Chapter 221: Chapter 221

Jenkins walked on, his head hung low, his mood suddenly souring. The kiss mark on the red-haired girl's neck seemed seared into his mind. Even though he could guess its origin, the thought was unsettling.

He had experienced more than his share of inexplicable things lately, and the feeling was soon pushed to the back of his mind.

Miss Audrey was heading home to deal with some trouble next door. She told the other two that there were likely important spy documents hidden there. She had nothing to do with it, but she didn't want to get dragged into the mess.

Miss Miller was currently employed by a client whose name she couldn't disclose, though he seemed to be a government official. Robinson's spy team, while stealing a document, had also taken some sensitive personal photographs. Her employer needed her to retrieve the photos without alerting anyone. Since Robinson was dead, her only lead was to find the man infected with the Gear Germs and hope for the best.

This was the fourth Mysterious Realm Jenkins had experienced, or rather, the fourth he had been forced to endure. He still hadn't figured out what that powerful ghost in the castle basement was—the one that had cornered Papa Oliver, Professor Burns, and him.

Gazing up at the gloomy, cloud-covered sky, his mood grew even more somber.

At first, he thought he hadn't gained anything special from this Mysterious Realm, but upon closer inspection, he sensed something new within him. Sitting in the carriage, he closed his eyes and focused, surprised to find he had acquired a new Bestowal.

It was a quietly burning flame. He channeled the power to his fingertip, and the flame hovered just above his index finger. Check latest chapters at noveⅼfire.net

After examining it repeatedly, he concluded it was, for all appearances, an ordinary flame. However, it couldn't ignite objects in the conventional sense; instead, it would adhere to them, causing them to combust. As soon as he withdrew the Bestowal, the burning ceased.

"What is this? Some kind of mystical flame?"

The thought amused him, and he couldn't help but chuckle, which helped lift the gloom that mirrored the weather. But then he recalled what Papa Oliver had told him about several types of flames that were classified as Extraordinary items.

It was Monday, and he still hadn't asked Papa Oliver about the black market auction for Bestowals. Thursday was the Reading Festival, which meant he not only had to visit the school to meet with Professor Burns's students but also attend a church event and then have dinner with his family.

The Corpse Gentleman's gathering was scheduled for the following week, while Mr. Hood's gathering remained unconfirmed. He had probably been spooked by the run-in with the pirate king, Femishue the Destroyer, so the meeting would likely be postponed for quite some time.

The rest of the day, and all of Tuesday, passed without incident. Jenkins enjoyed the peaceful interlude and caught up on a great deal of news from Papa Oliver.

The demon incident was, at last, truly drawing to a close. The deceased, a man named Kunbu, had been officially identified as a descendant of the Ashiash family. At his residence, the Church had confiscated a vast number of forbidden items and blasphemous materials.

Papa Oliver gave Jenkins a list of the new Extraordinary items that had been added to the diocese's collection.

The Orthodox Church was furious about the affair, as a powerful otherworldly being had come perilously close to being summoned into their diocese. Under pressure from the Church, all the young people involved in the demonic summoning had been arrested. The Kingdom offered no protest, even though this included two or three noble scions who were in line to inherit titles.

Maintaining the stability of the mortal world was a shared duty for both the mundane and the supernatural.

On Tuesday evening, under the pretext of "broadening his horizons," Papa Oliver had Captain Bincy take Jenkins to "tour" the very heart of the demon-summoning ritual.

It was the basement of a property near the east bank of the Westminster River, belonging to the son of a baron who had already been apprehended.

The area was completely sealed off. Captain Bincy had to present at least three separate documents and use two official seals, and then both he and Jenkins had to release their Spirit Emblems to confirm their identities before they were permitted entry.

"This is Miss Evegarden from the Church of Starry Sky and Equilibrium, and this is Mr. Orr from the Church of Death and End..."

Captain Bincy introduced Jenkins to the people in the basement one by one. The entire group was composed of Enchanters at level six or higher.

Everyone was engrossed in their work. The winding basement corridor had been artificially expanded to a staggering size. Most of the space resembled a dark dungeon, with mottled black bloodstains and yellow filth clinging to rusted iron bars, a grim testament to the horrors that had occurred there.

The basement had no natural light. The Church members had brought in several paraffin lamps and placed them at key points, their flickering glow barely managing to illuminate the corners.

The air was thick with dampness, a sickening stench, and the smell of oil, a combination that made Jenkins's body recall the days when the Williams family were still commoners. The two of them pressed on, nodding to the people they passed. Everyone was dressed in black. It was, Captain Bincy explained, an ancient tradition that had to be followed when dealing with such matters.

Jenkins turned his head and saw something lying within a rust-spotted cell. It was emitting a faint, red spiritual glow.

Captain Bincy stopped as well and handed him the paraffin lamp he was carrying. Jenkins approached cautiously. The light cut through the darkness of the cell, revealing a floor covered in straw and a humanoid figure leaning against the far wall.

The instant the light touched it, the hideous creature—with its long, slender tongue and a face riddled with small holes from which maggots writhed—lunged at the bars, only to be yanked back by the harsh clatter of chains.

Jenkins jumped back, stumbling and nearly falling before Captain Bincy steadied him.

"You knew what was in here, didn't you?"

"Haha! My apologies, Mr. Williams. But Papa Oliver told me to make sure you received a necessary scare during this visit. Consider it an important step in an Enchanter's development."

Though he pinned the blame on Papa Oliver, a smile still lingered on the captain's face.

"Alright, alright, no need to worry. This is a failed demon-kin, infused with demonic power. You know, not everyone participates in demon summoning for the thrill. Some are looking for a longer life..."

The smile vanished from his face, replaced by a severe expression. He rapped his knuckles on the iron bars. Besides a shower of rust flakes, the monster inside the cell gave another twitch.

"All mortals die. So, some people get other ideas. Hmph. As if transforming into an otherworldly being is so easy."

With that said, he paid the monster no more mind, and the two of them continued down the corridor.