Chapter 48: The Innermost Room

Chapter Forty-Eight
The Innermost Room

After leaving the room, Klein cautiously placed his cane and hurricane lamp in the same hand, freeing his left palm so that if anything sudden occurred, he could immediately retrieve the items in the pocket on that side.

There were charms there, Azik’s copper whistle, and some tarot cards. Apart from Rosago’s leftover characteristic, the entirely black eye stored separately, it contained all of his means of response.

Klein and Miss Bodyguard had taken only one step sideways when the hurricane lamp’s light illuminated the emblem on the neighboring door. It was a simple drawing of an infant surrounded by symbols of wheat, flowers, and spring water.

“The Sacred Emblem of the Earth Mother…”

Klein spoke gravely and in a low voice.

As a former Nighthawk, identifying the symbolic emblems of other Churches was one of the fundamentals.

Miss Bodyguard gave an almost imperceptible nod, seeming to confirm it.

Her black Gothic court dress looked even more eerie and terrifying in such an environment and atmosphere, while her pale face under the firelight of the hurricane lamp seemed like that of a vengeful spirit.

If other adventurers had come here and seen such a scene, they would certainly be scared into turning and fleeing, stumbling all the way.

Klein held his breath, stretched out his left hand, pushed the stone door open with force, and raised the hurricane lamp.

He discovered that the layout inside was highly consistent with that of the previous room, like a perfect fusion of a small prayer room and an enormous statue.

Crossing the empty space paved with wheat-colored stone slabs, Klein used the lamp to illuminate the three tiers of steps ahead.

Above those steps was a four- to five-meter-tall white stone statue. It depicted a plump and gentle lady. Wheat grew at her feet, spring water encircled her, and her flowing dress spread outward. It was decorated with all kinds of herbs and flowers, as well as images of various animals.

The lady’s chest rose high. Both her hands held a lovely infant swaddled in blankets. The whole statue looked sacred and dignified.

“Surely it cannot be a statue of the Earth Mother?” Klein said quietly, the corner of his mouth hooking upward.

Miss Bodyguard did not answer, nor did she deny it.

After inspecting the room once, the two exited and opened the third door immediately beside it.

Behind that door was a passage wide enough for four people to walk abreast. Ahead, it was dark and deep, mysterious and bizarre, leading to some unknown place.

“Let us first confirm what lies behind the four doors on the right,” Klein suggested.

He did not dare rashly venture deeper.

Miss Bodyguard drifted backward, answering with action.

The two opened the four stone doors on the right in sequence. They saw, respectively, the Sacred Emblem of Storms formed from symbols of raging wind and waves; the Sacred Emblem of the Sun surrounded by lines in segment after segment; the emblem of the God of Combat, composed from the symbol of dusk and a sword-shaped mark; and the Sacred Emblem of Knowledge and Wisdom, represented by an open book and an all-seeing eye.

Corresponding to them were four suspected divine statues inside the rooms:

A majestic middle-aged man wearing black armor, standing upon waves, surrounded by storms, with lightning draped across his back and a trident in his hand.

A young man in pure white robes, one hand holding a Book of Contracts, the other supporting a golden ball like the sun. He was handsome and vigorous.

A warrior seated high upon a throne, with a longsword planted before him. His face was hidden behind a visor, and his full-body armor carried an indescribable sense of ruin.

An old man holding a book and an all-seeing eye, wearing a hood that revealed only his mouth, wrinkles, and long white beard.

Apart from the God of Steam and Machinery, the six orthodox deities all had prayer rooms and human-shaped statues inside this eerie hall!

Considering the weak position held by the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery before Roselle’s appearance, this matter seemed to have a certain explanation.

“This really is strange enough…”

Klein half could not stop himself, and half wanted to test Miss Bodyguard’s reaction, so he sighed.

Inside such a grand hall a hundred meters deep, the six orthodox deities had actually been gathered together.

In the current age, that was unimaginable.

How could the Churches of six true gods allow their Lords to stand inside the same building as other deities?

Was this a custom of the ancient Fourth Epoch? And what was with the human-shaped statues? Although they all looked normal and not as eerie as statues of the Primordial Demoness or the True Creator, they still felt strange… What exactly happened to make the six deities’ images evolve into the abstract symbols of today? No, perhaps they were originally abstract symbols, and it was only that the owner of this place, the great noble suspected to be a Tudor family member, deliberately made human statues of the six deities for some purpose… Hiss, I am thinking of an object from novels in my previous life—the Six-Soul Banner…

While waiting for Miss Bodyguard’s answer, Klein let his thoughts scatter without restraint.

Miss Bodyguard gave no response in that direction. In her drifting, flat voice, she said, “There is still one door.”

That is right…

Klein suddenly felt somewhat afraid.

In his view, a door placed in the center often had special meaning. Perhaps it was the core region of this ancient building.

Of course, that most likely meant the greatest danger as well.

“What does your intuition tell you about that place?”

After hesitating for two seconds, Klein asked directly.

Without the gray fog to eliminate interference, he believed Miss Bodyguard’s inspiration and spiritual intuition were more reliable than divination at his current level. After all, her condition was special, close to a Spirit Body, allowing her to communicate with the spirit world without obstacle and obtain revelations.

