Chapter 218 Blood of the Devilish Vampire
Adam let out a heavy sigh as they finally exited this frozen region, where the only signs of life were them and the statues of sinners frozen in eternal suffering. The world inside the Abyss was diverse enough to create a sense of disorientation.
"Veronica... we've been wandering for a long time and can't find anything useful. Do you have any ideas on where we can go?" Sierra asked, catching her breath.
"How would I know, damn it? This Abyss is so different from what I remember, so I don't even know what to do!" Veronica complained and snorted, looking around, trying to find something interesting, but her attempts were unsuccessful. She sighed and looked at Amarantha, "Have you tried contacting the others? Any response?"
"Yes, but... I haven't received any reply from them, so we can only hope to meet up with everyone in some miraculous way," Amarantha replied without joy on her face – her brows were furrowed, and her foot tapped the ground nervously, "Damn, there's nothing useful here. It feels like I've been deceived."
"Hmm..."
Adam slowly took a carefully rolled cigarette from a leather case and lit it, inhaling the smoke, and feeling the warmth entering his lungs. Sitting on the ground, covered with a thin layer of fine sand, he surveyed the surrounding area.
After overcoming the icy layer, which turned out to be a temporary trial for their spirits, they found themselves in a completely different reality. The dried-up land stretched to the horizon, covered with small stones and sandy dunes. The wind carried the taste of dust and ashes.
The skies were shrouded in heavy clouds saturated with the magic of the Abyss. The sun shone bright rays through the cracks in the clouds, creating a play of light and shadow on the lifeless ground. In the distance, muffled sounds of the wind could be heard.
The silence was so persistent that it seemed as if the entire nature held its breath, waiting for something unknown. Sandstorms flared up on the horizon, creating walls of dust that slowly moved across the desert like ghosts, leaving only devastation behind. In this desert, no living creatures were visible, except for rare moments when scorpions emerged from the sandy dunes. These creatures, frightened by the magical energy of the intruders, quickly hid in their shelters, not daring to approach them.
A place without a single distinctive feature. That's how Adam would describe this place if asked for his description. Unfortunately, nothing was interesting here, and the expected bonuses were not found. Amarantha was also disappointed since her main goal in coming to the Abyss was to increase her strength or learn something new, but so far, all she saw were desolation and ice.
"Veronica, do you think the Demon King is truly alive?" Adam asked, addressing the silent woman, lost in her thoughts.
"Hmm?"
Upon hearing her name, Veronica turned towards him, meeting his black eyes that peeked through the smoke. She frowned, contemplating before responding.
"A very complex question... I'm not sure, to be honest. There have been signs that the Demon King is still alive, but I'm not sure if it's the same being I remember," she answered his question incompletely, as she was not aware of current events. However, Veronica emphasized one important detail: "But apparently, there are all signs that he is indeed alive. So, we must be cautious."
"Demon King, huh... a very dangerous figure. Do you think he might attack us?" Sierra asked, tilting her head.
"I don't even know... but it's unlikely. Usually, the Demon King doesn't leave his castle, protecting the laws of the Abyss, so provoking him is extremely difficult," Veronica replied, frowning and recalling her old times. "I managed to provoke him to leave his castle only twice!"
The trio exchanged glances and fell into silence, not understanding how to react to the news that Veronica had provoked the Demon King. Although remembering her past antics, they felt like it was nothing but normal. After all, it was Veronica – everything was to be expected. Such thoughts were shared by all three. Veronica herself noticed it.
"What? By the way, compared to my older brother, I was much calmer!" she said indignantly, crossing her arms.
"Your older brother?"
The others raised an eyebrow because details about her brother were known only to Adam. Moreover, it had long been said that he was once a very powerful demon, but after the disappearance of Old Adam, he disappeared with him. And now the question arises: "If Veronica is already like this, then her brother... isn't that a disaster?"
If Adam didn't know her brother, he might have thought that he was insane, but... to be completely honest, in the memories of the skeleton, Veronica's behavior was distinctly visible, so it can be said that he was much crazier than Veronica is now.
