Lower Lip District, 13 Fang Street.
Ulrika, who was plump, had dark brown skin and small eyes, sat on the sofa. She wrapped nearly ten kinds of herbs and spices, which were specialties of the Southern Continent, in layers of dried, yellow tobacco leaves and cut them into long strips.
Then, he took the homemade " East Balam cigarette" in his hand, lit a nearby match, and watched as the tip gradually turned black and curled, revealing a bright red color.
Biting the tail end, taking a deep drag, Ulrika slowly exhaled a wisp of white smoke tinged with light blue, and said contentedly to the guest on the single sofa next to him:
"This is what a cigarette should be, a real cigarette."
"Those things in the Northern Continent are only suitable for children!"
The guest on the single sofa was a man in his forties, with a high nose bridge, near-blue eyes, soft facial features, thick, slightly curly black hair, and skin that was neither dark nor fair. He appeared to be of mixed Loen and Balam descent.
He chuckled upon hearing this and replied in Dutanese:
Unfortunately, I'm not interested in any kind of cigarette.
" Enzo, you have absolutely no idea how to enjoy life..." Before Ulrika could finish speaking, the powerful Spirituality inherent in his own path gave him a slight sense of danger.
This happened so suddenly and urgently that Ulrika immediately realized the problem was serious.
Before he could even leap from his original position, darkness enveloped him, as if he could see directly into the deep night outside. He felt intensely sleepy and a profound sense of peace washed over him.
The entire Fang Street, whether the houses were lit or dark, became unusually quiet at this moment, as if no living beings lived inside, or as if they had all fallen asleep at the same instant.
Just then, Ulrika, who had been snoring and slumping, suddenly sprang to his feet, his eyes strangely both dazed and clear.
Behind him, a little girl with skin so pale it was almost unreal had somehow appeared!
The little girl had bluish circles around her eyes, dark lips, and a ghostly gaze fixed on the side. Her pale, translucent hands and feet had burrowed into Ulrika's body, as if she were an inescapable spirit.
Her presence brought a chill originating from the Spirit Body, which allowed Ulrika to barely resist the abnormal sleepiness and forcibly break free from the influence of the " Nightmare ".
Before Ulrika had fully regained consciousness, she instinctively rushed to the stairwell and stretched out her palms, pushing forward as if she were trying to open a door that did not exist.
In the blink of an eye, a bronze door covered with mysterious patterns that defied description appeared before Ulrika, swaying and creaking, a crack appearing in its surface.
Within the crevice lay an endless darkness, from which countless indescribable eyes peered outwards.
At the same time, through the crevice, a large number of strange, yet still indistinct, wriggling things were rushing in frantically.
Just as Ulrika was about to exert her strength and open the door to let the terrifying world behind it descend upon Fang Street, she suddenly saw a pair of translucent, pale hands leap out of thin air, pierce through the deep darkness, and press against the inner crack of the door.
These hands have no origin, are not connected to the body, and are covered in blood at the wrists, indicating they were severed by someone!
With forces applied from both sides, the mysterious bronze gate came to a stop, unable to close or open any further.
Above House No. 13, Soest, now a " Spirit Warlock," stood half-floating, surrounded by an invisible force, holding a golden sundial in his hands and slowly raising it upwards.
As the golden corona finally passed over Soest's head, brilliant light suddenly flowed out, quickly outlining and converging into one.
Suddenly, it seemed as if a the Sun had leaped out of the void, showering all its light and heat upon the house at 13 Fang Street.
They penetrated the building without causing any damage, landing on the bronze gate and enveloping Ulrika, who was standing right in front of it.
Ulrika's expression immediately turned extremely painful. The pale, almost transparent little girl behind him let out a shrill scream, but it was blocked back by the "sunlight," which surged and engulfed her.
She Distortion and evaporated rapidly, with wisps of black smoke escaping and dissolving into the ocean of light.
There wasn't a single dark place left in this house!
When the "sunlight" faded, the indescribable bronze gate had disappeared, and on the ground lay a bloated, bluish-black corpse oozing with pale yellow stains.
With a tearing sound, the corpse split open, and a small, thin figure sprang out from inside.
The figure looked exactly like Ulrika, but its skin was as black as ink, and it was only 1.2 to 1.3 meters tall, with thick pus flowing from its body.
As soon as he came out, he rushed to the stairwell at an exaggerated speed, crawled into the basement, opened the pre-prepared secret passage, and ran wildly forward.
In just ten seconds, the shrunken, corrupted version of Ulrika saw the exit, saw hope.
He was not careless; with a gentle clench of his right hand, seven or eight more transparent, illusory figures emerged from his body.
They were bizarre in appearance, like deformed variants that combined features of humans, plants, or certain animals. Some were holding onto Ulrika's arms, while others were lifting his legs, trying to carry him through wild flight.
