Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 101: The Demon Kings of the Ages

Amid the screams of the gray parrot, the bishop in the black veil hat released her hand, holding Nemo’s chin. The black veil covering her face was like mist, so Nemo could only see the abnormal size of her head but not her expression.

“Lord Bagelmaurus?” she asked in a gentle voice. “What’s wrong?”

The gray parrot seemed to want to shrink itself into a ball, but due to some subtle dignity, it forcibly straightened its back. Its entire body eventually twisted into an unnatural and weird posture. Rather than answering Hagen’s question, it stared directly at Nemo’s face.

Hagen let out a soft sigh, then snapped her fingers. Nemo suddenly found that he was tied firmly by bright red thorns. He used all his restraint not to move to avoid accidentally breaking free.

Should he immediately show weakness or beg for mercy? Nemo bitterly thought about Virgil’s comment about the Bishop of the Abyss not being active at noon. If his opponent was an ordinary demon warlock, in the absence of Virgil, he would consider resisting, but this was the Bishop of the Abyss. If they accidentally hurt her, their hidden infiltration plan would be uncovered, and they would become the focus of attention from the entire church.

If worse came to worse, it was better to pretend to be dead. Nemo swallowed the sandpoint plum in his mouth with difficulty before he turned his gaze to the gray parrot. Based on Bagelmaurus’ guts, it shouldn’t screw with him at this time.

“Did he make you unhappy?” There were traces of regret in the bewildering female voice. Several thorns were tangled together closely around Nemo’s throat, like a drill. “It’s a pity. I quite like his face.”

“Wait a minute… Wait a minute!” Just as Nemo was thinking about how to struggle naturally, the gray parrot cried out in a trembling voice. “Let… Let him go first, Ingram.”

“Yes.” The Bishop of the Abyss obediently did as she was commanded. The red thorns instantly disappeared around Nemo. “Is this your acquaintance?”

Her tone was polite and generous, and the hostility she emitted just now seemed to have never existed.

“You can call me White,” Nemo said quickly. “We once had a relationship, Bagelmaurus… Uh, the Lord and my… Um, master had some unpleasantries in the past.”

He strained his face hard, trying not to let his facial muscles twitch.

“Oh, which one are you serving, Mr. White?” Hagen chuckled lightly, without any hesitant pause.

Great. Nemo breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at her reaction, Bagelmaurus shouldn’t have mentioned too much about him to her.

“……Telaranea.” Nemo glanced at the gray parrot again and winked desperately. “I mean, Lord Telaranea.”

“No… That’s right! I hate that voyeur.” Bagelmaurus stumblingly agreed. “Hell, I didn’t think you were interested in this kind of place!”

Nemo thought the second half of that sentence should be its true feelings. In fact, it might be more suitable to say Witherspoon, who was no longer on the surface, but he knew almost nothing about Witherspoon. He knew the basic process of the contract and the general character of Telaranea, though, so he could only take this risk.

“It turns out you’re a servant of the Sage of the Abyss.” Hagen nodded. Nemo wasn’t sure whether it was an illusion, but he felt there were always several meaningful layers that were projected behind the black veil. “No wonder you came here at such a time. Unfortunately, you made our distinguished guest feel unhappy, so please—”

“I have an idea,” Bagelmaurus said calmly. “Let me take this kid. I want Telaranea’s people to serve me. That’s right. I’m so angry with that bastard. You can stand down and rest, Ingram.”

“…As you wish.” Hagen let go of her hand and the dendritic staff was suspended in the air.

Nemo hurried down and maintained an indifferent look on his face.

“Since you two know each other, I won’t make unnecessary introductions.” She saluted the gray parrot, causing the black veil to dance gently with her movements. “Please feel free to call me if you need it, Lord Bagelmaurus.”

“Ok,” the gray parrot responded blankly.

Once he confirmed that the black skirt corner of the Bishop of the Abyss had disappeared around the corner of the corridor, Nemo quickly entered the library carrying the gray parrot. It may be because the time was too “late”, or because Bagelmaurus had plans to be here; there were no other figures in the library. Nemo carefully confirmed the signs of life nearby again before he threw the parrot in his hand to the side, put his back on the door, and breathed heavily for half a minute.

“Why don’t you let me go?” The gray parrot maintained its falling position. Its voice was small and aggrieved. “The power of my flesh is just an intermediate. Even if I used to… Uh, treated you badly, you‘ve already taken my powers away!”

“I just want to talk to you,” Nemo straightened himself up and said in shock. “She shouldn’t have found out, right?”

“What if she did? You’re a more distinguished guest than me,” The gray parrot shrank its neck and muttered sourly. “Here, all demon warlocks and demon worshipers are not worth mentioning. What are you so nervous about?”

“We took on a task,” Nemo said carefully.

“Oh, that’s why you look so weird.” Bagelmaurus abandoned its prideful appearance as its once spirited look had completely disappeared. “Forget it… If you want to kill me now, you can just do it. Besides… this flesh is already like this. It’s just returning my consciousness back to the Abyss. Eventually I’ll find a way again…”

Its bird eyes were wet, and it couldn’t stop crying. It had completely fallen into its imagined, depressing scenario.

“Why do you have this idea?” Nemo sighed weakly. “Why do you think I want to kill you?”

“Don’t you know how terrible you are?”

“Really? You’re the one out of the entire team who seems to heavily respond to this the most,” Nemo frowned.

“That’s because they are too stupid and truly don’t understand at all!” The gray parrot complained angrily. “Wait, you’re here… Are you…”

“Well, I’m trying to find information about myself here,” Nemo admitted frankly. He pulled the hood off his head and wiped the sweat from his neck. “But you’re also here so…”

The gray parrot turned his head and said, in a vague tone, “Otherwise, I can’t sleep at night.”

“How much information did you find?”

“Nothing much,” the gray parrot muttered, “but I’m still scouring the first room. There are two more rooms in the back.”

Nemo raised his head and looked at the library in front of him. If this was a room, the space would be a bit too wide. Huge bookshelves were lined up, almost reaching the ceiling, and the surrounding walls were also lined with books. The door at the other end of the room from this distance looked like half a piece of breakfast butter.

Nemo felt a trace of despair in an instant.

“And you have to deal with the books themselves.” The gray parrot saw that Nemo didn’t intend to do anything to it, so its voice became louder. “If the power isn’t enough, they won’t be willing to open for you. I was looking at the bookshelf in the middle of this room. With my current strength, it’ll take three minutes to open a book. There’s a bitter monk who came here to read. I heard that he’s been here for ten years and hasn’t been able to open the last row of this room—”

“There shouldn’t be a surveillance spell here, right?” Nemo frowned and fell into contemplation.

“Yes. The books themselves are protected.” Bagelmaurus finally stood up from the ground and shook its feathers. “This… This is a favor! Listen up, trash… Light. These books are all things that deceive the soft and fear the hard. If you forcibly open them or try to take them away, they will scream and sound the alarm.”

“…Then I’ll give it a try.” Nemo rubbed his hands together, and his face was a bit reluctant. “It shouldn’t be forced.”

“Try what?” Bagelmaurus suddenly had a bad feeling.

Nemo didn’t answer. He raised his hands and moved his fingers, as if he was playing an invisible piano.

The thick black shadow spread out quickly. The tsunami-like phantom slapped all the books in the first room, causing all the heavy books to leave their original position and slip onto the black shadow, completely opening. The pages of the book flipped frantically, creating a rushing sound that resounded throughout the huge room. Within five minutes, all the books neatly closed at the same time and took off like living creatures, shuttling back into their original position.

Everything fell silent again. The books were back on the bookshelf, but with a slight difference…

“I arranged it alphabetically,” Nemo said seriously, looking as if he was completely relieved. “Did they all put these books back indiscriminately after they finished reading?”

“…” Bagelmaurus was lost for words and didn’t know how to respond. “Did you just…”

“I finished reading them.” Nemo opened the bag full of sandpoint plums and stuffed another one in his mouth. He thought for a moment and loped one in the direction of the gray parrot. “I’m just trying to see if it can be done by using abyssal magic to identify the letters… It seems possible, but you’re right. There’s no relevant information in this room.”

The gray parrot stayed in place for half a minute, then swallowed the sandpoint plum without responding. The books here were written in several different languages, some of which were extremely ancient texts, but the other party didn’t seem to care about it. Bagelmaurus decided not to ask questions.

“How do I get into the second room?” Nemo passed by the tall bookshelf and walked directly to the door.

“Go straight in.” Bagelmaurus boldly flew closer. It shivered a bit and stopped on Nemo’s shoulder, causing the magic ornaments on its body to jingle.

The layout of the second room was similar to the first, except the books looked closer to living creatures. They screamed with fear when they were opened. This time, Nemo had an ugly look on his face after returning the books to their place. He rarely frowned, and the usual softness between his brows completely disappeared.

“Did you find the answer?” The gray parrot’s spirit was in shock. Its expectation of the truth overshadowed its fear and anxiety at this moment.

Nemo didn’t say anything but went straight into the third room. The gray parrot clenched his black robe with its claw, but Nemo’s reaction turned abnormal. It began to become uncertain whether it should continue to stay with him or leave.

When Nemo slightly violently waved away the prohibition in front of the third door, its feelings reached their climax.

The third room was unexpectedly small, about the same size as the guest room in a countryside inn. The books were no longer placed on shelves. They were like deformed snails carrying pages on their backs. They crawled along the walls that looked soft and fleshy. The black eyes on the spine of the book looked down and showed a little white.

“Those things are poisonous. You—” Bagelmaurus hesitated for a few seconds but decided to give him a warning.

However, Nemo didn’t use the dark shadow this time. He directly released his aura of a superior demon, causing the book that was crawling happily to freeze instantly and fall to the ground. The eyes on the spine of the book spun frantically.

No. It’s different this time. Bagelmaurus shut its mouth. Nemo Light’s aura was completely different from when he first entered the library. Even if he was flustered and nervous at that time, he wasn’t like he was now…

Nemo was truly expressionless at the moment. Bagelmaurus could see that this “superior demon” was in a real state of confusion and was struggling with itself. The black-haired young man dressed like a mage personally picked up the book. His face was much paler than before. He looked eagerly at it as pages of the leather book flew left and right under his fingers. Bagelmaurus tried to peek but found that it didn’t recognize a single word.

“How’s it going?” Bagelmaurus asked cautiously half an hour later, when Nemo finally put down the last book.

“The demons have no so-called innate knowledge,” Nemo said slowly, as the book under his feet fled from him. “Knowledge can only be accumulated in person or… Taken from others.”

“That’s right,” Bagelmaurus said dryly. “How do you think I know about information on the surface? It’s a pity that the corpse didn’t have much insight—”

“There’s no record of any humanoid demons,” Nemo interrupted the gray parrot. He lowered his eyes and stared at the wet marks left by the strange books.

“Yes! I’ve already said this long ago—” The gray parrot stretched his tone this time, waiting for Nemo to interrupt it, but the other party remained silent.

He didn’t find any information that could directly determine his identity. Nothing. Nemo clenched his fists. He had expected this… but he seemed to become aware of other problems.

[Why is there always… Only an abnormal life at the bottom of the Abyss?]

Although it was around noon, Nemo suddenly felt chilly. After finishing all the books in the Abyssal Church, he discovered some unnatural details that creeped him out. Nemo raised his hand and eighteen black shadows condensed into figures appeared in the air.

These were the images of the Demon Kings through the ages. Their appearance ranges from vague descriptions to pinpoint accuracy. Their sizes varied greatly, their appearances were completely irregular, and they were all races that had never appeared before.

Is it really like this?

Nemo stared at the eighteenth image, which was named the “Grim Reaper’s Scythe” Ulysses. From a glance, its appearance was distorted and weird, but if disassembled, its anatomy was somewhat similar to that of a multi-legged shadow beast on the surface. Similar partial characteristics could be found in all the other parts of the superior demon.

There was no mistake or omission. It was like a synthetic life that absorbed the advantages of countless demons based on certain surface creatures.

Nemo raised his hand again, and a row of corresponding names and information appeared under each image. “Coincidentally”, there happened to be a leader of the multi-legged shadow beast in the Hero’s team that fought against the seventeenth-generation Demon King. The huge number of books in the collection were all turned into lines of text in his mind, and countless legends and documents with side descriptions or positive narratives swirled in his mind. If he removed those contradictory points and integrated the coincidences of all the data…

The sixteenth generation.

The fifteenth generation.

. . . . . .

The first generation… The first generation wasn’t actually the first. Before that, mankind hadn’t flourished, so there wasn’t any testable information.

However, whenever there was a record, he could find a similar “corresponding archetype”. That archetype was sometimes the Hero of the previous generation, sometimes a member of the previous archetype of the expedition army; most of them were generally the latter. What they all had in common was obvious. All the surface archetypes were ridiculously strong without exception, and none of them were human.

Could he assume that the “appearance foundation” of each generation of Demon King was consistent with the strongest creature in the previous generation of the expedition army?

Yes. The title of the Hero had always been given to the one that “gave the Demon King the final blow”, but no one had ever said that the creature that “gave the final blow” was the strongest in the expedition. On the other hand, regardless of any laws, this shouldn’t be a message that could be conveyed after an individual dies. If all the death information of the previous generation could be learned by the next generation, was the Demon King really “natural” and “unrelated individuals”?

There had always been and would always be one. It was like something that was constantly evolving.

If… A vague thought crossed his mind like a whisper in his ears. What if the strongest creature in the eighteenth-generation expedition happens to be a “human”?

He became frightened by such a thought.

At the same time, in the Bishop’s room.

“Lord Telaranea,” Hagen said, lowering her head and raising her skirt. “I’m sorry to disturb you at this moment.”

“How rare—it’s you who contacted me, Miss Ingram,” a young male voice came from the communication crystal. “Why? Are there religious knights causing trouble?”

