"The first option is giving up on the Death Cane. I know you guys want that artifact badly, but three other groups with big backgrounds are also looking for the same artifact. Bishop Piers must have already foreseen your plan using divination and might have already prepared a perfect trap. Once we walk into that trap blindly, he will kill us all using the perfect moment." Upon hearing Abium's words, Edith and Rizz became shocked.
Soon, Edith blurted out,
"You mean he already knows that we are still alive?"
"What? You thought you could fool his divination spell just by faking your deaths? Although Light God's servants lost some of their abilities due to seals, many diviners still exist. You are just dancing on his palm all along. I know Bishop Piers's character. He is a cunning bastard." Abium said while shaking his head. Although he hadn't met him in the past, he had heard of his high-level scheming plans.
'I also feel something was off about that Red python organization. That demon Susur is indeed a big problem.' Abium frowned deeply. As he was in deep thought, Umi turned her head and asked,
"What about the second option?" Her words made others wake up from the shock.
Abium arched his lips upward as he heard her question and spoke with a sly smile,
"We won't wait for him to make a perfect moment to trap us. We will take that moment and make it perfect. In the end, the brighter one will get that Death Cane while the losers will all die."
'We will take that moment and make it perfect for us... Interesting.'
Everyone's eyes lit up.
"But before we move to the fifth layer, I need to meet an acquaintance. Wait here for a few hours." Abium said those words and disappeared even before others could speak a word.
"What is he plotting? He seems to be not a trustworthy guy." Edith couldn't hold back her dissatisfaction and muttered out loud.
"I'm also feeling the same." Rizz also said with a confused face. He couldn't understand why his wife put more trust in the sneaky elf.
Noticing their displeased faces, Fennelis coldly snorted.
"He saved both of our lives multiple times. I agree that kid is indeed a liar and sometimes hides much information from us. But what about you guys? Are you guys all saints who never said any lies? Rizz, don't think I don't know anything about your secret affair with Lux. As for your Highness, aren't you and your family hiding one important piece of information about the Moon Goddess's crown from all of us?" Fennelis said with a glare.
Upon hearing her words, Rizz got shocked at first and almost began to step back in panic.
'How did she find out about Lux?' He began to sweat all over. He couldn't be able to figure out the truth!
Meanwhile, Edith's face went deadly pale. Her whole body trembled as she stared at Fennelis like some monster.
"H-How did you know about the Moon Crown, Lady Fennelis?" She asked with a stutter.
"You should go and talk to a healer and find a solution for your sleep-talking habit. One of the Castle maids overheard your panicking shout one night and learned about this news. Almost all of them working in your castle knew about this matter. Everyone is keeping their mouth sealed because they know leaking this news would bring catastrophe to their family. No, it will bring disaster to our whole Empire." Fennelis said without minding Edith's dumbfounded look and turned her gaze towards Rizz.
"Darling, we need to talk for a minute privately." She said while emitting a chilling aura and pointing her finger at the almost ruined temple.
For a moment, everyone began to feel sorry for Rizz.
...
After twelve hours, Abium reappeared at the Dark god temple entrance and soon froze as he saw the pale-faced Rizz standing at the temple's exit gate.
His face was utterly swollen, and there were bruises all over his body. Meanwhile, others stood a few meters away from him and glanced cautiously at Fennelis from time to time.
'Did Lady Fennelis beat him up?' Abium became speechless.
'I feel sorry for you, man. I don't want to involve myself in their family matter.' Shaking his head, he moved toward others and signaled them to get ready.
Meanwhile, everyone nodded their head in response and soon gathered near him.
"Let's go to the next layer quickly," Abium said and locked his gaze at the grey-colored barren lands. He knew dangers were lurking in the second layer and thought moving toward the fifth layer was a good idea. They soon began to move in a group and spent their next two weeks searching for the path to the next layer.
At the end of the second week, they finally found another cavern-like structure leading to the underground. They walked into the maze-like tunnel without delay and went to the third layer. Abium knew the chance of meeting other groups inside the dungeon was slim, but he remained vigilant.
Each layer was vast and had many cave-like structures leading to the next layer.
'Dangers will also increase as we move to the next layer.' Abium thought to himself and let out a deep sigh. If not for Azolla's scan function, their group would have already lost one or two people due to different dark creatures' ambushes. Thankfully, her scan function did its job perfectly. They also saw many abandoned houses and buildings from time to time and got more curious about the origin of dungeons.
'It appears this dungeon lands were occupied by normal peoples long ago. Is this land also once belonging to some divine kingdom?' A strange thought appeared inside his mind.
'Well, I will find out the truth in the future.' He muttered inwardly and turned his attention towards the current situation.
After walking for five hours, the group reached the other end and arrived at the third layer. Instead of darkness filled with red light, they saw bright sunlight in the third layer.
Yes! Sun shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the whole layer brightly. As they stepped out of the cave-like tunnel, a rare beautiful image presented to their eyes. Multiple mushrooms around two to five meters tall covered the whole layer, making the layer look more like a garden of gods.
Although a few peach trees appeared here and there, they appeared like boats in the sea. There were different colors of mushrooms, along with spores dancing all over the place. Moreover, some mushrooms had weird hands and even walked like normal animals.
But Abium saw some worms attached to those mushrooms and grew more cautious.
'We need to be more careful of these mushrooms.' Abium muttered to himself and gestured them to follow after him. Without alerting the walking mushrooms, their group chose a random direction and went ahead.
But to their surprise, they found another cave-like structure that leads to the next layer only after walking for an hour. Their group walked into the cave without hesitation and moved toward the fourth layer.
The fourth layer was similar to the third one. But instead of mushrooms, numerous types of green trees, vines, and plants were covered all over the place. Abium and others quietly stood at the entrance while admiring the beauty of the natural scenario and felt a sense of relaxation.
"This place looks so peaceful!" Kate muttered out loud and looked at the sole Sun above her head. The bright sunlight reflected on those green leaves, giving a warm feeling to her heart.
But before she could feel the warmth of the Sun, a strange green shadow dashed towards her direction from the nearby bush and threw a dart at her. As a skilled thief, Kate's perception was greater. So, she quickly ducked her head and evaded the dart skilfully. A second later, the dart quickly stabbed into the nearby tree and instantly corroded it.
'What the heck?! Goblin?' She became startled and quickly gripped her dagger tighter.