After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 58.2

In the scene, Amon was excitedly directing the historians, acting as if He were the leader of the historical research group.

Meanwhile, Helen, the actual group leader, was drinking tea on the side, lost in thought, occasionally smiling.

Inpos found this scene strangely… indescribable, but if it could speed up the historical recompilation, that was a good thing. This way, they wouldn’t have to hide it from Father.

Inpos didn’t know that just as He turned His head away reassured, Amon glanced at Him from the corner of His eye, as if confirming whether Aelioge was there.

Inpos was completely unaware, but the little white bird on His head tilted its head curiously, looking at Amon.

Amon caught sight of the little white bird from the corner of His eye, and His pupils immediately shook, His fists clenching.

Damn it, when did another sibling appear!

Amon looked closely and realized it was the God of Light. Shocked, His gaze suddenly deepened, as if He had thought of something, and He silently said, “Even the God of Light… Is that so?”

****

Meanwhile, in the Oedipus Empire.

At the bookstore counter, Great Magician Millard was paying a formal visit.

“You’re asking if my gray cat is home? Give me a moment.”

Xiu Si went to the back room, searched around, and found the gray cat fast asleep on the bed.

He then tucked the gray cat in with a blanket, turned back to the counter, and answered Millard. “He’s home, but He’s sleeping. If you’re looking for Him, you can come back another time. It’s not easy for children to sleep, so let’s not wake Him up.”

His parental attitude made Millard’s heart skip a beat.

Millard had sensed it since the competition – this Mr. Yi Xiusi treated his cat not like a pet, but more like a child.

“I see.”

Millard was very disappointed, looking at Xiu Si with a hesitant expression.

He appeared to have come for the gray cat, but his true purpose seemed to be Xiu Si himself.

Of course, he didn’t have any ill intentions. Millard just wanted to learn more about this student of Great Mentor Matros.

Xiu Si asked, “What’s the matter?”

Millard inquired curiously, “People say you’re a student of Great Mentor Matros.”

“That’s true.”

Xiu Si nodded, but didn’t mention that he had never actually met Matros, and still didn’t know why Matros had taken him as a student.

All the magicians in the city wanted to find Matros, and so did he. Moreover, there were rumors that Matros had eliminated the Jupius clan.

It seemed like it might be related to him somehow.

Sometimes, Xiu Si felt like he was overlooking something, some crucial matters. But when he thought about it carefully, it didn’t seem like anything special.

Just then, the little ragdoll meowed timely, quickly jumping onto the table and pouncing into Xiu Si’s arms.

This was Her daily routine.

But Millard hadn’t seen it before, and couldn’t help but be amazed, saying, “Mr. Yi Xiusi, where did these cats of yours come from?”

“That’s a secret,” Xiu Si said with a smile.

“A secret, is it?”

Millard felt uncomfortable pressing further, and after some thought, he could only once again formally express his goodwill, “Mr. Yi Xiu si, in any case, you’re very welcome in the Oedipus Empire. As you can see, it’s relatively peaceful here, with a balance of power between major forces, and not much going on diplomatically, making it quite livable.”

Xiu Si: “It is indeed quite livable.”

Livability was actually an important topic. There were many human countries on the continent, but not many could truly be called livable.

Of the dozen or so countries in the Western Continent, ten frequently suffered divine kingdom invasions. After several Harmonious Wars, citizens were either physically or mentally missing parts, making it difficult to assess.

The Oedipus Empire had also faced divine kingdom invasions but had repelled them with its own strength, without relying on the Alliance’s power. This demonstrated the value of the title “Great Empire.”

Millard was somewhat proud of this, smiling as he said, “Our country ranks quite high, and public security is relatively safe compared to other countries.”

Xiu Si nodded. He remembered the Oedipus Empire’s ranking, which seemed to be eighth on the continent, far higher than the Aust Empire.

On this note, Millard casually mentioned, “By the way, do you know about the recent ranking incident?”

Xiu Si nodded. “I know a little.”

Millard said, “Theoretically, there should be a national ranking every year, but this year the God of Rankings ran away. The Hammurabi Empire chased after Him, but I don’t know if they’ve found Him yet.”

“Is that so?”

Xiu Si didn’t pay much attention to the national rankings. To him, all countries were more or less the same, with only differences in livability.

