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

　At this crucial moment, he stepped forward and successfully calmed the team's emotions.

　However, when he approached Dark and the others, preparing to discuss the follow-up with the academy, he was about to leave.

　Under the watchful eyes of almost everyone, this young man, the future of the North, whose strength even surpassed that of "Tiger of the North Wind" Gavin North, vanished into thin air without any warning!

　Dark and the others were even prepared to communicate with it. Then, the second "disappearance" phenomenon suddenly appeared! The Northern warriors cried out in surprise at that moment.

　Even Stanley Longfellow and Gwen beside him looked shocked.

　The entire group fell into absolute silence.

　It suddenly erupted several seconds later.

　Upon receiving the message, Gavin North burst out of the carriage like a tiger, leaping up and crashing down where Fred North had just been standing.

　"Fred, who can tell me where Fred is?" Gavin North growled in extreme agitation. But no one was destined to answer his question.

　"What exactly happened?" Dark and the others, who had witnessed Fred North's disappearance, looked even more grave.

　Only Chris seemed to remember something, looking surprised and uncertain.

　"Chris, what are you thinking about?" Ollie immediately asked, noticing at a glance.

　Chris glanced around and whispered, "That person disappeared in the same way!"

　Her seemingly unrelated remark instantly pierced through the dark clouds that had clouded the hearts of Dark and the others.

　“It’s Hermes!” Professor Sylph exclaimed, looking up abruptly.

　Dark and the others immediately thought of this god whose presence was extremely strong from the very beginning.

　Of the twelve gods of Mount Polopus, only this god, known as the "messenger of the gods," came into the Academy's view from the very beginning.

　The reason was what Principal Art said—"Walls have ears!"

　After the events at the Mountain of the Gods began, Principal Arte became vague and ambiguous because "walls have ears."

　It was also because "walls have ears" that she hid the information in the three gifts she gave to the exploration team.

　Dark and his team went to great lengths to decipher the hidden information in the three gifts.

　After learning about this, Dak and the others deduced that the one who could make Principal Arte say the words "the walls have ears" must be one of the gods.

　Based on this, the god of commerce, travelers, thieves, and livestock, Hermes, who holds the relevant authority, was deduced!

　After that, they also discovered what should have been Hermes's "blood of the gods" on the scabbard of one of the three gifts!

　Although Dark and the others still cannot determine the exact function of that drop of activated "Hermes' Blood," if Hermes is indeed the culprit behind Quintina and Fred's mysterious disappearance, then that drop of "divine blood" might truly become some kind of crucial item.

　Dark and the others exchanged a quick glance and immediately sprang into action. Dark carefully considered his words before walking towards Gavin North with Professor Mitia, followed by several maids.

　The rest of the group followed Professor Sylph back into the pumpkin carriage.

　Now that it has been determined that Hermes is the one behind the "disappearance" phenomenon, there is no point in staying outside any longer.

　Entering the pumpkin carriage also provides better protection against Hermes's unknown ability to make people "disappear".

　“Earl Gavin North, anger won’t help you solve your problems,” Dark said frankly as he approached.

　Gavin North felt something very peculiar about him; he was actually calmed by the subtle confidence emanating from him, and said after calming down a bit, "My daughter and son have just disappeared like this, how can you expect me to remain calm?"

　Dark nodded and said directly, "The reality is, no matter how angry you are, they won't just disappear and reappear. And I have some guesses about this."

　"What guess?" Gavin? North asked instinctively. Dark said, "Hermes. [God of Commerce, Travelers, Thieves, and Animals] Hermes, I suspect that the disappearances of Quintina and Fred were both the work of Hermes."

　“Hermes, Hermes…” The name of the god startled Gavin North. His expression shifted as he said, “Hermes, why did you do that to Quintina and Fred? Has it already revived? Even if it has, what can it gain from Quintina and Fred? Are Quintina and Fred safe now?”

　Dark said, “Calm down, Gavin North. I am not Hermes and cannot answer your question.”

　Gavin North took a deep breath, finally calming down. Although he was still helpless regarding Quintina and Fred's disappearance, having "Hermes" as a clue was better than nothing.

　Moreover, one of his original purposes in venturing into the Mountain of the Gods was to ensure that his son, Frederick North, would inherit the legacy of Hermes.

