Annan finally understood from where Jacob "the Opener" got his revered title—
Generally speaking, the status and strength of a ritualist are determined by the depth of their mastery over mystical knowledge.
Because involvent with "historical" level or above mystical knowledge almost always results in powerful effects.
For example, revealing soone’s hidden secrets out of thin air, darkening the sky as if night has fallen, inciting a war in a region fraught with disputes... and Annan’s acquired heterogenous ability "Winter’s Breath" through a ritual, is also "historical" level mystical knowledge.
The secrets of the "Otherworld" can simply destroy a mortal’s sanity by speaking of them; they can be used to construct nightmares and invade others’ dreams.
And the secret of Genesis weighs even heavier. rely speaking it out loud is powerful enough to erase those fallen into demons. If fully utilized in a ritual, it might be possible to confront a Truth Rank opponent head-on.
The mystical knowledge Jacob controlled was at most "historical" level. It was nothing more than ordinary knowledge about "truth" and "custom"... probably around the sa level as old man Vasily.
Yet with these not-so-heavy secrets, by combining and interlocking them, he had constructed a concealnt at least equivalent to the "historical" level...
...So is he a scatterbrained player?
Annan could be sure that he had never seen the ritual Jacob used anywhere else.
If this ritual were to beco widespread, many magical barriers would beco completely aningless. To speak alarmingly, it would an that not even locking one’s own doors at ho could ensure safety, and windows and doors would no longer provide a sense of security. Whether it be thieves, robbers, or assassins, committing cris would beco much more straightforward.
Because this ritual is about creating a "door" in the "wall" and opening it. And precisely because the required "mystical knowledge" is not heavy, it ans that even moderately skilled ritualists could use this ritual...
"You must never share this ritual,"
Annan said gravely, "Do you understand?"
"Of course, I wouldn’t do that."
Jacob paused for a mont, then affird very certainly, "If I were to do such a thing, I would have already gone to the United Kingdom or underground to find a place to foster a gang of thieves or assassins. With my abilities, most defensive asures wouldn’t stop .
"Group teleportation, object teleportation, phasing through walls, breaking and passing barriers... But I will not do it, Your Majesty. Because I know the effect my knowledge would have if it spread out."
He said with a smile, pointing to his temple, "This is ’toxic knowledge’.
"Poison is the key that unlocks all locks. Toxic knowledge will perate through the body, every joint of the state and society, like poison; it will kill many innocents just as poison kills flesh.
"Although I’m certainly not a good man... I’m a thief, I’m a spy, I’m also a deceiver. But I am not a demon who delights in watching the world burn. I am, to so extent, still a human being."
"Well then, let wish you success in becoming a good person,"
Annan said with a smile, extending his hand generously, "You might even beco a great person in the future."
At Annan’s words, Jacob was montarily taken aback.
The smile on his face gradually faded as he seriously extended both hands to grasp Annan’s, earnestly saying, "Then... I’ll take your kind words."
He was very careful not to let his wounds touch Annan’s hands. It probably wasn’t because he feared hurting himself, but because he didn’t want to dirty Annan’s hand with his blood.
Annan’s pale and delicate right hand, against the backdrop of Jacob’s rough and scarred one in the sunlight, seed to shine brightly.
It’s not just the hand... At that mont, Annan himself seed to glow.
After leaving the barrier, the glowing powder that filled the surroundings was also left inside the barrier.
It looked like a bowl turned upside down, that half orb of light.
After they passed through the "door" Jacob opened and left the barrier, the barrier itself remained in place.
That was also good—the barrier blocked sound and light, so they would not realize that Earl Yury had been cleanly killed. This way, there would be no alerting the enemy unintendedly.
As for the last of Earl Yury’s remains, Annan had Zorgen cut a part of it to pack and take away. The rest of the flesh, including the "other" Earl Yury... was kindly incinerated by the Four Dark Jokers.
They wouldn’t allow the remains of Earl Yury to continue existing in this world.
After all, it wasn’t impossible to resurrect a corpse with curse energy. But without a body, with their level of knowledge and intelligence, it would be impossible to resurrect soone.
It is called... cutting off all roots.
Through Zoya’s Prophet Spell and the information provided by Jacob, they quickly located the Curse Cellar.
The distance to this magical barrier wasn’t very far, less than five kiloters. The group walked for a while and arrived there... Strangely, they didn’t encounter any other ard forces on the way.
This indicated that Earl Yury hadn’t prepared any backup other than himself. And there were no guards arranged around the Curse Cellar.
"Because it’s pointless,"
that’s what Jacob said.
Soon, Annan and the others understood the aning of those words—
As they approached the Curse Cellar, they felt a strong sense of discomfort.
The heart kept throbbing, as if suffering from arrhythmia. The head swelled intermittently, and breathing beca rapid.
"...There isn’t radiation here, is there?"
The Wandering Child worriedly said, "You haven’t been infected by my Curse Binding, have you?"
"That’s unlikely. Otherwise, the Earl would have started using Curse energies long ago. He wouldn’t have waited to activate the device after seeing us..."
After getting closer to the Curse Cellar, they heard a clear buzzing sound.
The Curse Cellar itself was completely invisible from the outside.
Its entrance was a vertical shaft dug downwards from the peak of a mountain, resembling an elevator shaft. There were indeed three layers of magical barriers at the entrance, but Jacob easily "penetrated" them.
The inside featured a roughly diamond-shaped rotating staircase, descending continuously. The farther they went down, the higher the temperature seed to beco... and strange pumping sounds gradually reached their ears, their hearts rhythmically throbbing with the sound.
The black walls around them seed not to be built of brick and stone... but resembled blood vessels instead.
"Ugh..."
Russell, curled up in Annan’s arms, whimpered uneasily, stiffened, not daring to move.
She had shown no fear during the bombardnt by Earl Yury, not even crying out... but now, as they approached the Curse Cellar, she started to tremble. It was as if she was wailing, pleading with Annan not to continue descending.
Russell’s entire body stiffened like a rod—terrified. She shook ceaselessly, like a vibrating phone set in his embrace, buzzing painfully against Annan’s chest.
Once Annan and his party descended past a critical depth,
the world in front of him suddenly beca twisted.
It was as if the fra rate was too high, tearing the image apart—
Fragnts of broken history appeared before his eyes. It seed to be soone doing sothing in a dimly lit room, pointing at sothing on a map, or carving sothing...
But those images had no sound, and they flashed by, almost within one or two fras. Annan couldn’t see clearly, leaving only a vague impression.
"Going down further..."
Jacob’s voice beca distorted, "We’re about to enter the Curse Cellar!
"Be careful—hold onto the hands of the people beside you—"
His voice took on a strange chanical tone.
And the "fractured images" before his eyes began to noticeably increase, with Annan also hearing rustling whispers. But he still couldn’t quite make out what was being said...
He could only check the recording later, Annan thought.
The next mont, Annan suddenly felt a strong wave of dizziness—
His almost non-existent system rarely flashed a line of bright red warning:
[——Warning, you are entering the Blackrock Curse Vault]
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