Kaiyan was particularly enthusiastic about exploring the manor.
The four members of the Snake Faction each cast a covert glance at him who was eager to try, and shook their heads inwardly, sighing that he was indeed from the Cat Faction.
The other demon hunters who did not have an [Inventory] immediately checked their alchemical backpack straps, applied sword oil to the gaps in the wall, and made sure that everything else they needed was within reach.
After confirming that everything was ready, everyone stepped into the Everec Manor together.
Although it has only been abandoned for a few years, the manor looks as if no one has been here for dozens or even hundreds of years. There are overgrown trees everywhere, and gravel and fallen leaves almost form a layer of road on the ground.
The manor was huge, and everyone activated their witcher senses and moved forward.
The first thing that came into view was a fountain, the water was very cold.
"Something is wrong." Lei Suo suddenly said, "There are signs of human activity here."
His amber snake eyes glowed, and it was obvious that he had activated his demon hunter senses and was capturing subtle clues in the air.
Kolgrim kicked a sack at his feet and echoed Reso's words: "I found two bags of compost. They are very fresh. Obviously someone is still taking care of these plants."
Kaiyan looked at a recliner thoughtfully: "The wood is badly worn, and it looks new. It seems that the guy living here has a lot of leisure time."
"Lane, you said that Olgierd left the manor on his own, but imprisoned his wife here, right? Is there really any lady or lady who can endure such an environment?"
Kaiyan patted the lounge chair, stirring up a thin cloud of dust.
"Did she sit directly on such a large piece of ash?"
Lann shook his head and said something puzzling: "I'm afraid it's not a 'she', but an 'it'."
Before he finished speaking, Lan and Kaiyan seemed to sense something and looked towards a certain place. The [Psychic] talent touched their senses and pointed them in the direction.
Shrouded in mist, a shabby easel stood beside a bed of bright flowers.
Suddenly, a black dog and a black cat walked out from among the flowers and squatted on both sides of the easel. Their fur was shiny and glossy, and they were obviously well taken care of.
But everyone knew that they were definitely not ordinary cats and dogs, not only because their harmless appearance was incompatible with this environment, but also because of their eyes: cloudy, a mixture of black and white, like two shabby oil lamps emitting a strange light in the dark.
It was not until this time that the badges on the witchers' necks began to vibrate.
This was not the end. Lan and Kaiyan looked behind the cat and dog again, as if they had sensed something. A tall figure strode out from the mist. His movements were rough, but he carefully avoided the flowers and plants on the ground.
The demon hunters drew their swords from their backs.
The figure was dressed like a gatekeeper, wearing a tattered black hooded robe and wielding a tattered shovel.
But if that were all, it would certainly not be worth the witchers' caution. The key point was the "unrecognizable" face he showed in front of everyone: it looked as if his face had been torn off along the facial features and then a new piece of human skin had been sewn on. There was nothing above the mouth, only a circular circle of rough sutures, revealing the scarlet, hideous flesh.
A human body with such a face is far more terrifying to the onlookers than those hideous monsters.
Kaiyan chuckled: "I don't know whether I should call this guy ugly. After all, he doesn't even meet the conditions of being 'ugly'."
Except for Lann, the other five people reached out their hands from the straps of their alchemy backpacks almost like muscle memory, and suddenly two bottles of potions appeared in their hands.
[Swallow] that continues to recover from injuries, and [Thunder] that increases muscle strength.
Lann's movements were a little slow, as the opponents he usually encountered rarely required him to use potions. However, the gatekeeper in front of him was more than a normal enemy.
Besides, the atmosphere is already like this, I would feel a bit out of place if I don’t drink a couple of bottles.
He also flipped his left hand, and two more alchemical glass bottles appeared in his hand. One bottle of potion was golden orange, as if it was full of vitality in spring, and it was [Swallow]; the other bottle was deep blue, as if the sea was condensed in it, and it was called [Petri Potion].
[Petri Potion]: Enhances the strength of the seal and increases the probability of the seal's special effects such as ignite and knockdown taking effect.
The potion was specially supplied by the Griffin School of Geron. After the potion went down his throat, Lann felt that the chaotic energy around him was awakened.
Not only that, Lann also took out an ordinary mirror from the [Inventory] and pointed it at the gatekeeper with anticipation.