　He did not possess Hermes' "blood of the gods".

　In fact, he did not have the concept that "receiving divine power requires corresponding [divine blood]", which was information held by the Holy Church.

　His purpose in carrying the "blood of God" with Count Stanley Longfellow was simply to open a certain door, as prophesied.

　The "blood of the gods" they carried, apart from the drop of "Demeter's blood" they obtained after trading with the academy, only contained a portion of "the blood of the god of fire" and another type of "blood of the gods".

　He believes that the reason Fred North was able to inherit the legacy of Hermes—rather than that of Ares, the "God of War"—is because Fred North has a natural affinity for the wind element.

　That's an extremely high talent that would make him a wind elemental spirit master!

　So, after calming down, he couldn't help but start fantasizing again: perhaps Hermes had taken a liking to Fred, and that's why he took them away through a kind of "disappearance."

　As for why Quintina North was also taken away...

　Quintina is, after all, a genuine "weather expert," possessing exceptional talent in wind magic as well, though her lightning magic is even stronger.

　Quintina's elemental talent is actually higher than Fred North's. Gavin North's greatest expectation for her is to inherit the legacy of Zeus, the "King of the Gods," who controls lightning, the sky, power, and all things.

　If that doesn't work, then Hermes is a good alternative...

　Dark had no idea that Gavin North would still harbor such illusions at this point.

　After he waited until Bishop Sabrina Melville and the Twin Paladins had also come over, he continued, "If Hermes has already awakened, with the authority he wields, every word we say now will not escape his ears."

　Emily Grantham said, “Be respectful and careful with your words.” Albert Grantham frowned and said, “Isn’t the matter of Hermes just speculation? After all, I can’t imagine why he would take Gavin North’s two children away.”

　Sabrina Melville glared at him and said, "Let's not talk about the reasons. If it really was Hermes's doing, he has already made two people disappear mysteriously. It's not impossible that he could make a third or fourth person disappear as well."

　Professor Mitia said, "This is also a concern of ours. Even if our guess is correct, we still have no way to deal with this ability. If we can't find a solution, more and more people will disappear."

　Sabrina Melville nodded. "That is indeed an urgent matter."

　Upon hearing this, Gavin North exclaimed, "Then let's enter the 'Heavenly Court' as soon as possible, find him, and confront him face to face!"

　Bishop Sabrina Melville glanced at him and said, “Count Gavin North, do you know what you’re saying? That’s Hermes, one of the twelve gods of Mount Polopus. If he’s fully resurrected, we’re just ants he can crush at will.”

　"But he didn't do that, did he?" Gavin North suddenly exclaimed angrily.

　But what he said after he got angry gave Dark an idea.

　Professor Mitia stated her thoughts directly: "It seems that even if Hermes has awakened, he's most likely not at his peak. Even the use of his powers is severely limited. Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited so long to take Fred away. Of course, it's also possible that it's all just a wrong guess, and Quintina and Fred's disappearance has nothing to do with Hermes. But in that case..."

　Clearly, even from Gavin North's perspective, he would prefer that Quintina and Fred were taken away by Hermes, rather than for any other reason, since disappearance equals death!

　“My suggestion is…” Bishop Sabrina Melville began.

　But she stopped abruptly as soon as she began to speak, and turned sharply to look at the empty space beside her—where Albert Grantham, one of the "Holy Knights," had been standing!

　Albert Grantham, who had just been saying that he "could not imagine why Hermes took Quintina and Fred away," also vanished without a trace!

　The expressions on everyone's faces changed abruptly.

　Emily Grantham was instantly panicked.

　The disappearances of Quintina and Fred were ultimately less impactful than the disappearance of Albert.

　As the third person suddenly disappeared, panic gradually spread.

Chapter 966 Darkdemon, Entering the Game! (4k)

　Sabrina Melville's expression visibly darkened. She hadn't expected that the near-disappearance would occur so quickly among her own men.

　And to make matters worse, it happened to Albert Grantham!

　Albert Grantham is not only powerful himself, but he also possesses a secret treasure of the Holy See—a safeguard for him and Emily as they venture into perilous places.

　But when he mysteriously disappeared, the sacred artifact showed absolutely no reaction! Bishop Sabrina Melville knew very well what that meant.

