Hearing the voice of the Abscessed Hand and the name it shouted, a chill ran up Lumianās spine, making his hair stand on end and cold sweat break out.
He didnāt know when the Abscessed Hand had regrown bones and flesh from the ashes, returning to its original form, but he was prepared for any abnormalities when it passed by him, given the contract stemming from the Inevitability pathwayās powers between them.
Lumian wasnāt overly worried; they were ācolleaguesā now, and the situation shouldnāt turn dangerous. What he didnāt expect was that the Abscessed Hand would call out āOmebella.ā
It was like a horror story!
For a moment, Lumian couldnāt help but wonder if he had already been subtly eroded by the Great Motherās Child of God, Omebella, to the extent that he was gradually being replaced.
Standing in the pure darkness, the unseen Abscessed Hand paused for a few seconds, then continued moving forward with the group of iron puppets and undead soldiers, marching mechanically.
Only then did Lumian snap back to reality, pondering the reason for what had just happened.
According to Ludwig, some beings created directly by the Great Mother or granted her boon, lacking necessary intelligence, can sense the trace of Omebellaās bloodline in me and regard me as the Great Motherās Child of Godā¦
Hand Bro was first revived and interrupted by divine descent, then controlled by 0-01, becoming its puppet. The feminine transformation trend seemed to have stopped, meaning it hasnāt fully revived and lost its self-awareness, truly lacking necessary intelligence.
Was it directly created by the Great Mother, or did it receive Her boon? The corruption turning it into a woman and pushing it to the limit of beauty likely originated from the Great Motherā¦
That does seem plausible. Even a single drop of blood can regrow a complete body, evoking a sense of rebirthā¦
But somethingās off. By this logic, the Abscessed Hand should call me an Honorable Child of God and show some subservience. Heh heh, to directly call the Child of Godās name is blasphemy!
Lumian grumbled to himself, growing more puzzled.
Also, if Omebella itself is a title, the Abscessed Hand should only know Iām a Child of God, not a specific name. The Great Mother likely has multiple Children ot God, perhaps continuously created. How could the unwise Hand Bro distinguish who is who and what their name isā¦
Unless, Omebella is the most special Child of God, or Hand Bro knew Omebella- the Giant Queen-in its previous life?
Lumian raised his right hand, rubbing his chin, thinking he should quickly report this to Madam Magician after leaving and see if they could uncover the Abscessed Handās original identity. Perhaps the ancient records in the New City of Silver contained some clues.
After a few seconds, Lumian vanished from the spot, teleporting back near the top of the corpse mountain.
Distracted by the Abscessed Hand incident, he remembered he still had spoils to collect.
That was the Beyonder characteristic of the Demoness of Affliction from Celeste, which could later be used by Jenna.
As for Julieās characteristic, after the divine descent and filthy blood incident, Lumian had no idea where it was.
In the deathly silent darkness, Lumian stored the shapeless Demoness of Affliction Beyonder characteristic in his Travelerās Bag.
He even placed two chunks of Celesteās corpse inside.
Maybe they can be used as supplementary ingredients. If not, I can give them to Ludwig. With me as godfather away for so long; I should bring him a gift. But will he consider this dirtyā¦ Lumian mumbled and teleported to the edge of the wasteland, leaving the area steeped in deathly darkness.
As 0-01ās proxy, he quickly and smoothly exited the underground mausoleum, returning to the entrance area.
Lumian then opened his eyes, seeing the blue sky.
At that moment, the morning sun was bright but not harsh, the air fresh and carrying a slight burnt scent after the rain.
Having spent over ten hours in the eternal darkness of the underground tomb, Lumian felt as if a lifetime had passed.
Then, he saw numerous heads, each trailing a bloodstained, pale spine, hovering in the air.
They were countless, thousands, all staring at the entrance of the tomb, at Lumian.
Among them were faces Lumian recognized, regulars at the Carnivore bar.
The aftermath of 0-01ās activation?
There must be thousands, if not tens of thousandsā¦
Is this a form of sacrifice?
Red Priestā¦
Thoughts flashing through his mind, Lumian raised his hands.
His forehead became hot, with a slight prickling pain.
Ooo!
A violent gale suddenly blew, scattering the thousands of heads with trailing spines back into the city.
The flying heads seemed to sense Lumianās will, drifting with the wind, and landed back on their headless bodies.
