Deep in an alley far away from an abandoned factory, in an inconspicuous old hut, an oil lamp was suddenly lit.
In the flickering light, one can see the simple, old furnishings in the cottage, the slightly moldy ceiling, the faded and peeling wallpaper, and a dark crack in the corner of the room that is slowly creeping and shrinking.
The horrifying-looking skeleton hound was lying next to the crack, motionless like a dead dog that had lost all its strength. At the other end of the pitch-black chain, Shirley, wearing a black dress with white edges, carefully adjusted the wick of the oil lamp, then came to the window and took a worried look at the sky outside.
"… The Creation of the World has come out," the girl exhaled softly, "Luckily I returned home before night fell completely, otherwise I would have died like a dog in a stinking ditch."
The Deep Hound lying on the ground not far away immediately raised its head and made a hoarse and cracking sound in its throat: "Just say what you want to say, don't use the dog as an excuse."
"Can you still talk? I thought you lost half your life on this trip to the Abyss," Shirley turned her head and glanced at Agou, "Can you speak now? Why did you suddenly want to run away - and use the most dangerous Abyss shuttle? Didn't you say that there are countless demons in the deep sea waiting to chew up your black bones?"
“No matter how many demons there are in the Deep Sea, I can always go around them. If I can’t defeat them, I can always run away. But just now… if I didn’t run quickly, I might not have been able to escape.” The Deep Hound finally seemed to have caught his breath at this time, and raised his head slightly to look at Shirley, “You should be thankful that I reacted quickly and opened the rift the moment that scary guy shifted his gaze. Otherwise, as long as his eyes were still on you and me, I wouldn’t have been able to open a way to escape!”
Shirley frowned and slowly came to the Deep Hound: "So what's going on? Why are you so scared? That guy named 'Duncan'...Have you ever seen him, Dog? Is he some big shot of the Church of Annihilation? Or is there some Deep Demon standing behind him?"
The Deep Hound seemed to suddenly recall some extremely terrifying feeling. All its bones creaked for a moment, and then it muttered in a low voice, "I haven't seen him. I don't know him."
Shirley's eyes widened immediately: "I've never seen you so scared!?"
"Even if I haven't seen it, as a Deep Demon, I can 'see' a shadow that is more terrifying than death!" The Deep Hound suddenly raised its head, and its empty red eye sockets stared straight at Shirley, "In a human body, there is a vortex of light and shadow that makes me feel crazy just by looking at it. Do you think I can be afraid?!"
It paused for a moment, as if it was organizing its words to describe its feelings to Shirley, a human being. After organizing its words for a long time, it slowly began to speak: "When he spoke, I could hear ten thousand overlapping voices roaring at the same time. When he looked at me, I could feel that all my fate from birth to death was spread out and flattened on the ground for people to see. Let me tell you, the last time I encountered such a scary thing was when I saw the 'Holy Lord' from afar in the deep sea! But the Holy Lord couldn't move. Today we met that person, and he can walk and move!"
Shirley was frightened by the dog's scary tone and eyes (although its eyes were just two glowing holes), but she still subconsciously muttered: "Why didn't I feel anything at the time... I thought he was quite kind..."
"So sometimes I really envy you humans for your inefficient and dull perception - this barrier of ignorance is really a treasure bestowed upon you by the world, it allows you to die with a smile on your face in a crazy and twisted catastrophe," the Deep Hound lay down again weakly, "Stay blind, this world can be a better place - a poor little dog like me is not so lucky, I have to see things that can scare a dog to death every now and then..."
"... How the hell is there a cowardly demon like you in the world?" Shirley couldn't help but glance at Agou, and then seemed to be thinking about something, and said hesitantly, "But now that you mention it, I think we shouldn't run away... If that person is really a super powerful person as you said, then maybe we can get close to him! Look, he was quite kind to us just now, and even asked us about things, and it seems that he doesn't get along with those sun bastards. Isn't this an opportunity? I'll act coquettishly and act cute, what if he is a backer..."
Before the girl finished her words, she heard the clanking of black iron chains. Agou, who was lying dead a second ago, suddenly jumped up: "Put away your crazy idea immediately! Your frenzy is almost enough to open the subspace channel!"
It then paused, and continued to warn with concern: "Listen, never deal with such things with human shells and indescribable inner qualities. They are more cunning than pure demons and more sinister than real humans. Their calm conversations with you are always just an appetizer for a feast. Even though he was quite friendly just now, do you think he can let you leave in one piece after you tell him everything you know?"
It seemed that the unprecedented stern tone of the Deep Hound had an effect. Shirley seemed to be a little intimidated. She finally gave up her bold idea, but still muttered: "I know, I know - but Ah Gou, why do you sound like an old woman..."
The Deep Hound fell to the ground and said, "Nonsense! I raised you!"
Shirley snorted, then looked at the sky outside the window. When she saw that night was gradually falling, she walked towards the window.
The black iron chain tightened, and following the girl's footsteps, the Deep Hound, who wanted to lie down and rest, was dragged on the ground helplessly. This huge and heavy Deep Demon seemed to have no weight in Shirley's hands and was dragged around: "What do you want to do? Can't you let me lie down for a while? I'm so tired after such a big fight today..."
"I'm the one doing the hard work in the fight, okay?" Shirley looked outside without turning her head. "I'm looking at the situation outside... It's completely dark, and the street lights just came on."
"After all, this is a slum area. It's good enough that the authorities can ensure that these street lamps maintain the most basic ability to exorcise evil spirits. Don't expect them to light up before the evening bell like in other urban areas," Agou muttered, looking back at the oil lamp on the old dining table, "Turn off the lights later, the oil is expensive."
Shirley pursed her lips and said, "...Turn it off before going to bed, otherwise the room will be too dark."
Agou's stomach growled, but he didn't say anything.
In the city-state, the city managers and builders strictly planned the location and number of "street lamps", the most basic exorcism device. The gas lamps distributed throughout the city can ensure that the entire city is protected after nightfall. Therefore, it is equally safe to use electric lamps or oil lamps in the houses on the surface. It is even safe to turn off the lights in the room after the street lamps are lit.
But even the most prosperous cities have forgotten corners. Deep in the slums that are even older and more dilapidated than the downtown area, the number of gas street lamps is far less than in other areas. These street lamps are barely enough to maintain safety day and night, and this "barely enough" state is obviously not reassuring enough.
Therefore, in the slums, oil lamps and grease candles that use flames for lighting are essential items for every household.
If the street lights come on a little later, the light from the fire in the house can at least temporarily stave off the darkness after the sun sets.
Of course, there is another important reason why many poor families use oil lamps and candles: they cannot afford the relatively high cost of electricity conversion.
Electric lights are bright, clean and safe. In safe urban areas, they have long been the lighting of choice for every household. However, in this small house in the slums…
The only thing that can bring Shirley and Agou a sense of security is still the flickering flame in the old lamp.
In the dim light, the voice of the Deep Hound broke the silence: "... Are you going to go out for activities during this period?"
"Um."
"Continue to cause trouble for those sun bastards?"
"I'm asking them for information."
"Anyway, it's almost the same... But now it seems that they don't know exactly what happened eleven years ago. Look at the situation today, even they are asking the locals..."
"This is because today's group of people all happened to come from Lensa. Maybe we'll get something next time."
"Okay, as long as you like."
"Agou, next time you weave a disguise for me, please be more reliable. Don't expose it halfway."
"I just hope I don't run into that scary guy again - I suspect our presence was exposed early today because there was such a strong 'interference' at the scene..."
"Okay, okay, okay, if you say so, then so be it..."