novelraw Chapter 175: Danger
Chapter 175: Danger
Loren did not plan to deal with the Pseudohumans privately. This kind of thing should be left to the Church. Loren did not intend to take any risks.
He didn't even plan to reveal that he was the one who discovered the Pseudohuman, as that would cause him to be targeted by them. Among Pseudohumans, there were also relatively powerful individuals who could pose a certain level of threat to Loren.
Loren planned to set aside his research into necromancy for now and focus on dealing with the Pseudohumans.
It was already late. Loren planned to go to the Church the next day. Tonight, he would first control Gwen to check the situation outside.
Requiem had already returned to Loren's hand. What was more important now was protecting himself and the children.
It was best not to try using Requiem when no obvious anomalies were detected, as it could very likely cause panic.
Pseudohumans could freely control their own bodies. Having the Church find an excuse to cut everyone and judge by physical strength wasn't very realistic either. Pseudohumans could temporarily make their bodies as fragile as a normal person's. Their intelligence was not low;
in fact, it was much higher than the average human IQ.
The night passed without incident. The next day, Loren got up very early and headed straight for the Church.
"I'm going to the Church. I'll be right back."
Loren did not tell them everything he knew. Fear could truly enhance a Pseudohuman's strength. However, he did tell all of this to Mirrorheart. He didn't think Mirrorheart would feel fear.Moreover, he also believed Mirrorheart could help him keep an eye on them. Loren was very reassured.
A service was being held in the cathedral. Many believers were gathered in the main hall, repeatedly drawing the Sprout of New Life pattern over their chests while singing the hymn Loren had written for the God of Bountiful Harvest.
Leading them was none other than Clemens. Loren had come specifically to find him. He didn't plan to contact too many people or say too much.
The crowd singing the hymn was very focused, not even noticing Loren's arrival. Only Clemens, who was facing Loren, saw his figure.
Loren waved at Clemens, who immediately stopped the service and walked towards him.
"Master Mentor, what happened?"
From Loren's expression, Clemens could tell the matter was urgent. Loren led him to a place with few people, deep within the cathedral where generally no one came. Only Loren and Clemens were here.
"A Pseudohuman came to find me yesterday..."
Loren kept it brief, summarizing what happened yesterday. However, he concealed the effect of Requiem and emphasized that he had not confirmed it was a Pseudohuman, leaving it to the Church to continue the investigation.
"Be careful during the investigation. Stick together in groups. When alone, it's easy to be attacked by Pseudohumans. If you get replaced then, no one will notice."
The two talked while walking in the cathedral, seemingly very casual. But from Clemens's furrowed brow, one could see how much of a headache he had right now.
Clemens took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit one for himself, and only after taking a deep drag did his brow gradually relax, though his face remained full of worry.
"I'll find a way to handle this..."
"Alright, I'll leave first then."
After briefing Clemens, Loren didn't say a single extra word. He directly left the Church, leaving Clemens alone to worry.
...
"Master Mentor, why are you in such a hurry?"
As Loren was almost at his doorstep, his neighbor greeted him. A minor noble family lived next to Loren. They were decent people, but due to the vast difference in status, their interactions weren't many, mostly just exchanging greetings.
"I just came back from the Church, busy getting back to cook for the children."
"Then you should hurry back. I won't disturb you any further."
"..."
Loren didn't reply, just immediately went home and locked the door.
"Master Mentor? What's wrong?"
Luna, who was reading a Magic Book in the living room, sensed Loren's urgency and asked. This was the first time she had seen Loren so rushed.
"Quick, gather in my room."
After instructing Luna, Loren went to call everyone one by one. They also saw Loren's urgency. In less than a minute, everyone had gathered in Loren's room, except for the three new Maids.
"What happened?"
"First, prove your identities. Just use your Arcane Ability."
A Witch's Arcane Ability was unique;
a Pseudohuman couldn't possibly imitate it, so verification was simple.
A hand suddenly extended from Loren's shadow. Anna pricked her finger and let blood fly out. Scarlett pulled out Loren's underwear from her Life Thief space. A mask instantly appeared on Luna's face. Laila threw a paper ball that circled around everyone and landed in the trash can.
Seeing Mirrorheart about to gouge out her own eyes, Loren stopped her in time.
"It's good that you're all fine..."
Only then did Loren let out a sigh of relief and began to explain the situation to everyone:
"Clemens has been replaced by a Pseudohuman, and he has probably already set his sights on me."
"What?"
Laila exclaimed in surprise. She knew very well what level of combat power Clemens possessed. He was among the strongest even among Sixth-tier Mages, not to mention he also had the power of a deity.
Yet even such a powerful Clemens had already been replaced by a Pseudohuman.
"How did you confirm it?"
"At that time, Clemens and I were alone together. He smoked in front of me..."
Clemens cared very much about Loren's feelings. Ever since Loren mentioned it to him, he had never smoked in front of Loren again. He even stayed away from Loren's door after smoking.
The Pseudohuman only knew he had a smoking addiction but didn't know this detail.
Thinking about it carefully, Loren felt a wave of lingering fear. Pseudohumans launch attacks when alone with someone. That situation clearly met the condition.
With Loren's inspiration, he would have realized the moment the Pseudohuman made a move. Although Loren wouldn't be in mortal danger, it would inevitably expose many of his trump cards.
Exposing these trump cards, whether to the Church or to the Pseudohumans, was something Loren did not want to see.
"Not just Clemens. Our neighbor has also become a Pseudohuman."
Loren tested it just now when he came back. He said he was going back to cook. But ever since moving here, Loren had basically never cooked. Others also wouldn't think a person of Loren's stature would cook for himself when there were Maids.
And when Loren said this, his neighbor did not show any surprise.
"Mirrorheart, go gather the Maids. I'll verify if they are Pseudohumans."
These Maids counted as his own people. Loren planned to use a simple and crude method: directly cut them with Requiem.
"Alright."
Mirrorheart got up and left. Loren wasn't in a hurry to go out either. He felt a bit mentally exhausted. This was the first time since transmigrating that he had encountered real trouble.
Fortunately, everything was still within his control. It was just a bit troublesome.