Chapter 766: There

Lu Mi removed his glasses while lowering his voice:

"The target has likely noticed the anomaly on me, but Ludwig is nearby too—there's the 'mother' aura from the corpse. With both factors present, the target will be on high alert and likely seek aid. You must be ready."

If only Omeibera's bloodline were present, Oseto would assume it was the influence of the Law of Aggregation that led to encountering the Desecrated Son; similarly, if only the corpse's 'mother' aura were present, she might either grow wary or suspect that the corpses' return to the earth had contaminated nearby water sources, affecting certain individuals.

But together, to anyone capable of sensing them, these two elements present a grave problem.

This cannot be described as coincidence—it must conceal a dangerous trap!

The voice of the "Knight of the Sword," Marichi, seemed to recede slightly:

"We are prepared."

He noticed Lu Jianuo, startled by his movements and low tone, rising to his feet—Lu Mi marveled inwardly: someone had sensed the hidden danger and prepared ahead of him, even before he fully pieced everything together and issued a warning… besides strong spiritual intuition, this person clearly had considerable experience.

Ludwig didn't waste time—he took the ice cream Lu Mi and Lu Jianuo had abandoned, placed it before himself, and ate it contentedly, utterly unconcerned with what might come next.

Lu Mi's gaze swept from Lu Jianuo and Ludwig's faces to Franca and Jianna, who were also enjoying their dessert.

He was now pondering a question:

Should they proceed together, or split up as they had this morning?

If his earlier deductions closely matched the truth, then the baiting phase to draw out Oseto had already ended; what followed might be Shitanxing attacks from the "Witch King" and her companions.

In such a scenario, moving together would allow more effective protection from the Temperance Faction, preventing Oseto from targeting less guarded individuals to kidnap hostages—but if Oseto's assault was overwhelming, forcing the Temperance Faction's hidden forces into mere self-defense for a time, staying clustered could lead to total annihilation.

Which choice was safer, which more reasonable under current conditions—this was the judgment required of the team leader.

Lu Mi walked slowly toward the restaurant entrance, mentally filtering through all his earlier thoughts and deductions.

He recalled his description of the undead realm in the Lacre region:

A crude, localized Underworld.

Underworld… Lu Mi's eyelid twitched; he asked again in a low voice:

"Can you see or sense the Underworld?"

He was asking whether the "living corpses" and "vengeful spirits" could detect the Underworld.

The "Knight of the Sword," Marichi, answered quickly:

"No—unless someone directly opens a gate to the Underworld, or is originally from it, one can only perceive its presence through traces."

"We could before the Underworld's transformation."

Could sense it before the Underworld's transformation? Was this inferred from ancient records? Lu Mi wasn't focused on that—he was thinking of something else:

If Oseto had indeed partially fused the local undead realm into her own "Otherworld," then wasn't her "Otherworld" also a small Underworld?

And it must be a small Underworld still bound to this region—otherwise, based on Lu Mi's understanding of the "Otherworld," Oseto could have simply taken it with her and left, rather than remaining stranded here.

Of course, she might also have another unfulfilled purpose.

Small Underworld… Lu Mi muttered silently, then turned toward Franca and Jianna and smiled:

"I've heard Qiabanjie has authentic local flavor—would you two lovely ladies be willing to guide me?"

Qiabanjie was precisely where Franca and Jianna had first felt the temperature drop—meaning they might have encountered Oseto there!

To nearby patrons, Lu Mi's words were an obvious date invitation; but Franca and Jianna exchanged a glance and understood—he meant they should move together, and their destination was Qiabanjie.

"Of course," Franca and Jianna replied in unison, smiling and rising.

This left those around them stunned:

Is it really that easy to invite them?

I should've mustered the courage too!

Lu Mi, Franca, Jianna, and the others walked toward Qiabanjie, their pace steady, their conversation casual, as if merely sharing tales of Lacre City.

About fifteen minutes later, they saw the street, dominated by local residents.

Gray-white stone houses stood side by side, rough yet sturdy; colorful wool banners hung from their exteriors, lending a vivid, exotic atmosphere unlike anywhere else beyond the Star Plateau.

Compared to other streets in Lacre City, more locals here wore traditional attire—men in dark red wool robes, women in bright, flowing skirts.

