"It's a really creepy place. Jon commented as he stared at the live footage from the unmanned probe.

What we can see through the screen is the most realistic appearance of this ocean: lightless, dead and silent, as if we have come to another world. At 11,034 meters deep, the Mariana Trench is known as the gateway to the center of the earth, and because it is so unfathomable and terrifying, it is also called the real gate of hell in the deep sea. At least for now, it seemed to Jon that those words were probably true.

"I don't agree with you. Seth, who was standing beside him, said, "This is the reality of this world, and it is an unknown place that many people dream of exploring." It's not so much that it makes us feel creepy, but that we're so small as human beings. ”

The deep sea is so similar to the starry sky that when they dive deeper, it feels like they are heading towards the universe, like Icarus flying to the sun in Greek mythology. One is to fly to the longing and visible light, and the other is to dive into the same longing but bottomless darkness.

"Captain, based on the floating sonar positioning, the evidence of unknown organisms is moving towards the very bottom of the trench, the Nautilus's hull may not be able to withstand this tremendous pressure, should we continue to dive?" the monitor asked Seth.

"It doesn't matter, we stop when we reach a dangerous peak and we monitor it in a stationary state. Leave the work of diving to the unmanned probe. ”

Mariana Trench, depth: 10,033 m.

This is an area that no one has ever set foot in, and the eternal darkness reigns in this area, and only the light emitted by microorganisms is the only light in this darkness, although faint, but like the stars that spread all over the night, it undoubtedly adds more mystery to this place.

It is against this backdrop of brilliance that the true face of the unknown creature that attacked the Nautilus is also faintly revealed: this is a monster with a body like a snake, but it is not as smooth as a snake, and countless slender tentacles are not anywhere on the body surface, which is particularly mad and weird. But what was even more surprising was on its back, a huge bulging airbag-like object, and the white ectoplasm walls faintly reflected a black blurred figure.

"I didn't expect you to hide such a good thing. Lucifer said to Mephistopheles in a warm airbag.

"It's not a good thing. Mephistopheles grinned, "This sea monster named Setus originally belonged to the Legion of Hell, and I just took it out and put it to good use." ”

In ancient Greek mythology, there was a story that the sea monster named Setus, with a body like a snake and a dolphin, and a tail like a fish, cruising in the sea to devour passing merchant ships, was once known as the most feared existence in the sea, and now seeing its true face, it can be seen that the terrifying image depicted in the legend is not an exaggeration.

Lucifer sat cross-legged on the hot and humid walls of the airbag, unconcerned about the mucus on the ground. Mephistopheles frowned as she looked at Lucifer who was seated, her mouth squirming, but she didn't speak.

"Why, do you feel uncomfortable?" Lucifer quipped, "I don't know if you mind this kind of dirty thing, you'll get soaked later, so it doesn't matter if it is." ”

Mephistopheles rubbed her nose with her hand: "This is a little disgusting, although this is a monster of hell and has been used several times before, but I never thought of sitting on this kind of thing. ”

"So you're having a habit of cleanliness. Lucifer scratched his hair, "I didn't expect that the second-in-command of Hell would have a cleanliness fetish, tsk, it's really interesting." ”

Mephis turned his head and ignored what he said: "We are almost at the bottom, and if we go any further, we will no longer be able to rely on Seitus, I'm afraid you and I will have to go out ourselves." ”

"It's okay. Lucifer said with a nonchalant expression. "Anyway, we should have gone to get the sword ourselves, and the sea monster was just a means of transportation at best. But humans seem to be catching up, so what are you going to do about that?"

"They can't get to this deep. Mephistopheles looked dismissive. "They're weak and incompetent creatures, they can't get to the bottom at all, so don't worry about that at all. ”

Lucifer had a wicked smile on his face: "But weren't you taken aback by their attack, you never thought that with the speed of Setus, you would be locked by humans, so you were in a hurry, didn't you?"

"It's just shit luck. Mephistopheles had his back to Lucifer so he couldn't see the expression on his face, but Lucifer felt that he must be flushed like a little girl who had made a mistake now. "They rely only on luck, and we rely on strength, don't compare us to them-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a violent tremor, and Setters trembled as if he had been electrocuted, and his tail slammed into the rock walls of the surrounding seabed, stirring up huge whirlpools.

Mephistopheles barely fell by holding on to the white outer quality wall, he steadied himself and raised his head and said, "It seems that it has arrived, I didn't expect that Lord Satan's power is so powerful, and even such a huge sea monster feels fear from the bottom of my heart?"

Lucifer stood up from the flesh wall, his pants stained with a viscous liquid that made Mephistopheles want to get as far away from him as possible. "Then let's go now. He said. "I'm going to have to trouble you to open this airbag. ”

Mephistopheles nodded in agreement, and he reached out and knocked on the ectoplasm wall three times, and the ectoplasm wall slowly cracked from the top as if receiving a signal, and in an instant the huge water pressure caused the sea water to gush in, drowning both of them in an instant.

"I'll just tell you I'm going to wash it clean. Lucifer said with a smile unaffected by the overwhelming pressure. "Now, let's go down. ”

Bottom of the Mariana Trench, depth: 11,034 m.

