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n78 Traces

nLumian jumped in fright. It was too late to evade, so he could only brace for the invisible force to crash upon him.

nHe instantly felt warmth, and valor flooded his body. It was as if the sun had at last arrived in winter when he lacked clothes.

nOther than that, he felt nothing peculiar. It was precisely the same as the experience in the castle yesterday afternoon.

nEh, as a Dancer, am I actually unscathed? Lumian couldn’t help but swivel his head to glimpse the short Ryan and the terrifying Leah. He realized that there was no black fog or smoke billowing from them.

nPromptly after, Valentine, who was in the form of a figure of light, conjured Holy Water Creation and let fall a few drops on Leah and Ryan. However, the two of them retained their transformed semblances with no signs of improvement.

n“Purification and exorcism are futile?” Lumian asked.

nHe hoped to determine why it was possible and why not. Only then would he, who had already received a boon, know what to evade or feign that nothing had transpired when encountering something similar in the future.

nRyan briefly explained to him, “Purification and exorcism aren’t omnipotent. The correspondent power is in the category of evil. For instance, the aura of depravity and all undead. The last isn’t necessarily evil, but it’s incompatible with the real world. It needs to return to the spirit world, so it can still be purified and exorcized.”

n“Just like how our definition of an evil god is based on Their style of acting, the power of an evil god isn’t necessarily evil.”

nLumian roughly fathomed and thoughtfully asked, “Inevitability’s, uh, power doesn’t belong to evil, nor does it signify depravity?”

nSo there is no way to purify or exorcize it?

n“Yes.” Valentine had already affirmed this through his previous attempt.

nFrom the looks of it, it’s normal for me to be able to withstand the halo. But why can the holy water activate the black thorn symbol on my chest and permit me to hear the terrifying sound? This is because the corruption in the seal doesn’t belong to me at the moment. It’s incompatible with my body, rendering my body impure. Therefore, it needs to be purified? Lumian made a guess.

nHe had wanted to use Shepherd Pierre Berry, who had already received a boon, as an example to ask if the mutation of the body was also in the category of evil and depravity, but the current situation was rather urgent, so he didn’t have the luxury to discuss the topic.

nLumian tried to walk to the basement door.

nAfter taking two steps, he suddenly heard a buzzing sound in his ears. He could vaguely hear a voice that seemed to come from an infinite distance but also seemed to be right before him. However, it wasn’t clear enough and was very fuzzy. It only made his chest heat up slightly and his mind enter a state of disorder.

nThis was very similar to when he saw Noodle Man dancing.

nThis made Lumian confirm that the black thorn symbol on his chest had been partially activated.

nHe quickly pivoted around and gazed at Ryan, Leah, and Valentine, only to find that they didn’t react abnormally.

nLumian was immediately disheartened. He originally believed that the two symbols on his chest could suppress and weaken Beyonders to a certain extent, but from the looks of it, they could only target the monsters in the dream ruins, especially those that had been bestowed by the owner of the black thorn symbol.

nOf course, he wasn’t sure if fully activating the symbol on his chest would affect the surrounding Beyonders.

n“Has my condition changed?” he asked Leah and the others.

n“No.” Leah and the others shook their heads in unison.

nLumian nodded indistinctly and affirmed two things.

nThe first was the black thorn symbol on his chest, or rather, the evil god corruption sealed in his body. It could indeed help him “resist” the abnormality in the basement.

nSecondly, luck was on his side. He was affected by the power of the present.

nAfter a few seconds, Lumian attempted to take a diagonal step forward.

nThe slight heat in his chest did not weaken, maintaining its previous intensity.

n“Any changes this time?” he asked Ryan and the others again.

nLeah was the first to shake her head. “You’re fine.”

nLumian exhaled and muttered inwardly, With the protection of the black thorn symbol, I can move freely here. Shepherd Pierre Berry and company should be the same…

nWait, the padre hasn’t received any blessings yet. There’s no thorn symbol! How did he reach the altar unscathed?

nWith this in mind, Lumian grasped something as he turned his gaze to the ground.

nWith the help of Valentine’s light, he saw many messy footprints that ordinary humans couldn’t see.

nApart from a small number of them, which were everywhere, they followed a certain pattern and extended to the front of the altar.

nLumian immediately overlapped with the nearest footprint, and the slight heat in his chest began to weaken.

nThis meant that he had returned to the present.

