Joey actually had many questions in his mind and did not know which one to ask first for a moment. He leaned against the sofa, remaining silent.
He had originally thought that joining the Survey Corps was part of his execution plan and belonged to self-control. Now, looking back and calculating, there was no shortage of deliberate guidance from Vade Wisker.
Vade Wisker, Katrin Winter, the Necromancer Sect, the Imperial Knights, the Second Prince: "Am I seemingly forced into an incredible maze?"
Joey thought with inevitable apprehension. Although he really didn't want to admit it, his current situation was indeed very bad. His strength was low, and he was implicated in a demigod-level vortex. With the slightest carelessness, he would lose his life.
Azrael's yellowish pages floated in midair, circling around Joey.
"Great Master, what can I do for you?" The text on the pages exuded the utmost flattery.
Joey sighed:
"0-013, what on earth do they want to do?"
This Great Fog concealed too many things, leaving him bound hand and foot.
"War!"
Joey raised his eyes to look at the text on the pages, narrowing his eyes slightly. This answer was clearly one he had not expected.
Ever since the divine war, the Sun had been extinguished, and Senegal had been shrouded in darkness. In order to survive, human beings could only gasp for breath on this land. What would be the point of launching a war?
Vying for resources? No. The most important resources on this land were blood and population, and war would instead consume them.
The occurrence of an event should be purposeful and rewarding. At least until now, he had not seen this riot bring about any substantial benefits.
"Master, when will you take me away!"
"Does this count as a question?"
"Yes, my Master."
Joey narrowed his eyes to peer at the text on the pages, a shallow smile emerging at the corner of his mouth: "How am I supposed to find you?"
He discovered that this kind of question-posing could effectively circumvent the law of conservation of 0-013.
"Leila, that is, my contractor, she left me a task in the end. After it's completed, I'll be free. You just have to appear at the scene during that task, and I'll be able to find you, my Master."
A task?
Wasn't Leila dead?
The Director's Book, the Necromancer Sect, and the demigod Vade Wisker-what kind of connection was there among these things?
Unable to figure it out, Joey couldn't be bothered to think about it anymore. The world was vast, but sleeping was the most important thing right now. Having traveled for the better part of the night, his body was already exhausted.
Meanwhile, at the dark border of Senegal where the Great Fog could not reach.
The sound of thunder and lightning filled the air, making one's eardrums ache.
Several cloaked figures were attacking a group of sharp-mouthed, fanged Night Demons.
The ground was littered with the corpses of beasts. The number of Night Demons was huge, while the besieged Black-Robed Men numbered around a dozen—pitiful by comparison with the Night Demons.
Although low-level Night Demons only possessed a bloodthirsty instinct, high-level Night Demons had already developed a trace of wisdom. After losing quite a few companions, it fixed its crimson, chilling gaze on one of the black-robed figures.
After launching a few surprise attacks and discovering that it was no match for them, it led its tribe and retreated into the darkness.
Only then did this group of Black-Robed Men let out a long breath, some of them collapsing directly to sit on the ground.
A fierce battle had consumed the majority of their physical strength, and they had to stop to rest properly. They quickly divided into several groups to be on guard, patrol, prepare food, and attend to their respective duties.
"No wonder I could never find your Necromancer Sect's stronghold. It turns out you've been hiding here."
One of the Black-Robed Men lifted the hood covering his head, revealing a middle-aged face covered in stubble. It was precisely Vade Wisker, who had gone missing from the main urban area.
The person opposite him also lifted his hood. Wrinkled, sallow, and maintaining the usual zombie face, who could it be if not Wayne?
Who would have thought that they were actually mixed up together?
Wayne sneered meaningfully: "In fact, the biggest reason the Necromancer Sect can remain active is not because of our hiding place, but rather because..." He reached out and pointed at Wade: "The existence of people like you."
Wade's rugged face trembled slightly as he shifted his astonished gaze to Wayne and interrogated him: "The Empire—someone is secretly supporting you all?"
"Otherwise? What do you think we rely on to develop our followers, and what do you think we rely on to make moves right under the noses of the main city and the imperial capital?"
Wade thought back carefully, and many unreasonable points from before could now be explained.
"Damned traitor, who is he?"
Looking at Wade with his agitated expression, Wayne sneered and shook his head, saying: "Do you think such a person would be foolish enough to expose his own identity?"
