Both of them started to speak at the same time, but stopped simultaneously. Because deep within the black mist that had not been dispelled by the red butterflies, the sound of cluttered footsteps echoed; someone was coming.
The girl in the black dress suddenly looked very displeased. For a fleeting moment, Shade thought she might level the entire village to the ground.
"Someone is interrupting us."
As she spoke, she prepared to command those seemingly harmless red butterflies to pounce, but Shade grabbed her hand just in time to stop her.
"Let's see who it is first."
The girl in the black dress suppressed her anger and nodded with a forced smile.
"Very well, sir."
With a light lift of her left hand, the previously scattered red butterflies all gathered around the two of them. Although they didn't land, they effectively enveloped them.
"I've heard that within the surround of these red butterflies, others cannot see us or hear us speaking," the girl in the black dress didn't forget to explain.
Shade actually wondered if he released Mia from his back right now, would the cat pounce on the butterflies... Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure if the kitten Mia had ever seen a butterfly.
Three people emerged from the black mist, though upon closer inspection, there were four; it was just that a village woman who looked to be in her forties or fifties seemed to have fainted and was being carried on someone's back.
The three walking were all Ring-casters, all male. The leader was a middle-aged man in his forties with a small mustache, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a well-tailored formal suit. If he weren't carrying a skull lamp in his hand, using the fire within the skull to dispel the black mist, he would look more like a senior scholar at a university.
Among the two following behind, Shade was familiar with the one wearing a robe and clutching a book. This was the Ring-caster from the [Truth Society] whom he and Iluna had teamed up to repel in the forest on the day of the Fire-Worship Festival banquet a week ago. Because the opponent had "snatched" the Moonlight Greatsword, forcing Shade to use the [Yellow Moon] spirit rune to summon another sword, Shade had a strong impression of him.
As for the man carrying the middle-aged woman, he looked the youngest, perhaps only slightly older than the body of the outsider. His attire was neither a robe nor formal wear, but a plain, even somewhat shabby, yellow overcoat. Although all three were Ring-casters, the youth's status and rank were likely the lowest.
"These are members of the academic organization—the Truth Society," the girl in the black dress explained beside Shade. As expected, the three people walking toward the village tower completely failed to notice them.
"A standard field operation team: one high-ring 'Professor,' one mid-ring 'Lecturer,' and one low-ring 'Apprentice.'"
The Professor likely referred to the man with the skull lamp, the Lecturer to the man Shade had fought once, and the Apprentice to the youth carrying the woman.
"What are they trying to do? Oh, they're coming over."
The high-ring caster with gold-rimmed glasses reached the tower first. He glanced back and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Truth be praised, we've finally returned."
This was in the Carsonric language.
"Yes, Professor Johnson, obtaining the key was truly no easy feat."
The mid-ring caster took a bronze-colored metal key that looked stained with blood from his pocket.
"As expected of a Sage-level location relic; just searching for the key nearly wiped us out. It's completely incomparable to those low-level relics. The village chief's wraith was truly troublesome, not to mention that pile of fetal corpses that kept appearing in the corners. I'll probably need psychological counseling when I get back."
His lip twitched, as if recalling a grim memory.
"What I find most incomprehensible is for what reason this important key was thrown into a cardboard box in the corner of a warehouse."
"Sorry, if I hadn't wanted to hear the final words of the village chief's servant-turned-wraith in full before he collapsed, I wouldn't have let the chief's wraith absorb other spirits and become even more terrifying before its collapse. That lunatic probably slaughtered half the village before he died," the youth carrying the middle-aged woman apologized in a low voice.
"Alright, alright, we successfully got the key. As for lunatics, aren't we lunatics ourselves?"
Mr. Johnson, the leader, joked humorously, then took the blood-stained key.
"Meeting this resurrected person here was an accident. Our primary mission is to make this mountain village lose control. If the Sage-level relic [Gold Mine Village] loses control, and we successfully bring back the resurrected nail, the credit from this mission will be enough for each of us to exchange for a five-digit occult art."
"Resurrected nail?"
Shade looked in surprise at the woman being carried, while the girl in the black dress explained in his ear
"The only exit to leave the village is in the gold mine beneath the tower. The remains of several generations of village miners are buried there, but there is also a secret passage to leave the village. It served as both a secret channel to sell the gold mine's output and a passage for the sacrificial children."
Shade nodded, then watched as "Professor Johnson" held the key and attempted to insert it into the lock. However, the key merely touched the lock, and with a slight push, the door actually opened.
After all, the door had already been opened a crack just now; it was simply that because it was too dark, the three members of the [Truth Society] hadn't noticed.
"This..."
Professor Johnson looked at the door before him in bewilderment. Just as Shade thought he would guess that someone had opened the door in advance, the "Professor" looked at the key in his hand and had a sudden realization.
"Oh, so that's how it is. The key is merely a symbol. The key is not using the key to open the door, but the act of 'finding the key.' Opening this door is a symbolic ritual, which is why finding the key was so difficult."
This explanation naturally won the approval of his two companions. The three did not linger at the door and pushed it open to enter.
"Let's follow them," Shade said to his companion, and so they also entered the village tower.
The door outside provided the best cover, so there was no need for concealment inside. The floor of the tower's first level was a bronze-colored metal elevator platform that descended automatically when a central button was pressed, with no visible power source.
The three from the [Truth Society] had already gone down. Shade originally intended to wait for the next trip, but to his surprise, the girl in the black dress smiled and took his hand, jumping straight down.
Red butterflies surrounded them, making the descent feel light, as if they were wearing parachutes. The two landed silently on the top cover of the elevator platform, then jumped down from the top.
At this moment, the area ahead was illuminated by the spiritual light of three massive brass Life Rings: the high-ring was Tenth Ring, the mid-ring was Fifth Ring, and the low-ring was Fourth Ring. And the opponents of the [Truth Society] Ring-casters were a dense swarm of violent wraiths.
Due to the black mist, the souls in this eerie mountain village were incredibly hideous and terrifying. Combined with the "field effect" of the Sicar Mountain region after two earthquakes, every wraith possessed strength exceeding that of a low-ring Ring-caster.
But even so, there was an insurmountable chasm between low and high rings. Mr. Johnson stood at the very front. Three spirit runes on his Life Ring—[Exorcism], [Erosion], and [Conversion]—flashed with spiritual light. An unknown occult art caused the grey light drifting around him to seem as if it were eroding souls.
"This is a high-ring undead-type occult art—Death Praise. That grey light can easily corrode any soul without the protection of a physical body... I heard this from a Ring-caster friend of mine," the girl in the black dress whispered.
What surprised Shade the most was that among this high-ring caster's core spirit runes, there was actually a black-iron colored Whisper spirit rune: [Remains].
The doctor had told Shade that while the number of core spirit runes for human Ring-casters was uncertain, they could only be the brass-colored "Enlightenment," because the power of civilization is the strongest power of the human race. However, some irregular initiation rituals could allow a Ring-caster to obtain core spirit runes of the other three types, but those methods undoubtedly carried immense hidden dangers.
"The Truth Society truly lives up to its name as an organization that studies forbidden knowledge. A Whisper element core spirit rune... what a lunatic."
(End of Chapter)