From the mouths of Alexandra and all the souls who jointly constituted the "Family Will", the details of the arrangements made by the Black Sun Society in the Ernst family were finally revealed.
The time when Countess Alexandra died and "became" the will of the family was more than two hundred years ago.
In fact, when she died, these souls hidden under the Ernst Manor had been tortured by the rituals of the Black Sun Society for a long time. As a latecomer, Alexandra had no knowledge of this place. From those more distant ancestors.
"It felt really strange at that time..."
Alexandra described her feelings when she had just passed away: "I originally thought that the human soul would return to the world as the Law Council and the St. Steele Life Sect said, but soon I Then I found that under the power of that ritual, I woke up again, and I started to think and feel everything around me..."
The Countess' smile was a little bitter: "At that time, I didn't realize what would happen next."
"The permanent ritual set up here is always in play. It is like a huge mill, and our souls are the grains thrown into it. Under its crushing and grinding, all the dead It will all end up like that..."
"Become a rat pack?"
"Yes, Rat Pack."
Xiuge looked at the rats gathered in the room. Although they had weird and deformed bodies, they did not show any aggression at all. Then he looked at the legendary countess in front of him who had used magic power to barely construct her own body. He squeezed out gave a smile.
"So those magic ornaments in the hotel room..."
The countess said dissatisfiedly: "Grandpa Bernhard, don't forget, that poor kid Ludwig is also a general, but he couldn't withstand the erosion of the secret ritual!"
"So, during the short period of time when there was a flaw in the operation of the secret ritual, the rats that housed our soul fragments finally succeeded in being controlled by our own will, so all the members who were still awake gathered together and made a decision A bold resistance... We launched an attack on all members of the association in the underground mansion as well as the servants and assistants who served them."
Shuge asked: "Sorry, I don't want you to recall the past, but this process may be helpful to my next decision... After all, I also have those ancient evil magic and magic powers. .”
"Among the members who have successfully escaped the control of the secret instrument, I have the clearest will, so I make decisions for everyone most of the time... Occasionally, members who are in relatively stable situations will control a part of the rat group to explore the outside world. Case."
"About three years ago, right? Sorry, we've become very insensitive to time."
"Yes, including me."
"So you succeeded in the end?"
When speaking of this, Alexandra hesitated for a moment, obviously she was not quite sure what words should be used here.
Listening to Alexandra's narration, Wei Lin's face became a little ugly. She recalled the previous encounter between herself and Shuge in the spiral staircase. If those rats were indeed just some kind of ferocious magical creatures, then it would be okay. It was still acceptable, but after knowing that there were actually countless human spirits and wills in the bodies of these beasts, Weilin felt a strong sense of powerlessness.
….
"In other words, the fourth and fifth floors of the underground mansion are actually controlled by you now?"
The countess explained: "The situation is too hasty. We don't know when the secret ceremony will be restored, nor do we know how to completely solve these problems. Therefore, we can only do our best to destroy everything in front of us. , in the end, we succeeded in destroying the secret ritual circuits on the fourth and fifth underground floors...but after that, other parts of the secret ritual successfully resumed operation, so we were restricted here."
"Can you tell me the details?"
Before she finished speaking, there was a sudden sound from under the chair where Wei Lin was sitting. It was the sound of many mice opening their mouths.
Although the sounds coming out at the same time were very messy, one could vaguely hear a deep and hoarse male voice.
The feeling of being hunted by a wild beast is completely different from that of being preyed on by the same kind.
"Those members of the association who are responsible for maintaining the ceremony told us that the permanent ceremony set up here is actually a secret ceremony of the grace of the 'Mother of the Earth'. They believe that the benevolent 'Mother of the Earth' will use this secret ceremony to bring peace to the world." Her own power is given to the supplicant, and at the same time, 'Mother of the Earth' will also enable all participants in the ritual to gain everlasting power and grant them permission to become their own..."
Obviously, the Ludwig she was talking about was the stone statue that Shuge and the two saw in room 203 before. As Alexandra said, the famous General Votel did not succeed in the end. Like them, they persisted under the influence of the secret ceremony, but completely turned into a pack of rats following their instincts.
Alexandra glanced at Shuge in surprise, then nodded and said, "This is how they explain the race that is favored by the gods."
"I think your efforts will be in vain... My grandfather has noticed something strange here, and it is precisely because of him that I came here."
"Hasn't the Guild thought about repairing the secret ritual?"
"Yes...that's the word."
The countess said softly: "We have no way to resist the transformation brought about by the ritual, so in the end we can only be forced to accept that transformation."
The Countess smiled and then said: "At first, I just thought it was an ordinary sleep. However, when I woke up from my sleep, I found that I was bound to my own stone statue. Then I started to feel pain. It was as if my spirit had been cut by sharp threads, and it was forced to split into countless individuals. I began to hear the screams of rats in my soul..."
"Indeed."
"I feel like my will has been divided into countless parts. I want to control them, but I don't know where to start. Those rats have their own instincts and ideas. They want to gnaw and devour everything in front of them. Like real beasts, and my own thoughts have no power against them."
He had previously felt that the behavior of the rats that were obviously being controlled by human will was very strange. Now it seemed that the source of this strangeness lay in the conflict between the interference of the secret power and the human will itself - if Alexandra said It is true that the predecessors of the Ernst family really cared about the descendants of the family, but after all, human will was unable to compete with the power of the secret rituals of the ancient gods. This was already their limit.
….
"What did they come here for?"
So Xiuge whispered: "Family?"
