Chapter 1606: A Deadly Secret

A brilliant violet spark spread outward in shimmering fragments, illuminating the sea below with an eerie purple glow. The signal burned brightly enough to be seen from miles away, hanging above the island like a radiant star before slowly scattering into fading embers.

Lory lowered the flare gun and let out a quiet sigh. That signal would be recognized immediately.

Not too far from the island, both the Noxcra agents and the King’s reinforcement forces spotted the violet flare the moment it appeared.

"Signal confirmed!" The shout echoed across command decks and communication channels alike.

"We’re coming in!" Engines roared to life almost instantly.

Aircraft launched into the night sky while armed speedboats surged across the sea at full speed, their lights cutting through the darkness as they headed straight toward the island. Soldiers hurried into position with urgent movements, weapons prepared, medics standing by.

Lucas’s orders had long been clear. The moment Lory fired the signal, they were to move without delay. Back on the island, Lory watched the fading violet sparks disappear into the night above her.

Soon, the reinforcements would arrive. Knowing her overprotective brothers, there was no way they would allow her to fight alone on a deserted island without support. ℯ

A faint smile appeared on Lory’s lips. "...It’s going to get noisy after this."

She turned around and looked at the prisoners who had already stepped out of the cages. Although they still appeared apprehensive, at least they were no longer as stiff and fearful as before.

Lory took out a large bottle of mineral water from her storage ring before walking toward them. Stopping in front of a middle-aged man, she asked gently, "How long have you been here?"

"Two weeks," the man answered hoarsely as he accepted the bottle. After uncapping it, he immediately handed it to the young girl beside him instead.

"She’s your daughter?" Lory asked softly.

The man gave a bitter smile. "Yes... My wife was taken into that place three days ago, and..." His gaze slowly shifted toward the cellar nearby.

Lory followed his line of sight. The dark entrance looked even more unsettling beneath the dim moonlight.

"You don’t want to check that place?" she asked quietly.

The man lowered his head; his expression darkened with grief. "I... I..."

Before he could finish, the young girl beside him suddenly spoke, tears already streaming down her pale face. "No one comes back," she blurted out shakily. "Everyone who enters that place... no one ever comes back." Her voice cracked as she struggled to hold back her sobs. "And my mom... I heard her screaming..."

The little girl finally broke down crying, and her father quickly pulled her tightly into his embrace. The atmosphere instantly grew heavy. The expressions of the other prisoners darkened as well, fear and despair silently spreading among them.

Lory’s eyes dimmed slightly. She understood that it was not because they did not want to check on their loved ones inside that cellar. Rather, they were terrified of what they might find there. And truthfully, Lory more or less already knew the fate of the people who had been dragged into that place.

After a brief silence, she turned and walked toward Zhao Li Xin.

"Let’s check that place," she said quietly.

"Mmn, alright." Zhao Li Xin agreed readily without the slightest hesitation.

The cellar exuded an ominous aura.

Lory stood before the small wooden door, her expression gradually turning tense. The door itself looked ordinary and crude, barely taller than her shoulder, yet the unsettling pressure surrounding it made the air feel unnaturally heavy.

Slowly, she pressed her hand against the wooden surface.

The moment her palm touched the door, a sharp jolt shot through her body like electricity.

Lory instantly retracted her hand with a slight grimace.

"Are you hurt?" Zhao Li Xin immediately grabbed her hand, concern appearing in his eyes.

Lory shook her head lightly. "I’m fine. The door is protected by a spell."

She raised her hand, and faint glowing symbols immediately surfaced across the wooden door. Strange inscriptions and twisted runes slowly revealed themselves one after another, spreading over the surface like living creatures crawling beneath the wood.

"This spell is a little troublesome to unravel," Lory muttered as she studied the formation carefully.

"You want me to smash the door?" Zhao Li Xin asked casually, as though tearing apart magical barriers was no different from breaking a twig.

Lory looked at her handsome husband with a troubled expression. "No, honey, let me try something else first." Her eyes remained fixed on the glowing runes as she helplessly added, "I’m worried your power might destroy the entire cellar along with the door."

"Makes sense." Zhao Li Xin nodded in agreement. "Alright, but be careful." he’s not going to forget to nag her.

"Yeah, yeah..." Lory answered perfunctorily.

