novelraw Chapter 842: Ritual Canceled
Chapter 842: Ritual Canceled
After skirting the anomaly-infested Joseph Estate, they crossed Sugard Mountain, and as they entered the wilderness, a chill swept in from the Main Continent.
"Looks like it's going to snow again," Katerina said, pulling her blanket tighter around herself.
"Katerina, your hand..."
Prusius had just noticed that Katerina's palm was twisted into an unnatural shape.
"A side effect from the Place of the Whirlpool."
Katerina replied nonchalantly. Her left hand wasn't her dominant one, and on the bright side, the whirlpool-warped palm had a stronger grip.
At least, many of the poor souls who had fallen into the Place of the Whirlpool never made it out, like Helena and a man named Paf.
The squad from the Church of Twisted Vines spread out, their formation shifting from a tight ring around Lu Li and the others into a column that stretched for dozens of meters.
This formation signaled to anomalies that didn't hunt by sight that they were not to be trifled with, and also allowed them to sense the approach of invisible anomalies ahead of time.
The dampness clinging to the mountainside soaked the church members' cloaks, making them heavy, but they didn't seem to mind the moisture. Katerina, however, wasn't used to such humidity; the cold dampness seemed to seep right into her bones.Ophelia suddenly began to radiate warmth like a furnace, dispelling the damp and cold.
Katerina felt much better, and her prejudice against Ophelia softened slightly.
Protected by the members of the Church of Twisted Vines and warmed by Ophelia, the outline of the Sentry Post appeared in the distance, at the edge of the damp fog.
Its condition was as wretched as that of the now-ruined Belfast. The town's silhouette was mottled with dark tones, like a faded oil painting, and its buildings, having lost their sharp angles, resembled dark shapes overgrown with moss.
A protective mycelial web covered the town's exterior.
It was impossible to know if the passage to Hell—or Gades, who had fled into it—still remained.
At the edge of the mycelial web stood crooked wooden signs, like tombstones. The graffiti scrawled on them was incomprehensible, until they found one that read: "Teegole family territory. No trespassing."
They had drawn very close to the mottled outer layer of mycelium. The tentacled cultist came to a halt.
"If we go any further, the Teegole family will detect us."
"What's that?"
The nearby mycelial web suddenly swelled, shifting like a cloud as it grew, and finally took on Lu Li's form.
"Unbeliever, walking with heretics, what is your purpose here?"
Countless creaking sounds arose, vibrating the air and forming human speech.
"I'm looking for the Shadow Maiden, an evil spirit named Anna," Lu Li replied.
"We have not seen her. A war is beginning. Retreat."
The shadowy Lu Li silhouette turned toward the Sentry Post. On the horizon, a cloud darker than the fog was approaching.
"Should we wait?" Katerina asked.
"No. We're heading back."
War—that word implied a large-scale battle.
The Teegole family was clearly precise with its language; if they said "war," it meant a conflict large enough to engulf the entire mountainside was truly about to erupt, one that might even spill over into Belfast.
The farther away they were, the better.
"So where do we look for her next?"
"Himpfast."
Lu Li, having followed Anna's trail, knew she had definitely been there.
They turned and went back the way they came, and the war over the Sentry Post had already begun.
The dark clouds solidified into the shape of spears that plunged down from the fog.
A massive, mottled claw rose from the Sentry Post, reaching for the celestial spear.
The spear pierced the giant claw and slammed into the Sentry Post, unleashing a black wave dozens of meters high that surged violently outward.
It seemed the Teegole family was losing.
"Do you know who the invaders are?" Lu Li asked the tentacled cultist.
"The Pavlov werewolves. They're fighting over territory."
The Teegole family counterattacked. The mycelial web inside the Sentry Post bulged outward, unleashing columns of black ants that swarmed over the Pavlov werewolves. The mottled mycelium scattered around the town rose like smoke and flowed back toward it.
"They are servants of an ancient deity, the Hexagonal Beetle," the tentacled cultist voluntarily revealed to Lu Li.
"Then why are they hostile to each other?"
"The Ancient God is dead. They are a flock without a shepherd."
The tentacled cultist then revealed his reason for sharing this secret:
"Our Lord is a deity who once ruled the world. He still exists, and He is mighty."
He wanted Lu Li to join them.
Lu Li ignored the offer, and the tentacled cultist didn't press the matter. He wasn't a radical heretic, and radical heretics weren't allowed to join the settlement anyway.
As a reward for the information the cultist had provided, the Merchant gave him a wooden box containing an eyeball and 560 contribution points.
The distant war at the Sentry Post was gradually swallowed by the damp fog, leaving only the faint sound of tremors reaching them.
After crossing back over Sugard Mountain, they returned to the settlement of the Church of Twisted Vines.
Next, Lu Li planned to return to the Elm Forest, board the Andrea, and set off for Himpfast.
Before that, however, there was one problem Lu Li needed to solve.
"I'll be back in five minutes."
Lu Li announced inside the church of the Twisted Vines.
The Merchant quietly exited the church and vanished into the cold light.
"Let's hurry up and find Anna." Barry's voice drew everyone's gaze back from the world outside the church.
"Mhm."
Lu Li nodded, his eyes fixed on the Distorted Figure on the divine throne.
But before he could say his goodbyes, a quiet whisper came from the cultist who was relaying the divine prophecy.
"Barry is an evil spirit."
Katerina and Prusius froze, staring in astonishment at the stunned Barry, who awkwardly and incoherently tried to explain:
"I... I'm not an evil spirit! Look at my hand."
Barry showed them his praying-mantis-like hand. He'd been contaminated when he lent Katerina his pendant in the Place of the Whirlpool.
"It says that Barry is an evil spirit pretending to be your companion. He distorts your memories and perception, and whenever the Merchant appears, he vanishes."
Lu Li frowned, lost in thought.
They didn't remember that.
"The Merchant just doesn't like me!"
Barry couldn't help but protest.
"He saved me in the Place of the Whirlpool. I trust him," Katerina whispered.
"I... I just know he tricked us into doing that second job before," Prusius muttered.
Ophelia stood beside Lu Li, her support unwavering.
Lu Li looked at the Distorted Figure on the divine throne, comparing his own experience with the parts of its account that differed.
"The Merchant will be back in five minutes, right?"
"Yes."
Lu Li looked at Katerina, the others, and Barry.
"Then we'll wait five minutes."
His decision betrayed a hint of doubt, causing the previously confident Prusius and Katerina to waver and inch closer to Lu Li.
Five minutes felt longer than they expected.
Just as Katerina and the others began to feel that several five-minute intervals had passed and were starting to believe Barry, the Merchant's silhouette appeared in front of the church.
Their perception righted itself, and they realized that Barry was suddenly standing right there—he hadn't vanished with the Merchant's arrival.
"You reek. Fine."
Barry uttered a sinister whisper that completely contradicted his good-natured appearance, and vanished on the spot.
He had been drawn by Lu Li's humanity.
"Will he come back?" Katerina asked.
"Probably not," Lu Li replied.
Barry hadn't been defeated. He had only been driven away because Lu Li no longer possessed the humanity that had attracted him. And until that humanity increased again, he wouldn't be back to bother them.
Just in case, they tested it one more time, and this time, Barry did not appear.