Chapter 863: Chapter 863

After entering the castle, the first sensation that He Ao felt was "utter darkness."

Because the moment his footsteps crossed the threshold, all the light within the entire castle dimmed instantly, plunging the surroundings into darkness as if he were in the Abyss.

He only had time to catch a glimpse of the scene for an instant, knowing he was seemingly in a vast hall.

In this silent engulfing darkness, his field of view was almost completely gone.

He Ao took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

That weak beacon of light had barely pierced the darkness before it was completely devoured, unable to illuminate any of the surroundings.

It appeared that ordinary lighting tools were ineffective.

He Ao turned off the flashlight and pocketed his phone.

He glanced around the environment, moving forward slowly through the darkness like a person blinded.

He faintly remembered that directly opposite the main entrance, there was a huge ’Y’-shaped staircase that led to the second floor.

A noise like the swish of a garment slicing through the air came from the darkness.

A sharp cry came from He Ao’s left side.

In that instant, He Ao drew the bone sword from his back, the sword’s light disappeared into the darkness as he suddenly slashed to his right.

Nearing C-level strength.

The sound of fresh blood splattering on the wall overlapped with the tail-end of that "kill."

He Ao continued forward, following the same steps he had taken before.

The surrounding darkness fell silent, just like an Assassin holding its breath, waiting for the right moment.

As He Ao estimated that he had covered one third of the distance across the hall, a broad blade extended from behind him, aiming for his back.

The pristine white bone sword twirled, stabbing backward with ease into the heart of the attacker behind him.

Then, holding the hilt, he flung it forward, and the pierced corpse was tossed into the darkness, hitting some wall before tumbling down.

There were the stairs.

He Ao listened to the sound of the body rolling down, adjusted his direction slightly with his bone sword, and kept moving forward.

Drops of crimson blood trickled down the crack-filled white blade.

The deep darkness once again stilled, leaving only the sound of He Ao’s footsteps quietly echoing through the vast hall.

He Ao’s pace was swift, and in almost no time, he had reached the staircase from his memory.

The intense darkness still enshrouded everything around him, he couldn’t see the steps of the staircase, nor its specific conditions.

He stepped forward and seemed to kick something soft lying on the ground.

It seemed to be the corpse he had just thrown over.

And in the moment he was contemplating this, the ’corpse’ lying on the ground burst into action, throwing a dagger straight at He Ao’s neck.

The flying dagger was instantly sliced in half by the snow-white bone sword, and then the sword that vanished into the darkness went further, severing the body of the attacker hidden within.

The person pretending to be a corpse became a real corpse, falling to the ground as fresh blood spread in the darkness.

He Ao stepped forward, crossing over the body and stepping onto the staircase, ascending step by step.

His movement was neither fast nor slow.

Even though he couldn’t see anything with his eyes, he quickly grasped the height and width of the steps, climbing up the staircase with ease and confidence.

However, after about a minute’s ascent, he stopped, extending his sword tip forward, exploring upwards step by step.

The staircase ahead seemed to have no end; he had been walking for so long but still had not reached the turn of the staircase.

He lifted his head and looked around.

The darkness of the sky seemed a bit ’thinner’ than the darkness underfoot.

After a brief contemplation, he leaped directly upward, his form swiftly passing through the darkness, landing on what seemed like a ’spacious’ surface.

Then he abruptly raised his sword, turned around, and slashed behind him.

Two people who had attacked from his rear were cut down, falling to the ground.

He Ao stamped the ground, now he appeared to be in a broader area.

The stairs had some sort of anomaly; it was impossible to climb up by walking directly, one could only jump up from the air.

The transforming staircase in the darkness completely blurred his sense of height, making it impossible for him to discern his current location.

He stretched out the bone sword, lifted the corpse behind him, and swiftly threw it toward the right side.

The corpse glided through the void, seemingly crashing into a wall with a thud, yet it did not roll downward.

No staircase around anymore?

Had he just bypassed the staircase section and leapt to the second floor?

As he pondered, He Ao turned and proceeded in the direction where he had tossed the body.

The first and second floors’ halls in this castle were interconnected, making the hall look extremely tall.

In that fleeting glimpse just now, he hadn’t seen the specifics of the second floor but remembered the balustrade that circled the second-floor corridor above the stairs.

These corridors should connect all the rooms in this castle-like building.

He Ao looked up into the surrounding darkness, where, in the silent blackness, strange lines seemed to be entwined.

He had a premonition that the direction where the lines were most entwined was the core of this castle.

He paced swiftly forward, soon reaching a spot that looked like a corner of the corridor.

There were solid stone walls on both sides, and a stone wall in front as well, with only a side that seemed to have an opening.

Just as He Ao was about to turn the corner, crisp footsteps came from the end of the corner.

He Ao retracted his body and leaned quietly against the wall behind the corner, silently waiting for the footsteps to approach.

The owner of the footsteps also seemed to have sensed something, gradually slowing down, coming closer to this side.

