Chapter 606

Chapter 606: Bewitchment

Richard believed that, at least for this one second, half the people in the assembly hall were just like he had once been. Their minds had not caught up.

And the other half had already more or less heard about this matter.

The skeletal “crown” on the high platform clicked again. The brain trapped inside the crown-like cage swelled and wriggled, and once more cast its thoughts into the mind of every cultist present:

“Yes, she really did use brute force to wield a Abyssal Hound as a weapon. The act was beyond belief, so absurd it sounded almost comical. But do not look down on her, do not be careless. That strength was far beyond what you can imagine—and she has even more uncanny traits.

“In our most recent operation, this heretic also appeared. She directly caused our ‘allies’ to suffer heavy damage. Current clues show that this heretic could resist the mental power of the Sun’s Remnant Folk. Her inner nature has very likely already shifted away from humans, or she has offered her soul to a higher supernatural being—

“She summoned a kind of emerald flame and used it to burn our allies to death. Those flames were extremely dangerous. The same fire has appeared before in Pland and Frostholm. Our current intelligence shows that this dangerous flame came from that terrifying ghost ship.

“She is a follower of that ghost ship’s captain.”

The Saint stopped. He did not directly mention the name of that ghost ship or its captain, but as soon as his words fell, a slight disturbance ran through the entire hall. The cultists of Oblivion whispered to each other. In their cautious, suppressed quick exchanges, a string of vague code names was brought up with care, and a formless tension spread through the gathering.

Richard, however, let out a breath. At least this time, most people’s attention finally shifted in another direction.

After a brief pause, the Saint spoke again from the high platform: “Everyone here knows what happened in Frostholm. We suffered a major setback there. Another Saint died a martyr in the flames, and even now we cannot confirm the full picture of that failure. ‘His’ power almost erased everything related to the Holy Lord in the entire Frostholm sea region, including our Church brethren and the holy source in the Deep Sea.

“In Pland, the same ‘erasure’ also took place. The flames burned everything, including the Sun Spawn and the ‘Remnant Folk’. All beings related to the incident could not escape ‘His’ reckoning. The entire city-state was sealed off and then purged. Information was cut off. Everyone who knew the truth vanished under the grinding misalignment of history, and then the Church of the Deep Sea false god took over everything…

“After such a thorough ‘cleansing’, not much information could leak out. We spent a long time investigating the truth of what happened back then, and in the end we could only confirm that it was that ship and its Master who acted… that Shadow who returned from Subspace now stands on the opposite side from us.

“And now we can be sure that ‘He’ has taken action once more. His followers directly caused the major losses in our recent operations.

“And He does not have only one follower.”

The hall had gone completely quiet. A strange tension hung over everyone’s head. The Saint moved the black bones under his body. Under his control, the light-and-shadow illusion floating in the air began to change. The girl in the black dress changed into another person—the famous “sea witch”, Lucretia Abnomar.

“The heretic you saw just now has great power and a strange, vicious way of acting. But she is only one of that ghost ship captain’s followers, and by no means the strongest one. Current evidence shows that the ‘sea witch’ has also once again begun to obey her father…”

A buzzing disturbance rose in the hall. The cultists bent close, whispering about the recent rumors spreading inside the sect. On the high platform, the Saint fell silent. He only slowly swayed those long eyestalks, letting his gaze sweep over the followers in the hall.

After who knew how long, a voice finally broke the silence. It came from near the platform, a voice that sounded a bit hoarse: “Saint, we received news not long ago that that fleet has been rebuilt. It seems…”

“It seems the news is true,” the Saint’s voice rang out in everyone’s mind. “Most likely, more ‘followers’ will appear in that dream next. For now, though, only these two you have seen have clear information attached to them.”

The illusion in the air shifted. The “sea witch” and the black-skirted girl took turns appearing in the projection.

“Lucretia, a witch, has mastered many kinds of sorcery and the power of the curse. She is very learned in the supernatural field. She has a powerful servant force and a ghost ship just as powerful. The Nameless One’s dream can weaken her strength to some degree, and she should not be able to bring that ghost ship and her army of servants into the dream. But even if you face only her alone, you must stay on the highest alert.

“The female heretic who calls herself ‘Sarah’ very likely uses a false name. Her appearance looks very young, but that appearance may also be false. She has monstrous strength and is an abnormal contractor of demons. We can confirm that she is at least immune to the mental corruption from the Sun’s Remnant Folk. Besides the information I just mentioned, there is another extremely anomalous trait on this heretic. That is the main point I will speak of next—

“The Abyssal Hound traveling with her possesses reason and the ability to communicate.”

