Chapter 384

Three hundred and nineteenth chapter – Ambush

The narrow and dim carriage space was constantly swaying slightly. Inside the carriage, Davik, dressed in a sickbed gown, sat there, his eyes closed as he rested. Beside him, Sister Vania, with a somewhat nervous expression, sat. In front of them, facing them, were Edmund and a group of hunters with serious expressions.

‘The atmosphere is so tense… It feels really uncomfortable.’

Sitting in her seat, Vania scanned the stiff scene inside the carriage with her eyes, feeling nervous in her heart. She hadn’t expected to be brought here suddenly, facing the stern commanding officer. Her heart felt unaccustomed to this situation for a moment.

Looking around, Vania finally directed her gaze at Davik, who had his eyes closed beside her. Being the closest to him, she knew that he wasn’t just resting; he was truly in a coma.

‘Dorothy temporarily released the control. It seems that this human-operated extraordinary ability consumes spirit energy over time. She’s conserving spirit energy…’

Checking the state of the patient beside her, Vania thought in her heart. Then, she continued to wait with trepidation in the carriage, unsure of how long they had been waiting. Eventually, after traveling a great distance, they arrived at their destination.

After a long descent, the entire carriage finally came to a stop. Edmund immediately stood up, opened the door, and stepped out, shouting loudly to those inside:

“We’ve arrived, everyone, get down quickly.”

“Mm… We’re here already?”

Hearing Edmund’s words, Davik opened his dazed eyes. He was then supported by two hunters on either side as he was led out of the carriage. Vania followed closely behind. When she stepped out, she saw a vast underground carriage parking lot with countless horseless carriages parked alongside numerous uphill passages leading to unknown destinations.

“Everything is ready in the Evidence Department, let’s hurry up.”

After saying this briefly, Edmund led the way forward. His subordinates carried Davik and Vania along with them. They soon entered a corridor adorned with a Radiance Lamp at the entrance.

On her carriage far away, Dorothy used spiritual threads to transmit the effect of her Concealment Ring to Davik, momentarily shielding the Radiance Lamp from detecting any extraordinary effects by consuming “Shadow” spirit energy. There was only one lamp here, and although they quickly passed through its covered area, Dorothy still expended 1 point of “Shadow” energy.

‘When we return, we’ll have to pass through here again, consuming another 1 point of “Shadow.” That makes it at least 2 points of “Shadow”… Ouch… I hope there aren’t any more Radiance Lamps ahead.

‘This prolonged manipulation of the flesh puppet has consumed a lot of “Cups.” Although I saved some spirit energy by pretending to sleep on the way, I’ve already spent 3 points of “Cups” on Davik. This much spirit energy… I hope we actually find something worthwhile…’

Inside the swiftly moving carriage, Dorothy pondered, knowing that activating the living puppet consumed 1 point each of “Cup” and “Enlightenment,” and maintaining it required an additional 1 point every twenty minutes or so. Unlike regular zombies, living puppets couldn’t be maintained for long periods.

Under Edmund’s guidance, they delved deep into the Anonymity Headquarters. Soon, they arrived at the underground hall. Here, Dorothy, through Davik’s perspective, saw something unexpected: a goddess statue standing in the center of the hall.

‘Is this… the Mirror Moon Statue? Or rather, one with an intact head, not replaced by the Eight Pinnacle Nest? I didn’t expect there to be one here at the headquarters, and it looks even larger than the ones elsewhere. Was the faith in the Mirror Moon Goddess once so profound in Prit?’

Seeing the Mirror Moon Statue in the Anonymity Headquarters, Dorothy thought with surprise, while also harboring doubts.

‘The Eight Pinnacle Nest is a society devoted to the worship of the Spider Queen’s “Shadow.” The Anonymity Headquarters is primarily organized around “Shadow.” The Eight Pinnacle Nest targeted the Mirror Moon Statue, and there’s a huge one here in the Anonymity Headquarters. Their infiltration must be quite deep… Is there any connection behind these appearances?’

Dorothy pondered this internally. But at that moment, Edmund had already led Davik out of the hall, and her thoughts followed suit.

After leaving the hall, Edmund quickly led Davik to a room sealed with a thick door. Several clerical staff members were already waiting inside. On the floor of the room, various items were arranged neatly.

Following Davik’s gaze, Dorothy observed the contents of the room: books, bones, carpets with magical arrays, oddly carved stones, wolf-shaped badges, and all sorts of mystic artifacts.

“These are your previous possessions. You can examine them carefully and see if you can recall anything.”

Edmund said to Davik, who then took weak steps forward and began examining these items.

Controlling Davik, Dorothy inspected the objects before her. Many were research materials and mysterious artworks. Among them, she found a sheepskin scroll with poison recognition and a blurry painting with similar content. After scrutinizing them, she used her Scholar’s ability to forcibly memorize the contents, preparing to extract spirit energy later.

Dorothy controlled Davik as he searched among the items, looking for his target. Finally, she spotted a stone stele in a corner—a gray-black square stele. It was smooth and flawless, but its front was etched with numerous chaotic marks, as if someone had scratched them haphazardly with a small kn*fe.

The image of the stele sent a jolt through Dorothy. She immediately had Davik focus his gaze on the stele.

In Davik’s visual transmission to Dorothy, the chaotic marks on the stele began to twist like snakes, distorting and reconstructing themselves into familiar letters and sentences in Prit language.

Just like in the ruins beneath King Campus, the promotion stone tablet of the Star Number Repair Association appeared before Dorothy’s eyes once more. The general language on the tablet revealed its information to her, and she witnessed all of its contents.

“How… Have you thought of anything?”

At this moment, standing behind, Edmund said to the dazed Davik, who seemed to snap back to reality when he heard Edmund’s words. He started trembling and covering his forehead.

“It’s so familiar… These things are so familiar… Ah… What is this? I… I seem to hear a woman’s painful scream… It hurts… My head hurts!”

Bending over, Davik held his head in pain and shouted, his whole body beginning to tremble slightly.

“It hurts… My head hurts… bl**d… Sounds… So piercing sounds… It hurts…”

Shaking his body, Davik cried out in agony. His form seemed about to collapse at any moment. The hunters nearby immediately rushed over to support him. Even after being helped by the hunters, Davik struggled for a few moments before finally collapsing, supported by the hunter team.