"They say no one has ever seen her real face. All they know is that her ability is incredibly bizarre—she can take on the form and appearance of anyone."
"I can't believe she's come to Caster. The Secret Investigation Department is going to have its hands full..."
Klande City State is the capital of the Shetland Kingdom.
'To be able to wreak havoc in a place like that, her power must be terrifying.'
'No wonder Lisi and the others went all out from the very beginning of the fight.'
Wei'en understood now. He sighed and said, "So that's where 'Thousand-Faced' comes from..."
Marco comforted him, "Don't worry too much. Now that we know she's in Caster, we'll find a way to deal with her."
With the strength of the Secret Investigation Department, they weren't exactly afraid of Thousand-faced Kreya, but she was certainly a handful.
Just then, Lisi, who was up ahead, stopped. "Ariana, try it here. Find a way to locate the Eternal Life Association's hideout in Laos."
Ariana surveyed the surroundings. "Here... that rotten stench of the Eternal Life Association is even stronger."
"Begin."
"Alright."
As they spoke, Wei'en and the others caught up, standing behind them and watching the surroundings.
Wei'en couldn't smell the rotten stench Ariana mentioned, but he could feel that this place was ten times more chilling than the last one.
Furthermore, compared to the ruined buildings outside, this area was surprisingly well-preserved.
However, the dim light only made it feel more sinister and silent.
Wei'en looked up at the sun overhead, then glanced back at the gloomy scene around him.
A strange thought popped into his mind: 'The experts and professors from my past life would probably have a hard time explaining this scene, right?'
"Simon, Vandome, Hain, Hoeven..."
Just then, Ariana clasped his hands together and began to chant loudly once more, "Sesbuda, Kilang..."
'It changed?'
'An oath, to the great Guardian Spirit—the ancestral spirit of the Holmes Clan—I request your guidance to find...'
Hearing him chant the hymn, Wei'en found he could hardly look directly at him.
Ariana's body began to swell again, but this time it wasn't his head, but his limbs.
Tentacles burst through his clothes, writhing and waving ceaselessly. At the tip of each tentacle was an open eye, scanning the surroundings.
'As expected... this freaky appearance again.'
"No matter how many times I see it, I can never get used to it," Marco said, looking at Ariana with a similar expression of disgust. "Thank god my family's bloodline inheritance isn't like this, or I'd definitely choose to be a normal person."
Wei'en nodded in agreement. "It's not easy for Captain Alianna. The first time I saw him like this, I thought he'd undergone a mutation."
"Those mutants do resemble his ability, though they're obviously much more insane and terrifying."
"You two!"
Ariana glared back at them. "When you're bad-mouthing me behind my back, could you at least lower your voices?"
"..."
Wei'en and Marco quickly shut their mouths and edged closer to Lisi.
They were genuinely worried the captain of Division Two would suddenly go berserk and charge at them...
It wasn't long before Ariana pointed to a three-story building in the deepest part of the area and said, "There. The aura is strongest there. Lisi?"
"Let's go check it out."
Lisi gripped his Two-Handed Axe again and took the lead, heading in the direction Ariana had pointed.
The others drew their weapons and followed.
Only then did Wei'en realize that the weapon Marco used was a Magic Staff.
It had a twisted black wooden body, and its top wasn't a Gemstone like in the games from his past life, but a lantern. Its faint light dispersed the surrounding gloom.
The Magic Staff had a certain aesthetic appeal, but paired with Marco's appearance... it was simply comical.
'It would make more sense if he were wearing a black robe.'
"Marco, when you and the others were investigating yesterday, did you not come this far?"
Marco shook his head. "Tina and I only investigated the outer perimeter. When we didn't find anything, I had Tina use her Spirit Sight to find..."
"Wait!"
Ariana, who was behind them, suddenly spoke up. "Not there. Over here, Lisi."
He pointed to a slightly dilapidated house on his right, his eyes full of suspicion.
"Hm?"
Lisi flashed to his side, looked at the house, and frowned. "Ariana, you're not mistaken, are you?"
From the outside, the house looked inconspicuous compared to the towering buildings around it.
"The ancestral spirits found something special in there. They're eager to go take a look."
Ariana looked at the tentacles around his body and frowned. "But they're certain the aura inside isn't from the Eternal Life Association. It's something unfamiliar."
"Come on, let's go see."
Lisi didn't hesitate. He flashed forward with his Two-Handed Axe, kicked the door open, and rushed inside.
Marco gave a reminder, "Keep up."
Wei'en nodded, tightened his grip on his flintlock, and carefully followed with Tina.
By the time they entered the house, Lisi, who had been in the lead, was already on the second floor, hacking at a locked iron door with his Two-Handed Axe.
The moment Ariana entered the house, the tentacles all over his body shot out straight toward the iron door, even dragging him along in a frantic rush.
"Hey? Slow down, hey?!"
Marco took one look and instructed, "Wei'en, you wait downstairs. I'm going to follow them and see."
"Okay."
Wei'en knew his own strength was lacking and that he wouldn't be much help, so he and Tina stayed put.
He scanned the house. The space wasn't large; everything could be seen at a glance.
The plaster on the walls had long since faded, exposing mottled brickwork. Cracks snaked across the surface, and a faded photograph hung on one wall.
He walked over and wiped the dust off the photograph. It was a family of three: a man, a woman, and a young girl.
However, compared to the group photo of the Division One members he had seen in the logistics department, this photo was black and white.
'What's concerning are their expressions... so serious?'
Even the little girl in the middle wasn't smiling at all.
Wei'en averted his gaze and looked around the room.
The furniture in the room was sparse. An old wooden bed was tucked into a corner, with an alarm clock on the headboard whose hands had long since stopped moving.
The floor was laid with old tiles covered in a thick layer of dust.
On the other side of the room was a pile of miscellaneous items.
A simple table was piled high with clutter, and some empty bottles and old newspapers were stacked in the corner.
The glass in the window had been crudely patched, and the sunlight filtering through cast a faint glow.
Clearly, no one had lived here for a very long time.
And with their group barging in, the small room felt incredibly cramped, creating a suffocating and oppressive atmosphere.
Just then, a crimson notification flashed in Wei'en's mind.
[You have stepped into the faith repository of an unknown existence. Because your Spirit level is greater than 20, you have successfully resisted the corrosion of the Power of Despair. Evaluation: Excellent. Commendable courage. Special Reward: Survival Points +3, Spirit Level +1.]
'A faith repository?'
Before he could open his mouth to warn the others that something was wrong, a loud RUMBLE came from upstairs.
'The iron door is open?'
Wei'en looked up just in time to see a black aura burst out from the opening.
"It's the Power of Despair! Lisi!" Ariana yelled in a panic.
Lisi raised his Two-Handed Axe and shouted, "Shield Guard!"
Marco also quickly waved his Magic Staff, the light on the lantern flashing. "Rashid, Romance..." (Sui Feng.)
Streaks of Wind Blades shot out, slicing and splitting the black energy.
But the black aura didn't engulf them. Instead, as if it had discovered a more delicious target, it shot straight down like a wisp of smoke.
"Dammit!"
Lisi glanced down at Wei'en and Tina, cursed, and jumped straight down.
Wei'en noticed the black aura and instinctively rolled to dodge, firing his flintlock. BANG!
A flash of fire lit the room, but the expected scene of the energy dissipating didn't happen.
The black aura suddenly accelerated, tracing an arc as it shot straight into his body.
'Fuck, couldn't dodge it...'
'What the hell is going on?'
PS: Thanks to the big shot 'Obsessed with Chemistry' for the donation. Thank you!