The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　After burning for half an hour, the 100-meter-tall "Flower of Demeter" was finally burned to ashes, leaving only a pool of black ash on the ground.

　"What is that?"

　Stanley Longfellow was looking around idly when he suddenly spotted a glimmer of gold in the ashes of the burned-out "Flower of Demeter".

　He didn't dare to take it himself, and exclaimed in surprise.

　Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to that tiny, almost imperceptible golden light.

　At Professor Kazel's signal, the "Black Steel Golem" walked over and picked up the glimmer of gold from the black ashes.

　As everyone watched from afar, a strange expression gradually appeared on their faces. For the true form of that golden light was a golden key!

　No one expected that after the "Flower of Demeter" was burned, a key would actually appear!

　Is this the "key to open the door" foretold in the prophecy, or simply a coincidence?

　Even Stanley Longfellow himself stared wide-eyed at the key.

　No one knows the true meaning of that key. But anyway...

　"To whom?" Count Stanley Longfellow asked abruptly. Bishop Sabrina Melville glanced at Professor Cazell. She had clearly ruled out Stanley Longfellow again.

　Professor Cazell said solemnly, "How about I keep it for you?"

　Bishop Sabrina Melville said, "Of course I'd prefer to keep it with me. But there's no need to argue about it. After all, nobody knows what this key is for. It might just be an ordinary key that someone accidentally dropped."

　Professor Cazell nodded slightly and said, "Regardless of where the key is, I can only guarantee that after opening the door or unlocking the lock, I will try my best to share information with you and provide convenience."

　“Hey! That’s what I found!” Stanley Longfellow exclaimed suddenly. Professor Cazell said, “You did find it, but you probably can’t hold onto it.”

　Stanley Longfellow paused for a moment, then immediately broke into an exaggerated smile: "Just kidding, just kidding. We'll leave it with you for now. But when you open any doors, you must take us with you."

　Professor Kazel said, "If everyone is here, we will naturally finish speaking together." He then took out a "Sphere of Truth," placed the key inside, and kept it close to his body.

　This unexpected gain left them somewhat bewildered. "Anyway, let's go back first."

　Kazel said, clapping his hands.

　Leaving this area, it only takes 500 meters through the fog to reach the hill where the team is located.

　It had taken them quite a while to get in through the fog, but this time their departure was much faster, and they soon returned smoothly along the same route they had come from.

　They still didn't encounter any monsters along the way.

　Although the "Flower of Demeter" has been burned to ashes, its lingering power seems to remain.

　"Magical Beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye" sat on the shoulder of "Black Steel Golem" and walked at the front, being the first to see the hill where the team was located.

　It raised its head, and the gaze of its third eye pierced through the layers of mist, revealing the scene atop the hill—where there was nothing!

　-

　An indescribable look of astonishment appeared on his face.

　The "Black Steel Golem" seemed to sense its feelings and gradually stopped moving forward.

　"what happened"

　Sitting atop the steel golem of the "Goblin Alchemist," Dark Deamon couldn't help but ask a question.

　Through his connection with the magical spirit, he could sense that "Magical Beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye" was emotionally unstable.

　"Fantasy Beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye" finally spoke: "Gone! The team stationed there is gone!"

　At first, Dak thought he had misheard, but half a second later he realized what he had heard and stood up in surprise.

　Professor Sylph and Professor Cazell were equally astonished. They stood up immediately. After realizing what was happening, Professor Sylph transformed into a whirlwind, howling through the mist and rushing straight to the top of the hill!

　Dark quickly covered his ears, but all he heard from the "Blessing of the Wind Spirit" was Professor Sylph's anxious voice.

　His face gradually darkened.

　Professor Sylph's reaction undoubtedly confirmed the words of "Magic Beast: Goddess of the Mind's Eye".

　The troops that were originally stationed on the hill have vanished into thin air!

　However, that place was only a kilometer away from the location of the "Flower of Demeter," and only five hundred meters away from their position in that area.

　Given the short distance between them, why wouldn't they be at all different if something major happened?

　"It's fog! Damn fog!"

　Dark's mood instantly turned extremely gloomy.

