Bonus Chapter 1/3

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"Speak, what's your purpose in luring adventurers into this secret realm?"

Nolan looked down at the Cryo Abyss Mage and questioned.

"So you did know!"

The Cryo Abyss Mage felt things were as expected, but was also puzzled how these humans knew.

Moreover, this was the second layer of the realm. How did they explore this deep in such a short time?!

"Enough nonsense. Answer the questions of this princess's attendant quickly!" Fischl's fair hand clenched into a fist, showing a threatening posture.

"Don't hit, don't hit!" The Cryo Abyss Mage begged for mercy, then couldn't help but smirk and said, "Hehe, even if I tell you, what can you do? Our goal has already been achieved when so many humans entered here!"

"Oh?" Oz's voice sounded puzzled.

Nolan and the other two frowned upon hearing its words, obviously somewhat worried.

Seeing the humans' reactions, the Cryo Abyss Mage felt very satisfied and continued:

"This secret realm originally didn't have a teleportation portal here. Our great Apostle Lord used powerful strength to tear open a spatial crack leading to the interior of the secret realm!"

Is the Apostle Lord perhaps an Abyss Herald? Nolan pondered.

He vaguely remembered that the Abyss Order did indeed have significant achievements in spatial abilities, even possessing a complete teleportation network of their own, allowing them to go wherever they pleased, much more powerful than teleportation waypoints.

"Of course, the Apostle Lord is busy, so after assigning the task to us, he left. Hmph, otherwise, just a movement of his finger, and you would all be buried here!"

The Cryo Abyss Mage danced around, looking very pleased when mentioning the Apostle Lord.

"Ahh!"

Fischl raised her right leg in high-heeled boots. The black pantyhose tightly wrapped her legs, molding her bent knees even more shapely.

Before she could kick, the Cryo Abyss Mage, on its own, covered its head and let out a miserable scream.

"Stop bragging about your Apostle Lord and continue to tell what you know!"

Nolan thought for a moment and continued.

The Ice Abyss Mage nodded, then smirked again:

"Hehehe, what's special about this secret realm is that a Demon God's Remains is sleeping within. When alive it greatly despised creatures like humans, and even in death that resentment remains the same."

"Usually, even if one or two adventurers accidentally enter this secret realm, there won't be any issues.

"But when a large number of humans enter the secret realm, it will definitely awaken. I believe the Demon God's remains are in the process of waking up now. Even if you know this information, it's useless. How does it feel? Scary, isn't it? Hehe!"

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Bennett scratched his golden hair in puzzlement, "Demon God's Remains? What's that?"

Even as an experienced adventurer, he rarely heard of things related to Demon Gods.

"Legend has it that Demon Gods are powerful beings. Even after their demise, they probably leave something behind, and that should be the Demon God's Remains."

Fischl, having read relevant travelogues and rumors, had some understanding.

"Yes, it's indeed something extraordinary." Oz, who was flapping his night-colored wings, also said.

"It seems there's trouble. Awakening the demon god's remains by the Abyss Order wouldn't be an attempt to let it leave the secret realm and pose a certain level of threat to Mondstadt City, right?" Nolan asked thoughtfully.

The Abyss Order, opposing the civilization of Teyvat, covets all living creatures on the land, aiming to overthrow the world ruled by the Seven, so such actions were not hard to understand.

"Oh? Human, it seems you are quite clever. Yes, that's exactly it!" The Cryo Abyss Mage openly admitted.

"What? In that case, Mondstadt City is in danger!"

Bennett widened his eyes, evidently taken aback by the massive conspiracy of the Abyss Order.

"Oz, do you have any countermeasures?" Fischl looked down at the ground, her fair face filled with concern.

"Well, Miss, this is a realm. Even if the Demon God's remains awaken and want to go outside, it will have to go through a teleportation portal. As long as we close it in advance, there should be no problem."

Oz's words indeed made sense; as long as the portal was closed, the demon god's remains would be confined within the realm and couldn't affect the outside.

"Impossible! You can't do it. The teleportation portal in this secret realm has been reinforced by the Apostle Lord. It's not so easily destroyed in a short time," the Ice Abyss Mage sneered, shaking its head. It continued mockingly:

"Moreover, with so many adventurers in the secret realm, do you intend to abandon them by closing the gate? You humans can't do such a thing, right? By the time you notify each of them to evacuate from the secret realm, the Demon God's remains would probably be fully awakened!"

Hate to admit it, but the bastard Abyss Mage was indeed right.

The Demon God's Remains that could be considered a threat by the Abyss Order to Mondstadt City, would definitely not be weak, and it was indeed dangerous to just let it run out like this.

However, even if Nolan and the others informed the Adventurers' Guild about this news and tried to gather adventurers to evacuate and destroy the teleportation portal, it would still take a considerable amount of time.

From this perspective, the Abyss Order's conspiracy seemed to be successful.

However, there was one thing the Abyss Mage did not mention at all. It intentionally led Nolan and others to believe that the demon god's remains would be powerful and terrifying upon awakening.

But it never mentioned the situation before awakening.

The focus should be on what happens afterward. The main body of the demon god had long passed away, and the remaining fragments couldn't become stronger with time. It must have been a process of gradual decay over an extended period.

Considering the era when demon gods were commonly existed until now, it was highly likely that the demon god's remains were now like a dying candle in the wind. Otherwise, there would not be an "awakening" process.

It seemed its "awakening" was nothing more than the final flare before extinction!

The Abyss Order probably wanted to exploit the last bit of value from the demon god's remains, thus concocting this conspiracy.

If, as expected, they could interrupt the Remains' final flare here and make it perish prematurely, then all problems and crises could be readily resolved.

These were just speculations though, and Nolan did not dare confirm.

To further confirm, he voiced his speculations and secretly observed the Abyss Mage's reaction.

"As expected of Sir Nolan. I quite agree with your thinking!"

First was Oz. He had not considered this possibility before, yet the odds were not small.

"Then if we find and get rid of that Demon thing early, Mondstadt won't be in danger!"

Bennett's emerald eyes lit up with excitement.

"I see, a mere prisoner still dares frighten this princess!" Fischl's confident expression returned on her fair face as she glared at the Cryo Abyss Mage on the ground.

From the moment Nolan spoke his guesses, this Abyss Mage had sunk into silence.

The most crucial task assigned to them by the Apostle Lord was to prevent any adventurers from getting close to the Demon God's Remains before it fully woke up.

(End of Chapter)

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T/N: In Genshin Impact, the term "Demon God" is used in Korean, Chinese, and Japanese translations to refer to the Archon War, which is also known as the War of the Demon Gods. Demon Gods are divine and have a higher level of power and authority than other divine creatures. They are also said to have mostly existed before the war. The Unknown God's name in the game files is "Asmoday", which comes from a demon in the Ars Goetia. The former Electro Archon, Makoto, was also named Baal, and the current Electro Archon, Raiden Ei, uses the name Baal as a disguise.

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