Chapter 291: Chapter 139: Unsealing
’Director Ales?’
’I heard from the other puppets that he was already dead... He isn’t?’
The man beside her didn’t answer her question. Instead, he gazed at the one-armed Ales and sighed wistfully. "What about Andrews?"
"Dead."
Dragging the Forbidden Item with his one good arm, Ales slowly turned to face them. He cracked a smile and said, "I have waited for this day for a very long time."
"Yes. It’s a shame I couldn’t make it to see him one last time..."
The other figure pulled down his hood, revealing an equally aged face. It was Old Jack, the Retired Investigator Black Jack had previously impersonated.
"Old Jack, after all these years of waiting... only the final step remains. Haha..."
"Hahaha..."
To Clelia’s astonishment, the two old, gray-haired men suddenly bumped fists and burst into laughter.
’Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?’
’She’d been inexplicably brought to Krimms Cathedral, only to see two secretive old geezers, who were clearly up to no good, looking like their plot had just succeeded...’
"So, you two... are in this together?"
Ales glanced at her, his smile fading. "From the Eternal Life Association?" he asked.
"Uh-huh." Clelia crossed her arms, her mind racing as a bad feeling began to stir within her.
’These two old geezers together... this can’t be good.’
"Hasn’t Menor ever mentioned me to you?"
’Menor?’
Clelia’s train of thought was broken. She now remembered that Menor had once asked her to deliver a letter to the Director of the Secret Investigation Department, saying they were old friends...
"Of course he did. He specifically asked me to send you his regards."
"Mm, then come along. Perfect timing..."
Ales gave a noncommittal nod before pushing open the door to the confessional. He took a deep breath and asked, "Did you bring it?"
"Of course."
A statue silently appeared in Old Jack’s hands. Its upper half was a powerful humanoid figure, but its lower half consisted of eight appendages like octopus tentacles. Each appendage was covered in sunken eyes that emitted an eerie red glow, and a pair of fleshy wings were spread open on the statue’s back.
’So ugly...’
When Clelia saw the statue, especially its densely packed eyes, she instinctively turned her head away.
’Huh?’
’Is that... a totem statue possessing a source spirit?’
Clelia’s heart skipped a beat. She realized her turning away wasn’t a conscious choice, but a reflexive, defensive reaction from her own source spirit!
"What about the Ceres Clan...?"
"They’re all dead. Those Vasquez People wanted to use this statue to influence the altar in Nocturnal City. I slaughtered every last one of them."
"Is that so? Letting them die so easily was getting off cheap." Ales snorted and led the way into the confessional.
"Let’s go."
Old Jack gestured to Clelia, then followed Ales inside.
"What are you two planning to do in there? No, don’t tell me. Um," Clelia didn’t follow, instead taking a cautious step back. "Can I wait for you out here? I promise, I swear I won’t run away."
Old Jack glanced at Ales up ahead. Seeing that he didn’t turn back, Jack knew that they were past the point of no return; the plan could not be changed now. He sighed to himself.
"It’s too late."
As he spoke, several tentacles shot from his arm and wrapped around Clelia, dragging her into the confessional with him.
"Hey, come on, old man! I’ve been so cooperative these past couple of days, can’t you just let me go this one time?" A flicker of wariness crossed Clelia’s face, but she didn’t struggle. Instead, she put on a pitiful expression and begged for mercy.
’She knew full well she couldn’t escape from this old geezer’s power alone.’
’Let alone with the obviously much stronger Ales up ahead...’
’Damn it! That bastard Menor must have known something. Making me shelve my arrangements in Klande to come to Caster... this was all a setup, wasn’t it?’
"Are you sure the Forbidden Item is here?" Old Jack ignored her and hurried to Ales’s side.
"Mm."
Ales surveyed the dim, windowless confessional, which was lit only by a few candle-burning wall sconces.
Several dark oak tables stretched in neat rows from the door to the far end of the room. There, a row of carved screens blocked the view, behind which was where the Ascetics would listen to the sins and troubles of the faithful.
"I had an Investigator run a check before. It’s here."
Ales gestured for him to put down the statue. His eyes suddenly turned pitch-black, and a profoundly dark and terrifying malice radiated from him, probing the space around them.
"Forbidden Item 0-34, Resuscitation Sarcophagus!"
"Forbidden Item 0-34, Resuscitation Sarcophagus!"
"..."
When his probing yielded no results, Ales had no choice but to appeal to the River of Destiny. He used the most ancient method to call out to the Forbidden Item he sought, hoping to receive even the faintest response.
"Ales, you..."
Old Jack frowned. By using such a method, even if they found the Resuscitation Sarcophagus, they would likely be facing a Forbidden Item on the verge of losing control at any moment...
’A Forbidden Item!?’
Clelia’s eyes widened. She suddenly recalled Wei’en mentioning that the Eternal Life Association’s lost parchment contained a record of a Forbidden Item, and its name was...
"So it was you who stole the Era Relic from the Eternal Life Association?"
"Stole?"
Old Jack, seeing that he couldn’t stop Ales, couldn’t help but let out a laugh. "That Era Relic was a forgery. Ales and I knew what was on it long ago."
"You knew? How could you... Did Menor tell you?" Clelia asked, astonished.
"Mm, it was him. That was nineteen years ago. I remember it well... Ales and I were adventuring near the Yaduo City State on the Western Continent when we happened to run into Menor..."
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