"Huh? Want to know about my brother, huh? You want to?" Veronica said with a smile and clapped her hands. Adam shook his head and turned away, anticipating what was coming next.
And...
"My brother was very kind and caring. Besides, his beauty was comparable to my Adam's beauty! Among women, he was the most popular and the strongest and most talented demon. In his hands, Hell turned into a playground, and even the Demon King had to speak with him on equal terms, fearing that my little brother could start a war, and he did that already! On his own, he was quite the sadist, but that was in his young years. And also..."
"..."
A lone drop of cold sweat rolled down Sierra's forehead. She tried to smile and appear friendly, but Veronica's unrestrained story about her brother was so sincere that ignoring it would be rude, but at the same time, it was both annoying. By that time, Adam and Amarantha were a hundred meters away, smiling and talking about their topics.
Watching them out of the corner of her eye, Sierra thought in despair, "Damn traitors!"
After two hours of continuous storytelling by Veronica, Sierra was exhausted and could barely stand, resembling the undead. She was so tired that Adam began to think that Veronica was draining all the magical energy from her with her words.
"Eh? What's wrong with you?" Veronica asked her, clearly puzzled by the Queen of Nymphs' reaction.
"Veronica... sometimes you talk non-stop," Adam said, laughing cheerfully, tilting his head to the side, dodging a red shoe thrown at him by Sierra. The man raised an eyebrow and asked, "My beloved mother-in-law, why such an attitude towards your dear son-in-law?"
"Shut up, damn scoundrel! Why didn't you warn me that this lunatic talks endlessly?! I almost died from such a barrage of words!"
"Hahaha... I thought you could handle it. After all, you also have a habit of talking a lot."
Adam chuckled and dodged another shoe. Shrugging, he smiled at the enraged Sierra, who was angry at his nonchalance.
"E-e-e... I thought you would be interested!" Veronica said offended.
"N-no, you see, it was interesting, but I just couldn't filter everything because of the information overload, you know?" Sierra replied, shaking her entire body at Veronica's angry gaze.
***
They continued their journey, and the location, fortunately or unfortunately, remained unchanged. In large part, they occasionally stopped and tried to contact the group of other practitioners, but it was unsuccessful due to the interference of negative energy in the Abyss, making it difficult to transmit anything.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Suddenly, a beeping sound echoed, and Amarantha reached into the pockets of her pants. She was surprised to find that the token given to all practitioners in her group was brightly flashing and pointing to the northwest.
"There! About five practitioners, unknown types, but they're from our team!" Amarantha exclaimed and smiled.
"How unexpectedly and pleasantly... well, let's get going!" Veronica exclaimed, and they flew forward.
As they approached the location, the token glowed even brighter. And when they entered an area that resembled a forest but differed with a bloody hue, flying to a pond that was also red, they froze in the air.
"What a disgusting smell..."
Adam narrowed his eyes and looked at the pond, where five bodies lay sprawled out at an astonishing speed. They had long been dead, and the only thing hinting at their existence was the still-flashing token.
"Hmm... a bunch of weaklings. No wonder they kicked the bucket like worms," Veronica said disdainfully and snorted, descending to the ground. She approached the pond and touched the liquid.
An amazing reaction occurred – although her skin seemed to hint at melting, in the same second, a flash occurred, and the red liquid was instantly dried.
"Well, this is the Blood of the Devilish Vampire... Its peculiarity is that they make their victims fall into illusions, and they go into this pond and then kill," explained Veronica, smirking contemptuously. "This can only happen to those with weak minds or those who initially had fear in their hearts."
"So you're saying that this pond took advantage of their panic and thus built a vision that lured them in?" clarified Sierra, snorting and crossing her arms over her chest. "Truly dreadful. Such a death borders on eternal shame... what horror."
"No need to be so strict... after all, the trap is truly amazing. I've never seen such a liquid," commented Amarantha.
At the same time, Adam stepped back to a safe distance of ten meters from the pond, as he felt dizziness and an attempt to attack his mind from the external world.
"Hell is indeed an amazing place... if you can get this liquid, you can make good artifacts," he mumbled under his breath.
To be continued...
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