Poison

Fog is a normal phenomenon in dark fog times.

In the south, due to lower pollution concentration, fog rarely occurs except at certain times.

Tonight was different. Gray fog floated in the air, forming a dense web. The traveler walked forward step by step. The terrifying roar of the beast sounded from time to time, causing him to subconsciously pull back his cloak. The breath he exhaled blended into the fog, making it even more foggy.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, a little light suddenly appeared in front of him. The traveler unknowingly quickened his pace and saw the source of the light clearly when he got closer. It turned out to be a church standing in the wilderness.

The church looked quite old, with weathered walls and a lamp on the top of the tower. The soft light penetrated the thick fog, guiding lost travelers.

Nothing could be more reassuring than seeing the lights now. The traveler heaved a sigh of relief and knocked on the church door. The monotonous sound echoed in the mist, and soon he could hear the sound of someone approaching the door.

The heavy door creaked open, letting out a few candlelights. An elderly priest opened the door, holding a lantern, with a snow-white beard hanging down to his chest. He looked at the visitor kindly.

The traveler quickly asked, "Hello, it's very foggy outside, can I take shelter in the church?"

"Of course, son. Everyone is welcome at church."

The old priest gladly accepted his request and stepped aside to invite the traveler in. The latter thanked him somewhat nervously and then walked in.

As soon as you enter the gate, you can see a huge sculpture standing on the altar, with lifelike details. The goddess in a black dress and a veil has a cool and deep temperament. Two figures are kneeling in front of the altar, with their backs to the gate, wearing armor, and praying devoutly.

The traveler bowed to the statue and then asked, "Which god is enshrined here?"

Seeing his actions, the old priest's expression softened a little: "This is the church of the Goddess of Night. She provides help to all lost travelers. You can rest in peace. There are only a few things you need to pay attention to."

He handed the lantern to the other party and reminded them, "These are the believers of the goddess and the protectors of the church. Please do not disturb their prayers. Please try not to turn on the lights in the church. Darkness is sacred and it will protect you. Also, do not disturb the guests who have rested earlier."

"Is there anyone else here?"

"Yes, the fog is too strong tonight, and a guest came earlier. The goddess accommodates everyone, and after a long journey to this place, she has already returned to her room to rest. If you had come any later, I would have to go back to my room too."

The traveler rubbed his hair in embarrassment and said, "I'm sorry to bother you while you rest. I didn't expect there would be such a heavy fog. Do you know what this fog is?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know where this mist comes from, but it's very dangerous. Monsters are hidden in the mist, and if you get close, you will be killed and eaten. But you don't have to worry, this church is blessed by the goddess. As long as you don't actively attract those monsters, they won't attack you."

As the two talked, the old priest led the guest through a long corridor, where several ancient portraits were hung on the walls. The traveler took a quick look at them. He didn't recognize the people in them, but he could tell that the price of these portraits was quite expensive.

The old priest opened the door of the guest room. The room was not big, but it was clean and tidy, and it was a good place to rest.

"You can rest here. The church is safe and no monsters will break in. You can have dinner in the front hall. The bell rings as a signal for dinner. The food in the church is rather simple, I hope you don't mind."

The traveler said gratefully, "It is a relief to have a meal. I should be grateful for your tolerance. Staying in the wild on a night like this is tantamount to seeking death."

The old priest was obviously satisfied with his answer, and left after a few simple instructions. The traveler stayed in the room obediently until the dull bell rang, and then he came to the front hall with a lamp.

A table was set up in the empty hall. In addition to the old priest and the two people who had prayed earlier, there were four strangers sitting at the table. They were wearing standard black robes with church emblems on their chests. Apart from them, he did not see the other guest the old priest mentioned.

After seeing him, the old priest smiled and asked him to sit down. The other people looked at him unfriendly, and the traveler touched his nose and smiled back awkwardly.

As the old priest said, the dinner was very simple. There were only boiled potatoes and a few pieces of hard black bread. Even so, the amount in each person's bowl was very limited.

One person grumbled in dissatisfaction: "There aren't many things to begin with, and we have to share them with these guys. They can't get out anyway."

The other man stopped him with a stern look. The man curled his lips and stopped talking reluctantly.

"Go out, what does it mean that you can't go out?"

The traveler's face turned slightly pale, and he looked at the others for help. The old priest sighed, with a look of pity on his face.

"I didn't want to tell you this now, but it's really despairing to know this. Eugene is right. Once you get into the mist, you can't get out."

"No, it's impossible! How could it be... I'm just lost. I can go home when the fog clears. How can I never get out!?"

The young man grabbed his hair fiercely and looked at others in disbelief. But everyone silently avoided his gaze, including the one who just accidentally revealed the truth. The already rough dinner became even harder to swallow.

"Don't think too much. Go back and have a good rest. We can talk about anything tomorrow morning."

With the old priest's consolation, the traveler returned to his room in a state of despair. He was in no mood to think about anything else after hearing the bad news. Was he really going to live in this church for the rest of his life? No, there must be a way. He was so confused that it took him a long time to fall asleep.

