Abyss Mages always like to sit around a fire, whether in a Domain or in the wilderness.
The bonfires they light are surrounded by blue-purple runes, easily recognizable at a glance.
Experienced Adventurers and hunters know that if they encounter a bonfire flickering with purple light, it means there are Abyss Mages active nearby.
And, most likely, some "Hilichurl apprentices" are also roaming this land.
Whether to fight or bypass them depends on one's own strength.
A blue-and-white Cryo Abyss Mage was slumped on the ground, with several chattering Hilichurls in front of it.
The Cryo Abyss Mage was muttering some Hilichurlian that humans couldn't understand. From its listless appearance, it seemed to just want to go through the motions.
The Hilichurls around it were all doing their own thing: some were casually waving wooden clubs; some were smashing their bows and crossbows; and others were secretly trying to pull the fur off the Cryo Abyss Mage's body.
It was hard not to suspect that these Hilichurls were only gathered for the warmth of the fire, and not because of the "teachings of the Abyss" that the Cryo Abyss Mage spoke of.
"Clang!"
A white figure suddenly descended from the Sky, kicking up a thick cloud of dust on the weathered sandstone ground, making it impossible to see the newcomer's appearance.
But monsters like Hilichurls and Abyss Mages don't just rely on sight for perception.
In the unseen dust, both the Hilichurls and the Abyss Mages sensed a familiar aura, the unique scent of a human.
"$&#(Go, deal with this human!)" The Cryo Abyss Mage waved its staff, and a frost shield emanating cold energy enveloped its body.
In fact, the Cryo Abyss Mage didn't even need to speak; the originally scattered Hilichurls, as if injected with adrenaline, charged at Lumine, who had just landed, howling.
"Starfell Sword!"
With a soft cry from Lumine, the omnipresent Geo element power gathered in the air in front of her.
Lumine continued to increase the output of elemental power, and suddenly, a giant Geo construct appeared in the empty air.
"Boom!"
The stone imbued with thick Geo element power fell to the ground, then triggered a bright yellow explosion.
"Ah!"
Lumine only heard a chorus of Hilichurl shouts from ahead, and then the air fell silent.
She held out her hand and looked at it, nodding in satisfaction. It seemed her strength had indeed recovered quite a bit.
If it were before, a casual elemental skill probably wouldn't have been enough to deal with so many Hilichurls.
Stirring Anemo element, the dust around Lumine was blown by the generated breeze into the bottomless chasm in the distance.
What appeared before her was the Cryo element Abyss Mage, standing ready.
"?" Lumine looked at the still Burning bonfire beside the Cryo Abyss Mage and wondered if she had misread something.
Would anyone really place something that countered them so openly in front of an enemy?
"@*(Die!)"
The Cryo Abyss Mage in the distance proved with its actions that such people did exist.
As its staff waved, Lumine suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body—the surrounding temperature had dropped significantly.
"Ha!" Exhaling a puff of white mist, Lumine grabbed the dull sword in her hand and strode towards the Cryo Abyss Mage.
The Cryo Abyss Mage in the distance saw Lumine charging towards it, showing no panic. As long as the human in front of it didn't have anything related to Pyro element, then it wouldn't be afraid.
"Swish swish swish!"
The Cryo element power gathered in the Cryo Abyss Mage's staff, eventually transforming into flying ice cones, as if to Freeze everything.
"Too slow!"
A faint cyan glow suddenly lit up beneath Lumine's feet, and then her speed abruptly increased significantly.
In a short moment, Lumine, while dodging the ice cones, also arrived in front of the Cryo Abyss Mage.
Looking at the dull dull sword in Lumine's hand, the Cryo Abyss Mage let out its characteristic sinister laugh.
"Hahaha, your little toothpick can't DMG me!"
Lumine indicated she didn't want to talk to it and casually gave it an Anemo vortex that Swirled Pyro element power.
The fiery hot wind vortex, formed by swirling wind blades, cut through the elemental shield summoned by the Cryo Abyss Mage, penetrating it without any obstruction.
"Bang!"
The fiery wind exploded the moment it touched the Cryo Abyss Mage's body, completely tearing apart the ice shield and throwing the Cryo Abyss Mage away.
"You...how can you use so many elements!" The Cryo Abyss Mage struggled to get up, speaking breathlessly. It seemed incredibly surprised that Lumine could use Pyro element power.
At this moment, a piece of its body was missing, but the wound was not fresh red flesh like a human's, but a deep red-black mass.
There was nothing inside, just pitch black and that touch of red at the wound's edge.
That red was constantly expanding, seemingly about to engulf the entire Abyss Mage's body.
"I can only say, stay away from bonfires in the future." Hearing the Cryo Abyss Mage's hoarse voice, Lumine pointed to the Burning bonfire beside them.
"Pfft—"
The Cryo Abyss Mage looked at the bonfire's location; it had been floating right next to it before Lumine knocked it away.
After a sound like spitting blood, though no actual blood was expelled, the red in the Cryo Abyss Mage's wound spread incredibly rapidly.
Along with the subsequent pitch black, it instantly engulfed the entire Cryo Abyss Mage's body.
The black disappeared, leaving only an empty space on the ground, as if nothing had ever existed there.
"So...so creepy!" Paimon, who had flown out at some unknown point, saw the Abyss Mage's terrifying death and nearly shrank back in fear.
"Abyss..." This was the first time Lumine had seen the death of an Abyss Mage so completely and clearly.
The scene before her couldn't help but fill her with fear of the Abyss, and also...a hint of curiosity.
"I'll ask Dain and Senior!" Lumine murmured a few words, then looked up and waved at Yu Jin and Dain on the high cliff.
Actually, only Yu Jin was up there; Dain had disappeared to who-knows-where when Lumine jumped down.
Seeing Lumine's waving gesture below, Yu Jin took a big leap and jumped down from the height.
Now, he couldn't die from a fall.
"Bang!" Another cloud of dust rose, and soon, Yu Jin ran out of the smoke.
Seeing only Yu Jin, Lumine felt curious and couldn't help but ask, "Where's Dain?"
"Here."
Dain's elusive ability was definitely no less than that of an Abyss Apostle who could teleport at will—he popped out from who-knows-where again.
"Where did you pop out from?" Yu Jin was startled when he saw Dain appear in front of him with a "whoosh!"
"Here." Dain's foot flipped up a stone slab on the ground. Looking closely, beneath it was a dark tunnel.
"Are you a mole?" Yu Jin couldn't help but complain when he saw Dain emerge from underground again.
"Something like that. I've spent much more time underground than above ground," Dain said seriously.
If calculated by time proportion, his time underground might be even higher than a mole's.
"Let's not talk about that. I just explored this Domain thoroughly, and there's no deeper Abyss aura. What about you?"
Dain didn't like joking, so he got straight to the point.
"I only saw Abyss Mages. As for the Apostle you mentioned... I didn't see any." Lumine shook her head. Then she recalled the scene she had just witnessed and couldn't help but ask curiously,
"Can you tell me more about what the [Abyss] is?"
"The Abyss..." Although Dain's expression remained unchanged, the aura emanating from him suddenly became serious.
"The Abyss is chaos, it is destruction, it is an elusive, mad chaos, corroding the very foundations of this world."
"Its power, you should have seen it on the East Wind Dragon. If unnecessary, it is best not to have any connection with it." Dain said, crossing his arms, admonishing her.
"Actually, it's fine if you get tainted, just remember to find a doctor in time. Like me." Yu Jin leaned his head between the two and added.
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