Chapter 41
"There's no one alive in this inn anymore," Murphy said calmly, the staff in his hand gleaming with a faint white light, like a thin veil.
“How could that be? We met the hotel owner tonight…” Arnold blurted out instinctively.
The boy didn't speak, but just frowned and stared at the men in black.
Allen suddenly spoke up: "We have no interest in the Divine Key."
The leader of the men in black stared at Allen, and a twisted expression suddenly appeared on his bloated face, as if he were laughing. However, the bones beneath his skin seemed to writhe under the influence of this expression, making him look extremely terrifying.
He stretched out his hand, his fingers also a pale color. This time, they could see the hand clearly; it was completely different from a human hand. The skin was covered with fish-scale-like scales, and there seemed to be some liquid sliding on them. The fingertips were sharp, slender black nails, with a small circle cut out at the tip.
"Dragon race...do you also want to revive your race?" his hoarse voice rang out.
Allen's eyes darkened, and he remained silent, but his heart was in turmoil because of those words.
Arnold couldn't hold back any longer: "What exactly is the Divine Key? We have no idea!"
"Ha...then you...should die even more."
Ripples spread out like circles, and the polluted water on the ground rolled, as if something was about to emerge from the water.
Murphy and Arnold's expressions changed. Both of them were mages and immediately sensed the surge in water element. Murphy, on the other hand, sensed the imminent tearing of space.
He whispered sharply, "Go!"
The blizzard was still raging through the town, but Arnold and Allen chose to trust their companion. This time, the beam of light from the staff blasted open the inn's wall, and a large amount of snow poured in as the three ran outside.
As he plunged into the snowstorm, a giant tentacle pierced through the hotel behind him from the inside out. Arnold turned around, his eyes widening at the sight. Those men in black were indeed not human.
Murphy waved his staff, glancing sideways at the surrounding houses. Silence reigned; the entire town was deathly still amidst the swirling snow.
A white magic circle appeared beneath their feet, instantly weakening the blizzard and blocking it completely. At the same time, Arnold's sword, which he had placed in the corner of the inn room, suddenly flew out through the window.
The blond boy, as if it were commonplace, raised his hand and easily grasped his sword.
The men in black also chased after them. Their lower bodies had mutated into tentacles with extremely strong suction. They clung to the snow-covered ground, and in the wind and snow, their figures grew taller and taller. Their robes were torn to shreds by their bodies and blown away by the strong wind.
Arnold swallowed hard, looking at the monster that was taller than the walls of Mercury City. Its enormous shadow loomed around them, clearly overwhelming them.
"Where the blizzard rages, and the sword shatters, the divine key will appear. It really is you!" The already hoarse voice grew even sharper, as they brandished their enormous, twisted tentacles, tearing through the blizzard's barrier and attacking the heroes.
A white beam of light illuminated half the town. Murphy's face was cold, and the light from his staff remained undiminished. A white halo slowly rose behind him, and the beam of light that flew from the tip of the staff carried destructive power, instantly piercing through the flying tentacles. The burning smell spread through the wind and snow.
Arnold turned his head, and the layered white rings were reflected in his eyes. He couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "Murphy, you already have five rings on you."
When Veris led the Papacy delegation to the gates of Mercury City, the ten large golden rings that Keith saw were also symbols of a mage's rank.
Now, Murphy, who has only been exposed to magic for two months, has five white rings of different sizes behind him, surging with light and enveloped in magical elements.
The white beam of light that shot out severed one of the monsters' tentacles, enraging them. The ground trembled slightly as they rapidly approached the three tiny humans.
Arnold raised his sword; his magical skills were not as good as Murphy's, so he might as well fight the tentacle monsters.
Allen, who was on the side, also summoned his weapon. He held the huge scythe in one hand, his face ashen. Just a second before the tentacle approached him, he swung the scythe and hooked the tentacle back.
Murphy seemed to easily pierce the tentacles with magic, but when he actually touched them with a weapon, he discovered that the skin on the tentacles was extremely tough. Allen used seven-tenths of his strength to tear through the tough skin, but he still couldn't cut off the tentacles.
Arnold fared even worse; after stabbing his sword into the tentacle, he was lifted into the air by the painful tentacle, and the boy's shout came from above: "So high!!"
The narrow street was clearly no match for these enormous monsters. All the surrounding houses were destroyed by the tentacles, and the blizzard seemed to intensify. The magical elements in the air were compressed together. Although Murphy had never seen a blizzard in the north, he knew that the amount of magical elements in the space was definitely abnormal.
He gripped his staff tightly, his face slightly pale. Although there were five halos behind him, the halos were of different sizes, which proved that his strength was still inferior to that of a steady fifth-tier mage.