After he fell asleep, the night deepened.

The entire church was immersed in darkness, without a single ray of light.

The lantern on the table had gone out, and the room was also dark. There was a bulge on the bed, indicating that the guest was resting.

After an unknown amount of time, something suddenly dripped onto the boy's face. He did not react at all. The smooth touch licked his cheeks, filled with strong desire.

Again and again.

He suppressed his hunger and licked continuously, his saliva flowing along his skin, wetting the pillow and the collar of his clothes.

It was a ferocious monster on all fours, with all its joints twisted in opposite directions. A red eye the size of an egg was visible in the middle of its long black hair, staring straight at the sleeping wanderer. If the wanderer opened his eyes, it would tear his body apart immediately.

The traveler opened his eyes dazedly and screamed subconsciously. The scream was torn apart before it even came out of his throat. The monster seemed to have received some kind of permission. The moment he saw him, he could not wait to pounce on him and devoured his body voraciously.

It seems that this place is not as safe as the old priest said.

Mason stood in the corner, sighing as he watched the monster tearing the quilt. The air was filled with illusory ripples, and the illusion created by the water mirror confused the monster's perception. Unfortunately, the pillow was licked over and over by the monster, and the cotton was scattered everywhere.

After sighing, the boy picked up the lantern and opened the bedroom door.

At the same moment, black shadows rushed over from three directions: overhead, behind the door, and in front of the door.

They were three monsters with different postures but equally ferocious. Their sharp claws tore the bodies of their prey into pieces. Their blood and flesh were dripping on each other, arousing the ferocity in their hearts.

They roared and rushed towards each other, and the sounds of gnawing and swallowing were endless. The young man who was the inducement was even more dead. The light attracted more monsters, and they rushed to the lantern. The fallen lamp oil splashed all over the nearest monster, and the monster was immediately torn into pieces. These monsters killed each other, and more monsters were attracted by their movements and crawled over from afar.

Suddenly, the corridor became a battlefield where monsters were fighting. No monster noticed the difference in the air. After a while, the flax-haired boy walked out of the corridor. The monsters ignored his appearance and continued to wait for their next prey.

A church suddenly appeared in the wilderness, worshipping the long-lost goddess of the night. If there is nothing wrong with this, Ronald washes his hair upside down (yes, Ronald washes his hair upside down).

Mason walked toward the front hall according to his memory, but the corridor never reached the end. The windows on both sides were closed tightly, and the darkness was tightly attached to the glass, so he couldn't see the scenery outside. Photos of clergymen in uniforms were hung on the walls, and occasionally he could hear the small sound of monsters crawling.

Mason used the dagger he carried with him to scratch a mark on the wall. He tested the wind in the passage and chose to go to the right. About ten minutes later, the boy stopped and looked at the wall. There was a clear mark there, which was the mark left by his dagger.

The church became an endless maze, and no matter which direction you went, you could not find the end.

There is another way. The boy took out a silver ring from his pocket, which was engraved with a sword and chain pattern. Mason pointed the patterned side at the wall.

This was the life-saving item Bai had given him in Partington, but he had never really used it.

The invisible sword energy slammed into the wall, causing the ground to shake violently. Mason stood steadily in place, and a large hole was pierced in the wall, which then began to heal quickly.

There was still a wall on the other side of the hole. The boy was so focused on checking the environment that he completely ignored the things approaching from behind.

The monster approached its prey silently and pounced on its back. At the critical moment, a heavy sword blocked its claws. The man chopped the monster into pieces neatly with a deep and reliable sound.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, thank you. Are you the clergyman who prayed before the idol?"

The boy who was concentrating on his research suddenly came back to his senses and quickly thanked him. The black-uniformed holy man put away his sword and said, "You're welcome. It's my duty to eliminate these monsters."

At this point, the boy couldn't help but ask, "Didn't the priest say that monsters wouldn't attack people in the church?"

The man looked at him and said, "If you stay in bed now, you won't be attacked by those monsters."

"......"

Well, the premise of not being attacked is to sleep, right? Mason rolled his eyes in his heart. How could he not wake up when such a big monster was guarding his bed and licking his face?

He asked for help honestly: "What should I do next? I can't go back after I leave the room. No matter where I go, I end up in the corridor."

"You should sleep in your room instead of wandering around. When you see them, they see you." The Hierophant sighed, "Come with me, I know the way."

Since the other party said so, Mason followed the other party obediently. The holy man took the lead and walked in front, occasionally dealing with some monsters. The monsters seemed to be quite afraid of this enemy, at least Mason had time to talk to him.

"Sir, when did you start believing in the goddess?"

"About ten years ago. My parents, wife and daughter were killed by thieves. After that, I threw myself into the arms of the goddess and was sent to this church by the church. Later, this church fell into an eternal mist, and we can no longer leave here."

