765 Howl

Lumian thought for a moment and then specifically reminded, "Don't forget the Four of Swords."

To be honest, he almost overlooked Anthony's presence, but because he was constantly thinking about what his teammates were doing and how to coordinate with them, he didn't forget entirely.

When he invited the two Demonesses to Chaban Street at St. Millom Restaurant, Lumian didn't think of Anthony right away. It was only when he reached the street that he remembered their teammate. But he couldn't find the Hypnotist, who had used Psychological Invisibility. He could only trust that Anthony, with his rich experience, would realize that once the rest of the team had gathered together, it was clear the next actions weren't suited to splitting up, and he would follow.

Anthony's habits as an information broker combined well with Psychological Invisibility.

After a two-second pause following Lumian's reminder, the Knight of Swords said, "We won't forget."

It seems like you already did... but the temperance faction's demigod shouldn't be affected much by Anthony's Psychological Invisibility, so when sending Franca and Jenna away, they shouldn't really forget about Anthony... If that's the case, one major cause of death for a Hypnotist would definitely be that Psychological Invisibility works too well, causing teammates to forget or overlook them... As Lumian mused to himself, the special Paramita before him suddenly changed.

A deafening crash sounded from Lake Dalsh as gray-white water surged upward like a tsunami, reaching into the air. The wilderness, already intertwined with the city of Raklev, began to dominate. In an instant, it crossed squares and streets, swallowing Lumian, who had not yet reached Chaban Street, while avoiding Franca and the others.

Oxyto, blessed by the Great Mother, seemed to realize she had been exposed.

Her choice was to use the nature of Paramita to temporarily separate the blasphemer of the Child of God from the temperance faction's demigods, then exploit the brief time difference to achieve her desired goal regarding Lumian.

Almost simultaneously, Lumian, wearing the Eggers family's golden mask and transformed into an undead, felt his body grow "heavier," as if cold masses had taken residence inside him.

In the next second, he saw the indistinct human figures on Chaban Street vanish, along with Franca, Jenna, Ludwig, Lugano, and possibly Anthony behind him. It was as if they were in two separate worlds.

The human skulls in various states became increasingly distinct, their eye sockets burning with pale or dark red flames as they all turned to face Lumian.

At the end of Chaban Street, at the city's edge where it blended more deeply with the wilderness, swaying figures crawled out from unknown places and began walking toward Lumian.

There were rotting long-haired oxen with only a few pieces of pus-oozing flesh left, giant birds with exposed bones flying low, pythons dragging half-melted threads of flesh between their decaying tissues, and monstrous hills made of multiple headless skeletons.

Human skulls from all corners of the city were also swiftly converging on Chaban Street, floating in the air and covering the sky, blocking out the pale, dim, and heatless "sunlight."

Lumian appeared stunned, as if he had encountered something terrifying, or was like an undead creature facing a higher-ranked and more terrifying kindred spirit. For a brief moment, he stood frozen, unable to move.

Just then, a wretched howl, filled with pain, echoed from Lake Dalsh.

The terrifying and piercing sound was like a high-speed spinning drill that bored directly into Lumian's soul. His vision went dark, and he lost consciousness.

When Lumian regained his thoughts and awareness of his body, he found himself midway along Chaban Street, accompanied by the Knight of Swords Maric, who had appeared at some point, dressed in a black vest and white shirt.

All around him, crystalline cold had frozen human skulls of varying states in mid-air, on the ground, and on the surfaces of gray-white stone buildings.

The surreal frozen scene stretched all the way to the wilderness on the outskirts of the city.

In the staggering army of undead creatures, the rotting monsters shed flesh onto the ground, leaving only bones-yellowed, brown, or bleached white. The skeletal remains sank into the soil, and droplets of crimson blood, not their own, oozed from the surface.

Meanwhile, the wraiths and evil spirits swelled like balloons and burst silently, turning into strange dust.

Although Lumian didn't fully understand what was happening, two thoughts sprang to mind: Have they all been cursed?

Even the fleshless bones were cursed to bleed?

With that thought, Lumian couldn't help but raise his right hand and wipe his nose.

He immediately noticed some blackened bloodstains on the back of his hand.

This came from within his body, blood that had long since stopped flowing.

In the banshee's wail just now, not only was his soul wounded, but his undead body seemed to have suffered physical damage too. Some capillaries had ruptured, causing the blackened blood to seep out.

