【 WHEREABOUTS OF THE SHADOWSHADE CLAN 】

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After strolling through Chosen City for a time and taking in the atmosphere of the upcoming Harvest Festival, Evé departed from the city.

She knew that this year’s Harvest Festival was destined to be anything but peaceful.

That was because the agreed-upon time for the Crusade to commence was fast approaching.

The warning she had issued several months prior had ultimately produced some effect. The major factions in Seigües had begun mobilizing for war, and the Pantheon had even conveyed a message to all its members one week after Evé released her warning.

The general meaning was that the factions in Seigües no longer needed to participate in the expedition to the Abyss.

Evé herself would only need to dispatch a small number of troops to support the gods.

In return, the factions operating in this realm should focus their main efforts on defending Seigües and resisting the invasion of the Abyss.

In addition, the God of War Coalition would also send some of their demigods and Einherjars to assist in the defense of Seigües.

However, Evé still decided to dispatch a considerable force of players to launch an expedition into the Abyss.

This was to provide cover for her own advancement within the Abyss.

What’s that?

Defend the World of Seigües?

If she could truly advanced her rank to Upper Divine Power, then within the World of Seigües she would be completely invincible.

As such, how could the Abyss possibly fight back against her?

Naturally, Evé made adjustments to the number of troops sent on the expedition.

At the beginning, she had planned to mobilize one hundred thousand Chosen Ones, but she later changed her mind.

She decided to halve the number, recruiting fifty thousand silver-rank players along with a portion of the Frost Elves to participate in the Abyss expedition, in addition to some of her own Einherjars.

Once a foothold was established in the Abyss, a base could then be constructed, which would serve as another training ground for the players, as well as her own “blood harvesting” site.

The remaining core player forces would stay behind in the World of Seigües to protect the Elven Forest and resist any possible invasion.

The players assembled quickly, and the Frost Elves were no slower in their preparations. Therefore, once the signal from the Pantheon was received, Evé would issue the order to commence the expedition.

At that time, Evé would deploy troops directly from the Wasteland of Desolation and directly launch an attack on the Abyss.

She had already chosen the location of the offensive. It was precisely that passageway through which Cypher had entered the Wasteland of Desolation.

As for using the Gate of Reversal, the consumption of divine power required to operate it was simply far too great. Therefore, she would only use this artifact at a critical moment.

Moreover, as a world that had sunk into the periphery of the Abyss, it was highly likely that the gods would dispatch armies of Einherjars, most likely from the God of War faction, to attack the Wasteland of Desolation and use it as a springboard to encircle the Third Layer of Hell.

That said, the main forces of the gods would probably still focus their assault on the First Layer of Hell.

Although attacking the worlds situated on the periphery of each hell layer could inflict losses upon the Abyss, the most effective strategy was to deal a heavy blow to the Seven Layers of Hell themselves.

The Seven Layers of Hell served as the gateway to the Abyss, yet they were not arranged in a perfectly vertical stack. The expanse of each layer also differed, with every lower layer possessing a larger circumference than the one above it.

The First Layer of Hell by far, was the smallest and directly facing the upper worlds. However, with its governing demon lord absent and sealed away, it was theoretically the easiest to conquer, hence it was only natural that the gods would choose it as their primary target.

Evé also noticed that Azazel, who was sealed within the Labyrinth Dungeon, had grown increasingly irritable lately. He even vented his anger on several Abyssal myths, as if he had some vague premonition of what was happening in Hell.

Those who truly suffered were the unlucky fallen angel Luria and the others. The frequency at which they were farmed by players suddenly increased, leaving them in a rather miserable state.

Evé could actually understand this Abyssal Demon Lord quite well.

After all, he was the ruler of the First Layer of Hell and his home was about to become the main battlefield.

“Azazel, the gods are about to attack your respective layer. Are you not worried that the core of your hell’s origin, which you have hidden away, might be discovered by the gods?”

“Or perhaps found by your fellow Demon Lords, who might take the opportunity to seize it?”

“Why not tell me where it is? I can help you keep it safe.”

Evé entered the Demon Lord Labyrinth and smiled at the Seventh Demon Lord.

“Rubbish! Yggdrasil! You are just coveting my Abyssal Core! I bet if I told you where it is, I would become your slave completely!”

“No! Even if I fall, I will never tell you the location of my origin core! You vicious, bloodsucking tree!”

Azazel flew into a rage, his anger reducing even his fear of her.

In response, Evé merely chuckled softly and said nothing further.

She had never truly expected to deceive Azazel into revealing the location of his Abyssal origin core.

Since to the Seven Demon Lords, their origin core was practically their lifeline and the foundation of their endless resurrection.