"A traitor?" He scoffed: "What are you considered right now?"
The remaining Black-Robed Men nearby let out jeering laughter.
Wade glared angrily, sweeping his gaze in a circle. Those whose eyes met his looked away one after another.
"Wayne, I am different from them! I have not betrayed my faith."
Without waiting for Wade to continue refuting, Wayne roared: "Yes, you are great; you are a Saint!" Stopping numbly at this point, he gritted his teeth, stared at Wade with a hateful gaze, and said word by word: "It was you who killed Leila."
Wade, who had still wanted to vent his anger, suddenly wilted in spirit.
Lowering his head with a dejected spirit, the two of them surrounded the burning campfire. The heavy atmosphere caused both of them to stop speaking.
Wade's thoughts spun rapidly as he returned to that night when he lost control.
Wayne was right; Leila's death was indeed caused by him.
As an archbishop of the Necromancer Sect, she could not be swayed by emotions. She could not bring herself to kill Vade Wisker, so the best outcome was for her own death.
Using her death to accomplish that single matter-a plan that had taken generations to arrange.
Leila knew deeply that she was a person whose emotions were easily swayed, and that matter ran counter to Wade's faith; the two of them would inevitably walk toward opposing sides.
She could not be certain whether she would still be able to hold fast to her original intention under any given circumstance. She could not bring herself to harm Wade, nor could she allow the layout to go to waste.
And she was also the biggest loophole in that plan. From the very beginning, she had never intended to live. Only by her death would the ability of 0-013 fully awaken, and no one would be able to stop it because Leila Aaron, the contractor, was already dead.
"What on earth do you want to do?"
Wade could never figure out what on earth could make Leila willing to sacrifice her life to accomplish it.
For this reason, he did not hesitate to join the Necromancer Sect, even if it meant plunging into the darkness.
On Wayne's stiff face, a trace of confusion rarely appeared in his eyes.
"You should understand the extent of information lockdown within the Necromancer Sect. Even as a high priest, I don't know the identities of the other priests and high priests right now."
"I am only responsible for my own line. My mission is to bring the Sealed Artifact 0-09, the Gate of the Abyss, into the main city."
Wade looked at him and asked with an inquiring gaze:
"The disaster-ridden gate left behind from the Calamity Era!"
"That's right, it is Him-the starry sky gate lingering between reality and illusion."
"Leila..." Wade blankly gazed at the night sky, which had no stars but only endless darkness. "Is this what you wanted to do?"
There were many imitations of the Gate of the Abyss; there was one in the basement of the Sheriff's Office, which merely served to seal extraordinary items.
The true 0-09 was reputed to possess the authority to traverse the starry sky. If it truly were Him, perhaps it really would be able to leave Senegal and open the door to the outside world.
He hadn't expected that the legendary item was actually controlled by the Necromancer Sect.
"Since you all know where 0-09 is, why don't you leave?"
Wayne turned his head slightly and sneered: "Are you really a demigod? How could you ask such a question? If it were really that easy, would the people of Senegal still be trapped here? Don't forget, there is still an Archangel behind the Elder Council."
"No!"
Amidst their casual chat, a shrill cry of grief suddenly rang out. The two of them froze in their expressions and turned their gazes over.
"Val, what's going on?" Wayne asked aloud.
The one making the sound was the partner responsible for preparing the food. At this moment, in front of him was a beast whose entrails had been ripped out.
He wore a terrified expression, holding a necklace in his hand.
"Hm?..." This item was very ordinary, and Wayne couldn't see anything wrong with it.
Val stared at Wayne with a venomous gaze and said through gritted teeth:
"This is the wedding gift I gave to my wife. Didn't you say she was sent to the Church for treatment?"
"You-did you give up on her and abandon her? She was eaten by the Night Demons, wasn't she? Wasn't she?"
Wayne lowered his head and remained silent.
In Senegal, what were the consequences of being contaminated, and what was the truth? Only a tiny fraction of people knew.
Wade could fully understand Val's mood; he had handled this kind of matter many times.
Although this matter was very cruel, he still chose to tell the other party the truth of the matter.
"The Church has no way to treat people who have been contaminated."
In Senegal without sunlight, humans could only eat mutated food, which led to blood pathology and shortened lifespans, greatly increasing the probability of physical mutation.
Night Demons were the product of human contamination.
