Chapter 239: Astonishment

Chapter 239: Astonishment

The windows were shut, and Neo and Karen leaned their backs against opposite sides of the frame.

Neo spoke, "To think he committed deicide, step by step, all for a woman he never even possessed..."

Unlike his captain's wistful lament, Karen found the Sea God's death-curse still echoing through his mind.

Once, Ranedal had been in his absolute prime, filled with high spirits, utterly dismissing the divine curse and tossing back a contemptuous reply: "Childish."

One could only wonder what he truly thought when he was ultimately sealed into the body of a dog by the joint efforts of Grandfather Dis and Mr. Hoffen.

For a very long time, Karen had maintained a strict guard against Kevin.

It was just as Mr. Hoffen had scrawled in his notes regarding how to break the seal: "Are you insane?!"

An evil god was, after all, an evil god, even if the verdict of "evil" carried a certain degree of unfairness... but even if you turned an ordinary person into a dog, that person would fight you to the death, let alone a majestic deity.

Yet, after pushing open those three windows today, Karen gained a deeper understanding of Kevin.

Wary, he would certainly remain; under no circumstances would Karen ever truly lower his guard against the massive Golden Retriever at home.

But on this foundation, it seemed there might now be a few more topics they could actually share.

Whatever the case, judging by the final outcome, the Sea God's curse appeared to have been fulfilled.

Neo spoke again, "I really find it hard to imagine the feeling. How did he actually achieve it? I suspect Goddess Miers might not even have known his name before she ascended to divinity."

"Because Goddess Miers is the moon. Though the evil god never possessed the moon, her light once bathed his skin."

"I really didn't expect a one-sided, pathetic unrequited love could be described so gracefully by you."

"Captain, this is inherently a beautiful thing. After all, everyone defines beauty differently. Some things do not require resonance or empathy at all; they only need to move oneself."

"Ah, it’s just that I truly never expected an evil god to have this side to him. It leaves a bit of a melancholy aftertaste. What a pity outsiders cannot enter this place. Otherwise, if this could be replicated in reality and opened as a historical residence of a celebrity, it would surely draw an immense crowd of visitors."

"If that happened, the evil god would die of pure rage."

"Haha."

Neo surveyed his surroundings once more. The sparse furnishings of the room could not possibly conceal any real treasures. Most importantly, even if there were actual treasures, they were not physical entities and could not be carried out.

Oh, there was indeed an incomparably precious existence within the vast area between the two doors, but that was wisdom itself—an entity even the Church of Order dared not dissect, let alone the two of them.

The two stepped out from the cabinet, passed through that field of starlight once more, and arrived before the initial red door. Neo reached out and pulled at it, but it remained tightly shut.

Then, Neo took Karen by the hand and stepped through this red gate.

Once outside, Neo turned back and pulled at the handle again, but it would not budge.

Karen remarked, "Since there is a door outside that outsiders absolutely cannot penetrate, there is no need to lock the inner one. In any case, if brute force were used to break through, everything inside would be destroyed along with it."

Neo nodded and said, "In truth, you do not need to deliberately explain."

"Very well, Captain. Um, are we heading back now?"

Inside this ancient castle, the two had glimpsed a genuine secret, yet it seemed this secret held no practical value that could be materialized.

Therefore, lingering here any longer served little purpose.

Instead of answering Karen’s question directly, Neo inquired, "By the way, when you came in, what state was that newcomer in?"

"Mr. Eisen was also asleep."

"Which means he entered as well, yet I haven't seen him here."

"Yes, I originally assumed you and Mr. Eisen had entered together, Captain."

"Holding hands as we walked in?"

"Uh..."

"I left a suggestive posture for you before I went to sleep."

"In fact, Mr. Eisen did the exact same thing."

"He knows you possess a mask? Ah, right, you helped him get Lemar to make it. But here lies the problem: with the logic of a normal person, upon re-entering this consciousness world, the first thought would undoubtedly be to inspect this castle. Yet he did not come here.