The body is naturally suited to the operation of magic, but the magical elements in the space do not come from nature, but are elements that have been used.
This was an unnatural blizzard; he was more inclined to believe it was some kind of magical artifact or monster capable of creating blizzards.
Murphy looked up and saw Arnold leaping and swinging his sword amidst the intertwined tentacles. Allen also chased after one of the tentacles and left the protective range of the magic circle.
This was the first time they had encountered such a formidable enemy.
Even if it's an undeserved disaster.
The town was being destroyed by a blizzard and monsters, and the blizzard swept through the surrounding area, brewing a catastrophe in the darkness.
The stars are hidden; it's common to not see stars on a winter night, but tonight even the moon is hard to spot, making it a much rarer sight.
A cold wind whipped up a corner of my cloak. About five miles outside the eye of the blizzard, the countryside was calm. A light snow had fallen overnight, accumulating by the roadside. The road was muddy, much better off with the snow on it.
"If you don't leave, I'm really going to hit you."
The black-haired youth stared at his horse with a serious expression.
The horse stared back defiantly at him, exhaling hot breath that turned into white mist in the weather.
"It's just Warcraft, what are you afraid of!"
Veris straightened up, looking indignant.
The horse neighed a few times, displaying a defiant attitude of refusing to move forward no matter what, and it was unclear whether it understood what was being said.
Animals fear monsters, and they can sense it even from a great distance. This horse stopped here and refused to go any further, much to Veris's distress.
This kind of sensing isn't something he can detect by smell; if it were, he could have blocked the horse's nose and made it move forward.
He walked around to the side of the horse, opened his backpack, took out a map, and planned to study the terrain.
As he was watching, he suddenly felt the ground tremble. He looked up in a certain direction with a puzzled expression, squinted, and felt that something was wrong.
Although he sensed the presence of the magical beast, Veris still felt that a magical beast of that rank was not beyond his ability to handle.
But now, he clicked his tongue softly and looked in the direction of the town, where a huge tornado was brewing in the gray night.
The air carried the scent of the ocean, and the blood flowing through Veris's veins seemed to sense it.
It seems to be related to the resurgence of the gods again; no wonder there's such a grand spectacle. He pondered, looking down to roll up the map, when he suddenly noticed a mark in the corner and frowned.
The map is from ten years ago; it seems he hasn't updated his maps in a long time.
The sign above does indeed indicate that there is a small town ahead.
Ten years ago... Veris pursed his lips, rolled up the map and stuffed it back into his backpack, then took out a flute from inside, held it in his hand, and patted his horse.
"Alright, I have some things to take care of. Don't wander off, or I won't be responsible if you get eaten by monsters." He earnestly instructed his horse.
The horse looked at him and flicked its tail.
Veris tapped his palms with the flute, recalling the flight spell, and a moment later, he flew towards the town.
Although he could tear through space to reach the town directly, he needed to observe the situation of the entire town. This time, he seemed to sense the presence of more than one god.
Those who like to appear in groups are probably the Gemini Gods, but the slightly restless blood and the ocean scent in the air point to the Sea God.
The wind blew his hair, and his handsome face glowed. He looked down expressionlessly and soon saw the place enveloped by the blizzard.
The outline of the town was no longer visible; everywhere was a barrier woven from blizzards.
Veris stood in the void, golden ripples spreading beneath his feet. He held a flute, tapping it absently against his palm. The red in his right eye seemed to have faded slightly, gleaming faintly.
He was searching for the magical beast that unleashed the blizzard. Could a magical beast capable of causing such a large-scale blizzard come from Phoenix, the Demon King's Forest, or the far north islands?
After searching for a while, he frowned. There was no trace of magical beasts on the ground, but there was a group of strange sea creatures that had mutated and were fighting with humans.
"This is District Nine, not Isabel, is it?" Veris murmured. He never expected to find far-northern monsters and deep-sea races from the western sea in the interior of the continent. It was truly amazing.
If the monster that caused the blizzard cannot be found, the blizzard will not stop and will only get worse. It is likely that before dawn, this place will become a snow mountain and the entire town will be buried under the blizzard.
Just as he hesitated, a dazzling white beam of light rose from the center of the blizzard, right in the eye of the tornado. The surrounding snow and wind were being swept up by the tornado, but the beam of light remained unmoved and flew straight into the night.
Veris stopped tapping his palms and stared at the pillar of light. After a few seconds, the pillar of light blurred for a moment, and then a huge shockwave rippled out, and the blizzard was also pushed away by this enormous force.
As it passed where Veris was, the wind and snow were blocked by an invisible barrier.
