The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 1038 Ch.1037 The Terrible Rose
Sender's words were like a fine knife for prying open oysters, always finding their way to the most painful and itchy spots. Having only spent a short time with Deloz Fonseca, this former saintly candidate discovered a 'flaw' in his soul—

She seemed to know Roland very well.

Actually...

This precarious tower of trust can be pushed with the slightest push of a finger.

Seeing that Deloz remained silent, Roland had no choice but to mention the three strange objects in the box: Sender had indeed brought him good luck—this cursed petal 'coincidentally' contained the ring-raising ritual he needed.

The Fourth Ring Road and the Fifth Ring Road.

"Accelerate...time? Cannot be...predicted?" When Sender heard Roland talk about the two strange objects, his eyes darted between the music box and the puppet.

Obviously.

Both of these strange objects have their own 'troublesome aspects'.

Music boxes, needless to say, could potentially transform a person from youth to old age in just half a month if the owner becomes truly addicted—the trap of puppets is quite subtle.

"Sew up...their own eyes?" Roland picked up the dry, brittle puppet, shook it a few times, and threw it back onto the carpet with disgust.

It feels exactly like human skin.

“Of course not these trivial matters, Roland. The artifacts that can protect the ritual performer from prophecy and curse are extremely rare… and the price will not be just this.”

Unlike Roland, Sindel really liked those buttons.

She gripped the doll by the neck, holding it up to her eyes for a closer look: "The price of many wonders lies in 'recklessness,' Roland. For example... guess what, when someone sewed a button onto their eyelid, it became this thing..."

He waved to Roland, his pure eyes flashing with the same pure schadenfreude:
"...And how do I take the button off?"

Deloz opened his mouth, but didn't dare to utter a sound.

Roland stared at the puppet, somewhat surprised: "You mean—this thing... is actually a ritual performer?"

Sender laughed even more heartily.

"Hmm...maybe?"

She placed it on her lap, clearly intending to leave it behind: "Trust is both cheap and expensive. Just like the ritualists who use this artifact—some people always talk a good game, but when it comes to the crucial moment…maybe, it doesn't even have to come to the crucial moment."

Ha, who can't tell?
Deloz finally lost her temper. She puffed out her chest, her cheeks now flushed red compared to Rose's overly generous nature: "I'm just terrified of your mystical 'tricks,' I absolutely believe in Roland! Miss Kratofer, do you always enjoy speaking ill of people to their faces and sowing discord between friends?"

She accepted the challenge without hesitation, her clever mind filled with sentences of varying lengths, waiting for her master's command.

then.

Xander smiled at her.

Just smiled.

The topic was quickly steered back to the second strange object.

Deloz Fonseca wanted to transform himself into the strong winds near the harbor, rushing over and tearing the woman's gray hair into a mess, yelling "I'll teach you to talk nonsense!"—and in reality, she did exactly that in her mind.

That's really not ladylike enough.

"…call."

She inhaled deeply the stench of blood in the room, swirled it in her lungs, and exhaled black smoke that emitted sparks.

Some people are really annoying.

Deloz clenched his fist, braced himself on the carpet, and pushed off with his feet and hips as he sat down next to Roland—he even glanced at Xander.

“I think the most useful thing is this music box,” the half-scientist girl pushed up her glasses and forced her way into a topic she wasn’t good at: “For people who rely on their brains, being able to extend their time, or even pay the price of physical aging to gain more time—nothing is more worthwhile than that.”

Kratofer's smile was tinged with mockery.

“Seeing your greed, Miss Fonseca, I already know what happened to the last owner of this music box.”

"Oh really? You really know what kind of miracles we brain-based people can create when we have the power to 'leap across years in a day'—to be honest, the 'detector' is just a soup before the main course."

Sender smiled without saying a word.

She did not despise ordinary people. Like a few clear-headed individuals, even if she could not enter the beautiful garden at night, she remained vigilant in her daily, bloated, and boring life: keeping her distance from power to avoid rotting flesh; being the master of gold, not a slave.

Delozzi Fonseca is too smart.

Intelligent people share a common flaw: they are overconfident. "In that case, this music box... is for you, Miss Fonseca." Sender pressed the lid with two fingers and pushed it towards Fonseca.

Deloz was taken aback: "Give...give it to me?"

She didn't expect it at all.

"Of course, 'nothing is more worthwhile'—I think I really don't need to consult Bishop Gary Kratoff on this matter."

Strange things…

Can an ordinary person use this music box?

Deloz stared at the exquisitely crafted silver box, somewhat wanting to refuse Xander, but unable to resist her curiosity—accessing the world of ritualists wasn't easy, let alone their 'treasure'.

This thing... is worth at least a few hundred pounds... right?

Cinder, holding the puppet, watched with a smile as Deloz's expressions constantly changed.

Until, someone who had been staring at the petals from the very beginning let out a loud, dry howl.

He flung the petal away as if discarding a burning ember, and sprang up from the ground like a strange cat whose mind was alienated by its black and white coloring. Its limbs seemed to glide down from a height like a honey badger, howling and squealing as it darted into the farthest corner of the room.

Sender and Delos were also terrified.

He howled.

"Roland?"

Deloz looked bewildered: "What are you doing now? This isn't the time for jokes—"

The man in the corner turned his back to the two ladies, pressed his head against the crack in the wall, and waved his hand behind him.

"We still need to figure out how to get out of here! Luo—"

Roland replied in a muffled voice, "This corner is my destination in life."

Deloz: ...

"What are you doing? Come out here!"

"No! Impossible! Make it leave first!"

Who left?

"That monster!"

"What... a monster?"

Deloz was both angry and amused.

Roland now looked like a man who had been wronged in some of the disreputable places where she had grown up—when they finished their business in a hurry and faced the teasing of their aunts with cigarettes in their hands, they would go to a corner of the room or the corridor and smash their head, body and fists.

While smashing things, he yelled: Who do you think you are?! I'm fully rested, I can punch a hole in the wall!

All of the above are 'stories' about men that Deloz never witnessed firsthand, but only heard from his aunts laughing and joking among themselves.

Who?
Who is more powerful than a wall?

Deloz didn't know.

She realized that Roland was mostly unreliable.

"come out faster!"

"Let's wait until it's gone before we talk about it..."

"Who left?! Oh my god! What the hell—"

Sender seemed to understand, silently looking at the faded petal on the carpet.

She picked it up and held it in her palm.

Open the window.

Blow gently into your palm.

(End of this chapter)