The "Ancestors'" Designs

Lumian glanced at the direction of the Dock, his body suddenly thinning and disappearing into the shadows created by the lack of moonlight.

He navigated the darkness, bypassed the guards at the entrance, and silently entered the building, which had a distinctly religious atmosphere.

He stopped as soon as he passed through the foyer.

He saw that Depths the Gloom "veil," there were one after another short men with abnormally large heads, bulging eyes, and wrinkled skin, resembling seventy or eighty-year-olds, and only a little over a meter tall.

That was the "Little Demon" that Juan Oro and others spoke of, a type of Sea Kin.

At this moment, these "Little Demon" are using their ability to slip into the shadows to patrol every dark corner of the "Governor of the Sea's " mansion in small groups, preventing anyone from sneaking in.

Lumian had dealt with them before and knew that these "Little Demon" weren't particularly powerful. Aside from being able to blend into the shadows, they could only use shadows to create illusions, and he could easily take down a squad of them.

Even if it were easy, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't make a sound or be noticed by the other creatures in the building when dealing with one of the "Little Demon".

Lumian focused his mind and examined the area not covered by shadows. He discovered that within the Crimson Moonlight, many figures could be vaguely seen roaming in the void, sometimes appearing and sometimes disappearing.

They were fish covered in dark gray armor and resembling Library.

Their eyes also protrude, like fleshy balls embedded at both ends of their bodies, and fine, starlight-like "lines" are hidden in the gaps of their armor-like scales.

These strange fish roamed in mid-air, distributed in different areas, occasionally spitting out a bubble containing an invisible Storm and sharp, crack-like fissures.

A large number of bubbles burst open, and countless "spiky" spikes swept outwards in an invisible Storm, setting a dangerous trap for the "guests" who arrived by "Teleportation".

At the junction of the hall and different passageways, the guards, in groups of three, moved back and forth without making a sound. Their expressions were normal, and they seemed to have nothing strange about them. But Lumian only blinked, and he saw black Insects covered with fine bristles crawling out from the back of their necks and the edges of their mouths.

After surveying their surroundings, the Batins Black Insect quickly retreated back into the bodies of the guards.

The various Sea Creatures Statues on the walls seem to have come to life, their eyes scanning the various areas as if they possessed self-awareness.

"Just as Juan Oro said, there are a large number of different Sea Kin here, making it extremely difficult to infiltrate silently," Lumian muttered to himself. He didn't rush forward but stayed in the lobby area, patiently waiting for an opportunity.

Less than two minutes later, a loud bang came from the Dock.

The crimson flames surged and billowed into the air, illuminating every nearby window and causing them to tremble slightly.

Whether it was the "Little Demon" patrolling in the shadows, the "armored monster fish" influencing the surrounding void, the Batins Black Insect controlling the guards, or the special creatures hidden in the Statues's eyes, they all instinctively turned their attention to the Glass Window near the Dock.

Lumian moved.

The commotion just now was caused by him using Delayed Explosion!

He seized the opportunity, swimming through the shadows beside the "Little Demon" and circling out of the area patrolled by the "armored monster fish".

Immediately afterward, before the other Sea Kin noticed, he located the innermost room of the hall based on the information given by Juan Oro.

The Black Mark on his right shoulder emitted a ghostly glow, and he instantly Flash at the doorway of the target room. He then quickly turned into shadow and slipped inside through the crack in the door.

What came into Lumian's view were numerous patterns and symbols engraved on the floor, ceiling, and walls, which were like enlarged versions of the patterns on the Ritual Ring hand-painted by Juan Oro.

There was nothing else besides that.

"During the Night-Watch Ritual, certain Sea Kin enter here, shrink and etch patterns on the ring blank in all directions, and then immerse it in special energy?" Lumian quickly looked around, left the shadows, and activated a Black Mark on his chest.

The surrounding walls rippled almost imperceptibly, but then quickly subsided.

"The Fictional Bottle"!

Lumian placed the two connected rooms into the "Fictional Bottle," setting the entry condition to be "Ordinary Person."

Then, he hid by the door, which was the mouth of the "Fictional Bottle," and deliberately made loud footsteps.

Almost simultaneously, some kind of Sea Kin noticed the commotion in this place.

They recalled the explosion at the Dock and the towering flames, and instantly realized that they had just fallen into someone's trap and had their attention diverted!

They immediately summoned their companions, including the "Armored Monster Fish," the Batins Black Insect, and the "Little Demon," instructing them to immediately enter the location of the Ring-Making Ritual and check for any potential infiltrators.

These Sea creatures opened the door and tried to rush in by various means, but they all inexplicably returned to their original place, back to the hall.

The "armored monster fish" quickly realized the nature of the problem and began to spew bubbles containing invisible Storm into the entrance and exit of the "Fictional Bottle".