“The Hammurabi Empire might be a bit hasty,” Millard remarked, his expression becoming somewhat heavy.

Xiu Si asked curiously, “Why?”

“They’re chasing the God of Rankings to find the number one ranked human, to save their country from crisis.”

“Isn’t the Hammurabi Empire the strongest country on the continent? What crisis can’t they resolve?”

“Mr. Yi Xiusi may not know, but three years ago, an ancient god was resurrected. He has a grudge against the Hammurabi Empire, and the day He truly awakens will definitely bring destruction.”

Millard’s tone was complex, showing extreme wariness towards the ancient god he mentioned.

Xiu Si: “Even the strongest human country on the continent fears this god?”

Millard lowered his gaze, frowning deeply, “That ancient god is the God of Destruction.”

Xiu Si’s expression changed as well, saying seriously, “So it’s Him.”

The God of Destruction, an ultimate being in the first tier, considered the strongest conceptual god. Historical records state that He was eliminated by the joint efforts of the human empire and heroes. Who would have thought He would be resurrected today?

Wait, wasn’t He completely destroyed?

Then, Millard analyzed the situation, saying, “If He resurrects, not just the Hammurabi Empire, but all of humanity will be in crisis. The Hammurabi Empire is looking for the number one ranked human to unite strong powers against this common enemy.”

“I see.”

Xiu Si thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Is He currently in subspace?”

“Yes.”

Millard nodded, “His Divine Kingdom of Destruction is right above the location of the Hammurabi Empire, ready to crush down at any moment, waging war against the strongest human country on the continent or even annihilating the entire nation.”

“That’s too dangerous.”

Xiu Si shook his head.

“Indeed, but we can’t solve it. Ultimate beings aren’t easily defeated. Among humans now, only the second-ranked clearly has power at this level.”

“The first-ranked should have this power too, but the problem is we can’t find them…”

A trace of regret flashed in Millard’s eyes.

“Sounds like it will be a tough battle.”

“Yes. However, humans are not what they used to be. If we could defeat great enemies in the past, we should be able to do it now too.”

Xiu Si lowered his gaze, his eyes turning cold, suddenly saying, “In the past, it was because of the heroes.”

Millard paused, not expecting Xiu Si to bring up the topic of heroes. After some thought, he said, “Mr. Yi Xiusi is right. The past is the past, and the present is the present. Humans have lost even their last hero and can only rely on the power of local humans now.”

When the Aust Empire was in crisis, many people criticized Hero Luo Jie for not helping, thinking the old man should have retired. However, when Hero Luo Jie truly disappeared, they began to feel uneasy.

For the past one or two thousand years, Luo Jie didn’t appear for every major event, but he was undoubtedly a spiritual totem of “human victory.”

There was clearly a difference between having him and not having him.

On this note, Millard couldn’t help mentioning, “Fortunately, the Alliance has started searching for heroes again. Hopefully, they can find one.”

“Didn’t they try to search sincerely before?”

Xiu Si’s tone suddenly turned cold.

Millard paused, looked up, and surprisingly felt a spine-chilling authority emanating from the young man opposite him.

“We…”

“We need to stand on our own. Heroes are outsiders after all.”

“But I didn’t expect humans to rely so heavily on heroes. It’s one thing to rely on them, but after the heroes disappeared, there wasn’t much active exploration either.”

The gentle young man’s eyes darkened, his expression turning solemn. Though he hadn’t released any magic power, Millard felt a chill and deep shame. Before his mind could process it, his mouth was already open.

“Mr. Yi Xiusi is right! The Alliance has indeed done poorly in this regard. It’s said they searched very actively back then, but after thousands of years, some people had to give up and prepare for the worst.”

Millard explained nervously.

“It’s not just that, is it?”

Xiu Si seemed to think of something else, his gaze shifting slightly as he gradually returned to being the gentle young man from before.

He smiled at Millard and said, “It’s about time. See you next time, Instructor Millard.”

Millard nodded uneasily, not even realizing when he had left the bookstore.

The sky had darkened, and when he turned around, the nine-to-five vendors were gone. (TL: open at 9 am and close at 5 pm)

“This…”

Should he attribute it to winter?

Millard returned to the Magic Association, reflecting deeply for a long time. Suddenly, he said seriously, “Yes, the Alliance’s hero search team should include me too!”

****

Meanwhile.

