Chapel, choir hall.
The riots outside did not affect the order here at all. After the initial panic, the priests once again led the children of Fir City in singing hymns.
Amidst background music composed of children's voices, [ Howling Pothos ] took down two more guards and successfully entered the basement of the chapel.
The fluorescent light emitted by the plants flickered on and off as he cautiously groped his way forward, the hymns echoing through the alleyway masking his footsteps.
At the end of the passageway is a stone wall that immediately reveals something is amiss. If there isn't something hidden behind it, the planner who designed this map could pack their bags and leave on the spot.
Unfortunately, two guards stood in front of the stone wall, their faces filled with vigilance as the Howling Pothos approached.
Turning around and leaving at this point was obviously impossible. [ Howling Pothos ] strode forward, but was quickly stopped by two swords.
"Identity tag, password."
A priest said in an unfriendly tone.
Yes, yes, I'll get it for you.
[ Howling Pothos ] reached into her robes and squeezed hard to activate the Paralysis Bomb in her arms, while holding her breath.
The hissing sound echoed throughout the passageway. The two priests' expressions changed drastically. They were about to draw their swords and rush forward when they saw that the person in front of them was several steps faster than they were.
A lightning-fast elbow strike landed on one man's chest, while the other man's sword, which he had only half-drawn, was seized by a gauntlet-clad right hand.
A thick floor divides two completely different scenes: above, over a hundred children are singing hymns in unison in warm light, while below, three priests are fighting in a narrow, dimly lit passageway.
[ Howling Pothos ] should have had an easy time fighting two opponents, but the passageway was too narrow, preventing the two enemies from using their full abilities, which gave him the upper hand.
[ Howling Pothos ] kicked one of the priests away, dodged the other's stab, and pushed off with his foot to create distance between them.
As the enemy distanced himself from him, the enemy in front readjusted his posture and was about to shout when he suddenly inhaled a large mouthful of sleeping powder. The sweet and cloying taste immediately rushed up his lungs, almost causing him to lose his grip on his sword.
Seeing that the enemy was already showing signs of paralysis, [ Howling Pothos ] took two steps forward, his right hand, covered by a gauntlet, suddenly gripped one of the people's throats, and then pressed down hard.
With a crisp cracking sound of bones breaking, the priest collapsed limply, and the other was quickly pierced through as well.
After taking down two enemies, the effects of the smoke began to wear off.
[ Howling Pothos ] reached out and touched the wall at the end of the passageway, quickly pressing down on one of the stone bricks.
Several vines pulled an entire wall away to the side, revealing a deeper, more secluded space behind it.
Looking at the bottomless, dark passage before him, [ Howling Pothos ] couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
If the small chapel already hides such a large area, the area beneath the cathedral is probably even Nurgle.
He took a deep breath and carefully slipped it inside.
A few seconds later, he emerged again, and after confirming that no one was in the passageway, he dragged the two bodies of the Fallen One, whose fates were unknown, into the hidden space and bound them with vines.
After turning several corners along the passageway, the brightness ahead gradually increased.
Along the way, [ Howling Pothos ] saw some scattered cells, but they were all empty, so even if she wanted to save something, she didn't know where to start.
The innermost room was still brightly lit. [ Howling Pothos ] peeked through the crack in the door and saw an old man bent over a desk, writing something.
This person was clearly connected to the human experiments in Fir City. [ Howling Pothos ] began to recall the requirements of this mission and was shocked to discover a loophole that wasn't exactly a loophole—
High-value items don't seem to have a rule about whether the recipient is alive or dead, do they?
So if he could get this old man out of the city, how much would Ed pay him?
Thinking of this, [ Howling Pothos ] couldn't help but swallow hard.
Leveling up solo is too tiring. If converting this old man's money into cash can alleviate my financial crisis, then this adventure will have a reward commensurate with the risks.
The idea was good, but seeing that the other person was so old yet still able to stay up all night to record things, they might not be an ordinary person.
After remarking on the high risk and high reward, [ Howling Pothos ] gently wiped the bloodstains from the corner of his clothes and, with his composed and unperturbed demeanor, knocked on the door.
"Come in."
The old man writing something didn't even look up, but simply gave a brief instruction. [ Howling Pothos ] pushed open the door and entered without speaking first, because he didn't know how to address the other person.
Fortunately, the old man promptly covered up this loophole for him.
Not hearing the question from the newcomer, the old man casually asked:
What do you want?
This question conveniently masked the issue of [ Howling Pothos ]'s choice of address, and he answered seriously:
"A riot has broken out in the city, and the archbishop has ordered me to escort you to the cathedral."
"Riot?"
The old man frowned slightly, his attention completely drawn to this uncommon word, paying no attention to whether the logic in the other person's reasoning was sound.
"Yes, there was an explosion near the chapel not long ago... It's very dangerous here now."
As [ Howling Pothos ] approached the old man, it began to subtly observe what the old man was recording:
[... severe lower limb Aberration... failed to recover... loss of reason...]
He felt his eyelids twitch after reading just a few keywords, and then used his not-so-powerful Psionic Energy Compatibility to sense the old man's strength, while constantly urging him on:
"Please hurry, the city is no longer safe."
The old man paused, pen in hand, and looked up upon hearing this:
"It's already that serious?"
[ Howling Pothos ] nodded and said:
"Yes, we have absolutely no idea where those thugs and bandits came from. They seem to number a lot, and the main road is very dangerous now."
"Okay, let's leave now."
The old man did not doubt the priest's words. In his view, as an expert in human experimentation in Antiya Lisi, it was perfectly normal for the priest to send someone to pick him up when there was already unrest in the city.
He closed the notebook he hadn't finished writing in and put it in a pocket.
Seeing this, [ Howling Pothos ] spoke up again to remind them:
Please take your valuables with you, as we may not be returning to the chapel for some time.
The old man looked up at the young priest and commented with satisfaction:
"Good, good, you have a good eye. There's a bookshelf behind you, could you get me some documents?"