Long before they swarmed in, focused solely on entering the room, Lumian had already transformed into Shadow Creature, slipping through the crack at the bottom of the Wooden Door and quietly leaving the "Fictional Bottle," returning to the hall.

His actions just now were still aimed at attracting the attention of the Sea Kin, creating an opportunity for him to change his position!

A good strategy should be used multiple times!

Moreover, the enemy is unlikely to expect to encounter the same scheme again in a short period of time; they will instinctively assume that the enemy has other plans.

Of course, by the third time, they will become overly wary of similar schemes, seeing everything as a distraction. At that point, Lumian will be able to take the opposite approach.

Taking advantage of the fact that the attention of these Sea Kin was drawn to the "Fictional Bottle," Lumian calmly avoided the area where the Little Demon were gathered, circled around to a corner of the hall from near the "Armored Monster Fish," and used "Spirit World Traversal" again.

This time, his destination was the stairwell leading to the Basement.

The guards there were also drawn into the hall.

Lumian's figure had barely emerged at the entrance to the stairs when it vanished into shadow, disappearing into the Basement into the darkness.

This area, unguarded and unmonitored by the Sea Kin, seems to be considered unimportant, merely a place where the villagers of Milo Village hold their Ancestors in high esteem.

Lumian, in its Shadow Creature form, "naturally" possesses Darkvision, allowing it to roughly discern the conditions of the dark Underground without needing to create a fireball:

Because of its location by the sea, the stone floors and walls here were somewhat damp, but thanks to the various extraordinary influences of the building itself, there was no musty smell.

In the very center of the Basement is a dilapidated Stone Platform, resembling one used for Ancestors worship. It is surrounded by numerous signs of destruction, with only some disconnected lines, curves, and fragments of patterns whose original form is no longer discernible.

"Are the complete symbols and patterns the Coat of Arms of the Ancestors of Milo Village? Or is it a pattern with Mysticism significance?" Lumian looked at it again and again, but he could hardly recreate in his mind what the place looked like before it was destroyed.

But he felt that since Noelia of the Order of Abundance said that the symbols and patterns here could reveal something, he should be able to gain some information.

What message could it be? Lumian remained in the form of Shadow Creature, growing a body from the darkness and looking around.

He frowned slightly and muttered silently, "Could it be that the Church the ' Earth Mother ' clearly had the ability to completely destroy this place, yet still preserved the remnants?"

"Does this mean that the Sea-Praying Ritual also has some kind of effect on them?"

Lumian turned his gaze to the Stone Platform where the Ancestors were worshipped, naturally recalling the details of the Ring-Making Ritual that Juan Oro had described:

After the "Sea Queen's Ring" is created, it will be placed here for an hour as a sign of respect for the Ancestors.

"Should we place it on this half-collapsed Altar?" Lumian approached the gray-black Stone Platform and found that there was no dust accumulation on it; all the remaining lines pointed to the blank space at the center.

A thought struck him, and he took out a Gold Louis and placed it in the center of the Altar.

Nothing happened.

Lumian put away the Gold Louis and replaced it with the Gold Riso, the "Mystery-Peering Glasses," the "Torture" gloves, and other items, placing them on the table in order.

There was still no Mutation.

Lumian did not give up. He took out the Silver-White "Lie" earring from his pocket and placed it on the blank space on the Stone Platform surface where there were no lines.

The next second, Lumian seemed to be completely detached from reality.

He saw Depths the Stone Platform, lines and arcs emerging, ethereal and without substance, yet undeniably real, connecting with the original remnants to form two patterns:

One pattern is a series of doors drawn with a simple line drawing technique; the other is a disc with twelve different sized squares on its surface, resembling a clock but with only one hand.

Lumian stared intently, feeling something clinging to the "Lie" ear clip.

In the blink of an eye, the lines that had emerged from the Stone Platform ruins dimmed, receded, and shrank back to their original positions, and everything here returned to normal.

"Were those two patterns representing the Ancestors of Milo Village? Or the knowledge they gained when they Primordial One received the revelation?" Lumian sensed the Sea Kin surging towards the Basement, muttered something, grabbed the "Lie" ear clip, and Teleportation away.

Solo Hotel, Master Bedroom of Suite.

As soon as Lumian's figure came into view, he immediately sat down and began writing a letter to the "Magician" Lady —he didn't bother to check what Change had occurred to the "Lie" earring, intending to send it along with his Major Arcana for examination.

After roughly reconstructing the patterns, symbols, and structure of the Ritual Ring, as well as the various situations he had seen in the "Governor of the Sea" mansion, Lumian neatly folded several sheets of paper, arranged the Ritual, and summoned the "Doll" Messenger.

Then, he patiently waited for a reply.