Chapter 576: Heavy

Isn't that how the movements and expressions are when being intimate?

Although Yu Jianna had seen it, she had never carefully studied how others were intimate. After hearing Anthony's words, she immediately chose to trust the "Audience."

Anthony continued:

"Lugano's body language shows obvious resistance; his current state is very abnormal."

Resisting but unable to break free, not even making any relatively intense movements... Lugano was a Sequence 8 Beyonder, and one who belonged to the type that had strengthened their physical fitness. The current situation was absolutely abnormal... What Beyonder ability could achieve something similar? Yu Jianna quickly went through the information on the enemies they might encounter this time in her mind.

Most of them came from Franca's compilation, with a small portion supplemented by Lady "Judgment" and Lady "Magician."

As thoughts flashed through her mind, Yu Jianna quickly thought of a possibility:

"Marionettist"!

The Sequence 5 "Marionettist" of the "Seer" pathway!

According to Franca's description of a "Marionettist," this type of Beyonder could hide in the dark and, from a certain distance, silently turn a target into a puppet without a self.

And in the content supplemented by Lady "Magician," there was this point:

"'Marionettists' manipulate the 'Spirit Body Threads' of living beings. A veteran 'Marionettist' can initially control a target's 'Spirit Body Threads' within 5 to 10 seconds, making their thinking sluggish, their movements start to become jerky, and their body gradually stiffen."

Lugano's current state perfectly matched the various characteristics of having his "Spirit Body Threads" initially controlled by a "Marionettist"!

Yu Jianna immediately lowered her voice and said to Anthony:

"'Loki'..."

That enemy codenamed "Loki" was precisely a "Marionettist"!

Anthony instantly understood Yu Jianna's deduction and nodded slightly:

"Don't be anxious. A 'Marionettist' needs to spend several minutes to completely turn a target into a puppet. We have a chance to rescue Lugano."

According to the information, whether it was forcibly taking Lugano away or pushing and stimulating him beyond the limit, both could make him break free from the "Spirit Body Threads" or strengthen his resistance against this kind of manipulation.

Of course, the most direct way was to find "Loki's" true body and attack this enemy directly, making him unable to be distracted to manipulate Lugano's "Spirit Body Threads" anymore.

Yu Jianna heard the implication in Anthony's words.

That was not to rush to save Lugano, but to find his true body while the two of them had not yet been discovered by "Loki"!

—The two of them had changed their appearance and figure last night, pretending to be a couple to check into this suite at the Solo Hotel.

Once "Loki" was found, the two of them might not be able to deal with a target who was eerie, hard to kill, and had terrifying abilities, but they could create a big commotion to "report to the police" to the Bounty Society responsible for local Beyonder affairs, and Lumian had already communicated with Noelia about this aspect in advance.

Yu Jianna said "Mm," took out powder that shimmered with fluorescence, and prepared to hide her figure.

The next second, she abandoned this plan.

She remembered the reminder in the information:

"Marionettists" can directly see the "Spirit Body Threads" of different living beings; the vast majority of invisibility effects will not work in front of them.

Moreover, "Loki" was currently in a state of manipulating "Spirit Body Threads."

How should they act, and how should they find "Loki"? Yu Jianna fell into thought with a strong sense of urgency.

Inside the sealed sea area, on the Colorful Flower Ceremonial Ship.

Lumian first saw azure giant waves like mountain peaks rise up, then discovered they had solidified in the air, as if they had encountered rapid freezing, while a violent aura that would destroy everything here permeated the surroundings.

The ocean's fury? Lumian was startled.

He also didn't understand where the problem had occurred. This looked like the "Ring of the Sea Queen" had only exerted the first half of its effect of opening the seal and failed to display the latter half brought by the stealing effect.

But after completing the ring-making ritual, that ring was indeed placed on the dilapidated stone platform, and it was Lumian himself and Juan Oro who took it out together.

In the previous stage, Lumian originally wasn't sure if the "Ring of the Sea Queen" had been swapped, but now, he was very certain it hadn't been, because the "Ring of the Sea Queen" had further opened the seal here; a fake ring that hadn't gone through the previous ritual couldn't exert a similar effect.

Was it that someone moved the "Ring of the Sea Queen" during the hour it was placed in the basement, causing it to not satisfy the time for the corrosive power, or was the dilapidated stone platform in the basement destroyed in its key parts by someone in advance, causing the "Paying Respects to Ancestors" link to be fundamentally impossible to complete? These were all unlikely. How could the first situation bypass the gaze of me and Juan Oro, as well as the surveillance of those Sea Kin? The second situation should have caused quite a commotion and would definitely have been discovered by the Sea Kin... As thoughts flashed through Lumian's mind, he suddenly felt his own body eroded slightly by the destructive aura permeating the surroundings.

His spirit was instantly connected to something.

Vaguely, Lumian "saw" the deep blue, near-black seabed, and "saw" a strange object with a small part inserted into stones and gravel.

