Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 22 The Hidden Sage

The eerie eyes' malice was palpable. Even when Lu Ze didn't meet their gaze, they still stared intently at him, like a petty, narrow-minded person. If it were a human, Lu Ze could easily ignore such a glare, but if it came from an evil and terrifying being, such a gaze would be extremely dangerous.

Lu Ze felt his head buzzing and blood gushed from his nose instantly.

The illusory sound of ocean waves echoed in his mind, shielding him from further harm, but the existing injuries continued to bleed. Blood trickled from his nose down his lips and chin, dripping onto the floor of Old Neil's house.

Knowing his time was running out, Lu Ze took a deep breath, looked at the flickering candlelight, and prayed softly.

"The Creator of all things,"

After taking Old Neil's class, he learned that the unfamiliar language he was speaking was actually Hermes.

With the first prayer, the world outside the spiritual wall suddenly went dark, and even the figures of Dunn and the others, who were so close, could not be seen clearly. The blood patterns on Old Neil's body began to come alive, appearing as if they had come to life in the candlelight.

"The ruler behind the veil of shadows,"

In the darkness, something great was quietly rising. The world grew darker, with only two candles flickering like tiny beans. Twisted, delirious murmurs began to appear, layer upon layer, making one feel restless and anxious.

The blood pattern subtly sank downwards, as if it had devoured Old Neil's skin and superficial flesh, leaving a raw imprint on his chest. The illusory eyes abruptly stopped floating, as if fixed in mid-air, no longer moving.

We can't read anymore.

The murmured voice echoed in Luze's ears, like a relentless hammering at his nerves, digging into his brain. Luze instinctively sensed danger. He interrupted his recitation of the true Creator's name and, using the influence He had already bestowed, cried out:

"Praise the glory of the Lord, for the Fall is the new life of all!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the blood-printed pattern on Old Neil's chest began to writhe. The eyes that had been attached to Old Neil's body suddenly flew into Old Neil's body, as if they were being absorbed into Old Neil's body by an invisible force.

Immediately afterwards, the symbol representing the true creator dissolved, like paint spreading in water, but it was restrained by the red circle, only able to spread within a small area on the chest. Before long, the skin within the red circle turned bright red, and something seemed to be stirring beneath the skin.

With a soft "poof," four cracks appeared on the red skin, then slowly expanded. They were actually four cold, eyelash-less eyes, two pairs above and one below, appearing on Old Neil's chest.

Perhaps it was just Lu Ze's wishful thinking, but those two pairs of eyes seemed to contain not only indifference but also a hint of bewilderment.

"boom!"

Lu Ze raised his dagger, piercing the wall of spiritual energy. Amidst the howling winds carrying spiritual power, he shouted:
"Lord Cecima, now is the time!"

brush!
The next instant, a white light flashed rapidly before his eyes.

Luze couldn't describe what kind of light it was; he only felt that the moment he saw it, the world seemed to disappear, leaving only that beam of light in his eyes. When he came to his senses, Krestai was already standing next to Old Neil, the silver-white metal suitcase crashing onto the floor behind Luze with a loud thud.

A large patch of skin had been shaved off Old Neil's chest, revealing pink muscle, but strangely, no blood flowed from the wound.

"Clap."

A piece of blood-stained skin fell to the ground, its four eyes darting around rapidly. The skin struggled and throbbed like some kind of creature, but it couldn't hold on for long before turning into black ashes and disappearing completely.

"Success?"

Lu Ze's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he muttered something incredulously.

Dunn and the others held their breath, waiting for Krestais's judgment.

Krestai turned to the side, concealing his right arm, which was holding something, at his side. He looked down at old Neil and said calmly after a few seconds, "Successful. The expulsion was thorough."

call!
Lu Ze heard a group of people behind him exclaim with relief. "That's great!"

Tears welled up in Dai Li's eyes, and although Dunn and Luo Yao didn't say anything, their joy was evident.

They both looked at Lu Ze.

"Lu Ze, you saved his life."

Dunn strode up to him, pulled him up, and squeezed his arm tightly. "First it was Luo Yao and Klein, and then it was Old Neil. I'm so glad I invited you to join the team back then."

"It was pure luck."

Lu Ze grinned, though a hint of lingering fear remained.

Luo Yao and Dai Li also gathered around, showering him with praise and thanks. Lu Ze was pleased, but also marveled at how well Old Neil was popular, with so many people caring about him.

Just then, Krestais calmly looked directly at Luzer.

"You have abused the fallen authority of the true Creator?"

he asked.

"You're amazing, you saw right through it."

Lu Zedao.

This time, he used a ritual called "Revelation of the Fall," the original intention of which was to drive extraordinary beings into a state of depravity and loss of control, making them sacrifices to the true creator. However, Luzer used limitations, restricting the area of ​​corruption to a small patch of skin on Old Neil's chest.

Because it was forced out of control, the evil power that was originally scattered and attached to Old Neil was forcibly gathered together, and then directly eliminated with the help of Kresta's sacred object.

In other words, the original intention of the corruption ritual was bad, and Luze carried it out.

"hehe."

Krestai finally smiled, looked at Luzer, and said, "You're really smart. But don't do it again next time."

He grinned, smiling broadly.

Due to the angle, Luze could see the part of the other person hidden through the gap in the collar. It turned out that inside Krestai's hidden mouth, each tooth was attached to a transparent entity, which wriggled and wobbled, revealing illusory human faces.

"."

Luze was startled and suddenly understood why Krestai had always hidden his lips under his collar.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Old Neil was still in a deep coma. He was covered with Dunn's coat, lifted up, and placed on the round table in the living room, where Daly was in charge of watching over him. The others were scattered throughout the room, searching for any remaining dangers.

Lu Ze entered the bedroom on the second floor. He casually flipped through the pages of a book on the desk, and a slip of paper covered in writing fell out. He looked closely and saw that it seemed to contain a short passage of a respectful name and several rituals. At the end of the respectful name, a name was clearly written—

The wise man is hidden.

His eyes widened immediately.

(End of this chapter)