Chapter 287 - 278: The Statue in the Depths (2)

Chapter 287: Chapter 278: The Statue in the Depths (2)

But even a few extra glances were enough to feel the assault of Spiritual Contamination, causing a faint stinging sensation in Kading’s brain and eardrums.

"Dammit, there’s something strange about these patterns. Don’t look at them!"

Kading cursed again and quickly moved his flashlight away.

But then he noticed Lloyd, right beside him, still staring intently even without the flashlight’s beam. He was studying them one after another, savoring them as if he were at an art exhibition, trying to take in every detail of the bizarre patterns.

"What... what are you doing?"

Kading asked hurriedly, his hand unconsciously tightening around the axe handle.

"Hm? Nothing."

Lloyd replied casually, then asked a question of his own:

"Aren’t you using your Spiritual Vision?"

The question left Kading dumbfounded.

"You dare use Spiritual Vision in a place like this? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"It’s fine. The Holy Artifact I have enhances my Rationality."

Lloyd explained casually, just as he finished examining all the patterns on both sides. A series of panel notifications immediately rang in his ears:

[Ding! Madness Value +100]

[Ding! Knowledge Fragment +1]

[Ding! Madness Value +100]

[Ding! Knowledge Fragment +1]

In his eyes, these patterns were actually a form of diluted Forbidden Knowledge.

The Spiritual Contamination they could inflict wasn’t strong, but they were hard to comprehend. Normally, Lloyd shouldn’t have been able to understand them.

’After all, I’m a normal person. Of course I can’t make sense of things drawn by a madman.’

But the Book of Truth in his mind suddenly made its presence known, helping him "translate" them, which was how he acquired those Knowledge Fragments.

Lloyd glanced at them briefly. ’It’s some specialized knowledge, but I can probably use it.’

He didn’t have time to worry about that now, so he pointed toward the deepest part of the area.

"Yakson and the others are over there. Let’s go."

"Er..."

Although Kading had a troubled look on his face, Lloyd had already taken the lead, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

’This young amateur is acting more confident than a twenty-year veteran like me...’

’But in reality, this is a reckless and rash move. Who knows if there are ambushes, traps, or ferocious monsters hidden in a den of cultists like this...’

At least, Kading hadn’t seen the true situation here during his earlier [Spirit Communication], so he couldn’t make a judgment.

But with two of his comrades’ lives on the line, he couldn’t afford to be so cautious.

Fortunately, Lloyd was different. Through the supervisor’s memories, he had already confirmed that no one had set up any traps or tricks inside.

’They probably didn’t dare...’

’This place is revered as a "Holy Land" by their Cult and holds an "inviolable" status. Who would dare to mess around here?’

’As for the possibility of an enemy invasion, the supervisor clearly hadn’t thought that far ahead. The place is hidden so secretively that an ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to find the entrance.’

’He certainly hadn’t anticipated that a new student from Mizkakotok University would "look for the school gate" and end up in their Holy Land.’

And so, Lloyd and Kading reached the depths of the area safely and without obstruction.

This Alternate Space wasn’t large, about the size of a standard warehouse. The interior was arranged rather haphazardly and was mostly empty, save for the oil lamps and patterns on the side walls, and a single statue erected in the deepest part.

The statue was completely hidden in darkness, but it wasn’t a mere visual darkness. It was shrouded by some kind of strange power.

Even with his Spiritual Vision and [Eye of Wisdom] active, Lloyd couldn’t see anything. He could only vaguely make out what seemed to be a humanoid silhouette.

But after staring for just two more seconds, his Inspiration and eerie Intuition began to clamor wildly, warning him that if he kept looking, he’d be attending his own funeral.

Even the Square Ring on his hand automatically deactivated the [Eye of Wisdom] state, abruptly plunging Lloyd into a state of color blindness where he couldn’t distinguish any colors.

He had no choice but to look down at the two investigators below the statue.

The two investigators who had been sent in earlier were restrained by a strange "scaffolding." Their limbs were tied to it with hemp ropes, forcing them into a posture of prayer with their hands clasped and heads bowed.

Though both were still alive, they were a bloody mess, with blood still trickling from wounds on their foreheads.

Their mental states were even worse. Using [Probe], Lloyd saw that both had already fallen into [Mild Madness]. The two words were flashing incessantly, indicating that they were continuously suffering from Spiritual Contamination and heading toward the Abyss of madness.

Their original [Rationality] of over 50 and [Cognition] of over 30 were constantly decreasing, now down to just over ten points. Meanwhile, their [Inspiration], originally in the high 20s, was now surging toward a peak of 80.

It was as if they had reset their stats in a video game and dumped all the points into [Inspiration].

If this continued, the two would surely be turned into living vegetables like the villagers outside. Lloyd quickly reached out, intending to free them.

But Kading stopped him at the critical moment.

"This is dangerous. Let me do it."

He was a veteran investigator, after all. Faced with a potentially dangerous situation, he didn’t shrink behind a rookie like Lloyd.

With that, Kading raised his logging axe and, with exquisite force and angle, severed the hemp ropes on his two comrades, freeing them from the "scaffolding’s" restraints.

The two investigators immediately slumped weakly to the ground. But in Lloyd’s eyes, their mental states were no longer flashing. Their [Rationality] and [Cognition] had stopped decreasing and were beginning to slowly recover, bit by bit.

Correspondingly, their [Inspiration] also began to gradually decrease.

’Looks like they’re saved.’

Lloyd couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But Kading still looked tense. He suddenly seemed to sense something and, for no apparent reason, raised his head to look at the statue hidden in the darkness.

He had been extremely cautious before, never once looking up at the statue from start to finish, let alone shining his flashlight on it.

It was this one strange, uncharacteristic upward glance that made him freeze on the spot. His body began to tremble uncontrollably, as if he had seen something utterly terrifying.

A second later, trickles of black blood began to seep from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Veins bulged on his skin, writhing like worms.

’These are the symptoms of losing control and degenerating...’

’In another two or three seconds, he’ll degenerate into one of the Out of Control...’

At that critical moment, Lloyd acted without hesitation. He gave Kading a hard shove, sending him stumbling to the side.

But the next second, he felt a gaze from above, as if it had crossed an immense distance from some faraway place to land upon him.

There was no human emotion in the gaze, only a host of complex and incomprehensible sensations.

This made Lloyd involuntarily raise his head and look toward the statue.

At some point, the darkness surrounding it had dissipated, revealing its true form before Lloyd’s eyes.

Its form was generally humanoid, with the torso and limbs of a normal human. It was posed with its hands cupped before its chest, as if holding something.

Its head, however, was a crystal-like hexahedron. Each of its six faces was crystalline and smooth, like a mirror, and on each, a human face appeared.

From a physical and optical standpoint, it should have been impossible for Lloyd to see every face of the hexahedron at once.

Yet, through some bizarre angle and in a strange manner, all six faces were presented before him at once, each one clearly visible. And Lloyd found them all incredibly familiar.

The faces reflected on them were all his own.