Griffith once suspected that the girl in front of him ran away from home because of her rebellious character or because she wanted to prove herself. This was how the two got to know each other. Like many stories, it originated from the pursuit of freedom. It was a beautiful story. coincidence.
However, after repeated thinking afterwards, a series of events and excessive coincidences gave him some new guesses. A more reasonable guess is that he has certain characteristics or meets certain conditions, which attracted Galadia and clues related to her.
"There's something I don't understand," Griffith lowered his voice, "Even if you didn't go to conquer the goblins, I would have known you in Homemon Watts and appeared here today, wouldn't I?"
"Then we won't be so familiar. Do you dare to talk to me after you enter the school? Without me, you will die in the Whispering Forest. You will have nothing to do here today, and I will not get supplies and reinforcements. Moreover, I suspect, If you weren’t familiar with me, you might not have been sent here.”
Miss Elf looked at Griffith seriously, sending shivers down his spine.
So, so, what, it is really possible that the governor of Canaan wanted to kill me, and then caused the current situation by mistake...
"Although Iluvash's prophecy is obscure and vague, it has been respected by the world for thousands of years!" Galadia suddenly pinched the back of Griffith's hand hard, "Hey~ Why did we start chatting? Pay attention, The environment starts to change."
The world shrouded in rust, scorch, and dust began to peel away the ash and dilapidation on the surface at a speed visible to the naked eye. The dilapidated villages, dilapidated streets and fields regained their colors bit by bit, re-entering a state of tranquility under the ashes in the sky.
"Thirteen minutes, from the beginning to the end of the last transformation," Galadia walked out of the hiding place cautiously, "The monster suddenly appeared around us without any call at the beginning of the transformation. Maybe it was because he was related to this kind of alien. The elephants coexist. Now that the vision is over, he may not appear.”
"Well, how are you sure it's thirteen minutes? Didn't you bring nothing?"
"I'm counting my heartbeats while talking to you!" The elf girl shook her finger, "It's so awesome! The protagonist of the story doesn't dare to go out if he doesn't know this skill."
The village was still empty under the setting sun.
The two came to the village hall square and found a very neatly maintained bulletin board there. There seemed to be faint and subtle voices in this place that was supposed to be silent, vague and unrecognizable.
Griffith almost subconsciously held his breath to listen carefully to what the vague words were saying.
"Don't listen, don't meditate, don't use your mental power to observe," the elf girl gave him a squeeze on his shoulder, "I'm here to do this. If there is an accident, at least one person will not be affected." A report appeared on the bulletin board Notice, let’s go take a look.”
In rural towns and villages, news brought by messengers and traders would be delivered to the village chief, who would then announce it through a notice board in front of the village hall.
In this deserted village, a piece of semi-new papyrus was pinned to the bulletin board. The edges of the paper are still intact and the handwriting is clear.
"Notice.
“After long negotiations, the fate of our Xiluo Village finally turned around today.
"The dam construction proposal has been approved by the preliminary review. In order to maintain prosperity and wealth forever, officials plan to move the village to a fertile plain.
"The villagers' meeting will be held tomorrow, and all respected villagers are invited to vote for the future of the village. This vote is related to the relocation plan and compensation policy, and is a major event related to everyone's future.
“Hail to the gracious and generous King and to the wise Lord [unintelligible]!
"Village Chief Kang Ming Vlad.
"[Date illegible and illegible]"
While reading the notice, Griffith seemed to hear bursts of jubilant shouts, as if the villagers who once lived here also gathered in front of the notice and rejoiced at the news.
Galadia rubbed her forehead, her already fair face became even paler. She clutched Griffith's arm tightly and looked around uneasily.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing," Galadia almost leaned on her companion, "Did you hear anything?"
"It seemed like the villagers were cheering," Griffith nodded. "It sounds like everyone is very happy about the move."
Galadia was not in a good state. She seemed to be listening and then heard something not good. If unlucky, the listener may be traumatized by mysterious emotions, wills, and powers in the process.
As the administrative center of this small village, the village hall is nothing more than a few bungalows made of wooden boards and stone bricks. The roof and walls were still intact, and the wooden floors were smooth and neat. In the main hall connected to the entrance are several tables, chairs and bookshelves, with open volumes and tea sets filled with water.
"The location where the sealed object we entered appears is downstream of a dam. What we see now is the Xiluo Village before it was submerged. It has been more than five years since the Tuyang Dam was built. Everything we see is A phantom that existed in the past?" Griffith flipped through the account books on the table, "I can't see the specific date, but judging from the content, the village is still functioning normally. There are also records of crop harvests and transactions, but there are no dates."
"Were the people in the village swept away by the flood? No, this is impossible," Galadia said to herself while checking the bookshelf, "I have never heard of such a tragedy happening in your kingdom in the past ten years."
