After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 97.1

On the banks of the Emerald Lake, Marbas appeared utterly bored, propping up his left cheek with his hand, dozing off. His right hand casually conjured a small fan, gently fanning himself as he lazily murmured, “Why hasn’t Fourth Brother come out yet?”

He lay comfortably on the grass by the Emerald Lake, one knee bent, His back facing the dark chaotic sky.

He wore a white robe with a golden belt, exuding nobility and elegance. Around His neck hung an elaborate and exquisite large gold chain. Whenever He moved slightly, the earring pendants on both sides would sway, flashing with dazzling light like twinkling stars.

However, despite all the brightness adorning His body, what caught people’s attention most was His golden hair.

His golden hair was smooth and bright, naturally draped, flowing down from His shoulders like a golden stream, gradually spreading across the emerald grass.

Occasionally when a gentle breeze blew past, His golden hair danced in the wind, like ripples on the lake’s surface, beautiful enough to dazzle the eyes.

His handsome features complemented this perfect attire perfectly, making Him perhaps the most eye-catching existence within several hundred meters of Emerald Lake. Even passing birds would take an extra glance at Him, as if they had spotted some kind of walking golden human sculpture.

Due to His extreme obsession with gold, Marbas was playfully nicknamed “Gold Flashy Demon” and “Big Yellow Demon” by His siblings.

However, He didn’t mind at all, and even enjoyed it. In His heart, gold was the second greatest existence in the world. You ask what’s the first? That would naturally be His father!

Whenever He thought of His father, Marbas would become especially joyful, His lips curving up in happiness, involuntarily humming the “Father’s Song” composed by Valefor!

His peripheral vision accidentally caught an update from the Cat Head Demon’s intelligence, and He immediately gathered His thoughts, seriously scanning through the intelligence content, then fell into contemplation while stroking His chin.

“Oh? So that behind-the-scenes mastermind was actually a human by father’s side, named Arnold, and he’s even a human sage?”

“Second Brother mysteriously appeared at night, hypnotized Father, what did he do?”

At this thought, Marbas’s gaze became subtle, feeling somewhat uncomfortable inside. If any other demon had done this, He would probably have reported it immediately, especially the well-known father-complex demon Botis.

Yet it was precisely Second Brother.

In Marbas’s heart, Second Brother was the least likely existence to have any ill intentions toward Father.

“What is Second Brother doing…”

Marbas lowered His gaze, carefully reading through the possibilities Amon had speculated. However, these speculations didn’t seem very realistic to Him.

If He had to forcefully find some connections…

Marbas’s gaze unconsciously turned toward the center of Emerald Lake, thinking to Himself. “Fourth Brother is close to Second Brother, He should understand Second Brother’s thoughts better.”

Marbas stroked His chin and said after pondering for a moment. “Besides, I feel like Lelagin seems to know something too. Before He disappeared, He seemed to have met with Second Brother.”

Perhaps Lelagin’s arrival here was arranged by Second Brother…

As Marbas thought of this, His expression suddenly darkened slightly, and He slowly sat up straight, facing the Emerald Lake, His eyes revealing a barely noticeable trace of darkness.

He was naturally straightforward and disliked beating around the bush, yet some siblings always refused to speak directly.

They always tended to take all responsibility and burden upon themselves, not speaking up, more often because they didn’t want others to bear those things.

Kind-hearted concealment, yet it made demons feel troubled.

“…Aren’t we all one family of demons?”

But even saying this, He found Himself also concealing things from other siblings, not telling everyone about Father’s return.

Marbas lowered His head, fingers gently caressing the golden statues of all family members, those familiar faces appearing before His eyes one by one, evoking memories deeply hidden in His heart.

The day Father had his accident was still vivid in His mind.

His Second Brother, omniscient and omnipotent, could always foresee the coming of danger.

However, in the days before Father’s accident, Second Brother had been unwell, suffering from severe headaches, resting in the system box.

On the morning of the accident, everything seemed peaceful as usual, with no unusual signs. Most of the siblings had gone elsewhere to fight monsters and level up, leaving only Big Brother, Beelzebub guarding Father’s side, and Him.

However, the accident occurred without any warning.

Suddenly, the giant demon horde fell into chaos, launching a fierce attack toward their position frantically. The surrounding space began to distort, with temporal turbulence emerging everywhere – one wrong step could lead to falling into a space-time rift.

He panicked and hurriedly rushed to Father’s side.

But the next second, a max-level giant demon frantically stomped the ground, causing the entire world to violently fracture.

At this critical moment, Second Brother awoke from His slumber just in time, quickly casting space magic to summon other siblings back.

Afterwards, He Himself appeared amidst the chaos, using all His power to protect Father with magic.

However, He was suffering from severe headaches, barely able to stand steady, appearing extremely strained.

The scene was complete chaos at the time, with giant demons surging from all directions, even including those max-level ancient giant demons. Their roars shook heaven and earth, triggering an even more terrifying beast tide, filling the entire abyss with chaos and destruction.

