Silver City, at the top of the round tower, in the chief room.
The flickering candlelight cast on the undecorated wooden table, dragging a long, distorted shadow on the ground.
Colin Yinliatt sat quietly on the chair, his eyes closed.
If you ignore his exaggerated height, this chief who has personally killed many demigod-level monsters and supported Silver City to stumble through the darkness for decades is just like any old man you can see everywhere in the outside world.
He sat in front of a full-length mirror that was incompatible with the simple room. The sterling silver outer frame and the delicate withered flowers made the mirror look like an artifact that could be produced in the God-Forsaken Land.
Of course, this is also true.
The old man with gray hair and deep scars on his face opened his eyes. His right hand, which was not withered, was holding a fine-looking pocket watch. His light blue eyes stared deeply at the man who was older than himself.
Big - a mirror that seems to have been passed down from the era of the Creator's rule.
The deep and vicissitudes of light blue stared at herself in the mirror, at the image that was almost the same as herself, and slowly moved her eyes back to look behind her.
In the mirror, the white pocket watch he was holding tightly was emitting a faint light, distorting the darkness behind him. Silhouettes that did not belong to this time were vaguely hidden in the not-so-rich shadows. His eyes met Colin's.
Those were the parents, sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren that he personally executed over the past eighty years... as well as his brother who died silently underground without being able to see him for the last time.
If Derrick were here right now, he would definitely be able to find out what the strong sense of disobedience was in his heart when he met the mysterious old man in the underground cell.
In the mirror, his head was no longer split, and he silently looked at his younger brother. The two eyes were so similar and so unreflective. They condensed two completely different lives.
"Dongdongdong."
"Please come in."
Colin suddenly turned over the palm holding the pocket watch, stood up straight and looked at the closed door, and the illusion in the full-length mirror was swept away.
The old wooden door was slowly pushed open, and a touch of silver appeared in the gap.
Lovia, who had a bright and elegant appearance, nodded coldly to Colin, still wearing the same dark purple robe.
"Chief, what's the matter?"
She looked around the simple room without concealment, and finally stood about one meter away from Colin, looking up at the old man who was nearly two heads taller than her, trying to read something in his eyes.
Colin's light blue eyes were still filled with vicissitudes of life, as if nothing had happened just now.
"Are you in stable condition recently?"
Lovia frowned slightly.
"not bad."
She was a little surprised that the chief would ask such a question that was almost nonsense.
"Derrick told me the name of the being he tried to pray to when he was parasitized."
Colin's eyes stayed between Lovia's eyebrows, trying to see something.
Unfortunately, Lovia just nodded slightly, as if she had heard the most mediocre news.
"That's a very unexpected name. To be honest, just like the name of the Creator, I haven't heard it for a long time." Looking away, Colin continued.
"He said that the one who is called the 'God of Mysteries'."
A sound almost sighing gently passed through the room. Lovia still stared at Colin expressionlessly, with no fluctuation in her light gray eyes.
"You don't seem surprised by this." Colin shook his head, his words a bit straightforward.
But before Lovia could answer, the old man put away his rare sigh, and a pair of dark green symbols appeared in his eyes at some point, staring straight at Lovia.
"Do you think this is true?"
This was asking what the Lord meant... Feeling the invisible oppression from the "demon hunter", Lovia felt a little funny for a moment.
This was the first time she saw such an expression on the chief's face.
Hope, nervousness, and... fear.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile finally appeared on Lovia's cold expression.
"I hope and think it's true."
As she spoke, she raised her right hand, feeling the heat coming from her abdomen. She looked at Colin's clenched right hand and said casually and straightforwardly:
"Didn't you already receive a gift from Him?"
"I think you should have got a good answer, but you just lack the recognition of others."
"You are afraid that your decision will lead Silver City down the wrong path."
A slightly hoarse mature voice echoed in the closed room, but for a while, there was no sound at all.
The light blue eyes were slightly enlarged. Colin looked at the elder who also concealed the secret with some surprise. After a long time, a wry smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"You're right, I'm scared."
