The dim, shadowy environnt seed as if man-eating monsters could leap out at any mont.
Nolan and the others decided to search the nearby area to see if they could run into Lumine's brother and ask him directly what was going on.
After so thought, everyone agreed—the Abyss Order likely ca to The Chasm for this upside-down city ruin.
There really wasn't anything else in this area worth exploring.
Nolan, Yelan, and Lumine unfurled their Wind Gliders, while Paimon used her illusory limbs to fly, and together they descended onto the city ruins, which dangled from the cavern ceiling like stalactites.
They landed lightly on what could loosely be called the ground—though, using typical buildings as a reference, the place they were now standing on would technically be the ceiling of a room.
Aside from being built upside-down, which gave it an eerie feel, the city's materials, door fras, and window dinsions all aligned with human architectural norms.
That ant the beings who once lived here were very likely human—or at least intelligent lifeforms of similar size.
"Don't you guys think it's weird? Who in the world would live in upside-down houses? That must've been super inconvenient!"
Paimon floated next to Lumine, her face full of confusion.
Walking on ceilings, with windows and doors located higher than a person's height, and streets paved overhead—it really did defy logic.
"Actually, it's not that hard to guess why," Nolan replied, scanning the surroundings with his spiritual power before picking a direction to lead the group deeper into the city.
"Oh? You an..." Yelan's long, graceful legs moved in rhythm as she walked. Sothing seed to co to mind, and her expression turned pensive.
"Yeah. Let's assu the upside-down construction made sense—then the people who lived here must've walked 'upside-down' relative to us."
Nolan paused, then continued:
"So, under what conditions could a person walk upside-down on a ceiling without falling, and without suffering from long-term blood pooling in their head?"
"Maybe they had Hookhook Berries in their shoes to latch onto the ceiling?"
Paimon shrugged, clearly out of ideas.
"There's no way Hookhook Berries could hold up a whole person," Lumine said dismissively. "If I had to guess, it's probably a gravity issue.
"If the gravitational direction of this city was reversed, then from their perspective, we would be the ones living in an upside-down city."
"Reversed gravity?"
Paimon floated in place, arms crossed, trying to wrap her head around it.
"Exactly," Nolan nodded. "Unless so powerful being intentionally dug up and flipped an entire city upside-down and stuck it here...
"The only reasonable explanation is that this city originally existed in a place where gravity flowed in the opposite direction compared to Teyvat.
"Otherwise, it doesn't make sense. Teyvat is a planet, and gravity on planets pulls everything toward the core.
"From a macro perspective, gravity at the 'top' of a planet and the 'bottom' pulls in opposite directions—even though lifeforms on either side wouldn't notice any difference."
"Hmm… I kind of get it now, I guess.
"But by your logic, the gravity here in The Chasm isn't reversed, so that ans this city wasn't originally from here, right?"
Paimon rubbed her cheeks and tried to stay alert despite the dark surroundings.
"That would be the most logical conclusion," Nolan said, lightly tapping his chin.
He had a strong suspicion this city originally belonged to Khaenri'ah. In the source material, there were already Black Serpent Knights—transford into monsters—guarding this place.
Those knights, before becoming corrupted, had served as royal guards of Khaenri'ah. Even after their transformation, they continued to protect the land, guided by their lingering will.
Due to so unknown reason, this city must have ended up in the subterranean mines beneath The Chasm.
...Though, on second thought, that theory had its holes.
If Khaenri'ah was located on the opposite side of the planet from Teyvat, then gravity there would indeed be reversed.
Which would an, from Khaenri'ah's perspective, Teyvat was what lay underground.
That theory actually made a lot of sense.
But here's the suspicious part: if this city really ca from the other side of the planet, then how did it pass through the planet's core to get here? That sounded completely absurd.
Even a top-tier Archon might not be capable of such a feat.
Nolan couldn't be entirely sure of his theory. He thought it might be best to ask either the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata or Raiden Ei when he had the chance.
Both of them had personally witnessed the Khaenri'ah war, so they should know the truth.
As they ventured deeper into the ruins, the group continued exchanging thoughts and theories about why the city was built upside-down.
