Night Falls

"Holy Light Perception"

As a member of the Holy Crusade Army, Sylest possesses both divine and knightly abilities.

With a single step, a warm, holy light emanated from his foot, spreading outwards to every corner of the Baker Manor... but the response was still 'no one there'.

"Nobody here?"

The Cas's Team, which followed closely behind, also looked surprised.

I thought it would be a big battle, but... things turned out to be a bit strange.

Han Dong stared at the empty mansion. Even the furniture and decorations inside had been mostly removed, and most of the curse seals had been erased, losing their intended pollution effect.

Sylest immediately issued the order:

"Hundreds of people can't just disappear into thin air. You two will split up and search the building separately... Notify me immediately of any findings. None of you are allowed to act on your own."

"Good!"

The team division method is the same as before.

Cas and Sophia formed a team, working together with Sylest to conduct a thorough search of the first and second floors of the mansion.

Han Dong and Koslin formed a team and were responsible for searching the back garden area.

The back garden had been neglected for years, and the weeds had grown taller than two people's knees.

Apart from a foul-smelling pool, an open space marked with a huge curse mark, and a pavilion covered with stoneblood plants, there was nothing noteworthy in the back garden.

The giant curse seal was also destroyed and no longer possesses the function of contamination.

The open space where the curse mark was located had tree-like marks. It seemed that a large tree used to grow here, but it disappeared for some unknown reason.

Han Dong went directly to the foul-smelling pool.

"Senior Koslin, can you find the outlet of the pond?"

"Able."

Koslin, who had collaborated with Han Dong once before, had a completely different attitude towards him.

When Han Dong pointed this out, Koslin immediately took over, using a retractable iron rod device to detect and open the metal drain at the bottom of the pool.

"I'll go down and take a look... Senior Koslin, you go look for clues at the pavilion."

"Um."

Using the Ghoul Arm for leverage, Han Dong carefully jumped into the four-meter-deep pool.

The bottom of the pool was covered with moss and some black plants.

When Han Dong dug away the moss, he discovered another giant curse mark identical to the one on the Bounty Mission... Unlike the curse marks he had found before, this one was perfectly intact.

"Good luck! Looks like I've found the right place."

When the cursed seal sensed a living person approaching, it immediately emitted a crimson glow and sprouted countless tiny eyes that Eye Contact Han Dong.

"Why..."

Han Dong could only awkwardly smile as he reached out and absorbed all those small eyes.

The reason for choosing the back garden and this foul-smelling pond was because of what was recorded on the last page of the diary.

The security guard who died suddenly was searching near the pond when he saw an eyeball illusion in the water, which led to the subsequent pollution and sudden death.

Han Dong, who had destroyed the curse mark by absorbing the eyeball, pretended that nothing had happened and cleaned the mark to avoid arousing Sylest's suspicion.

"Han Dong, about three steps to your right, there's a faint trace of evil energy emanating from you."

Suddenly, a voice echoed in Han Dong's mind... Unexpectedly, Miss Chen Li was also paying close attention to the external situation.

"Um!?"

Fully unleash the power of the Ghoul Arm and forcibly break open the floor tiles as instructed by Chen Li.

Sure enough, a hidden switch that could be operated by hand was discovered.

"Senior Koslin, please notify everyone to come over, I've found something here!"

A short while later, the group, having searched the mansion without success, all arrived at the back garden... Staring at the secret switch that Han Dong had discovered, Sylest simply said:

"Well done, you can come up first."

Han Dong climbed up into the pool.

Sylest immediately changed the form of her left-hand light shield, transforming it into a light whip that precisely wrapped around the switch at the bottom.

Pull hard.

Buzz!

A secret passage door hidden at the bottom of the pool opens upwards, corresponding to an extremely dark underground passage.

"Were the secret rituals conducted underground? The whole incident was indeed premeditated."

"Sister, shall we go down?"

"No... the dangerous areas below may even contain medium to high levels of contamination traps inside the passage. If you follow me, you'll only be a hindrance."

In addition, there are other problems with the mansion.

At least when I started searching the mansion just now, I had a vague feeling that there should be some evil things hiding inside.

I went down alone to explore and find the sacrificial area.

You all stay upstairs and clean up the Baker Manor ... I'll contact you if I need any help."

"Sister, you have to be careful," Fia, very worried.

"Don't worry, the things outside the city walls can't kill me, and there are naturally no evil things inside this Holy City that can threaten my life."

After saying that, Sylest looked at Han Dong was dressed in Beak Doctor Costume.

"To be able to quickly discover the hidden switch in this secret passage... are you a student majoring in [Divination]?"

"No... I majored in [Plague Studies] and discovered the switch through fungal sensing."

"Not bad... You guys, you better take good care of Fia! If I find out she's injured and you're all fine, don't blame me for skinning you alive!"

"Definitely!" Cas replied immediately. "Be careful, Sir Knight!"

The conversation ended.

Sylest ventured deep underground alone.

Meanwhile, Han Dong's team returned to the mansion and began searching for and eliminating any remaining evil spirits within.

It is now dusk.

To ensure safety, Koslin hung portable kerosene lamps in various locations throughout the mansion to ensure that the mansion was well-lit during the mission.

The four people launched a thorough search of the mansion.

Half an hour passed, but nothing was found.

Han Dong had no clue whatsoever.

There were no clues or information at all. All the books in the study had been emptied, and the only diary found had crucial pages torn out.

Night fell.

The kerosene lamps that had been set up beforehand illuminated the entire mansion.

The four of them gathered in the study, looking slightly anxious.

Cas's current concern is that Sylest is too powerful; she single-handedly cleared out all the sources of pollution and cultists in the Underground Area... while his group did absolutely nothing.

At that time, you will be directly rated as failing and will not receive any rewards.

However, Sylest also emphasized that no one was allowed to go down without her instructions.

"... I'll search the other rooms again; maybe there are some hidden compartments I haven't found yet."

Just as Cas walked towards the door of the study.

Han Dong seemed to have received some signal and exclaimed in surprise:

"Cas! Watch out!"

Cas has now fully pushed the Wooden Gate open.

A woman, hidden in a white cloth and with root-like tendrils on her body, floated past the doorway.

Hehe~

A chilling laugh echoed through the mansion.

"A ghost... a phantom!"