Chapter 39: Fallen VI - The Broken Seven Rings

“They’re members of the Sect of Sin and the Gathering of the Lost. These are two relatively new cults. The former first appeared thirty years ago, and the latter only appeared in the past five years,” Duquesne led them to two adjacent cells and explained the origins of the two heretics.

In the left cell, the priest whose face was covered in mouths remained unconscious. His mangled limbs, after receiving treatment, had regained basic function. Four heavy chains bound his hands and feet. Duquesne’s silver mana, representing his authority as an “Inspector,” swirled around his neck, capable of taking his life at any moment.

In the cell on the right, the Lost One’s mask was half-hanging on his face, revealing half his profile. His features were ordinary, his age around thirty. He was also very weak from the unique environment of the mithril cell. His eyes were bloodshot and unfocused. He looked mechanically at them, his throat moving a few times, but no words came out.

“Is this guy about to die?” Louise, glancing at him a few times, asked dubiously.

“… Originally, we just put him here to be safe,” Duquesne paused for a moment. “I didn’t think he wouldn’t even be able to last a night. His body is even weaker than an ordinary person. But it’s fine. At least, he told us something.”

“The Gathering of the Lost… That’s a different kind of cult,” Richter glanced at the man in the cell, then saw Selene’s confused expression. She seemed to know nothing about those two cults, so he explained,

“They believe that everyone in the Divine Construct has an ‘ancestral homeland.’ They think everyone is scattered on this land after some kind of great disaster. Their purpose is to find that homeland. And that homeland was created by an ‘ancestor’ that existed long before the Primal Gods. They worship this nameless creator god.

“By comparison, the Sect of Sin is a more traditional cult. They worship a Evil god, the Scholar of Sin. Their teachings state that the Scholar of Sin was the God who ruled all things in the past, but was betrayed and dethroned by the fourteen deities, lost to history. Their goal is to revive him, so that he can once again rule the world…”

The Lost One’s eyes seemed to twitch. Then, a weak, raspy voice escaped his throat,

“Three traitors… thieves, stealing power, shamelessly… cowardly…”

Completely incomprehensible rambling, and it was unclear who he was talking about.

“I’ll move him later. Let’s talk about the message they left first,” Duquesne cleared his throat, drawing their attention.

He touched his mouth and began,

“About two months ago, the Sect of Sin performed a bloody sacrifice in the eastern part of the empire. An entire village, including travelers and merchants, hundreds of people, were killed and used as sacrifices to the Demigod, the Scholar of Sin.

“They received some kind of guidance, believing that the key to the Evil god’s revival was in a place called the ‘Primal Sanctuary,’ and they thought this Primal Sanctuary was in Schwerdt Town, or at least, near Schwerdt Town.

“Their heinous crimes shocked the empire’s higher-ups, attracting the attention of the police and the Arbiters’ Hall. They launched a crackdown and even attracted the attention of the president of the Magic Society… Ha, ha, their Pope, Bishop, priests, and higher-ups hadn’t even escaped the Alorn Valley before they were caught and executed. The ones you saw yesterday were just the low-level priests and followers. They fled south after the destruction of the sect and arrived in the vicinity of Nymph Fu not long ago. They’ve been in this town for the past two weeks, and before they could do anything major, they were discovered.”

Selene listened quietly, thinking that cults were truly pathetic. They could only operate in the shadows, and once they attracted the empire’s attention, they would be completely eradicated…

Selene thought for a moment, then asked,

“What were they planning to do in town?”

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Duquesne pondered for a moment before answering.

“He couldn’t maintain his consciousness when I asked him, so that part of his account is a little vague. I wasn’t able to get a clear answer. I can only speculate that some other, unknown organization is cooperating with them… Based on the fact they’re offering a reward for the 《Transmutation Tantra》, this unknown organization might be connected to the one that attack you. Both incidents involve Chronicles.”

Selene sighed and nodded slightly.

Richter glanced at her, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly, seemingly wondering why she had been attacked. He didn’t ask any questions right then, intending to ask later.

After confirming that everyone had more or less digested the information about the Sect of Sin, Duquesne went on to talk about the information he had received from the Lost One.

