Chapter 202: The Land of Dragons (9)
“‘Abyssal Language’ I am… forest… clan.”
The Old Fairy paused for a moment, stuttering as she attempted to answer me.
Clearly, her grasp of the intricate Abyssal Language was not exactly stellar. She stammered through three words, two of which sounded like they were being pronounced by a toddler on their first day of speech class.
“‘Abyssal Language’ here… atone. Protect, Vidam… a thousand years… here.”
“……”
?
What on earth is she rambling about…
I frowned deeply, trying to make sense of the Old Fairy’s jumbled mess of words, which sounded like a fever dream that had taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way.
“‘Abyssal Language’ you mean, you are the forest clan? Atoning here? Hmmm… protecting for a thousand years? You call this place Vidam? What exactly are you guarding?”
“‘Abyssal Language’ yes… Vidam.” The Old Fairy spoke very slowly, making my impatience bubble like a pot on the stove that just won’t boil, “Our clan… here… guards… the remains of sins… answer, the great… Rabishixemos, apostle…”
“……”
…Huh?
Remains of sins?
Apostles of Rabishixemos?
Are they talking about me?
“‘Abyssal Language’ how do you know my last name is Rabishixemos? Did you know me once?”
As soon as the question slipped out, I regretted it instantly. Talk about a brain freeze moment. These fairies had clearly been trapped here for yonks—maybe even a thousand years—so how could they possibly know who I was…
But they knew Rabishixemos.
“‘Abyssal Language’ Rabishixemos… great, Clan of Jideers. You, power. Possess… her scent… you, the Rabishixemos apostle…”
…Clan of Jideers?
She said my power has her scent… did the Old Fairy get her word salad mixed up? She probably meant that the Chaotic Power has the essence of some ‘existence’ from the Clan of Jideers, which is why I’m the Rabishixemos apostle… right?
I was thoroughly lost.
My mind was alight with questions, and now, thanks to the Old Fairy’s fragmented speech, I was even more puzzled, with terms like Rabishixemos apostle and Clan of Jideers bouncing around in my brain. It was important, I was sure of that, but what did it all mean?
What is this place, why are they here, what exactly are they protecting, who or what the heck is this supposed “deity,” and what in the Abyss is the Abyss? I felt like I was about to unravel a thread in a giant tapestry of confusion, looking for truths hidden for who knows how long.
I was desperate to ask more, but the questions piled up like dishes in a sink, and the Old Fairy was painfully slow. Her words seemed muddy, and I was left wondering if I understood her right or not. My brain felt like it was on a rollercoaster going off the rails.
Seeing me silent for so long, the Old Fairy scratched at her decayed chest area, her sharp, black claws peeling off a layer of bl**d and yellow gunk. But she seemed blissfully unaware, as if morbidly enjoying a spa treatment, and continued.
“‘Abyssal Language’ Our clan… atones, for a thousand years. Far beyond… the agreement. Our clan has been… cursed. Eroded… May I ask the apostle… great, Rabishixemos. Why, deceive… my clansmen…”
“…?”
I blinked rapidly.
…What?
Agreement? What agreement? Atoning for a thousand years? Cursed erosion? So this is how they ended up like this? Who deceived them? Is the Old Fairy accusing me? Am I supposed to let them out? Shouldn’t they have been out ages ago? Or is it that the ‘guarding’ agreement is up so they’re stuck here but can’t get out?
My brain felt like it was caught in a tornado of confusion, staring blankly at the Old Fairy. One moment that confusion turned into shock.
Are they accusing me of deceiving their clan?!
No wait.
When she said Rabishixemos, she wasn’t referring to me…
In her mind, I’m not the ‘Rabishixemos’ she means. I’m the ‘Rabishixemos apostle’—that much I understood correctly.
So…
Who the heck is she talking about when she says Rabishixemos?
“‘Abyssal Language’ Who is Rabishixemos?”
I had to ask.
This was crucial information, even though my gut told me I wouldn’t fully grasp what it meant. But it was likely the key to unlocking many of my questions. I felt I was getting closer to the truth that had been locked away for a thousand years, and I had a nagging suspicion.
The secret of the ‘clinic’ was within reach.
I was about to understand what the ‘Abyss’ really was.
As long as the Old Fairy could answer me and tell me what Rabishixemos is.
“Whew…”
I was so tense I was starting to hyperventilate; my heart went ‘bang bang, bang bang’ as I fought to keep a steady expression, not wanting her to sense the storm brewing inside me. I focused on her murky eyes, and her zombie-like face, taking a deep breath.
One second, two seconds ticked by.
The Old Fairy didn’t answer.
I noted a change on her face, her wrinkled skin seemed to twitch upwards slightly. It was hard to tell—her face was too rotted for normal expressions—but I figured she didn’t have a clue what I was on about. Perhaps I asked the question wrong, so I rephrased it and asked again.
“‘Abyssal Language’ What is Rabishixemos?”
Did she finally understand this time…
“Kabagudada! Dongkaraya!”
No sooner had I finished speaking than the agitated fairies lurking in the mist suddenly exploded with shouts, stomping their feet angrily, their fists pounding the ground. The foul canine creatures bared their teeth, growling ominously. The Old Fairy seemed to lose her patience and snapped back at them, and I heard voices in response—not in Abyssal Language, so I understood nothing.
