Chapter 67

In the form of a corpse?

Lumian felt his heart sink slowly as he listened.

If Raymond's corpse had been removed from the cycle due to the sacrifice, he would no longer be able to resurrect through the cycle. Once the anomaly in Cordu Village was resolved, he would be truly dead, not just missing.

Although Lumian was reluctant to admit that a fool like Raymond was his friend, they had known each other for almost five years, playing together, pulling pranks, and experiencing many things. It was impossible to treat him as a stranger.

Recalling the past, he realized that apart from Aurore, Raymond was probably the person he had interacted with the most.

Aurore often said, "The more foolish a person is, the more fortunate they are." Why would it be like this? Lumian couldn't help but argue:

"Even if he becomes a corpse, his spirit still exists and can trigger the cycle."

Aurore sighed lightly:

"Perhaps the entity that was sacrificed to is not interested in spirits, but only in flesh and blood?

"Perhaps she didn't want to trigger the cycle, so she only took the flesh and blood, leaving Raymond's spirit in Cordu or destroying it directly?"

In that case, Raymond's corpse would be a purely material entity without a spirit, able to leave the cycle without causing a restart.

Hearing his sister's counter-question, Lumian instantly replayed the possible events in his mind:

After everyone left the water, Raymond swam a bit further and was suddenly pulled by an invisible force, his mouth covered, and dragged to the depths of the river, where he drowned.

After that, his spirit remained at the river bottom or was destroyed, while his corpse drifted to an unknown place, becoming a sacrifice...

Thinking about this, Lumian suddenly had an idea:

"Regardless of whether Raymond's spirit was left or destroyed, once the cycle restarts, he should appear as well, in the form of a ghost."

"Logically, that's correct." Aurore nodded thoughtfully, "After it gets dark, I'll perform a séance to see if I can summon Raymond's spirit. It would be best to have an item he used frequently as a medium."

Lumian responded without hesitation:

"After exploring the castle this afternoon, I'll go to Raymond's house. His parents will be looking for me to ask about his whereabouts anyway."

At that time, with the skills of a "Hunter" and Lumian's alertness, it wouldn't be difficult to obtain an item Raymond had used.

"Good." Aurore didn't object.

Lumian sighed and asked:

"Aurore, uh, sister, you can still perform séances?"

"As a 'Secret Seer,' I know a little bit of everything." Aurore smiled self-deprecatingly, "How did the talks with the three outsiders go?"

Lumian quickly recounted his conversation with the mysterious lady and the discussions with Rien, Lia, and Valentine, of course, without mentioning the prayer.

Aurore listened quietly and sighed:

"Voluntarily accepting pollution is a very dangerous thing, but to explore the ruins of the dream and uncover the secrets there, and to find the key to breaking the cycle, it has to be done. I'm sorry for putting you through this..."

"What's there to be sorry about?" Lumian patted his chest, "I'm doing this to save myself."

Aurore nodded slightly:

"The gray amber can use my bottle of perfume, which is available at the dianthus. I have the musk and the materials for making candles. Only the tulips need to be found elsewhere.

"I remember Mrs. Pouali's garden has them, but I'm not sure if they are blooming."

"They are." Lumian was very certain.

In the previous cycle, when he and Aurore borrowed a carriage from the castle, they noticed that many flowers in the garden were blooming, which was unusual for early spring in the mountains.

Aurore nodded:

"Since you're going to explore the castle this afternoon, you can pick a few on the way.

"After that, will the lady deliver these items to the ruins of the dream?"

"Yes, I think so." Lumian felt it should be that way.

Aurore thought for a moment and added:

"Before we set out this afternoon, I'll give you the 'Integrity Brooch.' Mrs. Pouali's castle is clearly very polluted, and it might involve the undead. The brooch can be very useful."

"No need, keep it to guard against Mrs. Pouali." Lumian quickly explained when his sister tried to persuade him, "Valentine is a very zealous 'Eternal Sun' believer. According to your description, as a Beyonder, he should have chosen the 'Sun' pathway, which is more effective than the 'Integrity Brooch.'"

Based on Aurore's observations over the years, zealous 'Eternal Sun' believers often chose the 'Sun' pathway.

This also worked the other way around; those who chose the 'Sun' pathway often became increasingly zealous, unless they didn't believe in the deity from the beginning.

"True." Aurore no longer insisted and instructed, "You can practice the simple method to activate spirit vision. Then, take a nap at noon to replenish your energy. I'll teach you the ancient Hermes and Hermes words needed for the ritual in the evening."

Hearing his sister's words, Lumian suddenly remembered a phrase she often said when rushing to meet deadlines:

"Time is tight, and the task is heavy."