“It’s just a trivial matter, but I need to confirm it with you. After all, this involves your reputation.” Bagelmaurus’ reaction wasn’t simple. Hagen adjusted her veil and shook her head.

“Speak.”

“Do you still have a demon warlock contract on the surface at present?”

“No. Why did you suddenly ask this?”

“…No reason. I’m sorry to bother you.” Sure enough, she thought. Demon warlocks would never—or rather dare not—lie about “serving a demon”.

So, who’s the one that broke the rules? Or rather… Which person?

The author has something to say:

Nemo：……………………………… Fuck, I’m super bad at guessing.

Hagen: Ah, how cute to watch this kid(?) put on an act.

Telaranea: Stop! He might look innocent, but he actually has a gun!

…In any case, the Abyssal Church is about to make this into a big deal XD

Kinky Thoughts:

Just a note on Lord. This is used as a respectful title to the demons these believers worship and is genderless (think along the lines of Master/Ruler, ect.) Demons have no gender unless otherwise stated in the text (like Pandorater) or they currently possess a human body. That’s why Bagelmaurus and other demons are referred to as an it not a he/she.

Miss Ingram, you’re about to bark up the wrong tree…

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 100: Lord Bagelmaurus

“Mr. White, this way, please.” Seeing Nemo’s posture as if he was about to sit down and listen to the sermon, Virgil whispered quickly. He controlled his volume politely, but it was still loud enough for the people closest to them to hear clearly.

The preacher, with only a mouth on his face, had a very beautiful voice. His tone seemed to have magic powers that could make people believe everything he said. Nemo was stunned for a few seconds and bit fiercely into the sandpoint plum that was in his mouth. He instantly recalled his current situation, accompanied by the sour taste that almost choked into tears.

“What is the origin of magic? We have reason to think…” The demon warlock who was preaching completely ignored them.

Nemo pulled the top edge of his hood up with one hand and strived to show only half his face. He then straightened his back and followed Virgil out of the hall as calmly as possible. Virgil seemed to be familiar with the area. He stuck to the wall on the left side of the nave and went directly into a long corridor. Nemo held back a belly full of questions he wanted to ask as the other party continued to walk in front of him without any hesitation. He could only obediently remain quiet.

After passing by dozens of incense lamps, doors finally started appearing on both sides of the corridor. The thick, dark wooden doors were carved with two symmetrical arcs that intersect at the top and bottom. The middle was neatly separated by a vertical line. Virgil stopped in front of one of the doors. Unlike the other doors, the mark on this door flashed coldly in the dim shadows. “You can stay here. As your ‘assistant’, I’ll stay in the servant room on the side.”

The visitor room of Abyssal Church felt equally cold. There were no odd decorations in it. Rather, the cramped room was almost empty. There was only a long wooden table with books and a stone bed. From the suffocatingly narrow side door, he could catch a glimpse of the servant’s room. There wasn’t even a bed in it. Only a withered patch of piled yellow straw was in the corner.

Fortunately, it was clean enough and there was no dust.

After they both entered the room, Virgil carefully locked the door. He took out his paintbrush and buffed it casually in the air a few times. The stone interior, which originally lacked color, instantly became darker. Then he took out a small cloth bag from his shoulder, reached in and dug into it for a good half a minute before finally taking out a yellow and white candle that had almost been burnt up and threw it on the wooden table.

It wasn’t until it was lit that the slender candle became half a meter high, causing Nemo to realize that it wasn’t an ordinary candle.

“We can communicate freely now,” Virgil said. He took off the weird mask on his face, but his voice was still very light. “But lower your volume. Better to be safe.”

“You’re very familiar with this place.” Nemo picked up a book without a title on the wooden table and looked at it carefully by candlelight. Its leather cover was printed with the same symbol as the door.

“Yes.” Virgil nodded bluntly. “Perhaps more familiar than you think.”

“When will we officially act?” Nemo rubbed the book cover and breathed a sigh of relief. He licked his lips, which were slightly sticky because of tension. “If believers move more at night, it would be better to act during the day.”

“I will go out for a walk tonight to find out why the sacrifice is ahead of schedule.” Virgil stared at the candlelight. “Things seem to have changed. We’ll have to wait for the status quo to be determined before discussing the details. You can rest in the room until dawn.”

“Can I go to the library tonight?”

“You’d better not. There are not many hours left before dawn. It’s better around noon, when most people go back to their rooms to rest. Most importantly, the Bishop of the Abyss will not wander around at noon,” Virgil patiently explained.

“Bishop of the Abyss? ……Was it the man who was preaching?”

“The Abyssal Church doesn’t have a Pope. It’s managed by twelve bishops in turns.” Virgil looked serious. “It’s not the preacher just now, but you should have noticed. The bishop in power this month is that woman in the veil hat, Hagen Ingram.”

“Okay,” Nemo responded. “Then let’s talk at noon.”

“I may not be able to come back in time after dawn, so I’ll leave you a road map to the library.” Virgil took out a thin drawing board and quickly painted on it with his charcoal pen. “You can go by yourself… You won’t have trouble finding the way… right?”

“I am confident in my memory,” Nemo whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Virgil sighed, rubbing his nose uncomfortably. “I promised to take you there.”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” Nemo finally put down his hood, and the scattered hair made the back of his neck itchy.

Virgil put on the mask again and put a tightly wrapped paper bag and a small piece of crystal on the wooden table. “This is dry food. The Abyssal Church doesn’t provide food for visitors. You should be able to condense water spells, right?”

Nemo nodded with uncertainty.

He put away the charcoal pen and put the thin drawing board and the things on the table together. “And this is the road map… I’m going out first. You have a good rest.”

With Virgil’s departure, the color of everything in the room returned to normal. Nemo suddenly relaxed. He threw the staff away, took off his shoes and jumped on the stone bed while holding a book and retracted into a corner of the room. The dark shadows rose from the air around him, affixed to every weak gap in the room while blocking the door at the same time.

He would finish reading this book before sunrise and report to Oliver then. Afterwards, he would sleep until noon.

However, Oliver’s side didn’t have it as easy as he thought.

After the Knights of Silence left, Oliver painstakingly began to paint the camouflage array again. From time to time, he would touch the piece of crystal in his pocket with his hand. Although it was still a while before sunrise, he couldn’t help but rub it a few times.

“If you are worried about Nemo…” Ann once again completed the camouflage array ahead of time. “I can assure you, don’t think the Knights of Silence are terrifying. Your sweetheart can take down that entire team by himself.”

“Strength is one thing, mood is another.” Oliver painted much faster this time around. “I hope it goes well for them.”

He threw away the branches with satisfaction and nodded at the newly painted array. Three seconds later, the formation triggered again, and Oliver didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. They quickly hid behind the trees. Oliver thought melancholically that at this rate he would never be able to set up his tent.

The visitor this time had nothing in common with the Knights of Silence. Rather, it could be said to be the complete opposite. The man was riding a white horse without a trace of unruly hair. He wore silver armor on his body, which shone dimly in the moonlight. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, which revealed short, supple burgundy hair.

“…Is there a knight exhibition going on?” Ann muttered in a low voice. “Why would a Knight of Judgment from the Laddism Church come to such a hellhole alone?”

Her voice was low, so low that Oliver, who was close by, couldn’t hear it clearly. However, the Knight of Judgment, who wasn’t far away, suddenly turned in their direction. He turned his horse’s head and rushed straight over, immediately lowered his body, and pulled out a long sword that was giving off a silver glow.

This time, Ann cursed loudly. Oliver sadly glanced at the camouflage array that had lost its effectiveness and pulled out his Rest in Peace.

This battle was much simpler than they thought.

“Don’t struggle, okay?” Oliver began to apply the camouflage array again for the third time with a blank expression. The Knight of Judgment was entangled in vines and was locked up in a simple cage made from ice. “We’re not going to do anything to you.”

“Despicable Black Chapters!” The tone of the Knight of Judgment was still in shock. “Your footwork… That is the advanced footwork of the Knights of Judgment. Where are you from—”

‘I learnt it from your former Chief Justice,’ Oliver replied in his heart while pursing his lips tightly. The movements of the person in front of him was like a downgraded version of Adrian Cross. As soon as he raised his sword, Oliver would react, as he knew exactly what he was going to do. The whole battle didn’t even last five minutes.

Even the fuller goat didn’t budge from its position as it remained chewing peacefully in place on the grass.

“It seems that Adr— Ahem, your training has paid off.” The female warrior showed signs of annoyance as she was getting tired of repeatedly repainting the camouflage array. She began to tease the white horse with a carrot. “Speaking of which, with such a guy, do we really have to hide?”

“We’re just performing a task related to the Abyssal Church.” Oliver rubbed his face and walked towards the Knight of Judgment. “You don’t need to care about our origins. We’ll leave in a few days.”

“Few days,” the knight sneered dismissively. His light blue eyes were gleaming with anger. “You guys sure know how to pick the time.”

“Speaking of which, what are you doing here?”

“Do you think I will tell you?” The Knight of Judgment grabbed his neck and made a gesture of slicing his finger across it.

“What should I do, captain?” Ann yawned. “He looks like he doesn’t want to let us go.”

“It’s a good idea to knock him out. We have animal repellent powder here to ensure that he wakes up alive.” Oliver rubbed his temples. “But if there is another team of Knights of Silence, they’ll most likely find him.”

“So?”

“Let’s take care of this first.” Oliver stopped the hand that was painting the array and continued to set up his tent, ignoring the angry gaze from the Knight of Judgment. “Anyways, he can’t do anything… Ann, let’s draw another camouflage array.”

The Knight of Judgment obviously didn’t believe that two snake-level Black Chapters would simply stop here. Until the eastern sky began to turn white, the two squatted in front of the tent and began to cook soup in a small pot.

“You almost threw the small piece of crystal into the soup and cooked it.” Ann poked the soft-boiled carrots in the soup with a freshly peeled branch. Her tone sounded a bit more pitiful. “The sun hasn’t come out yet. Relax. Even if the entire Church of Silence exploded, Nemo would be fine.”

Oliver rubbed the bread in his hand silently. When she saw that he was about to stuff the crystal into his mouth with his other hand, Ann stretched out the branch stained with soup, slowly pressed Oliver’s hand holding the crystal piece down, and knocked on the hand he was using to rub the bread.

“You should be glad Dylan’s not there. Otherwise, he’ll laugh at you for a month.” The female warrior shook her head. “It’s nice to be young.”

At the same time, the crystal piece suddenly burst into cracks and Oliver bounced back into place.

“Ollie?” Nemo’s voice came from the crystal piece. “We’re in the Abyssal Church.”

“Are you okay?” Oliver maintained a steady tone of voice. As the conversation went on, the cracks on the crystal piece became denser.

“…” Nemo’s voice paused for a moment. “From an aesthetic point of view, I prefer the Laddism Church.”

Oliver bent the corner of his mouth. “You’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” Nemo’s murmur revealed some dissatisfaction. “I’m not acting with you. I’m not used to this.”

The crystal piece shattered, forcibly terminating the communication. Oliver closed his mouth that had just opened, and his expression became stiff. The Knight of Judgment, a few steps away, had stayed up all night and looked at the scene in disbelief.

“Yeah, it’s a great conspiracy.” Ann served herself a bowl of soup and gave herself an extra piece of boiled jerky. “That’s the boyfriend of our leader, who just conveyed important information about the aesthetics of the Abyssal Church. Is there anything else you want to ask this gentleman?”

The Knight of Judgment snorted coldly with some difficulty and turned his head away. It was just that this time, his attitude wasn’t as determined as previously.

When Nemo opened his eyes again, the strong afternoon sun shone into the room through the small window in the room, making everything look not as cold and hard as it was at night. Too good of a memory could have its downside. It only took him a few minutes to read through the doctrine taught by the Laddism Church. His only hope was to contact Oliver, but the crystal was truly too fragile. It seemed that the Abyssal Church’s tolerance for them wasn’t unreasonable.

He rubbed the crystal powder in his hand and moved the dark shadows away from the door. After a brief glance at the map on the table, Nemo put the dry food into his pocket and picked up his staff. He took a deep breath and opened the door with a look as if he was heading towards his death…

He poked his head out and looked around.

As Virgil said, there were almost no figures in the Church of Silence during the day. Nemo made up his mind. He put on his hood again and walked towards his destination with his staff in hand. According to the instructions on the road map, the library was on the ground floor of the second half of the church. The structure of the entire Church of Silence wasn’t symmetrical. It had many passages that were crooked and twisted, and the corridors were like an ant’s nest, which made it very difficult to tell where he was going. It took him almost an hour to find the “white stone gate” indicated by the destination.

The only thing he could consider lucky was that he hadn’t run into anyone along the way. With gratitude to the god of luck, Nemo looked around at the empty surroundings again and pushed the door open with satisfaction.

“We are here.” As soon as the stone gate made a little moving sound, a velvety female voice came from behind him. “Is it still the same area as last time, Lord Bagelmaurus?”

Nemo froze.

He almost dropped the staff he was holding in his hand. It was too conspicuous if he were to grab his hood, so he slowly moved away and stepped aside, trying his best to lower his head. He tried to look out from the edge of the hood.

He could see a woman dressed in a long black dress. As his vision moved up, he saw an enlarged head that didn’t match the enchanting body that was covered by an exquisite black veil hat. The Bishop of the Abyss, Hagen Ingram, was holding a thin dendritic staff with golden bones, and on top, a gray parrot was perched on it in high spirits. It was surrounded by several rune ornaments, emitting a strong, powerful aura. On its feet were inlaid with small gemstones that glittered with fine light.

Nemo suddenly lowered his head even lower, so that he even drooped his shoulders slightly. Although he did plan to have a good talk with the gray parrot, this plan didn’t include the Bishop of the Abyss as a bystander. Bagelmaurus was arrogant by nature, so it shouldn’t pay attention to a “human” who it occasionally passed by.

