Chapter 1775: Chapter 1775

He stopped walking, almost without thinking, and placed the frantically squirming cat back on his shoulder. It had been clearly uncomfortable with him holding it by its middle. He blinked once and looked ahead.

A soft, divine radiance filled nearly every corner of the church, making the two demigods and the Scribe squad waiting for orders just outside the door appear to glow as well.

The old woman, of course, had an aura of her own, but it wasn't a black one. Instead, it was a dim, yellow spell aura, almost the color of dark gold. Truthfully, gold and yellow weren't easy to tell apart. Jenkins typically judged by sensing the nature of the power first, using the color of the aura as a secondary confirmation.

Yet, from the old woman on the bench, he couldn't sense any power at all. Even after his aura sight identified her as non-human, he couldn't detect anything amiss. That was what made her so unsettling.

Hearing his footsteps, Mr. Gilbert, his arms crossed, and Miss Corinna, standing at his side, both nodded.

"The special item management office hasn't told us what's going on yet."

he murmured, then glanced quizzically at the seated old woman.

"I can't detect anything unusual about her."

Miss Corinna explained, glancing around.

"We don't have any numbered items on record that match this kind of humanoid creature. Bellini's already gone through the Gate of All Things to have the Keeper of Secrets look into it. For now, all we can do is observe. I think it would be best not to have someone demonstrate her traits for you."

Even Series B items can be dangerous; they aren't things to experiment with lightly. Jenkins, of course, had no intention of cruelly forcing someone to demonstrate for him; he was simply curious about her specific traits.

"As soon as someone speaks to her, the old woman's appearance changes. A moment ago, two churchmen approached her. The first one saw her sitting motionless for a long time and went to ask if she was feeling unwell. The second saw the first man standing there, his face a mask of horror, and went over to help. Of course, to anyone not engaged in the conversation, the old woman's face remains fixed and unchanged."

"So she changes because of the conversation? Does she change into someone the speaker knows?"

"At least, neither of the two churchmen recognized the face they saw. The old woman seems to be able to read minds. According to their descriptions, she transformed into the face that each man found most comforting, and when she spoke, she was able to touch upon the deepest secrets of their hearts."

"So her trait is to present a different appearance and conversation style depending on who she's talking to?"

"Something like that."

Miss Corinna nodded, then pointed to the gas lamp nearest the old woman.

"There's one more thing. All sources of 'light' near her are amplified."

That gas lamp was indeed burning brighter than the others.

"I conducted a simple experiment with a candle just now," she added. "The change in brightness was subtle, but the phenomenon is real."

Jenkins was slightly surprised. After a moment's thought, he asked,

"This couldn't be related to the Club of Light Chasers, could it?"

Those cultists, with their goal of transforming all of humanity into light, were specialists in this sort of phenomenon.

"If this were some numbered item they dug up, I imagine the old woman's trait would be to turn anyone who spoke to her into a human torch, not let them walk away after a chat."

Mr. Gilbert remarked sarcastically.

The main hall of the church was temporarily sealed, leaving only the three of them standing at the corridor exit to monitor the situation. The Keeper of Secrets was also running into difficulties; after more than ten minutes, an apprentice was sent to inform them that no records had been found yet and that they should continue their surveillance.

The church had also sent a messenger to the Evergreen Forest. Although the situation hadn't yet shown any signs of danger, no one could predict what might happen next.

Of course, a peaceful resolution was not in the cards. Before the Keeper of Secrets could find any relevant information, the three, who had been conversing in low tones, suddenly fell silent. They watched as the old woman, who had been sitting with her head bowed in a daze, propped herself up with her hands on the bench and slowly rose to her feet.

"If she tries to enter the back of the church through this corridor, we'll stop her."

Jenkins whispered. The other two nodded slightly, their eyes fixed on the old woman as she picked up her basket and, unbelievably, started walking toward them.

The corridor leading to the rear of the church was right behind them. Read complete versıon only at novel※fire.net

Jenkins took a step forward, but Mr. Gilbert moved faster, stepping out to meet her. At the same time, Miss Corinna blocked Jenkins's path.

"Go find more people. Engaging her in conversation is an effective way to stop her from advancing. If we have enough people, we can hold her here for a long time."

