When he was out of the room, Klein carefully held his cane and lantern in the same hand, leaving his left hand free so that he could retrieve the contents of his pocket as quickly as possible in the event there was a sudden turn of events.
Inside, there were charms, Azik's characteristic, some tarot cards, and apart from the remaining Rosago's characteristic, the All-Black Eye, his pocket contained all the means available to him.
Klein and Miss Bodyguard had barely taken a step to the side when the light of the lantern illuminated the emblem on the door next to them. It was a simple drawing of a baby surrounded by the symbols of wheat, flowers, and spring water.
"The Sacred Emblem of Mother Earth..." Klein said in a solemn voice.
As a former Nighthawk, one of his basic skills was being able to distinguish the symbols of other churches.
Miss Bodyguard nodded slightly, as though to confirm this.
Her black Gothic regal dress looked even eerier and terrifying in such an environment and atmosphere. Her pale face looked like a grieving wraith under the illumination of the lantern.
If any other adventurer were to come here and see this scene, they would definitely flee while stumbling out of fear.
Holding his breath, Klein reached out with his left hand, pushed open the stone door, and raised the lantern high.
He found that the layout here was very similar to the one before, like a perfect fusion between a small prayer room and a giant statue.
Across the empty wheat-colored stone tiles, Klein illuminated the three steps ahead of him with a lantern.
On the platform was a white stone sculpture about four or five meters tall. It was a plump and beautiful lady, with ears of wheat growing from her feet, and she was surrounded by spring water. Her dress seemed to flutter, and embedded in it, there were different herbs and flowers, as well as the depiction of different animals.
The lady's chest was raised high, and in her arms was an adorable infant in swaddling clothes. She stood there, tall and sacred.
"Don't tell me that this is the statue of Mother Earth?" Klein said softly with his lips curled.
Miss Bodyguard didn't answer or deny it.
After checking their surroundings, the duo left the room and opened the third door nearby.
Behind this door was a corridor that allowed four people to walk alongside each other. Ahead of them, it was dark and deep, filled with mystery and oddities; it was unknown where it led to.
"Let's first confirm the situation behind the four doors on the right," Klein suggested.
He didn't dare to rashly enter.
Using her actions as an answer, Miss Bodyguard floated backward.
The duo opened the four stone doors on the right, in succession. They separately saw the Storm Sacred Emblem, which was made up of the symbol of gales and stormy waves; the Sacred Emblem of the Sun, which was surrounded by lines; the Sacred Emblems of the God of Combat, which was made from the combination of the symbol for dusk and a sword-shaped symbol; as well as the Sacred Emblem of Knowledge and Wisdom, which was represented by an open book and an omniscient Eye.
In contrast, there were four suspected statues of deities in the room.
A dignified middle-aged man in black armor, standing over churning waves, surrounded by stormy winds, with lightning flashing behind him and a trident in his hand.
There was a young man in a pure white robe, holding a book of deeds in one hand and a golden sphere which resembled the sun in the other. He was handsome and spirited.
There was a warrior sitting on a throne high above, holding a sword in front of him. His face was hidden behind his helmet's visor, his entire body covered with an indescribable sense of decay.
There was a hooded elder holding a book and the omniscient eye, with only his mouth, wrinkles, and long white beard exposed.
Apart from the God of Steam and Machinery, there were six humanoid statues of the orthodox Gods in this strange hall.
Considering the weak position of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery before the appearance of Roselle, there seemed to be some sort of explanation regarding this problem.
"This is really strange..." Klein exclaimed with a sigh, partially because he couldn't stop it, and partially because he was testing Miss Bodyguard's reaction.
This grand hall, which was a hundred meters deep, actually had six of the orthodox gods collected within it.
This was something unimaginable in the current era!
How could the Church of the Six True Gods allow their gods to live in the same structure as the other gods?!
This was a custom that only existed during the Fourth Epoch? Also, what's with those humanoid statues? Although they look normal, unlike the sinister Primordial Demoness and the True Creator statues, they still give off weird vibes... Just what had happened to make the images of the six gods evolve into abstract symbols in this day of age... No, perhaps it's been like this all this time, but the master of this place, a noble who's suspected to be a member of the Tudor family, purposely created statues of the six deities for some purpose... Hmm, I thought of an item from a novel from my previous life, the Six Soul Banner... While he waited for Miss Bodyguard's reply, Klein's mind wandered.
Miss Bodyguard didn't answer his query and instead said blandly, "There's another door."
That's right... Klein suddenly felt fear.
From his point of view, doors placed in the middle often had a special meaning, perhaps the core region of this ancient structure.
Of course, this also likely implied the highest amount of danger.
In his opinion, doors placed in the center often had a special meaning, perhaps the core of this ancient building. Of course, this also meant that the situation was most likely the most dangerous. "What are your thoughts on that area?" Klein hesitated for two seconds and directly asked.