What appeared in front of the two of them at this moment was a huge ruin, unbelievably as if it was in some way, the ruins were perfectly separated from the sea outside, and from their vantage point it looked like a cube standing deep under the sea.

"There's some power around it. Lucifer said as he looked at the breathtaking and strange sight. "It looks like it's not that easy for us to get in. ”

Mephistopheles reached for the outer wall of the cube, and for a moment, the outer wall glowed as golden as the sun, and he screamed and jerked his hand back, and it was obvious that there were burns on his hand. Mephistopheles looked at the burns on his hands and turned to look at Lucifer: "It's God's divine energy, demons can't get close, but if it's you, it should be okay, right?"

Lucifer shrugged noncommittally: "If it was my idiot father's enchantment, it should be possible to break it with the power of the Seraphim, after all, he never thought that his son would betray him." ”

Lucifer reached out and touched the cube, and instead of burning him, the divine energy around the barrier automatically accepted him. Lucifer nodded in satisfaction as he watched his hand enter the inside of the cube unharmed, and then the black dark matter began to spread from his fingertips, and soon spread throughout the cube's air. The outer wall that blocked the sea suddenly glowed golden, then quickly dimmed, and finally the dark matter completely clinged to the outer wall of the cube, completely dyeing it a completely dark color.

Lucifer pulled out his hand and waved Mephistopheles to follow him, leaning through the barrier, no longer the flowing waters beneath his feet but the hard brick-paved ground.

Mephistopheles followed closely into the ruins, and a true grandeur was revealed to him.

There are dozens of ancient stone carvings on both sides of the road, each with a different image and posture, but they all hold huge bronze torches in their hands, which contrasts with the lightless seabed outside the barrier.

The main structure of the ruins is a tall altar that resembles an Aztec pyramid, but it is larger than any pyramid, and countless staircases extend from the top to the bottom of the pyramid. Mephistopheles had heard of a stone called Bloodstone, which was said to be a mixture of the blood and tears of the undead who did not want to die and the cornerstone of hell, and was the product of death and obsession. The stone can be breathtaking and confusing, and it now seems that this terrifying staircase may have been carved out of bloodstone.

"It's unsettling. Lucifer said as he looked at the stairs that seemed to be oozing with a little blood. "Whatever Satan builds, he must make people feel fearful from the heart, and this may be his bad taste. ”

The two of them stepped up the stairs one after the other, and the moment they stepped on the stone steps, they felt a shock from the depths of their souls, an indescribable sense of oppression, Mephistopheles even felt that he was about to vomit, and Lucifer's situation was even worse than Mephistopheles, he only felt his stomach tumbling at the moment, his muscles were so sore, even his bones were rattling, he was torturing himself with every step he took, and soon he was sweating like rain.

"It doesn't seem that easy. Lucifer gasped, "What a terrifying power, I'm afraid it's just the tip of the iceberg of Satan's power that takes my breath away?"

Because Lucifer slowed down, Mephistopheles quickly walked side by side with him, and he said with a wry smile on his face: "I didn't expect that as the acting leader of hell, I also felt so difficult, looking at your expression, you seem to be more uncomfortable than me!"

"Less nonsense. Lucifer was almost squeezing the sentence out between his teeth. "I really regret that I am an angel now, otherwise why would I suffer many times greater than you for no reason. ”

"You're talking about it now. Mephistopheles felt her knees tremble. "Why don't we two talk now, and save more energy and spend more energy walking. ”

They climbed to the top in silence, and would be surprised if they were seen by outsiders: one was the current acting ruler of hell, the other was the head of the fallen angels who could challenge God, and they were climbing the stairs with the same difficulty as humans, and they were sweating and panting as if it were a long and difficult thing to do.

Lucifer felt like he was about to lose his bearings, he had fallen several times, but each time he struggled to get up, and Mephistopheles did not fall, but his face was blue and ugly, and he was not at all as radiant as before.

The unmanned probe sent by the Nautilus followed them silently, and because the full stealth mode was activated, they did not notice it. Meanwhile, on the Nautilus, Seth and Jon are watching their every move through the probe.

"There are two of them!" Seth said, looking at the image on the screen. "One of them, judging by his appearance and demeanor, is undoubtedly Mephistopheles Ferres, whom Captain Shore once mentioned, but the other guy is?"

Jon picked up his words: "The identity of that guy is still unknown, immediately send the image of the two of them to the BPRD headquarters, this is very valuable information, and it is absolutely not allowed to mess up." ”

Seth's frown didn't furnish, he pondered for a moment before suddenly asking, "I think there should be a fast submersible on the Nautilus." ”

Jon nodded, "Yes, there is indeed one, which is an explorer specially designed for deep diving, but the capacity is limited, and it can only take one person." ”

"That's enough. Seismo said, clasping his hands. "I'm going to go myself, and in my absence, Jon will take my place as captain. ”

"You're going to go out yourself, but that's-"

Seth reached out and patted Jon on the shoulder, his eyes shining with determination, "I believe in you, brother. This position must be held by you. I have more important things to do, and the only thing left on this ship is you to use the Word except me, so only you can. I'm going to see for myself what that dark thing is trying to do?"

The two of them were relatively silent, but in those fiery eyes seemed to burn with flames, a raging fire called courage and resistance, which would become a torch to illuminate the future even in the endless darkness of the sea.