Genshin Impact: Awakening in the Darkness

Chapter 160 Fierce Battle! An Obsession Engraved in the Soul

When they arrived at the platform of the inverted pool, a beam of bright light suddenly appeared and stung their eyes.

"Whoa!" Paimon immediately closed his eyes and couldn't help but scream, "W-what's going on! Is that the light coming from that room right in the center? My eyes hurt!"

Empty's face visibly darkened: "Paimon! You'd better find somewhere to hide."

Having said that, he didn't wait for Paimon's response. He took the Unsharp Sword in his hand and rushed towards the beam of light.

Dain shared the same idea, and the two of them ran in that direction with all their might.

Dain: "The anomalies are still ongoing. Has the Abyss already made its move?"

Sora: "We must stop it no matter what."

When they arrived, this was the scene they found.

It was an Abyss Apostle, surrounded by a dark aura that exuded an unsettling sense of oppression. Kong instantly became alert, gripping his weapon, his eyes revealing determination and caution. Daines Reeb, on the other hand, stared intently at the Abyss Apostle, his expression cold and stern, seemingly observing its every move.

Abyss Apostle: "Dainsreb... so persistent, and now he's even joined forces with His Highness's blood relatives once again..."

"I didn't have time to check the transmission network beforehand, and as a result, I mistakenly sent you here... It was a fatal mistake."

His tone was full of regret and resentment.

Clearly, he was the Abyss Apostle that Dain was hunting down.

"Hmph! You coward who only knows how to run away, who gave you the courage to face me?" Dain immediately snorted back. If it weren't for his excellent escape skills, he might already be a dead man under his sword.

"His Highness's will must be carried out, and all interference must be eliminated at all costs."

"This time we must thoroughly... eradicate the curse that torments the people."

“You’re the only ones tormenting them.” Dain’s emotions rippled and grew stronger: “Those Hilichurls have nothing left on them except the curse.”

The Abyss Apostle was unusually silent. He looked deeply at Dain, knowing that they too were deeply troubled by the "curse."

But in the end, he made his choice: "I'm not going to run away. Come on, Daines Reb."

"Is such a ridiculous will worth risking your life to buy time? If you want to persist, then so be it!"

"It seems there's nothing more to say."

Having said that, Kong launched the first attack, his figure as fast as lightning, rushing towards the Abyss Apostle, his weapon creating a whooshing sound. The Abyss Apostle easily dodged to the side, then unleashed a burst of dark power, which Kong quickly retreated to avoid.

Taking advantage of the gap in the attack, Daines Reeb also quickly drew his sword, with a very clear target.

He wanted to spare the enemy's life.

His attacks became even more ferocious, forming a pincer movement with Kong in the battle.

Kong used the power of the wind element to release a powerful airflow, attempting to disrupt the apostle's attack rhythm, but the apostle had a premonition and had already escaped into the void.

"Huh? They escaped." Seeing that his attack had missed, Kong immediately became alert to his surroundings.

Dain: "—! Watch out!"

A portal to the abyss appeared silently from behind Kong, and a cold, turbulent current suddenly struck him, knocking him to the side before he could dodge.

Seeing this, Dain quickly turned around and unleashed a series of sword strikes at the enemy who had just revealed himself.

But it was too late; the enemy had once again vanished into the void.

“…Ugh.” Kong clutched his bleeding wound, gritted his teeth, and once again drew his sword to rejoin the battle.

"Ha, no wonder you said the enemy was hard to kill, turns out they can escape so easily."

"...How's the injury?" Dain had little time to worry about his teammate's injury, but he was still on guard, constantly on guard against another surprise attack.

"It's a minor injury; I've suffered this kind of injury quite often before."

"Hmm—" Sora sensed a spatial fluctuation, gestured to Dain with his eyes, and immediately switched his elemental power.

His thinking was simple: since he was so good at escaping, then he would make sure he had nowhere to run.

The golden light of the rock element appeared in his hand, and the moment the black hole appeared, the Cage of Rock unexpectedly rose from the feet of the Abyss Apostle.

This attack sent the Abyss Apostle flying. Dain drew his sword, leaped into the air, and pierced the enemy's body, thus declaring victory.

