Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Battle in the Abyss Part 2

“Clang—” “Screech—” “Clang—” “Screech—”

The sound of metal scraping heavily on the ground grew closer and closer.

Ryan’s face was filled with despair, tears and snot streaming into his mouth.

He knew that the terrifying footsteps belonged to the ghoul relentlessly chasing him from behind.

Ryan had never imagined something like this would happen.

He was just a troublemaker in the village, idling around all day without any ambition.

But he didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. His father took care of everything big, while his mother handled the small matters. He was their only child, the apple of their eye. He naturally didn’t need to do anything; he could just enjoy life.

Ryan found such days very comfortable.

The villagers mocked him behind his back, but he knew about it and never thought of changing.

Life was about being happy, not caring what others thought.

He had always lived by this philosophy.

Until one day, a girl came to the village.

Her name was Hill. As for her full name, Ryan never had the courage to ask.

But he swore that he had never seen such a beautiful girl in his life.

The moment Ryan saw her, the world seemed to warm up instantly, as if waking from a dream.

From that moment on, she filled his thoughts.

Barry, the annoying guy, called her Hill Sister, so he followed suit. Her every smile and frown kept him awake night and day.

How could he talk to this girl?

Ryan pondered for a long time and then smacked his head: old tricks, teasing her.

So he led his group of little admirers, following Hill Sister wherever she went, and at appropriate times, said some teasing words.

Every time he saw Hill Sister’s embarrassed and indignant expression, Ryan felt a great sense of accomplishment.

No one else could make her show such an expression except him.

Ryan thought proudly.

Later… Later, he got beaten by his father.

“Pursuing a girl doesn’t rely on your cheap tactics. That will only make people dislike you. You must make her feel safe and secure with you.”

Ryan listened to his father’s advice and decided to change himself.

He was about to turn nineteen. His life had been aimless until now, and he had never been so serious about anything.

That day, Ryan planned to apologize to Hill Sister and take the opportunity to tease her again.

Although he knew it was wrong, Hill Sister’s blushing face was… intoxicating.

He liked Hill Sister, liked seeing her react that way to him.

With a joyful heart, Ryan arrived at Grandma Claire’s house, knocked repeatedly, but no one was home.

Where had everyone gone…

Just as he was pondering this question, disaster struck.

Then, everywhere were dead bodies.

A black sun and terrible monsters appeared.

Everything after that surpassed his understanding, like a horror story about demons he had heard as a child.

Up to now, Ryan had no real sense of it. He was numb, as if in a dream, confused and disoriented, hiding here and there, only to be discovered by the ghouls eventually.

Now, he was almost out of energy.

Why not… just stop?

But stopping meant death.

Yet, he was too exhausted.

But if he stopped, he might never see Hill Sister again.

If he continued running, he would probably die from exhaustion too.

Is there anyone who can save me…

Anyone, please save me! I haven’t lived enough, I want to marry Hill Sister as my wife, I don’t want to die!!!

Ryan ran while crying, tears and snot flowing into his mouth, tasting salty and bitter.

At that moment.

“Swoosh—”

A fragrant breeze suddenly passed over his head, and the next moment, something changed behind him.

“Zeng—”

The sharp sound of a weapon slicing through the air. Immediately after, Ryan heard something fall to the ground.

The pursuing sounds that seemed to be calling for his life quieted down.

“Huff—, huff—”

Ryan gradually stopped.

His strength was completely drained, lips cracked, pale-faced, legs trembling like a sieve.

He slowly turned around.

Just in time to see two grotesque black heads roll to his feet.

These heads had human-like features, but none were in the right place. Mouths on foreheads, noses on cheeks, bloodshot eyes—one on the chin, one on the left ear.

They looked both comical and terrifying.

“Aaah—!!”

Ryan screamed in terror, stumbling backward and landing on the ground.

But he found that the heads collapsed suddenly, melting like they were exposed to intense heat, turning into ashes along with the nearby bodies without heads.

A few blue sparks landed on him, feeling icy cold.

Ryan stretched out his right hand to touch his cheek.

This sensation seemed to be… snow? Or frost?

“Huff—”

The ashes were scattered by the gentle wind.

The next moment, the scene reflected in Ryan’s pupils transformed into a sky full of snowflakes resembling stars.

Hidden in the snowflakes was

A delicate white figure, with a streak of jet-black hair soaring to the heavens.

She seemed like a princess from a fairy tale, covered in ice and snow, or a hunter lying in wait amidst the frosty sky.

