Chapter 676 Monsters and Babysitting

"So a s.p.a.ce Mage, a wannabe Empress, a Fairy, a Warlock, and Delia's sister will be my enemies aside from Alina? Hm, now this is interesting…"

From what he had read, Alex could see that his opponents are of high-caliber, and making one wrong move against them will be detrimental to him.

In fact, all the hasty plans that Alex had cooked up earlier were now forcefully dumped by him, as he realized that against his Traveler opponents, his plans are still inadequate.

"In terms of power alone, some of my Traveler opponents are either equal or slightly weaker than my former group. That makes the compet.i.tion between all of us somewhat equal, but since I have been temporarily separated from my allies, it will be hard for me to actually win against them head-on."

If Alina and his other companions were still on his side today, Alex is confident that he can win against any opponent, and he was even sure that he can finish the Main Mission in around 1 Year.

But as what had happened days ago, Alex is currently alone, and the only aid that he had with him was the one given by the Abyss Temple.

An aid, which if Alex could have rejected, he would have already done so.

"As much as I liked the power given to me by my semi-corrupted state, I do not have any interest on becoming a fully corrupted Abyss Monster. But times are tight these days, so I have no choice but to cooperate with the Abyss Temple."

"Tsk, I just hope that by the end of this Main Mission, I will still be sane and able to think for myself. Ending up as a manic, bloodthirsty monstrosity will never be on my list, and I will do everything that I can in order to avoid that…."

Another angry growl indicated Alex's frustration about his situation, but he did not pursue thinking about his current status anymore.

He instead focused on the task that he deemed to be important right now, which is of course spying on his former ally.

"Alina, Alina, Alina. Since you did not invite me for your Welcoming Ceremony, I guess I just have to watch it from the sidelines… Sigh, this is making me p.i.s.sed, but fret not my lovely lady. Sooner than later, you will be by my side again, and once that time comes, I can watch you all the time that I want…"

With his voice filled with a foreboding sense of possessiveness, the black-clad Alex let out a small laugh as he stared at his right side, a direction which coincided with the place where the Welcoming Ceremony for Alina was about to happen.

His beady eyes then narrowed as he chuckled derisively, filling the whole room with his hoa.r.s.e and horrific-sounding voice.

"Alina, ALina, Alina. I hope you are being fed well there in the Church of Wisdom. I know of your appet.i.te, and I know how irritated you can be if you don't eat that much…. Well, if they don't feed you enough, I will just have to take you and give you all the food that you want! Hehehe, I am your lover after all, so feeding you is my basic task…"

The current Alex seems to be pleased to just watch the Welcoming Ceremony from his spot, and he showed no interest on moving at all.

He just laughed and whispered to himself as he kept his eyes focused on the event, making him look like a creepy statue that became alive.

"Alina, Alina, Alina. We only had intercourse 3 times, which is not enough for me! I am a h.o.r.n.y young man, so we should be hitting the sack every night!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… I swear once I get you back here with me, I will make you pump all my 'love juice'! Hehehe, and if you can't take my 'love' anymore, that lesbian tree and that as.e.xual professor can serve me too…."