Terrifying... Lumian had roughly figured out what had just happened.

Oxyto screamed from a distance, using the Banshee's Howl enhanced by Paramita, and!

instantly lost consciousness.

Did the temperance faction's demigods attach themselves to me as wraiths before Paramita expanded, pulling me into Paramita right away? Then, they took over my body and used their abilities to deal with the swarming army of human skulls and undead?

The Knight of Swords also attached himself to me, which is why he's now in Paramita?

After grasping the recent encounter, Lumian had a clearer and more accurate understanding of the terror of demigods: Oxyto isn't even a full Angel but just a Banshee's Howl knocked me unconscious, robbing me of my ability to fight. It took me over ten seconds to wake up... Without the presence of temperance faction demigods, those ten seconds would have been more than enough for Oxyto to kill me ten times over...

This isn't something a drawn demigod can compare to. Facing a real demigod, if I don't seize the initiative, I won't even have the chance to draw the Sword of Courage or use Desire Incarnation!

There's no time for the animated shadow to take the damage for me unless I anticipate it in advance...

With these thoughts swirling, Lumian regained control of his body.

Then, he heard the Knight of Swords, Maric, mutter softly, "Oxyto has retreated. She should be near Lake Dalsh.

"We still don't know what kind of help she's seeking."

"Lake Dalsh?" Lumian asked in mild surprise.

That serene, beautiful, sacred lake?

On second thought, it makes sense. All mining operations in the Raklev region have avoided Lake Dalsh, leaving it entirely unpolluted...

The Knight of Swords surveyed the surroundings but didn't immediately dash off into the wilderness toward Lake Dalsh.

He nodded slightly and said, "Lake Dalsh itself is special, connected to the fallen Death. The establishment of this small spirit realm in the Raklev region was made possible due to Lake Dalsh.

"That former Balam Empire official even used an Undying's skull from the Church of Death and, using his Gatekeeper powers, opened a door to the Underworld and fixed it onto the Undying's skull. This prevented it from completely closing too quickly, allowing a bit of the Underworld's aura to leak out."

"The skull of an Undying? Undying can die too?" Lumian instinctively asked.

The Knight of Swords started walking towards the edge of the frozen world.

He glanced at Lumian and said, "An Undying is only Sequence 4 in the Death pathway. They can still die if killed."

I see... Lumian nodded almost imperceptibly.

The Knight of Swords continued, "The aura leaking from the Underworld, the unique traits of the Undying's skull, and the special nature of Lake Dalsh all worked together to sustain this spirit realm, drawing the souls of dead creatures in the region and letting them gradually wither away."

After listening, Lumian froze for a moment.

"You seem to know a lot about the local spirit realm..."

The Knight of Swords replied, "The Rose School of Thought ruled here for over a thousand years. Apart from the uniqueness of Lake Dalsh, everything else was long understood."

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?" Lumian blurted out.

If you'd told me sooner, I might have guessed Oxyto's intentions earlier!

"We didn't initially connect Oxyto to the spirit realm, so that intelligence wasn't included in the information," explained the Knight of Swords. "After that, I answered whenever you asked, but didn't elaborate. Speaking is also a desire that requires temperance."

"..." Lumian suddenly understood how Franca felt every time she heard him say, "I'll have to start with the events at the Samaritan Women's Spring, where Madame Hela and 1..."

While talking, he and Maric reached the edge of the city, where the frozen world met the desolate wilderness.

Lumian instinctively glanced at the thick layer of ice encasing the gray-white buildings.

Using the reflective surface, he was astonished to see a blurry figure in each of his eyes.

One wore a small black bonnet and a court dress of the same color; the other had no head and was dressed in a dark, intricately patterned, sinister gown.

Lumian then noticed translucent-ringed insects crawling in and out of his mouth, yet he felt nothing.

...

At the entrance to Chaban Street, Franca, Jenna, and the others felt a sudden chill engulf them and saw Lumian vanish before their eyes.

Before they could communicate or react, a voice, slightly magnetic and ethereal like a dream, echoed in their ears: "I'll send you back to Trier first."

Franca, Jenna, and Lugano instinctively turned their bodies and discovered that a young-looking man had appeared next to them at some point.

He wore a white shirt, draped in a thin black trench coat. With black hair and green eyes, he had a night-like, handsome quality, and wore a pair of red gloves on both hands.