No one expected the Exorcist Association to be of the surrendering kind.
Though they never surrendered, facing the Weird Tis with sacrifice, they were indeed the first to loosen their grip on the ropes preventing the world from sliding into the abyss.
When Lu Li arrived, the world was on the brink of destruction, knowing little about the Exorcist Association and even less about the investigators.
The clues of nightmares and truth simultaneously pointed to the Exorcist Association—provided it hadn’t yet been destroyed.
But that possibility was slim.
Yet miraculously, as Lu Li approached the city, entering the ruins of the Old Era, traversing the collapsed ruins, he saw ancient, repeatedly renovated Marian tower-style buildings still standing among the rubble.
This kind of sturdy structure had extended into near-modern castles, with the drawback being that one could sense the complexity inside without even setting foot in it.
Simply standing amongst the ruins was about more than just sturdiness...
Because as Lu Li approached, a kind of aversion, seemingly arising from the depths of his soul, welled up, urging him to stay away from this building with its unique aesthetic.
Ever since Lu Li beca a ghost, he had never encountered ancient marks, but this seems to be that feeling.
If it were a mindless aberration, it would leave this disgusting ss instinctively.
This is good news, aning the facilities within the Exorcist Association still operate.
Suppressing the aversion as if approaching filth, Lu Li entered through the association’s gates, where the hall was the only spacious room, honeycombed corridors probing into the darkness, intricate like a labyrinth yet also capable of repelling intruders.
No wonder Tesla’s mories always echoed with friends complaining about the headquarters.
Lu Li searched briefly around the hall scattered with debris, finding no map, and intending to fix a target within this castle-like tiered structure wasn’t easy either. Lu Li had no choice but to turn to the first passage on the left, using the process of elimination to explore the place.
At the first fork in the path, the markings on the wall indicated direction:
[↑ Lounge]
[← Stairwell]
[→ Office Area]
[↓ You]
Lu Li’s target was not on the first floor, but before turning left, he temporarily explored the lounge and office area.
The lounge was a fusion of a cafeteria and dormitory; the forr yielded nothing, and in the latter, Lu Li only found so blank notebooks scribbled with broken terms, no diaries.
The office area also preserved no clues; the Exorcists of the Old Era took all useful data away. Possibly on other floors, possibly hidden.
Lu Li returned to the stairwell, with one flight of stairs extending upwards and another extending down. On the descending stairs, a string of iron-canned chis hung at the inevitable path—
The breeze wouldn’t sway the chis, but a passerby would.
In the Weird Tis after the Exorcist Association was abandoned, survivors found refuge here.
Clang clang clang—
The shivering empty cans produced a sound more cacophonic than chis, echoing deep into the silent corridor, reminding potential refugees soone was approaching.
Having "knocked on the door," Lu Li conjured an oil lamp, descending the stairs underground.
A lengthy passage, unable to be illuminated by an oil lamp, erged before him, bones carpeting beneath—so of aberrations, so of humans, with a sign on the wall reflecting faint light: [Library]
At that mont, a muffled voice suddenly resounded through the corridor:
[What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?]
Lu Li detected tension and weakness within the voice, while the surrounding bones indicated they had perished here.
"A human."
Lu Li answered the riddle, continuing to drift forward.
[What can bring the dead back to life, make you cry, make you laugh, make you younger?]
The voice suppressed sothing.
"mories."
[The third question... Don’t let there be a third one, prove your identity]
A low voice interrupted the riddles, resonating aloud.
Lu Li halted before an iron door at the end of the corridor, taking out the rchant’s Eye.
rchant Anthony soon erged from the shadows beyond the oil lamp.
"I found so survivors in the headquarters’ underground," Lu Li said, accepting the Crown of Thorns passed by rchant Anthony.
[... He’s an Exorcist... He is an Exorcist!]
A noisy, excited shout echoed, but that low voice maintained vigilance: "Are you a ghost?"
"I am already dead."
"Do you have any aberrations following you?"
"No."
The iron door trembled, dust shedding silently.
Behind the sealed door appeared a group of dirty, thin, beggar-like figures.
"Have the aberrations, h-h-have they left?" a stuttering survivor nervously asked.
Lu Li glanced at the burning bonfire behind them, then at the Spirit-Calling Gun, short dagger, silver box, and other Homogeneous Items in his hands pointing at him.
"Answer my question, Exorcist!"
Soone suddenly shouted, dissatisfied with Lu Li’s neglect.
A silhouette stopped them, the low voice allowing Lu Li to recognize him:
"I am a collateral bloodline of Martha IX, forgive their rudeness; the people here are either nobles and mbers of parliant themselves or their descendants, and we carry noble blood."
The middle-aged man, showing signs of aging, scrutinized Lu Li: "Who were you talking to earlier?"
"I am the Mother of the Marsh, the fairest flower of Saint Mark, Roland Toya Aargon."
The tender voice of the Mother of the Marsh suddenly sounded in their minds.
"Toyalargon? You’re a descendant of the Toyaragon Family?"
"I am Princess Roland."
"You must have a way to let people live for hundreds of years!?"
The aging man claiming to be a collateral bloodline of Martha IX began breathing heavily.
"No."
"Hmph, even if you did, you wouldn’t know..." he assud the pawn Lu Li wouldn’t know too much: "Exorcist, take us out of here now. You know who we are, and you definitely don’t want to know the consequences of angering us."
The Crown of Thorns was silent, as if intimidated by the noble status of "Martha IX’s collateral bloodline."
Lu Li quietly observed the empty library.
A bonfire fueled by knowledge, holes sared with filth, human and aberration skeletons covered with bite marks,
These starving nobles lacked food.
The nobles, angry with Lu Li’s disregard, muttered curses. The aging man, knowing Lu Li was their chance to leave, ordered them to be quiet, restraining their arrogance: "You’ll be rewarded for this, I’ll have that lord grant you unimaginable riches; they might even restore your humanity."
"Really?"
Lu Li thought they mastered the knowledge of resurrection.
However, contrary to his assumption, "I swear by the honor of the Martha Family. Your lord controls the power of longevity; naturally, they can resurrect humans as well," the aging man replied arrogantly.
"You can leave here through the rchant World."
Lu Li summoned rchant Anthony, telling the nobles.
"You did well, Exorcist. When we return to the settlent, we’ll request Princess Roland to reward you."
The aging man, suppressing excitent, said satisfactorily to Lu Li.
The other noble refugees requested food from the rchant, then praised it as better than aberrations and human flesh—
Lu Li calmly watched them enter the rchant World.
The Land of Light doesn’t need old-era parasites to order around.
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