"Detective, I'm not exaggerating when I say this place is nice.
You may not feel it, but my nose, eyes, ears and other senses are telling me that the cloud of conspiracy is hovering over the city, and fear and tension are filling the streets. The gray fog of war and death has quietly enveloped everything here, and now it's just a spark that ignites it. "
The doctor narrowed his eyes and took another deep breath. This time, Xia De actually saw some barely perceptible black smoke being inhaled into his nasal cavity:
"Most of the evil spirits and demons we know can benefit from death, fear, and war. You can think of this as a damn racial talent. When they were rampant in the Third Age, the entire material world was in a similar situation. I am not one of them, but for reasons that you and I both know, I can enjoy this environment like them... To be honest, although I already knew about the chaotic situation in the Green Lake area before, I didn't expect things to turn out like this before I arrived. Even if the labyrinth demon-Yaru didn't appear here, I'm afraid something else would be attracted here."
Shade looked up at the night sky, and he could not see the so-called "clouds of war":
“This is very similar to the legend.”
"Yes, it is said that the first evil spirit was born in conspiracy and lies. Although this environment is not necessary for those ancient evils, being in this environment for a long time will undoubtedly make them stronger."
The doctor took another deep breath. The huge and terrifying pressure in an instant even made Xia De feel a little uncomfortable:
"Tell me about the current situation. I want to know everything."
Xia De nodded:
"No problem. You need to know the conditions on both sides of Green Lake, the folk customs, legends, and most importantly, the Edwards family."
Thick fog spread across the city at night, and the ancient city welcomed another night. The gas lamps were dim, but they could still illuminate the buildings and streets. Shade's speech was not slow, and the cold and sticky power enveloped them, ensuring that all the words did not belong to a third person.
But there was so much to say that when Shade and the doctor came to the bank of the Duin River and looked out at the river running through the city at night, Shade stopped his story in the sound of the flowing water:
"That's the situation with the Edwards family for now. If we want to lure out our enemy, we just need to enter the dream of the male owner of the Green Lake Hotel. The only problem now is how to capture the other party's true form."
He looked at the lights in the hatches of the freighters that had anchored up the river, and at the small docks lit by gas lamps and torches where workers were loading cargo onto the ships.
The doctor also looked at the scenery in front of him:
"I already have a plan. As long as we can catch its phantom in the dream, I will be able to drag its real body into the real world. But this requires advance arrangements. Today is Wednesday, and I will spend a day or two walking around here and choosing a suitable location. But from your description, I think the best place for the ceremony is on the water. Water itself has the symbolic meaning of enhancing illusions and dreams, not to mention that it is closest to the island."
Xia De thought about it:
"Then you go and choose a location first. Tell me the result and I will arrange for you to enter my dream right away. If possible, I hope to finish the demon business before this week."
"Detective, I guarantee you that it will not see the sun next Monday."
The doctor got off the train this evening, so Xia De did not disturb him to rest. After discussing the matter, the two returned to the hotel together, but on the way, Xia De asked another question:
"Speaking of which, do demons have beliefs? I'm not referring to the alien demons, I'm referring to the disasters of the Third Age."
The doctor looked at him unexpectedly:
"What a strange question. But you really asked the right person. You probably won't find anyone else who can answer this question except me. First of all, it is clear that they certainly don't have so-called beliefs. However, as long as they are intelligent creatures, they will have their own joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness, and they will have different emotions, but there is a difference in strength. Although those demons from the Third Age do not believe in gods, they respect some of the old gods, such as..."
"The old god - the Lord of Gold? The god of trade and wealth."
"Oh? How did you know?"
Because tomorrow morning, Thursday, Shad will be able to use the Time Key again.
When Shade returned home, Luvia was still waiting for him at home, and she did bring some very important information:
"The Prophet Association's first target this time has officially shifted from the Chosen One to Laplace Klein Howard. News has come from the Association's headquarters that the Association wants to capture him alive."
"Why? Wait, does the Association know something?"
Capturing the ancestor Edwards alive is countless times more difficult than killing him directly.
Luvia nodded:
"In fact, since the beginning of this era, there has always been a strange saying within the association—
The Sixth Era is the last era of this world. The origin of this saying cannot be verified, and of course not many people believe it. But in recent decades, more and more evidence has shown that our world is facing an unprecedented crisis. After the opening of "Whispering Poems", some bad signs also show that those ignored sayings in the past may be true. "
Shade's expression remained unchanged. Similar words were said by both the "Guiding Light Hermitage" and the "Spiritual Order":
"The association believes that the guys on the island have important information?"
"Yes, the association believes that although he is crazy, there must be a reason for his madness. So the association tried to 'reclaim' him and figure out what will happen in the future."
