?Adam stepped aside for a smoke break, realizing that intervening in the brewing conflict between the two won would be extrely unwise. Click. Click. He tried to light his lighter, but it wouldn't work. The man frowned and irritably pursed his lips, realizing the situation was hopeless. Unfortunately, his cigarette case, which he always carried with him, was broken due to interference in the Underworld, making it impossible to light it in the usual way. The lighter he had tucked away in his pockets for ergencies also refused to cooperate.
"Damn it," he muttered and spat the cigarette onto the ground, crushing it with his foot.
He looked around and observed the icy landscape. To his surprise, the farther Elizabeth moved away from this place, the higher the temperature beca. There were speculations that she absorbed all the laws of cold, leaving this part without the regulations that maintained the icy terrain.
"Yeah, you're thinking in the right direction, Adam. Although it sounds absurd, it's quite achievable. Moreover, laws always go through the cycle of life and death, so soon new laws will replace the ones Elizabeth absorbed," explained Amarantha when Adam asked her about it. She smiled and looked at Elizabeth, who stood in the distance, ditating. "She truly is amazing. Due to her responsibilities in ruling the kingdom, her level has fallen significantly, but she was a genius in her ti."
"Indeed... I'm more interested in why she wouldn't just pass on the rulership to an heir or soone else, retire, and focus on evolution. Like Veronica, for example," he muttered and snapped his fingers, forming a small ice chair. He did it with the help of basic formless magical energy, deforming the ice.
"It's not that simple, Adam..." Sierra joined the conversation.
Raising an eyebrow, the man sat on the chair and then lifted Amarantha onto his lap. She imdiately took advantage of the situation, wrapping her arms around his neck and, closing her eyes, began to act like a kitten. Sierra fell silent, seeing this woman's behavior, and a hint of envy even flashed in her eyes. However, she soon coughed and smiled cheerfully.
"To avoid turning the explanation into an epic... Elizabeth never desired to have children, even if they were adopted. She is quite the paranoid type. At the sa ti, Veronica prepared capable individuals to govern the Chaos Empire, as she was confident that she would never be betrayed," she explained and suddenly chuckled. "Although... recent events showed that she's not as powerful as she thought, considering the conspiracies against her."
Boom!
Adam turned around and only smiled when he heard a loud sound as if soone had struck tal. Thus, Sierra lay on the ground, smoke emanating from her head, and Veronica stood over her with a disgruntled face.
"Bitch! I'll rip your dirty and venomous mouth to hell, do you understand ?!"
"Hahaha... sorry-y-y!"
***
Elizabeth sighed as she felt her magical energy in order, and the foundation strengthened. She had officially entered a new level of life, where one of her strikes could impact the world. It was an intoxicating feeling, but she didn't get to enjoy it for long before encountering another obstacle—Veronica.
Veronica was powerful, perhaps one of the strongest after the gods. Her level of strength always instilled fear in adversaries, and her status as an Old Demon gave her many prolonged nightmares. She was vengeful and insane, and no one could predict her next move, so there were few people with whom she got along.
"So, have you finished, Your Majesty?" a suddenly beautiful male voice rang out, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Eh?"
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and looked at Adam, who stood before her, smiling with his hands behind his back.
"Is that you... What do you want?" she asked without a hint of joy, rising from her seat.
Adam. He was her advisor so ti ago, and his assistance was truly outstanding. Although he initially struggled with paperwork, he soon adapted and reached a level where his advice brought Avalonia considerable profit. Moreover, his intelligence was highly valued by Elizabeth, considering that he ca up with such a convenient thing as newspapers, which could be used not only for announcents but also for propaganda.
However, a conflict arose between them, originating from the encounter with Veronica. Elizabeth discovered shocking news that Adam was a prince of Chaos, not just any prince but the heir carrying the legacy of the Demon King. Since then, they have beco hostile towards each other.
"If you have nothing to say, then get out of my sight," Elizabeth said and snorted, turning away and unwilling to look him in the eyes, feeling uncomfortable.
"Oh my, what has this young master done to upset Your Majesty?" Adam cynically replied, smiling. "Anyway, we're leaving. Two sources have been detected from the south, where we haven't looked yet. Are you coming with us?"