"Heh, I must say, using that kind of 'purification device' to achieve such a crude and rudimentary method... I overestimated you."

"Cough cough!" The Abyss Apostle looked at the sword piercing his body and felt his life slipping away. Surprisingly, he felt no fear, but rather a sense of relief.

“If Her Highness desires it… we will make it happen. Everything… is for…”

His voice was very soft, and before he could finish speaking, his body turned to ashes.

(Your Highness... Your subordinate is incompetent...)

Dain expressionlessly sheathed his sword, and Paimon immediately flew over, exclaiming, "Phew! You've finally taken down the Abyss Apostle after chasing it for so long!"

Dain: "No time to chat. It seems the Abyss Order's device is activating. We can still destroy it now."

"Then let's hurry, hopefully we still make it in time!"

After saying that, the group didn't even have time to rest and immediately rushed to the room with the pool.

Unexpectedly, there was a priest from the Abyss here, and the device in his hand had already started to activate.

"That device that enhances the pool's water purification capabilities—!" Dai, disregarding the potential backlash from stopping it, immediately prepared to rush forward.

"Wait, Dain!"

Before Kong finished speaking, the black figure suddenly stopped, his body seemingly losing all strength and falling forward. The sharp sword stuck in the ground barely supported his body, and his other hand covered his head, as if he was enduring some kind of pain.

Paimon: "What—! What's going on?!"

Not only Dain, but Kong also heard other mournful cries, from Hilichurls and the Black Serpent Riders.

The agonizing cries were particularly clear in the silent ruins, and echoed back and forth.

(Oh no—is it too late...?)

(Must they all end their lives in extreme pain...?)

"Think of something..." Dain's vision was blurry, but she still managed to urge, "Make that thing stop..."

"Okay. I'll go distract them. Paimon, I'm counting on you!"

Kong drew his sword and charged forward.

"Me? Okay... fine." Paimon cheered himself up in his mind, watching Kong fight the Abyss Priest below, and prepared to sneak over and turn off the device.

Tap—! Tap—! Tap—!

Heavy footsteps came from the opposite side, startling Paimon, who thought some enemy had arrived again.

Dain forced herself to look in that direction, only to see a blurry, tall, familiar, azure-blue figure.

His steps were unsteady, but he walked resolutely toward the light.

"Hafdan... Ugh!"

Dain's body was completely unresponsive; pain spread throughout his body, rendering him unable to move.

He could only watch as Hafdan struggled toward the device. By now, what didn't Dain understand?

"Hafdan! If you do that..."

Before he could finish speaking, his stubborn subordinate roared and leaped towards the device.

Dain stared, his mouth slightly agape, his body trembling, as he looked at the Black Serpent Knight who was using his body to block out the light.

Just a moment ago, he thought he heard...

What he said…

(Dainsreb...my lord...)

"!!!" The Abyss Priest, who was fighting Kong, no longer cared about Kong, who was fighting alongside him.

"Get out of my way, you obstruction!"

"Where are you looking? This is a rare opportunity. You can finally get rid of me, can't you?" The effect of the device had been weakened, and he couldn't care less about anything else.

Hafdan couldn't hold out for long, and he had to intervene.

"Dainsreb—!!" The Abyss Priest gritted his teeth. What might have pleased him before now only made him want to finish the battle quickly.

"Look where you're looking!" Kong seized the opportunity and slashed fiercely with his sword.

The Abyss Priest narrowly dodged, but being unskilled in close combat, he was no match for the two of them.

The final result was obvious: he couldn't even last a single round against Kong and Dain working together.

Kong: "It's solved, but the device still hasn't stopped."

“Hafdan…” Paimon looked worriedly at the figure struggling against the device.

"I'll take his place."

"No!" Dain immediately rejected Kong's suggestion: "As long as the device remains activated, we cursed people cannot unleash our original power. Only you are the Abyss's match."

“If you value his dedication, don’t waste your time here.”

"See those lights and portals around here? They must have scattered the energy devices elsewhere. Go check them out, and be quick!"

Dain was clearly anxious and immediately split up with the airmen to deal with the silk threads.

(Hafdan, just a little longer, it'll be over soon...)

"Do you need help."