Chapter 340: Chapter 340

After passing through the main door, the indentations from mine cart tracks were still clearly visible on the ground, a sign they had only recently been removed. The tunnel was cold and gloomy, but not damp. A few steps forward revealed square alcoves carved into both walls. Within these recesses sat skulls, their eye sockets glowing with an eerie blue light.

They served as a source of light, the equivalent of candles. They were the product of a [Yellow Spell] ability, something akin to Corpse Alteration, which allowed an Enchanter to use their spirit to modify parts of a dead body. The skulls used for illumination were created this way because the ability consumed very little spirit, and the modification would last for a long time. As a result, Enchanters who frequently worked with the dead often crafted such peculiar items to cut down on expenses.

Of course, some simply had a taste for such macabre decorations.

As it was originally a mine shaft, the passage was quite spacious. But it wasn't a straight path; it sloped continuously downward before branching off. One of the new tunnels suddenly ascended at a steep angle.

According to the borrowed pocket watch, Jenkins had been walking underground for a full half-hour before he finally spotted the sealed-off end of the tunnel in the distance.

The wall, of course, wasn't impassable; there was a way through. But before proceeding, Jenkins had to make sure no one was on the other side. Opening a door to find dozens of people staring back at him would make for a messy situation.

Frowning at the dust on the ground, he scuffed at it with his boot before carefully leaning against the wall and sitting down. He unbuttoned his overcoat, pulled Chocolate out from within its warmth, and set the cat on his lap. Closing his eyes, his soul drifted out of his body and seeped into the wall. After pushing through a barrier that felt like a thin film of air, he could see what lay on the other side.

A church dedicated to the concept of Death would naturally have rituals to ward off evil spirits. But for Jenkins in his incorporeal state, such mortal rites were of no concern; they wouldn't affect him in the slightest.

On the other side of the wall where his spirit emerged stood a long row of shelves. Stored there, in oak cases, were bottles of wine that Jenkins didn't recognize but assumed were immensely valuable.

Puzzling, but convenient. After returning to his physical body, he opened a hidden passage in the wall and slipped into the lowest level of the wine cellar, moving as quietly as possible.

Because the cellar was used for storing very valuable wines, the temperature was carefully controlled, never reaching uncomfortable extremes, even in this rarely visited section.

As he moved, Jenkins repeatedly used his [Soul Departure from Dream] ability to scout ahead. He remembered that during the last "31st," this level of the cellar had been swarming with at least a dozen cultists, but now, it was impossible to tell if anyone was here at all.

He proceeded in fits and starts, looking as though he were locked in a battle of wits with the empty air. By the time he reached the trapdoor at the far end of the cellar, he still hadn't seen anyone. But then, he heard faint footsteps from below.

That finally confirmed it: he was in the right place.

He blinked. There was only one Enchanter nearby, but the floor above seemed to be teeming with people.

He patted Chocolate, and the cat let out a cooperative meow.

The cat meowed again, this time out of boredom. Instantly, the point of light in Jenkins's vision—the Enchanter's aura—began to move toward their position.

Jenkins ducked behind a nearby rack of shelves and prompted Chocolate to make a noise near the trapdoor. Though he could have sworn he saw a look of utter contempt in his cat's eyes, Chocolate obediently padded over to the door.

It was impossible to know how the man below identified the sound, but whatever his reasoning, he came up the ladder without a hint of caution, a rolled cigarette dangling from his lips.

The man crouched on the ladder, clapping his hands twice toward the cat. "Here, kitty! Come on!"

Chocolate promptly turned and scampered off.

The man pulled himself completely out of the trapdoor opening. Stooping with a grin, he started toward the cat. Chocolate deftly darted behind a shelf stacked with oak barrels, leaving only its tail twitching back and forth in the open.

The man chuckled, a wide grin on his face, and followed. He rounded the corner of the shelves only to find the cold muzzle of a gun pressed to his forehead.

"You're a third-level Enchanter," Jenkins stated coolly. "Two basic abilities, three martial, one divine art. Don't even think about trying anything."

"I-I won't, I won't..."

Watching the black cat now purring and rubbing against the stranger's leg, the man broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't for the life of him figure out how this person had gotten in. Had everyone upstairs been killed? Follow current novels on novｅlfire.net

"And don't bother reaching for that talisman in your left pocket," Jenkins warned.

"I won't, I won't..."

He understood now. This stranger was leagues above him in power, but still...

"Your left foot is interesting," Jenkins mused. "The sole of it."

"I won't... oh. That's a... a tattooing technique. It was originally meant for preparing corpses, but it works on the living, too. It can..."

He completely abandoned any thought of escape. There was no winning against this man.

"I ask, you answer. I'll know if you lie," Jenkins said flatly. "If I'm satisfied with your answers, I might let you live. First question: your name."

"...The Undying Lord."

"What's in the basement beneath us?"

"Some confidential documents and materials that require special preservation... That's all."

Jenkins nodded. Good, killing him later will be easy on the conscience.

"Are you the only one down there?"

That part was true. The basement had been hastily dug after the cultists took over the place, so it wasn't large. A single sweep of his senses was enough to confirm the absence of other Enchanters.

"So what are your companions up to? It sounds quite lively upstairs. I had to go through a lot of trouble to get here, you know."

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

The man cried out, finally breaking as Jenkins's count reached one. The slow, deliberate countdown was far more psychologically crushing than any overt threat.

"Alright, alright, sir, please, no more threats! I'll tell you everything. Something happened in the city today, during the day. I'm sure you know about it. Our High Priest decided this place isn't safe anymore, so we're in the middle of relocating. In fact, the cellar beneath us is almost completely empty, save for a few documents. That's why so few people are left. They just had me stay behind as a precaution—otherwise, they wouldn't have left a mere third-level Enchanter like me on guard."

So, things have changed after all, Jenkins thought. Makes sense. The commotion this morning was just too big to ignore. But this is a good thing.

As the thought crossed his mind, Jenkins lowered his gun, his eyes fixed on the man he had just interrogated.