nAs expected, there’s a safe route here that leads to the present! Lumian suddenly became very happy. This was because the three powerful Beyonders, Ryan, Leah, and Valentine, hadn’t discovered it, and he, a mere Hunter, had found it.

nThis reminded him of something his sister Aurore had said: “Every pathway has its strengths. Before becoming a demigod, Sequence 9 of some paths might trump Sequence 5 of others in certain situations.”

nLumian had originally felt inferior and suppressed, useless before the powerful Beyonders these past two days of exploration. Now, he’d regained a good amount of confidence.

nFinding faint traces in reality is a Hunter’s specialty. Can you?

nOf course, Lumian didn’t forget that Aurore added: “But there are pathways good at everything.”

nHe gathered his thoughts, turned around, and commanded Ryan, Leah, and Valentine. “Take a step toward the altar at the same time.”

nRyan and the others were clearly puzzled. They couldn’t just trust Lumian blindly without knowing why.

nLumian could only explain, “Look closely at the ground There are many footprints marking a safe path left behind by the padre’s group!”

nRyan, Leah, and Valentine, lacking Lumian’s abilities, could barely see a trace in the sun’s dim light. They believed him.

nThey knew that in Intis, many Hunter pathway Beyonders had collaborated. Some Sequences were skilled at detecting faint signs.

nFollowing Lumian’s guidance, they trekked the secure route.

nInstantly, Lumian saw Ryan regain height, Valentine darken, and Leah’s face normalize.

nThey had returned to the present, no longer trapped in the past or future.

nLumian easily rejoined the team on the safe route.

nHe grinned and said, “No more slip-ups. There may be no coming back if anything else goes south.”

nHe was mimicking Ryan’s tone and felt it fit their current situation.

nTypically, his attitude would’ve had him mocking them: “Haha, are you blind? Can’t you see any of the obvious signs? Another mistake and you’re done for!”

nLeah touched her face and breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re with you.”

nLumian wasn’t humble. He carefully picked out the footprints on the ground and crept up to the altar.

nIt wasn’t as straightforward as heading back just now since it didn’t matter if he took a wrong turn, but Ryan and the others couldn’t.

nThis time, Leah’s silver bells stayed silent.

nOnly once all four had reached the altar did they start ringing, sometimes soothing, other times intense.

n“It’s dangerous, but we can find a way around it,” Leah, experienced enough, explained.

nRyan instantly nodded.

n“Don’t touch anything here for now. We’ll just observe.”

nLumian had already set his sights above the altar.

nThere was a depression at the bottom, as if hollowed out to hold something. Inside were grayish-white candles, a small bottle of clear liquid, and an unopened wooden box.

nBut the most striking item was a black object—a long robe with a hood.

nIn front, in the center of the circle, was a circular symbol made of thorns.

nEvery part of it was twisted and pitch-black, as if painted with some strange substance. It gave the feeling of slowly oozing.

nSeeing the symbol, Lumian felt dizzy and ringing in his ears.

nRyan snorted, and a dawn-like light naturally emanated from him.

nThis helped Leah and Valentine suppress the mental confusion.

n“Don’t stare at that symbol too long,” Ryan said in a deep voice.

nLumian quickly shifted his gaze aside.

nThe dizziness and ringing in his ears lessened.

nThat seems to be all for the altar. Lumian was about to suggest searching the area when he heard Leah ask Ryan, “Will your Sunrise Gleam activate the altar?”

nHuh? Lumian whipped his head around and unconsciously looked at the altar again.

nDing ding ding. Leah’s veil and silver boots rang harshly, an urgent warning.

nIn the same breath, the black altar robe leaped up as if inhabited by an invisible being.

nOoo! A chill wind gusted. Lumian glimpsed transparent faces under the hood—ferocious, warped heads radiating hatred. They swarmed into a strange, terrifying gestalt.

nLumian recognized one face: pale, swollen, with blood and tears pooling in its eyes. Reimund.

nLumian dodged behind Ryan, uninterested in a closer look.

n“Save us! Save us!”

nThe translucent faces shrieked in unison. Their shrill cries pierced Ryan and the others like needles, threatening to fell them.

nValentine was unmoved. Arms spread, he summoned a holy flame-wreathed pillar of light from the sky. It landed over the black robe.

nLight erupted. Lumian and Leah shut their eyes on instinct.

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