At once, commotion rose in the hall again. This time the voices of discussion came from all directions, even more and wider than before.

A Abyssal demon with reason?!

If these words had not come from the Saint’s mouth, the first reaction of the Annihilators on site would probably have been—where did this mad talk come from?!

Richard stood silently among his brethren. He had already expected this reaction.

If Richard had not personally experienced that unbelievable scene, he would never have believed that a Abyssal Hound could speak human words and could calmly talk with him—though that exchange had not been pleasant.

“Saint, are you telling the truth?” A cultist could not help looking toward the platform and asked, summoning his courage. “A Abyssal demon with reason?”

“It is hard to believe, but the evidence is solid.” The pile of bones on the platform slowly writhed. At some point, a faint glow had risen on the surface of the brain wrapped inside the bone cage. It seemed to be some kind of emotional reaction. “So we must pay more attention to this special Abyssal Hound and its contractor.”

The Saint raised his eyestalks one by one. Without anyone noticing, a bright, rousing strength had entered his tone.

“That ghost ship captain’s interference is a challenge for us. I will not hide this danger from my own brethren. But our cause was destined to be full of danger from the first day. We cannot retreat and we will not choose to retreat. Our actions in the Nameless One’s dream will go on, so sooner or later we will deal with ‘His’ followers again.

“These followers are strong, but far weaker than their Master, and they are few in number. If we are well prepared, these ‘followers’ are not invincible.

“And now we can confirm that at least one ‘follower’ carries an extremely important secret. That Abyssal Hound with reason is a mystery we have never seen before on our road to seek the Truth. Perhaps the last piece of the Path of Ascension is hidden on it.

“Find that heretic who calls herself ‘Sarah’. At any cost, capture her and her demons. Comrades, the task is hard and full of danger, but believe me, it is worth your effort. The road that leads to Pure Ascension has finally shown its true form to us. These difficult trials are the proof that this road is the right one.

“Comrades, do not worry. We do not need to face that captain head-on. We only need to find his followers. That is possible… And when our cause is finally complete, when the change of eras ends, even that ghost ship captain will no longer be a threat to us. He will become a mere phantom, left behind in the final second of this Deep Sea era…”

The Saint’s voice echoed directly in the depths of every mind. On the high platform, the throne woven from black bones clicked and clacked. The thorn-like bone spurs and shell-like structures bumped against each other like drumbeats. On the surface of the living brain, layers of hazy light curtains rippled. Along with the bewitching words, the power released from the brain stirred the spirit of everyone in the hall and slowly planted a seed of fanaticism in their hearts—

This seed took root and sprouted. It quickly pushed back the fear and tension that had risen earlier at the mention of that ghost ship and that ghost ship captain. It even turned that fear and tension into some kind of baseless drive, into firm faith and a sense of mission.

Richard lifted his head in a daze and, without thinking, let his eyes follow the Saint’s eyestalks as they waved in the air. He also felt the restless heat and impulse thumping in his chest. He felt his own faith grow steadier bit by bit. The fear that had taken root in his heart after seeing those ghostly green flames earlier faded away without him noticing…

Yet at that moment, a soft voice slipped into his ear. It felt as if the voice’s master were leaning on his shoulder, whispering right into his ear and drilling the sound straight into his brain: “Ah, he is talking you all into dying… Rabby really feels sorry for you…”

Richard jolted and “woke up” all at once. For an extremely brief moment, he suddenly felt a chill. He felt as if something were spreading along his chest and up his neck toward his brain. He felt that he had just heard a suspicious whisper, and that whisper came from something very dangerous…

But he only blinked, and the warning in his heart scattered like smoke.

He only looked around in some confusion, then raised his head to look at the Saint on the platform.

Why were the brethren around him so excited, so free of fear?

What the Saint had said was in fact true, and his encouragement made sense. But what about the danger in their actions? Had everyone chosen to ignore it?

Richard frowned. He kept feeling that something was wrong. This hazy feeling made him think he was falling into a strange dream. He was clearly awake, yet it always felt as if a lump of chaos and confusion blocked his thoughts, as if… his head had been stuffed with cotton.

But soon he forgot this doubt again, and the new change in the hall drew his attention away.

A sudden wave of “heat” swept across the assembly hall.