To the Depth of Abyss

Elisa gets out from the patient's tent. She had just finished taking care of Max, Dylan, and Uilya.

Outside, she being greeted by two adult. One is waiting for her, one is reading his Hunter Bracelet silently.

"How are they, Elisa?" asked Diana. 

Elisa sits first, then shows a worried and one complicated expression somehow. She is doubting, playing with her little finger to avoid restlessness. 

"I'm not expecting them to escape their illness. Moreover, they became what we called 'Taboo'. Yes, I realized they won't live long the time when I saved them. But I have the opportunity now, to try to make them as happy as I can."

Diana's words sway a little of Elisa's doubt. The Priest girl finally could answer.

"They are fine," said Elisa as she smiles gently.

That news is so relieving for Diana. But she still had doubts.

"How about their long-term health?"

"They... got Infected. But that will not take their life in the near future."

Elisa carefully choosing her words, but that was enough to make Diana thankful.

Diana could finally relax her shoulder. "Thanks, God. Thank you too, Elisa."

Elisa smiles, responding to Diana's thankful, but the complicated expression on her face is still there. Like no matter how much gratitude she received, that complicated expression will not that easily disappear.

"Miss Diana," called Elisa doubly.

"Yes?"

"Does they really a Black Hunter and Infernal Arts user?"

That is an odd question. "It's hard to believe, but yes, they are Black Hunters and Infernal Arts user."

Most likely why Elisa felt complicated must be because her three young ex Black Hunters are about two or three years older than her.

Diana could understand that. Max, Dylan, and Uilya are still young. They had just entered the phase of becoming adults. However, they had been in Abyssal Terra for a long time, most likely they also had dark battle experience in the past that made them what they are now.

"Don't think too much about it, Elisa. It's not your fault. That should be us adults' fault on letting them become what they are now."

That is still too hard for her. She is still a little girl, but she being forced to fight all that shitty reality. 

Still and all, she will forget all the problem and show her tender smile. 

"Yes. But that's also applies to you, Miss Diana."

"M – me?"

"Yes! You fought so hard some of your bones were broken, and you got a stab in your stomach. So I forbid you to think too much about all this and just focus on your recovery."

That is the first time Diana got scolded by someone much younger than her.

Diana smiles wryly. "Don't worry about all the broken bone, all my muscles can still support me to fight again."

At Diana's declaration, Elisa frowned and glared at her. 

"O – of course I won't do that because the fight is over. Aha-haha!"

Elisa is her doctor and not listening to her doctor's words is the same as disrespecting them.

"But, about their Infernal Arts..." Elisa suddenly mentioned about that topic again. "Are they really Infernal Arts user?"

"What makes you doubt that?"

Elisa tried to calm down first, recalling the information about Infernal Arts in her head, then answer. 

"In his last time, Saint of Staff forced his rotten body to find out about Infernal Arts. After a long surgery of a Demon's body, user of Infernal Arts, Saint of Staff finds something so horrible in the Demon's body. That is a Devil Seed."

"Devil Seed?"

Just hearing such thing, Diana got goosebump. 

"It is a Dark Mana source for the Infernal Arts user. An Infectious Crystal, dark black and absorbs the life energy of the user."

Diana shuddered. The Angry Golems core, the Black Hunters, have that Devil Seed embedded in their chest. 

��But, 'after a long surgery'?" asked Diana wonder.

"Yes, the Demon is a Demon King Commander. He is a strong opponent. But thanks to the cooperation between the Saint of Spear and Saint of Sword, the two of them were able to kill the Demon King Commander without destroying his body. That is where, Saint of Staff finds the Devil Seed in the deep of Demon King Commander's body. Plus, it was so tiny, the size of a gravel."

Deep in the Demon King commander's body? And so tiny, the size of a gravel?

That is not like what happened to the Angry Golems' core. 

"The deeper it embedded, the stronger the user can be," said Diana muttered.

"Exactly as you expected, Miss Diana."

Diana started to get even more chills as she remembers the three young ex Black Hunters she saved.

"Then how about them?! Does that Devil Seed embedded in their body too?!"

Elisa expected Diana would be that worried, but – "Don't worry, that is why I am asking you if they are really an Infernal Arts user. Because I cannot find that Devil Seed, the Dark Mana source in their body."

Diana is so grateful, but appear a new question in their conversation.

"I am indeed found a trace of Dark Mana flowing in their Infected points, but the source come from outside. That mostly like - " 

"Linked Arts."

Diana immediately recalling about someone from the Black Hunters group, a Demon King Commander, a man who can transform into 1000 meter Dark Gigantic Golem, the foster father of the three youths. 

"Conor."