Now, Veris could finally see the town clearly.
The snow was already as high as the rooftop of an ordinary house. Three humans, the size of ants, stood on a rooftop. On the ground, several sea creatures waved their long tentacles, but they did not continue to attack the humans.
They suddenly plunged their tentacles into the thick snow-covered ground.
The ground was still trembling, but the thick snow completely concealed the unusual activity. From the sky, one could see cracks appearing on the nearby ground that was not covered by snow.
Veris raised his flute to his lips, his eyes fixed on the races. Several syllables flew from the flute, which would normally be difficult to reach the monsters at such a distance, but the syllables that Veris played were not ordinary sounds.
Indistinct golden threads wrapped around the tentacles, then rapidly extended, burrowing into the ground along with the tentacles.
The monsters stopped attacking, and the blizzard was temporarily pushed back. It was time for the hero team to counterattack.
Murphy's magic was completely depleted. In the cold wind, beads of sweat rolled down his pale face as he watched intently as his companions raised their weapons and charged towards the monster that had suddenly stopped attacking.
His fingers, gripping the staff, turned white, and blood was seeping from his palms, yet he seemed oblivious to the pain.
During the battle, they discovered that these monsters were extremely protective of their heads. Although their heads were smaller than their tentacles, they were still about the size of four or five people holding hands.
Arnold had several wounds on his face, which frosted over in the wind and snow. The intense pain constantly stimulated his nerves. His brows and eyes were resolute. He leaped up using several places as cover, raised his sword high, and stabbed it fiercely into the head of one of the monsters.
Alan was positioned behind him to provide backup, and to protect Arnold as he retreated should the monster retaliate.
Fortunately, the sword successfully pierced the monster's head, going all the way to the hilt.
Arnold gripped the sword that had been with him for months, a look of delight spreading across his face. The monster below remained motionless, like the calm before a storm.
He wanted to pull out the sword, hoping to find a different spot to finish off the enemy, but as he grabbed the hilt and pulled it out, he instantly realized something was wrong.
The blond boy's hair was covered in snow, and his face was red from the cold. He turned his head and shouted to Allen, who was waiting behind him, "My sword seems to be broken!"
Allen's pupils contracted as the monster's earlier muttered words resurfaced in his mind. Just then, a violent tremor came from the ground, directly affecting them through the thick snow.
Arnold gritted his teeth, released the sword, turned around, jumped off the monster's body, and returned to Allen's side.
"It looks like another blizzard is coming." Allen's eyes narrowed, and light snow began to fall again, just like when they first entered the town.
...when we first entered the town.
Alan's pupils contracted. He wanted to say something, but found himself unable to speak. Arnold, who was next to him, turned to look at him, as if to ask him what he had discovered.
Soon, Arnold's eyes widened as well. He instinctively tried to point to his mouth, but found he couldn't move it at all.
Now, he couldn't even turn his head.
The monster in front of them seemed to be frozen in place; its tentacles, which had been wriggling slightly, were now motionless, stuck to the snow.
In this still town, a figure landed silently, his boots landing lightly on the snow, seemingly stepping on it, but in reality, his body was still suspended.
The storm had subsided, and in the quiet town, one could almost hear the breathing of people not far away.
Veris held a long staff in his hand. The staff was very different from the popular styles at the time. It looked like a withered tree trunk and was not inlaid with crystals at the top. If it weren't for the constantly flowing magical runes on the staff, it would probably have been picked up and thrown into the fireplace to start a fire.
He hovered behind the three heroes, looked up at them. All three boys were injured; the battle with the tentacles had been too much for them, given their lack of combat experience.
He shifted his gaze to the strangely shaped monsters, which looked quite different from the ones he had seen from the sky. This time, he recognized exactly what these mutated creatures were.
"The Huanzhe tribe, it's quite a distance from the deep sea of the Western Sea to here. Surely someone must be helping you," Veris said with a faint smile. "Your tribe is down to just a few of you, yet you still dare to take such a risk. I think it must be something extraordinary that would make you risk everything. Failure means the annihilation of your entire tribe, but success..."
The tip of his staff touched the snow: "Is the revival of the cycle of life a return to the glory of the Seven Gods era, the reign of the sea's overlord?"
As he moved, golden ripples spread out. If Arnold had seen them, he would have noticed that the ripples were very similar to the water ripples the monster had used in the inn. However, the golden ripples that Veris cast were composed entirely of tiny incantations within their faint light.
As the golden ripples spread, the wind and snow completely stopped, the snow melted, and the ground was severely damaged. The heroes fell to the ground, but remained standing upright.
