Chapter 580

Chapter 202 The Land of the Great Dragon Part 9

“I am…the Forest…tribe.”

The old fairy paused, struggling to answer my question.

Clearly, she was not very good at speaking the obscure Abyssal language. She stumbled over three words, two of which were not pronounced correctly, making her speech difficult and slow, like a child just learning to speak.

“I am here…atoning. Protecting, Vitham…a thousand years…here.”

“…”

?

What did she say…

I furrowed my brows and pondered for a moment, trying to decipher the clear meaning from the old fairy’s disjointed and inverted word order.

“Are you saying that you are the Forest tribe? That you are atoning here? A thousand years of protection? You call this place Vitham? What are you protecting?”

“Yes…Vitham.” The old fairy’s slow speech made me restless, but I didn’t want to rush her. “Our tribe…has been protecting…the bones of sin…responding to the great…Rabis Hemus, apostle…”

“…”

…what?

Bones of sin?

Apostle Rabis Hemus?

Is the apostle Rabis Hemus referring to me?

“How do you know my surname is Rabis Hemus? Have you known me before?”

As soon as I asked, I regretted it because it sounded particularly foolish. These fairies seemed to have been trapped here for a long time, perhaps even a thousand years; how could they possibly know who I am…

But they knew Rabis Hemus.

“The great Rabis Hemus…of the Gideles clan. You possess…her scent…you are the apostle…Rabis Hemus…”

…Gideles clan?

She said my power has her scent…did the old fairy use the wrong words? It should mean that the chaotic force bears the scent of some ‘presence’ of the Gideles clan, so I am the apostle Rabis Hemus…is that what she meant?

I was quite confused.

I already had too many questions, and now the fragmented information from the old fairy made things even more confusing. What is an apostle of Rabis Hemus? What is the Gideles clan? I didn’t understand any of it, but I vaguely felt that this was important information.

Where exactly is this place, why are they here, what are they protecting, what is this so-called deity, and what is the Abyss? I might find answers here, at least part of the truth.

I urgently wanted to clarify everything, but there were too many questions, and the old fairy spoke with difficulty, using ambiguous terms and incoherent sentences. I wasn’t sure if my understanding was correct or if I had truly grasped what the old fairy intended to convey. My head was a mess, and I didn’t know where to start asking.

Seeing my silence, the old fairy scratched at the rotten part of her chest with sharp, black nails, scraping off a layer of blood foam and yellowish mucus. But she seemed oblivious to the pain, continuing to speak.

“Our tribe…has been atoning for a thousand years. It has…exceeded the agreement. Our tribe…was cursed. Eroded…ask the apostle…great Rabis Hemus. Why did you…deceive…my people…”

“…?”

I blinked my eyes.

…what’s going on?

Agreement? What agreement? Atoning for a thousand years? Cursed erosion? So they became like this? Who deceived them? Was the old fairy accusing me? Was she questioning why I didn’t let them out? They weren’t supposed to be here? Or was the ‘protection’ agreement over, and they should have left but couldn’t?

My head was even more confused, filled with endless questions. Looking at the old fairy’s bewildered face, her confusion turned to shock in the next moment.

Did the old fairy mean that I had deceived their tribe?!

No.

She mentioned Rabis Hemus, but not me…

It seemed in the old fairy’s mind, I was not the ‘Rabis Hemus’ she referred to, but rather the ‘apostle Rabis Hemus.’ This I was sure I understood correctly.

So…

Who exactly is this Rabis Hemus she was talking about?

“Who is Rabis Hemus?” I asked.

I had to clarify this.

This was crucial information, even though I didn’t know what it would lead to, it was essential for unraveling my own mysteries. I sensed I was getting closer to the truth hidden for a thousand years in this world.

I needed to know the secrets of the clinic.

I needed to understand what the Abyss really was.

All I needed was for the old fairy to answer me, tell me what Rabis Hemus is.

“Phew…”

I started breathing heavily, my heart pounding, desperately controlling my facial expressions to hide my inner turmoil. Staring into her murky eyes, at her zombie-like face, I took a deep breath.

One second, two seconds passed.

The old fairy did not answer my question.

I noticed her expression change. Her wrinkled skin lifted slightly, a subtle change. Her face was already so decayed that it was hard to make normal expressions. I couldn’t tell what the old fairy was thinking. After a moment, I thought maybe my phrasing was wrong, so I rephrased and asked again.

“What is Rabis Hemus?”

Did she understand this time…

“Kabagotada! Dongkala!”

But just as the words left my lips, those fairies hiding in the mist suddenly shouted, stamping their feet in agitation, pounding the ground with their fists. The hateful wolf dogs bared their fangs, growling menacingly.