The Paladin sighed, "Don't blame Eugene, he's just too depressed. The food in the church is all found by us. The more people share, the less food there is, and the more effort we have to put in. A brother died outside not long ago, and he is in a bad mood."

"It's okay, I don't blame him. I just want to know if you guys have tried to leave?"

"Of course, but no matter which way you go, you will end up here. Later, the priests took the structure of the fog as a reference and set up safety measures in the corridor. Even if a monster breaks in, it will be confused. As long as you sleep until dawn, there will be no danger."

The Paladin personally escorted him back to the room. The monster corpse at the door had disappeared, as if it had never existed. When the two of them walked into the room, the quilt had returned to its original state.

The tall knight supervisor Mason lay on the bed and reminded him again: "I wish you a good dream. Even if a monster is standing in your room, it will be fine as long as you don't open your eyes."

"Okay, thank you."

Mason closed his eyes and his breathing became slow again. After confirming that he had fallen asleep, the Paladin turned around and left the room. After a long time, a figure crawled out from under the boy's bed.

He moved quickly without making any sound. If he hadn't crawled out, no one would have noticed that there was another person in the room.

The figure searched the room, and after finding nothing, he reached for the boy's luggage. At this moment, he suddenly felt a chill. The premonition in the dark reminded him of the coming of danger, and the searcher hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I'm not an enemy!"

The spore-formed dagger was pressed against his lower back, and he could feel the breathing behind him in the darkness. This made the intruder even more terrified. He was completely unaware of the movement until the other party made a move!

"Turn around and you have thirty seconds to explain."

The intruder quickly raised his hands to show that he was harmless, muttering, "What kind of monsters are those who come here... Hey, hey, hey, I'm not talking about you, I really don't mean any harm, I just came to check on the missing persons here."

He turned around. It was a man who could not be found in the crowd. He was in his early thirties, and his left eyebrow was divided into two parts by a gap, shaped like a small crescent. Mason looked him up and down and had a guess in his mind.

“Are you from the church?”

"Wow, you have a good eye. How did you see that?"

There are only three types of people who come here. People sent by Earl Yaan, people sent by the church, and the unlucky ones who accidentally disappeared. He knows all the bloodline people in Yaan City. The unlucky ones will definitely be defeated if they encounter such a situation. The one who has the strength to survive must be at least a viscount. Mason has already memorized the faces of his colleagues, and there is only one possibility left.

No matter how dangerous this place is, the church will definitely not give up on the rescue. You can't just let the people from the Noble Association do the work and then sit back and reap the benefits, right?

So Mason said calmly, "Guess."

"Can I understand that you already consider me as one of your own?"

"The premise is that you are really one of us."

"Of course. My goal is the same as yours, to deal with this church. If I'm not mistaken, this church should be an out-of-control pollutant, [Confession]. It looks like a dilapidated church, and judging by its appearance, it is at least a hundred years old. The time and place of its appearance are uncertain, and the anomalies it causes are also different, but they all have the characteristic of confusing others."

"The properties of [Confession] are very complex. First, it can attract bloodline members and assimilate them after a period of time. Have you seen the portraits in the corridor? Those are the bloodline members who disappeared before."

"Second, [Confession] has an extraordinary attraction to believers. The stronger the faith, the easier it is to get lost. In addition, the longer you stay near it or in the building, the easier it is to be attracted."

"The third and most difficult point is that [Repentance] can create people based on the prototypes of assimilated bloodline people. Those priests, clergymen and monsters you see are all created in this way."

Mason looked at him with a subtle look in his eyes for a moment: "Then why are you okay?"

"......"

The other party decisively skipped the topic: "Since you can find me, you must be very powerful. Let's work together. I know how to leave the corridor maze, but the old man is guarding the door and I can't get through."

"What do you want to do?"

The intruder grinned and slashed his throat with his thumb. "I'll take you there, and while I'm distracting him, you can take care of him."

Mason squinted at him: "You seem to have forgotten the most important thing."

The other party was stunned for a moment: "What's the matter?"

"How should I address you? I can't just keep calling you hello."

"It doesn't matter if you want to call me that, it's just a name." The man thought for a moment and smiled. "If you must call me a name, then call me Poison."

People from the church are called poison, which seems to sound good.

Mason shrugged and retracted the spore dagger.

"Okay, poison. I agree. If you lie to me, I'll kill you."

"Hey, we are allies now, why are you talking so murderously?"

"It's because we are allies that I don't want to be stained with the blood of my comrades."

The linen-haired boy spoke in a rhythmic manner and made a gesture of invitation to the door. Duyao obeyed and pushed the door open. The monster lingering at the door turned its head subconsciously and stared at him.

Poison whistled, drew out his two swords, and asked with a smile, "Baby, do you want to dance with me?"

The next second, his figure disappeared from the spot. The monster fell to the ground with a bang, without even reacting to what happened. Du Yao blew on the blade calmly and bowed slowly towards the boy in the house.

"Please, sir, I will make way for you."