This implies that within this world of consciousness, there is another location worthy of attention—one more critical than this ancient castle. If we compare this castle to the operational hub, there must be another place serving as the control center."

"Do you believe Mr. Eisen went there, Captain?"

"The status of the Guman family is somewhat higher than you imagine. For those families possessing true capability and inheritance, their influence can no longer be measured merely by clerical rank.

Initially, I only realized that the environment I occupied was not real, but he seemed to have discerned long ago that this was a deception. His understanding of this place runs a layer deeper than mine."

"Then... shall we look for him now?"

"Of course. After all, having finished reading the secret diary buried in the depths of this evil god's memory, we still have plenty of time. Are we truly to go back to sleep?

Besides, a squad member has suddenly gone missing. As his captain, I must certainly seek him out and bring him back safely. 'No one left behind' is the creed of our Bloodhound Squad, is it not?"

"You are right, Captain."

"Now the question arises: in this region, aside from the castle, where else is suitable to serve as a control center?"

"Captain, I believe we can shift our perspective. The position we currently occupy is the Ales Castle, but the Ales Castle in reality likely looks nothing like this, nor would it possess this red gate.

Therefore, guessing the location of the control center based on specific coordinates might be impossible."

"You mean we should start with the traces?"

"Yes."

"Ah, I see. You are quite right. In a place like this, it is indeed your specialty. So, have you found anything?"

"I have. Smoke. It was the guidance that the false version of you provided us. However, I do not know if it still exists, nor whether we can find it in time."

"Smoke?"

Neo walked to the eastern side of the castle and pushed open a window. This spot served as a vantage point; scattered around the castle's perimeter, a number of Whip of Order squad members were currently "swimming."

Further away on the main road, five individuals were gathered together, and around them, smoke was swirling.

"What a coincidence. It really is there."

Karen walked over as well, gazing at the white mist. "This smoke is actually one of the most effective, yet most conspicuous methods of suggestion. I imagine it is only deployed when dealing with 'stubborn elements' to plunge them, and those they have dragged along, back into the fractures of time."

"Meaning the arrangements inside the castle were designed long ago, but outside, they did not plan as extensively. This smoke is more of an external, supplementary measure."

"Yes, Captain. Within the smoke, a person easily loses themselves and is highly susceptible to infection. I suspect someone within the control center is currently using their consciousness to influence the target."

"Then that must be it; your hypothesis is correct. Do you still recall the secret chamber where we slept—the one with the Whip of Order sculpture carved into the ceiling?"

"I remember. I heard Fannie mention that it should be the interrogation room of the Whip of Order."

"Yes, the interrogation room. The environment inside an interrogation room can undergo alterations; this is the effect of the Wall of Judgment. Every parish possesses them, distributed among the various departments that require their use."

"The Wall of Judgment?"

"It is not the name of a spell of the same title, but a divine artifact. In the previous era, there was a God of Judgment who desired to become the mediator and arbiter among the various factions of the gods, hoping to end the unceasing wars between them through this method.

However, during a mediation of a war of conquest initiated by the God of Light, our God of Order struck, suppressing the God of Judgment. His divine artifact, the Wall of Judgment, subsequently fell into the hands of my Church of Order. Naturally, it was not just this artifact; his entire inheritance was absorbed by our Church. The ultimate formation of the Inquisitor sequence may well have involved his contributions and sacrifices."

"Captain, how do you know all this?"

"That night, I suddenly discovered a few gaps in my knowledge regarding these matters. Because in the past, I disliked turning pages and loathed memorizing texts even more. Furthermore, there are times when you read the records in books and clearly recognize they are not factual.

But that is precisely the issue. If this knowledge is not supplemented, it becomes rather embarrassing when the need to use it arises. Especially after exchanging secrets with you, this sense of awkwardness has become increasingly pronounced."

"So, I recently made a point of looking through the memories of that other him in my soul, and the results were extraordinarily good. I can even recite the *Age of Light* backward now, and the unexpurgated version at that."

