Dark Derrick's mind immediately conjured up the image of the other person:
He is of medium height and slightly chubby, known for his strength. He is an optimistic, cheerful boy with a bright smile. He is my classmate in general education and a teammate in the patrol team.
But after returning from exploring the half-destroyed temple of the " Fallen Creator," he became somber, only ever smiling at everyone.
Derrick felt a chill run down his spine whenever he recalled Darko Riggins' transformation.
Why did he suddenly come to see me? I just finished quarantine, shouldn't I be home? In an instant, many questions arose in Derrick's mind.
Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him:
"Elder Lovia knows I suspect they've undergone some kind of mutation, so she sent Dark to deal with me?"
Derrick was initially startled and filled with fear, but then he realized that this might not be such a bad thing after all.
Mr. The Hanged Man said, "If you don't have a suitable Spectator to testify for you, then you might as well use the Beyonder who are monitoring you." And now, the monitors are right there in that corner. If Dark suddenly attacks me, it will expose the fact that they have something wrong with me!
That way, things can proceed smoothly even without using Mr. World's item!
Whew, Derrick turned his head and glanced out the window.
At this moment, the frequency of lightning had dropped to its lowest point, with only one streak of lightning every one or two minutes illuminating the sky. The entire world and the entire City of Silver were mostly shrouded in deep darkness.
If he's home alone, Derrick won't dig out candles to light; he prefers to lie quietly in bed, letting his mind wander aimlessly.
Of course, he knew this was actually quite dangerous. Without light to dispel the darkness, even inside City of Silver, Monster might suddenly appear. However, Derrick was a " Light Suppliant " and possessed a certain amount of light attribute, so he didn't need to be too afraid of such things happening.
Knock, knock, knock! Dark knocked three more times on the door, seemingly urging his owner to hurry up.
He wasn't like this before; he was very polite... Derrick was suddenly overcome with intense sadness.
He took a candle from the wooden box, placed it in the center of the table, and then rubbed his fingers together to create a golden flame.
The flame lit the candle, filling the room with a dim but warm light, accompanied by a faint, pungent fragrance.
--The candles in City of Silver are mainly made from oils extracted from Monster, and they have different scents depending on their source.
Taking a deep breath, Derrick walked to the door with heightened vigilance and opened it.
"Why are you so slow?" Dark asked with a smile.
"Find candles," Derrick replied.
He didn't dare turn his back to the other person, so he walked side by side with his classmate and teammate back to the table and sat down.
"Would you like some freshly dried Doom Fruit?" Dark asked with a smile, taking a small cloth bag from his waist.
Doom Fruit is one of the rarest snacks in City of Silver. It comes from a plant called " Doom Blood Vine ". This creature does not need light and grows by absorbing nutrients from rotting corpses. It has a certain tendency to attack and is a relatively common weak Monster.
Each " Doom Blood Vine " produces many thumb-sized black fruits, which can be eaten directly. They are crisp and fragrant, but they cannot fill a human stomach or provide necessary nutrition. They can only be used as a daily pastime. The merit points earned from a single patrol can be exchanged for several large bags of them.
"No, no need." Derrick shook his head cautiously.
"Alright." Dark poured a bunch of black fruits out of his small bag, picked one up, popped it into his mouth, and chewed it with a loud crack.
Derrick thought for a moment and then asked:
"Did you encounter any Monster in the underground part of that temple?"
Dark stopped chewing and replied with a smile:
"There were quite a few, but none of them were very powerful. We easily eliminated them. That area was destroyed a long time ago; the powerful Monster should have left long ago."
He paused for a second, then curled the corner of his mouth and said:
"We found some strange plants at the bottom of the temple. They looked like mushrooms from a general education course. They were very brightly colored and looked very appetizing."
"It has been confirmed that they can be eaten directly, bringing Spirituality enhancement and physical strength. When paired with roasted Monster, they emit an unimaginable aroma."
As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized mushroom-shaped object from another small cloth bag. Its stem was as white as jade, and its cap was bright red and crystal clear, dotted with dark gold spots.
Just seeing the plant made Derrick swallow hard, as if he hadn't eaten for days.
Bathed in the dim candlelight, the beautiful mushroom-shaped objects constantly shimmered with an alluring color, making them incredibly tempting and irresistible.
"Here, have one." Dark said with a warm smile.
"Okay, okay..." Derrick almost immediately grabbed the mushroom-shaped plant and stuffed it into his mouth, but ultimately restrained himself and forced open his mouth to say, "I'll try it tomorrow."
Dark didn't say much, pushed the "mushroom" in front of Derrick, and continued to munch on the Doom Fruit.
