In the half-collapsed temple, only a few stone pillars remained intact, and together, they supported half of the main hall.
At the front of the main hall was an altar covered in cracks. In the middle of the altar stood a pitch-black, huge cross.
On the cross hung a naked man hanging upside down. His ankles, thighs, and body had obvious rust-colored nails protruding out, accompanied by bright red blood stains.
Derrick knew very well that this was the statue of the Fallen Creator, but he couldn't help but lower his gaze to size up the target's face.
He saw that the statue's face, nose, mouth, and ears were rather blurry. Only the eyes were abnormally clear.
The Fallen Creator's eyes were tightly shut, as if he was suffering from guilt and pain.
"Move your eyes away. Don't study the evil god's statue!" Demon Hunter Colin reminded them in a deep voice.
"Yes, Your Excellency." The members of the expedition team hurriedly retracted their gazes.
Before today, although the City of Silver had discovered quite a number of destroyed cities in its previous explorations and found some written records that pointed to an evil god, most of the residents had never seen the so-called evil god statue.
The remaining portion of the temple on the ground wasn't wide. The expedition team quickly split up into groups of two or three and finished their inspection, but they didn't find anything abnormal.
Upon seeing this, Chief Colin of the six-member council deliberated for a few seconds.
"Head underground."
As he spoke, he drew one of the two swords on his back and smeared a silver-gray ointment on it.
Then, he took out a small metal bottle from a hidden compartment on his belt, pulled out the stopper, and gulped down the medicine inside.
At that moment, Derrick felt that the Chief's light blue eyes seemed to light up a little.
The members of the expedition team made their most cautious preparations. Under the illumination of the four animal hide lanterns, they followed the stairs to the left of the statue and walked down to the underground area step by step.
Derrick took his turn holding the lantern. He walked ahead on the left and carefully went deep into the darkness.
He heard his and his companions' footsteps echo out from the surface of the stone steps, producing a distant and empty echo.
The echo was not disturbed at all, indicating the absolute silence below. However, in the hearts of the members of the exploration teams, it was like a knock on the door, attempting to open a secret that had been buried for who knew how many years. That made them extremely tense.
After walking for an unknown period of time, Derrick finally saw that the road ahead had become flat. He also saw the newly discovered mural described by the corrupted Dacres.
Those murals existed on both sides of the wall, simply painted with some colors, appearing ancient, vicissitudes of life, and gloomy.
Derrick took a casual glance and was attracted by one of the murals.
On the wall in front of them on the left, a pure white cross stood in the center, surrounded by a sea of black that drowned many humans who were struggling to stretch out their arms.
On the cross was the Fallen Creator hanging upside down. The rusted nails and blood-colored stains were no different from the statues in the outside world.
However, in this mural, the Fallen Creator was suffering from the corrosion of black, causing parts of the pure white cross to turn pitch-black.
Apart from that, the cross supported a hazy land. Countless humans were kneeling and praying to the Fallen Creator.
Around the scene, in the deepest depths of the darkness, there were six evil god-like figures.
In the upper left corner was a lady wearing a black classic dress. Her clothes were layered, but they weren't complicated. They were embedded with star-like brilliance. Her body was relatively incorporeal, and there were signs of ripples spreading outwards. Her face was blurry, as though she was wearing a faceless mask.
Around her, the darkness was surging, and strange eyes were faintly discernible.
Right above her was a young man wearing a pure white robe. His face was painted pure gold, and he grew tentacles that resembled light.
His hands held a rotten green book and a spear condensed from light. His chest and back were reversed.
In the upper right corner was a monster holding a trident. It had an octopus-like head, wide eyes, and its body was wrapped in lightning.
Countless bird feathers formed its cloak, and the darkness turned into waves that supported its feet.
In the lower right corner was a plump and beautiful lady. Her chest was bulging high, and she was naked outside her clothes. In her arms was a baby with a rotting face. Beneath her feet were black wheat, a spring with squirming flesh, herbs with pus flowing, and wild mating animals.
Directly below her was an old man wearing a hood, revealing his mouth, wrinkles, and white beard.
The old man held an open book, and above it was an omniscient eye.
At first glance, this old man looked the most normal, but the smile on his lips had an indescribable evil.
In the lower left corner was a giant warrior wearing broken armor. He held a longsword and sat on a throne. The background was a desolate dusk.
The meaning of this mural was that when the Cataclysm arrived, the evil gods crawled out of the abyss. In order to save the world, the Fallen Creator bore most of the blame and pain. As a result, his symbol was eroded, and his image changed … But, I think? The greatest evil god … Derrick carried the hide lantern and looked at the mural on the wall as he walked. He realized that it was basically the same as Dacre's description. The core theme was that the region was not abandoned by the gods. Instead, it was blessed by the Creator, and civilization was maintained in the apocalypse.
