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In the cornfield, a creature, black all over, resembling both a rat and a rabbit, was gnawing at the roots of the corn stalks.
Perhaps it was too engrossed in its gnawing, as it didn't notice a corn stalk behind it quietly bending low.
Just as the creature was about to bite through the corn stalk's root, it suddenly raised its head, finally realizing the danger!
But it discovered it too late. The bent-low corn stalk abruptly opened its corn fruit, which was as large as two adult palms. Its red tassels resembled the proboscis of a blood-sucking creature, and the enveloping leaves were like thin membranes. When fully opened, there were no corn kernels inside, only a monstrous mouth full of backward-pointing teeth.
This "corn fruit" lunged down, swallowing the rat-like creature in one bite.
The creature struggled violently inside the "corn fruit," but soon, it became still.
Hobert realized that these were not corn at all, but monsters disguised as corn!
What Hobert found strange was that after the corn "saw" him, they seemed to regard him as some kind of monster, and they all tilted away, trying to avoid Hobert!
Hobert took a few steps forward, and the corn in front of him also moved away.
He smiled: "So shy, are you?"
After confirming that these corn plants were not aggressive, Hobert used "Distortion" to cover distance quickly. However, this cornfield seemed endless, and after several distortions, he still couldn't leave.
While advancing, he injected his spirituality into the "Order Crystal," searching for the trail of the Black Hound spirit beast!
Theoretically, as soon as he entered "Foggy Town," the Black Hound spirit beast should have been attracted by the "Order Crystal." Why hadn't that fellow appeared yet?
But soon, Hobert stopped, hearing a faint "rustling" sound in the distance, as if some monster was hiding in the cornfield. He extended his left hand and injected spirituality into "1-107": "Hiding is forbidden here!"
Whoosh!
All the corn to his left suddenly fell to either side. At the end of the cornfield, Hobert saw an old man who seemed weathered and worn. It was Ryan Salomon, who had disappeared during the Backlund smog event!
When the other party saw Hobert, the corners of his mouth stretched back, suddenly revealing a grim smile: "Frenzy!"
Hobert was already prepared and immediately activated the "Order Crystal's" shield!
However, even when the other party was still hiding behind the corn, the characteristics he emitted had already begun to affect Hobert, causing a series of crazy thoughts to burst into Hobert's mind, making it difficult to form a complete train of thought.
It was hard to imagine how serious the consequences would be if he were hit head-on by the other party's "Frenzy."
Then, Hobert realized that his spiritual warning and perception had failed here.
Hobert and the "Frenzied Mage" Ryan were at least one or two kilometers apart, but the other party arrived in front of Hobert with a single "Distortion."
Hobert, recovering from the slight "Frenzy" state, discovered that the eyes of this "Frenzied Mage" flickered with a crazy brilliance.
Clang~
He raised his hand, without seeing any force applied, nor touching the barrier, but the barrier made a soft sound, as if it had been struck by a heavy blow.
Perhaps because the barrier was unharmed, Ryan's crazed gaze seemed to regain some rationality.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Hobert poured his spirituality into "1-109." Releasing the barrier, he threw a punch: "Slaughter!"
Ryan, who was regaining his sanity, was sent flying by the punch. Hobert felt that he had broken several of the other party's ribs, causing a depression in his chest: "Magnify!"
While amplifying the serious injury into a fatal one, he raised his left hand again: "Exile!"
A glimmer of intelligence finally began to Blink in Ryan's eyes: "Distortion!"
He "Distorted" the concept of himself and a corn stalk, and the corn stalk was "Exiled" several kilometers away.
Hobert was somewhat surprised: A Sequence 3 level "Distortion" can even distort the target of "Exile?"
All along, he had felt that some of the "Justiciar's" abilities were unavoidable for the target. Only now did he realize that the reason he had this understanding was simply because he had not encountered a strong enough enemy.
