Endless Journey: Infinite Realms 231 You know, I'm something of a code-breaker myself

As Alina saw Alex being hit head-on by the Abyss Monster, she could only look helplessly as she knew that it was too late for her to stop the Abyss Monster from doing anything to Alex.

A second passed by after this, and everyone in the battlefield had just realized what happened.

"!!!" All of them looked at Alex's direction with fear and pity on their eyes, as if they can already imagine Alex's body being torn to pieces by the Abyss Monster.

Even the Grand Symbolist, who did not make a move to stop the Abyss Monster earlier, had a frowning expression on his face, as if what the Abyss Monster did had caught him off guard.

"May your mind be in peace now." Some of the Symbolists murmured as they envisioned Alex's soul being accepted at the afterlife. "We hope that your life had been fulfillful…"

But contrary to the expectations of these Symbolists, their wish for him did not come true.

Nobody went to the afterlife, including Alex, as he could still be seen standing, perfectly alive and unscathed.

The terrifying Abyss Monster, which had tanked numerous powerful attacks earlier, was currently curled into a much smaller ball, with Alex cradling it on his arms.

Needless to say, everyone was unnerved and surprised with that they just saw.

"!!!" As everyone tried to process what had just happened, Alina, Queen Mother, and Professor Frances all approached Alex quickly while giving the Abyss Monster wary looks.

"Alex… you were not hurt at all, right?" Alina immediately asked Alex as she went near him without care for the Abyss Monster on his arms. "Did this... thing do something to you?"

"…I'm perfectly fine, Alina." Alex replied in a calm tone. "In fact, you could say that right now is one of the better days that I have."

"What… do you mean by that?" Alina asked Alex as she felt confused by Alex's answer. "Is that monster… not hostile anymore?"

"Yes, this monster is not hostile anymore." Alex replied as he nodded his head. "So, for everyone of you here, be rejoiced now. The 144th wave has ended, and that just means that the Fourth Calamity has finished!"

"…"

Instead of celebrating from Alex's announcement, nobody from the Symbolists made a move, as they only stared at Alex directly.

Alex did not look overwhelmed from the stares, as he spent his time looking at the Symbolist Army and at the Grand Symbolists along with the other Symbolist Officials.

With the incredulous expression on the Symbolists' faces, and the palpable suspicion around their bodies, it was quite obvious that they were also itching to hear Alex's explanation about what had just happened.

After all, the seemingly terrifying monster of the 144th wave had turned docile, and it actually happened at the presence of Alex!

Even if Alex and the Symbolists were allies, there was no way that they Symbolists will jet let this current matter go unexplained!

Right now, everyone on the battlefield was silent as they wanted to hear Alex's story!

"I know that you want an explanation from me, but for now, I cannot give you an answer yet." Alex replied to the Symbolists as his right hand wrapped itself reassuringly around Alina's. "We all need to take a rest first… so why don't we freshen up, especially now that we all stink?"

Before the Symbolists could give out their complaints, someone already beat them to it.

"Outsider, you have been a good ally for us, actually I can say that you are an ideal ally." The Grand Symbolist uttered out as his booming voice echoed across the field. "However, even with that kind of traits, there are still times where we cannot just let you do things your own way."

"Ho~ Are you telling me that one of those things is this one right now?" Alex replied with a neutral expression on his face as he raised the small Abyss Monster.

Veins started to appear on the Grand Symbolist's face, as if he was struggling to contain his irritation.

"I'm specifically talking about that thing." The Grand Symbolist said as his gave landed on the Abyss Monster. "Do you think just because if went docile now that we can already be contented? No, only when it is dead that we can be rest assured that the calamity is done!"

"Oh, so you plan on killing it then?"

"Hmph, it's better for that thing to be killed rather than for it to stay alive with you!" The Grand Symbolist angrily replied as his body started to swell. "Who knows, maybe you will use that monster for a nefarious scheme! By killing that monster now, there will be no problems that will rear upon our heads anymore!"

"…."

After the Grand Symbolist said these words, Alex immediately went quiet, as if he was unsure of what was to say.

The Grand Symbolist, realizing that he had cornered Alex, started to circulate his Mind Power as he decided to fight the Abyss Monster now.

A few more seconds passed by with Alex's silence, and the Grand Symbolist was ready to make his move.

Btu before the Grand Symbolist could start his attack, Alex suddenly started to talk, and the words that he said effectively stopped the Grand Symbolist on his tracks.

"Give me few minutes to explain things to my teammates. After that, I will kill this monster." Alex said as his eyes gazed at the Grand Symbolist. "Surely you can wait for that long, right?"

"….Are you sure that you are just going to talk?" The Grand Symbolist queried as his eyes narrowed in suspicion." You're not trying to delay time in order to escape?"

"Well, I-" Alex's reply was interrupted by another voice, which sounded somewhat dizzy.

"Father… I can vouch for his honesty." Astria, who still looked dizzy and sick from the smell, spoke up as she blearily looked at her father.

Her facemask was slightly ajar, allowing her to smell emotions from nearby people.

