Chapter 107: That person (Seeking monthly votes)

Pons Bénet squeezed harder and harder, his eyes bloodshot, almost popping out.

If Lu Mi hadn't been unable to speak, and if his vision hadn't already started to turn black, he definitely would have said "thank you" to him.

Just then, a hand reached out from somewhere, grabbed Pons Bénet's hair from behind, and tried to forcibly separate him from Lu Mi.

"What are you doing? Do you want to kill him?"

"Are you crazy?"

The shepherd Pierre Berry stopped Pons Bénet while cursing in a deep voice.

Pons Bénet ignored him, his bloodshot eyes only seeing Lu Mi's figure, his mind occupied by rage and bloodthirsty intent, with only one thought: "kill this bastard."

Slap!

The shepherd Pierre Berry raised his right leg and kicked Pons Bénet in the groin with his brand-new leather shoe.

Pons Bénet reflexively released his hands, clutched his lower body, clamped his thighs, and fell to the ground.

He unconsciously made a gurgling sound, in so much pain that his expression twisted, like a rooster being strangled by the neck.

The shepherd Pierre Berry glanced at this guy and said with a calm expression:

"Bring Lu Mi to the altar once you recover a bit. The ritual is about to begin."

He then withdrew his gaze, leaned down, and checked Lu Mi's state.

After Lu Mi regained his senses and slowly opened his eyes, he stood straight again and nodded.

As the dark vision was filled with light again, the pain in his neck became clearer and clearer. Lu Mi disappointedly discovered that what he saw wasn't the familiar ceiling of his bedroom, but the face of the shepherd Pierre Berry, which was covered in bloody scratches.

Haven't I died yet? He muttered subconsciously in his heart, turning his head to see Pons Bénet curled up on the ground.

"Trash!" Lu Mi cursed with extreme contempt. "Can't handle a woman, can't kill a man—what's the point of you living?"

Pons Bénet felt a surge of anger rush straight to his head. If not for the lingering pain in his lower body and the fact that the shepherd Pierre Berry was watching, he definitely would have lost his reason again.

…………

Lu Mi and Aurora's house, which had lost half its roof and was tattered.

Under the illumination of the faint moonlight and starlight falling from high above, Ryan, Lyra, and Valentine sneaked back here.

After confirming that there was no one around, Ryan turned to Lyra:

"The situation tonight seems even more severe than we imagined. Do a divination."

On the road from the edge of Cordu Village to Lu Mi's house, they found that there was no one in any of the houses; they didn't know where they had gone.

This was a terrifying abnormality!

"Okay." Lyra nodded.

Before she could take out paper and pen to write the divination sentence, Ryan reminded her again:

"Be sure to be careful, choose the direction of the divination well, and don't try anything that feels too dangerous."

"I understand." Lyra had quite a lot of experience in this regard, knowing that in a place like Cordu Village, where danger was everywhere and everyone was abnormal, a slight error in the direction of divination could cause herself to suffer extremely serious injuries, or even lose control on the spot.

She pondered for a few seconds, entered Aurora's bedroom, which no longer had walls on the corridor side, and found a manuscript as a medium.

While Lyra was writing the divination sentence, Ryan and Valentine walked into Lu Mi's room, which was where they had slept before.

Ryan's brown-yellow suitcase was placed beside the desk by the window, completely covered by curtains.

Seeing that the item was still there, Ryan let out a breath and said to Valentine:

"Get ready."

As he spoke, he dragged the suitcase out, laid it flat on the floor, and opened the brass-like metal buckle.

Valentine spread his arms slightly, letting illusory golden flames jump out from the void, illuminating the room.

With "sunlight," Ryan, with a serious expression, finally lifted the lid of the suitcase.

Inside, there were no changes of clothes, no books, and no money, but a strange straw doll lying quietly.

The doll's eyes were covered with thick black cloth, and its face, neck, palms, feet, and calves were all woven from brown-green straw, but its arms, chest, and thighs were covered in skin that looked very real and slightly pale.

This was a magical artifact that the joint investigation team had obtained from the "Eternal Blazing Sun" Church's Reston Diocese before setting out.

A small team of their level could apply for sealed artifacts to handle abnormalities according to regulations.

Ryan closed his eyes, and the information about this magical artifact naturally surfaced in his mind:

"Number: 217.

"Name: Tanago Straw Doll.

"Danger Level: '2', dangerous, use with caution and restraint; only actions of three or more people or deacons/diocesan bishops can apply.

"Confidentiality Level: Bishop, team leader, and above.

"Description: This straw doll was first discovered in the Tanago region of Reston Province, at the edge of a village destroyed by an evil cult ritual.

"Two purifiers, ten policemen, and seventy-six farmers disappeared after passing by the farmland where this straw doll was placed and never appeared again.

"Research shows that as long as one enters within thirty meters of this straw doll and is seen by its eyes, one will lose self-awareness, uncontrollably approach the straw doll, and disappear within a few seconds, leaving only the clothes worn and the items on one's body.

"When the sun is at its most intense, even if one touches this straw doll and is seen by it, one will not disappear.

"According to the recollection of a farmer from another village, this straw doll was originally very normal and no different from other straw dolls until the village belonging to that farmland was destroyed.

"Every time a person disappears, a piece of flesh and skin will grow on some part of its body, but only a very small piece.

"It is currently impossible to confirm what changes will occur when every part of this straw doll has flesh and skin, but it can only be speculated that it is very likely to come alive.

"This straw doll already possesses a certain living characteristic and will move positions at night, trying to break free from the seal.

"Sealing method: Use a very thick black cloth to cover its eyes from behind and place it in a small, dark space.

"Usage process: One must take out this straw doll under the illumination of sunlight and untie the black cloth covering its eyes.