"Hehehe, hehehe, hehehe… d̵̲̏͆l̶̦̪̭͊̌̍ḟ̷͙͚̹̑͝ j̷͚̫̲́̚a̸̧͙̰̓ͅs̵̹̙̐̌ ḽ̶̾̒͒͑͜k̴͎̯͐͋̚ f̵̫̬͋͌͝͠m̷̘̈̀o̶̩͎̯͓̽̄͘ȉ̴̺ ẁ̸̬̞͑e̵͉͑͂̾͊l̵̰̈́ n̶̺̼̞̼̏c̷̰̟̒l̶͈̖͌̈́͊͠ s̸̪̽̅ḁ̶̧͙̗̿̍̕͝d̶̛̳̲̜͌̚ k̵̹̀̓l̴̗̀̔̕k̶͓̞̘̓̓͘̚͜ d̶̥͇̪̀s̴̮͋̍͌̚a̷̛̮͈͉͎͛͑̈m̴̝̂̿ c̶̝̘̆l̷̪̞̑̔́͝k̴͕̃̓̇ͅ ş̷̡̦͓͝d̷̗͗͋ă̸̰̪͇̖͊͆m̴̰̏̃ s̸̟̟͎͉͆͋̓d̷̹̔͑̓m̷͈̱̈́̉͠ c̵͓͎̹̺̊͆,̷̬͔̳͓͊̃̿̃s̵̞̦̈̆͊ a̶̳̓͐ḑ̷̻͉͊̂̒͜͝m̵̻͎͙͑̓̀ c̵̨̣̬̦̐͌̏k̵̛̞̂s̶̛̛̤̭̲ a̶͕͠ͅd̸̬̬͔̍,̷͖̉̋̈͒m̸̼̏̌͘ c̶̢̘̔́͂d̶͎͔͊̒͋…."

***************

Behind Alex, 7 silhouettes of horrific-looking monsters slowly materialized, all who wore looks of excitement as Alex continued to talk to himself.

Each of this silhouette looked just as terrifying as Alex, and the jeers and the clicking sound that they released did not help matters either.

̷̢̙̤͖̙̾̾̓'̷̳̦̟̉͑̈(̷͇̲̪̆͗)̴̰̩͋̍͐̿̂#̵̢̜̟̼̩̈́̈́ *̵̤́͘$̷͈̉͌̆͒)̷̡̀̅̔̾͝ (̷̳̦͖͗̿̆͠#̵̡͇̈̿̀ͅ'̷͇̳̤̞̉̄̒

̴̧̥̪̞̓͆(̴̮̝̽̇̐̔̅8̶̢̩̟̮̱́͐͠͝4̵̳͊͂ 9̸͕͚͈̆3̶̪̥̳̮͋̔͊͆͝ 8̴͈̥̣̻̞͛4̴̛͈͓̬̏̀̂͗ͅ 3̶̹͉͎̤̕̕

̵͇͚͇͋̀̚̚

̶͕̹̳̖̖̄̄̕)̶͓͇͙͍̈̓̀̍(̷̯̩̿̆̑͘͠#̵̢̐͂́̓͘ͅ*̶̩̇̐̎̈́̇9̵̧͔͌0̶̞̆̌͒ 3̷͍̹̼͙̊8̵̨̩̯̈͗̽̾4̶̡̫̥͉̔ 0̵̭̞̦̅͝3̶̠̹͖͇̝̉

̵̦͗͝

̴̮̦̙̦̗͌3̵͚̬͍̋ 8̴̘̣̓4̷̢̱̺̼͋̆9̸̨̝̾̄͜3̷̣̘̓ 8̷̰̻̅̉̇̈́0̸̹͔̞̣͛̊͛̕͠9̸̻̰̪̮͐̽͝ 3̸͇̪̯̀̅2̴͔̪̪͔̥̓̄͐̈͠8̷͓̺͈̙̱̍͋̉̀͘ 4̷̪͕͇̗͂͊̔

The appearance of these monsters and their horrifying noises will be enough to terrify even the minions under the Abyss Temple, and some might even pa.s.s out in sheer fear.

But if Alina were to see these monsters, what she will feel was not fear, but only sadness. Sadness, which she only reserved to those that really deserved it.

She might also feel pity for the monsters, with her anger at Alex most likely to increase again.

Why would Alina have this kind of reaction for these hideous beings? The reason for that is simple.

These 7 monsters were actually the Abyss Sprites, the 7 cute pixie-like beings that accompanied Alex since the start of his stint as an Abyss Magician!