They had never experienced such a heart-stopping scene, not even in their imagination.

At this critical moment, Second Brother didn’t hesitate to overdraw His magic power, doing His utmost to control the chaotic situation.

Fourth Brother quickly exercised His authority, erecting a large-scale defensive barrier. Including Him, all siblings were trying their best to find ways to cope, with stronger demons protecting weaker ones.

However, the situation changed rapidly. Unexpectedly, the temporal turbulence bypassed their authority protection, occurring directly beside Father.

At that time, only Big Brother and Second Brother could react quickly, along with Beelzebub who happened to be closest to Father.

Second Brother discovered it immediately. However, if He chose to follow Father into the temporal turbulence, the entire scene might have completely spiraled out of control. Under those circumstances, they couldn’t even retreat back to Father’s system box in time.

This was a moment of decision that could lead to lifelong regret.

Second Brother didn’t make an immediate decision.

At this moment, Father spoke up first. He told Second Brother to stay put, firmly stating that he would be fine.

At this critical juncture, Second Brother obeyed Father and didn’t follow him into the temporal turbulence, prioritizing protecting them.

And then, everything that happened afterward occurred—

Recalling this, Marbas’s eyes inevitably darkened, the originally brilliant golden light on His body seeming to dim somewhat.

“That must be Second Brother’s most regretful thing,” He said softly. “If Second Brother had abandoned us then and chosen to enter the temporal turbulence with Father, perhaps He could have successfully saved Father.”

From that day on, omniscience and omnipotence might have become a curse for Second Brother.

Feeling deeply guilty for not being truly omniscient and omnipotent, believing His incompetence led to the accident that made them lose their beloved Father.

Regarding this matter, they couldn’t imagine how much regret and guilt Second Brother felt inside.

At that time, they were all immersed in tremendous grief, unable to care about more, with some impulsive younger siblings even blaming Big Brother and Second Brother, questioning why they hadn’t protected Father well.

They were truly so thoughtless then.

Thinking Big Brother and Second Brother were like heaven, supposed to accomplish anything, completely unaware that even Big Brother and Second Brother had things they couldn’t do when their levels weren’t high enough.

In this matter, none suffered more than Big Brother and Second Brother, yet they foolishly blamed the two elder brothers.

Marbas sighed, merely recalling that period made tears roll down uncontrollably.

Although Father had safely returned, the trauma that accident brought them still remained like a thorn deeply embedded in their hearts. Whenever they recalled that day, it was as if that thorn was being stirred, piercing through flesh and blood, bringing unbearable pain.

To be honest, Marbas often doubted whether Father’s return was just an illusion, or perhaps a dream He had. He worried that if He accidentally burst this beautiful illusion, everything would return to its original state, and they would once again become those children without a father.

However, watching the Cat Head Demon group’s intelligence updates, His heart gradually let go of some worries.

This intelligence proved Father’s existence.

Father not only existed but was actively leveling up and growing stronger, living the peaceful life they had once dreamed of, safe and sound under their protection.

How could this possibly be just a dream? If it were, this dream would be far too real.

Besides, how could so many demons share the same dream?

Father really had returned!

Marbas repeatedly emphasized in His heart, wiping away tears from the corner of His eyes, feeling a strong impulse to rush home and hug Father immediately!

But He still had a task at hand, to create a position point for Samikina.

Just then, a crisp, childish girl’s voice suddenly sounded behind Him.

“Brother Marbas, what are you crying about~”

Marbas was suddenly stunned – this voice — it was Ayni!

He quickly turned around, His gaze locking onto the newcomer, and sure enough, it was His youngest sister Ayni.

She was staring at Him intently, Her twin tails gently swaying in the wind, those light green eyes almost turning pale white in the sunlight, clear and profound.

Marbas was slightly stunned, a complex emotion welling up in His heart. When young, Ayni often clung to Him, asking Him to show Her all sorts of strange abyss demons, and He was happy to play with Ayni, but after leaving the abyss, they gradually grew distant, rarely speaking anymore.

“Brother Marbas?” Ayni saw Marbas’s silent face, seemingly lost in thought.

So She curiously stepped closer, gently pinching Marbas’s slightly chubby cheeks.

Marbas’s train of thought was suddenly interrupted, immediately grabbing His sister’s hand, trying to put on a serious expression, turning His face away, saying, “I wasn’t crying.”

However, Ayni tilted Her head and mercilessly exposed. “You were crying.”

Her voice was crisp and direct, not considering Marbas’s dignity.

Marbas’s mouth twitched, changing the subject. “I’m waiting for your Fourth Brother to return.”

Ayni blinked, gently tucking Her legs in to sit beside Marbas, together gazing at the Emerald Lake before them. After a few seconds, Her expression became somewhat quiet, as if also thinking about something. After a moment, She glanced sideways and asked, “Did Fourth Brother go to find Fourteenth Brother?”

