“We’ve been set up. That Demon Hunter Squad was a trap, and the Desecration Demon’s corpse is missing. It seems the Goddess of Life is testing our reaction.”
At the bottom of the Chaotic Abyss, the Shadow Demon relayed news from Deya City again, causing the Abyssal Demon Soros to show a flicker of doubt:
“What exactly are the gods trying to do… Looks like we need to speed up deciphering the anti-surveillance messages.”
“By the way, demons in Deya City reported that a new Holy Maiden was chosen by the Goddess of Life a few days ago, and there’s also a Hero Candidate,” the Shadow Demon added.
“A Holy Maiden?” Soros seemed to piece something together. Could it be that the Goddess of Life is trying to promote the new Holy Maiden? But joining forces with other gods to instantly kill an Original Demon—that seems a bit exaggerated.
I’d better keep a close eye on that newly appointed Holy Maiden; maybe she’s a breakthrough point.
As for that Hero Candidate, Soros didn’t care at all. Even if he becomes a hero in the end, he’ll be off fighting the Demon King and won’t pose a threat to the Original Demons.
So Soros gave the demons a new order:
“Find a way to decode ancient scripts or find a human scholar.”
The next morning, at Deya Magic Academy, Suna frowned at the chaotic scene in the research room:
“Why is it such a mess here?”
Various blueprints were scattered on the floor; drawers and cabinets were all thrown open. Even precious ancient stone tablets had fallen and some were shattered, which pained Suna deeply.
There were others in the room as well—three law enforcement officers gathered around history teacher Lister, asking for information. Under their feet were fragments of broken ancient stone tablets.
“Whoa! Don’t step on them! Teacher, what happened here? Did someone break in?!”
If a thief really did, that person must be crazy. Why would they ransack this research room that probably doesn’t even have a copper coin in it instead of stealing from the dean’s office’s small treasury?
Lister just shrugged:
“I don’t know either. The Law Enforcement Bureau is investigating… Huh? Is that a magic staff on your back? It looks special…”
Lister was immediately drawn to the golden flame-patterned magic staff Suna carried on her back.
“Yes, I came this morning to ask my magic teacher to appraise it, but then I found this mess in the research room. Ugh!” Suna squatted down to organize the scattered papers, but was quickly stopped by the officers:
“Hey, hey, miss, the investigation isn’t finished yet, you can’t disturb the scene!”
“Huh?”
Suna was stunned. Disturb the scene? Then what exactly are you stepping on underfoot?!
“Alright, Suna, you go find teacher Mandy to appraise the staff. Otherwise, she’ll be in class soon. Leave this to me; I’ll organize everything once the investigation is done.”
Seeing Suna about to get angry, Lister quickly smoothed things over, and Suna hurried out of the research room, almost forgetting that Mandy had class to teach!
In the teachers’ office on the third floor of the academic building, after greeting magic teacher Mandy, Suna placed Ariel’s broken magic staff on the desk:
“Teacher, could you help me check the quality of this magic staff?”
Since Suna had never seen an excellent-grade magic staff before, she was afraid Ariel might be lying. So early in the morning, she came to someone experienced to have it appraised. Mandy’s eyes lit up when she saw the staff:
“What a rare Fire Elemental Gem!”
But after carefully examining it for a few minutes, Mandy’s expression gradually grew serious, losing her initial excitement:
“It truly is excellent quality. Suna, where did you get this magic staff?”
“Uh… it’s a friend’s prized possession…” Suna didn’t dare tell the truth, fearing the staff would be confiscated, since it still needed to be taken into the Mist for Ariel.
“Alright, Suna, let me ask you—do you know how many kinds of special flames exist in the world?”
“Flames? I think I only know about Netherfire, Iceflame, and the Heavenly Fire, which is one of the Five Great Cataclysms,” Suna replied.
The Illusory Continent has many types of special flames, but the two best known are Netherfire and Heavenly Fire. The former is the death fire that spreads from the underworld to the surface, and the latter is the world’s divine punishment.
“Knowing Heavenly Fire is enough. The Heavenly Fire on Firefall Island possesses destructive power unmatched by any special flame. It can burn almost anything—even souls. Wherever Heavenly Fire touches, all life is destroyed, and not a single blade of grass grows.”
Magic teacher Mandy said seriously, but Suna was confused:
“Teacher, I’ve read about all this in books, but what does this have to do with the magic staff?”
Mandy didn’t answer but channeled a trace of magic into Ariel’s staff. Soon, the golden flame pattern on the staff rapidly turned crimson, and a destructive aura spread out:
“It’s very much related. This staff flows with the power of the Cataclysmic Heavenly Fire.”
“You mean…”
“That’s right. The owner of this staff was a Disaster-class Mage, a genuine heretic!
Suna, please tell your friend from me: either hide this staff well or destroy it. If other Cataclysm Mages find out, your friend will face total ruin!”
Mandy had witnessed the destructive power of Cataclysm Mages in her youth.
During an adventure in the mountains of the Southlands, she encountered a Disaster-class Mage who worshipped the Earthquake Lord.
With just a wave of his staff, an entire thriving town was swallowed by a massive fissure, disappearing from the world.
The power of the Cataclysm is truly terrifying!
“Except for the Mist,” Mandy added.
“Also, the break on the staff is quite distinct. It looks like a demon tore it apart with brute force, so its owner was likely killed by demons.”
Mandy adjusted the round glasses perched on her nose as she guessed. Suna remained silent for a long moment.
……
North of the Mist, near the entrance to the Deya Underground Labyrinth.
Ariel, now awake, was lazily squatting beneath a tree playing with stones. Her only entertainment was observing every adventurer who passed by on the surface.
Some adventurers always carried large packs of potions, clearly afraid of dying.
Some flaunted their second-tier levels and arrogantly brought three newbie female adventurers into the labyrinth.
Others were carrying a Dragon Egg, heading deeper into the Mist.
Wait, a Dragon Egg?!
Ariel looked toward two male adventurers who resembled students. Though they had already covered the Dragon Egg with a blanket, Ariel’s keen eyes recognized it immediately.
“Hey, you two over there, where are you taking that Dragon Egg?”
Ariel shouted at them, but the two men quickened their pace:
“That crazy woman’s still here?”
“I told you, just covering it with a blanket won’t help. Look, she spotted it right away!”
“We’d better get it into the Mist’s depths quickly. If anything happens to the Dragon Egg, we’re done for!”
“We’re done? That’s on you. The Priestess said to deliver it ourselves, but you volunteered saying it’s your chance to make up for your mistake, promising you won’t let Miss Truth down or whatever.”
“Yeah, you said all the nice words, but I’m stuck doing the work with you!”
The two adventurers were Reg and Anderson.
Afraid Truth would think he was useless, Reg had volunteered to deliver the Dragon Egg deep into the Mist. After some hesitation, Truth reluctantly agreed.
“You want to get on Truth’s good side, don’t you? I’m just giving you a chance to make yourself known on the surface. You should be thanking me! Also, after delivering the Dragon Egg, go check out that woman over there.”
Reg and Anderson quickly disappeared into the Mist, ignoring Ariel’s calls from behind.
“Sigh, I really wanted to help them check the Dragon Egg’s species. Heavenfire Lord was right—being a good person isn’t easy…”
Ariel idly tossed the stones beneath her one by one into a nearby pond.
But before long, a familiar figure gradually approached. Squinting for a closer look:
“Ah, Suna, you came to see me? Huh? What’s that on your back… Ah! My Taboo Primordial Infernal Judgement Abyssal Chaos Dark… Staff—”
“Alright, stop chanting!” Suna cut off Ariel’s spellcasting.