That being said, Evé could not help but inwardly complain that Azazel spoke as if he were not already her slave.

Of course, she did not voice this thought out loud, choosing instead to leave this Demon Lord employee of hers a shred of dignity.

At that moment, Evé suddenly felt a slight stir in her heart, akin to a faint resonance within her soul.

She glanced at the still fuming Azazel, smiled faintly, and returned to her divine kingdom.

Reappearing in the Hall of Supreme Temple within the Garden of Eden, Evé sat upon her divine throne and gently beckoned her hand.

The next second, a box emitting a deep, shadowy glow appeared in her grasp.

It was the Casket of the Dead.

The Goddess of Death, Hela, had finally sent a reply.

Evé opened the messaging artifact and check its contents.

Soon, a familiar voice echoed within her mind.

“Your Grace, Evé.”

“My apologies for replying only now. I have just awakened from slumber and seem to have missed quite a great deal.”

“First of all, thank you for the Bloodborne Divinity you previously had given me. Now, I can feel that I am only a step away from attaining Upper Divine Power.”

“This also gives me greater confidence in serving as your guardian at the time of your advancement.”

“Secondly, I must thank you for your warning.”

“Fenrir has already informed me of the Abyss’s planned invasion, and under his coordination, the Dark-State cities in the Underground have begun preparations for the war as well.”

“Alas, my influence in the Underground is ultimately too limited. If any unforeseen circumstances arise there, I may need your assistance at that time.”

“As for the matter of the elven souls you mentioned in your message, I have investigated it as well.”

“I examined all the souls within the Sea of the Dead that were within my reach, and I did indeed discover some elven souls that did not return to the Netherworld from the World of Seigües…”

Hearing this, Eve’s spirit was stirred, and a trace of joy flashed through her heart.

They really were discovered?

Frost Elves who entered the Wasteland of Desolation were unable to return to the Netherworld after death due to the nature of the Abyss.

Therefore, those elves living beyond the realm of Seigües were very likely members of the Thunderspark Clan or the Shadowshade Clan.

Eve continued listening as Hela’s voice rang out once more.

“However, even the most recent of these elven souls dates back more than nine hundred years.”

“For the past nine centuries, aside from elven souls from the World of Seigües, I have not discovered any others besides them.”

At these words, Eve’s gaze tightened slightly.

This was not good news.

Nine hundred years without any new souls meant that, aside from falling into the Abyss, the most likely explanation was that those elves had already gone extinct.

Exhaling softly, Evé continued to listen.

“I read the memories of these elven souls and located some fragmented memories of theirs, but due to the passage of time, most of the memories have become blurred, leaving only scattered pieces.”

“Unfortunately, since Hodür also controls part of the authority over the Sea of the Dead, I am unable to fully restore their memories, nor can I locate their exact place of origin…”

“Of course, once I advance to Upper Divine Power, none of this should pose a problem anymore.”

At this point, Evé sensed fragments of memory emerging within her consciousness.

Her heart stirred, and she chose to accept them.

With Eve’s intent, her vision suddenly shifted and vaguely, several fragmented scenes began to appear before her eyes.

At first, there was an endless ocean.

Enormous ships sailed across the sea, each carrying elves aboard.

With black hair and dark eyes, they chanted ancient songs in rhythmic unison while steering their vessels through raging winds and storms.

The waves surged without cease, and massive waterspouts raged across the distant sea.

The elven ships advanced with great difficulty, yet pressed forward without hesitation.

Later, the scene changed to a fertile land.

Dense forests, towering mountains, golden beaches, and waves that continuously crashed against the shore.

The elves knelt upon the coastline, kissing the earth.

Not far away lay grounded giant ships, from which even more elves were leaping down.

A female elf dressed in a black gown stood by the shore, gazing into the sky with a deep, unfathomable expression.

Later still, there appeared a magnificent elven temple.

Within the temple stood a massive altar, containing dark brown soil.

The elves knelt inside the temple, praying and worshiping the altar without cease.

Outside the temple lay a vast plaza.

There, living beings were likewise offering prayers toward the temple.

No longer were they only elves.

There were half elves, humans, and even strange creatures with fish like scales covering their bodies.

They were densely packed, countless in number.

Farther away stood a prosperous city.

A blazing red sun was slowly rising in the distance.

Then the scene shifted once more, abruptly plunging everything into darkness.

Lightning tore through the sky, and the sea surged with towering waves.

Cries of battle rang out as elves, together with half elves, humans, and other races, clashed with humanoid sea monsters that leapt from the ocean onto the shore.

Behind them, a city burned in flames.

Raging fires illuminated half the sky.

