“What the….”
Neo was dumbstruck.
He wrapped his blade in Death and Darkness and slashed.
The blade grew in length and struck the ropes connected to the heads of the people dangling in the sky.
His sword bounced back.
Before Neo could attack again, he started to fall under the effect of gravity.
He landed on the ground.
“When I woke up just now, I ‘crashed’ into the ground, and when I left the nightmare, I felt the sensation of ‘falling,'” he said, staring at the sky.
He couldn’t see anyone up there from this distance, but he knew they were there.
“Judging from everything, everyone who was teleported to this area is under nightmares. The rope attached to their head will break if they manage to escape their nightmares.”
Neo frowned.
Everyone was caught too easily.
Why hadn’t the Grand Expedition prepared for an ambush like this?
“Maybe this area was never found out by previous Expeditions, so they never knew about this monster.
“But…
“There is still something wrong.
“I’m pretty sure I was in a nightmare because Tartarus tried to kill me. Why did it put other members of the Grand Expedition in nightmares?”
Neo felt like he was missing a crucial piece of information.
He shook his head, focusing on the task at hand.
With another jump, he shot into the sky.
“Since I can’t wait for everyone to come out of their nightmares, I will break the nightmares from the outside.”
He swung his sword with full force.
Suddenly, thick, pointed vines descended from the sky and attacked Neo.
He was forced to change his sword’s path.
The vines were hard to cut through.
The force of the clash threw him back to the ground.
Neo prepared to intercept another attack when he suddenly noticed the vines weren’t attacking.
They were hovering around the people dangling in the sky, protecting them.
“Whatever is creating nightmares has a defensive mechanism but not an active attack mechanism?”
Since he was inside a Zone, Neo predicted the cause of the nightmares was a monster.
It must be a strong monster if Tartarus threw him to it.
Neo stared at the vines above.
“It will take a lot of time to cut them; they are strong.”
He decided to complete his preparations before rescuing those people.
After all, he could tell they weren’t in danger thanks to his Death affinity. He could take time to rescue them.
“I’ll search for Olivia and Apollo first. I need them to heal Elizabeth…”
Neo stopped speaking when he noticed something.
His Shadow Space was empty.
He swiftly opened it and entered the Shadow Space.
“Fuck, I should’ve known this would happen.”
Elizabeth, Velkaria, Veldora.
Everyone was missing.
“It was the random teleportation that happens when we enter this place. It sent everyone to other locations.”
Neo massaged his head.
“Fuck, how could I not notice such a basic detail?
“If people inside the Shadow Space teleported together, the leaders of the Grand Expedition would’ve been carrying everyone inside their Shadow Space.
“They didn’t do it as there was no reason.
“Whether inside Shadow Space or not, everyone would be targeted by random teleportation.”
Neo could feel his frustration rising.
He didn’t blame Kane.
Kane might’ve not explained such basic details to him since he never expected Neo to carry someone in Shadow Space.
It was Neo’s mistake.
He should’ve understood it. He should’ve questioned himself why the Grand Expedition was not using Shadow Space to carry people inside the Abyss of Nightmares.
…
Tartarus
Kane was on his way back after Neo and others entered the Abyss of Nightmares.
His house was near the outskirts of Tartarus.
Although he was near the Blood Sea, it was impossible to escape.
The moment someone got too far from Tartarus, it would pull them back.
“I’m home.”
He opened the door and entered.
After washing his face, he sat on the sofa.
“Ava, bring the tea in the glamour glass….”
Kane sat up straight with an alert expression.
Usually, Ava would bring him tea within minutes of his returning home.
“Ava?”
He couldn’t find her.
An ominous premonition crept into his heart.
He expanded his senses to the limit, covering thousands of kilometers.
Ava was missing.
“She didn’t…!”
Kane left the house and swiftly returned to the location of the Abyss of Nightmares.
Knowing his daughter, she must’ve entered that place with the Grand Expedition.
“Dammit, how did she sneak in!”
Kane’s movement did not create any sonic booms.
He moved like a ghost and reached the location within minutes.
The entrance of the Abyss of Nightmares—the giant tornado—was within his sight.