"Appendix: 1. No matter what, do not be seen by it. Even with the protection of sunlight, one will have nightmares for a long time afterward and appear mentally weak.

"2. Try not to use this straw doll for more than two minutes each time, otherwise its tendency to escape and resist will become increasingly obvious.

"3. Warning: Permanently seal it before this straw doll acquires enough flesh."

While Ryan and Valentine were checking whether the sealed artifact had been lost or escaped, Lyra had already entered the state of "Dream Divination."

While whispering the divination sentence "Aurora's location," she sat at the desk, leaned against the back of the chair, closed her eyes, and quickly entered a deep sleep.

Relying on those four silver bells, Lyra, who was half-awake and half-dazed, saw Aurora in a simple white robe in the twisted and illusory world, saw the object suspected to be an altar, saw the villagers surrounding it, saw the stained-glass windows and golden walls in the distance...

Lyra opened her eyes suddenly, rushed out of the room, and said urgently to Ryan and Valentine:

"They are all in the church!"

"They are holding a ritual!"

…………

Inside the "Eternal Blazing Sun" church.

The disappointed Lu Mi was carried by Pons Bénet toward the altar filled with lilacs and tulips, with the shepherd Pierre Berry monitoring them from the side.

Glancing at his sister Aurora, whose eyes were hollow, Lu Mi turned his head and revealed a smile to Pierre Berry:

"You are just a coward, a piece of trash!"

The shepherd glanced at him without response, nor was there any change in expression.

Lu Mi continued to smile:

"Your woman died of illness, yet you didn't dare to do anything, only knowing how to believe in an evil god."

"Why did she die of illness? Wasn't it because the factory boss didn't let them rest and gave them very little money."

"If it were me, I would definitely visit that boss and hang his whole family on the factory chimney!"

"Did you do it? You didn't! You were afraid, afraid that you would die too, trash, coward!"

Lu Mi, observing Pierre Berry's subtle movements, quietly added the "Provocation" ability to the last sentence.

The shepherd Pierre Berry's expression instantly twisted, and his originally gentle eyes gradually became violent, as if he had unlocked some seal and released the demon in his heart.

"Calm down!" The assistant priest Guillaume Bénet at the altar position looked over and shouted sternly.

Pierre Berry shivered and regained his reason.

He then tore off the cloth strips hanging from his tattered clothes, rolled them into a ball, and stuffed them toward Lu Mi's mouth.

Damn! Lu Mi struggled with all his might but couldn't avoid it.

He cursed continuously, adding "Provocation," but because the time was too short, he hadn't spat out a few words before his mouth was completely blocked by the cloth ball, and he couldn't speak anymore.

Anxiety and despair surged into Lu Mi's heart simultaneously, making him nearly collapse.

He forcibly controlled his emotions, not letting the thought of "giving up" occupy his mind.

While being carried onto the altar, he raced through thoughts, pondering other ways to commit suicide.

Soon, he had an idea:

Enter a deep meditative state, accept the gaze of those two existences, and strive to hear that mysterious and terrifying sound as soon as possible, pushing himself to the point of collapse and loss of control!

Glancing at Aurora, who had a dull expression and hollow gaze but was otherwise the same as usual, Lu Mi closed his eyes.

He first outlined the crimson sun, and after his emotions calmed down, he immediately switched to that sphere with an eye that had a cross marked on it.

Silently, Lu Mi "saw" the faint gray mist again, "saw" the chaotic overlapping color blocks, "saw" many things that were hard to describe and seemed not to exist.

However, this time, he didn't have the feeling of being watched by certain existences in the depths of the gray mist and the infinitely high places.

Why is it different? Lu Mi opened his eyes in astonishment.

At this time, a person walked into the church gate.

He wore a black robe and a wide hood, with his entire face hidden in the shadows, only showing that he was relatively tall, about one meter eighty.

Seeing this person walk toward the altar step by step, the assistant priest immediately turned his body, making way, showing a humble and respectful attitude.

Who is that? The one behind the assistant priest? Lu Mi looked over with suspicion.

The more he looked at that person, the more familiar he felt, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

Finally, he remembered:

That was the person hiding in the corner of the wizard's tomb!

The black-robed person stepped onto the altar, came to Lu Mi, leaned forward slightly, and laughed in a suppressed voice:

"Did you find that meditation was useless?"

What? How does he know? Lu Mi looked at the other party with both shock and astonishment.

At this distance, with the hood covering him, he could also clearly see the black-robed person's face:

It was a young man, eighteen or nineteen years old, with slender limbs, short dark hair, light blue eyes, and deep features; he was quite handsome.

This... Lu Mi's gaze instantly froze.

He was incredibly familiar with this face; he could see it every time he looked in the mirror every day.

It was himself!

ps: Seeking monthly votes~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 108 =====

Who is that? The one behind the parish priest? Lu Mian looked over in confusion.

The more he looked at the person, the more familiar they seemed, as if he had seen them somewhere before.

Finally, he remembered:

That was the figure hidden in the corner of the wizard's tomb!

The black-robed figure stepped onto the altar, arrived before Lu Mian, leaned forward slightly, and laughed in a suppressed voice:

"Have you discovered that meditation is no longer useful?"

What? How did he know? Lu Mian looked at the other person in shock and astonishment.

At this distance, even with the hood obscuring the face, he could clearly see the black-robed figure's features:

It was a young man, eighteen or nineteen years old, with slender limbs, short dark hair, light blue eyes, and deep, remarkably handsome features.

This... Lu Mian's gaze froze instantly.

He was incredibly familiar with this face; he could see it every day when he looked in the mirror.

This was himself!

PS: Seeking monthly votes~

(End of chapter)