That was hard to believe, but that person is the only one Diana could think of.

Also, Linked Arts only strong people can do, and Conor can certainly do that.

Plus, if Uilya, Max, and Dylan really an Infernal Arts user, Diana could not easily persuade their hearts. 

"Because as the name suggests, Devil Seed," said Elisa, "Someone who possessed that cursed things in their heart will not be able to return to the light."

"To kill them is the only way to stop them."

Someone who kills Conor finally opens his mouth. 

Elisa doesn't like on how Ars said that, but she didn't want to debate that now. 

Without realizing it, Diana held her head, feeling dizzy. Elisa realizes that she made her patient think hard about something. 

"A-a-ee-Miss Diana...!"

Diana immediately stopped Elisa's worried. "Don't worry, I'm just realizing how naïve I am."

Diana finally backs to herself. But Elisa still worried about her state. 

"Isn't it better for you to get rest now, Miss Diana?"

Diana gives a gentle rejection face on her doctor's order. "I'm sorry, but I still want to talk something with our Savior."

Diana indirectly mentioned the only adult guy in the group. 

"That's why, you can get rest first, I will catch up later."

Elisa still worried, but she will take that offer. 

Before Elisa leave the two adult alone, she looks at the person she hates first. 

"Don't you dare to make her stay up late."

"I won't."

Miraculously, Ars immediately obeys Elisa's words. That shocked Elisa little.

"Good, then."

Elisa then gets into the girls' tents.

"That was a lie," said Ars suddenly.

That shocked Diana a little. But she didn't want to guess the way that complicated guy thought and got to the point of why she asked to be left alone with him.

"Tell me, Ars, when you disappeared in the morning we wanted to do a search for Conor, did you go to make that gigantic red wall?"

"Yeah."

That was hard to believe. But he disappeared from morning to noon. That means he built [Red Tower Divine Light] about half a day. 

Diana will not ask how Ars built that, but – "Why did you could think of about building that wall? Do you already expected Conor will go that far?"

Conor transform into a Dark Gigantic Golem is so unthinkable. Conor Dark Gigantic Golem is the same threat as Catastrophe. That means Ars can foreseeing a catastrophe threat a day before it happened.

"Yeah."

Ars's answer is so monotonous and difficult to guess if he tells the truth or not. But he wouldn't be able to do that without passing an event where it seemed like he could see into that future.

"Did you realize Conor's power the time you saw his huge scar?"

Conor's huge scar on his body must be the place where he embedded the Devil Seed. 

"Yeah."

That means Ars is not literally foreseeing the future. He just happened could see Conor's dark power and smart enough to take an action that could save so many people. 

"But why didn't you say that from the start?"

Tell them that Conor has that huge dark power within him. And he most likely is a leader of Black Hunters group that is going to attack Underground City.

"Do you want me to tell you all that without a clear evidence? 'But, why didn't you fight him from the start? Maybe you can save the residents of Underground City.' That was too dangerous, and I can't make sure everyone will survive. The appearance of the Limited Void is also inevitable. The only plan I could think of is the one has happened."

It was so logical, and Diana couldn't argue with that.

They fell into silence afterward. 

Elisa said she shouldn't think about many things. But Diana couldn't help that.

Before she going to bed, Diana has one last question for Ars. 

She looks at the [Red Tower Divine Light], and asked, "Are all those swords is the Sword of Testament?"

Ars answered, "Yeah.", as he take out one from his right hand. "But he only give me the Medium-core of it, so its only has half of its true power."

Diana startled. Ars' Sword of Testament has the colour of red. That is not the one she knows, the Blue Sword of Testament. But Diana could tell right away that is the same abyssal sword Saint of Sword has.

Suddenly, Ars gets up before Diana came out from her unbelief.

"W – what are you doing?!"

Ars suddenly princess carries Diana. That of course shocked the 40-year-old grown woman.

"Shh, you don't want to wake them."

"W – why do I don't want to wake them?!" Diana panicked, but she obeyed Ars's orders to be quiet. "Why are you taking me to your tent?" 

"I will always charge people who ask me for something. And you've asked a lot of what you can pay."

"W-w-waa!"

Diana being dropped into a luxurious bed. 

"H-how did you bring this kind of luxurious bed to this forest?!"

"You don't like it?"

"N-no! I mean! That's not the problem!"

Ars starts to take off his clothes. That makes Diana more panicked.

"Okay! Okay! I get what you want! But, can't you give me more time, at least to recover?"

"You said before you can still fight even with that kind of condition."

"Yes! No! I mean! Can we at least take more times get to know each other? H-hey, are you listening?! No, don't touch me there! Kya~!"