There are countless possible causes of sealed objects, and there are targeted methods to deactivate specific sealed objects. According to the general knowledge of occult science, for sealed objects that project a field, the cause is often a long-term collective subconscious of the residents or the lost spiritual energy of local creatures. Uncovering the unspoken secrets is the most effective way.
Griffith checked the rooms one by one. Behind the main hall is the kitchen and lounge. There are no people or signs of fighting. Galadia followed closely beside her companions, carefully watching for any hidden traps or magic circles.
The last room is like a warehouse and occupies a large area according to the external structure of the house. Griffith reached out and pushed the door. There seemed to be something on the door.
"Be careful." Griffith took out the ax from his waist and struck at the door. There was a huge gash in the door made of wooden planks.
Several red objects passed through the broken cracks and fell to the ground with a plop.
Galadia turned her head hastily and covered her mouth with nausea.
These were the bodies of five strong men. Their skin and hair were ripped off, and the flesh on their chests and lower abdomen was twisted into a ball. The blood has dried, and the exposed teeth, eyes and nasal cavity are twisted and hideous.
Griffith bent down and endured the intense discomfort to examine. The victim's clothes were missing, and most of the skin was brutally peeled off. There were still some skin fragments left after being pulled on the fingers, toes and other parts. One of them wore a ring inlaid with magic crystal, and the other two had silver necklaces with identity tags around their necks. Their names are engraved on the rings and identification tags.
"Mage Demel Harker."
"Knight Pinkerton Lee, knight apprentice Thordel Han."
Griffith took back the victim's belongings, recalled the information before departure, turned around and patted Galadia who couldn't bear to look at the scene: "They were not the investigators sent before me, they might have been earlier. Team. Including a mage, a knight, a trainee knight, and two assistants without identification marks. I found the identification marks of three people from them."
"Is there anything else in the warehouse?" Galadia frowned, still unable to look directly at the skinned corpse on the ground.
Griffith pushed open the broken wooden door and looked into the warehouse.
This is a room for miscellaneous items. There were empty brackets for bows and arrows or shovels and hoes on the wooden shelves, but the items on the shelves had disappeared.
Griffith turned around and took off the mage's ring and handed it to Galadia. She poured a little spiritual power into it and said while sensing: "The records and information in the ring have been erased. I suspect that he is a mage from a nearby town, otherwise he would not lead people..."
The elf's whisper suddenly stopped and he looked out the glass window in panic.
Outside the dimly lit room, a figure was lying on the window. His face was pressed against the glass, and his face looked like a little black man who had been burnt to char. He looked at each other with the two people in the room, and slowly opened his mouth, revealing his pale teeth.
Galadia opened her eyes and took two steps back, bumping into Griffith's shoulder. The latter rushed out like a cheetah and jumped towards the low window sill.
"Bang!" The glass window and wooden window edges were shattered by the impact, which was particularly harsh in the silent dusk.
Griffith jumped out of the window and reached out to grab the black figure.
The black human figure that was by the window just now has disappeared, as if what he saw just now was just a phantom, disappearing with the shattering of the glass.
"Slow down, wait for me!" Galadia also jumped out and grabbed the arm of her companion who was about to pursue her. "Don't scatter."
The broken glass clattered to the ground, and the surrounding environment returned to silence.
"The inside of the sealed object has different rules and clues from the outside world. The corpses we find may trigger a clue leading to the answer." Galadia moved closer to her companions, "Next, nearby It’s possible to find the remaining memories of the sealed items.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a shadowy black human figure suddenly appeared next to the two of them. They all turned black as if they were burnt, shrinking into a small ball. Dots of red light appeared and disappeared on them, like sparks that had not yet been extinguished.
These human figures walked past the two of them, leaving behind traces of sparks and ashes blown up by the wind, and gathered in front of the village hall.
"Come on." Galadia grabbed Griffith's hand and ran over with the weird humanoid figure.
This is like the first time we hold hands! Well, there was no clenching at the dance. Griffith's brain was suddenly illuminated by lightning, and his whole body became excited. The elf girl's hands are so slender and smooth that it is unimaginable that she can draw a strong bow.
It should be released through magic power to assist. This feels really good. Griffith's head was flooded with random thoughts.
The wonderful feeling on his skin made him happy beyond measure. However, the good times are always so short, and Galadia soon let go of her hand, which made him feel disappointed.
Behind them, the glass window that had just been smashed had been restored to its original state at some point, as if nothing had happened.
There is another page of notices on the notice board standing at the entrance of the village hall.
"Search notices.
“Village chief Kang Ming Vlad has disappeared.
"Mr. Ennaze Viktim is searching with the village chief's family. We are all very concerned about the old village chief's safety. Villagers who have seen the village chief in the past day are asked to inform the village office immediately.
"The disappearance of the village chief will not affect the voting of the village meeting. All villagers are asked to gather at the Dilong Altar at 6 o'clock tomorrow night.
“Village Hall (printed).
"[Date illegible and illegible]"