That object was unusually massive, larger than the Bounty Society's monastery and the "Governor of the Sea's" mansion combined. It was silver-gray all over, with smooth lines, like a giant spindle that had lost its front section. At this moment, the side of this thing lit up with light as brilliant as starlight. They connected together, seemingly forming a circular, transparent gate.

Through that gate, Lumian "saw" a certain scene inside:

On the silver-gray metal walls were dense, special holes, like the individual cells of a honeycomb.

Inside some of the cells, black foam bubbled, and out crawled Batinis black insects covered in long, thin, stiff hairs; other cells were composed of a dozen or twenty compartments, inside which lay shriveled "little demons." It seemed they were already dead and were being broken down into different things...

After this strange and horrifying scene was imprinted on Lumian's mind, he woke up with a start. Ignoring the need to consider what kind of trick the "April Fools" were playing, he quickly thought about what to do to stop the sealed entity from going completely berserk and breaking free from its restraints.

"The power being extracted hasn't caused any harm yet...

"It seems to have been suppressed by the ability Juan Oro used by overdrawing his life...

"If, if I can seize this window of opportunity to steal the released power and 'distribute' it to everyone possessing the bloodline of the Great Sea, it is possible to complete the Sea Sacrifice phase and make the Sea-Praying Ceremony a success...

"Steal..."

In a flash of inspiration, Lumian thought of two methods:

One was to immediately pray to Mr. Fool for help, as he was an expert in this area—Termiboros was a precedent; the second was to use the "Lie" earring, as this magical artifact had gained the ability to steal others' power on the stone platform of "Paying Respects to Ancestors."

Lumian quickly ruled out the first method because this matter was orchestrated by the "April Fools," and behind them was that "Heavenly Venerable of Eternal Life and Benevolence." Praying to Mr. Fool might not necessarily elicit a response and would instead waste time.

As for the second method, Lumian felt a strong sense of fate and a coincidence that could not be ignored:

The "Lie" earring had only just gained the ability to steal others' power, and it could already be put to use at a critical moment!

With no time to analyze or weigh the options, Lumian made a prompt decision.

Forget about coincidences and fate; resolving the immediate predicament was the most practical thing to do!

He immediately took the silver-white "Lie" earring out of his pocket.

Normally, it would be impossible to bring such items onto the Colorful Flower Ritual Ship; they would definitely be discovered by the Great Sea kin. But this time, Juan Oro had communicated in advance with the Great Sea kin that he and his helpers would disguise themselves as assistant deacons to board the ship and guard against accidents.

—To this president of the Fishery Guild, in a situation where the mole hadn't been found, the Great Sea kin were more trustworthy than anyone else. Their intelligence wasn't very high, and they were the most protective of the Sea-Praying Ceremony.

Holding the "Lie" earring, Lumian extended his spirituality toward it.

He instantly saw the starlight permeating the surroundings and felt its existence.

Lumian subconsciously reached out his hand and gave his wrist a light twist.

A massive amount of starlight poured down, rushing toward the "Lie" earring and toward him.

Just then, a person appeared abruptly in front of him—a woman wearing a black nun's habit with a sorrowful expression on her face.

She was like a giant whale suddenly leaping out of the sea without any warning.

Her? The source of the madness? Lumian finally remembered what he had just forgotten.

There was still such a creature on the ship!

The next second, he felt that humanoid sealed artifact become unusually heavy—heavy enough to bend the surrounding void slightly, heavy enough that all the starlight rushed toward her front as if heading to the sea, heavy enough that the Colorful Flower Ritual Ship began to sink, and the nearby seawater was pushed aside.

Silently, Lumian saw the surrounding seawater turn into translucent azure peaks, gazing down at him and the others as they fell toward the seabed. It was like the walls of a deep well, and the wellhead formed by these walls was getting further and further away.

…………

Four hours ago, at the edge of the sea where mist was permeating.

Norfi said to Charnem:

"From now on, you must listen to me completely, otherwise it will be very dangerous."

"Understood." Charnem nodded. "But before that, we need to have a frank communication."

A smile gradually appeared on his face.

"What kind of communication?" Norfi's companion, Bartner, asked curiously.

Charnem took out a small metal bottle and looked at Norfi, saying:

"This is a potion that can make people tell the truth. I want to know if you have any secret collaborators, and if so, who they are.

"Don't worry, it's not poison."

Charnem unscrewed the cap and took a sip himself to show his sincerity.

Norfi fell silent.

"If I don't clarify the relevant details, it's hard for me to follow your commands." Charnem began his "incitement." "We've already reached this point and could enter that sea area at any time. Are you really willing to give up on destroying the palace on the seabed before the Sea-Praying Ceremony?"

Norfi was silent for another moment, then took the small metal bottle and gulped down a large mouthful.

Charnem retrieved the bottle with a pained heart and waited patiently for the potion to take effect.

(End of chapter)