Before long—
They arrived at what appeared to be a large indoor plaza. On the ground ahead, several Hilichurls were lying motionless.
There was no sign of life from them. Clearly, they were already dead.
Nolan felt that they must be close now—this area was likely near the spring from the original lore that could suppress the Curse of Immortality.
After all, the Hilichurls were drawn here because the closer they got to the spring, the more the Curse of Immortality that tornted them was suppressed.
They would feel much more relaxed and comfortable.
Therefore, these Khaenri'ah people, who had been turned into monsters due to the Curse of Immortality, instinctively moved toward the spring.
Since they had found them here, it was clear that the location of the spring wasn't too far away.
At least, the direction seed right.
Nolan and the others paid no mind to the Hilichurls who had died and continued forward. Soon, they ca upon a staircase.
At first glance, there seed to be nothing unusual about the stairs.
However, when he extended his spiritual power along the steps, he sensed two tall figures standing on a platform above.
Their bodies were black, one holding a flag and the other holding a bow and arrow.
Nolan naturally recognized them.
They were the Black Serpent Knights—forrly Khaenri'ah's royal guards, now transford into monsters.
Even though these Black Serpent Knights no longer had their human minds, they were still loyal to their forr ho, protecting it as they once did.
If they had any remaining reason, Nolan wouldn't want to fight them. Unfortunately, they had already turned into monsters.
Even if they magnified the spring that suppressed the Curse of Immortality a hundred tis, it wouldn't restore them to their human forms.
After all, the spring only suppressed the curse, not purify it.
As Nolan and the others stepped onto the platform, the two Black Serpent Knights imdiately locked their gaze onto them.
At the sa ti, the Black Serpent Knight holding the flag imdiately used a skill to enhance his companion.
The other Black Serpent Knight, holding the bow, raised it and aid at Nolan and the others.
They didn't even give them a chance to explain. No wonder they were called monsters…
"Ugh, these pitch-black creatures look so fierce!" Paimon said, hiding behind Lumine in fear.
"Heh, get ready to fight!"
Yelan took out her bow from her Vision and quickly raised her arm, revealing her smooth, fair underarm. She pulled the bowstring back and aid at the enemy.
Nolan activated his Golden Eye of Judgnt and saw that the two Black Serpent Knights were at level 70—elite monsters among their kind.
However, they were clearly no match for the group.
"Vroom!"
The arrows of the Black Serpent Knights and Yelan's arrows were released at the sa ti!
The water-blue elental arrows streaked through the dim space like teors and collided with the arrows fired by the Black Serpent Knights!
Clearly, due to the vast power difference, the Black Serpent Knights' arrows were instantly torn apart by Yelan's arrows.
They continued to zoom past, heading straight toward the Black Serpent Knights.
The Black Serpent Knight holding the flag calmly drove the flagpole into the ground with both hands. The pole sank easily into the ground under the imnse force.
A red glow flashed on the flag, and a semi-transparent, half-circular shield enveloped both Black Serpent Knights.
Bang!
Yelan's water-elent arrow collided with the shield with a light sound. The arrow struck the shield but was surprisingly sturdy.
Under imnse pressure, the arrow split into two pieces in the middle.
The Black Serpent Knight holding the flag maintained the shield, but the other knight quickly grabbed his bow again.
Nolan thought for a mont, then, without warning, summoned a translucent thread with a five-ter radius above the heads of the two Black Serpent Knights. He slamd it down forcefully!
The Black Serpent Knights' shield was easily shattered by the thread, and it directly struck the two knights, who had no ti to dodge!
[ Defeated Powerful Enemies_ x2, Obtained 10,562 Adventure EXP. ]
Seeing the ssage pop up on his character panel, Nolan noted that the two Black Serpent Knights had given him over ten thousand Adventure EXP.
Nolan couldn't help but secretly wish there were more like this.
Perhaps his desire was truly heard, as suddenly a Black Serpent Knight wielding a gigantic sword jumped down from the building on the left side!
With a "Bang!" the ground cracked open, leaving a huge pit.
