Chapter 254: Delayed Response

Chapter 254: Delayed Response

The iron-black coffin, covered in strange patterns, sat quietly at the center. In the air, hidden waves seemed to silently collide.

Emlyn White stood in the corner and, following the normal ritual process, lit the candles and began burning essential oils and the corresponding herbal powders.

A hazy, drifting atmosphere spread outward. Emlyn recalled the requirements for artificial sleepwalking, lowered his head, began meditating, and repeatedly recited the Fool’s honorific name.

“The Fool that does not belong to this era;

“The mysterious ruler above the gray fog;

“The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.”

…

Amid the monotonous and rhythmic voice, Emlyn gradually entered a wondrous state. His body relaxed inwardly as though asleep, while his spirituality became lively and light, continuously spreading outward.

At that moment, he felt himself drifting upward without cease.

Inside the ancient palace above the gray fog, Klein sat at the head of the long bronze table, his finger lightly tapping as he looked without expression at the ripples of light spreading beside him, appreciating the figure of the person praying.

Although it was very blurry, Klein recognized at a glance that the other party was the vampire Emlyn White.

Quite courageous. He’s shown the same decisiveness he has when buying dolls… Klein sighed inwardly and made no response.

Earlier, he had tried divining the Sanguine’s objective, but had failed to obtain any effective revelation. The only thing he could confirm was that it had nothing to do with the Aurora Order.

That left Klein quite curious, but he would not take risks because of curiosity and respond to Emlyn White when a High-Sequence Sanguine was hiding nearby.

He did not know whether the other party could seize a trace and, like Amon the Blasphemer, threaten the mysterious space above the gray fog. He also did not wish to confirm it, because Amon back then had only been an avatar, while the current high-ranking Sanguine was most likely the true body.

There is no need to take risks over something unimportant, no matter how much I want to know the Sanguine’s true goal… And it isn’t as though there is no other way… Looking at Emlyn White in the state of artificial sleepwalking, Klein smiled and said to himself, “I can delay the response…”

He planned to wait until tomorrow or the day after—until Emlyn White had left protection, until the Sanguine had given up on the matter—before suddenly responding!

But there was a prerequisite: first use divination to confirm the degree of risk.

…

“Tail Devourer… like that river?” Derrick Berg immediately formed a connection.

Demon Hunter Colin nodded gravely.

“Yes.

“This means we may have already stepped into a river connected head to tail, one from which we cannot leave.

“Fortunately, this should only be some power left behind by that Angel of Fate. He is not hidden here.”

No. It is not may have—we definitely did, and long ago… Derrick replied inwardly.

At that moment, Colin took out a dark-red metal vial, unscrewed the cap, and gulped down its contents.

His pale-blue eyes rapidly lightened, becoming suffused with silver. In the end, the pupils even became vertical, reflecting the figure of the little boy Jack.

Specks of silvery light like sparks erupted in his eyes, sometimes spiraling, sometimes colliding with unusual violence.

Clang!

Demon Hunter Colin first thrust the straight sword in his hand into the ground, then drew the other straight sword from his back and smeared it with oil as golden as sunlight.

The moment Little Jack discovered this movement, his expression changed, as though thick shadow had covered it.

Before he could open his mouth, Demon Hunter Colin moved. He drew the sword from the ground, leaving behind a blurred figure where he had stood.

Golden and silver-white light blazed, illuminating the entire underground hall. The radiance around Little Jack was the most concentrated.

After one shrill scream, dimness once again shrouded the altar.

Little Jack stood where he had been without moving half a step, but the human face on his chest and abdomen had disappeared, leaving only a cavity through which wriggling internal organs could be seen.

Several meters to Jack’s side, Demon Hunter Colin was half crouched, his two swords slanting downward.

Before him, the human face had split into pieces, reverting to scattered eyes, a nose, and a mouth.

Those organs twitched like they had been struck by lightning, bouncing for a short while before quickly falling still, rapidly rotting as though that had always been their proper state.

In an instant, Derrick felt an invisible barrier, like a wall of water, emerge around him and silently shatter.

Almost simultaneously, he felt as though he had left a turbulent river and returned to the shore.

Looking at the sinister underground hall, at the upside-down idol, at the little boy Jack whose expression was twisted by pain before he suddenly fell unconscious, Derrick rejoiced and breathed out in relief.

He knew that they had finally escaped their repeated life.

Derrick understood very clearly that, although the final resolution did not look complicated, if one did not understand the problem beforehand and receive hints, they might need to repeat the experience dozens or hundreds of times before possibly discovering the clue and finding a solution.

During that process, even the slightest lapse in caution could lead to deaths. And Derrick could not know whether those vanished lives would return, or whether they would likewise “revive” beside the campfire, only to remain dead after completely escaping the predicament.