Unfortunately, things did not go as he imagined. Looking at the gatekeeper walking towards him and his companions with firm steps, Lan looked in the mirror and shrugged helplessly: "I can't take advantage of this loophole."
The next second, a faint blue flame-like light suddenly burst out from the gatekeeper's body, with the brightest light coming from his shovel, even faintly overshadowing the rune sword in Lann's hand.
"hide!"
There was no need for Lann to remind them. The witchers had many times more experience in fighting enemies than him. As soon as the gatekeeper began to glow, they turned into shadows and scattered.
"Boom!" The shovel in the gatekeeper's hand seemed to have turned into a glowing heavy crossbow, rushing straight over with amazing momentum and speed, directly raising a cloud of flying dust like a meteorite falling to the ground where everyone had just stood.
The white fog in the manor became thicker. In the foggy northern territory that looked like a magical world, the gatekeeper who missed his attack slowly stood up and looked back.
Six pairs of eyes of different colors looked at the big pit under the gatekeeper's feet with solemn expressions. This was definitely not a force that a gatekeeper of that size could unleash. Just one strike would definitely kill him.
With a flash of light, the demon hunter was covered with the [Quen Seal].
At the same time, Lann patted the ground, and a huge purple magic circle that was far beyond the normal range rose from the ground. A purple hourglass mark appeared in his sight, and he hung it on the gatekeeper without hesitation.
With a "click", a purple magic beam struck the gatekeeper like lightning, almost knocking the monster over as he was posing in place.
Except for Letho, the other demon hunters who had never seen the function of this new sigil were shocked on the spot. Are all the sigils of the Griffin School like this?
But at this moment, they were in the middle of a battle, and even though everyone was surprised, their movements were not slow at all.
Four pairs of snake eyes simultaneously drew amber tracks in the air, and the silver sword blades moved freely in the magic circle.
With a "clang" sound, Reso's strong arm firmly held the goalkeeper's shovel. He was shocked at the huge power erupting from the other's thin body.
"Puchi", "Puchi", "Puchi", three other long swords deftly spit out their fangs from the palms of their respective owners and pierced the gatekeeper's throat, heart, waist and abdomen respectively.
The four demon hunters of the Snake School seemed to be one body. They were different from other demon hunters who fought alone. Since the fall of their school, they had been acting as a group and fighting together. The tacit understanding between them was unimaginable in other schools.
After being injured so badly, no matter what kind of monster it is, there is no possibility of survival.
But the gatekeeper's body shook violently twice, and even after being pierced by three silver swords, he was still wrestling with Lei Suo with a shovel!
At the same time, the ground beneath the gatekeeper's feet slowly cracked, and through the cracks a faint blue light, the same color as the gatekeeper's body, shone through.
Lann hurriedly shouted: "Retreat!"
The members of the Snake Sect had already sensed something was wrong from the shaking of the badge. They didn't even have time to pull their swords out of the enemy's bodies and simply retreated away from the scene.
Only Lei Suo was in a dilemma. He was wrestling with the gatekeeper. If he showed any tendency to flinch, the enemy's shovel would be able to split his head. The [Quen Seal] of the Snake School was not as strong as Lann's system skills.
Fortunately, he is not alone at the moment.
Lann, who was not far away and had a panoramic view of the entire field, had already noticed the goalkeeper's attack intention. Realizing Reso's predicament, he decisively adopted a more brutal method -
[Alder Seal·Magic Explosion]!
The violent magic power turned into a hurricane that swept across the earth. Reso felt as if someone suddenly hit him with a heavy hammer from behind. The balance between the long sword and the shovel in the confrontation was instantly broken. The long sword gained power out of thin air and directly pressed the shovel, cutting a big hole in the goalkeeper's shoulder.
However, Reso had no way to expand his victory. The next second, he and the goalkeeper soared into the air. The telekinesis behind them continuously served as kinetic energy, pushing them directly out of the atmosphere shrouded by the dark blue earth.
With a "boom", it was as if the underground fountain had finally found an outlet, and the dazzling stream of light brushed against Lei Suo's heels and rushed up into the sky. He definitely didn't want to experience the feeling of being bathed in it.
The broken light of the [Quinn Seal] on Reso's body flashed and disappeared, and was actually shattered by Lann's long-range shock wave.