　If even that sacred treasure of the Holy Church cannot prevent the phenomenon that resembles "divine disappearance," then no one in the entire Holy Church can stop it.

　In other words, even she herself was powerless to resist.

　The more confident a person is in their own abilities, the less they can tolerate this situation.

　Since entering the Mountain of the Gods, Bishop Sabrina Melville has finally truly felt what the difference between gods and men means!

　That feeling was definitely not something that giant elephant wandering in the Mountain of the Gods could create.

　But she did not succumb to fear. Instead, she decisively shouted, "Keep moving forward and get out of this passage as soon as possible!"

　Bishop Sabrina Melville's voice instantly quelled the panic among the clergy.

　She summoned Emily Grantham, then rushed back to the group, mounted her unicorn, and sped off!

　She did not wait for the college and the northern region to act together.

　The three instances of "disappearance" that have occurred so far all happened after a period of time.

　But that interval wasn't actually that long.

　If action is not taken soon, the fourth "disappearance" is almost a certainty.

　Moreover, Bishop Sabrina Melville had a very ominous premonition that the fourth one to "disappear" might very well be Emily Grantham!

　"go!"

　When Bishop Sabrina Melville returned to the Holy Order's domain, Dak immediately ran towards the pumpkin carriage.

　Now that things had come to this, he had nothing left to say to the people of the North. If the successive disappearances of Quintina and Fred could be considered a coincidence, then Albert Grantham's disappearance was almost like revealing one's hand in a game of cards, clearly telling them that Hermes was targeting the young people present!

　“The next person to disappear will be Emily Grantham!” Professor Mitia said quickly.

　As a true "prophet," Professor Mitia never makes judgments lightly.

　This time, though she didn't consult any divination, she had the same extremely strong premonition as Bishop Sabrina Melville.

　and…

　"If the next person to disappear is indeed Emily Grantham... then there is a very high probability that the next person to disappear will be one of us."

　Dark took over Professor Mitia's words directly, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

　He wasn't worried about being chosen himself, but rather about Aurora being chosen!

　Of the fourteen people from the academy, if we look at their actual ages, the only ones who are as young as the three who disappeared are him and Aurora—no, Ollie and Angeli are also very young!

　Dak suddenly turned his head and glanced at the maids behind him.

　Of the four maids who accompanied them, Aure was very young, while Angry was even younger!

　If Hermes is indeed targeting young people this time, then the two of them will also be among his targets.

　Besides, Chris is only just over twenty-five, and Trina isn't much older than them.

　Therefore, it's not impossible that all four maids could be captured.

　The idea that "Hermes was targeting young people" was originally just speculation.

　The definition of "young" is also uncertain. Anything can happen until things become clear.

　But just like Bishop Sabrina Melville's actions, all they can do now is to get through this flesh and blood passage as quickly as possible and truly enter "Heaven"!

　Professor Mitia stepped into the carriage and immediately activated the spell, unfurling a pair of golden-red wings on either side of the carriage.

　The Holy Church's party was advancing at full speed, with the academy's party quickly catching up. After sitting down, Dark quickly explained his thoughts, then repeatedly reminded Aurora to remain calm should anything happen; he would find her as fast as possible!

　Sensing danger, "Serpent Goddess" Nix instinctively grabbed Aurora's wrist.

　Then, Aurora began to soothe it in return. Dark glanced at it, a sense of regret in his heart.

　Although both Nix and Ergane look very young, they are actually much older than they appear.

　If Hermes was indeed targeting young people, they would all be excluded.

　Otherwise, with these two "disappearing" together, Dark would feel somewhat more at ease.

　Why is it so certain that Hermes was targeting young people?

　Can we really make a determination with just three samples?

　Actually not.

　However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the Holy Church and the Northern Region are both located here for the same reason.

　Whether it's guidance or inheritance, they are all aiming to obtain the divine power of the twelve gods of Mount Polopus.

　And the vessels they used to carry divine power were all young people in their early twenties at most.

　The same was true for the elven army. The three factions had different information, but this was the only point where they coincidentally overlapped.

　If the "disappearance" had not occurred, that slight overlap in information could be considered as the three parties having discovered the same truth during their investigation.