Hao Ren did not expect to see the name of the King of Blood here again. It was not in a manuscript left by a wizard, but in a diary left by an ordinary human. As the MDT finished analyzing the remaining handwriting on the parchment, things began to become clear.
The Heimerwin mentioned in the diary was the same as the nameplate outside the mansion. It was now confirmed that this person was the owner of this town, Domir, and several surrounding areas. He was a small noble in a remote place in the countryside. The person who left the parchment did not leave his name. It was only certain that he was Heimerwin's butler. What was mentioned in the diary should be what happened in the last period of time before the town changed. Reading between the lines, one could feel the anxiety of the writer. A series of strange events enveloped the town, and shadows and turmoil filled Domir.
The beginning seemed to be an infectious disease. The news that Lily heard from the spirit and the words on the parchment had recorded the event. The children in the town were infected with a strange disease that gradually made them lose their strength, and ordinary medicine had no effect on it. In that dark age, this kind of thing had a hint of horror, and people would naturally associate it with witchcraft and curses. The lord of this town, Heimerwin, did not do anything about the spread of the rumor. His "personality changed" and he listened to a so-called scholar of unknown origin. The lord not only did not find a way to cure the disease, but also launched an operation to put the witches on trial. This operation was carried out under the influence of the foreign "scholar".
There were not many records about witches. Hao Ren could not tell whether she was an ordinary woman who was framed or a witch who really knew magic. The only thing that caught his attention was the large amount of soot produced when the witch's body was burned, which seemed to confirm the black ash that could be seen everywhere in the town. If it was a real witch, then the ashes in the town were probably the result of some kind of curse.
Hao Ren and Vivian's main attention was still on the "scholar". There was no doubt that he was the wizard who left behind the "Ritual of the King of Blood."
Hao Ren flipped through the text analyzed by the MDT and asked Vivian, "Was this a common thing back then?"
"You mean sorcerers and curses?" Vivian raised an eyebrow. "Something like that. Witchcraft, magic, cursed cities and villages, various exorcists and demons fighting openly and covertly, and ordinary people trembling in fear and bewilderment … It was a chaotic era. Demon hunters and unusual creatures had not completely faded out of the ordinary people's world, and the number of people who died unnatural deaths could not be higher. However, the situation of this town was relatively rare: the whole town was dragged into a different dimension, and the wizard who launched this magic was very powerful, and he must have used some external force, such as the Gates of Purgatory. A normal Magus wouldn't be able to do that anyway. "
Hao Ren stopped what he was doing. "You mean the power of Inferno Gate trapped this town in this space and time?"
"The beginning of the distortion of space and time should be the Inferno Gate, but the gate must be closed now." Vivian waved her hand. "Inferno is very unstable. It's impossible for it to remain open for centuries."
Hao Ren nodded and continued to check the documents. There was some information in the records left by the old butler:
"… I found that the scholar always had a black book in his hand. When he was reading the book, he would have a strange expression on his face. No one who is blessed should have that expression when reading a book that is beneficial to them … I asked him about the book, but I was treated coldly. He said that it was a handwritten Bible, but because of some religious reasons, he could not let anyone touch it. This was enough to make me vigilant: what kind of Bible would refuse a person with a conscience to touch it? Unless it was the devil's scripture …
"… I finally found a chance. I glanced at the strange black book in his hand, and the sinister man quickly noticed what I was doing. His eyes were very scary for a moment. Although it was only for a short moment, he finally took off the dignified shell of a 'scholar'. I think I will never forget that a person's eyes could be so sinister … That was the eyes of a person who had sold his soul to the devil. They were as cold and merciless as glass. His real eyeballs must have been hanging on the devil's mantelpiece! But the strangest thing was the book itself … There were no words, just the part that I saw, there was only a blank page. Now I can only believe that God used His miracle to protect a devout servant. The page must be full of blasphemous symbols, but fortunately, I couldn't see them. "
The MDT flashed twice, indicating that it could only parse so many words.
"The strange black book mentioned above is the magic book we found?" Hao Ren muttered to Vivian, puzzled. "We didn't find the words in the magic book disappeared."