Of course, this was also related to the fact that Hobert was one level lower than Ryan and was using a Sealed Artifact. If a "Chaos Hunter" had used "Exile," the "Frenzied Mage" might not have been able to distort it.
Ryan looked at Hobert, a sneer flashing across his face: "Bestow!"
Hobert's entire chest suddenly collapsed, and his heart and lungs felt like they were about to be crushed by some force!
He spat out a mouthful of blood, realizing that this "Frenzied Mage" could "Bestow" all of his injuries onto himself.
Hobert gritted his teeth and threw out a "Deprivation Amulet": "Steal!"
Ryan's three abilities, "Bestow," "Distortion," and "Frenzy," were deprived, which made him somewhat dazed for a moment.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Hobert immediately fled, while "Bestowing" most of his injuries to a nearby corn stalk!
The corn stalk immediately exploded into a pile of minced meat!
Unfortunately, the "Deprivation Amulet" only stole the other party's abilities, preventing them from using them for three hours. Hobert could not use these abilities himself.
Therefore, Hobert could only use the Sequence 4 level "Distortion" of space to flee quickly.
Fortunately, Ryan's "Distortion" ability had been deprived; otherwise, the other party could have caught up with Hobert in an instant.
However, the range of the other party's abilities was also very large. He raised his hand, just about to unleash a new ability towards Hobert. Hobert had been paying attention to this all along, and at this time, he immediately injected his spirituality into "1-107": "Deprive!"
The "Arrogance" that Ryan was about to use was also immediately briefly deprived. This was "Deprivation," which could prevent the target from using that ability for three minutes.
Taking advantage of this gap, Hobert finally escaped the cornfield.
Although still within the attack range of the "Frenzied Mage," Hobert now had a certain amount of reaction time because of the distance between the two.
Moreover, Hobert discovered that the Frenzied Mage did not chase after him but instead went to the corn near the battlefield just now, to lick the blood that Hobert had spat out onto the corn leaves.
Alarmed, Hobert finally saw the town in the mist.
The most conspicuous building in this town was a steeple church with a very ancient style. It was black all over, without a bell tower, and black crows circled and lingered at the top.
Many buildings were scattered around the church, including ordinary two-story houses, simple wooden houses, and bakeries with hanging signs.
Hobert found Klein lying on the ground near the bakery, coughing and struggling, as well as the "Wraith" puppet being devoured.
Devouring the puppet was a woman wearing a plain white robe. She looked holy, dignified, and her appearance was bright and radiant.
She elegantly dug out the "puppet's" heart and bit off a large chunk, half of her face covered in blood.
This was Panatiya, the "Demoness of Despair," who had also been "captured" into the town during the Backlund smog event!
In this scene, she looked very much like a fallen saint.
After Panatiya saw Hobert, she distorted off one of the puppet's arms and threw it to Hobert, grinning with a mouth full of blood: "'Frenzied Mage' sir, please, I don't mean to eat alone."
Hobert was stunned: This lady has mental problems, actually mistaking me for that "Frenzied Mage"!
But then he realized something was wrong and immediately injected spirituality into "1-109." Two pillars of fire appeared from behind him, turning into dozens of fire crows.
Sure enough, the surroundings were already covered with black hair, surrounding Hobert.
Hobert immediately directed the fire crows to burn the hair!
At this time, several ice arrows had appeared in front of Panatiya, shooting fiercely towards Hobert.
As Hobert had expected, Panatiya's mental state was indeed not good, but not so bad that she would mistake people.
The reason she said that just now was to make Hobert think that her mental state had already developed some problems, and then find an opportunity to attack.
"Disorder!" Hobert dodged the ice arrows, then snapped his fingers.
Boom~
The flesh and blood bomb of "1-109" caused Klein's puppet to explode, scattering flesh and blood all over the ground.
Hobert let two fire crows hover around him and said to Panatiya, who was rushing towards him: "I have no intention of disturbing your meal, just here to rescue my companion."
