No one said a word for a while. Only the sound of water droplets dripping down the stalactites was left in the empty cave.
Ann unbearably extinguished most of the ball of light, letting the exaggerated double doors plunged into darkness, in order to maintain the mental health of her teammates. Unfortunately, after knowing what the darkness covered up, the faces of most of the people present didnât look much better.
âI want to rest for a while,â Nemo said gloomily, moving away from the door extremely firmly. âThis thing⊠I just touched it with the dark shadow several times, I need to collect myself.â
âMr. Dylan.â Oliver opened his mouth politely. Even under the weak lighting, his face was still alarmingly blue. âCan you please take care of this thing?â
âWhy me!â Jesse shouted immediately, taking a step back towards Adrian.
âYou look the most composed.â
âNo, this is what I look like when Iâm scared out of my mind,â Jesse replied immediately.
âI remember when you introduced yourself, you said you were a âthiefâ.â Oliver stared at Jesseâs face, determined not to look at the mass of corpses melting behind him. âNow itâs time for you to do your job.â
ââŠI have to say that your reasoning surprises me. Regiment leader, you can obviously do it yourself as well!â
âI canât control my strength. I hope we can push the door in politely, rather than completely destroy it. Mr. Cross cannot use magic, and Ann can be regarded as our employer. You are the only one left.â
Jesse instantly turned his gaze to Bagelmaurus, who was standing on Annâs shoulder. The gray parrot suddenly raised its head valiantly. âIn the end, itâs up to me. Itâs just a pool of rotten meat. Tsk, tsk. Youâre all so fragileââ
The gray parrot fluttered its wings, opened its mouth wide, and spewed a dark flame into the pile of corpses glued on the door.
But the flame didnât have any effect. Not even a black beetle was burned. A scorching golden light suddenly lit up from the caveâ A beam of golden light projected from the crack of the door, knocked the gray parrot into the air, and blasted it onto the rock wall opposite of the gate.
Half of the gray parrotâs feathers were gone as it slid out of the pothole created by the blast of light and fell softly to the ground.
âItâs a resistance spell to abyssal magic.â Nemo glanced at the gory door with reluctance, âThe exact principleâŠUh, I donât want to probe, but it looks like a conversion and rebound.â
âIt seems that this gentleman not only doesnât welcome surface visitors, but heâs also unwelcoming to all living things.â Ann approached Bagelmaurus and picked up the dizzy demon in her hand. The poor parrot didnât seem to have recovered yet. It hummed weakly, and the feathers on its body began to recover on its own.
âMr. Dylan?â Oliverâs expression twitched a few times, and he asked politely again.
âOh, there is really nothing I can do about you guys. I didnât want to use this trick,â Jesse sighed sadly and raised his right handâŠ
Oliver and Nemo looked at the hand nervously.
However, there was no complicated magic array or spectacular mantra that lit up. The pale hand just leaned into his collar and took out two high-level charm scrolls in a thin copper tube.
Oliver: ââŠâŠâ
âWhat with your expression? These two little things cost me ten gold coins! Thatâs all my private money.â
âI⊠I thought youâŠâ
âWhy should I work hard for things that can be solved with money?â Jesse curled his lips and unscrewed one of them gracefully. After the paper roll was ignited by magic, it quietly floated like a feather to the mass of corpses and stuck to it unmoving.
In the next second, black vines with a scarlet shimmer ejected from the center of the paper roll. They quickly covered the entire mass of corpses, forming a huge net that tightly bound them. The dark vines were lined with white and dark red causing the atmosphere of the cave to suddenly become eerie.
When the vines were no longer active, Jesse unscrewed the second copper tube.
This was followed by a blazing fire.
The white flames burned rapidly along the vines, and the sparks of the fire sputtered as if the were shards of gold. The dark vine network turned into a burning web of fire, and the corpses quickly became scorched black before they fragmented into crumbs that fell loosely to the ground. The outside of the flame wasnât scorching and didnât give off a high heat to the user and his companionsâ The temperature outside of the fire net was warm and pleasant.
But the smell in the air was another matter.
The special smell of burnt meat instantly filled the cave. Except for Jesse and the dazed gray parrot, the faces of everyone in Tumbleweed began to turn green.
âYou did it on purpose,â Nemo complained weakly, and simply stopped breathing. The others didnât feel much better. Ann directly pulled off a piece of cloth linen of her leather armor, drenched it with liquor, and tightly covered her nose with it.
âI remember youâre not afraid of the smell, Your Highness.â Jesse put away the copper tube with a smile. Before his voice fell, the large corpses glued on the door collapsed with the remnants of the vines, turning into black residues on the ground.
âIâm not afraid of the smell.â Ann didnât bother to care about how she was addressed. The drenched fabric muffled her voice. ââŠBut I still want to eat more barbeque in this life.â
Nemo moved quickly at this moment. After commanding the black shadow to pull the door open, he quickly put another black shadow on top of the small mound of corpse residue so that everyone wouldnât step on the filth as they enter the passage.
The world inside the door was much better than the outside; dry and clean, without the slightest sign of cobwebs, moss, or dust. Someone was cleaning up here from time to time as Nemo could find traces of living people in the dark tomb.
