Chapter 94

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Chapter 94: Save the Goodbye

This was still the hall as it was when they left, torches vanished in the previous storm of fear, gnomes and clutter on the ground were nowhere to be seen. The Magic Pool liquid surrounding the Dungeon Core quickly returned to its place, and this dim and empty place lit up with a faint glow once more.

They’re back.

In this dim light, Tasha saw a shadow on the verge of dissipating.

The kiss on the lips was fleeting, as the Book of Dungeons, which served as its vessel, was completely consumed. The soul of the great demon could hardly survive in the Primary Material Plane. Victor was about to be expelled by Aryan, but the abyss was no longer his homeland. His body there had already perished, and the mysterious exile severed Victor’s connection to the abyss. After being driven away, where could he go?

The wandering demon had no place to stay, only fragmentation awaited this soul.

… Is that the only reason?!

Suddenly, Tasha opened her eyes wide, a glimmer of hope mixed with annoyance rising within her, causing her to push Victor away. Her hand mostly passed through the shadow, but managed to touch something, while Victor remained partially tangible, with a somewhat incomplete form. The shadowy figure of the great demon looked puzzled and slightly hurt—don’t ask how, Tasha could just tell, as if she could read the emotions of an old friend from a book, the shadow wasn’t much of a challenge—before he could figure out what was happening, Tasha grabbed him and pushed him into the Magic Pool.

It was really hard, Victor’s current state was like jelly, like a lump of clay, like a dark cloud; too little force couldn’t move him, too much might crush him. Tasha’s hand slipped out of him several times (like passing through quicksand), until she used the power of the dungeon, the strength of dragon wings, and the newly created ghostly hand. With a lot of effort, she finally managed to push Victor completely into the pool.

What is in the Magic Pool?

Let’s talk about the Dungeon Core. Tasha had the ability of a Dungeon Master, able to move any object within a dungeon. This ability came from the Dungeon Core, not the dungeon’s walls and passages. To put it simply, the Dungeon Core is the light source, the dungeon is the surrounding mirrors, the presence of cities merely expands the core’s abilities. Once outside the dungeon, the range of influence of the Dungeon Core becomes quite small, but as long as magical energy is invested, it can still manipulate nearby things.

This is why the magical liquid droplets hardly decreased. Tasha acted decisively when she was being swept out of the cracks, ensuring all the swept-away droplets surrounded the Dungeon Core, protecting the water that had just been on a brief tour of the cracks and the Astral Plane. However, the credited part belongs to the Dungeon Core, not the magical droplets themselves; the core is the grabbing hand, and the water in the Magic Pool is just the captured thing.

While swiftly ‘tightening’ all the magical droplets, Tasha didn’t have time to patiently sort them. Everything near the Magic Pool, including droplets and pebbles and others, were all enveloped in the protective aura of the Dungeon Core.

Within the present Magic Pool, there is not only the pool water concentrated with magic.

There are pebbles, dust, and the ‘key’ brought by the Angry Demon and then forgotten by the Angry Demon—a dark scale.

The black scales on the cover of the Book of Dungeons held powerful abyss energy that was very similar.

Victor’s soul fell into the Magic Pool, and the gem blue water quickly soaked up the shadowy mass. At the moment he entered the water, he realized the existence of the scales and had a sudden realization. His scattered soul drifted towards the black scales in the pool, and when the first wisp of black smoke seeped in, it was as if a switch had been flipped.

The palm-sized black scales turned into a tiny black hole, sucking in Victor surrounded by the water of the Magic Pool and black smoke. In the blink of an eye, the whole group of black mist disappeared, while the scales continued to gulp down the pool water, forming a small whirlpool. It was hard to believe that such a small thing had such a big appetite, as the water level of the Magic Pool visibly decreased.

Tasha reached out to tear off the dragon wings on her back. These wings were already tattered and unable to fly in the turbulent space, but they had received blessings from the abyss. She ripped off the already broken left wing and threw it into the tumultuous Magic Pool, feeling like a witch throwing frog feet into a pot. When Tasha tried to replicate the same with the right wing, her arm broke.

