When Alma opened her eyes again, she found herself slung over the back of Roy in his demon form. Roy was holding the Alethioter, pressing forward.
"You're awake?"
The first to notice Alma stirring was Eluresha, who was also being carried on Roy's back.
Alma's face was deathly pale, her body weak, as if she'd reverted to the frail human she once was.
Using the Alethioter clearly ca with a hidden cost. Luckily, Alma was inhabiting Adela's body, which, as a succubus, was far more resilient than a human's.
Otherwise, she might have died after using the Alethioter.
But Alma wasn't concerned about her own condition. Her thoughts were on the child in her womb.
Fortunately, she could still sense the baby's condition. The child was unaffected by her weakened state, still growing strong and healthy.
However, as her body grew weaker, Alma felt increasingly unable to sustain the baby's growth. It could also be because she'd been unconscious for a while and hadn't eaten.
Pregnant won need substantial nutrition to support a healthy fetus, after all.
"Eluresha, how long was I out?"
Eluresha scratched her head, unsure how to respond since she'd long lost track of ti.
"Um… I don't know. Maybe about two als' worth of ti? Alma, are you hungry?"
Since Alma was using Adela's body, even though Eluresha had forgotten her sister Adela, the blood connection still made her feel close to Alma.
Adela's true soul had likely been consud by Alma. Otherwise, it would've resurfaced by now, especially during Alma's unconscious spell, but there was no sign of it.
"I'm fine," Alma said.
Right after she spoke, her stomach let out a loud growl, echoing sharply in the quiet Dark Abyss.
Alma's pale cheeks flushed with embarrassnt. Though her social experience was limited, she still had a basic sense of sha. Eluresha, the little succubus, on the other hand, had no such qualms.
"Alma, your stomach's so loud!"
"Eluresha, please, stop talking!"
Alma hurriedly covered Eluresha's mouth.
Roy pulled two packaged food items from his inventory and handed them to Alma.
"Eat sothing first."
Alma looked at the food—a burger and a burrito.
Both were high-calorie fast foods, considered unhealthy by many wealthy folks, but Alma loved them.
Having spent over twenty years at the Armacham Research Facility eating bland, "healthy" nutrient als, she now craved the heavy, salty flavors of Arican fast food.
Alma eagerly bit into the burger, devouring it quickly. Her hunger eased significantly, so she decided to savor the burrito slowly.
"Roy, haven't we reached the Tower of Babel yet?"
Roy sighed helplessly.
"I've been following the Alethioter's pointer, but it's acting weird. One second it points left, then right, and sotis even behind . I feel like we're going in circles!"
Alma fell silent for a mont before offering so comfort.
"Maybe it's because the Dark Abyss has no sense of direction, so the Alethioter's pointer keeps spinning?"
"That's what I figured, so I'm still following its guidance."
As Alma nibbled on her burrito, she chatted with Roy.
Suddenly, Roy stopped walking, which puzzled Alma.
"Roy, are you taking a break? Roy?"
Curious, Alma turned her head to see what was wrong and found Roy frozen in place.
"I think I see the Tower of Babel!"
"The Tower of Babel?! Where, where?!"
Eluresha excitedly climbed onto Roy's head to peer into the distance. Sure enough, she spotted a massive black shadow looming ahead.
The little succubus tilted her head back to gauge its height, nearly falling off as she realized she couldn't see the top.
"It's so tall!"
"Hold on tight—I'm speeding up!"
Energized by the sight of his goal, Roy quickened his pace, racing toward the towering shadow.
Soon, they reached the base of the structure—a colossal tower built from massive gray stones. Roy estimated its diater to be at least a hundred ters.
As for its height, he couldn't tell. It might be a kiloter, maybe ten. The top was far beyond what the naked eye could see.
Approaching the Tower of Babel, they climbed a hundred stone steps, finally arriving at its grand entrance.
The door, made of two solid stone slabs, seed to stretch a hundred ters high, as if designed for giants.
Roy scanned the area but found no chanism to open it.
"Looks like we need to push this door open to enter the Tower of Babel," Alma said.
Though they couldn't see how thick the stone door was, Alma could sense its imnse weight.
"Maybe this is the Tower's first test," she added.
Roy already knew from the last Nephilim he'd t that escaping the Dark Abyss would be fraught with challenges.
Finding the Tower of Babel alone was no small feat.
"You two, get down. I'm going to try pushing the door."
Eluresha and Alma hopped down from the sling made of cursed hair, watching as Roy ward up.
In his demon form, Roy's strength stat was a formidable 221. But when he braced himself and pushed the stone door, it only budged slightly.
The first attempt failed.
"This door is heavy!"
Truth be told, with Roy's enhanced demon-form strength, he could move a hundred-ter-tall hill without issue. This stone door's material had to be far denser than ordinary stone.
"Daddy, can't push it? Want to help?"
Eluresha stretched out her delicate hands, ready to push, which made Roy chuckle.
If a ten-ter-tall Roy couldn't budge it, would adding a 1.7-ter-tall Eluresha make a difference?
"No need, no need! Daddy hasn't gone all out yet. Step back a bit!"
Eluresha and Alma retreated a few steps.
Roy hadn't used his full strength yet, as he still had several status skills in reserve.