The wry smile became more and more obvious. Colin's gradually wandering eyes accidentally glanced at the full-length mirror beside him, stroking the pocket watch in his palm, and the phantom hiding in the shadows appeared again.
He looked at the people who had gone away, and his old voice gradually became firmer.
"Although we still can't completely trust the person behind Derrick, it seems that we don't have the power to choose."
Opening his palms, Colin stretched out the silver-white pocket watch to Lovia and said in a statement-like tone:
"This sealed object made by the 'parasite' Amon can speed up or slow down the flow of time in a short period of time, and can even barely achieve the miracle of turning back time."
"As long as the user carries it on his body, it will actively absorb the spirituality of other people nearby. Even after applying blood, there is a certain chance of stealing an extraordinary ability of the enemy."
Colin stared at the moving hands, and gradually used strength in his spread-out fingers.
"Of course, it will also steal the user's spirituality, extraordinary power, and even life irregularly. Although you can try to avoid it through firm will, once the blood is applied, this side effect is almost inevitable and will never happen again.
Ways to avoid it.”
"And its second side effect..." Colin's statement suddenly stopped.
He looked at Lovia with complicated eyes and silently shook his head.
"I actually don't think it's a side effect."
"This sealed object will allow people to see illusions in the mirror, sometimes regrets, sometimes things they desire, but it will not read or affect the user's heart."
Under Colin's gaze, Lovia's indifferent face finally trembled.
The "shepherd" subconsciously wanted to reach out and grab the moving pocket watch, but restrained his movements. After a long time, he sighed sadly:
"Maybe this is that person's sincerity."
Colin nodded slightly in agreement, turned his right palm, and the silvery white disappeared.
He looked out the window at the sky where the lightning was still there and the light and dark alternated. He paused for a moment before continuing:
"It is precisely because of this item that I plan to prepare for another exploration in the near future."
"I will tell Hilmon these things..." Colin looked back at Lovia, wondering what he was thinking.
"According to records, there is a city northwest of Silver City that originally believed in the 'God of Mystery'... You and I are still responsible for this exploration."
...
The solidified gray mist cuts across the main continent, standing stubbornly in the wilderness, without seeing any changes for a long time, as if time has been stopped from the beginning of its birth, just to faithfully fulfill its mission.
The altar that once prayed to the gray fog has been abandoned. In the open space a few hundred meters away from the giant curtain of gray fog, a stone pillar appeared out of thin air and stood among the mounds, holding up a huge dragon and looking down.
"Your Excellency Loholid."
A not too old voice broke the tranquility here, adding a bit of life to the wilderness where there was only thunder.
Nim, the high priest of Moon City, nodded slightly to the giant dragon entrenched on the stone pillar.
"This is the monster you need."
The old high priest opened his mouth slightly, and spirits of different shapes flew back between his teeth one after another. The illusory face closed his eyes and fell into sleep again.
Loholid, with only one head exposed, raised his head and glanced at the various monsters placed in front of the stone pillar. His blood-red eyes were suddenly dyed with a brass color, and the illusory particles were dyed under the authority of the "prophet". The shadow, the giant dragon that simulated the authority of the "parasite" opened its mouth slightly, and the unconscious monsters in front screamed and turned into old mummies in an instant.
"Today I will ask my Lord to grant you a miracle."
The giant dragon on the stone pillar digested the life span it had just devoured, its eyes turned blood red again, and the muscles on both sides of its neck continued to surge.
Since arriving in Moon City, he has used several purification rituals to win the trust of the residents here, and at the same time, with the help of the power of the "God of Mysteries", he has cut off Moon City's thousand-year prayers to the gray mist.
Although he has not yet learned the knowledge about the old days at his level, as a dragon that has lived for nearly three thousand years, and as a dragon that has experienced the heyday of the Creator, he knows very well that sequence zero is not the end of promotion.
Thinking of this, Loholid raised his huge body, looked into the distance, stared at the orange-red torches on the horizon, and spoke in a deep voice.