But the atmosphere…
Definitely felt off…
Did I say something wrong?
My dark, beady eyes blinked rapidly. Countless thoughts spiraled in my mind. As the Old Fairy turned back to me, I quickly switched tactics and said, “‘Abyssal Language’ I am the Rabishixemos apostle.”
The Old Fairy probably had some bad vibes from my earlier question…
That’s what I assumed, and whether I was right or wrong didn’t matter much—I’d already thrown the question out there, and now I needed to keep the conversation going if I wanted more info.
Stay calm, change the topic, and let’s not dwell on the topic that crashed and burned…
“‘Abyssal Language’ I have come to eliminate the demons in the Land of Dragons.”
As I spoke, I conjured up Victoria’s face in my mind, picturing her usual tone, imagining her exalted, haughty demeanor, and then cleared my throat, switching to a commanding tone: “‘Abyssal Language’ you will tell me the specifics of the demons’ location.”
They seemed quite respectful of that ‘Rabishixemos’…
And they appeared to have the same reaction to the power I displayed… respect, perhaps a hint of fear… if they view me as some ‘great existence,’ then I clearly needed to communicate like it.
No dilly-dallying, no explanations—just a cool, aloof demeanor to command their responses. Maybe that was the key to effective dialogue…
“‘Abyssal Language’ Demon…”
As expected, the Old Fairy pondered for a moment and began anew.
“‘Abyssal Language’ here… there are no demons. Only… Diana, the mortal body… our clan, watches over.”
She said that while turning to ride atop her snarling, drooling beast, her wrinkled, rotten face sinking back into the mist, and her tone had an edge of caution.
“‘Abyssal Language’ Rabishixemos, granted… our clan, the chance to atone. The mission of guardianship. You… do you not know?”
“……”
Wait a second…
“‘Abyssal Language’ Why, bestow a curse. Deceive, our clan… please, provide, an answer.”
“……”
What did she just say…
Is she talking about Diana…
I felt a jolt as my mind went fuzzy, hands and feet freezing in place to the point I barely registered what the Old Fairy was saying next; her voice felt distant and dreamlike.
“Diana…”
I remembered this name crystal clear.
I first heard it in the Royal City from the Teresa Monster, who said she was Diana’s angel. Back then, Teresa Monster had also called me ‘Rabishixemos’.
Then later, I learned from Angel that Diana was, in fact, the Goddess of Sin. According to what Angel had revealed to me—
[Goddess Diana seems to have broken some sort of established rule; they call her the ‘Dirty Traitor.’]
The suave-yet-serious words of that man echoed back in my mind.
Diana… Rabishixemos… Clan of Jideers…
I felt like I was onto something.
The cursed atoning fairy… the thousand-year ‘guardians’ of the Land of Dragons… seals… unknown demons… the power of order and Infernal Fire could not manifest… yet the power meant for the Rabishixemos apostle flowed almost unrestricted…
Apostle… angel… which means the apostle is the angel… I’m the angel of Rabishixemos… the Teresa Monster is Diana’s angel… Diana is the Goddess of Sin… so Rabishixemos… they are all from the Clan of Jideers…
The Goddess of Sin… the traitor…
A massive whirlpool of information formed a cold vortex, swiftly overwhelming me. But in that instant, I did manage to catch a thread of clarity.
If the Land of Dragons is not just for the banishment of dragons…
If these fairies actually guard the Goddess of Sin… the donator of Infernal Fire, the great deity, the dirty traitor, the source of power of the Gate of Truth…
Then the so-called demons…
“Dukadada! Dukadada!”
Distracting shouts erupted from the mist, and I suddenly looked up, realizing that the mood among the fairies had shifted to anxious and furious. The Old Fairy seemed to have asked me something in the interim, but I had been too lost in shock and thought to pay it any mind, and now she was shouting back at some other fairies while slowly retreating deeper into the fog.
Something feels really off…
“‘Abyssal Language’ Wait!”
I forced myself to calm down, gripping my giant scythe tightly as I yelled after the retreating Old Fairy, “‘Abyssal Language’ Where is Diana?! Tell me!”
“‘Abyssal Language’ Vidam, deep. The dragon’s lair.”
The Old Fairy responded coolly as she continued to back away, “‘Abyssal Language’ sins, apostle, have already arrived. You, strange, not to be understood. We guardians… cannot allow this.”
“Gukadama—”
The fairies began yelling in unison, weaponry clanging against the ground. I could tell they no longer trusted me; the eerie ‘rustle rustle’ of sound filled the air, accompanied by the wind and the roars gradually approaching from all sides.
d*mn it…
Hoo—
The power of chaos surged within me, black Dead Smoke suddenly swirling up from beneath my feet, forming smoky serpents that coiled around me at lightning speed, ready to counter any incoming attacks.
“Roar——!!!”
Just at that moment, as the atmosphere thick with tension, a thunderous roar erupted from the depths of the mist, a sound so enormous it seemed to disperse some of the fog.
That was…
I instinctively shuddered, rising in disbelief, my eyes quivering as I gazed into the gray mist.
No doubt about it…
That was the call of the Dragon!