“It’s not easy.”
"Of course it's not easy, but don't doubt the association's determination... The association is recruiting a group of fortune tellers to go to Green Lake, and I've signed up."
She suddenly said, Xia De was startled, and the action of stroking Xiaomia while sitting on the sofa paused for a moment, then nodded gently:
"Well, before you reach Green Lake, I will clear the way to Laplace Klein Howard. When you reach Green Lake, it will be the last time we land on the island."
With three drops of divinity in hand, Shade is fully confident that he can fight even if the chosen one of the space has appeared. He set the time to Luvia's arrival in the hope of finding a way to avoid using divinity before that. He has a hunch that if the guys on the island notice Luvia, something terrible might happen, so he must act as soon as possible.
Luvia pursed her lips and looked at him, unable to believe that Shade didn't stop her this time:
"This time, you won't dissuade me."
"If this is what you wish, I will not dissuade you. Luvia, I respect any decision you make as long as you think it is right."
Xia De also looked at her, and the two of them just stared at each other, under the warm yellow light of the gas lamp.
(Little Mia is running...)
Early Thursday morning, while Luvia was preparing breakfast at home, Shade, who had never had the habit of jogging in the morning, went out early and took a carriage to the Dawn Church in the city. He met Father Augustus, who was extremely surprised by his early arrival:
"Is this what happened?"
"Of course not. Your reaction is very much like that of a doctor. Oh, the doctor said there will be no meeting this week. I wonder if you have received his letter, priest. Let's not talk about this in church. Please follow me."
Shade and the priest went to the priest's basement potion workshop in a nearby block. After making sure it was safe, Shade talked about Mr. Grimm, the ghoul, and the three undeads that could use the maze that they encountered yesterday:
"Those are obviously not normal undead. Their resistance to the sacred gift you gave me is too high. And compared to ordinary undead, they also seem particularly abnormal. Now that we have confirmed that those three are the fourth generation Edwards brothers, we have reason to believe that the 'ancestor' on the island will not use ordinary methods to deal with their bodies."
"you mean... ... "
Father Augustus also understood what Shade had guessed. Shade nodded and took out the severed limb of the corpse that he had cut off with the Moonlight Greatsword yesterday.
"Please check to see if you can confirm our guess."
The stinking limb was thrown into a large square glass dish - something like a fish tank, and then Father Augustus poured some white powder into it:
"Corpse powder."
After adding clean water and stirring evenly, he used a strong fire to evaporate the black, smelly liquid. The whole process was quite fast, and it was obvious that this was not the first time the priest had done this. He was very skilled in controlling the flames, and soon only some black salt-like crystals were left at the bottom of the glass dish.
The priest collected the "black salt grains" and ground them into a powder like flour in a mortar. Finally, with Shade frowning, the priest put a small amount of the powder into his mouth:
"Yes, we guessed right."
He spat out the contents of his mouth, rinsed his mouth with water, and then asked:
"Those three ghouls were revived using the power of the 'Angel of Death' skeleton, so they behave differently from normal corpses. The person controlling this power has obviously been able to use part of the power of the skeleton, which is really amazing. If left alone, those three special ghouls will only become stronger. Therefore, the ghoul you killed will most likely be revived. The souls of the three of them should not be in their bodies at all, but in that half of the skull... Do you know a lich?"
"Of course I know. It's in the second grade book. Liches were very common in the Dark Chaos Era of the Fourth Era and before. They placed their souls in special alchemical items called 'Soul Boxes' to achieve near-immortality. However, liches and the technology to create liches gradually disappeared starting from the Fifth Era."
As Shad recalled, the priest nodded:
"When will I go to Green Lake? I have to take care of this matter myself. Otherwise, with your current means, you will never be able to eliminate those three zombies."
Even though I know the doctor is already in Green Lake City and Luvia will arrive soon, I can't delay any longer at this point:
"Priest, please leave this weekend. Please arrange the specific time according to your convenience. When you arrive, please go directly to Green Lake Hotel. I will book a room for you in advance. There are negotiations and meetings going on there recently, and there will be many reporters and other people around. It is difficult to arrange a room for you easily."
Shad said:
"Knowing that the other party is using the power of the Angel of Death doesn't mean we can get back the half skull. Priest, maybe I really need you to put in some effort this time. I can't easily go to the island now, otherwise there is a high probability that I will encounter the Thirteen-ring Fortune Teller again."
"I'll take care of this matter. You can help me book a hotel and give me directions. Come to think of it, I haven't been active since I came back from Midhill Castle last fall."
The priest said it easily, but Shade knew that in the real world, he could not use the power of the "Angel of Death" as easily as he did in death. Therefore, how to take away the bones at that time would be much more troublesome than fighting the devil with the doctor.