After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 63.1

Vassago was sleeping soundly when suddenly cat paws kicked his face. He angrily stood up immediately, only to see Buer irritably toss down a sentence.

“I’m going out for a while, you protect Father!”

Vassago: “Huh?”

But this willful little ragdoll said it was leaving and just left, swishing its tail as the cat jumped into a spatial rift.

Vassago: ……

What happened? At least explain a little.

Vassago didn’t understand, but felt Buer was in a great hurry.

Previously, Vassago would have definitely chased after to teach it a lesson, but He had been in deep slumber for too long and His consciousness was a bit fuzzy, not wanting to engage in vigorous activity.

Forget it.

Vassago lazily yawned, His gaze penetrating through several walls of the bookstore, landing on the quiet black-haired youth.

Something seemed to be happening outside, with noise everywhere, yet around their Father it remained peacefully quiet as always.

Vassago felt happy again, stretching lazily and smoothing His cat fur with His paws.

Mmm, very good.

Although Agares still couldn’t be found, it wasn’t a complete loss. He seemed to have guessed where Agares might be. Knowing that place made things a bit easier, at least there was a target now.

Vassago thought to Himself that Agares truly lived up to his reputation, with both ideas and actions so unique. He pondered for a while, manifesting as a chubby white cat in the sunlight, His fur not fluffy but exceptionally smooth. Due to oversleeping, a few cowlicks had grown on His head, making Him look inexplicably silly, but His gaze was much more mature, His demeanor relaxed and lazy, composed and unhurried.

He walked out of the bedroom on soft padded feet, leaping onto the table in a few bounds. Just as He was about to lean against His Father to catch up on some sleep, He unexpectedly heard the youth’s low mutter.

“The Abyss Lord Vassago has a gentle temperament, but once angered it would be a disaster. Very few humans in history have been able to form contracts with Him. Even if they successfully formed a contract, the Abyss Lord Vassago rarely lent His power, and might even fly into a rage because humans disturbed His sleep.”

The black-haired youth was just reading the news aloud, but the little cat beside him froze, His round cat eyes wide with shock.

Fa-Father, what is he reading?

Could it be he has already discovered?!

A suffocating feeling of having his dark history exposed welled up. Vassago had thought He wouldn’t care if things were revealed, but upon actually hearing it, He was at a complete loss, so frightened that He let out a meow, drawing His Father’s attention.

Xiu Si looked to the left and found that the little ragdoll was gone, replaced by the white cat that rarely came out.

His lips, which had been pressed downward, curved slightly upward upon seeing Vassago. He smiled and said, “Have you come out for a walk, Vassago?”

Vassago’s cat body trembled, and He immediately nodded.

Xiu Si put down the book in his hand, his gaze gentle, showing no emotion, and just said calmly, “I just happened to read news about a great demon with the same name as you.”

There was a boom in Vassago’s mind.

Father, that’s not just the same name, it is me!

But He choked up, not daring to reveal Himself.

His history… Although He hadn’t fought much, there were instances where He had casually taught a few of His younger brothers a lesson. It was because they were just too noisy. How could one tolerate them making noise at the door while you’re trying to sleep? Those younger brothers just needed to be taught a lesson!

But no matter what, fighting was fighting, and in Father’s eyes, it would definitely be seen as misbehavior.

Vassago’s movements stiffened as His mind raced.

However, Xiu Si pondered, “Why do these demons’ names overlap so much with yours?”

Vassago froze, completely petrified, thinking it was all over.

Xiu Si was still analyzing, “Could it be because…”

Vassago was sweating profusely, His cat eyes had never been so shaken, thinking what to do? How could He explain?

The black-haired youth looked at Him, as if he had thought of something crucial, making this great demon suffocate and not dare to move.

Then, He heard His Father contemplate. “Could it be that they used your names?”

Vassago paused. What? There was such a train of thought?

Xiu Si analyzed, “Abyss demons don’t have names, most don’t even have consciousness, let alone the practice and action of naming. It’s possible they learned from you, imitated your ecology, and even took your names.”

Vassago couldn’t believe it. His Father had come up with such a far-fetched possibility!

Although it wasn’t entirely impossible, it was still too far-fetched. Just as the weight in His heart was about to lift, He suddenly realized, could it be that Father was unwilling to believe those great demons were his own children, so he subconsciously explained it away, defending the idea that they were good children?

Vassago trembled again, thinking Father trusted them too much. How heartbroken would he be when he learned the truth?

They were such unfilial children!!

Fortunately, Xiu Si didn’t notice His unusual pause and turned back to continue reading the news.

A storm raged in Vassago’s heart, His emotions complex and chaotic. But what news was Father reading after all?

He opened His senses and listened to various rumors in the Imperial City.

