Neferty's eyes turned white and she fainted. Griffith hurriedly supported her, carefully paying attention to the expression of the Odessa investigator.
"What is that?" The investigators present murmured with tremors originating from the depths of their souls. The two dead Extraordinaries had completely lost their vitality. Their unsightly remains were scattered on the ground, slowly precipitating characteristic crystals. The Sequence 7 Beyonders were warriors with strong shields or resistance, but both of them were killed in a very short time without even triggering their defense.
"I saw the shadow's hand extinguish the light. Bolton should be the one who was attacked. Collect their extraordinary characteristics, maybe we can find something from them," Miss Wendy covered her mouth and said, "But, with the ability to interpret The only one is Master Erem, we need to ask him to interpret it."
"That's right!" Archaeologist Ben-Hur immediately agreed, "We need to join them and gather together. Don't you think so? Two senior extraordinary people can't even resist at all. I'm in Sasha in the south. When exploring Ernas Crater, even the most ordinary servants could escape from being attacked by a swamp tar monster!"
The frightened archaeologist spoke very quickly, and the faces of the others became uglier than the last.
Diaz stared at the blood foam and broken bones on the ground and said: "No matter what it is, it completed the mutation from invasion to maturity in less than a minute. This is a parasitic organism that we have never recognized. Extremely dangerous."
Seeing the most powerful transcendent in the team saying this, the others became even more shaken. They talked quietly as if they were talking to themselves.
"Could it be the creation of that existence?"
"Is not it……"
"I heard there was an appearance on a fast ship bound for Neopolis..."
This almost gibbering murmur formed an abnormal ensemble of layers of "saw" and "saw" in the dark night. It sounded less human to Griffith and almost unbearable.
The strange attack in the dark night was indeed terrifying, but the Extraordinaries in Odessa were too panicked.
"It's breathtaking."
Amid the insane whispers, Griffith suddenly heard a calm and peaceful compliment, and couldn't help but feel like a confidant. He raised his head and met Naila's calm gaze.
"Amazing? Are you crazy?" Knight Milban carefully picked up the characteristic crystal and put it away with a sad face. "This is the most terrifying monster I have ever seen. Professor, you must know what this is, right?"
Professor Lafayette's face was filled with tears. He didn't answer, but just activated the echo to contact the team that entered the depths of the island.
"Forward team, please reply immediately. We were attacked by unknown parasites with shadow characteristics. Priest Bolton and Wizard Lake were killed one after another. We need to know your situation."
There was silence on the other end of the echo.
"They haven't heard back," the professor replied. "We might..."
"We have to set out to find them immediately!" Knight Milban shouted, "What? What are you thinking? Shouldn't the advance team keep in touch with us at all times? Encountering such a weird monster, we have lost our connection again. The contact with the advance team must be made immediately, and we must set off to join them immediately.”
Several people immediately agreed.
"They are in the Lost Temple, and the risks associated with this...we need to gather with them as soon as possible."
"No, we must strictly guard the camp at this time and notify them to be careful through the echo!"
"Didn't you see the reply and couldn't be contacted?"
"We must remind them of what happened to us. If something unexpected happens to them, the entire operation will fail. We have paid such a huge price, should we just watch everything go to waste?"
The camp group quarreled, and Professor Lafayette said that caution must be used, but most people were eager to leave and did not want to stay here for a minute.
…
In the commotion, Naira walked towards Griffith: "Thank you for taking care of Neferty."
"You're welcome." Griffith nodded calmly and handed the girl over.
Naila looked at her fainted sister, then quickly withdrew her gaze and refocused on Griffith's face: "Do you think they will set off for the ruins or hide here? Well, by the way, Mr. Dantès, you might You still don’t know, but in a cave not far from here, there is a ruin left by an ancient god. It is said that there is a secret hidden there that can make all wishes come true.”
All wishes? How do people in Odessa view this ruins? Griffith shook his head:
"I am just a guest, relying on your protection. This is not something I can decide."
"But you can observe, can't you?" The corner of Naila's mouth raised slightly, "Staying away from the incident allows us to calmly and comprehensively examine reality from a higher dimension and see the details that are not revealed. Here is the best place in the world Mysterious scholars, experienced adventurers, but they were all frightened by a creature no bigger than a curly baboon, and they wished they could hide under the quilt with the others."
Griffith listened quietly: "What do you mean by details?"
“All greatness,” Naira said, “starts from humble beginnings.”
