Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 521

"Is this the interesting place you were talking about? It's certainly rare to see a building ."

The voice that drifted from inside the church was female, crisp and clear, but the accent wasn't local. She had probably grown up elsewhere and only recently come here to study.

"What do you think? It's quite something, isn't it? Three years ago, when my father bought this forest, we had no idea there was a church here. We only discovered it after the payment was made in full. We didn't know which god it was dedicated to, so we couldn't just tear it down recklessly. It's been left here ever since!"

The tone was exceptionally arrogant, involuntarily bringing to Jenkins's mind the image of a female bird spreading its magnificent wings. This, he thought, must be Miss Madison speaking.

He risked letting his soul leave his body again to take a peek and saw a tall girl with curly brown hair standing right in the center of the group.

"Then why not report it to the Orthodox Church and have it demolished?"

John asked from the side. His question received support from the majority, as they were all believers in the Righteous Gods.

"Demolish it? No, no, no, Williams."

The girl turned to look at the boy sitting at the end of a pew. She deliberately leaned her face close, but unexpectedly, John, not one to back down, leaned forward as well, forcing her to pull back.

"The locals all say this place used to be a settlement for some pseudo-god's church, but it was abandoned for some reason. They believe the church's treasure is hidden here. Even before our family bought this land, the villagers had made multiple 'treasure hunting' attempts."

"And your family believes such a rumor?"

A boy in the crowd, arms crossed and wearing glasses, asked mockingly. He then nudged the girl next to him with his elbow and smirked triumphantly.

"Opler, perhaps to your family, this little patch of land is priceless, but to the Madisons, the space taken up by a mere chapel is nothing."

Seeing a hint of hostility sparking in the conversation, the others around them quickly stepped in to mediate.

They were schoolmates, after all, with no deep-seated grudges. After a few words of persuasion gave them an out, they just snorted coldly at each other, ending the pointless argument without losing face.

John Williams, aside from his earlier remarks, remained silent. He kept feeling that there was something very strange about this place, but he couldn't quite describe what it was. In the end, he could only chalk it up to his imagination.

The chapel wasn't large. Besides the sanctuary for prayer, corridors on either side led to the clergy's living quarters in the back.

However, the building was too dilapidated, and at Miss Madison's warning, they didn't venture into those dangerous areas.

John's attention was fixed on Miss Jennifer Hoover. She was wearing a lovely dress today, with an ingeniously layered short blouse over it in a perfectly matching color.

John felt his ears grow hot and his heartbeat quicken, even though they weren't standing very close to each other.

The group had come here just to see the small chapel. They gathered in twos and threes, discussing the interior decorations or, more often, uninteresting gossip.

John had friends of his own, of course. Four or five boys stood together before the altar, where the wall that should have held a holy symbol was completely bare.

John's heart sped up again. He glanced over his shoulder and was surprised to find Miss Hoover looking at him. The girl smiled softly, and John felt a jolt run through him.

His hand in his pocket tightened around the banknote he'd recently acquired, and he wondered if he should find some time to buy her a gift.

"Guess which great being's sanctuary this place originally was?"

His companion's voice pulled John back from his reverie. He shook his head like an old dog just out of the water and reached up to undo the top metal button of his shirt, trying to ease the oppressive feeling in his chest:

"Whoever it was, we should be respectful. In my opinion, leaving an abandoned church standing just for the sake of some treasure legend is an extremely unwise decision."

Of course, the boys kept their voices low to avoid being overheard by their host.

"Heh, I knew you'd say that." Updates are released by NoveIＦire.net

His companion crossed his arms, leaned over, and nudged John with his elbow:

"Your brother told you all that, didn't he? I've got to say, he's a truly remarkable person."

"Yes, yes, he is, but please stop trying to introduce your sisters to him. I don't even see him every week, now that he's moved out..."

John replied impatiently, running a hand over the stone surface of the altar. He found no dust.

"The Madisons are definitely taking care of this place," he remarked.

"Maybe we really can find the treasure," the red-nosed boy guessed excitedly.

"And then get secretly silenced by the Madison family, who'll use a tiny fraction of the treasure as our consolation payment."

John continued to pour cold water on the idea; he never believed in such things.

Compared to his two older brothers, it was hard to find a shining point in the youngest son of the Williams family. He didn't have Newman's extraordinary academic talent and resilient character, nor did he possess the innate cleverness of the old Jenkins—a fact that became even more apparent after Jenkins changed his bad habits and turned over a new leaf.

But John's light was merely overshadowed by the other two. In fact, compared to an ordinary person, he was still an exceptionally fine young man.

Perhaps that was the downside of having brothers.

The church gave him a terrible feeling, so after a quick look around with his companions, he suggested they go outside to see the building as a whole. His proposal was met with support, but they were unexpectedly stopped.

"Perhaps you could all wait a little longer. I've prepared a surprise for everyone here."

Miss Madison stood at the church entrance, watching the young gentlemen. The way she pressed her lips together looked surprisingly cute:

The boy next to John stammered in reply, his face flushed red, making John want to facepalm.

Surprises always come with the unexpected, and Miss Madison's surprise was more unexpected than most. A few dozen minutes later, an old man leaning on a cane and wearing a top hat walked in through the main entrance, followed by some strange-looking people.

"Oh, look! Our young people are all here!"

He spread his arms wide towards the students and, before anyone could react, shouted loudly:

The black ring on his right hand glowed faintly. A series of thuds echoed as bodies hit the floor. Everyone, except for Miss Madison, collapsed to the ground.