Chapter 434
“Even if I were to die here and now, I would never betray the Church.” Henry took a deep breath and spoke, “This is my bottom line, and it is also the Church's bottom line.”
As the shock from the portal to the Otherworld began to fade, Henry gradually regained his composure.
The Otherworld node was tied to the Church's most vital interests and plans in recent times. Even if what Charles said about a potential war were true, the Church would never compromise without any resistance... especially since they had allies.
Charles looked calmly at Henry, and the more he resisted, the stronger her curiosity about that node grew.
Unfortunately, Henry's loyalty to the Church was somewhat unexpected for Charles. It seemed that if he didn’t agree to her terms, he would rather die than reveal any information about the Otherworld node...
However, Henry had made a critical mistake.
He had revealed that the Otherworld node was a “thing,” and he had mistakenly underestimated Charles's ability to find that thing.
She indeed could not find it.
But Xiao Zuo could.
Stealing was Xiao Zuo's specialty.
“Xiao Zuo, can you sense the presence of other Otherworlds?” Charles slightly turned her face to look at the left hand resting on her right shoulder.
“Ka ka ka—”
The jagged mouth in the center of Xiao Zuo's palm opened and closed repeatedly, producing a chilling sound. Charles understood what it meant.
Yes.
“Good...” Charles smiled and said, “Go ahead.”
She gently patted the back of Xiao Zuo's hand, and Xiao Zuo leaped down from Charles's shoulder.
But just then, sensing something, Henry suddenly called out, “Wait! Please, wait a moment! Your Excellency!”
Another drop of cold sweat slid down from Henry's forehead.
He wasn't a fool; he could tell that Charles seemed to have a way to directly take the Otherworld node, and it was information he had inadvertently revealed.
Now, even regret was useless—who could have predicted what abilities that strange Otherworld creature possessed? How could he guard against it?
“We can talk more, Your Excellency Charles. I agree, I agree to tell you about the Otherworld node. I can take you to see it,” Henry gasped, speaking quickly, “as long as you don’t take the Otherworld node with you.”
See? People are always willing to compromise. When you say you want to take the node directly, they end up agreeing to take you to see it.
“There's no rush.” Charles raised her hand to stop Xiao Zuo and said, “First, tell me what the Otherworld node is.”
“It’s something that has existed since before the Era of Holy Wars...”
After being pressed, Henry became much more compliant. He directly began to explain everything about the Otherworld node to Charles.
As she listened, a concrete image of the object formed in Charles's mind.
It was a damaged shield, inscribed with runes that seemed to depict a complete blood array. As long as enough offerings were made, one could use that shield to directly open a portal to the Otherworld...
However, contrary to Charles's impression, this portal to the Otherworld seemed unable to summon anything... but it could allow people to step directly into the Otherworld.
Moreover, as long as one entered the Otherworld within a time limit, they could still exit through this portal—provided they hadn’t gone mad.
Over hundreds of years of research, countless extraordinary beings had perished at this portal to the Otherworld, with most never returning after entering, while a small number had completely transformed into monsters eroded by magical potions, emerging from the portal to wreak havoc.
The monsters that remained within the Otherworld became the “Otherworld creatures,” eternally wandering there, trapped between life and death.
That shield might be a sealed object like the previous feather quill, absorbing “uniqueness”... but it could also have come directly from the Otherworld. Charles needed to see the physical object to make a judgment.
Yet the more Charles pondered, the more she felt something was off.
Why had they gone to such great lengths, expending countless resources to study this portal to the Otherworld?
It was as if they knew there was something they desperately wanted inside.
“Why are you so determined to study that portal to the Otherworld?” Charles looked directly at Henry and asked, “I want to know the reason.”
The artificial divine essence might just be a byproduct of exploration... because even after obtaining that Otherworld notebook, they had never ceased their exploration of the Otherworld.
“Because...” At this point, Henry hesitated, not immediately responding to Charles, as if he had some reservations.
“Don’t worry.” Charles smiled gently at Henry and said, “I’m just an ordinary person interested in the Otherworld, someone who loves peace... I’m simply curious.”
Ordinary person... simple...
Didn’t those words make you blush when you applied them to yourself?
An ordinary person can directly manipulate the portal to the Otherworld and summon Otherworld creatures? An ordinary person can have a Level 4 being as their bodyguard?
A simple person can threaten to wipe out everyone in your Church with just a few words?
So you love killing, huh?
Henry didn’t believe Charles’s words, but one thing did pique his interest.
The other party... had a deep understanding of the Otherworld.
Perhaps she could become a collaborator with the Order of the Divine, helping the Church continue its exploration of the Otherworld?
Once this thought took root in Henry's mind, it became impossible to uproot... because for so many years, only the Order of the Divine had been so obsessed with exploring the Otherworld. Over the long years, the number of people who understood the Otherworld was few and far between.
The vast majority of extraordinary beings avoided the Otherworld, and different regions had vastly different names for it.
Spirit Realm, Death Realm, Void, Abyss, Divine Domain... these were all different organizations or regions' terms for the Otherworld, each holding different beliefs about it.
Some believed it was the world to which extraordinary beings went after death, others thought it was the realm of the gods, while some considered it an untouchable forbidden land...
All of this stemmed from a lack of clear understanding of the Otherworld.
And the Order of the Divine...
“The Otherworld... holds our true deities.” Henry looked into Charles's eyes, speaking slowly, “Are you familiar with the history of the Order of the Divine? No? I can explain it to you in detail.”
“Over seven hundred years ago, there were few victors in that Holy War, the Goddess of Salvation being one of them...” Henry glanced at Percy behind Charles and continued, “The Order of the Divine was an absolute failure, nearly losing all its heritage after the war.”
“After the Era of the Holy Wars began, peace gave the remaining followers of the Order of the Divine a chance to breathe, but the Church could never develop—because our magical potions only preserved the Level 2 ‘Lawkeeper,’ and the formulas and rituals for the ‘Lawkeeper’ beyond that were lost.”
“Until the first saint, in order to restore the Order of the Divine, activated the remaining sealed object and rediscovered our path...”
“The Level 3 ‘Crown Sentinel’ and the Level 4 ‘Eye of Judgment’ both originated from the Otherworld node—”
“—At the end of that Otherworld path lies the ultimate truth of order, and every living person who has emerged believes this firmly...”
“Because the closer they got, the more they could feel the fervent call of the deities.”
Henry's gaze grew increasingly fervent, as if merely speaking of this intensified his faith and conviction.
As Charles listened to Henry's account, her brow furrowed slightly.
The closer they got, the more they could feel the call of the deities?
That must be the whispers of the Otherworld... they might have gotten too close to some powerful Otherworld creature.
The subsequent magical potions and rituals for the “Lawkeeper” actually came from the Otherworld?
This made Charles feel that something was off.
Whether it was the “Detective” or the “Lawkeeper,” both of these potions enhanced the drinker's mental acuity. Charles knew this well, as she had once consumed the “Detective” potion in a simulation.
Moreover, she had also consumed the adjacent “Assassin” potion and completed the ritual, and both of these felt very similar to other potions of the same path.
They all enhanced mental acuity, making one extremely calm and good at thinking; there was a commonality.
But when it came to the Level 3 “Crown Sentinel,” why did mental strength begin to plummet dramatically? This situation only improved slightly with the subsequent “Eye of Judgment.”
Could it be... that there was an error in the potion formulas?
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