He turned around with a smile and looked at Griffith like a puppet in a puppet show:
"Mr. Dantès, do you know? This is the ruins of a lost dream. No one comes here for no reason. The breath of God invisibly guides our destiny, and the memories of the past will enslave our determination.
"Why are you here?"
Griffith held his sword with both hands and said slowly: "It seems that these years of adventure have brought me back to my old life. I long for peace, but life seems not to be what I want."
"That may be the case," Naila took her sister and held her in her arms, "Why did your lady come here?"
Griffith looked at Alandel: "It's also because of me that you dare to love me."
"It's possible," Naila rubbed her sister's hanging hair and looked at her cheek, "Everyone has a reason to come here, everyone."
…
In the end, the Odessa investigators decided to join the advance team.
They persuaded the hesitant Professor Lafayette to pay attention to the loss of contact and the dangers in the darkness. They did not waste a moment and went deep into the unpredictable and sinister night without hesitation.
The night on the island in the Chaos Sea is stirred by hurried footsteps and flickering lights. The darkness seems to contain endless breath and countless secrets that have never been pried into by humans. It stretches from the seaside slopes to the rocky cliffs and the unknown deep in the jungle. Unknown ancient ruins.
Griffith and Alandel also walked together. After all, normal people would not want to stay alone in the terrible camp where two people were just killed.
Everyone brought some of their belongings and followed the well-marked and obstacle-cleared path to a cave without any difficulty, and entered the interior from there. They went down the rotating passage, feeling anxious and uneasy all the way, as if there were evil eyes peering into every darkness.
Finally, they came to the huge cave where the giant snail was located underground, and saw the simple camp and magic circle set up by the advancing team as mentioned in the message. However, there was no one there, and the team led by several extraordinary beings did not leave anyone here.
"Where have they gone?" Knight Milban asked, "Hook should be guarding here with his men."
No one answered him. Everyone had a gloomy look on their face, and some bad thoughts were running through their minds.
"Let's go in," Professor Lafayette said without hesitation, "go in and find them."
The Extraordinaries of Odessa immediately took action. Although they were frightened, they cooperated with each other very well. Milban was responsible for opening the way, with Patolion at the rear. The spellcasters were concentrated in the middle of the team, and they penetrated into the giant body without hesitation. The surrounding walls seemed to have been corroded by acid, changing from smooth chitin to some dark brown substance that looked like flesh and blood. If you put your hand on it, you can feel the uneven roughness, and even a faint heartbeat-like throbbing.
Meridian-like purple-red parasites are everywhere. Ugly joints and tentacles covered in disgusting spots.
The further you go inside, the more humid and stuffy you feel. The "ticking" sound coming from nowhere echoed monotonously and mechanically, and a pungent smell like acidic vomit became increasingly intense. Later, there was even fluid accumulation under my feet, and it was as sticky as glue when I stepped into it.
There was no sign of the advancing group along the way.
Finally, when they reached the middle and upper part of the conch, they found that it was a cavity covered by a huge dome. There is a bottomless black lake in the center of this biological chamber. Black shadows were swaying in the lake. If you looked closely, they were floating in the water like the hair of the deceased, waving to the living people on the ground. Under these weird aquatic plants, deeper in the water, you can vaguely see thick, fat tentacles growing windingly, as if monsters with evil intentions are entrenched in them.
"Look at those leaves. There are things like barnacles next to them," Professor Ben-Hur said. "Be very careful there. We don't know what kind of life is inside."
There is a protruding boulder on the edge of the lake, which is perfectly positioned like an altar.
Here everyone found more facilities left behind by the advance team, and even complete sets of well-arranged lighting equipment. As soon as they lit up, they saw a large group of twisted shadows appear in front of the chamber.
It stands under the dome of the chamber and is fifty or sixty meters long. Like a terrifying owner, it watches the maggots that rush in. The smell of decay lingers on its gray surface. It protrudes from the lake and is covered with curly tentacles that are thicker than the stone pillars of the Senate Chamber.
It must be the owner of the giant snail. It is impossible to imagine how huge the other parts under the water are. Just seeing this twisted behemoth made Griffith feel dizzy, and a desperate smallness almost made him crawl to the ground.
There is no doubt that this is a creature that once had godhead! It is the essence of this dream ruins.
Such a huge and mysterious creature, if it takes action, it will tear everyone here to pieces in the blink of an eye!
But Griffith soon felt something was wrong. The aura of this huge creature made people dare not look up, but this ancient and vast body had lost its vitality. Now, all that's left of it is twisted and shrunken pieces of flesh, covered with ugly parasitic arthropods.
