Chapter 603: The Church in the Narrow Space

The moonlight greatsword in Xia De's hand did not disappear; because his own power had strengthened, the translucent silver blade of the sword in his hand now had some small runes on it, though of course it still could not compare to the one Miss Orlanode had in the Thousand Trees Forest.

His eyes watched the blood mist alertly, and he saw the remaining dozen or so bats gather together, transforming into a middle-aged man with yellow hair whose face was so pale he looked as if he might die in the next second.

That frightened little boy jogged over to the man's side and grabbed his hand. The little boy also had yellow hair, and judging from the hair color, the two of them could indeed be related.

"Thank you for your help."

The middle-aged man cautiously thanked Xia De, still using the Carson Rick language, and he also appeared to be quite wary of Xia De. The boy he was holding hid behind the middle-aged man, as if afraid of strangers.

"You mean, you came in from outside to rescue people?"

Xia De asked in Delarion language. The middle-aged vampire could understand it but probably couldn't speak it, so after nodding he continued speaking in Carson Rick language:

"Yes, our clan has a special talent; we can communicate soul-to-soul through bloodline connections. I reversed this talent and set up a ritual, letting my nephew pull me in here as well. When we wanted to return, we unfortunately ran into this thing... You also came in from outside on your own initiative?"

Xia De nodded, but did not explain what he had done, and instead asked:

"Are there any other living people here?"

"I don't know about that, I haven't been here long either."

The middle-aged man said somewhat apologetically, his slightly narrow, feminine eyes narrowing a little, then he looked at the little boy behind him. Although the boy was still afraid, he still said haltingly:

"There are people, there are still many people here. It was a Mr., a Mr. with wings, who helped everyone."

"With wings?"

Xia De and the middle-aged vampire frowned at the same time:

"Lester, what race was the other party?"

"I don't know, I couldn't see clearly."

"Just how many strange things are there here in the end?"

The vampire complained in a low voice, then said to Xia De:

"Mr., I am Armand Bernhard, and this is my nephew Lester Bernhard. We are leaving now; I wish you smooth actions. If there's a chance in the future, I will repay you."

It seemed he was terrified of this place.

"Wait a moment, where are the remaining survivors?"

Xia De asked again. The middle-aged vampire could not give an answer, so he looked at his nephew, encouraging him to say a little more.

The little boy looked at Xia De somewhat timidly:

"The survivors, in the church over there."

Xia De looked in the direction the boy was pointing, and it was indeed the direction of Dawn Cathedral:

"That Mr.'s power let us survive longer here, it's just that I heard my uncle's voice and ran out..."

"Is that Mr. also in the church?"

Xia De hurriedly asked again.

"No, he's not there anymore. He said he had a mission to complete, so he left."

"Left?"

Xia De was somewhat puzzled, not understanding what mission Priest Augustus could have in this godforsaken place.

"Alright, I understand."

"Also, Mr."

Probably seeing that Xia De had no hostility, the boy also had the courage to say more:

"You absolutely must not cross that door."

"What door?"

"The door that truly leads to death. Every living person who wanders into this place can feel it; there is a door here, and crossing that door means truly entering death."

Xia De had heard this saying from Sister Michelle before, so he nodded to indicate he had no such intention.

So the vampire uncle and nephew said goodbye to the masked Xia De; they had to return to the place in reality corresponding to where the middle-aged vampire had entered the dream, before they could leave. And Xia De continued forward following the guidance of the pendant on his chest. As for the other possible living people in the church, before finding Priest Augustus, he had no time to bother with them.

The vast city of Middlesburg Castle was reflected here in a vague, half-real form. Xia De, advancing alone, could clearly feel this place's rejection of the living. Not only the occasional evil spirits, the environment itself was corroding the life force of the living. Although one would not die immediately upon entering here, even if one escaped, one would probably fall seriously ill, or be left with a permanent ailment.

Even though he deliberately avoided the evil spirits patrolling here, several battles were unavoidable on the road ahead. These battles were all very simple for Xia De in his current state, but the spirit and physical strength consumed were difficult to recover. Even with the support of divinity in his soul, recovery was still far lower than consumption.