Cracks like spider webs spread out from the center of the pit, and the imposing Black Serpent Knight walked out from it, calmly staring at Nolan and the others.
A terrifying aura began to emanate from the Black Serpent Knight wielding the two-handed sword. Nolan noticed that it was at level 93.
This was even stronger than the Abyss Lectors they had encountered earlier.
It seed that this Black Serpent Knight was once an extraordinary figure before turning into a monster. Otherwise, it wouldn't have beco so powerful after the transformation!
Nolan raised an eyebrow and instinctively summoned the "Frostlight Descending Blade," preparing for battle at any mont.
"Why do all the monsters we et today feel so formidable? That overwhelming aura makes not even want to face them head-on."
Yelan continued to gather her water-elent arrows, ready to assist Nolan in dealing with this formidable foe.
Lumine also took out her unbladed sword, which had been enhanced multiple tis using elental materials, getting into a fighting stance, while Paimon had already backed away a little to avoid getting caught up in the battle.
The Black Serpent Knight silently watched them, slightly lifting the tip of his sword. In the next mont, his massive and imposing figure disappeared without a trace.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of Nolan and the others, followed by a huge sonic boom.
The speed was so fast it was hard to even comprehend.
Lumine and Yelan almost didn't react in ti, but Nolan had already raised his ice-colored long sword in anticipation and blocked the Black Serpent Knight's attack!
The imnse power and force of the strike sent a shockwave through him, almost knocking him off balance.
Luckily, he had prepared for the battle in advance.
"Move back a little!" Nolan shouted at Lumine and Yelan, warning them that they were too close to the Black Serpent Knight, and he feared the monster might attack them.
"Okay!" Lumine and Yelan nodded in response.
The two of them backed up towards Paimon, and at the sa ti, Yelan, who had already charged up her water-elent arrows, released them at the Black Serpent Knight!
The water-colored arrows shot forward, hitting the gap in the Black Serpent Knight's defense, and he was forced to react.
The Black Serpent Knight first swung his massive sword, using its montum to knock it back, then raised the sword again and swiped at the arrows.
With this attack, the water-elent arrows from Yelan were easily deflected.
But Nolan had already anticipated this gap and imdiately surged forward with his "Frostlight Descending Blade," reaching the Black Serpent Knight before the sonic boom even reached him.
His ice-colored sword and the arrows attacked the monster's defense opening at the sa ti.
Perhaps sensing that Nolan's attack posed a greater threat, the Black Serpent Knight abandoned defending against the arrows, swiftly flipping his sword downward to block the incoming attack from the "Frostlight Descending Blade!"
At the sa ti, Yelan's water-elent arrow hit the Black Serpent Knight's head, hitting him squarely.
A burst of water elents exploded, montarily dazing him.
Nolan, holding the sword with one hand, gathered grass elents in his left palm. As the grass blades danced around, he pressed the grass elent against the Black Serpent Knight's body.
The grass elent reacted specially with the water elent, creating nurous green grass seeds.
Then his palm crackled with lightning.
He used the lightning elent to sweep across the newly created grass seeds.
As soon as the grass seeds made contact with the lightning elent, they triggered a super-expansion reaction, turning into grass seed "missiles" that automatically hod in on the Black Serpent Knight, attacking him.
The Black Serpent Knight crossed his giant sword in front of him and forcibly blocked the bombardnt of seven or eight grass seeds!
Nolan, having tasted success, found it rather interesting to use grass seeds in battle.
He imdiately retrieved his large sword, gathered water elents in his left hand, grass elents in his right, and then brought his hands together, continuously generating more grass seeds.
One, two, three…
Since there was no real limitation to the number of grass seeds, unlike in a ga, as long as he reacted quickly enough before the previous seeds disappeared, he could create as many as he wanted.
Soon, the ground was covered with grass seeds. Nolan roughly estimated there were over a hundred of them.
If he used lightning to sweep through them and triggered the super-expansion reaction, turning them all into tracking "missiles" to attack the Black Serpent Knight, it would be a truly spectacular sight.
He gathered the lightning elent once again and transford it into a lightning rope, sweeping it forward to the grass seeds!
(End of Chapter)
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