Her arm was just meant for emergencies and breaking was to be expected. Tasha wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, realizing she was bleeding from cuts on her eyes, nose, and face. Her skin felt itchy, sticky from the wind blowing, numb with numerous small wounds that showed no signs of healing but instead grew larger, like cracked porcelain filled with water.

Despite having protective curses, the dragon-winged body that had been tumbled in the turbulent space had reached its limit.

In that case, might as well make good use of waste.

Tasha jumped into the Magic Pool like a blacksmith plunging a sword into a furnace. The soul of the dragon-winged body returned to its original form, while the shell decomposed rapidly in the Magic Pool. Though lacking the Book of Dungeons, there were the scales shed by Victor; without the Angry Demon, there remained a dungeon creation once blessed by the Abyssal Gaze. It was far from the optimal choice, but at least it exceeded the minimum requirement.

Tasha felt a weight lifted off her shoulders, as if coming back from the brink of disaster. She wasn’t sure if this feeling came from herself or from someone close by. Then she felt relieved, a half-hearted lingering anger – if she hadn’t remembered about the scales, was Victor ready to die? He said he didn’t want to die, but completely forgot about where his lifeline was. How could such a foolish demon exist ?!

From the link came a faint sense of sadness. If Victor could speak now, he would probably complain about how getting his demon soul hurt his intelligence, how busy he was with casting spells, and how ungrateful people were.

Victor still couldn’t speak. He had almost no ability to form specific words or even consciousness. His demon consciousness was still blurry, like a patient waking up from anesthesia. He had lost his body and drained too much power. It was hard for him to argue with Tasha, let alone maintain consciousness. Victor struggled to stay awake, as persistent as a dog watching TV with its owner, resisting sleep despite feeling tired.

"Go to sleep," Tasha said. "We have plenty of time."

Almost immediately, his consciousness faded away.

During this brief and mutual mending, Tasha could sense Victor’s soul fire slowly dimming, but not in a disturbing way. They were so close that Tasha knew he was out of danger. Victor was severely injured and needed rest. It would take a lot of time and conditions for him to recover, but he would survive. The part of him she knew would continue to exist.

The part she knew would live on.

Let’s skip the heart-wrenching farewell. We have plenty of time.

From the Abyss’s invasion to now, only a little over an hour had passed. The Angry Demon Form had appeared, and the minute hand had only gone halfway around. The dungeon’s other parts were unaffected, and only a few knew about this incident. Saro’s Saint Child stood at the entrance, hearing the loud noise just now, unsure whether to come and check. A ghost told him to go home and rest.

After a sudden but fierce struggle, the unexpected crisis finally came to a temporary end.

Now, Tasha finally had time to check her gains and losses.

Ragehorn Simon’s avatar was used to fill the Book of Dungeons, balancing out the losses and gains; the true form of the demon Abyssal Gaze was all swallowed up by chaotic spatial flows, not even a speck left, quite a pity. But without the chaotic spatial flows, Tasha may not have been able to escape unscathed, after all, a raging true form could at least hold her back, making it harder to slip away. The Book of Dungeons was depleted by the forbidden curse, and the scales obtained were used as a makeshift vessel, barely balancing the books.

The greatest harvest came from the restructuring and upgrading of the dungeon.

[Incomplete dungeon – Tasha]

Progress in merging and restructuring: 51/100

Attributes:

Nature – You have gained the approval of the Heart of Nature, the Will of Nature watches over you Dragon – You have gained the approval of the residual will of the Legendary Ancient Dragon, a distant dragon casts a glance towards you Abyss – You once received the favor of the Abyssal Will, even though its gaze has long gone, the imprint of once being favored by the Abyss remains in your soul. The favor of the Abyss has vanished, Tasha once thought it was a temporary boost, but now it seems that this effect has left behind some residue. Tasha seems to have a mark of the Abyss hanging over her, although she doesn’t usually receive much favor, the next time she deals with the Abyss, she can use the Power of the Abyss more easily. This attribute remains in her soul, further than the previous "Abyss Affinity".

Abyss, Nature, Dragon, the three-fold attributes exist simultaneously within the Dungeon Core, surprisingly, no conflicts arose.