In the end, the pendant around his neck guided Xia De to the church of the 【Church of Nature and Evil Thoughts】 located in the city center. Xia De stood suspiciously at the church entrance, not knowing why a priest would come to a place like this.

Middlesburg Castle's Church of Nature was one of the few buildings Xia De could clearly identify from behind the abandoned tower in the mountains. The Church of Nature was the first of the Wushen Sect churches to be stationed in this city; the church was enormous and exceptionally grand.

Confirming that the pendant around his neck still pointed firmly at the building before him, Xia De walked up the nine stone steps at the church entrance, passed the Aristocratic White corridor pillars on the steps, and then stood before the tightly shut gray-white metal door.

This was the first time he had seen what the church looked like when its doors were closed; generally speaking, church doors were open twenty-four hours a day. Reaching out to press against the church's metal door, 【Key of the Door】 showed no response, indicating it was not locked, so he suddenly pushed with force. Only after his face turned beet red did he barely manage to push the door open a crack, but it still made no sound whatsoever.

Xia De therefore entered the door sideways, and then discovered that not only was the fog inside the church much thinner, the temperature had returned to normal, the air was filled with the scent of high-end spices, and there was actually light here.

The church structures of the Five Gods Sect were basically the same; entering the main door led to the church's main hall. The towering ceiling, stained-glass windows, and ubiquitous religious oil paintings and sculptures together created a sacred atmosphere.

And although the church main hall before him had everything it should have, it also had things it shouldn't.

Candles—white candles of varying lengths engraved with the holy emblems of the five gods, and golden candlesticks—almost covered the entire floor, spreading between the rows of long pews until they filled the main hall pulpit at the very front. There was almost nowhere to step here. The white fog outside the door seeped in slightly because the door had been pushed open, and the swaying candlelight cast Xia De's enormous shadow onto the metal door behind him.

Golden divine runes were inscribed on the floor, walls, and ceiling; even the window glass was densely covered with runes of varying sizes. Silver metal wires threaded overhead, intertwining and tangling with each other, and hanging from the metal wires were metal Fu Zhou, parchment scrolls, holy bells, holy emblems, and a series of other items with strong 【Miracle】 Elemental Items.

Upon entering the church, the strong 【Miracle】 Elemental Items almost completely overwhelmed the other three. And if this scene before him appeared in the real world, even suppressing a demon like 【Human Pus】 would probably have a very strong effect.

"Has the church been here before?"

All these divine items were colored, indicating they had been brought here from the real world. And the enormous divine ritual before him simultaneously contained the holy emblems of 【Mr. Liming】【The Lantern-Bearing Old Man】【The Lady of Creation】【The Merciful Father of Peace】 and 【The Lord of All Things】; it could only have been arranged by a senior Circle Sorcerer of the Wushen Sect.

"So, the church not only has means to seal this place in the real world, but also here... Could this place be the core between life and death?"

He observed his surroundings somewhat puzzledly, and then actually heard an answer.

"Of course this is not the core."

It was not the "she" by his ear speaking, but a man's voice speaking.

Xia De immediately turned around to look behind the door. A man wearing brown leather knee-high boots and dressed in black hunting attire was leaning with his arms crossed against the pristine white wall beside the metal door, which had been opened a crack.

"You can read minds?"

"No, every living person who sees this place would think it's the core of the Narrow Interval, so I guessed your thoughts."

His body was transparent; through it one could see the colorful mural of the Orthodox Gods' scripture lecture and the divine runes on the wall behind him, and at the same time, hanging on his chest was an equally transparent holy symbol of the God of Nature, the Lord of All Things, which indicated that he had been a member of the Church of Nature during his lifetime.

"I had assumed that none of the souls here possessed self-awareness."

Xia De was not surprised; instead, he curiously sized up the soul before him.

"The souls drawn into this place, due to the peculiarity of the relic, mostly lack self-awareness, and the likelihood of malevolent spirits forming here is greater. I am one of the few souls who retained self-awareness, but it wasn't due to natural causes—it was because before I died, I performed a ritual inside the church."

The man said, his stern eyes also sizing up the masked Xia De:

"So, Mr., who are you?"