Panatiya stopped, looking with some regret at the flesh and blood all over the ground. She hadn't had time to enjoy it properly, and it had turned into minced meat.
Hobert added: "You eat in peace, we'll leave now, otherwise, I'll burn this flesh and blood into charcoal."
Panatiya did not answer, but squatted down with a wary look, picking up the flesh and blood on the ground.
Hobert also carried Klein, about to find a place to rest first.
Suddenly, the three people present all looked towards the sky.
The red moon had penetrated the mist, clearly illuminating the town.
Panatiya showed a look of horror. Her hair grew longer, like tentacles, picking up the flesh and blood within her range, and rushed into a nearby house.
Hobert also quickly carried Klein into the house and immediately locked the door.
It was temporarily safe in the house. Hobert and Klein each found a chair to sit down. Although Hobert had "Bestowed" most of his injuries, the remaining small portion was also a very serious injury.
After all, that was the attack effect of "Slaughter" + "Magnify."
He suddenly thought that if the "Frenzied Mage" were to fight someone, he could give himself a brick to the head and then "bestow" all the injuries to the enemy.
If two "Frenzied Mages" were fighting, it would be even more exciting. This one "bestowed" the injuries to that one, and that one "bestowed" them back. They could fight like this until the end of time.
And Klein wasn't doing much better. He lost his Marionette right away, and accidentally saw Panatiya's incomplete Mythical Creature form, so his spirit was severely impacted. Then he encountered a demigod-level "disease" attack.
If Panatiya hadn't wanted to save some fresh "ingredients," Klein probably wouldn't have lasted until Hobert arrived.
Hobert injected his spirituality into the "Fork of Healing," using it twice in a row, and his injuries were only half healed.
Ever since Aipuli reminded Hobert to keep the Beyonder characteristics in the "Fork of Healing" safe, he had been carrying this mystical item with him.
Then Hobert treated Klein, but could only heal the diseases on his body. The mental shock Klein suffered could only be recovered by himself through meditation.
Fortunately, Klein's many "daredevil experiences" had made his spiritual body's self-healing ability very good.
The two of them quietly gasped for a while before each told their experiences just now.
Unlike Hobert, Klein appeared in a bean field, where countless bean pods opened their mouths and tore at Klein. It took him a lot of effort to get rid of that bean field.
His pants were also basically torn to shreds, but fortunately he wasn't hurt.
Afterwards, Klein, who had entered the town first, encountered the "Demoness of Despair."
After Hobert finished talking about his experience, a thought appeared in his mind: He was no match for the "Frenzied Mage" at all! Fortunately, the other party had a tendency to be crazy. If he had silently "gifted" his own madness to me from the beginning, I might already be dead.
He sighed, "If I didn't have the talisman, I might have died in that cornfield."
Klein also sighed, "Today I finally understand the power of a demigod. I didn't even have a chance to use the talisman."
Or rather, even if he used the "Deprivation Charm," he would not be a match for that "Demoness of Despair."
Hobert looked out the window for a while and said, "I have some information about this town here. In some documents, it's called 'Foggy Town'.
"The specific source is unclear, only that it is related to the 'Concealment' authority."
Klein nodded and said, "I just divined that this is a dangerous source of the Sonia Sea's eastern Divine ruins at night."
He further explained, "After entering the ruins, when night falls, if anyone doesn't sleep, when dawn comes, they will find that they have disappeared silently.
"Once, because of an accident, I woke up from a dream and saw such a mysterious and strange Foggy Town in the distance of the sea."
Hobert pondered for a moment and said, "According to the information we traded before about that mural, this makes sense."
Before, they had traded information about the fall of the Sun God, which mentioned the battle between the "Rose Redemption" and the ancient Sun God.
The Evernight Goddess also participated in the war at that time, and it is normal to leave some power about "Concealment" in the ruins of the God War.