Immediately afterwards, the mechanism button sank deep, the gears creaked and turned, and the exit door suddenly opened, revealing a quiet, dark corner of the street outside.
Further ahead are roads that can be seen from above, houses on both sides of the roads, and the sea shimmering with the Moonlight.
Just as Ulrika was about to fly out of the secret passage with the help of the spirit and blend into other areas of Gurain City, a lake shrouded in a thin mist suddenly appeared in her eyes.
The lake water shimmered, possessing a tranquil beauty. Ripples spread out from the center, and a beautiful yet ethereal figure slowly rose to the surface.
This is a powerful spirit, often referred to as the " Lady of the Lake " in human legends!
The strength of a " Spirit Guide " often depends on which dead and nature spirits they can find and control. The same applies to " Spirit Warlock," except that " Spirit Guide " are more inclined towards the dead, while " Spirit Warlock " are more adept at controlling nature spirits.
At this moment, the transparent, strange figures around Ulrika let out a series of terrified, monotonous sounds, dropped the arms and legs they were dragging and lifting, and darted into the dark, thin body like the wind.
With a thud, Ulrika fell to the ground, but felt no pain, as a strong sense of sleepiness suddenly overwhelmed him, washing over him in waves until he unknowingly drifted into a dream.
At the exit, Daly Simone, dressed in Spirit Medium's robe and wearing blue eyeshadow and blush, appeared out of nowhere. Looking at the 1.2-1.3 meter tall, pitch-black Ulrika inside, she spoke directly:
" The Death he fused with were strange; without a living human body as a 'house,' they would quickly wither and dissipate."
"We must hurry and gather intelligence."
Leonard Mitchell emerged from the shadows, glanced at Daly Simone with slight surprise, and said:
"Aren't you Spirit Guide? How can you command the ' Lady of the Lake '?"
"Aren't you a poet? Why can't you write poetry?" Daly retorted irritably.
On the other side of the street, on a not-too-steep cliff, a figure gripped a protruding spot and moved quickly down, soon landing in a dark corner of Chin Street.
He had a light complexion, blue eyes, and thick, slightly wavy black hair; he Enzo, who had just been a guest at Ulrika's home at 13 Fang Street in the Lower Lip District.
Enzo was not a member of the " Spirituality Religion," but belonged to the group that had defected from the School of Life under the influence of the Rose School of Thought.
Moreover, he is not one of those Beyonder who can become a " Vampire " through the " Apothecary " path, nor does he worship the " The Moon Primordial." He simply doesn't want to accept the various rules set by his teacher and his teacher's teacher anymore, and hopes to live a life he can do as he pleases, hoping to make full use of his " Winner's" advantages.
This mindset led him to strongly endorse the Indulgence Faction philosophy of the Rose School of Thought, and he soon officially joined them, indulging in all sorts of desires.
This time, he came to Gurain on behalf of the Rose School of Thought to contact the Spirituality Religion and discuss possible cooperation on several matters. However, he did not expect that " Jet-Black Dead " Ulrika would be ambushed by the Church of Evernight, a high-level ambush!
"Fortunately, I'm good at counter -Divination. The people of the Church of Evernight didn't know I was with Ulrika beforehand, so they didn't take me seriously and treated me as one of Ulrika's subordinates, which gave me a chance to escape the central area. Moreover, that 'sunlight' mainly Purification things with the power of death, evil, or filth, so it didn't hurt me too much... That must have been a Demigod- level attack..." Enzo walked in the shadows on the side of the street, unable to stop himself from recalling what had just happened.
After escaping a considerable distance, he turned around and looked back. Finding no one chasing him, he breathed a long sigh of relief and exclaimed:
" Winner is Winner, and always Winner!"
Enzo regained his usual confidence, walked with a smile to a certain point on the street, then turned left and quickly descended the stairs.
It was a steep and long staircase that connected several levels.
Near Fang Street, Soest suddenly opened his eyes and said to Leonard and Daly Simone:
"There was a man named Enzo at Ulrika's house just now. He is a member of the Rose School of Thought, and his Sequence is not low, so his position should be quite important."
"Search the surrounding area as soon as possible to see if you can find any clues. Try your best to make a successful arrest and leave no problems behind."
As for the other " Red Gloves " and the local " Nighthawks " who were assisting, they were either capturing other members of the Spirituality Religion or had already entered Dream Divination to capture them, hoping to obtain first-hand information as soon as possible. The remaining few were responsible for guarding against unexpected events and protecting their companions.
"Yes, Captain Soest." Leonard agreed without hesitation.
Daly scratched at herself in the wind, brought her hand to her ear, listened for two or three seconds, and said:
"The kids in the neighborhood told me that someone did indeed escape from that cliff."