Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 949

"Clerical work is quite nice. The pay might be low, but at least it's relaxed and safe. I work for the Church's central administration, liaising between dioceses and helping transport important items or documents. It's a lot like being a mail courier... I'm always traveling across the continent, so I've gotten used to life on the train." Get full chapters from novel•fire.net

Although Miss Capet described her job that way, Jenkins knew that Scribes from the Legacy Sage Church with such responsibilities were core members, trained by the central administration. He remembered Mr. Smith mentioning similar roles; as long as these couriers didn't die or betray the Church, their futures were bound to be limitless.

"That sounds like a great job, too."

Jenkins spotted a triangular-headed monster dragging a gigantic cleaver through the mist below the clock tower, but it hadn't noticed the two people and one cat on the second floor of the inn.

"You get to travel all over and see different sights. I've lived in this city my whole life, and the time I've spent away from Nolan adds up to less than a month. Sometimes I think it would be nice to see more of the world while I'm still young."

Chocolate knew Jenkins didn't actually like leaving Nolan.

"The scenery is pretty much the same everywhere, really. I'm actually quite envious of a settled life..."

Chocolate could tell the woman was already accustomed to a life of constant travel; settling down would likely bore her.

As they waited, the two chatted about many things, somehow drifting to the topic of family. Jenkins learned that Miss Capet's parents had passed away many years ago, and she had grown up in the central administration of the Church of All Things and Nature.

Even within the Church of the "Spirit of All Things," a life-based soul essence ability was relatively rare. Thus, once Miss Capet was confirmed to possess a Benefactor's gift, she became a key candidate for cultivation.

If Jenkins's guess was correct, in forty or fifty years, this woman would likely become a figure of similar standing to Miss Bevanna.

Seeing that time was about up, the two shattered the mirror and entered the next reflection. The designated meeting point was still the base of the city's central clock tower. If one of them didn't see the other by the appointed time, they were to proceed to the next reflection alone, following the information provided by the insurance salesman.

Jenkins desperately hoped he wouldn't lose another teammate. They were so close to finding the exit, yet half their number was already gone. It was an incredibly unsettling thought.

The sensation of falling vanished as his feet touched solid ground, but his heart sank the moment he saw the impenetrable fog around him.

The dense fog completely obscured his vision; he was clearly in the fog ring that encircled the city. In this environment, Jenkins could only rely on spiritual auras to pinpoint his enemies. And this time, the mirror image appeared on the top-floor balcony of a three-story standalone apartment building right beside him.

"Who will it be this time?" he wondered.

The White Bone Holy Sword appeared silently in his hand as the figure on the floor above leaped down. The person moved with great agility; Jenkins barely heard a sound when they landed.

Before he could even make out the dark silhouette that had landed, the person quickly vanished back into the fog. He was at least certain it wasn't Alexia's mirror image—the shadow was far too tall to be her.

"If Alexia knew I was thinking that, she'd definitely be furious."

His eyes tracked the dark figure circling him in the fog. It was cunning, moving quickly in circles but never attacking, making it impossible for Jenkins to even attempt a ranged strike.

He deliberately created an opening, pretending not to notice as the shadow moved behind him. The shadow fell for it, lunging straight for his back.

he declared silently. With a flick of his wrist, he swung the sword behind him. The blade plunged through the old man's body without resistance. Amidst the sound of shattering glass, Bishop Parrold dissolved into fine fragments.

"The Bishop? He has a dark side, too... But he's only human, after all..."

The Bishop himself was an ordinary mortal, so the mirror image's power should have been at the level of an elderly man. The agility and speed it had displayed must have been an enhancement from the mirror realm, a reflection of his inner darkness. This, in turn, meant that the Bishop also had secrets he kept hidden from the world.

Jenkins didn't enjoy prying into other people's secrets, especially those of his friends and elders. But even if he wanted to cover his ears, the whispers were unstoppable. So, he listened intently, committing the mirror image's final words to memory:

"Why don't I have the gift... Brother Robin, Sister Kapalai... Why am I the only one without it? Oh, Sage, why?"

Jenkins stood stunned for a moment before slowly retracting his sword, resolving to never speak of this to anyone.

Even with Bishop Parrold's mirror image defeated, the area was still not safe. The depths of the fog teemed with moving objects radiating black spiritual light. Jenkins glanced around, confirmed his cat was not nearby, and then turned to slip into a small alley.

He used his flames to melt the sewer manhole cover on the ground and ducked inside, not forgetting to use Psychography to restore the cover to its original state.

While the streets above were wreathed in fog, the sewers were normal. Jenkins was unfamiliar with the underground layout, but at least with his monocle on, his vision here was unimpeded.

If the sewer system near the surface hadn't been cut off from the areas outside the city, the original group of four could have used this route to get to the horse farm. But for now, reaching the clock tower through the sewers should be no problem. Jenkins recognized the street he had just appeared on; it wasn't far from the city center.

That's not to say the sewer pipes were completely normal. In one hidden conduit, he even found piles of white bones and corpses. The bones looked ancient, stacked in a corner like firewood waiting to be burned in his family's basement. The bodies, however, looked disturbingly fresh. Something terrible had clearly happened at this same location in the material world.

But as long as no undead blocked his path, it was none of his concern for the time being. He mentally noted the location of the piled corpses and continued onward. When he estimated he was close enough, he found an iron ladder leading up and climbed toward the surface.

He poked his head out of the ground first. The surroundings were, as expected, shrouded in a thin mist. Only then did he feel relieved enough to climb all the way out of the narrow sewer entrance.

As he turned to deal with the manhole cover, he heard a familiar meow. He looked up and, sure enough, saw Chocolate trotting toward him from the mouth of the alley, its face a picture of pure delight.