A faint, cold glow suddenly surfaced from the other side of the corner, illuminating the turn He Ao had yet to see clearly.

The source of the glow cautiously moved around the corner, and in that instant, a white dart shot forward, and at the same time, a pure white bone sword appeared as if made of light.

The sharp blade finally stopped in front of the delicate cheeks.

What He Ao saw was a girl with dark wheat-colored skin, adorned with a gold agate headpiece, wearing a black, simple short dress, and a golden leg ring around her right thigh.

The girl, seeing the pristine bone sword, first startled, then joyfully exclaimed.

"Kavina, what are you doing here?"

He Ao frowned slightly, retracting the bone sword.

Jumbled memories surfaced in his mind.

Kavina was a foreign employee from Rodan whom he had brought to the Research Institute of the Yika Republic, C-level.

He, together with Komo and Kavina, had investigated Sett’s estate; he had made a call to harness the power of strange tales to enter this castle, while Komo and Kavina should still be in the Main World.

Kavina also looked somewhat bewildered, "After you disappeared, I just felt a gust of wind, and then I ended up here."

"Komo? Did he come in too?"

He Ao sheathed the bone sword and asked quickly.

"I didn’t see him; I’ve been looking for him."

Kavina lifted the green lantern in her hand, which emitted a faint cold light, and quickly replied.

"This lantern of yours?"

He Ao looked down at her lantern.

The lantern continuously emitted a green, ghostly cold light, illuminating the surrounding area.

"This is my Extraordinary Item, Minister He,"

Kavina looked at He Ao with puzzlement, "Don’t you remember?"

He Ao fished for memories, between vagueness, seemingly indeed recalling something about Kavina and a green lantern.

These fragmented recollections made him feel slightly uncomfortable, but he couldn’t discern the discomfort at the moment.

"What’s wrong, Minister He?"

Kavina leaned forward, looking at He Ao with curiosity.

He Ao shook his head and said slowly, "Let’s head back in the direction you came from; you lead the way, I’ll cover our rear."

Kavina smiled and nodded her head.

The icy green radiance from her lantern shone, illuminating her skin and smile.

She turned and headed in the direction she’d come from, under He Ao’s guidance.

He Ao rubbed his temples, watching the girl’s figure from behind, and followed at a leisurely pace.

Super Memory was intact, Secret Mage showed no issues, all the Extraordinary Items seemed to be there.

Everything appeared normal, yet it felt like something had been forgotten.

He swept a glance around the darkness, focusing on the strange yet familiar twisted lines within the dark, and raised a hand, "Turn left."

Kavina followed He Ao’s instructions and turned to the left, entering the corridor on that side.

A narrow, spiral staircase appeared in their field of view.

Kavina in the lead, He Ao following, the two ascended the stairs.

"Did you just get attacked by anything in the darkness?"

In the silent stairwell, where only the sound of footsteps lingered, He Ao suddenly asked.

Kavina shook her head, "I was in the corridor as soon as I came in, then I met you. Are there other people in this castle?"

"There are some attackers lurking in the darkness,"

He Ao glanced at the darkness beyond the lantern, then withdrew his gaze and continued, "Be mindful of the darkness."

Kavina nodded, taking He Ao further up.

Perhaps due to the illumination of the lantern, this section of the spiral staircase didn’t seem to possess the ’endless’ quality that the one He Ao had just ascended in the dark did; they quickly reached the end of the staircase.

A thick stench of blood, with a cold and damp sensation, rushed towards them.

"It’s so damp here, like we’re underground."

Kavina lifted the lantern and looked around.

Row upon row of wooden pillars, akin to a dungeon, appeared in their field of view.

"This might indeed be underground,"

He Ao glanced at the moist wooden pillars, "The space here might not be continuous; ascending doesn’t necessarily lead upstairs."

"You bunch of rats hiding in the darkness!!! I’ll kill you all!!!"

At that moment, a violent commotion of combat sounded not far ahead.

He Ao lifted his bone sword, his figure instantly dashing forward.

Kavina tightly held the lantern, following at He Ao’s side.

As the light of the lantern illuminated the way, a figure drenched in blood appeared before He Ao.

Upon seeing He Ao coming over, the figure’s eyes lit up with joy.

With the light from the lantern, He Ao could now finally see clearly the appearance of those ’people’ who had attacked him in the darkness.

These people were shrouded entirely in dark hooded cloaks, with gaunt figures aggressively attacking Komo without fear of death.

He Ao lifted his bone sword, instantly deflecting one of the figures.

The figure smashed into the wall, and after a light thud, spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed onto the floor.

Seeing He Ao joining the fight, the other figures that were originally besieging Komo quickly shifted their target to He Ao.

The white light of the sword moved like flowing radiance, effortlessly cutting down the majority of the figures.

When only one figure remained, He Ao didn’t use his sword. Instead, he lifted his hand, grasped the neck of the last person, and pulled off his hood.

A withered figure, seemingly nothing but bones, came into He Ao’s field of view.

"Who are you? Where is your leader?"