"Captain..."

"Are you worried he's trying to proselytize to me this way?"

"Yes."

"If he can save me the trouble of memorizing books, I'm willing. After all, every convenience and shortcut comes with a price.

Alright, let's go down and trace the reverse path of the smoke before it dissipates."

Karen and Neo left the old castle and came outside. The area where the smoke was thickest and where it pointed were not their targets; they were focused on the direction from which the smoke had come. It was very thin, nearly imperceptible, but it still existed.

Neo was in front and Karen followed behind. The two jogged along, eventually finding that the smoke was emanating from beneath a road sign.

The sign read "Ales Castle."

Neo crossed his arms and said, "Alright, now the problem arises again. How do we get in?"

Karen tried touching the sign with his hand, but there was no response.

Neo shook the sign, and still nothing happened.

Just then, a plume of blue smoke drifted out from inside the sign, and Neo and Karen instantly went into a state of alert.

A man's silhouette coalesced within the blue smoke, wearing a silver mask on his face. Seeing the two people before him, he reached out, removed the mask, and revealed Mr. Eisen's original face.

"Mr. Eisen," Karen said, somewhat surprised.

Mr. Eisen nodded to Karen, then looked at Neo and asked:

"Captain, do you want to go in?"

"Yes, did you just go inside?" Neo asked.

"Yes, I was preparing to return to the secret room to sleep after coming out."

"What's inside?" Neo asked.

"Inside, it's very dull. It's like a swarm of fireflies having a meeting."

Neo frowned slightly: "Fireflies, having a meeting?"

Karen said to Neo, "Captain, there is no need to look for deep meaning in Mr. Eisen's words. He likes to state things bluntly."

Neo looked at Karen and asked, "But can you picture a scene of fireflies having a meeting in your mind?"

"Uh..." Karen shook his head.

"So, how do we get in?" Neo asked Mr. Eisen.

"Do you want me to take you inside to take a look?" Mr. Eisen asked.

"Otherwise why would I ask?" Neo shot back.

"Then next time, Captain, you can just say so directly."

"Fine, I'll remember that. Now I command you, my team member Memphis, to take your Captain, myself, and your teammate Karen inside."

"Understood, Captain."

Mr. Eisen bent down and drew a simple array on the ground.

"What kind of array is this?" Neo asked.

"A very simple array."

"Can you introduce it more specifically?"

"It functions like a portkey. Some secret locations of special departments in the Holy Church use it as a key. However, the people in those departments are usually quite lazy and rarely change the keys.

I tried a few keys I knew from before one by one, and it worked on the second try."

"Fine, talking to you is truly exhausting."

A slight curve appeared at the corner of Mr. Eisen's mouth as he said, "But I quite like the atmosphere of your squad. I have gained a lot from this mission, and I understand my son better now."

"That really is a good thing."

"Yes, a good thing." Mr. Eisen nodded.

The simple array was completed, and Mr. Eisen straightened up, saying, "Alright, I am going to activate this array now. Then, I will go inside with you, because I will still need to bring you back out."

"Actually, there's no need, because I've already learned this simple array of yours. You can actually go back to the secret room and really go to sleep," Neo said.

"Very well." Mr. Eisen stepped out of the array circle. "Then I will activate the array for you."

"Wait a moment!"

Neo suddenly raised his hand, as if he had thought of something, and asked:

"A swarm of fireflies having a meeting... so the inside is a space of pure order of consciousness?"

"Yes."

"Is it the kind of primitive state presented under the measurement of faith, consciousness, spirit, realm, aura, and various other factors?"

"Yes, you are correct. This is a security measure for meetings of special departments, because the internal personnel of some special departments cannot reveal their identities to each other either, so they can only communicate and hold meetings this way."

"In that space, everyone is a ball of light, right? That's why you said it's like a swarm of fireflies having a meeting?"

"Yes."

"What kinds of colors are there?"