The two people looked at each other, but they didn't say the specific content of the information they exchanged, or how it "made sense."
They thought of going together to avoid eavesdropping.
But no matter what, Klein could be sure that the creatures who disappeared at night in the ruins were all sent here.
Because they were not directly obliterated, the divination results for them were that they were still alive. At the same time, because of the interference of "Concealment," it was impossible to know their whereabouts.
He also thought: This place is closely related to "Night." Could it be a "prison" personally created by the Goddess? It's possible. She is the 'Mother of Concealment' and should be able to directly transform people and things into a "Concealed" state!
Thinking of this, Klein said again: "The scenes in this town have many similarities with the ancient ruins on the main peak of the Hornacis Mountains.
"I just saw that there was half-eaten white bread, a glass of red wine, and messy silver knives and forks on the table in the room.
"It looks like someone was enjoying dinner, but suddenly evaporated!
"I have read relevant documents before. In the ancient ruins on the Hornacis Mountains, the furnishings and decorations are well preserved. Some tables are still filled with many plates, and there are traces of dry rot in the plates. In some rooms, there are also half bottles of wine that have almost turned into clear water."
This was his doubt. At the same time, if this place was related to that ruin, there might be other dangers.
Hobert thought for a while and said, "This reminds me of a piece of information I forgot where I saw it. The kingdom on the main peak of the Hornacis Mountains is likely to be the divine kingdom established by Antigonus and his sister."
Klein was slightly stunned: "Antigonus's sister?"
The King of Angels also has a sister?
It's not that they can't have sisters, but these great figures in the ancient mystical world have experienced a long time after becoming angels, and their families may have already passed away.
Moreover, Klein heard about the information about Antigonus's sister for the first time.
"Yes." Hobert said, "She is called the 'Mother of the Sky,' and their kingdom is called the 'Nation of the Evernight.'"
Klein was stunned: "Mother of the Sky? Nation of the Evernight?"
The title "Mother of the Sky" sounds like she won't live past three episodes.
As for the "Nation of the Evernight," Klein had heard of it before. If Antigonus's sister's title was "Mother Concealment," then it is very likely to be the Evernight Goddess.
He also recalled that in a free exchange session of a Tarot meeting, the "Hanged Man" mentioned that the "Nation of the Evernight" was destroyed by the Church of the Evernight Goddess.
Klein speculated that this should be a war of national extermination launched by the Church of the Evernight Goddess for the Beyonder characteristics of the "Nation of the Evernight."
Hobert looked at the figures moving outside the curtains: "Before the action, the 'Creator' gave a hint: The church is the key!"
Klein was slightly stunned: "Just now, that 'Demoness of Despair' said that the church is very dangerous!
"Of course, it may also be her lie, but I personally think it's the truth."
The reason is very simple, who would tell such a bizarre lie to "food"? Moreover, in general, the ability of "instigation" needs to be supported by some real information.
"It may be very dangerous for her." Hobert said, "Have you ever thought that if this place is related to the ruins on the main peak of the Hornacis Mountains, then the danger we encounter may come from 'Concealment,' but also from the high sequence of the 'Seer' pathway?"
Klein understood: "You mean, in that church, there is danger from the 'Seer' aspect?"
Then he asked and answered himself: "It's very possible. These foods on the table actually have spirit body threads.
"Just now, I was wondering why this was the case. After you reminded me, I realized that maybe when the 'Seer' pathway reaches the high-sequence Beyonder, the Spirit Body Thread can appear on some inanimate objects."
Finally, he smiled helplessly: "Isn't there a high-sequence of the 'Seer' pathway guarding the exit in that church?"
"That's too extravagant!" Hobert sighed, "Not to mention angels, even Sequence 3 is a member of the God's Council in the real world, the bishop of the region.
"If it is in a secret organization, then it may be the leader."
He "guessed": "There may be an arrangement like a Sealed Artifact there."
Klein nodded, which made more sense.