但是好在经验丰富的蛇派领袖在半空中就调整好了姿态，在地上果断几个打滚卸掉冲击力，还有空心有余悸地看了一眼兰恩的方向。
一回头，正好看见守门人再次挥舞着铁铲化身黑影朝自己再次冲过来。
只不过这一次，凯亚恩已经在守门人身后举起了猫派的十字弩。
“噗嗤”一声，阻魔金箭头准确地穿透了守门人的脖子，让它的动作猛然停顿了下来。
但是兰恩注意到，对方周身的光芒依旧不减。显然这幽蓝色光芒的攻击方式不是混沌能量驱动，不是他们传统理解中的魔法。
庄园中的怪物都是欧吉尔德用黑魔法从异界召唤而来，此世的阻魔金对它不起作用也勉强解释得通。
兰恩正这么想着，面前的守门人却身体剧烈地摇晃了两下，跪倒在地。看样子虽然它的身体构造和正常生物不一样，但是也绝非不死之身，也是会受伤的。
与守门人近身缠斗的众人见状大喜。蛇派银剑还插在敌人身上，蛇派的众人立刻抽出镀银匕首正打算再次逼上，却看到守门人的脚下再次开裂出了道道透出蓝光的缝隙。
猎魔人们的身体猛然僵住，有了之前地下喷泉的那一次示范，他们自然不可能在这种时候再冲上去。
凯亚恩再次举起了手中的十字弩，而蛇派四人则从炼金背包袋中取出四颗炸弹。
两颗【蜂窝】，一颗【舞动之星】，一颗【龙之梦】。均来自永恒之火的倾情赞助，放平时蛇派四人绝对不会这么果断。
“轰”的一声，骤然膨胀的火焰顿时将看门人包裹起来，猎魔人们微微眯起了眼睛，不时还能听到【蜂窝】四散出来的铁钉扎进肉体的声音。
若是换成他们自己，这个时候绝对不会有再存活的可能，甚至换成其他诸如鹿首精的残物类怪物，在这一套打法下面也得变成半死。
但是猎魔人们依旧不敢松懈。因为他们脖子上面的徽章再次开始震动起来。
不知道什么时候起，他们周围的白雾竟然已经染成了黑色。
兰恩心有所感，望向脚下，发现这些黑雾居然是从地下不断地渗透出来的。
火焰和烟尘缓缓散去，守门人穿着破破烂烂的衣服出现在原地，身上布满了烧伤、割伤，血肉翻转，狰狞不已。
凯亚恩皱了皱眉头：“兰恩，我刚被你救出来的时候是不是也这么丑？”
兰恩瞥了有些不分时宜说话的猫派猎魔人一眼：“我很高兴你现在能够用以前的自己开玩笑了，但是现在我们的麻烦还没有解决。”
那些黑雾逐渐在凝聚起来，居然变成了一个个宛若幽灵的人影形状，身影瘦小，步履蹒跚。
再看看门人，它竟然独独拔下了插在脖子上面的阻魔金箭矢扔到一旁，晃悠着朝着那些黑影冲过去。
“它确实受伤了，身手变慢了，但是这些黑影……是【唤魔术】？”
蛇派猎魔人看着这些走路都不利索的黑影，奇怪于对方竟然召唤出这种没有战斗力的帮手。
“不对！”兰恩大喊，“这是别的黑魔法，这个怪物能够通过残杀这些黑影来恢复自己的伤势，我们要先它一步杀死这些黑影！”
“它需要用这种手段来恢复说明它已经受了不轻的伤，它已经快死了！”
众猎魔人闻此不由地精神一震，立刻四散开来各自寻找黑影解决。兰恩和雷索则是再次找上看门人，分别用特殊的法印和超绝的力量拖延看门人的步伐，制造杀伤。
那些黑影步履蹒跚，很快就毫无反抗之力地被精通杀戮的猎魔人消灭。而看门人已经重伤，在被熟悉了攻击的套路之后也很快陷入了苦战之中。
等到其他猎魔人重新腾出手来，六人合围，终于让看门人在一阵咆哮声中跪倒在地。
它身上所有的伤口在此时一起发出了绿色的光芒，随即一股浓浓的黑烟从他的身体飘散出来。这些黑烟似乎代表了它的生命，待全部散尽后，它就彻底一动不动了。
众人喘着粗气，小心地靠近看门人，确认对方真的已经失去战斗能力。
“没有眼睛，没有鼻孔，没有要害，却偏偏又是血肉之躯，这种东西怎么会真的存在？”
凯亚恩皱起眉头，在刚刚的任务之中他出力最少，因为眼前的怪物简直就是天克他这种追求一击必杀的刺客。
不仅仅是他，这种战斗对于精通用毒的蛇派来说也是束手束脚，只有兰恩打起来还算顺畅，靠着全自动的【亚登法印】如鱼得水。
