Hao Ren didn't know what the Thirteen Saints had unleashed, or what ritual they had performed, but something was certain: the news of the original sin of the divine blood that Hasselblad had brought back from Ancatero had terrified the saints, and they must have known about it, or at least knew about it, so they acted in a hurry. They find a "Hallows" from an ancient relic in Colpers and activate it, but the ritual causes an unexpected "monster" to awaken from a nightmare and "infect" the entire garrison of Colpers Space without everyone being prepared.

This effect is deep and imperceptible, and instead of rigidly controlling the minds of the saints and the Elder Order, it allows the controlled to change their thinking patterns while remaining awake, allowing them to think they are sober and rational to perform a series of subsequent perverse actions, such as the capture of elder witchers, including Hasselblad, and the purge of witchers of all different factions.

During this whole process, the saints never left the hall of ceremonies, and all their instructions were conveyed through the heralds and attendants who were on standby outside the hall. No one knows what state they were in during those days, no one knows if their spirits had completely broken down and succumbed to the voice in their heads. Judging from their orders, their temperament had changed dramatically by then, but they never left the hall, and based on Bedolis's last words, Hao Ren guessed that the purpose of their stay in the hall was to trap "that thing" in the ceremonial scene.

"It's a contradiction," Vivien was puzzled after hearing Hao Ren's analysis. "They followed the 'instructions' to start a civil war, while they stayed in the hall to suppress the 'monster'? Is this being controlled or not? ”

Hao Ren looked at Claude: "Where is the ceremonial hall?" When you get there, the truth will be revealed. ”

"On the top floor of the tower. The closest to the First Saint's abode," Claude nodded. "It's the energy center of the Spiritual Clock Tower, and it's also the time-space entanglement point of the entire Colpers, and when various ceremonies are held, there will be powerful mystical forces focused on the top of that hall, and I think that energy should not have dissipated until now - so only a small number of people can enter, and too many people may cause the vortex to collapse."

La Niña reminded her: "We've got all the energy nodes in Colpers. ”

"The energy in the ceremonial hall is provided by the Spirit Clock Tower itself," Claude shook his head, "We don't know where this energy comes from, but it's been stable for thousands of years. We use it to drive most of the facilities in the upper upper part of the tower. ”

"It's a shame that this kind of thing with unknown origin, unknown principle, and unknown power can be used for thousands of years," Hao Ren shook his head and looked at a few people around him, "Okay, Vivien, Lily, and Lao Wang, you all come along, and then there are White Fire and Tutankin." With the addition of six of me, it shouldn't be 'over', right? ”

Claude blinked, "No problem, as long as you don't fire at the ceiling with any magic or weapon that moves too much." ”

Lily and Vivien immediately looked at Hao Ren in unison. The latter shrank his neck: "What are you doing with me?" ”

"Don't blow things up," Izax patted Hao Ren on the shoulder, "I don't smash meteorites much now." ”

"I'm ......," Hao Ren pointed to his nose, "I'm all technical work, okay?" I'm a big dose. But I've always been precise, okay? ”

Little Elizabeth was a little unhappy after finding out that she was excluded from the team, but the demon girl was very sensible although she was small, and she was also a genius child who could replace her father in the Demon King City. In this case, she was also very knowledgeable, and she obediently stayed. Search the rest of the tower with La Niña.

Claude led Hao Ren and his party out of the gloomy ballroom and down a hidden spiral ramp to the place where the ceremony had been held. After leaving that hall. Hao Ren looked at the shackles on Claude's body: "Seriously, do you really want to wear this set of things to act together?" This is not suitable for combat. ”

Claude raised his hands, most of the chains on his body had been removed, except for the heavy rune shackles still wrapped around his two arms: "Until now I still have the urge to kill each and every one of you, and the reason why I can suppress this urge is entirely because it has a slightly less influence now." These runes keep my magic flowing, and it was only when I was in a fairly weak state that the thing in my head calmed down a little. I'm guessing it's magically or host-dependent...... Vitality to operate. ”

"You were a dangerous person before, and your magic was stronger than anyone else's, which is why La Niña gave you this special device, and it seems that this is how it dispels the thing in your mind," Itzhax smiled, "Hey—but it won't last long." ”

"I hope we can put an end to this mess once and for all in the Hall of Ceremonies," Hao Ren sighed, and suddenly remembered something when he saw Tutin walking behind him, "Wait a minute, I suddenly remembered that Bedoris gave Vivien's blood crystal to you before the accident?" ”

He reminded everyone that he and his friends were involved in the beginning of the Blood Crystal, which broke through and handed it over to Vivien, which led to a series of events.

