Abyssal Awakening - Chapter 860

Capítulo 860: Erasing Tracks

Freeing Jin from his bindings, Rosalyn winced at the state of his body. The different poisons assaulting him from the inside.

Even though he has an insane amount of natural regeneration, it only makes the pain worse rather than better.

Just as Rosalyn was thinking about what to do, she jolted in shock when she felt a hand from behind.

“F*cking hell you scared me Cael.” Rosalyn sighed in relief after seeing that it was just Caelan.

“Scared you? You little sh*t, did you think your brother would lose?” Caelan’s smile twitched, pinching Rosalyn by the cheek.

“Hey! Ow ow ow ow! Sorry!” Rosalyn cried out in pain while Caelan handed her two vials.

Holding the vials, she raised an eyebrow and held the liquid against the light.

“An antidote?” She asked with a slight frown.

“Yep. Are you mad?” Caelan leaned against the wall.

He knew that Rosalyn must’ve known that he let Leoric go if he had the antidote.

“Well… I’ll be mad if it’s not the real antidote. But it’s not like I would’ve been able to kill him to begin with.” Rosalyn bit her lip in annoyance.

“Don’t worry. It’s the real one.” Caelan reassured.

“Mnm. I’m guessing he’s useful for you?” She asked, flicking open the vial and pouring the contents into her own mouth first.

She could feel the pain disappearing from her body as her natural regeneration was stimulated.

The weakness disappeared and she felt energised.

“Useful huh? I suppose so. But that’s something he’ll have to prove. If he can overcome a certain challenge then sure, he’s useful. Otherwise…” Caelan narrowed his eyes before shaking his head.

“You should start cultivating your Eighth Sigil. You’re too weak right now and the old monsters and geniuses are starting to crawl out. Of course, you can also come home with me but I doubt you want that.” He suggested.

“Well duh, do you think I want to be trapped in a house all day like you?” Rosalyn stuck out her tongue while pouring the antidote into Jin’s mouth.

“And… I know I need my Eighth but it’s not going smoothly.” Rosalyn smiled bitterly.

“Need some help?”

“Maybe later.” Rosalyn shook her head as she watched Jin’s expression relax.

Seeing the wounds begin to heal, she sighed in relief.

“Since you’re here, are you able to give me a hand with something else instead?” She asked, turning back to her brother.

Scratching his chin, Caelan mused in silence before nodding.

“Depends on what it is. Since I’ve already accomplished what I came here to do, I’ll have to go back soon before the restrictions start biting me in the ass.”

“When we went to the north, we got forcefully sent down here. Aside from me and Jin, Ria, Astrelya, Luke and Isolde were also teleported. Can you track them down for me? You don’t have to take me to them, just track them down. And…

“See if you can find if there are any survivors from Verona. They were hit the hardest by that vile thing after all.” Rosalyn shivered, recalling the sight she saw on the surface.

That creepy beast sitting in the middle of the city.

Just thinking of it twisted her gut.

“Just tracking them down? Sure, that shouldn’t be too difficult.” Caelan nodded.

Had Rosalyn asked him to save them, then he would’ve been forced to reject her request.

But just tracking them down was still within his capabilities.

Stepping out from the building, Caelan made a small cut on his finger.

His blood concentrated into a single drop before falling to the ground, splitting into countless roots that spread across the Abyss.

Closing his eyes, he connected his senses.

‘Hmm…’ A frown appeared on his face.

Now that he was connected to the Abyss, he could feel the changes occurring within Terminus.

The mutation of the beasts that reside within this layer. The destruction of seals on certain Old Lords. Marks of battle…

“I found Luke and Isolde. Seems like the lad has grown considerably. He’s using his head more with his skills.” Caelan praised with a smile.

Hearing this, Rosalyn sighed in relief.

Luke was still alive.

“I also found a few Inverted Worlds that have been closed and one that remained open. It’s done with intent and someone must’ve adjusted the memory it accesses. The location isn’t too far from what seems like a camp in the far far east. I’m assuming those are the people from Verona.

“There are a few Lord signatures there but… One of them feels extremely weak. The other Lords are protecting it so it must be the Queen after her failed ascension.” Caelan folded his arms.

“What about Ria and Astrelya?” Rosalyn asked while Caelan expanded his search.

There was a slight frown on his face.

Not a single sign or trace of Ria nor Astrelya could be found.