寇格林姆却在品味了一会刚刚的战斗细节之后感叹起来：“身体强壮精通近战，同时又具有和战斗体系完美融合的魔法能力，这种力量……有没有可能正是当初阿尔祖创造猎魔人的时候所追求的力量呢？”
雷索狠狠拍了一巴掌寇格林姆的后脑：“别想这些有的没的，检查一下有没有受伤，原地休整一下。”
随后他又转头向兰恩：“这种类型的怪物庄园里面还多吗？”
兰恩想了想回道：“类似没有要害的怪物还有，然后还有一只应该还有可以在画中穿梭的妖灵。但是它应该是所有怪物里面最强的了。”
雷索面无表情地看了一眼庄园内部：“我当了这么久的猎魔人，却从来没见过这些怪物，没想到今天能够一次看个够。可惜他们这些【唤魔术】的产物都没法用来做为炼金材料。”
【唤魔术】召唤的怪物都是附体而来，比如刚刚从【守门人】体内逸散出来的黑雾其实才是本体。因此很少能够在这些猎物的尸体上获得什么好的收获，对于猎魔人来说还不如一头食尸鬼或者水鬼。
兰恩却看向了看门人在地上的铲子：“这可不一定。”
众人顺着兰恩的视线看过去，露出了奇怪的目光，雷索思索道：“从刚刚战斗的手感来看，这把铲子的材质确实上等，但是作为我们的武器的话就……”
兰恩摇摇头：“据我所知，它也是一把魔法武器，就跟我的湖女之剑一样。这把铲子拥有攻击敌人之后恢复自己伤势的能力。”
如此神奇的能力让猎魔人们的眼睛顿时亮了起来。
“可是刚刚在战斗的时候为什么没有起作用？”
“估计是这个附魔的触发机制还有限制。”兰恩思考一会道，“可能要确确实实地给敌人造成血肉伤害才可以，而我们刚刚都是靠着法印扛着，没有给敌人机会。得要好好实验一下才能够搞清楚这把武器怎么用。”
这种能够恢复自己伤势的魔法武器众人闻所未闻。凯亚恩对此兴趣盎然，这种效果最适合他这种打法的人。
但是看这铲子的造型和重量，在场的众人里面估计也只有雷索能够挥舞得动它。
“不过实验不急。”兰恩转头看向不远处的花丛和画架，以及画架下面的黑猫和黑狗，“我们现在还有一些敌人需要处理。”
那两只明显不是凡物的牲畜一直静静地蹲在一边观看众人猎杀看门人，直到此刻都还没有离去。
明明只是猫和狗，但是众人居然可以从它们宛若煤油灯的眼神中看出淡漠的神情，甚至有一种被人俯视的不爽。
寇格林姆抬了抬下巴：“它们刚刚一直在那里看着我们。”
奥克斯思索：“它们肯定不是一般的猫和狗。”
瑟瑞特瞥了伙伴一眼：“这一点光是看眼睛都能看出来了吧？”
凯亚恩深吸一口气，眼睛亮了亮：“我觉得，它们和地上正死着的那个来自同一个地方。”
众人看了看凯亚恩，又看了看地上的看门人，再回过头看那猫和狗的时候，却发现它们突然不见了。
“‘死’和‘生’，在不同的地方界定不一样。在哲学领域的争议尤其剧烈。”
一个清冷的女声从背后响起，众人回头，竟然看到那黑猫和黑狗不知道什么时候出现在了自己的身后。
而此刻那黑猫的嘴一张一合，发出了刚刚他们听到的女人的声音：“看门人现在也算不上‘死’，或许比起你们所界定的‘活’，他更渴望这种状态。”
这种牲畜开口人言的异象立刻让众人纷纷调转剑尖遥指着黑猫和黑狗。
兰恩却能看出来它们没有攻击的意图，主动问道：“你似乎对它很了解，也对这座屋子很了解，不如自我介绍一下？”
猫闭上了嘴，换成狗开始说话，这次是一个低沉的男人的声音：“我们是这座房子的朋友，由这座庄园的男主人召唤过来陪伴女主人的朋友。”
凯亚恩眉头挑了挑，一会看看女声的猫，一会又看看男声的狗，脸上兴趣盎然。
四个蛇派猎魔人默不作声，依旧保持着警惕，由兰恩继续和猫狗沟通。
“我们就是带男主人过来找女主人的，如果可以的话，想让你们帮忙领路——毕竟这座庄园实在是太大了。”
黑猫看着兰恩，歪了歪脖子，似乎很困惑：“你把欧吉尔德·伊佛瑞克带过来了？可是我没有看到他，也没有感应到他。”