So this is the special power of a proxy? Unfortunately, it can only be used in Mororaā¦ Lumian lowered his hands, feeling regretful, and walked out of the cemetery.
At the cemetery gate, an exile was twisting his own returned head back in place.
Crack!
His head turned from facing his spine back to the front.
Seeing Lumian watching him, he smiled and spoke normally, āTodayāsā¦ weatherā¦
is really niceā¦ā
āYeah,ā Lumian responded with a relaxed smile.
He teleported directly to the Carnivore bar, appearing at the door of Julieās room.
The corpse of Lez was gone from the bed, along with Julieās collections.
The enforcers have been hereā¦ Did they bury Lezās body in the cemetery?
Lumian mused and vanished from the spot.
This time, he appeared at the door of the Knowledge Cathedral.
He walked inside, up to Heraberg in his plain white robe with brass threads, and smiling, took out the books he had borrowed from the Travelerās Bag.
āArchbishop, Iāve finished them all.ā
As he spoke, Lumian felt Heraberg looked slightly older.
āFinished them all, really?ā Heraberg asked with a smile.
Lumian made a sound and honestly replied, āThere are two books I didnāt listen to, but I canāt continue anymore.ā
Heraberg nodded approvingly. āIf you know, you know. If you donāt know, you donāt know; thereās no need to pretend.ā
As he took the books, he said, āThereās indeed no need to read these anymore. I must remind you, these books are infected with a plague, as are the other items in your bag. You need to handle them properly, burn or purify them to prevent the plague from spreading.ā
āCelesteās Grade 1 Sealed Artifact is so potent? It continues to produce a Plague even inside the Travelerās Bagā¦ā Lumian said sincerely, āIāll be careful. Thank you, Archbishop. Archbishop, how do I seal an object that spreads a deadly plague?ā
Heraberg looked at Lumian for a few seconds, then laughed.
He pointed to another brass bookshelf. āThat one, that one, and that one, take a look and learn.ā
Indeed, teachers never give direct answersā¦ Lumian didnāt resist continuing his studies. He pulled out the books and placed them in his Travelerās Bag.
Then he smiled and asked, āYour Grace, what should I do to leave Morora?ā
The white-haired Heraberg said meaningfully, āNo one has ever forbidden the residents here from leaving Morora, they simply donāt want to leave.ā
Lumian was momentarily stunned, then asked with sudden realization, āLeave the way you came?ā
Heraberg showed a look of approval, then pointed to Lumianās clothes. āDo you want a change of clothes?ā
Lumian looked down and saw his clothes, pants, and shoes had become tattered from the previous intense battle.
He was about to take out spare clothes from the Travelerās Bag but remembered they were also infected with the mystical plague.
Heraberg pointed to a room near the stairs.
āThere are clothes you can change into.ā
āThank you, Your Grace.ā Lumian sighed in relief and quickly entered the room, finding several plain white robes with brass threads hanging inside.
These were the vestments of the Church of Knowledge clergy.
Lumian glanced back thoughtfully at Heraberg, who had resumed reading, and swiftly changed into a robe that fit his size.
He then opened the cathedralās heavy, ajar wooden door and descended the stone steps layer by layer, deep into the underground.
The passageway hadnāt changed since he came; the glowing gems embedded in the walls still provided some illumination.
That indescribable terrifying sound echoed in Lumianās ears again.
Lumian walked at a steady pace towards the exit. As 0-01ās proxy, the more he walked, the more he felt this might indeed be a long esophagus.
What kind of creature would have such an esophagus? Lumian pondered but couldnāt find an answer.
Alert to this possibility, he neither transformed into a flaming spear nor teleported, instead walking obediently for several hours until he reached the double bronze doors.
He extended his hands and pulled, making the door emit a heavy sound as it slowly opened.
Outside, no one was guarding it.
Lumian sneered silently and stepped out.
He didnāt forget to close the door behind him.
Wearing the plain white robe with brass threads, he walked back, feeling unseen, unknown gazes upon him.
Reaching the prison where he had been held, Lumian activated the black mark on his right shoulder.
He chose to teleport back to Trier, to the apartment he rented.
His body and spirit were in decent shape, but he felt a strong sense of fatigue, wanting to rest.
Just as his figure materialized, he saw Ludwig enjoying afternoon tea.
Ludwig looked up and froze.
Clang!
The silver fork in the boyās hand fell onto the dessert plate.