Chapter 238
Adela turned her head, confirming the presence of the three enemies.
Three dark sorcerers.
“Silence.”
Quickly and precisely.
Remaining undetected was the priority.
Adela cast a spell to silence all noise as she approached them.
But then—
One of the robed men paused, tilting his head as if sensing something.
“Did you hear something just now?”
“A sound…?”
But it was already too late.
They were already encircled by Adela’s magic circle.
Without hesitation, Adela raised her staff.
And in an instant, the ground swallowed them whole.
“Arghhh!”
The three robed sorcerers vanished in an instant.
Adela scanned the surroundings and stepped into the hallway.
Everything had been handled cleanly.
She quickly grabbed her smartphone and reported her current situation.
– I’ve made it down to the second floor.
The interior was quieter than expected.
According to the map, most dark sorcerers were concentrated on the third floor, making the descent relatively straightforward.
Adela carefully inspected her surroundings and added cautiously.
– It seems safe so far.
– We’ll be there soon.
Yoon Haul’s response came quickly.
With Adela clearing the way, the remaining five would gradually enter the structure.
Finding Han Siha based on intuition alone in this massive building was virtually impossible.
So, Yoon Haul’s plan was to trace the last location of Han Siha’s smartphone signal.
Adela held her phone to her ear, waiting to hear the traced data.
However—
For some reason, Yoon Haul’s voice on the other end of the line was trembling.
– I don’t know what’s going on, but… there’s no magic signature at all.
What?
– Neither Basilus nor Han Siha.
It was impossible to grasp what had happened.
Adela clutched her smartphone with trembling hands.
Yoon Haul’s urgent voice filled her ear.
– We can’t locate him; it’s too dangerous to go further down. Adela, get out of there. Now.
Adela shook her head at Yoon Haul’s plea.
“It’s on the fifth floor.”
– What?
“I’ll go first and wait.”
If she had intended to give up due to uncertainty, she wouldn’t have come this far.
Resolute, Adela hung up.
* * *
The underground passages of NGC were undoubtedly complex, but Adela calmly retraced her steps.
She was determined to search through this labyrinthine underground maze to find Han Siha.
Dark thoughts kept swirling in her mind.
‘What happens after I find him?’
‘Can I win if we have to fight?’
Adela shook her head fiercely.
That wasn’t important right now.
“Focus on finding him first.”
For such a vast underground area, it was surprisingly quiet.
Adela was just as skilled at concealing her presence as she was at detecting it.
Thanks to this, she managed to minimize her footsteps as she continued down.
There were no guards visible.
She wasn’t sure why the security was so lax, but for now, it worked in her favor.
She might still run into Abaddon, so she needed to conserve as much strength as possible.
While it wasn’t devoid of dark sorcerers patrolling the halls, she had managed to bury them without incident.
About thirty minutes after she began her descent—
Adela finally reached the last level, the fifth floor.
Despite being underground, the air was particularly cold here.
A chilling sense of foreboding wrapped around her, and Adela swallowed nervously.
“…”
Han Siha had to be somewhere here.
– I’ve arrived.
Adela left what could be her last communication and gripped her staff tightly.
Her smartphone felt damp, likely from the sweat she’d been nervously shedding.
She had steeled herself for this, but fear was inevitable.
Adela recognized the reason behind the unsettling feeling she had been experiencing.
Unlike the previous floors, where she could always sense presences as she descended, the fifth floor was unnervingly quiet.
It felt as though no one was there.
‘Is it a trap?’
Adela swallowed and cautiously stepped forward.
But having already come this far, there was no turning back now.
The fifth floor was just as complex as the ones above, but Adela boldly navigated the maze, recalling the map Han Si-hyuk had shown her.
Beyond the maze lay an underground chamber.
The fifth floor didn’t have many rooms, so there was a high chance that Han Siha would be there.
“Please, be alive.”
‘Just hold on a little longer, Han Siha.’
Adela whispered to herself as she walked, and finally, she arrived.
“…”
Drip, drip.
The sound of water droplets falling from the ceiling echoed through the cave.
In the vast underground chamber, only the eerie sound of dripping water could be heard.
Adela’s eyes landed on the one person she had hoped not to encounter.
The man who had abducted Han Siha from the battlefield in Castica.
The moment Abaddon saw Adela, a slight smile curled at his lips.
Adela’s heart was pounding in desperation, but Abaddon looked at her with amusement.
Then, in a chilling voice, he spoke.
“I’ve been waiting.”
Now she understood why her descent had been easier than expected.
Abaddon had never intended to stop her.
‘He was letting me through….’