Marbas nodded, answering, “Yes. Lelagin hasn’t appeared for a long time, we’re worried something might have happened to Him in there. So Fourth Brother decided to go look for Him, to confirm His safety.”

Hearing this, Ayni fell silent for a while, seeming to digest this information, then said. “I see, I miss Brother Lelagin too.”

Catching sight of His mischievous sister suddenly becoming quiet, Marbas’s internal alarm bells rang loudly, believing Ayni must be brewing some prank plan.

However, Ayni seemed completely immersed in Her own world, hands clasped, hugging Her knees, gaze lowered, quietly asking. “Brother Marbas, why did you change to a cat avatar?”

Marbas was slightly stunned, but immediately answered without hesitation. “This is to change my mood. Don’t you think cats are cute? If Father were here, He would definitely love cats too.”

Ayni slightly lowered her eyes, “Is that so.”

Marbas observed Ayni’s reaction from the corner of His eye. He recalled that when Father left, Ayni was only three months old, having just awakened to consciousness, and compared to other demons, Ayni’s maturity developed relatively slowly. It took a long time before She gradually realized that Father hadn’t returned because something had happened, and He might never be able to come back.

Ayni turned to stare at Marbas, “Brother Marbas, do you think They’re hiding something from us?”

Marbas almost let something slip, but fortunately caught himself in time, saying seriously. “What makes you say that?”

Ayni: “Aelioge and the others have been gathering together lately, I don’t know what they’re plotting. Sister Buer said They want to unite and rebel against Big Brother, but I think She must be talking nonsense.”

Indeed it was nonsense, if you’re going to make something up, at least make it believable – gathering to rebel against Big Brother? What was that stupid Buer thinking?

Marbas complained internally, glancing at Ayni from the corner of His eye, feeling somewhat worried. Honestly, He felt everyone pretty much knew already, and there was no point in keeping it secret anymore since they would find out eventually, but Ayni was too mischievous and energetic – if She learned that Father had returned, She would probably pester Father endlessly.

Father was currently focused on increasing His power and couldn’t be disturbed by anything.

Marbas felt hesitant, opening and closing the golden fan in His hand, and due to being unaccustomed to concealment, He felt His cheeks growing warm.

Ayni maintained that quiet demeanor, asking calmly, “Brother Marbas, what do you think They’re really doing?”

Looking at Ayni’s unusually proper manner, Marbas knew very well that this was just Ayni’s facade – Her inner mischievousness and playfulness couldn’t be hidden.

So, Marbas tried to maintain a composed attitude and answered. “To tell you the truth, They’re actually dealing with that mastermind.”

Ayni’s eyes widened. “Mastermind?”

A hint of murderous intent appeared in Marbas’s eyes, as if able to pierce through all falsehood and lies, as He said angrily. “The one who repeatedly harmed Father.”

Ayni was stunned by Marbas’s words, recalling how everyone had investigated that incident before, but ultimately found nothing.

She asked puzzledly. “Didn’t we investigate this before? But we didn’t find anything. Everyone thought it was just an accident, is there really a mastermind?”

Marbas nodded, answering affirmatively. “Yes, there definitely is a mastermind.”

Upon hearing this news, Ayni immediately became furious, exclaiming. “Who is it? I’ll kill them!”

Marbas turned to look at Ayni’s angry expression and couldn’t help but chuckle softly, consoling. “Don’t worry, your brothers and sisters will handle this matter, you don’t need to concern yourself. When things are settled, there might even be an unexpected surprise waiting for you.”

Ayni seemed confused, “So who’s the mastermind, and what’s the surprise?”

Marbas nodded, looking at the sky, saying with certainty. “The mastermind is still under investigation. As for the surprise, you’ll know at the family meeting – it’s something that will make everyone happy.”

As He finished speaking, His eyes emitted a golden light, mysteriously adding to His persuasiveness.

Ayni looked suspicious, moving closer. “Really?”

“Really, when has your Fifth Brother ever lied to you? Though you deceive Fifth Brother all the time.”

A bright smile appeared on Marbas’s face, all His golden ornaments glittering brilliantly in the sunlight, making jingling sounds with His movements.

The sunlight happened to shift, falling upon Him, making the entire demon appear dazzlingly bright, like a radiant emperor whose words were naturally absolute and irreversible.

Ayni, almost blinded by the golden light, grumbled dissatisfiedly. “Fifth Brother, if you dare lie to me, all your money will be mine!”

Hearing this, Marbas boldly promised without hesitation. “Fine, if you don’t find the surprise exciting, I’ll give you all my wealth!”

Ayni’s eyes lit up at this, shouting. “It’s a deal then!”

“Right,” Marbas spoke, His words worth their weight in gold, glancing at Ayni, suddenly lowering His voice. “By the way, things are complicated outside lately, you need to be careful too.”