That strange Afternoon Town invaded the real Afternoon Town? Derrick vaguely understood the Chief's words and had a rough guess as to the reason for this.
He suspected that when Mr. Fool pulled him out of the strange Afternoon Town, he had broken the balance there, allowing his powers to seep out.
This also explained why Demon Hunter Colin Iliad didn't vanish on the spot after repeating his attempt.
Just as Derrick was thinking about what kind of changes this would bring, the six-member council's Chief, Colin, had already taken out a handful of shimmering dust from a hidden compartment on his belt and scattered it into the air.
The dust suddenly exploded, spewing out a silvery white light, which was exceptionally obvious in the dark gray environment.
Derrick, Joshua, and Haim knew very well what the signal meant. It was to not run around and to stay where they were. They were to be wary of any incoming enemies and await reinforcements!
Without a doubt, it was targeted at the exploration teams scattered all over Afternoon Town.
Demon Hunter Colin released three consecutive signals during the interval between the lightning bolts. Then, he turned to the side and said to Derrick and company,
"We'll meet up with them from near to far.
"Be careful on the road."
"Yes, Chief!" Derrick had already forgotten about the grievance he had felt just now. He only hoped to help his companions as soon as possible.
According to Colin's instructions, he walked on the left side of the team. On the other side was the red-gloved, iron-black sword-wielding Joshua. The relatively stronger Dawn Paladin, Haim, was at the back, about three steps away from the Demon Hunter in front of him.
High up in the sky, lightning flashed at a relatively high frequency. The gloomy Afternoon Town was sometimes bright and sometimes dark. The candlelight reflected in the windows swayed back and forth. It was peaceful and quiet.
Derrick was no longer the rookie from before. Although he was nervous, his palm that held the Axe of Hurricane didn't sweat. His gaze moved back and forth in a practiced manner, guarding against any monsters that might suddenly jump out from the buildings on both sides.
After a flash of lightning, the World returned to darkness. The candles in Afternoon Town flickered like stars, as if they were waiting for travelers who needed a place to stay.
As for the animal hide lantern in Haim's hand, it emitted a dim yellow light, but it couldn't reach far. It wasn't as effective as Derrick's night vision.
Its only use seemed to be to disperse the thick darkness around it.
At that moment, Derrick suddenly felt a chill on his neck, but there wasn't any cold wind around him!
He subconsciously didn't turn around. Instead, he took a step to the side, turned his body halfway, and looked behind him out of the corner of his eye.
He saw Haim, who was nearly 2.3 meters tall, stare at him with a gloomy expression as he cleaved down with his large and broad sword!
Bang!
Derrick rolled and dodged the attack, his ears still ringing with the intense sound of the wind.
Then, he heard the Chief's voice.
"What happened?"
"Haim attacked me!" Derrick rolled towards Demon Hunter Colin and stood up.
"Me?" Haim held an animal hide lantern in one hand and a large straight sword in the other as he asked in puzzlement.
Colin glanced at Derrick.
"I didn't sense any unusual movements from him."
As he spoke, two dark green symbols appeared in the Demon Hunter's eyes.
He looked around and said,
"The attacker can transform into Haim's appearance?"
Before he finished speaking, the silver sword in his right hand suddenly stabbed backwards!
Pfft!
Amidst the silent collision, a figure appeared in the dark and gloomy environment. He had disheveled white hair, deep wrinkles, and pale blue eyes that were filled with the vicissitudes of life. In his hand was a silver sword smeared with light gray ointment. He looked almost identical to Demon Hunter Colin. The only difference was that his expression was gloomy and his skin was dark.
Pfft! Pfft!
Two silver swords clashed in midair, producing sparks.
At the same time, Colin Iliad shouted in a deep voice:
"Light!"
Light? Derrick instinctively raised his hands and held them in front of his mouth and nose.
At that instant, he discovered three figures running out from the darkness around him. One of them was the tall and muscular Haim, the other was the scarlet-gloved Joshua, and the last was the rather tall Derrick who still had traces of childishness on his face!
Derrick didn't panic. According to the Chief's instructions, he released a rather clear luster from his body.
The three figures seemed to be afraid of this. As they raised their palms to block their faces, they attempted to flee to the side.
However, how could their speed be faster than light?
The clear luster illuminated the surrounding area, completely drowning the three figures.
They opened their mouths and let out a silent scream, but it quickly faded away.
The light surged, enveloping the two Demon Hunters who were engaged in an intense battle in a bright domain. One of them immediately stiffened and slowed down before losing its color and turning completely black.
Pfft!
The silver sword smeared with light gray ointment pierced through the monster, but it seemed to stab into invisible air, failing to cause any damage.
