was thinking at that time. From over five thousand years ago, he had found it increasingly difficult to understand Agares.

He always had a feeling that Agares probably knew everything, including who the mastermind was and Father’s situation.

But for some reason, Agares didn’t tell the other siblings.

…Agares was thinking further ahead than all of them.

Thinking of this, Amon’s gaze became grave.

Seeing Amon deep in thought, Aelioge assumed he was unwilling to be honest and said, “What’s wrong? Is your history so hard to speak of? You haven’t really done something outrageously terrible, have you?”

Amon’s train of thought was interrupted, and he immediately glared at Aelioge.

His feelings were complicated at this moment, but his history was indeed a long story. He had originally intended to bury it all, but now he had to dig it up again.

“…Fine.”

Amon finally nodded in submission, thinking to himself that this was all for Father!

Aelioge added, “Oh, let me make one condition clear first. Before you finish telling me everything honestly, you can’t ask to see Father.”

Amon became angry on the spot and cursed, “Aelioge, you evil demon! What’s wrong with letting me see Father? What right do you have to keep me from seeing him!”

“Weren’t you the one who said you didn’t need Father anymore?”

Aelioge twisted the knife again.

“You…”

Amon was at a loss for words, his green eyes truly flashing with cold fire.

“One more thing,” Aelioge emphasized sternly, “We can’t tattle to Big Brother about our business.”

“Oh?” Amon suddenly became playful, “What if I do tell Big Brother?”

“What do you think?” Aelioge’s eyes were full of threat, the meaning unmistakable.

If you dare to tattle, I’ll tattle too. We’ll both self-destruct, and we’ll see who suffers the heavier loss.

If Big Brother found out what they had done, they would most likely just get a severe beating from him. There was a small chance they might be imprisoned after the beating and prevented from seeing Father. There was an even smaller chance they might be beaten for hundreds of years and trapped forever in Big Brother’s terrifying domain.

But if Father heard what Amon had just said, he would lose Father’s love!

Who had more to lose? It was obvious.

Aelioge gave a cold laugh and taunted, “I dare you to try it.”

Amon’s face turned both pale and green, thoroughly caught in a trap. “You scheming devil!”

“Let’s go. Come with me to the Aust Empire.”

Aelioge reached out his hand, expanding the spatial channel to reveal the cosmic scenery inside.

They often used subspace for movement, not only to save magical power but also to observe the conditions of subspace.

At this moment in subspace…

Aelioge gazed into the distance, his sight falling on a galaxy far away.

Logically, given such a vast distance, he shouldn’t be able to see the real-time situation over there. What was reflected in his eyes should have been light information from hundreds of years ago.

But there were always ways.

He narrowed his eyes, and the scene in his pupils transformed rapidly, instantly locating the “present.”

A flash of lightning was seen, illuminating the entire cosmos, destroying seven planets in an instant.

Although he couldn’t see the specific situation on the battlefield, Aelioge knew that another divine kingdom had been annihilated under the mighty power of the demon god Baal.

If their Big Brother continued like this, he might really conquer subspace… although his purpose wasn’t conquest at all, but to find their Father who might have been lost in subspace.

Aelioge fell silent for a moment, thinking that Big Brother would find out sooner or later. All they could do was delay this process. Since they were going to be beaten anyway, it was better to be beaten later rather than sooner.

Amon stared at Aelioge, and after several minutes, finally put aside his concerns and warned, “You’d better not be tricking me.”

Aelioge’s thoughts paused, and he turned his head with a smile, “If you can be tricked by me, it only proves you’re stupid.”

Amon said disdainfully, “Stop beating around the bush. This way of talking is really something you learned in the human world.”

He looked like a young boy lecturing Aelioge, who appeared as a young man, which seemed a bit odd.

He ranked seventh, while Aelioge ranked fifteenth. He was clearly the elder brother, so educating Aelioge was perfectly normal.

Aelioge didn’t seem to mind.

Amon’s gaze fixed on the distant cosmos, and he suddenly said, “By the way, where’s Beelzebub? Shouldn’t he be acting together with you?”

Aelioge’s face instantly darkened, “Why do you all think I have a good relationship with him?”

It was truly baffling.

“Is that not the case?”

Amon’s youthful face looked extremely innocent. Any adult seeing him for the first time would think he was a good child.

If he didn’t prefer using a youthful form, Aelioge might not have been able to outmaneuver him.

Aelioge was tired of refuting and let Amon think whatever he wanted.

However…

Aelioge fell silent for a moment, his gaze deep, and said, “Beelzebub went to investigate the mastermind behind this. According to the latest information he found, the one who plotted to kill Father was one of the gods who summoned the hero back then.”

Amon was silent for a few seconds, as if he had expected this, and said in a flat tone, “You’ve only just found out?”

Aelioge turned his head in surprise, “You already knew?”

Amon seemed thoughtful. “Oh, I didn’t share the information with you all.”