[Pride]: o̶̳̻͑i̷̬̜̗̒̇̔ú̴͕̠̊͜ k̶͕̽̋̓j̸͍̥̯̹̉̋̔l̷͈̬̪̔̌ k̴̢̗̣̥͂̍̉j̵͚̬̯̖̐͠ĺ̵̢̤̅

[Gluttony]: m̷̧̛͎̠̌̊͂c̶̢̤͈̀̅̑̾ͅn̷̤̊̋̓a̸̰̝̾m̴̡̲̼̯̃̔,̶̘̦̒x̶̠̩̞͋ͅn̸̮͋̋͐c̶͈̹̟̥̆̿

[Wrath]:w̴͕̏q̶̞̮̗̉́́̀d̶̼̈́ f̶̰̪̈́͆̚f̵̪͆̍͌͑ͅf̵̯͈̈ ć̷̥̺̰̆̎ͅv̵̢̬̘̱̊̈͝ę̴̨͍͛̃͝ v̶̺͔̿q̶̭̮̂ w̴̡̺̲̍̆͋

[Sloth]:p̷̮̉̀͐o̶͙̖̲͓͆ȉ̴͎͙̇͠ l̸̠͑̕ḵ̸̣̟̭̎p̵͉͖̣̳̌̐̅p̸̼̤̏

[Envy]:z̶͕̝͕̘̓ç̶̆͝x̴̢̳́͝ z̶̫̩̈́͂̀̇v̵͉̂̈́̑c̴͙̣͖͗̊͐x̶̞̬̙̬̓͝

[l.u.s.t]:3̸̤̌̀͠2̷͙͈̄͒4̷̝̗̀́̀̓ 2̵̛͓̉̽̀3̴̠̤̈̓̀5̷̧͕̙͖̉̆̊̂ 3̵͉̐͒͛2̶̙͈̣̮̒

[Greed]:ḿ̶̡͉̤̭̓̑n̶͍̲̠͂̂o̴̧̞̭͂̄̄ s̴͉͚͔̩̉̄o̸̫̠͕͌͠i̶̢̡̱̝̋̅̏s̸̢̉̉̅ a̸̧̡̛͙̒̓ḑ̷̣̹̻̌̀̊j̸̨̠̪͋͌ k̵̹͈̦͋͗̊̇f̸̛͚̓͊͂ȃ̸̩̰̅

Even if these horrific monsters did not look like their former cute versions, it was obvious from their mannerisms and their att.i.tude that they were the Abyss Sprites that a.s.sisted Alex all throughout his journey.

Sloth still retained a sleep and lethargic att.i.tude, as his bloated and pus-filled balloon body was currently laying down on the floor. Wrath still looked like his angry self, and the way that the spikes and spurs from his barbed-wired skinny body stiffened with his every growl made that more obvious.

The other Sprites displayed the same traits, so it will not be really hard for Alina to identify them.

Pride]: o̶̳̻͑i̷̬̜̗̒̇̔ú̴͕̠̊͜k̶͕̽̋̓j̸͍̥̯̹̉̋̔ l̷͈̬̪̔̌k̴̢̗̣̥͂̍̉j̵͚̬̯̖̐͠ĺ̵̢̤̅

[Gluttony]: m̷̧̛͎̠̌̊͂c̶̢̤͈̀̅̑̾ͅn̷̤̊̋̓ a̸̰̝̾m̴̡̲̼̯̃̔,̶̘̦̒x̶̠̩̞͋ͅn̸̮͋̋͐c̶͈̹̟̥̆̿

[Wrath]:w̴͕̏q̶̞̮̗̉́́̀d̶̼̈́f̶̰̪̈́͆̚ f̵̪͆̍͌͑ͅf̵̯͈̈ć̷̥̺̰̆̎ͅv̵̢̬̘̱̊̈͝ ę̴̨͍͛̃͝v̶̺͔̿q̶̭̮̂w̴̡̺̲̍̆͋