“The Gathering of the Lost mainly operates within the empire. There are less than ten of them in town. They came here to keep an eye on those dogs of the Sect of Sin. The reason they’re doing this is because a high-ranking member of the Gathering of the Lost, one of the ‘Three-Eyed Ravens,’ thinks that the Sect of Sin holds a clue to returning to their homeland…

“The ‘Shadow Walker’ you encountered isn’t one of theirs. They only know that he’s young and a local. For some reason, he’s cooperating with them… The cooperation was arranged by their leader. The guy didn’t know any more than that. Also, they have a gathering spot near town. He couldn’t say the exact location. I tried, but he really couldn’t say.”

Selene glanced at the Lost One, who seemed to be on the verge of death, and confirmed that Duquesne had truly tried.

Richter listened to Duquesne, thought for a moment, and said,

“Based on the current situation, besides the Sect of Sin, which has been eliminated, there are four other hidden forces in town—the Gathering of the Lost, whoever messed with the cemetery, whoever cooperated with the Sect of Sin, and the ‘Shadow Walker’… They’re wary of the police and the church, so they aren’t acting openly, preferring to operate in the shadows.”

“That’s why I’m worried, but not overly concerned,” Duquesne laughed and sighed. “Though we haven’t been able to contact Nymph Fu, this kind of situation can’t last. The empire has contingency plans for this. Communications should be restored within the next two days, and we’ll have support within a week… That is, before the end of the week. We just need to make sure nothing irreversible happens during this one-week period.”

“So,” Selene touched her deerstalker hat, twirling it, feeling the pressure of the hat on her hair, “what do you want us to do? Protect the cemetery? Investigate the cult? Track down the ‘Shadow Walker’? Or…”

Duquesne shook his head.

“There’s no rush. As I told you, their situation isn’t normal. You should take a look first and tell me what’s going on. Then we’ll decide what to do.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with them…” Selene said, following Duquesne’s finger and looking over.

She hadn’t looked closely before, and the lighting was dim, so she had assumed the priest was closing his eyes and resting. But now, looking closely, she immediately saw what Duquesne meant—

His eyes were closed, his nose slightly upturned, but a closer look revealed that those weren’t eyes and a nose at all, but lips, some closed, some wriggling suckers!

Selene’s gaze moved downwards. She saw that the suckers had even spread to his chin and neck, and were still spreading downwards, until they were covered by his clothes… She shuddered. A disgusting image appeared in her mind: the priest’s entire body covered in drooling suckers.

The image was incredibly vivid. Selene felt like she could see the suckers wriggling, the wrinkles on the skin beneath them, the saliva flowing down his teeth, leaving a slimy trail…

Her stomach churned. She almost vomited.

As she bent over slightly, the priest seemed to notice her gaze and opened his “eyes,” which were full of teeth and a foul odor, looking at Selene.

Then, the corners of his mouth turned upwards, the exaggerated grin almost reaching his ears. A vague, murmuring voice came from within,

“Lord… forgive… my greed… his blood… grace has descended…”

Then, his whole body seemed to collapse inwards, as if crushed by an invisible force. His head gradually sunk into his abdomen. His limbs dissolved, sticking to his body. His legs retracted, pressed against his chest. Before Duquesne could react and make a move, he had transformed into a sphere of flesh and blood.

Then, the sphere cracked open, and green eyes wriggled within the flesh and blood—

Only then did the chains, no longer restrained by anything, fall to the ground. The silver mana surged towards this being, whose entire body had transformed into an eye.

Selene unconsciously looked up at the cell, her blue eyes meeting green eyes. A second later, she felt an invisible force strike her head, and she fell backwards.

A faint voice came from within the eye, echoing in her mind. It was sharp, grating, like fingernails scratching against glass, and full of malice.

【The ritual of ascension has begun, mage…】

Richter caught Selene, who had almost fallen on top of him, pulling him down as well. Louise and Duquesne reacted instantly, standing in front of Selene, blocking the green, almost spectral, eye that belonged to the Scholar of Sin.

Another voice echoed in her mind. It was Selene’s own voice, yet that was precisely what startled her.

The voice, each word distinct, spoke stiffly and mechanically,

【Fallen VI – the Broken Seven Rings casts its gaze upon you.】