“…”

Aelioge’s mouth twitched slightly, thinking that it made sense. Amon had been absent from family meetings for so long, and even when he attended, he wouldn’t actively share information. Who knew how far his investigation had gone? Given Amon’s abilities, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had discovered quite a lot.

Amon continued, “But the investigation from here on will be difficult.”

At that time, humans were fragile and weak, like candles in the wind. Seven gods reached out to help humanity, working with human sages to devise a “salvation plan” exclusively for humans, mobilizing all of humanity to create a world-class summoning magic.

Once the magic succeeded, they would have seven paths of salvation, seven methods of salvation, and seven people for salvation.

The seven gods who helped were the Goddess of Harmony, the God of Fortune, the Goddess of Virtue, the Goddess of Wisdom, the God of Earth and Sky, the God of Flames, and the Primordial God of Humanity.

Among them, three gods had already fallen, leaving only the four later goddesses.

Setting aside the four goddesses for now, Amon had investigated all he could and found nothing. He was most suspicious of the Primordial God of Humanity, but that one had been destroyed most thoroughly, vanishing without a trace, not even particles remaining, possibly even their consciousness had been vaporized.

The trail thus ended here.

Amon said in a subtle tone, “We’ve been pursuing the culprit all this time, but what if the culprit died long ago? How can we catch something that’s already dead? Everything about them might have been buried in over eight thousand years of history.”

To this, Aelioge was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said, “The mastermind isn’t dead.”

Amon glanced at him from the corner of his eye, surprised, “Are you sure?”

Aelioge nodded, his eyes determined. He thought to himself, of course they’re not dead, they’ve even come out, brazenly calling themselves the “Priest Xilin,” providing Father with accommodation, secretly observing, waiting for an opportunity to act.

Talking about boldness, this was truly bold. Sooner or later, they would catch it and tear it apart with their own hands, making it beg for life but unable to die.

However, Aelioge wouldn’t reveal too much information to Amon yet.

Amon was full of uncertainties. If you told him everything and he got hold of the information, if he decided to backstab them and report to Big Brother…

That would truly spell disaster.

Even with leverage, they had to be especially careful with Amon.

To be honest, Aelioge’s impression of Amon could be described in three phrases: mercurial, unpredictable, and playing with the world. He was both playful and perverse. He looked innocent now only because the subject involved Father.

For things other than Father, Amon’s attitude was more often one of naive cruelty.

He liked to hide behind events like a hermit, coldly observing how things unfolded, looking down on the chessboard like a puppeteer, manipulating the pieces step by step, viewing civilization as a board game and all beings as chess pieces.

They all inherited some humanity from Father, but Amon was one of those who inherited the least. To satisfy his own whims, it wouldn’t be surprising for him to do anything to humans.

In fact, Amon had once ruined an entire race.

That race provoked him, so you could say they brought it upon themselves. Later, in just a thousand years, he played with them until their race was extinct.

It would be strange if humans as a race didn’t view him as a threat.

Their family had three great demons: Beelzebub, Amon, and Botis. Beelzebub devoured a race in a fit of gluttony, Amon played with a race until extinction, and Botis went even further, destroying an entire race. They were black through and through, possibly beyond whitewashing.

Humans gave them the nickname “Race Destroyers” and classified them as “SS-SSS Class Human Threats.”

SS class is a national threat, while SSS is undoubtedly a racial threat.

One can imagine how wary humans are of them.

Humans, mindful of potential dangers, fear that they might be destroyed just like other races. Their vigilance and caution are only natural.

If it weren’t for Father, he wouldn’t bother trying to whitewash these guys! Aelioge fumed internally.

The spatial transit ended here.

The scenery around them changed as they arrived together at the Historical Research Institute of the Aust Empire.

Amon stepped out of the spatial rift, observing the place.

The last time he had contact with humans was thousands of years ago. The scent of humans was close to that of his father, which made him nostalgic yet painful.

Then, Amon’s gaze turned to where a dozen or so humans were.

Bookshelves stood densely packed. The library, usually a quiet place for reading, was now noisy with arguments.

The historians were in a heated debate over a historical issue, each stubbornly holding onto their views and refusing to budge.

An older historian, clearly agitated, angrily said, “The Abyss Lord Amon is a great demon! His deeds are well-known, there’s no possibility of overturning this!”

A young historian replied, “We’re not trying to overturn anything, we just want to restore the true history.”

“Isn’t the true history clear enough? So many countries’ history books record his insanity!”

“Aren’t you expecting too much from a demon? Compared to those perverted gods like the God of Light, Amon could be considered a great benevolent demon.”

“Yes, yes, at least Amon never launched a harmonious war against humans.”

The old and young historians were at each other’s throats, nearly coming to blows.

Others watched silently, as they saw both men roll up their sleeves. The young historian’s arm veins were bulging; it looked like he could kill the old historian with one slap.