In fact, it wasn’t the gray parrot that noticed him but someone else.

“Oh,” Hagen Ingram stopped. She stretched out her spare hand and naturally squeezed Nemo’s chin. “You’re yesterday’s visitor, that beautiful young man.”

Nemo’s head was lifted by force, revealing his entire face.

“Ah,” he sighed dejectedly.

“Ah—!!!” Bagelmaurus let out an earth-shattering scream.

The author has something to say:

Chapter 100!!! The title of this chapter is given to the gray parrot. Are you happy now, gray parrot?

————

Probably the most glorious flirting in Ms. Ingram’s career…

And the deepest psychological shadow of Bagelmaurus…

Kinky Thoughts:

Uh oh, do I smell vinegar?

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 99: The Statue of the Demon King

The clumsy and heavy carriage creaked away while Nemo’s gaze remained glued to the cage until it disappeared into the dense woods.

“Trouble?” He finally recovered and turned his face to Virgil, who was beside him.

“The sacrifices are usually prepared a week in advance, but there are still two weeks before the new moon,” Duran Virgil whispered. His complexion and hair color were already quite dark, which made his white teeth more noticeable in the night. “If the sacrifice has already arrived, then the Knights of Silence will also come early. We have to hurry. Once the sacrifices officially begin, the Church of Silence will be completely sealed.”

“…What will happen to the sacrifices?” Nemo pressed the sandpoint plum to the bottom of his tongue and clenched his staff.

“I don’t know. It’s different every month,” Virgil said in a deep voice. “Don’t bother. They’re dead.”

Nemo looked in the direction where the carriage disappeared again and didn’t answer.

“It should be too late now.” Virgil looked at the magnificent building not far away with a complicated expression. “There’s no sign of a blockage. We can probably catch up. When we get to the church later… Well, you don’t need to pay special attention to anything. I think you’re in very good shape now. There are too many kinds of superior demons, so the deformation of a demon warlock varies. They will not be idle enough to determine the true class of every temporary visitor.”

“Are there many conflicts among the believers?” Nemo tried to confirm.

“It’s hard to say,” the tall man sighed softly. “This is also what I’m worried about… You’re known as a demon warlock, so demon worshipers shouldn’t take the initiative to provoke you, but you better not come into conflict with a real demon warlock.”

“Got it,” Nemo replied.

“As for the demon information you want to know… The library is open to everyone, but how much you can see depends on your strength. After sunrise tomorrow, I can show you the way.” Virgil played with the brush in his hand. “Actually, you don’t have to be too uptight. The Abyssal Church is a bit different from other general religions… Most believers are more self-centered, so they’re not very loving to each other. Just by staying as a visitor for three days, the possibility of being exposed is really high—”

“You don’t have to say anything.” Nemo had a bad feeling, so he quickly interrupted the other party.

“Remember to call me ‘Duri’ in a while.” Virgil took care of the clothes on his body without the intention of taking off the strange materials on his belt. “What should I call you? It’s not suitable to use your real name here. Since you’re a Black Chapter, you must have a common pseudonym.”

He really didn’t. Nemo quickly searched his memory and a thought immediately popped into his head. “White,” he said solemnly. “You can call me that, Virgil… Duri.”

“Mr. White.” Virgil nodded solemnly, motioning that he remembered.

However, when they really arrived in front of the Church of Silence, Nemo found that his psychological preparation wasn’t enough.

The structure of the Church of Silence had become more magnificent and distorted as they got closer. The long steps led directly to the entrance of the church, but there were no marble statues that other religions like to place on both sides. Instead, gallows like stone platforms with corpses wrapped in white cloth that were hung upside down adorned the steps on either side. The body was tightly wrapped, with only a pair of blue and white feet exposed outside the shroud that was tightly tied by slings. They hung quietly and straight in the air, giving off a faint putrid smell that was obscured by the choking incense.

There was no other lightning. In the faint moonlight, two rows of white cocoon-like shapes gave people chills down their backs.

Nemo stuffed two more sandpoint plums into his mouth and stared at the tip of his boots as intently as possible. This time, his plan failed. After the two stepped onto the stone steps, whispers instantly sounded from both sides. Nemo’s scalp exploded as the last thing that he wanted to see appeared…

The two corpses closest to them began to shake, while the rest remained silent like statues. The two white cloth-wrapped things started swaying faster, and finally unnaturally went straight towards them, like iron pendants attracted by a magnet. The whispers under the white cloth became louder and were accompanied by a creepy smell.

“The smell of the Abyss,” they whispered in a sickly voice. “Qualified. Qualified.”

Nemo almost tripped over himself. He resisted the urge to ask questions and distributed part of his weight on the staff in his hand, continuing to move forward as smoothly as he could. From the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of what he thought was a “shroud” that changed positions and was squirming very slowly on the surface of the corpse.

“The watchdogs of the church,” Virgil explained succinctly. The thorn corpse bird was still perched on his shoulder as if it had taken root on him. “Generally, it doesn’t bite.”

Nemo pulled his hood down, narrowing his vision as much as possible. The visual effect of the corpses swaying one by one was shocking. Compared to this, he would rather face ten Seymour worms. He really didn’t want to know how these things were going to bite.

“No smell of surface magic.”

“No smell of excessive communication.”

“……”

“The smell of companions.”

When they stepped on the last stone step, the last two corpses also came to the same conclusion. Nemo could feel that the lining of his back was soaked through. He trembled and breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the entrance of the church in front of him…

The gate blinked its countless eyes and looked back at him.

“…I definitely want to ask for more remuneration for this task.” Nemo gritted his teeth and looked away.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing,” Nemo, who couldn’t control his emotions well, said depressingly. “Let’s go, Duri.”

Virgil, who was walking ahead, didn’t hesitate, as if the eyes on the door were just ordinary decorative patterns. He stretched out his hand and pushed open the door, causing a dim light to peek through the crack.

“After you,” Virgil stood against one of the doors and carelessly pressed several of the eyeballs with his bare hands. He didn’t know when, but suddenly there was a weird mask on his face. The black mask was painted with a weird symbol in red paint. “A demon warlock takes the lead, Mr. White.”

Nemo stepped through the entrance of the Church of Silence.

Within the next few seconds, he wanted to leave.

He really should cherish the poor but normal times in Roadside Town. Nemo looked at the scene in front of him and felt eager to cry without tears. The decoration inside was normal, but the temperature was slightly higher than outside. The lights were dimly lit and there was an indescribable smell that was fishy, and mixed with incense, it only amplified it. And the creatures inside…

If one could collect the nightmares of children and put them all into the same pot of porridge, it would be almost like this scene. For a few seconds, Nemo even doubted whether the always upright knight commander was deliberately cheating him. At present, he was simply the most conspicuous thing there because he looked “too normal”.

Looking at the living things inside, they were roughly divided into three categories.

The first category was subordinate and intermediate-level demons that moved around with their master. They were purely demonically looking creatures, and not a single one looked the same. The second was their master, the demon worshipers, who wore the same masks as Virgil, but didn’t show the slightest hint of their faces.

The third category that had the least numbers was…

Nearest to him was a mass of black oil and a half-melted human head that floated in it. The tar-like thing crawled past his feet and the floating head glanced up at him, letting out a disdainful snort. There was also a middle-aged man more than a dozen steps away. He still looked like a normal human, but there were a lot of moving tentacles sticking out of his eyes, nostrils, and mouth, and his facial features were almost too deformed to see what they originally looked like. There was a woman in the front row with a similar situation, but looking at her back, one could only tell she seemed like a graceful lady. From his angle, he could only see a black veil hat she was wearing as well as an abnormally large head.

Nemo could clearly feel the strength gap between these “people” and other creatures in the room. These were the real demon warlocks.

……He suddenly understood why Virgil didn’t pretend to be a demon warlock with him. Now he himself felt out of place in this hellhole. Not only that, their client most likely completely misunderstood his forceful calmness and truly believed that he was confident.

Nemo almost broke his staff in half.

“Visitors.” The demon warlock standing at the sermon table nodded at them. This one seemed to be the most “normal” among the demon warlocks. He had no facial features on his face except for a mouth, which was really normal in comparison to the others he witnessed.

Virgil, who was wearing a mask, lowered his head and saluted, while Nemo stood upright. Fortunately, the demon warlock didn’t seem to mind.

Nemo was attracted by what was behind the sermon table.

It was a life-like monster statue. Compared with the demons he had seen, it wasn’t a large type, but its distorted appearance far surpassed everything he had seen. The width and height of the nave of the Church of Silence were amazing, but the monster statue supported the entire wall of the nave. For a moment, he couldn’t see how many pairs of forelimbs it had. He could only see that they were supporting the wall and were strong and powerful. The hook claws at the end were like death sickles. Its head wasn’t big, about the length of an adult’s, and was slightly lowered. Several pairs of eyes on both sides of the head narrowed slightly, looking like dragon heads that were eroded by beholders.

The rest of the statue was equally distorted yet stunning. However, each tight line revealed a shuddering chill.

“That’s Ulysses,” Virgil said in a very low voice. It was more of a reminder than an explanation. “The statue of the last Demon King was about the same size as this one… If I remember correctly.”

However, the voice seemed to go in one of Nemo’s ears and out the other. He was fixated on the statue, unable to distinguish the strange feeling that was surging from the bottom of his heart.

The demon warlock at the sermon table looked at the two of them for a while, then retracted his gaze as if he had lost interest.

“Doubt everything.” The man with only a mouth on his face continued to preach. His voice was amplified by a magic array, and it came out clear and crisp, echoing along the wide nave. “The first who questions will always be persecuted. I believe that you have been exposed to many surface religions. They have stopped in the face of power and interests, and will never further clarify the truth of this world to their believers.”

“Everything belongs to the belief in God, and everything belongs to the so-called good and evil. Their eyes are blinded, their minds are shackled, and they only measure everything in the world by their own cognition. In the face of superficial doubts, you just need to keep thinking, keep doubting, and asking questions—”

“Why are demons ‘evil’? Because it hurts people—beasts hurt people. People hurt people.”

“Why do you call the Demon King the ‘Demon King’? There’s no evidence that the power structure of demons remotely resembles that of humans. When did this concept appear?”

“Why is there always… and there will always be only such a powerful existence at the bottom of the Abyss? Why do they go on an expedition if they claim that the Demon King will not come to the surface?”

“Never stop asking questions—is the common sense in this world really ‘common sense’?”

The author has something to say:

Nemo: SAN CHEEEEEEEECK–!

Virgil: This friend is really unpredictable. Not sure if he can or can’t do it.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 98: Living Sacrifice

“I thought you would choose to follow by yourself.” Ann looked at the only remaining member of Tumbleweed left. Their leader was removing the simple camping items from the fuller goat. The night became darker so she couldn’t see his expression. Even the outline of his figure became blurred.

“I’m not the most suitable choice. Mr. Cross knows the Abyssal Church better, but he can’t fight alone.” Oliver broke off a young branch, peeled off the bark and looked around at the terrain. “Ann, can you help me draw three camouflage arrays in the west? The simplest kind is fine.”

“Sure.” Ann nodded readily. “Great, you haven’t become a muddleheaded fool. Speaking of… you didn’t tell Nemo in advance. Aren’t you afraid that he would care?”

“I didn’t plan to hide it from him, but I couldn’t do it,” Oliver shook his head. He dipped the branch in a liquid material from a glass bottle and carefully drew an array on the tree. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on him. He’s already nervous enough. When he succeeds in infiltration, Mr. Cross will find a chance to get him.”

“How considerate,” Ann snorted, her tone becoming more teasing.

“After all, Duran Virgil’s motives are unknown.” Oliver tilted his hand, and the magic array on the bark burst out with a puff of green smoke. He adjusted his mood and dipped the branch into the glass bottle again. “But when I was in the branch office, Mr. Cross said that he’s a ‘real exorcist’… Mr. Cross is not the type who lies, and you didn’t seem surprised by that statement.”

“Ah, that.” Unlike Oliver, who was busying his hands and feet, Ann had neatly drawn three hidden arrays in the corner. “Actually, I wasn’t sure… but since Cross said it, it should be true.”

Oliver finally finished tracing the camouflage array that he had just learned from the knight commander. A fine layer of thin sweat appeared on his forehead. He raised his sleeves and wiped them. The uneven plane required such an extremely high degree of concentration that it made the arm he used to paint the rune sore. “What do you think?”

“Those things on him,” Ann said as she took a bag of preserved fruit from the fuller goat and began eating it slowly. “It looks like a complete set of exorcism materials. That’s not a depth that someone can just casually disguise.”

“I thought those were painting tools.” Oliver began to build his tent. “Isn’t he a demon warlock? Nemo shouldn’t be mistaken.”

“Who knows?” Ann shrugged and patted the white icing that was stuck to her hand. “Honestly, I am interested… If I’m not mistaken, he’s not as simple as a ‘part-time exorcist’, but more of the kind that uses ruthless means…”

Her voice stopped instantly, and Oliver’s reaction was just as quick. All the magic formations they had just drawn had come in handy. The camouflage arrays activated at the same time, completely silencing them and eliminating their breath.

The two people who were painting runes on trees stared at the sudden emergence of a group not far away.

The group’s numbers looked small, but they had an insidious aura. It was too dark for them to see what those people were riding, but it didn’t look like horses. Someone at the front of the team was holding a flag, and the entire team was wearing black cloth armor. Only the floating lanterns from both sides of the team provided a pitiful bit of lighting.

Oliver realized something was wrong. The group wasn’t far from them, but they didn’t make a single sound. There wasn’t even the sound of riding and galloping on the ground.

It was like a group of moving shadows.