Who… is it?

At this moment, Ryan’s mind had lost its ability to think.

Then, the young girl turned around, revealing the face he had daydreamed about every night.

Ryan was stunned.

For a moment, he felt as if he were in a dream.

Until the girl spoke to him.

“Ryan, head out of the village and rendezvous with Aelia.”

“…Shir… cough, Sister Shir?”

Ryan finally came to his senses and stammered.

“Mm, run quickly.”

Sister Shir’s face was still breathtakingly beautiful, but it lacked the usual gentleness.

“What… what are you doing?”

“No time, run.”

“Clang—”, “Swish—”, “Clatter—”

The grating sound of footsteps echoed again as more fiends moved swiftly towards them with unrecognizable steps.

Ryan’s pupils dilated instantly.

“Watch out, Sister Shir!”

As soon as he spoke, the girl in front of him moved.

“Slap.”

She jumped, leaned backward, and flipped.

With an icy blue mist and starlight trailing behind her, she spun in mid-air, landing above the fiends and swinging her scythe.

“Buzz—”

A head fell off.

Ryan barely managed to prop himself up, watching as the little girl he called “sister” casually killed a fiend. She then quickly dodged another fiend’s attack and slashed it in half with her scythe.

The whole process was unbelievably fast.

“[Abyssal Language]斩杀.”

The demon’s whisper echoed once again from the sky.

Countless fiends heard the command and immediately twisted their ugly bodies, rushing toward Sister Shir.

The girl deliberately drew the battle away, her figure resembling a butterfly weaving through flowers, constantly moving among the numerous monsters. Her scythe was now covered in a thin layer of frost, held tightly at the end of the handle. Each swing created thick frost, with a terrifyingly large attack range. The fiends found it difficult even to get close, and any that did would be struck by her left hand, which flickered with blue light, turning them into ice statues instantly, unable to harm her.

“How beautiful…”

At this moment, Ryan forgot his fear, forgot to run, and forgot everything else, simply admiring this solo dance performed by Sister Shir.

Gradually, the number of incoming fiends increased, and the petite figure of the girl was soon swallowed by the crowd.

“Shir Sister!!!” Ryan struggled to stand up.

In the next moment, a bone-chilling cold swept over him.

“Crack crack crack—Bam!!!”

Countless huge ice spears suddenly exploded before his eyes, scattering ice crystal fragments and covering a hundred-meter radius in a thin layer of frost. The air temperature plummeted, and Ryan curled up, hugging his arms, his teeth chattering.

For Ryan, this was the second slaughter he had witnessed today. Only this time, the victims were the terrifying fiends.

Countless ice spears of various sizes and thicknesses spread out from the center, like a splendid flower blooming, freezing everything within dozens of meters.

Those fiends, who just moments ago could easily take lives and leave people with no will to resist, fleeing in panic, were now either frozen within the ice spears or pierced and hung on them, all motionless.

The girl stood barefoot on the tallest ice spear, looking up at the black sun in the sky, the wind making her cloak flutter.

Ryan’s snot froze into strings hanging from his nose.

His father was a passionate man who loved listening to heroic stories. Influenced by him, Ryan also knew many legendary human heroes.

Like the most loyal believer of the gods, Cardinal George of the Holy Church.

Like the Sword Saint Ryan, who could cut through rivers with one stroke and possessed a heart of a lion.

Like the enigmatic King of Deception, Lord Schalliger of Shantel堡.

Like Carlos Gonzales, known as the Silver Flash, who could walk through the mud of the Abyss.

And like Queen Elizabeth II of Ithilien, known as the Black Mandala.

And so on.

These heroic names were deeply imprinted in Ryan’s mind. When he was young, he often imagined how powerful these people were and what they could accomplish.

But at this moment, the small figure of Shir Sister in his eyes gradually overlapped with the shadows of those heroic figures in his imagination.

“[Abyssal Language]斩杀.”

“Swoosh—”

Two black blades shot out.

At the same time, the ice spear beneath Sister Shir extended abruptly into the sky. She lunged forward, narrowly avoiding the incoming blades.

“Boom boom—!!”

“Crash—”

The blades collided with the ice mountain, shattering along with the frozen fiends.

Sharp fragments grazed Ryan’s cheek, drawing blood.

He couldn’t stay here any longer.

Ryan pounded his trembling legs and staggered toward the distance.

“Yaah—!!!”

Behind him, the girl leaped high onto an ice pillar, her scythe gleaming with cold light, colliding with the black sun.