Ryan's expression was quite strange.
The female priest then looked deeply at Ian.
"This way."
She didn't continue to debate with Priest Ryan but took the initiative to lead Ian deeper into the dungeon, down a narrow, winding stone staircase that seemed to lead to the depths of the earth.
"You can't go!"
Seeing the female priest leading the way, Ryan had no choice but to stop Cassandra, signaling another priest nearby to take her out of this place.
"I don't want to be separated from my god!"
Cassandra attempted to resist, but an 8- or 9-year-old girl was no match for the strong adults. Wizards in this era were generally stronger than those in the future.
"Check the Dream Queen's body and see if she has been attacked by any magic that confuses cognition," Ryan instructed several priests with a heavy expression.
He clearly couldn't understand Cassandra's situation.
He had a rather grim suspicion.
Watching his people take Cassandra out of the dungeon, Ryan withdrew his gaze and sighed heavily after looking at the patients who were neither human nor ghost.
"Criminals always like to return to admire the suffering of their victims. I hope it's not what I think…" he murmured softly as he followed the already distant female priest and Ian.
"What kind of criminals were imprisoned here before?" Ian followed behind the female priest, his footsteps echoing rhythmically on the stone path of the dungeon. The air in the dungeon was cold and damp, carrying a mix of mustiness and rust, as if it could seep into the bones and make one shiver involuntarily.
Dim magical lights were embedded in the walls on either side, emitting a faint blue glow that barely illuminated the path ahead, yet could not dispel the chill and the smell of mold. The further down the staircase they went, the colder it became, with the chill creeping up from their feet, as if invisible hands were gently tugging at the corners of their clothing.
After about ten minutes of walking, the staircase finally came to an end, leading to a narrow corridor. On either side of the corridor were tightly closed iron doors, rusted and seemingly long neglected, as if they hadn't been opened in years. Each door was engraved with complex runes, faintly radiating weak magical fluctuations.
It seemed designed to prevent anything from escaping inside.
"I don't know."
The female priest's answer was very straightforward. Her figure appeared particularly tall and mysterious in the firelight, dressed in a black robe embroidered with intricate patterns, wearing a pointed hat adorned with gems. Part of her face was hidden in the shadows of her hood, revealing only her tightly pressed lips and the strong line of her jaw.
"I think it must be holding non-human species, possibly a Giant." Ian looked up, and at the end of the corridor was a much heavier iron door. This door was significantly larger than the others, its surface covered in mottled rust, and the runes on it were more complex, though some had become indistinct.
It was clear that it had long lost its function.
"Anyway, what's stored here now is Patient Zero." The female priest stopped, took an ancient key from her robes, its runes shimmering with a faint glow in the firelight. She slowly inserted the key into the lock, and with a sound of metal grinding, the iron door creaked open.
The door emitted a deep, prolonged creaking sound.
The sight behind the door made Ian involuntarily hold his breath. It was a small, dark room, with only a dim oil lamp hanging in the corner, casting a flickering yellow light. In the center of the room lay a figure on a simple stone bed, completely covered by a heavy blanket, revealing not a hint of skin.
It was like a white cloth draped over a corpse.
An unsettling aura emanated from beneath the white blanket, as if something was waiting for them behind the door. The oppressive feeling made Ian instinctively draw out his wand.
"You actually used the word 'stored,' interesting." Ian gave the female priest a deep look, signaling her to enter before he slowly stepped into the room.
The room was not large, and the walls were covered in cracks, as if they might collapse at any moment. Patient Zero lay there quietly, just like the body he had seen sitting on the throne before, equally quiet.
"What other words could I use? He is no longer like those who were infected for seven days; he is no longer human. The ferryman of the underworld has already taken their souls." The female priest shrugged, her tone flat, not resembling a priest who felt pity for the world. The emotions in her eyes were extremely calm.
"You're right."
Ian did not refute her. He approached the stone bed and used his wand to lift a corner of the blanket. There lay a gaunt man, his body nearly completely desiccated, skin tightly clinging to his bones, presenting a bizarre gray-black color, resembling a decayed corpse, with no trace of flesh or blood.
"The appearance is identical; all the infected are transforming into the same form, including this Patient Zero. So… what exactly did he glimpse?"
Ian prepared to examine the magical traces on Patient Zero, but at that moment, the corpse-like body suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Don't mess around."
Ian shook off the arm that had reached out. He knew that these alchemical artifacts had no souls, and all their actions were merely unconscious movements.
"You're quite bold."
The female priest moved a stool next to Ian and sat down.
"I'm not just bold; I'm also observant. However, what confuses me is that others are completely unresponsive to this?" Ian pointed his wand at the lifted blanket, aiming it at the female priest.
"kā chākā~"
The female priest was cracking some kind of wall-nut.
She didn't pay attention to Ian's wand, but her gaze towards him was quite surprised, at that moment, the late-arriving Priest Ryan happened to see Ian aiming his wand at the female priest.
"What are you doing!"
He clasped his hands together and suddenly rubbed them, causing them to shine with crackling white light, resembling some kind of electric arc. The elderly priest fixed a wary gaze on Ian.
"I just wanted to ask if she is a Metamorphmagus." Ian turned to glance at Priest Ryan, smiling lightly as he put away his wand, while Ryan looked on in confusion.
"Of course not."
Ryan continued to watch Ian warily.
The magic in his hands did not cease.
His response caused Ian's smile to freeze on his face.
"So, there is indeed a problem, right? Didn't you notice that she changed her face? And her personality has changed too." Ian turned to glance at Priest Ryan, utterly astonished.
Upon hearing this, Priest Ryan suddenly froze.
He turned to look at the female priest several times.
"I don't know what nonsense you're talking about. Are you trying to cover up your actions just now?" The elderly priest furrowed his brow, looking at Ian with an unusually alert expression.
Ian had not yet explained.
"No, no, he's actually not wrong. Look, it's different." The female priest set down the wall-nut in her hand and pushed her hood back slightly.
She circled her delicate fingers around her face. It was an exquisite and stunning visage, imbued with an exotic charm. Every inch of her skin radiated a jade-like, warm glow, pale to the point of being almost transparent, yet infused with a faint healthy blush, resembling a freshly bloomed snow lotus, untouched by dust, pure and flawless.
Her eyes were even more profound and bright, like two clear springs, this was clearly different from the appearance of the previous female priest, yet no other priests had noticed it until now.
"????"
Priest Ryan was initially bewildered.
Then his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Oh! No! Heavens!"
It was as if he only then realized something was amiss, and he immediately knelt down, prostrating himself before the female priest. This display left Ians even more confused.
"Aren't you the intruder?" Ian was quite surprised.
"This is my home; to be precise, it is my elder brother's home. Coming here feels just like going home. Of course, I'm not actually here; I borrowed someone else's body."
The female priest glanced at the prostrating Priest Ryan.
"To be honest, I confused reality, but I'm surprised it didn't influence you at all." After saying this, the female priest turned her gaze back to Ian.
Just as Ian blinked.
In the next moment.
The female priest appeared right in front of Ian.
Her face was mere inches away.
"Of course, you must have something extraordinary about you to attract me… Child, tell me, why can I smell my scent on you?"
Her face was pressed against Ian's ear.
Her tone was gentle. Her hand had somehow slipped into Ian's robes.
"Uh…"
Ian swallowed hard. He realized something and his expression began to stiffen.
He watched as the female priest pulled something from his robes without making any move to stop her, there, in her hand, she held a bottle of milky white potion.
It was the fertilizer Ian had used to nurture the mysterious seeds.
And it was also the bathwater of the black-robed skeleton.
(End of Chapter)
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