Under the situation of not being able to use the gray fog to eliminate any interference, he felt that Miss Bodyguard's spiritual perception and spiritual instincts were more reliable than his divination means at present. After all, she was in a very special state, close to that of a spiritual body, allowing her to communicate with the spirit world without any obstruction to gain revelations.
Miss Bodyguard closed her eyes and replied a few seconds later, "Very dangerous.
"But the danger is subdued.
"Once you venture deeper, don't touch anything."
Subdued danger... Is this equivalent to having something sealed inside? As Klein guessed, he and Miss Bodyguard walked to the central stone door and stepped onto the dark floor.
The light of the lantern seemed to dim a little as though it found it difficult to drive out the darkness ahead. Klein had his left hand in his pocket, holding Azik's copper whistle and a few charms.
After about thirty steps, Miss Bodyguard suddenly stopped.
Klein raised the lantern in his right hand and saw that the road ahead was blocked by boulders and dirt.
On the left and right were two stone doors in the same shape as the ones in the main hall. The right side was ajar and filled with mud and stone.
"Perhaps this ancient structure was aboveground back then, but for some reason, it eventually sank and collapsed," Klein mumbled. "There's only one direction we can choose from."
Before he could finish his words, he saw Miss Bodyguard float ahead, stick to the huge rock, fuse into it, and disappear.
Klein's mouth twitched, and he began to patiently wait.
After a few minutes, Miss Bodyguard came out from the mud on the right, her body completely free of dust.
"It's completely collapsed," she concluded flatly.
For a moment Klein was speechless and could only smile.
Following that, the two of them simultaneously looked to the left where the ajar stone door was. There was a tiny crack.
Klein went closer and carefully looked through the three centimeter gap.
His Spirit Vision, which had originally been blocked by the stone door, immediately discovered something.
There were at least four bright and powerful spiritual lights inside, two that were close to dark gold in color, and two that were dark blue like the sea.
After using his Spirit Vision, a "narrow" scene appeared in Klein's normal vision.
The firelight that entered the room illuminated the black stone tiles. On top of the tiles were piles of bones covered with rotten clothing, and a few of them emitted dark gold and dark blue light.
Condensed Beyonder characteristics? Mystical items? As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Klein swept his gaze to the ends of the room.
Along the dark wall stood a bifold door.
A bloody pair of bifold doors!
There seemed to remnants of fresh blood on the door. They continued sliding down as they reflected the light.
Klein had wanted to let Miss Bodyguard scout the way ahead when he suddenly felt a change in Azik's copper whistle that he was holding in his hand!
The originally cold and mild whistle suddenly became bone-piercing. It was a profound feeling of death!
This... Klein narrowed his eyes and instinctively took a step back.
Then, he noticed that his right forearm was numb and itchy and that it was beginning to swell.
A scene flashed through his mind as he immediately took out a tarot card with his left hand and slashed across his arm.
What surged out from his wound wasn't blood, but tiny black squirming worms!
Sizzle!
When these worms fell to the ground, they eroded into smoke.
They struggled and huddled, but in the end, they melted under the glow of the lanterns.
After a few seconds, all the black worms in Klein's wound finally flowed out, leaving only crimson liquid.
He wriggled his muscles to control the small wound and prevented the blood from flowing further.
Miss Bodyguard watched this scene quietly, her pretty eyebrows creasing into a rarely seen frown.
Klein was just about to speak when he discovered the coldness and deadliness of Azik's copper whistle hadn't abated.
At the same time, his gaze landed on Miss Bodyguard's shadow.
She never had a shadow to begin with!
"Run!" Klein shouted and immediately ran towards the hall.
Miss Bodyguard quickly floated up, and the two of them saw the lantern light in front of them gradually being swallowed up by a black shadow.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Klein ran like a hurricane as fast as he could while the light around him faded away.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The shadow grew bigger and bigger, closer and closer, thicker and thicker. The light from the flame was about to be completely engulfed, and at that moment, the door was still a few meters away.
At that moment, Klein instinctively rushed forward and then rolled across the stone door.
The light from the fire suddenly brightened, and the uneasiness in his heart instantly disappeared. Azik's copper whistle also returned to its mild and cold state.
Miss Bodyguard floated beside him as she turned around and looked at the passageway which had once again sunk into darkness. She said with an uncertain tone, "Evil spirit..."
Evil spirit? Klein almost drew a deep breath when he heard that. Fortunately, as a Clown, he was good at controlling his expression and reactions.
In the field of mysticism, evil spirits were extremely terrifying monsters. The best of them could even be said to be on the same level as High-Sequence Beyonders!
An evil spirit is wandering within this ancient structure? For some reason, it's bound or imprisoned within that room? Hmm... If it was an evil spirit, that explains why Mr. Azik's copper whistle responded. An evil spirit can be considered as an undead creature... Klein stood up and also looked at the path which was now submerged in darkness. He felt as if there was a pair of cold eyes staring at him!