Wayne murmured with a sense of shame: "In the Church, there is only one fate for the contaminated, and that is to be sent into the incinerator to be dealt with. Your wife escaped on the way."
He was also depressed as to how it could be such a coincidence that he ran into Val's wife, who had mutated into a Night Demon, and also had the misfortune of her being treated as food.
"Ugh-"
Many people at the scene were learning the truth about Night Demons for the first time, and some began to retch dryly.
Hiding in an area surrounded by Night Demons, their only source of food was these beasts. Now knowing that these beasts were mostly mutated humans, no one could accept this result.
In this environment, it was no wonder the people of the Necromancer Sect would go crazy; anyone would end up the same.
"Perhaps it was just the Night Demon that killed your wife, not necessarily her mutation."
Val began rummaging through the corpse of the Night Demon. No matter what he found, people only knew that he ultimately hugged that corpse, disappeared into the darkness, and never returned.
The remaining people also lowered their heads, the expression on everyone's face being very ugly.
"Wade, you tell me, what on earth is the meaning of our existence? Why should a world like this exist?" Wayne added a piece of firewood into the campfire, the fire crackling. His words appeared decadent and powerless.
Senegal, devoid of sunlight, had already spent a thousand years in darkness.
"Wade, you are a demigod. Have you ever seen the Sun? Is He really as full of warmth as recorded in the general history?"
Over a thousand years, only Saints could have such long lifespans. Many of those born after the divine war lived their entire lives in darkness.
Vade Wisker stretched out his hand, reaching straight toward the burning flame, letting the fire scorch his skin.
"He is like out-of-reach light, bestowing warmth, yet when you draw close, He burns your skin instead."
Wayne also learned to thrust his hand into the flame, but the scorching did not make them feel pain.
"Is this the feeling of the Sun?"
In the endless darkness, only this campfire possessed a meager gleam of light.
Having finished their rest, the crowd once again embarked on their journey. Because they had Wade, a demigod, recklessly releasing lightning, the surrounding beasts did not dare to approach.
Soon they arrived in front of a giant bronze door. The giant door was more than ten meters tall, and carved upon it was an octopus, with countless eyeballs covering its tentacles and head.
The closed door leaves were like the mouth of an octopus. Standing before it, one would feel exceptionally tiny.
There was nothing around the bronze door. It stood there so lonely and desolate in the open wilderness, acting like a barrier that isolated this place into two worlds.
"What is behind the door?" Wade inquired.
As he spoke, he wanted to detour around the side to see what was behind the door. Very soon, he discovered that while there seemed to be nothing around the door, approaching it revealed that there was an intangible barrier blocking the forward direction.
"You can't get past. We've tried countless methods-from the sky, from the ground-and we couldn't cross the door."
Wade knitted his brows and said with a slightly serious expression: "Could it be that we aren't flying high enough?"
According to his thinking, the degree to which these people could do things was very weak.
Wayne shook his head and let out a light sigh:
"Lord Bishop also tried flying upward, only to encounter lightning in the end, and digging tunnels would similarly lead to running into a barrier."
"For this, the demigods we sacrificed numbered more than one."
Hearing Wayne's words, Wade revealed a shocked expression. He hadn't expected the Necromancer Sect to have such a foundation.
Although in the early stages there were indeed quite a few demigods and angels, with the passage of time, the surviving demigods in Senegal now numbered only a few.
Recalling it now, the Necromancer Sect seemed to have only appeared after one of those individuals went missing.
The Hanged Man, the King of Angel under the Sun God, was also a traitor. It was because of his backstab that the Saint War turned around.
The expression on Wade's face grew increasingly solemn. Paying such a huge price without giving up—the thing Leila was plotting, even at the cost of being willing to sacrifice herself, would probably be enormous.
"How are we supposed to take this thing away?"
Wayne unhurriedly took out an ancient, yellowish, archaic book.
"0-013? It also possesses other abilities?"
Racking his memory, there were no relevant records. Wade stared intently at every move Wayne made, afraid of missing a single detail.
The eyes on the cover of 0-013 suddenly snapped open, gazing from afar at the eyeballs on the Gate of the Abyss before closing once again.
Amidst Wade's dumbfounded expression, the pages of 0-013 flipped open. The Gate of the Abyss not far away abruptly turned into a streak of light, drilling into the pages, and an image of a gateway strikingly appeared on the blank frontispiece.
"Is it my imagination? They seem to have some sort of connection with each other?"