Oliver subconsciously held his breath. Even if there was a camouflage array, he didn’t dare to be careless. A cold and decadent faint smell wafted from not far away and that smelled like a moldy and rotten coffin. The indistinct calvary stepped into the dead forest, but their movements didn’t stagnate. They floated forward lightly, as if they were sliding on the lifeless land, and eventually their figures melted perfectly into the night.

Ann was the first to speak, “The Knights of Silence.” She spoke at a volume that was estimated to be the lowest sound she could possibly make. “I’m afraid things will not go well this time… I hope Cross and Dylan have enough distance between them.”

Adrian had indeed gone far enough. He drew magic from the sacrificial blood mark that was on the back of his neck and maintained a floating array that could sustain two people. They were orbiting around them like planets, ensuring that they wouldn’t become rotten corpses.

And the source of that magic was tucking back his long golden hair that was hanging from one side behind his ear, while his other hand was holding onto Adrian Cross’ hand tightly.

“……Why?” Finally, unable to bear it, the knight spoke. The hand that was holding his was dry and warm, and the skin was smooth without a speck of calluses or scars, unlike his own. However, there was an unpleasant sticky feeling, as if there was a slug crawling over his skin. “I remember that spiritual sacrifice doesn’t involve this step.”

“Am I not pursuing you? Look, isn’t this romantic?” Jesse’s blue eyes gleamed. “You should know, it takes a lot of magic to maintain this kind of thing. I can’t even stand very firmly right now.”

“If the two of us were twenty years younger, this kind of pursuit might be considered romantic.”

“I’m only twenty-seven!”

“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.”

“You’re so harsh,” Jesse tutted as he exerted more force in his hand. “They all say that humility and courtesy are the virtues of a Knight of Judgement. Where are your virtues?”

“Packed up together with my dismissal.”

“…” Jesse faintly sighed. He looked up at the sky that was still covered with thin clouds. In the next second, he threw out a dagger with a warm white light that broke through the darkness, creating a hoarse scream in a corner a few steps away. Adrian stopped knowingly, and the two immediately formed a back-to-back formation.

“Interesting,” Jesse said briskly. “It’s coming so fast.”

“They seem like small fries.” Adrian opened his right hand and danced his five fingers quickly for a few seconds. A magic array was taking shape in his palm that was slowly getting bigger. When the magic array stabilized, it began to rotate slowly. He directly pressed it into the ground. The magic array didn’t enter the soil but instead released countless light needles that drilled out of the ground. This time there were more than a dozen screams from the nearby darkness, followed by a rustling sound that quickly disappeared.

“Let’s go and escape quickly.” Jesse put away his dagger. “Perhaps it’s just me… but they seem to be a little flustered?”

“Maybe.” Adrian didn’t seem to be very interested in this issue. He quickly resumed his forward posture, while Jesse remained motionless. After taking a few steps, the knight turned around discontentedly. Even though the night was dark, the furrow between his brows could clearly be seen.

However, the “cause of panic” of the monsters also surfaced at this time. A suffocating smell of decay overwhelmed the two of them in an instant. Something pale arched out of the soil, followed by a thick white bone still stained with carrion…

What came out of the soil looked like the skeleton of some kind of carnivorous fish. However, its height was more than ten meters, and there was also a piece of black flesh that was pulsating. The strong fishy smell caused by the pulsation made the air instantly viscous. Unlike normal fish bones, there were several “feet” with only white bones protruding out of the skeleton. Half of those insect-like bone feet were still buried in the soil, curled up and stretching aimlessly around, like a poisonous spider convulsing madly before its death.

“I’m curious.” Jesse threw out three daggers that hit the same position in a row. The white light directly shattered the joint of one of the monster’s feet. “Why don’t you tell Mr. Light?”

“About what?” Adrian took off the bow on his back and fired several scorching light arrows at it.

“You have such outstanding talent. It’s a pity to waste it here. There are not many people who could temporarily transform a magic array.” Jesse turned his head, but his attack didn’t stagnate one bit. His blue eyes gleamed dimly in the moonlight. “Although surface magic and abyssal magic are completely different in nature, there are also similarities. According to your talent, you would be able to master the use of abyssal magic. You don’t need to do this…” He deliberately paused for a few seconds. His tone became ambiguous, “…Be subjected to me.”

“If I heard you correctly,” Adrian’s voice became colder. His light arrows continued to pierce through the monster’s bones nonstop, accurately drilling through the pulsating flesh. “Are you suggesting I become a demon warlock?”

The monster began to struggle more fiercely as rows of dead trees were cut away by its bone feet.

“Yes. Mr. Light doesn’t seem to need so much power. He won’t care about a tiny loss.” Jesse lightly avoided the flying tree debris. As if he was tied to Adrian by an invisible chain, he stopped right at the boundary of the protection array. “He can voluntarily give you a little flesh, but not make a contract. In your case, there won’t be much deformation. At most, you’ll grow a tail or something—perhaps even something that’ll look quite suitable on you.”

“Are you dreaming, Mr. Dylan?”

“What?”

“Your sleep talking is very loud,” grumbled the former knight commander. He pulled back his bow again, but this time, the appearance of the light arrow became closer to that of a huge light spear. “It’s impossible for me to accept this kind of proposal.”

“Because ‘demons are evil’?”

“No. Because I don’t plan to turn my back on my faith. Please stop joking about this.” Adrian’s attitude was resolute. He pulled the bow tightly before letting go of his hand.

The spear of light pierced straight through the mass of flesh and caused the monster to make a weird clicking sound all over its body before the piece of flesh ballooned up. The surface of the dark ball of mass lighted up, like a red arc of lightning, before it exploded.

Jesse stopped his attack.

“But your faith has turned its back on you. You see, if I take away my ‘sacrifice’ now…” The blond young man, who was of similar height to Adrian, approached. He quickly shot out and grabbed his hand directly on the exposed back of the knight’s neck. As a giver, he only needed to snap his finger to destroy the blood mark. “You’ll immediately become a rotten corpse. How unreasonable is that?”

“There’s no ‘betrayal’.” Adrian shook his head. He straightened his right arm and covered the two of them with a pure white light shield.

The ball of light exploded, causing the land around them to instantly turn into darkness. Sticky fragments splashed everywhere. Their standing positions remained intact, and at first glance, it looked like a strange and narrow stage. The monster howled angrily and dragged its injured bone foot away, diving back into the soil.

It most likely became aware of the gap in strength and wisely chose to retreat. The drumming noise coming from underground sounded further and further away with each passing second.

Jesse raised his eyebrows, put his face closer to the point where the tip of his nose almost collided with Adrian’s. The former Knight of Judgement didn’t avoid his action. His dark brown eyes almost appeared pitch black under the reflection of the light shield, but this didn’t weaken the awl-like gaze.

“There is no ‘betrayal’,” Adrian repeated. He even showed a faint, mocking smile. “God has no obligation to ‘respond’, so naturally there will be no ‘betrayal’.”

“Hm? Don’t you crazy devotees like to praise ‘God loves the world’ the most?”

“I can’t speak for others without authorization, but I personally don’t agree with it,” Adrian whispered softly.

“…It’s really tolerant that the Laddism Church could make you the Chief Justice of the Knights of Judgement.”

“Because I really love Zenni.” Adrian didn’t seem to pay attention to the beautiful face in front of him that was inching closer.

“Sorry. As an atheist, I can’t understand your thoughts.” Jesse was so close to him at this point that when his lips moved, warm breath sprayed onto Adrian’s cheek.

Adrian finally took half a step back and broke free from Jesse’s grasp. He sighed and stretched out his hands, causing the white filaments of light to entangle above his palms. It emitted a soft and warm light.

“Is it beautiful?” He asked calmly.

“……Huh?” Jesse’s brows started rising.

“It’s just my personal opinion that ‘magic’ is a miracle in some form, so it must have a source,” he said softly. “I love this light deeply, but to it, I’m just a trivial thing. If I believe that it loves me as it should, I think… that would be a bit too arrogant.”

“As long as it exists, it’s enough.”

“I see,” Jesse muttered in a low voice. “You’re not a crazy believer. You’re just a masochist.”

“As I said, you can think however you wish.” Adrian took another step away and stepped into the air above the chasm that was left behind by the monster. “We’ve made too much noise. We need to get out of here quickly.”

This time, Jesse followed honestly. His blue eyes casually swept through the magic array that was flying around the two of them before finally locking onto Adrian’s back. It was a pity that all of his prepared remarks were blocked back into his stomach by just a few words from the other party. Jesse sighed discontentedly.

“But about that arrogance,” the smile on the blond young man’s face disappeared and he spoke at a volume that only he could hear, “I have to agree with you.”

A few kilometers away.

“If I remember correctly,” Nemo tried to make him sound as if he was confused, “didn’t you say, ‘there are other barriers’?”

They had been moving forward for a long time now that it was estimated half the night had already gone. However, apart from the bad scenery along the way, this journey was extremely smooth in other aspects. Nemo had stepped onto a few immovable myxomycetes and gave out a few aggrieved “whoops”, but besides that, the only living thing he saw was Virgil and the spiny corpse bird on his shoulder.

“Strange. There should be a large guardian demon nearby.” Virgil scratched his head. “This isn’t normal.”

Nemo suddenly felt the staff in his hand become more slippery. His palms were probably sweating fiercely.

“Anyway, do be careful,” Duran Virgil’s voice was low. “We’re about to arrive… Shh.”

He suddenly made a quiet gesture with his left hand, picked up a brush with his right hand, and quickly drew a series of rough marks in the air. The air seemed to be colored by his pen, as the handwriting turned into a faint shadow, isolating them in the darkness.

Nemo silently put down his hand and secretly rejoiced for a few seconds. He was so nervous that he forgot about the staff and almost cast his spells directly.

At that moment, they were close enough to the Church of Silence that he could see its general appearance. For a large church, its shape was very irregular. The slightly distorted building revealed a desolated and treacherous beauty. A long, dark carriage was heading towards the church, and the driver’s face was wrapped in a wide white cloth, but he—or she—showed no obvious signs of wasting his energy dealing with the cage behind the carriage. About five or six weak figures were crowded together, and the sounds of chains rubbing were particularly clear in the silent night.

As Nemo could see, there were a few young people, some of whom appeared much younger than adults, and the oldest person in the cage appeared to be the same age as him.

“What is that?” Nemo swallowed quietly, trying to ease his tension.

“Sacrifices to the Demon King.” Virgil’s face was distorted. “Fuck. The time is clearly wrong… Now we’re in trouble.”

The author has something to say:

Priest of the Abyssal Church: Okay, we are ready to start the sacrifice ceremony…

Nemo: ??? Wait a minute. Shouldn’t we do something? They plan on killing people.

Virgil: .

Fortunately, we don’t know the truth.

Kinky Thoughts:

Man the sexual tension between Adrian and Jesse is heating up.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 97: The Church of Silence

Roscoe City was in the territory of Willard in a relatively remote location. Garland and Alban used the Ash Mountain Ranges as their natural border, which extended north to Willard. Not far from the end was Roscoe City. If one followed the ordinary way of traveling, it was estimated to take at least half a month of walking and teleportation arrays to arrive at their destination. However, with a fixed teleportation coordinate set up, everything was much simpler. It could be seen that Virgil had spent laborious time setting this up. The teleportation array that was set up for individuals was fragile and expensive and would break after several uses. This kind of behavior from him seemed soaked with a desire for success.

They didn’t know what was in the catacombs that would make a person like this care so much. Nemo was smacking on the sandpoint plums as he thought in silence about their current situation. Fortunately, the location of the area near Caleb was ambiguous, so they didn’t need to register in Alban. Otherwise, if they were to go through the private teleportation coordinates, Willard would judge it as an illegal invasion.

As he thought about it, Nemo, who was still unaccustomed to holding his staff, stepped into the teleportation array with the team in a disciplined manner.

There was a great difference between a teleportation array set up by an individual and a public one. This time, it wasn’t only Oliver who wanted to faint, but Nemo almost spat out the dried plum in his mouth. If the public teleportation array felt like a wooden-wheeled carriage galloping over a pebbled riverbed, the individual teleportation array…

Nemo felt as if he was hung on the blade of a windmill that was spinning in the face of a hurricane that could blast away livestock.

Virgil seemed to be used to this kind of tossing. He looked at the small objects on his body without a change in his expression, then he smiled at them apologetically. This time, even the fuller goat couldn’t stand up. It lay on the ground, aggrieved, and the luggage on its back lurched forward, almost being pierced by its horns.

Adrian only slightly arched his waist and lowered his center of gravity before he stood upright the moment he landed. At that moment, he was frowning as he looked at the scene in front of him.

It was almost nine at night and the sky was already dark. The moisture around them was much heavier than when they were in the desert. The stars in the sky were obscured by thin clouds. In front of them was a forest, or rather, the remains of a forest.

The land on which they stood was still lush with trees and shrubs, and from time to time, the sound of insects would sound from the gaps between the fallen leaves. However, ahead of them was dead land. The general appearance of trees was still there, but the branches were all dried and scorched black. Although the land was wet, there were no traces of plants. Not to mention ordinary animals, even the sight of demons and monsters was rare.

Pale and thin mist flowed slowly against the ground, creating a dead silence. Over the layers of dark branches, Nemo could see a spire of a weird building in the distance.

“The Church of Silence,” Adrian said in a deep voice that had a solemn tone. He finally showed the appearance of a Chief Justice of the Knight of Judgment. The murderous aura and hostility around him suddenly rose.

“Control it Cross.” There were no hints of joking in Ann’s tone. “That’s not the enemy for the time being.”

Adrian adjusted his breathing a few times and quickly suppressed his killing intent. “Sorry, everyone,” he said in a flat voice.

“I understand.” Duran Virgil smiled uncomfortably. “If you want to talk about it, take advantage of it now. If you’re not prepared, it’ll be very troublesome for you to move forward.”

