Multiverse: Dimension Hopping Mage

Chapter 81: Ikaros' Little Adventure

"It's an imp."

After watching the dark shadow disappear, Fina finally spoke in a low voice. She stared at the place where the imp had vanished, her expression extremely serious.

"How could it appear here?"

"Maybe it's because this place has a connection to hell?"

"Definitely not, Mr. Alex."

Fina quickly dismissed Alex's speculation.

"The goddess sealed this land, and the demons were wiped out. There's no way any demon, even the lowest-ranked imp, could come or go freely unless summoned by someone…"

As she said this, Fina's eyes widened, and her voice grew quieter.

"Well, it seems we know how that thing got here."

Seeing Fina's expression, Alex placed his hand on the hilt of his broken sword. Since it wasn't possible for the imp to just appear out of nowhere, it must have been summoned by someone. And in this cursed place, the only people daring enough to summon a demon… must be those cultists.

"Ikaros."

"Yes, Master."

"Stay hidden, follow it, and see where that ugly thing is headed. Be cautious, keep your distance, and only do long-range surveillance. If you encounter danger, retreat immediately. No need to fight—your safety comes first."

"Understood."

At Alex's command, the invisible little angel who had been hiding in midair immediately took action. She glanced at the direction the imp had gone, spread her wings, and flew off in pursuit.

As the vanguard of the demon army, imps weren't particularly strong but were very cunning and alert creatures. Generally, tracking such a monster would be extremely difficult, but for Ikaros, it was simple—her cloaking camouflage could block all forms of detection. Furthermore, as an artificial angel, Ikaros didn't need eyesight to locate her target; radar scanning was enough to lock onto it.

So, while the imp constantly looked around, on guard against its surroundings, it had no idea that a little angel was hidden within the clouds above, quietly tracking it using her radar.

This just goes to show—technology is the ultimate productivity force.

Though Ikaros' tech was practically black technology at this point.

Following the imp, Ikaros soon arrived at a massive ruin deep within the Dark Swamp. It had once been a bustling city, but now only broken walls and rubble remained.

"The things built by these ground-dwellers are always so fragile."

Seeing the structure before her, Ikaros snorted softly. Alex might not understand her origins, but Ikaros knew very well what humans were like in her world. She knew what they had done, what they were doing, and what they wanted to do. To Ikaros, no matter the world, humans never seemed to change.

But… this wasn't Synapse.

At this thought, Ikaros reached into her chest and pulled out a silver card, frowning as she sighed. This was a universal card, a standard tool for artificial angels. With this card, they could connect to Synapse and summon various objects of different natures, such as a quantum transformation machine capable of altering all forms or a dream portal that could enter someone's dreams. However, unfortunately, this wasn't the world of Synapse, so Ikaros couldn't summon anything with the card here.

This made Ikaros feel a bit frustrated. As an artificial angel, her purpose was to fulfill every command given by her master, as only by doing so could she find value in her existence. Artificial angels needed a master. Fortunately, her current master didn't seem overly harsh and was quite kind to her—unlike…

At this thought, Ikaros' body trembled. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to clear her mind before turning her gaze back to the ruins in front of her.

Though the ruins were several thousand meters below her, for a multi-purpose electronic warfare angel like Ikaros, specializing in reconnaissance and infiltration, this distance was meaningless. She could even see every blade of grass on the ground and the details of a bee collecting nectar from a flower.

Of course, there were no flowers or bees here—just cultists rummaging through the ruins.

What were they looking for?

Ikaros adjusted her frequency and could vaguely hear the cultists muttering words like "fragments" and "core." Not only were they digging, but they also had several creatures similar to the imp she had been tracking, searching through the ruins. Unfortunately, the city seemed vast, and their efforts felt like a drop in the ocean.

Very soon, Ikaros saw a cultist dig up a strange object from the ruins. It looked like part of a statue, and the cultist appeared quite excited. Holding the fragment reverently, he approached a figure in a black robe not far behind him and offered the piece. The black-robed figure accepted the fragment, examined it briefly, and nodded in satisfaction. The cultist then turned and resumed digging.

"Is that it?"

Ikaros watched as the black-robed figure carefully placed the fragment into a wooden box. She scanned it lightly and immediately detected that there were many similar energy signatures inside the box. It seemed these cultists were doing a decent job of collecting these fragments.

Hmm… although Master's orders were only to scout, I can't just sit idly by.

Ikaros had no idea what these cultists were planning, but she knew they were Alex's enemies, and whatever they were doing was certainly not in his best interest. Therefore, she had to stop them from achieving their goal.

Although Ikaros appeared small and cute, she was still an angel, specifically a multi-purpose electronic warfare angel. Alex might not think she was very combat-oriented, but to Ikaros, fighting was also part of her duty.

Of course, charging in foolishly like an idiot was something only α and △ would do. As a β-type combat angel, Ikaros had her own way of handling things.

"Energy wave scan… confirmed. Wide-area radar activated…"

The focus rings in Ikaros' eyes began to rotate as she successfully recorded the energy fluctuations from the fragments in the wooden box. Using that as a baseline, she began scanning the entire ruin. Through energy resonance, she quickly located several more fragments hidden within the ruins.

The entire process took less than ten seconds—fast, efficient, and effective.

"Perfect."

Ikaros nodded in satisfaction. She then cast a disdainful glance at the cultists still toiling away on the ground before turning and flying off in the opposite direction.

Using energy resonance, Ikaros swiftly found another fragment. However…

"What on earth is this thing?"

As she stared at the large fragment buried in the dirt, Ikaros furrowed her brow. Its appearance resembled half the head of some terrifying beast, though nothing in Ikaros' memory banks matched such a creature. But that wasn't important. What was important was that, despite her excitement upon finding it, Ikaros quickly realized the fragment was larger than her entire body.

"Well, this is troublesome…"

Ikaros glanced around nervously. Above the ruins, she could see imps flying back and forth. Although the fragment wasn't particularly heavy for Ikaros—artificial angels were much stronger than humans—the sheer size of it meant that taking it might attract the attention of the imps. Wait…?

At that moment, Ikaros' eyes fell on a dull, dirty-looking gem embedded in the forehead of the statue fragment. It looked like nothing more than a discarded piece of glass, but her radar scan revealed that most of the fragment's energy emanated from this small red gem.

That's it!

With that realization, Ikaros hurriedly moved to the fragment, reached out, and pried the grapefruit-sized gem from the statue. After a quick glance around, she restored her invisibility and silently flew back into the sky, making her escape.

(End of Chapter)

🌟 Unlock the World of Stories with Early Access on Patreon! 🌟

Hello, beloved readers and supporters!

I am thrilled to offer you an exclusive opportunity to dive deeper into our captivating stories before anyone else. By joining the Patreon community, you'll unlock a treasure trove of benefits, including:

📚 Early Access to 20 Chapters: Be the first to explore new chapters, experiencing the twists and turns of our tales well ahead of regular readers. Your journey through our stories doesn't have to wait!

💬 Connect with the Community: Join a vibrant, like-minded group of readers who share your passion. Engage in exciting discussions, share theories, and make new friends who love the stories as much as you do.

👏 Support the Creator: Your patronage directly contributes to the ongoing creation and improvement of the content you love. Be a vital part of the creative journey!

Patreon.com/anish_44