"Hmm... I knew that only soldiers can have such courage and brains."
So Xiuge raised his finger and pointed to the corridor outside: "So according to you, all the rats that appear here are essentially the ancestors of the family?"
"I understand, kid... Although that process was scary, I remember it very clearly."
"If according to your statement, this entire underground mansion should be filled with rats that choose people to eat, it seems like something happened next?"
This topic obviously made Alexandra a little sad. She shook her head and said: "It's just that our power is constantly weakening. Once we leave here, we will start to be affected by the secret ritual again. Those hidden among the rats. The wild nature will also revive... In that case, Jacob and the others can easily cause serious damage to the children of the family. Even I, now infected with some quirks, I collected these lamps just for Let them always remind me that I am still a person who needs light."
"Do you still remember the process?"
"Is he also considered a general?"
The Countess sighed helplessly: "Haven't everyone already reached a consensus? What we really need are outstanding talents who understand magic, especially evil magic. Now that they are in front of us, please don't repeat those things again. Talk!"
Alexandra patted her gently
Hands, then the tiny noises of rats were immediately heard from all corners of the room. Xiuge saw many figures of rats emerging from it. They did not launch an attack, but lined up quietly, as if General queue.
Wei Lin nodded and said: "Because the damage to the ritual was caused from within, if the Black Sun Society wants to repair it, a considerable part of the underground mansion must be rebuilt... This is where most permanent rituals exist. It seems that the 'Mother of the Earth', as the association calls it, has no way of escaping from this restriction."
"You mean not long ago?"
The hoarse voice said: "Unfortunately, there are still too few people in the family who can become soldiers and officers. If there were more people, perhaps this dilemma could have been solved long ago!"
Alexandra sighed: "We have thought of many, many ways. We use our own power to influence those sent by the association and turn them into our own servants. At the same time, Jacob and Christie Na and the others are also constantly trying to find ways to convey the message here, and they want to disrupt and interfere with every heir selection ceremony as much as possible, but we have no idea whether such efforts will be effective."
"It was very chaotic at the time. Everyone... gathered in a pile, like an ocean, but we all knew what we were going to do. We not only needed to attack the association casters who had mastered magic, but we also needed to find a way. Dealing with other family members who have been completely lost in their animal instincts."
The countess nodded: "But the association regards this process as a blessing."
….
"That's right."
"They tried more than a hundred years ago. The association spent a huge price to clear out the four underground floors, and the family members living there were also cleared out by the association, but they were unable to repair the damaged circuit. "
"I don't know, they don't seem to be planning to repair the secret instrument, and they have not set foot on our floor again, but similarly we have no way to follow and interfere with their actions in detail... The only remaining secret instrument is still there It had an impact on us, and during that time, many members completely lost their will."
The hoarse voice known as Bernhardt refuted angrily: "As the brains of the army, as the commander of the army, he could not learn how to protect himself, and was killed by a crystal cannon blast while patrolling the position... Heh, what’s this?”
Through only verbal narration, it is really difficult for Shuge and the two of them to know the specific process of that incident, but judging from the look on Alexandra's face, it is difficult for these deceased people who were forced to split their souls and spirits. In other words, it must be an important victory worth remembering.
"My child, who is in power now?"
Shuge said: "If I guess correctly, he is taking more actions. If everything goes well, maybe the Ernst family will be able to completely get rid of the control and influence of the Black Sun Society in the future, at least on the surface. .”
"It was not a success, but it's not a failure either..."
She described her feelings at that time in detail: "At that time, for the first time, I felt the influence of the secret rituals mentioned by the association so deeply. I felt as if I had become a plant seed that was scattered into the soil and they were taking root. , sprouted, and was gradually shaped into the shape of a mouse."
Alexandra sighed: "I have been in that chaotic state for a long, long time. It may have lasted for several years or even more than ten years, but one day, 'Mother of the Earth, Secret The functioning of the instrument appears to have been severely disrupted."
Shuge turned his head, looked at the group of rats gathered together, and replied: "My grandfather Zeke Ernst, he was Votel's former marshal."
After listening to Alexandra's narration, Shuge nodded somewhat heavily.
Shuge silently calculated the time points in his mind, and then he realized that three years ago should be the important time when the Black Sun Society regained its influence on the Ernst family and began to plan the Salem City incident. It was at that time that I was forcibly persuaded to leave the Walter Academy of Magic and was sent to Salem City.
"Yes."
"Yeah
Those who can detect these anomalies are destined to be casters who have mastered magic and magic, so that they can identify the important targets they need... And those children with weak minds who are easily corroded by secret rituals, They will also be expelled and eliminated by Jacob and the others in every possible way. "
"Okay, Grandpa Bernhardt."
The countess nodded and affirmed: "After that, the association seemed to have given up on this underground mansion and the maintenance of the 'Mother of the Earth, the secret ceremony. It was not until recently that their members visited again."
"You mean him?"
The rats under Wei Lin's chair made dissatisfied noises. Although they had no eyes, they could obviously "see" Shuge's appearance: "Huh, carrying a crystal musket on your back seems like that, but..."
Before he finished speaking, a shadow flickered on Xiuge's shoulder. Following his call, the running rat Snicki, who had been hiding in the metal disc, was summoned, and it just appeared and started to attack. The "abnormals" in the room let out a menacing neigh, which made Bernhardt, who was commenting on Shuge, shut his mouth.
All members of the Ernst family, including the countess, caught a very familiar feeling in this rat with three long tails.
(End of chapter)
Doctor Zero
