Chapter 626: More Than One?

Seeing a massive brown bear speak in human voice—using remarkably standard Highland speech—Lumian felt no surprise or fear, only joy.

This meant he had found the right place!

According to what he knew, the "Farmer" Path, the primary path of the "Earth Mother Church," had a Sequence 5 rank called "Druid," capable of transforming into a terrifying bear nearly three meters tall.

Encountering such a talking brown bear in the uninhabited forests of Hant Island suggested Lumian was now very close to the heavily guarded territory of the Earth Mother Church—likely the mysterious valley said in devil legends to burn with sulfurous flames.

Without his golden straw hat, Lumian examined the bear's furry face with interest, making no effort to conceal that he was no ordinary man.

"Alright," he sighed in disappointment, turned, and walked back along the path he had come.

After walking twenty or thirty meters, hidden by century-old trees surrounding him, Lumian fully slipped out of the brown bear's line of sight.

Then he stopped, leaned against the trunk, and slowly pulled an item from his "Traveler's Satchel."

It was a pair of tea-colored, gold-rimmed glasses.

"The Seer's Glasses!"

From the start, Lumian never intended to force his way into the Earth Mother Church's protective circle or explore the sealed-off region.

That might be no safer than facing the devil hidden on Hant Island!

Before gathering enough sufficient and effective intelligence, Lumian would never rashly take such action.

What if it was something like Fourth Era Trill?

Lumian's plan was to approach the edge of the problem zone, use the "Seer's Glasses" to shift his perspective, perceive the world's truth, and glimpse things no one should see.

Of course, based on Lumian's experience using the "Seer's Glasses," the item's tier was not high—it could not let the wearer directly observe conditions inside seals. In Trill, he had used it multiple times and never directly witnessed Fourth Era Trill's scene; he only saw, through twisted, slightly overhead or peering angles, things hidden underground, in darkness, beneath disguises.

This flaw ensured that, in the current situation, Lumian would not directly see what the Earth Mother Church had sealed away, preventing him from losing control or dying horribly—while still allowing him to glimpse unusual traces.

That was enough!

More traces meant more information; more information meant closer to the truth!

As he prepared to instantly "Teleport" away, Lumian placed the tea-colored, gold-rimmed glasses onto his nose.

The familiar dizziness surged in his mind—he felt buried underground, looking up through soil, trees, and sky—but with a distinct overhead perspective.

Aged bark, rotting leaves, crawling insects, animals trekking toward water sources, buried bones—all layered together—appeared before Lumian's eyes, leaving his head hollow, spinning.

Amid the nausea rising from his soul, Lumian's vision caught a scene:

Blue flames covered the entire land, burning silently;

Trees, whether beside, above, or beneath the flames, rapidly turned black, melted into filthy sludge, while new trees sprouted continuously on the graves of the decayed, growing fast and lush.

Lumian faintly saw a vast, crimson figure lying at the core of the blue flames, as if soaked in thick, black sludge, slowly sinking—yet pulled upward by invisible forces, shifting slightly upward at times.

Those invisible forces came from beyond the forest, where trees died and regrew endlessly—from…

Suddenly, a pair of eyes appeared in Lumian's vision.

They were ice-blue eyes, bloodshot, cold yet filled with pain.

Lumian immediately tore off the "Seer's Glasses" and activated the black sigil representing "Spirit World Transit."

His figure rapidly faded and vanished from the forest, reappearing behind a stone pillar outside the Earth Mother Church's cathedral in Hant Port—where he had observed earlier that morning.

Immediately after, Lumian returned the "Seer's Glasses" to his "Traveler's Satchel," stepped out of the secluded spot, followed several worshippers into the church, where the scent of wheat and milk filled the air, and sat on the row of chairs closest to the "Life Holy Symbol," crossing his arms like the elderly man beside him, feigning prayer.

Only then did he exhale, knowing he was no longer watched or locked onto by those ice-blue eyes.

"If the 'Seer's Glasses' weren't in my hands but in someone else's, they'd have changed hands countless times already. Its negative effects are uniquely useful—but also extremely dangerous…" Lumian couldn't help mentally sighing.

