808 Return

Not far from the abandoned neighborhood, Albus Medici, who had parted ways with Gusain, walked along the shadows by the roadside toward the cemetery.

Suddenly, he stopped, as if sensing an undercurrent in the nearby darkness.

Albus chuckled, and a dense fog immediately surged out, covering his figure and half the street.

After several seconds, the fog gradually dispersed, but Albus was no longer there.

He had vanished.

From the shadow that had just been enveloped by the fog, Julie, with her hair tied up and wearing a slit dress, emerged, staring at the spot where Albus had stood for several seconds.

A golden ring with a blue gemstone adorned her left middle finger.

Julie looked away, her expression somewhat grim, and headed toward the few blocks where the exiles gathered.

Some time later, in the deep darkness of the night, the sharp, painful screams of a man echoed from a room.

...

Lumian returned to the full-length mirror in his room and stepped out, lying down on the bed.

After discovering that Julie had quietly left the Carnivore bar, he knew the Demoness had been secretly following him and Gusain.

This was one of his intended outcomes.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have discussed searching for Albus Medici and accepting the corresponding test with Gusain at the bar.

He had done it to ensure that Julie, temporarily acting as a bartender, would hear it!

Although he and Gusain had lowered their voices, the Demoness was close enough to catch the crucial information with her enhanced hearing.

Of course, Lumian hadn't initially considered Julie as a contingency plan because Gusain had witnessed the Demoness castrate Vijepan and had clearly noticed her beauty and charm when she became a bartender.

In such a situation, Gusain would likely guess Julie's identity as a Demoness and remain cautious, knowing she might have overheard their conversation.

Lumian's primary goal was to gauge the progress of the Demoness Sect regarding 0-01 based on Julie's reaction.

If the Demoness Sect, through the long-term investigation of Celeste and other Demonesses, had completed preparations and was only waiting for the final opportunity to act, Julie would avoid creating extra trouble and patiently maintain the status quo. In that case, Lumian would have to closely monitor Julie and Celeste to prevent them from taking the lead.

If the Demoness Sect wasn't confident and still lacked information, Julie would likely use this opportunity to gather more intelligence from Gusain and the rebels connected to him, making her actions more comprehensive. Lumian wouldn't need to be as urgent and could allocate time and effort to other investigations.

In this regard, he had perfectly achieved his goal.

Now, Lumian was more curious about Julie's reaction after discovering Albus Medici while following him and Gusain. What would she try to do?

Will she attempt an assassination on the spot, wait patiently to challenge Albus alone after he and Gusain part ways, or go find Celeste to discuss it first? It's a pity I don't know where they'll encounter each other, so I can't observe the battle and see what cards they hold. If I'm lucky, I might even eliminate them both if they end up badly injured... Lumian sighed regretfully on the bed.

After a while, he sensed some movement from Julie's room.

The Demoness had returned.

Lumian sniffed the air and detected a faint smell of blood.

He chuckled inwardly and mocked, Albus, did you lose your prized possession? I wonder if you can regrow it as an Iron-blooded Knight...

There wasn't much commotion in Morora just now, not like there was a fierce battle... So, did Julie fail to locate Albus and vent her frustration on some random guy?

Lumian waited patiently, ensuring the City of Exiles, Morora, fell into a deep slumber, then transformed into a shadow creature and blended into the darkness of the room.

He moved swiftly, returning to the abandoned neighborhood with the volcano, and arrived at the crack in the basement, once again gazing into the void filled with dense fog.

He felt it was necessary to investigate this area thoroughly to better understand some details in the 0-01 sealing information and gain further insight into the underground mausoleum.

Neither Gusain nor Albus would expect him to return here, especially after the possibility of facing Julie's attack!

The fog isn't as dense as before. The visibility range is about thirteen or fourteen meters... Was it Albus and Gusain enhancing the fog of war with their abilities or items earlier? Lumian observed the fog for a few seconds, making a preliminary judgment.

He then conjured a bright white fireball for illumination and slowly walked into the fog of war.

The fog felt similar to before, with no other changes. Lumian dripped a few drops of perfume on the ground every so often to mark his path for the return journey.

