I Was The Hero, But I Woke Up as a Phoenix Princess! – Chapter 237

Chapter 237 Chapter 31 The Abyss of the Dead (Part 2)
Ig held himself up by the ground and crawled up. The dirt in his hand turned into gray ash the moment he squeezed it, flowing away from his fingers. The young man stood up, preparing to look around.
Suddenly, the wood elf girl holding the fire pigeon and Ophiias fell in front of him with a boom. The ice dragon girl rolled on the ground several times with her face down, making miserable sounds.
The blood race girl Flarn opened her small bat wings in the air, and her exquisite boots landed steadily on the ground. As for Verafia, she turned into a gorgeous golden light and crimson glow. It wasn’t until she approached the ground that a magnificent and noble fire phoenix appeared in her vision. She turned back into her maiden form and jumped onto the ground.
“Wuwu, it hurts so much…”
Ig walked in front of Ophiias and reached out to pull up the dragon princess, who was on the verge of crying from grievance.
Ig turned his gaze back. The wood elf girl had already stood up holding the frightened fire pigeon, and Flarn had retracted her wings and stood quietly beside Verafia, who seemed to be lost in thought.
“Young Lady, where is this?”
Ig tried to ask. The sound he made echoed in the silent air, but there was no echo.
Verafia furrowed her delicate brows slightly and shook her head, not speaking immediately.
Since he didn’t get an answer from the girl, Ig had to observe for himself.
What entered his eyes was a vast expanse of gray and white. There were even occasional white bones that were not completely buried. This world was silent. There was no wind or sign of life, but the rocks on the ground were so weathered that they turned to dust with the slightest touch.
Ig picked up a handful of sand and stones and examined them.
—
Appraisal:
Sand and Stones (Dust of the Departed)
Evaluation: Shaped by the power of the undead, eroded by ????????. Contains the power of the undead.
—
“The power of the undead?”
Ig frowned. Besides the clusters of white bones sticking out, the only things in the place where they were were the sand and stones in front of them. Except for the absence of tombstones, Ig felt more and more like he had been locked in a vast, boundless, yet incredibly oppressive and deathly silent cemetery.
“Little Fei, can you try to turn into your dragon form and fly up to see if there’s an exit?”
Ig looked up at the sky, which seemed to be covered by a gray curtain. He couldn’t see where the light source was coming from. He curiously squatted down and said to the dragon girl who was observing carefully.
“Turn into a dragon? Okay!”
Ophiias stood up. A blue light flashed on her shapely body outlined by her armor, and she turned into a frost-colored dragon. She flapped her wings, stirring up a great deal of dust on the ground, and soared into the sky.
However, Ophiias was soon forced to land her dragon body and transform back into her dragon girl form. She shook her little head vigorously and said, “No, up there, there’s a very powerful spiritual field. I can’t fly up at all!”
“Spiritual field… So that’s what it is.”
Verafia suddenly raised her cheeks, her golden eyes scanning the entire gray world. “This place should be a ‘domain’, and if I’m not mistaken, it was likely created by the Black-winged Monarch who invaded the continent of Aslandt a hundred years ago.”
After speaking, Verafia fell into a slight contemplation. In those days, she had met the Black-winged Monarch quite a few times and was certainly not unfamiliar with his demonic power. But here…
“But, Young Lady, didn’t you just say that it’s impossible for the ruins of the Black-winged Monarch to appear in Andelfir Province?”
Suddenly, a presumptuous young man interjected. Verafia’s face, covered by snow jade flawless mask, turned slightly red, and she glared at him fiercely.
Ig realized how dangerous his words were, which he had spoken subconsciously due to his excessive trust in the girl, and quickly shut his mouth.
“‘Domain’ of the Black-winged Monarch…?”
The ice dragon girl stepped forward and looked around with her ice crystal-like beautiful eyes, saying somewhat confusedly, “It looks completely different from the outside world.”
Verafia looked at the ice dragon girl and let out a soft snort. “A domain constructed with will and authority is naturally different from the real world. Do you still remember Duke Oran’s ‘City of Blood’?”
Although Ophiias was a bit naturally slow-witted, since Verafia had already explained it so clearly, the ice dragon girl immediately reacted and looked at Verafia in surprise. “Are you saying that this place… is actually the same as that place?”
“Tsk, I told you you’re an idiot.”
Verafia crossed her arms and mocked her. “Although Oran also fell under King Peka’s sacred sword fifty years ago and ascended to immortality at that moment, his domain was largely maintained by his ‘will’ that had not completely faded.”
“Sister.” Flarn, beside the girl, made a soft sound.
Verafia rubbed her head. “This place is different. You know, the Black-winged Monarch is one of the most powerful ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ of the Demon Race. Before invading Aslandt, he was already a profound immortal, controlling the power of death and demise.”
Verafia raised her gaze slightly. The gray and oppressive sky fell into her brilliant golden flame pupils. “What’s more, if I’m not mistaken, the Black-winged Monarch has long since completely perished.”
“What do you mean by all this…?” Ophiias couldn’t quite comprehend. She blinked her big eyes and looked at Verafia in confusion.
“What I mean is, this domain has subsisted to this day, not relying on the will of the Black-winged Monarch. Look there—”
Ig, who was lowering his head in self-reflection, also looked up at where the girl’s slender hand was pointing. His gaze fell upon a vast expanse of gray and white, and the revealed white bones.
Suddenly, Ig’s eyes narrowed. A subtle, chilling demonic power flickered in his consciousness. A section of white bone buried underground, which had been exposed on the soft soil by the dust stirred up by Ophiias’ dragon wings earlier, suddenly trembled.
“It, it, it’s moving!” The ice dragon princess was startled and hid behind Ig, shouting.
“Did Ice Dragon Idiot notice?”
Verafia’s golden eyes flickered slightly. On her white, slender hand, the elements of crimson flame gathered, forming a beautifully shaped staff.
“The skeletons here are not like the phantoms in Oran’s place. If they bite you, don’t cry!”
As Verafia’s mocking voice fell, the skeletons hidden underground stood up, firm yet not slow. The eerie white bones showed fluctuations of demonic power, and traces of spiritual fire appeared on their cheekbones, charging towards the girls and the others.
Verafia pushed Ig, who was beside her, to the side. Her slender hand grasped the staff and raised it, releasing a fireball that blew the approaching humanoid skeleton to pieces.