While My Mage Wife Grinds, I Power Up Idly
Chapter 120: Dread of the Abyss

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Dread of the Abyss

"Rose Valley" Town.

Ashu didn’t head directly to confront the forces of the Imperial Capital. Instead, after rounding a corner, he entered the Netherrealm.

He carried with him the blood-red Demon Core and found Anna and the others.

Before he could ask anything, Anna—at the Twelfth Stage of Spiritual Perception—immediately stepped forward. Her long silver-white hair fell over her shoulders, and curiosity mixed with vigilance sparkled in her eyes.

"Ashu, what are you carrying?" she asked softly, though her gaze was already locked on the Demon Core in Ashu’s arms.

Ashu took out the Demon Core. In the Netherrealm’s eerie light, it looked even redder—like a pulsating ball of living blood.

Anna extended fine threads of Magical Essence, gently probing the core. The moment she made contact, it began to tremble violently. Anna’s expression changed slightly. "This is... the Authority of Fear."

"What do you mean?" Ashu asked.

Anna explained, "Demon Cores are rare, but whenever one is obtained, it always contains a Demon Authority. The Authority in this one is Fear. Once ingested, the user will obtain that power."

What Anna said reminded Ashu of what the great Demon Shava had told him—that creature had claimed to feast on fear and life itself.

And this was one of the two: fear.

"No side effects?"

"It only grants the Authority," Anna said, then thought for a moment and added, "Though perhaps the user might develop some negative psychological changes because of it?"

"So basically, no side effects," Ashu confirmed.

With that, he handed the Demon Core to Anna.

After all, he had the system. As long as Anna used it, he would receive a significant return.

But Anna shook her head. "I’m not eating it. It reeks of blood."

"Anna, this is a gift from me. I hope you’ll accept it," Ashu said deliberately. He couldn’t force Anna—and wouldn’t want to. All he could do was coax and nudge.

Unfortunately, Anna replied, "I’d rather eat something with another kind of fishy taste than touch a Demon Core. How about that, Ashu? That could count as a gift too, right?"

As the conversation between the two started to veer into R-rated territory, Ymir—watching from the side—finally couldn’t take it anymore.

After all, that last time had left her deeply shaken.

She hadn’t expected Anna to so boldly share her little kinks with Ashu.

"Enough! That’s enough!"

Ashu looked over at Ymir. "What, you want a taste too?"

Ymir’s cheeks flushed red. To her shame, the first thing that popped into her head wasn’t the Demon Core.

Mortified, she snapped, "Oh really? A rare Demon Core like this, and you’re just giving it to me for free?"

Seeing this, Ashu figured that since Anna wouldn’t take it, he might as well give it to Leia or Ymir. As for saving it for Vivita... would a Demon Huntress Nun even accept a Demon Core?

Since Ymir had taken the bait herself, he might as well give it to her. Besides, the system’s return rate from anyone other than Anna wasn’t too different anyway.

"Here. It’s yours."

Ashu flicked his hand, and the precious Demon Core traced an arc through the air before landing in Ymir’s hands.

She caught it with surprise, never expecting that Ashu would actually give it to her for free.

The embarrassment boiling in her chest twisted into a strange, inexplicable emotion.

"Well then, since you’re giving it to me for free, I guess I’ll really eat it," Ymir said, holding the Demon Core between two fingers.

Ashu nodded. "Go ahead. Eat it."

"Hmph."

Ymir snorted softly and, without hesitation, stuffed the Demon Core into her mouth and swallowed it whole.

At once, her pupils contracted sharply. A dark, oppressive aura burst forth from her body.

"It feels... like thousands of bugs gnawing at my soul," Ymir gritted out. The aura she emitted was like a dreadful mixture of a baby’s wailing and a demon’s howling—enough to chill anyone to the bone. But it lasted only three seconds before she went pale and collapsed to her knees, leaving behind a lingering presence of fear in the air.

At the same time—

A notification chimed in Ashu’s mind.

[Ymir has obtained: Demon Core - Authority of Fear]

[Critical Return! Vessel has received: Dread of the Abyss!]

Along with the chime, fragments of information related to the new Authority flooded into Ashu’s brain.

Without needing to consciously think, he instantly understood the details of this returned Authority:

1.It can absorb fear from targets within a certain radius and convert it into vitality and physical strength for the user.2.It can induce mass psychological fear in a surrounding area, similar to an AoE mental-type spell.3.This power is categorized as an Authority—it acts upon the very essence of the caster’s being and therefore is unaffected by the exclusivity of "Reaper’s Resolve." In other words, it can be used even when "Reaper’s Resolve" is active.

"Ymir, are you okay?" Ashu asked, digesting the new knowledge in his mind as he reached out and pulled Ymir back up.

"I-I’m fine..." Ymir replied, her face still pale, looking as though she’d overexerted herself.