He was heading to the area marked with statues on the map Gusain had shown.

In the dead silence, only the faint sound of footsteps echoed in the fog as Lumian discerned the terrain, passing several iron puppets hidden in the fog.

Finally, relying on his Hunter abilities and the memorized map, he reached his destination.

There, against the rock wall, stood four statues made of gray-white stone, each over two meters tall.

These statues faced each other in pairs, their faces blurred, dressed in peculiar clothing, with square scarves wrapped around their heads.

In the middle of the statues stood a half-height stone platform with an unlit oil lamp on it.

Who made these statues? They weren't originally here. According to the 0-01 sealing information, this place isn't part of the underground mausoleum, it's just normal underground... After the volcanic eruption, some of the mausoleum's power leaked out, and someone built these four statues and placed the oil lamp here. What's the purpose? Lumian mused silently, staring at the bright white fireball.

Judging by the style of the statues and the overall arrangement, he doubted the Church of Knowledge had set them up to reinforce the seal.

It was more likely the work of the Iron and Blood Cross Order, which explained Gusain's familiarity with the area.

Meanwhile, Lumian felt the call from underground growing stronger.

It seemed to be just behind the rock wall, waiting for him to approach.

Lumian took a deep breath, suppressing his inner urge.

He circled the statues and the oil lamp on the stone platform several times, finding nothing unusual.

Lumian pondered for a moment and had two ideas.

One was to light the oil lamp and see what happened; the other was to take this opportunity to destroy something and trigger a possible change.

Lighting the oil lamp is too risky. It's not necessary yet... Lumian decided on the second idea after some thought.

Destruction is always easier than construction!

And if something went wrong, leaving a mess behind would be more meaningful than keeping the place intact.

Lumian conjured a bright white fireball, placing it at the base of one of the statues, setting it to explode with a delay.

After setting up five time bombs, Lumian moved about ten meters away, hiding in the dense fog, and snapped his fingers.

Rumble!

The four statues and the stone platform simultaneously underwent a violent explosion, cracking from the base and collapsing into piles of rubble.

The explosion dissipated some of the dense fog, allowing Lumian to see the statues and the platform.

No anomalies or dangers appeared... Good. Now, let's see if Gusain or Albus notice the commotion and come to check it out. I'll be hiding here, ready to strike a fatal blow... Lumian grew more puzzled about the statues and the platform, planning to set a simple trap for Gusain that might be overlooked due to its subtlety.

If the statues and the platform were crucial, Gusain would rush to confirm the situation, instinctively thinking the destroyer had already escaped to avoid an ambush.

Just as Lumian was about to retreat further into the fog, he noticed the five piles of rubble starting to wriggle.

They collided and quickly reformed, rising back into their original statue and platform shapes.

Identical to before.

Wh- Lumian's eyes froze.

The stone statues and the platform can restore themselves?

No wonder the Iron and Blood Cross Order didn't station guards here...

They aren't afraid of these things being destroyed!

Lumian quickly recovered and tried a new approach.

This time, after blowing up the statues and the platform, he used his Traveler's Bag to collect some of the rubble, waiting a few meters away.

The stone statues and the platform restored themselves again, drawing materials from the earth, while the rubble in Lumian's pouch became ordinary stones.

Lumian temporarily gave up on destruction, emptied the pouch of rubble, and returned to the statues, picking up the oil lamp with the glass cover.

Inside the lamp was a semi-solid, semi-liquid yellowish grease, with a wick seemingly woven from black hair.

The more Lumian looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

He began to recall the source of this familiarity.

After over ten seconds, he suddenly reached into his Traveler's Bag and took out an item.

It was a pale yellowish-red, semi-solid substance in a transparent glass bottle, with a thick black wick on top.

Corpse wax candle!

A candle made from the corpse oils of an Iron-blooded Knight and a Demoness of Despair mixed with other substances!

The oil lamp on the stone platform resembled it somewhat.

Lumian muttered to himself, Magician Magician said that Fourth Epoch Trier and a place in Bansy Harbor were the best scenes for the corpse wax candle...

What about the underground mausoleum in Morora, which is very similar to Fourth Epoch Trier?