"Um..."
Elizabeth frowned and looked in the direction Adam ntioned. She indeed felt her token starting to flicker, indicating that soone from their team was in that direction. Moreover, it was there that she sensed a horrifying oppressive force as if it wanted to devour your soul and destroy you forever.
"This place... is dangerous. Are you sure we should go there?" she asked, looking at him with concern. But suddenly, she snapped back to her usual indifferent expression, biting her lip. "I think it's not worth sacrificing our safety for a bunch of unknown people."
"Heh... yeah, I share the sa opinion," Adam replied, smiling, glancing over his shoulder and pointing at Veronica. "However, she believes there's sothing there she calls the 'Source of Darkness,' and it can help us and Amarantha. So, we want to go there."
...
Elizabeth fell silent, and frowned, entering a contemplative state. Adam didn't interrupt her, just smiling, observing her face. After a few minutes, Queen of Avalonia nonchalantly nodded.
"Fine, I'll go with you."
"Great."
Adam waved to Amarantha, giving her an "OK" sign, and she just smiled.
After a few minutes, they were already on their way. As they left the icy landscape, Adam saw everything around them starting to lt, and then a sudden blue flash appeared, freezing everything again. He speculated that these were new laws of cold that quickly replaced the lost ones.
An entire hour passed, but they still hadn't covered even 10% of the journey. So external force affected them, making it hard to move, even for Veronica, who, despite being the most vigorous among them, encountered the unpleasantness of endless demon attacks.
"How strange... are we going in circles?" Sierra suddenly said.
"Eh?"
Adam frowned and surveyed the surroundings. There stood the sa little bush as an hour ago. All of this indicated that... they were repeatedly returning to the place they initially started from. It was so kind of illusionary effect or sothing similar, but it was so powerful that even the mighty Veronica didn't notice anything.
"Darn, it... did we fall into a spatial trap? I hated them in my youth..." she grumbled and sighed. She looked at them and explained, "We're in a spatial trap. It's a mundane trap, but it's powerful because it's created from the laws of darkness. We won't be able to get out until a certain ti passes. According to my calculations... we'll only have a chance to get out in a month."
"A m-month?!"
Everyone was stunned and looked at each other in amazent. A month... that was too long. Moreover, there was no guarantee that the external world would be as peaceful. Considering that they were all important figures managing either companies or countries, they needed to return as soon as possible. However, according to Veronica, the laws of darkness recharged only once a month, and during this ti, they could escape. As for trying to destroy this trap... it was impossible.
Adam shook his head and decided to calm down first. He sat on the ground, and crossed his legs, entering a ditative state. Focusing his mind, he cald his magical energy, which had beco a bit unruly due to his emotions. Then, not missing the opportunity, he decided to enter a ditative state.
"Wow!"
Imdiately, he felt a surge of energy. His magical energy bubbled within him, and the attribute of darkness, located at its source, showed signs of life—as if a hungry beast had caught a whiff of a delicious scent.
"I'm getting stronger?" he exclaid in surprise.
Previously, any attempts to beco stronger through demonic thods had only brought him a failure. It seed that his class, "Casanova," had beco a curse that hindered him from becoming stronger through his ans. However, in the Abyss, where for so reason the System didn't function, he could genuinely beco stronger!
BOOM!
His body was suddenly enveloped in a black aura that began to conceal his entire form. Amarantha, standing next to him, was shocked, but before she could do anything, she suddenly fell to her knees and lost consciousness. And...
Shuuuu!
The sa thing happened to her as with Adam. Both seed to be encased in a cocoon of black, while their magical energy burst out intermittently, creating a terrifying pressure.
"Amarantha!" Elizabeth exclaid in concern, wanting to rush to them, but she was stopped by Veronica. The woman looked at the Demon Queen and frowned. "What are you doing?"
"What am I doing? It would be more appropriate to ask you... what the hell are you doing?" Veronica growled with irritation, pointing at Sierra. "This is how your reaction should be! She stands calmly, ensuring their safety, unlike you, interfering! They are breaking through to a new level, understand?"
"W-what?"
To be continued...
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