Chapter 191: Words in Blood

Chapter 191: Words in Blood

The layers of pea vines, intertwined as though they could weave a stairway to heaven, fell one after another and shrank back into the soil.

Whether it was the Black Saint’s main personality or the benevolent Leomaster, both had now vanished without a trace. Only Admiral of Stars Cattleya stood atop the giant boulder, gazing around in confusion.

“Did the Queen of Mysteries throw both Leomaster’s main personality and benevolent personality back into his own dream? Or did she pull them somewhere else and try to clarify the specific location from which one can enter the Forsaken Land of the Gods?

“It seems those two personalities cannot be drawn separately into different dreams. Otherwise, the Queen of Mysteries would long since have been able to speak privately with the benevolent Leomaster and exchange the condition of helping him defeat the devil for the corresponding intelligence. There would have been no need to make things so complicated…

“Of course, to truly erase the Black Saint’s main personality, she may have to enter that dangerous ruin in the real world. Even the Queen of Mysteries probably doesn’t dare attempt that lightly, because there’s a real chance an ‘evil queen’ who does whatever she wants and delights in harming others might appear…” Klein pondered as he turned back once more toward the building near the gate of the black monastery. Behind the clean, bright floor-to-ceiling window, the figure belonging to Bernadette had likewise disappeared.

Klein did not try to search for her whereabouts, nor did he try to learn whether the Queen of Mysteries had obtained more intelligence from the benevolent Leomaster, because he remembered the core setting of Gehrman Sparrow’s identity:

He was Mr. Fool’s Blessed!

And Admiral of Stars knew very well that within Mr. Fool’s Tarot Gathering, The Sun came from the City of Silver in the Forsaken Land of the Gods. To say that Mr. Fool did not know how to enter the Forsaken Land of the Gods would clearly be impossible for anyone to believe.

Therefore, as His Blessed, Gehrman Sparrow would naturally lack the motivation to investigate too deeply!

So many things succeed because of a persona and fail because of a persona. This really is a Faceless’s flaw… Klein withdrew his gaze and once again looked toward the projection of the Giant King’s Court on the opposite mountain. He saw the condensed dusk there slowly returning to the horizon.

On this side of the mountain, the giant stone still stood tall. Admiral of Stars Cattleya slowly sat down again and wrapped her arms around her knees.

…

Noon and night alternated three more times, yet only one day had actually passed outside.

The Future went around dangerous ruins and relics, avoided hazards hidden at different points along the safe route, and finally returned near the entrance to this sea.

Klein and the others once again saw the first ruin that had mostly been submerged by seawater. They saw the gray stones and stone pillars piled into a peak, and they saw the tall dome at the summit.

Previously, they had heard a huge and distinct sound of breathing here. Bloodless Heath had even pointed out in agony that a corpse was buried inside the ruin!

And that corpse was very likely the source of the breathing!

Now, however, this ruin, which clearly contained tremendous danger, no longer brought fear to everyone aboard the Future, but joy instead. Seeing it meant they were about to leave this absurd and terrifying sea!

“Huh? There’s a ship!” Nina had, at some unknown point, climbed onto the tall lookout platform. Gazing toward the ruin, she shouted.

A ship? Klein went around Anderson Hood, who stood in front of him, approached the rail, and focused his gaze.

Sure enough, behind and to the side of the stones and pillars piled into a peak, a normal three-masted sailing ship was moored there. Because of the obstruction, unless one looked from above or observed carefully, it was difficult for those aboard the Future to notice it.

The sailing ship floated there, without a single sailor visible on deck. It was so quiet that it inspired inexplicable fear.

“Looks like it was swallowed by that ruin all at once.” Anderson approached as well, shaking his head with a sigh. “In this sea, if you don’t have a certain level of understanding of a ruin or relic, you absolutely must not approach it.”

A person who dared trace the mural of the Angel of Fate has no right to say that… Your treasure-hunting team called itself experienced, but in the end, weren’t you the only one left? Klein did not turn his head, lampooning silently.

At that moment, Admiral of Stars Cattleya also arrived on deck and gazed toward the sailing ship near the ruin.

During the entire process, she did not look at Gehrman Sparrow once, as though he did not exist.

After a brief silence, Cattleya raised a hand and removed the heavy glasses from the bridge of her nose. Deep purple flowed slowly within her eyes, seeming to outline one complex symbol after another.

Above the unmanned sailing ship, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared—illusory, half-transparent, deep-purple eyes!

The pair of eyes slowly moved, circling the deck once before entering the cabin.

“This Beyonder ability is very useful… Speaking of which, judging from the methods displayed by the Queen of Mysteries and Admiral of Stars, the Beyonder abilities of the Mystery Pryer pathway have a kind of fairy-tale quality! Hiss. Could the Queen of Mysteries turn people into frogs? Also, does the ‘prying’ of Mystery Pryers manifest in this area, in their eyes? Admiral of Stars’ eyes are somewhat strange. I’ll need to be careful of them in the future…” Klein secretly speculated as he waited for Cattleya’s remote exploration to yield results.

After a while, the deep purple in Cattleya’s eyes finally dimmed.

She rubbed the space between her brows, put her glasses back on, and said to Anderson Hood and Frank Lee, “There is something wrong inside.”