She narrowed her eyes and carefully studied the strange inscriptions covering the door. After staring at them for quite some time, she suddenly took out her phone, snapped a picture of the runes, and sent it to Lucas along with a short message.

’What do you think about this?’

Not long after, Lucas replied. ’It looks somewhat similar to the spell formations inside the Djevelskrin Shrine, doesn’t it?’

Lory’s gaze flickered slightly. ’You think so too?’

Since Lucas had visited Djevelskrin before to meet Arthea, she was not particularly surprised that he recognized it as well.

A few seconds later, another message appeared.

’Do you want to break the spell?’

’Yup.’ Lory replied shortly.

’Do you know how?’ Lucas asked curiously.

’I think so,’ Lory replied lightly, then she sent another message, ’I’ll call you later.’

’Alright. Be careful.’

Seeing the message, Lory merely replied with a rolling-eyes emoticon before putting her phone back into her pocket.

Then her expression gradually turned serious.

Lory slowly raised both hands and began chanting a spell in a low voice. As the ancient words left her lips, the inscription on the door immediately began to glow brighter. The air around them began to vibrate violently, carrying a strange, oppressive pressure.

Suddenly—

A dark mass of energy shot out from the door like a vicious beast lunging toward Lory. Thankfully, Zhao Li Xin had already been on guard. Without hesitation, he drew his dagger infused with Immortal Flame Qi and intercepted the attack head-on.

CLASH!

The black energy collided against the burning blade before instantly disintegrating beneath the terrifying heat of the immortal flames.

Meanwhile, Lory never stopped chanting. Then, her eyes snapped open sharply. At that moment, a crisp breaking sound echoed through the air as the glowing inscriptions covering the wooden door gradually began to fade one by one before disappearing completely.

Lory finally released a long breath before turning toward Zhao Li Xin. "I think it worked."

"Let me." Zhao Li Xin stepped forward and placed his hand on the doorknob. After confirming that there was no remaining resistance from the spell, he slowly twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

Creak—

The old wooden door creaked open slowly, revealing nothing but suffocating darkness beyond it.

Lory and Zhao Li Xin exchanged a brief glance.

Curiosity stirred within her, and she instinctively leaned forward, intending to peek inside the cellar. However, before she could do so, a warm palm suddenly pressed lightly against her forehead and pushed her back.

"Wait."

Zhao Li Xin’s voice was low yet firm. "Let me go in first."

Lory pursed her lips slightly. She knew that once Zhao Li Xin spoke in that tone, there was no room left for argument. In the end, she reluctantly stepped aside and allowed him to enter ahead of her.

Zhao Li Xin switched on the flashlight from his phone, the pale beam immediately slicing through the darkness. He remained standing at the entrance for several moments, silently observing the surroundings in case traps had been hidden within the cellar.

Then his expression slowly darkened.

"I smell blood..." he said quietly. "A lot of it."

Lory instinctively covered her nose with her hand as the foul stench drifting from below reached her more clearly. "Yeah... I smell it too."

Zhao Li Xin narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze fixed deeper into the darkness. "...And rotten flesh."

Lory curled her lips in disgust. "That explains the pungent smell."

Without taking his eyes off the cellar, Zhao Li Xin stretched one hand toward her. "Hold my hand." His voice turned colder and more serious. "Don’t lower your guard. There’s strong malice inside this place."

If there was one thing Zhao Li Xin had become sensitive to after years of surviving in bloodshed and endless killing, it was malice.

And the resentment festering within this cellar was so dense it almost felt tangible.

Lory quietly placed her hand into his.

Zhao Li Xin immediately tightened his grip around her fingers before positioning her behind him protectively. Together, they descended the narrow staircase leading underground.

The stairs were not long, yet every step downward made the air feel heavier. The suffocating smell of blood and decay thickened around them, pressing against their senses like invisible hands clawing at their skin.

Then they finally reached the bottom. The moment the flashlight illuminated the room—

Lory froze by the sight of dark crimson stains covering almost every corner of the cellar. The walls, pillar and the floor were drenched in dried blood, as though countless people had been slaughtered there over and over again.

And the moment Zhao Li Xin realized what lay before them, his body reacted instinctively. He immediately raised his hand and covered Lory’s eyes. "Don’t look," he said sharply.

Lory was stunned for a moment before she finally realized what Zhao Li Xin was trying to do.