More serious still, people often repeated the same choices. In other words, if they did not discover the problem the first time, then under the premise of lacking corresponding memories and experience, perhaps they would not perceive anything abnormal even the hundredth or thousandth time. They would be completely lost within the cyclic river until time in the outside world naturally carried them to the end of their lives.

Thinking of that possibility, Derrick sincerely felt grateful to Mr. Fool—for restoring his memories and giving him hints.

Turning his head, he saw Joshua and the other exploration team members checking the surrounding area with no unusual reaction, as though the previous six explorations had never existed.

Perhaps once we return to the City of Silver, they will discover from the date that they lost a portion of their lives… Derrick thought in silence.

At that moment, Demon Hunter Colin stood, walked back to Little Jack’s side, and took out another metal vial. He poured the black, viscous liquid inside over the wound on the other party’s hollow chest and abdomen.

The liquid swiftly condensed into a translucent film that pressed against the wound and stopped the bleeding.

“Heinm, Joshua. You will be responsible for bringing him,” Colin ordered in a deep voice, suppressing the tremor inside his heart.

In his eyes, this boy represented the City of Silver’s hope of escaping the curse and defeating the prophecy of apocalypse!

Huff… Derrick wanted to secretly give thanks to Mr. Fool, but discovered that there was no corresponding prayer gesture.

…

Queen Borough, inside Earl Hall’s luxurious villa.

The abundant dinner glowed enticingly beneath the light of many candles.

Contrary to what newspapers and magazines imagined, dinner in the families of great nobles was not solemn, nor did it require silence.

This was one of the rare times when family members gathered together. While dining, they casually chatted about all sorts of light topics, using this to exchange feelings and reinforce their bonds.

Audrey cut a piece of steak produced by her own ranch and observed Earl Hall’s expression. Without concealing her curiosity, she asked, “Father, has something happened recently to Prince Edessak?”

Her plan was simple: if there was nothing, she would pretend that she had heard some irresponsible rumors that did not match reality. Such things were hardly rare in noble circles.

Earl Hall’s knife and fork paused. Raising his brows, he said, “What have you heard?”

There really is something! Reading the information she wanted from her father’s reaction, Audrey replied with a light smile, “Some rumors. It seems they are true?”

Earl Hall rubbed his forehead.

“It is not especially serious.

“Audrey, I know what you think of him, so there is no need to hide it from you. This involves a relatively ordinary royal scandal. Simply put, Prince Edessak has fallen in love with a commoner woman.

“This led to the death of a noble descendant. The royal family has sealed off the spread of the matter, not wanting it to have too great an impact.”

Countess Hall took a sip of champagne.

“It seems he is still not mature enough.”

Mother’s criticism is rather tactful… This does sound suspicious… Prince Edessak truly has become involved in a dangerous matter, one that will bring unfavorable change to Backlund? Audrey put on a look of understanding and smiled.

“That makes me rather puzzled. Why would a story of freedom and love involve the death of a noble descendant?”

Hibbert Hall bent his head, cutting the tender meat as he guessed with considerable interest, “This reminds me of complicated love stories. Among believers of the Lord of Storms, dueling for a lady or for honor is a very common matter.”

“That is a tradition that belongs in a museum,” Earl Hall said, denying his eldest son’s view.

Audrey seized the chance and carefully said, “The Prince Edessak in my impression is not that kind of person. And besides, the rumor has already spread… Perhaps what they truly want to cover up is not this matter.”

“Perhaps not…” Earl Hall chewed over those words, and his brows unconsciously furrowed.

Audrey stopped at the right point. She said no more and naturally guided the topic elsewhere.

Next, she planned to ask her other noble friends for information. As a girl who had once been courted by Prince Edessak, wanting to understand the details was an absolutely normal reaction. Whether driven by curiosity or unwillingness, either could push a person into such attempts.

…

A state of artificial sleepwalking could not last too long. Somewhat exhausted, Emlyn White returned to reality, opened his eyes, looked toward the iron-black coffin, and spoke half in relief and half in disappointment.

“Lord Nibbs, there was no response.”

Nibbs fell silent for quite some time before saying in a rather hoarse voice, “Very well.

“You will stay here tonight, in case an unexpected situation occurs.”

“All right!” Emlyn did not attempt to be brave at all.

He passed that night in worry and anxiety. But the night was so quiet, without the slightest abnormality, until rare winter sunlight in Backlund fell upon the window. Only then did it quietly retreat.

“What terrible weather,” Emlyn muttered as he left the Audra family’s villa, pressing down his top hat and stepping onto a rental carriage.

His destination was Harvest Church in the South Borough of the Bridge.

After the carriage had traveled smoothly for some time, Emlyn’s vision suddenly blurred, and he saw boundless grayish-white fog.

Immediately afterward, he discovered in astonishment that he had been placed inside a mysterious, majestic giant palace, sitting beside a mottled, ancient long bronze table.

At the very head of the table, a figure shrouded in dense gray fog looked down at him from above.