“Hm?”
Hearing the movement behind her, Li Jia’s face lit up, and the icy expression instantly vanished. “Aya Tone~ You’re finally talking to me! Don’t you know how scared I was? Wuwu.”
Aya Tone froze for a moment, then found herself enveloped in Li Jia’s embrace. The scales pressed tightly against her skin, their icy touch making her feel as though she were ensnared by a colossal python.
“Hey!” Her brows furrowed, and her small hand rested on Li Jia’s waist, ready to push her away with force.
Suddenly, a tremor, however slight, ran through her hand, causing her to pause. The cold indifference in her eyes was replaced by a resigned sigh.
‘She must be scared.’
Her small hand, resting on Li Jia’s waist, traced along the dragon scales, moving closer… closer… closer…
‘Hmm… can’t quite wrap around…’
‘Hehehe, got her! Aya Tone smells so good~’
Beneath the dragon helmet, a glimmer of drool subtly appeared at the corner of Li Jia’s mouth. Her body trembled slightly, uncontrollably, from sheer excitement. Indeed, Li Jia was purely thrilled, not scared in the slightest. She wouldn’t let slip such a golden opportunity to take advantage. Who knew when she’d next get to openly embrace Aya Tone like this?
****
After a while, Li Jia reluctantly released her grip. She understood that this was not the time for prolonged closeness; Aya Tone not pushing her away immediately was already a show of immense tolerance. Pushing her luck further would only be detrimental. With the dragon helmet obscuring her face, Aya Tone didn’t notice the lingering blush on Li Jia’s cheeks.
Aya Tone’s small face was etched with a troubled expression, her fingers nervously clutching the hem of her clothes. “I just wanted you to experience slaughter beforehand. Please don’t blame me…” She didn’t want Li Jia to misunderstand and potentially lose a friend. If Li Jia were to be promoted to S-rank and, after assessment, appointed as a guardian, then the kind of slaughter they faced today would become a part of her daily life.
“I know.”
“Then let’s go. It’s getting late.”
They had been inside for nearly an hour. The traitors should have descended by now. With those vanguards paving the way, their journey ahead would likely be a bit safer.
****
The subsequent journey proceeded smoothly, as expected, with few signs of monsters along the way. It was likely the work of those “vanguards,” which saved them considerable trouble.
When Aya Tone and Li Jia finally reached the Heavenly Chasm, the area was deserted.
Cautiously, Aya Tone peered over the edge.
Staring into the darkness hidden within the swirling clouds below, both women were utterly captivated by the bizarre spectacle. From the depths of the darkness, a pair of cold, emotionless vertical pupils fixated on the two figures above, subtly coaxing them to leap into the abyss. Just like the ‘food’ that had come before them, they were truly delicious.
Even across the spatial divide, the entity could sense a formidable energy emanating from that delicate frame. A voice in its mind incessantly urged it: ‘Eat her! Devour her!’ Only then could it evolve once more and break through this spatial barrier!
“Don’t look down, there’s something in there!”
Leveraging her formidable mental prowess, Aya Tone regained her composure after only a moment of stunned silence, reacting swiftly to pull back Li Jia, who had been on the verge of leaping. While nature’s sublime artistry might inspire awe, the tremor that resonated through her very soul was unequivocally not reverence. Something beneath the Heavenly Chasm was guiding them, making them afraid!
Perhaps…
The chasm wasn’t as deep as the expedition team imagined; instead, something was misleading them.
“Hmph!”
Pulled back by Aya Tone, Li Jia gasped heavily, realizing she was drenched in sweat. She felt an inexplicable voice in her mind, urging her to jump, promising that what she desired lay below. She had been so close; if Aya Tone hadn’t stopped her, she would have already leapt.
“Are you saying there was a mental suggestion, tempting you to jump down?”
Aya Tone sat leisurely on a small stool by the edge of the chasm, listening to Li Jia recount the eerie incident. Having found no trace of the traitors Ao Yu mentioned, she was certain they had already entered the chasm. Though not immediately obvious, she could still spot numerous broken blades of grass on the nearby lawn. They must have endured a significant struggle to be so thoroughly trampled.
‘Were they also controlled by that mental suggestion and dragged into the chasm?’
Aya Tone considered this quite probable. Even Li Jia, a mage whose mental power surpassed S-rank, had nearly succumbed. Moreover, the traitors’ objective was the spatial fruit rumored to be beneath the chasm.
‘Heh, they’re doomed! I wonder if I’ll get a chance to be the oriole and inherit a fortune…’ A cunning smile played on Aya Tone’s lips. Since they had already betrayed their side, their assets should rightfully be confiscated. And she, as a legitimate official, confiscating it into her own pockets, was perfectly reasonable!
“Are we still going down?”
Outside, Li Jia had been confident about using spatial ripples to open a teleportation array. Now… having witnessed the terror of the Heavenly Chasm and the great horror lurking within, she admitted she had been overconfident. If not for Aya Tone, she would already be a soul lost to the abyss.
“Go down? Of course, we’re going down! The plan remains!”
Afraid? What’s there to be afraid of? The depths below were riddled with unstable spatial rifts; if danger arose, they could simply slip into one. As for Li Jia’s safety, Aya Tone felt not the slightest concern. She had seen Ao Yu wield the Azure Dragon Claw, an attack that could tear space itself, creating a second exit in the dungeon that served as their combat arena. In fact, Li Jia, clad in this Azure Dragon Armor, was even safer than Aya Tone herself.
‘Hmph, and they tried to fool her by saying it was a mass-produced item. Who are they trying to fool with something that can cleave through the void with a single touch? Did they think she, Aya Tone, couldn’t discern quality?’
“Don’t worry, this set of scales Ao Yu gave you can help you traverse the void. If you can’t win, you can always run.”
‘(Is that what I was talking about?)’ Li Jia thought, but traversing the void sounded quite appealing. Perhaps she really could try it? Her dragon claw gently rubbed her staff. Li Jia was already pondering how to combine the black hole with the armor’s abilities for an escape. She felt this trip was pointless. The entity beneath the chasm was not something they could handle.
‘No!’
More accurately, her presence would hinder Aya Tone’s performance.
“Don’t move, I’ll handle this!” Aya Tone, seeing Li Jia fidgeting with her staff, mistakenly thought she was about to act and quickly stopped her. Li Jia’s affinity for space was even higher than hers, and with the Azure Dragon Armor’s assistance, she couldn’t waste her magic here. If any unforeseen changes occurred below, this might be their last resort.
Putting away the small stool, the staff, which had been hovering in mid-air, returned to Aya Tone’s hand under its owner’s guidance. With a simple flourish, the rhombic crystal on the staff suddenly emitted a soft light, bathing both of them. “Holy Light, empower.”
The Holy Light rendered them like little golden figures, but it quickly transformed into a thin veil, adhering tightly to their bodies. This Holy Light could resist one attack not stronger than the caster’s level. The area below was far from safe; they had to be wary of thieves.
Accursed dragon. Thanks for translating