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Cavendish didn't understand why he suddenly lost control; everything was over before he could even react.
Recalling the name mentioned in the previous roar, he hesitated for a moment and repeated it in a low voice using the most common Loenese.
The surroundings were eerily silent. Cavendish could clearly hear his own frantic heartbeat and feel his lips moving, yet he couldn't hear his own voice; the name seemed to be swallowed by the Darkness.
Amanises… Aaron, within the Nation of Disorder, was unaffected. He uttered the concealed name, somewhat surprised to hear the Evernight Goddess's true name here.
It seems the Goddess and Lilith's cooperation was established even before this war of gods… This thought flashed through Aaron's mind as he pondered the scenes he had observed earlier.
Unlike Cavendish's confusion, Aaron, relying on his True Sight and the blessings of the Nation of Disorder to observe the entire exploration process, had already detected the source of the anomaly.
Both the Attendant of Mysteries and even The Fool possess the authority of "grafting," capable of recombining many tangible objects or abstract concepts to achieve incredible effects, much like altering definitions, logic, directions, or rules.
The Demonic Wolf Flegrea also wielded this authority. The space within the Holy City of Kamia was affected by residual divine power; the concepts of "end" and "beginning" were merged, preventing anyone who entered from leaving. This linked the two places, reducing the distance between them to zero, indirectly achieving a "teleportation" effect.
This authority had become increasingly bizarre under the intensification of different divine powers, "grafting" together things that normally couldn't have a direct connection, and directly acting upon the "concept" itself.
The Demonic Wolf's death by loss of control was directly grafted onto Cavendish, and the Seer's higher-level authority also caused Cavendish's spiritual premonition to fail directly.
And that silver Moon should be the power projection of the divine kingdom fragment within the Holy City of Kamia, and also the target for the upcoming actions.
The roaring sound that imprisoned spirits and affected the Spirit Body Threads should be the residual divine power of the "Mutant King," Kvastir.
It seems that after the Great Catastrophe occurred and the Sanguine withdrew, the ancient god's residual divine power, which had been suppressed in the Holy City of Kamia, has completely revived… Thinking this, Aaron transformed the information he had observed into two light clusters.
One light cluster directly merged into the prayer screen, while the other integrated into the prayer light cluster symbolizing Louise. Although he hadn't thoroughly explored the Holy City of Kamia, the general situation had been ascertained. Too frequent exploration could easily cause anomalies, even when using historical void images.
Since the location of the Holy City of Kamia had been found, Cavendish only needed to eliminate the influence of the surrounding Dark lands and coordinate with the actions of the Sanguine Dukes.
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Feynapotter Kingdom, north of Celenia City, at the junction of the Hornacis mountain range and the central plateau of the Northern Continent.
Louise, who had arrived at the ancestral land from the sea using a reverse "Door of Summoning," looked at the hundred-mile stretch of black hills, feeling the vitality of her own spirituality, and curiously asked Marquis Mistral beside her:
"Is this our Sanguine ancestral land? Why…"
Knowing what his junior was thinking, Marquis Mistral smiled and explained:
"Sanguine below Demigod and outsiders who wish to enter the true ancestral land must either possess the corresponding token or report to the Dukes in advance and be brought in by a Sanguine above Count."
As he spoke, red scales emerged behind him, forming a pair of illusory, misty, gigantic bat wings inscribed with numerous mysterious symbols, enveloping both of them.
Opening her eyes again, Louise looked at the blood-colored Moon that completely filled the sky, her expression slightly dazed. Before the shock in her heart dissipated, a dense, dark golden mist suddenly appeared before her eyes.
Her mouth slightly agape, Louise tried to process the information appearing in her mind, her lips subtly moving as she subconsciously spoke:
"Holy City of Kamia…"
Marquis Mistral beside her only felt the name was somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it in some ancient text. Before he could ponder it further, his expression suddenly turned serious as he looked up at the sky.
The figure of an extremely beautiful, blood-eyed woman suddenly appeared; it was Duke Jorna, "New Moon."
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Tingen City, Lamud Town, the afterglow of the setting Sun bathed this historic small town.
Dunn, wearing a black trench coat and a black top hat, was the first to alight from the carriage. Klein and Leonard, dressed in similar outfits, followed him out.
