Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 1099

"The fact that they were all fire-element exotics is certainly very peculiar. The current theory is that the heretical god's followers aren't just trying to acquire the [Exotic Tide] ability. Combined with the clues about a blood sacrifice reported to the Church of Ocean and Exploration, we're almost certain they're preparing to summon some entity. Preparing multiple rituals serves two purposes: first, as a failsafe, and second, because the blood sacrifice summoning ritual likely requires more than just a single [Exotic Tide] tattoo. If our theory is correct, the group we found corresponds to the fire element. The other groups likely correspond to different elements, and only by combining them with the blood sacrifice can they complete the summoning ritual. We should have some answers once today's city-wide search is over."

The elderly Keeper of Secrets said this, noticing Jenkins's thoughtful expression:

"Have you thought of something?"

"If that's truly the case, then whatever those cultists are trying to summon must be terrifying... Oh, I just thought of a possibility!"

he exclaimed suddenly, putting on an expression of sudden realization:

"I heard Papa Oliver mention that the [Exotic Tide] ability comes from a terrifying exotic species called the [Slaughter Angel]. And the Slaughter Angel has some kind of unclear relationship with the angels of the heretical god, the [Lord of Slaughter]. Perhaps..."

"They want to summon one of the heretical god's angels!" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

The Keeper of Secrets finished Jenkins's sentence for him. Jenkins immediately put on an 'I was thinking the exact same thing' expression before they continued to discuss the topic of angels. He was quite pleased with his verbal maneuvering; even without using his divine power of lies, he could subtly feed information to the Church that he couldn't state outright.

Jenkins thought to himself. The old elf had said that a quarter of the umbilical cord was enough to power the summoning ritual, and with the last piece still missing, the situation remained grim.

Besides last night's events and today's operation, the Keeper of Secrets also focused on the thrilling scene from that evening.

"Bincy's squad, along with the Gravedigger squad from the Church of Death and End, launched a joint raid on a secret stronghold of the Dead Man's Whip cult. They discovered that the person in charge wasn't there. After some interrogation, they learned that the heretical god's priest had left that morning to search for a lost secret treasure of the cult. So, Bincy and his team immediately followed that lead to apprehend him."

"So what did they run into after that?"

Jenkins feigned complete cluelessness.

"They found the missing priest in the southern slums. At that moment, he was fighting with another person over a small vial filled with a murky liquid. Our men swarmed in to subdue them both, but the priest immediately smashed the vial of murky liquid against his own forehead..."

Jenkins drew in a sharp breath to express his shock, while the cat shot him a contemptuous look.

He was desperate to know how he had ended up getting dragged into this mess.

"After that, everyone passed out. When they woke up, they had already been rescued by Mr. Davies from the Church of Death and End and Miss Brolignans, who was visiting Nolan. As for what happened in between, the people involved have no idea."

The Keeper of Secrets explained regretfully, then added,

"But thank the Sage, none of our people were lost. Although everyone who woke up is suffering from muscle atrophy, unbearable headaches, and mild visual and auditory hallucinations, these aftereffects are nothing compared to what happened to the squad that went out with Miss Bevanna and was cursed by the pirate Diwo. Bincy and his team will probably need some time to recover, which is for the best. He has shouldered far too much responsibility lately, so a short leave will do them good."

"Yes, I wish the Scribes a speedy recovery... and the heretics as well. Since those directly involved have no memory of the event, did anyone else observe what happened? I believe you mentioned earlier that the evening's incident even involved a unicorn-riding Believer of Lies."

"Ah, yes. Around 4 PM, the church received a report about a strange object appearing in the sky above the fog-shrouded outskirts of the city. A reconnaissance mission revealed it to be a rare pocket dimension, stable within the material world, and one that had only just been created..."

Now Jenkins understood. These kinds of pocket dimensions were usually one-way trips—easy to enter, impossible to leave. The unicorn had been flying back to the city a bit too fast, and with the fog being so thick, it wasn't entirely implausible that it had plunged headfirst into the space with him and the cat on its back.

"Because Miss Bevanna was dealing with the pirate king Diwo, it was a demigod from the Church of Death and End who went to handle this small pocket dimension. Miss Brolignans, who happened to be nearby, also went to assist. They didn't dare enter recklessly. While observing, they were surprised to detect an eruption of spirit from within the dimension that exceeded its capacity. The pocket dimension was torn open from the inside, and they saw a Believer of Lies, sword in hand and riding a unicorn, fighting a monster... Based on Bincy's report after he woke up, that monster must have been the priest who smashed the vial on his forehead. But what exactly was in that vial?"

The old Keeper of Secrets fell into deep thought. Jenkins prudently kept his mouth shut, offering no opinions, and mirrored the man's contemplative posture.

"So, why did the Believer of Lies show up?"

Jenkins finally asked after a long pause.

"For the contents of that vial, of course. After she killed the cultist, she took something directly from his head. Her intentions were quite clear,"

the Keeper of Secrets said without hesitation.

"Oh, yes. Miss Brolignans recognized that the Believer of Lies was using an extremely rare ability, [Real Illusion]. The appearance of such an ability makes it difficult not to think of the Fabry Fraud. Combine that with the unicorn... and we can venture a bold guess: the person riding the unicorn was the mysterious Miss Fabry herself. As for why the rider appeared to be a man, that's easily explained. After all, the Believers of Lies are surely adept at concealing themselves."

If Jenkins hadn't been the one involved, he might have actually believed the Keeper's deduction. But he knew very well that there were no "Believers of Lies"—he was, and always had been, a lone operator.

Contrary to what Papa Oliver had said, Jenkins had to wait a full hour and a half before Miss Bevanna emerged empty-handed from behind the Gate of All Things.

The woman's expression was calm, showing no signs of difficulty. It seemed the curse from Diwo hadn't been too hard to resolve.