Chapter 93
Adele hesitated for a second, then closed her eyes and ran after them.
"Don't get separated... don't get separated..."
She kept reminding herself.
In situations like this, getting separated was the worst. In knight novels, those who thought they could outsmart the danger and ran off alone often met a gruesome end, described in excruciating detail by the author.
As soon as they dashed out of the small study-turned-office, they noticed that the blood trail had grown longer.
Following the trail, two, four... the bloodstains merged into a crimson carpet, making it impossible to distinguish how many marks there were.
"All of it is the blood of extraordinary beings..."
Adele spoke up.
Having dealt with blood all day, she wasn't surprised by this material.
How many had been killed?
They followed the blood trail down the stairs and stopped outside the steel gate of the underground exchange area.
The gate, which had been open, was now firmly shut, and bodies were piled outside like discarded goods.
The stench of blood assaulted their nostrils. Aivina pressed her lips tightly together, and after a moment, she said, "Niya, open the door."
Regardless of whether Shaer had been assimilated, she would definitely be taken in for questioning by the Goddess of Salvation for killing so many people...
"Shaer... is inside..."
Yulis seemed to sense something and spoke, her voice trembling slightly.
Niya stepped forward slowly, raising her silver shield high, and slammed it against the steel gate.
Boom—!
The thick gate caved in dramatically, the mechanism embedded in the wall twisted from the impact, causing exaggerated cracks to spread through the surrounding and overhead burnt concrete and bricks. The chandelier above swayed, dropping debris like an earthquake.
Niya retracted her shield, gathered her strength, and swung the silver shield forward like a punch.
Boom—!
The gate was instantly smashed down, sending dust flying everywhere.
As the dust settled, the scene inside left everyone frozen in place.
The once spacious and luxurious exchange area was now cleared into circular sections, each containing withered, horrifying corpses or materials reduced to ashes, all marked with bizarre sacrificial ritual patterns etched in blood.
At the deepest part of the exchange area, a petite figure with red hair, barefoot and dressed in a tattered black maid's outfit, stood with her back to them, arms outstretched toward a massive array on the wall.
The girl’s body was nearly devoid of color, with streams of blood oozing from various parts, converging into the sacrificial array on the wall before her.
Suddenly—
A headless corpse, hanging in front of the array, ignited in flames.
The entire blood array erupted in a strange crimson glow, forming a vortex of blood mist in front of the array.
One, two... massive tentacles, each about a meter in diameter and adorned with hooks and chains, emerged from the vortex, writhing and tearing at the blood mist, as if something far more terrifying was trying to break free.
Buzz—!
A terrifying hum echoed in the minds of nearly everyone present, a spiritual alarm ringing frantically in their heads.
As the tentacles thrashed, a horrific, tooth-filled maw emerged, but it got stuck in the blood mist vortex, unable to push out even a fraction.
"Gurgle... gurgle..."
The sound of bubbling blood and flesh, like a swamp bursting with blood bubbles, roared from that massive mouth, as if it were communicating with the girl facing away from them.
The ring of purple eyes surrounding that lipless maw spun, each one locking onto the individuals standing at the entrance, releasing a chaotic aura of madness and murderous intent without restraint.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
At that moment, those of the first tier, whether "Missionaries," "Healers," or "Detectives," were consumed by extreme fear, screaming in panic as they turned to flee.
This was the primal terror of the ancient unknown, a fear potent enough to shatter faith.
Aivina's sacrificial holy relic ignited with bright flames, Adele gulped down three vials of potion in one go, and Yulis's white shadow instantly shielded the four of them. Even Niya, the third-tier "Crown Guard," lowered her body slightly, readying herself for the highest level of defense.
The girl, still facing away from them, seemed disturbed by something. She raised her left hand to grasp her hair, slowly turning her head.
Her blood-soaked, pale face bore traces of pain and displeasure, her crimson pupils casually scanning the four who remained rooted in place.
"You're so noisy..."
A raspy, sickly voice emerged from her lips.
The sound struck the others like a heavy hammer, causing their hearts to skip a beat and their breaths to falter.
Niya's gaze was fixed on the terrifying maw behind the girl, her mind spiraling deeper into madness with each glance from the eyes beside that mouth.
It felt as if countless souls were screaming in her ears.
Wasn't she supposed to be a second-tier out-of-control extraordinary being?
What were these sacrificial rituals?! And what was that thing behind her?!
"Miss, this isn't right! We need to leave!!!"
Niya quickly realized she couldn't protect Aivina in a fight against whatever was on the other side.
This was bad; they had to retreat!
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**Chapter Seventy-Eight: Tentacles That Only Corrode Clothes and Knee Pillows**
[A single finger from a first-tier extraordinary being can summon "Little Zuo" once. Each time a sacrifice is made, "Little Zuo" undergoes changes; it now has a foot made up of more than ten fingers.]
[During the last summoning, "Little Zuo" stayed longer, its palm swelling like it was pregnant.]
[Spiritual beings are evolving too.]
[If I summon "Little Zuo" outside of the simulation, what form will it take?]
[Using different materials for spiritual summoning results in spiritual beings that are somewhat related to the properties of those materials.]
[These relationships are particularly evident when summoning the corpses of first-tier extraordinary beings; as long as the corpse belongs to the same tier, the summoned entities will be similar, different individuals of the same type of spiritual being.]
[The "recipe" for spiritual summoning is akin to a potion recipe.]
[Is there a connection between the two?]
[Through multiple summons, I've gained some insights on how to communicate with them... though each time, the blood and mental energy consumed is quite substantial. The mental drain is manageable, but the significant loss of blood is hard to bear.]
[The blood of those dead extraordinary beings and ordinary people is useless; does it have to be my blood?]
[If I were to sacrifice an extraordinary being while alive, would that mean I wouldn't have to draw my own blood?]
[I'll save some energy and try with Jidi's corpse in the end... first, let the shadow collect her brain tissue and skull fragments, trying to keep them intact.]
A notebook, filled with crooked Chinese characters, lay in a pool of blood, the pages soaked and the twisted text becoming increasingly bizarre.
Shaer stared intently at the blood mist vortex and Jidi's burning corpse, fully focused.
Blood threads continuously peeled away from Shaer's body, causing her to feel dizzy from blood loss.
"Did I summon too many at once?"
Shaer thought to herself.
After all, this was just a simulation; she wasn't too concerned about her physical state.
If she could test the side effects, that would be even better, helping her avoid pitfalls in reality.
The black noise in her mind persisted, and she felt the ground tremble as Jidi's corpse burned down to a certain point.
This summoning was making quite a stir?
Watching the fine dust and debris from the ceiling fall onto Jidi's burning body, Shaer was somewhat surprised.
This was the most significant disturbance she had ever experienced during a summoning; no wonder it was a second-tier corpse...
"What can the corpse of a 'Missionary' summon?"
What changes would the mark of Sadana within Jidi bring to the summoning?
If "Sadana" was indeed some kind of deity, would a corpse bearing his mark summon his offspring?
But thankfully, the things she summoned wouldn't attack her and could communicate simply.
Perhaps due to their lower tier, the spiritual beings couldn't engage in complex communication, and it felt like talking to a kitten or puppy—though the appearance was quite different.
The blood threads from her body ceased, and the blood mist vortex finally took shape.
Thank goodness, she hadn't drained herself completely...
At that moment, Shaer felt a distinct tremor, accompanied by sharp, piercing wails.
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