“Why?” Oliver frowned slightly.

They didn’t know which bag Virgil had dug into, but he took out an apple and took a few bites of it. He lowered his body and rolled the round fruit towards the dead land. After crossing the obvious boundary between lush and dead, the ruddy and attractive fruit quickly decayed, and soon only a little black and yellow dry debris remained.

“Unless measures are taken in advance, ordinary surface creatures won’t last here.” Virgil wiped his hands. “This is considered to be their lowest barrier.”

Nemo nervously grabbed the small leather bag hanging from his belt. He wasn’t sure if the sandpoint plums could escape this catastrophe, and eating ash would not help his expression management.

“The weaker the vitality, the better the protection.” Virgil seemed to read Nemo’s mind. “If it’s just food, just protect it with a little abyssal magic. However, if you want to bring people in, you must either use extremely strong surface magic to forcibly counter it, or you must ensure a stable output of abyssal magic. Trust me, there are other barriers besides this one. People of the Abyssal Church usually transport… Uh, other creatures in carriages engraved with a protection array.”

“How do we keep in touch?” Oliver was more concerned about a different thing. “We need to know your situation before we can take cover in time.”

“Communication crystals won’t work. The magic is too strong, so it’ll be detected.” Virgil touched his chin. “I recommend a disposable communication crystal… I have enough here and can give it to Mr. Light.”

“The kind that can only say two or three words at a time?”

“Yes. It’s cheap and easy to use. It doesn’t take as much power to start compared to a regular communication crystal. The Abyssal Church has never restricted the rules so tightly. I remember that I can bring up to three.”

Nemo hitched his breath. After leaving Roadside Town, he hadn’t acted alone. He didn’t expect that the goal of this task was this big and he was expected to act by himself. Even the sandpoint plum couldn’t hide the prim look on his face at this moment.

“Three days. Communicate once a day and the remaining three will be reserved when they enter the catacomb,” Oliver quickly suggested. “If the people of the Abyssal Church are used to acting at night, then you can report in peace at sunrise. If something dangerous happens, or we don’t receive the news in time—”

“We’ll create some chaos and attract some of their attention—”

“No, we’ll come get you.”

Virgil raised his brows. “Do you have any idea about the level of vigilance of the Abyssal Church…”

“I do,” Adrian whispered. “Mr. Ramon’s proposal isn’t a problem.”

“If I could, I want to go with you.” Oliver sighed and stood in front of Nemo. “We’ll wait for you here, so relax.”

He then stretched out his arms and gave Nemo, who was wearing his grayish-black robe, a very strong hug. Nemo could feel Oliver’s cool kiss falling between his eyebrows. “Be safe,” Oliver said in a crisp, clear voice after moving his lips away.

Duran Virgil watched them quietly. There was no expression of surprise on his face, but a faint sadness was revealed.

“Oh my god. ‘Be safe’.” Ann’s voice brightened. She glanced at Virgil and spoke in an extremely low voice. “He should be saying that to the Abyssal Church.”

“You’re absolutely correct,” Jesse said, grinning from ear to ear, as if the bleak scene in front of him were just a funny set on a comedy stage. “But I have a hunch—”

“Please shut up,” Adrian decisively interrupted. “Prophecies are not permitted in this task.”

Jesse closed his mouth, aggrieved, and leaned crookedly on the fuller goat.

“Then let’s go first.” Virgil looked at the spire of the Church of Silence in the distance. “If it goes well, two days will be enough. Let’s go, Mr. Light. Are you ready?”

Nemo looked at Virgil in silence. His pupils were already in their non-human cruciform shape. The latter suddenly took a step back and looked at him suspiciously.

“Mimicry,” Nemo explained dryly, putting three layers of black shadows on the bag of sandpoint plums that were hanging from his waist to protect it.

Virgil frowned. After a moment of contemplation, he shook his head as if giving up. “Let’s go.”

Nemo breathed hard and stepped into the dead land. Sure enough, nothing abnormal happened. He turned his head and gave his teammates an “okay” gesture as the end of his staff was inserted into the soft soil.

The mist quickly separated them.

After walking for a while, Virgil said tentatively, “You don’t seem to be nervous at all.”

No, Nemo thought seriously. Although the expression on his face didn’t fluctuate, the soles of his feet were numb with tension. However, what was the use of that? At this moment, he could only trust his problematic origin and the combat effectiveness he displayed while fighting Witherspoon, whom he sent back into the Abyss.

“I’m okay.” He squeezed out a relatively appropriate answer.

“You’re not even curious about how I plan to get in?” Virgil showed a wry smile. “Maybe the Mercenary Guild’s evaluation of you is biased. You seem very confident.”

……No. He just forgot to ask. The corners of Nemo’s mouth twitched. He already knew that Virgil was a demon warlock, so he didn’t consider asking him exactly how he planned to get in.

“Perhaps.” Nemo turned his face away and hummed vaguely, causing him to almost choke on his sandpoint plum.

Virgil’s next actions answered the question on his mind. The tall man moved his shoulder, pulled out a strangely shaped metal whistle from behind his neck, and blew on it.

After a while, a bird flew down and landed gently on Virgil’s shoulder. Nemo curiously propped up the edge of his hood and turned to look.

Then he shuddered.

It wasn’t a “bird”, at least not one belonging to the surface. It was a bit like a crow, but it had no feathers. Instead, long black scales covered its skin. Its size was bigger than a crow and it only had one lone claw.

This was still within his scope of acceptance. The problem was at its head. The “beak” of that thing was larger than that of a crow, as if its entire head protruded forward and then split in half, leaving only a little skin on the back. Its face was covered in scales, and there were no eyes. Rather, three pairs of black and white eyes were embedded on both sides of the long break correspondingly.

At that moment, those eyes were staring at Nemo, which made the roots of his hair stand up.

“Spiny corpse bird,” Virgil explained in a low voice as he scratched the thing’s chin. “Uh… You don’t have to stay so far away. They are very docile.”

Originally, Duran Virgil’s aura was easy-going and warm, but when that thing was standing on his shoulder, his whole temperament was instantly titled. At that moment, he looked very much like a grinning serial killer.

The spiny corpse bird tilted its head at Nemo, making him swallow the remaining sandpoint plum in his mouth. He mechanically turned his head away, took out a new one from the cloth bag, and threw it in his mouth, trying to act as natural as possible.

“What is that?” Virgil asked curiously.

“Klebato salamander’s hearts,” Nemo replied dryly. “Would you like one?”

Virgil shook his head politely. “You need to be careful… We’re close to the Church of Silence. Nearby things will not actively attack creatures with demonic auras, but they will respond to ‘provocations’.”

“For example?” The new sandpoint plum had a stronger sour taste. Nemo tried his best to compress the conversation to the shortest time possible while staring into Virgil’s eyes. Mr. Cross’ suggestion was extremely useful, as it had also diverted his attention away from the creepy, spiny corpse bird.

“For example… Be careful not to step on them.”

Nemo’s footsteps stiffened. He thought it was just the soil on the soles of his feet that had softened. He raised his foot as carefully as possible and looked at the myxomycetes that he had just stepped on. The sky was too dark. Even with the dead forest that wasn’t covered with leaves, he couldn’t tell whether the dense reflections came from the myxomycetes’ bubbles or their small black eyes.

The myxomycetes made an aggrieved grunt but didn’t attack.

“It seems that this one has a better temper,” Virgil said sincerely, looking straight ahead, “but be careful.”

He really didn’t want to look at Nemo’s eyes.

Virgil didn’t really feel any strong combative power from him, so he should be just a harmless demon worshiper. However, he just couldn’t face those eyes calmly…

It didn’t seem like mimicry. If it was, the effect was too realistic. From time to time, those silver eyes were covered a little by the drooping hood, and in the dim night there was a mercury-like shimmer that it gave off. When the cruciform pupils turned, Virgil felt as if there was an icicle stuck in his heart that wouldn’t melt. He couldn’t accurately describe this subtle sense of fear.

It could be a side effect of the mimicry; at least, that was the only explanation he could come up with. After all, he had seen a real superior demon before, and he had never felt this way at that time.

At the same time, on the edge of the dead forest.

“Let’s leave too,” Jesse said lazily. “This distance should be safe.”

“We have the communication crystals.” Adrian checked the things in his hands again. “We can still keep in touch at any time.”

Oliver nodded and stroked the hilt of his Rest in Peace with his right hand.

“Keep in touch,” Their leader’s voice was steady. “Ann and I will stand guard here. You two… Don’t act forcefully.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Jesse blew a kiss to the two teammates left behind. “I believe in our dear Mr. Knight Commander. I will try my best to support him—”

“The Abyssal Church will never find us,” he added sweetly.

The author has something to say:

After all, this is a demon warlock with an unknown agenda. The team can’t possibly act obediently.

————————

Nemo: (Facing the spiny corpse bird) Uh, I think my san* value is a little bit……

*Refers to sanity value that you often find in horror games.

Virgil: (Facing Nemo) I also think my san value is a little bit……

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 96: Acid

Nemo’s movements stopped instantly. If he was honest, this thing in his hand was scary enough. The hollow structure was like a dead vine and at the top of the staff the bone ball that was floating on now seemed to have…

“Isn’t there supposed to be a luminous crystal ball here?” Nemo said bitterly as he poked the floating bone ball. “The top of this staff is a bit…”

“That’s because I removed the lampshade.” Ann’s face was full of pride and satisfaction. “You don’t need a staff, and a real staff isn’t cheap. It’s a waste to buy one only to disassemble it.”

“It doesn’t look bad,” Jesse commented impartially, “and it’s very suitable for you.”

Nemo leaned into his sturdy metal staff. As the metal hit the stone surface, it made a dull thump. Now he only had one wish… He hoped that black was the original color of the metal. If the paint falls off when he’s casting a spell, it would be too inexplicable.

He was unaccustomed to holding a staff, so he tried to make his walking posture while holding a staff not too strange. When Nemo raised his head, he bumped into Oliver’s line of sight. Oliver looked at him very solemnly with those emerald eyes, just like when they first met.

“What?” Nemo widened his eyes. “Do I look like a demon warlock? If I didn’t have this black badge, the effect would probably look better…”

“No.” Oliver shook his head. “I think it suits you very well.” Nemo now showed a bit of his edge to him, and his temperament was closer to the state he was in when he defeated Witherspoon that night. The previous linen robe was neat but ordinary, and his short ponytail had hidden his sharpness. Now that it was unsheathed, the shuddering aura vaguely appeared again.

They weren’t currently on the streets right now, so Nemo hadn’t shown his “deformity” yet. When he really reveals it, if he maintained his demon’s pupils, the aura would be more obvious.

“It’s really good.” Oliver concluded sincerely.

Nemo’s unspoken threatening joke got stuck in his throat. He closed his mouth and a slightly embarrassed smile appeared on his face. The sense of solemnity had just suddenly melted away.

“…For the time being, captain, don’t talk to him.” Ann patted Oliver on the shoulder. “You have too good of an effect on him just now! Nemo, just act with Jesse before you sneak in to brew up your frustration.”

“But…”

“No buts! Geez, your tone needs to be harsher. Pump out your chest, raise your chin, and act more arrogant. I told you to look arrogant, not pretend like you didn’t get enough sleep,” Ann yelled bitterly. “Hm, can you imagine the type of person who you hate the most?”

Nemo thought seriously for a moment. “A person who borrows books and bookmarks them by folding the corners of the pages.”

“…I can’t do this anymore,” Ann said melancholically. “It’s because I don’t have enough experience.”

“Just keep silent as much as possible and nod and shake your head instead of normal communication. Look directly into the other person’s eye when speaking,” Adrian suddenly said. “If you can do it, please try not to show too much emotion, Mr. Light.”

“Expression management is still necessary,” Ann muttered in a low voice.

“Nemo’s not that type of person. He’s not good at acting either, so it takes a lot of effort for him.” Oliver shook his head amusingly. He took out a small cloth bag from the pile of parcels on the fuller goat and threw it to Nemo. “Try this?”

“What is this?” Nemo caught it with one hand.

“Sandpoint plums, one of the preserved fruits Lisa gave,” Oliver said. “This… She told me to soak in water and drink it, saying it was a good way to relieve the summer heat.”

“So what?”

“Try one,” Oliver coughed. “It should help keep you silent.”

Nemo opened the cloth bag. Inside was a pea-sized red and black fruit with wrinkles unique to dehydration. He picked up one, filled with confidence in his new lover, and stuffed it into his mouth.

His expression successfully disappeared, replaced by a perfect gloom.

“Wow.” Ann walked forward curiously, threw one in her mouth and even chewed it boldly before she spat it out. Her face became wrinkled and deformed.

“What the hell—” Her eyes were full of tears from the taste. “I’ve never eaten anything so sour!”

“That’s why you have to soak it in water,” Oliver said cautiously. “…It’s also very suitable for expression management.”

Nemo maintained a gloomy face and continued to hold in the terrible dried fruit. He carefully tied the bag to his belt, retreated to the corner of the store, and made a “come over” gesture to Oliver. The expression on his face became more complicated. Even the two veteran warriors who had a wealth of experience in observing gestures and words couldn’t tell whether Nemo wanted to praise him or beat him.

“I… I just think that explaining it to you first would destroy its effect.” Oliver, who had always been calm, looked a little guilty at this moment. It seemed he had to overcome the urge to take a few steps back. He hesitated for a few seconds before walking over to the dark corner where Nemo was. “Sorry, you—”

Before he could finish speaking, Nemo grabbed him by the collar and kissed him without delay. Unlike Oliver’s kiss that only touched the corner of his mouth, Nemo’s kiss was deep and thorough. This was a real kiss. Although his kiss was a bit sluggish, it was still firm and rough, with some traces—or rather, a lot of bad intentions.