"After the state of the Crimson Moon ends, we have to risk exploring that church." Hobert said again, "Now let's summarize our enemies."
Klein also agreed with Hobert's suggestion. The most likely way out was hidden there. He said, "The 'Demoness of Despair' just now is the one who created the Backlund smog."
"I know." Hobert smiled helplessly: "I was almost killed by her before."
Klein was slightly stunned, recalling his experience just now, and thinking that Hobert was also a Sequence 5 during the Backlund smog incident.
At this time, he deeply realized that what Hobert said was just stating the facts, not describing anything.
"There is also Mr. A from the Aurora Order, who is a 'Shepherd'." Klein said, "As far as I know, he should have also come to this Foggy Town."
To be precise, Mr. A disappeared in front of Klein.
Hobert nodded: "If it's a 'Shepherd,' he can indeed survive in such an environment for a long time."
Moreover, his condition may be better than the "Demoness of Despair" and the "Frenzied Mage," after all, he can "eat himself" when he is extremely hungry.
Then Hobert said: "The saint who disappeared from our side during the smog incident that I have been looking for should also be in this town.
"But his condition has not been very good. His level of wisdom in some aspects is not very high. Maybe he has been tricked into the church by the enemy.
"However, the other party should not die here, because he was once a guard of Death and has received the 'blessing' of Death. It is difficult for ordinary sealed items to control him."
To be precise, he is already dead, how can he die again?
However, Hobert was not sure whether the Black Hound Spirit Beast still had a "Spirit Body Thread."
Klein was slightly stunned: The guard of Death? This saint seems to have a lot of stories!
Hobert continued, "Also, there's that 'Frenzied Mage' I mentioned earlier. He's a descendant of the Solomon family and possesses a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact.
The cornfield where I appeared, and the soybean field where you appeared, were probably created by that Sealed Artifact.
But that's a Sealed Artifact from the 'Apothecary' pathway, not the 'Planter' pathway, so the crops that grow are all monsters. In this town's special environment, eating those crops might kill you faster!"
He thought for a moment and added, "However, the 'Frenzied Mage' didn't use that Sealed Artifact just now, and our Saint didn't appear either.
Could it be that the Sealed Artifact was taken by our Saint?"
It's not impossible. If that's the case, I wonder if the Black Hound spirit beast has undergone some kind of mutation.
Finally, Hobert concluded, "After exploring the church, it's best if we can confirm the state of our Saint and prioritize meeting up with him. That's the only way we'll have a chance of winning."
Originally, his plan was for the Black Hound spirit beast to entangle the 'Frenzied Mage' while he seized the opportunity to take out the 'Demoness of Despair,' and Klein would take out Mr. A.
Before the action, Hobert had specifically confirmed that he could still sense the Black Hound spirit beast's existence using the 'Order of Power' from the 'Nation of Disorder.'
In other words, after so much time, the 'Order of Power' within it hasn't disappeared, and it can still follow Hobert's commands.
Hobert guessed that the closed environment of Foggy Town might have prevented the 'Order of Power' on it from completely dissipating.
But the problem now is that we haven't seen the Black Hound spirit beast after being in Foggy Town for so long!
Klein also agreed with Hobert's simple plan. They wouldn't be able to defeat those three enemies with just the two of them.
The next question is, how do we approach the church?
The connection to the Spirit World is severed here, so 'Travel' and 'Blink' can't be used.
Hobert also faces a huge risk in using the method of 'Distorting' distance to pass through walls. Similarly, because the connection to the Spirit World is severed, their spirituality isn't very sensitive. If they accidentally 'Distort' into the street outside, they'll be in trouble.
Fortunately, Klein's Sealed Artifact with the 'Travel' ability also has the ability to 'Open Doors.'
They can observe the situation on the other side of the wall through that illusory door and then decide whether to pass through the door.
So, the two of them cautiously moved towards the church little by little through the illusory 'door.'