At this moment, the dark monster suddenly ignited, splitting into distorted shadows that melted inch by inch amidst the light and flames.
Demon Hunter Colin retracted his silver sword and turned his head to look at Derrick and company.
"The monsters this time are our own shadows.
"Their weakness is the bright light!"
As he spoke, the Chief of the six-member council emitted the pure and holy light of dawn, illuminating the entire street as though it was dawn.
This was a Beyonder power that could be obtained at the Dawn Paladin stage of the Warrior pathway. The reason why Demon Hunter Colin didn't use it in the beginning was because the effects were too obvious. He didn't know what accidents would happen. Now, he knew the weakness of the monsters in Afternoon Town!
The light of dawn created by the Chief was like a domain. Haim gave up on using similar Beyonder powers and continued holding the animal hide lantern. Together with Derrick and Joshua, he followed behind Colin Iliad and turned into another street.
Before long, the group of four arrived at a half-collapsed cathedral.
The cathedral originally had a tall tower, and the entire structure was made of classical stone columns and brick arches. It was heavy and dark.
After passing through the door that even giants found too wide, Derrick and company followed the Chief and came to the prayer hall. They saw that the statue had been destroyed, but the candle on the altar had been lit by someone.
In front of the altar, a figure in a simple white robe was prostrating there, praying softly in a manner that no one could hear.
"It's not one of us." Haim, who also had night vision, was the tallest, so he was the first to notice the abnormality.
This means that it's not a monster transformed from one of our team members' shadows … Derrick helped Haim to voice out the hidden meaning.
And this meant the unknown, and the unknown often meant extreme danger!
"There should've been an exploratory team here." Colin converged the range of his light of dawn to prevent himself from agitating the white-robed figure.
Haim, Joshua, and Derrick suddenly fell silent. In such a situation, the fact that the exploratory team didn't appear immediately meant that the outcome wasn't good.
As their thoughts raced, two men in tight-fitting black clothes walked out from the door on the right side of the hall. They were two of the members of the cathedral's exploratory team.
"Chief, there's something wrong with those shadows! Laloa has been devoured by his own shadow! " One of the exploratory team members swept his gaze to Demon Hunter Colin as he immediately said in excitement and fear.
Has someone already been sacrificed … While Derrick's heart was heavy, he saw the scattered light of dawn spread out, enveloping the two exploratory team members.
The two team members' expressions suddenly turned ferocious as their bodies rapidly dimmed. In just two seconds, they were like shadows that had been illuminated, completely vanishing. Pa!
Pa! Pa!
White bones and lumps of flesh and blood fell from their bodies, smashing to the ground.
Specks of light slowly seeped out from the wreckage.
Colin retracted his gaze and said expressionlessly,
"Let's go to the clergy first and listen to what it's praying for."
Derrick and company nodded in silence as they walked towards the collapsed statue.
After about ten steps, they saw the white-robed figure from the side. It was a middle-aged man with deep facial features who was crying.
The ecclesiastic's face was almost plastered to the ground as he muttered to himself, "Almighty Lord, I repent.
"Almighty Lord, I repent. … I tempted Sasrir, and the Princes frequently came to the palace belonging to Dusk to plot.
"The people of this town have changed at some point in time. They set up secret altars, held strange rituals, and did all sorts of things that you forbid.
"I discovered all of this, but it was already too late. Depravity, blood, darkness, rot, murder, filth, and shadows have already drowned this land.
"A great calamity will begin from here!"
These words were repeated over and over again, like a prophet using a low voice to narrate the tragic ending that was bound to come.
A great calamity will begin from here? The abandonment of this land by the Lord that created everything began from here? Also, who tempted Dark Angel Sasrir? This ecclesiastic should've said it, because after the sentence "I repent," there's a gap that can be used to say a name … He originally said it, but the name disappeared by itself? Who erased it? This ecclesiastic should've been in that strange Afternoon Town before appearing here after the balance was broken. Otherwise, he would've been discovered during the previous exploration … Many thoughts flashed through Derrick's mind.
At this moment, he saw the Chief take a step forward and walk to the side of the simple white-robed ecclesiastic.
…
Klein woke up from his dream as he closed his eyes from the piercing midday sunlight that shone in from the window.
He got out of bed and unhurriedly arrived at the pirate's dining hall.
When Frank Lee saw him arrive, he immediately waved at him.
"Gehrman, I discovered something new!"
F * ck, what the hell is it this time … Klein's heart immediately leapt up.
"Your new invention?"
"No, it's not." Frank shook his head excitedly. "I originally wanted to study the fish in these waters. They should be able to dream! I tried to fish just now, but I caught something strange. "
PS: First update, seeking monthly votes!
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