After leaving the cave, Li looked up at the sky...

What was there to look at...

There was nothing to see. Even looking straight up, Li couldn’t see a trace of light—just a vast, oppressive darkness. No one knew how deep the Abyss of the Underworld went. They only knew this was a truly endless abyss.

Shhk, shhk, shhk~!

Li tore the letter in their hands to shreds. Now that they knew the truth, there was no point keeping it. Hortons had said as much in the letter.

“What do I do now...?”

Li gazed into the endless abyss. Their body had recovered, but what could they do now?

Could they even leave this endless abyss?

Hortons had said that if Li found a dragon, they might have a chance to escape this endless abyss. But where would a dragon be? No one knew how vast the Abyss of the Underworld was. Would Li have to keep putting one foot in front of the other until they found one...?

But Li didn’t even know where the dragon was. The Abyss of the Underworld was a narrow cleft, and Li didn’t know where they were, or which way to go. If they went the wrong way, they might never encounter the dragon in their entire life. But what if they went the right way?

Just as Hortons had said, even if Li found the dragon, it might simply swallow them whole.

【Master, have you forgotten something?】

“Something... Oh!”

They remembered!

Li remembered in an instant! They’d forgotten something! In a panic, they rushed over to the patch of bushes. They must have buried Phoebe there. Li had passed out twice since entering the cave, and had no idea whether Phoebe was still alive!

How could they let that woman die so easily? Absolutely not! At the very least, they still had to use her for experiments!

And there were all those potions, along with the formulas and methods Hortons had given Li! Li’s heart was filled with darkness. If Phoebe was still alive, then she was going to become Li’s test subject! How could they let her die just like that?

From the very beginning, Li had known they couldn’t let her die comfortably. But now, they’d thought of an even better way.

So how could they let her die here? Not yet! They couldn’t let her die here—not yet! It didn’t matter if she was half-dead! She was Li’s test subject now! All the things Li hadn’t dared to do to Chloe or anyone else—they were going to do them all to Phoebe!

Every last one of them!

All this time, Li had relied on friends to find the most heinous criminals, the kind who deserved to die, for experiments. But criminals that evil weren’t easy to find! So Li’s experiments had been on hold for almost two years!

And now! Li had finally found someone they could use every method and potion on without a shred of sympathy! Even if they tortured her to death, Li didn’t think they’d feel the slightest bit guilty!

“Phoebe! Phoebe! Come out! You can’t die! Phoebe! Phoebe! Get out here! Come out! Come out!”

But, unfortunately, Li couldn’t find Phoebe.

“She disappeared?”

【Master, you’re being a little frightening right now. Calm down and take a careful look around. There are drag marks here. Look.】

Li took a deep breath. Once they’d calmed down, they carefully examined the area. They’d already passed out twice and had no idea what had happened outside, but...

There really were drag marks here.

“These are... canine tracks. They’re small... and there’s no blood...”

【Master, it was probably a monster.】

“Mm...”

How could she die here?

She couldn’t die yet!

She was the only test subject here!

“Go find her!”