Strange Object

"Huff... the ability to blood-shift, immunity to physical attacks? Truly troublesome."

Mas sat beside Lin, gasping for air. "But as a 'Son of Burning', I not only command the flames of reality, but also the flames that scorch the spirit..."

"This time, I owe it all to the 'Curio' bestowed by the High Priest!"

Mas picked up the black stone, his face suddenly twisting with fear and dread.

The use of a Curio requires a price!

He had unleashed the power of a high-ranking 'Dark Seeker', and the cost was flesh and blood rich in dark spirituality!

"Fortunately, those two idiots are dead. Their flesh and blood are enough to satisfy the demands of the 'Light-Devouring Stone'!"

Mas muttered to himself. Seeing the patterns on the stone transform into a gaping maw filled with jagged teeth, he immediately dragged the cultist's corpse, which had been pierced by sharp blades, and covered the stone with it.

Crunch, crunch!

A teeth-grinding sound of chewing echoed. The cultist's corpse visibly diminished, vanishing...

"Not enough..."

Mas immediately backed away to retrieve the headless corpse.

It wasn't that he didn't want to ask Rem and the others guarding the back door for help, but being seen treating his subordinates this way was still unseemly.

He hauled over two more bodies and watched as the 'Light-Devouring Stone' devoured the flesh and blood until it returned to its original state. He let out a long breath, preparing to step forward and retrieve the eerie object.

Just then, he suddenly yawned. "Something's wrong... why is the air filled with so much powder... blue, green, red, black..."

Mas's thoughts grew increasingly hazy. He bit the tip of his tongue hard, instinctively trying to activate the eerie object.

But it was too late.

In the void, invisible threads appeared from nowhere, wrapping around his neck and constricting with a violent snap.

Thud!

Mas's headless corpse collapsed to the ground. The stone in his hand rolled away a short distance, yet remained motionless.

Step, step!

Footsteps vibrated. Olivia walked over, picked up the 'Light-Devouring Stone', and checked on Lin's condition. "Thank goodness, you're safe..."

She pulled a small metal vial from her bosom and poured some potion into Lin's mouth.

"I..."

Lin struggled to wake up. "What about that 'Son of Burning'?"

"He is dead, and the two heretics guarding the back door have been dealt with by me... Barnard is watching them. One of them, named Calvin, was quite cooperative and confessed directly that Mas was carrying a Curio, which is how I knew to come support you," Olivia said.

Lin looked at the nearby corpse and fell into a silence. "You want to recruit the believers of the [Black Sun]?"

"Yes. My Lord might be able to awaken their free will, provided they aren't too deeply poisoned..."

Olivia searched Mas's body, finding several spiritual materials and a black tome.

"Words of the Sun Chaser?"

She read the title of the tome slowly, flipped through a few pages, and then closed her eyes. "Some of the occult knowledge inside is very useful. Once mastered, it can be sacrificed to my Lord... Hmm, be careful while reading; it carries a mild mental corruption..."

Lin, however, looked at Mas's corpse itself and gritted her teeth. "I want to sacrifice the spirituality within him to my Lord!"

Inside Blackstone Manor.

Aaron placed his hand over the burning candle, silently sensing the change in temperature... A warm sensation spread across his palm—balmy, not scorching, with no pain or burning sensation whatsoever.

A moment later, he withdrew his palm and carefully examined it. It looked like jade, without a single scar.

"Is this the power of dark spirituality?"

Aaron murmured to himself, "It doesn't seem to have much use, other than allowing me to escape safely from a fire..."

After successfully intercepting the Son of Burning team, Olivia and Lin had returned to the branch base in the department store, sacrificing the spirituality of the Son of Burning and the contents of that dark grimoire to him.

If Olivia hadn't stopped her, Lin would have even tried to sacrifice the 'Light-Devouring Stone' to Aaron.

However, Aaron had decided then and there that even if they wanted to sacrifice it, he would not accept it.

After all, whether it was spirituality or knowledge, they were intangible things.

Compared to tangible objects, there would inevitably be some differences, and this was a realm he had yet to explore.

"I wonder if these so-called 'Curios' or 'eerie objects' can break through the barriers of the world..."

Aaron muttered under his breath.

A 'Curio', according to Olivia, was a combination of spirituality and a physical object, often possessing many incredible abilities.

Most of their origins lay in the successful or failed sacrificial rituals of cults and secret organizations.

The rest came from the deaths of powerful individuals...

It could be said that they were highly coincidental and currently impossible to manufacture.

More importantly, it is extremely dangerous!

Even just carrying it will result in continuous, mild contamination and erosion!

Not to mention that after every use, the 'Cursed Object' brings about extremely intense negative effects that require various methods to soothe.

Otherwise, it will inevitably backfire on its master!

"However, the cost is high, but the ability is also great... That 'Light-Devouring Stone' is equivalent to half a 'Dark Seeker'... The Black Sun Cult has lost so many people and dropped an important item; they will surely continue to investigate, right?"

Aaron felt somewhat helpless.

As the deity worshipped by the Light of Redemption, he could not personally guide the two women on how to resist or how to hide.

Lin clearly harbored a deep hatred for the Black Sun Cult; hearing that her enemies had arrived, she immediately began to retaliate, even using the pretext of clearing out the god's territory, which left Aaron feeling rather weary.

"Even with Olivia added to the mix, she might not be able to hold her back... not to mention that Lin has learned the news of Aike's death..."

In reality, Aaron had long suspected that Aike would not meet a good end.

However, this news would inevitably provoke Lin.

"She will just have to wait to take her revenge later... If she goes now, she's just throwing her life away..."

Aaron rubbed his temples.

"Lord Baron, Scholar Albert requests an audience!"

At this moment, Daili walked in again to seek instructions.

"It seems there are more matters to attend to..."

Aaron waved his hand, and Daili quickly withdrew. Before long, the portly Albert walked in, bowed, and saluted: "Lord Baron, regarding the matter of Knight Yiman, the ravens from Sothoth Castle have brought a reply. The Count approves of your actions and has issued an order to the lords of the Upper Green Forest, commanding them to arrest the people on the list..."

"That is only to be expected. And then?" Aaron looked at Albert, who seemed reluctant to leave, and asked with a smile.

"There is also an unconfirmed piece of news: the Count intends for you, my lord, to become Xia Ya's godfather."