The progress bar for the restructuring had been a question mark for over a decade, even when Tasha used smuggled Dungeon Core fragments, the progress bar showed no response. Now, that chaos has finally shown a specific number, after the Abyssal Gaze and facing the Astral Plane, it suddenly jumped to fifty-one percent. The progress just passed halfway, and new content appeared on the previously bare progress bar. Tasha could sense that she had another chance to level up.

The cracks had completely disappeared, the passage fell silent once again, and it would be a few years before the abyss invasion. The Aryan Empire, unaware of the news, was calm near the Nightfall Line. Many plans needed to be changed, many things needed to be accelerated, but before that, Tasha at least had one night’s time to stop.

After preparing, Tasha disabled most of the functions of the Dungeon Core and started upgrading.

——————————

In the fourth dream since coming to Aryan, mist swirled around. The background was unclear, only the main character in the middle could be seen.

Tasha saw a passerby hurrying along.

This person was wearing a classical style suit, a fashion only found in history books of present-day Aryan, but the elegance and beauty of this attire could still be appreciated. He wore a pair of leather boots and a neat top hat, appearing more suitable for riding in a carriage rather than walking on the ground – yet here he was, walking fast on the ground, and from the speed at which the surrounding scenery moved past, this gentlemanly tall man could be described as walking briskly.

Tasha felt vaguely familiar, but was sure she had never seen this face before. The man in the suit had a handsome face, but something seemed off.

Brown hair, rosy skin, thick eyebrows and large eyes, not handsome but quite pleasant to look at, perhaps above average among ordinary people. He had the most common face shape, very ordinary features, giving a sense of familiarity to anyone who saw him, as if he resembled someone they knew. A familiar stranger, an amiable person – most people would probably see him this way, as past Tasha would have thought as well, but now, should it be said that experience has increased, or is it intuition? Tasha felt a very subtle sense of discord from this person.

If a facial recognition was done for adult males in Aryan, removing the ugliest ones and taking the average, it would mostly be a face like this. But in fact, very few people could be "average" to this extent. If each person were likened to an apple, each apple would have a slight flaw, like a slight bend, a wormhole, uneven colors caused by light… But he was different, he had no wrinkles, scars, moles, or spots, his left and right face were perfectly symmetrical, like a drawn apple concept or a perfect model.

Ordinary face or gentle expression became creepy because of something wrong. This person seemed "normal" in a scary way, like a well-dressed anti-social figure or something wearing human skin.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked up, his amber eyes met Tasha’s.

Tasha suddenly realized who this was.

He covered her eyes on the Astral Plane, teaching her how to break down souls in their connection. This was Victor, and for the first time in a long time, she saw Victor with a body from another perspective.

Or rather, Victor wearing a human body.

"You are so kind." Victor smiled at her, "Coming to see me in such a busy time together."

Victor was not looking at her directly, but at something else in her direction. The dream’s viewpoint shifted, and she saw what Victor was looking at. A buzzing portal opened, and two people jumped out from it. One was a muscular man with tattoos covering his upper body and half of his face. The other was a middle-aged woman in white robes, holding a magic wand and wearing various accessories, looking like she had a high level in an RPG game.

The woman had a serious expression and asked, "What is the Abyss planning?"

"That’s not right, when does the Abyss not plan something? Demons are always working tirelessly, it’s a well-known hard profession." Victor shrugged, pretending to take off his hat, "What rumor has brought the illustrious White Lightning Sophia here? I know I’m an unwelcome guest, just preparing to go home and not wanting to bother you all."

"Don’t beat around the bush," said the wizard in a white robe named Sophia. "The Demon Lord and high-level demons on the ground are gradually recalling their clones and important subordinates. What do you want to do?"

"Oh, did I catch the demons going back home?" Victor said in surprise, putting his hat on his chest, looking like a law-abiding citizen. "You know, my relationship with other lords has never been good. If you want to know their recent schedules, ask me? Then you’re asking the wrong person."

"Enough!" the heavily tattooed man shouted, his voice deep and forceful. "Answer Chacha! Or die!"

"You see, this is one of the downsides of hiring barbarians as helpers," Victor sighed. "It’s too difficult for them to understand the etiquette of conversation, let alone understand the mission objectives. You tell me, Chacha, what will happen if you kill me here? Hint: I will awaken in the abyss, you’re basically giving me a return ticket…Oops, did I just give away the answer?"