The dread lingering in her chest quietly faded, replaced instead by a gentle warmth spreading through her heart.

"I’m fine, Li Xin," she said softly. "It’s not like I’ve never seen the worst side of humanity before."

Zhao Li Xin fell silent for a brief moment. Then, albeit reluctantly, he slowly lowered his hand from her eyes.

"...Fine." Lory was right.

She had witnessed horrors far worse than this during the Dark Age War. Countless battlefields drenched in blood, mountains of corpses, cities reduced to ruins, compared to those nightmares, this cellar alone was not enough to shake her.

Even so...

A selfish part of Zhao Li Xin still wished that her beautiful eyes would never be tainted by the ugliness of this world. Because, unlike him, Lory had the kindest and gentlest heart of anyone he knew.

Thus, no matter how cruel the world had been to her, she still chose kindness over hatred, compassion over indifference. And perhaps because of that, Zhao Li Xin could not help wanting to shield her from everything filthy and cruel, even when he knew she was far stronger than most people could ever imagine.

When Zhao Li Xin finally lowered his hand from her eyes, the gruesome scene once again greeted her sight. Yet strangely, it was not the bloodstained walls nor the suffocating smell of death that unsettled Lory the most, but it was the massive magic circle carved into the floor.

Dark crimson blood had seeped deep into the engraved lines of the formation, making the strange symbols and ancient inscriptions appear even more sinister beneath the dim light. And at the very center of the circle lay a man motionless in a pool of blood, his body pale as a corpse.

Lory’s pupils contracted slightly.

"Is that... a dead body?" she pointed toward the figure uncertainly.

"He’s still alive," Zhao Li Xin replied calmly.

Lory looked surprised. "He is?"

"The heartbeat is very weak." Zhao Li Xin walked toward the man, his footsteps echoing faintly within the silent cellar. "He won’t survive much longer."

"Oh no!" Lory hurried forward immediately. "Li Xin, help me. This man might know what the paladins were doing here."

She was about to kneel directly onto the filthy floor when Zhao Li Xin suddenly grabbed her arm.

"It’s dirty," he said seriously.

"Eh?" Lory blinked in confusion.

Without another word, Zhao Li Xin casually used his foot to turn the unconscious man over before taking off his coat and spreading it neatly across the bloodstained floor.

After making sure it covered the area properly, he finally gave a satisfied nod. "It’s fine now."

Lory’s lips twitched faintly. ’This clean freak...but she loves him.’

"...Alright." She sighed helplessly.

Kneeling atop Zhao Li Xin’s coat, Lory gently placed her hand against the man’s chest before slowly closing her eyes. A moment later, a soft velvety glow slowly emerged from within her body, gathering around her palm in a faint purple radiance.

Then she lightly clenched her fist. In an instant, the light shattered into countless glowing particles resembling drifting fireflies. The luminous fragments floated gently through the air before pouring into the man’s body one after another.

As the healing energy seeped into his skin, the horrific wounds and scars covering his body gradually began to disappear at a visible pace.

Then suddenly, Lory frowned slightly. "Li Xin..." Her gaze lingered on the man’s face. "Increase the light a little. He looks familiar."

Without hesitation, Zhao Li Xin retrieved an emergency lamp from his spatial ring before placing it onto the floor.

Click.

Bright white light instantly illuminated the entire cellar. The sudden brightness caused Lory to squint reflexively. She blinked several times to adjust her vision, but the moment her eyes fully focused, her expression slowly stiffened.

Another magic circle was engraved onto the ceiling directly above them. It was identical to the formation on the floor; however, the inscriptions and symbols were written in reverse, perfectly mirroring the circle below as though the two formations reflected one another through an invisible surface.

"That’s weird..." Lory muttered softly.

"What is it?" Zhao Li Xin followed her line of sight and soon noticed the circular symbol engraved onto the ceiling.

His eyes darkened. "I can feel a strange energy coming from it... and it’s not something good."

An oppressive aura lingered around the formation, subtle yet deeply unsettling.

Before either of them could examine it further, a low grunting sound suddenly echoed from the man lying on the floor. Lory immediately turned her attention back toward him.

"You know..." she murmured while studying the man’s face carefully, her brows gradually knitting together in thought. "He looks familiar..."

Her gaze lingered on his pale features as if trying to pull a distant memory from the depths of her mind. "Where have I seen this face before...?"