Eternal Thief - Chapter 1439: Old & New Faces

Chapter 1439: Old & New Faces
The mysterious intruder was none other than Ace, who had just teleported by the system into the Abyss of Wandering Souls!
The moment he arrived, a few system prompts rang.
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[Universal Realm Teleportation has been successful!]
[Host has arrived at the mission destination: The Abyss of Wandering Souls!]
[Abyss Mission Series will now commence!]
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[House Mission: Abyss Mission Series]
-Abyss Mission Series: First Enteral Abyss (Abyss of Wandering Souls)
-Total Abyss Mission in First Eternal Abyss Series: Three
-Abyss Mission: First
-Abyss Mission Series Route: Abyss Difficulty
-Abyss Difficulty Route (Overview): This Abyss Mission Series route will revolve around the King Council Circle of the Evernight Council!
-Mission Participants: All Thief House Members
[NOTE: The Difficulty Route can no longer be changed for this Abyss Mission Series!]
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[Abyss Mission Series: Mission One (Abyss Route)] (For all House members)
-Abyss Route Mission: The Snake in Sleeve!
Description: Once, the Eternal Abyss cradled the departed, a sanctuary where lost souls drifted in tranquil slumber. But the silence was shattered—they came. An unseen yet undeniable presence slithered into the abyss, twisting solace into suffering. The dead no longer rest; they wander, whispers of what once was, shackled in unseen chains. But the question remains—was it an invasion or an invitation?
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-Primary Task: Find the Ancient Remnant of the 8th Disciple of the God of Evil Occult and Announce its location to the entire Abyss of Wandering Souls!
-Status: Incomplete
-Additional Requirement (1): You must ensure that all House Members actively participate in this mission, and your final rewards will be determined by their continuation!
-Status: Incomplete
-Additional Requirement (2): During this Mission, the House Leader is required to perform 5,000 Thieveries consisting of 2,500 Low Level, 1,500 Middle Level, and 1,000 High-Level Thieveries, and each house member is required to perform 500 Thieveries worth at least 1 Million House Points!
-Status: Incomplete
-Additional Requirement (3): Towards the End of this Mission, the House Leader must have at least a 1-Star Worldwide Fame, and all the House Members should have Domain-Wide Fame in the Abyss of Wandering Souls!
-Status: Incomplete
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-Time: 10 Years
—
-Punishment: End of the Abyss Mission Series (For Everyone) and expulsion from Abyss of Wandering Souls. Your (Just for Eva) progress within the Abyss of Wandering Souls, which includes your house rank, thief rank, house points, and house shop, will be reset!
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-Reward(s):
-1. 25,000,000 House Points (For Everyone, including Ace) Unlocking of the Next Mission in Abyss Mission Series
???. Additional rewards depend on the final evaluations of the House Members/House Leader’s performance!
—
-First Mission Hint is available for purchase
-Cost: 10,000,000 House Points
-Time: 199H:59M:59S
[NOTE: The Mission Hint will disappear forever if not purchased during the given time!]
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Ace was startled when he saw the available hint up for purchase. He nearly forgot about this unique feature of the Abyss Mission Series, and the system had already announced that it would be available after completing certain conditions.
Furthermore, since this is the Abyss Route, the moment he entered the Abyss of Wandering Souls, he can now buy the first hint.
However, before he could use this option, he was distracted by the three charming devils and their powerful foreign spiritual pressures.
His first thought was that he had teleported in the middle of the enemy’s territory, but when he saw their faces, it didn’t take long for him to realize who they were. Furthermore, he was supposed to be teleported right where Eva had been, so he instantly connected the dots.
Although those three spiritual pressures were quite powerful and also slightly different from the spiritual pressure of the Heavenly Beings, they were still only Abyssal Grand Generals akin to Ascension Grand Generals of the Mortal Ascension Heaven.
But Ace was an Ascension Master akin to an Abyssal Master of the Abyss of Wandering Souls.
