Chapter 007: The Sphinx

Isela gently flapped her massive fleshy wings, which moved across the sky like thick clouds. Although early spring in the northern lands was still cold, for dragons with thick skin and tough bodies, such cold was almost entirely negligible.

She let out a soft sigh, and an almost human-like expression of helplessness appeared on her huge dragon face. With a low groan, she murmured, “Where exactly is the master of my master? If I can’t find him, I definitely won’t dare to go back… It’s been a day and a night already. He can’t really be at the Gate of the Abyss… That place…”

As she spoke, Isela, who always considered herself incredibly powerful, couldn’t help but shiver mid-air. Her body swerved, and she nearly fell.

Sighing again, she slowly folded her wings, her towering figure shrinking bit by bit until she reverted to her miniature dragon form. Even then, under the innate pressure of her dragon nature, all creatures within ten meters around her lay on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Isela landed on a peak in the Twilight Mountains. Her small body trembled slightly as she opened her mouth and let out a long, resonant dragon roar!

A moment later, all the creatures that had been lying on the ground rushed toward her, with birds chirping and beasts roaring in succession.

The expression on Isela’s face was unpredictable and hard to understand—how could such a miniature dragon have such an expression? Finally, the creatures stopped chirping and roaring as if sharing their thoughts. Isela’s face showed a hint of helplessness, almost as if she were forcing a smile. “Great master… Your master’s master has truly entered the Gate of the Abyss. Tell me, what should I do? What should I do?”

As soon as she finished speaking, it seemed to her as though she saw Chenchen smiling slightly before her. Isela suddenly shuddered and let out a fierce roar. A blast of dragon breath shot from her mouth, scattering all the creatures in the area.

Isela seemed unaware of this. Whether comforting others or herself, she couldn’t help but mutter softly, “Never mind. It’s just a Gate of the Abyss, right? I’m a powerful dragon. If I’m afraid of that place full of little reptiles, then what’s the point of me existing?”

Isela spoke these words with extreme lack of confidence, and she had no courage to turn around and leave. She was well aware of just how terrifying the Abyssal Gate and Chenchen were. She might suffer a bit at the Abyssal Gate, but if she could bring back the master of her master, she would have achieved a great feat. That powerful master surely wouldn’t leave her unrewarded, right? But if she turned around and ran now, not to mention anything else, even just her master’s anger was something she couldn’t afford to take lightly!

Although she was a mighty green dragon, in front of her great and powerful master, she was nothing at all!

Isela made up her mind. She suddenly raised her head and let out another long roar. Moments later, her small figure swelled again as she flew into the air, determined her direction, and rushed forward. A wave of pressure spread through the air, and Isela knew it meant she was getting closer to the Abyssal Gate!

In this place even dragons feared—oh, master of my master! What on earth are you doing?

……

The endless staircase was now behind her. Ahead lay a vast platform, with the Demon God Temple right in the center. Countless stone statues stood around, featuring all sorts of legendary magical beasts.

Looking at all this, Spalitis seemed to be sighing. With his hands behind his back, he murmured, “The Demon God Temple… I… am back again!”

With that, he took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over the stone statues. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes as he said softly, “Oh… you’re also sealed here? It seems the gods of the heavens have a rather peculiar sense of humor—sealing away all of the Demon God’s former subordinates. Don’t they fear that these guys might break free one day and rescue the Demon God?”

“Oh, no…” Spalitis frowned. “By doing this, all of the Demon God’s forces can be completely sealed. It’s far more convenient than sealing them in different places. It seems those guys really thought this through… But anyway, it has nothing to do with me!”

With a cold smile, Spalitis turned toward the Demon God Temple and walked quickly toward it. But after just a few steps, he suddenly stopped, frowning. “Again this trick… It’s a bit too cliché, isn’t it?”

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the stone statues of those magical beasts.

The once frozen stone statues seemed to come to life, slowly twisting their bodies. Each demonic beast seemed to be howling, but Spalitis watched it all indifferently, seemingly unprepared to take action at all. After a while, heavy breathing sounds filled the air, and a deep voice came from all directions: “Isn’t this Lord Spalitis? How did you end up here?” Spalitis seemed to sneer and said, “Why am I here? Naturally, it’s to break the seal of the Demon God. Sphinx, take these subordinates and retreat…” A tall figure appeared before Spalitis. It was about five meters tall, radiating a faint golden glow. Its lower body was that of a lion, while its upper body resembled a man’s head. If Du Fan were here, he would immediately recognize it as the sacred beast described in the scriptures—the Sphinx. The Sphinx tilted its head slightly, staring at Spalitis and saying as if sighing, “Lord Spalitis… shouldn’t you be guarding the gate below? Why are you here?” Spalitis replied calmly, “It’s the same reason you went from being the most loyal servant of the Demon God to a watchdog for the gods of the heavens… Sphinx, you’d better retreat. Not to mention you, even all of your servants together aren’t a match for me… What I need to do now is break the seal of the Demon God. If you stand in my way, it won’t end well for you.” The Sphinx opened its mouth and roared loudly, a hint of anger flashing across its face. It said, “Spalitis, if it weren’t for your betrayal, how would the Demon God have ended up like this! Even though I’m sealed here, I’ve always guarded the Demon God… You traitor! You have no right to touch the Demon God… Just take your betrayal and get lost!” Spalitis glanced at it coldly and said, “Stop talking nonsense, you watchdog. You should know why I, Spalitis, have awakened! It’s because that person who doesn’t belong to this world has awakened me. You should understand what this means! If I can’t break the seal of the Demon God this time, there won’t be another chance ever! With that in mind, do you still want to stop me?”

“Very well!” The Sphinx seemed dazed, its expression complex. “Indeed, you are different from me. As long as anyone steps into this place, I will wake up. But for you, the seal can only be lifted with the blood of someone who does not belong to this world. So very well… where is that person? You alone cannot lift the seal!”
“It’s pointless for you to know too much,” Spalitis frowned. “Retreat instead. I don’t want to fight you!”
The Sphinx roared softly again and said, “Very well… I won’t care anymore. As agreed, you want me to retreat and let you enter the Temple of the Demon God, but you still need to answer one question for me. If you answer correctly, I’ll let you in.”
“What question?”
The Sphinx seemed to smile and said loudly, “Tell me, was heaven created first or earth? Was the egg created first or the chicken? Was light created first or darkness?”
Spalitis replied calmly, “Chaos was created first, and the abyss within my heart is the land of chaos.”
The Sphinx’s expression changed. After a moment, it showed a grin like a snarl and said softly, “Lord Spalitis… I’m truly sorry for you, but you’ve already made the wrong choice with your question. So please retreat. You don’t deserve to save the Demon God. I won’t let this one chance slip away!”
Spalitis sneered and said, “It seems you’re really stubborn… I didn’t want to use other methods… Sphinx, you’re just a watchdog after all! Do you really think you can do anything to me? I wanted to give you a chance, but you refused it yourself. So sorry… Sphinx… I’ll send you back to the High Priest’s arms, shall we?”
He slowly reached out, gripping the Angel of Desire’s spear once more. Spalitis stared coldly at the Sphinx, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
The Sphinx tilted its head and sneered. It murmured, “Lord Spalitis, do you really think I’ll fear you? You’re just a lower-ranking angel! How could you possibly be stronger than me, Lord Sphinx? Then let’s begin! I’ll send you to hell!”