Derrick struggled to tear his gaze away from the "mushroom" and asked with difficulty:
What discoveries were made during this expedition?
"Yes!" Dark stopped eating his snack, holding a black Doom Fruit, and answered very seriously, "We found many murals, a series of murals. Do you remember the statue in the temple?"
"Hmm." Derrick glanced at the "mushroom" and nodded. "A huge cross with a naked man hanging upside down nailed to it, and its surface is deliberately smeared with blood."
Dark twirled the Doom Fruit in his hand and said:
"The newly discovered murals tell us that the temple's builders believed that the statue represented the Lord Who Created Everything, the Omniscient and Omnipotent God. They believed that the Lord did not abandon this land, but instead took on the burden of most of our sins when the Cataclysm came. Thus, the statue changed from upright to upside down, from walking freely to being nailed to the cross, and shed our blood in our place."
"Divine grace is as vast as the sea. We are not the abandoned ones, but rather the favored Blessed. Without the Lord bearing our sins and shedding our blood, City of Silver would have been destroyed long ago, and humanity would have ceased to exist!"
However, in the outside world, in the Kingdom of Loen where Mr. The Hanged Man and Ms. Justice reside, there is no curse, no extreme darkness, no Monster lurking in the depths of darkness... We are not the favored ones... Derrick silently retorted in his heart.
"If that's true, we can regain the Lord's response simply by changing some symbols and corresponding names during the rituals..." Dark described the murals at the bottom of the temple, sharing his speculations, while Derrick found himself increasingly unable to resist the allure of the "mushroom."
No, I can't eat it! If I eat it, I might end up like Dark and the others, completely corrupted by the " Fallen Creator " and becoming a fanatical believer... Even if there are monitors, they won't notice the problem... Derrick a wave of panic, realizing he had to do something to get out of his current predicament.
Drive Dark away and give the "mushroom" back to him? But that would mean giving up the opportunity... the opportunity... Derrick's gaze unconsciously drifted to the quietly burning, dim candlelight.
"I'll get you a glass of water." He quickly reviewed the plan he had discussed with Mr. " The Hanged Man " in his mind, and stood up steadily.
As he nodded, Dark popped the thumb-sized black Doom Fruit into his mouth, the sound echoing crisply.
As Derrick poured the water, he deliberately slowed his movements, lowered his head, and began to recite the honorific name of "Mr. The Fool," ending with:
"Your faithful servant begs for your attention;"
"Please accept his offering;"
"We beseech you to open the gates of your kingdom."
Ugh!
A sudden gust of wind swept through the room, and the natural forces fluctuated noticeably under the influence of the incantation.
At the same time, Dark had just picked up a black Doom Fruit, suddenly looked up and stared at Derrick, who was standing to his side:
What happened?
Derrick did not answer. With one hand on the " Hurricane Axe," he reached into the hidden bag with the other and dispelled the Wall of Spirituality surrounding the iron box. The faint murmurs and the feeling of evil Depravity began to emanate outwards in a blurry and weak manner.
Derrick's gaze turned warily toward Dark, only to see his classmate and teammate's expression suddenly turn gloomy, with a hint of crimson appearing in his blue eyes!
The Doom Fruit in his hand had strangely lost its dark color and turned a slightly pale flesh color.
That wasn't Doom Fruit, it was a finger, a bloody finger, a human finger!
The pile of Doom Fruit on the table were actually human fingers!
The vibrant "mushroom" has also changed its appearance. It is no longer so beautiful, no longer exuding an appetizing sheen. It is now a layer of blood-stained scalp with short black hair!
Dark stared at Derrick, opened his mouth, and spoke in a cold, elusive voice:
"What are you doing..."
Backlund, 15 Minsk Street.
Klein, who had already snuggled into bed and was enjoying the warmth of the world, heard a plea that sounded like it came from the little " The Sun." He struggled to get up, created Wall of Spirituality, and then took four steps backward to enter the Gray Fog.
Sitting in the " The Fool's" seat, he didn't rush to examine the little " The Sun's" request. Instead, he had the " Black Emperor " card, the cut-out paper figures, and other items neatly arranged on the long bronze table in front of him.
According to the Hanged Man's idea, the scene where the " The Sun " stimulates the exploration team members to change will be in a sacrificial ritual. In this way, when things are over, it will be quite easy to make the item borrowed by "the world" disappear from the scene, leaving no evidence, and then all the questions can be pushed onto Amon!
Mr. The Fool Klein, at the time, "neither agreed nor disagreed" to the little " The Sun's " request to "simplify the ceremony and only perform the key steps."
At this point, he waited for the pre-ritual preparations to be completed so that he could respond.