“Stop!”
A swarm of butterflies appeared and surrounded Kane.
They formed a wall to stop him in his tracks.
Kane stared at the butterflies.
She was one of the three Dragon Clan Leaders who stayed back.
“You aren’t allowed to enter the Abyss of Nightmares,” the voice echoed from all directions.
“Move, Adele.”
“Kane—”
“My daughter is missing.”
The butterflies stopped flying randomly.
They floated in the same place, fluttering their wings rapidly.
“Did Avaris enter the Abyss of Nightmares?” she asked cautiously.
“I’m afraid she did. You know her.”
The butterflies did not give a reply for a few moments.
“Kane, no matter what, you cannot be allowed to enter the Abyss of Nightmares.
“You don’t need to worry about Avaris. The Blood Dragon Clan and Zera will make sure to protect her,” Adele said.
“Adele,” Kane said in a low, threatening voice. His presence started to swell, reaching dangerous levels. “Move.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. The reason I’m guarding this place is to make sure no danger enters the Abyss of Nightmares and backstabs the Grand Expedition.”
“I don’t care, Adele. Move!”
Kane’s aura exploded.
The butterflies were almost crushed instantly.
They resisted his aura and remained firm in their decision.
“Kane, if this was before your Trait was sealed along with your ability to use swords, you could’ve used force, but now it’s useless. You can’t force me aside.”
Kane gritted his teeth.
Just as he was about to fight, another figure appeared.
“Wait, Kane!” The man, another Dragon Clan Leader, walked to Kane hurriedly. “Are you seriously going to fight us here?”
“Elijah, I don’t want to harm you too. Stand out of my way.”
“Wait! Just listen to me for a minute!”
“Clan Leader Elijah, you don’t need to entertain him like this—”
“Shut up, Adele.” Elijah’s desperate expression disappeared, and he glared at her. “You weren’t here when we fought the Great Disasters. Don’t provoke him just because he can’t use his swordsmanship.”
The butterflies had a lot to say.
But they stayed silent.
Elijah turned to Kane.
“Entering that place won’t help you. If you go there, it will only throw the Grand Expedition into chaos. You should know how much everyone fears you.”
“You can’t expect me to stay here while my daughter—”
“It will be fine. Zera is there, and so is the Blood Dragon Clan,” Elijah said. “With their abilities, they will quickly realize Ava is there.
“They will protect her, Kane. They know how much she is worth to you.”
Before Kane could say anything, Elijah added,
“Just one month. They should be able to send Ava out of the Abyss by then.
“You only need to wait for one month. If Ava isn’t back by then, I will personally make sure no one tries to stop you from entering the Abyss.”
Kane looked at Elijah with stern eyes before shifting his gaze to the entrance of the Abyss of Nightmares.
The exit was hard to find inside the Abyss, but it was not impossible.
Usually, opening the exit took a lot of resources.
The Expedition would open the exit only when they needed to escape.
But they should know Kane would storm inside if Ava wasn’t sent back.
“One month. Just one month. Ava will be back within that time,” Elijah said, trying to calm Kane.
…
Abyss of Nightmares
Neo covered his face and forcefully calmed his thoughts.
This was no time to get angry.
He swiftly left his Shadow Space and used the blessing of Artemis.
“Tell me the location of Elizabeth.”
The blessing flared to life, and a path marked by silver motes of light appeared before him.
He followed the markings.
There was no obstacle on his path.
No vegetation, no cliff, no monster.
The entire land was barren.
The feeling of something being wrong crossed his heart again.
He ignored it and continued on his path.
[Quest: Save Elizabeth de Beaufort]
[Time Remaining: 8 hours, 11 minutes.]
“How far do I need to go?”
Neo had been running at full speed for days.
He was starting to wonder if he would be able to reach his destination on time.
What if he was too late?
What if he couldn’t save Elizabeth?
He would fail again to protect those dear to him.
Neo gritted his teeth and continued running at full speed.
He had tried contacting Space Elementals for help, but it was useless.
They, along with other Elementals, did not respond.
It was as if they had disappeared.
Neo could not feel their presence.