Chapter 455 Contact
In the dark of night, on the outskirts of Adria, by the crashing waves at the shoreline, the terrifying creature, half-shark and half-human, rapidly transformed into a human shape before the n*ked eye. Within a short span of time, it completely regained its human form; it was a man, thick black beard, deep yellow skin, wearing a soaked robe, with a distinct scar on his face, around forty to fifty years old. When this man fully revealed himself, the people on the shore bowed respectfully.
Facing the bowing crowd, the man did not respond immediately. He turned to look at the city in the distance, shrouded in darkness, and then spoke slowly.
“Antonio has already left?”
“Yes, Mr. Garib, Antonio left Adria for Peji this morning. He should have traveled quite a distance by now.”
Standing in front of the man, a person named Mufaid spoke frankly. After hearing Mufaid’s words, Garib let out a sigh of relief.
“He has finally left, that old fool… if it weren’t for him, this would have been over long ago.”
“Mr. Garib, the final donation is currently in the Pure Flow Church. If you want it, now is the best time.”
At this moment, Sailim also spoke to Garib. Listening to Sailim’s words, Garib silently nodded and continued.
“Let’s go… we no longer have much time to waste.”
As he spoke, Garib stood up and walked towards the city in the distance, with Sailim, Mufaid, and the others following closely behind, heading towards the distant city.
……
In the deep of night, the square in front of the Adria Church.
The once bustling square during the day was now desolate. The chilly evening wind swept across the empty grounds, leaving only a few inns at the edges and the church at the center illuminated with faint lights. The rest of the vast space sank into pitch-black darkness.
In one part of this darkness, at the edge of the square, Garib and a few companions were concealed within it. They gazed into the distance at the church and the faint glimmer shining from its roof. While an ordinary passerby might mistake that light for the gas lamp atop the church, Garib and the others knew that this was the treasure of the Pure Flow Church, the light of the Emmanuel Crown. Because of that light, they could not approach the church easily.
Standing at the edge of the darkness, Garib stared intently at the twinkling light atop the church, then took out a small bone fragment etched with various carvings. After a slight shake, a shadowy figure emerged from the bone and quickly grew larger. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a young male ghost in a trench coat, with a vacant expression.
After summoning the ghost, Garib did not pause. He waved his hand gently, and the summoned ghost, after a moment of distorted expression, dove into Garib’s body. After standing still for a moment, Garib slowly raised his hands, beginning to consume his spirituality to activate the ability that belonged to that soul.
Suddenly, the humidity in the air increased, and mist rapidly formed throughout the expansive space. The fog in the square thickened visibly, shrouding the already dim environment in gloom and rapidly decreasing visibility.
The wide-ranging fog began to spread across the square and the surrounding city, with the thickest mist being in the center of the square, where the Pure Flow Church stood. As the stable, regal crown atop the church came into contact with the mist, it immediately emitted a strong red-yellow glow.
In the past, this intensity of light from the crown would have been sufficient to illuminate the entire square, allowing visibility from great distances. However, under the blanket of the thick fog surrounding it, this illumination was severely suppressed and did not reach far.
By summoning the mist, Garib managed to mute the warning illumination of the Emmanuel Crown. After seeing the faint glimmer in the distant fog, Garib stepped forward, moving into the mist, with the others promptly following.
Garib walked briskly through the fog, heading towards the distant glimmer. Before long, the outline of the Pure Flow Church appeared through the dense mist. Garib was nearing his destination, but at that moment, he seemed to sense something and suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“Scatter.”
A deep and robust voice suddenly echoed through the mist. Along with this voice, an explosion of dazzling golden light erupted not far from Garib, so intense that even Sailim and the others instinctively covered their eyes despite the obscuring fog.
“What is this…?”
In Garib’s stern gaze and the astonished expressions of Sailim and the others, the surrounding mist gradually began to recede under this overwhelming light. Visibility around them increased significantly, and the golden glow began to fade. Eventually, when it dimmed to a certain point, a figure emerged from the source of the light.
Wearing ornate robes and holding a long staff, Archbishop Antonio stood silently on the steps in front of the Pure Flow Church, gazing at the uninvited guests before him. Behind him stood Oliver, the local bishop of Adria, and Paul, the head of the Deep Concealment Guard, with a group of members aiming rifles ahead.
“A-Antonio!”
“How is this possible?! Didn’t you leave this morning?!”
Seeing the old man’s figure on the steps, Sailim and Mufaid gasped in shock, all eyes on the startled expressions of Sailim and others. Antonio, however, merely smiled and slowly spoke.
“Yes, I was supposed to leave this morning, but when I heard that thieves wanted to visit this museum, which holds significant meaning for Adria, I decided to stay a bit longer. However, I did not expect that the recently notorious thieves were not only connected to the Treasure Theft Society, but they also held such high status.”
“Put your hands up and surrender, soul takers of treasure.”
As he spoke, Antonio stamped his staff, and an invisible force began to expand from him, affecting everyone in front of him. Immediately, the members of the Boneyard Society felt a surge of pain and discomfort throughout their bodies. Except for Garib, everyone else cried out in agony and collapsed to the ground, struggling.
Treasure hunting is a dangerous activity; during this process, various injuries often occur. Even after healing, these injuries leave marks, which is why those frequenting dangerous tombs and ruins usually carry many old wounds.
As an Extraordinary Being of the Red Tier Level, Antonio directly used his ability to reactivate and rapidly aggravate the old injuries of the treasure hunters present. In an instant, the accumulated old wounds overwhelmed the members of the Boneyard Society, causing them to collapse without any resistance, including Sailim and Mufaid. Garib, too, felt the severe pain and bent over under its weight.
“Have I been… detected?”
Garib gritted his teeth and spoke. Though he was utterly baffled by how their actions had been exposed, he had no intention of surrendering just like that.
