Inside the half-collapsed temple, only a few stone pillars remain intact, supporting a small portion of the main hall.
At the very front of the main hall stands a cracked altar, in the center of which stands a huge, black cross.
Above the cross hung a naked man upside down, his ankles, his thighs, and his body with obvious rusty nails protruding, accompanied by bright red bloodstains.
Derrick knew perfectly well that this was a statue of the " Fallen Creator," but he still couldn't help but lower his gaze to examine the target's face.
He saw that the face of the statue was rather blurry, with the nose, mouth, and ears being the only features that were carved exceptionally clearly.
The " Fallen Creator " had his eyes tightly closed, as if he were bearing guilt and pain.
"Take your eyes off the statue of the evil god!" Colin the Demon Hunter warned in a deep voice.
"Yes, Your Excellency." The members of the exploration team quickly looked away.
--Before today, although City of Silver had discovered many destroyed cities and found some written records pointing to the evil god during its various explorations, most of its residents had never seen the so-called evil god statue.
The remaining portion of the temple on the ground was not spacious, and the exploration team quickly split up into groups of two or three to conduct a thorough inspection, finding nothing unusual.
Seeing this, Colin, the chief of the " Council of Six," hesitated for a few seconds before speaking:
"Head underground."
As he spoke, he swiftly drew one of the twin swords he carried on his back and applied a silvery-gray ointment to it.
Immediately afterwards, he took a small metal vial from a hidden compartment in his belt, uncorked it, and gulped down the potion inside.
At that moment, Derrick felt that the chief's light blue eyes seemed to brighten a little.
The exploration team members made the most careful preparations and, illuminated by four animal skin lanterns, proceeded step by step down the stairs to the left of the statue into the underground area.
Derrick took over the lantern-carrying position, walking cautiously to the left and into the darkness.
He heard the sound of his own and his companions' footsteps echoing outwards from the stone steps, creating a distant and spacious resonance.
The echo was undisturbed, signifying absolute silence below. But in the minds of the members of each exploration team, it was like a knock on a door, trying to unlock a Concealment buried for who knows how many years, which forced them to be on high alert.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Derrick finally saw the road ahead become flat, and he also saw the newly discovered murals described by Dark Ray Megus, which had been contaminated.
The murals, scattered across the walls on both sides, were simply painted, giving them an ancient, weathered, and somber appearance.
Derrick glanced at it casually, but his eyes were immediately drawn to one of the murals:
On the wall to the left, a pure white cross stands in the very center, surrounded by sea-like blackness that submerges many struggling, outstretched arms of humans.
The cross depicts an upside-down " Fallen Creator," with rusty nails and bloodstains indistinguishable from any other idol.
But in this mural, the " Fallen Creator " is being corrupted by darkness, to the point that parts of the white cross have turned black.
In addition, the cross supports a hazy earth, and countless people kneel and pray to the " Fallen Creator ".
Around the edges of the scene, in the deepest darkness, lurks a figure resembling six evil gods.
In the upper left corner is a woman wearing a black classic dress. Her clothes are layered but not complicated, and are inlaid with many the Star- like glitters. Her body is somewhat ethereal, with signs of ripples spreading outwards. Her face is blurry, as if she is wearing a mask without features.
Darkness surged around her, and eerie eyes flickered in and out of sight.
Directly above was a young man dressed in a Pure White robe, his face painted pure gold, from which radiant tendrils grew.
His hands gripped a decaying green book and a spear formed of radiant light, respectively, with the book on his chest and the spear on his back reversed.
In the upper right corner is Monster wielding a trident. It has an octopus-like head, wide-open eyes, and is surrounded by lightning.
Countless bird feathers formed its cloak, and darkness transformed into waves that supported its feet.
In the lower right corner is a plump and beautiful woman with her breasts bulging high, naked outside her clothes. She holds a baby with a rotting face in her arms. At her feet are black ears of wheat, springs with writhing chunks of flesh, pus-oozing herbs, and animals mating Frenzy.
Directly below is an elderly man wearing a hood, revealing his mouth, wrinkles, and white beard.
The old man held an open book with an eye above it that symbolized Omniscience.
At first glance, the old man seemed the most normal, but the smile on his lips had an indescribable eeriness to it.
In the lower left corner is Giant Warrior wearing tattered armor, leaning on a longsword, sitting on a throne, with a desolate Twilight in the background.
The meaning of this mural is that when the Cataclysm came, evil gods crawled out of the Abyss, and the " Fallen Creator " bore most of the sins and suffering in order to save mankind, which is why the symbols were corrupted and the image changed... However, I think He is the greatest evil god... Derrick carried a leather lantern and walked around looking at the mural on the wall. He found that it was basically consistent with Dark Ray Megus. The core theme was that the area he was in was not abandoned by the gods, but was instead protected by the " Creator " and maintained civilization in the Apocalypse.
