Hannah's words caused Lin Gui and Eve to glance at her side-long.
Yet there was no intention of further explanation on that pale face of hers.
Those crimson eyes merely gazed quietly at the night sky outside the hole in the dome.
Moonlight spilled across her gaunt face, casting subtle shadows.
Who knew what she was thinking.
Hugh cleared his throat softly, steering the subject away.
He looked at Lin Gui, his voice softening:
"Little mage, this time..."
He paused, looking at the young man before him with a complex expression.
He likely never imagined that in such a desperate situation, he would actually be saved by a High Rank mage.
This caused a flash of heartfelt shame to pass through the eyes of a man who was fully two major ranks higher.
"I... owe you a huge favor."
Lin Gui looked at him.
"This matter isn't over yet."
He paused.
"Save your thanks for when I pull the others out of the abyss."
As his words fell,
Hugh froze.
Even Hannah, who was usually impulsive and had wanted to enter the abyss to rescue them, fell silent for a moment.
She turned her head, her crimson eyes staring at Lin Gui with a complex expression.
Hugh sighed.
He gestured toward the entrance of the temple.
There, Modo's headless corpse still lay collapsed on the steps.
Moonlight shone upon him, illuminating the severed neck.
The blood had long since congealed, spreading into a dark red pool across the flagstones.
"The enemy blocking the doorway has been eliminated."
Hugh's voice was deep.
"The Voiceless Abyss is not a place we can set foot in."
He paused.
"All we can do is wait for Lord Gusion to bring Roger and the others out from inside."
Lin Gui looked at him.
"And can Gusion and the others actually come out?"
Hugh did not answer right away.
He looked at Hannah.
Hannah was still leaning against the wall, not much emotion visible on her gaunt face.
Yet her hand slowly clenched into a fist at her side.
Her knuckles turned white.
The silence lasted for a few seconds.
Hannah spoke.
Her voice was very soft.
"Lord Gusion... is the Demon Race's strongest soul mage."
She paused.
"He has entered and exited the Voiceless Rift several times."
"Only this time..."
Her voice grew even softer.
"...after fighting that true Demon God-Favored..."
"...Lord Gusion directly left behind his last words."
She lowered her eyes.
"Telling Morpheus to take the Demon King Pillar and leave with me."
"Telling him to take over the position of City Lord."
Lin Gui's brows furrowed slightly.
"Last words?"
Hannah did not answer.
Yet her silence was heavier than any answer could be.
Beside them, Hugh spoke slowly.
His voice carried an uncontrollable heavy pressure.
"We have followed Lord Gusion for many years."
"We've never seen him..."
He paused.
"...leave words like that."
"Those are not words spoken by someone setting out on a campaign."
"Those are..."
He didn't finish.
But Lin Gui understood.
Those were last words left only by someone walking to their death.
Lin Gui remained silent for a few seconds.
"Because of Jesse?"
Both Hannah and Hugh froze at the same time.
"Jesse?"
Hannah murmured, her brows knitting slightly.
Lin Gui explained:
"The human female mage who was in cahoots with them."
He paused.
"I met her once in the ruins below Withered Rift."
"She and two others claimed to be tomb guardians."
After saying this, Lin Gui looked at Hugh and Hannah.
"Is she a God-Favored too?"
"Does she also possess an ability like Bill's immortality?"
His brows furrowed slightly.
"I don't understand."
"She is only a Transcendent."
"What kind of divine favor could allow her alone to overpower an Epic and a High-tier Legendary?"
"God-Favored"—this was the first time Lin Gui had heard this term.
Hannah looked at him.
A trace of profound dread flashed across those crimson eyes.
"That is no longer simple divine favor."
Her voice softened.
"That is a true Demigod incarnation."
She paused.
"Just like the Hall of Heroic Spirits, one of the three great divine artifacts of the Holy Church of Light."
Lin Gui subconsciously glanced at Eve.
Eve did not react much, remaining calm as she listened.
Hannah continued:
"When those eyes of ill omen surfaced on that girl..."
Her voice held a suppressed tremor.
"...in an instant before Gusion and Roger could even react..."
"...her mana climbed to the terrifying level of High-tier Epic."
She paused.
"The originally overwhelming situation reversed in an instant."
Lin Gui's brows knitted tightly.
Climbing directly from High-tier Transcendent to High-tier Epic.
How was that possible?
Even Eve, using the Hall of Heroic Spirits to burn her lifespan and soul, had only crossed a single major rank—
—from Low-tier Transcendent to Low-tier Legendary.
That alone had been enough to shock him.
And Jesse...
...had crossed two full major ranks?
From High-tier Transcendent straight to the apex?
He opened his mouth, just about to speak.
Suddenly, a cold voice sounded in his mind.
'There is nothing to be surprised about.'
It was Shadow Blade Lynn.
'Strictly speaking, a God-Favored's power does not originate from themselves.'
'Rather, it comes from the god or Demigod they serve.'
She paused.
'This rank can no longer be judged by conventional means.'
'Just like that Holy Saintess companion of yours.'
'Strictly speaking, she is a God-Favored as well.'
'However, just like that Vampire...'
Her voice held a trace of disdain.
'...she is a defective product.'
Lin Gui listened in silence.
Shadow Blade Lynn continued:
'I've never even seen a true God-Favored myself.'
A rare hint of surprise seeped into her tone.
'I didn't expect to encounter one here.'
'It seems that thing...'
'...is going to be taken by that person.'
Lin Gui's heart stirred slightly.
'What thing?'
Shadow Blade Lynn did not hide it from him either.
A moment later, her voice rang directly inside his mind:
'Something that can cause the Wall of Sighs to spread.'
'Demigod authority.'
"Demigod authority?"
Lin Gui looked at the glass bead inside his mage robes.
"Is this what you and Gusion wanted as well?"
In his mind, Shadow Blade Lynn's cold sneer resounded.
'Among those who can step into Epic rank...'
'...few can refuse such a thing.'
Lin Gui's brows furrowed slightly.
"It can control the Wall of Sighs to trigger a Dark Tide?"
His heart suddenly tightened.
If the Dark Tide truly erupted here this time...
...it would be extremely dangerous for Theia.
Shadow Blade Lynn's voice carried a trace of disdain:
'No.'
'It is impossible for a Dark Tide to erupt from the Wall of Sighs.'
'Nor does Demigod authority possess such formidable effects.'
She paused.
'The only thing it can do is cause the mist of the Wall of Sighs to spread.'
Lin Gui's eyelids twitched violently.
Just that?
Controlling the mist of the Wall of Sighs to spread...
...how was that any different from a miniature Dark Tide?
The mere presence of this mist was enough to destroy the surrounding city-states.
The most terrifying part was that nearby were the capital cities of two major races:
the Dwarven Royal City to the north...
...and the Elven Forest to the east.
And Shield City to the south.
If they were swallowed up...
...it would still be a catastrophic disaster for the Central City-State Alliance.
Lin Gui remained silent for a few seconds.
He recalled the Mad Blade described by the elves in Gloomlight Forest.
He asked probing-ly:
"Do you want that authority..."
"...to seek revenge on the Elven Forest?"
Shadow Blade Lynn was silent for a moment.
Then, a cold sneer sounded.
'Revenge?'
Her voice dripped with bone-chilling irony.
'Revenge for whom?'
'For those weak clansmen of mine?'
'They don't deserve it!'
She paused.
'I want that authority...'
'...merely to use it to blackmail the Alliance and the dwarves...'
'...to obtain resources and power, nothing more.'
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