But before she could dwell on the fact that she had walked into a trap, her gaze shifted to her right.
A glass-enclosed room.
Inside, a person was bound.
Adela’s face turned ghostly pale as she saw the familiar figure behind the glass.
“Han Siha!”
Without thinking, she dashed forward, nearly forgetting that Abaddon was in the room with her.
Thud.
Abaddon blocked her path, gripping her arm tightly.
Adela shot him a fierce glare, her eyes filled with rage.
“Move, you bastard.”
* * *
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound of someone banging on the door echoed faintly.
“Haa… Haa…”
A hallucination?
Or perhaps someone had really come.
Either way, it spelled disaster.
I fought to keep my heavy eyelids open, trying to hold onto my senses.
And then—
Creeeeak.
With a grating noise that sent chills down my spine, a familiar face stepped into the room.
Abaddon.
“I was delayed because I was busy meeting an interesting guest.”
I gritted my teeth, glaring at him.
I struggled against my restraints, but the chair didn’t budge an inch.
It was enchanted with Abaddon’s magic, and the ropes binding my wrists were just as strong.
I knew it wouldn’t be easy to break free, but I couldn’t just sit there, helplessly tied up.
“Ugh… Ngh…”
“You’ve still got the energy to squirm, it seems.”
Abaddon taunted me as I struggled.
“But doesn’t it look pathetic? You might not be able to see out from here, but everything inside this room is perfectly visible from the outside. Your guest can see everything that’s happening to you.”
My mind went cold at his words.
Guest?
“Adela’s been looking all over for you.”
Thud. Thud.
The faint noise I’d been hearing wasn’t a hallucination.
Adela’s voice, though muffled by the soundproof walls, was unmistakable.
No way.
My expression twisted as I stared at Abaddon.
“You brought her… here?”
Not satisfied with kidnapping me, he had dragged Adela into this as well.
All for a couple of cubes.
Blinded by greed for those cubes, he was willing to drag everyone into the abyss.
I clenched my teeth, forcing myself to speak despite the anger boiling inside me.
“You’re delusional if you think I’ll hand over the cubes just because you pull a stunt like this.”
The cubes were bound to me.
At least the other two were; Abaddon couldn’t take them without my consent.
He had gone to such lengths, killing countless people, but he still couldn’t have what he wanted.
It was pathetic and infuriating all at once.
I let out a derisive laugh, taunting him.
“You’re in a real bind, aren’t you? You’re screwed no matter what you do.”
I knew exactly what was eating away at him.
“You’re desperate to get your hands on the cubes, but they’re bound to me, so you’re stuck. You can’t kill me to break the bond, because you’d lose the cubes’ location forever.”
I sneered, my voice dripping with mockery.
“I promise you, you’ll never find them.”
Abaddon’s laughter was bitter, his eyes devoid of mirth.
My taunt had struck a nerve.
I could feel the murderous intent in his gaze, but I didn’t care.
He couldn’t kill me.
Not yet, anyway.
That’s why he’d resorted to dragging Adela here.
I wasn’t going to fall for his games.
I’d already prepared for the worst when I was first brought here.
This was the best move I could make.
I glared at Abaddon and continued.
“If you think you can use her to threaten me, think again.”
“….”
“If you push me, I’ll bite my tongue and end it right here. Then where will you be?”
It wasn’t just a bluff.
I was serious.
I couldn’t use magic in this room.
Basilus was still too injured to fight.
And tied up like this, all I could do was run my mouth.
If he tried to use Adela against me, I’d destroy the cubes right in front of him.
Make it so he could never have them, no matter how hard he tried.
I ground my teeth, muttering defiantly.
But Abaddon’s response wasn’t what I expected.
“Why do you assume I’d threaten you?”
“….”
His eyes shifted toward the door.
The direction where Adela was.
Thud.
The door rattled.
—Han Siha! Han Siha!
Adela’s desperate cries reached my ears, muffled but unmistakable.
Abaddon let out a chilling laugh.
“I can just threaten her instead.”
What?
“If she reveals the location of the cubes, I’ll come back for you then.”
Abaddon placed a hand on my shoulder.
A shiver ran up my spine.
It was an instinctive fear.
With a malicious smile, Abaddon whispered in my ear.
“I guarantee you this: she will tell me where the cubes are.”
“….”
“She won’t be able to bear watching you lose your mind.”
I swallowed hard, lifting my head.
I tried to keep my composure, but my hands were shaking uncontrollably.
I thought I’d braced myself for the worst, but this… this was terrifying.
I let out a dry laugh, spitting out a curse.
“Go to hell, you bastard. Give it your best shot.”