Abyssal Chronicles

"You! ...What are you doing!?"

Yumo, who was briefly immersed in her memories, revealed a shocked expression when she saw the honey-haired woman suddenly appearing in front of her.

However,

What surprised Yumo more was that Youlan did not attack her as she had imagined. Instead, Youlan held Yumo’s face and kissed her cheek. A cold yet familiar scent immediately invaded Yumo’s nostrils, causing her eyes to widen in surprise, standing there a bit bewildered.

For a moment,

In this scene filled with a strong smell of blood, a mist of blood everywhere, and eerie bloody thorns twisting around, the two shadows were closely attached to each other. This cruel and terrifying environment oddly gained a strange warmth.

Strictly speaking, Youlan could be considered Yumo’s eldest daughter, the first child of Yumo.

Yet,

Compared to Yumo’s height of about 1.65 meters, Youlan, nearly 1.75 meters tall and wearing high heels, seemed more like a gentle and affectionate older sister. Furthermore, Youlan’s overall demeanor was more mature. For a moment, one could hardly tell who was the mother and who was the daughter.

...

In this eerie silence, Yulan didn’t stop at just a kiss. After planting the kiss on Yumo’s cheek, the honey-haired woman slowly parted her rosy lips and lightly licked Yumo’s fair, water-like skin. The kiss had momentarily left Yumo in shock, but this lick brought her consciousness back to reality.

Her deep blue eyes suddenly narrowed, revealing a sharp look.

Anger welled up within her, and her lips pursed.

The honey-haired woman seemed to have anticipated this. As soon as Yumo’s eyes changed, Youlan retracted her tongue, lightly leapt away, and instantly put some distance between them. Even though it had been centuries since they last saw each other face to face, Youlan was still familiar with everything about Yumo, clearly knowing all the signs before Yumo took action.

She had easily predicted Yumo’s move in advance.

— ’Mother, you’re really too easy to read.’ —

"You..."

Taking a deep breath and touching the part of her face where Youlan had kissed, Yumo seriously looked at the honey-haired woman not far away.

"What are you trying to do?!"

"It’s been a long time since we met. Is it wrong to kiss my own mother to express my affection?" Youlan replied calmly.

"Besides, Mother, don’t you show love with your children this way? I was just following your lead"

As she spoke, Youlan playfully licked her lips, seemingly reminiscing about the taste of the kiss.

After being away from home for hundreds of years and tasting her mother’s flavor once again, an indescribable joy arose in Youlan’s heart. A peculiar pattern even faintly appeared in her deep blue eyes. However, as she reveled in this happiness, Youlan’s eyes slightly narrowed.

Licking her lips, a hint of malice briefly flashed in Youlan’s eyes.

The taste of Mother was indeed rich, but it seemed to contain some other essence...

’This scent... it surpassed ordinary holy aura. It is...’

’The aura of a Chosen One...’

’The remnants of this scent on Mother’s face revealed just how intimate her relationship with the Chosen One had become...’

’The Demon Lord, being so close to her chosen enemy?’

’What a joke...’

Youlan cursed angrily in her heart.

Even though she was prepared for this based on recent intel, when Youlan personally experienced this reality, she couldn’t help but feel anger, even a murderous intent. However, she quickly suppressed her emotions, maintaining an indifferent expression that sent chills down one’s spine.

The so-called ’expression of love’, with such a face, looked like nothing more than a joke, even slightly mocking.

Hearing these cold words and seeing the other party’s indifferent expression, Yumo shivered and felt a pang of pain in her heart.

She took a deep breath, the raven-haired girl took out a handkerchief, wiping her cheeks, and said coldly:

"Love? What a joke. If you truly recognized me as your mother, you wouldn’t treat your siblings like that! Also, obeying me? If you did, you wouldn’t oppose me like this!"

With that, Yumo threw the handkerchief, which she used to wipe her face, disdainfully into the pool of blood beside her.

Then, suppressing her sadness, she revealed a stern expression.

Youlan’s appearance and her recent actions had stunned Yumo for a while, but once she collected herself, she immediately contemplated a serious question:

’what was Youlan’s true purpose for appearing here?’

’This rebellious daughter couldn’t possibly be here to express some nonsensical love, could she?’

Considering the events at Luminous Royal Academy, Yumo immediately thought of a certain silver-haired girl.

With an interrogative gaze fixed on Youlan, Yumo slowly spoke. Her voice carried a heavy force from deep within her soul.

"Why are you here? What exactly do you want to do?! You don’t plan to harm the ’Girl of Destiny’, do you?"

"What do I want to do?"

Repeating Yumo’s question, Youlan didn’t immediately answer. Instead, she looked confused, tilting her head to look at the broken limbs and bodies around, and whispered back:

"That’s the question I want to ask you. What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?"

"Yes. These insects dared to act against you, dared to offend you so foolishly. Why are you still hesitating? Why don’t you just annihilate them like you used to?"

As she spoke, Youlan slowly raised her hand.

Bloody thorns under Youlan’s control dragged a frightened and struggling little boy forcefully to her side. This brown-haired boy "Tara," was the same child that Yumo once saved, but had just accused Yumo.

When he was dragged to Youlan’s side, Tara was so scared that his entire body trembled. Overwhelmed by fear, Tara froze, unable to resist. He showed a face begging for mercy and looked pleadingly at Yumo for help.

Casting a sidelong glance at another boy who was so scared that he wet himself, Youlan sneered:

"You sold out the black-haired sister for money. And now you want her help? Aren’t you being too delusional?"

While speaking coldly, in front of Yumo, countless ghostly blue energy spikes suddenly burst from the little boy’s body, instantly turning him into a porcupine. The splattered blood stained Youlan’s white robe bright red.

Casually discarding the boy’s corpse, Youlan looked helplessly at the silent black-haired girl nearby.

"I don’t understand why you saved such trash back then... hmm, but maybe that’s just like you? Haven’t you taken in quite a bit of this kind of trash in the forest over the centuries?"

"Youlan!" Yumo couldn’t hold back and interrupted Youlan.

While Tara’s death at the hands of Youlan could be seen as self-inflicted due to his breach of the confidentiality agreement, when Youlan insulted the children of the Black Rose, Yumo couldn’t help but rebuke her. The deep-seated crimson shadow energy within her began to stir. The protective black-haired girl clenched her fists in anger.

"They’re different! Stop spouting nonsense! They’re not trash! And did you come here just to provoke me?"

"Of course not~" Youlan said with a light laugh, casually shaking her head to deny Yumo’s words.

"Firstly, I came here to see you again, to confirm something."

"Confirm what?"

"To confirm... confirm... confirm..."

Repeating her words, seeming to remember something, Youlan slowly bit her lip. Her sharp teeth unintentionally pierced her lip, causing blood to drip from the corner of her mouth. Her cold blue eyes filled with intense dissatisfaction, as well as a deep sense of resentment and anger.

As the mood of the blond-haired woman fluctuated, a strange and ominous blue light began to ripple around Youlan.

"To confirm... what that goddess... has brainwashed you into..."

"Brain... brainwashed?"

Yumo’s eyes widened in shock.