"I can smell that Alex is not buls****ing here." Astria said as she adjusted her seat on her wheelchair. "He had no plans on duping us, and he will never try that as long as we don't give him a reason to."

"Nice one, Astria." Alex muttered to Astria, which earned him a pinch from Alina. "Ow!"

"….Since you vouched for him, then I shall let this outsider do what he intends to do." The Grand Symbolist said as he relented under his daughter's explanation. "However, if I see that guy doing something undesirable, then I, the Grand Symbolist, along with the Symbolist army will do our best to eradicate him!"

"Boom!" As if to show agreement to the Grand Symbolist, the majority of the Symbolists flared up their Mind Power, covering the whole field with their intent to fight.

"…"

Alex, who saw the extremely wary reaction of the Symbolists, could only smile a little as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, at least you allowed my request." Alex said as he snapped his fingers, covering him, Alina, Queen Mother, and Professor Frances with a sound and light barrier, which came from his EM and Gravity Manipulation.

Astria was left outside of the barrier, and this wheel-chaired Symbolist could only let out a huff as she seemed to be bummed from being excluded.

As for [Asteria], she was nowhere to be found, and Alex seems to be not worried about that.

"…"

From a distance from Alex, the Grand Symbolist could be seen staring intently at Alex and his team, as he seemed to be trying to ascertain anything dangerous from their position right now.

"I dare you to make a single bad move outsider. I dare you." The Grand Symbolist thought to himself as he gritted his teeth. "Just give me an excuse to attack, and I will make sure you won't have a body left!"

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

INSIDE THE SOUND AND LIGHT BARRIER

As they safely isolated themselves, Alex started to let out a sigh as he placed the Abyss Monster towards the ground.

Alina, who was watching what Alex was doing, just stared at Alex as she waited for him to talk.

Professor Frances and Queen Mother were staring at Alex too, as they too were waiting for him to open his mouth.

"…" Alex, who could feel their stares, let out an amused sigh as he started to talk.

"Contrary to what you all think, this monster right here is not a weapon to eradicate this world." Alex said calmly. "It is something else."

"Then what is this monster for?" Alina replied as she glared at Alex. "Don't tell me it is just a gift?"

"That's the right answer." Alex said as he gave Alina an approving smile. "This Abyss Monster is a gift of the Abyss Plane to me!"

"!!!"

As his teammates processed what he just said, Alex ignored their reactions as he continued on talking.

"When this Abyss Monster went through the portal earlier, you saw the Abyss Energy flowing out from the portal, right?"

"Yes, we can see that Alex." Queen Mother replied with a deadpan expression on her face. "Just get on with your story."

"And you can see the way that it moved, right?" Alex once more asked as he looked at the three.

"Yes, yes, yes, WE can see the way that it moved, but what does it got to do here?" Professor Frances said with irritation. "As far as I know, the way that energy moved was just random!"

"It may seem random to you, but to me, who was attuned to Abyss Energy, the way that the Abyss Energy moved earlier was actually a coded message!" Alex almost shouted out as if he just solved a famous mystery.

"A coded message?"

"Yes, the Abyss Plane sent me a short message." Alex said as he rubbed his chin. "As for the message, it only goes as follows:"

[[[Champion of the Abyss, take this monster as the Abyss Plane's gift to you. Use it for your breakthrough. ]]]

"…That' the message given to you? That seems so short." Professor Frances said as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "And you are just going to believe that?"

"Well, I think that this is the blessing that I have been asking for from the Abyss Plane." Alex replied as he gave Professor Frances an unfazed look. "They must have accepted my communication request, and in return, they decided to give this monster to me as their blessing. It's pretty simple if you look at it that way."

"But still, it reeks of suspicion." Alina said as she glared at the Abyss Monster. "If the Abyss Plane wanted to give you a blessing, then why give you a powerful Abyss Monster? Couldn't they just give you enough Abyss Energy? Why send a member of the Abyss Plane as a material for your evolution? This Abyss Plane… it wants something else from you!"

"I can understand your suspicions Alina." Alex replied as he nodded his head. "And if my suspicions were right, I think I already know what the Abyss Plane wants from me."

"And what could that be, Alex?"

"Well…" Alex's voice trailed a little before he continued talking. "I think the Abyss Plane wants to make me stronger because the Abyss Plane wants me to do something that will benefit it!"

"???"

"Didn't you remember the start of the coded message?" Alex said as he tilted his head. "The message basically called me 'Champion of the Abyss'. If I were given that title, then it pretty much means that the Abyss Plane is intent on supporting me in exchange for its goal!"

"…" Alina and the others became silent after hearing Alex's statements, as they realized that he was actually making some sense here.

"Of course I'm still wary if the Abyss Plane really is sincere on supporting me." Alex said as he let out a sigh. "But whatever the reason the Abyss Plane had, whether it really wanted to support me or it just wanted to screw with me, there is still the fact that if gave me a gift, which coincidentally, will be of great help to me here…"

"Since you have been saying those words, it seems like you already have decided on what you should do now." Alina said as she stared at Alex. "So tell us Alex, what will you do with this Abyss Monster? Will you kill it, will you leave it alive, or will you return it to the Abyss Plane?"

Chapter end

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