[Sloth]:p̷̮̉̀͐o̶͙̖̲͓͆ȉ̴͎͙̇͠l̸̠͑̕ḵ̸̣̟̭̎ p̵͉͖̣̳̌̐̅p̸̼̤̏

[Envy]:z̶͕̝͕̘̓ç̶̆͝ x̴̢̳́͝z̶̫̩̈́͂̀̇v̵͉̂̈́̑c̴͙̣͖͗̊͐x̶̞̬̙̬̓͝

[l.u.s.t]:3̸̤̌̀͠2̷͙͈̄͒4̷̝̗̀́̀̓ 2̵̛͓̉̽̀3̴̠̤̈̓̀5̷̧͕̙͖̉̆̊̂3̵͉̐͒͛2̶̙͈̣̮̒

[Greed]:ḿ̶̡͉̤̭̓̑n̶͍̲̠͂̂o̴̧̞̭͂̄̄s̴͉͚͔̩̉̄ o̸̫̠͕͌͠i̶̢̡̱̝̋̅̏s̸̢̉̉̅a̸̧̡̛͙̒̓ḑ̷̣̹̻̌̀̊j̸̨̠̪͋͌k̵̹͈̦͋͗̊̇f̸̛͚̓͊͂ȃ̸̩̰̅

att.i.tudes and mannerism were similar to the Abyss Sprites, these 7 horrific monsters did not show the innocence or naivety that their former cute forms had.

These monsters were just as savage and merciless as Alex, and they looked like they were willing to do much more than torment anyone if they were given a chance.

These monsters… did not even greet or acknowledge Alex as their 'Big Brother. They only treated him as their scary and savage leader, one who will be just as interested on wreaking chaos with them.

Pride]: o̶̳̻͑i̷̬̜̗̒̇̔ú̴͕̠̊͜k̶͕̽̋̓j̸͍̥̯̹̉̋̔l̷͈̬̪̔̌k̴̢̗̣̥͂̍̉j̵͚̬̯̖̐͠ĺ̵̢̤̅

[Gluttony]: m̷̧̛͎̠̌̊͂c̶̢̤͈̀̅̑̾ͅn̷̤̊̋̓a̸̰̝̾m̴̡̲̼̯̃̔,̶̘̦̒x̶̠̩̞͋ͅn̸̮͋̋͐c̶͈̹̟̥̆̿

[Wrath]:w̴͕̏q̶̞̮̗̉́́̀d̶̼̈́f̶̰̪̈́͆̚f̵̪͆̍͌͑ͅf̵̯͈̈ć̷̥̺̰̆̎ͅv̵̢̬̘̱̊̈͝ę̴̨͍͛̃͝v̶̺͔̿q̶̭̮̂w̴̡̺̲̍̆͋

[Sloth]:p̷̮̉̀͐o̶͙̖̲͓͆ȉ̴͎͙̇͠l̸̠͑̕ḵ̸̣̟̭̎p̵͉͖̣̳̌̐̅p̸̼̤̏

[Envy]:z̶͕̝͕̘̓ç̶̆͝x̴̢̳́͝z̶̫̩̈́͂̀̇v̵͉̂̈́̑c̴͙̣͖͗̊͐x̶̞̬̙̬̓͝

[l.u.s.t]:3̸̤̌̀͠2̷͙͈̄͒4̷̝̗̀́̀̓2̵̛͓̉̽̀3̴̠̤̈̓̀5̷̧͕̙͖̉̆̊̂3̵͉̐͒͛2̶̙͈̣̮̒

[Greed]:ḿ̶̡͉̤̭̓̑n̶͍̲̠͂̂o̴̧̞̭͂̄̄s̴͉͚͔̩̉̄o̸̫̠͕͌͠i̶̢̡̱̝̋̅̏s̸̢̉̉̅a̸̧̡̛͙̒̓ḑ̷̣̹̻̌̀̊j̸̨̠̪͋͌k̵̹͈̦͋͗̊̇f̸̛͚̓͊͂ȃ̸̩̰̅

**********************

Once these monsters appeared behind him, Alex did not give them a glance or even a nod of acknowledgement. Instead, he gave them a light growl, one that forced the 7 to stop approaching him.

