Chapter 159 Gazing into the Abyss
“So, is this the abyss you are so infatuated with?”
Beneath the broken trees, light was hidden, revealing a black ocean. Verdant demonic energy rose like waves. Ig raised his long sword to block in front of him. Two black greatswords tore through space, unleashing a power that instantly sent his body flying.
However, this world no longer had the concept of space. The black-robed swordsman landed in front of him almost treading on his shadow. Darkness poured down, shattering spacetime into pieces. The black greatswords, indestructible, continued to slash down with a roar.
“Bang—”
Ig was slammed into the ground. The next moment, he struggled to get up, his bones feeling as if they had been shattered. But under his true sight, the End long sword was accurately positioned to block the trace of the dark greatsword’s descent.
The impact from the giant sword sent Ig flying hundreds of meters away. As he fell, the ground shattered beneath him. He spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with blackened, shattered internal organs. The abyss, transformed into an ocean, lay beside him. He forced himself to look up, his unvoiced question bursting forth:
“Hodrea, you were once a swordsman who drank wolf’s blood and swore to monitor the abyss. Now you’ve fallen and become an envoy of the abyss—this is the world you hoped for, so corrupted.”
“When gazing into the abyss, do you not realize the abyss is also gazing at you? However, I should praise His gaze, which allowed me to witness brilliant sights—the radiance of rainbows, the golden warm sun, what a brilliant and glorious world! Filthy? No, this is merely the view of vulgar people—”
Hodrea stepped forward, raising his head and saying, “I know that for mortals like you, the so-called abyss is a power diametrically opposed to this world, representing chaotic destruction—even a saintess is merely a force resisting the mundane.”
As he spoke, Hodrea’s excitement became evident, like a true fanatic, his eyes burning with fervent colors. “You don’t realize that in my eyes, this is the essence and true sight, surpassing this world—what comparison do the so-called sanctuaries of the gods, the heavens and holy realms, hold to this perfection!”
“More lies! You followers of the abyss, besides these two words, do you have nothing more to say!”
Ig could no longer hold back, spitting out a mouthful of bloody foam, and cursing loudly. He raised the End and swung it down heavily.
The black greatsword paused before him, its magnificent sword light ground to dust before his eyes and then devoured by the colors of the abyss. Ig’s body, like a kite with a broken string, was thrown into the abyss ocean.
Ig struggled to get up. Beside him, the dark seawater soaked in, drops of blood falling onto the silent sea surface.
Hodrea was a strong person nearing legendary status. Even though Ig was close to the saint realm, the distance between them was like a chasm. To have him directly confront someone with one foot in the legendary realm was an unbelievable matter at any time.
“Moreover, this is a world shaped by the abyss…”
Ig thought to himself, feeling the black seawater that filled his body, like a burning fire yet brimming with endless power.
They stood above the abyss, the black sea surging beneath their feet. The air, the earth, even all the laws were a condensation of the abyss’s essence. Hodrea was originally a swordsman of the abyss, and in this world, his power was practically infinite. His already near-legendary aura was even visibly ascending.
In Ig’s eyes, he was not far from a true legend. If it weren’t for stepping into this world, and the power belonging to the abyss pouring into Ig’s body, healing his almost fatal injuries, he would have likely been smashed into a pulp.
The long sword was cleansed. Standing up from the abyss sea surface, Ig’s gaze fell silently upon the hand holding the sword in his right hand. The abyss imprint, once transferred to the End by Ain, was steadily solidifying again.
“It’s not about belief or fanatical praise; this is indeed the world I saw. Ig, you are my sacrifice, but I still wish that, like when I saw my teacher enter the abyss in the past, you can open your prejudiced eyes and see the truly bright picture.”
Hodrea walked over, his expression much calmer than his previous fervor. The edges of his two greatswords dragged on the ground, the metal vibrating and creating black sparks. He glanced at the boy also in the abyss, gazing silently, and Hodrea showed a trace of disappointment:
“However, even now, you are still refusing?”
He did not wait for Ig to speak. He raised his greatswords and aimed them at Ig. The sword edges reflected coldly, mirroring the intense indifference in his eyes.
“You are not qualified to be a sacrifice now. Ig, I will not give you any more time—after I kill you, whether it’s Verafia or that ice dragon, I will not let anyone you care about go.”
Ig’s palm rested on the sword hilt. He raised his head and gazed at the other.
Hodrea said that gazing into the abyss was equivalent to the abyss gazing at oneself. At this moment, he was also looking at his opponent, who was an abyss swordsman.
He had always felt an innate aversion to the abyss, resisting its acceptance. He understood that this was merely Hodrea’s threat, but now… the End trembled in his hand, like the comforting voice of the sword spirit girl Lucia. Suddenly, he pressed down heavily with his right hand.
In fact, Ig knew his choice… The last time, in front of Verafia, he refused the abyss because he resisted becoming a madman who only knew the abyss like Hodrea, and feared hurting his beloved girl due to his inability to control the power of the abyss.
However, at this moment, there were not many things to fear—before being swept into the abyss, when he threw Elucia’s moonlight to Ophi, Ig had already considered how to accept the power of the abyss.
“Yes, you are right. Gazing into the abyss, seeing its will… this is a corrupting power, yet I should not refuse it.”
He let out a laugh. As the abyss sea soaked his body, the waves suddenly surged, as if countless raging dragons were rising. Demonic energy rippled, transforming into terrifying abyssal demonic power, surging into Ig’s body.
In this instant, the black-haired youth’s aura soared. At the same time, he let out a painful roar, his body seeming to be crushed into powder by the abyss and then reshaped. Endless abyssal power poured in, eroding and corrupting him.
The intensity of his physical transformation far surpassed that of receiving the Demon King’s bloodline or undergoing the ascension ritual. His human form was almost entirely eroded by the abyss.
Suddenly, Ig’s face was contorted by the abyssal demonic energy, no longer resembling a human. He slowly raised his head, while the keratin-like horns of a demonic beast condensed, but in his azure eyes, a grayness representing chaotic disorder was etched.
—
Actually, this plot was just a whim to play with a Dark Souls meme… (which ended up making me feel terrible) It was too painful.
This plot likely will finish in the next chapter, and then we’ll return to Veer’s perspective.