　The joy of his recent great harvest vanished instantly. "Don't rush!" Professor Cazell pressed down on his shoulder and said in a deep voice. Darke, still unable to calm down, listened to the professor's voice.

　The words "[Rage +1]" began to appear before his eyes. Professor Kazel said again, "Don't worry! Lily's here, everything will be alright!"

　"Lily! Lily! That's right, Lily is here too!" Dark gasped for breath, finally catching his breath.

　He discovered that his mental fortitude wasn't as strong as he had imagined. The mere disappearance of the team had shaken him so deeply.

　But that team included not only Professor Lily, but also Professor Mitis and Ollie, and even Ergani, the "Goddess of Wisdom".

　The strength of that team was in no way weaker than our trio. There must have been a specific reason why they disappeared from that hill.

　Just as Dark had finally calmed down, a figure suddenly flashed past him. It was Gavin North, who was a step behind and knew the information. He rushed out frantically with his little tiger in his arms.

　Of the nine (ten) people in this current investigation team, Gavin North is undoubtedly one of the most concerned about the missing team.

　Although it remains speculation, Dark is almost certain that one of Gavin North's children was on that team.

　"Stand still."

　Professor Kazel suddenly spoke.

　The steel golem beneath their feet suddenly accelerated, rushing out of the mist and heading towards the hill.

　The three members of the Holy Church also sped off and soon arrived at the top of the hill.

　Traces of their encampment remained on the hill, and some items had not yet been packed away, indicating that the group had left in a great hurry.

　The good news is that a search of the entire hill yielded no bodies, no signs of fighting, and not a single person was left behind.

　The fact that no one was left behind suggests that their withdrawal was relatively relaxed. However, it also means they have lost their source of intelligence.

　Dak couldn't help but touch his ear again.

　Professor Sylph gave each member of the group a wisp of "Wind Spirit's Blessing" upon arrival. Without the interference of the mist, they could actually maintain communication.

　But the fog blocked everything, making it highly likely that even if they were only a hundred meters apart, they would just miss each other.

　Dark leaped lightly off the steel golem and walked toward where the pumpkin carriage had originally been parked.

　The barrier left here is still there, and there are no signs of violent destruction. Most of the footprints on the ground are pointing in one direction and do not appear particularly messy.

　All signs seemed to indicate that their withdrawal was a well-thought-out decision—perhaps somewhat hasty.

　In short, given this situation, they must have left a message. Perhaps a picture, or perhaps a note.

　"Um……"

　Dark saw Professor Sylph's back; she was standing near where the pumpkin carriage had originally stopped, seemingly examining something.

　Bishop Sabrina Melville, the Twin Paladins, and Gavin North also rushed to their respective camps to carefully search for the messages left behind.

　Darke circled around Professor Sylph from the side to the front and finally saw clearly the object she was examining—it was a crystal ball!

　Crystal ball!

　A medium capable of recording images and sounds, the best tool for transmitting messages. Seeing the crystal ball, Dark finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

　The fact that a crystal ball was left behind indicates that there was enough time to record during the evacuation.

　That crystal ball might contain records of what they encountered, or it might record the direction they took to escape.

　In short, it's definitely a good thing. Definitely.

Chapter 949 Darkdemon and the Giant Elephant in the Mist (4k)

　Professor Sylph activated the crystal ball in her hand only after Professor Cazell had also gathered around, under the watchful eyes of the three of them.

　As light gradually appeared in the crystal ball, Chris silently emerged from Dark's shadow.

　Although she could get a high-altitude view while lurking in the shadows, seeing it with her own eyes definitely made her feel more at ease.

　Based on her understanding of Aoli and the others, unless there was absolutely no possibility, they would retreat in the direction of the young master, even if they did.

　But since they didn't do that, it means they truly encountered an insurmountable crisis. Or perhaps they intentionally steered it in a different direction because of it.

　Chris was equally eager to know what had happened to them! Under Professor Sylph's control, the crystal ball gradually floated into the air, and a hazy image spread outward from the center of the ball. The crystal ball itself disappeared in the image, and a faint sound came from it.

　It was an extremely dull, thunderous sound, like the beating of a drum.