Vivian shook her head and said, "It should be another book. A wizard can't only have one magic book. Anyway, now that we have confirmed the wizard's identity, I suspect that the plague and the witches before the mutation in this town were all planned by this wizard. He seems to have planned to involve everyone in the town in some kind of ritual … But based on the information at hand, I can't tell what kind of ritual it is. "
The two of them rummaged through the room again, but they didn't find anything valuable. In the end, Hao Ren only put away the parchment and went back to the long hall on the first floor with Vivian.
Soon, the others finished their exploration and returned to the long hall. After everyone gathered, Hao Ren told them about his and Vivian's findings and asked if there was any other result.
"Witches, wizards, and curses. I'm not good at dealing with such complicated things," Lily muttered and pointed to her eyes. "I saw a lot of ghostly shadows walking around here. Looks like they were the servants who worked here. The Heimerwin you mentioned should be among them, but the shadows are too messy, I can't tell who is who. Besides, I didn't find anything related to the wizard, and I didn't see his shadow either. His spirit body should not be imprisoned. "
"My brother and I found a basement," Nangong Wuyue raised her tail. "The basement is full of rotten potatoes, wine barrels, and more dust. Nothing else."
Turcan and Kassandra also shook their heads, indicating that there was nothing in the two towers they were responsible for.
"The wizard must have lived here, but where did he hide his magic books and spellcasting materials?" Hessiana pinched her chin. "These things are more important than a wizard's life. It's impossible that he didn't carry them with him …"
Suddenly, Hessiana stopped. Everyone looked up at the direction of the stairs on the second floor. In the silence, Nangong Sanba was the first to break the silence. "Did you hear something just now?"
Lily's ears flickered. "Yes, I heard it. It sounded like footsteps."
Turcan and Kassandra immediately got to their feet, each drawing an exquisite noble sword and a large-caliber pistol from their waists (the style of the Hessianite Family). The two carefully walked towards the stairs with their weapons in hand. But before they could take a few steps, a large black mass suddenly 'walked' down the stairs!
It was a huge pile of weird ashes. It was black and looked like a dirty ball of mud, but it had the shape of a human. The mass of black ash appeared at the top of the stairs, swayed a little, and then clumsily walked down the stairs step by step. With every step it took, a large amount of ash and dust fell off. As it approached, the gray mass began to change. After its outer appearance fell off, the clothes and skin underneath were exposed, and the upper part of the gray mass slowly began to show the outline of a human face. When 'it' walked into the long hall, it was almost a complete and clear human shape.
Hao Ren and the rest of them held their weapons and looked at the strange 'thing' curiously and vigilantly until it finally completely turned into a middle-aged man with a tired face.
The middle-aged man who walked out of the ashes looked like he was in his forties. His hairstyle and clothes were the attire of a wealthy person in the Middle Ages. When the ashes fell off his body, he seemed to be in a trance, but he quickly came to his senses and looked at the group of strangers in front of him.
After being stunned for a few seconds, the man suddenly let out a scream, then turned around and ran to the second floor!
Hao Ren immediately reacted. "Catch him!"
A ray of white light rushed forward. Lily was carrying a brick that came out of nowhere. She rushed forward and hit the man with it. Hao Ren was shocked when he saw this scene. He thought to himself, "This person came out of ashes. What if his body is really made of ashes? Wouldn't Lily's brick shatter it?" Hao Ren thought to himself.
Fortunately, the man was only sent flying by Lily, but he rolled over and stood up again as if nothing had happened.
Lily decisively went up and subdued the man before he could run away again. Then she dragged her trophy back to Hao Ren and said, "Got him!"
The mysterious man, who was tied up by Lily, looked at Hao Ren in horror. "You … What are you doing?! Are you people or ghosts?! "
Hao Ren thought that the man was the wizard he was looking for, but when he heard the tone of voice, he felt that something was not right. He asked about the man's identity. "Who are you?"
The man shrank his neck in fear. "I … I am the lord of this place, Heimerwin Ahtisaari …"
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