Listening to the undisguised disgust for the Annihilation Cult in Agatha's tone, the old guard's expression didn't change at all - he focused more on the latest intelligence.
The "samples" taken away from the cemetery... showed in the laboratory properties similar to the "elements" described by the cultists.
No matter how crazy those heretics are, no matter how contrary to human ethics their heresies are, as a member of the Orthodox Church, the old guard must understand the information about those heretics, their crazy doctrines and extremely polluting knowledge system. , and the entire heresy of the Annihilation Cult always revolves around one core:
Holy Lord Yousui, and the various "miracles" created by Holy Lord Yousui.
Annihilation believers firmly believe that the world now favored by the gods is not a "peaceful paradise", but is actually a "land of exile" that has been severely corroded and completely distorted. They believe that the brightness and prosperity of the real world are woven by the gods. Illusions, the true destination of mortal souls and the "unpolluted real world" are actually not here at all, but in the deep realm of the world.
On this basis, they believe that the Holy Lord of Netherworld and the demons represent the purest, original, unpolluted attitude of the world, and believe that only by purifying their dirty bodies can mortals "return" to Netherworld and the original place. .
However, the world is blocked by the gods, and there is a barrier between the "distorted real world" and the "real real world (that is, the deep sea)". The flesh and blood of mortals is the concrete manifestation of this barrier. As long as the souls of mortals remain Trapped in this body and subjected to a lifetime of constant "pollution", it is impossible to return to the deep.
Therefore, Holy Lord Netherworld will send down a miracle called "Element" - heretics believe that this holy substance is the basis of all things at the beginning of the world. The Holy Lord's blueprint when planning the "real world" is Hidden in the microscopic scale of "original elements", and only "original elements" can resist the curse in the flesh and blood of all living beings in the world, and allow mortals to return to the "pure posture at the beginning of birth."
As for this substance called "prime", the Annihilation cultists describe it this way:
"...It will present all the characteristics of all things in the world and will always be in a constant cycle of evolution. It represents all the plans and blueprints of the Holy Lord of the Deep when shaping reality, and short-sighted mortals will never be able to measure any of the elements. The exact nature of the item..."
The old guard suddenly raised his head and stared into Agatha's eyes: "...Do you think that is the 'element'?"
Agatha answered without hesitation: "The element is just the nonsense of those heretics. It is probably just some new substance that cannot be explained by our current knowledge system. Its property changes may be some kind of natural phenomenon." , or it may be some kind of extraordinary power - but it cannot be some 'miracle' sent down by the Holy Lord Netherworld."
However, in the face of such an answer, the old guard's expression did not change at all. He still just stared into the gatekeeper's eyes quietly: "Do you think that is the 'element'?"
Facing the second inquiry, Agatha finally fell silent briefly. After two or three seconds, she breathed out softly: "But I have to admit that, at least in nature...the samples collected were in line with the characteristics of that group of heretics. describe."
The old guard raised his head and looked at the morgue not far away.
The fine snow has gradually become heavier after dark, and the snowflakes are falling continuously from the dark night sky. Canes stand in the dark cemetery, and the lanterns on the tops of the canes reflect the scattered snowflakes around them, seeming to add to everything. A hazy texture.
His eyes passed through the scattered snowflakes and lights, and landed on an empty morgue not far away.
A special corpse once rested there.
"Those samples... were once a person, at least they once looked like a person," the old guard said as if talking to himself, "You personally led the team to deliver him, you should still remember it."
"Of course I remember," Agatha said softly, "There are very few corpses that need to be transported by the 'gatekeeper' personally, and that corpse fell into the deepest part of the mine, which is the deepest place in the entire city-state, and was taken out from there The dead…are special.”
"But he is still more special than everyone expected." The old guard turned his head and looked at the young gatekeeper. "You found the real person who fell into the well the next day, so the body is obviously just the real deceased. A 'replica'... a replica made of 'elements', no wonder it attracts the attention of those Annihilation Heretics."
"Perhaps it's not that it attracted their attention, but that the whole thing was their work." Agatha shook her head. "We suspect that the fall into the well was caused by the cultists, and the purpose was to use it deep in the mine. The victims came to create 'replicas', similar to some kind of sacrificial ceremony, but obviously something went wrong with their plan, which led to the replica being discovered by accident and even sent to your cemetery by us. "
The old guard shrugged: "It also attracted the attention of an indescribable 'visitor'."
