Chapter 682: Chapter 59 Big Cave
Regarding the three main planes, The Azure Longsword had once had a close encounter.
It happened after leaving Constantinople, during an encounter with an Undead Mutant at the junction between the Netherworld and the Main Plane.
Of course, it was merely the junction point, not comparable to the real Netherworld. Additionally, the enemy encountered was actually Apilius, who purposely held back on Thira’s behalf, so everyone had not faced any disaster.
This time, however, was likely not the same.
Miel was held by the hands of Aske and Mia, only to see the surroundings change and immediately found herself enshrouded in pitch-black darkness.
Fear.
A kind of spontaneously arising fear that surged uncontrollably to her heart. Fortunately, the Eden Fruit on her wrist immediately protected her, blocking the silent assault from the Abyss.
Aske held her hand in the darkness, but his other hand was empty.
The parallel universe Mia… still required her Spirituality to maintain existence. The three of them teleported from the Main Plane to the Netherworld, seemingly simultaneously, yet there was a slight time difference.
It was this time difference that caused a discontinuation in the supply of Spirituality that sustained parallel universe Mia, causing her to return to her original world.
“Don’t be afraid,” Aske, sensing her trembling, said warmly, “I’m here.”
“Okay,” Miel hastened to respond and felt somewhat relieved, “Don’t worry about me. Our first goal now is to quickly find Mia…”
“I’m here,” a weak voice of young Mia with a crying tone emerged from ahead.
“Mia?” Miel startled slightly, just about to call out when Aske already pulled her arm, signaling her to be cautious.
“Mia, is it you?” Aske asked calmly.
“It’s me, Aske!” Young Mia immediately became excited, and footsteps rapidly approached, but Aske quickly shouted,
“Wait a moment! Remember the team protocol!”
The footsteps immediately stopped, clearly, young Mia understood his point.
“The first question: Why are you here?” Aske asked.
“I used the Ripple Sword and failed, which teleported me here,” young Mia’s somewhat uneasy voice responded after a moment, “According to team regulations, article… twenty-something? If separated from the team, stay where you are to wait for rescue, do not act on your own. So I didn’t dare to roam around…”
“That’s team regulation article twenty-six,” Aske stated coldly. “Second question: When was this regulation enacted, and for what reason?”
“It was… after we stabilized the Snow Monster Mutant in Sparta City State,” young Mia replied. “It was because an avalanche happened then, causing you and Medea to become separated from everyone. As a result, Peggy left the squad to find you, later you added this regulation.”
“Alright, then the final question,” Aske coughed and said, “Why wouldn’t you let me apply sunscreen?”
“Because…” young Mia hesitated for a moment, then said with a touch of embarrassment, “…it tickles.”
Miel: ?!?!!!
She looked towards Aske in astonishment and disbelief in the direction of Mia’s voice, but all she could see was darkness, unable to discern the expressions of the two.
Aske breathed a sigh of relief and said,
“Come here.”
The three identity verification questions he asked had their rationale. The first question tested “awareness and common sense,” the second asked about “memories and experiences,” and the third confirmed “personality and thinking.”
If some creature had read young Mia’s superficial thoughts and then tried to impersonate her, it might answer one question, but it was unlikely to get all three correct.
Of course, this is based on the pretext that Aske had searched for Mia soon after she had disappeared. If Aske had delayed for a day or two, there was a high chance that the enemy had already fully scrutinized Mia’s Mind Body without showing any flaw in disguise.
Moments later, Aske felt a warm creature pouncing into his arms, tightly hugging his neck.
“Waahhhh! Squad Leader, I’ve missed you so much!” Miel sobbed, rubbing her tears fiercely into his chest.
Miel on the side: ………
So do I not exist? I’m also your close friend who risked her life to rescue you!
“Alright, alright, alright.” Aske could only gently soothe Miel and then confirmed the situation of the Ripple Sword with her.
Similar to the Mia from the parallel world, Miel had already begun to grasp the Ripple Sword, capable of moving back and forth instantly over short distances. However, due to her initial mistake, she had fallen into the Abyss and now couldn’t teleport back to the Main Plane—she wasn’t at that level yet.
Mia was also tearfully moved by Aske and Miel’s rescue. However, now was not the time for heartfelt confessions; finding the next course of action was imperative.
“Aske, should I summon the Banshee Queen?” Miel said, gathering her courage.
The Banshee Queen, at the Demigod Level, was undoubtedly more useful in the Abyss. As for hiding their strength… she had no time for that anymore; saving everyone’s lives was the priority.
“Oh, okay.” Aske was somewhat surprised, though he had suspected as much and pretended not to know.
Thus, Miel once again exerted all her Spiritual Essence by using the Eden Fruit and finally pulled out the Minerva from the parallel world, three years later.
It was also the Banshee Queen who had just reached Lv.30, earlier and at a lower level than the last time at the Spiritual Tree event, but still a desperately needed strong reinforcement for the trio at that moment.
Then the Banshee Queen appeared out of the darkness, sniffed the air around her, and asked:
“Is this the Abyss?”
“Yes,” Miel didn’t say much. The necessary information had been exchanged through the Eden Fruit at the time of summoning.
“Heh.” The Banshee Queen gave a soft laugh. “How did you end up here? This is really…”
Transcendants of around fifteen levels falling into the Abyss was undeniably perilous, so she merely sighed in empathy, then looked around and said, “You should be able to see clearly in the dark here.”
Suddenly, the three of them felt that objects before their eyes were clearer, no longer the thick darkness that was nearly impenetrable, but a dim environment where they could barely make out the contours of the terrain.
They still couldn’t see clearly, though.
“You can listen to the sounds to gauge locations, to compensate for the visual weakness,” the Banshee Queen spoke again.
Suddenly, everyone realized that the surrounding scenery seemed clearer. Specifically, whenever they made a sound, the contours of the terrain around them became slightly more distinct.
“Cough, the darkness of the Abyss isn’t ordinary darkness, so this is all I can do for now,” the Banshee Queen said somewhat embarrassedly.
Obviously, compared to the last time at the Spiritual Tree where the Banshee Queen was above Lv.35, Minerva wasn’t able to completely “Speak and Follow” yet; her demeanor was also more gentle towards Miel and others.
“No worries, let’s manage with this for now,” Aske said, thanking her, then began to carefully observe their surroundings.
Deep in his memory, the large map of the Abyss environment surfaced in his mind, comparing it with what they were seeing now.
The group was in a narrow, dimly lit environment with cramped space on both sides, about three meters across, and very high ceilings, about twenty meters or so. The walls on both sides were irregular, seemingly naturally formed caves, and stalagmites that protruded from the ground were visible everywhere.
Aske roughly knew where they were now.
The Abyss’ lower level, the Big Cave.