Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 590 The Testimony of Quesanx

You have received the reward for completing the fourth "Trial of Hastia"!

The rewards for completing the trial are as sweet as ever: 152 free attribute points and 1.52 million experience points. In addition, the feat [Hastia's Wrath] has also been upgraded.

Although it hasn't yet reached the "Divine Birth" quality, it has improved by about 30%. Its most significant effect—the extra damage it inflicts on transcendents of the [Supreme] Fate—has also increased from 30% to 40%.

"Break Hastia's avatar twice more, and this 'Hastia's Wrath' will be upgraded to the 'Divine Birth' quality feat..."

Luo Xiu thought to himself.

Besides these, he also gained other benefits—

Actually, defeating "Hastia's incarnation" shouldn't have taken this long. There was a significant difference in strength between Luo Xiu and Hastia, who possessed the "Chaos Spirit" rank. If Luo Xiu had gone all out, he could have finished the battle the moment Hastia appeared.

The reason why he had been entangled with "Hastia's incarnation" for so long, besides allowing Quesanx to fully experience "Hastia's" current state, was also due to another specialty.
The feat obtained by defeating the "Devourer Dragon" at that time, [The Last King Who Walks the Path of Devouring] -

That's a feat that allows you to gradually reduce the "Strength", "Constitution", "Agility" and "Resistance" attributes of an enemy attacking you over time during a sustained battle!
The attributes reduced by the hostile target will become one's own. There was enough time to fight the "Avatar of Hastia," and indeed, the entry for "[The Last King on the Devouring Path]" appeared in Luo Xiu's panel under the "Status" section.

[The Last King Who Walks the Path of Devouring—]

[Hidden Attributes: Strength +48, ​​Constitution +53, Agility +62, Resistance +44]

[Remaining duration: (2 days 23 hours)]

【…】

That was the manifestation of Hastia's avatar that "devoured" him, and the appearance of his attribute values!

Although these values ​​are not high compared to Luo Xiu's own attribute values, the unique feature of the [End King Who Walks the Devouring Path] is that such specialties can be accumulated.

Through such a "devouring" effect, one can gain twice the original attribute value, which is quite considerable.

After examining his own panel one last time, Luo Xiu closed it and turned his gaze to Quesanx.

The "Dragon of Justice" before him was emanating an aura of sadness.

He indeed confirmed with his own eyes the current state of Hastia, one of the once authoritative demigods and the "King of the Dragonborn."

Although He has not completely fallen into chaos, His eyes have been blinded by hatred, His spirit has become alienated, and the long wear and tear has made Him quite turbid.

And His power... compared to His former status as a "demigod," His power is indeed almost gone.

"...Quisanx".

Luo Xiu raised his head, staring into Quesanx's three-colored dragon eyes, and said:
"You have already seen it."

“That is Hastia… in His current state. He seems to be filled with hatred for the bloodline I possess. But even now, I don’t understand why.”

"In your eyes, Quesanx... and Hastia now must be quite dangerous, right?"

"..."

"……Roar."

"...You're right, Luo Xiu."

The voice of Quesanx flooded into Luo Xiu's ears—

Hastia is now severely damaged... but He should still be able to communicate. Perhaps the hatred can dissipate one day, and I want to see Him regain His clarity.

“I know, Quesanx,” Rosh said with a smile. “You and Hastia were both comrades of [Authority].

With that, Luo Xiu turned around and walked towards the center of the royal court hall.

He simultaneously withdrew the domain created by [The Raging Blood River], allowing the colorful light to shine back into the royal court's main hall. The battle with Hastia had caused some damage to the royal court, but it was much less severe than the previous battle with "The Child of the Dragon God" Helmond, and was within Luo Xiu's acceptable range.

He walked to the spot where the [Divine Prison Lock] had crashed to the ground, bent down, and picked up the divine object from the crater in the ground.

The intense heat of the touch, aroused by Hastia's spiritual energy, had subsided. But the crimson light still surged within the deep cracks. Although the seal on Hastia had stabilized, He had no intention of giving up.

There will be a next time, and the time after that... as long as Hastia accumulates enough power, He will surely create a new incarnation and then return with a vengeance.

Having faced Hastia many times, Rosh now clearly knew what He was thinking.

He simultaneously opened the panel of the divine artifact, the [Divine Prison Lock].

At this point, the sealing of India had reached 67%, which was the peak of the sealing of India after Helmond, the "child of the dragon god," was also sealed into it.

The [Chains of Gods] were in an unprecedentedly stable state, and Luo Xiu, holding it, turned around and returned to Quesanx's side—

"Would you like to see it for yourself, Quesanx?"

He said to Quesanx:

"Hastia's current true form is also 'the Dragon God's Child' Helmond."

“I asked you before if you were willing to inherit Helmond, the ‘child of the dragon god,’ and the true divinity that He passed down to [Authority]. I hope you become the ‘Demon God,’ so that perhaps you can regain the destiny of [Authority].

“You have already seen Hastia’s current state… What I want to tell you is that Helmond’s state is even worse than His. That once innocent child of the Ancestral Dragon has now completely fallen into the Abyss and is utterly beyond saving.”

"..."

He told these things to Quesanx.

His tone was not subtle; he wanted to tell Quesanx about the current state of the 'Child of the Dragon God' in the most direct way.

He knew that for an authoritarian ancient dragon like Quesanx, killing or assimilating Helmond while there was still a sliver of hope for salvation was tantamount to regicide. Apart from the Devouring Dragon, no other ancient dragon would willingly do such a thing.

The same applies to Quesanx.

Luo Xiu could sense the inner struggle of Quesanx.

But after a while, Luo Xiu saw Quesanx raise his long dragon neck and let out a sigh-like roar.