Did Bedolis have a premonition of what is happening today before he had a "ceremony" with other saints?

Then why didn't he stop his companions, but did the ceremony together?

"Every saint has a special power in his hands, and the Sage of Bedolith can see the future, it's messy, it's subtle, but he does have a hunch," Tutin sighed softly, "but his power is not enough to change his fate." I'm sure he foresaw the catastrophe, but he didn't know that the problem would lie with the ritual - probably he even thought it was the key to avoiding it. Anyway, it happened, and he did everything he could to leave a glimmer of hope, and we couldn't ask for more. ”

The secret passage to the ceremonial hall was long, stretching forward in the darkness as if there was no end, due to some spatial distortion. When Hao Ren walked in the secret passage, he was even a little unsure whether he was moving up or down. Out of boredom, he continued to ask Claude a few questions: "You show a strong tendency to attack when you see Vivien. None of the other Order witchers we've caught. ”

"To be honest, I don't know what's going on." Claude shook his head honestly, "I know 'the Countess of the Red Moon', but I have no additional hatred for her...... Except for the impulse of the hunting instinct. Today was the first time I had met this legendary vampire, but as soon as I met, I felt that I had to kill her, it was a mission, a ...... An impulse more terrible than the hunting instinct. It completely took over my whole mind, and honestly, I don't want to experience it a second time. For the first time in my life, I felt like I couldn't control my body, and it was a terrible experience. ”

"The biggest difference between you and other Order's warriors is that you stay with the saints all year round, and you're the only witcher who can speak directly to the First Saint," Vivien said lightly, "Staying around that kind of person is enough to make you unique, you may become more susceptible to psychic attacks, and you may also be in sync with the minds of the saints when they are affected during the ritual." You have also suffered a 'dark wound.' Anyway, do you remember why you ran to the front line alone? You're the acolyte of the First Saint, so it stands to reason that you don't need to go to the front line in person, and theoretically you should stay here and be one of those walking dead. ”

Claude shook his head: "I don't remember. I only remember being controlled by an urge to 'purify heretics.' This urge grew stronger, and it was probably what drove me away from the tower. ”

"Anyway, your inclination towards Vivien's extra aggression is a dangerous sign, and we recommend that you cooperate with us in some ...... after this event is over Medical examination. The data terminal suddenly came out of Hao Ren's pocket, "We have dealt with all kinds of super beings that can affect the mind. If you don't want to leave some surprises in your head, it's best to get a full medical check-up. ”

Claude was shocked when he saw the data terminal: "What is this!?" ”

"One...... High-tech equipment. Don't care," Hao Ren grabbed the terminal back, and at the same time, he found that the passage had come to an end, "The front is the ceremonial hall?" ”

At the end of the passage is a small doorway, supported by towering vaults of ancient faded stone pillars, flanked by a bottomless dark abyss: a terrain not surprising in this strangely constructed tower.

In front of everyone, there is a huge door cast in metal with intricate patterns.

"There are indeed energy fluctuations behind the door, very powerful, three-level alert state," the data terminal projected a blue light to scan the door, "In addition, signs of spatial skew have also been detected, and it is initially judged that there is a continuous spatial door opening, perhaps transmitting energy for the hall." ”

Hao Ren subconsciously lowered his voice: "What about the signs of life?" What about mental fluctuations or other traces of consciousness? ”

"No, no life response was found, and there was no intellectual activity of any kind."

Itzhax slowly turned into the form of a firefiend, and he walked to the gate with heavy steps: "Is the body of that 'monster' really still in here?" ”

"Maybe 'it' is something that has no mental activity, no even life characteristics, something close to a natural disaster, and we have solved this kind of incident, haven't we? For example, the angry spirit," Hao Ren also stepped forward and pressed his hand on the door, "Lily, stuff spicy strips into your mouth, Vivian, prepare lightning, white fire, Tutenin, remote support is over to you." But be careful, don't do it lightly unless it's attacked - that monster may still be controlled by some kind of ritual, and we need to prevent self-defeating to get it out completely. ”

After saying this, Hao Ren took a deep breath and stared at the huge metal door in front of him.

The monster unleashed by the saints from the nightmare may be entrenched in the room behind the door, an unknown, powerful, possibly god-killing monster, what would it look like? What kind of existence will it be? Is it a living thing? Dead things? Phenomenon? Or is it just a curse?

Hao Ren and Izzax pushed towards the door at the same time, and the heavy metal door made a frightening loud noise and slowly opened.

“…… Terminal, call the battleship, we may need some technical support. (To be continued.) )