Unless absolutely necessary, no one wanted to start a fight with an unknown entity. This was the Sage's Church, of course, and they would likely win if a fight broke out. But there were still many ordinary nuns, churchmen, citizens attending night classes, and choir children in the back. Until they understood what they were dealing with, it was best to use more peaceful methods.

Jenkins knew the two were protecting him. He didn't argue, but whispered his thanks and hurried off to find help. The church had no shortage of people, but considering the safety risks and the worry of being infected by some subtle, information-based curse through conversation, Jenkins only summoned other Benefactors, not ordinary folk.

He also informed the Keeper of Secrets, who, realizing the situation had changed, sent his own apprentices to assist.

A crowd gathered in the corridor leading from the main hall to the rear courtyard, ensuring that with every step the old woman took, she would encounter someone stepping forward to talk to her. Jenkins couldn't just stand by, but Mr. Gilbert, mindful of the upcoming joint church conference in a few days, felt it was best for Jenkins not to take any risks. So, he had Jenkins lead a team to stand guard behind the old woman, not scheduling him for a turn to speak with her at the front.

Initially, things went smoothly. Although each person could only talk to the old woman once, their numbers were sufficient, and the length of each conversation was influenced by both parties. This effectively "trapped" the old woman in the corridor.

But after she finished speaking with the fifth person—a young, freckle-faced man who calmly ended their exchange with the words, "I didn't kill her"—the old woman didn't continue forward. Instead, just as she had on the bench, she became completely still, like a plaster statue.

Seizing the opportunity, Mr. Gilbert quickly had someone use earth manipulation to completely seal the other end of the corridor, while also locking all the side doors.

Sure enough, when the old woman began to move again, she walked down the corridor until she reached the dead end. Without even pausing, she turned and retraced her steps.

The church members scrambled out of her path, watching nervously as the old woman returned to the main hall. She then proceeded slowly down the central aisle between the pews and walked right out of the church. A collective sigh of relief went through the crowd. But the church couldn't just let such a strange being wander the city. After a brief discussion, it was decided that Miss Corinna and Jenkins would remain at the church, while Mr. Gilbert would lead a team to follow her, both to ensure she didn't harm any citizens and to find out where she was going.

"So what was that thing?"

Jenkins asked the Keeper of Secrets, who had just arrived, as he watched the group disappear into the distance. But the Keeper still hadn't found any record of a similar entity.

"Humanity's understanding of the world is still too shallow. Not even the church can have records of every Series A, B, and C item. It's especially difficult to intervene with items that have no obvious characteristics or external features. But you probably don't need to worry. At least for now, it hasn't shown any malicious intent."

the Keeper of Secrets said gravely, before turning with Jenkins to head back inside the church. Barring any surprises, their involvement in this matter was over. Once it was out in the city, all twelve churches had an obligation to handle it. By now, the people at the Evergreen Forest had likely received the news and would make proper arrangements to contain the old woman. Given the nature she had displayed so far, that shouldn't be too difficult.

"We'll head home in a little while. Julia will have supper ready."

After bidding farewell to the Keeper of Secrets, Jenkins walked down the corridor, planning to return to Miss Bevanna's office to continue reading through the documents. As he walked, he lamented how the world was becoming increasingly dangerous, and that the frequency of such sudden incidents would likely only increase in the future.

He was telling Chocolate about their plans for the evening, reaching up to his shoulder to stroke his cat, whom he guessed was bored with the tedious night, but his hand found nothing.

Slightly puzzled, he paused in front of the door. The last time he'd touched his cat was right when he first saw the old woman, when he had placed Chocolate on his shoulder.

"I don't remember Chocolate leaving my side."

He didn't panic, but thought in silence. Glancing around, he gripped the cold doorknob before him and gently pushed the door open. The normally silent process was accompanied by a loud "creak," a sound that was somewhat chilling in the quiet corridor.

The gas lamps in the corridor and inside the room flickered three times in unison, then went out with a soft pop. The darkness was absolute. Jenkins, still holding the door open, held his breath for a few seconds. Just as he was about to summon his monocle in the pitch-black darkness, an eerie, cold light suddenly flared to life before him.

He looked up. Standing in Miss Bevanna's office was the proud King Tackwen, his face a terrifying mask, his ornate robes and crown glowing with a ghastly green light.