At the spot where Arnold had stabbed the stinger in the head, a golden orb emerged from the ground and wobbled towards Veris.
Veris reached out, and the golden sphere of light dissipated, revealing what was inside.
It is a... key.
Made entirely of translucent amethyst, with a small green gemstone embedded in the key head, surrounded by a colorful halo, it's clearly not an ordinary item.
Veris held the key, turning it over and over in disbelief.
He pushed the key forward and then turned it.
The surrounding environment changed instantly. The damaged house was covered in bricks and stones. Driven by an unknown force, the bricks and stones flew towards the house. Time rewound, and the house was restored to its original state in just a few seconds.
The heroes and their companions began to retreat, heading back to the inn where they had initially checked in. They returned to the inn, went upstairs, opened their rooms, and found their beds to lie down on.
The enormous Ring-shaped Zergling shrank circle by circle, transforming back into its bizarre, bloated humanoid form. The black robe that had been torn to shreds was now perfectly intact and still on its body.
The streets were clean and tidy, with a few patches of snow in the corners. On the street near the hotel, a person wearing a large hat was sneaking towards the hotel.
Suddenly, he saw a young man standing on the road ahead.
The other person had their hands in their pockets. After hearing footsteps, they turned around, revealing a handsome face that showed no signs of aggression.
The hotel door opened, and Huanzhe entered the hotel.
The man in the big hat looked warily at the suddenly appearing young man and asked, "Who are you? What are you doing on the street so late?"
Veris tilted his head and laughed, "Aren't you the same?"
"Heh, you're here for the Divine Key too, aren't you?" The man in the big hat stood in front of Veris, and beneath the excessively large hat was a gaunt face.
Veris: "Yes, I came here for the key."
The man in the big hat was taken aback by Veris's quick admission, and then asked, "Who sent you? The Golden Merchant Guild? The royal family? Or someone from another race?"
The young man denied everything, and then, as the man in the big hat looked wary, he smiled and said, "I am... from the Papacy."
Big Hat's pupils contracted, and he suddenly turned to run away.
A hand landed on his shoulder, as if a mountain had pressed down, forcing him to stand still. The young man's voice was as young as his appearance, and his tone was gentle: "Why are you running?"
The man in the big hat trembled, his teeth chattering: "How could the Papacy know of the existence of the Divine Key—"
The hand on his shoulder tapped with its fingertips, and he instantly felt as if his shoulder bone had shattered. His face turned deathly pale as he listened to the young man slowly say, "Wherever the Pope's faith goes, he becomes the eyes and ears of the Church. Don't you know that?"
"It seems you know quite a lot. If you spill everything, I'll consider pleading for you."
The muscles on Big Hat's face twitched slightly uncontrollably: "What do you want to know?"
"Where did you get the information about the Divine Key?"
Big Hat: "I don't know either. The higher-ups told me to wait here, so I came."
Veris smiled. "Let me guess, your superior... Royal Capital Academy, right?"
Veris was not surprised that his subordinate tensed up instantly, but this did not affect his displeasure.
The smile in his eyes vanished. He raised his hand and drew a magic circle, moved the hand that was pressing on the big hat away, knocked the man unconscious, and then stuffed him into the magic circle.
The underground prison that leads directly from District 9 to the Papacy is a rare privilege.
He turned around, looked at the hotel, and walked over.
The door, which had been open, was being forcefully slammed shut from the inside. Veris's staff appeared in his hand, the bottom of which blocked the door, and he said repeatedly, "Wait, wait, I haven't gone in yet."
The person who was about to close the door paused, and the door was pulled open the next second. Before the person behind the door appeared, Veris put away his staff, a smirk on his lips, and met two wary faces scrutinizing him.
He blinked: "Hmm? So it's you guys."
Arnold remained silent, showing none of the excitement he usually displayed when seeing Veris. He watched the dark-haired youth with some nervousness. There was no blizzard outside, but Veris was still saying the exact same thing.
Allen forced a smile: "Long time no see, you're here too."
He stepped aside, and Veris followed suit as he entered the inn. As soon as he entered, he saw several ringed creatures standing stiffly in the middle of the lobby. He turned his head strangely to look at Allen, but the dragon descendant seemed to be blind and walked straight to the side without even glancing at the ringed creatures.
Is he really blind?
Veris was puzzled. He stepped forward and kicked Huanzhe, which, in human terms, would be considered a kick to the buttocks.
"What are you standing there for? You're blocking the way."
He didn't have a good impression of this race.
They love to cause trouble, and when they can't win a fight, they cry and beg for help from powerful backers. They bully the weak and fear the strong, and most importantly—they don't taste good.