Oliver instantly stiffened in place. It seemed as if he had looked at the legendary Cockatrice and was petrified. His face flushed instantly, and he forgot how to breathe or even blink.

After a few seconds, Nemo took a somewhat restrained step back and wiped his mouth. Oliver seemed to have finally reacted, and his expression became a little subtly distorted.

“Expression management, Ollie.” He bitterly spat out the sour dried fruit and said, with an awkward voice, “…Have a good experience.”

“I don’t know whether to cheer or applaud,” Ann muttered. “Does he think ‘public’ means he just needs to avoid us? Rather… Did he think that we couldn’t see them from here?”

Adrian didn’t seem to want to comment on this.

“Oh what a perfect revenge,” Jesse said, with the standard smile of a person watching an exciting scene. “I’m almost starting to sympathize with Mr. Ramon.”

In the time that followed, Oliver seemed to have calmed down, except he consciously maintained a three-step distance from Nemo. He would show thoughtful expressions from time to time. When they rendezvoused with Duran Virgil again in the hall that night, their leader almost signed “Oliver Lopez” on the baggage claim voucher.

As soon as he saw Duran Virgil, Nemo consciously stuffed a sandpoint plum into his mouth. He felt the vigorous and sharp sour taste instantly and had to clench his “staff”. His expression turned sour and unpredictable.

“We can get to Roscoe by midnight tonight.” Virgil carefully analyzed Nemo’s new outfit, and his attitude became more serious. “I set up a fixed teleportation array near the main church of the Abyssal Church. Demon warlocks and demon worshipers usually act in the middle of the night, so we can get in tonight.”

“Are you in a hurry?” Oliver finally got focused. “The course of action, the general plan, including information related to the catacombs—isn’t it better for us to check first?”

“I don’t have much time, so I may not be able to explain them all, but I can assure you that Mr. Light will never encounter any danger.” The dark-skinned man frowned. “Or… Do you have any arrangements related to the church?”

“Demon information,” Nemo tried to speak, but his tongue slid over the sandpoint plum, causing his entire body to tremble.

“I’ll help.” Virgil agreed. “I know where their library is.”

“Do you really only need Mr. Light to assist?” Adrian asked cautiously. “If you can, I hope you can tell us something. I can tell just by looking at the things you’re equipped with that you’re a real exorcist.”

“Yes, Mr. Light is an important member of our team after all,” Jesse said with a smile. “Our leader cannot be rest assured that he’s handing him over to a ‘real exorcist’.”

“…Indeed. If something happens, I hope you can help us stall for time.”

“If?” Ann raised her brows. “Didn’t you say that our team won’t encounter any danger?”

“He’s a demon worshiper, and he could escape by pretending to be an ordinary person at a critical time. I’ll fight with my life to ensure his safety.” Virgil’s expression was solemn. “In case… Uh, it’s hard for me to explain. Anyway, it’s almost impossible. Even if there’s a problem at that time, you’ll notice it earlier than me. In short, just wait for us outside. I’ll finish my business within three days.”

“So you are not going to tell us the full story?” Ann concluded.

“I’m sorry.” Virgil bowed deeply to them, with bitterness in his voice. “I understand your concerns, but I have my reasons… I’m really sorry.”

“Nemo…” Oliver turned to Nemo’s direction, with a hint of subtleness in his voice. “Is this okay?”

“No problem,” Nemo said with difficulty as he almost swallowed the plum. “…I can accept this risk.”

“Thank you.” Virgil’s attitude was very solemn.

He couldn’t mention the full details as he had to conceal his identity as a demon warlock to the team. The tall painter sighed in his heart. What he was doing was already immoral, so any more concealment would be too much. However, like the word “in case”, the chance of something going wrong was truly close to zero. Even if it took a long time before finding the right team, and the date was still early so there was still time…

The day of sacrifice was still far away. Aurorae shouldn’t show up this early, and the Knights of Silence from the Abyssal Church wouldn’t gather this soon.

He hoped that Mr. Light was courageous enough and wouldn’t get cold feet. Virgil was a little worried. He didn’t want to use Abyssal magic to control anyone’s will, but this team was really his last hope. The turn of events happened too suddenly, and if he wanted to catch up, he didn’t have the time to prepare his partner in advance. Originally, finding a neutral demon worshiper from the Black Chapter was a matter of luck. Even if he still had a few days left, it was impossible for him to bet his next hope on his own shitty luck.

If the situation changes, he thought he could still break his bottom line of “not controlling others”, but he would indeed do his best to protect the demon worshiper who seemed a bit incomprehensible and would offer everything he had to apologize.

Virgil adjusted the wrapping bands on his lower shoulder and showed a wry smile.

After this mission was over, “living” wasn’t important to him anymore.

The author has something to say:

Well, it’s like this… If you run into this unlucky team, the “in case” will always happen.

In fact, Mr. Virgil lost a lot.

————Everyone’s heart————

Virgil: (Tragically) Ah, I dragged this demon worshiper down, so I have to ensure his safety whatever the cost. My god, I’m such an immoral person.

Nemo: …Please don’t let the paint fall off the staff. Please don’t let the paint fall off the staff…

Oliver: The sandpoint plum is really sour, but… Uh… Uh… Uh—

Ann: I’m starting to get tired.

Adrian: I’m starting to get tired.

Jesse: This melon is so delicious.

Kinky Thoughts:

Nemo’s most hated type of person: A person who borrows books and bookmarks them by folding the corners of the pages. So cute!

Their first deep kiss probably didn’t go as Oliver imagined it.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 95: Disguise

Duran Virgil sat still on the floor. The miscellaneous things he was carrying behind him fell to the ground. After a series of noises and collisions, things finally calmed down. He stretched out his waist and took out a small drawing board from his pockets that had a thick parchment paper that was well glued to it, making it light and convenient. The man hastily supported the drawing board on his knees with his left hand, took out a piece of charcoal with his right, and began to paint the lively scene in the branch hall.

The team called Tumbleweed was greener than he thought.

He subconsciously thought the captain of the team would be older, like Savage or Cross. When he thought about it carefully, Oliver Ramon was just an ordinary fugitive from a small town on the border, and he didn’t have much appeal or leadership. On the other hand, as far as the tasks his team had completed, they weren’t as eye-catching at first glance, but the ending of the mission regarding Adrian Cross was truly crazy. It proved that they had the ability to infiltrate the Garland dungeon and were good at escaping.

Their search mission in Vincent Town seemed successful as well. It looked as if they had been toeing the minimum standard required for each month to take on a single task, and they had no ambition of further expanding this. Savage’s strength and low profile were well-known in the industry, and no matter how strong Adrian Cross was before, he couldn’t make a splash now that he had lost his powers. Although Jesse Dylan’s reputation wasn’t good, he had never gained any notoriety with regards to money.

There was also a demon worshiper among them. In terms of acceptance of faith, he couldn’t find a more suitable team.

Virgil thought casually as he took out a piece of stale bread and began to rub the forked part on the parchment.

He needed to be careful. Virgil sighed. He had to stay away from Adrian Cross to prevent his deformation from being noticed. In case his identity was revealed, he didn’t know whether the team was willing to take on his task.

However, Duran Virgil’s concerns had become a reality.

To Nemo’s surprise, after being told of the client’s situation, Oliver didn’t show a particularly surprised look. Their leader only slightly raised his brows.

“Well, Mr. Virgil doesn’t look like a mage.” Oliver thought with a calm expression. “I wonder if he would mind telling us his purpose for entering the burial chambers of the Abyssal Church.”

“…You’re thinking about picking it up?” Nemo didn’t hide the changes in his voice. “Ordinary clients will be safer.”

Oliver glanced at him deeply, with a complicated expression. “Of course we need to talk to Ann and the others first. Mr. Cross should be able to give us some suggestions.”

‘Oliver probably didn’t have a reaction,’  Nemo thought firmly. He himself had no problem pretending to be a demon warlock, but dealing with a real demon warlock was a different matter. It would be better to take on an ordinary task from an ordinary person as it was the right way to act as cautiously as possible. Maybe the other two could express their views on this…

Ann Savage laughed for three whole minutes. Her voice was loud and unceremonious.

“Oh, isn’t this just great.” Ann had finally gotten her fill of laughter as she beat her chest to calm down. “God, we should take a picture of his face. Nemo, what are you nervous about?”

“Bagelmaurus has been with me all this time, and it’s also because of me that we need to find information from the Abyssal Church,” Nemo said dryly, turning his face away from embarrassment. “In general, I don’t want to cause everyone too much trouble—”

“Since that gentleman himself is a demon warlock, he should have a good understanding of the Abyssal Church. Things will be easier to do if we do it this way.” Adrian didn’t seem to protest the idea, but his expression was equally subtle. “Personally, since I have discovered that a demon warlock is in disguise, I hope to figure out what his purpose is. After all, it’s tantamount to a superior demon who’s about to appear.”

“That’s right.” Ann wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. “Nemo, a demon warlock, isn’t a superior demon. If necessary, you can directly suppress him. And no matter what you exposed at that time, it’s absolutely impossible for a demon warlock to snitch to the other surface sects. Have you ever thought of suppressing him?”

Nemo laughed dryly, scratched his head, and responded to the question with silence.

“Looking at Mr. Virgil’s attitude, he seems to want to keep a low profile.” Oliver hurriedly shifted the attention away from him. “It’s fine to just look at the contents of the mission. At least we don’t need to kill anyone.” The task of killing the believers of the Abyssal Church was still fresh in his memory.

“I am in favor of taking this task,” the knight commander sighed, “but let me be frank; this is for a personal reason. I can still follow and monitor Mr. Light, but this one… Now that I know about him, I can’t act as if I’m not aware of him.”

“I also agree,” Ann said very excitedly while patting Nemo on the back. “You have to get along well with the client, Nemo—”

“Shouldn’t we ask for Dylan’s opinion?” Nemo tried to deflect, “or wait, there may be a safer…”

“Are you still nervous? ……Wow, you’re still nervous?” Ann blocked her mouth with her hands. “Pffft… Sorry, I need to laugh a little more.”

“Alright,” Oliver said decisively with a scowl on his face, and grabbed the parchment roll that appeared out of nowhere. “Let’s go meet the client.”

Duran Virgil was still sitting where they had left him. As soon as they entered the hall, Nemo gave the other members a general description of the client’s situation. The reactions of the two veterans didn’t bring much peace of mind.

“This degree of deformation is quite small.” Adrian nodded. “He shouldn’t be the type who’s too crazy.”

“That’s my kind of type,” Ann whistled. “Nice figure.”

Nemo completely abandoned the last glimmer of hope. He took a few deep breaths and followed Oliver’s steps, trying to mask his expression so it wouldn’t come off as too suspicious.

“I remember. Isn’t there another one?” Duran Virgil put away the painting he was working on and stood up. His movements were so fast that he was almost dragged back to the floor by the overly heavy package behind him. “Oh… Sorry, I got a little too excited.”

“In the toilet,” Ann lied without hesitation. “Just forget about him.”

“Let me introduce myself again. My name is Duran Virgil. I’m a painter and also a part-time exorcist. I have no fixed beliefs.” He bowed slightly. Nemo, who was staring at him closely, bowed stiffly in return, then straightened up quickly like a spring.

“An exorcist?” The female warrior raised her brows and pulled the back collar of Nemo’s robe. “So Mr. Part-Time Exorcist, what do you want us to do for you?” She emphasized the word ‘exorcist’.

Adrian frowned but didn’t say anything. He looked solemnly at the messy gadgets on Virgil’s belt.

“I need to enter the catacombs of the Abyssal Church. I think you already know this.” Virgil’s tone became serious. “I won’t ask you to take risks… Don’t you have a demon worshiper? I need Mr. Light to go with me. Sneaking into the catacombs requires at least two people but other demon worshipers weren’t willing to take the job.”

“Can’t an ordinary human do it?” Oliver asked.

“Not possible. If there’s no demonic aura on your body, you’ll never be able to mix in with the Abyssal Church.” Duran shook his head with a wry smile on his resolute face. “I know what you want to ask… In a sense, I’m indeed a demon worshiper.”

“An exorcist who has a demonic contract?” Ann said with interest. “It sounds like there’s more to this than you let on.”

“Sort of,” Virgil said, replacing his wry smile with a normal one. “In short, thank you for taking on my task… God, you don’t know how important this is to me. Please rest assured, I will definitely guarantee the safety of Mr. Light!”

Nemo tried to pull up the corners of his mouth but failed to put on a smile, so he continued to remain expressionless.

“Speaking of which, Mr. Light, where’s your demon?” Virgil patted his head. “According to the information provided, it says it’s a parrot. Can I see it?”

“The parrot lost its temper and had run away for a few days now.” As soon as Nemo was about to answer, Oliver quickly stepped in. “It had caused us quite a bit of a headache.”

“…That’s a bit difficult. If a demon worshiper doesn’t use his demon…”

“Just pretend he’s a demon warlock,” Ann said meaningfully. “Can the Abyssal Church tell?”

“Theoretically, no.” Virgil shook his head. “But it’s dangerous! Without a demon, demon worshipers can’t use abyssal magic. If Mr. Light needs to cast spells…”

“Oh, that shouldn’t be a problem.” A new voice chimed in. “Mr. Light has a great staff that he can use to cast abyssal magic. You can be rest assured.”

Jesse walked over slowly while playing with a few pieces of parchment paper in his hand. There was a little contract-like writing from the gaps between the pieces of paper. “I’m back from the toilet.” He purposefully lengthened his voice and glanced at Ann with his beautiful eyes, only to be met with an eye roll.

“…If you say so,” the tall, dark-skinned man hesitated for a moment before nodding. “We shouldn’t be there for long.”

“We need a little time to prepare.” Nemo took a deep breath and finally managed to keep his voice calm. “When do you want to leave?”

