Muxi University, three underground floors, alien species research laboratory.
Having regained his human form, Todd stood before a huge iron cage covered with a black cloth, staring blankly ahead, speechless for a long time.
Behind him, a group of scholars in lab coats and a band of fully armed knights looked at each other, none daring to step forward and disturb the god's contemplation.
The huge laboratory was as silent as a graveyard, with only one or two low growls occasionally coming from the iron cage.
Finally, a voice came from the front door, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Majesty, Ms. Rachel, the president of the Alien Society, has arrived."
Todd turned his gaze away from the iron cage and looked around. A familiar figure slowly became clear in his eyes.
She wore a long, emerald-green robe, her voluptuous figure swaying gracefully.
"haven't seen you for a long time."
Facing this woman he knew all too well, Todd found his voice was slightly hoarse.
Rachel walked up to Todd, smiled, and reached out to gently wipe a speck of dust from his shoulder with a soft, natural motion.
"haven't seen you for a long time."
Upon hearing Rachel's words, Todd himself laughed.
Rachel turned her head to look at the huge iron cage not far away and asked, "You found a sample of the Black Plague?"
As Todd waved for the black cloth to be raised, he said to Rachel, "Do you remember? I once ordered the Knights of the North Island to sail southwest in search of the Black Plague."
"Yes, I remember."
"Later, the expedition disappeared without a trace, vanishing into the vast ocean." Todd watched as the black cloth was slowly pulled up and said in a deep voice, "Just recently, the Valkyries found the ship and managed to bring it back."
The black cloth was completely pulled up, revealing what was inside the huge iron cage.
A gigantic humanoid creature covered in black parasites had its limbs bound by four thick iron chains.
Upon sensing the light, the parasitic corpse immediately went from calm to berserk.
His body slowly grew larger, his limbs expanding as if inflated, and his huge feet stomped on the ground, leaving shocking cracks, causing the entire laboratory to tremble slightly.
Rachel looked at the parasitic corpse, frowned, and slowly said, "I think I know him..."
Todd clenched his fist and said, word by word, "The vice-commander of the North Island Knights—Little Jerry. I personally gave him the order to go out to sea to scout."
Rachel glanced at Todd's expression and said in a low voice, "This isn't your fault."
Todd shook his head slightly, then said, "I asked you to come here so I could help me analyze some things."
"Okay, go ahead and say it."
"As you can see, little Jerry has become a victim of the Black Plague. His body is now nearly dead, but his soul has vanished without a trace."
Rachel pressed further, "The soul has vanished? Could you elaborate?"
“I tried to contact his soul and even tried to have Deirdre recall his soul, but he not only did not return to the soul space, but he also did not wander anywhere; it was as if he had vanished.”
Rachel frowned and said, "Like Karin?"
“That’s right, just like Karin…”
After a moment's thought, Rachel said, "There are several possibilities."
"First, the soul of a creature infected by the black plague will completely dissipate."
"Second, his soul will be extracted from his body and imprisoned in a certain place, making it impossible for him to be summoned by supernatural abilities such as necromancy or soul space."
Todd responded, "Both of these assumptions have some problems."
"Why?"
“Let me give you an example. There was a Crusader soldier named Bulville who was infected with the Black Plague during the battle of Tero City, but after he died, his soul successfully returned to the Soul Space.”
Rachel rubbed her temples, looking exasperated. "If that's the case, then the Black Plague won't destroy souls, but it will extract and imprison some of the victims' souls. The key question is, why are some people's souls imprisoned while others' souls are freed?"
Todd said, "I had Mary do a survey in the Soul Space. Of all the people who established a soul link with me, if they were infected by the Black Plague, about three-quarters of their souls eventually returned to the Soul Space."
Rachel asked, "Do these returning souls have anything in common? Such as race, age, special abilities, physical constitution, etc."
Todd sighed: "Unfortunately, there's nothing in common; it's more like a random result."
Rachel looked a little frustrated: "So, does that mean we have absolutely no clues?"
Todd paused for a moment before saying, "It's not that there are no clues."
"Um?"
“Some of the souls infected by the black plague told me about their experiences after returning to the soul space. They could feel themselves being sucked into a dark and cold space by a powerful force. However, through constant struggle and strong will, they gradually broke free from that space and eventually escaped.”
Rachel carefully considered Todd's words and asked, "Do they have any other descriptions of that space?"
"They said that the shape inside was like a shell, but you couldn't feel any warmth or vitality."
"The body...?"
Todd looked at Jerry, who had completely lost his human characteristics, in the cage, and said in a heavy tone, "Ratchet, do you still remember Boyle?"
Rachel nodded.
Todd said, "Back then, Deirdre used her psychic abilities to transfer Boyle's soul into my body, and the latter lived in my body for quite some time."
Rachel understood Todd's idea: "You mean, if someone has a special ability that allows them to simultaneously achieve the effects of a medium and a soul space, they can imprison other people's souls within their bodies?"
Todd nodded: "That's right, this person is the real culprit behind the Black Plague."
Rachel said incredulously, "But, Todd, have you ever thought about this? To imprison thousands upon thousands of souls within a body—what an enormous burden that is! There are probably only a handful of such mutants in the entire world..."
At this point, Rachel suddenly stopped talking.
Todd said softly, "There are actually people like that."
Rachel rested her chin on her fingers and said slowly, "That's right, there are indeed two such people in the Council of Elders."
Todd said coldly, "One is the Mother Goddess Eleanor, and the other is the sage Sutherland."
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