"……Roar."

Let me see them, Rosh.

Look with my own eyes.

If they are truly beyond saving, then allowing them to die peacefully is an act of mercy from authority.

【…】

"The benevolence of authoritarianism..."

Luo Xiu was quite surprised that Quesanx would say such a thing.

But He still agreed—even though killing Helmond and assimilating Helmond were not what Quesanx truly wanted.

But that's what He should do—that's what He believes. Of the three former demigods, one has betrayed and ascended to godhood, one has completely fallen, and one is practically insane. Next in line is indeed Him, or perhaps one of the very few ancient dragons still remaining on the shattered continent.

Luo Xiu said no more to Quesanx.

He gently raised the hand holding the [Divine Prison Lock] and threw this divine object into the hall.

He watched as the black crystal he had just released crumbled into pieces, releasing a black and red mist that swirled around a central point until it formed a swirling, misty doorway.

Luo Xiu stepped inside.

And Quesanx—His enormous dragon body—froze. A crimson spirituality detached from Him and attached itself to Luo Xiu. It was His primordial spirituality; His consciousness was carried by His spirituality.

His true form cannot enter—unless He is also sealed by the [Divine Prison Lock]. But that might cause the [Divine Prison Lock] to burst, which would be a greater loss than gain.

……

Inside the [Divine Prison Lock].

As Luo Xiu stepped into the vortex, he felt the thick fog envelop him once more. Deep within the rising, hazy gray mist, he saw two blurry outlines—

Helmond, the "child of the dragon god," and Hastia, the "king of the dragons," are bound tightly by chains cast from the "sky," making it difficult for them to break free.

This is the inside of the 'Divine Prison Lock,' Luo Xiu…

The voice of Quesanx flooded into Luo Xiu's ears—

I can sense Hastia and... another surge of intense spiritual energy just ahead.

That must be Helmond... our former 'Crown Prince'.

“It is Him.” Luo Xiu nodded in response.

He then began to walk deeper into the area.

His once gleaming golden eyes had turned one of their rays into a deep red, and the pupils had become long and narrow, like needles.

That was already "Quisanx's Eyes".

The deeper he went, the clearer Hastia and Helmond became in his eyes.

A clanging sound came from Hastia's direction, accompanied by the rattling of chains. Luo Xiu saw the real Hastia struggling to raise its head, casting a crimson gaze at him from beneath its tattered visor.

"Durant..."

"Ha...you've come again, Durant..."

"This is not the end..."

"..."

His voice was hoarse, like a rusty piece of iron being tossed about by a storm, and his breath had sunk to a low point. The battle had taken a heavy toll on him.

Luo Xiu looked at Him.

The eye that was "shared" with Quesancus shone with sorrow. He gazed upon Hastia, broken and imprisoned in divine chains, and felt a deep grief from the depths of His heart.

"...Quisanx is watching you, Hastia."

Luo Xiu gazed at Him and spoke softly to Him:
“You made a mistake earlier—Quisanx is not my slave. He made a pact with me, but I did not enslave him, much less betray him.”

“To this day, I still don’t know your relationship with Alfonso Durant, or what he did to you. I still hope you can tell me yourself.”

"..."

"Quisanx... it doesn't matter... even if it's the 'Dragon of Justice,' it doesn't matter..."

Beneath Hastia's visor, the crimson light in her eyes seemed to intensify.

And He roared at Luo Xiu, uttering a low, piercing sound—

“Afonso has imprisoned me here because he has stolen my true divinity…”

"You...Durant's bloodline, I will hunt you down and use your blood to help me escape from here!"

“I want to go outside… I want to find Alfonso, I must kill him, and reclaim what is mine… reclaim my true divinity…”

"..."

Hastia roared as he spoke these words.

Luo Xiu stared at Him, and He seemed to be saying these things unconsciously.

It was as if He was confiding these things to the descendants of His enemy, in order to understand why He was so persistent in wanting to hunt Him down.

This was also the first time Hastia revealed information that was useful to her.

"You're saying that Alfonso stole your remaining 'true divinity'?"

A playful expression appeared on Luo Xiu's face. He looked at Hastia and asked Him further, probingly:

"...Also, you want to find Alfonso, which means he's still alive?"

"..."

"..."

Hastia fell silent.

The crimson light emanating from the mask had dimmed.

Perhaps he realized that he had said too much, things that were just ordinary hatred to him, but were new information to the "enemy" in front of him.

"……snort."

Hastia snorted and said no more to Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu stopped looking at Him. He had finally obtained some potentially useful information from Hastia about Alfonso's past and whereabouts, thus providing a clue to follow.

He then turned around.

"Taking" Quesanx, they walked together toward Helmond, "the child of the dragon god".

On the other side where Hastia was imprisoned, through a thick fog, the enormous body of the young dragon blocked out most of the light, dimming Luo Xiu's vision.

He stood before Helmond once again.

The enormous ancient dragon—a silver-gray dragon covered in sharp thorns—was bound here by hundreds of divine chains that had fallen from the sky.

He is still quite weak. The last time the demon sword pierced His heart and took His dragon blood, He has not yet fully recovered.

Before Luo Xiu and "Quisanx" arrived here, He had kept His eyes closed.

Until He sensed the source of the aura that had brought Him to this state—the spiritual aura of that "Archbishop" Rosh—appearing here once more.

He opened his eyes, his dragon pupils now filled with a deep, dark darkness. He opened his bloody maw towards Luo Xiu—

"--roar!!!!!"

He unleashed a furious roar, intimidating Luo Xiu and warning him not to approach.

At the same time, a liquid as black as ink flowed from His body.

That is the solidified darkness that overflows from His unhealed wounds.

……

(End of this chapter)