Glancing at the bustling street, Dunn looked at Klein and said:
"Klein, you lead the way. We'll go now and try to deal with that Wraith before dark, then take turns guarding "3-0782" to keep it away from ordinary people."
The "Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem," after being sent to Chanis Gate and suppressed by the core seal, had returned to its original state, no longer unusable as before, but it still needed to be separated to allow time for recovery.
"Okay." Klein replied briefly, subtly touching the spiritual materials for making "Flaring Sun Charms" in his pocket. At the same time, he glanced at Leonard beside him, and seeing that he hadn't noticed his small movement, he walked towards the small hill not far away.
Guided by divination, not long after, Klein saw the collapsed outer wall of the ancient castle he had seen in the dream world. Before even approaching, he felt a bone-chilling coldness, and goosebumps instantly rose on his arms.
"There really is a Wraith, and it's very powerful." Leonard looked at the ancient castle, tutted, then clapped his hands at Klein and added with a smile:
"I didn't expect your divination to be so accurate. It seems we can cultivate more Seers in the future."
Ignoring Leonard's teasing, Klein looked at the ancient, palm-sized badge in the captain's hand and followed him towards the ruined castle.
Corpses and ghosts not yet at the level of evil spirits could not exist within fifteen meters of the "Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem" for more than a minute. Dunn used the Nightmare's ability to pull the black-armored Wraith into a dream, easily stalling for enough time.
In the warm and pure sensation, the black mist rapidly evaporated, and the coldness gradually disappeared. Not long after, the Wraith Knight, clad in full armor and dragging a huge broadsword, became completely transparent, merging into the void.
Clang!
A black iron gauntlet fell to the ground, its surface covered with a layer of white frost.
Klein was about to ask the captain whether to pick up the "dropped item," but his gaze swept over it, and his spiritual intuition was suddenly triggered.
The steps separating the ancient castle's hall and dining room seemed to be calling to him with intense and illusory pain and filth!
"There's a problem there." Klein pointed to the steps separating the living room and the dining room, speaking with serious solemnity.
He had read in the Nighthawks' internal files that if similar situations appeared in one's spiritual intuition, it often meant that the target location concealed evil, defiled things. If one wasn't confident, it was best not to attempt to touch them, otherwise, it was very easy to lose one's life.
Sometimes, even just a glance could cause irreversible damage.
Most crucially, this was not part of his plan; the scene Arrodes showed him did not include this.
Standing beside him, Leonard, who had been calm all along, slightly restrained his improper smile and pondered with his arms crossed:
"This Wraith is very powerful. We only managed to eliminate him with the help of the Sealed Artifact. This level of Wraith wouldn't appear out of thin air."
"Moreover, Wraiths are very eager for living flesh and blood. Lamud Town is just down the mountain, and before coming here, I checked that there haven't been any major criminal incidents recently, nor any rumors of Wraiths appearing in the ancient castle."
"Either this Wraith has just appeared recently, or there's something in this abandoned castle that attracts him, making him unwilling to leave. Of course, both possibilities can be true simultaneously."
Dunn nodded slightly, turned his head to Klein, and calmly instructed: "Divine whether exploring there will go smoothly."
Before entering the ancient castle, the captain didn't ask me to divine, showing great confidence. This indicates he believes the hidden object might be more dangerous than the Wraith.
Taking a deep breath, Klein nodded silently, unfastened the citrine pendant inside his cuff, and began to divine.
Leonard, meanwhile, squatted down and picked up the black iron gauntlet from the ground, muttering something under his breath.
After receiving Klein's divination that "the danger is within a solvable range," Dunn put the "Mutated Sun Sacred Emblem" on his left chest, reached up to press his silk top hat, and quickly walked towards the steps, skillfully searching for a mechanism.
Leonard, who was playing with the black iron gauntlet, noticed Klein's gaze, and the corners of his mouth curled up. He spoke with the tone of an old hand, smiling:
"Divination is just a means. As a professional Nighthawk, you should remain vigilant at this time. Hmm, although firearms aren't very effective against Wraiths."
Accustomed to this guy's tone, Klein's lips curled slightly:
"I feel like I've completely mastered the Seer Beyonder potion. Perhaps I'll submit a special application soon."