If it were any Heavenly Being, they would’ve been completely oppressed by the Abyss, and even their cultivation would start to corrupt under the Abyssal Spirit Qi, but it was completely opposite for Ace.
The Abyssal Spirit Qi gave Ace a feeling of familiarity like a fish returning to water because the Abyssal Spirit Qi was filled with laws of Darkness, and it seemed extremely beneficial for someone like him who had the Order of Darkness.
In fact, Ace could feel his cultivation seemed to be rising on its own at a ridiculous speed as he breathed in Abyssal Spirit Qi.
“You three are…the Elven Crown Princess Livia, the Golden Lion Princess Riana, and the Imperial Princess of the Skylar Clan, Sofia, right?!” He exclaimed with a hint of astonishment.
Ace was astounded because the three in front of him were clearly Livia, Riana, and Sofia from the Mortal Sky Heaven. He had personally captured them and then handed them over to Eva so that they could be her maids. After she joined the Thief House, they became her Thief Acolytes.
But they weren’t Abyssal Devils when he ’recruited’ them. Livia was a Wise Elf, Riana was a human, while Sofia was a Skylar Giant. Yet, now they were pure blooded Abyssal Devils, one of the three pinnacle races of the Abyss of Wandering Souls.
Ace had no idea what Eva had been doing in the Abyss of Wandering Souls all this time, but after seeing those three familiar yet foreign women, he knew Eva was thriving here.
On the other hand, when the three women heard Ace mention their names and backgrounds, they were startled, their eyes opening wide with sheer horror and shock.
Because, other than Eva, no one knows their true names, much less their actual origins. Moreover, they all have their ’Thief Names’ and ’Abyss Names’, they never used their actual identities even Eva was the same.
The reason was straightforward; it was because in the Abyss of Wandering Souls, those Heavenly Beings who could resist the corruption of the Abyssal Spirit Qi were akin to a rare tonic.
On the other hand, races like Humans, Elves, Dwarfs, Magic Beasts, and such can’t live in this place without getting corrupted by the Abyssal Spirit Qi and then transformed into mindless Abyssal Beings or even Wandering Souls.
When these three were first exposed to the environment of the Abyss of Wandering Souls because of Eva’s carelessness, they nearly went mad because they were too weak and didn’t belong there.
But out of everyone’s expectations, the Heavenly Devil Soul Flag used one of its profound abilities and helped these three transformed into Abyssal Devils! Even Eva was shocked by this ability.
Furthermore, they weren’t completely safe because Eva’s identity as the Void Abyssal Devil, who had yet to mature, were enough for her to become the target of the entire Abyss of Wandering Souls, but Flaggy was also able to masked her origin and made her appeared as the royalty among the Abyssal Devils.
That’s why they were all able to operate within the Abyss of Wandering Souls smoothly and openly. One can say the Heavenly Devil Soul Flag was the key to their success despite its weakened state.
Lastly, after Eva increased her House Rank, she made them her Thief Acolytes. Then they began cultivating the techniques in the system shop, and they also discovered that the natural oppression of the Abyssal Spirit Qi, as well as the corrupted Abyssal Spirit Qi, had no effect on them.
At this point, they were all completely aware of Eva’s true origin and had a better understanding of the Thief House.
Even Livia, who was under the impression that Eva was the ’Sky Stealer,’ now knew that she was actually the Sky Stealer’s cherished Wife. In comparison, Riana and Sofia had even come in contact with the Sky Stealer.
Now this mysterious man knew their real identities, so they all quickly guessed who he was, and Livia’s eyes almost burned a hole into Ace’s hood as her heart raced wildly.
“W-who are you!?” Sofia was the one who asked this question, her voice laced with a hint of hatred and complex emotions, as she knew she was in her current situation because of ’that’ man.
Although she hated him for making a regal princess like her a lowly maid, she was also afraid and even grateful to him for giving him this life-changing chance. Riana also feels almost the same.
Ace couldn’t help but sigh with a hint of melancholy as he looked at those three; they represent two different phases of his journey, and Livia was also one of the survivors of the Golden Sky World.
“I am…”