All topics pointed towards the “Great Hammurabi Empire” and the Divine Kingdom of Destruction that had launched a war against it.

Hm? Divine Kingdom of Destruction?

Vassago blinked, continuing to listen.

****

Meanwhile, at the military conference in the Imperial City of the Great Hammurabi Empire.

General Hilton was analyzing the war situation.

Hilton’s hair was completely white. At 93, he should have been long retired – it was more than a full life for a human. But he still insisted on staying at the frontline position. Because of his high prestige, he could keep the young ones below in check. Once he stepped down, those young generals would find it hard to command.

But it had to be said, he had truly aged, his judgment and insight were declining.

He had been preparing to retire, but unexpectedly encountered such a major event – a once-in-a-thousand-years crisis of national destruction and racial extinction. He could neither advance nor retreat, only grit his teeth and hold this position, not allowing enemies or his own people to discover any problems.

Hilton’s gaze was heavy, his face full of wrinkles like dead tree bark. His once robust physique was no more, having become as thin as bamboo. This wasn’t just due to aging.

Since taking office as general, he had been continuously cursed by various parties. When he was young, his vital energy was vigorous and his spiritual power strong, so he could still resist. But over time, he had become like this.

Invisible curses were more troublesome than actual enemy attacks, because you could guard against the latter, while the former was impossible to defend against completely.

Hilton looked at the lines of text on the report, as if watching tadpoles fighting, dazzled. He couldn’t help but rub his brow and take a deep breath, slowly stating, “We can no longer count on the power of the Abyss Lords. Most of them have gone to the subspace, and the rest are probably preparing to go too. They likely won’t care about continental affairs anymore. We can only rely on ourselves. Let’s adjust our strategy accordingly.”

A vice general eagerly spoke up, saying, “General, should we continue to refuse the alliance’s help? The Divine Kingdom of Destruction’s formation is no longer just aimed at our country. They want to destroy the entire human race. We are weak and alone, and the power of a single country cannot resist the Divine Kingdom of Destruction.”

Hilton sighed and said, “His Majesty the Emperor still opposes accepting aid from the alliance. I’m afraid we cannot change His Majesty’s mind.”

The vice general asked, “Why? Are we still worried about foreign spies at a time like this?”

Hilton shook his head, “Have you forgotten? There are also moles within the alliance. What if accepting alliance aid actually accelerates our destruction? Who can guarantee that those coming to aid us aren’t villains from certain free associations, or plants from the Divine Kingdom of Destruction?”

Everyone looked at each other upon hearing this.

The vice general choked, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, but he still persisted somewhat, “But…”

Hilton said helplessly, “So we can only strive for those powerful individuals we can trust.”

His words were contradictory. For the Great Hammurabi Empire, only their own people could be trusted, foreigners were all untrustworthy.

High-ranking human powerhouses weren’t necessarily orderly and good. Once they caused trouble, the consequences would be more troublesome than one or two ordinary spies.

However, Hilton no longer had the mental energy to sort out the contradictions. He looked weary and slowly said, “I have already contacted the high-level alliance. There’s no problem with borrowing high-level combat strength. When it comes to major issues involving human crises, they are willing to provide help. Our main problem lies in rear support, especially support measures against curses.”

Everyone agreed with this.

Because they all knew that the strongest aspect of those monsters from the Divine Kingdom of Destruction wasn’t their martial prowess, but their incessant, abnormal curses day and night.

In pure combat, they had both strength and tactics to fight to the death with the Divine Kingdom of Destruction and its followers. But curses were impossible to guard against completely, especially “divine curses”.

They could rely on martial prowess to overcome lower ranks, but curses were a mental crushing from higher ranks to lower ranks. Throughout human history, methods to resist and dissolve curses had always been very rare.

Many who were kings of countries had been cursed to death by gods.

To deal with curses, humans had even developed a profession called curse-breakers.

The basic attribute requirements for this profession were beyond ordinary people. A spiritual power value of at least 95 was needed just to touch its threshold.

Even if you searched the world, there were only a dozen or so curse-breakers with names and reputations.

The empire had already secured ten of them, but it was still not enough. Faced with the continuous curse attacks from the Divine Kingdom of Destruction, they were physically and mentally exhausted.

The divine power of the Goddess of Harmony would protect all creatures inside buildings, but the protection was limited to the body and did not extend to the mind.

Hilton felt it was too thorny an issue. He rubbed his temples and said, “If only the Abyss Lord Buer could respond to the summons. She has methods to counter curses. One of her magic potions is particularly effective against curses.”

“Indeed.”

The other generals around the round table all nodded.

It was well known that there were two great potion masters on the continent. One was the Abyss Lord Buer, and the other was a certain mysterious master whose whereabouts were unknown.