He Ao triggered his Super Memory, placed a marker on him, and swiftly asked without pause.

"Intruder... kill..."

The gaunt figure opened his mouth, then like quicksand, rapidly decayed into a spotted skeleton.

The mind of this person had completely collapsed; they no longer had their own thoughts.

These figures were merely puppets controlled by someone.

He Ao turned to look at the corpses on the ground.

Those bodies that had just been bleeding were now rapidly decaying to skeletons under the glow of a green light.

He Ao dropped the bone in his hand to the floor, and quickly said, "Shine the light inside the dungeon."

Kavina lifted the lantern, shining it into the dungeon.

He Ao withdrew his gaze from the edge of the wall and looked towards the interior of the dungeon.

At the dark end, a cluster of people lay like lambs awaiting slaughter, crowded on the bloodstained ground.

Their eyes were wide open, but lifeless, crammed together seemingly devoid of the ability to think.

"These are the workers who built the manor,"

Komo walked over, looking at the people in the dungeon with some surprise, "They should have been dispersed by now."

"There should be more than just those workers here."

He Ao moved forward, with Kavina following his steps, holding a lantern that illuminated the surrounding dungeon.

One by one, the figures huddled in the dungeon entered the trio’s field of view.

These people wore a variety of clothes, from the Yika Republic and its neighboring countries, but most of them were clearly from the Western Lands.

"So many missing persons,"

Komo felt somewhat bewildered, "and we haven’t heard a thing."

"Once we deal with the issue of this castle, we’ll naturally be able to rescue them."

He Ao patted Komo on the shoulder and continued moving forward.

It seemed these people had been affected by some extraordinary power and now lacked the ability and consciousness to flee from the dungeon.

Komo also realized that He Ao was right and withdrew his gaze, enduring the pain of his wounds, he quickly followed behind He Ao.

Soon, the group left the dungeon, passed through a long, gloomy corridor, and arrived in front of a tightly closed stone gate.

A frail, hunched figure stood directly in front of the stone gate, with two blazing torches on either side of the corridor lighting up the space around the Elderly.

Kavina, walking at the front, stopped and gazed at the hunched figure ahead, her eyes lowered.

And that hunched figure also slowly began to speak, his deep, raspy voice echoing through the huge corridor,

"The fact that you found this place so quickly is enough to prove your strength.

"But you have no idea of the formidable existence you are facing—you have probably never seen the great strength of an Angel.

"Your so-called wisdom and strength are laughably small and insignificant before the might of a great Angel,

"Humanity is so ignorant and arrogant to think that they can use their pathetic little powers to hinder the Advent of a great Angel.

"Yet, all this is but a futile effort."

He lifted his gaze, looking at He Ao,

"Young friend, your wisdom and strength are more than enough to secure a place for you in the glorious new world that is coming. Why so stubbornly serve that decaying old world, those stubborn old relics?

"We shouldn’t be obstructing the glory of the Advent, but rather welcoming it, creating a new world that belongs to us.

"Join us, and in that grand new world, you will have your place, and you’ll possess a future far brighter than your present. Otherwise,"

He raised a withered wooden staff from beneath his hood, "No matter how much courage your strength gives you, you will see how insignificant you truly are. You will be destroyed by the Angel’s wrath."

"Your ’new world’ consists of slaughter, sacrifice, and kidnapping living people?"

Komo couldn’t help but intervene.

"Before the Advent of the new world,"

The hunched figure’s voice remained calm, "the old must first be destroyed, and only a small number of the worthy will remain in the new world."

"You pack of Butchers."

Komo, flushed with anger, couldn’t help himself.

"Bloodshed is necessary."

The hunched figure replied with a slight grin, "You are all people who should be destroyed."

Komo grew even angrier, but he couldn’t find a retort.

"So, has your ’Angel’ descended?"

He Ao, looking at the hunched figure, asked in a light tone.

"Of course, the Angel is about to descend!"

The hunched figure paused in his speech, quickly responding, "The Advent of the Angel is unstoppable, and the magnificent glory will soon arrive."

"So, he hasn’t descended yet,"

He Ao looked calmly at the hunched figure, "You talk about something that hasn’t happened as if it already has."

Then, without waiting for a reply from the hunched figure, he smiled and looked at him, "Your Angel has been taking so long to descend, and even took the blood sun away, could it be... he’s afraid?"

The hunched figure’s expression locked.

"I don’t know what you mean by old world versus new world,"

He Ao planted the tip of his sword on the ground, his gaze calm as water, "Your Angel isn’t the first to come, and most likely won’t be the last,

"We ’decaying old relics’ are always warm and prepared for guests from afar,

"If they come as friends, we welcome them; if they come as enemies, we have sharp blades ready."

He raised his eyebrows, looking at the hunched figure, "And if you wish to make sacrifices to achieve your ’new world,’ why not start with yourself?"

Komo looked up at He Ao.

He finally understood why Minister He was so popular. Really cool.

"Sharp-tongued young man,"

The hunched figure spoke coldly, "You will pay for your foolishness."