黑狗吸了吸鼻子：“但是你身上确实有他的味道。”
兰恩耸了耸肩：“男主人很害羞也很愧疚，只有见到女主人才愿意出来。”
猫和狗对视一眼，又看了一眼兰恩，突然身体爆散成了一团黑雾消散在了空气里面，随即又在五十米左右的地方凝聚成型。
似乎是在示意兰恩跟上。
“你相信它们？”雷索站到兰恩的身侧，低声提醒。
兰恩点点头：“它们有着自己的诉求，会是我们的朋友。”
雷索面无表情的脸上终于开始皱起眉头：“我之前就想问了，这些情报都是欧吉尔德告诉你的？”
兰恩想了想：“这是上古之血的力量。”
雷索深吸一口气，坦白说：“我不喜欢这种感觉。跟在你身边我似乎都不需要思考了，想要什么情报都有。但是猎魔人最重要的就是战斗之前收集情报做好准备，换句话说——跟你一起战斗的次数越多，我可能就会变得越弱。”
雷索的忧虑让兰恩一愣，让战斗轻松一点难道还有错了？
但是如果深入去想，这其实又不难理解，失去学派根据地的长时间风餐露宿让蛇派的众人格外没有安全感，也是因此他们对事态的控制欲望格外强，对于自身能力的保持渴望也很病态。
兰恩想了想，笑道：“面对大战，情报不是越完备越好吗？平时的话倒是多接一些狩魔任务保持自身的状态。而且我的情报也不是天衣无缝，所以才需要更多的伙伴在身边帮我查漏补缺，甚至在我因为自己的力量大意的时候帮我重新唤起警惕心。”
“所以雷索，你并不应该停止动脑，而是应该转换一个方式去思考。”
雷索皱着眉头思索一会，勉强点了点头。
兰恩一伸手把守门人的铲子收进【物品栏】，就带着众人朝猫和狗指引的方向走过去。
伊佛瑞克家族庄园大得惊人，兰恩一行人经过了一个拱桥、又打开了两扇铁门，才终于彻底穿过了庄园的花园来到了庄园主体的套院。
推开房门，老化的木头发出嘎吱的声音。天空之上本就乌云密布，这座建筑又没有开窗，里面尽是黑蒙蒙的一片。
只是这种黑暗难不住猎魔人就是了。
六双颜色各异的眼睛闪闪发光。
“欧吉尔德应该才三十多岁吧？她的妻子只会比他小……可能就二十多？我可不相信二十多岁的年轻夫人会住在这种地方……”
凯亚恩看着庄园建筑内部的样子，眼中不知道是失望还是什么。
眼前的房间好像已经被强盗洗劫过了一样，到处都是瘫倒的桌椅，甚至还有断掉的横梁。
随着众人进屋，他们头顶上甚至时不时有灰尘被震动，好似一串小型的瀑布一样从楼上流了下来。
寇格林姆说出了众人内心的话：“这屋子不会马上就塌了吧。”
就在众人观察周围的时候，两小团黑雾再次凝聚。不过由于屋子里面太黑，这回猫和狗的出现就好像是瞬移出来的一样。
“女主人就在卧室里面，穿过二楼的画廊就能够见到她。”
“她居然还真的住在这里？”凯亚恩挑了挑眉头，“有画廊，说明她很喜欢画画，那……不对！”
凯亚恩眼中的红芒突然亮了一分，猛然抬头看向墙壁上面的一幅画，那画是一个女人的肖像，是一个美丽的女人的肖像。
一个声音突然从那幅画里面传了出来：
“是谁……进来了？”
那个声音沙哑、空灵，带着一种诡异的回响。猎魔人徽章不知道今天第几次再次开始抖动。
随后，一张双干枯的手扒住了画框。有绿的火焰开始隐隐燃烧，而里面的画布却完好无损。
一片黑色的头纱在火焰的映照下从画框的底部露了出来，但是似乎是感受到了屋子里面的人实在是太多，头纱和手很快就消失了，绿火也再次熄灭。
“妖灵？”
刚刚的这一幕暴露了很多信息，雷索立刻皱起眉头开始分析起来：
“黑魔法召唤的恶魔需要附身实体，不会像刚刚那样以灵体的形式出现，所以那就是一头妖灵。而且是能够在画中穿梭的有特殊能力的妖灵？”
随后蛇派猎魔人又瞥了地上的猫和狗一眼：“妖灵是人死后所化，而欧吉尔德又召唤了恶魔来防止外人进入庄园，理论上庄园里面只可能会有一个女人，所以这个妖灵……就是兰恩你要找的女主人？”
兰恩点了点头：“没错，看样子她确实已经死了。”