"Wrath, l.u.s.t, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Gluttony and Pride. I called you today not to play with me or to torture our enemies. I called you to perform tasks for me, so stop acting like stupid dogs, ok?" Alex said, with his tone showing no signs of even affection for the monsters.

He even sounded bored at this point, something that the monsters detected but did not dare to point out.

"l.u.s.t and Envy. With your powers enhanced by this place, you two should be powerful enough to infiltrate the area of the Welcoming Ceremony. Because of that, I am giving you two the task of infiltrating that place. Once you were there, just stay still and wait for my further instructions."

"Gluttony and Greed. I want you two to stay here in the Abyss Temple. But don't think that you won't be doing any s**t. Just wait for my instructions later."

"Wrath and Pride. Once I am done giving out my instructions, I want you two to rush towards the Welcoming Ceremony, with all of your aura and hostile intent released. Make yourselves obvious once you start attacking, and make sure that all of the attention of those people will be on you two."

"You can even kill those who tries to attack you at that time, but don't kill those who will just be watching you."

"As for you Sloth… you will be accompanying me. What you will do next will depend on how the situation unfolds, so stay sharp and focused."

"….."

Pride]: fsado̶̳̻͑i̷̬̜̗̒̇̔ú̴͕̠̊͜k̶͕̽̋̓sdfj̸͍̥̯̹̉̋̔l̷͈̬̪̔̌k̴̢̗̣̥͂̍̉j̵͚̬̯̖̐͠ĺ̵̢̤̅

[Gluttony]: m̷̧̛͎̠̌̊͂c̶̢̤͈̀̅̑̾ͅn̷̤̊̋̓a̸̰̝̾ m̴̡̲̼̯̃̔,̶̘̦̒x̶̠̩̞͋ͅn̸̮͋̋͐c̶͈̹̟̥̆̿

[Wrath]:w̴͕̏q̶̞̮̗̉́́̀d̶̼̈́f̶̰̪̈́͆̚ f̵̪͆̍͌͑ͅf̵̯͈̈ć̷̥̺̰̆̎ͅ v̵̢̬̘̱̊̈͝ę̴̨͍͛̃͝v̶̺͔̿q̶̭̮̂w̴̡̺̲̍̆͋

[Sloth]:p̷̮̉̀͐o̶͙̖̲͓͆ȉ̴͎͙̇͠l̸̠͑̕ḵ̸̣̟̭̎ p̵͉͖̣̳̌̐̅p̸̼̤̏

[Envy]:z̶͕̝͕̘̓ç̶̆͝x̴̢̳́͝ z̶̫̩̈́͂̀̇v̵͉̂̈́̑c̴͙̣͖͗̊͐x̶̞̬̙̬̓͝

[l.u.s.t]:3̸̤̌̀͠2̷͙͈̄͒4̷̝̗̀́̀̓2̵̛͓̉̽̀3̴̠̤̈̓̀ 5̷̧͕̙͖̉̆̊̂3̵͉̐͒͛2̶̙͈̣̮̒

[Greed]:ḿ̶̡͉̤̭̓̑n̶͍̲̠͂̂o̴̧̞̭͂̄̄ s̴͉͚͔̩̉̄o̸̫̠͕͌͠i̶̢̡̱̝̋̅̏s̸̢̉̉̅ a̸̧̡̛͙̒̓ḑ̷̣̹̻̌̀̊j̸̨̠̪͋͌k̵̹͈̦͋͗̊̇f̸̛͚̓͊͂ȃ̸̩̰̅

"Do you all understand that?"