Arnold stood to the side, dumbfounded. He looked at Veris, then at what was in front of Veris. From his perspective, it looked like Veris had kicked thin air and muttered a curse.
He suddenly realized something and grabbed Veris.
Veris turned to look at the hero, then gave him a warning look as his hand reached out to grab his cloak: "Let's talk this out. Why are you grabbing me?"
Arnold was shocked, then moved, clutching the piece of fabric tightly and sobbing, "Is it really you, Veris? Are you alive?"
The next second, he was flicked hard on the forehead. Veris thought it was a good thing that these people were wary, but he wondered if they could just shove him away.
"Let go," he said coldly.
Arnold covered his forehead but still let go.
He felt a swelling on his forehead. Was Veris really that strong?
The teenager, like a child, sniffled and spoke very quickly, recounting what had happened that night. Allen stood to the side without saying a word; he felt that this scene was familiar, as it had happened just now as well.
This time, however, after listening, Veris kicked the air again. Immediately afterward, the familiar water ripples appeared, and several black-robed figures lay crookedly on the ground, motionless.
Arnold's mouth dropped open.
Allen's eyes flickered.
Veris used his foot to flip one of the black-robed men over, pointing to the disfigured face and saying, "Eyeballs spitting out, nose sunken, spots on the skin, no mouth, plus the tentacles you just mentioned, congratulations, you've encountered the Ring-Stem Clan."
"The Ringed Zerg?" Arnold could only say that he had a superficial understanding of the various races on the continent of Icarus, and that they were practically uncivilized.
Veris nodded: "A race from the depths of the Western Sea. This one looks like it's mutated, but not by much."
"The Western Sea? Isn't that incredibly far?!" This time, Arnold didn't ask where the Western Sea was. Over the past month, he had painstakingly studied the map of the Icarus continent and had finally managed to memorize most of the county towns and some iconic areas.
Allen interjected, "How could they possibly appear in District 9?"
It would be difficult for a species that lives in the deep sea to stay on land for long, right?
Veris shrugged: "I don't know about that. Maybe someone brought them over. As for whether you were just unlucky to run into them or if they were specifically targeting you, you'll have to find out for yourselves."
He walked to the hotel entrance, pulled open both doors, and found it completely quiet outside. The hazy moonlight poured down from above, and the visibility was quite rare compared to the blizzard that had just struck.
Reaching out to brush away the unmelted snowflakes from his cloak, Veris turned back: "There's one more question."
Two gazes fell upon him. Veris stroked his chin and smiled, "If I remember correctly, this town was relocated eight years ago due to a chaotic situation. The real town was moved to the Eighth District."
The two young men stared blankly, trying to process the meaning behind Veris's words.
Footsteps came from the stairs. Murphy stood on the stairs, pursing her lips, staring intently at the black-haired youth at the doorway.
"There is no one alive in this town."
"That's what the boy said."
Veris looked at him with a smile, nodded, and affirmed his words: "That's right. You can understand it as the town you're staying in existing in the past, so you can never kill Huanzhe, and the blizzard will never stop."
Arnold was astonished: "How did you know—"
“Because I’m fake too.” The black-haired youth stood at the doorway with a smile on his face. His hair was blown by the wind, and his handsome face held an ambiguous expression.
Seeing Arnold assume a fighting stance, Veris burst into laughter.
"I was just kidding, but you actually believed me."
Arnold shouted, "I can't fall for this again! Who are you?!"
Veris: ...
How could this kid believe it so easily?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Amazing tool acquired!
The town is like a dream world existing in the past timeline.
For Veris, the key was more like a locator or a bone, but for others it was a magical artifact that could reverse the past and change the future, so he planned to use it to cause trouble (entrapment).
The Mysterious History of the Seven Secrets
The fact that Cupid defeated Poseidon and then fed his son sashimi made from Poseidon's body was discovered.
The other gods clamored for punishment of the god of love, with the twin gods Time and Fate being the loudest.
Cupid feigned repentance and went to the judgment seat with the Gemini gods. The Gemini gods felt that with the two gods present, Cupid couldn't do anything.
Then Cupid killed them both.
During the Second Great War, the Gemini Gods dared not seek revenge against Aphrodite, and instead planned to vent all their anger on Aphrodite's child, Veris.
Then Veris dribbled past two of them.
The sea god, who has already met his end (mocking emoji): Useless.
The Gemini Gods were enraged: How much better can you be! You'll be the first to die!
Poseidon: Well, I'm not going to get ganged up on by a mother and son, who are half-human, so what's the point of you being gods? If it were me, I'd just jump off a cliff.
Gemini Gods: Ugh
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com