Their level of mystery was comparable to that of Great Mentor Matros, and was also an almost unfindable figure.

Just then, a clear and melodious female voice like silver bells rang out.

“Oh, are you looking for me?”

Before the voice faded, everyone’s expressions changed abruptly. They immediately became alert, staring intently at the silver-haired humanoid that had suddenly appeared.

Hilton didn’t dare to move, stiffly turning his head.

Buer didn’t give him time to react, boldly walking up to the platform and scanning the crowd, saying, “Are you the ones who summoned me?”

Everyone couldn’t help but gasp.

Could it be that the Abyss Lord Buer was angry because of their summons?

Hilton immediately stepped forward and respectfully said, “Yes, great Abyss Lord Buer, humanity needs your help.”

“Skip the nonsense, let’s talk business directly.”

Buer glanced at Hilton, chin slightly raised, fully displaying Her flamboyance and dominance.

“I can give you what you want, but in exchange, you must do these things—”

She abruptly stated demands that made everyone in the room widen their eyes.

After listening, Hilton’s expression became a bit strange, and he asked, “Are you sure about these demands?”

“What, you can’t do it?”

Buer coldly glared at Hilton, Her tone brooking no objection.

Hilton trembled all over and nodded. “We’ll definitely do it!”

Although he didn’t know what the Abyss Lord Buer was thinking, as long as they secured the supply of magic potions, they would have a glimmer of hope in resisting the Divine Kingdom of Destruction! It’s just that the price was far too high, almost like taking advantage of their misfortune.

****

Almost simultaneously. Inside the forging room.

When Aelioge suddenly requested to open the red coffin, Celerios was stunned for a moment, then instinctively nodded in agreement.

“Alright.”

He was as docile as a little lamb, not even asking Aelioge why He wanted to do this, or who was inside the red coffin.

The little black bird hiding behind Aelioge was shocked.

So there was such a pure and guileless demon in their family.

He was truly the little brother among little brothers, what a good little brother.

The little black bird was a bit excited, seemingly forgetting that compared to Celerios, he was the little brother, and should be counted as the second youngest.

Celerios didn’t have a shred of doubt, clearly this wasn’t the first time he had encountered such a situation. His siblings often suddenly asked for his help. Well, he was Father’s good child, how could he not help?

Celerios walked to the red coffin, his gaze falling downward, his longer bangs covering his light-colored eyes. He was different from his other siblings; although he also had long hair, he had braided it into two plaits, tied back with hair accessories, making him look neat and decisive.

Seeing such a demon with a gentle and calm temperament, the little black bird couldn’t help but think of their Father.

So there were still normal demons after all.

The little black bird hid on Aelioge’s shoulder, quietly watching Celerios’s actions.

Celerios’s gaze was solemn as he placed both hands above the red coffin, with thread-like magic power lines dropping from his fingertips.

They fell onto the red coffin, like plunging into water, as if measuring the depth of a riverbed.

He seemed to be thoroughly analyzing the red coffin’s properties, making a diagnosis and assessment.

A minute passed, and He remained motionless as a statue, with only a few strands of hair falling from His ears, showing a slight change.

Beelzebub thought Celerios found it thorny, but unexpectedly, after just a few seconds, Celerios suddenly turned His head, smiled brilliantly at them, and said, “Good, give me an hour, I’ll rescue him.”

“Is it easy?” Aelioge couldn’t help but ask.

Celerios smiled like the sun, His eyes slightly narrowed, and honestly said, “It’s very easy for me.”

Easy for you, difficult for us, right?

Aelioge’s fist clenched. Is honesty really the ultimate move? He dares to lecture his older brother.

However, Aelioge’s anger subsided quickly.

Because Celerios was engrossed very quickly, His eyes glowing, bangs floating up to reveal a bright face, different from the previous foolishness, now with a serious and focused gaze.

His fingers moved incessantly, as if playing an extremely difficult piano piece, fast and with incredibly precise rhythm, and sometimes, it looked like He was performing surgery.

Fast and slow in order, the rhythm completely under control.

“…”

Aelioge and Beelzebub exchanged a glance, knowing that at this time they should leave it to Celerios. Their presence would be of no help, and might even affect Celerios.

Aelioge: “Let’s wait outside.”

Beelzebub: “Alright.”

They walked out of the forging room without looking back. Only the little black bird remained curious, its bean-sized eyes observing the surrounding scene.

He hadn’t paid attention earlier, but now he noticed that this room was full of god-level artifacts, all sorts of swords, spears, and shields, everything imaginable!

Their family’s brothers and sisters were all not to be underestimated.

The little black bird, despite possessing the history of the God of Darkness, repeatedly showed an unsophisticated gaze due to family matters.