Fernando grabbed the notebook and cast 'Advanced Stealth' on himself, disappearing from the library while he listened to the shuffling footsteps in silence.
One, two, three … More and more footsteps echoed at the gate.
"Why are there so many people? Why are they acting so stealthily … "Fernando created the spying eyes and asked them to disperse and monitor the entire villa. Although the spell had a limited range, Tuck's villa was old and small, and everything was within his control.
In an empty corner, a crystal ball suddenly glittered and displayed the scene in the hall. Even 'Advanced Stealth' could not cover such an effect.
Inside the hall, men and women in regular clothes were walking like ghosts. Their footsteps were very light, as if they were scared that they would wake up the owner of the place.
There were about a dozen of them. They dispersed and surrounded a horrible-looking man in the middle.
The man had scarlet hair, a bulging forehead, broken eyebrows in the middle, a nose that was missing half, an upturned mouth, and a pair of eyes that only had the whites left. His facial organs were so hideous that they did not seem to be born. They were both like a doll made by a willful child and a monster that only appeared in illogical dreams.
He looked at the ceiling with his blind eyes, and his ears shivered as if they had been bitten by dogs. After the dozen men and women stood in weird positions, he suddenly opened his mouth and said, "God, save the world."
His voice was not as "ugly" as his face. It was unpredictable and high, as if it had descended from an infinite height, making people feel intimidated.
"Please save us, True God." The men and women held their hands and slowly fell forward in weird and twisted postures.
The man continued in the same tone as before and said solemnly, "After we are born, everybody suffers and repents for their crimes. Everybody suffers hunger, trauma, jealousy, and betrayal. Nobody is happy for a single day, and they are suffocated by the infinite pressure. Also, in the end, nobody can escape death. They can only walk to death in fear.
"But the True God told us that death is eternal. Death is tranquil. There is no sorrow or pain. When we face death, we have to thank God for his grace. We have to thank Him for not letting you sink into this filthy world …"
As he spoke, the whole hall was filled with an intoxicating atmosphere. The dozen men and women listened attentively, as if they were gradually understanding the truth of death.
"Could it be a heretical church that believes in the God of Death?" Through the surveillance of the Demon Spying Eye, Fernando roughly figured out what happened in the hall and made a preliminary guess.
This place had been infiltrated by the heretic churches, so it was normal for something like this to happen.
Just as the thought flashed through his mind, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong. "But why are they holding a preaching ceremony in Tuck's house? Do they know that there's no one in the Tucker Family? "
Fernando was puzzled. He looked around carefully and did not find Tuck, who was trying to study the mysteries of faith. Fran created an image of Tuck for him with her memory so that it would be easier for him to find Tuck.
"Odd. Are they related to Tuck's' disappearance '?" Fernando observed the' believers' even more carefully.
"… As long as we can obtain the favor of the True God, we will obtain eternal life in death, eternal life without pain …" The priest's voice suddenly became high-pitched, and at the same time, he raised his right hand.
As he raised his right hand, the dozen men and women got up from the ground and danced a weird dance that Fernando had never seen before. Their postures were all extremely twisted, as if they were not afraid of the damage of their joints or the pain at all.
"It doesn't look like a regular religious ritual …" Fernando had studied it before. "Are the believers of the God of Death so special?"
As the 'dance' became weirder and weirder, the atmosphere in the hall became more and more chaotic. They took off their clothes and crawled to the priest naked.
The priest lowered his right hand, but there was a sharp dagger that emitted cold silver brilliance in his hand.
Right when Fernando thought that the priest was going to reap the lives of the believers to please the God of Death, the priest turned his right hand and stabbed the dagger into his own chest. Blood flowed out.
"Huh?" Fernando was completely stunned. He knew a lot of sacrificial rituals, but he had never seen the host commit suicide first!
The blood dripped on the dirty floor. A man who was crawling on the ground suddenly licked the blood with bloodshot eyes as if he had been summoned by the gods.
Then, with laughter in his throat, he lunged at the priest who had collapsed on the ground like a wolf. He bared his white teeth and bit the priest's neck brutally, tearing off a large piece of flesh and swallowing it in a hurry.
