Inside the hidden space on the inner side of Dazzle Star Lake in Glamorgan, Dorothy stood in the spacious Mirror Moon Church chapel, contemplating how to bring the Church to the present world while looking at the mirror moon statue in front of her that closely resembled her own appearance.
'Relying on my mother's ring, I can swap the entire Church to Dazzle Star Lake at any time by inverting inside and out, but the commotion will inevitably alert the people of Eight-Pointed Nest.
Although this Church will also be protected by a hidden barrier after reaching the present world, making it undetectable to ordinary people and even general Extraordinaries, it won't escape the old Scarlet's notice, especially when he is monitoring this place intensely...'
'Therefore, if I want to bring this Church up, I need to seize the right moment and make a move after I have a good grasp of those guys' movements.
It would be great if those guys leave after realizing they can't find the entrance.
Then I can swap the Church out to perform the ritual after they've left.
This is the ideal situation, but based on the current circumstances, the people of Eight-Pointed Nest won't give up so easily...'
Dorothy thought to herself in this way.
Under the current circumstances, to transfer the Church to the present world, she must know the movements of Eight-Pointed Nest.
For the previous Dorothy, it was a very dangerous task to reconnaissance the Scarlet of Eight-Pointed Nest, but it's different now.
She is now inside the hidden space, where the outside cannot see in, but the inside can see out.
Just like the space in Qiwen Temple in Adis back then, Dorothy can fully use the properties of this space to spy on Eight-Pointed Nest.
And because the functions of this Mirror Moon Church are preserved more completely, Dorothy's efficiency in exploring the present world using the hidden space will be higher.
The entire Dazzle Star Lake and the surrounding small areas are within Dorothy's detectable range.
"I still need to figure out the specific situation before making any plans..."
Dorothy murmured this.
With Eight-Pointed Nest blocking the entrance, she chose not to rush the ritual and waited patiently.
...
Time flowed, and soon, a day's time quickly passed.
Above Dazzle Star Lake in the present world, the sun in the sky gradually sank into the western mountains.
When the evening glow dispersed, the moonless dark night enveloped the entire sky.
In the shadows of the night, the whole of Glamorgan gradually fell silent, and Dazzle Star Lake also became calm after the small boats on the lake docked one after another.
Under the tranquil night, an invisible blood mist once again enveloped the entire lake surface.
Above the dark lake surface, unseen by ordinary people, countless chirping sounds were echoing.
The source of these sounds was none other than countless black bats.
Clinging close to the water surface, a vast swarm of bats soared above the wide dark lake.
This scene seemed like a colony of bats emerging from a cave to hunt, yet these bats showed not the slightest interest in the small insects flying above the lake surface.
They seemed only intent on flying to every corner of the lake surface, tirelessly searching.
During the night, the Vampires of Eight Point Nest, as usual, habitually transformed into countless bats, dispersing within the blood mist on the lake surface, endlessly searching, attempting to find the secret contained within this lake water.
And at this moment, on a remote lakeside, a hunched old man with sparse hair and a tall woman holding a red wine cup were standing together, gazing at the dark lake surface before them.
They were the Spiderfang Priest Bo Ade of Eight-Pointed Nest and Gothsmore, who called herself the 'Imperial Witch'.
"It's a moonless night... it seems like there won't be any gains tonight either..." Shaking a red wine cup in her hand, Gothsmore murmured as she looked at the moonless dark night sky.
After speaking, she took another sip of the red liquid in the cup, and listening to Gothsmore's words, Bo Ade also slowly spoke.
"The moon... is the divine domain of the Night Empress, and the mirror... is Her symbol.
In the prayer provided by Tivian, it is stated that the entrance to the temple is in the divine domain within the mirror.
If the mirror refers to this lake, then the reflection of the moon in the lake should be the key node to enter the temple..."
Bo Ade spoke slowly.
Listening to his words, Gothsmore wiped the red stain from the corner of her mouth, and then continued speaking.