Dunn, who had already been subtly hinted at the "acting method" by Klein, paused slightly but showed no other reaction, seemingly prepared for the special application, just not expecting it so soon.
Leonard's expression changed for a moment. Recalling that it took him two years to become a Midnight Poet, he was at a loss for words.
Satisfied, Klein withdrew his gaze from Leonard's face and watched as the captain directly threw the Sealed Artifact "3-0782" from his chest into the hidden door filled with coldness and filth.
Once warmth and purity enveloped the hidden door's entrance, Dunn looked at Leonard, who was muttering to himself with a strange expression, and made a decisive decision:
"Klein, the two of us will go down. Leonard will stay here to prevent other enemies from destroying the mechanism."
Only after their figures disappeared down the steps did Leonard's voice become slightly louder:
"Old man, what did you mean by what you just said?"
"That Wraith recently suffered heavy damage, otherwise, you wouldn't have eliminated him so easily. As for your teammate, hehe…"
The aged voice echoed in his mind. Leonard hated the feeling of someone speaking only halfway, but no matter how he called, Pallez no longer responded.
In the center of the basement lay a black coffin, its iron nails a dark red color.
The lid of the coffin had been pushed open a crack, revealing a headless skeleton inside.
After confirming there was no additional danger in the basement, Klein watched Dunn, who was carefully examining the area with Sealed Artifact "3-0782" equipped, and then lowered his citrine pendant, silently chanting a divination phrase in his mind:
"The corpse in the coffin is Mr. Azik's bloodline."
Thin, gray-white mist drifted before his eyes, and Klein looked at the pendant in his hand, which gave an affirmative answer. After verifying Arrodes's words, Klein felt little excitement. For a moment, he didn't know how to face his former teacher, especially now that he was in a terrifying vortex himself.
Inspecting the body took much longer than expected. To prevent the Sealed Artifact from affecting the ordinary people of Lamud Town, Dunn decided to stay in the ancient castle tonight and observe whether the Wraiths in the castle were completely cleared. Klein thus finally got the chance to take turns guarding.
Klein, wearing Sealed Artifact "3-0782," sat alone in the basement where the coffin was placed. After setting up a wall of spirituality, he quickly arranged a ritual on the ground.
Although stealing the power of divine blood from the Sealed Artifact to create "Flaring Sun Charms" would reduce the years its purification effect could be maintained, it would not damage the Sealed Artifact.
With the mastermind living in the Red Chimney House still in Tingen and himself constantly conducting investigations, Klein had to do everything he could to become stronger!
Because he was stealing the power of a deity, Klein couldn't divine in advance whether the matter would go smoothly; that might make him directly face a deity again.
Klein suspected that the Eternal Blazing Sun would directly recognize him as the disrespectful one who dared to gaze upon Him. Without the protection of the gray fog space, the captain and Leonard would only find a pile of black ashes if they came in.
As the incantation neared its end, Klein suddenly felt something light up before his eyes.
The ancient, dark golden emblem radiated a blazing light, like the Sun descending upon the earth.
Klein was instantly enveloped in extreme heat, his hair rapidly growing hot, seemingly about to catch fire.
Almost without thinking, Klein raised his hands, relying on his spirituality, following instinctive memories and the guidance of the ritual, and began to use an engraving knife to draw symbolic patterns, magical sigils, and ancient incantations on both sides of the golden plate.
On the other side of the ancient castle, Leonard, who was inspecting other parts of the castle with Dunn, suddenly tilted his head, his brows slightly furrowed, and looked scrutinizingly towards the ancient castle hall, muttering:
"The Sun?"
Dunn, standing not far away, looked up at the crimson Moon in the sky and touched his increasingly thinning hair.
The blazing sunlight in the basement only lasted a few minutes before gradually dimming. Everything returned to its original state.
Klein examined the two "Flaring Sun Charms" in his palm. Their golden luster had become dim, and the patterns were ancient and complex. A warm, moist sensation was gradually seeping out, penetrating his skin.
One for himself, and the other to exchange for other types of charms in the Council of Entropy… Thinking with some joy, Klein quickly completed the ritual's conclusion and removed the wall of spirituality.
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