雷索的表情愈发荒谬：“所以你大老远来一趟这个庄园，就是为了除去这头妖灵？我还以为你是为了彻底解决欧吉尔德这个麻烦！”
兰恩又点了点头：“我确实是为了彻底解决麻烦，而且我们也不用杀死这头妖灵——相反，她会帮助我们，只是其中会再有一些波折。”
这么说着，兰恩突然从【物品栏】中取出欧吉尔德变化成的玉质雕像。
完全不管自己可能被偷袭，他就这么毫无防备地走到那幅爱丽丝的肖像画面前高声说道：“夫人，你的丈夫回来了。”
随后他又转头朝着楼梯，似乎要用高喊把声音传到这间屋子的每一个角落：“爱丽丝，欧吉尔德回来了！”
他高高举起欧吉尔德的玉质雕像，这尊工艺品一样的东西在黑暗中黯淡无光。
屋子安静了一会。
“砰”得一声，一块从屋顶断裂的木头砸到了兰恩的脚边，他一个轻巧的转身，就有一蓬宛若小瀑布的灰尘盖到了他刚刚站立的地方。
凯亚恩突然感觉到那种身边时刻有妖灵缠身的感觉消失了。
猫和狗定定地看着兰恩手中的玉质雕像，现在它们感觉到自己召唤者的气息了：“这是术士的魔法，你就是这么把欧吉尔德带回来的？但是之前你把他藏在哪里了，为什么我们感觉不到？”
兰恩没有回答猫和狗的问题，而是观察了一会周围。他也有【灵媒】的感应天赋，此刻他能够确认爱丽丝的灵魂已经远离众人。想了想，他突然把手按在爱丽丝的肖像画之上，把这幅画收进了【物品栏】里面。
做完这一切，他才朝着猫和狗说道：
“这就不是你们关心的问题了，带我们去卧室找爱丽丝吧。”
众人通过仿佛随时都会倒塌的楼梯上楼，中间穿过了了一条挂满了各式画作的长廊，蛇派四人时刻警惕着会有妖灵从画中穿梭而出，但实际上却是一路风平浪静。
凯亚恩倒是对一幅画开始评头论足，上面是一对夫妻，赫然就是爱丽丝和欧吉尔德。
“快乐的家庭每个都一样，不快乐的家庭每个都不同。”
似乎感觉自己说了什么很有哲理的话，凯亚恩点点头，把这幅画取了下来，还凑上去给雷索看：
“你看看上面的欧吉尔德，是不是跟现在的完全不一样？”
警戒四周的雷索瞥了他一眼，看都没看那幅画：“确实不一样。”
嘴上敷衍着凯亚恩，雷索心中却暗道：这只猫到底是以前就这样，还是被抓去做了实验才变成这样，亦或者是被兰恩救了才变成这样？
不管几人的心理活动，穿过长廊，眼前出现了一扇上锁的门。这根本就挡不住猎魔人，兰恩稍稍用力就踹开了。
众人眼前突然一亮，这是整栋房子里面唯一有着光的地方。
一个女人背对着他们躺在**，身后的火炉缓缓燃烧着为屋子里的人提供温暖，似乎很体贴，担心熟睡的女人的会着凉。
但是屋子里面却又横七竖八倒着桌子和破碎的书架，到处都是蜘蛛网和灰尘，不是几年没打扫绝对呈现不出这样的场景。
一个青年和五个大汉围在床边，打量着自己一行人此行过来的目标——欧吉尔德的妻子爱丽丝。
此刻，她已经成为了一具穿着黑色丧服的骸骨。
凯亚恩看了看那幅画，又看了看爱丽丝，转头就把画丢在一边：“你们给她点燃了壁炉，看家护院不让外人伤害她，结果现在却连她的尸体都不愿意掩埋？”
狗发出男低音：“我们现在的身体做不到这种事情，而你们刚刚遇见的看门人又被命令不许靠近他。”
凯亚恩看了看狗的爪子，认可地点点头。
雷索认真观察着尸体，提出疑问：“她没有外伤，房间里面的混乱也不是打斗留下的痕迹，她是怎么死的？”
黑猫说出了一个出于众人预料的答案：“她的心碎了。”
雷索一愣，似乎不理解这句话的意思：“你的意思是心脏病？”
Black Dog said in a tone without any emotion: "No, it is literally broken. Alice is immortal just like Olgierd, and I find it hard to understand this situation."