They also carried more skull charms, variously decorated: some retained their natural mottled brown hues, adorned with wool wigs; others painted purple, green, red; some had caramel-colored Dongbailang tobacco stuffed between their teeth; some gleamed like jade, their eye sockets dark, with insects crawling in and out.

Lu Mi stopped at the entrance of Qiabanjie, not advancing, but gesturing for Franca, Jianna, and the others to fall back slightly behind him.

Then he pulled something from the "Traveler's Satchel."

It was a golden mask, painted white or black around the eyes and face.

It was the Eggers family mask, crafted by the "Death God" himself!

Lu Mi reasoned that since this pure gold mask had originally been made to help the living sense and enter the Underworld, and originated directly from the "Death God," ruler of death and the Underworld, wearing it now—after the Underworld's transformation and concealment—might allow him to detect Underworld-related phenomena within a certain range, especially since the Lacre region's local undead realm was essentially a crude, small Underworld.

If the local undead realm had truly fused with Oseto's "Otherworld," then seeing it would mean seeing that "Otherworld"—and seeing the "Witch King," Oseto!

Without hesitation, Lu Mi placed the Eggers family golden mask over his face.

His aura instantly grew colder, fading into stillness; his body turned icy, losing all sense of life, his blood ceasing to flow.

Through the golden mask, Lu Mi perceived the surroundings dimming, colors fading slightly, the temperature dropping a touch.

Otherwise, everything appeared normal.

"Is this what the undead see? I can't detect any trace of the undead realm… Has its fusion with the 'Otherworld' hidden it deeper? Hmm—I can directly sense the Spirit Realm, yet I cannot perceive the Underworld… No wonder one must wait for an opportunity to enter the Underworld, rather than simply donning the Eggers mask to instantly locate and teleport there…" Lu Mi murmured silently, clinging to his original hypothesis, and attempted to activate the residual aura of the "Blood Emperor."

His goal in activating the residual aura of Aristar Tudo was to make the seal left by the "Mystic of the Underworld" stand out.

This powerful figure from Franca's world clearly related to the Paths of "Death," "Darkness," and "Warrior"; according to the "Magician" lady, he may have even contacted the mad "Death God" and reached some agreements—his seal might enhance the Eggers mask to some degree.

As a faint prickling warmth rose in his right palm, followed by a sensation of cold decay, the scene before Lu Mi abruptly shifted.

The wool banners hanging on the walls of Qiabanjie lost all color, turning gray and dull; the people walking the street became strangely blurred, as if seen through thick fog.

But their skull charms stood out with startling clarity, their colors intensified by contrast.

Lu Mi also saw the black hollow eye sockets of the human skulls ignite with pale or dark red flames—flickering, radiating a chilling, lifeless aura.

At that moment, Lu Mi knew he had "seen" the undead realm of the Lacre region.

It overlapped entirely with the Lacre region—shadowy undead wandered while living humans went about their lives.

Standing at the edge of the undead realm, Lu Mi did not step inside; instead, he kept a distance and searched for traces of the "Otherworld."

He saw a vast cloud looming over Darshe Lake, saw human skulls floating mid-air above the street, their flaming eye sockets revealing ghostly childlike silhouettes, saw the wilderness beneath the mountains seemingly extending directly into the city, merging seamlessly with it.

Indeed… Lu Mi instantly formed a clear realization:

Oseto was inside this fused "Otherworld"!

With this realization, his first thought was:

My mission is complete—I should lend the Eggers family golden mask to the "Knight of the Sword," then to the Temperance Faction, letting them organize their own forces to enter the "Otherworld" and fight Oseto, while we return to Trill to avoid potential danger.

But then he reconsidered—it wouldn't work.

Because without the "Mystic of the Underworld"'s seal, even a "vengeful spirit" wearing only the Eggers mask could not directly "see" Oseto's transformed "Otherworld"!

A possibility flickered faintly in Lu Mi's mind.

He spoke in a low, firm voice to the hidden "Knight of the Sword," Marichi:

"I've found Oseto's 'Otherworld.' First, get 'Holy Grail Two' and the others to safety—then, as vengeful spirits, attach yourselves to me. I'll take you into that 'Otherworld'!"

"Understood." The "Knight of the Sword"'s faint voice carried suppressed joy and malice.

Malice directed at Oseto.

(End of Chapter)