"I will pray to the Lord and give you a certain amount of food. Of course, this cannot meet the needs of everyone in your city."
Nim's already lowered head buried a little deeper.
"Praise to the great 'God of Mysteries'."
"All this comes from the care of the gods. We will gather enough sacrifices..."
"You don't have to be so formal." Loholid interrupted Nim's words and looked at the "night watchman" who was always vigilant in front of him, feeling a little confused for a moment.
Since the fall of this continent, he has seen too many people struggling to survive in the darkness, and he himself also played many disgraceful roles before being reactivated by the Lord.
If it were before, I would have used violence to hunt down all the demigods in this city-state and turn this city-state into my own pasture...
"Since you are familiar with the ceremony, you should know that our Lord is a benevolent being just like the glorious Creator."
"Although our Lord believes in the creed of equal exchange, she is more willing to show her mercy."
Loholid raised his head and looked seriously at the gray fog behind him. He looked at this strange barrier that had the same origin as the Lord's power, and said respectfully and with a hint of fear:
"The Lord appreciates your loyalty to the Creator, and even more appreciates your perseverance and determination in persevering in the darkness for many years."
"She is willing to selflessly grant you salvation, just like the Creator did in the past."
Loholid looked at Nim, and the ferocious dragon head evoked a smile.
"Wait and hope, our chance to escape this darkness is almost here."
...
"Your Excellency the Archbishop."
The heavy stone door slowly opened. Sost looked at Saint Anthony walking out of the underground and quickly lowered his head.
This old man with a beardless face and deep eyes can make people feel scared just by standing there, but at the same time, his pure eyes can always soothe the fluctuations in others' hearts, without any dark feeling at all.
"Nius Andrelade has indeed converted to the goddess."
The extremely penetrating voice penetrated the hearts of every Red Glove present. Anthony Stevenson, whose eyes contained deep darkness and tranquility, glanced at Sost and said unhurriedly:
"The information given by Nyus Andrelade is basically credible. There is a conflict between the 'ancient demon' and the Blood Worship Cult."
"This is our chance to deal with the 'demon' in one fell swoop, but it's also a greater danger."
"Archbishop Horamik of the Church of Steam and I will personally be responsible for everything related to the 'ancient demon'. The red glove team you lead will start investigating the cross-shaped sewer hub in the Backlund Bridge area one by one from now on. You can chant when necessary
My honorable name."
They actually want two archbishops to go out together?
Listening to Saint Anthony's explanation, Sost was surprised at first, then straightened his back and said:
"yes."
Seeing the Archbishop nod slightly, he unconsciously glanced towards the ground that seemed to contain extreme fear, and he considered and tried:
"Your Majesty the Archbishop, what should we do with Andrerad next?"
Saint Anthony slowly turned around and looked at the sacred emblem of the Goddess of the Night, which was constantly emitting soft light on the heavy stone door, and familiarly outlined the outline of the crimson moon on his chest.
"We should not restrict the freedom of the lambs who have returned from the lost way."
The archbishop seemed to emphasize with profound meaning:
"Since Nyus Andrelade has given up his wrong beliefs and devoutly converted to the goddess, we naturally have to treat him as a compatriot."
"When his confinement period ends, I will apply to the Holy See to allow him to join the ranks of the Nighthawks."
Enter the Nighthawks?
Sost looked at the Archbishop in shock, and it took him a long time to recover.
Although he knew that there must be political and church image considerations involved, after all, even the former "devil" believers could accept her, which would show the goddess's generosity and would only facilitate future exchanges between Nighthawks and Wild Extraordinaries.
But emotionally he still finds it difficult to accept a future "demon" colleague.
Anthony's calm gaze slowly swept over. The saint seemed to see his subordinate's doubts and said softly:
"Nius Andrelade has given up the opportunity to continue his promotion. He only hopes that the church can heal his broken arm."
"A cold-blooded person who voluntarily comes under supervision will have no problem."
Slowly breathing a sigh of relief, although he still could not accept such an arrangement, Sost still tapped his chest piously and bowed his head while facing the holy emblem on the heavy stone door.