The female elf in the black gown raised her staff high, manipulating a pale golden barrier.

Then, as the world briefly brightened, the scene finally shattered.

Faintly, Evé seemed to glimpse complex and mysterious patterns flashing across the sky.

The visions ended there.

By this point, Evé had already formed a fairly complete understanding of what had happened to those elves.

They were part of the Shadowshade Clan who had departed from the World of Seigües.

And likely, that female elf who gazed at the sky and later wielded divine arts to form a defensive barrier was the guardian demigod of the Shadowshade Clan, Shadow of Night, Eris.

They must have entered a particular realm rich that’s mainly composed of water, taken root there, developed their faith, and eventually come into conflict with other factions living there, which escalated into an all out war.

However, the visions ended at that point.

The final outcome of the war was not shown at all.

Only the intricate and mysterious patterns that appeared in the sky at the very end made Evé certain that some mythical being had likely intervened behind the scenes.

For a moment, her mood grew somewhat heavy.

The guardian of the Shadowshade Clan, Shadow of Night, Eris, was merely a demigod.

If these elves’ whereabouts had truly been discovered by enemies of the World Tree, then their fate was most likely already sealed.

Evé sighed softly.

She reconstructed the sea monsters that had fought against the elves in the visions, attempting to identify their race, only to discover, to her surprise, that there was no record of them in the inherited knowledge at all.

This was a race unknown even to her predecessor.

“Native beings hidden within other realms…perhaps…”

“The ocean… could they be followers of Leviathan?”

Evé pondered.

Most oceanic creatures worship a sea god, and in the World of Seigües, the most dominant sea god here was the Demon Lord Leviathan.

“Perhaps I should pay closer attention to the Third Layer of Hell during the Crusade.”

Evé murmured thoughtfully.

If they truly were Leviathan’s followers, then the answer would have to be sought within the context of the war.

Although, after viewing these fragmented visions, Evé no longer held much hope that the Shadowshade Clan still existed.

After all, the final scene of the battle had been exceedingly brutal.

Yet, an unseen ending was still an ending unseen.

And an unseen ending meant that the Shadowshade Clan still had a chance of survival.

Even if that chance was slim, it was still worth Eve’s attention and pursuit.

After all, before this, even she had not expected that elves could still exist within the Abyss.

If they could persist even in the Abyss, then what was there that elves could not endure?

Even if stubborn, even if their innate kindness led them to be exploited by other races, the elvenkind was still a great race.

Devout, unyielding, resilient, kind, and beautiful.

At least, that was how Evé saw them.

“There may be an approach that could help locate the realm shown in these visions. Creatures like those sea monsters likely exist only in specific worlds. If I can find someone who knows their origins, there is hope of pinpointing the relevant realm.”

Evé reflected.

And very soon, she thought of a candidate who might be able to answer this question.

That was the Abyssal mythical being Diriel, the bull-headed, humanoid demon she had recently captured.

With this in mind, Evé once again went to the Demon Lord Dungeon, startling Azazel, who had been resting lightly.

“You… you came back again? How many times must I say this? I will absolutely not tell you the location of the First Layer’s origin core!”

He cried out in indignation.

Eve: “…”

Glancing at the “pitiful looking” Seventh Demon Lord, Evé said calmly,

“I am looking for Diriel. This has nothing to do with you.”

Azazel froze for a moment.

As soon as she finished speaking, Eve’s figure flickered and vanished into the depths of the Demon Lord Labyrinth.

Only the Seventh Demon Lord remained, staring blankly in the direction she had departed.

“What does she want with that piece of bull trash?”

Azazel muttered to himself.

Arriving at the palace where Diriel resided, Evé unceremoniously stepped inside.

Diriel appeared to have just finished fighting players and he was currently sitting on his throne, panting heavily.

Upon seeing Evé appear in the palace, he almost leapt to his feet at once, his expression filled with terror.

“All…All-Divine Mother?!”

Evé smiled faintly and used her divine power to manifest the image of the sea monster she saw in the vision.

“Diriel, do you know the origin of this creature? Tell me, and I will exempt you from one week of boss battles.”

Diriel’s spirits immediately lifted, his expression brightening as though he were a condemned prisoner who had just heard news of a pardon.

However, once he clearly saw the creature Evé had manifested, confusion appeared in his eyes.

Seeing his reaction, Evé already knew the answer.

She sighed softly and prepared to leave the palace.

Yet at that very moment, Diriel suddenly spoke.

“P-Please wait! All-Divine Mother! Lady Yggdrasill! Please wait!”

“I-I do not recognize the origin of this creature…”

“But I know someone who certainly will!”

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