"You've said similar things before... When there was a moon a few days ago, it's not like you didn't check the reflection on the lake.
Did you find anything?
No~"
"That's because the lake surface is too large.
Looking at the lake from different positions, the position of the moon's reflection on the lake surface is also different.
Moonlight is cast upon the lake, and the moon's reflection is everywhere.
I cannot confirm which reflection of the moon is the correct node," Bo Ade responded to Gothsmore.
Gothsmore then continued speaking with a slightly contemptuous tone.
"Oh... you can't find the location, which means you haven't made any progress at all these past few days, right?"
"You can't say that... Gothsmore, although the results haven't appeared yet, there has been considerable progress." Listening to Gothsmore's words, Bo Ade frowned slightly, and then continued.
"Recently, I haven't focused my search entirely on the lake surface.
I've sent many people to nearby towns to gather information, and I've obtained many valuable clues up until today.
"For example, some legends circulating among the ordinary folk here in Glamorgan are very interesting.
Among the fishermen here, there is a taboo that night fishing is absolutely forbidden on this lake during a full moon.
The legend says that fishermen who go out for night fishing on a full moon night, no matter how old or experienced they are, will get lost on the lake.
If they are lucky, they can return the next day during the day, but if they are unlucky, they will never return.
"So those fishermen say that there is some kind of monster in this lake, a kind of water monster that only appears during a full moon.
They say this water monster can make people get lost, confuse them until they are disoriented, and then drag them into the water.
It is the king of this lake.
Because this water monster only appears during a full moon, those fishermen believe it likes the full moon and named it the Full Moon Water Demon."
Bo Ade slowly recounted the observations he had gathered.
Listening to Bo Ade's words, Gothsmore frowned slightly, and then immediately spoke.
"Just ignorant little stories circulating among ordinary folk.
We've turned over the bottom of this lake, and we haven't seen any water monsters.
What use is this, Bo Ade?"
"My point is not that this water monster actually exists.
Although these ordinary folk stories sound absurd, they are likely not without basis.
These legends have their own reasons, and these reasons may be related to the secrets on the lake.
"Do you remember what was written in that prayer?
The temple will rise without a key during a full moon.
Combining this with the rumors among the fishermen here, something special should happen to the temple hidden in the lake during a full moon, thereby affecting the situation on the lake surface, causing some extraordinary phenomena to be noticed by those fishermen, thus giving rise to this rumor..."
Bo Ade continued to patiently explain to Gothsmore.
Listening to Bo Ade's words, a hint of interest appeared in Gothsmore's expression.
"Full moon... Your meaning is, when the full moon arrives, this lake will have special changes, and we might have a chance to find that moon bitch's temple at that time?"
"That's right.
A full moon is the time of the month when the moon disc is most full and powerful, and it is also the Holy Hour of the Night Empress, which holds very important significance for Her followers.
If the Night Empress truly has a temple hidden in this lake, then when the full moon arrives, the temple is very likely to resonate or even synchronize with the moon in the sky.
At that time, we might be able to pinpoint the location of the temple."
With a serious expression, Bo Ade said to Gothsmore beside him.
After listening to Bo Ade's words, Gothsmore also slowly nodded.
"Hmm... that makes sense.
Your analysis this time isn't bad.
There might indeed be some opportunities to discover something when the full moon arrives, but unfortunately, we have to wait another half a month... What a hassle..."
Gothsmore said this.
Recently, she once again savored a sip of the bright red liquid in the wine cup in her hand, and then turned her gaze to the lake surface, looking at the reflections of herself and Bo Ade on the lake surface under the starlight.
...
On the other side of the Dazzle Star Lake mirror surface, in the colorless inverted hidden space, Dorothy floated in this space at the edge of the colored lake surface, looking at the old man and the woman reflected in the lake.
Dorothy behind the mirror surface watched the two people named Bo Ade and Gothsmore interacting by the lake in the present world until they finally left.
Her gaze intersected with theirs at one point, but in the end, the other party did not notice anything unusual.
