Chapter 1077: Chapter 46: Shadows Behind
[I have not forgotten what they did to my family, those hateful heretics, believers of non-existent false gods… I’m back, and I’m here to take everything back from you!]
[I want revenge. They are locked in my basement, feeling the pain I once felt…]
“Yege, investigate the basement.”
Under Kiluat’s command, Yege approached the basement.
[All heretics will bear the flames of my vengeance… just as they once inflicted upon my body. Revenge! Revenge! Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!]
The handwriting filled with vengeance became increasingly illegible until it was unrecognizable. On the back of the paper, Lu Li discovered the last message from the foreign believer.
[Aren’t they victims too…]
“Someone is still alive!”
Yege’s excited shout echoed up from the basement.
The nun, who was too afraid to enter before, rushed into the basement excitedly. Lu Li confirmed there was no more content in the notebook, and the foreign believer was indeed dead. He picked up a conspicuous string of keys on the table beside him and followed them into the basement.
The basement was filled with a damp chill and a rusty, bloody smell. They saw seven silhouettes bound to makeshift torture devices.
Except for the dead believer, the remaining six were still alive, with two severely injured.
The foreign believer hadn’t had time to inflict pain or perhaps had snapped out of madness…
Yege took the keys and helped the nun free the Cloud Duke Church’s believers.
“Once is a coincidence, twice is not necessarily…”
At this moment, Kiluat murmured. Everything was arranged well – the dead culprit, the notebook documenting the events, the keys to free the believers… It was hard to tell whether this act was of goodwill or malice.
On the surface, help seemed to be given to the Holy Light Squad, but Lu Li’s special identity and the ambiguous goodwill might conceal some kind of conspiracy.
Just then, the dim light cast into the basement suddenly blurred, and a shadowy silhouette stood at the doorway, yelling sharply.
“I’ve caught you! Embrace failure, and bid farewell to the light!”
The door slammed shut, enveloping the Holy Light Squad and the believers in darkness and despair.
A few seconds later, the door opened a crack, revealing a head peeking in.
“Hey, scared you, didn’t I?” Naxi chuckled from above.
“Do you mind if I beat up a teammate?” Kiluat, expressionless, removed her shield with a calm demeanor.
“Correction, it’s discipline.” Yege grimly added.
Lu Li pulled his hand out of the pouch at his waist.
“I don’t mind.”
The task ended fairly well: the Holy Light Squad was unharmed, apart from Naxi who got beaten up; most missing believers were alive, and the instigating foreign believer paid with his life.
It would’ve been better if the fog weren’t shrouding the truth.
The imprisoned believers told the Holy Light Squad they didn’t recognize the heretic. Back at the church, a nun revealed the truth to them.
The Cloud Duke Church once had a radical believer who turned into a killer, sacrificing for divinity. This heretic attack was perhaps by a family member of one of the past victims.
The radical believer eventually got caught by the Knights’ Guard and was sentenced to execution, while the unfortunate believers tortured to death by the foreign believer and the Cloud Duke Church, which never recovered, became his scapegoats.
“Did anyone else come asking?” asked the bruised Naxi indistinctly.
He felt somewhat wronged, as Kiluat and Yege had hit too hard.
But Kiluat and Yege didn’t see it that way: whether Naxi was wronged or the hits were too hard.
Unfortunately, the Cloud Duke Church knew nothing about it; apart from the Holy Light Squad, no one else reached out to them.
…
“No matter what, the conspiracy behind it cannot be ignored.”
In the lounge, Kiluat, now in a loose robe, approached the fireplace. Just out of the shower, she gently massaged her damp hair sideways, softening her demeanor significantly.
“If there’s goodwill, there’s no need to hide.”
“But what’s the point of doing so?” mumbled Naxi.
“Don’t move.” Yege murmured while applying a potion to him.
“Maybe to attack us when we are suddenly complacent?” Kiluat tilted her head the other way, her dry hair swiftly dried by the fireplace.
“Can we take a high-difficulty task to lure the presence behind it?” Yege took out the Curse-Dispelling Potion, letting Naxi apply it on his own.
In the process of beating—or disciplining—Naxi, Yege inevitably added a touch of a curse. Though leaving it alone wouldn’t cause real harm, it would sting like a bee sting for a long time.
“What if it doesn’t appear? We won’t complete the task.” Kiluat responded.
Failing a task would result in a one-week restriction from taking new tasks, plus a deduction in team points – to prevent the team from frequently undertaking tasks they can’t complete, and to protect the task stakeholders.
“We should… tell the professor about this.” Naxi gasped, confused, “Why wasn’t the curse dispelled?”
“I added some curses too.” Kiluat said nonchalantly, looking at Lu Li.
“I will ask Professor Chris.” Lu Li nodded slightly.
Summoning Merchant Anthony, Lu Li documented their experiences from the tasks and informed Professor Chris.
[Sounds interesting, why not keep accepting the help from your little spirit?]
“Because it might be a conspiracy.” Lu Li replied.
[Is this the Exorcist’s intuition… Let’s lure it out then. Give me some time, dear.]
Folding Professor Chris’s reply, Lu Li told the waiting teammates, “We need a few days.”
“Then let’s rest for a few days.” Kiluat suggested.
In the following days, Lu Li seemed to revert to lower-grade routines in the Tree Crown Area, no longer going out. He only lingered between the library, the cafeteria, the classroom, and the lounge.
As if a famous person’s effect, classes Lu Li attended gradually filled with students, causing delayed lectures for professors, who had to close the classroom afterward to prevent entry.
Lu Li temporarily did not take the Mysticology Level 4 trial. Usually, the level 4 trial’s difficulty mirrored those tasks executed in Midnight City, only as a solo task. Lu Li could pass it but could still fail as well.
Kiluat’s advice was: attempt them when you feel around capable. Even if you fail, you can start again after 15 days.
Lu Li accepted her advice, continuing to accumulate experiences until dealing with the presence behind the scene, then starting the Level 4 trial.
Spent several peaceful days in the mid-grade student life.
The shadow from Margaret’s passing had faded in the Holy Light Squad; only in the dead of night could one faintly hear Kiluat’s restrained sobs from Margaret’s bed.
On the fourth peaceful day, Merchant Anthony brought news from Professor Chris: the web was set, awaiting the hidden presence to walk into the trap.
A dull and lightless dawn.
Lu Li and Kiluat headed to the task hall, looking for the task chosen by Professor Chris according to the hint.