　On the mist-shrouded Mountain of the Gods, the deafening roar pierced through the dense fog and reached Professor Medea and the others, even being absorbed and recorded by the crystal ball.

　Since there are no base coordinates, it is impossible to determine which direction the drum sound came from.

　However, upon closer inspection of the scene inside the crystal ball, some clues seem to be found.

　The crystal ball was originally located on the carriage, and the image reflected in the crystal ball was a tall black shadow that looked like a pillar supporting the sky—that was the image of the "Flower of Demeter".

　Based on this, Professor Sylph fine-tuned the orientation of the crystal ball to make it consistent with reality.

　Only then, relying on their exceptional hearing, did they pinpoint the direction from which the sound came—it was on the opposite side, completely opposite to the location of the "Flower of Demeter"!

　In other words, if it is not altered, the thing that made the sound should first pass over this hill and then continue to the area where the "Flower of Demeter" is located, which is almost a straight line!

　But in reality, Dark and the others, who were in that area, did not encounter the unknown thing... and did not even notice it.

　This was largely due to the closed nature of that area, but it was indeed because Professor Mitia and her team had done something.

　The images playing in the crystal ball continued, emanating frequent gasps of surprise. These gasps came from the academy, the Holy Church, and the Northern Region.

　The roars of beasts within the Mountain of the Gods are not uncommon, but those are in the outer areas where the fog is not so thick.

　Once inside, the thick fog blocked the sound, making it impossible to travel, so it could no longer be heard.

　Therefore, when this thunderous sound suddenly appeared, it truly startled the people guarding the place.

　They were already worried about whether something might happen to the investigation team, and were unusually sensitive to any disturbance, so they immediately noticed. Then almost everyone who noticed looked in that direction.

　However, apart from the drumbeats that sounded every now and then, there was nothing unusual in that direction, and the thick fog surrounding the barrier remained completely still.

　But the sound lasted for so long that the professors in the carriage all came out one by one, their brows furrowed as they stared in the direction from which the sound came.

　The professors were not initially nervous; they were simply discussing the source of the sound rationally.

　Professor Lily even enthusiastically suggested that she go and investigate herself, but Professor Mitis stopped her in time—they all knew that Professor Lily never joked about such things, and if she said she would go, she really would!

　Fortunately, Professor Lily was only suggesting it; she simply flew slightly in that direction, widening her eyes as if trying to discern something.

　However, the sound continued for almost half an hour. Just as their initial vigilance gradually lowered and they even became slightly numb, a new strange phenomenon suddenly appeared!

　Professor Sylph accelerated the flow of the image presentation until the anomaly occurred, at which point she slowed it down again.

　Then, from the direction from which the drumbeats came, a dark figure suddenly emerged from the mist.

　The shadow was extremely faint, and it appeared in almost the same way as the shadow of the "Flower of Demeter" when it first appeared.

　It was even farther and larger than the shadow cast by the "Flower of Demeter".

　From the moment the dark silhouette appeared in everyone's sight, the drum-like sound suddenly became clearer and louder.

　Faintly, it seemed to be accompanied by some kind of vibration.

　Someone immediately bent down, pressed their ear to the ground to feel it carefully, and when they stood up again, their face was slightly pale.

　Professors Mitya, Harvey, Lily, Ophelia, Ollie… even Ergani came out of the carriage, frowning as they observed the enormous, terrifying black shadow.

　Just like the shadow of "Demeter's Flower", as long as you stare in that direction, the shadow will become clearer and clearer until - the outline of the shadow can be seen completely and thoroughly!

　But that point cannot be reached from the perspective of a crystal ball.

　The group of Dark could only deduce from the professors' voices that it seemed to be... a giant elephant.

　Dak immediately frowned in thought, wondering which of the twelve Olympian gods was associated with elephants.

　But with his current level of knowledge, he couldn't imagine it at all. Moreover, none of the things Principal Art sent were related to elephants.

　Therefore, the appearance of this colossal elephant brought even greater pressure than the appearance of the "Flower of Demeter".

　Moreover, the "Flower of Demeter" is a plant.

　Plants naturally give people the impression of being rooted in the ground and not moving, which makes people feel safer.