Chương 29: The Heart
〙0:00 〘
The red notifications flashed in front of Azuma just as the hissing serpent and its giant fangs came crashing down at him.
But then it happened.
A deep growl echoed through the whole cavern, heralding the deafening collapse of the ceiling that crushed not only the serpent but also a vast part of the cavern.
Including the Heart of the Domain.
Azuma's throat was dry.
"I didn't think it would actually work…"
Back when Azuma was descending inside the void, he had seen several floors and caverns along his way.
They appeared to be abandoned mining tunnels.
And so, as soon as Azuma realized how fatal the blows of Crimson Basilisk were, he could only think of one plan that might spare his life.
Running away was not possible.
He had witnessed how fatal the blows of the serpent were, and so he purposefully try to make the beast hit the ceiling.
Azuma used his skillset to make the serpent land enough blows upon the ceiling.
The void serpents were known for their speed.
Azuma tried to remain fast enough while causing the serpent to slow down through the entangling vines.
Now his plan had worked.
But he didn't move.
He was quietly watching the serpent that twitched and growled underneath the fallen rocks. The pained vengeful hisses were too loud, and yet the absolute silence of the cavern was heavy.
It stilled after a few moments.
The silence stretched on.
A cyan screen flashed in the air.
〙The Boss of the domain, 'Crimson Basilisk', has been defeated! 〘
Azuma took a shaky breath and smiled behind his mask.
The codex had changed him.
It felt too unreal.
「 Azuma. 」
Zero's low voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, wait…" Azuma frowned, "Where is Haru?!"
「 My sensors are not detecting anything. 」
"This is not the serpent who took her," he looked at the scaly tale peering out of the rock, "It was… smaller."
The glowing orb was slowly dimming.
Azuma looked at the partially buried Heart for a long while, but then he turned and entered one of the tunnels stretching from the cavern.
Perhaps Haru was dead.
It has been long enough, and the void serpents weren't known to save their prey. They were brutal and swift, snapping humans and beasts alike within seconds.
She must be dead.
And he can quickly complete his selection quests if he leaves with the Heart of Domain.
There was an irritating tugging in his heart, and even though Azuma knew he should be caring for another human… he didn't feel anything.
Besides the urge to leave.
But the words of his father were still raw in his mind.
Azuma was careful, avoiding the sleeping serpents and staying away from the huge eggs and nests. He changed his path a lot of times and managed to avoid any further confrontation with those chaotic beasts.
There was no point.
But after going through so many tunnels, he ended up tracing back his footsteps inside the cavern with the buried beast.
He looked at the dead monster with wary eyes.
In the end, he just wasted his time.
"Sigh…"
Azuma froze, he hadn't made that sound.
The glowing orb was flickering, it must have taken some damage during the cave-in. But nevertheless, the light was too dim for Azuma to see anything clearly.
"Haru-san?" he called out.
There was a moment of silence.
A slight rustle.
"Go."
Azuma pointed in the direction of the sound and the glowing orb drifted there. There was the sound of a trigger being pulled, he stiffened but then the light fell over a familiar face.
Haru.
At the same time, the flickering of the light stopped and the glow returned back to normal.
Her light blue eyes were surprised to see him, there were questions, as well as a look of pure shock to see him as he slowly walked towards her.
"Can you lower the gun?"
"It's… really you," she whispered, "Why did you come here, Azuma-kun?"
He had barely registered her words when a large chunk of the ceiling came falling down, right over her head.
It was huge, enough to bury her to death.
Azuma acted on instinct, warmth seeping through his blood and into his fist.
He was already close enough, and also faster.
『 Skillset activated! The Iron Fist! 』
Azuma gave a light kick to the ground.
His black nanotech gloves felt suddenly too tight and hot but they mattered little when the boulder crashed against Azuma's fist.
Even a child could summon such strength as long as they have mastered the skillset and followed the trooper training faithfully.
The technology was simply made to overcome such hurdles in descending.
As the pebbles rained down, he soundlessly landed on his feet.
『 You have used up your skill! Skillset deactivated 』
"A-are you alright?" Haru stared at him with amazement, unable to conceal her surprise.
The ceiling appeared unstable.
Azuma looked at her, "It's dangerous here, we should leave soon."
Haru strapped her gun on the back, she murmured while averting her gaze.
"You have not even become a seeker," she said, "That was… well kind of expected."
Azuma was not sure how to respond, he simply walked over to the Heart and changed the subject.
"I came looking for you, but you don't look harmed."
"Yeah, I killed that serpent," she replied, "Then I heard a loud noise, and followed it to this cavern."
The Heart was now faintly pulsating.
Azuma forgot to reply to her, as mixed emotions washed over his gaze. The Heart was one of the precious treasures of the Abyss, he had only heard about the tales surrounding it.
His breaths slowed down.
Haru had no idea Azuma was the one behind the state of the cavern, but she knew that she had the right to claim the Abyssal treasures first.
Since she was a seeker.
But she just took out her long dagger and offered it to Azuma.
"You can have it," she warmly smiled.
Azuma was still for a moment, unable to look away from that smile. Haru was beautiful, but the smile made this much more evident.
He looked away and took the dagger.
There was a slight shaking of her fingers.
"It can cut through nearly everything," Haru explained, "So be careful with the dagger."
Azuma nodded, and then he looked at her again.
"You're sick."
The air of the chasm was not good for humans. It has been too long since she was here, and while Azuma had his mask, Haru only had her weapons.
He noticed evevn her utility belt was missing.
"Oh, don't worry," she brushed away his concern, "I am used to the Abyss."
"You don't sound well," Azuma raised an eyebrow.
"It's alright!"
"Your hand is still shaking."
She fisted her hand, "I am a seeker, now hush!"
Haru knelt beside him, also curious to see what will the Heart contain. The treasures inside varied based on the domain.
Azuma took out his mask.
Haru had a faint blush over her pale cheeks, "You don't have to—"
Azuma looked confused as he took the dagger again. His mask hung loosely around his neck.
"What?"
"..."
"..."
"Why did you take out your mask?"
Azuma gave a low shrug and slowly sank the blade inside the Heart, "I am saving oxygen. You don't seem to be too affected."
Haru bit her lips and said no more.
〙The Heart of the Domain has been unearthed! 〘
It was a messy job, there was a thick slimy substance that seeped out from the Heart. The blade cut deeper and deeper, through some twisted bones and sticky veins.
Azuma halted when he was a throbbing mass of muscles inside.
"It's the brain," Haru commented.
"I know."
But it was gross.
What kind of treasures could possibly be inside a gruesome thing like that?
Azuma was debating his choices the deeper he went.
After cutting through half a meter thick skin, there was a sack of thin translucent skin. It was wrapped around a liquid, some sort of rough stones, and some unclear objects.
The thin layer of skin could be easily cut.
〙The core treasures have been claimed! 〘
〙Congratulations! You have completed the Domain Quest: The Devil's Chasm 〘
+2,500 XP
+5000 Star Fragments
+1000 Crystal Shards
〙The Codex has been upgraded! New sections are unlocked! 〘
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