When passing through the third room, Hobert looked at the shadows in the corner and immediately raised his hand: "Arrogance!"
The shadow suddenly became like a pool of black liquid, flowing to the side to avoid Hobert's attack.
"Exploit!" Hobert prematurely ended the opponent's "Shadow Transformation" state.
A figure rolled out from the "liquid," his expression a mixture of madness and fear. It was Mr. A, who had become very thin.
Just as Hobert was about to continue attacking, Mr. A took the opportunity to smash through a wall and hide in the room Hobert and Klein had just come from.
Boom!
The sound of the wall being smashed was loud, and the whispers on the street outside instantly disappeared. They all seemed to turn their heads and look at the room where Hobert and Klein were.
Klein quickly "Opened the Door," and the two entered the next room closer to the church and waited quietly for a few minutes.
The gazes outside gradually shifted away, and the whispers gradually returned.
The two breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Hobert smiled and whispered, "This guy really survived!"
At this time, the whispers outside gradually diminished. The two seemed to sense something and vaguely saw the crimson moon re-entering the mist through the windows and curtains.
Hobert said, "Quick, let's go!"
Klein immediately opened the door in front and reached the room closest to the church when the whispers disappeared.
Hobert and Klein suddenly felt crazy thoughts appearing in their minds, such as going out to catch the 'Demoness of Despair' and playing a "game" together.
For example, catching Mr. A just now and tasting his flesh and blood.
At the same time, they felt that their movements were very uncoordinated. They clearly wanted to raise their hands but turned around, clearly wanted to move forward but stood still.
After experiencing the cornfield, Hobert knew that this was a range attack of 'Frenzy.' The 'Frenzied Mage' seemed to have regained a lot of sanity.
But fortunately, his spirituality was also affected, and he couldn't determine the specific location of Hobert and Klein, so he could only use this range attack.
As for why he could use the Beyonder abilities stolen by the 'Deprivation Charm' in advance, it was not difficult to explain. It should be that after Hobert escaped, the 'Frenzied Mage' used the ability of 'Exploit' to prematurely end the state of being deprived of abilities.
The level of the 'Deprivation Charm' is probably higher than Sequence 3, but not quite to the level of Sequence 2. There is no time to recover the 'deprived' abilities during the battle, but after the battle, the 'Frenzied Mage' will have a lot of room to maneuver.
"Distort!" Hobert "Distorted" the negative influence on himself, grabbed Klein's shoulder, and then quickly passed the distance between the room and the church by continuously "Distorting" the distance.
The two stood in front of the church and glanced back.
The 'Demoness of Despair,' Panatiya, was rapidly chasing after them using mirror jumps, while the 'Frenzied Mage' stood far away on the roof, watching Hobert and Klein's actions.
The 'Frenzied Mage' at this time gave people the feeling that he was not as crazy as before, and the two of them seemed to have joined forces.
Hobert glanced at them and, for the last time, "Distorted" the distance, entering the church with Klein.
Panatiya jumped out of the glass, quietly watching the two enter the church, and gradually revealed a look of fear.
Inside the church, the 'Frenzy' state on Hobert and Klein quickly disappeared. They quickly regained their vision in the dim environment and saw figure after figure hanging in the air within their sight.
They were all humans, some wearing black classical robes, some wearing brown jackets, some wearing fluffy skirts, and some with tattered clothes like beggars.
They were all hanging from high places like smoked meat being dried, their heads hanging down, swaying.
This immediately reminded Hobert of some ghost stories about "hanged ghosts," but he couldn't see the ropes hanging them.
Whoosh~
A cold wind blew in the church, and the corpses hanging in the air simultaneously turned to Hobert and Klein.
"Disorder!" Hobert raised a hand.
The corpses seemed to immediately lose direction, some turning to the left, some turning to the right, in short, no longer looking at the two intruders.
