Is this thing the Ark?
The box looked a bit thicker than a palm, about half a forearm in length. Ancient patterns were carved on its surface, timeworn and aged, with a dull talisman pasted on top.
"Is this really the Ark of the Covenant that seals the twin gods of Death and Sleep?"
Damian neither confirmed nor denied, but threw the question back.
Judging from Shaka's reaction, this was absolutely the Ark that sealed the twin gods of Death and Sleep.
"Damn it, what is Saga thinking, handing me something like the Ark?"
Damian felt like his eyeballs were about to pop out.
This was the Ark Pandora had been desperate to find, even disguising herself as a little girl to infiltrate the Sanctuary!
He had thought the Ark would be quite large, but it turned out to be just a rectangular stone box.
If that little lass Pandora found out, wouldn't she mobilize all the forces of the Underworld to snatch it from him?
"Damn it, a lunatic's mind really is unfathomable!"
"As a fake lunatic, I bow to the master."
Damian drew the Ark into his hands and couldn't help but roast Comrade Saga.
He had truly never imagined Saga would directly give him the Ark sealing the twin gods of Death and Sleep.
A treasure that could sway the Holy War, handed to a no-name gravekeeper like him—was Saga really at ease with that?
Or had Comrade Saga already guessed his identity and sent him a toy box to play with?
Impossible!
A madman's way of thinking is impossible to figure out—rack your brains and you still won't.
Speaking of which, burying the Cyclops's soul in the cemetery let him farm divinity and skills off it, so in theory the twin gods, being Second-tier Gods, could be farmed too.
If Dark Saga weren't trying to kill him, Damian would head back to the Sanctuary's cemetery right now and bury this thing.
Seeing the Ark, Shaka seemed to understand something. Pensive, he murmured to himself, "It seems His Holiness has another plan. The hopes he's placing on you far exceed ordinary imagination."
He drew back his Cosmo. All fighting intent vanished, and the golden glow around him disappeared.
"What's this? You're done fighting?"
Damian asked.
"That His Holiness put the box sealing the twin gods of Death and Sleep in your hands caught me off guard."
"This step may be far-reaching."
"I only want to see whether the Pope's decision is correct, so I'm changing my mind for now."
Shaka said coolly.
"Oh? Then will you tell His Holiness about what happened here, and my true identity, when you return?"
Damian asked.
"No. His Holiness doesn't know I left the Sanctuary. I merely followed Dismask to have a look."
Shaka said.
Damian nodded, setting his mind at ease.
Shaka was, after all, the Buddha's reincarnation. Monks don't tell lies, and this Buddha wouldn't either.
"Hey, Shaka, are you betraying the Pope?"
"Kill him now!"
Dismask came running out from behind a nearby mountain, face twisted.
"Dismask, I, Shaka, cannot kill this man. If you want him dead, do it yourself."
Shaka faced Dismask.
"You, you..."
Dismask was about to say something when a tall, burly figure loomed over him and hoisted him into the air.
"Damian, don't kill me... I'll be loyal from now on..."
Seeing Shaka present, he swallowed the rest.
"Little crab, I'm not interested in your loyalty."
"I want your word you won't tell the Pope anything about me. Just say I disappeared and you never met me."
Damian demanded.
"No problem, I'll do exactly that. I, Dismask, stake my honor on it."
Dismask thumped his chest, all righteous conviction.
"Your word isn't trustworthy—nor your 'honor.' How about this, I'll give you a mind imprint."
Damian reached out and tapped his forehead.
Dismask shuddered. He could feel a powerful surge of mind power strike his brow, take root in his head, making the space between his eyebrows swell slightly, as if something had been implanted.
This guy's mind power was that fierce!
"This is my mind imprint. It will persist for a while. If you tell the Pope anything about me—so much as a shred—it will detonate in your head."
"Also, if His Holiness makes any moves, you can use this mind imprint to contact me."
Damian patted Dismask's shoulder. "Conduct yourself well, Dismask, Shame of Cancer!"
Mm, in fact the mind imprint doesn't have a self-detonation function. He couldn't do that yet—just scaring him for now.
Time to make an exit in style!
Other Dimension!
With a surge of powerful spatial ripples, Damian vanished before the two Gold Saints.
"What is there that he can't do?"
Dismask wore a face of pure misery.
"This is... the Other Dimension."
Shaka's pupils tightened.
He hadn't struck again precisely because he felt how unfathomable this man was. Even with Tenbu Hōrin, he couldn't be sure he could suppress him.
Now Shaka understood why the Pope had been wounded when this man ambushed him.
Fortunately, he himself had only suffered a superficial wound.
Suddenly, a sharp pain flared in Shaka's right arm. He saw a crimson mark on his Gold Cloth, a toxin stripping away the five senses was taking effect, and he was bleeding.
"What a frightening man."
He hadn't expected that merely raising a hand to block the other's sword aura would leave him injured. His right arm was already numb.
"Shaka, you can remove the mind imprint for me, right?"
"With your strength, it should be no problem."
"I don't want my head popping all of a sudden."
Dismask spoke up.
"Beyond my power. Conduct yourself well."
Shaka tossed out those eight words, then turned into a streak of golden light and disappeared.
The gesture shocked Dismask to the core.
He understood that this time Shaka had not chosen the Pope's side. When he returned, he absolutely must keep his mouth shut—or he wouldn't live.
Gravekeeper Damian, whatever your background—
I, Dismask, won't forget you!
.
In the Sanctuary, Pandora was preparing to head to the Underworld.
Lately the Underworld had been anything but peaceful. Creatures called soul-eating beasts were running rampant, causing considerable damage and even disrupting the Underworld's order.
As the Underworld's commander, she had to make the trip.
Suddenly, a nameless sense of foreboding seized her heart.
It felt like she had lost something important.
In an instant her eyes turned pitch black, and she came to a place of endless darkness.
"This is... the call of the twin gods of Death and Sleep?"
Pandora felt a summons from the unseen, as if two deities were calling to her in the endless dark, whispering by her ear, telling her something.
Through some kind of suggestion, the twin gods were telling her the location of the Ark.
Though unclear, she could make out the broken meaning within.
"Impossible. How could the Pope allow the Ark sealing the twin gods of Death and Sleep to leave the Sanctuary?"
Pandora found it hard to believe. Something was off.
When the darkness in her eyes faded, she couldn't help but look to the east.
That was the direction the twin gods indicated.
No mistake—the Ark sealing the two deities was heading east. Could it be...
Pandora shook her head slightly. For now, the priority was to deal with the Underworld's soul-eating beasts, then go after the Ark.
A subtle fluctuation of divine arts spread from her body, and she vanished from the cemetery.
An instant later, Pandora appeared outside the Wall of Lamentation in the Underworld.
By now Pandora had taken on an adult form, draped in a black lace dress, her figure graceful, noble and poised, transformed into a young lady radiating aristocratic bearing.
Heaven Prison Star Minotaur Gordon and Earthly Violence Star Cyclops Gugado seemed to have been waiting for some time and immediately stepped forward to salute.
"Greetings, Lady Pandora!"
Pandora didn't spare them a glance, striding forward. "We're going to the Soul King's domain. I want a word with him!"
"This Underworld is not his to toy with as he pleases!"
(End of Chapter)
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