First, Blood Frenzy!
Activating the skill, countless tiny wounds appeared on Roy's skin, blood seeping out and evaporating like flas across his body.
But the blood wasn't flowing fast enough. Blood Frenzy's boost grew stronger with more severe injuries, so Roy needed to draw more blood with the Leviathan Axe. Otherwise, his Super Regeneration passive would outpace the blood loss.
Next, War Domain!
This skill required an active combat state to trigger, but that was manageable.
Since friendly fire couldn't be turned off in the real world, Roy could have Eluresha and Alma attack him. The attacks didn't need to be strong—just enough to keep him in combat mode.
Finally, a skill he'd never used: Blood Moon Descent.
This skill created a wide-ranging field buff that enhanced the attributes of all dark creatures within it.
But since Roy's enemies were usually dark creatures, using it would also boost them, making the skill situational at best.
As a blood moon rose above Roy, he realized the skill boosted attributes by percentage.
Still… not that useful.
Against stronger dark creatures, Roy wouldn't dare use Blood Moon Descent, as their higher stats would benefit more. Against weaker ones, he could just overpower them without it.
But in this scenario, where raw strength was needed, Blood Moon Descent proved handy.
With all his buffs stacked, Roy's strength soared past 300—a level of power he'd never experienced on Earth.
Flexing his limbs, he heard a crackling sound as explosive energy surged through his muscles.
Eluresha and Alma stared in awe. The little succubus even instinctively pressed her legs together.
Feeling he'd stacked enough buffs, Roy began pushing the stone door again.
This ti, it finally moved, though agonizingly slowly. Even with all his might, Roy only managed to shift it a few centiters.
"Keep attacking ! I need more power!"
Eluresha and Alma continued their ranged attacks, each hit extending the duration of War Domain and amplifying Blood Frenzy's effects.
"Argh!"
With Roy's roar, his strength climbed from 300 to 310, then 320…
Finally, when it broke past 400, his body underwent a transformation. His demon form swelled to a staggering twenty ters, with massive bone spikes sprouting from his joints and his horns growing even larger.
Now, the stone door began to move faster, slowly creaking open under Roy's imnse strength.
"Huff, huff, huff!"
Roy reverted from his demon form, exhausted. Pushing the door felt like battling twelve won in a group fight.
"The door's open!"
Eluresha curiously poked her head into the Tower of Babel. Her head was smaller than the door's thickness, which looked almost comical.
But as she spoke, the dark interior of the Tower suddenly lit up with flas, as if voice-activated.
After catching his breath, Roy stepped into the Tower with Alma.
The first floor was vast and empty, with only voice-activated braziers on the walls and a spiral staircase leading upward.
"We have to climb stairs now?"
Alma looked up at the staircase, trying to spot the second floor, but her eyes strained without success.
"Daddy, it's so high! We're gonna have to climb forever!"
Eluresha pouted. She hated physically taxing activities, and Alma, being pregnant, couldn't possibly climb such a towering staircase.
"Then hop on. I'll carry you both up!"
Roy transford back into his demon form, slung Eluresha and Alma onto his back, and began climbing the Tower of Babel.
The Tower seed endless. Roy climbed tirelessly, resting when he got tired and eating when he was hungry.
He didn't know how long he climbed—a day, a week, a month, or even a year—but he finally reached the second floor.
"Roy, are you okay?"
Alma noticed Roy's condition was deteriorating.
"Phew! I'm not great. I feel completely drained."
Roy couldn't hold out and dropped to one knee.
"How did this happen?"
Alma's face showed a mix of heartache and concern. Eluresha chid in, explaining Roy's state.
"Because Daddy hasn't eaten enough in a long ti."
Roy's appetite was enormous—one al for him could feed Alma for ten days or more.
Though Alma was using Adela's body, her diet hadn't changed. Unlike Eluresha, who could sustain herself on "pink emotions" or, at worst, a "baby milkshake."
In the Dark Abyss, with no way to replenish food, Roy had rationed his supplies, eating as little as possible to conserve for Alma. As a pregnant woman, her baby's growth demanded substantial energy.
As a result, Roy was reaching his limit.
Alma's expression was complex—a mix of regret, heartache, and guilt.
"Roy, eat sothing now!"
Roy exhaled and stood.
"There's no food left, but I can hold on. Once we escape the depths of Hell, I'm sure we'll find sothing!"
With that, Roy pushed open the massive iron door before them.
Beyond it was a vast room resembling an arena, but it was empty—no audience, no one at all. Only a stone statue stood in the center, puzzling them.
"What's this about?"
Eluresha curiously poked the statue, which suddenly morphed into her likeness and attacked her.
The little succubus yelped in surprise, but after dodging the attack, the statue reverted to its original form and returned to its spot.
"What—what was that? It felt like the statue drained my strength!"
Eluresha stared at her hands, confused.
Roy frowned. This statue was no re decoration, but its purpose wasn't clear yet.
"Look, there's writing on this door!"
Alma pointed to another door, which indeed had an inscription, written not in any Earth language but in Hell's tongue.
Luckily, Roy's Key of Solomon included knowledge of Hell's language.
"'Prove your worth'?! What does that an?"
(Alma/Adela)
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