Relying on the hidden space behind the mirror surface, although Dorothy successfully detected important intelligence about Eight-Pointed Nest, her expression at this moment showed no sign of ease, but was instead very solemn.
It was clear that the information she had just detected was not good for Dorothy.
'Are these two the people Eight-Pointed Nest sent to search for the Mirror Moon Church?
One of them is an old face... The Spiderfang Priest of Eight-Pointed Nest, this one this time, couldn't be the main body, could he...'
Dorothy thought to herself in this way.
Her memory of the old man's face was very deep.
It was the Scarlet of Eight-Pointed Nest called the Spiderfang Priest whom she encountered at Duke Barret's villa at the beginning of the year, and was the direct reason why Dorothy chose to go abroad after the beginning of the year.
She didn't expect to meet him here again after more than half a year.
Dorothy had witnessed the power of the Spiderfang Priest's derivative body, and she attached great importance to the existence that was very likely his main body.
However, besides him, the other woman who was talking to him also made Dorothy very concerned.
'The woman named Gothsmore, she seemed to be on equal footing with the Spiderfang Priest Bo Ade during their conversation.
There was absolutely no respect in her demeanor or tone towards a Scarlet.
From this situation, it seems they might have the same level of status within Eight-Pointed Nest, which means Eight-Pointed Nest sent more than one Scarlet to Glamorgan...'
Dorothy thought and analyzed with a heavy expression.
Although she had anticipated this possibility when analyzing the amount of blood mist on Dazzle Star Lake before, when she actually confirmed that the other party really had more than one Scarlet, she still felt immense pressure.
'Good heavens... with two Scarlet stationed here, it seems Eight-Pointed Nest's importance to this temple here is completely unexpected.
The Savior Descends Faction plotting for the entire Adus only sent one Scarlet.
And now, for this temple, Eight-Pointed Nest has gathered two Scarlet in this small town at once.
It seems they are determined to get it this time...'
Dorothy thought with a frown.
The presence of two Scarlet from Eight-Pointed Nest put immense pressure on the implementation of her subsequent plans, and this was not the worst news.
For Dorothy now, the worst situation was that these two from Eight-Pointed Nest were actually preparing to wait until the full moon!?
'The restriction covering Dazzle Star Lake is constantly changing, following the ceremonial process of the Mirror Moon faith here in the past.
According to the content of that prayer, the Church will automatically transfer to the present world every month during the full moon to receive worship from ordinary people.
'Although the Church's automatic transfer function has been suppressed now, every time the full moon arrives, the Church's extraordinary system will still interfere with the present world, thinning the boundary and extending some of the Church's functions outwards.
'This is mainly to charge the Church's own extraordinary system.
After leaving the maintenance of the clergy, the Spirituality supply for the entire Church and its affiliated hidden space can only rely on moonlight.
Therefore, when the full moon arrives, the Church will actively approach the present world, extend some functions outwards, absorb the most concentrated full moon moonlight of the month, and obtain'Shadow' from the moonlight.
At that time, the entire lake surface of Dazzle Star Lake in the present world will experience some extraordinary phenomena due to this interference.
If there are still people on the lake surface at that time, they will be affected, and perhaps that is the truth behind the so-called Full Moon Water Demon later.
'This Spirituality absorption project is a very important part of the Church's self-regulating extraordinary system, related to the energy supply of the entire system.
With my current authority from only one ring, it is not enough to prevent the activation of this function of the Church.
'This means... once the full moon arrives, the Church will approach the present world as before, interfere with the lake surface to absorb moonlight.
I cannot stop it.
If those guys are really determined to wait until the full moon, they will definitely notice the unusual phenomena in the lake, and perhaps take this as an opportunity to break through the mirror surface and come to this space also...'
Floating above the lake surface, Dorothy thought with a frown in contemplation.
Facing the current situation, she had to think of a comprehensive countermeasure.
From now until the full moon, it will take half a month.
This half a month is both her countdown and her preparation time.
...