Hobert noticed Klein's gaze and explained with a smile, "It's creepy when these guys look over together!"
If it were before, Hobert wouldn't have acted casually, lest he wake up some unknown power.
But recently, Hobert has noticed that breaking the inherent rules, or breaking some conventions, such as being reckless when you should be cautious, can make his spirituality more lively.
Of course, such "breaking" is done with a certain degree of certainty. For example, Hobert would not do suicidal things like going out to find the 'Frenzied Mage' to fight.
The two observed the figures for a while. Fortunately, they were all humans, and Hobert didn't find the shadow of the Black Hound spirit beast among them.
"Spirit Body Threads!" Klein suddenly said in surprise!
Hobert quickly hid behind Klein. He remembered that the 'Spirit Body Threads' would become a bit strange here, and his current spirituality was not as sensitive as it was outside. He also didn't know if there was any danger from the 'Spirit Body Threads' at the moment? .
Klein explained again, "Their 'Spirit Body Threads' are extremely special, and they all converge at the top of the church. It turns out they are suspended by 'Spirit Body Threads.'"
Hobert asked, "What danger does it pose to us?"
"Our 'Spirit Body Threads' are like metal encountering a magnet, uncontrollably drifting upwards," Klein said. "Don't resist. I'll pull your 'Spirit Body Thread' back."
Hobert immediately felt that his movements were somewhat stiff. He did not resist as Klein said.
Klein added, "Our 'Spirit Body Threads' still have a tendency to float upwards, and we must constantly resist it."
Hobert nodded: "No wonder this church is full of danger for the 'Demoness of Despair' and Mr. A. Even if the 'Frenzied Mage' comes in, it will be difficult to accurately 'Distort' his 'Spirit Body Thread.'"
Klein asked in disbelief, "The 'Frenzied Mage' can even 'Distort' 'Spirit Body Threads'?"
Klein had always felt that 'Spirit Body Threads' could only be seen by Beyonders of the 'Seer' pathway and should be a unique ability of this pathway.
"I can do that too," Hobert casually explained. "It's just a 'conceptual' application of 'Distortion,' but the 'Distortion' is not so precise, and it's still very dangerous in this environment."
Because he can't see the 'Spirit Body Threads,' maybe the 'Distortion' direction is wrong and he will get closer to the source of danger and be hung up instantly.
Then, the two looked together at the interior of the church. In the depths of the church, there seemed to be an altar.
The two walked forward step by step, trying to ignore the swaying figures above their heads that seemed to be looking down at them.
After walking twenty or thirty meters, the two came to the altar and saw a stone statue standing on the altar. It generally presented a female human image, but two animal legs grew from the ribs and waist, covered with short, thick, hard black hair.
Beneath the stone statue, souls slumbered.
Taking a few more steps forward and clearly seeing its face, Klein's gaze froze.
Because the statue had a delicate and beautiful face, the very same one who had brought them to the Misty Town.
Hobert's expression also became solemn, not because he was surprised by the other party's appearance, but because he felt that the four beast legs were really ruining the overall image.
He couldn't help but think: Is the real image of the Evernight Goddess similar to this? One leg ruins everything.
Then he saw a figure diagonally behind the statue, so he gestured to Klein and went around the statue.
They saw an old man in a black robe sitting behind the statue. He was wearing a hood, his head was lowered, his eyes were tightly closed, and the white beard around his mouth was long and dense, as if it hadn't been trimmed for decades.
Klein whispered to Hobert, "There's something wrong with his 'spirit body threads'."
The old man's 'spirit body threads' actually stretched out from his body and then returned to the point where they came from.
Hobert thought to himself: He should be referred to as "Him."
He took a step forward: "Old sir!"
Klein felt that Hobert's actions were a little reckless, but on second thought, the old man's condition was so strange, if he wanted to harm them, he would have done so long ago, and wouldn't have waited until now.