“The sooner the better. Let me see… How about eight tonight?”

“Alright,” Oliver said. He stepped forward, briefly shook hands with Duran Virgil, and handed him the task paper. “Let’s meet here at eight tonight.”

“I have to prepare well too.” Virgil smiled. He carefully stuffed the task paper into a smaller package, and then waved his hand boldly. “Then see you tonight?”

He didn’t linger around and walked out of the branch hall, lugging the big bag on his back.

“Where’s my so-called staff, Mr. Dylan?” Making sure that Virgil’s figure disappeared from the door, Nemo slowly grabbed Jesse’s collar. “If I had it, it would be here from the start!”

“Don’t you have that bone spur from the arthropod lizard?” The blond young man smiled brightly. “Just find a staff and replace the magic stone. In theory, it could be used as a medium to allow a certain limit of ‘surface magic’ to pass through and be converted.”

“That’s a good idea,” Ann mused. “By the way, you need to change your outfit, Nemo. Currently you look like everything except a mage.”

“…” Nemo pulled his coarse cloth robe embarrassingly.

“Well,” Oliver murmured, “Ann, can you please go with Mr. Cross to prepare the staff? Nemo and I will go buy some clothes that are more ‘mage-like’.”

“What about me?” Jesse shouted. “Mr. Captain, you can’t be so cruel to your new member!””

“The fuller goat needs to be taken care of.”

“I can take it and go with you! Tell me truthfully, do you really know what a senior mage should wear?”

“I know—”

“No, you’ll miss some details!”

“…Take him with you, Oliver,” Ann coughed. “He’s right.”

Two hours later.

“Interesting. Why are you holding the goat here?” Ann stopped outside the clothing store. She was holding a slender package, and Adrian was walking next to her, holding his stomach as if he had eaten something bad.

Oliver, who was next to the fuller goat, also had a bad look on his face.

“Because Mr. Dylan claimed that Nemo and I have ‘no aesthetics’, ‘poor taste’, ‘like a country mage dug out of a swamp’.” Their captain gritted his teeth and said, “He was making too much noise, so I couldn’t bear it.”

“I’m only telling the truth,” Jesse said lazily. “That kind of taste is simply a crime. The Abyssal Church will sentence Mr. Light just by the way he’s dressed.”

“If you don’t shut up,” Nemo’s voice came from the store with the same gritted teeth, “I’m really going to beat you, Mr. Dylan.”

As he was talking, Nemo stepped out.

‘Okay.’ Oliver thought, ‘They really did have bad taste.’ Nemo now looked like a full-fledged evil mage. Not to mention how gorgeous the clothing was, the style of the black robe was simple. It was only decorated with simple silver runes where it was necessary, and it was adorned with a neatly styled hood. It was extremely different from what they had previously selected.

Nemo’s original temperament was soft, but now it was twisted into gloominess by this outfit. With the hood, he no longer had a neat short ponytail, but had simply let his hair loose. The ends of his hair hung down along his shoulders and were slightly raised. The carefree feeling he had exuded completely disappeared, turning into a faint aura of danger.

“Mr. Light is too sturdy for a mage.” Jesse cleared his throat. “People would think he’s an agile warrior if he wore clothes that fit too well. His previous hairstyle was bad too, just like from–ahem.” He stopped just in time under Nemo’s cold stare.

“Well done. Keep that look in your eyes Nemo.” Ann clapped her hands and threw the slender package over. “It’s similar. Try this.”

Nemo opened the package.

Inside was a strange-looking staff, about twice the length of a normal cane. The bone spur of the arthropod lizard was ground into a yellow-white bone ball and was embedded into the top of the long staff. The body of the staff was heavy metal and didn’t have a luster. The black metal was carved with delicate and strange patterns, which didn’t look like any rune of magic.

“This is?” Nemo tried to make a few gestures.

“A pole from a lamppost,” Ann cheerfully said. “I told you, our team is underfunded.”

The knight commander beside her finally moved to bury his head in his hands.

The author has something to say:

Nemo finally has a weapon. Now everyone has a weapon.

——————

Nemo: …This is different from what was agreed.

It’s a pity that there is no ultimate artifact for Nemo…

This is the lamppost that’s about to become a legend!（×

Kinky Thought:

LMAO. Which poor lamppost did they tear down to make Nemo that staff?

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 94: Designated Tasks

The procedures were more cumbersome than they thought. Oliver signed parchment after parchment of sheepskin until his face went completely blank. Jesse left the hall with another serious-looking staff member, presumably to deal with the remnants of his previous team. Ann was still waiting around at first, but later she felt bored…

“I’m going to see what Cross is doing.” She yawned and casually waved her hand at Nemo. The female warrior walked to the corridor on the side of the hall without looking back. Her figure was quickly enveloped by the flow of adventurers that were coming and going.

Oliver was still working hard, signing all the agreements in front of him while Nemo was standing in the middle of the hall of the Mercenary Guild branch. Suddenly, he felt a little uncomfortable.

Unlike when he first thought he was a demon worshiper or a demon warlock, now he could clearly realize his inhumanity. Since he compromised with the idea that “he was a superior demon”, he had been able to do more things. This strange sense of division had become more obvious. Nemo stared at Oliver’s right hand that was holding the quill pen for a while and decided to find something else to distract him.

He tapped at the black badge on his chest with his fingers and tried to release a little magic. The magical light screen unfolded instantly in front of Nemo’s eyes, causing Nemo, who had never succeeded before, to take a step back so excitedly that he almost collided with an adventurer who was passing behind him.

After he hurriedly apologized, Nemo began to carefully check their team information.

The Mercenary Guild was quite efficient. The name of their team had already been changed to “Tumbleweed”. The appearance and information of everyone in the team were displayed in detail, and even their wanted level was clearly marked.

Ollie and himself still had the original “dangerous” rating, while Ann had the lowest level of “anomaly”. It could be because of the apostasy that the knight commander’s wanted level was “criminal”, which was higher than “dangerous”. Jesse was also “criminal”, but his level didn’t show the reason why. He had no idea what their newest member, with unknown intention, had done.

He then grimaced at the section of the team member’s race. They were labeled as a “pure human team”; at least the Mercenary Guild hadn’t noticed their abnormality yet.

However, there was a small question mark behind his name, and he wasn’t the only one who had this mark. Jesse Dylan’s name also had one as well.

“Jesse Dylan’s information… Is this what you meant by business you had?” In the corridor not far away, Ann shook her completely deflated coin pouch, showing a regretful expression. “Now that those boys aren’t here, we can have a ‘real’ talk, Cross.”

“He uses the Laddism Church’s ‘spiritual sacrifice’,” Adrian Cross had a serious expression, “but he doesn’t look like he’s part of the Choir. I’m sure you know—”

“The people in the Choir are all incurably blind,” Ann replied casually. “If it’s just this though, you shouldn’t react this strongly.”

“He’s also behind the blooming of the Earthsea Orchids.” The knight frowned. “I originally thought he might be a demon warlock or a superior demon that’s involved with the Laddism Church, but now it doesn’t look like it.”

“Oh?” Ann raised an eyebrow. “Tell me.”

“It’s not unusual for them to use a human body as a medium to perform a certain degree of surface magic. Even if it’s ‘spiritual sacrifice’, there’s a possibility of using stones as a magic source to muddle through it.” Adrian rubbed his chin. “However, I tried it again in Caleb and I’m positive that he didn’t use other means.”

“I’m not going to ask how he revitalized the Earthsea Orchids.” Ann stared thoughtfully at the position of Adrian’s chest, which should have been where the Laddism Church emblem was. “Not to mention skills, it takes a lot of power to do that kind of thing. In other words…”

“Whether it’s stimulating the Earthsea Orchids or supporting my battles with his magic, the level of surface magic he possesses exceeds the limit that could be disguised. If you forcibly use abyssal magic to transform, the human body that’s the medium will collapse.” Adrian shook his head. “Dylan shouldn’t be related to the Abyss.”

“Knowing the esoteric spells of the Laddism Church, possessing powers beyond imagination, and also having the talent for divination, I must admit this is indeed serious business.” The female warrior leaned casually against the wall. “So you think he’s part of the Laddism Church? That kid, Dylan, is a self-proclaimed atheist. Even if a person from the church lies, they wouldn’t say such blasphemous things.”

“There is more than one person who knows such esoteric spells.” Adrian stared at the amber eyes of the female warrior. “In the Garland dungeon, the teleportation array that got Mr. Light and me out—even if there was an external spell involved, there are not many Laddism teleportation techniques that could avoid the Wall of Sighs.”

“But you didn’t check on me.” Ann didn’t avoid the other’s gaze. The corners of her mouth slightly tugged. “Is it because my power ‘didn’t pose a threat’?”

“Because no matter how much you pretend, deep down, you are still afraid of Mr. Light. I can see it.” Adrian raised his arms. “But Jesse Dylan isn’t.”

“Perhaps because of his prophetic talent, he knows that Nemo won’t hurt him.”

“What if it’s not? Judging by your actions, I’m afraid you don’t really think Mr. Light might hurt you,” Adrian sighed. “Miss Savage, I can feel that you’re not malicious, and I’ll never use any means to spy on your privacy, but Mr. Dylan is different…”

“He’s definitely related to the Laddism Church, but I can’t find what the connection is.”

“If you need more funds, I am also willing to contribute a bit.” The female warrior shrugged. “Nemo and Oliver are in good condition now, so we need to keep an eye on Dylan. Even if the world is going to be destroyed, at least don’t let it be ruined under the instigation of a fool. As for me…”

She paused. “I didn’t mean to hide it from you, but now, since it won’t have an impact on us in the future—I quite like the current situation, so please understand. I can only assure you of one thing. I didn’t betray the Laddism Church, because I have never truly believed in it.”

Adrian Cross’s pupils tightened for a moment. He pondered for a while, then looked at the person in front of him in disbelief.

“You see, it’s easy to guess.” Ann took a deep breath in. “Since you can guess it, don’t pursue it, alright?”

“You…”

“It’s all in the past.”

In the hall on the other side, Oliver finally finished signing the frighteningly thick roll of paper. He moved his wrists with a bitter face, turned around slowly, and then found that there was only one member of the team left.

“Ollie,” Nemo was manipulating the task light screen, “someone had designated us.”

“What?”

“Did you mark the task ‘Requesting an escort into the catacombs under the Abyssal Church’?”

“Yeah, I did…”

“The client appointed us.” Nemo pointed to the task light screen in front of him with a serious expression. “Are you sure this is okay?”

“Let’s discuss it together when Ann and the others come back.” Oliver leaned on Nemo from behind and rested his chin on Nemo’s shoulder. “Let me see… Duran Virgil. What exactly does he like about us?”

“We don’t even have a flashy name.” Nemo smiled as he enlarged the content of the task. “Maybe Mr. Virgil really doesn’t want to attract attention.”

“Yes,” a low but cheerful voice joined in. “Are you from Tumbleweed? There are portraits in the team introduction.”

Nemo turned his head stiffly.

A tall man with brown skin was standing a few steps away from them. He was about half a head taller than them. He had very warm, light brown eyes, and his hair was grayish brown, like tree bark. The person who supposedly was Duran Vergil was looking at them with a beaming smile, revealing a neat row of pristine white teeth.

He wasn’t dressed like a warrior. Rather, he was wearing a thick cloth robe that had a belt around it, and there were small objects pinned to his belt. There were several oversized packages hanging on his back, plus a wooden easel that was tied with leather rope. He carried so many things on his back that he looked like a ladybug with bulging wings. Although there were a lot of strange things piled up on his body, there was a peculiar smell on the man, and he was covered everywhere with colorful paint stains that had dried out.

He looked more like a painter than an adventurer.

“Duran Vergil.” The uninvited guest nodded, his smile becoming more enthusiastic. “What a coincidence, everyone! This must be a destined meeting! ……No kidding, I just saw that your team just registered here, and I happened to be nearby. I think you look quite suitable, so I came to have a look.”

“……Suitable?” Nemo looked up and down at the person in front of him. He vaguely felt something was wrong as the man didn’t seem quite like an ordinary human, but as for what he felt was off, he couldn’t tell at the moment.

“Yes, I think my judgment on people is very accurate. You don’t seem to be the bad-hearted type. Believe me, there are a lot of good things in the catacombs of the Abyssal Church. If the Black Chapter I’m cooperating with decides to take something away… Oh, it’ll become troublesome.”

“Why don’t you find mercenaries?” Oliver asked cautiously.

“No money,” Virgil said emphatically. Oliver’s face twitched, and Nemo suspected that it was a repressed sympathetic expression.

“Of course, you can discuss with your teammates first—boys, where is your captain?” Virgil scratched his crisp short hair. “I want to meet him.”

“…It’s me,” Oliver said slightly dryly as he raised his head unaccustomed. “Do you have anything to ask?”

Virgil was silent for a little more than ten seconds before he said, “Oh, sorry. I didn’t look closely. I thought… It seems you may be more reassuring than I thought.”

Oliver wiped his face. “Thank you for your… compliment.”

“I’m sorry,” Virgil said. He stretched out a hand, looking like he was about to pat Oliver on the shoulder.

Nemo quickly reached out his hand and grabbed the other person’s wrist, causing Virgil to be taken aback. He turned his head sideways and cast a questioning glance at the expressionless black-haired young man. The latter stared at him without saying a word.

“Nemo?” Oliver immediately noticed the other party’s abnormality. “Well, Mr. Virgil, I’ll go and discuss it with my teammates first… Can you wait a while for us here?”

“Of course.” The tall man shrugged and tugged at the rope of the package. “I’ll sit over there for a bit. These things are very heavy.”

Oliver strode towards the corridor where Ann and Adrian were. After making sure that the distance was far enough, he whispered carefully. “What’s wrong with you just now?”