"From gray to black and then gradually to red, dominated by a reddish-black tone. In addition, the sizes are also inconsistent. The closer the color is to red, the larger it generally is, and the higher the status inside."

"When I just went in, someone even greeted me."

Mr. Eisen was a Law Explainer, so the grade of the light ball state he presented was certainly not low. Once inside, they would not recognize each other's true identities within the church, but the level of status and position was clear at a glance.

"Then I can't go in, haha."

Neo stepped out of the array circle.

"Very well, Captain." Eisen nodded, nor did he ask why the captain could not enter.

Mr. Eisen had no interest in prying into the captain's secrets; he was basically uninterested in things outside of his duties.

However, Karen knew why the captain had suddenly changed his mind—because the captain was worried that if he entered and everyone else was a reddish-black light orb, he would turn out to be a pure white one.

Because the power the captain currently used was entirely of the Light system, even when he fought, he would always convert the Light system power into the Order system first.

Bertha had not mistaken the captain for a powerhouse of the Light system; in fact, the captain *was* a powerhouse of the Light system, from the inside out, genuine and true.

Mr. Eisen looked at Karen, stepped back into the array circle, and said:

"Then I will take Karen inside to have a look."

"Mm, good." Neo nodded. "Take Karen to see the world."

"Stand still," Mr. Eisen said. "Once we are inside, there is no need to be nervous. There are many powerful existences within, and even more ordinary ones. Your level inside won't be very low either."

"Alright, I understand."

Mr. Eisen activated the array, and blue light enveloped Karen along with him. Immediately after, the silhouettes of the two twisted for a moment and vanished into the road sign before them.

...

Cullen opened his eyes and discovered a space constructed from interwoven chains. Within each grid formed by the links, scenes flickered to life, monitoring everyone in real-time—more precisely, everyone who had been marked. Unmarked individuals did not appear here because, in this world of consciousness, being unmarked meant you simply did not exist.

This was exactly why Cullen had gone unnoticed when that "swimming" Order's Whip member drifted right past him.

By the same token, it was precisely because he "did not exist" that the Captain was able to guide him through the entirety of Castle Ales.

Inside this space floated hundreds of light orbs, varying in size and color.

At the very center, seemingly the command post, sat a dozen large, crimson orbs. The layer surrounding them consisted of mid-sized, dark red orbs, followed by a ring of deep black ones. The outermost layer comprised small, greyish orbs, which were also the most numerous.

Yet, to Cullen’s surprise, the moment he entered, every single orb seemed to freeze mid-task. The murmurs died away instantly, and every gaze converged upon him.

Though they were mere spheres of light, this sense of being watched, this sudden fixation of collective attention, felt sharper and more pronounced here. In this state and within this realm, one was liberated from physical constraints, rendering all forms of perception far more direct.

Sneaking in only to become the immediate center of universal attention sent a sudden jolt of anxiety through Cullen. He began searching for Uncle Eisen. Didn't he say everything would proceed as usual and that they wouldn't attract notice?

Wait,

Where was Uncle Eisen—or rather, where was his orb?

Cullen searched until finally, near the very bottom, he spotted a black light orb hovering quite close to him.

Why was Uncle Eisen's orb so minuscule?

No,

That wasn't it!

Cullen finally realized the truth. It wasn't that Uncle Eisen's orb was small; it was that he himself was colossal!

He had forgotten that he was wearing the mask left behind by his grandfather, Dis!

Cullen began to perceive his own reflection, finally discovering just how immense he truly was. Every other light orb in this space, even the cluster of red ones at the absolute center, seemed utterly dwarfed by his silhouette.

Furthermore, his own orb was not just red; it was laced with a gilded, golden sheen, exuding an aura of profound antiquity and majesty.

In the next instant,

Following a brief wave of shock, bewilderment, incomprehension, and eventual capitulation to the reality before them, every light orb projected a devout consciousness toward Cullen, as if bowing in reverent worship.

They cried out in unison:

"Salutations, Elder of the Temple!"

———

Only one update today, I want to take a break, hugging everyone tight!