Of course, Dark Ray Megus only mentioned it briefly before, which is far less detailed than what the mural itself depicts.
Throughout the process, Derrick did not let his guard down. Having learned from his previous moment of being stunned, he remained vigilant against any unexpected events and was prepared to respond immediately.
In the dim candlelight, the exploration team traversed corridors, halls, and rooms, delving deeper into the temple's underground area.
Suddenly, a half-open gray stone gate appeared in front of them.
Outside the gate grew clusters of beautiful mushroom-shaped things, about the size of a palm, with white stems, bright red caps, and glistening with dark golden spots.
Upon seeing these "mushrooms," the members of the exploration team felt an overwhelming urge to eat them, wanting nothing more than to rush over, pluck one, and stuff it into their mouths.
Many people swallowed hard.
However, most of those who made it into the exploration team possessed rich experience and relatively good Sequence. Having been warned beforehand, someone immediately stepped forward and whispered:
"That was rotting flesh and hairy scalp."
Derrick recognized his teammate, knew his name was Joshua, and knew he possessed a magical item that he had obtained and successfully redeemed during a certain exploration.
Joshua extended his left hand, gloved in Red Gloves, and pointed it at the door.
With a flash of light, a blazing fireball quickly took shape and shot out, striking the exceptionally tempting "mushrooms" squarely.
Boom! The earth trembled slightly, and the flames spread two meters in all directions.
When the fire died down, all the mushrooms had disappeared, leaving only the Star pieces of flesh and blood, making the Beyonder had almost lost control feel nauseous.
" Demon Hunter " Colin did not interfere with his team's actions, but quietly watched from the sidelines, nodding occasionally.
"How can there be mushrooms made of flesh and hair? Where did the flesh and hair come from?" Joshua withdrew his left palm and muttered to himself in confusion.
Another team member boldly guessed:
"The original inhabitants of this city?"
It's possible... maybe their death was simply turning them into pure flesh and hair... Derrick mentally agreed.
After a brief discussion, the exploration team split into several groups and began cleaning the hall outside the gray stone gate.
Having done all this, they regrouped and slowly passed through the gate, ready for battle at any moment.
Beyond the gate was an altar-like place, the surrounding area, where light could hardly reach, was deep and dark, its contents unknown.
Above the altar stood a black cross and an upside-down " Fallen Creator ".
Derrick, carrying the animal-skin lantern, was closest and instinctively glanced over.
His gaze suddenly froze, for he noticed that the " Fallen Creator " statue here was different from those outside.
Its eyes are open!
Bloodshot whites and black pupils stared directly at the intruder as if they were alive.
Tap tap tap, Derrick heard the sound of teeth clashing.
He initially thought it was coming from one of his teammates, but he quickly realized that he was the one trembling!
Although he didn't know much about the dangers of the evil god, his jaw was trembling instinctively at that moment.
Da da da.
His teammates had similar reactions.
Just then, a speck of powder floated up, and " The Demon Slayer " Colin clenched his fist.
Boom!
The sound of thunder echoed, Derrick and the others suddenly woke up, shaking off their previous nightmarish state.
Before they could even survey their surroundings, a faint weeping sound suddenly came from behind the altar.
"Waaah, waaah, waaah..."
"Waaah, waaah, waaah..."
In the chilling silence, " Demon Hunter " Colin calmly gave the order:
" Derrick, Joshua, go around and take a look."
Derrick, feeling a chill, carried the animal-skin lantern and gripped the " Hurricane Axe," and together with Joshua, slowly made their way around to the back of the altar.
As the darkness was gradually dispelled by the light, they saw a dark figure huddled behind the altar.
Two steps forward, and the shadowy figure revealed its true form.
It was a seven or eight-year-old child with soft, straight blond hair.
He closed his eyes briefly, seemingly unaccustomed to the light, and excitedly shouted:
"Help me, help me..."
Derrick's pupils contracted as he recalled the cries for help he had heard in the absolute darkness, and he instinctively raised his " Hurricane Axe."
At this moment, Colin, the " Demon Hunter " who had already arrived beside them, stepped forward and asked solemnly:
"Who are you?"
The child stopped crying for help and said, as if recalling something:
"My name is... my name is Jack..."
After dinner, Klein put on his coat and hat, ready to go out.
He was going to find Miss Sharron to solve a problem about someone digging a tunnel from the Baron, and also to inquire about clues about the mermaid, hoping to finish this task before Detective Sherlock Moriarty went south for a "vacation".
P. S.: I'm attending Author's salon on China Literature, so I won't be updating early this morning; it will be at the normal time. However, I'd still like to ask for your recommendation votes for Monday!