Then he analyzed the scenes he had glimpsed through the "Seer's Glasses":

"There truly is a region burning with sulfurous flames, but it's sealed by the Earth Mother Church's cycle of death and rebirth—trees that grow and die. From outside, it should be invisible; even with the 'Seer's Glasses,' I only caught a faint outline.

"It's like hiding outside a cage and peering through the bars—otherwise, the 'Seer's Glasses' shouldn't be able to penetrate the seal.

"That crimson, massive figure, mountain-sized, with no visible detail… Is it the true form of Hant Island's devil? If it's sealed inside, how does it make others see it, causing their mysterious disappearances?

"Perhaps Hant Island has more than one devil? Those ice-blue eyes belong to another devil, using its invisible link to the crimson one to pull it back, preventing it from sinking into the black, viscous sludge?

"If so, the Earth Mother Church should eliminate the devil active on the surface and across the island—cutting off the crimson devil's support.

"Or perhaps the Earth Mother Church doesn't want the crimson devil to sink fully into the black sludge either, so they tacitly allow the ice-blue-eyed devil to exist, merely restricting its range and frequency?

"Is incomplete sealing necessary to preserve the invisible link? Are they kept apart because the ice-blue-eyed devil would also be affected by the black sludge?"

Lumian gained deeper insight and new theories about Hant Island's devil legends, sensing his "Conspirator" elixir growing active, showing signs of digestion—but still lacking a little.

He didn't rush. Instead, he turned his thoughts to the task Napoleonides had failed to entrust to him and Franca:

"Kill the devil's descendant on one of the islands in the Stormy Sea…

"Yes, descendant! The ice-blue-eyed devil is the descendant of the crimson one—that's why they share an invisible link?

"Does Napoleonides want the crimson devil to sink fully into the black sludge?

"Would that be good or bad for the crimson devil?

"If it's good, why would the Earth Mother Church oppose it? And why would the devil's descendant persistently pull it back, preventing its sinking?

"If the ice-blue-eyed devil is controlled by the Earth Mother Church, why can it kill and cause disappearances? If it isn't, why doesn't it flee Hant Island? This suggests that for the ice-blue-eyed devil, the crimson devil's full sinking is not good—it would even sacrifice its freedom to prevent it.

"If it's not good, then Napoleonides may not have lied—he and the crimson devil are enemies, hoping it sinks completely, assimilated by the black sludge. This might affect Hant Island, the Stormy Sea, even the entire world—explaining why the Earth Mother Church both seals and protects it…

"Why not just kill it outright? Without the crimson devil, there'd be no question of it sinking into the black sludge…

"Can't be killed?

"Napoleonides fears not that the crimson devil senses danger, but that the Earth Mother Church will be alerted?"

Lumian gradually grasped the mindsets and positions of the Earth Mother Church, the local devil, and Napoleonides—but still lacked sufficient evidence.

The one thing he was most certain of now was:

That black, viscous sludge was not ordinary!

Perhaps something akin to the "Well of the Samaritan Woman."

Moreover, it bore resemblance to the blackness composing the Monsury ghosts.

"The depths of Trill were so complex, filled with various corruptions and hard-to-eliminate special monsters, because the 'Blood Emperor' Arista Tudo did something immense, nearly dragging the gods to death before his own fall. What caused this in Hant Island? Was there a divine war here too, with a god's fall?"

"Not impossible… Though I know little of Fourth Era history, I at least know the Stormy Sea wasn't always stormy—there was travel between the northern and southern continents. Perhaps one or two of the other Emperors from the 'War of the Four Emperors' fell here, permanently altering the terrain and weather, forming the Stormy Sea?"

"Is this the power of gods? The 'Blood Emperor' sank an entire massive city underground, requiring millions to live atop it to seal the aftermath—while the fallen god here has made the sea stormy for over a thousand years, far beyond the waters near Sangta Port…" As Lumian marveled, he prepared to rise and return to the "Berry," planning his next move to gather more information.

Sensing the quiet around him, he moved gently, afraid of disturbing the Earth Mother Church's worshippers in prayer.

Lumian instinctively glanced left and right, seeing the worshipper beside him had finished praying and lowered his arms.

He was an elderly man in a black suit, with a bow tie, white hair, sharp facial contours, and a cleanly shaven beard.

The next second, Lumian saw the old man turn his head—and saw a pair of bloodshot, ice-blue eyes.

(End of Chapter)