“Demon King, is the Thousand Sea Abyss right ahead?”
Kurei stood atop a massive boulder, gazing into the distance.
In her field of vision, the gloomy sky and the deeply fissured ground made it nearly impossible to distinguish where the horizon lay.
There were almost no living creatures here. Everywhere looked deathly still. Not even a single insect could be seen, let alone any plants.
The desolate conditions of the Desolate Fallen Continent seemed almost pleasant compared to this place.
“I’m crossing into the southernmost region of the Desolate Fallen Continent for the first time,” Melu remarked with emotion. “It’s far worse than I imagined. No wonder so few demonkin are willing to come here.”
“Demon King?” When she didn’t hear Via’s voice, Kurei turned her head.
Via was bent over, hands on her knees, gasping for breath. “You two… wait for me!”
She felt as if her legs were about to break.
Over the past period, she had traveled together with Kurei and Melu, spending a great deal of time crossing the Desolate Fallen Continent.
Along the way, they had encountered many incidents.
For instance, they ran into some extremely vicious bandits, only for Kurei and Melu to team up and rob them instead. They were also harassed by members of the ancient demon families on the road, nearly exposing Via’s identity, but Melu’s quick thinking had smoothly resolved the situation. They had even encountered former members of the royal court.
Fortunately, everything had passed without major incident.
Via had successfully reached her destination—the Thousand Sea Abyss, located at the southernmost edge of the Desolate Fallen Continent.
Her physical stamina was nothing like that of these two demonkin. Short walks were manageable, but long-distance trekking quickly revealed the gap in endurance.
“The current Demon King really has the stamina of a weakling,” Kurei laughed.
“Shut it. It’s just that you two… walk too fast,” Via said helplessly as she looked up.
“Demon King, allow me to carry you up!”
Kurei leaped down from the boulder, wrapped an arm around Via’s slender waist, and lightly jumped back up, gently setting Via down safely on the giant rock.
This is so embarrassing, Via thought to herself. But there was nothing she could do about it right now.
At this moment, she truly needed the help of these two maids.
“Demon King, the Thousand Sea Abyss looks quite different from what I imagined,” Melu said. “I thought it would resemble a vast sea.”
Via raised her head and looked forward. If this were truly a sea, then the neighboring Desolate Fallen Continent wouldn’t have differed much from her memories.
“Demon King, what exactly lies at the bottom of those gorges?”
Kurei focused her gaze on the bottomless chasms. The dense, impenetrable darkness blocked any further view, making them seem like abysses themselves.
“Could the bottom be hell?”
“These fissures connect to the underground abyss of the Thousand Sea Abyss. The Abyssal Beasts roam within the deep abyss beneath the gorges,” Via replied.
“So that’s where Abyssal Beasts live,” Kurei said, finding it quite novel.
“The abyssal aura in the underground abyss is extremely dense, far surpassing any other region in the Desolate Fallen Continent. Ordinary demonkin cannot withstand it—only Abyssal Beasts can adapt.” Via paused for a moment. “Under normal circumstances, Abyssal Beasts rarely leave the underground abyss. The abyssal aura outside is too dilute for them.”
“How many Abyssal Beasts are down there in the underground abyss?”
“Who knows? No one has ever counted them,” Via tugged at Kurei. “Kurei, don’t get too close to those fissures. If the Abyssal Beasts sense your presence, they might surge out and attack you.”
“I don’t like those monsters!”
Kurei shrank back.
She liked cute things and disliked ugly, evil creatures.
“Meow meow!”
Little Ha called out twice and puffed out her chest, as if declaring that she would scare away any monsters that dared to attack.
“Little Ha, you’re so silly.”
Kurei picked up Little Ha and began gently kneading her in her arms.
She really liked this little creature that stayed by the Demon King’s side. Though very weak, it was incredibly adorable.
“Kurei, Melu.”
Via suddenly called out to the two maids.
Both Kurei and Melu looked at her in confusion.
“You two… have already escorted me this far. That’s enough. The situation ahead will become extremely dangerous, and I don’t have one hundred percent confidence in guaranteeing your safety. The Abyssal Beasts are one problem, but there’s also the capricious Abyssal Demoness.”
After careful consideration, Via voiced her thoughts.
“Withdraw from the Thousand Sea Abyss. You can head to the nearest town and wait for me for three months. If I haven’t returned by then, consider me dead.”
“No! Demon King, we’ve followed you all the way here. How can you drive us away now!” Kurei protested.
“That’s right, Demon King. If you’re going to grow strong again, we want to witness it with our own eyes.” Melu shared the same sentiment as Kurei.
“But…”
“No ‘buts,’ Demon King. You are not our superior right now, so you cannot issue orders to either of us. We have no obligation to obey your commands,” Melu replied.
“Danger is danger. We’re not afraid.”
“Fine.”
Via smiled helplessly.
However, deep down, she felt genuinely happy. Even in her current weakened and fallen state, there were still people willing to stand by her side and face danger together.
Perhaps she hadn’t been such a complete failure as a Demon King in her previous life after all.
“The Thousand Sea Abyss is fraught with danger at night, and Abyssal Beast activity will be even higher. Let’s set up camp here for now and stay away from the fissures. We’ll move out again tomorrow.”
Late at night.
Via, Kurei, and Melu had set up camp on the giant rock for a temporary overnight stay.
The two demonkin maids from the same hometown were sleeping closely snuggled together, breathing steadily and peacefully.
It was now Via’s turn to keep watch. She didn’t light a campfire, only using a faintly glowing nightglow stone for illumination. Wrapped in a blanket, she remained vigilant of her surroundings. Though it was somewhat boring, someone had to guard the camp. Otherwise, if Abyssal Beasts launched a surprise attack, they wouldn’t even have time to react.
Suddenly, an ominous premonition rose within Via’s heart.
She stood up and looked toward the fissures.
A powerful sense of unease washed over her. There was clearly no abyssal beast aura present, yet why did she feel this way?
Was something approaching in the darkness?
An illusion?
She felt the ground trembling faintly.
“Demon King.”
A familiar voice sounded beside Via.
She turned around and discovered that Desolate Fire had suddenly manifested without her command.
“She’s here.”
“What’s here?”
Via was confused by Desolate Fire’s abrupt statement.
“The Abyssal Demoness. She has discovered us.”