Which was weird considering everyone should’ve been dragged to Terminus.

Unless…

“Someone is erasing their traces. I can’t track Ria nor Astrelya right now.” Caelan admitted.

There were hints of erasure but not enough for him to determine who was the culprit behind it.

Like him, Astrelya had been chasing after death. Albeit her goals were a little different.

He chases death for the sake of getting rid of this immortal body.

She chases death for the euphoric desire of battle and the sensation of two souls putting everything on the line.

The same destination yet different goals and methods.

However, based on his prior knowledge on Astrelya, she shouldn’t be someone who invests this much time on a rag tag group.

Unless…

Someone must’ve piqued her interest.

Someone interesting enough for her to act this way.

If he were to go by this assumption, then the one who erased the tracks is…

“Astrelya…” Caelan narrowed his eyes with a slight frown.

What was she planning…

Regardless. He wasn’t one to back down so easily!

Tapping his finger, energy erupted from Caelan’s body!

*BANG!!!

“Argh! Warn me if you’re going to do that sh*t!” Rosalyn shouted as she stumbled over.

The ground began to tremble as the entire layer of Terminus felt as though it was about to collapse.

Caelan was forcefully sweeping through the entire layer with his detection!

###

Looking at the exhausted Ria, Astrelya was about to say something with a smile when her head snapped towards the right.

There was a dangerous light in her eyes.

‘So it’s you, unkillable boy. But don’t ruin my fun now.’ She mused to herself, tapping her finger against the air.

*RUMBLE!!!

Stars began to shimmer in the perpetual night as Astrelya forcefully wrestled control, turning this part of Terminus into her domain.

She had been erasing their tracks so that she could take the time to properly cultivate Ria into someone worthy.

She thought it would be enough of a warning towards anyone who tries to find them.

But clearly, Caelan didn’t want to take that warning to heart.

Since that was the case, even with him going as far as to comb through this layer using his power, Astrelya couldn’t stay idle.

‘Know your place fool.’ Astrelya warned.

###

“How scary.” Caelan chuckled after seeing the retaliation. She had turned a large portion of Terminus into her own domain for now.

Trying to comb through that to find her would be… rather difficult.

And it seemed like she had figured out his identity at that. With the way she was provoking him, it was clear she knew that he wasn’t able to do so.

“Ria is ‘safe’ with Astrelya. Though you’ll probably struggle to find them for a bit.” Caelan retracted his energy.

Since Astrelya didn’t want to be found, there wasn’t much he could do about it.

“Eh? How do you know?” Rosalyn blinked her eyes.

“Because Astrelya has a few screws loose in her head. But even though she does, she’s someone stupidly dedicated to her own desires. No matter her opponent, she wouldn’t let anyone rob her of her prey. In which case, that prey could be Ria right now.” Caelan explained, adjusting his sleeves.

Reaching forward with a finger, he swiped down and cut open a portal back to the surface.

“Wait… so Astrelya is the one hiding their tracks?” Rosalyn frowned.

“Yep. They’ll be fine for now. I suggest you go find the others first.” Caelan nodded.

Pulling out an empty compass from his pocket, he dripped some of his blood into the compartment and closed it.

“Each of these beads are magnetised towards one of your allies. Follow it and you’ll find them eventually. And take this too, it should allow you to rip a hole through Terminus. Just big enough for you to leave but not big enough to leave a permanent gateway.” Caelan handed over the compass along with a small dagger.

Receiving the items, Rosalyn looked down for a moment before glancing up at her brother.

“Thanks. For saving me.”

“You’re welcome. That’s what family is for. Now stop acting cute, it’s kinda gross with how out of character you’re being.” Caelan laughed, patting Rosalyn on the head.

Without waiting for her reply, he stepped through the portal.

Seeing her brother leave, Rosalyn huffed but there was a smile on her face.

###

“Good job staying out of sight.” Caelan praised while exiting the portal. Behind him, Leoric followed.

The entire time he was talking to Rosalyn, Leoric was actually there all along.

“Adding some hallucinogens into the air isn’t difficult.” He replied.

“True. But if Rosalyn saw you and told me to kill you, I wouldn’t hesitate you know?” Caelan chuckled with a slight hint of killing intent.

However, Leoric didn’t react. He knew that was the case already but so be it. It’s not like he could run from Caelan anyway.

“Go and familiarise yourself with the lab. Let’s have a fruitful collaboration shall we?”