...

At 3:20 PM, on the side of the hill where the Administrative Officer's castle was located.

Lumian saw Mrs. Pouali, wearing a slightly loose, elegant gray-blue dress, with a mature and refined hairstyle, accompanied by her maid, Cassie, walking towards the village.

Once their figures were far away, Lumian quickly turned and walked to the back of the hill.

Rien, Lia, and Valentine were already waiting there, still dressed as before, showing no signs of preparation.

Lumian glanced at their empty hands and asked in surprise:

"No weapons?"

Rien, wearing a brown tweed jacket, light yellow trousers, black leather shoes, and a dark top hat, standing at about 1.7 meters tall, smiled slightly:

"My weapon doesn't need to be carried."

Valentine, wearing a white vest and a blue fine wool coat, followed:

"I don't need a weapon."

"My weapon is this." Lia, wearing a white, wrinkle-free cashmere bodysuit, a light beige coat, and Marsil boots, pulled out a pistol from somewhere.

The pistol was silver-white, small, and exquisite. Lia also removed the magazine, showing Lumian the different colored bullets with various patterns and symbols, and casually explained:

"They have different Beyond effects."

She reinserted the magazine, hid the pistol, and asked with a smile:

"What weapon did you bring?"

You don't need a weapon, don't need to carry a weapon, and have such a beautiful and powerful pistol, making me look like a fool... Lumian silently turned, lifted his dark jacket, and revealed the iron-black axe attached to his belt.

Before Rien and the others could speak, he sighed:

"You all act like Beyonders, while I look like a gangster ready for a fight."

Lia laughed:

"You're good at self-deprecating."

"Self-deprecating is better than being mocked by others." Lumian pointed to the steep hillside, "Let's climb up now; we can't waste any more time."

"Okay." Lia, wearing a tight dress, was the first to start climbing.

She moved gracefully, with outstanding balance, easily reaching the top of the hill using a few protruding rocks.

More surprisingly, the four silver bells on her headscarf and boots didn't move at all, making no sound.

Lumian followed closely, not as gracefully or lightly, but with the enhancement from the "Hunter" potion, he quickly climbed the hill that he couldn't before.

Once he stood steady, he looked back and saw Rien grab Valentine's shoulder and lift him up.

Rien leaped and landed on a protruding rock in the middle of the hill.

Then, he leaped again, bringing Valentine to Lumian and Lia's side.

Throughout the process, his body seemed to grow slightly.

This left Lumian a bit stunned:

The hill isn't very high, but jumping up in just two leaps is too exaggerated.

The "Hunter" definitely can't do that!

He quickly regained his composure, looked at the dark castle with two towers and the surrounding garden, and said to the three outsiders:

"We'll go around to the back door."

"Wait." Rien stopped him and looked at Lia.

Lia didn't speak but took two steps towards the back door of the castle-like building.

Her lips moved, silently muttering something.

The next second, the four silver bells on her headscarf and boots jingled.

The sound wasn't loud but was intense and rapid.

Lia turned and said to Lumian and the others:

"This path is very dangerous; there's a serious problem."

Then, she took two more steps towards the front door.

The bells jingled even more intensely and rapidly.

"Going through the front door will likely cause big trouble." Lia's tone was serious, but she had a faint smile on her face.

"Can we climb through the window?" Rien asked.

Lia nodded, changed direction, and walked towards the garden.

This time, the bells jingled, but very lightly and slowly.

"This path is fine." Lia sighed with a smile.

Lumian, who had watched the entire process, was a bit confused and didn't understand what the three outsiders were doing.

Is this how Beyonders act? He recalled his sister's teachings and asked:

"Are you divining the danger?"

"Yes." Lia nodded and turned to Valentine, "I'll go first; you get ready."

"Okay." Valentine responded seriously.

"What preparation?" Lumian was puzzled and asked.

Lia smiled:

"Preparing to use divine magic to create fire."

So, what is the purpose of creating fire? Lumian was about to ask, but Lia had already entered the garden and walked along the path to the side of the castle.

Soon, she reached a window and gestured that there was no problem.

"Let's go." Rien reminded them briefly and quickly moved towards Lia.

Lumian and Valentine followed closely behind.

As they passed some tulips, Lumian was about to pick them but was stopped by Rien's forearm.

He didn't ask why Lumian wanted to do this but said gently:

"No need to rush; we can pick them when we come out.

"If picking the flowers now causes any unexpected issues, our next actions will have to be canceled."

That makes sense... Lumian absorbed the experience.

Soon, they reached a row of windows on the side of the castle.

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