Pride]: o̶̳̻͑i̷̬̜̗̒̇̔ú̴͕̠̊͜ k̶͕̽̋̓j̸͍̥̯̹̉̋̔ l̷͈̬̪̔̌k̴̢̗̣̥͂̍̉j̵͚̬̯̖̐͠ĺ̵̢̤̅

[Gluttony]: m̷̧̛͎̠̌̊͂c̶̢̤͈̀̅̑̾ͅn̷̤̊̋̓a̸̰̝̾m̴̡̲̼̯̃̔,̶̘̦̒x̶̠̩̞͋ͅn̸̮͋̋͐c̶͈̹̟̥̆̿

[Wrath]:w̴͕̏q̶̞̮̗̉́́̀ d̶̼̈́f̶̰̪̈́͆̚f̵̪͆̍͌͑ͅf̵̯͈̈ ć̷̥̺̰̆̎ͅv̵̢̬̘̱̊̈͝ę̴̨͍͛̃͝v̶̺͔̿q̶̭̮̂w̴̡̺̲̍̆͋

[Sloth]:p̷̮̉̀͐o̶͙̖̲͓͆ȉ̴͎͙̇͠ l̸̠͑̕ḵ̸̣̟̭̎ p̵͉͖̣̳̌̐̅p̸̼̤̏

[Envy]:z̶͕̝͕̘̓ç̶̆͝x̴̢̳́͝z̶̫̩̈́͂̀̇v̵͉̂̈́̑c̴͙̣͖͗̊͐x̶̞̬̙̬̓͝

[l.u.s.t]:3̸̤̌̀͠2̷͙͈̄͒4̷̝̗̀́̀̓2̵̛͓̉̽̀3̴̠̤̈̓̀5̷̧͕̙͖̉̆̊̂3̵͉̐͒͛2̶̙͈̣̮̒

[Greed]:ḿ̶̡͉̤̭̓̑n̶͍̲̠͂̂o̴̧̞̭͂̄̄s̴͉͚͔̩̉̄o̸̫̠͕͌͠i̶̢̡̱̝̋̅̏s̸̢̉̉̅a̸̧̡̛͙̒̓ḑ̷̣̹̻̌̀̊j̸̨̠̪͋͌k̵̹͈̦͋͗̊̇f̸̛͚̓͊͂ȃ̸̩̰̅

"Good, good, good. So you 7 can still understand my words… That means that you're not yet fully corrupted by the Abyss too…"

[Sloth]: ???

Once he had finished saying his piece, Alex resumed his 'staring activity'. He ignored the existence of the monsters, and he did not pay heed to any of their comments.

But as minutes pa.s.sed by, Alex found himself unable to ignore these monsters anymore, as they continued to stay behind him.

They did not do much except to release toxic fumes from their skin, something that only ticked Alex more.

"Oi, what the h.e.l.l are you still doing here? Did I ask you to stay here, huh?

[Pride]: !!!

"F**king h.e.l.l, I just gave you your tasks, so go do it already! Come on, go to where you have to go! Do you even need me to force you to move?"

[Pride]: !!!

[Gluttony]: !!!

[Wrath]: !!!

[Sloth]: !!!

[Envy]: !!!

[l.u.s.t]: !!!

[Greed]: !!!

[Wrath]: !!!

To Alex's irritation, he realized that even if his former Abyss Sprites were not fully corrupted by the Abyss, they were still in a sense, had their intelligence reduced.

This level of reduction did not affect the power and lethality of these monsters, but in terms of executing a plan, these monsters could be a huge liability for him.

"Tsk, you little monsters! You were so useful when you were still cute, and now you acting like you're some dumb dogs? Come on, get a grip and do what I told you to do!"

But as much as Alex wanted to just let these monsters be left behind, he has no choice but to use them.

After all, they were still his buddies, and out of all the creatures here in the Abyss temple, these 7 were the ones that he trusts the most…

"Oi, as long as you 7 do your job well, I might spare some time to play with you later. The better your actions today, the longer our playtime would be! So if you want to stay with me for longer later, just be efficient!"