Chapter 1730 - 1023: Manus’s Giant Hand (Part 2)

That gaze definitely belonged to an Abyss Monster, and not just any ordinary creature.

Just thinking about those eyes made his body instinctively shiver with fear.

"What in the world happened here."

Tami furrowed his brows, with no companions around, everyone was nowhere to be found, this made him feel an emotion he hadn’t felt for a long time— fear.

He looked around for quite a while, then climbed onto a giant tree, which allowed him to see what he wanted to see.

"That must be Ulashiro."

His gaze passed over the Royal Garden, finally focusing on a city with a special style, which from his direction appeared peaceful and tranquil.

However, just thinking about what actually happened in that city in the past prevented him from feeling even a bit of serenity, he only felt that great Horror was lurking inside.

"I’ve never seen the real Ulashiro in the Painting World, right, the fortress where Artorias is located..."

Tami searched for familiar buildings, and he indeed found them, seeing the place instantly made his jaw drop.

"No way, blocked over there?"

He found the building where Abyss Wanderer Artorias refreshes among Wolf Knights in the Painting World, and its appearance was quite intriguing.

Blocking the only path between the Royal Garden and Urasil City!

Aside from this road, all other places were completely collapsed into deep pits, which were not very noticeable from his position, but clearly something black was wriggling inside those pits... could it be the Abyss? Then a shortcut can’t be taken lightly.

"..."

Tami paused for a moment, then immediately searched sharply for the figures of his companions.

Partners, he needed partners right now, even a residual shadow would do!

"I don’t want to fight Artorias alone!"

Until now, with two King’s Souls in his possession, he still couldn’t defeat Artorias in the Painting World.

There hadn’t been any news of anyone achieving the first kill of Artorias, the hype around the Wolf Knight gradually faded, people who remembered him couldn’t defeat him, those who might win didn’t focus on him, causing quite an awkward situation.

By no means would he face Artorias alone, absolutely not!

"Where’s Maru, where’s Chaos, where did everyone go."

Here, he couldn’t see predecessors nor successors, the only living creatures he saw were some tree-men and stone Guardians active in the Garden. These two were quite familiar Monsters too, easily found in the Black Forest Courtyard.

Suddenly, Tami had a quirky thought— could this place be the future Black Forest Courtyard?

From his current position, moving forward leads to Ulashiro, but what if he goes backward?

He turned around and saw a mountain and giant trees, but indeed he found a hidden path at the mountain’s foot, it was obvious it was walkable.

Should he move forward and face Artorias, or backward to explore the secrets within the depths of the mountain?

Before he could make any decision, a voice suddenly appeared in his mind.

[Please proceed to the Spirit Temple, rescuer of the Princess]

"Huh?"

After confirming that the voice in his head was not an illusion, Tami focused on the hidden path, finally following the guidance of the voice as he walked inside.

The tunnel within the mountain was filled with tree roots, the paths were rather narrow, but stepping out gave a sense of openness.

What appeared before him was the ruins of a temple, most of the building had collapsed and was covered in moss, yet there was a naturally harmonious taste in this lush green forest— an exceptional charm.

But in the next second, he had no time to appreciate the scenery, for opposite the temple stood an even more intact temple.

And this temple’s door was filled with white mist, commonly known as the Fog Gate.

Tami immediately turned to glance at the path he came from, relieved to see no Fog Gate had appeared there, thankful he didn’t accidentally walk into a boss fight.

So, where was the person who spoke in his mind just now? The voice sounded like a kind and gentle old grandmother, her words seemed to know the Dark Princess, there shouldn’t be any danger, right?

But where was she, could it be inside the Fog Gate?

Apart from the temple ruins, there were rows and rows of moss-covered humanoid statues, the artistic style was particularly unique, densely packed together, appearing devoutly praying towards the Spirit Temple.

[I’m here, I’m right here]

The voice appeared in his mind again, and this time Tami finally pinpointed the source— among the sculptures.

"Are you trapped inside the statue?" he exclaimed.

"I’m right in front of you."

Tami immediately followed the sound and looked over.

"A talking giant mushroom!?"

A mushroom taller than a normal person stood against the mountain wall amidst the sculptures, watching him with two round eyes.

The appearance was simply a mushroom dad without hands and feet, closely triggering Tami’s Big Tree Hole PTSD.

"Uh, who exactly are you?" he cautiously approached, "You won’t suddenly punch me to death, will you?"

The giant mushroom seemed to roll its eyes at him— though he couldn’t be sure, as the mushroom’s eyes were naturally white.

"I am the Guardian of the Spirit Temple— Elizabeth, also considered to be the nanny of the Dark Princess, currently forced by disaster to hide here as a plain mushroom."

"Mushroom..."

Tami felt that this mushroom named Elizabeth had a sense of humor.

"Let’s not talk about that now. Why did you call me here, where is the Dark Princess?"

"That’s the reason I called you over, you must be someone from a distant future, you have the scent of humanity, clearly not a bad person."

Elizabeth seemed quite talkative, saying:

"You must be one of the people who rescued the Dark Princess, that inexplicable aura as the Princess mentioned, and you arrived here without passing the Spirit Temple Holy Beast’s trials, truly mysterious."

"Thank you, I also want to thank you for saving the Dark Princess, but she isn’t here anymore."

"Wait, what—?" Tami suddenly felt a bad premonition.

"The Princess has already been seized by a terrifying entity from the Abyss, with that dark hand, so... can you once again rescue the Dark Princess?"

Tami.EXE not responding.

After a considerable moment, he said: "Do you mean, to go assault that massive hand’s owner?"

"Yes."

"Do you know its identity?"

"I do."

"Then say it!"

"I fear you might not go if I say."

Elizabeth shook her plump body, speaking in a serious tone but her appearance made being serious impossible:

"Master of the Abyss, Manus."

"..."

Tami took a deep breath, rubbed his temples, did various little actions, and finally slapped the mountain wall and exclaimed:

"Why did such a character more terrifying than the Demon King suddenly appear!"

He thought the strongest Abyss enemy he’d face would be the Four Kings of Little Longdu, but this guy named Manus, his title seemed a hundred times stronger than the Four Kings of Little Longdu.

The Abyss, with a master?

Elizabeth might have sensed his attitude, saying:

"Even if you care about the Dark Princess, this is our personal affair, I shamelessly ask you to come and save us once more..."

"No, you’ve misunderstood."

Tami waved his hand, wiping his face, instantly removing emotions like shock and fear, leaving only a noble and righteous expression, saying with a grandiose spirit:

"I will go, I will challenge the Master of the Abyss!"