At 6:30 PM, night had fallen.

The little ragdoll on the table raised Her head, Her emerald eyes blinking, vaguely sensing that Her father was a bit angry.

This was an extremely rare occurrence.

It wasn’t directed at Millard personally, but Millard’s unconscious words had touched on one of Xiu Si’s sore spots.

To be honest, Xiu Si was known for his gentle nature and good temper since childhood, but he wasn’t so magnanimous as to be indifferent to everything.

He didn’t care about his own affairs, but he cared very much about his friends’ matters.

Although it was an unintentionally mentioned topic, Xiu Si’s heart was stirred by certain humans’ thoughts and actions.

Especially when he later learned that there were some people who eagerly awaited the end of the heroes’ era, welcoming a so-called history belonging to local humans.

Just hearing about it was enough to make his fists clench.

Just then, a “meow” broke the silence.

Xiu Si paused, lowering his gaze to meet the little ragdoll’s emerald eyes, and said, “Did I scare you?”

As he spoke, he patted the little ragdoll’s head, as if comforting Her.

“Meow!”

The little ragdoll rolled over.

“You say you don’t mind? Haha, it’s alright, I’ll be more careful in the future.”

Xiu Si nodded, his gaze filled with a hint of nostalgia.

In his understanding, as an adult, no matter what happened, he shouldn’t easily show emotions in front of the children.

Adults are role models for children and must control their emotions. If adults get angry, children will be scared.

Back then, when he fell alone into the abyss, facing so many terrifying creatures, wasn’t he panicked? Wasn’t he afraid? Didn’t he have emotions?

Of course not. He was terrified, so scared he couldn’t sleep day or night, constantly on alert for his surroundings, carefully guarding against all kinds of dangers.

But he had to appear composed in front of the children, telling them it wasn’t a big deal, that they had just fallen into the abyss, and with effort, they could definitely return to the surface.

Adults should be strong and reliable, even if he lacked strength, even if his level wasn’t as high as his children’s, he had to appear calm and collected.

Whether in front of the children or the young heroes.

Was this putting on a brave face? It probably was. Xiu Si admitted to himself that being gentle, calm, and emotionless – pretending for so long that he began to believe it himself – while he had always been this type of person, it had never been so pronounced before.

He had no choice but to be “pronounced.”

Perhaps all strong beliefs are essentially a form of self-deception.

Deceiving oneself that one can become a certain type of person.

Deceiving oneself that one can accomplish certain things.

If not successful, then martyrdom.

Xiu Si thought that, in a sense, his mental strength had been gradually honed through this process of “putting on a brave face.” From being too terrified to move when facing abyss trolls, to being able to look at them directly without flinching, and finally to being nonchalant enough to entrust dangerous tasks to the children.

The human heart is always tempered through experience. His strength was already weak, how could his mind be weak too? There had to be some form of strength, otherwise, survival would be impossible, whether in the original world or this otherworld.

In the original world, Xiu Si had lived self-sufficiently until his twenties, never asking for help from anyone, not even his parents. How could he not be mature?

In his understanding and experience, adults should appear reliable and absolutely must not let children worry.

Yet he had let something happen to himself, causing the children to worry for thousands of years.

It really shouldn’t have happened.

“I was really worried about you all. Thankfully, you’re all safe, just surviving in places I didn’t know about.”

Xiu Si stroked the little ragdoll’s ears, his eyes full of relief.

“Meow!”

The little ragdoll nuzzled Her father’s palm, Her soft and adorable appearance just like a plush doll.

Then, perhaps excited, the little ragdoll suddenly spoke human words with Her cat mouth, in a girl’s voice. “Father meow, not weak meow, Father strongest in world meow, Father greatest in world meow! Super super super love Father meow!”

Xiu Si was stunned for a moment, then amused. It took him a few seconds to realize that his child could now speak.

Looking closely, he noticed that Her level had also increased by ten.

Xiu Si patted the little ragdoll’s head, praising, “That’s amazing.”

The little ragdoll puffed out Her cheeks, gesticulating, “Father is amazing meow! Father is the most most most amazing meow! Who could be as amazing as Father meow!”

“I know, I know.”

Xiu Si was smiling, but suddenly realized something, looking at the little ragdoll in disbelief.

Hey, wait, increasing ten levels at once?!

What’s going on?