"Don’t waste time talking to this guy, capture him first and then interrogate him!"

Another person jumped out of the portal, glaring fiercely at Victor. This petite priest bore Saro’s emblem, which made Victor burst into laughter upon seeing him.

"Isn’t this little Willy? The last time I saw you, you were only so tall, and now you’ve grown so big!" the demon disguised in human skin greeted in an extravagant manner. "I’m sorry about what happened to your father—I didn’t expect him to fall so easily. If I knew convincing him was so easy, I wouldn’t have chosen him in the first place."

"You despicable demon!" the priest roared, his raised voice cracking. He was on the verge of rushing forward, but the white robe wizard gestured, and the barbarian grabbed his collar.

"Stop stalling," Sophia said coldly. "The space nearby has been sealed off. Snake of Lies Victor, don’t even think about leaving until you speak the truth."

In the other three directions, three portals suddenly opened up.

They positioned themselves perfectly, blocking all retreats. Four wizards quickly weaved a net of light, looking well-prepared. The eldest wizard in white robes, Sophia, took a step back, becoming the pillar of the light shield. A fully armed warrior stepped forward, followed by a bald monk with bare fists, and the tattooed man who was already there. They guarded the three directions, surrounding Victor standing in the middle.

"The forbidden magic zone," Victor muttered to himself.

His outward appearance was changing.

Distortions started appearing near his skin, like ripples on water revealing the deep darkness underneath. The illusions crafted by magic shattered in the forbidden magic zone, shedding the harmless outer layer to reveal the demons beneath.

His normal white skin vanished in an instant. Initially seeming reversed in color, Victor’s true skin tone was dark, different from Marion and the Angry Demon, leaning towards a bronze shade with a metallic or scaly texture. Horns curved out of his head, his yellow eyes spread across the entire eyeball, and his familiar friendly face melted away like wax, unveiling a completely different visage.

He was very handsome yet terrifying, possessing a sharp beauty like a weapon – although describing a tall and strong male in this manner might seem odd, Tasha’s mind could only produce this one adjective. How to describe it, it was like humans seeing a god cutting down mountains, witnessing a colossal dragon tearing through the sky… This demon was clearly non-human, the sinister and majestic face was both delightful and chilling.

However, it was very fitting, or rather, compared to his previous normal face, this one suited "Victor" better.

He was neither human nor good-natured to begin with.

"Surrender," a soldier said, staring at the Demon Lord in front of him, "Your magic won’t work here due to the barrier. Sign a contract, tell us about the Abyss’s plot…"

"Are you going to give me a gentle death?" Victor asked curiously.

"You have no choice!" Priest Willy said with disgust, "Saro’s temple has enough space for abyss scum like you."

"If you cooperate, we can skip the fighting," the monk said.

"I can’t betray the Abyss," Victor said, feeling troubled.

"Then we’ll make you talk," the soldier said firmly, taking a step forward.

"The White Tower’s anti-magic barrier, the legendary barbarians of the North Sea plateau, the legendary martial monks of the Kaiser Monastery, and legendary warriors. Is this a decent enough team to surround a Demon Lord?" Victor shook his head, "But, are these few enough to confront a Demon Lord? Honestly, my pride is a bit injured."

No one spoke to him. The priest muttered to himself, as the divine spell’s radiance fell upon the three legendary professionals.

"I personally believe that talking is better than fighting. It’s a barbarian act – sorry, Chacha, not aimed at you." Victor waved his hand reassuringly towards the barbarian in a fighting stance, setting down his hat, "So, I usually try not to fight on the Primary Material Plane. It seems to have caused a bit of misunderstanding among those present. For instance, I’m not really good at magic."

Victor stood tall, looked up at the enemy in front of him, grinned, revealing sharp teeth.

"I actually prefer close combat," he said sincerely, "stereotypes can be deadly, right?"

The priest was sent flying.

The priest was sent flying, his chest exploding into a mush, his body split into pieces in the blink of an eye. As the great demon charged into the legendary professionals, shattering the skull of the weakest martial monk with a single blow, everyone was too shocked to react.