The other men and women went crazy too. They lunged at the priest and tore his flesh apart, chewing and swallowing it reverently.
Looking at the believers whose mouths were full of blood and broken flesh, Fernando could not help but feel nauseous. Although he had studied necromancy, he had never seen such a disgusting scene before.
In the crazy competition for food, a lot of blood was wasted and gathered below the bodies, forming a puddle.
The blood in the 'puddle' suddenly evaporated, creating a hazy mist around everybody.
And in the blood mist, a face suddenly drilled out.
The dark red color was like a veil that was tightly stretched on the face. Only the eyes, nose, and other protruding parts could be seen, making it extremely creepy and horrifying.
He shouted in a hoarse voice:
"Save me!"
Stimulated by the voice, Fernando's body trembled. He did not know when the drowsiness left his body.
At this moment, he realized that the scene in the crystal ball was still the 'normal scene' where the priest was chanting prayers and the men and women were 'dancing'.
"What happened to me just now?" Fernando asked himself subconsciously. Soon, he realized that he had been affected by the illusion and had entered a dream without knowing it!
He looked around cautiously and thought to himself, 'The person who can make me enter the dream through the previous scene is definitely not just a High Mage. He's at least a Great Mage, and a Great Mage who specializes in Dream Domain. What is he trying to do?'
Suddenly, he thought in shock, "The one who shouted 'save me' is the archmage who created the dream? He created the dream to ask for my help? "
Fernando did not rush out to investigate the dozen heretical believers because the 'caller' was obviously trying to avoid the surveillance of certain existences. He might be caught in an accident if he acted recklessly.
"Is the person who called for help imprisoned? No, if he was imprisoned, the power he leaked out wouldn't be able to affect me at all, unless his strength was above the Legendary-realm. Then, I wouldn't be able to provoke someone who could imprison him. If he wasn't imprisoned and was instead hiding somewhere in the city, then the person who could force a Great Mage into such a difficult situation would be at least a level-9 powerhouse. He might be nearby … "
"Such a method is obviously a sorcerer. Then, why didn't he ask for help from the 'Office of Sorcerers' directly? He should've been able to reach out to Aalto from there. Unless … unless the 'Office of Sorcerers' is monitored by the expert in secret. Perhaps, something happened to the people in the 'Office of Sorcerers' and they betrayed or were replaced …"
"So, would the expert in secret allow someone to leave Kufuray City and ask for help for the sorcerer?"
Fernando shook his head firmly. Certainly not. Perhaps he would be caught, interrogated, and killed the moment he tried to leave the city.
At this moment, the dancing believers slowed down. It seemed that the ritual tonight was coming to an end.
Fernando's eyes were unfocused as he watched the scene. A thought suddenly flashed in his mind. Could it be that the 'helper' did this on purpose to scare me so that I wouldn't dare to leave Kufuray City? Then, I would disappear like Tuck …
He was a very smart man, so he thought a lot and hesitated, not knowing which possibility he should believe.
However, now that he thought of Tuck, he seized the time and opened his notebook to read the records at the back.
"The prayer ritual here is too weird. It's very different from what I know …"
"The more I study the church that developed in secret, the more scared I am. What is it exactly?"
"No, why have I never seen anybody leave the city? Why do the people who deliver water and food only return after they reach the city gate? "
"I'm going to get out of here!"
The scribbles were followed by hopeless blankness.
"Does everybody know that I can't leave the city?" Fernando was even more confused.
Inside the crystal ball, the prayers stopped and were ready to leave under the command of the priest.
Fernando blinked to the hall and asked aloud, "Who are you? Why have you come to Tuck's house without permission? "
He was here for Tuck. So, he had to pretend that he was here for Tuck. Only in such a way could he buy himself more time without being noticed and suspected!
"We were invited by Tuck," the priest who was as hideous as a monster replied solemnly and frankly.
"Tuck invited you here?" Fernando was slightly taken aback. He didn't expect this answer.
… …
Furan and Antec quickly flew to Kufuray City with the tokens that their teachers gave them.
"Right, who's been on duty recently?" Antec did not pay much attention to it.
Furan thought for a moment and said, "Mr. 'Original Fire'."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