The black cat misted up at the window, then condensed into a shape in the sky. It sat next to the hostess and described the scene of her death:
"The caretaker was helping the master imprison her while guarding her. She couldn't leave the manor, and she couldn't hear our voices like you. So she was always sad and lonely. One day Alice locked the front door, lay down in bed, and then... died peacefully. Just like a rose withering after its blooming season."
The black dog walked forward and sat in front of Lann. "You brought Olgierd back as a statue. Now you have seen Alice's body. What will you do next? Bury them together?"
Lann raised an eyebrow: "You care?"
The black dog nodded. "We were summoned here by Olgierd just to protect Alice. Now Alice has passed away and even turned into an irrational evil spirit, but we are trapped here because of this."
The black cat also misted in front of Lann and said, "Either kill Ogierd or free Alice's soul, otherwise we will remain in our current form forever."
"You hate the way you are now?"
The black cat and the black dog gestured with their small bodies and spoke together for the first time: "What do you think?"
Lan thought for a moment and said, "My goal is also to kill Olgierd, but since you were summoned by him, you must know that he is truly immortal. I have a way to break his immortality, but I must see the real Alice, so I need your help."
Having said that, Lan looked at Kaiyan.
Unlike Lann, who had a short demon hunting career and knew little about necromancy, Kaiyan was very familiar with it.
"Since this mistress has turned into a demon spirit, things are actually simpler. She is hiding from us now. We just need to bury her body in a quiet place and cast a spell."
The black cat shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. The demon you saw is only a part of Alice. The real her is still sleeping. You need to wake her up."
"How?"
"Use the drawing board as material to summon the spirit, and then she will lead you to the place where Alice is really sleeping." The black cat looked at the painting of Olgierd and Alice, "That one is very suitable."
Kaiyan looked at the painting he had thrown aside and smiled: "Good kitty."
As he said this, the cat-faction demon hunter actually reached out to touch the black cat, but of course he could only touch a cloud of smoke.
…
In the garden of the manor, there is a row of short and simple graves. They are simply piled with stones and then a wooden stake is erected on top. There is blood all around the graves, and it seems that the person who buried the bodies was quite rough.
"Those were the people who invaded the manor." Black Cat explained, "The gatekeeper killed them and buried them here."
Kaiyan said in a teasing tone: "After killing the invaders, you also built graves for them? That weirdo is unusually gentle."
The black cat didn't even think about paying attention to him. It turned into smoke and condensed onto Lan's shoulder. "The 'quiet place' is in front. Alice often paints there."
Lan looked over and saw a dusty and worn easel in front of him.
After a while, another simple grave was built in front of the easel, and Alice was finally laid to rest.
Kaiyan knelt in front of the grave, his pupils rolled up, leaving only the whites of his eyes. He opened his arms to make his body form an inverted cross, and whispered:
"Tortured soul, I have buried your bones. Let go of your resentment and sorrow, and show yourself..."
Kaiyan kept repeating the spell in a slow and steady pace. Lann seemed to have sensed something and looked back into the manor.
Out of sight of everyone, the candlesticks, braziers, and fireplaces in every corner where Alice had lived were all lit up, briefly dispelling the darkness in the manor and even adding a touch of warmth.