Chapter 137: Do What One Does Best

Chapter 137: Do What One Does Best

The capital of this dingy empire might have been prominent by the standards of these lower realm hicks, but from Hosolar’s perspective, it was little more than a corner a rat was trapped in. After a whole week of tireless searching, he was sure beyond doubt that that child, together with what they had gathered to be five allies, had escaped into the underground.

That was, to Hosolar, a minor inconvenience. Even if it took years to track the child down, it was no problem for him. To higher-realm beings such as himself, time was measured in centuries. A few paltry weeks were as insignificant as a speck of sand in a desert.

And he had a much bigger problem to distract him anyway.

He had tried contacting the higher realms. And he had failed. It wasn’t surprising that something would hinder his connection this far from the omnirealm. Dark, unspeakable things lurked in the void separating him, and incomprehensible spatiotemporal phenomena occurred frequently. This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site.

But this was persisting for far too long. Not only that, but the cut-off felt too... absolute. His avatar, thankfully, couldn’t be disturbed, as the connection was forged through the stone itself. But communication was utterly impossible.

He sighed.

Without the guidance of his father, he could only rely on himself.

Given the nature of his presence here, he had to conserve his strength. Any shred of power he used with this avatar would be gone forever, and even without actively using it, his strength was slowly waning with each passing moment. And, to begin with, he only had a fraction of his true power in this state.

He did not fear being defeated, but even running away was draining. It wasn’t impossible for him to chase after the child, but that would be unwise. Given this avatar's drastic limitations on his abilities, his senses were severely compromised, and the underground was vast. No matter how fast, skilled, and wise he was, he was still only one man.

And there was no need to rush. He had servants at his disposal.

He believed Brivia could be the best option for someone to be sent after their targets, but she held too much value as a piece. He even went so far as to help her ascend to the subdivinity stage to ensure her loyalty and obedience. So he couldn’t recklessly send her to chase after them.

He was about to call Langen to ask for assistance, but... that failed, too. His temper wasn’t fickle enough for something as minor as this to truly disturb him, but it was concerning. Something big was happening, and without his full power, he lacked the senses necessary to properly investigate it.

What he could do, however, was send Brivia back to Langen to have her guide a selection of other servants to where they were. There was a number of those he could use in her stead.

He opened his eyes and found himself centered back in reality again. The throne room around him was a laughable display of arrogance. Plain wood. Hosolar clicked his tongue. What a joke.

The miserable cowards who reigned supreme in this realm stood before him. While they seemed calm and dignified, he wouldn’t forget their sad states when he had first arrived. For heavens’ sake, they had been shaking like leaves in the wind. They weren’t the first lower-realm cultivators to have reacted like that to his presence, but theirs had been a particularly embarrassing display of cowardice.

Still, their patheticness aside, their power was considerable for a lower realm such as this. Especially that of the rank two subdivinity stage emperor who had ended up here through whatever means. If he were any more significant than that, Hosolar would perhaps care enough to ask him how it happened.

But as it stood, he only wanted one thing from the man. “Emperor,” he called.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Jeevian knelt.

“It will take a few days for the backup from Langen to arrive.” Indeed. The sanctuary was a vast distance away from this continent, a considerable trip for those at the start of the subdivinity stage. “As such, I would like to request of you a favor.”

The emperor tensed. “Your... Your Grace... What do you desire?”

“That child had gone underground,” he declared plainly. “Go after him and his allies.”

Walking down the stairs beside the Great Four, the stairway eventually turned into a cave. Then, it expanded into vast but still safe caverns. At the end of this massive opening was a gate of black metal. Its power surged violently, tickling the surfaces of their skin with its diamond-ranked aura.

They stood before the Empress’ Pledge, a remnant of a past ruler who did her best to ensure that the underground was as firmly sealed off from the empire as could be. Then, he approached and swung it open, revealing a cave passage, the shadows of which oozed with danger.

And thus, they stepped forth.

Making their way into the Abyssal Depths.

***

Ilkivir perked up at the surprise opening of the hidden entrance. His instincts flared, and he prepared to fight, but all that flew into the mystical realm was a small piece of paper.

It was a message.

He quickly headed towards it, grabbing it off the ground as he read its contents.

HOSOLAR COMMANDED THE EMPEROR AND THE GREAT FOUR TO CHASE AFTER NEAVE ZEARTHORN, the paper said, AS A REWARD, HE PROMISED TO HELP THE EMPEROR ASCEND A RANK.

A shivering zap flickered down Ilkivir’s back. No... That was impermissible. If that happened, it would be well and truly over. There would be no hope of them ever achieving their goals. Hell, he wasn’t safe even in this realm if that happened. After the ascension, the emperor would most likely be able to sense him, hidden in the mystical realm or not!

CONTACT THE MASTERS IMMEDIATELY!

***

The Shadow of Death and the Shadow of Calamity sat, eyeing their companion's wretched state. It had been a long while since Destruction returned from its trip to their master, and since return, it hadn’t spoken a single word, merely shivering in fright.

That was the effect Master had on people. Her presence alone was enough to kill anyone lesser, and even at their level, they needed a while to recover from standing before her.

Then, the Third Disciple appeared before them. It was displeasing to see his arrival. Either he had disobeyed their order to only contact them in case of absolute emergencies, or worse—he didn’t.

Ilkivir briefly shared the news of Hosolar’s decree and his promised reward.

Destruction perked up at the revelation. It stared silently at Ilkivir for several breaths until, finally, it got up.

They all knew what that meant. The only way for Destruction to break away from the stupor Master’s presence had left him in was the absolute term of her command.

“I gotta go,” the Shadow of Destruction said. “We have waited long, my kin, and we are close. As Master had told me, the time to take risks is now. If I die, bring me back to life, even if I return to being... lesser again.” It bowed to them and turned around, preparing itself to depart. “Now, I’ll go and do what I do best.”

With that, its bulging legs flexed, and in one massive, earth-shattering leap, it flew high into the sky, flying out of the atmosphere.

On its way to destroy their enemies.