Nemo breathed out slowly and pursed his lips as he looked back again. Their client, Duran Virgil, was honestly sitting down on the floor and stretching out his waist, which looked extremely normal…

But he wasn’t “normal”.

After perceiving a sense of discordance, Nemo tentatively explored it. He then immediately knew why Mr. Virgil was carrying so many things on his back. Those packages that were surprisingly large and seemed to be dragging on the ground were just a disguise. They were hiding the deformation that was behind him. Although it looked like wings at first glance, it wasn’t wings. Duran Virgil had a pair of huge and standard human hand bones that were attached to his back. They protruded from his skin and overlapped with each other and clung to the man’s back like wings.

“That’s a demon warlock, Ollie.” He hesitated for a few seconds, and then confirmed Virgil’s aura again. “I… There shouldn’t be an error in my judgment. Duran Virgil is a real demon warlock.”

The author has something to say:

Took the name of a team that has no pursuit → Client: I like friends who have no pursuits.

————————

Nemo: Fuck, it’s a demon warlock! Super dangerous. Everyone should be careful.

The rest of the teammates: (Stop talking)

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 93: The Weakly Team’s Name

Nadine didn’t open her eyes when she first woke up. She could feel the soft bed under her body. The friction of the fabric that was several times stronger than before caused her traces of pain. Her throat was dry and numb, and there was still the salty smell of blood on her tongue. A smell mixed with boiled peaches, sun-dried sheets, fresh juice from plant cuts, and unknown flower fragrances rushed through her nostrils.

She was still alive.

Nadine turned her eyes and finally managed to open them. The sunlight made her burst into tears. Lisa was sitting in a chair by the bed and looked at her with burning eyes.

“Nadine,” the innkeeper’s voice changed from its previous loudness to an extremely soft tone. “Don’t worry. You’re at my place… Do you want water?”

Nadine nodded. She tried to raise her hand and was startled by the sight of the young skin on it. The joy of surviving had never hit her heart so hard. She trembled as she painted the Eastern Witch’s magic array in the air… Nothing happened. There were no traces of the touch of being bound by an invisible root system left.

She was relieved.

Nadine half sat up, holding the cup of water handed over by Lisa. She swallowed the warm honey water in small sips and tasted the saltiness from her tears.

“Mr. Ramon, where are they?” After trying to calm her breath, she finally managed to squeeze out her first sentence.

“They left this morning. I wrapped a lot of thank you gifts for them.” Lisa wiped her face with a handkerchief soaked in hot water. Her eyes were still a little swollen. “Horizon also left early this morning. They told Howard that ‘the witch to be exterminated no longer exists’. That bastard thought he had to pay in full, so he almost peed his pants.”

Nadine smiled with difficulty. “I am indeed no longer a witch.”

“I don’t know much about these things,” Lisa’s voice was hoarse from crying, “but when they spoke, everyone thought Ms. Nadine… Uh, you, who had passed away.”

Nadine was still staring at her skinny hands. She slowly raised her right hand, touched her cheek and lips. Her lips were no longer shriveled like dried up fruit peels, and her teeth were healthy and strong.

She hadn’t felt this way for too long. Although she was still weak, everything was full of hope and vitality.

“…That’s right. There really won’t be a memory witch here any longer.” Nadine’s tone was slow. She wasn’t used to the overly clear scenery in front of her, and her head no longer felt groggy. “It’s time for us to bury ‘her’.”

“What are you going to do in the future?” Lisa picked up the bowl of soft-boiled sugar peaches. She carefully blew the heat from the bowl, scooped up a spoonful of pulp, and delivered it to Nadine’s mouth. “Come, have something to eat.”

“Continue to be a doctor.” Nadine chewed carefully. She wasn’t used to a mouth full of teeth, so she almost bit her tongue. After swallowing the pulp, she smiled at her best friend. “…But I can only be an ordinary doctor who collects money for dispensing medicine.”

“…It feels really good to be cured,” she said softly, rubbing the wrinkle-free skin on the back of her hand.

“What about the Howard family?”

“I’ll charge them a little more in the future.” Nadine smiled and shook her head. She thought it was a pity that she couldn’t thank Lopez’s son, who had already left Caleb Village. Nadine sighed and turned her face in the direction of her friend. “I have to thank you, Li—”

Nadine suddenly saw the flowers in the vase at the head of the bed. Their sudden appearance startled Nadine, and her words got stuck in her throat.

“This.” Lisa obviously noticed the focus of her friend’s gaze. “This is the Earthsea Orchid you planted in the backyard. They suddenly bloomed… Really, they are blooming everywhere at this moment. Everyone believes that this was caused by the death of ‘Ms. Nadine’, but we all know that it’s not like that.”

“Why…?”

“I don’t know, and I’m not interested.” Lisa picked up the flower, causing the liquid golden petals to hang down beside the stamen. She compared the flower to her friend’s face. “I can’t explain miracles… You have to get better soon. These definitely match you.”

“I will.” Nadine stared at the Earthsea Orchid, and her eyes swelled again. However, for someone who had completely lost her powers, this wouldn’t bring much useful information. Nadine lowered her shoulders and decided to think of something else for the time being. “…Lisa?”

“Hm?”

“Have you seen my cat?”

In the desert.

“Are you sure about this?” Nemo said to the orange cat that was sitting on the back of White II who was still disguised as a fuller goat and was standing motionlessly in the desert. The real fuller goat was wheezing forward with several more packs of preserved fruit that Lisa had given them on its back. “Won’t you go and say goodbye to her?”

“She’s not alone anymore, so there’s no need,” the orange cat said in the same unpleasant voice as always. “I have to take care of my group.”

“Generally speaking, it may be that it’s afraid that it won’t be able to leave,” Ann said. “Just like Debby, didn’t she pretend to be chatting with you this morning without a care in the world? As a result, when you left, I saw her cry like a slime.”

The cat exploded at her. Nemo cautiously stopped touching the cat’s hand.

“You can go and see her occasionally,” Oliver said solemnly to the orange cat. “She will be happy.”

“I will consider it. Thank you.” The orange cat raised its head. “I will send you here. There is a transit station in front of you.”

It jumped off the back of the sheep neatly and returned to its original shape. The section of the bone spur that it had gnawed off was very dazzling. Nemo scratched his head and took out the bone from his pocket.

“Don’t move. I’ll connect it for you—”

“No need.” The yellowish arthropod lizard flicked its tongue. “A gift for you.”

“Uh, I understand your intention, but I can’t use it…”

“No. Your power purity is too high, so you may be targeted.” The huge arthropod lizard said this in a firm tone as it blinked with its four eyes. “You can use it as a medium to conceal your attributes.”

“…Then, thank you.”

Nemo was stunned for a few seconds before thanking it. The leader of the arthropod lizard took the opportunity to run a few steps away and slipped out of his reach. Seeing this, White II hurriedly followed, and also changed back to its appearance of a lizard. It hesitated in place for a while, took two steps, and arched towards Oliver’s hand.

The restored White II was much shorter than Caramel. After rubbing Oliver, it grabbed the tail of the leader of its tribe and formed a forward formation unique to the arthropod lizard. However, it would always looked back from time to time and hissed at its leader, who was advancing in front of it.

“I kind of understand that cat’s mood.” Oliver looked a little lost. “I don’t like saying goodbye either.”

“We can also come and see them when we have time,” Nemo stuffed the bone spur back into his pocket and rubbed the back of Oliver’s head. “Besides, we’ll have plenty of time in the future.”

The branch of the Mercenary Guild was closer than they thought. Although it was small in scale, it was directly opposite of the teleportation array, so it was easy to find.

While Nemo’s own mood couldn’t be any lower, at this moment, there was a temporary member who seemed to be soaring.

“Mr. Ramon—” Jesse’s sweet smile successfully gave the other members a thick layer of goosebumps. “Mr. Ramon, look, now you know the identity of Mr. Light… and you’ve even become lovers! My prophecy was correct. I also didn’t cause any trouble either, so now it’s time to fulfill your promise!”

“I won’t break my promise,” Oliver said very bitterly. His face was full of regret. His hand on the reception desk trembled, as if his whole being was resisting this fact. “Hello… We want, um, to go through a transfer procedure.”

“Who’s the transfer procedure for?” The tone of the young man at the reception desk was polite and smooth and didn’t seem affected at all by the state of the captain of the Black Chapter that was in front of him.

“Me,” Jesse said beamingly as he threw the black badge with the sea scorpion onto the wooden platform. “Come now, dear sir.”

The young receptionist glanced at the sea scorpion on the black badge, and his smile froze for a second, but he managed to keep it together. The receptionist picked up the black badge with his white-gloved hand and carefully placed it on the magic array.

“Your… Original team…”

“Hmm?” Jesse raised his eyebrows.

“They… were all killed in the mission of the elf tomb some time ago. How sad. Then, according to the rules, all the money in their team’s account will go to you, Mr. Dylan,” the receptionist said cautiously. “Do you want to go through the formalities now?”

“Wait a bit for me to join the team first.” Jesse shrugged indifferently, not seeming to be affected by the news about his previous team. “We weren’t that close.”

When he said this, Nemo suddenly felt a prick in his heart while Ann frowned. She walked to Oliver’s side and lowered her voice. “That guy’s a prophet. Isn’t he like some kind of ‘black widow’ who… finds a team that’s about to die, then joins them to collect their inheritance? There have been such types in the Black Chapter before—”

“…We need to have money first,” Oliver responded in an equally low voice. “Speaking of this, Ann… Even though we didn’t earn much from the last task, can Nemo and I get some money…”

Nemo, who was standing beside him, immediately pricked up his ears.

“I’m sorry, captain. At least one thousand has to be saved for the team’s funds to withstand unexpected situations, and the deposit for the first task was only that much. The title of the Edwards estate has not been cleared yet and we’ve spent a lot afterwards… In short, we still have to save, so there’s no personal income to speak of.”

“But I just saw you stuffing money to Mr. Cross,” Oliver solemnly stated.

“That was for his application, and Mr. Cross claims to have some serious business to do.”

“Me too…” Nemo whispered.

“What kind of business? Buying gifts for your boyfriend? Young man, it’s not good to go into too much debt.”

“…Please treat it as if I didn’t say anything.” Nemo briefly thought about the possibility of doing odd jobs for a few seconds while Oliver showed the same thoughtful expression a few steps away.

“Mr. Ramon?” The receptionist raised his voice. “Please come over.”

“Sign? Wait a minute, I’ll—” Oliver raised his head.

“No.” The young receptionist shook his head. “After Mr. Dylan joined, your team is now five people. At present, it has met the minimum standard for a medium-sized team, so you will need an official name.”

Adrian Cross had disappeared with the money, and except for the happy new member, the other three fell into silence.

“…To be honest, I have never considered this,” Oliver said dryly. “Do you have any ideas?”

“No,” Nemo replied flatly. “I thought we wouldn’t be able to get this far—”

Within seconds, Ann was determined to ignore the identity of the black-haired young man. She slapped him on the back of the head with a loud pop. “Hey, pay attention to what you’re saying!”

“Do you want me to help?” Jesse leaned closer with a grin on his face and was pushed away by the expressionless Nemo.

“No.” Oliver smoothly rejected it. “Uh… Ann, can you provide any reference?”

“Well, the famous ones are… ‘Tin Soldiers’ and ‘Horizon’. We also met the ‘Steel Wolves’. It’s basically along these lines, so just make one up. I’ve been here before. Let me think… How about ‘Shadow Snake’, or ‘Burning Rune’…”

“…A little more ordinary?”

“No. The name is the face of the team, and everyone wants their team to sound strong.” Ann glanced at Nemo. “…Forget it, it doesn’t matter if we don’t have something with too much emphasis.”

“How about,” Nemo took an uneasy step back, “we draw lots or just throw something…”

“In case you hit a bald pedestrian,” Jesse shrewdly kept his distance, “is this team going to be called the ‘Bald’. If this is how you want to persuade me to leave, I have to say that I’m a little shaken.”

“……”

“I don’t really want a name that is too threatening… Considering our situation, the lower the sense of existence, the better.” Oliver scratched his head hard. “Let me think about it, uh—”

A small commotion sounded at the door.

A huge tumbleweed slammed into the door and blocked the entrance tightly. The staff at the door cursed and blasted it away with a fierce magic array. It seemed that this kind of thing was a common occurrence.

“How about this?” Oliver pointed to the mass outside the door. “Tumbleweed.”

“…If you look at it from the perspective of ‘although it’s still alive, it looks like it’s dead’, I think it’s pretty appropriate,” Nemo added solemnly.

“I have no issue,” Jesse straightforwardly said. “’Where it rolls is where it goes’ seems to be a very suitable line for this team at the moment.”

Then his voice became smaller under Oliver’s deep glare.

“Since everyone has no opinion, let’s just do this.” Oliver shook his head. “I don’t think Mr. Cross cares about this.”

He picked up the pen and casually filled in the name of the harmless team that would become the “most disastrous team” in the future, “Tumbleweed”. After filling out the form, he thought to himself, ‘Good. This looks pretty safe.’

The only Tumbleweed member who was missing during the naming ceremony was staring at a task window and pulling out his wallet.

“I know it’s not much,” Adrian sighed, “so I don’t have any special requirements.”

“I just need any information on Jesse Dylan.”

The author has something to say:

People: “The Tin Soldiers are here—!”

People: “Here comes Horizon—!”

People: “The Steel Wolves are coming—!”

People: “The Snake Shadows are here—!”

People: “Tumbleweed is coming… Errrrrrrrr, common!”

They already lost their momentum at the starting line (X

Kinky Thoughts:

God Nemo and Oliver are so cute. Oliver begging Mommy Ann for some money to buy his new boyfriend gifts, while Nemo is thinking of a side hustle to do the same.

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