The fairy seemed impatient because of this, turning around and scolding a few words. A voice came from far away in response, but it wasn’t speaking Abyssal Language; I couldn’t understand what they were saying.

But the atmosphere…

It didn’t seem quite right…

Did I say something wrong?

Her dark eyes blinked rapidly, her thoughts racing. She tried hard to think as the old fairy’s gaze returned to her. Immediately, she changed her words and said to it, “I am Abyssal Language, an apostle of Labis Hemus.”

The old fairy might have had bad thoughts because of my previous question…

This was my guess, right or wrong. Whether it mattered now, I wasn’t sure, but if I wanted to get more information from it, I had to keep the conversation going.

Calm down first, change the topic from the one that’s about to die…

“I came here to destroy the demons in the Dragon’s Homeland.”

While speaking, I imagined Victoria’s face in my mind, imagining her usual tone of voice, imagining her bossy, arrogant attitude. Clearing my throat, I asked in a commanding tone, “Where are the demons?”

They held great reverence for that “Labis Hemus”…

They also seemed to have similar feelings towards the power I displayed… reverence, even fear… If I were some kind of “great existence” in their hearts, then I should communicate with them like this.

Say less, explain less, command them coldly to answer questions. Perhaps this is the correct and effective method…

“Demon…”

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, the old fairy spoke again.

“There are no demons here. Only Diana, whose body… our tribe protects.”

As she spoke, she turned back and rode on that beast with bared fangs and drooling mouth. Her wrinkled face was hidden in the thin mist. In her words, there seemed to be more vigilance.

“Labis Hemus has given… our tribe a chance for redemption. The mission of guardianship. Do you… not know?”

“……”

Wait…

“Why did you… curse us? Deceive our tribe… Please, give me an answer.”

“……”

What did she just say…

Did she mention Diana…

Am I hearing this right…

I was stunned, feeling my head go numb, my heart sinking, my limbs freezing in place. By the time the old fairy spoke again, her voice reached my ears as if from afar.

“Diana…”

I remembered that name clearly.

I first heard it in the royal city, from Teresa’s mouth. She said she was Diana’s angel. At that time, Teresa also called me “Labis Hemus.”

Later, I learned from Angel that the “Diana” mentioned by Teresa was actually the Goddess of Sin. And according to what Angel told me—

[The goddess Diana seems to have broken some established rule, and they call her ‘the filthy traitor.’]

The man’s light yet steady voice echoed in my mind again.

Diana… Labis Hemus… Gideles Clan…

I felt like I had grasped something.

The cursed redeeming fairies… the thousand-year “guardians” of the Dragon’s Homeland… the seal… unknown demons… the power of order and inferno cannot be used… the power of Labis Hemus’s apostle is almost unrestricted…

Apostle… angel… apostle means angel… I am Labis Hemus’s angel… Teresa is Diana’s angel… Diana is the Goddess of Sin… so Labis Hemus… they are all Gideles Clan…

Goddess of Sin… traitor…

Vast fragments of information formed a cold vortex, quickly engulfing me, but before that, I indeed grasped something.

If the Dragon’s Homeland was not just meant for banishing dragons…

If these fairies, what they “guarded,” was actually the Goddess of Sin… the benefactor of the power of inferno, the great deity, the filthy traitor, the source of the power of the Gate of Truth…

Then what were the so-called demons…

“Duca! Duca!”

Amidst the thick fog, agitated shouts echoed. I suddenly looked up, realizing that the fairies around me had become restless and angry. The old fairy seemed to have asked me something earlier, but I was lost in shock and thought, not listening carefully. Now, she was shouting something with several fairies, slowly retreating deeper into the fog.

The atmosphere was off…

“Hold on!”

I forced myself to stay calm, gripping the giant scythe tightly, and shouted at the old fairy retreating into the fog, “Where is Diana! Tell me!”

“Deep within Vitham. The dragon’s nest.”

The old fairy said solemnly as she retreated, “Sinful apostles have already arrived. You, strange, incomprehensible. We, guardians… cannot let go.”

“Gukatama—”

The fairies began to shout in unison, striking their weapons on the ground. It was clear they no longer trusted me. The sound of rustling grew louder, and I could hear wind and growls approaching from all sides.

Damn it…

Whoosh—

Chaos energy surged within me, and black smoke rose abruptly from beneath my feet, forming several swirling snakes that darted around me, ready to defend against any incoming attacks.

“Roar—!!!”

Suddenly, amidst the tense atmosphere, a deafening roar echoed from deep within the fog, a tremendous wave dispersing some of the mist.

That…

My body trembled involuntarily, looking up in disbelief, my pupils trembling, gazing toward the depths of the gray fog.

No mistake…

That was Bai Bai’s roar!