Dominic stared at the chaotic Abyssal Rift for a long while, his gaze finally settling on Scholar Vincent, who was casting a spell with his eyes closed.
"What have you found?" he asked in a deep voice.
Vincent slowly opened his eyes, his pale blue pupils now shimmering with a light that seemed capable of seeing into the very secrets of the abyss.
"I’ve found it. The traces left behind by Lord Casaric."
As a highly respected court scholar of the White Horse Kingdom, he claimed to be a Mage proficient in the Curse Magic System, specializing in summoning and creation. In reality, his research into demonic lore was far more profound than his study of the Curse Magic System.
For a common tutor from the Fey City Gedun Arcane Academy to become a court Mage and enter the Kingdom’s inner circle of power, the secret support of demons—in addition to his own talent—was indispensable.
The ancient demonic texts he "happened" to acquire, the forbidden knowledge he "stumbled upon," the "perfectly timed" aid at critical moments... all of it had led him down the path of making deals with the abyss.
His reason for choosing to deal with demons was pure, even simple—he just wanted to explore more knowledge and glimpse the deeper mysteries of the world.
And the demons just so happened to be able to provide the ancient knowledge and power that the Church and the royal family had deemed forbidden. It was as simple as that.
Vincent fluently recited a long string of dizzying, obscure demonic phrases. He then raised his Magic Staff, and the Gemstone at its tip began to glow with a dim, violet-black light.
A ray of unknown energy shot from the tip of the Magic Staff, pierced the chaotic Abyssal Rift, and vanished into the bottomless darkness, as if it were locating or calling to something.
In front of the Demon Legion’s lines, Chen Yu noticed Vincent’s subtle actions in the distance. He didn’t know exactly what Vincent was up to, but he could tell with his Gel it was nothing good.
He waved his little Gel hand. "Yano, Arthur, go stop them!"
"Yes, Boss!" Yano grinned, beating the giant bat-like wings on his back. Wielding a pitch-black Giant Sword, he shot like a black thunderbolt across the Abyssal Rift below, heading straight for Vincent and the others.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Arthur gave a slight nod, his Gloomy Blue Soul Fire burning placidly.
He pulled on the reins. The skeletal horse beneath him reared up, letting out a silent whinny, then charged forward. Its hooves left behind two rows of prints burning with gloomy blue flames upon the scorched earth.
"Your Highness, I made it back alive!" Glen shouted, riding back to the Demon Legion’s lines and waving excitedly at Louisa.
"Glen, stay here and don’t move," Louisa ordered curtly. She then turned to Chen Yu. "Lord Slime, with me."
"SCREECH!" Celeste let out a cry.
Louisa picked up Chen Yu and climbed onto Celeste’s broad back.
"Sigh, my life is so hard," Celeste sighed softly. Nevertheless, she flapped her wings, carrying the two into the sky. They began circling high above the Abyssal Rift, observing the situation from their vantage point.
Louisa cast Arcane Missiles, blasting away several cunning little demons that tried to sneak up on them.
Soon, more Gargoyles and swarms of Poisonous Sting Bees arrived, clashing violently with the demons that were continuously pouring out of the rift.
Braving the biting winds at high altitude, Louisa turned to Chen Yu, who was perched on her shoulder. "Lord Slime, do you have a specific plan for closing this rift, or for dealing with those Demon’s Claws?"
"’A plan?’" Chen Yu pondered for a moment, his round, jiggly body wobbling. "’Does swallowing them all count as a plan?’"
Before Louisa could respond, he leaped from Celeste’s back, diving straight toward the area below where the demonic melee was thickest.
"Slime?"
A Glutton Demon with a massive gut happened to look up and see this. It licked its thick, fleshy lips, remembering the springy, chewy texture of a Slime. It had been far too long. Its little eyes lit up.
"Aaaah..."
It hugged its belly, which was piled with layers of fat, took a few heavy steps to clumsily get into position, and then opened its cavernous, abyss-like maw to the sky, waiting for Chen Yu to fall right in.
The next second, however, the Slime—a mere morsel in its eyes—began to expand rapidly as it fell. In the blink of an eye, it had become a mountain-sized, purple behemoth, its immense shadow instantly blanketing the Glutton Demon and the entire area.
The surrounding demons froze. They had just looked up when they, along with the Glutton Demon, were crushed beneath the plummeting gelatinous behemoth.
SPLAT!
A wet, bursting sound echoed as the demons, like tomatoes smashed by a boulder, were instantly flattened into a meat paste. Viscous blood and fragments of viscera gushed out from under the edge of the Gel.
The immense commotion immediately drew the attention of every demon on the battlefield. They turned to stare at the towering purple colossus in the center of the fray, rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
"Liam, are the slimes on the Prime Material Plane... all this big?" a Flame Demon, its body dripping with magma, scratched its hard head and asked hoarsely in the abyssal tongue.
The other Flame Demon named Liam widened its molten eyes and roared back hoarsely, "You idiot! That’s a Gold-rank monster! Run!"
"But its body seems a little strange..." The first Flame Demon didn’t get to finish. Its massive body was suddenly yanked by an invisible force, and it flew uncontrollably toward the Slime in the center of the battlefield.