Lu Li asked the bishop who called himself Jon. Ophelia was like a guard, tensing her body surging with obscure power.
The believers stood beside the oil lamps, their long and narrow shadows pointed at Lu Li in the center, like a mysterious ceremony.
"We are also looking for the whereabouts of the Lord, over and over again..." Jon lowered his head sadly. "But with all due respect to your most loyal servant, maybe my Lord has sacrificed himself."
"Sacrifice...what does it mean?"
"She exchanged herself for your return."
Bishop Jon said.
[Perhaps even your escape is related to her? The underground rock formation is like the mother's womb, and the turbulent undercurrent surrounding it is like the amniotic fluid that brings nutrients. When you soak in the river, crawl through the narrow pass with difficulty, and come to the outside world, it is like a baby being born...
】
At the bottom of Socrates, the whisper of the stone statue of the Thinker seemed to ring in my ears as it shimmered.
[She is by your side and never leaves you...]
"Tell me the details." Lu Li continued to ask.
"Of course...even if it costs your life."
Bishop Jon slowly raised his head, his gray mist-filled eyes reminiscing: "That was a snowy night as cold as tonight..."
Jon, who was supposed to die, was resurrected by Anna. After observing Jon's condition, she was ready to abandon him like other resurrected mutilated experimental subjects. But Jon chose to follow her footsteps to the Stone Forest.
Jon prayed to Anna to take him in as a homeless person, but at this moment.
"He said to welcome a guest."
…
"Where is Adangfuya?"
Covered in wind and snow, Tesla stepped out of the darkness, and the oil lamp illuminated his face, which was even thinner and more haggard than before.
The elegant girl's shadow did not respond.
"Where is Adamuya!" Tesla stepped forward and repeated again.
The silhouette of the girl slowly raised her head, her hair flying: "Are you questioning me? Questioning an evil spirit...?"
"Tell me...tell me her whereabouts..."
Tesla dragged his frozen body and staggered forward like a zombie. He no longer had the confidence and nobility he once had as an investigator.
"I can't live without her."
His prayer seemed to move the girl's shadow, and her fluttering hair fell gently.
"...Paradise Valley, that's the only one I know."
"How do you know she has anything to do with it?"
Tesla still retains the last bit of investigator acumen, perhaps because he doesn't want to be disappointed again.
"After he and I left, Remi and the others left to look for us. When I returned to Wanghai Cliff, I saw the messenger's body and the broken letter, on which only the name of Paradise Valley could be identified."
Anna said so many words for the first time.
"Thank you...you will also find Lu Li."
Tesla remembered the name, turned around and staggered away.
Watching Tesla step into the darkness, whispers echoed in the underground hall.
"certainly……"
…
Jon ultimately failed to become Anna's servant.
After blending into the abyss, she no longer needs companions; all she has with her is the obsession she once had.
Perhaps there are strong emotions that are distorted.
Jon, who considers himself a servant, follows Anna's footsteps and takes in those beings who were resurrected by Anna, as well as those who believe in Anna's deeds.
Thus the Shadow Church appeared.
After the girl's shadow disappeared, they persisted in his ritual, looking for Lu Li's whereabouts, and would restart the ritual in this land every once in a while.
Anna finally disappeared on the earth, and Lu Li, who returned, had never interacted with her - the clues he pursued along the way were left by the Church of Shadow.
After telling everything, Bishop Jon quietly waited for his own melting.
But as time passed, deathly silence enveloped the surroundings, and nothing happened.
"Why didn't I-"
"I know Anna's ritual and how to avoid triggering it."
Lu Li said, reaching out to cover his forehead.
The hallucination became more serious, and even the words that reached my ears were suppressed by the hissing noise...
"My Lord saved me once, and you saved me a second time."
Bishop Jon bowed and saluted, swearing allegiance with excitement.
"The Church of Shadows will be your most loyal servants."
Dozens of silhouettes in front of the wall also bowed respectfully.
Illusive threads that only Lu Li could see emerged from their hoods, being pulled around their bodies by invisible forces, lingering helplessly as if abandoned, seeking a connection with Lu Li.
Lu Li ignored these ethereal threads with mysterious power and stared into the depths of the underground hall.
"Do you like the gift I prepared for you?"
Anna spoke softly, and her words cut through the noise and rang clearly in her ears.
"Did Anna leave anything behind?"
Lu Li asked the low bishop Jon.
"The room where He rested..."
Bishop Jon lowered his head again: "We dare not desecrate that room..."
Even if they failed to perform rituals time and time again and searched for Anna to no avail, they had not set foot in the room where there might be clues about Anna.
Therefore, pagans have always been the most difficult to provoke in this land.
Faith makes them fearless and crazy.
"take me."
Bishop Jon led the way.
Lu Li and the others followed them through the underground hall and into the stone forest, where the Archduke Valentin once rested.
Except for the lack of enough light deep underground, there is no difference between this place and the manor castle on the ground. Only time and plunder have made it fade.
But after the Shadow Church took over, the place came to life again.
After walking through the red carpet corridor with candlelight on both sides, they arrived at the room at the end.
The cultists guarding the door bowed and retreated, the fanaticism under their cloaks even with cloth could not stop them.
"That's it..."
Squirming under the black robe, Bishop Jon presented a copper key.
Lu Li took the copper key, inserted it into the keyhole and twisted it.
Click——
The dusty carved wooden door slowly opened.
Bishop Jon stepped away, and Ophelia and the merchant did not step in. Ophelia also took out the hood of the eldest sister's head. Only Lu Li, who put away the silver key, walked into the wooden door.
A soft, cold hand suddenly grasped the palm of Lu Li's pocket. When he took his hand out, he only saw that he was holding a book.
"Belfast"
In the real library, the book elf took out some books, which were taken away by Lu Li and forgotten in his pocket.
Lu Li stopped, opened the title page of the book, and stared at the preface that appeared.
[Two people who truly love each other are forced to separate. The girl is looking for the boy, and the boy is looking for the girl. And their ending——】
Lu Li turned to the back page, but part of the page was missing.
I don’t know if it was the Book Elf or the Ever Dreamer who did it.
Is this the tip given by the book elf?
Putting away "Belfast" temporarily, Lu Li stepped into the room in front of the door.
Oil paintings, statues, and works of art. Only the bed and desk remained in the room that had been plundered.
There is also a notebook on the desk.
Lu Li came to the table, picked up the notebook with the "Belfast Printing House" logo printed on the lower right corner, and opened it gently.
There is only one line of text on the blank note.
【No matter where you are, I will find you and bring you back】