Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 1098

Seeing no one in pursuit, Jenkins smiled and had the unicorn carry him west toward the coastline before changing course and flying toward the distant York Town.

After an incident like that, the Church would likely send someone to summon him back immediately. He absolutely couldn't stay in the city now.

Upon returning to York Town, Jenkins sent the unicorn on its way. The cat, which had kept a low profile, immediately became lively again once the unicorn was gone, reminding Jenkins in its own unique way that it was dinnertime.

As the sun set, the remote country town sank into a deep quiet. Life in the countryside was dull; back in Nolan, this would have been one of the liveliest times of the day.

He finished his meal in town, but still, no one came looking for him. After a short rest, he decided to head back to the city, but at this late hour, finding a carriage willing to make the journey at night wouldn't be easy.

At last, he encountered an old gentleman who also happened to be returning to Nolan. The man had booked his carriage in advance, and the driver was waiting to take him back to the city. Jenkins was allowed to share the ride after agreeing to pay a third of the total fare.

The old gentleman didn't know Jenkins, nor did Jenkins know him. They exchanged a few idle words to break the monotony of the journey before lapsing into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

The rest of the trip back to Nolan was uneventful. Jenkins disembarked near the Westminster River bridge, quietly thanking the driver and the old gentleman. He then stood where the bridge met the entrance to the bustling shopping district, watching as the carriage disappeared into the thick fog.

As if in retaliation for the morning's bright sunshine, a thick fog once again blanketed the city by nightfall. Compared to the lively bustle when he'd left Nolan that morning, the city now seemed unnervingly quiet.

Unsurprisingly, the doors to Pops Antique Shop were shut tight; no one was there. This gave Jenkins the perfect excuse to head to the church at this hour.

He encountered few people along the way. A patrolling officer he passed warned him to hurry home, explaining that a serial killer was on the loose in Nolan City, and a curfew was in effect after nine o'clock.

Jenkins wasn't sure if there really was such a case, but he knew the curfew was undoubtedly a result of the incident from earlier that evening.

Under the continuous suppression of a blessed flame, the piece of umbilical cord had temporarily calmed down. It was now stored in a glass jar filled with water, as placid as the half-segment he had already assimilated.

Jenkins carried it with him into the church and quickly ran into the Keeper of Secrets, Mr. Smith, in the main hall. Smith was rushing out with a group of apprentices, and he looked slightly surprised to see Jenkins. He urged him to meet with Miss Bevanna first, explaining that they had run into some trouble.

Since Mr. Smith hadn't sounded overly anxious, Jenkins gathered the matter wasn't critical. He went to Miss Bevanna's office first, only to find it empty. After a brief inquiry, he learned that she had left for the Gate of All Things just a few minutes prior.

Cradling his cat, Jenkins headed underground. As he descended the stairs, he saw Papa Oliver coming up, a stack of documents in his hand. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel-fire.net

"Ah, you're back, Jenkins," Papa Oliver said, not at all surprised to see him. "How did your errand go? Didn't I tell you to head straight home?"

"Everything went smoothly," Jenkins replied. "Here's the ring. Please, take it."

He handed the box containing the ring to Papa Oliver and then inquired,

"Did something happen in the city today? The atmosphere felt a bit off when I returned."

"The Church of Ocean and Exploration has been receiving a string of reports lately. Some were about a tattoo related to the 'Exotic Tide,' while others claimed that the pirate king known as Diwo the Thief had slipped into Nolan. This afternoon, the five major churches in the city organized a massive manhunt, but things went sideways. It was chaos—all sorts of strange characters came crawling out of the woodwork..."

As he spoke, he opened the small box and glanced inside. Confirming the ring was fine, he nodded at Jenkins.

"We actually meant to get you out of the city, but even with you gone, the manhunt ran into trouble... The biggest issue was in the outer districts, but some fellow on a unicorn took care of it. Speaking of which, another follower of the God of Lies, the one known as Twin Demons, also showed up last night... On top of that, Miss Bevanna's team actually managed to corner Diwo this afternoon, but he got away. He's still gravely ill and can't use his full strength, so he had to rely on his artifacts to fight our people. Before he escaped, he used a nasty cursed doll on everyone. Praying to the Sage can remove the curse, but it just reappears again moments later. It's probably a numbered item, so Miss Bevanna decided to check the library for more information."

Papa Oliver gestured toward the Gate of All Things behind him, which was open just a crack, and added,

"Your abilities are potent against diseases, but they probably wouldn't do much against a curse that can be removed only to reappear. That's why we didn't send for you. Still, since you're here, you might as well give it a try later. Wait here for Miss Bevanna; she should be out soon."

While waiting for Miss Bevanna, Jenkins struck up a conversation with the Keeper of Secrets stationed outside, asking about the matters Papa Oliver had just mentioned.

The first topic was, naturally, the incident from the previous night when Jenkins had climbed the clock tower and used his Twin Demons ability to bombard the fire ravens. His actions hadn't been particularly subtle, but his escape had been swift. As a result, the Church only knew that the elusive Twin Demons had resurfaced; they had no idea what kind of deep-seated grudge the user held against the fire ravens to warrant such an attack.

Those fire ravens were, in fact, a single organism—the red-haired, middle-aged woman who had plummeted from the sky. This type of exotic species was known as a Fire Raven. Unlike vampires, who possess an innate ability to transform into bats, Fire Ravens are born as individual, fiery-red crows. Only after reaching maturity and undergoing a unique coming-of-age ritual can they assume a human form.

This transformation was irreversible. Unless they learned their species' unique 'Crow Flock Incarnation' ability, they were essentially just humans with an unusually strong affinity for fire.

"Despite its high affinity for fire, it was still incinerated by the demonic flames of the Twin Demons. We later found the 'Exotic Tide' tattoo on her body. It's the third fragment we've discovered, and it seems to belong to the same ritual as the other two."

The Keeper of Secrets explained.

"So why is everything connected to fire? First, there was a Green-Flame Demon, then a Fire-Eater Demon, and now a Fire Raven. How curious."