But based on what Ashu had just learned, this Authority didn’t consume much Magical Essence. Instead, it was rooted in the soul—meaning it drained mental strength.

In other words, when Ymir activated the Authority, it placed significant strain on her spirit.

"Take it slow for now... You all stay hidden in the Netherrealm. I’m heading out to check on things. Shava gave me that Demon Core, so I’ve got to hold off the Imperial Capital’s army for him. If I don’t, the city gates will fall before he can recover."

With that—

Ashu didn’t hesitate. He activated his Devotee of Death ability and returned to the mortal world.

A shadow flickered in Rose Valley Town as he stepped out from a corner, striding straight toward the Imperial Capital’s army stationed outside the gates.

By the time he arrived near the battlefield—moving with the speed of a mid-tier Grand Archmage—Bloodbell, clad in blood-red armor, was still locked in deadly combat with the Imperial Capital’s forces.

The bear-headed brute was surrounded and being dragged down by nine Grand Archmages from the Imperial Capital’s army.

Ashu’s current strategy was to support the Demon faction. Help the weaker side.

Though the Sword King had already fallen, and Great Demon Shava couldn’t yet enter the fray,

with both top-tier powerhouses off the board, the remaining forces of the Demon army were clearly still outmatched by the Imperial Capital.

And so—

He made his move.

Shrouding himself in dark mist, he instantly activated Dread of the Abyss.

In that instant, a desaturated, colorless domain unfolded—enveloping a full ten-mile radius around Rose Valley Town.

From the perspective of the Imperial Capital’s army, they had been rhythmically and methodically whittling down the bear-headed Demon—victory was but a single step away.

But then, all of a sudden...

Countless black arms burst from the ground, like the grasping hands of hungry spirits. These fear-born hallucinations caused soldiers with weaker wills to immediately let out shrill screams, throwing the enemy ranks into chaos.

From Ashu’s point of view, those troops suddenly scattered like ants on a hot pan, abandoning formation and scrambling in all directions.

It was as if they were trying to avoid something crawling on the ground.

Only the nine Grand Archmages within the Imperial Capital forces were able to quickly discern the truth—it was all an illusion.

Though they, too, saw horrific visions, they could resist them with the strength of their willpower.

"Don’t panic! It’s all an illusion!" shouted one of the Grand Archmage-ranked commanders, waving a staff inlaid with magic crystals. But in the tidal wave of fear, his voice sounded especially weak.

Ashu seized the opportunity to activate the devouring function of Dread of the Abyss, harvesting the fear radiated by the common soldiers.

If Great Demon Shava could feed on fear, then so could he.

Right now, it was practically stealing his meal.

As he devoured the fear, he could clearly feel his physical strength increasing significantly.

Moreover, in this state, should he be injured, the vitality converted from fear would rapidly heal his wounds.

As the accumulated "fear" he absorbed reached a critical threshold, an unimaginably oppressive and terrifying aura shot up into the sky. The level of terror on the battlefield rose another notch. Even those few Grand Archmages began to feel their mental defenses slowly unraveling, their heartbeats growing thunderous.

And in combat at this level, even the slightest misstep would be seized upon by the enemy.

Seeing this, Bloodbell immediately lashed out with a thunder-charged bear paw, aiming directly at one of the Grand Archmages!

That strike seemed powerful enough to rend the air itself.

The human mage took the blow with nothing but flesh and bone. His ribs and muscle were torn away on impact, and his lungs and heart spilled across the ground.

Of the nine Grand Archmages, only eight remained.

"ROAAR——!!"

Bloodbell let out a victorious roar, proudly displaying his achievement. Just moments ago, these cunning humans had been treating him like a dog on a leash—now, he had finally turned the tide.

As a Demon, he was ruthless.

Not content with merely killing the man, he had to crush his bones and drink his blood.

Lifting the corpse in his bear-like hands, he opened his wide maw and, as if wringing a cloth, twisted the blood out and into his mouth.

"Death buddy, damn good job! I’ll slaughter them all for you—let their blood be your offering!" Bloodbell turned and roared toward Ashu from afar.

In his eyes, Ashu was a powerful and mysterious ally.

After all, in every way, Ashu was clearly helping them.

Anyone who dared question the goodwill of this "Devotee of Death" would have to answer to Bloodbell first.

As for Bloodbell’s ’tribute,’ Ashu didn’t respond. He was focused on analyzing his new ability.

Originally, he’d assumed Dread of the Abyss was merely an area-of-effect tool for clearing weak mobs.He hadn’t expected it to affect even Grand Archmages of the same tier.

Only, it was like a loading bar—it couldn’t take effect immediately. It needed to charge to a certain threshold before it could break through the resistance of enemies on the same level.

Even so, he was already quite satisfied.

After all, just standing at a distance on the battlefield’s edge and still being able to control the entire field—this kind of ability was anything but ordinary.