As she spoke, she took a handful of colored powder from a hidden pocket in her classical wizard robe and suddenly threw it outward.

The powder scattered down and, on its own, formed a vivid colored painting.

The background of the painting was a place resembling a captain’s cabin. On the desk were photographs, and on the walls were portraits. All of them depicted the same person:

A Feysacian with broad shoulders, pale-blond hair, deeply set blue eyes!

This… Klein first found the man familiar, then remembered where he had seen him.

When he had been in Nas, an adventurer had been chased by the Undying King’s second mate, Gilchies, and had run into Lodar Bar seeking help from the Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Society. At that moment, among the powerful people who had stood to offer protection was a Feysac giant over two meters tall. He had given Klein the impression of being quite strong, probably already at Sequence 6.

How did his ship suddenly enter this sea, and why did he rashly explore a dangerous ruin? Amid his confusion, Klein examined the supernatural painting on the deck more carefully.

This time, he saw a pool of blood on the floor. Beside the blood were several Feysac words:

“Fountain of Youth…”

At the end of the words, the bloodstain abruptly curved away and extended, connecting to an obvious drag mark leading toward the door.

In Klein’s mind, the scene from that time seemed to reconstruct itself: that Sequence 6 Feysac giant had suffered an inexplicable attack, been gravely injured, and collapsed. He had struggled to write down the source of everything he had encountered. Yet just as he began, something had seized his legs or head and dragged him away by force!

Considering that the blood-colored words had not been wiped away, Klein suspected the one who dragged away the adventurer was not a living person.

It should be the corpse inside the ruin… he thought with an aching tooth.

“The Fountain of Youth? They came here looking for the Fountain of Youth?” Anderson Hood asked with considerable excitement.

“Clearly, they didn’t find it.” Frank Lee shook his head in great disappointment.

He was likewise filled with longing for the Fountain of Youth, believing that such spring water could produce qualitative changes in his many experiments.

The Fountain of Youth… Back then, the one hunting the young adventurer was Slaughterer Gilchies. He is the Undying King’s second mate… Rumors say that the Undying King once drank water from the Fountain of Youth… Gilchies also warned me—warned Gehrman Sparrow—not to interfere with that young adventurer’s affairs, saying it was the will of the Undying King… Using the various pieces of information, Klein barely pieced together the truth:

The young adventurer had obtained or stolen the secret of the Fountain of Youth from one of the Undying King’s trusted subordinates, and was hunted down for it. Later, under the protection of several near-powerhouses from the Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Society, he barely escaped Slaughterer Gilchies. Afterward, partly to avoid the Undying King and partly to search for the Fountain of Youth, they ultimately chose to enter this sea for an adventure. Who would have known that they would be wiped out beside this ruin…

Could the Fountain of Youth be deep inside this ruin? Klein looked again toward the gray stones and stone pillars piled into a peak, faintly forming a guess.

Because there was currently no way to verify the idea, and because he did not know who the corpse buried in the ruin had been while alive, he had no impulse to explore or take risks. Rationally, he withdrew his gaze.

I can ask Will Auceptin or Magic Mirror Arrodes later… Heh, perhaps this so-called Fountain of Youth is pus produced by the corpse’s decay… Klein maliciously assumed the worst.

At that moment, Admiral of Stars Cattleya, having heard Anderson and Frank’s conversation, thought for a moment and said, “If they encountered danger and died while searching for the Fountain of Youth, I do not believe the owner of the portraits and photographs would have had enough motivation to leave correct information for those who came afterward. After all, anyone able to find this place is most likely not his family.”

That makes sense… If it were me, and I encountered a monster while searching for treasure and was about to die, I wouldn’t be thinking about leaving a clue for later arrivals either… Klein shook his head almost imperceptibly, unable to think of another reason for the moment.

Cattleya glanced at Anderson and Frank, whose faces were full of anticipation.

“Successful adventures often come from detailed intelligence and sufficient preparation. At present, we have neither.”

Her voice suddenly grew louder, echoing through every corner of the ship:

“Continue sailing.

“Leave this sea!”

“Yes, Captain!” Nina, high on the lookout, gulped down a mouthful of liquor.

A few minutes later, the unreasonable fall and flight occurred once more. But with prior preparation, the people aboard the Future no longer cut the same sorry figure they had when arriving. They passed easily and simply through the stimulating experience of falling off a cliff and being thrown into the air.

Soon, the Future landed upon an azure sea, and in the distance stood the enormous storm that covered the sky.

Not far away, another ship floated quietly. It was nearly two hundred meters long, with bow and stern raised high like a crescent moon.

Looking at the sail painted with a black tombstone, Klein’s mind immediately flashed with the corresponding name:

The Death Knell!

The flagship of the Undying King, Agalito!

At that moment, what surged in Klein’s heart was not fear or dread, but excitement and agitation.

The Queen of Mysteries is aboard, and this time there’s no need for her to hide… With her, me, Admiral of Stars, Anderson Hood, and everyone aboard the Future, we have a real chance of wiping out the Undying King’s fleet! Creeping Hunger’s food has been found! My marionette candidate has been found!

Just then, the Death Knell suddenly turned and moved away at unprecedented speed.

It ran—ran away… For a moment, Klein froze.

Very quickly, the Death Knell vanished from his sight.