Chapter 270: The Hateful Riddler
Paimon's words, punctuated by the exaggerated muscle-flexing of the guardian floating behind her, managed to dilute some of the heavy, sorrowful atmosphere clinging to the scene.
Chasca looked from the weak but concerned eyes of Chuychu, nestled in her arms, to the bottomless pit from which an evil aura continuously seeped. Reason and responsibility waged a fierce war within her heart.
"No," Chasca finally said, shaking her head. Her voice was still a little hoarse, but her usual decisiveness had returned.
"I can't let you risk your lives here alone. The situation below is a complete unknown, and even Chuychu almost… I must go down myself and ensure the threat is completely eliminated!"
She could not bear the thought of leaving an unknown danger to fester, not after these strangers had just saved her sister.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Chasca!" Paimon zipped in front of her, planting her hands on her hips with a look that screamed 'leave it to me'.
"We'll handle this! And look—" She pointed a tiny finger toward the dark chasm. "Lumine saw that Chuychu was stable and jumped straight down without another word! With her strength, there's definitely no problem!"
"Your most important task right now is to get Chuychu back somewhere safe so she can rest and receive proper treatment! Once you've departed, Paimon will go down immediately to help Lumine. Paimon would absolutely never leave her to face danger alone!"
She puffed out her small chest, and the muscular entity, Paimon's Star, cooperatively flexed its biceps again from behind her. It let out a muffled "Hmph!" as if to personally guarantee their reliability.
Gazing at Paimon's confident expression and the powerful yet strangely comical posture of her guardian, Chasca and the recovering Chuychu found themselves at a momentary loss for words. The knot of tension in their chests, however, had loosened considerably.
Chasca looked down at her sister's pale face, finally gritted her teeth, and made her decision.
"...I understand. In that case, I will leave this in your capable hands! Please, be careful!" she said solemnly to Paimon. With no further hesitation, she carefully lifted Chuychu, summoned her spirit spear, and gently laid her sister upon its shimmering shaft. After one last, deep look into the pit, she commanded the spear to move, transforming into a streak of light that sped toward the Holy Fire Arena.
Watching the sisters disappear into the distance, the relaxed expression on Paimon's face receded. She patted the solid arm of Paimon's Star. "Alright, no time for us to be lazy either! Let's go! Time to back up Lumine!"
Paimon's Star nodded silently. It shielded Paimon with its powerful hands, and like the most dependable guardian in the world, it slowly descended with her into the deep pit, which pulsed with an ominous, unsettling aura.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the pit.
The moment she had confirmed Chuychu was stable and that Paimon could handle things on the surface, Lumine had leaped into the chasm without a second thought.
Harnessing the power of Anemo, she glided down as lightly as a falling feather. The deeper she went, the more intense the putrid smell became, and the more the mind-disturbing whispers clawed at the edges of her consciousness.
But for Lumine, who had braved the trials of the Night Kingdom and plumbed the depths of The Chasm, these disturbances were still well within an acceptable range.
After descending for several hundred meters, the narrow shaft suddenly opened up, and she landed softly in a vast, open area.
Before her, an immense underground space, far larger than she could have ever imagined, unfolded.
The cavernous dome was high above, its natural, ancient rock formations faintly visible. But the surrounding area was filled with huge stone pillars and broken walls, all bearing the clear marks of artificial carving. Everything was covered in thick, dark purple fungal mats and grotesque vines that pulsed with a faint light, like a network of blood vessels.
This appeared to be an ancient ruin that had been completely eroded and occupied by the Abyss—perhaps a remnant from the long-lost era of the Ancient Dragons.
And coiled in the very center of this eerie plaza was a horrifyingly massive entity.
It was an enormous monster, its main body resembling a twisted, gnarled giant tree. Countless dark purple vines, each exuding a potent Abyss energy, spread out like tentacles from its central trunk, covering nearly half of the plaza floor.
Its form was similar to the "Deep Simulated Crystal Tree" that Paimon and the others had encountered in the Night Kingdom, but its scale was many times greater. The main trunk was thicker, the vines were denser and more agile, and the energy it radiated was a tangible tide that made the very air thick and difficult tobreathe. This was a more highly evolved specimen.
At this moment, however, Lumine's gaze was completely incapable of being drawn to the terrifying monster.
All her attention, her entire world, was focused on the figure standing quietly in front of the giant, tree-like cocoon, his back turned to her.
Golden short hair. Familiar, exotic clothing. A slightly thin but upright back… That was…
Lumine's heart felt as if it had been seized by an invisible hand. Her breath caught in her throat.
She had traveled through six nations, endured countless hardships, and waited for so long… wasn't it all just to find him?
"...Brother… Aether?" Her voice trembled in a way she didn't even recognize, as faint and fragile as a dream.
The figure seemed to stir, then slowly turned around.
A familiar face came into view. But the golden eyes, so similar to her own, no longer held the warmth and doting affection of the past. Instead, they were filled with an indescribable, complex emotion, with unfathomable ripples hidden just beneath a placid surface.
She was finally seeing him again.
Lumine had imagined this reunion countless times. Perhaps they would rush into an excited embrace. Perhaps she would bombard him with a thousand questions… But now that the moment had truly arrived, Lumine found her throat choked, a thousand words stuck in her chest, unable to utter a single one.
She just subconsciously, almost instinctively, reached out a hand, wanting to touch him, to confirm that this was not another ethereal dream or a cruel illusion conjured by the Abyss.
Aether looked at his sister's bewildered, incredulous, and slightly fragile, hopeful eyes. He remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking, his voice so calm that no emotion could be discerned from it. "To be honest, Lumine, I didn't expect you to find this place."
He paused, his gaze unwavering. "But I still need time. And you need time, as well. Our formal reunion will have to wait a while longer."
After speaking, he didn't give Lumine any chance to react or ask questions. He simply raised a hand, and the space beside him distorted as a portal, emitting an ominous purple light, silently materialized.
He took a step, about to walk into it.
Aether's words were a basin of ice water poured over her head, instantly extinguishing all the complex, surging emotions in Lumine's heart. All that remained was the cold, sharp anger of being so casually brushed off.
Still need time? Wait a while longer?
She had crossed mountains and seas, endured untold hardships, and finally found him again, only for him to dismiss her with such a flippant sentence?
Right! She shouldn't have hesitated! She shouldn't have expected some tender, tearful reunion! The best way to deal with this kind of bastard brother, who runs off without a word and then acts all deep when they finally meet, is to punch him first and talk later.
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