"...Yes, an indescribable visitor," Agatha's always calm expression finally changed, and her tone became cautious, "Now we don't know what his purpose is."
The old guard raised his head and looked at the sky. After a moment of silence, he said, "It's already late at night."
The cemetery fell into silence for a moment, an unspeakable eerieness and silence shrouded between the path and the platform, soaked in the night wind carrying snowflakes.
Everyone is waiting - for an unnameable visitor, or for a peaceful sunrise.
I don’t know how long this silence lasted. Just when Agatha was about to persuade the old guard to go back to the hut to rest, a gentle knocking sound suddenly sounded in the night.
A clear and low voice came from a nearby coffin:
"Why don't you continue talking?"
Such a sound suddenly came from the silent cemetery, and even the well-trained church guards could not avoid being shocked and stunned for a moment. Agatha even felt that even the falling snowflakes in the light seemed to be still for two seconds - -The next second, all the guards quickly came around the coffin that made the sound, and the sound of boots on the snow was heard intensively.
Agatha turned into a pale shadow almost instantly and appeared next to the morgue like a teleport. She stared at the coffin that made the sound. After taking two deep breaths, she made her voice as calm as possible. Say it: "Are you... the visitor the day before yesterday?"
"I took the liberty to come here, I hope I didn't scare you," Duncan in the coffin thought for a moment and greeted him casually, "I did come here once two days ago, but there were cultists who made trouble at that time, and I had no contact with the guard. It didn’t go well.”
Footsteps sounded from the side, and the old guard with gloomy eyes cautiously came to the coffin. He quickly glanced at the dark coffin with the corner of his eye, and quickly took it back the next second.
Although this time he did not lose control of his spiritual vision due to the influence of incense, and even used medicine to resist mental pollution in advance, the psychological shadow caused by the last "contact" was really serious, even for him, a veteran who has experienced many battles. He seemed extremely cautious at the moment.
"...You arrived just now?" After calming down for a while, the old guard finally broke the silence.
"From the time you started discussing those 'elements'," Duncan's voice came from the coffin, "I felt like I heard very interesting information - but you suddenly stopped talking about it."
Agatha raised her head and looked at the old guard with a stunned expression.
Her lips moved slightly, but her voice was directly transmitted into the old guard's mind: "Is this visitor... so approachable?"
The old guard shrugged and moved his lips slightly: "I didn't know."
The two church priests briefly completed the exchange, and then Agatha gently waved her hands around.
The guards in black who gathered around the coffin immediately spread out slightly to prevent this overly cautious response from being regarded as some kind of provocation by the "visitor" who descended on the dead body.
Duncan had actually sensed the surrounding atmosphere in the coffin. He lay there for more than a few minutes. Ever since the old guard and the young woman started talking about "Elements", he had been very patient and curious. As he listened, he felt the atmosphere around him dissipate, so he smiled and said casually: "There are a lot of people here tonight."
"...We don't mean to offend you," Agatha immediately responded cautiously. She could not confirm the origin of this "visitor" yet, but the other party at least did not show initial hostility, so facing a superior and non-hostile "human being" "God" exists, and showing enough courtesy is the first step in communication. "The arrangements here are only to protect our own sanity."
"Oh, I understand. People often have brain problems when they are talking to me. Frankly speaking, it's quite troublesome." Duncan said with a smile in his tone, "It's good that you know how to protect yourself."
Agatha frowned.
She had dealt with many extraordinary beings, many of them extremely evil or dangerous from chaos, but this was the first time that she had chatted with her like this...
"Can we know who you are?" After a moment of hesitation, she finally summoned the courage to ask.
Duncan in the coffin thought seriously.
Then he recalled the glorious achievements of the Lost Home in dragging the thirteen islands of Wetherland into the subspace, and the connection between the thirteen islands and the Death Cult that he learned during the previous chat with Morris and Vanna.
"I'm just an unknown traveler, so don't wonder about my name - it's good for both of us."
(End of chapter)