The old man opened his eyes, looked Hobert up and down, and finally his gaze fell on Klein behind him: "Finally, another 'Seer' has come here."
Klein thought to himself: Why say 'another'?
The hooded old man said: "In the Beyonder world, having a trustworthy partner is a very rare thing."
What he was talking about was Hobert's willingness to let Klein manipulate his 'spirit body threads'.
Just now, the two of them hadn't paid much attention to this. After the old man said this, Hobert realized that in this world, there wouldn't be more than five people he could trust so much, and Klein was one of them.
Even if Audrey had the ability to manipulate 'spirit body threads', Hobert wouldn't be so relieved. He knew that although Audrey wouldn't harm him, her condition was sometimes not very good, making it difficult to be completely at ease.
Klein had a similar feeling. Just now, he asked Hobert not to resist his manipulation of the 'spirit body threads', and he really didn't resist.
Is it just because they once fought side by side? Klein suddenly thought of this question.
The white-bearded old man said again: "Do you want to escape from here? I can tell you how."
Klein was not moved: "Then why are you still staying here?"
The old man lowered his head and chuckled: "Because I am already dead."
Klein only felt a chill run down his back and quietly took a step back.
Hobert smiled: "I almost thought you were a Beyonder of the 'Death' pathway."
The old man slowly raised his head, glanced at Hobert, and then slowly said: "I used a special Beyonder power to find a gap in the world's history and destiny, cut out my own image, and fixed it here, maintaining it until now.
"As for my body and my spirit, they have already completely died."
Klein sighed in his heart: What an incredible ability.
But he had no way of confirming whether it was true or false: "Then why do you want to guide us on how to escape?"
The old man's long beard trembled slightly: "After you open the door, the history and destiny here will change, and this image that I cut out will also disappear with it.
"When that time comes, you will see an urn of ashes. I only hope that it can be scattered into the Serenzo River near the Intis capital, Trier, which is my hometown."
Hobert really wanted to ask: How did your ashes get here?
But he realized that he wouldn't get a real answer, so he turned to ask: "Do You know Emperor Roselle?"
The old man's expression suddenly became solemn.
Klein also noticed that Hobert had used "You" again.
Hobert spread his hands: "It's not hard to guess. Born in Trier, a Beyonder of the 'Seer' pathway, must be a member of the Secret Order.
"And I happen to know that Emperor Roselle had cooperated with the Secret Order."
The old man's expression gradually became kind again: "What a clever young man."
"I want to confirm one thing," Hobert said, "After Emperor Roselle fell, did he release the Beyonder characteristic of 'Knowledge Emperor'? Is that Beyonder characteristic in the hands of the God of Steam and Machinery?"
The old man was silent again.
Klein, thinking of some of the information and diary entries he had traded before, was also very interested in this question.
After a few seconds, the old man smiled and said: "I don't have any relevant memories. Maybe I don't know, or as a historical projection, I don't know this history.
"But theoretically speaking, it is possible to release a Beyonder characteristic of 'Knowledge Emperor', and it is most likely to fall into the hands of the God of Steam and Machinery."
Then he asked: "Where did you learn about these secrets? As far as I know, very few people know about this, maybe you can count them on one hand. Has the current world announced the real cause of Roselle's death?"
Klein thought to himself: Now you can't count them on one hand anymore, at least all the members of the Tarot Club already know. Of course, if this old man had more than a dozen fingers on one hand in his lifetime, then that's another matter.
Hobert only vaguely said: "I am a Beyonder of the 'Lawyer' pathway."
The hooded old man was not satisfied with this answer. He pondered for a moment and asked again: "Is the outside world going to have a new 'Black Emperor'?"
Hobert smiled: "You're already a dead man, so don't worry about that."
Klein turned his head to look at the corpse hanging from the top of the church and barely managed not to laugh: If it weren't for the Beyonder world, Hobert's actions would obviously be very unethical, disrespectful to the elderly, and disrespectful to the dead!
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