Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 211 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

"Hmm? You're Wendy?"

The girl with the most beautiful eyes when she smiled leaned down with her hands behind her back, looking curiously at Wendy standing next to Roberts.

At that moment, Wendy, who was only 12 years old, looked up at the beautiful girl in front of her.

In her eyes, the girl was like a leaping flame, completely unlike her taciturn brother Roberts beside her; they didn't seem like people who could be together at all. She wasn't shy, but tilted her head and said hesitantly.

"...Betty, my sister?"

Upon hearing this, the girl couldn't help but laugh. Her eyes were incredibly beautiful when she smiled, and she affectionately pinched Wendy's still slightly chubby cheeks.

"What a good little rascal."

"Rice... vegetarian rice..."

The little girl, who was being cruelly tormented by the scheming woman, started to struggle and flailing her arms and legs, letting out pitiful cries like a small animal, trying to ask her "brother" for help. But her brother, who had always been very protective of her, lowered his head for the first time and pretended not to hear anything.

Feeling betrayed by her comrade, the little girl was overcome with sorrow. She never imagined that her cool and handsome "brother" would so easily fall for the cunning woman's breasts. She thought, "He's only a C-cup, but one day, he'll definitely grow bigger than me..."

"What's wrong, little animal?"

Along with the pain in my cheek, that mischievous laughter rang in my ears.

Despite her burning ambitions, she was forced to confront the reality of being toyed with by the cunning woman. How tragic! She was compelled to utter a shameful pleas for mercy.

"Whoa, whoa..."

Memories from the past began to surface.

A sudden encounter, a meal at a coffee shop, a chat while strolling, an ambiguous moment on the bridge under the moon, that white dress fluttering in the breeze when she turned around, the first time she revealed her true feelings...

That girl who liked to cover her mouth and laugh, with eyes like the moon; that bold and willful girl who dared to face werewolves alone; that girl who gently leaned on her shoulder and murmured her thoughts; that girl who sometimes seemed lonely and naive... and that girl who lay quietly in her arms, her white dress stained with blood.

In my memory, I desperately called her name, but as she leaned against me, she gradually lost consciousness...

The hand that was holding her slipped away limply, but there was a smile on her face, a smile of happiness.

……

"Betty! Betty! Betty..."

"Snapped!"

With a loud slap, Roberts felt a sharp pain on his face. He opened his eyes in a daze and suddenly saw a scaly face with vertical snake eyes staring coldly at him.

"you're awake."

His pupils involuntarily contracted slightly, and his previously drowsy brain was jolted awake as if splashed with cold water. His body instinctively rolled to the side, and only after he was far away from the "person" in front of him did he realize that it was Uberto.

In Roberts' view, his "snake-like" appearance was becoming more and more serious. Originally, the scales only covered his temples and forehead, but now strange scales have appeared even on the tip of his nose. His nose has obviously shrunk and narrowed, and his brow bone and lips are undergoing different degrees of changes.

He is now absolutely incompatible with the word "human".

Then he realized that he was in an abnormal place, because he was surrounded by empty plains, and the light gradually dimmed as he moved a little further away. When he was hundreds of meters away, he could only see deep darkness, as if he were in a plain at night.

But where does the light I can see come from?

He couldn't help but look up, but the scene was the same. A little further away, all he could see was darkness, with only the abnormal light shining down from above. This light was dim and didn't look like moonlight or sunlight at all.

There was no sun, no moon, and no stars; it felt as if it weren't anywhere on Earth.

"Where is this place?"

Despite his inner turmoil, Roberts asked the question with feigned calm. His experience told him that impatience and anxiety would solve nothing; only calm judgment was the way out.

Uberto's expression looked a little strange, but he still told the truth.

"……seabed."

"seabed?"

This unexpected answer surprised Roberts.

What is the underwater world like? It's a completely dark world devoid of light, filled with seawater and immense pressure. Apart from extremely rare creatures, no surface life could possibly survive there.

The most crucial question is, if it's the seabed, why is there no water?
Are you kidding me?

"No, according to my instruments and satellite signals... we are located in the deep sea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean. After I used magic to teleport us away, we were randomly teleported here, but I cannot identify the exact location due to unknown factors."

Uberto spoke in a strange voice. Along with the changes in his body, his voice also became very strange, unlike a human voice, with a strange, unclear, and indistinct quality.

Then he looked up at the deep darkness above him and spoke calmly.

“In my signal scan, there is an unidentified membrane-like structure about 1,000 meters above, and beyond that is water, but the water cannot enter this membrane. In other words, you can think of it as a large dome on the seabed, blocking the seawater from entering, and we are within the protection range of this large dome.”

Uberto's words left Roberts speechless.