Of course, Dacre had only briefly mentioned it, and it was far less detailed than the mural itself.
Throughout the entire process, Derrick did not let his guard down. Having learned his lesson from being dumbfounded, he was always on guard against accidents, and was ready to respond at the first instance.
In the dim yellow candlelight, the exploration team passed through corridors, halls, and rooms, and went deep into the underground area of the temple.
Suddenly, a half-open gray stone door appeared in front of them.
Outside the door was a cluster of beautiful mushroom-shaped objects. They were the size of a palm, with white handles and bright red caps. They were sparkling with dark golden spots.
Upon seeing these "mushrooms," the members of the exploration team felt a strong urge to rush over, pluck one, and stuff it into their mouths.
Gulp. Many of them swallowed their saliva.
However, most of the people who could enter the expedition team had rich experience and were relatively good Sequences. After receiving a reminder in advance, someone immediately stood up and said in a low voice, "Don't worry.
Having been warned beforehand, someone immediately stood up and whispered, "That's rotting flesh and hairy scalps."
Derrick knew this teammate. He knew that his name was Joshua, and that he had a mystical item that he had obtained and successfully exchanged for during an exploration.
Joshua stretched out his scarlet-gloved left palm and aimed it at the door.
With a flash of light, a blazing fireball quickly formed and shot out, hitting the abnormally alluring "mushrooms."
Boom! The ground trembled slightly as the flames spread out two meters in all directions.
By the time the flames subsided, the mushrooms had all disappeared, leaving behind only bits of flesh and blood. It disgusted the Beyonders who had nearly lost control of themselves.
Demon Hunter Colin didn't interfere with his team's actions. He quietly watched from the side, nodding from time to time.
"How can there be mushrooms made of flesh, blood, and hair? Where did the flesh and hair come from? "Joshua retracted his left palm and muttered to himself in puzzlement.
Another team member made a bold guess.
"The original residents of this city?"
That's possible … Perhaps their death is to turn into pure flesh and hair … Derrick agreed inwardly.
After a brief discussion, the exploration team split into several groups and cleaned up the hall outside the gray stone door.
After doing all of this, they regrouped and slowly passed through the door, ready to fight at any moment.
Behind the door was an altar-like place. The area around it was difficult for light to illuminate was deep and dark, and it was unknown what was hidden inside.
And above the altar, there was also a pitch-black cross and the hanging Fallen Creator.
Derrick, who was holding an animal hide lantern, was the closest and instinctively glanced over.
His gaze suddenly froze because he realized that the Fallen Creator statue here was different from the outside world.
Its eyes were open!
His blood-red eyes and black pupils stared straight at the intruders as if they were alive.
Clatter, clatter, clatter. Derrick heard the clatter of teeth.
He originally thought that it came from one of his team members, but he quickly realized that it was him who was trembling!
Although he didn't know much about the dangers of the Evil Gods, his teeth were instinctively chattering at this moment.
Da da da.
His teammates had a similar reaction.
At this moment, a bit of powder floated up. Demon Hunter Colin clenched his fist.
Rumble!
The sound of thunder reverberated, and Derrick and the rest snapped out of their nightmarish state.
Before they had time to examine their surroundings, they suddenly heard the sound of weeping coming from behind the altar.
"Wu, wu, wu …"
"Wu, wu, wu …"
In the silence that made one's teeth ache, Demon Hunter Colin calmly ordered, "Don't worry.
"Derrick, Joshua, go around and take a look."
Derrick's body was a little cold as he held the animal hide lantern and the Axe of Hurricane. Together with Joshua, he slowly walked around to the back of the altar.
As the darkness was gradually dispelled by the light, they saw a black shadow curled up behind the altar.
Taking another two steps forward, the black shadow revealed its original appearance.
It was a child of seven or eight years old, with soft, yellow hair.
He closed his eyes, as if he wasn't used to the light.
He shouted excitedly, "Save me, save me …"
Derrick's pupils constricted as he recalled the cry for help he had heard in the pure darkness. He subconsciously raised the Axe of Hurricane.
At this moment, Demon Hunter Colin, who had already arrived beside them, took a step forward and asked solemnly,
"Who are you?"
The child stopped crying for help and said as if recalling something,
"My name is … My name is Jack …"
...
After dinner, Klein put on his coat and hat and prepared to go out.
He wanted to find Miss Sharon and solve the problem of a particular baronet digging a tunnel. He also wanted to ask for clues about mermaids, hoping to complete this matter before Sherlock and Moriarty went south for a "vacation."
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