Miss Bodyguard closed her eyes. Several seconds passed before she answered, “Very dangerous.

“But the danger is restrained.

“After entering, do not rashly touch any object.”

A restrained danger… Can that be considered the same as something being sealed inside?

Making guesses, Klein and Miss Bodyguard arrived together before the central stone door and stepped onto the deep-black floor.

The hurricane lamp’s fire seemed to weaken slightly, struggling with great difficulty to drive away the darkness ahead. Klein had already thrust his left hand into his pocket, gripping Azik’s copper whistle and several charms.

After roughly thirty steps, Miss Bodyguard abruptly stopped.

Klein raised the hurricane lamp in his right hand and discovered that ahead, enormous stones and earth blocked the path.

On the left and right sides respectively, there was a stone door of the same form as those in the hall. The one on the right was half open, and the inside was filled completely with earth and stone.

“Perhaps this ancient building was originally above ground, and later, for some unknown reason, sank underground and partly collapsed,” Klein muttered. “There is only one direction left for us to choose…”

Before he finished, he saw Miss Bodyguard drift forward, press herself against the massive stone, merge into it, and vanish.

The corner of Klein’s mouth twitched. He began waiting patiently.

After several minutes, Miss Bodyguard emerged from the earth on the right side, with not the slightest trace of dust staining her.

“Completely collapsed,” she concluded in a flat tone.

For a moment, Klein found himself at a loss for words. He could only reveal a smile.

Then the two simultaneously looked toward the stone door on the left, which was not entirely closed and had a narrow crack left in it.

Klein moved closer and carefully peered inside through the gap of roughly three centimeters.

His spirit vision, previously blocked by the stone door, immediately made a discovery:

Inside, at least four intense, dazzling spiritual lights shimmered. Two were close to a dark-gold color, and two were deep blue like the sea.

After spirit vision, Klein’s normal sight produced a “narrow” scene as well:

The firelight entering the room illuminated black stone slabs. On those slabs lay heaps of white bones covered by rotted clothing. Among several of those skeletons, dark-gold and deep-blue light shone through.

Congealed Beyonder characteristics? Mystical items?

As thoughts flickered through his mind, Klein’s gaze swept to the end of the room.

There, against the dark wall, stood a pair of double doors.

Blood-soaked double doors!

Fresh blood seemed to still cling to that door, reflecting the firelight as it continuously slid downward.

Klein had originally intended to let Miss Bodyguard scout ahead, but suddenly, he felt a change in Azik’s copper whistle held in his palm.

The touch, which had originally been cold yet gentle, instantly became bone-piercing, deep, and deathly silent.

This…

Klein narrowed his eyes and instinctively took a step back.

Immediately afterward, he discovered that his right forearm had begun to tingle and itch. It began to swell.

An image flashed through his mind. Klein immediately took out a tarot card with his left hand and, with a swish, cut open a wound on his right forearm.

What surged out of that wound was not blood, but tiny, wriggling black worms!

Hiss!

The black worms fell to the ground, corroding it and giving off wisps of smoke.

They struggled and clumped together, but in the end they dissolved beneath the hurricane lamp’s firelight.

After several seconds, the black worms inside Klein’s wound finally finished flowing out, and red began to seep forth.

He flexed his muscles, controlling the small wound and preventing blood from spilling out.

Miss Bodyguard quietly watched the scene. Her beautiful brows furrowed, rarely showing such a reaction.

Klein was about to speak when he discovered that Azik’s copper whistle had not weakened in coldness or deathly silence.

At the same time, his gaze swept across Miss Bodyguard’s shadow.

Originally, she had no shadow!

“Run!” Klein shouted in a low voice, immediately fleeing toward the hall.

Miss Bodyguard swiftly floated after him. The two of them saw the hurricane lamp’s firelight ahead gradually swallowed by a mass of black shadow.

Thud, thud, thud!

Klein ran with all his strength, like a whirlwind amid the darkening light around him.

Thud, thud, thud!

The black shadow grew larger, nearer, and denser. The firelight was about to be completely devoured, while the doorway was still several meters away.

At that moment, following instinct, Klein suddenly threw himself forward with his whole body. Then, with a roll, he passed through the stone door.

The firelight abruptly brightened. The unease in his heart vanished in an instant, and Azik’s copper whistle inside his palm returned to that gentle, cold touch.

Miss Bodyguard floated beside him, turned back, and looked at the passage once again sunk in deep silence and darkness. In her tone was an uncertainty rarely heard from her.

“An evil spirit…”

An evil spirit?

Klein nearly sucked in a breath of cold air at those words. Fortunately, Clowns were very good at controlling their own expressions and reactions.

In the field of mysticism, evil spirits were extremely terrifying, fearsome monsters. The outstanding among them could even be equated to high-Sequence powerhouses!

An evil spirit wandering inside an ancient building? An evil spirit restrained—or bound—inside that room for some reason? Mm… If it truly is an evil spirit, then it explains why Mr. Azik’s copper whistle reacted. Evil spirits are a kind of undead creature too…

Klein stood upright and likewise looked toward the passage swallowed by gloom, feeling as though within it, a pair of icy eyes were watching him.