As long as there wasnât any exaggerated design of revulsions, the rest of the way was considered good. After entering the relatively wide tomb, they were even able to stop and rest freely for a whileâ Except for Jesse, no one wanted to touch the food that was originally intended for barbeque.
In this way, the five of them nestled in the corner of the tomb, looking at the stone carvings reflected by the ball of light, while gnawing on dried cakes stained with water. Although Ann used dozens of cleansing spells, the unbearable smell seemed to stick to her nasal cavity.
It wasnât someone who broke the silence this time.
As soon as Nemo took a bite of the dry cake, the black badge on his chest trembled like crazy. He unluckily almost choked on the piece of cake and after coughing frantically, Nemo took off the black badge on his chest.
It wasnât just his badge but everyone elseâs as well.
âWhatâs going on?â Nemo suspiciously summoned the light screen but failed to find any notice.
âThe problem is with the Black Chapter itself.â Jesse carefully buttered the dry cake. Apart from the knight commander who only had a ring, he was the only one who didnât take off his black badge. âLook at the front of it, dear Mr. Light.â
Nemo gulped, easily swallowing the food stuck in his throat. Unlike humans, if he really wanted to observe something carefully, he didnât need too much light.
The snake head on the black badge disappeared without a trace, replaced by a strange five-eyed creature.
Nemo wiped his face fiercely, Oliver, who was sitting next to him, sighed, and a wail-like grunt escaped from Annâs throat.
âSea Scorpion level.â Adrian didnât seem so surprised, âIt seems weâve been upgraded.â
âAdri, you see, they still fantasize about hiding. How cute.â Jesse scratched his chin. âYour Royal Highness, do you still have liquor? Would you like everyone to make a toast for this glorious upgrade?â
Ann decisively flipped him off.
âIs it because of the task of meeting Delia?â There was some tension in Oliverâs voice. âIf the Alban royal family and a high-level member of the guild exchange information, they may be eyeing us. Do we have to make some preparations earlyââ
âNo, no, I signed the most advance confidentiality agreement,â The female warrior quickly denied. âAs long as you pay enough money, no one will know who took on the task except for you and me. Such tasks will not be included in the scope of the investigation, I promise.â
âIt should be Godwin Lopezâs report on it,â Adrian said calmly. âAccording to the Popeâs handling method, itâs normal for us to become sea scorpions. Itâs good. If Mr. Ramonâs true behavior was noticed by the guild, we would have risen all the way to the top at once.â
Mr. Ramon squeezed the cake in his hand melancholically. His eyes blank, while his lover leaned his head on his shoulder in a daze.
Probably sensing the relief of the group, a dried-up snake leapt out of some corner and bounced straight at Jesseâs face. Adrian casually flipped his hand and caught the bold snake, flinging it unceremoniously to another corner.
âIâm so touched.â Jesse emotionally picked up the buttered cake that had a few bites on it and stuffed it under the knightâs nose. âPlease accept my love, Adri.â
The knight commander indifferently pushed Jesse and his buttery âloveâ aside.
âAdmit it, you like me a little.â While the other three were still worried about the sea scorpion rank, Jesse was extremely generous to provoke other topics. âHow does that poem go⊠âMy charming knight, you will shield me from all storms and hardships.ââ
âNo,â Adrian replied softly.
ââŠIâm going to cry,â Jesse sighed sadly while licking the butter on the cake.
âSpeaking of hardships⊠Dylan, I have something to ask you.â Nemo raised his head from Oliverâs shoulders. His tone suddenly hardened a lot.
âWhat? Do you want to stand in my way? Thatâs not good. My heart is set on Adri nowââ
âNo, about what happened back then.â Nemo gritted his teeth. âMedesâ possible testimony is one thing. Mr. Magical diviner, maybe you can deduce a thing or two?â
He heavily emphasized the words âmagical divinerâ. Ann raised her eyebrows curiously and Oliverâs body suddenly tightened.
âI donât know whatâs going on in the Abyss.â Jesse put away his laughing expression and stared straight at Nemo with his beautiful blue eyes. âDonât talk about the bottom of the Abyss, even in the shallows, I donât know anything about. Those are not in my⊠calculation range.â
The two looked at each other in silence for a few seconds.
âAs for what happened back thenâŠâ Finding that Nemo had no intention of speaking, the blond young man stretched out his waist and continued blandly, âI think itâs better for you to ask Medes.â
âWhy?â
âItâs very simple, I can tell you who ate what at what time, what they did, and even who they killed. These are simple enough that even unintentional civilians passing by could access this level of informationâ If you only want to define âfactsâ and âactionsâ.â
Nemo pursed his lips tightly.
âJust like the fact that Ulysses wiped out the entire generation of the expedition force.â Jesseâs voice was still smiling, but his icy-blue eyes showed a little coldness in the dark. âBut I think what you want is motivation, emotion, and reason. Just like the snake just now, or a little earlier, those crawling beetles. Everyone knows what they did, but do you know what they were thinking at that time?â
ââŠâŠNo.â
âMm-hmm, me too.â
Jesse showed a big smile.
âBut I can tell you, as a bonus informationâ What Medes knows should be enough to satisfy your curiosity.â