There's a giant dome deep in the Atlantic Ocean? This idea would astound the world, but after gathering his thoughts, Roberts countered, "That dome can't be naturally formed, right? Do you know anything about it?"

"I don't know, but I have some guesses... In ancient legends, there was a continent called Atlantis, where the civilization of Atlantis lived. But one day, the civilization of Atlantis sank into the sea. The origin of this story is hard to trace, but we have found the ruins of the civilization of Atlantis, and even the resurrected Atlanteans on the moon. Given this, why can't we believe that there really was such a civilization of Atlantis that sank into the sea?"

After a moment of contemplation, Uberto murmured to himself.

"Perhaps this protective shield has something to do with the Atlantis civilization?"

"How are we going to get out?"

Uberto shook his head.

“I don’t know either, but we found some metal fragments with obvious artificial traces. If this place is related to the Atlantis civilization, there should be some ruins and a way out… Judging from the oxygen content here, there may still be some life surviving. I don’t think this protective shield can maintain the operation of the entire ecosystem… Someone must be maintaining it.”

Uberto possessed many of the world's secrets, and he seemed to be pondering the relationship between this undiscovered underwater protective shield and the Atlantis civilization. However, Roberts had no intention of considering these matters, nor was he interested in such ancient secrets.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Soon, judging from the changes in your biological clock, about two hours and forty minutes later, I also just woke up."

Without asking anything further, Roberts calmly checked his body. His limbs were flexible, there was no bleeding, and he felt no abnormalities. It seemed he was not injured. He then asked...

Where is Qiong?

"There's someone lying behind you, still asleep."

Roberts turned his head and saw Joan lying quietly on the muddy ground, showing no signs of waking up. Roberts went over and felt her pulse, then looked at her eyes, confirming that she was just asleep, somewhat like she had taken sleeping pills, and would not wake up anytime soon.

He glanced at Uberto again.

Uberto's final choice surprised him. He had thought Uberto would risk everything to retrieve the World Key, and he was prepared to rescue his daughter himself. But to his surprise, Uberto was willing to give up the World Key to save Joan, as if Joan was more important to him than the World Key.

Roberts isn't stupid; he's been a mercenary and witcher for almost forty years, and has been involved in many important events.

He was involved in many events during the Cold War, including the Star Wars program, the arms race, and even the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union. Whether directly or indirectly, he was more or less involved in these world-shaking events. Even if he wasn't keen on political intrigue, he should have had some understanding of them through his exposure.

If Uberto initially took such great danger with Joan because he didn't believe there was any safe place on Earth where he could escape the pursuit of several forces, and had no choice but to keep Joan by his side, then Uberto's eventual decision to give up the World Key to save Joan is worth considering.

Why do you want to do this?
What could possibly make Joan more important than the World Key to this cold-blooded genius?
"What's your purpose?"

Looking at the inhuman-looking Uberto in front of him, Roberts' eyes were filled with vigilance as he questioned him again.

He could tolerate other things, but since this involved his daughter, he absolutely could not tolerate it.

Uberto paused for a moment, then spoke.

“Roberts, think about it carefully. Have I ever harmed you and Joan…”

“You pushed Wendy down, you killed her.”

Just as Uberto was about to retort, a cold, icy voice abruptly interrupted him.

Looking into Roberts' chilling gaze, Uberto understood that Wendy's death had already pushed this veteran witcher to the brink of exploding. If he couldn't give him a reasonable explanation now, Roberts would never cooperate with him again; he was no longer trusted by Roberts.

After a long silence, he spoke.

……

“…Betty…actually…”

"...we had no choice..."

She could faintly hear the sounds of arguing. Joan, whose head was throbbing, opened her eyes, and the arguing disappeared. Then, a pair of gentle, large hands cradled her head, letting her rest in their arms.

"you're awake."

The voice that should have been rough was now soft and gentle, as if it were being used to handle a fragile treasure.

Looking at her father beside her, the girl relaxed, leaning against Roberts' chest. She rubbed her forehead with her slender fingers and murmured as if half-asleep.

"Dad, where are we?"

"I don't know either, but don't worry for now, we're safe."

The girl looked into the distance, where Uberto was busy with something, seemingly checking what instruments and equipment were still available. Apart from this strange space, everything seemed normal, but something seemed to have changed.

In front of the girl, the relationship between the father and Uberto is still not good, but it seems that it is no longer as hostile as before, and they have regained some trust in each other.

Within this unknown protective shield, aided by a faint glow, the three of them wandered aimlessly forward.

Roberts walked forward silently, while Uberto kept adjusting the instruments on his body, searching for a possible way out. Only Joan looked very frustrated, because she felt as if the three of them were in hell, unable to find any animals or plants. She even felt that the three of them would die here.

"We're all going to die here."

Finally, she stopped and said, unable to contain her frustration.

(End of this chapter)